Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1951)

Tuesday, January 9, 1951 Motion Picture Daily 3 National MiilMMHMiiiiiiMMt Pre-Selling THE January 16 edition of Look runs a double truck on the "Movies' Top 20 Ticket Sellers" with their authority the Motion Picture HeraldFame poll of independent and circuit theatre owners. Betty Grable is featured in a full-page, full-color picture opposite the listings, although she was No. 4, but it isn't hard to see why she rates the picture. The 20 are shown in thumbnail in their relative standings. The new Look features Jean Simmons on the cover, reviews "Born Yesterday," carries full-page color ads for "Vendetta" and several new M-G-M picture. A continuing campaign to promote worthwhile films among students of the nation is being inaugurated by Scholastic magazine, top publication in the educational field, starting this week with the distribution of a poster on "Cyrano de Bergerac" to all Neiv York and Los Angeles senior and junior high schools. The plan will be followed in all key cities and it is estimated that an audience of 1,000,000 will be reached with each 5,000 posters on display. The poster carries the same heading as Scholastic's motion picture department. • More than 5,000 cards congratulating Bing Crosby on his 20th anniversary as a star were mailed from the lobby of the Paramount Theatre in New York on the opening day of "Mr. Music." They were distributed by members of the Bing Crosby Fan Club during a special disc jockey show originating in the lobby and aired over Station WNEW. Crosby fans are urged to send greeting cards to 'The Groaner" who will pick a winner on his Jan. 31 radio program. The winner gets an all-expense trip for two to Hollywood to meet "Mr. Music." • Women's Wear, daily newspaper of the retail garment trades, carries a 12page section devoted to the merchandise tieups effected for "Bird of Paradise" by 20th Century-Fox, prior to the opening of the campaign which is to reach a climax with release of the picture at Easter time. A series of ads in Women's Wear over the past eight weeks has built up a list of325 stores set to tie-in on the initial film promotion. The pages in the current section tell the merchandising story and reproduce various wholesale and magazine ads which will appear in the immediate future. The entire program, under the direction of Stirling Silliphant, is expected to top the record obtained with the promotion of "The Black Rose" last Spring. • Women's page editors and fashion writers from a number of key city newspapers attended the gala cocktail party at the Hotel Pierre last evening, introducing 20th Century-Fox's record merchandising promotion for the film. Out-of-town newspapers sent staff writers to see how the merchandising plan was launched in New York and to prepare for a similar result at their local level. Also in attendance at the party and display were personalities of stage and screen, radio and TV people, home office executives and representatives of 23 manufacturers and advertising agencies participating in the promotion. Truman Lauds Films' Civic Activities Washington, Jan. 8. — Warm praise for the civic and charitable activities of the motion picture industry was expressed by President Truman to film actor Edward Arnold, the actor reported after a White House visit. Arnold, who went to the President to report on his progress in recruiting industry personnel for work on the Treasury's Bond Drive, said Mr. Truman told him that the film industry was outstanding in the help it gave the government and private organizations in every worthy cause. Union Says 'No' to Houses' Pay Cut Bid Cleveland, Jan. 8. — The Cleveland Motion Picture Exhibitors Association's request for a voluntary 25 per cent cut in pay for members of Local 160, IATSE, has been turned down by the stage hands. The Association employs 26 stage hands. The operators still have the proposal under consideration. CM PEA members, all neighborhood theatre owners, are seeking overhead relief to meet a 25 to 40 per cent drop in business. A theatrical souvenir book of "Harvey" has been prepared by Al Greenstone & Co., which specializes in the production and sale of such books on stage and film attractions playing longrun engagements. The book for "Harvey" features a cover in which the big rabbit is aptly described through a cut-out. In addition to theatre sales, U-I plans to use the book for promotional purposes, playing up the photo layouts and special by-line articles telling of the famous pooka. • "Branded," a new Paramount Technicolor outdoor film scheduled for release next month, reaps a publicity harvest in the current issues of Woman's House Companion and McCall's. Mona Freeman is featured in a sevenpage fashion layout in the January Companion, while the McCall article carries a series of five photographs of Miss Freeman, with one of them in color. • A series of letters, signed by Mrs Dean Gray Edwards, chairman of the motion picture division of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, is being sent to 14,000,000 members of these affiliated organizations throughout the country in praise of 20th Century-Fox's "Of Men and Music." The letters point out that this film will bring to small towns everywhere great music that can otherwise be heard only in large cities. Mrs. Edwards says, "Something truly notable in the progress of motion pictures has been conceived and executed in a manner to bring joy and enchantment to all of us." • The opening of 20th Century-Fox's "The Mudlark" in Miami and New York brought a smashing climax to a radio and TV campaign which— has reached a repeat audience of more than 200,000,000 listeners and viewers over home sets, according to the company. — Walter Brooks Babb Sole Owner of Hallmark Production Cleveland, Jan. 8. — Complete ownnership of Hallmark Prod., Inc., its distribution contracts, star contracts, real estate properties, equipment, story properties, copyrights, publishing and recording businesses, its 15 subsidiary corporations and distribution organization has passed to Kroger Babb, cofounder of the company. Signing of the papers took place here, on Babb's 44th birthday. Babb delivered a check finalizing the transaction to his partner, J. S. ("Jack") Jossey, who held a 50 percent interest and now becomes Babb's financial advisor. Jossey is retiring from active business because of failinghealth. Babb named Gilbert Wilkin as new comptroller of Hallmark. Charles ("Chuck") Or en was promoted from a unit manager to director of routes in the Wilmington, O., home office. Hank Adams, national sales manager, has resigned to join the Hollywood Advertising Co. in the same capacity. No successor has been named. CBS Color Showings Begun In Chicago Chicago, Jan. 8. — Demonstrations of CBS's color TV system, already viewed by more than 100,000 New Yorkers, will begin here tomorrow, and will be held daily in the WBBMCBS main audience studio in the W rigley Building. Programs will be transmitted from New York over the coaxial cable. During the last few weeks numerous dry runs were made with the pictures being piped over the coaxial. Thus, in New York CBS experts could study the pictures after they had made a round trip to Chicago. B & K's State Lake Has Large Turnout for Truman's Talk Chicago, Jan. 8. — "Big screen" televising of President Truman's Stateof-the-Union address and the openingday of "The Flying Missile" and "Counterspv Meets Scotland Yard" gave the State Lake a healthy boxoffice Monday noon. About 2,000 of the theatre's 2,700 seats were filled, this being considerably above average business for Monday morning. Balaban and Katz officials said it was impossible to tell whether the films or the telecast accounted for the attendance, but they felt that the importance of the telecast was a very definite factor. The audience, predominantly male, listened to the telecast attentively. Sound and quality of the picture were good. Mono, Acquires 2; 'Lover? 'Years' Hollywood, Jan. 8. — "Wind Is My Lover," retitled, "Gypsy Fury," and "Vicious Years," already given limited distribution, have been acquired by Monogram for distribution, Steve Broidy, Monogram president, announced today. Both were originally scheduled for Film Classics' release. Would Unionize TV Men Baltimore, Jan. 8. — The Motion Picture Operators Union here is active in trying to organize into a union the TV film projectionists working in local television stations, according to Samuel Isaacson, business manager. Will Expand RCA Service Philadelphia, Jan. 8. — Greater demands for the servicing of electronic equipment and theatre sound systems in 1951 will put additional burdens on the sound servicing industry, which is already feeling the pinch of manpower and material shortages, RCA Service Company district managers were told during a four-day meeting held here. The company is already studying streamlined operational methods designed to make possible an expansion of service activtiies to meet the anticipated demand, panel speakers informed the meeting. Demands for servicing will increase in ratio to whatever decrease there may occur in replacement equipment coming off the production lines, it was pointed out. Users of electronic equipment and theatre sound systems, if required to keep current equipment in operation longer than planned, will need additional servicing to maintain top operations efficiency. Executives representing the RCA Service at the sessions included E. C. Cahillj president; W. L. Jones, vicepresident in charge of technical products service ; J. P. Boksenbom, vicepresident in charge of consumer products service, and P. P. Reed, vice-president in charge of government service. District managers attending were : J. Mauran, Boston ; H. J. Mayer, New York; M. E. Wheaton, Philadelphia; F. W. Hamre, Pittsburgh ; G. F. Sandore, Atlanta ; H. E. Frisbie, Cleveland ; F. W. Wentker, Chicago ; E. D. Van Duyne, Kansas City ; W. W. Gilreath, Dallas; S. H. Schultz, San Francisco ; A. E. Jackson, Hollywood. FCC Reports 35 New TV Stations in Year Washington, Jan. 8. — As of June 30, 1950, there were 106 television stations on the air, serving 64 cities and metropolitan areas, the Federal Communications Commission has reported. This compares with 71 stations serving 42 cities the year previous. On June 30, 1950, there were 109 stations authorized, compared with 117 the year before, but 47 actually licensed, compared with only 13 on June 30, 1949. Applications were on file June 30 for 351 new television stations. Top Artists Slated For 'Music' Bow Leading figures in the world of music will be on hand for the premiere of "Men and Music" at the Park Avenue Theatre here early in February. In addition, stars appearing in the 20th Century-Fox film are expected to give an impromptu concert. Artists in the film are Artur Rubinstein, Jan Peerce, Nadine Connor, Jascha Heifetz, Dimitri Mitropoulos and the Philharmonic Symphony orchestra of New York. R. I. Exhibitors Meet Providence, R. I., Jan. 8. — Governor-elect Dennis J. Roberts of Rhode Island has invited all exhibitors in the state to a luncheon Thursday at the Narragansett Hotel here in an effort to mobilize the industry for the March of Dimes Campaign.