Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis; Exploitips; Adlines for Newspaper and Programs THE STORY: “Act One” (WB) In the 1920s, Moss Hart (George Hamilton) , a struggling Brooklyn boy, had his dramatic plays turned down by all Broadway producers. On the advice of Sam Levene, a friendly agent, Hart gets an idea for a satire about Hollywood in the early talkie days by reading Variety and he turns out “Once in a Lifetime,” which he sends to Eli Wallach, an imperious producer. Wallach delays his decision so long that a friend sends another “““ copy to Sam H. Harris, who likes it but suggests that Wo on Hart collaborate with the famed playwright, George S. 'rr' Kaufman (Jason Robards jr.). Kaufman, a shy, nervous type, and Hart complete a new version and “Lifetime” is tried out in Atlantic City with indifferent results. Kaufman wants to give up on the play but Hart pleads with him and they do further work on it during the hot summer. In the fall, “Once in a Lifetime” opens at the Music Box in New York and is a hit, with Kaufman giving Hart most of the credit opening night. EXPLOITIPS: Moss Hart's autobiography of his early years in the theatre, “Act One” was a highly acclaimed book, which was on the best-seller list for almost a year. Arrange for tieups with all bookshops for window displays. CATCHLINES: Now You Can See It on the Screen — Moss Hart’s Brilliant Book About His Early Success as a Broadway Playwright. THE STORY: “Love With the Proper Stranger” (Para.) Steve McQueen, a free-lance musician, is paged at his union hall in Manhattan by Natalie Wood, an Italian girl with whom he had spent one night at a summer hotel. Natalie tells him she is pregnant and only wants him to help her raise the money for an abortion. Natalie’s overly-protective brothers know nothing of this escapade and want her to marry Tom Bosley, a shy *l0IK restaurant-owner. McQueen leams of a doctor and to.) . gether they raise the necessary money. His parents, not ‘ knowing, take a liking to Natalie. But, when McQueen realizes the sordid abortion setup, he refuses to let Natalie go through with the abortion. Natalie then decides to marry Bosley, even though she really loves McQueen, but won’t plead with him. After a dinner, during which they quarrel, she throws McQueen out of her apartment. McQueen realizes he loves Natalie and pickets outside Macy’s, where she works, until she accepts him. EXPLOITIPS: The top selling names are Natalie Wood, who appeared in “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” two of the outstanding pictures in recent years, and Steve McQueen, who won acclaim in “The Great Escape” this season. CATCHLINES: Natalie “Gypsy” Wood and Steve “The Great Escape” McQueen, Try to Escape Love in Romantic Manhattan . . . She Craved Freedom From Family Ties But Didn’t Reckon With Romance. THE STORY: “Ladies Who Do” (Cont’l) While cleaning the London offices of Harry H. Corbett, a property tycoon, Peggy Mount wraps a discarded cigar in a telegram from a wastebasket and brings it home to her lodger, Robert Morley, a gambling man down on his luck. Morley finds that the telegram contains information about a financial deal and he persuades Peggy to get her charlady friends to also pick up discarded papers for tips. Morley and the ladies then form Ladezudu and the firm makes money on financial deals. Later, Peggy, who is about to be evicted from her flat by a company which plans to build luxury offices on the site, brings together all her neighbors, including her cleaning women pals, and they harass the “enemy,” meaning the demolition squad, until work on the new building is halted. In the end, Morley and his Ladezudu partners take control of the site. EXPLOITIPS: . Make a play on the provocative title by sending out (!^y .* invitation notices or heralds from LADEZUDU, contrac tion of the title. Stress Robert Morley, currently in “Take Her, She’s Mine,” and, before that, in dozens of top British imports. CATCHLINES: Ladezudu Finds Gold in Wastepaper Baskets . . . Robert Morley and His Cleaning Women Partners Capture the Financial World . . . The Story of the Ladies Who Dig in the Trash to Find Wealth. THE STORY: “Ladybug, Ladybug” (UA) In a rural elementary school, the yellow light on the Civil Defense alarm box in the principal’s office begins to flash, meaning “nuclear attack imminent.” The teachers feel there is no choice but to send the children home, each group to be guided along the country roads by a teacher. Nancy Marchand guides one group of 11 youngsters and, as some run off to their homes, she begins to grow more fearful. Twelve-year-old Alice Playten takes a few of the kids to her home bombshelter, but she refuses to let 12-year-old Marilyn Rogers in for fear of overcrowding. Marilyn runs to an abandoned refrigerator and locks herself in while Christopher Howard, running in pursuit of her, hears approaching planes and burrows frantically into the loose earth to escape them. Meanwhile, at the school, the principal learns that there was an electric malfunction in the equipment and that the alarm was false. EXPLOITIPS: Concentrate your selling campaign entirely on Frank and Eleanor Perry, who directed and wrote the acclaimed “David and Lisa,” was honored at foreign film festivals and nominated for a special Academy Award. CATCHLINES: A Picture Dedicated to Life . . . The Makers of the Acclaimed “David and Lisa” Bring You Another Startling and Realistic Tale ... A Significant Subject — Based on an Actual Incident. THE STORY: “Fury at Smuggler’s Bay” (Embassy) In 19th Century England, a gang of cut-throats led by Bernard Lee, lures ships to the rocks of Smuggler’s Bay, murders the crew and terrorizes the neighboring fishermen, who are part-time smugglers themselves. The fishermen appeal for help to Peter Cushing, the squire, whose son, John Fraser, is in love with Michele Mercier, daughter of a fisherman. Fraser kills one of the wreckers and is later captured by William Franklyn, a highwayman, and held for ransom. After a sabre duel, Fraser and Franklyn become friends. Meanwhile, Cushing has called in the militia, who rout the wreckers. However, Cushing is killed in the battle and Fraser then becomes the squire and rewards Franklyn by giving him a headstart for freedom. EXPLOITIPS: In addition to stressing the title and action content, mention that Peter Cushing has starred in “Curse of Frankenstein,” “Bride of Dracula,” “The Mummy” and other Hammer horror films and that John Fraser was featured in “El Cid.” Comedy devotees will recognize Liz Fraser from “Carry On Regardless.” CATCHLINES: Cut-Throats Versus Smugglers in England’s Days of Adventure . . . Swordplay and Action As Pirates Sink Cargo Ships in Smuggler’s Bay . . . Peter Cushing, Star of “The Curse of Frankenstein,” in an Action-Packed , Adventure Tale of Old England. »r she 'ers^ ' THE STORY: “The Sound of Laughter” (Union) Of course, there is no story, but Ed Wynn holds the sequences together in a lecture-type narration, appearing between episodes to explain the next scenes and identify the players if the years have blocked immediate identification. Basically, the scenes are from the early talking pictures. The longest is that with Buster Keaton as the operator of a desert filling station who joins the community baseball team to impress a girl. The Ritz Brothers are seen as hotel employes who make a shambles of the place. Bert Lahr is seen as a department store worker who crashes Hollywood via a contest. The Shirley Temple bit is one in which she and her supporting cast of diapered players perform an adult theme, along the lines of a “bird in a gilded cage.” Although only mildly amusing, it can be seen that she was heading for stardom. Danny Kaye is very funny as a foreigner who, because of an inheritance, has to get married by noon and it’s already five minutes to the hour. EXPLOITIPS: Go after those who remember the 1930s, but don’t overlook the younger folks who may be sold on a clinical basis of comparing techniques — then and now. CATCHLINES: Hey Kids: See What Dad and Mom Laughed At — And You’ll Roar, Too . . . Take a Trip Down Memory Lane . . . Everybody Loves Nostalgia and Here It Is . . . See ( Big Stars of Today As They Looked 30 Years Ago. ^mp BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: Dec. 23, 1963