Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1953)

4 Motion Picture daily Wednesday, July 22, 1953 Incentive Bonus For ABC Workers LONDON, July 21. — A bonus incentive scheme to increase the circuit's business has been announced by Associated British Cinemas for all of its employes. Under the plan, each employe's salary will be increased by the same percentage of increase achieved by a theatre during the year. Cole Expects (Continued from page 1) picture theatres from the 20 per cent Federal admission tax. Cole admitted he was climbing a little out on a limb with these predictions, but said he thought the limb would hold up. More than 75 exhibitors from some 25 states are in town or coming to town to contact their Senators personally and get them active in the fight for the bill. Members of the Senate Finance Committee said they thought the committee might get to the bill tomorrow if the members finish work early enough on a Customs simplification bill which they have been voting on for the past few days. In any event, they said, they thought the Mason Bill would come right after the Customs Bill, whenever the latter is finished. Hearings Unlikely Indications are right now that the Senate committee will not hold hearings on the Mason Bill but will merely consider the bill and vote on it on the basis of the House hearings and whatever information the members get privately from the industry and the Treasury Department. Exhibitors contacting Senators are making two pleas, it was learned. They are asking the Senators to get the bill out of committee and up on the floor, and they are asking that all amendments be opposed on the ground that amending the bill will kill its chances for enactment this year. Reviews White Goddess (Li p pert) AIMED at the juvenile trade, this is another tale of the jungle with a routine plot. It tells how Jon Hall returns to his birthplace in Africa to do research on medicines that are supposed to be keeping a "white goddess" eternally young. Hall and his friends run into all sorts of savage tribes, one belonging to the lady of the title, another a rival of the first group. What with shuttling back and forth between the two, Hall and his buddies lead a rather adventurous, if monotonous existence. The goddess turns out to be a "phony," as expected, and a thief and gets her proper deserts. Hall returns to his favorite cinema haunt, the jungle, and the results are average. His performance, as well as those of the others, lack lustre. The usual stock shots of jungle flora and fauna are integrated in the footage, none of which is overwhelmingly original. Rudolph Flothow produced and Wallace Fox directed, from a screenplay by Sherman L. Lowe and Eric Taylor. The film is an Arrow production. " Others in the cast are Ray Montgomery, M'liss McClure, Ludwig Stossell, James Fairfax, Joel Fluellen, Darby Jones, Lucian Prival, Robert Williams and Millicent Patrick. Running time, 73 minutes. General audience classification. Long in UA-TV Post Succeeding Shupert Frederick A. Long, director of radio and television for the Geyer Advertising Agency since 1946, has been named vice-president and general manager of United Artists Television Corp., U. A. subsidiary. He succeeds George T. Shupert, who resigned last week to join American Broadcasting as vice-president of syndication, a new division of the network. "Ghost Ship" (Vernon Sewell-Lippert Pictures) Hollywood, July 21 PRODUCED in England with an English cast that is quite capable, this maritime mystery is adult-fare, having as its basis infidelity as the cause of murder. Herman Cohen was the importer of Vernon Sewell's production ; the latter also wrote the modern ghost-story, and directed. The dialogue is commendable, being lucid and clearly-spoken. On the over-all, "Ghost Story" is satisfactory average entertainment. Most of the proceedings occur at mooring and principally concern the premise that a medium put in a trance can tell you what occurred in a given place at an un-given time in the past. The story opens with a young couple buying a steam yacht, reportedly haunted, tidying it up, scoffing at rumors of ghosts seen aboard, and later coming to accept the rumors on the testimony of their own senses. Summoning a professional ghost-cracker from the Institute for the Investigation of Psychic Phenomena, who brings along a medium to assist him, they learn from the latter's mumblings while in a trance that the last unfrightened owner of the ship killed his unfaithful wife and her lover, whom he had decided to kill for the usual reasons, and that their bodies are still concealed below the floor boards. The IIPP man explains everything else, too, about as convincingly. The principals are Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court, Hugh Burden, John Robinson and Mignon ODoherty. Others are Joss Ambler, Joan Carol, Hugh Latimer, Laidman Brown, Meadow White and Pat McGrath. Running time, 70 minutes. Adult audience classification. July release. U.K. Circuit Plans 3-D in 100 Houses LONDON, July 21. — Associated British Cinemas plans to equip up to 100 theatres with 3-D for the release of Warners' "House of Wax" following what is described as outstanding business in pilot runs at Birmingham, Brighton and Dublin. The film is now in its 11th week at Warners' Leicester Square Theatre here. RCA is providing stereophonic sound equipment which is mobile and can be sent from theatre to theatre for "Wax" screenings. Stanley Warner (Continued from page 1) CinemaScope (Continued from page 1) of European craftsmen who are gearing themselves for rapid production of the CinemaScope equipment. During his trip Skouras made deals with German and Italian equipment manufacturers to produce the various components of CinemaScope. Starting Aug. 14, Skouras said that demonstrations of CinemaScope will be held in principal European cities to give exhibitors throughout the continent an opportunity to see the new process. Skouras visited Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, France and England. U' Production (Continued from page 1) program will include a number of major releases filmed in the new threedimensional medium," it was said. "Wings of the Hawk," filmed both in color by Technicolor and 3-D, goes into release in September with a cast headed by Van Heflin, Julia Adams and Abbe Lane. "The Glass Web," starring Edward G. Robinson, John Forsythe, Marcia Henderson and Kathleen Hughes, is now before 3-D cameras and is scheduled for late fall release. "Son of Cochise," also in Technicolor and 3-D, is being filmed' on location at Moab, Utah, and is scheduled for release early next year. A number of other 3-D properties also are being prepared for early production. "All new technical developments and new techniques both in production and projection are being closely scrutinized by the company, which is also continuing its own research work in these fields. As new methods are developed and found feasible, they will be adapted for use by the company," it was stated. Brennan, Nat Fellman, Gio Gagliardi, Harry Goldberg, Herman R. Maier, Frank Marshall, W. Stewart McDonald, Bernard Rosenzweig, Carl Siegel, Fred Stengl, Oan Triester, Ben Wirth. Zone managers : Alfred D. Kvool, Milwaukee and Chicago; Moe A. Silver, Pittsburgh and Cleveland ; Harry Feinstein, New Haven ; Frank Damis, Newark; Ted Schlanger, Philadelphia ; George A. Crouch, Washington ; Ben H. Wallerstein, Hollywood. Film buyers : John McKenna, Newark; Joe Minsky and Larry Lapidus, New Haven ; Alex Halperin, Chicago ; Ted W. Cornell, Milwaukee; Ted Minsky, Philadelphia ; Saul Bragin, Pittsburgh ; Joe Weinstein, Cleveland ; L. F. Ribnitzki, Washington ; Leo Miller, Hollywood. Also, Charles Smakwitz, Albany ; James Totman, New Haven ; Dick Wright, Cleveland ; Ben Steerman, Pittsburgh ; I. H. Barton, Milwaukee and Chicago; George J. Izenberg, Newark; Herman Levine, Philadelphia ; Phil Zimmerman, New Haven ; A. Julian Brylawski, Washington; D. Leonard Halper, Hollywood. Santis Plans Color Film Giuseppe De Santis, Italian director of "Bitter Rice" and "Rome, 11 O'clock," now is planning "Days of Love," a color film depicting life among poor farmers, it has been reported here by Italian Films Export. Vistarama Lens Soon In Full Production HOLLYWOOD, July 21 — Vistarama projection lenses affording 2.66-, to-1 aspect ratio will begin coming off the production line in a fortnight, Vistarama president Carl Dudley has disclosed, and will be offered exhibitors at an estimated $1,000 each, although this figure cannot be stabilized until manufacturing is in full swing. The lenses are compatible with WarnerSuperScope and CinemaScope, Dudley said. The disclosure that the company will supply projection lenses, as well as camera lenses for theatrical use, represents a partial reversal of the original Vistarama plans, which provided for the supplying of anamorphic lenses of both kinds in the 16mm. field but for the furnishing of photographing lenses only in the 35mm. market. Dudley said that Vistarama lenses will be sold to exhibitors outright, with no restrictions placed on their use. Alabama Receipts Off BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 21.— Alabama theatre receipts for April, 1953, were 4.1 per cent under those of March, 1953, according to the University of Alabama's Bureau of Business Research.