Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

2 Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, January 12, 1955 Personal Mention TON AS ROSENFIELD, Jr., I.F.E. »J Releasing Corp. vice-president in charge of advertising-publicity, will leave here tomorrow for Cleveland. • Jacqueline Middleman, secretary to Stan Brody, United Artists newspaper publicity contact, has announced her engagement to Morri Swartz, Syracuse attorney. • Huntington Hartford, producer, and his wife, Marjorie Steele, will arrive in New York from England today aboard the "Queen Elizabeth." • Milton E. Cohen, United Artists Eastern and Southern division manager, will leave New York today for Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland. • Brian Mickey-, British talent agent, will leave here todav for London via B.O.A.C. Monarch. ' • Geraldine Brooks will arrive here today from London on the "Queen Elizabeth." • Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson, writers, have returned to Hollywood from here. • Leon Uris, author of "Battle Cry," has returned to Encino, Cal., following a tour of the Midwest and the East. • Albert E. Sindlinger, analyst, has left. New Y'ork for Kansas City. New Yorkers Attend Dinner for Smakwitz ALBANY, N. Y., Jan. 11. — The ballroom of the Sheraton Ten Eyck here was the scene tonight of the testimonial dinner given by the Variety Club of Albany to Charles A. Smakwitz, recently promoted from Stanley Warner zone manager in this area to a similar position in Newark, N. J. George C. Hoover, international chief barker of Variety Clubs, acted as toastmaster. Smakwitz has been three times chief barker of the Albany tent. Among those who came to Albany from New York to attend the event were Si Fabian, Bob Fabian, Sam Rosen, Harry Kalmine, Nat Lapkin, Stewart McDonald, Moe Silver, Nat Fellman, Frank Marshall, Dan Treister, Harry Goldberg, Herman Maier, Carl Siegel, Fred Stengl, Jim Brennan, Bernard Rosenzweig, Stuart Aarons, John McKenna, Tony Williams, Lou Dennis, Bill Springer and Frank Damis. Also Bob Deitch, Charles Stern, Murray Miller, Harold Weidenhorn, Abe Fabian, Lou Golding, George Trilling, Bernard Brooks, Bernard Myerson, Hugh Owen, Herman Ripps and Pete Dana. Jack Leonard Dies HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 11.— Funeral services will be held tomorrow at St. Paul's Church, West Los Angeles, for Jack K. Leonard, screenwriter, who died Sunday night. Widow and three children survive. Texas Proclaims 'Movies Month' AUSTIN, Tex., Jan. 11. — At the opening session of the State Legislature today, Gov. Allan Shivers proclaimed "January, 1955, as Movies Month in the State of Texas," calling attention to the "significant business and entertainment contributions of the theatres of the state." Present for the occasion was Anne Francis, who appears in M-G-M's "Bad Day at Black Rock." SEC Gets Report Of SW Salaries WASHINGTON, Jan. 11.— Stanley Warner, in a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosed here today, listed the salaries of its principal officers and directors for the fiscal year ended Aug. 28, 1954. The report follows : $196,774 was paid to Fabian Enterprises, Inc., for the services of Si H. Fabian as SW president and Samuel Rosen as executive vice-president of SW ; David G. Baird as chairman of the company's finance committee received $36,400 ; Harry M. Kalmine, vice-president and general manager, $130,000, and Maurice A. Silver, zone manager of the Pittsburgh and Cleveland areas, $44,800. Fabian Enterprises, it was noted, of which Fabian is president and Rosen vice-president and treasurer, owns 328,094 shares of SW commen stock, representing about 14 per cent of the stock outstanding. 1,000 Expected at Brotherhood Dinner More than 1,000 entertainment industry leaders representing a wide variety of faiths and races are expected to gather in the WaldorfAstoria Hotel tomorrow night for the ninth annual Brotherhood dinner sponsored by the amusements division of the National Conference. The dinner, launching the Brotherhood campaign for 1955 under the slogan of "One Nation Under God," will honor J. Robert Rubin, permanent national chairman of the annual American show-business effort to foster understanding among people of all religious beliefs and creeds. Bluestein, Memphis Variety Aide, Dies MEMPHIS, Jan. 11.— Benjamin H. Bluestein, 60, died last night at Baptist Hospital here shortly after being stricken at the local Variety Club with a heart attack. For several years, Bluestein served as assistant chief barker at Memphis Variety and had an active role in helping build Variety's new home for convalescent children. Only a month ago Memphis Variety created the post of honorary director and gave it to Bluestein. He was in the lighting business and active in Variety for years. SAG Board Renews MPIC Membership; Ups Subscription From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 11. The board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild today voted unanimously to renew membership in the Motion Picture Industry Council and to increase its yearly subscription to MPIC from $2,500 to $3,500. SAG executive secretary John L. Dales said, "This is one of few industries in the United States, if not the only one, where management and unions and guilds have a forum at which they meet to discuss industry problems other than collective bargaining. The Screen Actors Guild has taken this step to affirm its faith in MPlC. The Screen Actors Guild believes MPIC is a major bulwark against any possible resurgence of Communist attempts to infiltrate our industry. We plan to support it with money and manpower." Decision Is Reserved On Chesapeake Plea A three-judge court yesterday reserved decision on Chesapeake Industries' appeal against the dismissal of its $15,000,000 anti-trust suit against Loew's and RKO Theatres. Chesapeake had charged that as owner of the dissolved Eagle LionClassics, ELC product had been denied access to the New York market as a result of the alleged split of film product by Loew's and RKO Theatres. Charged as co-conspirators in the case were the major film companies. Last May, Federal District Court Judge Augustus N. Hand ruled that the release agreement between Chesapeake and United Artists applied to all defendants and alleged co-conspirators. Pictorial Wins Suit Against Chesapeake A judgment of approximately $100,000 was granted to Pictorial Films in its suit against Chesapeake Industries by New York Supreme Court Judge Walters here yesterday. Pictorial had charged that product it had obtained from Chesapeake had illegally gone to United Artists after UA had obtained the Eagle LionClassics product. The suit was filed in December, 1951. UJA Re-elects Goldwater President Monroe Goldwater, a member of the law firm of Goldwater & Flynn, was re-elected president and Sylvan Gotshal of the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Magnes was re-elected chairman of the board of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York at the annual meeting of the UJA's board of directors here. Other officers re-elected were Emanuel Greenberg, Rabbi Irving Miller, Theodore R. Racoosin, Jacob Sincoff, Jerome I. Udell and Jack D. Weiler. Corkery and Maas Named MPEA V P's Robert J. Corkery and Irving Maas were elected vice-presidents of the Motion Picture Export Association at a meeting here yesterday of foreign managers. The appointments, made with the recommendation of MPEA president Eric Johnston, indicate no shift in the duties of the respective MPEA officials, it was stated. Corkery will remain director of Latin American affairs and Maas director of Far Eastern affairs. Corkery has left here for Uruguay to attend the film festival there. Form U.S. Company For Israel Films A company to provide the motion picture industry of Israel with representation in the Western Hemisphere has been established here by Barry Hyams, Inc., and agreements have been reached with Zvi Kolitz of Si'kor Films, producers of "Hill 24 Doesn't Answer" for Barry Hyams to direct the American distribution of the first wholly Israel-made feature motion picture. "Hill 24 Doesn't Answer," an English-language story by Kolitz of Israel's War of Independence, was adapted for the screen by the author and Peter Frye, and directed by England's Thorold Dickinson. The international cast is supported by members of the army through the cooperation of the Israel Government. All exteriors were filmed on location in the Negev desert, Haifa and Acre ; and interiors were photographed at the Israel Motion Picture Studios in Herzliah where the film was also processed. Pact Made with Hyams Prior to returning to Israel last week, Yehoshua Brandstatter, head of IMPS, concluded arrangements with Barry Hyams, Inc., to represent the studios here, and to distribute its series of varied-length subjects, the titles of which are "Son of Sulam," "We Choose Life," "Let's Look at Israel," "Songs and Dances," "Jonathan and Tali" and "Tent City." Burt Balaban's 26 Films to Flamingo Princess Pictures has signed with Flamingo Films for the television distribution of Princess' series of 26 feature films, it was disclosed yesterday by Burt Balaban, president of Princess, who also stated that his company will produce additional features for television at a later date. The Princess series, as described by Sy Weintraub, of Flamingo, consists of 13 features produced by Princess in 1954 especially for television and 13 recent theatrical features. The films, which feature 33 star names, are all first run for television. 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." Martin Quigley, President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Raymond Levy, Vice-President; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; Al Steen, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Pausel, Production Manager; Hollywood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, Samuel D. Berns, Manager; William R. Weaver, Editor, Hollywood 7-2145; Chicago Bureau, 120 South LaSalle Street, Urben Farley, Advertising Representative, FI 6-3074. Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C. London Bureau. 4 Golden Sq., London W. 1; Hope Burnup, Manager; Peter Burnup, Editor; cable address. "Quigpubco, London." Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald; Better Theatres and Better Refreshment Merchandising, each published 13 times a year as a section of Motion Picture Herald; Motion Picture and Television Almanac; Fame. Entered as second-class matter Sept. 21, 1938, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. 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