Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

By SYD CASSYD J£IRK DOUGLAS has chosen his first screen project to follow his current Broadway play, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” It is the novel, “Seconds,” by David Ely, which Douglas’ Joel Productions has bought for the screen with John Frankenheimer’s production company. Edward Lewis will produce. Louis John Carlino, young Southern California college graduate who got his start in a local Hollywood ANTA showing of his plays, will write the film adaptation. The young playwright currently has two shows on Broadway, “Cages” and “Tolemecus Clay” . . . Jerry Lewis’ next directing and starring effort will roll on December 9 at the Paramount lot. Ernest Glucksman will produce the film titled, “Son of Bellboy,” which is being written by Lewis in collaboration with Bill Richmond, who worked with him on “Bellboy,” three years ago . . . Gerd Oswald has been signed by Trio Films of Paris to produce and direct “The Last Hundred Hours,” which will star Jeffrey Hunter, with production set for Madrid, northern Italy and Hollywood, starting in early spring. Story is based on a screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Robert Adams and deals with the collapse of the Nazi army in the last days of World War II in 1945 . . . Harry Weinstein will produce for MGM a special documentary film, “The Con Man,” for the Department of Defense, from a script by David Davidson. Starred will be Tom Ewell, Jim Backus, Eddie Foy jr., Henry Silva and Alvie Moore. The film will interlace newsreel footage of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin with clips of actors and will depict exploitation of peoples by political leaders. Robert Aldrich has changed the name of the film he plans to produce next year from “Brouhaha” to “Sheik of Araby.” Production scheduling calls for “Araby” and “What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?” to go first in the 1964 list . . . Martin Ritt, with his cinematographer, James Wong Howe, who also handled “Hud,” is in Arizona working on locations for A. Ronald Lubin’s “The Outrage” . . . Ralph Nelson, who directed the current hit “Lilies of the Field,” and the soonto-be-released “Soldier in the Rain,” has signed with producer Aaron Rosenberg at 20th-Fox, to direct the Glenn Ford starrer “Fate Is the Hunter” . . . “Inside Daisy Clover,” the Pakula-Mulligan film with Natalie Wood, has Herbert Greene as associate producer. Columbia releases, with next spring as starting date. Laurence Harvey has purchased film rights to “The Couch and I,” a comedy screenplay by Albert J. Cohen and A. Sanford Wolf . . . $150,000 was reportedly paid for a Helen Deutsch script “Rooftop,” by Paramount with Gordon Molson Agency handling the deal for the writer. A film will be made of “No Corner in Heaven,” by Challenge Films, Inc., the Oscar L. Nichols firm, who bought the stage play by Joseph Caruso jr. for an Anna Magnani starrer. Giuseppe Balestrieri is vice-president of Challenge . . . Continuing to assign top properties in its growing schedule, Universal’s Edward Muhl has purchased “Seven Against Tomorrow” and put Elliot Kastner in the producer’s seat, with William McGivern appointed to screenplay his own adventure story. Kastner’s bin is full of productions with two others already assigned, “That Funny Feeling” and “The Winning Position” . . . Cornel Wilde has acquired a new property for his independent production slate, “The Naked Quarry,” described by Wilde as “the most exciting and unusual western I’ve read in years.” The screenplay by Clint Johnston and Don Peters has the tale told almost entirely in visual terms — 95 per cent without dialog. Distributor arrangements are currently under way. Because of the panoramic nature of the story, the film is to be shot in 70mm and Technicolor, probably in Arizona or Utah . . . Arthur Cohn has acquired rights to Paul Gallico’s best-selling novel, “The Foolish Immortals.” His company is Michael Arthur Productions, which is also producing the Romy Schneider starrer, “The Countess,” on a $4,000,000 budget in Italy, Yugoslavia and Russia. “The Pass Beyond Kashmir,” based on Berkely Mather’s book, will be produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli under Eon Productions banner with script written by the novelist. The production takes place in Britain and the Far East . . . a Daphne du Maurier book, “The King’s General,” has been acquired by Robert Darwin Enterprises, headquartered in London, for filming in 70mm and color. Zoltan Korda’s son, David, is associate producer on the company’s film . . . Producer Jerry Bresler has called for rehearsals on “Love Has Many Faces,” written by Marguerite Roberts with direction by Alexander Singer. The Columbia release goes into 1964 production ... A husband and wife team, Art and Jo Napoleon, will film “Surfing Wild,” in color for Columbia Pictures release under their Jana Productions banner. Art will direct the feature on location in Hawaii from a family ON COLUMBIA SET— Jay Wooten, second from left, exhibitor from Hutchinson, Kas., and his son, Jamey, extreme right, are shown on a Columbia Studios set with stars Jack Lemmon and Romy Schneider while they were at work on “Good Neighbor Sam.” The film, which also stars Dorothy Provine, is being directed by David Swift, who made “The Interns” and “The AbsentMinded Professor.” screenplay. The twosome also wrote the original story on which their screenplay is based . . . George Caldwell and Louis Baity have signed an agreement whereby their film, “Move Boy,” will be produced and distributed by Concept Productions, according to Maurice A. Krowitz of the latter firm. Pearlayne Productions’ next feature will be one with the fancy title of “Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow,” based on the William Goldman novel. Producers Steven Bernhardt and Gene S. Taft arranged for David Sontag to write the screenplay . . . Robert L. Bogle, president of Wilbo Productions, is currently negotiating a coproduction deal regarding two properties to star Ross Martin. Three films, which A1 Avalon will produce and direct, “The Wild Wild Party,” “Cacophony” and “Come to Me Only” are already on their schedule . . . Larry Moore, on behalf of 4-M Artists Associates, has acquired worldwide rights, including full ownership of the original negative and prints, to the legendary film, “Ecstasy,” which brought Hedy Lamarr to stardom 30 years ago. A new feature, based on the original, will be produced early next year with Marla Moore making her motion picture debut in the starring role. Moore will be the executive producer ... A German producing company, Hansjurgen’s Modern Art Film Corp. of Berlin, almost ran into a union block on an American locale film they shot in Beverly Hills titled “The Dead of Beverly Hills.” They had budgeted for their own crews with the cooperation of the State Department, but the unions here protested. The group has returned to Germany. Frank Sinatra garnered both Crosbys, Bing and Philip, for “Robin and the 7 Hoods,” the Warner’s release. Sounds like the beginning of the Eddie Foys, the Pat Rooneys and others who kicked off in family teams during vaudeville days . . . Julie Andrews has been signed as the feminine lead in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” the 20thFox production to be produced by Robert Wise. The roadshow film will be started in Hollywood in March and then go to location spots in Europe . . . Michele Mercier will star in “Love in Four Dimensions,” a modern treatment of the short story by Guy De Maupassant, to be produced in Rome and directed by Mimo Guerrini. The star has been in Rome since completion of “A Global Affair,” the Hall Bartlett production, and recently has finished “A Certain Thursday,” opposite Walter Chiari . . . Alfred Hitchcock’s production of “Marnie,” which co-stars Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren, now has Diane Baker added to the cast. The Universal release marks the third film for Miss Baker within the past six months. The Hitchcock assignment necessitates the postponement of the actress’s starring role in Alexander Ramati’s “Rebel Against the Light,” to be filmed in Israel, originally set for the cameras in late February . . . Tab Hunter will appear in a Broadway play slated for the screen, titled “The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Any More.” In a deal set by Frank Cooper agency, the Tennessee Williams’ play to be produced by David Merrick, the star will open there on December 16. Tallulah Bankhead also has been signed with British Tony Richardson directing. BOXOFFICE :: November 25, 1963 19