Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1956)

Motion Picture Daily Thursday, July 26, REVIEW: Latex TV Plans Told . . . Huk United Artists The "Huks" of the title are onetime guerrilla fighters who turned against their native Philippine land to become desperados. It is they who provide the action in this United Artists release in Eastman Color which has Mona Freeman, George Montgomery and John Baer as its stars. Montgomery is cast as a well-to-do playboy and part-time engineer who returns to the Philippines in 1952 to claim a sugar and rice plantation left to him by his father who had been killed by the Huks. At the plantation he meets Baer and his wife, Mona Freeman, who supervise operations of the plant. Montgomery first plans to sell the plantation and return to the states, but changes his mind when the Huks invade his property. Later lie leads an attack against the desperados in which Baer is killed. Even though his plantation is subsequently ruined, Montgomery decides to stay and plans a new life with Miss Freeman. John Barnwell's direction keeps the action moving fluidly. Collier Young produced. Running time, 84 minutes. General classification. For August release. J.E. M. P. DAILY PHOTO A. N. SPANEL, Latex Corporation board chairman, and confessedly a trail blazer, as he announced at a 21 Club luncheon yesterday his "saturation television program." With him are A. B. Peterson, marketing vice-president; and Ed Madden, television head. (Continued from page 1) week, 52 weeks a year, in each of the country's 100 major market areas. In selected markets radio will also be used. The extensive schedule of spot commercials, promoting International Latex products— Playtex girdles, baby pants, etc., and Isodine pharmaceuti cals, will continue for five years, and is expected to triple the company's sales within two yeans, Spanel said. International Latex grossed $40,000,000 last year, the board chairman staled, adding that the tv promotional embarkation should boost company sales within two years to the $120,000,000 mark. Will Start Aug. 1 The tv saturation program, Spanel said, is expected commencing Aug. 1 to reach a little over half of the 36 million television home receivers with its 10 daily spots or 70 spots per week. "Within 90 to 120 days, we expect to reach between 75 to 80 per cent of all television homes and by the first of the year, between 85 to 95 per cent of the 36,000,000 tv home receivers," Spanel told the press conference, following a recounting of the International Latex history. The television and radio time constituting the International Latex organization's "massive" schedule was formulated in a transaction involving the 740 feature films in the library of RKO Radio Pictures which C & C Television Corp. purchased from General Teleradio for $15,200,000, Spanel said. Tie-in with Fox Seen Spanel related that when he told Fox about his television plans for Latex in January, 1954, Fox replied that such a plan was possible if a major company's library could be obtained. It was indioated by another Latex official yesterday that Spanel was instrumental in aiding Fox and C & C TV buy the RKO Radio backlog and that Fox's organization is selling the Latex spots in tie-in deals with the sale of the films to television. The International Latex board chairman, following a screening of the spot commercials, pointed out that the new schedule includes several "firsts" in television advertising. It pioneers the use of a new technique which results in the showing of girdles and REVIEW: Three for Jamie Dawn Allied Artists An interesting minor drama murder trial with the emphasis p on the jurors rather than the aci| is "Three for Jamie Dawn." A petent cast, well-paced direction) a fairly unusual theme help J come the basically contrived pkij Jamie Dawn, who is hardly seen and never heard, murder:| boy friend. A wealthy and wild jlj woman, she hires a famous anc» scrupulous criminal lawyer (Ri ;| Carlson) who knows the only she can be exonerated is by the jury. He picks the three likely candidates. The first is a naturalized o (Eduard Franz) whose child i missing in Czechoslovakia. The; yer's henchman works on the sy thy of the juror's wife, convince! his "organization" can find the and then reveals that Jamie 1 backs his group and will not com her charity work until and i she is freed. The second is a happily-mf man (Ricardo Montalban) whoi nances have reached rock bottorrii family cannot get out of debt am is offered a fabulous sum to wi i story, "Why I Felt Jamie Dawn J Not Guilty." (Laraine Day play id wife). The third is a has-been actress; J Havoc) defeated by the bottle ego and time. She learns she's backed in a play only it wond staged unless Jamie Dawn, her J factress, is freed. "Three for Jamie Dawn" was* duced by Hayes Goetz, directed Thomas Carr and written by u Klempner. Running time, 81 minutes. GeW classification. Release date, Jull Fox to Open 'Bigger With Morning Premi? 20th Century-Fox will stage a i ing world premiere for "Bigger Life" when it opens at the Vii Theatre here on Aug. 2. It will 1 tended by James Mason, star and ducer of the film, and other ce ties including co-star Barbara and direotor Nicholas Ray. Although not an evening prer the launching will receive wides; national coverage via newsreels, hook-ups and photo services, the pany said. The film, which is in emaScope, deals with addiction t "miracle drug" cortisone. bras in actual use on tv, "in pep" taste." This new "ectoplasm" » nique demonstrates the many a<i» tages of the products, he said. It P first five-year commitment fa'* spot commercials ever made, he ,™ Neidier Spanel, nor his so dates, disclosed what the a| budget for the tv program is.