Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1952)

2 Motion Picture Daily Monday, April 21, 1952 Personal Mention Parade Censorship Needed Today, Board of Regents Tells Court Washington, April 20. — Motion picture production and exhibition is "business, big business," and the need for state censorship and regulation "is, if anything, greater today than at the time of the decision in the Mutual Film case," the Supreme Court was told Friday. The statement came from attorneys for the New York State Board of Regents, in a brief filed with the Supreme Court defending the right of the Regents to ban "The Miracle" as sacrilegious. The appeal against the Regents' ruling, made by Joseph Burstyn, distributor of the film, is scheduled to be argued before the court on Wednesday or Thursday. Producers are always searching for something new and different for their pictures, the brief argued. It said that while in most cases the producer refrains from obscene or sacrilegious stories, the power to film them exists. That is why the industry set up its Production Code, the brief stated, and that is why state censorship is needed, it was argued. Mull Re-editing of Banned 4Latuko' Officials of the Museum of Natural History, sponsors of the African documentary film, "Latuko," barred from theatrical exhibition in New York by the Board of Regents, are currently debating whether to re-edit the film, deleting portions found objectionable by the censorship board. This was disclosed at the weekend following a meeting between Museum officials and Edgar Monsanto Queeny, board chairman of the Monsanto Chemical Co. of St. Louis and producer of "Latuko." If the re-editing job is done, it will be under the supervision of Queeny, it was disclosed. A spokesman for the Museum indicated that no appeal from the Regents' decision would be taken to the courts. He did say, however, that the Museum was carefully watching for a decision on the "Miracle" case, now before the U. S. Supreme Court, and due this week. The re-editing job was termed "expensive" by the Museum spokesman, who explained that necessary changes would require a lot of substitute footage, in addition to re-editing the sound track. Scenes depicting nude natives were found objectionable by the board. Set Religious TV Film Hollywood, April 20. — Jerry Fairbanks Productions will start filming this month "The Greatest Mother," a special 30-minute television show picturing highlights in the life of the Blessed Mother. This fifth Biblical holiday program to be made by the Family Theatre will be produced by Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, and will be offered to all stations without charge for sustaining showings on Mother's Day, May 11. It will feature Hollywood stars. NORTON V. RITCHEY, Monogram-International president, flew to the Coast from here over the weekend. William B. Zoellner, head of M-G-M shorts and newsreel sales, will arrive in Indianapolis today from Cincinnati for a two-day stay. • George Sidney, M-G-M director, and his wife have delayed their departure for the Coast from here until today. Lee Koken, RKO Theatres vending head, left here Friday for Detroit on RKO Theatres visits. • Gorman Heimuller has joined the booking department of Monogram's Los Angeles exchange. Warner Sales Heads Back from Meeting Warner executives arrived in New York over the weekend from New Orleans where Ben Kalmenson, sales vice-president, presided over the first of three regional sales meetings. Distribution and merchandising plans for summer and spring product highlighted the discussions. Arriving here in addition to Kalmenson, were Mort Blumenstock, vice-president in charge of advertising-publicity, who flew to New Orleans from his headquarters at the Burbank studios ; Norman H. Moray, short subjects sales manager; I. F. Dolid ; Howard Levinson ; Bernard R. Goodman, supervisor of exchanges; R. A. McGuire, auditor of exchanges ; Gil Golden, advertising manager ; Larry Golob, Eastern publicity director, and W. W. Brumberg, head of the field exploitation staff. Next sales meeting will be held in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday, April 24-25, with Jules Lapidus, Eastern sales manager and his division personnel attending. Reagan-Freeman Ask MPIC Continuance Hollywood, April 20. — The executive committee of the Motion Picture Industry Council will present to membership Wednesday night a unanimous resolution recommending the continuation of the organization. The resolution, moved by Ronald Reagan and seconded by Y. Frank Freeman, Paramount studio head, is the outgrowth of a series of discussions held since the resignation of the Screen Directors Guild from MPIC last February, reportedly for financial reasons on the part of SDG. The Reagan-Freeman resolution states "whereas the need for the Industry Council has never been greater than it is today, the executive committee unqualifiedly recommends to MPIC's member organizations that MPIC should be continued, and that through the Council we should strive to maintain unity in the film industry." y FRANK FREEMAN, Para1 ■ mount studio head, arrived here from the Coast over the weekend. « Bill Walsh of Walt Disney Productions and Nolie Miller, Warner Brothers starlet, eloped last week to Las Vegas. The bride is the daughter of Harry Miller, the songwriter. • Alfred H. Tamarin, United Artists' assistant national ad-publicity director, will return here today by plane from Kingston, Jamaica, B.W.I. • Mort Nathanson, Eastern adpublicity director of Horizon Films, will return here today from Los Angeles. • Rube Jackter, Columbia's assistant general sales manager, will leave here tor Memphis today. 16 Non-theatrical Firms Organize The formation of the Film Producer's Association, New York, was announced here at the weekend by Peter J. Mooney, its president. Currently consisting of 16 top nontheatrical film producers in the Metropolitan New York area, the association says it will devote itself to the advancement of the industry in all of its branches. Members of the association are said to account for about 75 per cent of the non-theatrical product turned out in New York. As part of the program, the association is in the process of establishing liaison with other craft, talent and industry groups. Other officers are : David Pincus, vice-president ; Edward Lamb, treasurer ; Walter Lowendahl, secretary. Members of the organization are : Audio Productions, Pathescope Company of America, Willard Pictures,, Video Varieties, Transfilm, Leslie Roush Productions, John Bransby, Caravel Films, Sound Masters, Films for Industry, Paul Hance Productions, Murphy-Lillis, Herbert Kerkow, Affiliated Film Producers, William J. Ganz, Film Graphics. SCA Rejected" '44 Bell-Howell Offer Washington, April 20. — Scophony Corp. of America turned down a 1944 offer from Bell and Howell for the loan of a SCA supersonic projector for examination and commercial exploitation, the Federal Communications Commission's Paramount "catchall" hearing was told on Friday. This was developed during questioning of Paul Raibourn, Paramount Pictures director and head of Paramount Television Productions. Phila. Associates Dinner Philadelphia, April 20. — Many distribution executives and others from New York are expected to attend the dinner of the local Motion Picture Associates which will be held tomorrow night at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. rJ~s HE Midwest floods and blasting J of the Reds in Korea are current newsreel highlights. Other items include fashions, a day at the zoo and sports. Complete contents follow: MOVIETONE NEWS, No. 33-Raging floods engulf Midwest. Truman signs Jap peace pact. Ike on farewell tour in Europe. Jane From an home with hero husband. Beat swept over waterfalls. Blast Korea Reds. Baseball, diving. NEWS OF THE DAY, No. 267— Flood disasters in the Midwest. U. S. warships blast Red Korea. New tanks for Korea. Tito warns Allies. Metal P.T. boats. Zoo spring fever. Baseball season opens. Bullfighting. PARAMOUNT NEWS, No. Ttt-Belgrade demonstration over Trieste. Cave-in in Woodstock, Ontario. New Jersey votes for Eisenhower in primaries. The floods. TELENEWS DIGEST, No. 16B— Midwest floods. Blast Korea Reds. Marshal Tito speaks. Eisenhower wins. Deep sea monster on display. Italian fashions. Baseball season opens. UNIVERSAL NEWS, No. 553— Midwest devastated by floods. News in brief; Red tanks for scrap. Spring at the zoo. New note in music. WARNER PATHE NEWS, No. 72— Mid we.-t floods. Ike beats Taft in primary. Ike starts last NATO1 toon-. Canadian cavein. Warships cut Red supply lines in Korea. Stanley Cup finals. Basketball. 2 Industry Hearings In Chi. Court Today Chicago, April 20. — Judge Barnes will hear motions in Federal District Court here tomorrow on two industry cases, one asking that the Federal anti-trust suit against several local drive-ins for alleged price fixing be. quashed. The other is a motion by Attorney Thomas C. McConnell requesting dismissal of a supplemental bill in which the defendant film companies and theatre circuits have asked for additional information and construction of the Milwaukee Town Theatre decree. Levine Will Install Pinanski in Lodge Martin Levine, president of Cinema Lodge of B'nai B'rith, New York, will be the honor guest and installing officer when Sentry Lodge, the newly-reconstituted industry unit of B'nai B'rith in Boston, installs Samuel Pinanski, president of the American Theatres Corp., as its newlyelected president in special ceremonies in Boston on Sunday, May 4. Levine, an executive of Brandt Theatres, was recently reelected to head New York's lodge for a second year. Thomas Cummiskey Of Movietone Dies Thomas Cummiskey, 56, sports editor of Movietone News, died Friday of a heart attack at Yankee Stadium in New York, collapsing into the arms of Yogi Berra, Yankee catcher, and dying shortly after in the clubhouse. A former newspaperman, at one time sports editor of the New York Daily Mirror, he is said to have been the first sports editor of sound newsreels. Surviving are his widow, Cecile, two daughters and a son, Tom, Jr. MOTION PICTURE DAILY. Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chiet and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Terry Ramsaye, Consulting Editor. Published daily, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address: "Quigpubco, New York." Martin Quigley. President; Red Kann, Vice-President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Raymond Levy, Vice-President; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; James P. Cunningham, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager, Hollywood Bureau, YuccaVine Building, William R. Weaver Editor. Chicago Bureau, 120 South LaSalle Street, Urben Farley, Advertising Representative, Fl 6-3074; Bruce Trinz, Editorial Representative, 11 North Clark Street, FR-2-2843. Washington J. A. Otten. National Press Club, Washington, D. C. London Bureau, 4 Golden So.. London Wl: Hope Burnup, Manager; Peter Burnup, Editor; cable address,"Ouigpubco. London." Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald; Better Theatres and Theatre Sales, each published 13 times a year as a section of Motion Picture Herald; International Motion Picture Almanac; Fame. Entered as second-class matter, Sept. 21. 1938, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscription rates per year, $6 in the Americas and $12 foreign; single copies, 10c.