Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1960)

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uesday, December 20, 1960 Motion Picture Daily iwo New Films Start; otal Shooting Is 37 From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 19. With ivo new pictures started this week, ie total number of productions cursntly shooting are 37. Three were jmpleted. Started were: "Wonder of Aladin," an Embassy Pictures Producion for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer rease, starring Donald O'Connor and belle Adam, with Robert Aldrich irecting. Stanley Colbert's independnt production of "Age of Consent," arted with Buzz Kulick directing, nd starring Patty McCormack, Lee insolving and Billy Gray. Completed were: Paramount's The Pleasure of His Company," Inited Artists' "Goodbye Again" and >o independents, "The Eye of the leedle" and "Cause of Death." flank Officials & — ( Continued from page 1 ) 'lamer, a director of the company fnd its booking controller for many •ears, continues as director of booking. 1 Other new appointments include: 'ohn Behr, as circuit controller; L. V. Crews, a regional controller, to be tublicity controller in place of Don■ild Murrey, who has resigned; and Derek Coyte succeeding John Behr is publicity controller of Rank productions at Pinewood Studios. All these appointments take effect rom January 1st, 1961, and reflect he Group policy of "strengthening n depth the executive structure by nternal promotion." (Birdie' Stars Will Be In AMPA Lunch Dais The stars of the Broadway musical :'Bye Bye Birdie" will be on the dais oday, at the annual Christmas party if the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers, at the Picadilly Hotel. President Bob Montgomery said ' hat AMPA's special guests will be 'iMck Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, and Dick Gautier. Arrangements for their ippearance were made by Mrs. Ade' ine "Pat" Steen. 1 Montgomery said that several hunIred industryites are expected at the uncheon, with door prizes assured i or virtually, every person attending lithe affair. Wong9 Scores in L.A. ' One of the best openings in recent 'ears at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, was reported by Paramount Pictures for "The World of >uzie Wong" in its first three days ending Sunday. It grossed an outstanding $18,665. Meanwhile the ilm also is maintaining a fast pace Jit Loew's Metropolitan Theatre, (Brooklyn, where it registered $15,562 in the first three days, ending Sunday, of its second week. Two 'Trust' Suits Filed in 'Frisco From THE DAILY Bureau SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19.-Two motion picture anti-trust suits demanding triple damages totalling $2,300,000 were on file in U.S. district court here today. A group of neighborhood theatre owners demanded redress of $2,000,000 from 10 major exhibiting and distributing firms, while A. J. Longtin, owner of the Encore Theatre in Sacramento, sued the same defendants and several others in a similar action which seeks $300,000 damages. The two suits, filed by attorney Joseph L. Alioto, were described as anti-trust actions "to break up the Market Street monopoly" in first run product. Alioto is a lawyer who for more than the past 10 years has been chief counsel for Samuel Goldwyn in the latter's long-drawn litigation and in which a decision now is awaited from Federal Judge George Harris. Theatres Identified Charging the big distributors witii a violation of the Sherman AntiTrust Act, the San Francisco area plaintiffs claim the defendants arbitrarily are fixing systems of runs, clearance and availabilities of firstrun films, thereby favoring downtown theatres. The first-run Market Street houses that allegedly get preferred treatment were identified by Alioto as the Paramount, Warfield, Fox, Saint Francis and Golden Gate. While they are not defendants in the action, Alioto made it plain their representatives probably will be involved as witnesses when the suit comes to trial. The defendants also were charged with having refused to license neighborhood and suburban theatres to exhibit first-run films and with having agreed to limit first runs to market street houses. Illegal Pact Charged The suit also complains there is allegedly an illegal agreement that there will be no multiple first runs in San Francisco. It was argued that in most cities, Los Angeles for example, a film may open simultaneously as a first-run offering in all districts. Named as defendants are RKO Theatres, Inc., California Paramount Theatres, Inc., Market and Taylor Building Corp., Fox West Coast Theatres Corp., Warner Brothers Pictures Distributing Corp., Universal Film Exchange, 20th CenturyFox Film Co., Loew's, Inc., Columbia Pictures Corp., and Paramount Film Distributing Corp. Plaintiffs are Ray Syufy Enterprises, Inc., operators of the Geneva Drive-in, San Francisco; Geneva Drive-in Theatre, Inc., Rita Theatre, Inc., owners of the Mission Drivein, Daly City; Consolidated Theatres, Inc., operators of the Royal Theatre; District Theatres Co., own Pay or Free, Cary Granf Likes Big Screen Best Special to THE DAILY HARTFORD, Dec. 19.-Let those who will espouse pay-tv, says Cary Grant. He'll stick to the big screen. This was the actor's response when asked during a telephone press conference by Allen M. Widem, Hartford Times theatre editor, to comment on the plans of RKO General and Zenith Radio to conduct a pay-tv test here. "Frankly, I don't know about paytv," Grant said. "I get the feeling, somehow, that the people anticipating huge profits out of pay-tv are whistling in the dark. "It stands to reason that if a paytv presentation of a first run movie draws a tremendous public, then General Motors or General Foods will simply follow the same pattern and schedule a first run movie on commercial television. "As for myself, I'm basically a motion picture man. I honestly believe that the audience gets more watching something on a large screen with sharper focus, better sound and uncluttered with interruptions. "If the boys backing pay-tv want to come into Hartford or any major city and try something new, let them! Only then, certainly, will we in the motion picture industry be able to discern positive patterns and trends. "But for myself, I repeat, I'm sticking to the big screen." Two British Films Will Compete at Arg. Festival Continental Distributing Inc. announced that "The Long And The Short And The Tall," starring Laurence Harvey, Richard Todd and Richard Harris, has been chosen to represent Great Britain by authorities of Argentina's Mar Del Plata Film Festival, which begins Jan. 8. In addition to vying with films from more than 20 nations, "The Long And The Short And The Tall" will compete with "Saturday Night And Sunday Morning," another British entry already invited to the Festival, to be judged for this year's Best Film Award honors. The unique doubleentry situation came about under a Festival regulation allowing its selection committee to invite full length feature films of special merit, regardless of whatever other films may previously have been chosen to represent their countries. Fire Guts Building LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 19-Fire of undetermined origin gutted the concession building of the Circle 25 Drive-in Theater here. Manager Walter Rodes, III, estimated the loss at more than $50,000. ers of the Mission Theatre; Theatco, Inc., owners of the Empire, all San Francisco; and Junipero Serra Theatres, which operate El Rancho in Colma. REVIEW: Tunes of Glory Lopert This thoughtful and thought-provoking film presents two extraordinary performances by accomplished actors —Alec Guinness and John Mills, both of marquee potency. The screenplay by James Kennaway from his own widely read novel, delves deeply into the traditions and psychological attitudes of the British army officer class— specifically the 200 year old traditions of a Scottish Highland regiment. Guinness, in a remarkable display of versatility, portrays a tough-minded professional soldier, up from the ranks, who has been given peace-time command, as acting colonel, of the regiment he led through the African campaign of World War II— El Alamein and all that. His officers respect his profession ability, bask in his charm, but for the most part deplore his crudeness. He is succeeded by Mills, old school tie colonel whose grandfather commanded the regiment before him. A martinet, he attempts to restore the peace-time spit and polish of the regiment in barracks, precipitating conflict with Guinness, who considers him a toy soldier. Mills' own uncerainties and indecision, aggravated by memory of a painful sojourn in a Japanese prison camp, unsettle his mind. Guinness, provoked at finding his daughter going out with a corporal, knocks the soldier down in a pub, a violent infraction of the rules. Mills cannot decide whether to handle the matter as an intra-regiment affair or cite Guinness for court martial. Manipulated by Dennis Price, who himself would like to succeed to command, he decides on the court martial but changes his mind when Guinness frankly asks for a second chance. Unsettled by Price's sarcasm at this eventuation, Mills shoots himself and Guinness in turn apparently loses his stability but is protected by his officers. The direction by Ronald Neame is leisurely, in the British tradition, and some of the characterizations are unclear, not through technical fault but rather through the difficulty of presenting adequately the abstract concepts involved in the story. The photography, in Technicolor, is at its best showing the streets of Edinburgh and the castle which is the regiment's headquarters. Because the story and motivations are so very British the production would seem to be aimed at cosmopolitan audiences. Running time, 106 minutes. Release date, December. James D. Ivers SAVE MONEY ON PREMUES Use Filmack's Deluxe $2 each TEASERETTES NO CONTRACTS NO RITUBMS Use as Prevues, Advance or Cross Plugs!