Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

uirsdayi October 15, 1959 Motion Picture Daily 3 our New Films Start; I Now in Production From THE DAILY Bureau j HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 14-With the !art of four new productions, two at olumbia and two at Warner Bros., fd the wind-up of six, the total numIr of pictures currently in produclon this week is 31. Of the four start|ig, two are on location in Europe, ad one in Australia. Started were: "Surprise Party" (A tanley Donen Production— shooting & Europe); "The Enemy General" |Clover Production— shooting in Euf>pe), for Columbia release. "The Jundowners" (Technicolor production ,h location in Australia), and "The Irowded Sky" for Warner Bros. Completed were: "Pollyanna" (a ^alt Disney Production for Buena 'ista ) ; "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" Euterpe Production), and "The Day 'hey Bobbed The Bank of England" 3r Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; "Jovanka uid The Others" ( Dino De Laurentiis ,'roduction) for Paramount release; Tall Story" (Mansfield Production) or Warner Bros., and "The Threat" n independent production produced y Bobin-Rae Productions. REVIEW: Angry' Cast Gathers For World Bow Here More members of the cast of "The Last Angry Man" are assembling here 3 participate in the world-premiere elebration of the film starring Paul iluni and David Wayne. It opens on 'hursday, Oct. 22, at the Trans-Lux 2nd Street and Forum Theatres. Luther Adler is in the East, alterating between Broadway and Conlecticut. Nancy B. Pollock, Billy Dee Villiams and Godfrey Cambridge are 11 on hand for the opening activities, i'hich will be a benefit at the Transfix 52nd Street for Beth-El Hospital, Brooklyn. Already here have been David Vayne, engaged in a TV spectacular ppearance in "Strawberry Blonde"; Daniel Mann, the director, who is taging "A Loss of Boses," William nge's play; Claudia McNeil, starring n "Raisin in the Sun"; and Betsy 'aimer, who is also engaged in special elevision appearances. Widespread Coverage For 'Beach' in S. A. Widespread Latin-American pressradio and television coverage has oeen set for the South American Dec. 17 premieres of Stanley Kramer's "On he Beach" at Caracas, Venezuela and Lima, Peru. The film is a United Artsts release. Journalists from all parts of South America will be flown to the openings it Caracas and Lima, two of 18 cities in six continents which will have imultaneous world premieres. ReportBis and critics from Rio de Janeiro, Panama City, Buenos Aires, Mexico Uity and other Latin American capitis will cover the events for their ccal press and radio and television tations. The Jayhawkers Paramount — VistaVision The versatile team of Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, writers, producers and directors, who beat a successful path to box office gold with their original approach to a number of subjects, here turn from the comedies and musicals which have been their forte to a little known and little exploited bv-path of western history for some fresh and interesting material. That by-path is Kansas in the months immediately preceding the Civil War when the Territory, moving toward statehood, was a battleground of lawless raiders operating under the guise of supporters or opponents of slavery. Based on the life of one of these raiders, an obscure figure named Luke Darcy who dreamed of carving an armed empire for himself out of the welter of confusion, writers Frank Fenton and Joseph Petracca constructed an original from which Frank and A. I. Bezzerides built an absorbing screen play. Cast as the Napoleonic Darcy is Jeff Chandler, adept at making an incredible character credible. Co-starred with him is Fess Parker who seeks vengeance against Darcy but is overcome by his charm and forgets his mission until the latter's cruelties are shown in their full light. Nicole Maurey is a widowed French woman, seeking a life of freedom on the frontier for her two children and sickened by the killings in the name of freedom. In able support of these three are Henry Silva as a menacing gunman who is Chandler's principal executioner, jealous and suspicious of Parker's position, who precipitates the final gun battle at the end by proving that Parker has betrayed Chandler and the Jayhawkers to Federal troops. It is an interesting story made absorbing by the deft direction of Frank and the slow building of suspense as Parker wavers between his hatred of Chandler for having betrayed his wife and his strange attraction for him. The sense of reality is heightened by the settings and by the VistaVision photography in Technicolor vividly creating the frontier life on the plains and Darcv's hideout in the hills. It is a western different enough to attract all audiences. Running time, 100 minutes. General classification. Release, in October. James D. Ivers UA, Sabena Set Tie-in To Promote 'Solomon' United Artists and Sabena Airlines have set a cooperative advertising campaign for Edward Small's Super Technirama-70 production of "Solomon and Sheba" penetrating every major market of the United States, Canada and Europe. The campaign involves a series of newspaper ads featuring George Sanders and giving full credits for the UA release, which stars Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida and co-stars Marisa Pavan with Sanders. Will Start in 12 Cities The first wave of insertions will appear in some 25 leading newspapers in the following cities: New York, Cleveland, Houston. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec. Silverman Is Host to Businessmen from Chile Jack H. Silverman, vice-president of UPA Pictures, was host here yesterday morning to James V. Foley of the International Cooperation Administration, Division of the State Department, and six business representatives from Chile who are visiting the United States under the sponsorship of the ICA for a five week study tour of modern marketing and distribution practices and techniques in the U.S. During the morning session at the UPA offices, discussions were held through two interpreters relative to animated film production. In the afternoon the six representatives, their interpreters and Foley were guests of Silverman at a special screening of "1001 Arabian Nights," the first full-length Technicolor animated feature produced by UPA, which goes into general release by Columbia at Christmas. Book 'Country^ Here Martin Regional Held United Artists' "The Wonderful Country," starring Robert Mitchum and Julie London, will play its first New York engagement on Oct. 23 at Loew's Metropolitan Theatre in Brooklyn, with "Pier 5, Havana," another UA release. TIFTON, Ga., Oct. 14.-Managers of the Martin circuit held a regional meeting here under the direction of Carl Patrick, general manager. FrankBrady, assistant manager, spoke on concessions. This was followed by an open forum. PEOPLE Aaron Seidler, Baltimore exhibitor, buyer and booker, has resigned his operational post with the New Albert Theatre in that city to devote all his time to his buying and booking service, which he plans to expand. □ Joseph L. Jarvis, who became manager of the Palace Theatre, Lake Placid, when that house reopened last spring after a fall-winter closedown, is resigning, effective Oct. 23, to join a Lake Placid automobile agency in an executive capacity. □ Frank McQueeney, of the Pine Drive-in Theatre, Waterbury, Conn., and Bruno Weingarten, of E. M. Loew's Norwich-New London Drivein Theatre, have been named to the public relations committee of the Connecticut Drive-in Theatres Asso ciation. □ Ed McGlone, city manager for RKO Theatres in Columbus, O., has been named by Mayor M. E. Sensenbrenner of that city to be a member of the public relations subcommittee of the Downtown Study Committee. Sam Shubouf, Loew's Ohio manager, also is a member of the committee. □ Charles Slemmer is the new manager of Norman Lewis' Benson Theatre, Philadelphia. He succeeds the late Al Viener. □ Al Boyd, pioneer exhibitor of Philadelphia, has added to his theatre holdings by taking over from Harold Eskin the College Theatre in Bethlehem, Pa. □ Ulrik Smith, Paramount branch manager in Philadelphia, will celebrate his 45th year with the company in November, which will be named "Ulrik Smith Sales Month" in his honor. □ Harold Patton, booker for 20th Century-Fox in Cincinnati and St. Louis, has been transferred to the Cleveland branch booking department, thus giving the company three bookers in that city. L7 Raymond Bayus has been named assistant manager of the CandlelitePix Twin Drive-in Theatre, Bridgeport, Conn., a joint Lockwood & Gordon-E. M. Loew Enterprises operation. Earl Wright continues as resident manager. D Norman Nadel, theatre editor of the Columbus Citizen, for his review of "Hercules," won the $25 first prize in the nation-wide "Story of the Month" contest conducted the ScrippsHoward newspapers. □ Noah Dietrich, for many years an associate of Howard Hughes, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of Houston Fearless Corp.