Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1956)

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Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, November !l -|u Tower Case {Continued from page 1) 82.100.000, which Judge Julius J. Hoffman had ruled permissible under the anti-trust laws. Suit was filed against Loew's Inc., Columbia Pictures Corp., Paramount Pictures, Inc., Paramount Film Distributing Corp., RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., 20 Century-Fox, United Artists Corp., Universal Film Exchange Distributors. Warner Bros. Pictures Distributing Corp., Balaban & Katz, Chicago Orpheum Co., RKO Theatres, Inc., Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp., Warner Bros. Theatres, Inc., and Winston Theatres Corp. The Tower Buliding suit had charged that the aforenamed "monopolized first runs downtown and first outlying runs" and "in a conspiracy put the Tower Theatre in a run subsequent to die Loop and subsequent to the first outlying runs, thus giving the Tower an inferior playing position to B & K and W.B. theatres." Avalon, Capitol Named The suit further charged that while B & K "formerly operated the Tower Theatre they did not own it and consequently favored the Tivoli and the Southtown theatres, both of which they owned and operated." The suit placed similar charges against Warner Bros. Theatres and named the Avalon and Capitol as the key theatres in the case. The suit charged further that the distributing companies and B & K made a special deal in 1947 with H. Schoenstadt & Sons with reference to the Picadilly Theatre, "putting it ahead of the Tower." The period for damages asked began in 1938 and extended to Sept. 18, 1950, the date on which the suit was originally filed. The trial began Oct. 23" and lasted four weeks and two days. The Tower Theatre was construced in 1925 by the Tower Building Corp. and opened in April, 1926, by Lubliner and Trinz, a subsidiary of B & K. Since then and until March of this year, B & K have directly or through subsidiaries been tenants. In a statement this morning, David Wallerstein, B & K vice-president, expressed satisfaction with the jury's verdict. W. Donald McSweeney, attorney for the plaintiff, indicated the possibility that an appeal may be : iki-ii. WB Publicity Manual (Continued from page 1) thus far and also those anticipated. "Exhibitors all over have been writing us telling of the need for such a manual," Taplinger said. He presented a letter from Trueman T. Rembusch of Syndicate Theatres, Inc., of Franklin, Ind., in which Rembusch stated: "The Motion Picture Daily for Nov. 7, 1956, carried a story outlining your plans for publicizing Warner pictures. Your ideas of a prerelease publicity manual are excellent. Many, many pictures are released without adequate advertising material and we have a hell of a REVIEWS: The Great American Pastime MGM Hollywood, Nov. 20 Understandingly produced by Henry Berman, and smartly directed by Herman Hoffman from an amusing screenplay by Nathaniel Benchlev, this comedy built around Little League Baseball figures to please mightily the people it pleases at all, and to leave the others quite cold. "Others" in this instance means that minority of American citizens who don't care a whoop about baseball or small fry or plain family stories. The way it worked out at the Hollywood preview was like this: The payees had come in to see "Tea and Sympathy" and the unidentified preview picture. As soon as the previewed subject identified itself, the people indifferent to baseball and children left. The people who didn't leave had a grand time for themselves, laughing at a story in which Tom Ewell reluctantly accepts captaincy of a Little League team and survives the experience scarred but successful. To the baseball-conscious audience the picture is sure-fire entertainment. Ewell, in another of his expert portrayals of the traditional American husband, is assisted in this outing bv the pictorial Anne Francis, excellent as his wife, and the adept Ann Miller, effortlesslv effective as the young widow whom Ewell and his wife believe to be angling for his affections. Rudy Lee, the bov in the family, Dean Jones, Judson Pratt and manv others figure in a storv that makes a powerful case for Little League baseball, as a force for familv and for communitv unity. The target audience would appear to be the familv circle and the mounting millions of small bovs in the world. That's a prettv big target. The picture scores a bull's eye. Running time, 90 minutes. General classification. For December release. William R. Weaver Rock, Pretty Baby Universal This is a rather gentle rock 'n 'roller, apparently aimed at satisfying the tastes of that all-important 16-24 age group without arousing them to the rowdiness which sometimes accompanies rock'n'roll programs. There are no juvenile delinquents or "crazv, mixed-up rebels" in this story, just sensible, wholesome "cats." Sal Mineo and John Saxon are the names that will attract the rockin' set to this production. Mineo is the wise-cracking drummer of a high school rock'n'roll band, Saxon the guitar-plaving leader. Their problem is to get their band accepted professionally before graduation, else the bovs will have to go their separate ways. Strewing their road with obstacles are Saxon's father, Ed Piatt, who wants his son to follow in his steps as a doctor; a fraternity that blackballs the band for playing rockin' dance music instead of quiet "necking" music, and a resort manager who almost hires them but decides that rock'n'rollers might give his establishment a bad name. Personal complications arise for Saxon in the shapely form of Luana Patten, the teenaged arranger for the band. When she tells him that thev should date others to make sure their feelings are "real love," the pair breaks up. All ends well when Saxon's father reunites the pair and the resort manager hires the band under pressure from teenage patrons who heard the audition. George Winslow and Shellev Fabares make a shrewd play to steal the picture as the child-sized brother and sister of Saxon. Thev have the choicest comedy lines and deliver them with polish. Fay Wray is a verv competent mother to this familv. There are 17 rock'n'roll tunes, in part or in whole. Edmond Chevie produced, Richard Bartlett directed, and the script is bv Herbert Margolis and William Raynor. Running time, 89 minutes. General classification. For January release. Gus Dallas time exploiting them." Other exhibitors across the nation voiced the same opinion, Taplinger said. The manual is accompanied by a letter to exhibitors from Roy H. Haines, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Distributing Corp., who states that "we believe that these pub licity campaign plans and ideas are of great importance, and we hope that you will take the time to read them so that you can get a complete perspective of the advertising, publicity, promotion and exploitation that will acquaint your public witli . . . the picture." m. p. da m BUDD SCHULBERG, producer, ri his brother Stuart, executive vice of the new company, at the Hote I interview. Form Schulberg Fij i To Make 5 Picturt Budd Schulberg and his Stuart have formed Schulb ductions to make at least five —probably one every nine The productions will cost ur 000,000 each and a major < probably will finance and them. The pictures will be based ous aspects of American Schulbergs said in a press oc at the Hotel Sulgrave here, will be "In the Everglades' are "The Disenchanted," "O Avenue," "Paso Doble," and titled as yet, which will t Puerto Bican migrations. Goldwurm Oppose French Exchanges Strong opposition to the ment of an organization to exchanges in the United S exclusive distribution of Fre tion pictures was expressed ; by Jean Goldwurm, presidei Times Film Corp. here. He a statement that such a setu be "contrary to sound busine pies and would undermine, hire, the U.S. market for Frer 'Ten' in Detroit ( Continued from page morning (10:00 A.M.), i (3:00 P.M.), and evening P.M.) Detroit was chosen trial because it is considerec hour city," according to a P official. "The Ten Commandmen open Friday in Toronto, Mi Miami Beach on Dec. 14, Montreal, Baltimore, Cincini Buffalo on Dec. 21, Paramported. 'Giant' Tops Gross ( Continued from page days in Providence; $19,868 days in Little Rock, and $17 five days in Madison. Second week runs were d as "equaline" or nearly i opening week figures aroi country, and "strong return also attributed to all current runs of the picture.