Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1953)

Wednesday, April 29, 1953 Motion Picture Daily 7 National Pre-Selling THE 50th Anniversary of Redbook is celebrated with the May issue. Florence Somers has chosen Columbia's "Salome" as the top picture of the month for the issue. She says "Rita Hayworth is the perfect choice," in her review of "Salome" which is illustrated with full color photographs taken on the set. "Shane," reports Life in the current issue, "is an epic-sized movie, the best so far of this year's Westerns." Alan Ladd, who portrays "Shane" is silent, dependable, vigilant, and his strength is the strength of 10 because his heart is pure. But for all its authentic realism, the story of 'Shane' is straight from King Arthur's Round Table, and the hero's real name is Galahad." Also in this issue are two full color page pictures of Lauren Bacall wearing the same type of costume she wears in "How to Marry A Millionaire," one of 20th Century Fox's new CinemaScope movies. In the March 9 issue of Life, the CinemaScope process was described under the title "Zanuck Drops an Anti-Depth Charge." Stills from "The Robe," the first CinemaScope picture to be released, were spread over two pages. After seeing the CinemaScope demonstration at the Roxy here, my opinion is that the industry has dis covered a pearl-bearing oyster. • Ed Miller, movie editor of Seventeen, chose "The Story of Three Loves" as the picture of the month for the May issue. • "Call Me Madam," gets a laudatory review in the current issue of Look. Seven production stills are used to illustrate the review. • Curtis Mitchell reports that "Bwana Devil" will show a profit of at least $5,000,000 in an article entitled "What Is This 3-D," which appeared in the April 26 issue of American Weekly. Mitchell describes all 3-D and wide-screen processes now in use. He reports of Spyros Skouras' and Earl Sponable's hurried trip to Paris to call on Professor Chretien, age 75, whose invention of the wideangle camera and projection lens are the basic factors of CinemaScope. • Full color pictures and terse reviews of "Call Me Madam," "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," "Fair Wind to Java," and George Pal's "The War of the Worlds," appear in the May issue of American Magazine. Also in the issue is a table of contents ad on "Never Let Me Go." • Betty Grable is featured in a full color page tie-in ad publicizing "The Farmer Takes A Wife," in the May issue of Woman's Home Companion, placed by Lustre-Creme Shampoo. • Henry Koster, director of "The Robe," was chosen by Coronet as the critic of the month for the May issue. Koster picked "Julius Caesar" and "Salome" as the two pictures he liked most. Walter Haas Rebut Charges (Continued from page 6) Fox Vote (Continued from page 1) among exhibitors. If the salesman found it to exist, he said, "we discontinue sending bidding letters." The Universal sales head expressed amazement at the charge that the distributors wished to drive the exhibitors out of business. "Were distributors to drive small independents oul of business," he said, "it would mean we would wind up with nothing but circuits to sell. In my judgment, nothing could be worse for a distributing company than to find itself completely in the hands of the independent circuit operators, the large independent buying combines and the large national circuits." Not A Racket In regard to exhibitor statements that they were afraid to make complaints against distributors for fear of reprisals, Feldman stated that "the fact that an exhibitor is dissatisfied or complains about a salesman or a branch or district manager has never affected the business relationships" between the company and the exhibitor. "Ours is a legitimate business and not a racket," he continued. "We resent the suggestion of reprisal against anyone appearing before this committee." Feldman gave figures paralleling Reagan's showing that Universal had each year from 1947 to 1951 increased its output of pictures. Since then, he said, the output has remained constant. Forcing of pictures is not "an authorized or sanctioned practice" for LTniversal, Feldman said. He declared, however, that "there has been considerable forcing on the part of exhibitors in a position to do so by telling us that they will take such and such a deal if we price a certain picture or pictures at such and such a price." In response to a question from Sen. Smathers (D., Fla.) Feldman declared that his company favored arbitration. "Would you arbitrate everything, including prices?" Smathers asked. Feldman replied that he wouldn't arbitrate prices. "I don't think they can be arbitrated." Smathers wanted to know whether Universal made adjustments on terms after a picture had played. "We do make adjustments," Feldman answered, "but sometimes an exhibitor asks us to and we don't." He added, however, that "we grant quite a few more than we turn down." ter states, "is designed to provide a working team of directors, and management regards the Green group as antagonistic, and the best practical way in our judgment to avoid the consequences of such a board is to eliminate cumulative voting." The company's letter also points out that Green, who has been highly critical of the proposal, has not introduced cumulative voting at United Cigar-Whelan Corp., which he controls. It states that cumulative voting was adopted by 20th-Fox at the request of 2'0th Century Pictures' stockholders when the latter was purchased by Fox in 1935, and that Darryl Zanuck, the only remaining member of the 20th Century group in Fox, "no longer feels the provision is desirable." The letter also notes that Green's criticisms of 20th-Fox executive salaries ignores the 50 per cent cuts applicable to those receiving over $26,000 annually, which reduces such salaries $835,000 per year. It notes also that of the five nominees for the 20th-Fox board proposed by Green only Robert Dann, "one of his lawyers," is claimed to have had any experience in the industry. Green identified Dann as a director since 1951 of Five Continent Films, of which the company's letter says : "We have tried without success to find that that company ever produced or distributed a motion picture in the United States. The Motion Picture Association of America informs us it has no record of such a company in its files. Mr. Dann informs us that the company transacts business in Holland and other European countries." The company states it will reply to Green's latest message to 20th-Fox stockholders as soon as a study of it has been completed. In that message Green denied he sought control of 20th-Fox. He has proposed five directors for the 10-member board. He also denied that he planned to liquidate the company and was critical of employment by 20th-Fox of Robert L. Jacks, Zanuck's son-in-law ; Otto Lang, producer, described as "Zanuck's ski instructor," and of Emanuel Silverstone, brother of Murray Silverstone, president of 20th-Fox International. Apart from reiterating previously made charges and criticisms, Green's letter refers to CinemaScope in the category of "wildcat operations." 2-D' Supply (Continued from page 1) duce during the coming year but you must take into consideration the fact that RKO has a large, worldwide organization and we certainly expect to produce pictures to keep that organization going at all times. I think the fact for you to get across is, as I mentioned above and I reiterate, that exhibitors should be advised that 3-D pictures can be played as regular motion pictures or the so-called '2-D.' " Al W. Schwalberg, president of Paramount Film Distributing Corp., advised : "We are getting ready to release a 3-D picture, 'Sangaree,' made in Technicolor, and our studio has under production a second 3-D picture, "Those Redheads from Seattle.' "We have no present plans to confine our output to 3-D pictures. We will continue to make fine pictures in substantial numbers according to traditional methods until at least such time in the future as it may be clearly demonstrated that the public demands its pictures to be made in 3-D or something different. In the meantime, exhibitors in this country, large and small, need not fear that Paramount will deprive them of an adequate supply of fine pictures made for normal exhibition." Para. Shorts (Continued from page 1) Supplementary Statement To Be Filed By Allied Washington, April 28. — Allied States Association will file a supplementary statement with the Senate Small Business sub-committee "supplying additional information and commenting on statements of the distributors," general counsel Abram F. Myers said. This was the only comment he would make on today's testimony by distributor witnesses Charles M. Reagan and Charles J. Feldman. Subcommittee chairman Schoeppel (R., Kans.) has indicated that all parties will have 20 days after the close of the hearings to submit additional information for the record. Burns of Toronto Dies Toronto, April 28. — Hugh Quigley Burns, director of advertising and sales for Paramount Pictures, Toronto, for 31 years, has died. will be ready if and when it becomes evident the market can carry them." He said the move was in line with the company's determination to be fully prepared to fill market requirements. The number of one-reel subjects on Paramount's current schedule is 58, or two less than the program to be released in the 1953-54 season. Morgan reported that the company also is considering the possibility of producing a limited number of "outstanding" multiple-reel short subjects which would be in addition to those announced for next season. These would be sold individually and would require special handling, he said. E. J. Sparks Dies; Had Florida Circuit Augusta, Ga., April 28. — Funeral services were held here today for E. J. Sparks, retired circuit operator, who died in Augusta at the age of 75. Sparks was the founder of the Sparks All-Florida circuit after having been associated with Southern Theatre Enterprises and S. A. Lync.i Enterprises. His own circuit grew to include 150 theatres. In 1941, he sold his interests to Paramount. AMERICAN 3 hrs, 20 min. *> CHICAGO NONSTOP EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR