Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY SO. NO. 72 NEW YORK, U. S. A. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1956 TEN CENTS lestically th-Fox Will stribute CS klahoma!' sts in 'South Pacific1' Overseas Film Rights ■ntieth Century-Fox has acdomestic distribution rights to inemaScope version of "Okla and the foreign distribution to "South Pacific," from Magna e Corp., it was reported here lay following a meeting of the of directors of 20th-Fox. rding to a 20th-Fox representahe company would begin disya of "Oklahoma!" in February United States and Canada in ies where it will not conflict howings of the Todd-AO ver the same film. as also reported that 20th-Fox also substantially invest in the tion of Rodgers & Hammer"South Pacific," which would rore the cameras by the end Continued on page 6) is in Canada; Will \ve in Chicago Today Special to THE DAILY |\TREAL, Oct. lO.-John Davis J. Arthur Rank Organization here with his partv from LonIsterday. Although he could not •lied for comment, a spokesman Leon Theatres said Davis met [unidentified persons in the Id district of the city, htioned on reports that the Rank lis planning to establish its own lition organization in the United and possibly its own theatres, \i Continued on page 3) West, Officials |Ieet Council Here "rom THE DAILY Bureau LLYWOOD, Oct. 10 Ed |m, president of the Screen Guild, West, and the entire ■ e personnel, will attend the I meeting of the national coun■|:he Writers Guild of America Continued on page 3) Schenck Proposed Siegel For Loew's Presidency Sol C. Siegel was first proposed to the Loew's board of directors for president of the company to succeed Arthur Loew by Nicholas M. Schenck, chairm a n, it is learned. Schenck 's nominee is said to have met with an immediately favorable reaction by some directors, whereas others are described as having had some hesitancy over his lack of experience in Eastern administrative affairs, due to his concentration on production, in which he has a highly successful record. Siegel confirmed in Hollywood this (Continued on page 2) Siegel (/. S. Exhibitors Will Go To International Meet Representatives of U.S. exhibition will attend the general convention of the Union Internationale de Exhibitor Cinematographique which will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nov. 22-23, it was reported here yesterday. Theatre Owners of America and Allied States Association are both members of the global theatre association. TOA's representative to UIEC (Continued on page 2) SB. A Official Will Speak On Loans to ITOA Here Arthur E. Long, regional director for the Small Business Administration, will discuss the recent SBA ruling on loans to theatres on Oct. 18 at the membership meeting of the Independent Theatre Owners Association at the Sheraton Astor Hotel here. Long, who covers New York State, Connecticut and Northern New Jersey, will talk on theatre eligibility for loans and how to apply for them. Nick Pery Resigns Post With Col. International Nick Pery has resigned as vice-president and European managing director of Columbia Pictures International, effective Nov. 9, to go into independent motion picture production, it was announced yesterday by Lacy W. Kastner, president of Columbia International. Pery has been with Columbia for 22 years in various executive positions. In recent years he has been in overall charge of all of Columbia's offices in Continental Europe and the Middle East, as well as of all of Columbia s production activities in Continental Europe. Pery said that it "is with a deep sense of regret" that he will leave Columbia, explaining that "my reasons are so compelling that I cannot do otherwise." He said that his future plans will be announced at a later date. Angel Reports on Trip Says Top British Films Should Have Single U.S» Distributor By PETER BURNUP LONDON, Oct. 6 (By Air Mail)-The establishment in New York of a central information bureau for British films was advocated by producer Daniel M. Angel, in a press interview following his return here from New York, where he attended the convention of the Theatre Owners of America. Angel feels also that big British films should go through fewer distributors in the U. S. Some American exhibitors, said Angel, had reported to him that distributors in some cases lost interest in a picture if it didn't catch on at the outset. "That is whv I think it is impera tive that there should be fewer distributors handling our top product," said the British producer. "Our seven to ten top offerings annually should go through one distributor." Angel counsels that the distributor of a top subject should go out forthwith after the circuits. "If you have faith in a big picture, go out for the (Continued on page 6) For Theatres Won't Cover Mortgages in SBA's Loans Funds for Modernization Only, Official Contends By J. A. OTTEN WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 The Small Business Administration's loans to "four-wall" theatres would be made purely for the purpose of modernizing the theatre, and not for the purpose of paying off an existing mortgage, an official of the SBA stated here today. "The only kind of mortgage which we might refinance," he said, "is if refinancing is incidental to the overall loan and is to get clear title to the collateral." In a case where the owner of a mortgaged theatre applied for a loan to modernize, the official went on, if the greater proportion of the loan was for refurbishing and if the property was already encumbered by a small mortgage, "we might retire the mortgage so that we could clear the (Continued on page 2) 'Giant' Bow Contributes $40,000 to Charity Unit The world premiere of George Stevens' production "Gaint," at the Roxy Theatre here last night, contributed more than $40,000 to Muscular Dystrophy Associations of America, Inc., for whose benefit the Warner Bros, opening was held. The event was attended by a crowd of nearly 6.000 (Continued on page 3) Ryder Tells SMPTE Of New Sound Device From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 10-Automation will bring about big improvements in production techniques, but will not result in employment displacement, Loren L. Ryder, Paramount studio technical department head and inventro of Vista Vision process, told delegates to the convention of the Society of Motion Picture and (Continued on page 3)