Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

AT NATIONAL SCREEN’S SALES CONVENTION— National Screen Service’s expanded 1963-64 Showmandizing program, involving a cost of approximately 85 per cent greater than that of its 1962-63 output was detailed at the recent national sales convention of its branch managers at the Ascot Hotel in Chicago. In the photo, left to right, seated: Fred Weimar, Los Angeles branch manager; Walter E. Branson, vice-president in charge of distribution; Melvin L. Gold, general sales manager who presided; Burton E. Robbins, chief executive officer and president, and branch managers William Beirs, Cincinnati; Kenneth Friedman, Seattle; R. M. Simril, Charlotte, and Milton Feinberg, Chicago. Standing: Perry Seif ter, head of the home office contract department; branch managers Jack Lustig of Denver, J. L. Boyer of New Orleans, A1 Rothschild of St. Louis, Paul Ayotte of Minneapolis, Jack W’inningham of Kansas City, Irving Marcus of Pittsburgh, Julie Fine of New York, Stanley Goldberg of Philadelphia, D. J. Rossi of Boston, Ivan Clavet of Detroit, Charles P. Lester of Atlanta, Ray Richman of San Francisco and Paul Short of Dallas. Federal Judge Approves Mass. Theatre for AB-PT NEW YORK — Approval has been granted to AB-Paramount Theatres by Federal Judge Edmund L. Palmieri to complete construction of a new 800-seat house in Chelsea, Mass. Under terms of the order, AB-PT must, when the new theatre is opened, stop showing pictures at their recently operated Chelsea house, the Olympia. Another court order will be required for AB-PT to reopen or replace the Olympia. The ruling by Judge Palmieri was made necessary by a previous consent decree. George Sidney to Produce Academy Awards Show HOLLYWOOD — George Sidney, noted motion picture producer-director, has been named producer of the 36th Annual Academy Awards presentation, it was announced by Arthur Freed, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who handled the post for the last four years. Sidney will be in charge of all details of the production of the Oscar Show, April 13, 1964, to be held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Sidney has been president of the Directors Guild of America for 12 years. Lippert Forms British Company for Features LONDON — Robert L. Lippert, who specializes in low-budget pictures, has formed a new British company, Lippert Films, Ltd., to produce features in England for worldwide distribution by 20th CenturyFox. Many of his Hollywood films in the past were released globally by 20th-Fox. His first under the new banner, now being filmed, is “The Horror of It All,” starring America’s Pat Boone with Erica Rogers, Dennis Price, Valentine Dyall and Andree Melly. In Rome, Seymour Poe, 20th-Fox executive vice-president, finalized the deal for the company to take over worldwide distribution of “La Vendetta della Signora,” which is being co-produced by Cinecitta and Dearfilm, Italian companies, and French and German companies. The film, which will be released in the U.S. and Canada as “The Visit,” the title of the Broadway stage play by Friedrich Duerrenmatt on which the picture is based, stars Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn with Irina Demich, Paolo Stoppa, Valentina Cortesa, Romolo Valli and Claude Dauphin. Directing is Bernhard Wicki. Trade Secrets Trial Won By National Rejectors ST. LOUIS — Culminating an 11 -month courtroom trial that involved 18,000 pages of testimony, circuit judge Robert J. Kirkwood decided in favor of National Rejectors in its trade secrets lawsuit against three former employes, Coin Acceptors and The Vendo Co. Judge Kirkwood found that the defendants’ disloyalty to the plaintiffs caused National Rejectors a substantial loss for which it is entitled to requitable relief in the form of an injunction, an accounting and damages. Defendants were ordered to compensate National Rejectors, a subsidiary of Universal Match Corp., for injury suffered through loss of sales and profits, caused by the “defendants’ unfair competition.” The suit, begun in October 1960, charged that the three former employes had conspired to steal trade secrets used in the production of National Rejectors coin devices while still in the employ of the company during 1957-59, these employes later quitting and organizing Coin Acceptors. Vendo was charged with joining the new company in the alleged conspiracy. AIP Sets 'Comedy of Terrors' Release Up to December HOLLYWOOD — American International Pictures sales and distribution head Leon P. Blender this week announced that the company had moved up the release date of its recently completed “The Comedy of Terrors” to the latter part of December in response to numerous requests. Blender said the unprecedented exhibitor response was due to the many high-priced Christmas roadshow films on the market and the scarcity of top-quality, general run, regular admission-priced films. This situation, he continued, brought AIP a wave of requests from theatre owners and circuits around the country as soon as the Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone starring terror comedy was announced as completed. 'THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST SUPPLIER OF PERSONALIZED PRINTED ACCESSORIES FOR THE THEATREMAN' window cards • heralds • calendars • ad mats (ESTABLISHED 1924) F ILM E XHIBITORS P RINTING Co. ESTHER L. GREEN OWNER AND GENERAL MANAGER 219 223 No. 16th St. Phone 346 2688 BOX 795 OMAHA 1, NEBRASKA 68101 10 BOXOFFICE :: October 28, 1963