Harrison's Reports (1962)

Entered as s«cond-class matter January 4. 1021, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: United States $17.00 U. S. Insular Possessions... 19.00 Canada and Mexico 19.00 Other Countries 19.50 45c a Copy A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 7, 1919 Published Weekly by Harrison's Reports, Inc., 1600 Broadway New York 19, N. Y. COlumbus 5-4434 Martin Starr. Editor A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XLIV SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 1962 No. 30 IV.J.-N.Y. Allied Convene Zansiek Faces Fox Future The annual convention of a state unit of a national exhibitor organization, is usually taken for granted. But, we think the combined meeting of the Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey and the Allied Theatre Owners of New York State will be a lot different. In achievement, progress and sheer personal excitement the convention holds promise of establishing new values for such events. The four-day agenda (August 6-9) is a full one in spite of the fact that the Concord Hotel Kiamesha Lake, N. Y., has been selected as the site for the meet' ing. The golf will be played, the swimming will be done and the fun will be had. But, there will also be a lot of work accomplished. While the daytime merry-making and the nightly hours of joyous relaxation will leave their memories, it is of consequence that a lot of substantial order of important business be dealt with and entered upon the books. As the industry is going these days it is imperative that the two Allied units write into the record the pressing issues resolved; the resolutions to be followed through; the agreement that the road ahead is a hard, uphill one and something for the good of exhibition's overall progress be dealt with though the greens, the water, the sun beckon. Serious Questions Must Be Resolved Facing the New Jersey-New York exhibitors will be the question of the slowly progressing toll-Tv situation. The threat to the box office should this monster ever get on his feet. A slight smidgen of it is already being felt in such areas where the fee-Tv experiments are playing themselves out. The matter of unfair 16mm competition is on the agenda for discussion and resolution. Then there's the beating the exhibitors have been taking via the route of the "disorderly" release pattern. Shortage of prints, special handling of blockbuster releases and other issues injurious to the exhibitor and diminishing his returns will be dealt with seriously, cooly and intelligently. The foregoing matters will be presided over by William Infald, president of the New Jersey unit. The next day (August 8) Sidney J. Cohen of the New York State Allied link will chair the proceedings. It is to be remembered that New York is a new unit. From what it has accomplished, in a short time, you'd think it's one of the veteran state organizations of the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors. The Cohen drive and dedication is something to admire. The New York president will seek opinions, (Continued on Bac\ Page) Darryl F. Zanuck is about the most prolific picture maker in Hollywood. As the newly elected president of 20th Century-Fox contemplates the future, he's not without knolwedge that the past will stand him in good stead. He knows, that like a modern Graccus, a Cromwell, or a Danton he has taken over a shattered financial empire that has lost twenty-million dollars in the year gone by and thirteen the one before that. But, like these three historic figures, Zanuck is looked upon to make a succcess out of the film company. While he has red figures confronting him at the present, he will have many good things going for him almost at the same time. An advantage this new president of a mammoth film company will have is in the nature of the chairman of the board. That has fallen to the beloved Spyros Plato Skouras. While most other former presidents of movie companies were sort-of sent out to pasture when they gave up (or were asked to give up) the post, Skouras has no intention of doing anything of the sort. As a board bossman he intends to be the hardest working chairman a tribunal of directors ever saw. This will be ( Continued on Bac\ Page ) Allied States Board's Big Agenda The 1962 summer meeting of the board of directors of the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors, which will be held at the Concord Hotel, Kiamesha Lake, N. Y., August 6-7, finds itself with an agenda that is crammed with all kinds of pressing matters . . . Association business, industry troubles, trade practices, film rentals and theatre operation head the sectional order of business. Pay Tv in Hartford, the problem of unfair 16mm competition, local censorship pressures, State Minimum Wage laws and proposals are some of the issues that will be dealt with . . . Heading the "trade practices" division is United Artists' "Premiere Showcase" and its implications. The proposal to encourage orderly releasing patterns, road show and hard ticket policies, conditions of prints will come up for discussion. A serious problem that will be dealt with by the board is the coping with distribution methods. What is the exhibitor to do as he continues to find that these distribution methods result in loss of run, destruction of normal availabilty and forced bidding between non-competitive theatres?