Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1957)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY >L. 81, NO. 5 NEW YORK, U.S.A., TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1957 TEN CENTS DIT ORl AL, Detroit Booking Ipens New Avenue Ry Sherwin Kane HE remarkable success of the multiple first-run bookings of Allied Artists "Friendly Persuan" in nine Detroit neighborhood ;atres during the Christmas-New ar's holiday week has commanded iespread interest in the trade, [n the eight-day period, and witht matinees on non-holiday week^s, the picture grossed in excess of 30,000. Three of the nine neighborod theatres playing it held the ture over. The gross compares :h what might have been a threeek run in a downtown Detroit >atre producing anything from ),000 to $70,000. Some of the interest in the Detroit aking traces to the contention of !|ne exhibitors that changes in litropolitan residence and in ecoamic and social conditions of urban gpulations call for new film selling D thods which would permit neighyrhood theatres in growth areas to I y first-run simultaneously with iwntown theatres. * Samuel Pinanski of Boston, one jjh advocate, is convinced that moin. pictures must be made as continent for patrons to buy in outlying |)wth areas, as branches of departi>nt stores and supermarkets have lide shopping for other wants. I "If films are not distributed confidently near to where the people is," Pinanski says, "then theatres go It of business, just as other stores jiuld." ((Pointing to the results of the Delit "Friendly Persuasion" booking, i tanski asks: "How much longer do I have to wait after the soundness I this plan has been demonstrated?" [The experience would seem to be liquent testimony of the potentiali|s of a policy of placing strong, |w product where it is easiest for I ge numbers to reach, certainly not 1 the exclusion of downtown first Ins but to reach those considerable | mbers who might not otherwise at|id any theatre. fin the face of current attendance inditions no bet as potentially imflrtant to the winning of new paImage should be overlooked. Anti-Toll TV Bill Up Again From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Jan. 7.-House Judiciary Committee Chairman Celler (D., N. Y. ) has again introduced his bill to outlaw toll television. This was one of many bills of interest to the industry introduced as members of the new Congress continued to swamp House and Senate bill clerks with proposals not acted on in the past Congress. Rep. Walter (D., Pa.) introduced legislation sought by the Motion Picture Association to give Federal judges discretion to award less than the presently-required treble damages in Federal anti-trust suits. Rep. McDonough (R., Calif.) added another bill to repeal the Federal admissions tax. Several House and Senate members introduced additional bills to give tax relief to small business, to make the Small Business Administration permanent and broaden its lending author(Continued on page 2) Flynn Sees Decline in U. S. Filming Abroad U. S. film producers are tiring of the growing disadvantages in going abroad to make pictures and will shortly make New York the new center for location production, in the opinion of actor Errol Flynn. Flynn said at a press interview here yesterday that, although "on paper" foreign production seems less costly, labor difficulties, communication problems and other wastes and inconveniences have convinced many (Continued on page 2) Broidy Arriving Here Today For AA Sales Meetings Steve Broidy, president of Allied Artists, will arrive in New York today for a series of sales conferences with Morey R. Goldstein, vice-president and general sales manager, Edward Morey, vice-president and Norton V. Ritchey, president of Allied Artists International. Pictures for which sales policies will be discussed include "Love in the Afternoon," "Jeannie," "Hunchback of Paris," "Dragon Wells Massacre," and "The Oklahoman." Broidy is expected to return to California in two weeks. Conclude Paramount, Dot Record Merger Paramount Pictures Corporation has reached an agreement with Randy Wood, president of Dot Records, Inc., whereby Dot will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount, it was announced yesterday by Barney Balaban, president of Paramount, confirming a report which was published in Motion Picture Daily December 28. Wood will continue the direction of Dot Records with complete control (Continued on page 2) Johnston Begins Meets With MPEA Executives Top executives of member companies of the Motion Picture Export Association met yesterday afternoon with Eric Johnston, president of MPEA and the Motion Picture Association of America, to exchange ideas (Continued on page 2) Loew's Management, Tomlinson Still Seeking to Avoid Proxy Fight Conferences between Loew's management and Joseph^fetfdinson, the company's largest fa'dfvidual: 'stockholder,' j»king to an agreement wlnal;. might avert a proxy contest at the company's" animal meeting on Feb. 28, have been resumed here with specific but un disclosed proposals under consideration by both sides. Joseph R. Vogel, Loew's president, interrupted a West Coast visit to return here by plane at the weekend to join in the conferences. He stated yesterday that "Several names have been proposed as nominees for the board of directors to be submitted to stock holders at the annual meeting. As soon as the board of directors makes a final decision in the matter, Loew's will make an announcement." Tomlinson's campaign office here and that of his attorney, Benjamin Javits, said the dissident stockholder was in meetings throughout yesterday (Continued on page 2) Fourth Pending SBA Rejects Three Theatre Loan Appeals Tivo Refused for Lack of 'Unencumbered Collateral' From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON Jan. 7. The Small Business Administration has rejected three of the first four theatre loan applications it received. The fourth is still pending. This was learned authoritatively from SBA officials. The agency does not announce loan applications which are rejected, but only those approved. Two of the applications were turned down because the applicants didn't have enough "unencumbered collateral," while the third was rejected because the loan was being sought almost entirely to refinance existing in(Continued on page 3) Gordon to Paramount Post in Latin Amer. Henry B. Gordon has been named Latin American division manager for Paramount International, it was announced yesterday by James E. Perkins, executive vicepresident of the company. Gordon succeeds Arthur L. Pratchett, who has retired from administering all the Latin American territory in order to confine himself to die less arduous administration of Paramount activities in Mexico. Gordon's (Continued on page 3) Television Today Henry B. Gordon