Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, October 16, 19! j PERSONAL MENTION COL A. SCHWARTZ, president of ^ RKO Theatres, will leave here tonight with Mrs. Schwartz for the West Coast for a week's visit. • Murray Silverstone, president of 20th Century-Fox International, left here yesterday for England and the Continent. Darrvl F. Zanuck and his son, Richard, visited President Eisenhower at the White House last week before leaving for the British West Indies. Ben Marcus, member of the executive committee of Allied States Association, has returned to Milwaukee from New York. • Charles Smadja, United Artists vice-president in charge of European production, arrived in New York yesterday from Paris. • Edward L. Hyman, vice-president of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, and Bernard Levy, his assistant, are in Detroit from New York. • Sam Spiegel, producer, returned to New York yesterday from Ceylon. • Ronald Squire, Basil Sydney and Harley Power, British actors, will arrive in New York from London today via B.O.A.C. Edwin Knopf, producer, will return to New York from Europe next Tuesday. Harry Loud, of the M-G-M studio trailer department, will return to HolIvwood tomorrow from New York. • Ladislao Va^a, director, arrived in New York yesterday from Spain. Evelyn Seeff, secretary to Burt Champion, Paramount publicity manager, is on a two-week Caribbean vacation. Mirisch Sells Shares WASHINGTON, Oct. 15.-Harold [. Mirisch, vice-president of Allied Artists Pictures Corp., sold 4,000 shares of common stock in the company by Kenilworth Investment Co., a co-partnership, reducing such holdings to 34,000 shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission report. The SEC report notes that of the 34,000 shares, 12,000 are owned directly by Mirisch and 22,000 by Kenilworth. HolidayTakes ( Continued from page 1 ) attendance here showed no significant cut due to local television, which also carried some "big" films recently acquired from the major studios. "Giant," the George Stevens-Warner Bros, presentation at the Roxy Theatre, took in $113,000 during the first four days of its run, which began Thursday, according to the theatre management. Radio City Music Hall reported a gross of $103,000 in the Thursday through Sunday run of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Tea and Sympathy." The Mayfair Theatre had a gross of $96,700 ' for the three-day weekend showing of United Artist's "Attack." Paramount Pictures' "War and Peace" did $35,0000 in box office business at the Capitol Wednesday through Sunday, the theatre management announced. Other theatres in Manhattan reported the following grosses for Thursday through Sunday last week: Paramount, "Toward the Unknown," Warner Bros.-$23,000; State, "Between Heaven and Hell," 20th Century-Fox-$16,000; Globe, "Pillars of the Sky," Universal-$13,000; Victoria, "Best Things in Life Are Free," 20th Century-Fox-$13,000; Astor, "Bad Seed," Warner Bros.-$24,400. Presetting to Women Vital Today: Upton The pre-selling of individual pictures, particularly through the use of pretested material and media, and the goal of reaching the all-important "woman" audience were stressed as three points "vital for today's selective movie market" by David A. Lipton, vice-president, at concluding sessions of Universal International's week-long conference of the company's New York office, studio and regional advertising-publicity officials. The importance of pre-selling today is highlighted, he said, by the fact that some local point-of-sale campaigns now begin only a few days in advance because of increasingly high newspaper advertising rates and other limiting factors. "There appears to be ample evidence," Lipton stated, "that of those people interested in a given picture, the number likely to attend first run showings, is in direct relationship with the number of people who actually know about the film prior to appearance of local advertising." The principle of pre-selling is being continued in national magazine and newspaper supplement advertising and in fan magazines and the company is continuing its policy of using tv spots extensively for advance teaser pre-selling. NT Sees Theatres Unhurt By M-G-M Feature on TV From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 15 Early reports that the first televising of an M-G-M backlog feature here Friday evening had cut into theatre attendance seriously proved erroneous, according to a National Theatres spokesman, when the circuit's district managers, in the regular Monday morning meeting at the home office, compared reports and found the widely-exploited telecast had not influenced attendance perceptibly anywhere in NT territory. The Metropolitan Theatres circuit reported the same experience. The first M-G-M feature, "30 Seconds over Tokyo," had been exploited by Station KTTV, owned by the Los Angeles "Times" and "News-Mirror," over an extended period at a cost estimated at $100,000. $100,000 Remodeling For Criterion Underway The Criterion Theatre here is spending over $100,0000 on an extensive remodeling job in preparation for the opening of Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," it was announced by executive director Charles B. Moss. Moss said the theatre, which is now closed until Nov. 9, will be redecorated with new carpeting throughout, a new marquee, a new auditorium lighting system and new seats. Sheridan Kettering has been contracted by Moss to supervise and direct the renovation. Arthur Loew to Speak At Chicago Meet Today CHICAGO, Oct. 15 Arthur M. Loew, president of Loew's International, will be the guest speaker tomorrow at the three-day M-G-M snles division managers meeting at the Rlackstone Hotel here. Charles M. Reagan, general sales manager, is presiding. Frank Burke, 61 Frank Burke, editor of the "RadioTelevision Daily." died here yesterday morning of a heart ailment at the Hospital For Joint Diseases. He was 61 years old. Funeral will be held on Thursday from Maher Funeral Home, Pleasantville, with requiem Mass at Holy Innocents Church and interment in All Souls Cemetery, Pleasantville. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Rosary Hill Cancer Home, Hawthorne, N. Y. . . . NEWS ROUNDUP Fox and Woolworth in Tien; More than 2,000 stores of the F. Woolworth chain will spotlight 2( Century-Fox's "Love Me Tende the Elvis Presley picture. The dri aimed primarily at teenagers, will elude multiple window displays each of the stores, counter and w decorations and full cooperation w exhibitors in assorted cooperati activities. ■ Coast Publicists Ball Oct. 27 The Publicists Association, of Hoi wood, will hold its First Annual Bal hoo Ball on Oct. 27 at the Paramo Sunset Studios. A combination da: and carnival is planned, with spei awards for costumes. Julian Myers chairman. I 'Paul Jones' in Todd-AO An agreement for the producti of the motion picture, "John Pi Jones," in the Todd-AO process color has been consummated by Sa uel Bronston, producer of the fr and Henry Woodbridge, president Todd-AO. "John Paul Jones" tl will become the third film to be pi tographed in Todd-AO. 'Rebel' in Brooklyn Oct. 24 United Artists' "Rebel In Towj will have its New York opening Loew's Metropolitan, Brooklyn, Oct. 24. NEW YORK THEATRE) I — RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL-, Rockefeller Center "TEA AND SYMPATHY" 1 starring DEBORAH KERR • JOHN KERR f In CinemaScope and Metrocolor An M-G-M Picture and SPECTACULAR STAGE PRESENTATION S FILM SERVICE CENTER • EDITING ROOMS • STORAGE ROOMS • SHIPPING ROOMS • OFFICES PROJECTION ROOM FACILITIES MOVIELAB BUILDIN0 619 W. 54-th St., New York 1j JUdson 6-0367 MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martm Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; James D. Ivers, Managing Editor; Richard Gertner, News Editor; Floyd E. Stol Photo Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager: Hollywood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, Samuel D. Berns, Manager; William R. Weafl Editor, Telephone HOllywood 7-2145; Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C-; London Bureau, 4, Bear St.. Leicester Square, W. 2, Hope Williams BJ nup, Manager: Peter Burnup, Editor; William Pay, News Editor. Correspondents in the principal capitals of the world. Motion Picture Dailv is published daily except Saturdays, Si days and hohdavs. bv Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address: "Quigpubco, New York." Maf Quigley. President: Martin Quigley, Jr.. Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Leo J. Brady, Secretary. Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herfl Better Theatres and Better Refreshment Merchandis-ng, each published 13 times a year as a section of Motion Picture Herald; Television Today, published once weekly as a parti Motion Picture Daily. Motion Picture Almanac, Television Almanac, Fame. Entered as second Hass matter Sept. 21, 1938, at the Post Office at New York N. 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