Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1955)

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[onday, December 5, 1955 Motion Picture Daily Universal Production for Columbia Intl Charles Feldman (Continued from page 1) ./ho will be joined by studio executives at their meetings, will hear of he company's production, distribution P'fnd promotional planning for the 'oming year with special emphasis on eleasing plans for the first four lonths of 1956. Following the sales onference at the U-I studios, the ompany's division and district managers will hold i series of sev■n regional "neetings with heir branch nanagers and ™ alesmen to each every nember of the lomestic distribution or'ganiza tion. These meetn g s , which m\\ start next Monday, will >e held in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Cansas City, Cincinnati, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York. ' The executives participating in the 'neetings will be guests tomorrow m*iight at the Hollywood invitational '>ress preview of "The Benny Goodnan Story" at the RKO Pantages. ' Among those who will participate n the meetings are Milton R. Rack'nil, president; N. J. Blumberg, chair'nan of the board; Alfred E. Daff, xecutive vice-president; Edward Vluhl, vice-president in charge of proluction; David A. Lipton, vice-presi'lent; Ray Moon, assistant general 'ales manager; F. J. A. McCarthy, ^ 'Southern and Canadian sales manager; P. T. Dana, Eastern sales maniger; Foster M. Blake, Western sales nanager; James J. Jordan, circuit ;ales manager; Harry Fellerman, sales lead of the U-I special films division; rving Sochin, short subject sales manager; Norman E. Gluck, vice-president " 'tnd television sales manager of United vVorld Films, Universal's subsidiary; 1 W. Perry, president of EmpireJniversal, which releases U-I pictures n Canada; Mark Plottel, Empire-Uni/ersal sales manager, and M. J. Isnan, Eastern District Manager of impire-Universal. (Continued ft weekend that the over $12,000,000 production investment, which ranges from 30 to 60 per cent per film, is "in excess of our planned 21 British pictures, of which six have already been completed." A. Schneider, Columbia Pictures vice-president and treasurer, at the stockholders' meeting held last Monday, disclosed that the company's investment in the production of independent films by next June 25 is expected to exceed the $13,810,830 which was allocated for the fiscal Lacy W. Kastner, president of Columbia Pictures International, expressed the opinion that the British Parliament would eventually have to consider a British producers "feeling" that would curtail the use of Eady funds by American producers. He said that the "feeling" stems from the poor reception which British product is receiving in this country. year which ended on June 25, 1955. The disclosure here by Kastner indicates that Columbia will have a $25,000,000 investment in worldwide co-production and independent production deals. Kastner said that the newly organized sales division of Columbia, headed by Edward Kingsley, will release a number of the foreign coproductions which are suitable for the domestic market. "We will not release any of these pictures here without a Production Code seal, even if the picture is a success in its native territory," he said. "We also do not count on the U. S. market for the Lacy W. Kastner, president of Columbia Pictures International, declared here that he is in favor of selling American product to Iron Curtain countries. He said that the films should be carefully selected and sold at a flat rate. recuperation of our investment in our co-productions," the Columbia executive stated. It was also pointed out by Kastner that the films which were om page 1) not suitable for the general distribution organization of Columbia, would be given to Kingsley 's division. Kastner reported that the special sales division will initially release "The Prisoner" and immediately afterwards, "Men in White," a French picture. The Columbia International president said that die company is involved in nine French pictures, of which five are finished and the remainder to be produced in five months; 10 German films of which eight are finished; 10 Italian pictures of which four are completed; four Brazilian films of which three are completed; two Chilean pictures with one completed and the second to be filmed in March; 21 Mexican pictures of which 11 are completed; two Australian films of which one is finished and the second to be produced next March; two Philippine productions which are completed and in release, and 21 British films which will be produced in two years and of which six are completed. He said that more than one-half of these pictures would be made in The foreign market contributed 46 per cent of the $88,311,113 worldwide gross of Columbia Pictures attained at the end of the fiscal year ended on June 25, 1955, Lacy W. Kastner, Columbia Pictures International president, reported. color and some of them would be in wide-screen processes. Commenting on his Far East tour, Kastner stated that there is much interest in that part of the world as to the latest American technical developments in motion picture production and also in television. He said that Columbia International recently entered into a three-year agreement to distribute all British product, with the exception of Korda production, in the Japanese market. Kastner said that American product is still the best from an international point of view and that films from the United States are universally accepted. Richard Walsh Name Walsh to V-P Of Merged AFL-CIO Richard F. Walsh, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, has been nominated for a vice-presidency of the merged American Federation o f Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Walsh is an official of three of the specialized agencies of the AFL. They are the Union Label and Service Trades d e p a rtment, vice-president; Union Labor Life Insurance Co., vice-president and member of the executive committee, and the Labor's League for Political Education, member of the executive committee. In recent years, Walsh represented the AFL as a fraternal delegate; in 1948 to the convention of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada, and, in 1950, to the convention of the British Trades Union Congress. Jaffe, Frankovich to Col. Int'l VP Posts The election of Leo Jaffe and M. J. Frankovich as vice-presidents oi Columbia Pictures International Corp. was announced Friday following a meeting of the board of directors. Jaffe is a vice-president of Columbia Pictures Corp. as well. Frankovich recently was appointed managing director of Columbia in Great Britain and Ireland, following the passing of Max Thorpe, who had held the post. To Show 55mm. A special demonstration of the CinemaScope 55, being introduced with the production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel," will be conducted by 20th Century-Fox on Wednesday at the Huron Theatre, Huron, S. D. I| I I