Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

Fairway Int'l Schedules Four Films for Release HOLLYWOOD — Fairway International Films executive L. Steven Snyder this week announced that his company would release four new pictures during the coming year, with four others in preparation or slated for production in 1964. Releases scheduled include “The Sadist,” which has played a few areas in late 1963; “The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies!” starring Cash Flagg; the Charles Bros.’ “Drivers Into Hell,” and “What’s Up Front,” with Tommy Holden. Two of the pictures are in Technicolor and all are scheduled for release beginning in January. In preparation are “Johnny Eagle” and “Deadwood.” Slated for production during the summer of 1964 are “Live It Up” and “Striganza.” The latter will be filmed in Europe and will star Arch Hall jr. and Helen Hovey. Book Review MAX GORDON PRESENTS— Bernard Geiss Associates — 306 Pages Although Max Gordon principally is identified with the Broadway stage, he did have a brief, and unsuccessful, fling in motion pictures. This autobiography, written in association with Lewis Funke of The New York Times, is interesting reading for all folks in show business in that it tells of the trials and tribulations of becoming a producer, holding the spotlight after the first successes and the heartaches that go with the occasional flops. The book takes the reader backstage to the problems of financing, staging and controversies with collaborators and partners. Gordon pulls no punches in revealing some of the unethical methods used by some of the characters who crossed his path over the years, but he shows no bitterness. His real name is Melchel Salpeter and he was raised on the lower East Side of New York. At an early age he was smitten with the stage bug, augmented somewhat by his brother Cliff who won renown in vaudeville as the German Senator. Starting as an advance man for the Bellman Show, Gordon saw the commercial possibilities of one-act plays on vaudeville and with a partner, A1 Lewis, was the top producer of such acts. He eventually became a top executive of the Orpheum circuit before embarking on his career as a Broadway producer. Across the pages run the great names of show business. Among his stage successes, several of which became motion pictures, were “Three’s a Crowd,” “The Band Wagon,” “Roberta,” “The Cat and the Fiddle,” “The Great Waltz,” “The Women,” “My Sister Eileen,” “Dodsworth,” “The Late George Apley,” “Junior Miss,” “The Doughgirls,” “The Solid Gold Cadillac” and “Born Yesterday.” Gordon’s one stab at pictures was “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” based on his personally produced play, but the film, despite its quality, was a financial fiasco. “Max Gordon Presents” should be in every showman’s library. — AL STEEN LETTERS One Manager's Opinion I read your article, “Progress on Product,” and in the process came across a paragraph which lit the fuse and brought forth this letter. Quoting Edward L. Hyman, vice-president of Paramount Theatres, from your article, “Quality in and of itself does not guarantee success at the boxoffice. I urge all exhibitors to pitch in and work at the grass-roots level to make such success a reality.” By the phrase “grass-roots level,” I take it to mean the local level of campaigning. Now let’s be truthful and out in the open about this end of show business. I have been reading stories written by vice-presidents and by theatre owners for many years. The vice-presidents want more cooperation from Hollywood, and in all this, who is the forgotten man? Managers. I think I speak for most theatre managers. We all have basically the same problem. First, we usually receive bookings only a few weeks before the playdate, too late to get any campaign started. We order paper and also request and receive the usual pressbook. This little gem is full of wonderful ideas, thought up by some fellow who has nothing else to do but sit around and think them up. Fashion features, film shorts available in 16mm, tie-ins with soap companies or you name it, contests of all kinds, have your mayor proclaim this and that day, special screenings, and the latest one suggested arranging a charity ball. Now let’s face it. Again, I say, I’m speaking for the average theatre manager, not one that owns a piece of the business, or one that is fortunate to have two or three assistant managers, but the average man who works six days a week including holidays, earns an average salary, and has all the headache that goes with managing a theatre. Do the theatre owners and vice-presidents really expect this man to be effervescency enthusiastic about every week’s program? When is he supposed to have time to carry out all these marvelous ideas? How many hours in the day is he expected to work? Do these people expect him to spend the better part of the day making contacts, talking with people, arranging all the many details that make up one of these campaigns and operate the theatre at night? At five o’clock every day and on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays I can guess where these vice-presidents are. This letter is not written entirely out of anger, but to bring forward some of the facts that we all know of and never seem to talk about. The ideas for campaigns will continue to come and the theatre owners will nod their approval, but in most cases, that’s as far as it will go. It would be too presumptuous of me to write a solution to this problem, so I shall leave that to the men with all the ideas. NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST The Cause of Sloppy Changeovers I received your October 7 issue of Boxoffice, and was much impressed with the article by Wesley Trout concerning film splicing and changeover marks. Ironically, I received a print today on “The Secret of Nina Duprez,” and was very astonished at (Letters must be signed. Names withheld on request) the markings at the end of each reel for changeovers. The markings consisted of a double circle and a huge “X” on the right side of the film, along with a single cue on the LEFT side of the film. Also, the first “mess” was a good foot and a half late, putting it closer to the changeover cue. I agree with Mr. Trout 100 per cent, that there is no reason for damaging film this way and something should be done about it. We are a first-run theatre, and when such things as a sloppy changeover are exposed to the public, I consider that time for action. It is understood, of course, that these improper marks could be cut out. But, when an “X” scratched in the emulsion covers five or six frames, much of the dialog could be missed. I also think that if the exchanges examined their prints after each run, much of this could be detected, and the persons responsible could be caught and made to pay for damage to the film. Some of these sloppy operators seem to forget what the term “changeover” means, so I’d like to give them a refresher course. “A changeover is the act of going from one machine, as the reel runs out, to a second machine containing a new reel of film, in a manner that is not noticed by the audience.” If half of these operators have licenses, which I sometimes doubt, nine chances out of ten that would have been included in their examination. I also came to the conclusion that there is no room for such men in our profession, and if it were up to me to say anything, they’d all be looking for other jobs or paying for the damage that they’re doing. ARTHUR H. CLAY Projectionist, Bethlehem Drive-In Theatre Butztown, Pa. Doing What Should Come Naturally I would like to thank you and your staff for the Citation for outstanding showmanship you have seen fit to give me. But, honestly, this is the first time I have ever been rewarded for doing just the many little things that we have to do in order to make our business a success! But this points out what I have said many times, with criticism by some exhibitors for saying it and that is, “most of our many ills are directly the fault of the exhibitor himself.” Just think! Here I am getting a citation for doing the little things we are supposed to do, that not long ago were expected from every showman and his only reward was satisfaction and usually a fair bank balance in his favor; he did not expect more. Nowadays, too many cry the blues day and night and do nothing to help themselves, the result is they, too, get a “citation” either in the form of a foreclosure or a notation in the local paper, that their theatre has been closed due to lack of patrons. However, Mr. Shlyen, we all have a little ego and I am proud of my citation that you have given me. It will have a favored wall spot in my office and on the sunny side (in a frame too!). WALTER W. BELL Capri Theatre, Dewey, Okla. BOXOFFICE :: October 28, 1963 17