Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY !80, NO. 96 NEW YORK, U.S.A., MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1956 TEN CENTS ereaves Says nk Will Use PA Tours Promotions 4 Canadian Events Set ing to 'Break Down bitor Resistance' By LESTER DINOFF onal appearance tours by acid advertising on television will lized by the Rank Film Dis|ts of America, Inc., to promote product in America and to down exhibitor resistance to was announced here at the lad by Kenneth Hargreaves, ;nt of the J. Arthur Rank OrBon, Ltd., subsidiary, greaves and Rank representaeslie Roberts, said the newlyorated American distribution ny will be in operation within onths and "will have from 15 Rank, British and Continental l pictures ready for distribution >. theatres." British film executive, who arhere from London last Thurs■>r a seven-day stay, said "many Continued on page 7) greaves to Coast Doff Conference lferences on the distribution of I product in the U.S. market held in Hollywood over the :nd between Alfred Daff, exe vice-president of Universal es, and Kenneth Hargreaves, lent of Rank Film Distributors nerica, Inc. jigreaves, speaking at a trade conference here Friday, said ;rsal has "first call" on Rank ict under a reciprocal agreement (Continued on page 7) \me Slated Nov. 29 IHouse Tax Group From THE DAILY Bureau ASHINGTON, Nov 18-Robert Coyne, special counsel of the icil of Motion Picture Organiza. will testify on Thursday, Nov. or COMPO' on the repeal of the ining federal admissions tax be(Continued on page 6) Special to THE DAILY TORONTO, Nov. 18-The Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario will hold its annual convention here tomorrow as the first of four important events of the Canadian theatre industry scheduled t o take place in the King Edward Hotel this week. Set for Tuesday is the annual convention of the National Committee of Motion Picture Exhibitor Associations, and on Wednesday the Motion Picture Industry Council of Canada will have its yearly meeting. The events will be capped on Thursday by the (Continued on page 6) John McKim Could Ease Product 'Shortage' Increase Seen in '57 Production, Release Survey Shows 58 More Films Due Than In 1956, Exclusive of Foreign Pictures By GUS DALLAS The product shortage of which American exhibitors have complained for so long, and so volubly, is on the way to solution, if production and release trends which are now discernible continue into the future. Distribution companies will release Westinghouse Buys 650 Britonnica films Free Films Provided At N.J. Refugee Camp The ten major motion picture distribution companies have agreed to provide free films at Camp Kilmer, N. J., where some 5,000 Hungarian refugees are being housed. Request for the service was made by Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America. Through the facilities of the Army and Air Force Motion Picture Service, all current films playing the regu( Continued on page 6 ) Purchase of the entire library of 650 Encyclopaedia Britannice Films by Television Westinghouse BroadToday., casting Co was an■ J nounced at the week end by Donald H. McGannon, president of the broadcasting company. The library was acquired for $200,000 from the Trans-Lux Television Corp. for a term of five years, McGannon reported. The contract stipulates that new subjects produced by EB Films during that period be included in the purchase, as well as revisions of current reels. Each of the four television stations owned by Westinghouse will obtain a complete set of the films for use in special programming, tied in with local affairs of importance, he said. The films of the library average 11 minutes in length. Television Today IN THIS ISSUE PAGE 3 Beginning with this issue, the Television Today section of Motion Picture Daily will appear each business day, bringing to readers the highlight information of the television industry, a field which daily is becoming more closely related to motion pictures. Here, then, is a further service to readers, keeping them more readily informed of the activities of the related industries. at least 58 more films in 1957 than in 1956 — provided production intentions are fulfilled within the next year. Nine of the largest companies, plus the newly organized Rank Film Distributors of America, estimated that they may release a total of 360 pictures by the end of their 1957 fiscal years next fall. Additional pictures, of course, will come from smaller distributors and importers of foreign product. Production schedules call for 257 pictures to be made in this period, as compared to 225 in 1956. There were 302 released in 1956, according to the companies queried. The biggest boost in product will come from 20th Century-Fox, which announced a schedule of 54 productions and 55 releases for 1957, almost double the previous year's total. An(Continued on page 6) N. Y.r Pitt., Montreal Win in UA Drive United Artists' New York, Pittsburgh and Montreal branches have won the three first-place prizes in the company's $50,000 Fifth Anniversary Drive, it was announced at the weekend by co-captains William J. Heineman, vice-president in charge of distribution, and James R. Velde, general sales manager. The 32-week campaign for collections, billings and playdates honored the fifth anniversary of UA's leadership by president Arthur B Krim, board chairman Robert S. Benjamin, Heineman, vice-president Max E. Youngstein and Arnold M. Picker, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution. The New York, Pittsburgh and (Continued on page 6)