Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1956)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY )L '9. NO. 42 NEW YORK, U.S.A., FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1956 TEN CENTS le ts Sunday fiited Front »A Keynote ]j N.O. Meet eminary Discussions sOJnder Way Today i ited front in exhibition which J( considerably strengthen U. S. « nen's dealing with distribution 11 the primary aim of the TheaBuers of America board of dito and executive committee ici will open their mid-winter I; at the Hotel Roosevelt in Brleans on Sunday afternoon, 'ffminary discussions among an feie delegation of TO A execulad officers will start tliis morntSNew Orleans to formulate and I' the various industry topics ■ are to be discussed and conMi at the conclave by some 80 Aprs from all parts of the nation. "B heavy agenda for the two-andajiay meeting is loaded with initl issues which range from the ■Hf Small Business sub-committee I (Continued an page 4) Climating Group Icted by AMPA ■even-man nominating commit| us two alternate members, was by Associated Motion Picture 'lisers yesterday at a meeting Hotel Piccadilly here, nominating group, which will the 1956-57 slate of AMPA !, consists of Gordon White, [rman; Raymond Gallagher, ts A. Alicoate, Vincent Trotta, vs Neilson, Marsha Stern and ;jstenbaum. Alternates are Cy [ an and Ray Gallo. Latin American dness Up: Katz ted Artists business in four American markets "is wondernd should further improve conly, according to Alfred Katz, come office foreign department :ive. z, who returned in mid-week a three-week business trip to ( Continued on page 6 ) Announcement Warners Sells 1956 FAME AWARD 750 Features tj The Editors of Fame announce today that the 1956 FAME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD is made to the research and technical staff of 20th Century-Fox in recognition of the development of CinemaScope 55. The citation hails "the notable contribution to the art and industry of motion pictures by the development of the 55mm CinemaScope technique for the enhancement of the entertainment power of the screen." CJ The members of the staff of Quigley Publications extend their congratulations to Earl I. Sponable, technical director, Sol Halprin, camera department head, Lorin Grignon, Herbert Bragg and the other members of the 20th-Fox research and technical staff. — Martin Quigley, Jr. As Third Year Ends Cinerama Engagements Set Unique Exhibition Patterns The trading area of a Cinerama production, which has enjoyed runs unprecedented in motion picture history, is considered 10 times that of an ordinary motion picture, drawing people from hundreds of miles away, a Stanley Warner official commented 1 here yesterday. Besides the uniqueness of the system, another factor which has accounted for the extensive marketing area, according to the spokesman, is the fact that it will never be shown in smaller cities, nor in neighborhood houses. Other motion pictures have made this claim and then reconsidered, he stated, adding that Cinerama has established the fact that if a person wants to see it, he or she has to come to town. Now approaching its fourth year in New York where it opened on Sept. 30, 1952, the second Cinerama production "Cinerama Holiday" will have been seen by some 1,200,000 people during its 14-month run at the Warner. It will be replaced by "Seven Wonders of the World" on April 10. The initial production, "This Is Cinerama," ran on Broadway (Continued on page 4) WB Distribution for Monroe-Olivier Film From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, March 1. Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier will co-star in "The Sleeping Prince" for Warner Brothers distribution, it was jointly announced here today by Jack L. Warner, WB vice-president, and Milton H. Greene, vice-president of Marilyn Monroe Productions, Inc., at a press conference in the WB studios. It is a one-picture deal. Marilyn Monroe Productions and Sir Laurence will co-produce the picture for Warner Brothers presentation. The latter also will direct the production of the London stage hit by Terrance Battigan. The film will go into work late this summer. To PRM, Inc. Shorts Included in Deal By Non-Industry Group The conclusion of the Warner Brothers TV deal, under which WB will sell to PRM, Inc., approximately 750 feature pictures, as well as short subjects, cartoons and silent features released up to the 1948 season, was signed yesterday in Wilmington, Del., it was announced here. The selling price was revealed as $21,000,000 in the joint statement issued by Jack L. Warner, vice-president of WB, and Louis Chesler, board chairman of PRM, Inc. The statement said the deal was a consequence of negotiations carried on between Eliot Hyman, representing PRM, Inc., and Benjamin Kalmenson, WB vice-president in charge of distribution. Contracts were signed in Wilmington, where both companies have their corporate offices. The agreement, long under nego( Continued on page 6 ) RKO, AA Discussing: Foreign Distribution Negotiations are under way between RKO Radio Pictures and Allied Artists officials whereby the RKO foreign exchanges will again, as they have on other occasions, handle the distribution of more AA productions in the overseas market, it was learned here yesterday. AA's present overseas operations (Continued on page 6) Morrison, McLaglen In New UA Deal Robert Morrison and Andrew V. McLaglen yesterday closed a deal with United Artists for the release of their third independent production, "Gun the Man Down," scheduled to roll on March 8. Morrison and McLaglen previously produced independently "Man in the Vault" for RKO Radio Pictures and "Seven Men From Now" for Warner Bros.