Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

2 Motion Picture Daily Thursday, January 20, 1955 Personal Mention Y FRANK FREEMAN, Para• mount vice-president arrived here yesterday from the Coast. • Hillis Cass, M-G-M sales manager for Canada, and Reginald Wilson, sales head for the territory, have returned to Toronto from New York. • Reginald Armour, head of Republic Pictures for Great Britain and the Continent, has returned to London from New York. • William A. Scully, Universal Pictures distribution consultant, is in New York from Miami, where he now resides. • Bernard Lewis, I.F.E. Releasing Corp. exploitation manager, will return to New York tomorrow from Detroit. • Alfred Hitchcock and Mrs. Hitchcock will leave New York today for Hollywood. P. T. Dana, Universal Pictures Eastern sales manager, will return to New York today from Boston. • John P. Byrne, M-G-M Eastern sales manager, has returned to New York from Philadelphia. • Emery Austin, M-G-M exploitation head, will return to New York from Hollywood today. • Lou Lipman and Morris Keppner of General Theatres, Hartford, will leave there this week for Miami. • Robert Paul Smith, playwright, has arrived in Hollywood from New York. 9 Max Fellerman, Lopert Films vice-president, returned to New York yesterday from Hollywood. Franchise Holders of Tudor Meet Here Moe Kerman, president of Tudor Pictures, Inc., will hold a two-day sales meeting of its U. S. and Canadian franchise holders at New York's Warwick Hotel, tomorrow and Saturday. Advance plans will be discussed for eight completed films, the first of which is "Innocents -In Paris," a Romulus Production. Isadore Wolfe Dies SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 19.— Isadore Wolfe, 63, for over 20 years a salesman for National Screen Service and known throughout the Northern California territory as "Izzy," passed away yesterday. Graziano Story to M-G-M HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 19.— M-G-M has purchased from Rocky Graziano, former middleweight champion, the story "Somebody Up There Likes Me," written by the boxer. Col. Opens 2-Day Meet Here Today; Montague Chairman A two-day meeting among Columbia home office executives and the company's division managers, with general sales manager A. Montague chairing, opens here today at the Savoy Plaza Hotel. Purpose of the meeting is to finalize sales, promotion and distribution plans for "The Long Gray Line," John Ford's Technicolor CinemaScope production. Tomorrow morning's session will be devoted to a presentation by vicepresident Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., of the advertising and publicity campaign being given "The Long Gray Line." The film will have its world premiere in Washington at the RKO Keith's, and will open in New York at the Capitol on Feb. 10. Call Riot Squad At 'Bridges' Bow BOSTON, Jan. 19.— The riot squad of the Boston Police Department had to be called today to restore order in the lobby of the RKO Memorial Theatre, where thousands of milling patrons at the opening of "Six Bridges to Cross" stormed Tony Curtis and George Nader. The two stars were there in conjunction with the opening. Order was restored, but not before almost a score of patrons were injured. According to Ben Domingo, the theatre's managing director, it was the greatest crowd he had seen to turn out for an opening of a picture in his 25 years in the theatre business. President Holds First Filmed Press Parley WASHINGTON. Jan. 19.— President Eisenhower's press conference today was the first Presidential press conference ever to be filmed by newsreel and television cameras for possible later public showing. The films of the conference later were cleared for newsreel and TV showing by White House press secretary James Hagerty, who stated that the films of each press conference in the future will be evaluated in this manner to determine whether or not any portions should be withheld from public exhibition. Corwin Heads Temple HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 19.— Sherrill C. Corwin, president of Metropolitan Theatres, has been elected head of Temple Israel here, succeeding Steve Broidy, president of Allied Artists, who becomes chairman of the board of trustees. Heading the committee which nominated Corwin was Sam Briskin, Columbia Pictures studio executive. Wendell P. Milligan, 66 HARTFORD, Jan. 19.— Wendell P. Milligan, 66, at one time director of advertising for the "Motion Picture World," New York, died suddenly at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was formerly publisher of the now-defunct Norwalk (Conn.) "Evening Sentinel." Filmack Re-Shooting For Wide Screens CHICAGO, Jan. 19.— Filmack Trailer Co. is re-shooting its entire stock of institutional trailers to accommodate widescreen exhibition. Irving Mack, president, explained that CinemaScope and wide screen installations had caused a "major upheaval" in trailer-making companies because their libraries of stock institutional trailers were filmed for the standard screen ratio. Ticket Tax Relief Sought in Canada TORONTO, Jan. 19.— A nine-page brief which asked for repeal or modification of the ticket tax by the provincial government has been presented to Premier L. M. Frost of Ontario by the Ontario Exhibitors Committee for Amusement Tax Relief, and the government leader indicated that a date would be set for the hearing of a theatre delegation after perusal of arguments. The brief, which was handed to Premier Frost by Arch H. Jolley, Toronto, in behalf of the committee, pointed out that 29 Ontario theatres had closed because of television competition since the first TV station in Canada was opened in 1952. Many other theatres were operating at a loss, it stated, and more would be forced to close unless the tax was eased. Figures were provided which showed that 242 theatres in television areas bad suffered an average attendance decline of approximately 21 per cent, with neighborhood houses in large cities and small-town theatres being hardest hit. The committee chairman is Lionel Lester, a Toronto independent exhibitor. Futter Sets Up UK Vidoscope Office Walter Futter, whose organization developed the Vidoscope anamorphic lens, returned here yesterday from England where he set up Vidoscope, Ltd., for the sale and distribution of the lenses in the United Kingdom. Nat Miller is president of the British company. Futter said that 350 theatres in England had installed the lenses and that more than 3,000 had been installed in U. S. houses. Deliveries are now being made in South America, Australia and Mexico, he declared. News Roundup Stan Margolies Head Of Bryna Publicity HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 19. — Stan Margolies on Monday will join Kirk Douglas' new independent producing company, Bryna Productions, as publicity director. Margolies was associated previously with Disney, RKO Radio and 20th Century-Fox. Acquires Shea House The Shea circuit will relinquish the operation of the Lackawanna Theatre, Lackawanna, N. Y., on Feb. 8 and Harris Williams, brother of Oscar Williams, who built the house, will take over. Shea had the theatre for 15 years. Set Toronto Meet The Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada will hold its annual meeting on Jan. 29 at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto under the chairmanship of president W. J. Singleton, general manager of Associated Screen News of Montreal. Equip Screening Room Altec Service Corp. has installed stereophonic sound in one of the three screening rooms operated by William Gullette at 1600 Broadway here. According to Gullette, his preview room is the only private one in New York equipped for CinemaScope and stereo sound. 'Underwater' Dates Mass dates in 156 theatres have been set for RKO's "Underwater !" Sales chief Walter Branson said the day-and-date bookings would start on Feb. 9. Change Meeting Date North Central Allied has moved its annual convention date in Minneapolis from May 9 to May 2 and 3. Sessions will be held in the Nicollet Hotel. Church Breakfast At L.A. Palladium HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 19. — Doug Bridges, general chairman, today announced that Ann Blyth will be hostess and deliver the opening address at the fourth annual Communion Breakfast for members of the film industry in Los Angeles, which will be held, Mnsgr. John J. Devlin announced officially, at the Hollywood Palladium Sunday morning, Feb. 13, following 9 A.M. Mass celebrated by James Francis Cardinal Mclntyre at Blessed Sacrament Church. Nat Cohen Coming Here on Film Deals LONDON, Jan. 19.— Nat Cohen, managing director of AngloAmalgamated Productions, will leave here for New York by plane on Saturday and later will go to Hollywood from there. Cohen will discuss coproduction deals as well as arrangements for distribution here of a number of American films. 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. Feck«, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, 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 ai second-class matter Sept. 21, 1938, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscription rates per year, $6 in the Americas and $12 foreign; single copies, 10c