Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1954)

2 Motion Picture Daily Monday, February 1, 1954 Personal Mention AL CROWN, recently elected president of Moulin Productions, will leave here for the Coast today in connection with his new affiliation. • Al O'Keefe, Pola-Lite vice-president in charge of distribution, will leave New York today for Cincinnati. • Judy Holliday will leave here today for Philadelphia. Barney Pitkin, RKO Radio branch manager in New Haven, has returned there from New York. Hal R. Makelim, Atlas Pictures, is in Hollywood. president of Miami from Moss Hart, writer, has returned to New York by plane from Hollywood. Benefit Premiere For Water' Tonight Tonight's March of Dimes benefit premiere of "Hell and High Water" at the Roxy will see the 23-piece New York Naval Base Band perform both inside and outside the theatre. Before 20th Century-Fox's new CinemaScope release is screened, the service group will parade along 50th Street to a station under the Roxy marquee. The band there will entertain street crowds. The performance will be televised over WPIX and heard over the ABC and Mutual radio stations. "We are indeed grateful to 20th Century-Fox for donating this world premiere to the 1954 March of Dimes," said Horace C. Flanigan, general campaign chairman. "It will provide the opportunity for New Yorkers not only to see a great picture, but in doing so to help a most worthy cause." Services Set Today For Myer Lesser Funeral services wil be held here today for Myer Lesser, 79, advertising agency and motion picture pioneer, at 1 :00 P.M. at Riverside Memorial Chapel, 76th St. and Amsterdam Ave. Lesser, who was president of the Blaine Thompson Co. which has represented Warner Bros. Pictures since 1926, died Thursday evening in Miami Beach of a coronary ailment. He is survived by his wife Jennie, a son, Albert Lee ; a daughter, Mrs. Minna Bess Lewis, and four grandchildren. Heads Brotherhood Unit Mrs. Martin Beck has accepted the chairmanship of the legitimate theatres committee for the amusement industry's 1954 Brotherhood Week campaign between Feb. 21 and 28, it was announced by Emanuel Frisch, national chairman of the drive. Daff Says Universal-Rank Relationship On 'Good Ground'; Expand Distribution The relationship between Universal and the J. Arthur Rank Organization is "on good ground" and Universal constantly is trying to expand the distribution of Rank pictures, Alfred Daff, Universal's executive vice-president, said here at the weekend. His statement stemmed from remarks made in London by John Davis, managing director of the Rank company, to the effect that his company's product was not getting the play-off in this country that it deserves. Davis, who was in New York last week, planed back to London on Friday. Daff said that there is a great opportunity for conventional theatres to play the Rank pictures profitably, as well as the so-called "art" houses. The wide acceptance of British pictures in the United States proves this, he said, and Universal is giving more attention to the sale of such product through the addition of two sales representatives who will concentrate on the sale of Rank productions. The Universal vice-president indicated that there was a completed understanding on the situation when Davis returned to England, pointing out that "their problem also is our problem." Regents 'O.K.' N. Y. Showing of 'Ronde' ALBANY, Jan. 31.— An order directing the issuance of a New York State license for the exhibition of "La Ronde" has been forwarded to Dr. Hugh Flick, head of the state censor bureau, by the Board of Regents. The board, meeting here on Friday, acted to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision overruling the previous ban on the film. The Regents announced that it has directed the issuance of a license after Dr. Flick reviews the film again and "is satisfied it is in the same form as heretofore shown to the Regents and the Supreme Court." Will Define 'Immorality' In the wake of the "La Ronde" case, the Regents are expected to draw up a bill revising the statutory definition of "immorality." However, the two-day meet which wound up Friday, was said not to have handled that problem. Await 'La Ronde' Print, Ruling on 'Line' Soon A spokesman for the New York State censor board here said that Commercial Pictures, the distributor of "La Ronde" has not as yet delivered a print for review, but the board expects one shortly. A Commercial Pictures official said that no exhibition deals in New York have been agreed upon, adding that Commercial was first awaiting action by the Board of Regents. Meanwhile, state censors on Friday saw RKO Pictures' "French Line" and the company is expected to be notified today or tomorrow whether a license for the film has been granted. Litvak Will Attend 'Act* Premiere Here Anatole Litvak and Dany Robin, who co-stars in "Act of Love," will attend the New York premiere of the United Artists film at the Astor here on Thursday. Litvak will fly here from Los Angeles, and Miss Robin, who is making a coast-to-coast tour of the country, will return to New York for the opening. Industry Communion Attended by 1,500 The fourth annual motion picture industry Communion breakfast yesterday was attended by approximately 1,500 persons from all sections of the industry at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel here following Solemn Pontifical Mass presided over by the Most Rev. Joseph F. Flannelly, D.D., at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The principal speaker at the breakfast was the Most Rev. James H. Griffiths, S.T.D., Auxiliary Bishop to the Military Vicar of the Armed Forces. Guests of honor invited to the breakfast included Pat O'Brien, Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Jane Wyatt, Don Ameche, Jessica Dragonette, Ann Crowley, Anita Colby, Una O'Connor, Dennis Day, Bob Considine and Kate Cameron. The Rev. Thomas F. Little, executive secretary of the National Legion of Decency and spiritual director of the group, sponsored the breakfast. Russ Emde Resigns RKO Theatres Post Russ Emde, zone and division manager for RKO Theatres here, has resigned effective today. He will announce his future plans in the near future. Emde had been with RKO for more than 25 years and is credited with originating many of the promotion plans used extensively by the circuit. He was in charge of the RKO houses in upper Manhattan, Bronx, Westchester and Newark. In 1931 he was appointed assistant to N. J. Blumberg, then head of RKO Theatres. RKO Theatres Joins In Shunning 'Line' RKO Theatres joined some other major circuits in deciding not to play "The French Line" without a Production Code seal, it was disclosed here at the weekend. RKO Theatres, it was learned, has informed RKO Pictures of its decision. The other circuits taking a similar view include American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Loew's, Skouras Theatres Corp. and others. Film Shortage {Continued jrom page 1) "How to Marry A Millionaire" and such conventional films as "From Here to Eternity" and "Miss Sadie Thompson," the latter available either in 3-D or in conventional form. They claimed that many more pictures out of Hollywood today, compared with six months or a year ago, enjoy longer runs, thereby making the number of pictures booked or available virtually meaningless as a business yardstick. Another factor easing the product shortage, according to the circuit officials, is the growing allotment of playing time given to foreign product. The changed thinking on the part of such circuit executives is in sharp contrast to that which prevailed last November at the time of the Theatre Owners of America annual convention in Chicago at which Leonard Goldenson, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres president, gave the keynote speech calling for direct exhibitor financing of production to ease what was feared to be an impending product shortage. In the months since, no specific movement to implement the suggestion has been initiated by any exhibitor. Film Unit's $32,239 To Catholic Charities The 1953 Appeal of the New York Catholic Charities will receive $32,239 as a result of the drive conducted by the motion picture group of the special gifts committee under the chairmanship of John J. O'Connor, it has been disclosed by John A. Coleman, executive chairman of the Cardinal's Committee of the Laity. L. Douglas Netter was vice-chairman of the film group, which was also served by George J. Schaefer, treasurer. ABC Promotes Stern Ernest E. Stern has been appointed publicity manager for the American Broadcasting Co. effective today, it was disclosed by John W. Pacey, ABC's director of public relations. 7 DAYS IN HAWAII 441 (from New York), including round-trip transportation and hotel accommodations Fly United DC-6 air tourist service all the way, with stopover on the West Coast, if you like. Only United features 2abreast seating and wide center aisles on all planes. UNITED AIR LINES Fare plus tax. COMPARE THE FARE AND YOU'LL GO BY AIR MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martm Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Terry Ramsaye, Consulting Editor. Published daily, except Saturdays, Sundays and nohdays, 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; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. 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