Variety (November 1954)

Wednesday, November 17, 1954 HCTUBKS ‘IF WE COP’ Zeckendorf Agree They Don’t Fancy One Another Hyman Eyes RKO Studio—Meantime Owner and Still the talks continue about buying RKO from Howard Hughes, in the wake of the apparent com- plete collapse of the projected deal \vhereby the William Zeckendorf- Laureiice Rockefeller-Aristotie On- >; assis' syndicate was to take oyei* Hughes' varied business prises excepting the film company. Obviously interested in acquir- ing the outfit is Eliot Hynian, the- atrical and telepic distributor. If lie can make any real progress to- ward a firm deal it appears he could set up bank financing and bring in United Artists as one of the. participating parties. UA would pick up new RKO pix for release as its part of the blot. The purchase price (for RKO pictures) being, kicked;.;, about..in nversation is $25,000,000. 3ut neither banking reps, nor UA officials reportedly figure Hynian has made enough headway to war- rant their serious consideration of ny .plan at this time. Hyman him- self has been, reticent, ducking questions on -what encouragement he's had from Hughes, if any. ;The Zeckendorf deal blowup, was not without bitterness. Hughes, in a press statement, branded the entire situation as “rumor” and ‘•completely untrue.” He added: "I have no intention' of selling any- thing' to Mr. Zeckendorf.” Zeckendorf, who is head of Webb & Knapp, realtors, had a different version. He said, he wing- ed to the Coast from N. Y. last Wednesday (10) with the hope oi wrapping up the transaction and Hughes reneged, He stated: “We consider the deal, absolutely off due to a unilateral and completely unconscionable reversal on the part of Mr. Hughes.” Louse Us Not Up! Metro is cautioning its sales department employees not to make downbeat remarks about the company's pictures “upon which you depend .for your bread" and butter.” The warn- ing was prompted by a’ report made by an exhibitor that a branch office staffer had re- marked in the presence of tw theatre managers that a forth- coming M-G film was a “little light” on the boxoffice side. “Don’t talk, downbeat,” The Distributor, the Metro house organ, urges all bookers, sales- man, shippers, contract clerks, and fieldmen. Gist, of the warn- ing. is:. Be careful What you say. Since you ’re a. Metro em- ployee you have a potency be- yond your imagination in this business. “If you say a picture is hot too strong, there are plenty of people ^ready to swear that you. said it was awful.” San Francisco, Noy. 16. Warner Bros, has been just as ineffective as gangsters and rogue cops in curtailing the activities of private eye Sam Spade. According to a ruling passed here last week by the Ninth United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Dashiell Hammett can continue to feature Spade’s adventures in novels and on the air despite the fact that Warners’ bought certain rights to ‘^Maltese.Falcon” in 1,930. The court ruled that this did, riot prevent the author from rising Spade in other stories and turned down the film company’s claim for damages on a copyright infringe- ment suit. in By Economics, Says Babb Minneapolis, Nov, 16. Exhibitors’ present encourage- lent to and .financial aid for ‘ - dependent production and increas- ing booking of reissues will gradu- ally ease the hardship that product shortage how is causing exhibitors arid eventually drive major pro- ducers to greater activity to pro- tect their markets, in the opinion of Kroger Babb, himself an inde- pendent producer; Addressing the annual Bennie Berger 13-theatre circuit “conven- tion” here," Babb declared that part oi" the recent boxoffice troubles of which the .industry now is ridding itself was due tq its failure to curry on research soon enough to determine changing public tastes. He cited the auto industry’s tC- searchi resulting in the present new models, as a pattern for the film industry to follow. •With product scarce, it behooves oAii.bitors to extend themselves to. l.iie; ’limit in selling every picture, ".icga.rdless of the latter’s import- ance or lack of it, declared Babb, “This Is'Your Army,” 55-min.ute film in color produced for the Dept, of Defense, will be released to exhibitors’Dec. 13 at rentals suf- ficient only' to cover print costs.ancl incidental expenses. If there’s any money left 15% will go to the U. iS. Treasury and the balance to the Army Relief Fund. Trade’s handling of the pic is public service all the way. Nine film .companies are sharing its dis- tribution on a territorial basis. Na- tional Screen Service is releasing the trailer, plus a press book pre- pared by 20th-Fox. All without charge. Film is designed to acquaint the public with the scope of the Army, the; varied skills and talents re- quired to make it function effec- tively and the new weapons and equipment necessary to the nation’s defense program. In a letter to the Council of Mo- tion Picture Organizations, which is handling the project, Gen. Mat- thew B. Ridgway pledged that all Iheatremen booking the pic will have available the services of the military. Recruiting officers in each area will provide Army personnel if they’re needed for promotional purposes, stated Robert W. Coyne, COMPO’s special counsel. . While, on the surface at least; they're giving their blessings to exhibitor efforts to close the prod- uct gap by going into production and/or . production-financing, the distributors afe getting riled over the apparent contradictions in the exhibs’ position. “After years of griping and Com- plaining about our methods of sell- ing, the exhibitors are now adopt- ing a line which* were we to fol- low it. would have, every theatre- man in the country setting up a hovvl and charging us With every unfair and unethical practice in tlie book,” one company sales top- per squawked in N. Y. this, week. He claimed, that, if the exhibs Were to follow their announced plans to the letter, “they’d do a greater injustice to the little man they’re ostensibly trying to help” than had been laid at the doorstep of the distribs :at any time, in the past.. Adding to the distribs’ Irritation is the fact that some of the com- panies’ stockholders have begun to : ask the question: “Why. can’.tyou institute the kind of economies that these theatre men are propos- ing in their wri film handling?” And the .‘opinion is expressed freely by distrib spokesman that the problems of the companies, and their explanations of the vvhys- and wherefores of their policies, aren’t given a proper airing and are being ignored in the face of continuing exhibitor attacks. The sales topper quoted above cited as an example of exhib iri- (Continued on page 21) 'White Christinas’ Pacing ic Censors, Arrest Exhib; Miami Beach, Nov. 16. First attempt by police Officials to censor a motion picture exhib- ited in a Miami Beach theatre came Saturday. (13) when Martin Caplan, manager x>£ the Roosevelt Theatre, was arrested on a charge of running a film “contai ing ob- scene pictures tending to corrupt the morals of youth.” The feature in question, “Lucrezia Borgia,” continued showing, however, pend- ing disposition of the charges. An indie house, the Roosevelt had been running in the red for some time with resultant decision to book foreign films such as! "Borgia” and “Ecstasy” to hypo ! box office take.. | Legal experts here take, a dim view of the: police power to en-; force censorship to the point where ! (Continued on page 8) I ‘Army,’ Musical All-Timer Warners “This Is the. Army,” put out in 1943, looks to be losing its croivn as the industry's alltime top grosses in the musical cate- gory. Paramqunt's : “White Christ- mas,” in current circulation, - is threatening to top it. Either way, Irving: Berlin can’t lose* for “Army” was the composer’s show (Continued on page 24)-. Nevada Uber Alles RenOj Nov. 16. Producers Stirling Sillipbant and John Barnwell are hold- ing talks with local interests about the possibility of setting up a film studio in Carson City, Nev. Cited as advantages for filmmaking in the state rere no film taxes,, no state income, taxes, the free port law, arid the lack of smog. Silliphant and Barnwell are currently filming "Five Against the House’’ hole.' Film; set for Columbia release, is the story about the robbing of Harold’s Club, local gambling house. The closed-circuit telecast of last week's IVIetopera opening to 32 the- atres in 27 cities grossed an esti- mated $180,000. A breakdown of the cut Of Theatre Network Tele- vision and the Metopera is still undetermined since full reports of the charity organizations involved have not been forwarded. In all, 12 .charity-sponsored affairs were held, with the benefit groups charg- ing up to $7 per seat. The average price for non-charity situations was $3. The response to the telecast was divided.' There \was no question that it received widespread atten- tion. Newspapers in 14 cities re- viewed the event on their front page. However, there were reser- vations on the picture quality and the appearance and acting ability of many of the Metop principals. According to James Conners, Variety rep, in Albany, tile Grand Theatre, a 1.500-seater, had a turn-, out of only 850 and reduced its top from $3.30 to $2.50, a result which “left dangling the future of opera- casts here.” “In contrast, ‘Carmen' in Dec., 1952, drew around 1.100, at a $3.60 top in a driving * ‘ (Continued on page 8) Hollywood, Nov. 16. Film studio executive^ and rep- resentatives of NBC will rheet this week to decide on the - format for an all-industry. 90-minute televi- sion show. At last week’s , meeting they reached an “agreement in principle” but there Were differ- ences of opinion about its manner of presentation. Offer by NBC of 90 minutes in the “spectacular time” on Sunday, Jan, 2, was vetoed because of the short notice in putting together a mammoth production with all stu- dios presenting their stars in per- son and clips from forthcoming re- leases, Most of the 40 industry leaders attending the meeting fa- vored a later date sometime in February or March. Chief objec- tion to the proposal of three min- ute-and-a-half clips from each stu (Continued on page 77). Metro, is making a determined ef- fort to sell “Julius Caesar” to every possible situation in the country no matter how small the commu- nity. Picture, first issued, in May, 1953, has never been placed in gen- eral release, but has been sold on. a special-handling basis. It’s now hitting the small towns of 10,000 Or less population and the company ’is pressuring its sales staffers to obtain dates. M-G is dismissing the arguments that “my (Continued on page 78) Biz Still Big; ‘Xmas’ Again Champ, ‘Widow’ Second, ‘Star’ Third, ‘Cinerama,’ ‘Contes^a’ Next Trade is holding up very strong- ly in view of fact that there is the usual dip at the b.o. following the Nov. 11 holiday. Clear, mild weath- er in many sections of the country also was a downbeat factor. New product being launched this session is proving satisfactory for the most part. “White Christmas” (Par) is again champ, for third Week in succession, Bing CrosbyrDanny Kaye starrer ranges from big to record in 19 key cities covered by Variety, with a total gross of $788,000. That makes $1,878,000 this' first Vista VisiOjri . pic has registered in the past three weeks. “Black. Widow” (20th) pushing up into second position; supplant- ing “Star Is Born” (WB) in that spot, “Widow” is in some 20 keys, but jiot all of them are big. “Star,” Which is finishing third, is suffering from fact that it is playing in just 10 key cities. Pic also is riot rated as stout in the previous three weeks.. Fourth place goes to “Cinerama” (Indie), Which currently gave fur- ther signs, of wear, “Barefoot Con- tessa” (UA) again is winding up in fifth. “Drum Beat” (WB), just getting started this round,, will capture sixth money. “Waterfront” (Col) is taking seventh position while “Sa- brina” (Par) is a close eighth. “Brigadoon” (M-G) rounds out the Big Nine list. “Rear Window” (Par) and “Sud- denly” (UA) are the two runner-up pix this frame; Former has long been high on the list. Varied Array of newcomers is as varied boxoffice-wise as the type of pic.. List is notable for number of potential winners. “Carmen Jones”. (20th). shapes as a comer, beirig smash,in Frisco, solid in L.A. and .still sock in N.Y. "Last, Time I Saw Paris” (M-G), due in this week at N.Y. Capitol, is hefty in Indianapolis p.reem, being best new entry There... “Phffft” (Col), is • hefty in N.Y; and fine in Seattle. “She-WOlf” (Rep), having ail the marks of a. great exploitation pic, shapes smash in Chi and great in Buffalo. “Athena” '(.M-GL light in .L.A,..and Detroit, looms big in Chi and fine in Frisco. “Twist of Fate” (UA), okay in Chi, is fair iri Denver. “Track of Cat” (WB), fair in Denver, is rated weak ‘ Detroit. “This Is My Love” (RKO), mild, in Omaha, looks lean to fair in three other spots. “Sands of Iwo Jima”-“Wake of Red Witch” (Rep), reissue combo, ‘ nice in Cincy, good in Minneapolis and okay in Indianapolis, “High and Dry” fU),.shapes okay to big in five keys. "Bengal Bri- gade,” from same company, is smash in Chi and nice in N.Y, (Complete Boxoffice Reports ' on Pages 12-13) Trade Mark Registered POUNDED BY SIME SILVERMAN. 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