Boxoffice barometer (1963)

nationwide Poll names Screen’s Who's Who *« Exhibitors, Press and Public Film Groups Make Selections POPULHRITV 3 . Alt A mencun THE WINNERS Male 1. CARY GRANT 2. ROCK HUDSON 3. BURT LANCASTER 4. PAUL NEWMAN 5. JOHN WAYNE 6. JACK LEMMON 7. CHARLTON HESTON 8. GLENN FORD 9. JAMES STEWART 10. KIRK DOUGLAS 11. WILLIAM HOLDEN 12. TONY CURTIS Female 1. DORIS DAY 2. SHIRLEY MacLAINE 3. AUDREY HEPBURN 4. SOPHIA LOREN 5. DEBBIE REYNOLDS 6. ELIZABETH TAYLOR 7. NATALIE WOOD 8. KIM NOVAK 9. SUSAN HAYWARD 10. SANDRA DEE 11. JOANNE WOODWARD 12. DEBORAH KERR By E. S. NELSON C ARY Grant and Doris Day- reign as the King and Queen of the screen stars in BOX- OFFICE's 26th annual All-American Screen Favorites Poll for 1962. Re- sults this year, with only a few slight changes from the 1961 poll, indicate that, while stars may come and stars may go, the real pros retain their popularity year after year. They may move up and down the ladder a rung or two, or more, but still occupy a place of honor among the top echelon. This is the second time around for this royal pair, having shared the No. 1 spot in the 1960 BOXOFFICE poll. Grant reverses positions with Rock Hudson and Miss Day crowds out Elizabeth Taylor, the latter moving down to sixth place among the feminine contingent. A long-time screen personality and poll champion, Cary Grant led the male contingent for three suc- cessive years—1958, 1959 and 1960. Having dropped to fourth place in 1961, he has regained the "throne" in 1962. It is his 17th time among the Top Winners since his initial appear- ance in 1940, thus giving him the distinction of having maintained top star status on the BOXOFFICE poll for 17 out of 22 years. Doris Day moves up from second place last year, having held second position among the female winners for the years 1957, 1959 and 1961, having moved down one step to third place in 1958. She first climbed to the higher rungs of popularity in 1951, gradually rising to the number three spot in 1956. An important addition to the 1962 roster is the name of Sophia Loren, who places fourth in her first appear- ance among the winning array of stars since her name first was placed on the ballot in 1957. While most of her films have been Italian imports, she has been popular in America and her first English-language film, "Boy on a Dolphin" for 20th-Fox, made her eligible for the poll. She won an Academy Award for 1961 as best actress for her role in "Two Women," an Embassy film released in both Italian-1 a n g u a g e and English-dubbed versions. Special mention is also due Paul Newman and Charlton Heston, this being the first appearance of both on the male roster, the former zoom- ing to fourth place and the latter achieving seventh position. Absent this year from the Top Twelve male winners are Marlon Brando, who placed ninth last year and Gregory Peck, who ranked eleventh. Brando's slight drop to first posi- tion in the Runners-up this year is probably due to his having appeared in no new films since "One-Eyed Jacks" for Paramount in 1961. He is currently appearing in "Mutiny on the Bounty" for MGM. Gregory Peck's only film following his box- office smash, "The Guns of Nava- rone" (Col), was "Cape Fear" (Univ) in 1962, which did just fair business. Shirley MacLaine moves up two notches to second place in the top ranks, her fourth appearance on the poll. Her recent films are "The Children's Hour" (UA), "My Gei- sha" (Para) and currently, "Two for the Seesaw" (UA), Miss MacLaine, wife of producer Steve Parker, has come a long way since her initial role in "The Trouble With Harry," which she made for Paramount in 1956. On the male side, Rock Hudson moves down to second position from first place in 1961. Having made his film debut in 1948 with a small part in "Fighter Squadron" (WB), Hudson received his big break in 1954 when he played the lead in "Magnificent Obsession" (Univ), opposite Jane Wyman, which boosted him to over- night stardom. He also starred op- posite Elizabeth Taylor in "Giant" (WB, 1956) and was a sensation in "Pillow Talk" (Univ, 1959) with Doris Day. Latest films, both Universal, are "Lover, Come Back" with Doris Day and "The Spiral Road" with Burl Ives. Among the women stars, Audrey Hepburn is elevated to third place in the current poll from the tenth spot last year. This makes her seventh appearance since winning fifth place honors in 1954. Her role in "Roman Holiday," which Paramount has re- issued, won her an Oscar when it first was released in 1953. Recent films were "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Para) and "The Children's Hour" (UA). Burt Lancaster, who won an Oscar (Continued on page 23) BOXOFFICE 19