Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

Monday, January 10, 1955 Motion Picture Daily 3 Mike Simons Says 5,000 Exhibitors Will Attend MGM Workshop by Mid-June By LESTER DINOFF Mike Simons Some 5,000 independent theatre owners and circuit operators throughout the United States will be in attendance at "M-G-M Ticket Selling Wo r kshops" which will be held in 16 cities by June 13, according to Mike Simons, director of customer relations for the company. The conservative estimate of exhibitors who will attend the Workshop meetings seeking information on how to sell more tickets may be boosted, Simons said, as an additional eight more conclaves have been scheduled by M-G-M to be conducted possibly by July 1. Simons, an industry veteran with both exhibition and distribution experience, said that "the Workshop is a meeting to which M-G-M brings successful theatremen to tell how they sell tickets. We don't profess to conduct a school or to teach anybody anything. Whether or not they learn anything depends on their experience, ability, etc. ; hence M-G-M makes no promise that they will learn." The informative meetings are designed, Simons stated, to : Cf Benefit the young and new blood in the motion picture industry which has stepped into the vacuum created by the passing of experienced showmen. Drive-in operators, comparatively new blood in the ranks of exhibition, are seeking to learn the basics in showmanship and ticket selling. <J| Remind the small town theatreman about ticket selling ideas which he has forgotten and which could be passed on to his assistants. €| Afford the circuit accounts expert information about theatre sales in other territories and trends in film presentation. M-G-M is not selling its pictures at the Workshop meetings, Simons said. However, Emery Austin, head of company exploitation, advises exhibitors in attendance of what company product is available and what services are afforded, the film official said. The itinerary for the M-G-M Ticket Selling Workshops call for 16 meetings from mid-January through midJune. The dates are: Jan. 12, Denver ; Jan. 24, Jackson, Miss. ; Jan. 27, Memphis ; Feb. 8, Richmond ; Feb. 22, Detroit; March 1, Columbus; March 3, Kansas City ; March 9, Dallas ; April 12, Atlanta; April 18, Buffalo; April 26, Orlando, Fla. ; May 2, Milwaukee ; May 4, Minneapolis ; May 10, Billings, Mont. ; May 16, Myrtle Beach, N. C, and June 13 at Santa Fe, N. M. Eight More Likely It is possible that eight more Workshops will be held in St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Seattle, New Orleans, San Francisco, Pbrtland, Des Moines or Omaha, the customer relations director also disclosed. Simons and Austin are now completing arrangements for the Workshop to be held at the Hotel Cosmopolitan in Denver on Wednesday and they will attend the Rocky Mountain Council of Motion Picture Organizations on the following day. Austin will leave Denver for Culver City, shortly thereafter for several days of viewing new pictures and discussing a series of projected new tours at the M-G-M studios while Simons will go to Oklahoma City to attend the Video Theatres convention, Jan. 18-19, at the Skirwin Hotel. In Jackson on Jan. 24 From Oklahoma City, Simons will head for Jackson to prepare for the Jan. 24 Heidelberg Hotel meeting for Mississippi and Louisiana area exhibitors. Austin, who will meet the customer relations director in Jackson, will then accompany Simons to Memphis for the Workshop meeting there at the Skyway Hotel for Tri-State exhibitors. People Arch Oboler will make his Broadway debut this spring as producer-director of "Eagle's Nest," a comedy about show business by Paul Michael. n Nicky Longston, manager of Canadian Odeon's Capitol Theatre in Hamilton, Ont., is leading the circuit managers in the circuit's "better management contest." Last year he became the "grand champion showman" of the Odeon organization and he apparently is heading for a repeat. n David N. Laux, has been elected vice-president of Studio Films, Inc., of Cleveland. He formerly was account executive of Ruthrauff & Ryan and vice-president of MacFadden Publications. n George Murphy, director of public relations for M-G-M studios, is billed as the principal speaker at the Portland, Ore., Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting on Jan. 15. n Col. Bill E. Green, veteran character actor reputed to be the discoverer of Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle's potentialities as a comedian, now a resident of New Orleans, has been signed by George M. Leppert for roles in Draw Poker Films of Texas "Southern Accent Series," combined theatre and TV featurettes. 10 From Fox (Continued from page 1) size diversification of story material and background locales and each will boast outstanding performers, he said. Pictures in the CinemaScope ' lineup are : "House of Bamboo," starring Robert Stack, Robert Ryan and Shirley Yamaguchi, produced by Buddy Adler and directed by Samuel Fuller ; "Pink Tights," musical production starring Dan Dailey and Sheree North, produced by Samuel G. Engel and directed by Henry Levin ; "Sir Walter Raleigh" from the story by Mindred Lord, starring Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins and Jay Robinson, produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Henry Koster; "The Left Hand of God," starring Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, produced by Buddy Adler and directed by Edward Dmytryk; "The Tall Men," starring ClarkGable, produced by Howard Hawks and William A. Bacher. "Seven Cities of Gold," a Charles Brackett production ; "How To Be Very, Very Popular," starring Marilyn Monroe, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson ; "The View From Pompey's Head," a Philip Dunne production ; "A Many Splendored Thing," starring Jennifer Jones and William Holden, produced by Buddy Adler and directed by Henry King, and "Lord Vanity," starring Clifton Webb, Robert Wagner, new star Martine Carol and Peter Ustinov, produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Delmer Daves. Studio Craft Workers Nov. Earnings Down HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 9.— Average weekly earning of craft workers in studios skidded in November to $123.96 from October's $129.55, but still was well above previous November's $118.83, according to California Department of Industrial Relations' monthly report. November average is, however, the highest earned among all 98 work classifications reported on by CDIR, with the second highest paid being the electrical workers in the construction business, who averaged $106.77. 'Scarf to Palace "The Green Scarf," new murder mystery starring Michael Redgrave, Leo Genn and Ann Todd, will have its American premiere at the RKO Palace Theatre here on Jan. 14. Associated Artists Productions is releasing. TV Set Production 858,501 in November WASHINGTON, Jan. 9.— Television set production in November was the highest for any November on record, but was still behind the October output, the Radio-ElectronicsTelevision Manufacturers Association reported. It put November output at 858,501 sets, compared with only 561,237 sets in November, 1953. October, 1954, production totaled 921,476 sets. Output for the first 11 months of 1954 was put at 6,513,292 sets, compared with 6,766,040 sets in the like 1953 period. Miss Mayo DAR Guest WASHINGTON, Jan. 9.— Actress Virginia Mayo has been invited to be a special guest at the annual congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution, opening here in April. Cites 'Scope Acceptance Declaring that CinemaScope has been embraced by both the public and exhibitors as the finest new method of motion picture presentation, Al Lichtman, 20th Century-Fox director of distribution, reiterated previous company statements that "the medium's impact has revitalized the entire industry, bringing prosperity to exhibitors, producers and distributors alike." Speaking at the opening session of the two-day domestic and Canadian division managers meeting at the home office here on Friday, Lichtman disclosed that about 15,000 theatres throughout the world are equipped for CinemaScope now and with installations proceeding at an average of more than 200 weekly, they should reach 21,000 by April of the present year. Sees Production Rising "To meet this growing source of theatre outlets, virtually every major producing studio and many independent producers are turning their time, talents and top attractions to CinemaScope," Lichtman declared. This upswing in CinemaScope production will see approximately 125 releases in the medium during the current year, he said. Exhibitors can be assured that 20thFox will bend every effort to provide the type and number of films that will assure them a most profitable business year, Lichtman said. He also emphasized that a constant exchange of ideas and information between exhibitor and distributor is vital to the continuing success of both groups and that better trade policies will result from this spirit of harmony and teamwork. "Better forms of theatre programming, at conventional and drive-in theatres, should be explored," Lichtman declared, "with showmanship and imagination as the by-word." Ten Films for April Discussions on the merchandising and promotion of 10 pictures scheduled for release through April and a review of general company sales policy were held also. Leading the talks with Lichtman were S. Charles Einfeld, vice-president in charge of advertising and publicity ; William C. Gehring, executive assistant general sales manager; Arthur Silverstone, assistant general sales manager ; Alex Harrision, Western sales manager, and Glenn Norris, Eastern sales manager. Charge Schine with Continuing" Pool BUFFALO, Jan. 9.— Defendants in the Schine Theatre's Federal contempt of court trial violated Judge John Knight's 1949 anti-trust decree by disobeying provisions requiring dissolution of a theatre pool in Fostoria, Ohio, and theatre divestitures in that area, the government has charged here. Joseph E. McDowell, Justice Department trial attorney, asserted that the government will prove that Schine Chain Theatres Inc., instead of relinquishing interests in the pool as claimed, substituted an instrumentality, Darnell Theatres Inc., in its place.