Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

vsdav, October 17, 1956 Motion Picture Daily ^Attendance ows Decline , I From THE DAILY Bureau J'TDON, Oct. 16 (By Cable ).u ^ attendance in England totaled 1,000 paid admissions for the ending June 30, according to •s reported in the Board of ' Journal today. It represented ^ jtinuing decline" in attendance, .'Ort said, being 9 per cent few the second quarter of 1955. idance for the period reprean average of 5.6 visits per head population, which compares visits a year earlier. Admisere 2 per cent below those of devious quarter this year. BOT figures were compiled tturns sent in by 4,424 theatres seating capacity of 4,078,000. 1 in attendance compared with 7j ond quarter in 1955 is greater T e average in the Northwestern dland regions, probably due, it ~ id, to the recent introduction ^gmercial television there. es in all size groups showed s against the comparable in 1955. The smallest thea(ating 250 or fewer, were the i fected and showed a 3 per cent ..; 3ns increase over the previous sow income for the period was " )00 pounds (871,220,800), s 7 per cent below that in the -1f(>nding quarter in 1955. . Defers Action on 1948 TV Film Pay ■ LYWOOD, Oct. 16. — The Actors Guild board of direc. 10 last night listened to execuk tary John L. Dales' report 11 New York conversations with Sv Fox and others concerning Its to talent appearing in postjjlms sold to television, today | decisive action in the matter • 1 continue to explore ramificari several fronts. Later this discussions will be had with ii iation of Motion Picture Pro. C & C Corp., and possibly j roups. fa subject was touched on only tl«t l„„t 1__ i at last night's regular meeting. '0. Seidenberg Named FRANCISCO, Oct. 16.-HarSeidenberg, formerly with Fox Coast Theatres in Oakland and jan of 32 years in the theatre s, has been named managing • of the Orpheum, which houses lerama films here. |-nberg succeeds Paul Swater, Is been assigned to Miami, Fla., In Cinerama's newest theatre. Promotes Mansfield .I.YWOOD. Oct. 16.-ConsoliFilm Industries vice-president »w today announced the addiLewis Mansfield, former plant J r of the Eastern laboratory, to lagerial staff at CFI. TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (CONTINUED FROM PAGE I trionic challenge by producer Jack Cummings, and, in this observer's opinion, both have met it in style. Brando is cast as Sakini, the Okinawan interpreter who acts as commentator as well as participant in the action of the story. At a preview of the film in New York there was some disagreement noted afterward as to how well he plays the role— some (most of whom had seen David Wayne in the part on the stage) feeling Brando was miscast. But this reviewer sides with those who think otherwise, feeling that the brilliant Brando has pulled off another acting coup. Evervthing seems astonishinglv right— from the realistic Oriental makeup to the winning air of rascalitv that he convevs. Whether pro or con Brando will again cause talk. About Glenn Ford's performance, however, no carping should be heard from anvone who sees it. He has his best role in vears as the earnest but befuddled Capt. Fisbv who is given the assignment of bringing the gift of American "know-how" to the natives of Tobiki, one of the small villages in Okinawa. The character is essentiallv comic, but he acquires knowledge and undergoes a basic change in the course of the storv. Ford has projected all aspects of this to the life. All of Capt. Fisbv's misadventures with the Okinawans have been faithfullv retained in the film, and thev are just as productive of hilarity as thev ever were. The fun begins as the captain sets out on the trip to Tobiki in that impossiblv overloaded jeep, and this tour permits in the film some views of the Okinawan (actuallv Japanese) eountrvside in CinemaScope and MetroColor that are beautiful to see. The meppimext continues apace as Ford sets out to teach the natives how to rebuild their village into a thriving and prosperous communitv. All of the captain's plans backfire: He wants the natives to produce handicrafts for tourist trade, but thev prove thev can make more monev with brandv made from sweet potatoes. The captain wants them to build a "Pentagon-shaped" schoolhouse in accordance with instructions from Washington; and thev persuade him to let them build a teahouse (or communitv recreational center) instead. Also, the distraught captain doesn't want a geisha girl for a servant, and thev force one upon him in a verv funny scene. (This relationship is described in the film as "platonic" and is handled in good taste.) There is, of course, a satiric intent in all this, and quite a few of the laughs are at the expense of American initiative and ingenuity as well as "authoritarianism" in the army. That latter qualitv is most trenchantly depicted in a caricature of a colonel who believes in doing evervthing bv the book— with no allowances for anything so trivial as human nature. As plaved in broad and heartv strokes bv Paul Ford (who also plaved the role on the stage) this character is the funniest thing in the film. But Eddie Albert also provides some genuine humor in the part of a psychiatrist dispatched to observe the hero who then also becomes converted to the leisurely native customs. As the geisha girl, Machiko Kvo is lovelv and delicate in the way of Japanese actresses and at one point does an attractive native dance. Daniel Mann has skillfully directed the whole thing from the screenplay bv Patrick. Underneath all the general merriment in "Teahouse" for those in the audience wishing to look for them are some solid truths about the ways of mankind and the need for tolerance of the other fellow. It is this which gives added substance to the picture and helps to make it one of the top films of the vear. Running time, 123 minutes. General classification. For December release. Richard Gertner iGian€ on Coast Tonight HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 16 George Stevens' "Giant" is scheduled to open here tomorrow evening at Grauman's Chinese Theatre to a large turnout of celebrities and members of the press, according to Warner Brothers, which is releasing the picture. The gala opening is planned as part of a current glamorization program for Hollywood Boulevard, which has been resurfaced and decorated for the premiere, it was announced. C. V. Whitney on Coast HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 16.-C. V. Whitney will arrive here tomorrow from New York for a week of conferences with producer Robert L. Bendick and writer Eleanor Griffin on "The Healing Woods," which goes into production in December with a yearlong shooting schedule, and with vicepresident Merian C. Cooper on "Valiant Virginians," expected to be biggest C. V. Whitney Pictures, Inc., production for 1957. . . . NEWS ROUNDUP Sullivan Featuring 'Fire' Ed Sullivan's visit with Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon on the location set of Columbia's "Fire Down Below," will be the top feature of the tv star's weekly show this Sunday night over CBS. The segment will consist of film footage especially shot for the show a few months ago when Sullivan flew down to Tobago, British West Indies, to visit the location filming set of the Warwick production. 9 'Opposite Sex' Opens Today Virtually all key-city runs are set for opening M-G-M's "The Opposite Sex," starting today when the Joe Pasternak production premieres at the Orpheum in Denver and the Broadway in Portland. In addition to the key runs, there are approximately 100 first-run bookings for next month. ■ Spanish Film Premiere "Marcelino," one of the first Spanish films of major importance to be presented in the United States, will have its American premiere at the Fine Arts Theatre here on Monday evening, it is announced by Richard Davis, president of the United Motion Picture Organization, distributors of the film in this country. The opening performance will be held for the benefit of the Casita Maria, a Settlement House which serves the Puerto Rican population of East Harlem. ■ Sunken 'Doria' Filmed The first motion pictures ever made of the lost Italian liner "Andrea Doria" at the bottom of the sea, made by a team of skin-divers, will be highlighted in Pathe Pictures, Inc.'s soon-to-be-released issue of its "News Magazine of the Screen," it has been announced by Robert G. Youngson, editor-in-chief. RCA Capacity 500,000 Color TV Sets in 1957 PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 16.-David Sarnoff, chairman of Radio Corp. of America, presented the possibility that the company could produce 500,000 color tv sets in 1957, but said it would "take a little while" before the present $495 price on a 21-inch color set can be lowered. At a meeting of RCA dealers called bv the manufacturer's Philadelphia distributor, Raymond Rosen & Co., Rosen officials told Gen. Samoff that they had delivered 1,107 color sets in one week and said they thought "we can sell 50,000 color tv receivers next vear."