The Independent Film Journal (1955)

CinemaScopeGlobal Popularity Increasing Spyros P. Skouras, 20th-Fox president, again reported the growing global popularity of CinemaScope this week. Having completed a nine week tour through the Far East and Europe, the executive foresaw at least five foreign Cinemascope productions in the coming year. A total of 13,000 out of a possible 17,000 overseas theatres have been equipped with the process, Skouras said. In this country, 15,000 out of 23,000 houses have had CinemaScope installed, he said, and Skouras believed that the saturation point has not yet been reached. The Fox president estimated that the process produced two or three times greater grosses overseas than the same picture would in a “flat” process. He also called CinemaScope a great stimulant to quality, since black and white standard films must improve to meet the competition. His trip to Japan gave him the impression of film prosperity similar to the 1920’s, with much construction under way and long lines outside the theatres. 20th-Fox, which expects to gross 50 million on the foreign market this year, permits only color Stereophonic sound Cinemascope for the overseas market. Skouras does not have that control over the domestic product. He pointed out that foreign companies can look to the process to increase their own domestic market, although they would not he helped in this country. He has not made any co-production committeements overseas, but he called on the industry to aid in the building of overseas theatres, an area in which “the U.S. industry has been negligent.” Atlas RKO Stock Sale Highlights SEC Report Washington. — Atlas Corp. sale of 92,900 shares of RKO Pictures Corp. common stock featured the September report of stock dealings by corporation officers and directors released by the Security and Exchange Commission last week. The Atlas dealings, in July and August, brought the company’s holdings down to 907,100 shares. Kurt Widder during August sold 1,800 shares of Skiatrou Electronics common, and retained 9,950 shares. J. Petrauskas, Jr. bought 100 shares of Republic Pictures Common, his entire holdings to date. E. C. Rhoden bought 200 shares of National Theatres, to bring his holdings to 35,000 shares plus 46,225 shares in holding companies. Benjamin Melniker bought 200 shares of Loew’s Inc. common and owned 500 shares at the end of the period. DISTRI-BITS Lieber Moves East Hollywood. — RKO has decided to move its entire advertising department, with Perry Lieber at the helm, from Hollywood to New York, effective Oct. 17. The news was announced by RKO president Daniel T. O’Shea, in Hollywood for his first visit since the purchase of the company by General Teleradio. Lieber, named national director of publicity and exploitation in 1953, now becomes national director of the entire advertising setup. He revealed this week that he plans no changes in personnel. Jacon Quits I.F.E. Bernard Jacon, I.F.E. Releasing Corporation’s vice president in charge of sales this week announced his resignation from the company. He will continue to serve as a consultant until December 31 when his contract terminates. Jacon’s future plans will bo finalized before the end of the year. Columbia Manila Meet Delegates from ten Columbia Pictures International territories will meet in Manila for the studio’s first full scale Far Eastern convention Oct. 29. The meeting, to be followed by a convention in Tokyo on Nov. 11, will be conducted by the International’s president, Lacy W. Kastner. Attending the Philippines meeting will be Bernard E. Zeeman, Columbia Int.’l treasurer. Sam Jr.'s First Film Samuel Goldwyn Jr.’s first motion picture production, “Man With The Gun,” starring Robert Mitchum and Jan Sterling, will have its gala world premiere Oct. 28 at Loew’s State Theatre, New Orleans, according to an announcement by William J. Heineman, UA vice-president in charge of distribution. "Conqueror" Plugged The radio publicity campaign for RKO’s “The Conqueror” began this week when the Howard Hughes production was plugged on the NBC network program, Your Radio Theatre. The show, heard 9 :00-9 :55 P.M., was devoted to an adaptation of the RKO Oscarwinning classic, “The Informer.” “The Conqueror,” a $6,000,000 CinemaScope-Technicolor production about Ghengis Khan, stars John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Pedro Armendariz. Sheepskin For Kaye Danny Kaye will be awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from the American International College in Springfield, Mass., according to John F. Hines, president of the college. The degree will be awarded at the College’s 70th Anniversary Convocation on October 20, in recognition of the film’s star’s work for the United Nations Children’s Fund. Trouble With Titles For Overseas: ‘Hitch’ Alfred Hitchcock (left) accepts a Vermont marble headstone in memory of the leading character of his film, "The Trouble With Harry" as star Shirley MacLaine and Barre's Paramount Theatre mgr. William Murphy look on. Barre, Yt. — Chewing the fat with newsmen here after the world premiere of his latest production, Paramount’s “The Trouble With Harry,” Alfred Hitchcock gave us something to think about. “As soon as our pictures leave the country, we don’t care what happens to them,” he said. “We depend on the foreign market for our profits and yet are too negligent to supervise the writing of foreign titles for our productions, even when wrong connotations may ruin the picture.” The famous producer-director went on to mention some specific problems of translation that would be encountered in the French version of “Harry,” which is quite a subtle comedy. One of the reasons for his forthcoming European trip, Hitchcock said, is to the straighten out this nervous situation. He leaves with the blessing of several other concerned Hollywood producers, including Hal Wallis. The world premiere of “Harry,” in VistaVision and Technicolor, occurred at the Paramount Theatre, Barre, near the locations where the film was made. Occasion was for the benefit of New England Flood Relief. Besides “Hitch,” star Shirley MacLaine and Gov. Joseph B. Johnson were present, and the affair was well-covered by a contingent of newsmen from New York and New England— R.M.W. Each Medium Has Own Advantages — Zinneman; First director to film in the new Todd-AO process, Fred Zinnemann stated that each film medium has its own advantages, and the choice of Todd-AO or some other process, color or black-and-white, should depend entirely on the film property. The AcademyAward winning director of “Oklahoma” believed that Todd-AO was excellent for that kind of material, however. Zinnemann recently toured Europe with playwright Robert Sherwood selecting locales for Michael Todd’s proposed “War and Peace,” but noted he would not going along with plans to begin shooting before the Paramount version is released. For “Guys and Dolls ” Only Anything, they say, can happen at Ebbets Field. Latest was the labeling of all lavatories in the ball park during the recent World Series with appropriately placed signs, ‘‘Guys and Dolls.” James Mulvey, president of Samuel Goldwyn Productions, soon to release “Guys and Dolls,” happens to be a part owner of the World Champs as well. It might be an idea for your own theatre. 16 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— October 15, 1955