Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1952)

STUDIO SIZ6-UPS ' f Continued from Page 17) and the cast is headed by Rod Cameron, Cesar Romero and Marie Windsor. Shooting has been underway since January 22, and is scheduled to wind up during the final days of March. Of the forthcoming independent productions which are definitely set for Lippert release, "Helgate" (Sterling Hayden-Joan Leslie) is of primary interest. Charles Marquis W arren and John C. Champion will produce the picture from an original screenplay by Warren. Actual filming will get underway during the first week of April. Producer Anthony Hinds of British Intercontinental Flms, will roll his next picture for Lippert release early next month. Titled "Lady In The Fog," it will star Cesar Romero, the balance of the cast being British. Sam Xewfield is en route to London to take over the direction of the film. Distribution-wise, the Lippert organization is busily at work planning a big campaign on "Valley Of The Eagles" (Jack Warner BRANTON & BARRYMORE A TV Deal Xadia Gray-John McCallum). This a Sovereign Films production, filmed in Lapland, and scheduled to go into American release in April. At the present time, there are three completed films in the Lippert backlog awaiting release. They are: "Outlaw Women" (Marie Windsor-Richard Rober), in Cinecolor; "Loan Shark" (George Raft-Dorothy Hart) and "Stolen Pace" (Paul Hcnrcid-Lizabeth Scott), filmed in England. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER Metro Maintains Top Pace With Seven Before Cameras This studio continued to lead all other Hollywood l..ts in the number of pictures in production during March. As of this writing, seven features are before the cameras. Two others wound up around mid-month, and 18 three more are slated to roll before April 1. Now shooting are: "One Piece Bathing Suit" (Esther Williams-Victor Mature), in Technicolor, which director Mervyn LeRoy and producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr., have been filming since January 15; "Eagle On His Cap'" (Robert Taylor-Eleanor Parker), Melvin Frank-Norman Panama producer-director chore, which went before the cameras February 4; "Fearless Fagan" (Janet Leigh-Carlton Carpenter), directed by Stanley Donen and produced by Edwin H. Knopf, shooting since February 11; "The Jealous Lover", sequence of Story Of Three Loves" (Moira Shearer-James Mason), directed by Gottfreid Reinhardt and produced by Sidney Franklin; "The Devil Makes Three' (Gene Kelly-Pier Angeli), which has been shooting off and on in Europe since January 27 — Andrew Morton directing and Richard Goldstone producing; "Everything I Have Is Yours" (Marge and Gower Champion), Technicolor musical in work since February 22 — Robert Z. Leonard directing for producer George Wells; and "Lili" (Leslie Caron-Mel Ferrer) which rolled on March 10, with Charles Walters directing for producer Edwin H. Knopf. The two pictures which wound during the month were: "Mr. Congressman" (Van JohnsonPatricia Neal), and "Pat And Mike" (Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn). Coming up during the final days of March are: "Tribute To A Bad Man" (Lana TurnerKirk Douglas), to be directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman; "Plymouth Adventure" (Spencer TracyVan Johnson), Technicolor, a Dore Schary production, directed by Clarance Brown; and "Letter From the President" (Shelley Winters-Ricardo Montalban), William Wellman directing for producer Stephen Ames. MGM has scheduled the biggest advertising campaign in the company's history to exploit it's current line-up of pictures. How7ard Deitz, vice-president in charge of advertising, publicity and exploitation, announced a plan whereby each picture will be handled individually, both on the local and national level, well in advance of release dates. Dietz visited the studio to look over product and to introduce six new divisional promotion men. MONOGRAM — A A Barrymore Parting for TV Series Bodes Exhib Gripes The big news from Monogram for this edition of Studio Size-Ups isn't the sort that will make the company's exhibitor customers very happy. It's the announcement that Mono's subsidiary, Interstate Television Corp., has s:gned Ethel Barrymore to a long term contract to do a series of half-hour TV shows. G. Ralph Bran ton, ITC president, declared that the advent of Miss Barrymore into video must be considered "the greatest single advancement from the entertainment standpoint that television has made to date." Now won't theatremen think that's just ducky! Meanwhile, Monogram's production activities for theatre consumption are moving apace. No less than ten films are in various stages of work. First to start will be "Plow Jockeys" (Leo Gorcey-Huntz Hall), a Jerry Thomas Bowery Boys production. "Arctic Flight" (Wayne Morris-Alan Hale, Jr.) got away March 1 on the Little Diomede Islands in the Bering Straits. This is being directed by Ewing Scott for producer Lindsley Parsons. Next in line will be "The Sea Tiger," to be produced by William F. Broidy. This was postponed until mid-April due to bad weather. Others on the spring agenda are: two Cinecolor features, Walter Mirisch's "The Rose Bowl Story" and Grant Whytlock's "Wild Catters"; "Army Bound" (Stanley Clements), to be produced by Ben Schwalk; "Roaring Steel", also to be produced by Schwalb; "Timber Wolf" (Kirby Grant), a Lindsley Parsons production; Jerry Thomas' "Stranglehold" (Leo Gorcey-Huntz Hall); two Bill Elliott westerns, tentatively titled "Martial Law" and "Barbed Wire," to be produced by Vincent M. Fennelly; and a Johnny Mack Brown starrer, "Guns Across the Border," which Fennelly also will pro PARAMOUNT'S HARTMAN Writers Should Know All duce. "Mardi Gras," in Cinecolor, will be started by producer Peter Scully by the end of April. Because of Allied Artists' completely depleted backlog, company officials are discussing the possibility of hypoing at least one of Monogram's slated pictures into the AA bracket. There has been no product in the AA backlog since the release of "The Highwayman," last October, PARAMOUNT Writers Given New Status In Hartman Production Plan The lowly Hollywood writer is coining into his own at Paramount, and henceforth will play an integral part in translating his written ideas on the screen. Don Hartman, the company's production chief, is presently (Continued on Page 20) FILM BULLETIN