Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1954)

2 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, October 26, 1954 Personal Mention WILLIAM C. GI'HRING, 20th Century-Fox executive assistant general sales manager; Arthur SilVERSTONE, assistant general sales manager, and Clarence A. Hall, manager of branch operations, have returned to New York from Toronto. • Harold Boxall, managing director of London Film Productions, and Mrs. Boxall v^'ill arrive here from England today aboard the "Queen Elizabeth." • Donald A. Henderson, 20th Century-Fo.x treasurer and secretary, and Mrs. Henderson will return to New York from Europe today aboard the "United States." R. Edward Warn, Westrex Corp. vice-president, has arrived in New York from the Coast to take over his new duties as director of foreign operations. • MacGregor Scott, general sales manager for Associated British Pathe, left New York with Mrs. Scott yesterday for London. • Herbert Steinberg, Paramount national exploitation manager, will return to New York today from Chicago. Henry Gordon, Paramount International general sales representative, wilL leave New York by plane today for South Africa. • Linda Darnell and her husband, Philip Liebman, will arrive in New York from Europe today on the "Queen Elizabeth." • Tom Ward, Western advertising manager of "Time," arrived in New York yesterday from the Coast. Guy Mitchell arrived here from London yesterday via B.O.A.C. Monarch. Raymond Massey will sail from New^ York on the "Mauretania" today for England. D. C. Dickely, division manager for Altec Service Corp. in Chicago, has returned there from New ^ ork. • Armand Deutsch, director, and Edmund Purdom have left here for London via B.O.A.C. Royal Scot. Breakfast for U-I Talent Discoveries Universal-International was host at a press breakfast at the Delmonico Hotel here this morning for Nicole Maurey of France, Myrian Verdeeck of Belgium and Giovanna Scala of Italy. The three are leading candidates for the role of Mary Magdalene in U-I's forthcoming "The Galileans." Robert Palmer, U-I studio talent executive, and Maurice Bergman, Eastern studio representative, who selected the three after a worldwide talent search, were present. Roy Boomer Resigns Posts with TESMA HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 25. — Roy Boomer has resigned as secretarytreasurer of Theatre Equipment and Supply Manufacturers Association, due to ill health. He has held the post for the past eight years. Indications are his successor will be named at TESMA's annual meeting in Chicago next week. Boomer has been in the industry as an exchange manager and theatre executive since 1922. Testimonial Dinner To Fitzgerald Nov. 1 MILWAUKEE, Oct. 25.— A testimonial dinner in honor of Harold J. Fitzgerald, former president of Fox Wisconsin Amusement Corp., will be held at Schroeder Hotel, here Nov. 1. Fitzgerald bowed out of show business recently, not to retire, but to enter other fields of endeavor. Many who formerly worked for him and those who have associated with him in the show business are planning the afifair at which over 600 are expected. Folke Peterson, executive secretary to the mayor, and at one time employed by Fitzgerald, is a chairman. McDonald's Toll TV Statement Answered FRANKLIN, Ind., Oct. 25.— The exhibitors' Joint Committee on Toll TV, through its co-chairmen, Alfred Starr and Trueman Rembusch, have issued a statement answering the recent attack by E. F. McDonald, president of Zenith Radio, on the formation of the exhibitors' group and its announced aims. The statement charges that toll TV will employ the free air waves for a commercial purpose which could bringabout a concentration of communications' control, opposed to the public interest. 'UnderwaterT for Christmas Release HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 25.— "Underwater !" Howard Hughes' $3,000,000 production starring Jane Russell, which has been three years in the making and is the first picture to be filmed in Superscope, lias been set for four de luxe premieres on Christmas Day following its world premiere at the Fox Theatre, St. Louis, on Dec. 21, it was announced today by J. R. Grainger, president of RKO Pictures, Inc. They are the Mayfair Theatre, New York ; the W oods, Chicago ; Paramount, Hollywood ; and Rialto, Atlanta. Filmed in Technicolor in Havana and the Caribbean, "Underwater !" was produced by Harry Tatelman and directed by John Sturges. It also stars Gilbert Roland, Richard Egan and Lori Nelson. Leonard Siebert, 90 HARTFORD, Oct. 25. — Leonard Siebert, 90, operator of the first motion picture theatre in East Hampton, Conn., known as Siebert's Opera House, is dead, following a long illness. He retired from business in 1946. Clift, Cochran to MC UJA Show Montgomery Clift and Steve Cochran will act as masters of ceremonies for the 21st annual "Night of Stars," United Jewish Appeal benefit show, which will take place on Nov. 22 at Madison Square Garden here. Proceeds from the huge show will be used to further the UJA program in Europe, Israel and the U. S. During the 20-year history of the show, more than $2,000,000 had been raised through the sale of tickets to an estimated 400,000 people. TOA Registrations Pass the 380-Mark Advance registrations for the 1954 TOA convention and TESMA-TEDATO.A.-IPA trade show, next week at the Co.irad Hilton Hotel in Chicago is unprecedented, TOA reported. As of Thursday 380 persons had registered through New York offices and dozens more are pouring in daily, it was said. This advance registration is two-to-one greater than last year one week prior to convention time. Minter Here for Distribution Talks George Minter, head of Renown Pictures Corp., London, is in New York to discuss American distribution for his recently completed production, "Svengali." He plans to go to Hollywood from here to confer with Darryl F. Zanuck on casting of his planned CinemaScope production of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities." The picture, to be in color, will be made in England. An American director and two American stars are being considered for the film. Women's Clubs Cite Goldwyn on Nov, 8 Producer Samuel Goldwyn has been chosen as recipient of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs award for his "outstanding achievements in motion pictures and the high standards which he has set for the entire industry," it was announced yesterday by Mrs. Bruce M. Mills, president. The citation to Goldwyn will be presented at the Helmuth Fellowship dinner on Nov. 8 at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York. Conn, Allied to Elect New Officers Today HARTFORD, Oct. 25.— Election of officers is slated for Allied Theatre Owners of Connecticut meeting at the Hofbrau Restaurant, New Haven, tomorrow. Serving on the nominating committee are Maurice W. Shulman, Barney Tarantul, Jack Post and Robert G. EUiano. Current head of the statewide organization is Dr. Jack Fishman. Horizontal VV for 'Christmas' on Coast Starting Tomorrow HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 25.— As a result of the reported success of the horizontal large-frame \'ista\ ision projection of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" in its world premiere engagement at Radio City Music Hall in New York, the Paramount musical will be presented in the same manner in its West Coast engagement at the Stanley Warner Theatre in Beverly Hills, opening with a premiere on Wednesday evening. Two Century projectors with the horizontal moviement and other necessary equipment will be installed at the Beverly Hills house, as at Radio City Music Hall. This will be the second such installation in the world, the Music Hall being the first. Claughton Petitions For New Trust Trial MIAMI, Oct. 25.— Lillian Claughton of Claughton Theatres has filed a petition here before senior Federal Judge John Holland seeking a re-trial of her anti-trust suit against, si.x major film distribution companies. The original suit, after a seven-hour deliberation last week, was declared a mistrial by a Federal Court jury. Miss Claughton is seeking $9,450,000 in triple damages from the distributors. The circuit attorneys are also readying other suits for the period of 1951 to 1954, charging similar antitrust violations. ^Romeo and Juliet' at Sutton Dec. 22 The American premiere of the Technicolor film version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," winner of the grand prize at this year's Venice International Film Festival, will be held on Dec. 22, at the Sutton Theatre in New York, it has been announced by William J. Heineman, vice-president of United .Artists in charge of distribution. The United Artists release w'ill be shown at the Sutton on a continuousperformance schedule. 'Aida' to Premiere at Carnegie, Nov, 11 The American premiere of Verdi's "Aida" will be held at the Little Carnegie Theatre here on Nov. 11, it was announced yesterday by I.F.E. Releasing Corp., which is releasing the Italian production nationally. NEW YORK THEATRES RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL Rockefeller Center BERLfN's "WHITE CHRISTMAS" in VistaVision starring BING CROSBY DANNY KAYE ROSEMARY CLOONEY VERA ELLEN Color by Tethnicolor A Paramount Picture and SPECTACULAR STAGE PRESENTATION MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor. Published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address: "Quigpubco, New York." 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