Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1954)

4 Motion Picture daily Tuesday, July 20, 1954 N. E. Groups {Continued from page 1) r^creen Price Cut C^Scope Changing Release Pattern of 20th in U.K. By PETER BURNUP LONDON, July 19. — A one-third cut in the price of Miracle, Mirror screens — which are now being fully produced in Britain — is announced by J. Arthur Rank's British Optical and Precision Engineers. Two types of the screen are now available : currently in process. Bernstein esti €| Head-on pattern for theatres mates that the majority of his 55 theawhere projector and screen are ap-tr^s will be fully equipped by the end proximately in horizontal line : of 1954, So strong has the Bernstein €]1 Tilted pattern with an in-built tilt CinemaScope booking position become of 11 degrees for steep projection an thai even the 3,67o-seated Davis Thegles. atre — dominant m the London suburb A bottle-neck in stereophonic sound of Croydon — must hold up its screeninstallations and anamorphic lenses is ing of the "The Robe" until the picstill being encountered by exhibitors ture comes to the neighboring Bern here with a delay up to four months. Twentieth-Fox states that it is doing stein house. That situation may be corrected if everything possible to unsnarl the talks reportedly now proceeding beequipment position and one exhibitor tween 2Qth-Fox and Associated Brithas found it possible to obtain a full ish Cinemas come to fruition. A.B.C., equipment from the Philips concern in which has not played a 20th-Fox pic Eindhoven, Holland. Sidney Bernstein's Granada Thea ture for many years, has given a release to the company's "Three Tex tres promises to hold a significant ans." position in ihe CinemaScope release It is understood that 20th-Fox has pattern. The group has gone over hopes of A.B.C. taking over the Rank wholeheartedly to full stereophony, group's traditional position of principal Seventeen of the Bernstein houses are release channel of 20th Century-Fox now fully equipped with six others, product. Aboaf Sees Overseas Boom {Continued from page 1) tals are still high but it is first and last the quality of the film that counts, the bookers declare. Breaking down the sectors into downtown theatres, neighborhoods, theatres in industrialized areas and drive-ins, the downtown Boston theatres are generally ahead of last year's figures, a survey shows. One of the top circuits having three first runs, the Metropolitan and the twin Paramount and Fenway Theatres, reports that the installation of full CinemaScfepe with stereophonic sound has proved its value. The choice CinemaScope films which the company buys usually go into the 4,300-seat Metropolitan, with the Paramount and Fenway taking the second best selection. These films do well. But with a shortage of top CinemaScope productions, the twin houses sometimes have to suffer from lack of good product which causes the grosses to drop to a degree. The Metropolitan, playing more of the so-called "big" pictures and more of the better CinemaScope films can report grosses ahead of last year. The same is true with the Keith Memorial Theatre, another motion picture palace which installed the full CinemaScope equipment in its earliest stages. Loew's twin houses, the State and the Orpheum, showcases for Metro product, have done good business with the top M-G-M films, particularly CinemaScope films. The Astor, an independent house which plays longer runs and "artier" films, is also ahead of last year's figures. "The Caine Mutiny," housed there for an indefinite run, broke all house records in its first week. Lack of Public Interest The neighborhoods and suburban theatres without the new wide screen equipment are suffering from lack of public interest. These spots are really hurt. Many have no adequate parking facilities and the 10 per cent reduction in the admission price is the only thing keeping them alive. Even the neighborhoods with the single optical sound track for showing CinemaScope pictures are behind last year's figures. However, a top picture, one that is recognized on its merits, can pull the theatre out of the depression. In the highly industrialized areas where the textile business has suffered losses of plants to the southern sections of the country throwing thousands out of work, the problem is critical. South of Boston, for instance, such as Fall River and New Bedford, the houses equipped with Cine maScope are faring well. The others are not. In Maine where television made its entrance this fall, all the spots, whether CinemaScoped or not, are suffering. One circuit head maintains that it takes nearly four years for a newly-developed TV section to get its patrons back into the theatre. The brightest star in the industry horizon is the drive-in field. This New England area was perhaps the last to enter the drive-in category on a large scale and the owners are reaping the rewards today. In nearly every instance the business is ahead of last year. The Redstone circuit, operating four large open airers in Massachusetts with a fifth about to open its gates late this month, is so optimistic about the future of the business that the management is spending large sums of money to add new wide screens, CinemaScope equipment, additional ramps and larger and more of the strongest arguments against the growth of television in Europe. Aboaf said that European exhibitors are in a much better position to fight the television rise there than exhibitors were here when the new medium came on the American scene. They won't be "caught" as exhibitors were in the U.S., he said. Again he named top American product, of superior quality, as the determining factor in European exhibition's fight to stem the television tide. The increasing strength of pictures over the past eight to 12 months, Aboaf said, is, in addition, "our best defense against all foreign restrictions." He pointed to the fact ^ that European exhibitors were "anxious" to know of U-I's future plans and production schedules. Exhibitors in Europe, "generally speaking, are with us," Aboaf said. This is apparent, he continued, in spite of inroads being made by local product, in Italy and Germany especially. But the quality of U.S. product has "enabled us to hold our own," Aboaf said. During his tour abroad, Aboaf said that approximately 200 foreign exiiibitors were shown excerpts of current and coming U-I productions, 'i ne U-I product was shown to theatremen in Belgium, Italy and West Germany, with positive reactions from all, he efficient concession stands with all sorts of gadgets to appeal to patrons and children. The New England populace, perhaps slower to take to any new idea, has at last corne to recognize the appeal of a drive-in theatre so that today New England IS doing a flourishing business. said. Exhibitors are making money throughout Europe with good local and top U.S. product, according to the U-I executive. He cited West Germany, Belgium and Italy as three of the best markets for U.S. pictures. The recent Italian agreement, he said, is not the best thing in the world, but it "is workable." He went on to say that the future "is a very rosy one" in Italy, as far as remittances are concerned. In Germany, U-I is doing good business as compared to last year despite many difficulties. The German market "is a very progressive one," according to Aboaf, with a great deal of reconstruction and remodeling of theatres in process. American product by far takes up the largest proportion of playing time in Belgium, Aboaf said. In addition, he said that Spain is in need of many more imports, but that the Spanish government is placing strict limitations on foreign hlms tor that country. He had the same report to make about Britain where U-I product is currently doing very well as a result of the quality of pictures. Summing up tne entire European picture he said, "we can look forward to another period of good business" abroad. Europe is now enjoying a "boom period" Aboaf said, and the continuance of prosperity abroad in the future would depend on U.S. aid to the Continent. All industries, not only the film business, depend on subsidies granted by the U.S. government, Aboaf asserted. Touching on foreign film festivals, Aboaf said there "is no doubt that a certain amount of interference" is present in relation to American films entered in competition abroad. The festivals will eventually lose their values because so many have been added throughout Europe, he said. AB-PT Net (Continued from page 1) $25,000 and $96,000 respectively, as compared with $62,000 and $4,314,000 in 1953. The latter figure was principally due to the sale of television station WBKB in Chicago following the merger with ABC. The estimated cash throw-off for the second quarter and for the first six months of 1954 increased by $344,000 and $189,000 respectively over the corresponding periods of 1953 as a ■tesult of ■ increased depreciation charges. Goldenson said that, while a shortage of "box office" pictures and the effects of television for the first time in a number of communities continued to be factors adversely affecting theatre business in the second quarter, there was a pick-up in theatre grosses and earnings in June. The reduction in the Federal admissions tax contributed to the pick-up, he said. Further improvement is expected in the third quarter based on the number of fine pictures scheduled for release at that time, he added. Goldenson reported that the ABC Division operated at about a breakeven point in the second quarter and is now setting its programming for the Fall broadcasting season. Substantially all of the important sponsored TV programs that were on the network during the past year have been renewed and, to date, several new sponsored shows have been added. IFE Convention {Continued from page 1) strate that I.F.E. can play an important role in alleviating the product shortage about which American exhibitors have been complaining." Among those attending the convention will be Seymour Schussel, Eastern division manager ; Phil Levine and Sal Di Gennaro of Greater New York; Mike Siegel, Washington; Al Herman, Northeast district manager, Boston ; Dave Lefi', Buffalo ; Alex Cooperman, Western division manager, Los Angeles ; Joseph Nercesian, San Francisco; John Jarvis, Southeast district manager and David Williams, Atlanta ; representing the Southwest district will be Glenn Fannin, Dallas, and S. B. Zimmerman, Kansas City ; Mark Goldman, Central district manager, Cleveland, and Murray Baker, Cincinnati ; Bernard McCarthy, Midwest district manager, and Samuel Chernoff, both of Chicago. Illinois Allied {Continued from page 1) hibitor of his rightful share of the recent admission tax reduction." The directors also endorsed audience collections for La Rabida Jackson Park Sanitarium the week of Aug. 6. A special committee was created to look into the matter of increased newspaper advertising rates. UA to Distribute 'The Steel Cage' "The Steel Cage," based on Warden Clinton T. Duffy's book, "The San Quentin Story," has been acquired for release by United Artists, it was announced by president Arthur B. Krim. Starring Paul Kelly and Maureen O' Sullivan, "The Steel Cage" was produced by Berman Swartz and VValter Doniger directed.