Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1952)

Hollywood's legion of independent producers, and even the major studios, have been forced to sit up and take note of an ambitious newcomer to the ranks of moviemakers, who, in one short year, has become the town's biggest volume producer of independent pictures. He is Jack Broder, a onetime successful exhibitor, and more recently the head of his own national distribution organization— Realart Pictures. During his first year as an independent producer, Broder has turned out eight films, including "Basketball Fix," "Two-Dollar Bettor," "Bride of the Gorilla," "The Bushwackers," "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla," "Kid Monk Baroni," "Breakdown," and "Battles of Chief Pontiac." I >uring the next 12 months, Broder expects to equal that output, and possibly even attain his eventual goal of ten personal productions per year. At the same time, he hopes to corral a half-dozen outside pictures. More and more, Broder expects to enter into profit-sharing deals with "name" stars and directors, in order to give the product added lustre without involving prohibitive cash outlays. Moreover, he will continue to invest his own money in outside productions for Realart release, but only in cases where well-established stars head up the casts. Broder tells FILM BULLETIN that nothing definite has been worked out on the rumored merger of his company with Lippert Productions. "Ever since the sale of the Lippert exchanges," he said, "Mr. Lippert has been using some of Realart's field representatives. However, any discussions of a merger are temporarily at a standstill." Tlie success of the Realart distribution company led Broder to dispose of most of his theatres, and when the re-issues began to slow down at the boxoffice in the early 'SO's, he embarked on his current program of producing new pictures. Jack Broder lets no grass grow under his feet. JACK BRODER Paq« 12 FILM BULLETIN October 20, 1952 Heard in Hollywood By JAY ALLEN Merian C. Cooper has signed a five-year contract as general manager in charge of production for Cinerama, and tees off within the next 30 days on a four-picture slate — all to be filmed in Technicolor. To show what can be done with the new three-dimensional process, he'll run the gamut in the four films: a western, a musical, a Civil War epic and a King Kong type chiller . . . And doesn't L. B. Mayer's future lie in Cinerama? Else why is he trying to buy all of the stock? . . . Pathe Lab is investing 600 G's in independent production. Most of the properties in which they're showing interest look like good bets for TV re-runs . . . Metro was only too happy to give Peter Lawford and Ralph Meeker their requested releases, and may force the issue if a half-dozen others don't take the initiative . . . Wow! Sam Goldwyn gets 90 per cent of the take on the first four weeks' showings of "Hans Christian Andersen," both in New York and Los Angeles . . . Tab Hunter drew a top role in Edward Small's "Johnny Ringo" for UA release. Richard Thorpe and Pandro Berman are a new permanent producer-director combo at Metro . . . Alex Nicol asked for and received his release from U-l, after two and a half years on the lot . . . Joe Manckiewici' four-picture pact at Metro will enrich him by an even million bucks . . . Six new two-reel shorts went before the RKO cameras last week to launch production under the studio's new regime . . . And Georgie Jessel is going to be calling his ma any day now to tell her he's RKO's top musical producer . . . Moe Kerman, Mutual Productions' prexy, is the new owner of Bob Lippert's N. Y. exchange . . . "Nuthin" But the Blues," U-I's first big musical A.D. (After Deanna), will roll in January— Donald O'Connor starred . . . WayneFellows Productions trek to Mexico City, October 29, to film interiors on "Plunder of the Sun" (Glenn Ford-Pat Medina) at the Cherebusco Studios . . . Maureen O'Hara backed out of "Prince of Bagdad" for U-l, with the starting date only three weeks away. They're saying that Jack Gross may be returning to RKO to head up a unit of young producers for his old pal Sherrill Corwin, the studio's new v. p. . . . Inde producer William J. O'Sullivan has been handed a Republic producer pact and draws "The Golden Tide" as his first assignment ... A record 36 writers are working at U-l . . . Ray Enright will direct "Cairo" (George Raft) for Lippert release. Bernie Luber produces . . . Howard Duff has been set to star in another Lippert release, "Space Ways," to be filmed in Europe . . . Ted Richmond is prepping a musical re-make of the old Barbara Stanwyck starrer, "The Lady Gambles", for U-l . . . Raoul Walsh will direct William Cagney's long-delayed "Lion in the Streets," with brother Jimmy starred, for Warner release. STAR BRIGHT ROSEMARY CLOONEY Judy Garland and Betty Hutton will h to move over to make room for another gr new singing star when the movie audien get their first glimpse of Rosemary Cloo in Paramount's "The Stars Are Singing.1 That's not one man's opinion, but the g eral consensus of everyone in Hollvw who's had a chance to see this new scr personality at work. She has It, Mr. E: bitor, with a great big capital "I". Some of the wiser heads around mc town are freely predicting that Rosen Clooney will generate the kind of hyste mob idolatry that has marked the eai careers of such singing stars as Bing C by, Frank Sinatra, and the Misses Garl and Hutton. Rosemary was born in Marysville, tucky, on May 23, 1928. At 13, she m with her family to Cincinnati, Ohio, w she and her sister, Bettie, got their sta show business. As a vocal team, the youngsters sang for many months on r station WLW. Bandleader Tony F> heard one of their shows and immedi signed them as featured vocalists with orchestra. Three years later, while she still in her teens, Rosemary decided branch out on her own, and moved to \ York City, where she landed a contracj cording for Columbia Records. Then 0 her one big hit, "Come On-A My Hot which launched her on the stratospr career that led to a Paramount contract. Exhibitors would be wise to pull on of the stops in selling this young lady.