Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1952)

4 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, March 18, 1952 National Pre-Selling OMAN'S Home Companion had the largest circulation in its history with the February issue — over 4,000,000 copies distributed (more than 1,750,000 on news stands). The March 10 issue of Lijc carried eight ads sponsored by various national advertisers in which motion picture stars or new films were credited. RKO Pictures, 20th Century-Fox, Paramount and Universal were on the receiving end of the cooperative deals. The April issue of Photoplay has a fivepage fashion section which sparks the national pre-selling of "Pride of St. Louis." Twentieth Century-Fox is following up with a series of regional fashion shows. Inmates of the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla have asked for a preview of "The Greatest Show on Earth" and Paramount says it must be the result of pre-selling in national magazines for this potential audience does not have any other way of learning about the picture. Paramount's "Anything Can Happen" has been selected as the "Picture-of-the-Month" for May by Seventeen magazine. • Universal International has launched a four-week series of promotions on six different network television and radio programs for its forthcoming color by Technicolor picture, 'Steel Town," which will reach an estimated audience of 35,000,000 people from Coast to Coast. The company has also made a tieup with Everlast Sporting Goods in behalf of "Flesh and Fury," starring Tony Curtis, Jan Sterling and Mona Freeman. The sponsors will introduce the picture to the boxing commissioners of 47 states who will be attending the National Boxing Association convention at the Hotel Mayflower in Washington March 28-29. • The April Good Housekeeping skips from page 17 to page 303 with Ruth Herbert's studio gossip, "Assignment in Hollywood," and five pictures are recommended — "Phone Call from A Stranger," "The Wild North" and "Something to Live For," for adults; "With A Song in My Heart" for the ■whole family, and "Jack and the Beanstalk" for children. The hefty issue carries two ads from M-G-M, the "Picture of the Month" ad on the contents page, as familiar as the masthead, and the new and bright, fullcolor, full-page M-G-M "Movie Calendar of the Month" — both ads being listed in the magazine's "Index of Guaranteed Products." • With the Easter release of "With A Song in My Heart" nearly four weeks away, 20th Century-Fox has racked up 150 major network plugs for the picture to date, with many more title song-plugs continuing on Coast to Coast shows. Jane Froman personally has appeared on 15 top rarlio and TV shows. Five major disc jockeys in the Xew York area and liundreds of others across the nation are doing a particularly strong job with the Capitol record album of the picture's tunes. The film opens at the Roxy here on April 4, and will be previewed betore tlie American Academy of General Practice in Atlantic City next Monday, Walter Brooks DeSica Credits US For His Productions American audiences and film critics yesterday were credited by Vittorio DeSica, Italian producer-director, with having made possible the production of his "Bicycle Thief," "Miracle in Milan" and the forthcoming "Umberto D." He told the New York Film Critics at a luncheon at the 21 Club here that his first picture, "Shoe Shine," failed in Italy, and that he would not have made the others but for the favorable reception in this country to his initial film. The luncheon, given by Italian Film Export, featured the presentation to DeSica by Bosley Crowther, Film Critics chairman, of the group's award for "the best foreign film of 1951," "Miracle in Milan." Speaking for the Film Critics, Crowther said: "We regard DeSica as one of the great motion picturemakers of the world. Too few of our own people are making films which represent the great tradition of the theatre in its broadest sense, which is the clarification to men of things that burn in the hearts of men.'" Impellitteri to Welcome Vittorio De Sica Today Mayor Vincent Impellitteri will today extend an official welcome for the City of New York to Vittorio DeSica, Italian director, on his first visit to this country. DeSica will be accompanied by Dr. Renato Gualino, general director of Italian Film Export, B. Bernard Kreisler of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Joseph Burstyn, distributor of DeSica's films in the U. S. Legion of Decency Puts 5 in Class B The latest Legion of Decency report places five films in Class B and 14 in Class A. The former are: "Gypsy Blood," RKO; "One Big Affair," United Artists ; "Outcast of the Islands," Lopert Productions ; "Thief of Damascus," Columbia ; "With A Song in My Heart," 20th CenturyFox. The Legion also notes that M-G-M's "The Wild North," previously classified in Class B, has been reclassified to A-2 due to a change made in the film. B.B,C, Extends TV Service to Scotland London, March 17. — British Broadcasting Co. has opened its first transmitter in Scotland, midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Its potential audience is estimated at well over 4,000,000, extending B.B.C. television service to about 70 per cent of the population of the United Kingdom. The new station will carry the same programs as do B.B.C.'s other three stations. Herbert Yates Wed To Miss Ralston Hollywood, March 17.— Herbert J. Yates, president of Republic Pictures Corp., and Vera Ralston were married Saturday evening at tlie Little Brown Church at North Hollywood, Cal. The Keverciid John Wells officiated. The couple is at home at Sherman Oaks, Cal. Franco-US Talks to Open Before June 1 Following his return here from Washington, where he met at the weekend with State Department, SIMP? and other MPAA officials to plan for the forthcoming Franco-American film talks, John G. McCarthy, MPAA foreign department chief, said yesterday he expected negotiations would get underway in Paris with French government oflficials before June 1, when the present FrancoAmerican film pact expires. Ratner, Compo Aide, Resigns Macy's Post Victor M. Ratner, who has resigned effective April 1 as R. H. Macy's sales promotion vice-president to open his own public relations office here, has been assisting the Council of Motion Picture Organizations in the preparation of its forthcoming nationwide newspaper advertising campaign, Arthur L. Mayer, CO.MPO executive vice-president, reported yesterday. Mayer said it was likely that Ratner would continue his assistance. Ratner has indicated that his new firm will do special work for 20th Century-Fox, and will work with the William Morris agency on TV prograjmrning. The office of Lynn Farnol, who assisted in the development of Macy's full-page New York newspaper ads which tie in current films, said yesterday it had no reason to expect that Ratner's resignation would alter the tie-in arrangement. The ads were the ideas of Ratner, Farnol and Metropolitan New York Theatres acting in behalf of the Council of Motion Picture Organizatoins. At Macy's Ratner will be succeeded by H. Charles Bartlett. Arthur Will Produce Canadian Pageant Toronto, March 17. — Jack Arthur, veteran official of Famous Players Canadian Corp., has been appointed producer of the grandstand pageant of the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto fair, which is scheduled for Aug. 21-Sept. 6, at a salary of $12,000', plus seven and one-half per cent of the gross gate above $350,000. Arthur, who will be on loan from Famous Players, succeeds Leon Leonidofif of Radio City Music Hall, -New York, who was paid $18,000 last year. As the nominee of Mayor Allan Lamport, Arthur was the unanimous choice of the exhibition's board of directors in a move to Canadianize the big show, which had Jimmy Durante as the headliner last summer. Two C onv entions Are Set in Canada Toronto, March 17. — The dates of Oct. 27-29 have been set for the 1952 annual conventions of the Motion Picture Industry Council of Canada, headed by J. J. Fitzgibbons, president of Famous Players, and of the national committee of the Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association of Canada. The joint meetings will be held at the Chateau Laurier at Ottawa. In the past two years, the sessions were conducted in Toronto and Montreal. Coming Events March 19 — Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Atlantic Coast Section meeting, Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N. Y. March 20 — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 24th annual awards, Pantages Theatre, Hollywood. March 24-26 — Theatre Owners of Oklahoma annual convention, Biltmore Hotel, Oklahoma City. March 24-27 — National Theatres executives' meeting, Los Angeles. March 26 — National Television Film Council quarterly all-day forum, W^arwick Hotel, N. Y. Mdrch 26 — Cinema Stamp Collectors meeting. Hotel Aster, NewYork. April 13-15 — Motion Picture Theatre Owners and Operators of Georgia annual convention, Biltmore Hotel, Atlanta. April 15-16 — Iowa-Nebraska annual meeting, Fontenelle Hotel, Omaha. April 21-25 — Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers 71st semi-annual convention, Hotel Drake, Chicago. April 22-23 — Allied Independent Theatre Owners of Iowa-Nebraska annual convention, Omaha. April 23 — Cinema Stamp Collectors meeting, Hotel Astor, New York, April 28-May 1— Variety Clubs International 16th annual convention, Las Vegas. Abbott & Costello To Tour 15 Cities Bud Abbott and Lou Costello will make personal appearances in 15 cities in the United States and Canada in April in connection with Warner's presentation of their new Exclusive Productions Picture in SupercineColor, "Jack and the Beanstalk." The comedians will launch their tour on April 5 in Lou Costello's home town, Paterson, N. J., where "Jack and the Beanstalk" will have its world premiere at the Fabian Theatre. On April 7 the stars will appear on the stage of the Warner Theatre in New York for the opening day of "Jack and the Beanstalk" there. Other theatres and cities to play host tO' the "in person" Abbott and Costello tour will include the Stanley Theatre in Philadelphia on April 8, Roger Sherman Theatre in New Haven on April 9, Paramount, Boston, April 10, Stanley, Pittsburgh, April 11, the Astor Theatre in Reading and the Senate in Harrisburgh on April 12, and the Warner in Washington on April 13. Set 60 Papers for SMPTE Convention There will be 11 or more sessions at the spring convention of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, to be held at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, April 21-25, with 60 papers scheduled to be delivered. Linz Is Monogram Indianapolis Head Indianapolis, March 17. — Norman Linz, formerly a salesman in the Monogram office here, has been named branch manager to succeed H. K. Embleton, who will retire.