Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1955)

2 Motion Picture Daily Monday, May 23, 1955 Personal Mention CHARLES C. MOSKOWITZ Loew's, Inc., vice-president and treasurer, returned to New York on Saturday from Miami. • Abe Olman, in charge of the Rob bins, Feist and Miller music com panies for Loew's, Inc., has returned to New York from the Coast. • William E. Osborne, Allied Art ists assistant export manager, has returned to New York following a tour of the Far Eastern territories. • Arthur Pincus, of Loew's International publicity department, left New York yesterday for the Coast. • Samuel G. Engel, producer, left New York over the weekend for Greece. • Phil Gerard, Universal Pictures Eastern publicity manager, is in West Point today from New York. • Dino De Laurentiis, Italian producer, left Hollywood for Rome on Friday. • Frank King, producer, will arrive in New York today from Hollywood. • George Sidney, director, has arrived in New York from Hollywood. Louise Allbritton has left New York for Europe. Stewart Granger left Hollywood by plane on Saturday for Pakistan. Salesmen-Employer Talks Break Down Negotiations between the Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen and distributors broke down on Friday at 6 :30 P.M., following meetings that had been going on between the two groups all week under direction of J. R. Mandelbaum, of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. At the beginning of Friday's session, the Colosseum presented its settlement "package" to the distributors in the hope that its revised demands would lead to an agreement. The distributors made certain exploratory moves in an effort to bridge the span of disagreement. Their last official offer called for a $4 wage increase and a $120 cutoff, also offered to improve the present union security provision. The Colosseum settlement "package" consisted of : CI A union shop. CI A $6 per week wage increase. CI An increase in the per diem expense allowance of $1 per day for country salesmen and 50 cents per day for city salesmen. CI A wage minimum of $85. CI Cutoff at $135. Mandelbaum, mediator in the negotiations, stated that he is prepared to schedule additional meetings at the convenience of the parties concerned. TV a Baby Sitter In Trailer Park Special to THE DAILY PHILADELPHIA, May 22.— At the formal dedication of Penn Valley Terrace, a deluxe trailer site, Jerrold Electronics Corp. utilized a closed circuit TV channel within the park for baby sitting, a permanent feature. Mounted in a tree near the children's playground, a television camera from Kay labs of California was trained on the youngsters at play. The camera is operated by remote control from the ground and the pictures taken of this unrehearsed show are flashed to mothers busy at home in their trailers. Junior's whereabouts can easily be detected by an occasional glance at Channel 7 on their TV screens. Phonevision Shows Start in D.C. Today WASHINGTON, D. C, May 22.— The center of Zenith's campaign for the adoption of subscription television will move here tomorrow when the Chicago firm will open a press demonstration of its Phonevision systems at the Sheraton Park Hotel. On public view for the first time are the instruments necessary for scrambling and unscrambling television pictures and sound, the two basic elements of a ubscription service. During the week, demonstrations of the equipment in operation will be conducted for the benefit of broadcasters who are in Washington for the annual session of the NARTB. According to Dr. Alexander Ellett, vice-president in charge of research for Zenith, and Pieter VanBeek, assistant to Zenith's president on Phonevision and host of the demonstration, other showings will be conducted for interested parties throughout the next four weeks. McConville, Warner In Stock Deals WASHINGTON, May 22. — The Securities and Exchange Commission reported the following stock transactions in motion picture companies during April. Joseph A. McConville, vice-president of Columbia Pictures, sold 1,000 shares of common stock, decreasing his holdings in the company to 3,148 hares ; Harry M. Warner, president of Warner Brothers, made gifts of 2,350 shares of common stock to charities, decreasing his direct holdings in the company to 103,500. Drive-ins' Rentals Seen Key to 20th's '55 Domestic Gross Film rentals from drive-in theatres will determine whether or not the 1955 domestic gross business of 20th Century-Fox will hit the minimum expectancy of $72,000,000 by the end of September, the film company reported. Twentieth-Fox is exceptionally confident in reflecting that the springsummer-fall revenue objective will be attained because of considerably more bookable CinemaScope product and some 10 times more equipped drive-in possibilities than existed at mid-May of 1954. The drive-in revenue thus far during the first seven weeks of this quarter, as of May 14, as compared with the comparable 1954 quarter, is 78.6 per cent higher, 20th-Fox said. Eight company branches in that time had more than doubled their 1954 accumulated revenue, the distribution company said. Twentieth Century-Fox also is encouraged by the fact that each successive year has seen the operating season for drive-ins in the north become longer and operators of CinemaScope equipped drive-in theatres have stated that they hope to continue showing films well into December. However, 20th-Fox says that competition for playing time at equipped drive-in theatres will be considerably keener this year than heretofore as all but one major distribution company will have bookable CinemaScope product for these situations. A.A. Sales Office Set in Frankfurt Arnold Picker May Probe Radio, TV OTTAWA, May 22.— The Canadian government is considering the appointment of a royal commission to investigate radio and television broadcasting, it was reported. The Commission is expected to begin its investigation in late Summer or early Fall. The setting up of a sales office in Frankfurt, Germany, by Allied Artists International was announced by Norton V. Ritchey, president. Succeeding Jack Schumann as AA's special representative in Germany is Walter Agulnik, active in German film circles for many years. Agulnik already is operating from the company's new office, situated in the Europa-Palast building. Negotiations were finalised by William Satori, assistant to Ritchey, now on the last lap of a tour of the European territory and due back in New York early in June. Ritchey stated that the setting-up of a permanent office in Germany was an "absolute necessity," due to the increasing importance of that market. "The Big Combo," "Cry Vengeance" and. "Shotgun" are three current AA films scheduled for early German release, backed by promotion campaigns. It is understood that negotiations are also under way with a number of American major companies for certain forthcoming AA productions to be released through its German distribution set-ups. Skouras to Far East Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox, will make a business tour of the company's branches throughout the Far East starting in June, according to the company. UA Foreign Gross Up With first quarter earnings running "well ahead" of the comparable period of 1954, Arnold M. Picker, United Artists vice-president in charge of foreign distribution, stated here at the weekend that the foreign business of the company would be "about 40 per cent of the anticipated $50,000,000 worldwide gross." Picker, in disclosing that a minimum of some 33 to 36 feature films would be distributed by UA foreign-wise, said that the recent inauguration of a 16mm. program would boost the company's revenue considerably. The UA overseas distribution chief, reiterated his prediction, initially announced at the UA international sales convention in London early this month, that with the concentration of product brought to UA by independent producers, gains in foreign grosses during 1955 would surpass the progress made in prior years. To Make 'Test' in Italy Picker said that UA shortly will send a color negative of "Khyber Rifles" or "Gun Belt" to Italy for print processing by Italian laboratories. "This will be a test situation for us," the film executive stated. "If there is unsatisfactory quality or unsatisfactory delivery of the color prints, I assume that the whole industry would have to reopen negotiations wtih the Italians over this restriction," he said. Commenting on Latin America, Picker declared that the low admission prices in a number of countries constitute a "major problem" to the industry. He said that theatremen in Latin America were petitioning the local governments to lift the imposed ceilings on box office prices. Para. Executives Return George Weltner, head of Paramount worldwide sales; E. K. O'Shea, distribution vice-president ; Jerry Pickman, ad-publicity vice-president ; Robert J. Rubin, administrative executive, and Sid Blumenstock, advertising manager, will return to New York today from Hollywood where they participated in the week-long sales-merchandising meeting at the studio. Hugh Owen, distribution vice-president, is expected to return later in the week following visits to a number of Western exchanges. Forms TV Film Group Sid Caesar and Charles Peck, Jr., have formed a company, Charles K. Peck, Jr., Ltd., to produce a television filmed series about the wartime activities of the Office of Strategic Services with Delbert Mann directing. MOTION PTCTLRE DAIL\ . Martm 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: "Ouigpubco, New York." Martin Ouigley, President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Raymond Levy, Vice-President; Leo J. Brady, Secretary; Ai Steen, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, 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, T. A. Otten, National Press Club, Wpshington, 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, 1968, 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.