Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1952)

Hcllijuccd Jjctehck (Continued from Page 12) PARAMOUNT Production continues at its lowest ebb in more than a year, on the Paramount lot, with only two pictures shooting at the turn of the month. Moreover, it seems unlikely that more than two new features will be ready to go before the cameras in May. There are. however, an even half-dozen stories in the final scripting stages and all have been assigned to producers for late spring filming. Even though the quantity of output is very low at the moment, certainly no one can deny that the company has another sure-fire boxoffice hit in the works with the start, April 24, of "Road to Bali" (Hob Hope-Ring LEONARD GOLDSTEIN Of all of the unsung heroes in Hollywood, probably none has been more neglected than Producer Leonard Goldstein. He has never won an Academy Award, his name has probably never even been mentioned for the ACTRESS DUNNE & GOLDSTEIN coveted Irving Thalberg award, and his earnings are far removed from the Hollywood elite whose names can be found on the treasury department's annual list of topsalaried American executives. But it would be hard to find a producer in the business whose pictures have made as much money for their companies as have Goldstein's. During 1951, Universal-International realized a world gross of slightly more than $10,000,000 on four Goldstein-produced pictures. Add to that the less spectacular grosses of a half dozen other features he turned out during the year, and it's easy to see that he deserves a goodly amount of the credit for pulling his company out of the desperate straits it was in only a few years ago. Crosby-Dorothy Lamour). The resumption of the "Road" pictures, with its original trio of stars, is an event that will most assuredly be welcomed by theatremen who know what these pictures mean at their boxoffice. Hal Walker directs the Technicolor musical comedy for producer Harry Tugend. The only other active production at this time is the Pine-Thomas Technicolor feature "Tropic Zone" (Ronald ReaganRhonda FlemingEstelita). The disagreement between producer Hal W'allis and his contract comedians, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, remains unsolved. However, FILM BULLETIN has it on good authority that a new multiple picture contract is in the making. Nevertheless, "Scared Stiff", the production which Martin Unbelievable as it may seem, Leonard Goldstein has produced 18 pictures within the past twelve months — a record which couldn't even be approached by any other producer in the business. More important, he has never turned out a picture that failed to show a profit. And with all this heavy schedule at the studio, Producer Goldstein has somehow found time to go out and sell his product to the public and the exhibitors. He has accompanied his stars on junket after junket back into the hinterlands to boost not only his picture, but the reputation of the entire industry, as well. When your FILM BULLETIN reporter asked him if he had a formula for consistently turning out the type of pictures which meet with public aproval, he was quick to reply that he had. "What I look for in a story", he said, "are the elements of audience identification. If movie-goers can put themselves in. the place of the personality they are watching on the screen, they're almost certain to find the picture to their liking". Goldstein was born May 28, 1903, in Bisbee, Arizona, and was educated in the Los Anegels public schools. He started his career in show business as a producer of stage shows in some of the smaller Los Angeles theatres. His first movie production was "Big Street" for RKO, where he produced a series of sagebrushers starring George O'Brien. In later years, he moved to 20th Century-Fox, where he gained industry-wide recognition for his production of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". Subsequently, he became executive producer at Columbia. He joined Universal in 1946 and continued with the company after it became UniversalInternational. He brought the "Kettles" into being on the screen, and that load of cheaply produced "corn" plus the "deluxe" westerns, has poured millions of dollars in profits into the U-I coffers. and Lewis walked out on, appears to be definitely off the schedule. RKO It has been a month of surprises for the men and women who work at RKO, as well as most of the sideline observers in Hollywood. First, Samuel Goldwyn renewed his distribution deal witli the company for another five years, despite persistent rumors that he was about to sever his ten-year relationship. Next, Howard Hughes purchased the finished script of "A Likely Story" from GOLDWYN & DEPINET Fire More Years Paramount, along with the starring services of William H olden. And as if that wasn't enough to stump the prognosticators, he suddely took over the financing of "Red Beret", a Cubby Broccoli-Irving Allen picture project, which is set to go before the cameras in London, around July 15. In addition to the financing of "Red Beret", KKO will handle distribution on the picture, on a 50-50 basis. Prior to Goldwyn's re-signing with RKO, he held extensive talks with Arthur Krim, president of L'nited Artists. However, it is understood that the latter company would not meet the RKO terms. In another of Hughes' unpredictable decisions, RKO's story department has been given the go-ahead on nearly a dozen properties, indicating that large-scale production activity may be resumed earlier than had previously been indicated. Three films have been set for the cameras during May. Scheduled for the RKO soundstages are Edmund Grainger's "Blackbeard the Pirate", which will work simultaneously on two soundstages, starting May 15. Robert Newton heads the cast. Also during the month, Robert Sparks' production "A Likely Story" (Jean Simmons) has been set for a start and the third of the May starters will be the Filmakers' "The Man With A Gun", with Collier Young at the production helm. (Continued on Page 14) THE SPDTLIGHT FILM BULLETIN 1.1