Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1954)

Friday, November 19, 1954 Motion Picture Daily 3 Charge CEA Head With Quota Default LONDON, Nov. 18. — Claude Whincup, president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Ass'n, is being prosecuted by the Board of Trade for alleged Quota default. The theatre concerned is the 850-seat Opera House at Ripon in Yorkshire. The case was scheduled for hearing yesterday. Midwest Opinion Reported Many Confident Trade Can Solve Its Own Problems Widely divergent opinions on the advisability of seeking Federal regulation of the industry as proposed by Allied States were encountered by Motion Picture Daily correspondents who interviewed Midwestern exhibitors. The results in the Central area fol See 'Night of Stars' As Sellout Monday At Garden Here With acceptances from stars of stage, screen, television and night clubs' coming in, the 21st annual "Night of Stars," United Jewish Appeal benefit show, at Madison Square Garden on Monday, will be a complete sellout for the 21st time, it was predicted by Sylvan Gotshal, general chairman. Once again the net proceeds will exceed $200,000, Gotshal stated, with the program of the United Jewish Appeal the beneficiary. The latest list of stars who have stated intentions to appear includes : Joey Adams, Tonv Bennett, Jeanette La Bianca, Joyce Bryant, Manuel Capetillo and his singing Mariachis, Chino and Mary, The Chordettes Eddie Fisher, Ganjou Bros, and Anita, Barry Gray, Joel Grey, Steve Gibson and the Red Caps, Walter Hampden, Harry Hershfield, Mambo Jetz, Kean Sisters, Al Kelly, Alan King, Tito Puente and his Mambo Revue, Claude Rains, Johnnie Ray, Bud and Ceecee Robinson, the Music Hall Rockettes, Hazel Scott, Earl Wilson and the Winged Victory Chorus. low pretty closely those reported earier from the East, Far West and South. The samplings indicate that no small number of exhibitors feel that enough of their colleagues are sufficiently hard-pressed at this time to risk the dangers which they are aware lurk in government control of any branch of the industry, providing distribution itself does not ofl'er some material reief along with an increased supply of product. Most Prefer the Conference In the main, however, a majority of exhibitors in the Midwest, as in other areas, appears to be confident that if a serious attempt to do so were made by both exhibition and distribution, the major grievances and problems could be eliminated by conference, compromise and good will within the industry. Following are some of the Midwestern views collected : Leonard Mishkind, Garden, Southern, Sun theatres, Cleveland, and Orr Theatre, Orrville : "Absolutely no. The cure would be worse than the disease. However, Allied's threat to seek government control might have some effect. It might make the distributors pause and look at the present situation that brought about the proposal for controls. I believe that we must maintain the free enterprise policy and operate our theatres without controls." 'Desiree' Opens Big In 4 Situations "Desiree" in CinemaScope, whicl bowed in a Command Performance Wednesday night at the New York Roxy, opened strong in opening dates, according to theatre reports from the film's four initial domestic engagements, 20th-Fox announced. At the Fox, San Francisco, the drama grossed $2,810 compared to $2,542 for "Three Coins In The Fountain." A first day's mark of $1,731 was scored at the Paramount, Oakland, topping a $1,274 total for "Woman's World," the company said. The Julian Blaustein production notched $1,292 at the Strand, Albany, and hit $1,724 at the Century, Buffalo, to best "Night People" ($1,613) and "King of the Khyber Rifles" ($1,616), according to 20th-Fox. Form Creative Film Foundation The formation of a Creative Film Foundation, with headquarters in New York, devoted exclusively to the development of motion pictures as a creative fine art form, was announced here yesterday. The foundation, according to its statement of purpose, "shall give assistance to film-makers whose primary aim is creative artistic achievement, whose productions would not normally fall within the scope of the existing educational and commercial agencies M. B. Horwitz, general manager, Washington Circuit: "I am against government control provided distributors will adopt a live and let live policy." Andrew Martin, Royal and Dayton theatres, Akron: "If we can't run our own business, we ought to get out of it. Once the government gets in, it will never get out. I am against any form of government control in the motion picture business." Helene Ballin, Schenley Theatre, Youngstown : "I am opposed to gov.rnment control because I do not believe it can ever understand our business. Anyhow, each theatre is different and we cannot operate under a system of generalized controls." Abe Schwartz, Lexington Theatre, Cleveland: "We don't want the government in our business, \yhenever the government gets into private enterprise, it makes it worse." Associated Circuit, Cleveland: "We don't like the idea of government control and are utterly opposed to it." Jerome Steel, Oberlin: "I am against seeking government control. I can operate my six theatres whhout government interference. If I can't, I ought to get out of the business." Jerry Goderski, Airway Theatre, Milwaukee: "I'm for government control. We are getting pushed around by distribution. Despite what they say, it's impossible to buy pictures flat." Wisconsin Allied stating he is all for Federal regulation. Evelyn Gutenberg, Grand Theatre, Milwaukee : "Whatever Wisconsin Allied does on this is all right with me. I'll go along with them." A. Provinzano, Alamo Theatre, Milwaukee : "Although it's not good to have government control in private enterprise, it seems like the only answer when private enterprise gets so unreasonable. When distribution all seems to follow the same pattern, the exhibitors can't buck it any other way." Fred Krueger, Rainbow and Ogden theatres, Milwaukee : "I think we could try to work something out without government control. We should have meetings of the minds without getting involved." Tony La Porte, Avalon Theatre, Milwaukee : "I want government control only as a last resort." In speaking about pictures sold at high rentals. La Porte said : "Every independent exhibitor should stop buying that particular picture, and not stop buying from any one film company. Trying to breatq a company isn't the right viewpoint to take. We should boycott a picture if the rentals are too high. If the Emergency Committee says a certain picture is out of line then all independent exhibitors should boycott it. I think they'll talk terms then." Cincinnati: A survey of city and many Cincinnati exchange territory exhibitors discloses almost unanimous opinion among small exhibitors that remedial measures are necessary to relieve the problem of high rentals and what is alleged to be unfair product allocation. Exhibitor thinking is equally emphatic that government intervention is not the solution to the problems. One influential exhibitor spokesman, who asked to remain anonymous, summed up the situation this way : "There isn't a single industry problem that cannot be solved by arbitration if the right approach and the proper follow-through are maintained. Federal intervention would, in my opinion, fall far short of obtaining the result of lower film rentals and more equitable allocations. This would be 'the court of last resort' when everything also had failed. It could well be retained as 'an ace in the hole' just in case, but we certainly have enough big men in the industry to satisfactorily arbitrate the matters in question. I feel sure that I reflect the attitude of the small exhibitor generally when I say that adoption of Allied's proposal of government regulation will not accomplish the desired result." Don't Say It, See It COLUMBUS, O., Nov. 18. — Says Bob Wile, executive secretary of I.T.O. of Ohio, in a current membership bulletin: "Regardless of the merits or lack of merit of Columbia's new picture 'Phffft,' it's going to cause a lot of trouble when it plays the theatres. What is the person answering the phone going to say when a patron inquires 'What's playing tonight?'." People Phil Reisman, president of Michael Todd Productions, has accepted the chairmanship of the Moton Pictures Committee of the New York Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation's $500,000 Development Fund Drive for 1954-55. Rosalind Feldman has left the station service relations department of Atlantic Television Corp. to move to the West Coast. She has been succeeded here by Sophie Ruskin. John Devaney has been appointed to ASCAP's radio and television station relations division. Hei has been with ASCAP for more than seven years in Philadelphia. d Leon Back, president of Allied Theatres of Maryland and head of Rome Theatres, has been granted a wave-length by the FCC to construct a radio station in Baltimore. Eileen Raleigh, United Artists contract clerk in Cleveland, will be married in St. Vincent de Paul Church on Nov. 27 to Kenneth Bauer. □ Paul Sokol, 13-year-old son of Robert Sokol, manager of Loew's Broad Theatre, Columbus, is _ recovering from injuries sustained when he was struck by an automobile while riding his bicycle. DCA Signs Sinatra HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 18.— Frank Sinatra has been signed by Fred Schwartz, president of Distributors Corporation of America, to record three songs for DCA's production of I Goderski said he wrote a letter to ' "Finian's Rainbow." Rev, Grauel Plans Cinema Lodge Talk The Reverend John Stanley Grauel will be the principal speaker at the 15th "Anniversary Night" ceremonies of the New York Cinema Lodge of B'nai B'rith at the Hotel Astor on Tuesday, it was announced yesterday by Burton E. Robbins, president. The past presidents of Cinema Lodge, including A. W. Schwalberg, Arthur Israel, Jr., Irving Greenfield, Adolph Schimel, Albert A. Senft, Robert M. Weitman, Jack H. Levin, S. Arthur Glixon, Saul E. Rogers and Martin Levine, are scheduled to be honored at the open meeting with a group of charter members of the lodge scheduled to participate. The winner of the 1954 Cadillac sedan being offered by Cinema Lodge will be announced.