Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY NO. 84 NEW YORK, U. S. A., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1956 TEN CENTS j Reports: ependents zotiate To Todd-AO Sees Wide-Screen 'Standardized' At 1.85 to 1; CinemaScope 2.34 Month Revenue it $3,645,000 LESTER DINOFF Theatre Corp. is currently jg with independent producg to make films in the Todd George Skouras ■ss, aci presijrge P. i in an i n cethe annual g of holdyester , along lagna's ;sidenf asurer, 3ollen losed that company revenue e eight month period ended 1956, totalled $3,645,000, 'ontinued on page 7) in Producer Seeks ♦pea/ to Distaffs .AWRENCE J. QUIRK \insworth, only active woman lucer in Hollywood, who in ip with actor Guy Madison g independent films for Co■lease under the title, Romson jins, firmly believes there is a " women in production, alj!he is a realist about it being world. Miss Ainsworth has Continued on page 6) in Touring Nation Deal Showmanship '& L. Hyman, vice-president ■ican Broadcasting-Paramount jl is in the midst of a countryir of his company's affiliates aim of emphasizing localowmanship. The return to jnehandising of pictures is a Continued on page 6) The so-called "technical revolution" wide-screen is leveling off at 1.85 to 1 closer to 2.34 to 1, in the opinion of Col. Meet to Ratify Schneider's Contract A meeting of the stockholders of Columbia Pictures, "in 'lieu of the annual meeting," has been called by the board of directors of the company to ratify employment contracts for two executives and to elect a board of nine directors, according to a Columbia notice issued yesterday. Stockholders will be asked to approve the employment contract of A. Schneider, first vice-president and treasurer, and the issuance to him of a stock option of 35,875 shares at the price of $17.32682 per share. Also, to approve an option grant to Gerald Rackett, executive in charge (Continued on page 7) Extension to AB-PT on Disposal of Theatres From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Oct. 29.-The Justice Department has given American Broadcasting-United Paramount Theatres another extension of time in which to dispose of 22 theatres requiring divestiture under the terms of the Paramount consent decree. The deadline was upped from Nov. 5 to Jan. 15. The company is currently in the process of disposing of an( Continued on page 7 ) has settled down to a point where and the CinemaScope aspect ratio is Merle Chamberlin, member of Hollywood Studio Projectionists Local 165, IATSE, and chief of projection at the M-G-M studios. Chamberlin's viewpoint is presented in the autumn issue of the Bulletin of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators. "Standardization seems to have arrived," Chamberlin said. "I will admit ( Continued on page 2 ) Gael Sullivan Services To Take Pface Tomorrow Funeral services for Gael E. Sullivan, former executive director of Theatre Owners of America, will be held here tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. Sullivan, 51, died Saturday following a heart attack. He is survived by his widow, Anne; two sons, Gael, Jr., and Bede, and two daughters, Sheila and Brenda. The former TOA official, who was also active in the Democratic National Committee, in recent months was a Magna Theatre Corp. executive. Gael Sullivan 'Rock Around the Clock' on Way to Becoming One of Columbia's Biggest Foreign Grossers "Rock Around the Clock" is rapidly becoming one of Columbia Pictures' biggest export grossers, according to an executive of the company's foreign distribution division. Since its release in Dublin last July, this low-budget, exploitation picture has been a flourishing phenomenon in Europe and the Far East, in many instances outgrossing some of the biggest U.S. color productions playing at advanced prices, the official said. Citing some recent situations, he reported that two of three theatres currently showing the pictures in Brussels, Belgium, have already outgrossed all other runs, one of them by 20 per cent. In Port of Spain, Trinidad, at the end of its run it had topped the previous record holder, a CinemaScope spectacle, by over 20 per cent, he said. In Singapore, Malaya, the claim was that only one other picture topped it. At Fla. Meet Fabian Hits 'Restricted9 Production But Reaffirms Faith in Future of the Theatre Special to THE DAILY JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 29."This industry needs producers who are concerned about keeping film on theatre screens — who believe that a vigorous exhibition business requires a constant and adequate source of feat ures," S. H. Fabian, p r e s i dent of Stanley Warner Corp., declared in a speech yest e r day before the Motion Picture Exhibitors of Florida convention at the Roosevelt Hotel here. Fabian, reaffirming his company's ( Continued on page 7 ) Si Fabian Production, Distribution Willing to Aid: Stellings Special to THE DAILY JACKSONVILLE, Oct. 29. Encouraging contacts in the past several days have been made by Theatre Owners of America with distribution and production groups for the betterment of relations within the industry, it was pointed out here today by Ernest G. Stellings, president of Theatre Owners of America, at the (Continued on page 7) Six Films, Directors Set for SDG Awards From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 29.-Nominated by the Screen Directors Guild for directorial achievement awards for the period from July through September are: "Bus Stop," directed by Josh Lo(C ontinued on page 7)