Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1962)

FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis; Exploits; Adlines for Newspapers and Programs THE STORY: "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (WB) At the early age of six, Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) is a vaudeville star and supports her family, including sister Blanche (Joan Crcrwford). Baby Jane, of course, gets all the attention, leaving Blanche in the background. As they Vo°r* grow older, Blanche becomes a top film star as Jane's career dwindles. At the height of Blanche's career, an accident leaves her a cripple for life. Years later the two sisters live alone with Jane living a life of guilt for the accident. Her mind has snapped until she is almost overcome with complete madness, but she still hates her sister. Upon learning that Blanche plans to send her away to be cored for, Jane tries to kill her by starving her. Jane is forced to kill the housekeeper who discovers Blanche tied and bound in an upstairs bedroom. Fearing the police will take her away, Jane puts Blanche in the car and drives to the beach. Here Blanche confesses that it was she who had caused the earlier accident. Jane seems somewhat relieved by the admission and it is at this point the police discover the pair. EXPLOITIPS: Make bookstore tiein on the Henry Farrel novel. Use Davis and Crawford names in all ads. CATCHLINES: See Bette Davis and Joan Crawford Together for the First Time on the Screen, Both Academy Award Winners! THE STORY: "Escape From East Berlin" (MGM) A young German (Karl Schell) attempts to run the Berlin Wall in a utility truck, but half way through he is shot and ^ f.’.Maj killed by the East German border guards, all of which is ■•o witnessed by a close friend (Don Murray). The following day, Christine Kaufmann seeks her brother who did not return home the night before. Murray tells her of his escape attempt. In the meantime, Murray's family is also anxious to escape, but Murray is reluctant to help. Only due to his growing attachment for Miss Kaufmann and pressures from the family, does he agree to help. In the basement of their home which borders the wall, he starts digging a tunnel which stretches for enough into the Western sector to assure their escape. As the tense moment nears for the actual escape, the East Germans arrive to prevent the escape, only to hove the tunnel collapse in their faces as the family makes good their escape. EXPLOITIPS: Make tieins with current headlines on the Berlin crisis. Display various art of Berlin Wall in lobby. CATCHLINES Actually Filmed in Germany Where 28 Germans Escaped Earlier This Year Through the Famed Tunnel . . . See the Flight tO' Freedom, Filmed Where It Happened. THE STORY: "Two for the Seesaw" (UA) Robert Mitchum, a lawyer from Omaha whose marriage has broken up, wanders into a Greenwich Village party and meets a girl from the Bronx, Miss MacLaine. Their friendship ripens into love, at least on her side, but Mitchum won't admit he loves her because he still carries a torch for his wife. He studies for the New York bar examination after getting a job in a low office. And he rents a loft for Miss MacLaine who gives dancing lessons to children. Their companionship obviously is intimate and w"hen she has an operation for ulcers, he takes core of her. But the girl realizes that he is still in love with his wife and that their chances of ever marrying become more and more remote. And she is convinced when Mitchum tells her he is going back to Nebraska. They say goodbye by telephone and it is then that he tells her he loves her. But he leaves, both apparently broken hearted. EXPLOITIPS: Stress that the picture was based on a most successful Broadwcry ploy. Arrange a "blind date" theatre party. An album has been made of the background music sound track, so a tieup with music stores con be arranged. CATCHLINES: They Learned Some Truths About Themselves From Each Other . . . Two Lonely Hearts Were Beating — About the Bush ... A Rafter Romance That Raises the Rafters With Laughter. THE STORY: "The War Lover" (Col) Captain Steve McQueen, pilot of a Flying Fortress during World War II, is often censured by his superiors for taking tremendous risks which endanger the lives of his crew. His copilot, Robert Wagner, is of a more cautious nature, but the two are buddies until Wagner meets a British girl, Shirley Anne Field, and a romance develops. McQueen, a true "war lover" who is restless when not flying into conflict, is merely physically attracted to Shirley and, when he makes advances, she repulses him. Wagner then realizes McQueen's selfish attitude toward others. On a bombing mission over the English channel, the Flying Fortress is badly damaged and, at projt Wagner's urging, McQueen orders the crew to bail out. ' McQueen attempts to take the plane in alone, but he crashes 'tlC into the Dover cliffs. Wagner is then reunited with Shirley. EXPLOITIPS: Concentrate your campaign on John Hersey's novel, which was a best-seller. Arrange for bookshop window displays of the Bantam Books edition, being issued to 100,000 retail outlets in the U.S. Stress that Steve McQueen was the TV star of "Wanted: Dead or Alive." CATCHLINES John Hersey's Major Novel of World War II — Now a Stunning Motion Picture ... To Him War Was Ecstasy— His Passion for His Heavy Bomber Was Like His Passion for a Woman's Body. THE STORY: "The Legend of Lobo" (BV) When Lobo's parents ore killed, he becomes a lone wolf and the smartest animal on the range. The cattlemen place a bounty on his head but he always escapes. Eventually he joins a new pack, becomes its leader and wins a pretty black female for his mate. They go to a deserted Indian cliff dwelling, reached only by a tree trunk across a gorge, and raise a family. The female, after she gives birth to a litter, is captured by cattlemen and used as a lure to kill Lobo. But Lobo outsmarts them and, by causing a stampede of cattle, is able to release his mate from a stockade during the confusion. The pair return home, collect their young ones and, with the apparent realization that the territory now v/ill be impossible to live in, strike out for a new and unsettled area. EXPLOITIPS: Pet stores and pet clubs should be an excellent source of cooperation. Arrange a private showing for pet club officers. Although wolves are hardly in the class with pets, there ore tieins possible with shops carrying pet equipment. Stress that this is a Walt Disney production. CATCHLINES: The True Story of the Most Notorious Wolf on the Western «;pFr Range . . . Watch a Famous V/olf Grow From a Pup to Become the Most Hunted Animal in the West . . . He Was King of the Pack and Was Feared by Man and Beast. THE STORY: "We'll Bury You!" (Col) This is a resume of events which have transpired on the international scene reflecting the build-up of Communism on a worldwide basis. With the present crisis in Cuba, the Berlin wall and outbreaks of Communist aggression in the For East, it tells the story photographically of the Red drive lor world domination. If the expression is true that one picture is worth a thousand words, here is a most effective weapon to fight Communism by showing the effects of its dominance in other lands. No speeches nor published comments could be as effective as these actual photographs of aggressive acts in Communist-dominated countries. It is a historic record of the rise of a doctrine which downgrades the individual and upgrades the importance of the state. EXPLOITIPS: Local veteran groups, such as the American Legion and others, should be contacted. Secondary schools and colleges, women's clubs and men's service clubs con also be helpful in pushing attendance as educationally valuable. /•Auk CATCHLINES: ;tal Shocking, Authentic, Uncensored Films Showing MasterPlan for World Conquest! . . . See Castro's Betrayal of Cuba Daring Escapes Over the Berlin Wall . . . The Hungarian Massacre . . . Blood Baths and Mass Purges. BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: Nov. 5, 1962