Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1957)

Motion Picture Daily Monday' Ju,y 8' 1957 Doerfer Outlines FCC -Toll TV Relationship 14 National Pre -Selling DON WELDON has selected many informative and entertaining excerpts from Jesse L. Lasky's book, "I Blow My Own Horn," for the July issue of "McCall's." Lasky relates how he hired and fired Rudolph Valentino, discovered Gary Cooper due to an accident of casting, and how the 13-year-old daughter of the mayor of San Antonio unwittingly set off the $60,000 battle scene of "Wings" before the cameras were ready to shoot the scene. • The July 1 issue of "Life," featuring a graphic commentary on "The Happy Road," produced in France by Gene Kelly for M-G-M, will be seen by more than 26 million readers. The plot of "The Happy Road" required Brigette Fossey, the 10-year-old French actress, to have her long curls cut off. When her hair began to fall, she was calm enough. But then she looked off-stage and saw her mother suddenly dissolved in sentimental tears. Promptly Brigette was howling. It took some horseplay by Gene Kelly and her 11-year-old co-star to clear the clouds away. Parents will be especially impressed by the mirror "Life" holds up to a family crisis involving a 10-year-old daughter. "Bernardine," starring Pat Boone and Terry Moore, has been selected by "Seventeen" as the picture of the month for July. Top theatre circuit owners of the nation received a box of cigarettes bearing the label, "An Affair to Remember." Each cigarette has imprinted in red the name of this new 20th Century-Fox film. Also in red, copy on the top of the box reads, "Have an Affair to Remember," which is advertised in the July issue of "Good Housekeeping." Roger Barnett of this Hearst magazine created the stunt. Darryl Zanuck and Ava Gardner, who plays Lady Brett Ashley in "The Sun Also Rises," are on the July 7 issue of "Parade." Lloyd Shearer, west coast editor for "Parade," in the same issue asked Zanuck how he liked being an independent producer. Zanuck said, "I'm happier than I've been in several years. It's a pleasure to produce only those films you want to produce, do what you feel like and have a little time for your grandchildren." Bing Crosby and Inger Stevens, his co-star in "Man on Fire," were on the brightly colored front cover of "Parade's" June 16 issue. In the same issue there is a personality story of this forthright new star. She told Lloyd Shearer, the article's author, ( Continued from page 1 ) the need for additional authority from Congress. As for its legal authority to authorize toll-TV permanently, the commission said it wanted to wait until after a test of the medium before deciding. The FCC made these statements in a letter to House Commerce Committee chairman Oren Harris (D., Ark.), who has been demanding that the commission document its claim that it has legal authority to license the new service. The FCC letter was sent Friday by newly-appointed FCC Chairman John Doerfer, in response to Harris' third such request to the commission. The letter was accompanied by a staff brief which stated that the Communications Act of 1934 contains "neither express authorization nor express prohibition" about the FCC's licensing of toll-TV. The burden of the brief, however, was that the legislative history of the act indicated that the commission has this power if it chooses to exercise it. Monday Deadline for Comments Monday is the deadline for filing comments on the proposed test of subscription television, with reply comments due July 22. Doerfer wrote Harris that the commission's "studies to date don't show the need of additional statutory power to enable the FCC" to impose such conditions on a trial as needed to protect the public interest. Doerfer went on to say, however, that this question might depend on the nature and scope of operation of the toll-TV test, and therefore "we feel we should not try to comment finally on this question until we have the opportunity to consider the com Woman's Role ( Continued from page 1 ) sold and we must work together. You can participate in the promotional campaign." Stellings predicted a bright future, saying "we will have nearly 400 pictures next year, about 115 more than we had this year and last." Mrs. Stella Poulnot of Atlanta national president of WOMPI, attended the banquet at which Nancy Wilson was installed as president, succeeding Mrs. Viola Wister. Mrs. Margie Thomas was honored as Charlotte WOMPI of the year. that "although she is earning $600 a week, she is not too crazy about Hollywood." • There are four ads for motion pictures in the July issue of "McCall's" namely: "Love in The Afternoon," "An Affair to Remember," "Interlude," and a table of contents page ad on "Man on Fire." Walter Haas ments and replies. If contrary to our expectations we should find that safeguarding the public interest during a meaningful trial of subscription television would necessitate the exercise of regulatory powers not available to the commission under the Communications Act, we would referthe matter to Congress." The letter said, however, that "a different question" existed in regard to the commission's powers authorizing toll-TV on a nation-wide basis. "We can't determine without a test," Doerfer said, "whether subscription television on a general scale would be in the public interest, nor the conditions which would have to be imposed ultimately. It would be premature now to say whether the act should be amended." Sees Full Evaluation Difficult Doerfer pointed out that Harris had asked not only whether the FCC had the power to authorize pay-TV, but also whether it had the power to regulate it, once it was authorized. Doerfer answered that there was "no practical possibility of making a fully realistic evaluation, at this stage, of the potential impact, favorable or otherwise, of full-scale subscription television operations, or the possible need for controls not available under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended." The commission's final judgment must be reserved, Doerfer continued, "until we are in a position to base it on something more tangible than the sharply opposed claims of proponents and opponents about a service which is not yet in being, and about which many questions must remain speculative until they are tested in practice." The FCC's only aim now, Doerfer Introduce Bill to Halt 'Leaks' of FCC Decisions From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, July 7. Senator Jackson (D., Wash.) has introduced legislation to prevent "leaks" of decisions by the Federal Communications Commission and other Federal regulatory agencies. It would provide criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure of how members have voted or are planning to vote. A companion bill would provide criminal penalties for outsiders who make private arguments to agency members in an attempt to influence their decisions. Weil Joins Columbia John A. Weil, most recently with the General Foods Corp. public relations department, has joined Columbia Pictures International Corp. as assistant to Lawrence H. Lipkin, who is in charge of publicity, advertising and exploitation with the title of assistant to the president. He replaces F. F. Galvan, who left Columbia several months ago. said, is to "concentrate on a study of the conditions under which it may be desirable to run a test of toll-TV." A detailed commission opinion as to the FCC legal authority to license such a system is "unnecessary and unwise" at this time, he said. The FCC staff memo starts off by pointing out that the Communications Act does not expressly authorize or expressly prohibit toll TV. However, it continues, the act does specifically limit the commission's authority to okay other types of services, and apart from these limits, lays down only the general qualification that as a condition to all licenses, the commission must find that the public interest, convenience or necessity would be served. Feels Authorization Is Restricted "Thus," it declares, "the authorization of subscription television would be subject to the requirement of such a finding. There appears to be no other language in the statute suggesting Congressional intent to limit further or to prohibit authorization by the commission of subscription radio or television operations." The memo cites the legislative history of the act to show that no prohibitions were intended on subscription broadcasting, and says that recent bills to ban toll-TV indicate that the bills' sponsors feel the commission has the authority to license it. PEOPLE J. Arthur Rank, who was made baron in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, has taken the title of Baron Rank of Sutton Scotney in the County of Southampton. □ James Biondo, free-lance motion picture publicist, has joined Continental Distributing, Inc., as temporary assistant to Sheldon Gunsberg, director of advertising and publicity. □ Edward A. Wolpin and L. J. Silberling have been elected directors of Paramount Music Corporation, it was announced by Arthur Israel, Jr., vicepresident of the music company. □ Alfred W. Perry, president and general manager of Empire-Universal Films, Ltd., Toronto, has resigned. Alex Metcalfe, general manager of Sovereign Film Distributors, Ltd., the television and 16mm branch of E-U, has taken over as acting general manager of the company. □ Richard Empy has been appointed MGM publicity director in the Detroit area, replacing the late Charles Deitz. Empy was formerly with a Dulut!i, Wise, circuit.