Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1960)

hursday, November 10, 1960 Motion Picture Daily 3 etroit Exhibitors ear Ad Rate Boost Special to THE DAILY i DETROIT, Nov. 9. Exhibitors ere, along with other regular local swspaper advertisers, look with some epilation on the takeover this week ,r Hearst's Detroit Times by The letroit News, its competitor. Already complaining about high adsrtising rates, exhibitors now fear ley may go higher with but one iFternoon newspaper in the city. Howwer, some were heartened when the torning Free Press, only other newsaper in the city, started what it ailed an earlier first edition. This rst edition goes to press at 3 P.M. )ecco 9-Month Earnings fop All full Years s Consolidated net earnings of Decca Records, including results of opera,ions of its subsidiary, Universal Picares, for the nine months ended ■ept. 30, amounted to $4,159,772. 'he nine-month earnings were reported to be greater than any full jrear in the company's history. In the corresponding period for l959, Decca reported earnings of '911,260. Law Elected Head of Phila. M.P. Associates Special to THE DAILY ] PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 9.-David uaw, Warner Bros., was elected head if the Motion Picture Associates of "hiladelphia at its annual election Meeting here this week. Also named vere: vice-president, Carl Reardon, Jniversal; treasurer, John Kane, Paranount; secretary, Jerry Levy, Colum)ia. Elected to the board of directors Vere: George Beattie, Alfred Davis, iid Eckman, Joe Engel, Jack Green>erg, David Supowitz, David Title!nan, Lester Wurtele, Milton Young 'ind Charles Zagrans. 1 Stanley Kositsky and Edward Adlenan, by reason of their serving as president during the past two years, automatically become members of the Doard. Motion Picture Associates of .Philadelphia is the charity organization of the local motion picture iniustry. Say TM Families Spend S0< a Week The average family subscribing to the pay-television Telemeter service in Etobicoke, Ont., spends 80 cents weekly for feature film, according to a survey made by the Canadian rating firm of Elliot-Haynes, Ltd. for three days last month and published in the current issue of Broadcasting magazine. Broadcasting said the survey is "believed to be the first on the Telemeter operation made public by a non-partisan rating service." It was conducted through telephone calls to 286 housewives on Oct. 17, 18 and 19. Other vital statistics of the survey were as follows: About two-thiids of the subscribing families use the toll-tv service at least once a week. Their average weekly expenditure is $1.22. About 44 per cent of the Telemeter families viewed only one show in the previous week; 19 per cent, two shows, and 2.5 per cent, three shows. A substantial 34.3 per cent of the families did not see any of the Telemeter attractions during the week. 'Beauty,' 'Canyon' Popular Most popular of 8 motion picture features available in the previous week was a double feature— Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" and "Grand Canyon." The Elliott-Haynes estimates of the Telemeter box office were slightly lower than those turned up in a Broadcasting survey several months ago. At that time Telemeter subscribers checked by Broadcasting said they had averaged about $2 a week during the early period of Telemeter development last spring and about $1 a week last summer. The report also said that Telemeter stands to take in about $250,000 a year if it continues its present operation. "Whether this is enough to operat at a profit is not known," it was stated, as Telemeter has never revealed any income or expense figures. Name Weston Robert Weston (Continued from page 1 ) tive vice-president of the film organization. Weston has resigned his position as assistant a d v e r t i s ing manager a t United Artists to accept the new assignment. Prior to joining United Artists, Weston was a copywriter for Columbia Pictures, after which he became assistant account executive at Donahue and Coe Advertising Agency. The latter organization handled the Columbia account, and Weston was assigned to the servicing of it. Wormser Goes Abroad Irving Wormser, president of Continental Distributing, left here yesterday, for a three week European tour during which time he will check on three Continental co-productions currently in the editing stage, "The Long, The Short and The Tall," "The Mark" and "The Hands of Orlac." In the course of his trip, the Continental executive will visit London, Paris, Rome and Berlin for the purpose of acquiring American distribution rights to new product, as well as concluding negotiations for additional co-productions. Hockey Games on TM Television rights to all 35 awayfrom-home games to be played this fall by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League have been acquired for the Telemeter PayTV system in Etobicoke, West Toronto, Canada, it was announced by Leslie Winik, vice-president of International Telemeter Co. Solomon Named U.A. Trade Press Contact Burt Solomon has been appointed i United Artists trade press representative, it was announced by Roger H. (Lewis, UA vice president in charge of advertising, publicity and exploitation. Solomon has been a publicity writer for UA since 1959. Prior to that time pie was a member of the Fordham University public relations department. A graduate of Fordham College, Solomon also holds a master of science degree from Syracuse University and engaged in doctoral studies at New York University. Three Top Benefits Accrue to U.S. Industry from Mnas Negotiations with Japanese Gov't. Long and profitable negotiations with the Japanese government conducted by Irving Maas, vice-president for the Far East of the Motion Picture Export iTs'n hale gained important results in the liberalization of film tradmg conditions in Japan, according to Eric Johnston, president. Zee important benefits have accrued to the U. S. film industry, he said First, the ceiling on prints previously limited to 14 imported prints per subject, or 18 per subject if made in Japan, has been raised to 25 prints. This new limit will insure an adequate supply of prints for the Japanese market. Second the exhibition period for all imported films in Japan has been extended from five to seven years. Third, and of utmost *f«^^<™% monthly remittance rate of U. S. film earnings has been increased by 33 1/3 per Tent. Under the new regulations, U. S film companies will be allowed to remit 40 per cent of their gross film rentals instead of 30 per cent Tohnston announced within the last two weeks that Maas had also negotiaLS a tm^tance deal amounting to nearly '1™'™^"?*%^ ese accounts. From current discussions now going on with the W?nes*' J aoneis Hkely that the small, rigid import quota for U. S. films, which has been rXct formany years, will be relaxed for the new film year starting in April, 1961. PEOPLE Dimitri Tiomkin, composer-conductor now busy on the writing of the score for Carl Foreman's "The Guns of Navarone," was guest of honor at a banquet in Athens, tendered by the Musical Societies of Greece, for his contributions to the world of music. □ Lillian Claughton, owner of the Claughton circuit of theatres in Florida, and Mrs. Douglas Felix are cochairmen of the Grand Prix de Beaute fashion show and luncheon to be held on Dec. 7 at the Deauville Hotel, Miami Beach. □ Richard E. Putnam, manager of studio and industrial television engineering at the technical products division of General Electric in Syracuse, has been named to a fellow membership in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in recognition of his contributions and achievements in the engineering field. □ Ed Tanney has retired from his 10-year post as head of the Paramount shipping department in Jacksonville, and will take up residence at Keystone Heights. □ Sperie P. Perakos, general manager of Perakos Theatre Associates, New Britain, Conn., has been named entertainment chairman for the Nov. 15 luncheon of the augmented Bridgeport, Conn., United Fund. □ Frank Plaeinos has bought back from Georgia Theatres, Atlanta, the Ritz and the Royal theatres in Gainesville, Ga., which he formerly owned. □ Arthur R. Franklyn, for the past two years manager of the Corbin Theatre, Tarzana, Cal., has resigned to become co-owner of the Amador Theatre in Jackson, Cal. □ James Barry has joined the 20th Century-Fox office in Albany, N. Y., as assistant booker. Wadsworth to Speak At Pioneers Dinner James W. Wadsworth, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, has accepted an invitation to address the Association of Motion Picture Pioneers Nov. 21 at the Waldorf Astoria. The affair will honor Embassy Pictures president, Joseph E. Levine, for his showmanship contributions to the motion picture industrv. Ambassador Wadsworth's participation in the Levine salute was announced bv Simon H. Fabian, president of the Pioneers. Fabian also stated that the Ambassador would be introduced at the affair by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association.