Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1951)

Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, March 20, 1951 National Pre-Selling SPECIAL pressbooks issued by Mutual Broadcasting System m its 544-station tieup for "The 13th Letter" with 20th Century-Fox, and a similar device issued by National Biscuit Co., to its 3.S00 fieldmen in a tieup for Columbia's "Lorna Doone are indicative of the kind of pre-sellmg aids which penetrate into other lines for the benefit of the film industry. The exploitation kits are patterned after motion picture practice and are based on showmanship, thus makingcooperation with theatre managers at the point of sale the logical and practical thing to do. • Universal has mobilized a special exploitation force of 20 fieldmen to help promote the initial openings of Bill Mauldin's "Up Front" which will have its world premiere at Loew's State Theatre in New York next Saturday, and is set to open in more than 500 situations during April. Assignments include Bob Ungerfield in Cincinnati and Indianapolis; Dave Polland in Baltimore and Washington; Julian Bowes, Dallas; Ed Holland, Omaha and Des Moines; Duke Hickey, Pittsburgh; John McGrail, New England; Bob Kaufman, St. Louis; Ben Katz, Chicago, and Cliff Brown in San Francisco. Special assignments go to Bob Wile, "Bucky" Harris, Bill Slater and others of the home office staff. • Edward Alperson's "The Sword of Monte Cristo," which will be released this month bv 20th Century-Fox, is being boosted by 12,000,000 teen-agers in a tieup zvith the "Y-Teen" Clubs of America, who have hundreds of local units throughout the country, under the wing of the Parent-Teachers Association, Chambers of Commerce and civic groups, assuring publicity for the film with schools, libraries and youth groups from Coast to Coast. • A special "Bird of Paradise" newsreel has been made by 20th-FoxMovietone and will be available to hundreds of leading stores which are introducing fashions and merchandise based on the picture's promotion. The film, which runs five minutes and is offered in 16mm for use away from the theatre, features models wearing the 23 fashion creations inspired by the film, with a commentary by Vyvyan Donner, fashion director for Movietone News. In addition, the regular theatre edition of the newsreel will carry a generous clip of the fashion promotion of thousands of theatres. • The Fuller Brush Co., through more than 15,000 dealers, is adding another 15,000,000 copies of its promotional circular for "Fuller Brush Girl" to the printed matter which its salesmen have already distributed. This raises the total to more than 66,000,000 pieces of advertising which the door-to-door canvassers have distributed since the picture's release. With coverage extending into a majority of homes in all of the 48 states, the film is expected to enjoy a much greater than average number of bookngs, especially in small towns, due to the saturation promotion and cooperation of the Fuller company. — Walter Brooks Film Ads Draw Fire of British Censors; Clean-Up Is Asked by Ad-Publicity Men London, March 19.— The trade here has been asked by A. T. L. Watkins, secretary of the British Board of Films Censors, to clean up certain allegedly undesirable posters. At a meeting with advertising-publicity men he produced examples of what he termed offensive advertising that had provoked newspaper and child-welfare societies' criticism. Watkins said the trade did itself no good in descending to such advertising methods. Some of the matter objected to came from the U. S. and, it is understood, the British Censor's Board has been in touch with the Production Code Administration concerning it. The ad-publicity men will discuss the subject with their companies and it will be taken up also by the Censorship Consultative Committee, on which all sections of the industry are represented. Most of the posters objected to showed sordid or brutal scenes and characters. Para. Remaps (Continued from page 1) for more than a two per cent of decline in attendance. But new conditions require new concepts in our advertising and publicity approach to the public. I have no secret formula for making our pictures earn more dollars, and we shall use the same tools show business has always used, but we will try to sharpen them as much as we, can and devise new methods for utilizing them." Pickman continued, "We think it is not enough to just get player names or picture titles into public print. Although that is important, it is more important to use them in news stories that transmit to readers the excitement that sets in at the studio when a picture begins shooting, and builds, or should build, steadily until the picture reaches the public. It is our present audience, and not some lost audience we used to have, that we need to serve fully and faithfully. . We shall plan our campaigns with that objective, trying always to make known every genuine reason why the public should want to see our pictures. We shall use every operational trick _ in our bag, apply every legitimate gimmick, but we shall . not misrepresent or double cross our public. Working as one, the home office and studio departments will coordinate every effort as part of an over-all whole with the utmost striking power." Saturation promotion, coupled with area-saturation bookings, has been extremely successful in an early trial, Pickman said, and will be continued on an expanded scale. He intends to spend one-third of his time in New York, one-third in the field, one-third here. He flies back to New York tomorrow night. GPL Videofilm Bows At Fulton Theatre RKO to Stress Three Exploitation Films Three "exploitation specials" set by RKO Radio for release one each in April, May, and June will be given extensive campaigns based on maximum use of publicity, advertising, and i ocal showmanship, it was announced ! here yesterday by. Robert Mochrie, sales vice-president. The campaigns, which will be coordinated by S. Barret McCormick, director of advertising ; Terry Turner, exploitation director, and Don Prince, Eastern publicity director, will cover Howard Hawks' "The Thing," to be released in April; "Tokyo File 212,3 which was produced in Japan, to be; released in May, and "Jungle Headquarters," produced by Sol Lesser, which will be released in June. Pittsburgh, March 19. — What is claimed to be the brightest, biggest 16 mm. picture every projected on a motion picture screen was produced here tonight at the world premiere of General Precision Laboratory's videofilm theatre television system at the Fulton Theatre, key house of the Shea cir cuit. GPL equipment receives, photographs, develops, and projects the filmed television image to the regular motion picture screen. The continu ous process, using economical 16 mm. film, is completed within 60 seconds from the TV action to screen projection. A near capacity Lenten audience, despite bad weather, witnessed the finals of the Golden Gloves tourna ment telecast by a special installed co axial cable direct from New York's Madison Square Garden. Last minute arrangements succeeded in bringing to the premiere an eye witness TV view of the special meet ing of the Senate Crime Investigating Committee. The fifteen minute crime feature preceded the climax of the boxing tourney. Special out-of-town visitors to the premiere included : Gerald Shea, Andrew Grainger and Carroll Lawler of the Shea circuit ; Nathan Halpern theatre television consultant ; J. Rabinovitz, United Paramount Theatres ; and Blair Foulds of GPL. Loew's, U. S. Talk (Continued from page 1) Meanwhile, it was reported that attorneys for 20th Century-Fox had arrived here in hopes of winding up their negotiations with the Department. The 20th-Fox attorneys were slated to talk with Justice officials tomorrow. Passes 'Booth' Bill Albany, N. Y., March 19. — A bill authorizing the New York State Board of Standards and Appeals to establish minimum booth standards in promotion of health was passed today by the state senate. The assembly did not act on a companion measure, both of which had been opposed by theatre spokesmen. William Benton, Saratoga Exhibitor Albany, N. Y., March 19.— Word was received here that William E. Benton, president of Benton Theatres, Saratoga, died suddenly in Miami Beach this morning. An exhibitor for more than 30 years, Benton had not been in the best of health for two years, but was at his desk before leaving for the South. He held extensive business interests in Saratoga. He was chairman of the Republican county committee, and was a personal friend of Governor Dewey. His son, James E., Jr., has been associated with him in theatre operations since coming out of the service. Benton was also well known for his Catholic philanthropies. British Film Loan Leads to Charges London, March 19. — J. H. Lawrie head of the government's Film Finance Corp., is being charged by Northern exhibitors with attempting to dictate public film tastes. The government corporation made a loan of £60,000 to John Blakeley's Mancunian Film Corp., which produces low-cost, robust comedies popular with Northern exhibitors but which are not shown in the South of England. Blakeley said the government corporation has demanded full repayment of the £30,000 outstanding on the loan, or the appointment of receivers. Lawrie is credited with having said that if he had known the kind of pictures Blakeley makes he would not have made the advance to him. Illinois Drive-in Suit Settled, Dismissed Chicago, March 19. — Federal Judge Michael Igoe today dismissed the Grays Lake Outdoor Theatre case against major distributors, Balaban and Katz, Great States Theatres and A. J. B. Theatres on agreement by both sides. The settlement terms were not announced. The case has been in. and out of the courts many times since it was filed on May 26, 1949. The plaintiffs claimed the defendants conspired to keep first-run product out of its drive-in in the Waukegan area. Since the case was filed, the drive-in has been getting product one week after it leaves Waukegan. Delays Drive-in Bow Chicago, March 19. — The Double Drive-in, scheduled to open last Friday along with four other Chicago area outdoor theatres, has postponed its opening until a later date. Sue Over Coast Property Los Angeles, March 19. — Fox. West Coast and, 20th Century-Fox have been named defendants in a suit, filed in U. S. District Court here by: Selma Steiner, owner of the Larchmont Theatre, who charges that Fox. West Coast and other defendants violated anti-trust laws by obtaining a long-term lease on the Larchmont running to 1962, at "a grossly inequitable low rental." Special 'Arms' Bow Washington, March 19.— A special showing of March of Time's "Modern Arms and Free Men," will be held Wednesday for top government officials and the press at the Carnegie Institution of Washington., Sponsored by the Committee on the j Present Danger, the showing will also. I be attended by Richard de Rochemont. i March of Time producer ; D. Y. Brad* shaw, associate producer, and Phil; Williams and Marjorie Harker, MOT.y i