Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1954)

4 Motion Picture Daily Monday, February 8, 1954 I Stereo Sound (Continued from page 1) on to say that "it was never the intention of the demonstrations to determine whether 20th Century-Fox would abandon its stated policy of not permitting" showings of CinemaScope pictures without full stereophonic sound." Reade, in his statement, said that "obviously" Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th-Fox, has "abandoned" the agreement reached between them on Jan. 20. He said he was informed by Lichtman that "even though exhibitors might sit in at the tests, their judgment on the requirement of stereophonic sound would not be respected or considered in Fox's decision." Inasmuch as the results of the tests will be disregarded, Reade stated, "we have both determined to abandon the whole idea." 'At All Times Willing' Lichtman, in his statement, declared that 20th-Fox is at all times willing to hold theatre tests in order to prove the "superiority" of stereophonic sound over a "mixer" device, which changes stereophonic sound into conventional sound. He went on to repeat that 20th-Fox, in order to aid small exhibitors, will aid in obtaining long-term credit for sound equipment installations. Regarding the recently-concluded Cincinnati drive-in convention, Lichtman declared that "none of the exhibitors . . . who were yelling against a twochannel stereophonic sound system had seen and heard it, for it was shown for the first time last Tuesday in Bloomfield, N. J., when the convention was already in session." The 20th-Fox distribution director called the "hooting" directed against Skouras at the convention, "reprehensible." "I am confident, on the basis of past experience, that all those men who vilified Skouras will eventually applaud him. ... I, for one, feel they owe Mr. Skouras an apology," he stated. Enjoy the world's most luxurious air service AT NO EXTRA FARE! mi nightly from NEW YORBi LOS ANGELES SAN FRAN€IS€Q via Chicago Friendly lounge, superb cuisine, gracious hospitality in new, giant TWA Super Constellations. Sleeper berths at extra cost. See your travel agent or call Trans World Airlines. ACROSS THE U.S. AND OVERSEAS . . . FLY S To Install 200 More RCA Stereo Systems CAMDEN, Feb. 7.— More than 200 additional theatres will be equipped with RCA stereophonic sound equipment, it was disclosed here by RCA's theatre equipment division. The already high rate at which theatres throughout the nation are adopting stereophonic sound is being accelerated, said RCA. Stereo Sound Meet For Altec Managers Division managers of certain Altec Service offices will meet here today at the Park Sheraton Hotel to discuss procedure for the expeditious handling of applications for stereophonic sound installations in conjunction with CinemaScope presentation. Home office officials attending will include H. M. Bessey, executive vicepresident ; E. O. Wilschke, operatingmanager ; E. Z. Walters, comptroller ; L. D. Netter, Jr., general sales manager, and P. F. Thomas, treasurer. Division heads attending are : C. S. Perkins, Northeastern ; L. J. Patton, Eastern ; M. G. Thomas, Southern, and F. C. Dickely, Central. Last of 3 Paramount Case Judges Retires WASHINGTON, Feb. 7. — The retirement of Henry W. Goddard as judge for the Southern district court of New York has been announced by the White House. This completes the retirement of the entire membership of the three-judge statutory court that has been handling the Paramount case. Despite their retirement, however, the judges have continued to sit as the court to interpret and enforce the Paramount decrees. The other members, who had retired previously, were Judges Alfred C. Coxe and Augustus N. Hand. Code -Press (Continued from page 1) Film Leaders to See 'Acf More than 50 industry executives have accepted invitations to the premiere of "Act of Love" at the Astor here Thursday. They will join with some 500 other invited guests at the opening of the United Artists release. the industry and public well for the past 23 years and that it would continue to do so; and that the essential plan and basic principles of the Code should remain unchanged. It is learned, additionally, that the directors' informal discussions concerning the press attention being given the Code, resulted in agreement that those who write about it in the lay press should be made more familiar with it. Ask Johnston to Act The board members instructed Eric Johnston, MPAA president, who participated in the Miami Beach discussions, to undertake at once to provide authoritative information concerning the Code, its content, aims, administration and other pertinent aspects, to newspaper and magazine editors, editorial writers, columnists and certain feature writers, in fact, to all those whose recent and current observations on the Production Code have showed their lack of knowledge and understanding of it. Kenneth Clark, assistant to Johnston, has been designated to organize the informational project. Assisting him will be members of the publicity and information departments of MPAA member companies on both Coasts who, when the informational material has been compiled, will assist in bringing it to the attention of the key press people of the country. Church Women (Continued from page 1) cent decisions have greatly curtailed the area of subject-matter affected by legal censorship, and many theatres formerly affiliated with the producerdistributor organizations supporting the Production Code are now independently operated; and _ "Whereas, some producers are questioning the adequacy of the Production Code to provide dramatic freedom, and some theatres formerly adhering to the Code have played pictures not bearing the Code Seal ; now, therefore, be it resolved to pledge support to the Code and to those pictures which, in the words of the Code, 'will not lower the moral standards of those who see them'." See 2-Speaker-in-Car 'Stereo' System Costing $10,000 Exclusive of Labor Equipment costs of the two-speakers-in-a-car sound system for driveins, to achieve the effect of stereophonic sound, as demonstrated in Bloomfield, N. J., last week would be in the neighborhood of $10,000, exclusive of labor for a 1,000-car drive-in, according to estimates by theatre supply dealers. That figure, it was said, would be only a part of the over-all installation expense. Under the present single speaker system in a 1,000-car drive-in, 500 watts of amplification are needed, 250 for the speakers and 250 for stand-by. At a cost of $336 each for the additional amplifiers, the total would be $672. The additional 1,000 speakers at approximately $6 each would entail another $6,000. The cost of extra power amplification would be approximately $1,600 plus $124 for the power amplifier cabinet. An extra ramp control would come to $266 and it is estimated that 12,000 feet of wiring would be required. At the current price of $85 per 1,000 feet, this would cost $1,020. In addition, it was pointed out, pavements would have to be dug up for the additional wiring, conduits and general electrical work. These costs would vary but the over-all expense probably would come close to $20,000, including the equipment. Most dealers expressed the opinion that the drive-in operators would not go to this expense inasmuch as it appeared doubtful that true stereophonic sound could be attained in the first place. In the THEATRE Equipment World . . . • • with RAY GALLO C1 IRST AMERICAN PRODUCTS, " INC., Kansas City, has two new in-car speakers for drive-in theatres. One of them, m^ismimmamt *-ne "Chief," is iVi inches in diameter ; the other, "the Super Chief," is 4 inches (pictured here) . The louvers are specially treated and designed to protect the cones against sun and rain. Volume control is wholly enclosed within the speaker housing, and the control shaft is elongated and knurled for easy turning. Within the speaker housing every joint is cemented together with a Bakelite cement and heat cured to make a connection between voice coil, diaphragm, leads, suspension and metal frame. The speakers have a twotone finish to harmonize with other popular makes. • "Contour" and "Parkay" are the names of two patterns in spun Saran. upholstery introduced by Bolta Products Sales, Inc., Lawrence, Mass. The material is designed to combine the durability of the toughest grade Saran with the appearance and texture of wool. It can be cleaned with a damp soapy sponge or with any detergent or upholstery cleaner. The "Contour" pattern features a large, swirling design that simulates frieze. "Parkay" is a modern geometric design. • Portable fire extinguishers using dry chemicals and pressurized by air are available from the American-La France-Foamite Corp., Elmira, N. Y. They are called "Alfo Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers." The line consists of Models PCD-5, 10, 20, and 30, numbers indicating the capacities by weight of the dry chemical. The units are operated simply by pulling a pin and squeezing the lever. • The "Dari-Mart" is an automatic coin dispenser of milk drinks in several models for serving three different flavors, marketed by the Cedar Hill Farms, Inc., Cincinnati. The units dispense y2 pints, y3 quarts and full pints in Pure Pak, Canco, or Sealking containers. Capacity of the containers ranges from 120 to 156, depending on the model. Both flavors and the size of the containers can be changed as desired. The machines are 64 inches high, 34% inches wide and 3834 inches deep. • Robert J. Hemkes has been promoted to field sales manager of the American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., according to an announcement by J. J. Thompson, general sales manager of the company.