Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1962)

I What they're Mini About □ □ □ In the Movie Business □ □ □ YOUNGSTEIN'S YEN. The impending, sudden departure of Max Youngstein from Cinerama does not surprise those acquainted with his thinking when he joined the wide-screen outfit. It was his expectation, apparently based on a loose understanding with Cinerama boss Nicolas Reisini, that the deal would include establishment of a unit to produce 8 to 10 standard gauge films per year. Cinerama's expansion in the 3-panel field, however, induced Reisini to put aside this project and convinced Youngstein that he would have to strike out on his own. It is the latter's firm conviction, based on his experience as a product "packager" at United Artists and his thinking about the industry's needs, that there is plenty of room for new production units, especially if manned by knowledgeable people with aggressive merchandising ideas. 0 ZANUCK TEAM. Before the wagsters start a raft of jokes (a la the Kennedy family yocks) regarding a Zanuck dynasty at 20th-Fox, a check of son Richard's professional record would be in order. The new head of the studio has given a rather impressive, if limited, performance in the picture-making department. His credits include a carefully-made and critically acclaimed "Compulsion" and the current "Chapman Report," which looms much larger on the boxoffice horizon. The 27-year-old Richard's background is all movies. He literally grew up on the Fox lot during the time father Darryl operated the studio. Before he finished college, tie had had a taste of all phases of the company's operations, from story conferences to shooting on location, from distribution schedules to advertising campaigns. He works in fine harmony with his famous father. Whether it's via long distance or in a smoke-filled conference room, nsiders say father and son mesh their efforts so smoothly, they sometimes give the impression :hat a single mind is hammering away at an objective. Look for a strong, effective tie between the homeoffice and the coast, formerly a veak link in the Fox chain of operations. CENSORSHIP THREAT. Eric Johnston's speech urging parents in Columbus, Ohio, to play an influential role in selection of pictures their children attend underlines MPAA's growing concern with the threat of censorship. Said Johnston: "Parents who support movie censorship are surrendering rights they may never regain and freedoms their children may never know . . . We all want better movies. Who doesn't? And you have a way to get them. Make it your business to know good movies from bad ones. Then support the good ones and stay away from the bad." 0 RACIAL CRISIS. Art theatres and houses catering primarily to negro trade are experiencing increasing difficulty in effectively promoting the rash of controversial pictures recently come to the market. Complaints are being voiced with regard to the inability to place advertising for inter-racial dramas that are currently in vogue. Copy and art have been refused by newspapers in many areas for such films as "Flame in the Streets," "I Spit on Your Grave" and "Taste of Honey." Papers, which have shown a longstanding reluctance to accept ads suggesting conflict, or any other strong relationship, between negroes and whites, are finding their fears heightened by recent incidents in Mississippi and other Southern states. 0 LADIES' 'DAY'. The question mark that kept 20thFox merchandisers awake for weeks — is there a feminine interest in Darryl Zanuck's "The Longest Day"? — is being answered all across the country with a resounding yes. Strictly a war film, with only a couple minor female characters, the roadshow apparently is making its mark on the distaff element. Early boxoffice reports around the country indicate that the ladies love it. If the demand continues, it will repeat the pattern established by another recent Fox film treating a primarily male subject, "The Hustler." Just as Paul Newman's presence stirred fern interest in pool, some feel Richard Burton's name on the marquee is serving as a strong stimulant in attracting the women to "Day". Film BULLETIN October 15, 1942 Page 3