Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

Italy Produced 63 Features In First Half of 1963 ROME, ITALY — The Italian film industry produced 63 feature-length pictures, including 11 documentaries during the first six months of 1963, according to Unitalia Film Organization. Twenty-six of the pictures were either in Technicolor, Eastman Color or Agfacolor, the last being used only for the documentary, “Russia Under Inquiry.” The other documentaries were “Taboo,” made in Sweden, Thailand, Burma, Japan and the U.S.; “Hand on the Gun,” “Forbidden Italy,” “Italians Like Us,” “The World’s Best Swindles,” “In Italy, It’s Called Love,” “Prohibited Sex,” “Around the World in Ninety Nights,” “Love in the World” and “Pleasures of the World,” the last four being in Eastman Color. The pictures already set for American distribution are “The Queen Bee,” being distributed in the US. by Joseph E. Levine’s Embassy Pictures; “Intrigue,” to be released in the U.S. by Universal as “Dark Purpose” with Rossano Brazzi and Shirley Jones starred; “The Devil,” starring Alberto Sordi, to be distributed by Continental, and “Three Faces of Fear,” to be released in the U.S. by American International as “Black Sabbath,” with Boris Karloff starred. In addition to Brazzi, Karloff and Miss Jones, other Hollywood players to be seen in these Italian pictures include Lex Barker, who is starred in “The Mystery of the Indian Temple,” “Storm Over Ceylon” and “Kali-Yug, Goddess of Revenge,” Gordon Scott, also starred in three, “The Hero of Babylon,” “Goliath and the Rebel Slave Girl” and “Zorro and the Three Musketeers,” Jack Palance, who is starred in “The Criminal,” Rod Steiger, who is starred in the Venice Film Festival winner, “Hands Over the City,” Brett Halsey, who is starred in “The Magnificent Adventure,” Hugh O’Brian and Cyd Charisse, who are starred in “Murderer — Made in Ita’y,” Fernando Lamas, who is starred in “D’Artagnan Against the Three Musketeers,” George Sanders, who is in “Plane for Baalbeck,” and George Chakiris, who is starred with Claudia Cardinale in “Bebo’s Girl.” Another familiar British player, Ian Hunter, is in “The Mystery of the Indian Temple,” while Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Sordi and Walter Chiari, in addition to Miss Cardinale and Rossanna Podesta, are Italian players who have become familiar names in the U.S. The Walter Reade-Sterling organization has also acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Bebo’s Girl,” starring George Chakiris and Claudia Cardinale; “The Strikers,” starring Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori and Annie Girardot; “The World’s Greatest Swindles,” a five-part ItaloFrench co-production, and “Omicron,’ with Renato Salvatori, which will also be released through Continental. Gamer Gets 'Emily' Lead LONDON — James Garner, who played in the Martin Ransohoff production of “The Wheeler Dealers” under the direction of Arthur Hiller, will be reunited with Hiller in the new Ransohoff production of “The Americanization of Emily,” which will go before the cameras at the MGM Studios, Elstree, October 14. Garner replaces William Holden in the male lead. Robert F. Kennedy and Nizer TOA Speakers New York — Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General, and Louis Nizer, prominent industry attorney, have been added as key speakers at the Theatre Owners of America convention at the Americana Hotel here next week. Kennedy will speak at the dinner party to be given by Joseph E. Levine, president of Embassy Pictures, on the opening night of the convention, October 28. Nizer will be the keynote speaker at the opening day’s luncheon. Altec to Hold Workshop Concurrent With TOA NEW YORK— Altec Service Co. will hold its managers’ workshop concurrent with the Theatre Owners of America and the National Allied conventions in October in New York, according to Marty Wolf, sales manager, who said holding the workshop will permit closer communication and understanding between the exhibitors and Altec. Altec executives on hand will include A. A. Ward, president; G. L. Carrington jr., general manager; R. E. Pierce, operating manager, and M. V. Neumann, operations supervisor, as well as the following managers: D. S. McLean, Jim Eves and Fred Hall, eastern division; Bruce Mewborn and Norman Schneider, southern division; Ed Lyman and Jim Reed, central division, and M. L. A. Scott, western division. 'The Critic' to Be Shown At San Francisco Fete NEW YORK— “The Critic,” the Ernest Pintoff cartoon short which was shown at festivals in Cannes, Montreal, Edinburgh, where it was awarded one of the five Diplomas of Merit granted to American films, has been nominated to be shown at the seventh annual San Francisco International Film Festival, to run October 20 to November 12. The Columbia Pictures release features the voice of Mel Brooks. “The Critic” has also been selected as one of the six American films to be shown at the Tours, France, International Festival, scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 2, marking the fifth invitational showing for the Columbia release in 1963. Glen Alden Income Up For 9-Month Period NEW YORK— Glen Alden Corp., the operating company consisting of RKO Theatres, Inc., Swift Manufacturing Co., Opp Cotton Mills and Aluminum Industries, Inc., among others, reports a preliminary net income of $5,500,000 for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1963, an increase over the $3,850,000 for the first nine months of 1962. The 1963 figure is equal to $1 per share on sales of $88,200,000, compared to 70 cents per share on sales of $81,350,000 for the same period in 1962. Reade-Sterling in Big Italian Arrangement NEW YORK — Walter Reade-Sterling, Inc., has closed a deal with Franco Cristaldi, one of Italy’s leading producers, for seven pictures, with Reade-Sterling handling the films in more than half of the world. The new pictures include the works of many of Italy’s top directors and stars. At a press luncheon at Leone’s Monday (7), Walter Reade said that because his company had not handled many Italian pictures in the past, having concentrated principally on the French and British markets, the new Italian arrangement opened a whole new area of activity for the company. The seven pictures, Reade said, involved the production facilities of three of Italy’s biggest film-making companies: namely, Lux Films, Ultra Films and Vides Cinematografica. Among the stars in the properties will be Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Paulette Goddard, Claudia Cardinale, Jean Seberg, Jean Pierre Cassel, Gabriella Giogelli and Charles Denner. Reade said that Reade-Sterling had acquired the distribution rights for all English-speaking countries and all of the Far East. The seven films are “The Strikers,” “Omicron,” “Time of Indifference,” “The World’s Greatest Swindles,” all completed, and “Bebo’s Girl” and “Seduced and Abandoned,” in production, and “Fefe,” scheduled for an early start. Arrangements with Cristaldi were completed by Irving Wormser, president of Continental Distributing, the releasing division of Reade-Sterling, during July and August in Europe. On the same trip, Wormser also acquired distribution rights to “The Devil,” an Italian comedy produced by Dino De Laurentiis, and “Ladies Who Do,” a British comedy starring Robert Morley. Reade announced at the meeting that Wormser would take on new duties as head of the company’s expanded international division, including television as well as motion pictures. He said that he and Wormser would establish an office in Rome this month on their way to Moscow where they will confer on the first U.S. -Soviet coproduction, “Meeting at a Far Meridian,” in which Reade-Sterling is a principal. That picture will be made in both the Russian and English languages. The company now has offices in Paris and London. In his new duties, Wormser will supervise not only the company’s worldwide theatrical arrangements, but also the company’s international television projects. Robt. Sherman Is Manager Of Fox Branch Operations NEW YORK — Robert Sherman, who resigned last week as film buyer for the Walter Reade circuit, has been appointed manager of branch operations for 20th Century-Fox by Joseph M. Sugar, vice-president in charge of domestic sales. Sherman has been in the film industry for 30 years, starting as an auditor and film statistician for RKO Theatres. In 1951, he became film buyer for RKO and seven years later joined the Reade circuit in the same capacity. He left the company in 1960, but reaffiliated with it early this year. BOXOFFICE :; October 14, 1963 9