Variety (January 1953)

PICTURES n Wednesday, January 7, 1953 F orty-seventh t'jfrfZIE'TY Anniversary•- You Can’t Mess Around With Dem Commandments By JULIAN T. ABELES Reaffirms Pitch to Make Pix A 52-Weeks-a-Year Biz By EDWARD L. HYMAN (V.P., United Paramount Theatres) {Attorney for motion pictitTC) music publishing and broadcasting interests.) Mordecai stealthily meanders to the Phillips’ chicken coop and with a vicious smacking of his lips goes Poking to get himself a nice fat F hen. But sure was Morde-' cai's unlucky night, for who does he pokes but Hezekiah, the noisi- est guinea hen in the whole of Little Rock, Arkansas. The rebel yell at the Battle of Bull Run was a kitten’s purr compared to Hezqkiah’s blast which made Morpheus rush to cover in Little Rock’s slumbering commu- nity — including the town con- stable. As the J. P. done says to Mordecai—“For the next 30 nights you will be in the coop all right, but it won’t be the Phillips’ chicken coop.” Now it happened that Mordecai did have one or maybe two rather good points, so upon his solemn promise to wrestle the devil, dad put him back to work. I must say that for some time to come Mor- decai went and bested the devil in most of their tussles. As a re- ward, dad let him drive the,buck- board to Hot Springs to see the Ostrich Farm. Now, as Mordecai could not tell time, dad loaned him his alarm watch and told him that when the alarm went off he must return home. Dad P.S.'d that if he didn’t bring that watch back, the time he had been put away to date would be just a mild READE’S BURNUP AT PIX BEING SOLD TO VIDEO By WALTER READE, JR. Undoubtedly, TV is still our main competitor, and while I feel it is of much greater consequence, and unquestionably does some damage to all films, a pet peeve with me, and one that existed for a long time, is what a firm whose corporate nature I need not spell out is doing to our industry—and to itself. Hearing that 100 films were sold to CBS is just like a dagger in the back. Exhibitors sup- ported this firm which now goes all out to provide full programs for our main competitor, for what was reported to be a very paltry sum per film. This is an old story with me, but I charge that it will be the story that will close more borderline theatres than anything else during the calendar year of 1953. On another front in technologi- cal progress, certainly third dimen- sion is a plus factor, and deserves every bit of support from all con- cerned. The cost of Cinerama, at this time, makes it a big key city factor at this moment. Being a booster of big screen .Television from its inception, I am still for this means of entertain- ment, but warn that it must aug- ment rather than supplement conventional film programs. With regard to day-and-dating this in most areas of course cuts down the public choice. The remedy for this lies with the exhibitor, rather than with the distributor, to be unselfish enough to work with the competitor. ‘ Concerning theatre operation, there will be many closings, mostly of C and D houses that should have been closed long ago, I see no chance of eliminating double features in established areas. Of course industry arbitration is desired but, again, I am pessimis- tic as to its adoption because petty jealousies; either of attorneys or heads,., of organizations or com- panies who must have, arid con- tinuously insist on having, the last word. I think advance-admission-price films will find their own level, by the public first and the exhibitor following, abstaining from those films not warranting this type of recognition. warming up for the stretch that was a'coming. While Mordecai was gaping at the ostriches, he took the watch out of his pocket to make certain it was Peking. Right then and there the largest of the ostriches poked out and gobbled it up. In accompaniment to Mordecai's agonizing moans the watch slowly, but surely worked its way down the ostrich’s long neck. To Mor- decai’s tormented mind, each inch down pictured another five-year stretch. There was no two ways about it. He had to get that watch back in, or without, an ostrich. So, Mordecai goes and grabs the bird, ties him to the back of the buck- board, jumps in and is set. to go— with the constable sitting right smack beside him. “Well, Mor- decai, looks like chicken stealin’ was only a kindergarten course for you—now it’s ostriches. Even a roc would be a goner with the likes of you around.” Poor Mordecai sobbingly chanted the story of the watch to the con- stable, and later to the J. P. The J. P. says as how this lie was big- ger than the bird he snatched and goes and gives Mordecai free room and board for the rest of this life, with a due bill for the hereafter, for stealing both the os- trich and the watch. Now Mordecai weren’t no bit appreciative of the J. P.’s philanthropy—that ostrich had been rooming and boarding on the state for all his born days, and as far as Mordecai was concerned, he was going to continue to be the sole recipient of the state’s bounty. “Mr. J. P.,”* says Mordecai, “ain’t that bird the evidence?” “Why I reckon yes,” says the J. P. “Then how come I be convicted without the evidence?” The J. P. was a stickler for the law—“Bring in that ostrich.” In struts the os- trich, spies the J. P.’s watch and chain and starts to reach for it— but the permeation of justice dis- suades him. Mordecai turns to the ostrich—“Don’t you stand there With at innocent, look on your face —the, Lord is going to show you up for the thief that you is—Oh Lord, please helps me out’ with this no ’count rascal—It’s not all that time I’m put away for that's a’botherin* me,' it’s cause Mr. Abeles ’has been so good to me.” Mordecai’s prayer Was answered. The watch alarm went off, which is more than even an ostrich could stomach. Up came the watch with a haul of adornments which would have made Jesse James look like a teen-age cap-pistol bandit—and a complete set of burglary tools. “Man alive!” shrieks Mordecai, “Mr. J. P. you got to give that there bird all the time you got left or ain’t none of us going to be safe with a professional thief around these here parts.” ANN MILLER Appearing with Farley Granger and Jane Powell in “SMALL TOWN GIRL.” M.G.M. 3 Yank Distribs Set Foreign Pix Paris, Dec. 30. Columbia Films is becoming more active in producing and dis- tributing foreign pix both in Eu- rope and the U. S. ' Company has already distributed and helped finance two pix here, “Rue De Saussaies” and “Tapage Nocturne” (“Cry in the Night”). Max Ophuls’ “Le Plaisir” will be dis- tributed in Europe, England and U. S. by the company. “Messa- liq£,” a Franco-Italo costumer, will be handled worldwide except in Europe, and will be dubbed into English for the U. S. and England. “Andalusia,” color musical with Luis Mariano, is distributed world- wide except for Spain and France. Before, leaving the U. S., Joseph A. McConville, foreign prexy, stated that this is the beginning of more worldwide activity for Col. Other U. S. companies also have taken over foreign-made produc- tions. Paramount has taken world- wide distrib rights to “Sensualita,” Italian film, and will handle at least five Italo pix of the Ponti- Laurentiis Italo studios every year. RKO took “Rome Ora 11” for Eu- ropean distrib and bought the French documentary “Greenland.” Mitch Lewis Houston Barker Houston. Mitchell M. Lewis named Chief Barker of the Houston Variety Tent No. 34.' Others named in- cluded Bruce Layer, first assistant barker; Mack Howard, second as- sistant barker; Ray Hay, doughguy; and E. J. Miller, property master. In the last year’s Anniversary issue of Variety we had the oppor- tunity to sound off in print with a sermon which we have been deliv- ering verbally for a long time to any willing ear. We refer to our plea that the old practice o f aiming the best pictures for the major holidays in each year and per m it ting nothing of con- Ed Hyman sequence to be released during the so-called “slack” periods of the year, the pre-holiday seasons and the months of May and June, be eliminated. As we have stated so many times before, the most neglected seasons are the pre-Christrrias, pre-Easter and May and June periods. During those times we have been faced with a serious deficiency in prod- uct, both in quality and quantity, and we have, for a long time, urged that our industry use the depart- ment store technique and intensify our efforts during such “slack” sea- sons. We must recognize that we are in a 52-weeks-a-year business with our patrons’ good-will, espe- cially with the competition we now face, when we offer them inferior merchandise at any time. However, we do not wish to be repetitious and, since our thoughts- and ideas concerning this evil are pretty well-known now to most of the people in our industry, we should like to make this a progress report combined with a plea for the coming “slack” seasons. We have just gone through .the period which begins right after Thanks- giving and ends with Christmas. In the past this period has'been recognized in our industry as one of the most trying-sessions in the year. The practice of distributors in withholding their better product during this period merely accentu- ates the natural apathy of the 'Christmas-minded public. 4 To our mind the showmanship for which our industry is noted is sadly lack- ing when we permit such a situa- tion to exist, since we not only fail to bring enough people into our theatres but we alienate those who do come with the inferior product we offer. With all this in mind, it was ex- tremely gratifying to note that, during this past pre-Christmas pe- riod, the product showed some im- provement over that offered during the same period in previous years and it should also be noted that the boxoffice immediately responded, thus proving the wisdom of even a small improvement ’in product. Generally, our business, for the four weeks beginning right after , Thanksgiving and ending with Christmas, showed a substantial improvement over the same period and it is our contention that the improvement in product was most- ly responsible for this. We are certain that the improve- ment : • product and boxoffice dur- ing the last several weeks of 1952 has created a momentum which, when combined with the fine prod- uct we know is scheduled begin- ning with the first of the year, will continue until the two weeks immeT diately prior to Easter. From cur- rent indications the quality of product comes to a standstill" for those two weeks, picks up again with Easter and continues until the beginning of May when it again slackens badly; the slack continu- ing through May and June. Com- mencing in July, we will have an excellent flow of quality product continuing right through to De- cember. | TV’s Downbeat Helps Too | It would be a tragic mistake to permit the momentum created by the pre-Christmas improvement of 1952 and the quality product be- ginning with the first of the year to come to a standstill for even the few weeks prior to Easter. To re- peat thi.s mistake in permitting a new momentum which will be cre- ated with Easter to run into a stone wall in May would be doubly tragic. There has been an espe- cially ironij twist to the May- June periods since the advent of TV. Here is the time when all the important TV programs go off the air and the competition they offer disappears for several months. And what Have we done to bring these people into our theatres and make them realize the superiority of mo- tion pictures as entertainment? We have given them the worst product available at that time, thus giving them good reason not to reacquire and keep the motion picture habit. It is time we recognized the tem- perature of the proverbial iron so that w’e could strike it while hot and give the people emerging from their houses, after a long winter at home with TV, the kind of pic- tures that will keep them coming to the movies. We urge here, and we intend to continue stressing to all distribu- tors, that they plan to make avail- able to us some of their better product during the pre-Easter and May-June periods. We have stated in the past and we again state that we exhibitors do not expect the distributors to assume all the risk. We are perfectly willing, in the in- stance of a deserving picture, to have some of the risk shifted to us by offering extended playing time and/or a minimum guarantee based upon past results. Given good product, during these orphan periods, we are certain that the exhibitors will concentrate all of their talents in an all-out effort to prove the wisdom of such a gesture, and we are just as certain that, once given such an oppor- tunity, we can also prove the wis- dom of a 52-week-a-year policy in our industry and make it a reality. ASTRUC WINS DELLUC PRIZE FOR TRAMOISF Psris The 11th Louis Delluc Prize, the French crix award for the best French film of last year, went to director Alexandre Astruc for iiis first pic “Le Rideau Cramoisi” (“The Red Curtain”). A medium- length film (50 minutes), it was to be paired with another short story film which has yet to be filmed. The pic has not been released offi- cially, but won a special, jury prize at the last Cannes Film Festival. Delluc prize is supposed to go to the pic that is the most cinemato- graphic in its treatment and ap- peal. The prize award, started by crix m 1936 was not given in 1951 be- ■ cause there were no suitable en- tries. / JACK SHAINDLIN SEASON’S GREETINGS TO ALL MY FRIENDS j, T. Abeles