Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1955)

2 Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, March 16, 1955 Personal Mention JOHN P. BYRNE, M-G-M Eastern sales manager, is in Boston from New York. • Robert Wolff, chairman and managing director of RKO Radio Pictures, Ltd., will leave for England from New York today aboard the "Queen Mary." • Dr. Goffredo Lombardo, head of Titanus Films of Rome, is scheduled to arrive here today from Italy. He is planning a film in VistaVision to be made in Spain. • Hilary Watson, theatre sales representative in London for B.O.A.C., has returned to England from New York via one of the company's Monarchs. • Jesse Chinich, Buena Vista assistant sales manager, has returned to New York following completion of a cross-country business trip. • Arvig Griffin, of the M-G-M directorial staff, who arrived in New York from the Coast this week, has left for Pakistan. • Frank A. Ungro, financial manager of Westrex Corp., has returned to New York following an extended tour of Europe. • Byron Adams, United Artists branch manager in Atlanta, is the father of a son born there to Mrs. Adams last week. • Burrell Smith, president of Major Films, Inc., left New York yesterday for London via B.O.A.C. Monarch. Lillian Lang, fashion director of "Photoplay," has returned to New York from Florida. • Gianni Hecht, head of Documento Film, will arrive here tomorrow from Italy. # Phil Girard, Universal Pictures publicity director, is in Albany from New York. ABPC Adopts Perspecta Sound Associated British Pictures Corp. has become the fifth major company to adopt Perspecta stereophonic sound, according to cabled news received from London by Perspecta Sound, Inc., in New York. This follows the recent announcement that UniversalInternational will use Perspecta. The other major companies also using Perspecta are M-G-M, Paramount and Warner Brothers. In addition, the single, optical track system of stereophonic sound is used by other independent producers. A.B.P.C. will install equipment for recording in Perspecta in its Elstree Studio in the near future. This will make Perspecta available in two of the important studios of Great Britain, the other being M-G-M's British studio, where it is already in operation. Production Is Heavy In the British exhibiting field, Perspecta continues with city and suburban installations in theatres in England, Northern Ireland, Eire and Scotland, it was said. Westrex, RCA and GB Kalee companies are in full production of Perspecta units to fill the many current orders. Allied Artists To Honor Kirsch In Chi. April 19 CHICAGO, March 15. — A testimonial banquet honoring Jack Kirsch, president of Allied Theatres of Illinois and chief barker of the Variety, Club here, for "his services to the community and to the state of Israel" will be tendered on April 19. Sharing honors with Kirsch will be Jack Benny, who will receive the first Israel "Oscar," the Eliezer Kaplan Award, for his support of Israel's program for economic development through the Israel bond program. Over 650 people are expected to attend and to buy a $1,000 or more Israel bond. Jack Rose, secretarytreasurer of Indiana-Illinois Theatres, Inc., heads the amusement committee for the testimonial. The goal set for Chicago is $3,000,000 for the year. {Continued from page 1) RKO to Reissue 5 By Mid-Summer RKO will re-issue five top features — "each with a built-in promotion angle"— during the spring and summer months, it was announced yesterday by Walter Branson, World-Wide Sales Manager. Immediately following the Academy Awards on March 30 "The Informer," a seven-Oscar winner, will be available for key city dates. RKO also has decided to re-release "Berlin Express." The film which will go into release in the middle of April, stars Robert Ryan, Merle Oberon and Paul Lukas. The Cary Grant-Katharine Hepburn starrer, "Bringing Up Baby," is set for distribution at the beginning of May. In mid-May, "I Remember Mama," with Irene Dunne, Oscar Homolka and Barbara Bel Geddes, goes into release. "The Big Street" is scheduled for distribution at the beginning of June. tions, and your support will enable us to build faster and finer." The AA president took occasion to disarm rumors that AA is considering making distributing deals with other distributing companies for handling its high-budget films such as John Huston, William Wyler and Billy Wilder are to produce for the company, assuring his listeners, "We are going to make these pictures and we are going to distribute them." Goldstein told the exhibitors, "Your support on this new product will be mutually beneficial, as it will pave the way to even bigger product." Product Vital, Says O'Donnell O'Donnell, speaking for the exhibitors, said, "new sources of top boxoffice product is of concern to all exhibitors. The finest news that could come to the industry is this AA move. You can depend on Texas to be on the right side of the column in this ambitious undertaking." Brandt Chairman Of Ampa Luncheon Harry Brandt, president of the Brandt Theatres and the ITOA, has been named chairman and master of ceremonies of AMPA's March 23 luncheon, devoted to the M-G-M "Ticket Selling Workshop" at the Piccadilly Hotel here, it was reported by AMPA's president David A. Bader. Brandt, Bader said, has championed the merchandising and selling of the theatre to the public for three decades. He will introduce Mike Simons, director of customer relations, to AMPA's audience which will be composed of members and local exhibitors. The luncheon, the first of many programs on the agenda for 1955, will start promptly at 12 :30 p.m. Urge Quick Signing Of N. Y. Tax Bill Special to THE DAILY ALBANY, March 15. — Victor F. Condello, New York City legislative representative, said that he would urge Governor Averell Harriman to sign quickly the bill passed by the legislature validating collection of major breakage on the five per cent amusement tax in New York City, Binghamton and Elmira. It was learned that transmittal of the measure to the Governor had been expedited. It is expected to receive his approval this week. Upstate sub-divisions with two percent sales taxes are also reported to be advocating the bill. The declaration of "legislative intent" states that if major breakage were not collected, that levy would amount to only one per cent. The bill, which would take effect immediately, is retroactive to June 30, 1954, on the admissions impost. N. J. Allied Seeking More Children Films The dearth of suitable product for children shows and remedies to correct the situation were discussed by Allied Theatres of New Jersey at a membership meeting in Trenton, president Wilbur Snaper said here yesterday. This lack of "kid" pictures has reflected considerably in grosses, Snaper said, asserting that the distributors claim that they do not have prints of the desired pictures. Snaper said that New Jersey Allied members possibly could guarantee a distributor enough playdates for a popular picture to make it profitable for the company to make new prints. He added that he would ask the Council of Motion Picture Organizations to make a check with all distributors in order to determine how many pictures with strictly juvenile appeal would be available. Charles Moss Accepts Group Chairmanship For UJA Campaign Charles B. Moss, of the B. S. Moss I Corp. and executive director of the Criterion Theatre here, again has accepted the chairmanship of the United Jewish Appeal's amusement division purchasi n g agents' group, it was announced yesterday by Monroe Goldwater, UJA president. Moss was credited with having been largely responsible for guiding the 1954 drive of the purchasing agents which netted UJA a sum in excess of $60,000, Goldwater said. The group, consisting of purchasing agents of the various major companies, operates within the framework of the over-all amusement division of the campaign. "The financial objective of the citywide campaign," Moss explained, "is to raise the New York area's share of the national UJA goal of just under $100,000,000 to sustain the work of the United Israel Appeal, the Joint Distribution Committee (including ORT), and the New York Association for New Americans as well as the local proportion of $2,289,968 required this year by the National Jewish Welfare Board and $1,624,350 by the American Jewish Congress." Charles Moss Name 'SOS' Agent For Vistarama HOLLYWOOD, March 15. — S.O.S. Cinema Supply Corp. of New York has been granted exclusive agency rights for the Vistarama anamorphic wide screen system of photography throughout the Eastern half of the U. S., with a non-exclusive arrangement in the rest of the country and overseas, it was announced here today by Carl W. Dudley, Vistarama president. The new distributor has shop facilities for mounting Vistarama on any type of 16mm. or 35mm. professional camera, it was stated. • Three Channel interlock projection • 16, 17', 2 & 35mm tape interlock • 16mm interlock projection CUTTING & EDITING ROOMS AVAILABLE movielab THEATRE SERVICE, inc. ; 619 W. 54(h St . N Y. 19, N Y • JUdson 6-0367. 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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