Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1957)

Motion Picture Daily Friday, February 15, Television Today TV Bill in Utah ( Continued from page 1 ) counties to levy a tax, or use recreational tax levies, to purchase property and construct relay towers and transmitters to take television by the "translator" system into areas which cannot now receive direct telecasts from commercial stations. John Rowberry, former Cedar City theatre owner and now a motel operator, led the fight to put the measure over. Ralph Cohn Named {Continued from page 1) Darmour Studios and then was a producer at Columbia prior to the formation of Triangle Productions and Comet Productions in association with Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers. He was in the U.S. Army in 1944-45 and in 1948 formed Telefilms, Inc. and Telespots for television production. He joined Screen Gems in 1949. NBC Sets foreign Co-Production Deal From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Feb. 14.-The National Broadcasting Co. has completed a foreign co-production deal and has set "The Fox," a French period adventure series, for filming in England next month. The overseas production of the half-hour films, to star Anthony Dexter, may be followed by other network projects if such a move is found advantageous. The program will be produced by the Sam Bischoff-David Diamond Co. for NBC. English participation in the venture is represented by International Television Productions. Diamond arrived in London earlier this week to prepare for filming. NBC To Add Five Hours of Color TV Five hours of color television programming a week will be added to the schedule of the National Broadcasting Co. with the launching next Monday of Club 60 from Chicago. The program, which will be seen Mondays through Fridays, originally was announced only for the seven television stations owned by NBC. However, it has been decided to make "Club 60" available on a co-op basis to all NBC affiliates which are interconnected during the mid-day hours. These affiliates will have the opportunity to carry the program sustaining or may make it available for local or national spot sales. "Club 60" will re-establish Chicago as an originating point for major network television programming. The star will be Don Sherwood. Technical Conference Slated in Cincinnati Special to THE DAILY CINCINNATI, Feb. 14.-The Cincinnati section of the Institute of Radio Engineers in cooperation with the professional groups on broadcast and television receivers, and transmission systems, will present the 11th annual technical conference on television here on April 26 and 27. Exhibits, technical sessions and discussions on electronics will highlight the agenda of the two-day meeting. Dr. George H. Brown, chief engineer, commercial electronics products, Radio Corp. of America, will deliver a principal address at the organization's banquet on April 27. New CBS Operations Information Center Set CBS Television yesterday annonuced the formation of a new unit to be titled Operations Information Center, to serve as a central clearing house for all production services, materials, and facilities, and to be responsible for the coordination of all production elements. Paul E. Wilson has been named manager, and Larry Paulus assistant manager. The unit will function as part of the Network Operations Department under the supervision of Hal Meier, manager of network operations. TV Aids Recruiting West Point Cadets Television is proving itself a strong recruiting force for the U.S. Military Academy. Mail to West Point from prospective cadets has taken a 300 per cent jump upward since the weekly "West Point" telefilm series went on the air last fall, according to officials of the USMA. In pre-TV days, the normal monthly quota of letters from high school and college youths, and from members of the Armed Forces, seeking information about the school and its opportunities, ran about 200 letters. The average monthly rate today is 800 ( or more ) letters. Three Vice-Presidents Named for ABC Web Leonard Goldenson, president of American Broadcasting Paramount Theatres, yesterday announced the election of three new vice-presidents of the American Broadcasting Company. They are: Alfred R. Beckman, director of station relations for the ABC television network; Edward J. DeGray, director of station relations for the ABC radio network, and Robert L. Stone, general manager of WABC-TV, New York. Theatres In Sweepstakes Now Total Over 2,000 Three more large circuits, representing nearly 175 theatres, and a dozen individual houses were added yesterday to the entries for COMPO's Academy Award Sweepstakes promotion, bringing the total over the 2,000 mark. Latest entries include the StewartEverett and Stellings-Gossett chains of North and South Carolina, of which all but the smaller houses will participate; the Dickinson circuit, with 29 theatres in Kansas and Missouri; and the Georgia Theatre Co., with 44 theatres. Arbitration {Continued from page 1 ) ing, according to another source, which had also been slated for next week to discuss arbitration was also cancelled. The committee is scheduled to elect a chairman for the coming year, to succeed Richard Altschuler of Republic Pictures, who has held the chair for the past year. The MPAA board and the sales managers, in their Feb. 26 meetings, besides discussing arbitration, Will most likely be brought up to date on other industry programs, such as the business building proposals, and various industry research surveys being conducted. The company heads may also discuss foreign markets. Previous Move Was January, 1956 This is the first distribution move on arbitration in over a year, since January of 1956, when Theatre Owners of America and Allied States Association entered into a mutual agreement in which TOA withdrew its support of a prepared arbitration draft and announced a policy on arbitration that favored inclusion of film rentals and sales policies. Allied, in turn, announced support of TOA's policy of going to the government for permission to allow divorced circuits to engage in motion picture production with pre-emptive rights. Distribution, in the ensuing hearings before the Senate Small Business Committee on industry trade practices, charged "a double cross by TOA on arbitration," and since then has held itself aloof on any exhibition proposals concerning arbitration. Recognition of Exhibition Seen The scheduling of this company presidents meeting and sales managers meeting on Feb. 26 on arbitration points up that distribution has taken definite cognizance of exhibition's new policies and desires. The company presidents late last month were asked by TOA and Allied to express their willingness to sit down with representatives of exhibition in regard to arbitration and to working mutually for a betterment of industry conditions. In reply to the TOA and Allied requests, six of the major distributors have replied favorably on such a meet Wisconsin Ai ( Continued from page 1 ) ■ one outside the organization has M authorized to join them in a nat:M hook-up." The following were appointed oil group's advertising and pub! I committee: Eugene Ling, Stan I Theatres, chairman; Harold Janel Gran Enterprises; Stan Gross, Wit Theatres; Gerry Franzen, Dovl Edward Johnson, Roosevelt; El Karp, Eskin Theatres, and Al Fit Fox-Wisconsin Amusement Corp. Paramount News ( Continued from page 1 ) to suspend in the last six months, A] ner Bros, having discontinued Warner Pathe News operation summer. Three theatrical news] remain — 20th Century-Fox's M<| tonews, Universal News, and M-G| News of the Day. The Paramount reel dates bacl 1927 when Emanuel Cohen, whel 13 years had edited the Pathe nB joined Paramount Famous Lasky C with the assignment of establishi, newsreel. Over a period of sei months he assembled and ooordin a large staff which included forme sociates at Pathe, such as A. J. I ard. Upon issuing its first edi; Paramount News said it had cov! 650 stories. Para. Field Forces To Honor Owen, Dene Field forces of the Paramount 1 Distributing Corp. will honor executives Hugh Owen and Sic Deneau in March for their succe: captaincies of the company's rece concluded six-month "Salute to Gei Weltner." Weltner is president Paramount Film Distributing. Owen, vice-president of the di bution organization, will be paid i ute in the naming of the montl March "Hugh Owen Month" by th< vision and branch managers and o sales personnel in the Eastern of the United States, which 0| manages. Deneau, the compa Western sales manager, will reo similar tribute from the division branch managers and other sales ] sonnel in the Western half of U. S. For them it will be "Sid Der Month." ing. Two companies have infon the theatre associations that their representatives are out of town that they will reply as soon as poss while two companies have not rep at all, it was reported. Favorably replying were RKO Rs Pictures, Republic Pictures, Allied ists, 20th Century-Fox, United Art and Columbia Pictures. Unive Pictures and Loew's reported that executives are away, but replies expected shortly as their presid' have now returned to the home offi it was said. 4*