Boxoffice barometer (1962)

Silvarto Mangono, Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine, Arthur Kennedy. Producer: Dino De Laurentiis. Director: Richard Fleischer. Original (novel): Par Lagerkvist: Screenplay: Christopher Fry. • Italian co-production, with English dialog. Based on the story of the thief, Barabbas, who was saved from the cross while Christ was crucified. In Tech- niroma 70 and Color. BELLE SOMMERS (Drama). Store: Polly Bergen, David Janssen, Warren Stevens. Producer: William Sack- heim, for Astron Prods. Director: Elliot Silverstein. Original Screenplay: Richard Alan Simmons. • A former top recording stor is unable to make a comeback becouse of her earlier association with the rackets. A Broadway press agent helps her make the comeback and, in the process, exposes the strong-arm record promotion racket controlled by the underworld and smashes the hoods re- sponsible for the singer's downgrade. BEST OF ENEMIES, THE (Comedy Satire). Stars: David Niven, Alberto Sordi, Michael Wilding, David Opatshu, Noel Harrison. Producer: Dino De Lau- rentiis. Director: Guy Hamilton. Original (play): Williom Douglas Home, Abe Scarpelli. • Filmed in Israel. This is a comic treatment about war in the desert between British and Italion pa- trols. In Technirama ond Color. BYE, BYE BIRDIE (Musical). Stars: Janet Leigh, Dick Von Dyke, Jesse Peorson. Producer: Fred Kohlmor. Director: George Sidney. Original (Broadway mus- ical): Mike Stewart. Screenplay: Irving Brecher. • A musical satire, from the Broadway hit about the "sideburns" set, dealing with rock and roll singers. In Color. CASH ON DEMAND (Droma). Stars: Peter Cushing, Andre Morell. Producer: Michael Carreras (Hammer Films). Director: Quentin Lawrence. Original (play): Jacques Gillies. Screenplay: David Charrtler, Lewis Greifer. • British-made. Suspense story dealing with a doring bank theft planned by a fake insurance investigator, who forces an arrogant bank man- ager to be his unwilling accomplice by convincing him that he is holding his wife and son as hostages. CONGO VIVO (Drama). Store: Jean Seberg, Gabriele Ferzetti, Bachir Toure, Frederika Andrew. Pro- ducer: Carmine Bologna (Dino De Laurentiis Prods). Director: Giuseppe Benatti. • Itolian-made; English dialog. Filmed largely in the Belgian Congo, this is a topical story set against the background of the turbulent Congo orea. DIAMOND HEAD (Drama). Stare: Charlton Heston, George Chakiris, Yvette Mimieux. Producer: Jerry Bresler (Jerry Bresler Prods). Director: Guy Green. Original (novel): Peter Gilman. Screenplay: Mar- guerite Roberts. • Filmed in Hawaii. From the novel, "Diamond Head," this deals with present-day Hawaii and a dynastic Hawoiian family, the Howland clan. In Panavision and Color. DON'T KNOCK THE TWIST (Musical). Stars: Chubby Checker, Mari Blanchard. Producer: Sam Katzman. Director: Oscar Rudolph. Screenplay: James B. Gordon. • A musical followup to the first feature high- lighting the Twist, new dance sensation. EXPERIMENT IN TERROR (Drama). Stars: Glenn Ford, Lee Remick. Producer-Director: Blake Edwards (Geoffrey-Kate Prods). Original (novel) and Screen- play: Mildred and Gordon Gordon. • The story concerns a vicious criminal who stages a campaign of terror in order to force a pretty young bank teller into embezzling money. FAIR GAME (Comedy). Stars: William Holden. Pro- ducer: Charles K. Feldman. Director: Edward Omytryk. Original (play): Sam Locke. Screenplay: Larry Gelbort. • Played against the background of the garment district of New York City, this tells the story of a beautiful young divorcee and her adventures as a fashion model in the dress industry. FIVE FINGER EXERCISE (Drama). Stars: Rosalind Russell, Jack Hawkins, Maximilian Schell. Director: Frederick Brisson (Frederick Brisson Prods). Di- rector: Daniel Mann. Original (play): Peter Shaffer. Screenplay: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett. • A young German tutor comes to America to live with a wealthy family and becomes involved in their lives and the disintegration of the family. GIDGET GOES PARISIAN (Romance). Stars: James Darren, Deborah Walley. Producer: Jerry Bresler. Director: Not set. Screenplay: Not set. • The further adventures of Gidget and her pols, this time set in Paris. HELLIONS, THE (Drama). Stars: Richard Todd, Jamie Uys, Anne Aubrey, Jomes Booth. Producer: Harold Huth. Director: Kenneth Annakin. Original Story: Harold Swanton. Screenplay: Harold Swanton, Pat- rick Kirwan, Harold Huth. • British-made. Filmed in South Africa, this ad- venture drama is set in pioneer South Africa, when life in its frontier communities closely re- sembled that of America's lawless west. It tells the story of a lone lawman in a town terrorized by an outlaw band. In Technirama and Color. H.M.S. DEFIANT (Drama). Stars: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Anthony Quayle. Producer: John Bra- bourne. Director: Lewis Gilbert. Original (novel): Frank Tilsley. Screenplay: Edward North, Nigel Kneale. • British-made. Based on the novel, "Mutiny," this takes place in the early years of the Na- poleonic wars when press gangs roamed the Eng- lish towns to find the men for naval ships, on whioh crews suffered appalling hardships. In Cine- mascope and Color. INTERNS, THE (Droma). Stars: Cliff Robertson, Suzy Porker, Haya Harareet, Michael Callan, James McArthur, Nick Adams. Producer: Robert Cohn (Robert Cohn Prods). Director: David Swift. Or- iginal (novel): Richard Frede. Screenplay: Walter Newman. • Tells the story of the dedicated young men and women of medicine and the various problems they encounter during their internships at a metro- politan hospital, both professionally and in their personal lives. IT'S TRAD, DAD (Musical). Stars: Chubby Checker, Helen Shapiro. Producer: Milton Subotsky (Amicus). Director: Richard Lester. Screenplay: Milton Subot- sky. ® Filmed on both sides of the Atlantic, this fea- tures top personalities and bands specializing in the new Dixieland jazz vogue. JASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE (Classic Drama). Stars: Nancy Kovack, Todd Armstrong, Gary Ray- mond, Laurence Naismith. Producer: Charles H. Schneer. Director: Don Chaffey. Screenplay: Jan Read, Beverly Cross. o Filmed in Southern Europe, this tells the classic Greek mythological tale of Jason and his search for the Golden Fleece. In Dynamotion 90 and Color. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (Adventure Drama). Stars: Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, Claude Rains, Peter O'- Toole. Producers: Sam Spiegel, David Lean (Hori- zon Piets). Director: David Lean. Original Story: T. E. Lawrence. Screenplay: Not set. • British-made. The story of T. E. Lowrence, soldier-author, set against the background of the African desert and tne tribes that roam its wilder- ness. This deals with the British adventurer's own account of the 1916-18 war in the desert. In Color. LILITH (Drama). Stars: Not set. Producer-Director: Robert Rossen (Rossen Enterprises). Original (novel): J. R. Salamonca. Screenplay: Robert Alan Aurthur. • Tells the story of a young man who, after be- ing discharged trom the army, becomes a male nurse in a mental institution and falls in love with a beautiful inmate suffering from schizophrenia. MOTHRA (Science-Fiction Drama). Stars: Franky Sa- kai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yumi Itoh. Producer: Tomo- yuki Tanaka (Toho Prods). Director: Inoshiro Honda. Screenplay: Shinichi Sekizawa. • Japanese-made; English-dubbed. This is a sci- ence-riction thriller about a monster that threatens the world. In Tohoscope ond Color. NOTORIOUS LANDLADY, THE (Comedy Droma). Stars: Kim Novak, Jock Lemmon, Fred Astaire. Producers: Fred Kohlmor, Richard Quine (Kohlmar- Quine Prods). Director: Richard Quine. Original Story: Margery Sharpe. Screenplay: Larry Gelbart, Blake Edwards. e About a young American embassy official who has some strange experiences after renting a Lon- don apartment from an English girl whose hus- band has disappeared under mysterious circum- stances. PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, THE (Adventure Drama). Stars: Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, Oliver Reed. Producer: Anthony Nelson-Keys (Hammer Film). Director: John Gilling. Screenplay: John Hunter, John Gilling. • British-made. Set in the British West Indies in the 18th century a beautiful girl becomes in- volved in a series of romantic escapades with two handsome adventurers. In Megascope and Color. REACH FOR GLORY (Drama). Stars: Kay Walsh, Harry Andrews. Producers: John Kohn, Jud Kinberg (Kohn-Kinberg Prods). Director: Philip Leacock. Original (novel): John Rae. Screenplay: John Kohn, Jud Kinberg, John Rae. e British-made. Based on the controversial first novel, "The Custard Boys," by John Rae, about the effect of war upon people too young to fight it. Tells of a group of tough, amoral school boys evacuated from the bombed cities during World Wor II and who, bored by country life routines, try the dangerous game of simulating the excite- ment of combat in their day-to-day play. RELUCTANT SAINT, THE (Drama). Stars: Maximil- ian Schell, Richard Montalban. Producer: Sam Weiler. Director: Edward Dmytryk. Screenplay: John Fonte, Joseph Petracca. , • Filmed in Italy. The trials and tribulations of St. Joseph on his road from simple peasant to sainthood. REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT (Drama). Stars: An- thony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris. Producer: David Susskind. Director: Ralph Nelson. Original (play): Rod Serling. • The story of an aging prizefighter and his struggle to gain recognition and to regain his self-respect. SAFE AT HOME! (Baseball Drama). Stars: Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, William Frawley. Producers: Tom Naud, Mitchell Hamilburg. Director: Walter Doniger. Original Story: Tom Naud, Steve Ritch. Screenplay: R. Dillon. • The story of a little-leaguer who has the joy of meeting two "big" big-leaguers, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. SAIL A CROOKED SHIP (Comedy). Stors: Robert Wag- ner, Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Ernie Kovacs, Frankie Avalon, Fronk Gorshin. Producer: Philip Barry jr. (Philip Barry Prods). Director: Irving Brecher. Original (novel): Nathaniel Benchley. Screenplay: Ruth Brooks Flippen, Bruce Geller. e A racketeer turned amateur sea saptain com- mandeers a ship from the moth-ball fleet anchored in the Hudson River and sails to Boston, object bank robbery. A young businessman, interested in the ship, and his wealthy fiancee are kidnaped and share in the ensuing mixups. SENELITA (Drama). Stars: Anthony Franciosa, Claudia Cardinale. Producer: Morris Ergas. Director: Mauro Bolognini. • A drama of love and trust. 13 WEST STREET (Melodrama). Stars: Alan Ladd, Rod Steiger, Dolores Dorn, Michael Callan. Producer: William Bloom (Ladd Enterprises). Director: Philip Leacock. Original (novel): Leigh Brackett. Screen- play: Bernard Schoenfeld, Robert Presnell jr. • From the novel, "The Tiger Among Us," this is the story of a steel company worker who is bodly beaten by a band of teenagers for no ap- parent reason. Upon recovering, he relentlessly tracks down the young toughs. THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES, THE (Comedy). Stars: Vicki Trickett, Quinn Redeker, The Three Stooges, George N. Neise, Samson Burke, The Mc- Keever Twins. Producer: Norman Maurer (Nor- mondy). Director: Edward Bernds. Original Story: Norman Maurer. Screenplay: Elwood Ullman. • A beautiful girl becomes involved with the Stooges as they pit their wits against the ancient legendary hero in the hilarious story of a screw- ball time machine which transports them back through time to ancient Greece. TRY, TRY AGAIN (Comedy). Stars: Jack Lemmon, Debbie Reynolds. Producer: Robert Cohn (Robert Cohn Prods). Director: Michael Gordon. Original Screenplay: Winston Miller. • A sophisticated comedy about the trials and tribulations of a young married couple. TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK (Musical). Stars: Chubby Checker, Dion, Clay Cole, Vicki Spencer. Producer: Sam Katzman (Four Leaf Prods). Director: Oscat Rudolph. Original Story and Screenplay: James B. Gordon. • A full-length feature highlighting the new dance craze. UNDERWATER CITY (Science-Fiction Drama). Stars: William Lundigan, Julie Adams, Chet Douglas. Pro- ducer: Alex Gordon (Neptune Prods). Director: Frank McDonald. Screenplay: Owen Harris. • The story of a space engineer who is given the difficult assignment of building the first self-sus- taining city beneath the sea. Romantic interest centers around the engineer and the daughter of a prominent scientist in charge of the operation. In Fantascope. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (Drama). Stars: Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda, Anne Baxter, Bar- bara Stanwyck. Producer: Charles K. Feldman (Fa- mous Artists). Director: Edward Dmytryk. Original (novel): Nelson Algren. Screenplay: John Fante, Ed- mund Morris. c A love story set against the colorful back- ground of West Texas and New Orleans 30 years ago. This portrays the efforts of a preacher's son to find a girl he had once known. He finds her in a brothel ond ultimately succeeds in the diffi- cult task of releasing her from bondage. WAR LOVER, THE (Drama). Stors: Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Shirley Anne Field. Producer: Ar- thur Hornblow jr. Director: Philip Leacock. Original (novel): John Hersey. Screenplay: Howard Koch. • Filmed in England. The story of an American bomber pilot, a "wor lover," who glories in dan- ger as he leads his crew on missions against the enemy from an American base in Englond during World War II. ZOTZ! (Comedy). Stars: Tom Poston, Julia Meade, Jim Backus, Fred Clark, Cecil Kellaway. Producer- Director: William Castle (William Castle Prods). Original (novel): Walter Karig. Screenplay: Ray Russell. • A college professor discovers that an ancient coin is invested with magical powers which enable him to suspend motion by merely pointing his finger. Continental Distributing (October through December, 1961) CALL ME GENIUS (Comedy). Stars: Tony Hancock, George Sanders, Paul Massie, Margit Saad, Gre- goire Aslan, Irene Handl, Dennis Price. Producer: W. A. Whittaker (Associated British-Pathe). Di- rector: Robert Day. Original Story: Tony Hancock, Alan Simpson, Ray Galton. Screenplay: Alan Simp- son, Ray Galton. • British-made; released in England as "The Rebel." A bowler-hatted clerk from London goes to Paris to work on colossal sculptures and infantile paintings. His roomate, an abstract artist, is dis- couraged and leaves his paintings behind, where they are mistaken for the work of the clerk, leading to various mixups until the final solution. In Color. Oct. 1961. FROM A ROMAN BALCONY (Drama). Stars: Jean Sorel, Lea Massari, Rik Battaglia, Jeanne Valerie, Poolo Stoppa. Producer: Paul Graetz. Director: Mauro Bolognini. Original (stories): Alberto Mor- avia. Screenplay: Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini. • Italian-language; English titles. The picture cen- ters on the sexual adventures of the hero, father of an illegitimate son, during his day-long search for a job. During these hours, he has an affair B O X OFFICE 141