Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1961)

MGM Sets 7 Family Films For Summer Release NEW YORK — Exhibitor requests for summer product that will be suitable for family audiences have been met by MGM, which has slated seven pictures for release during the next three months. Meeting with the tradepress Thursday 1 8 > , Robert Mochrie, general sales manager, said that theatremen had expressed the hope that MGM would have films that would not be sex-laden while children were out of school. Leading off the summer program will be "Ada,” starring Dean Martin and Susan Hayward, to be followed by “The Honeymoon Machine” in late July and "Bridge to the Sun,” which will open in Washington, San Francisco and Tokyo on August 10. Mochrie said the company would offer a combination program consisting of “Magic Boy,” a feature-length cartoon from Japan, and “The Secret of Monte Cristo,” which exhibitors can book separately or together. “Morgan the Pirate” will have saturation openings in July, with between 500 and 600 prints, as will “Thief of Baghdad” in August, both being Joseph Levine productions. Mochrie predicted that the current release of “Gone With the Wind” would gross $7,500,000 this time around. He was particularly high on the prospects for “King of Kings,” “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” and “Mutiny on the Bounty,” having seen parts of the latter two. “Kings” will be released on the same roadshow pattern as “Ben-Hur.” With regard to releasing pictures on a so-called orderly basis, Mochrie said that “disorderly” release never was done deliberately; that pictures were released as they were ready and in order to provide a flow of product. He said that, because many factors could change the release dates, it was impossible to set releases far in advance and be able to maintain such a schedule. On pictures such as “Ben-Hur” and “King of Kings,” Mochrie stated they could not be offered for bidding, but, because of their high production costs, required placement in the best houses that would return the most revenue. This policy had received approval of the Department of Justice and, therefore, was not a violation of the consent decrees, he said. Robert Mochrie Japanese Film to F-A-W NEW YORK — Films-Around-the-World has acquired U. S. distribution rights to “The Ballad of Narayama,” a prize-winning Japanese film based on a legend of ancient Nipp according to Irvin Shapiro, head of F-A The picture, which was directed by Kei Kinoshita, will have its American prem ' at the recently-opened Carnegie Hall Ci n Manhattan. Thomas Edison Installed In NYU Hall of Fame NEW YORK — Thomas Alva Edison, who developed the motion picture camera, the first practical electric light, the phonograph and other inventions, was installed in the Hall of Fame of Great Americans at New York University June 4 and was hailed as “the immortal symbol of our Technological Age.” A bronze bust of Edison, fashioned by sculptor Bryant Baker, was unveiled by the inventor’s children, Charles Edison, former governor of New Jersey, and Mrs. Madeleine Edison Sloane. Brig. Gen. David Sarnoff, chairman of the Radio Corp. of America and a trustee of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation, was the principal speaker. Other speakers included Mary Pickford, former screen star who is also a trustee of the Edison Foundation; Harvey S. Firestone jr., Sherman R. Knapp and Walter L. Cisler. Defeat Brazilian Dubbing NEW YORK — Proposed Brazilian legislation which would have required dubbing in Portuguese in Brazil of all imported pictures has been defeated by the Brazilian Congress. The proposal, in addition to the dubbing of dialog, would have required all musical backgrounds to be rerecorded by Brazilian orchestras. The Motion Picture Export Ass’n had been fighting the proposal for many months. DISCUSS AIP RELEASE— Roger Corman, producer of “The Pit and the Pendulum” for American International Pictures, held a tradepress luncheon at New York’s Absinthe House to discuss the September release of the film and forthcoming pictures for AIP. With him, seated, is William Reich, vicepresident in charge of foreign distribution for AIP. “The Pit and the Pendulum” is in color and Panavision and stars Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele and Luana Anders. 'Naked Edge' Promotion Demonstrated in Keys NEW YORK— United Artists will introduce its “living pressbook” demonstrations for “The Naked Edge” in theatres in 12 U. S. key cities June 20, according to James R. Velde, vice-president in charge of domestic sales, and Fred Goldberg, executive director of advertising, publicity and exploitation. In each city, UA sales and advertising, publicity and exploitation personnel will take over a theatre for part of the day to provide exhibitors with “The Naked Edge” promotion campaign in action. Each theatre will be equipped with the lobby displays, marquee displays, radio-TV spots, teaser and regular trailers and all materials will utilize the flashing red suspense light to signal the start of the final 13 minutes of the film, during which no patrons will be seated. The “living pressboox” demonstrations will be held at Loew’s Sheridan, New York City; the Viking in Philadelphia; Loew’s Grand, Atlanta; the Carnegie in Chicago; the Village in Los Angeles; the Penn, Pittsburgh; the Orpheum, Boston; the Majestic, Dallas; the Palm State, Detroit; the Roxy, Kansas City; the Paramount, Denver, and the Odeon in Toronto. Gala World Premieres For 'Deadly Companions' TUCSON, ARIZ. — A Hollywood-style world premiere of “The Deadly Companions” was held here Tuesday night (6). Executives of Pathe-America Distributing Co., Inc., National Theatres and Theatre Owners of America attended. A plane party was headed by Budd Rogers, Pathe-America president; James S. Burkett, vice-president and general sales manager of Pathe Laboratories; Sheldon Smerling, executive vice-president of National Theatres, and Ted Thedford, general manager of Fox West Coast Theatres. Also aboard were producer Charles B. FitzSimons and stars Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran and Chill Wills. The next night the Hollywoodites attended a gala opening of the same film in Phoenix. Arizona dignitaries included Gov. Paul Fannin and Tucson Mayor Don Hummel, who attended the premieres of the Carousel Productions’ outdoor drama, which was filmed in and around Aucson. Van Dyke Is Re-elected Screen Directors Head NEW YORK— Willard Van Dyke, creator of “The City” and other industrial documentary pictures, was unanimously reelected to serve a second term as president of the Screen Directors Guild. Other officers elected to serve for a one -year period were: Don Hershey, first vice-president; Jack Glenn, second vice-president; Joseph Lerner, secretary, and Robert J. Kingsley, treasurer. George L. George will continue as executive secretary and Erwin Feldman as Guild counsel. This year’s election meeting had been postponed for three weeks so that the Guild’s first international convention could be held in Cannes and Paris at the time of the recent Cannes Film Festival. The 59 SDG members attending traveled by chartered plane to show outstanding films by directors and to confer with fellow filmmakers in Paris. 10 BOXOFFICE :: June 12, 1961