Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1957)

Motion Picture Daily Thursday, August 22, 195 PERSONAL MENTION SOL A. SCHWARTZ, president of RKO Theatres, will leave here tomorrow night for the Coast. • Spyros P. Skouras, president of 20th Century-Fox, will return to New York today from Hollywood. • Burt Champion, Paramount publicity manager, returned to New York yesterday from Washington. • A. W. Schwalberg, director of NTA Pictures, left here yesterday on a trip that will take him to Chicago and Milwaukee. • Irving Sochin, general sales manager for Rank Film Distributors of America, left New York yesterday for Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. • Bernard M. Kamber, executive assistant in charge of the New York office of Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, will arrive in Hollywood today from New York. • Harold Hackett, president of Official Films, will return to New York from London tomorrow via B.O.A.C. • Mary Pickford, accompanied by her two nieces and a nephew, will leave New York today for Cannes aboard the "Augustus." • Scott R. Dunlap, Allied Artists producer, will leave Hollywood today for New York. On Sunday he will sail from here aboard the "Queen Elizabeth" for London. • Merle Miller, screen writer, will leave here today for London via B.O.A.C. Plan Multiple 'Sneaks' For 'No Down Payment' Jerry Wald's production of "No Down Payment," drama of four young married couples living in a typical post-war housing development, will be sneak previewed by 20th CenturyFox in every major city in the United States and Canada during the next 60 days. The special programs, to be held in conjunction with the showing of regular attractions, are designed to initiate programs of community support for the drama, which stars eight new film personalities. Release is set for this autumn. U-Vs Studio By ONLOOKER A SPECIAL fund of $100,000 has been approved by the Motion Picture Association board for the Hollywood Jubilee star tours, the kick-off event of the all-industry business building drive. As reported earlier this week, the Jubilee star tours will take off from Hollywood on Oct. 15 and will visit most key cities in a crosscountry itinerary which will bring them to New York around election day, the first week in November. . . . Richard C. Patterson, Gotham's official greeter, and honorary chairman of the Jubilee Committee, will take over at that point, providing, of course, the election outcome hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for such activities. . . . The Jubilee star tour will consume about three weeks in all and is counted upon to make several millions of people film conscious, who otherwise might not be. . . . The deal for United Artists to handle distribution of the film of the Sugar Ray RobinsonCarmen Basilio middleweight championship set-to at Yankee Stadium, Sept. 23, is all set. . . . Providing, of course, the fight goes on as scheduled without Robinson sulking in his corner over the deal for the theatre tv of the fight. . . . The Goldwyn anti-trust trial in San Francisco has lots of tongues wagging, some of them in Washington. ILL-FOUNDED CRITICISM of and complaints against the American film industry abroad have been less frequent since Eric Johnson inaugurated the policy of hitting back at the unfriendly space-grabbers with immediate and forthright answers. . . . Always a good idea to keep your detractors on notice that if they throw a rock at you they'd better be prepared to do some dodging themselves. . . . Whatever became of a CinemaScope newsreel?. . . . That U. P. story out of Wabash, Ind., reporting that practically all patrons at Syndicate Theatres' Crest were voluntarily donating between $1 and $2 to see "The Ten Commandments" on that zany policy of no fixed admission price was the bunk. When it's not asked to pay, the public doesn't insist on doing it. The two weeks engagement at the Crest ends this Saturday and, where all other exhibitors who play "The Ten Commandments" are enabled to make some robust bank deposits, Syndicate can make two weeks of red ink entries in its ledgers, and the final accounting will show the stunt to have been a pretty expensive piece of spite work. There has been plenty of talk about the Federal prohibition on minimum admission price fixing by distributors. The Wabash incident might well give some Washington sources food for thought about the justification for such a ban. . . . Lynn Farnol's privately circulated account of his tour of the cognac, cheese, wine and chateau country of France last month makes highly appetizing reading and is much in demand. . . . Imagine meeting an ex-Goldwyn Girl, as Farnol did, now a gourmet and married to a Bordeaux wine expert, just at meal time in the south of France. LOTS OF BOOKINGS are being made for special 12-day engagements of Mike Todd's "Around the World in 80 Days" over the Christmas-New Year's period. The picture will go in for the holidays and will go out when they're over. . . . Some thought being given to returning the picture to the same houses, in every part of the country, for just the Easter holiday week, too. . . . Warners are scoffing at the perennial complaint heard about London that American distributors refuse to do a good, serious selling and promotion job in this market on a British-made picture. They point to the selling and promotion done on the made-in-Britain "Curse of Frankenstein" and the results being obtained, as eloquent refutation from their corner. . . . The same treatment, they say, is on tap for two new British imports which they will distribute here — "Woman in a Dressing Gown," and "These Dangerous Years." ( Continued from page 1 ) "There's a Time to Love," color Cin maScope version of Erich Maria R marque's best-selling novel, "A Tim to Love and a Time to Die," which i planned as the biggest production eve undertaken by U-I. Also starting Mon day will be "Teach Me How to Cry, CinemaScope drama. "Middle of th Street," color CinemaScope Westerr starts Wednesday. MPEA Board Studies Vietnam Remittances At Tuesday's meeting of the Mo tion Picture Export Association, thi board discussed remittances for Viet nam and agreed to employ a full-time secretary to serve on the Formosar film board. They also were given a status report on the Philippines situation. No significant developments on tax matters were brought to light. The companies, however, are applying to the Philippine monetary board for remittances under the rate structure previously agreed upon for the second half of 1956 and the first half of 1957. Robert J. Corkery and Eric Johnston reported that they had conferred with Government officials in Brazil and Venezuela on problems relating to the industry. They will make a full report on these and on their Argentine talks at the Sept. 3 meeting. Coast 'Jubilee' Group Will Convene Today From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 21. -Jack I Diamond, chairman of the studio pub J licity directors committee, called a | meeting for tomorrow to round out n plans and setup for carrying out the i Hollywood end of the Golden Jubilee | program. Committee executive secretary Duke Wales will report on arrangements I tentatively established in New York I and here. Set Meet on Jubilee The first full group meeting of the New York Golden Jubilee Committee will take place at the Harvard Club on Monday. Chairman Martin Davis called the luncheon get-together for 12:30 P.M. BE GO HflPPV FILmflCK FOR ALL YOUR CHICAGO 1 3 2 7 So. Wabash NEW YORK 630 Ninth A v e n u • SPECIAL TRAILERS BEST QUALITY! SPEEDY SERVICE! MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; James D. Ivers, Managing Editor; Richard Gertner, News Editor; Floyd E. Stone, Photo Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager. TELEVISION TODAY, Charles S. Aaronson, Editorial Director; Pinky Herman, Vincent Canby, Eastern Editors. Hollywood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, Samuel D. Berns, Manager; William R. Weaver, Editor, Telephone HOllywood 7-2145; Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C; London Bureau, 4, Bear St., Leicester Square, W. 2, Hope Williams Burnup, Manager; Peter Bumup, Editor; William Pay, News Editor. Correspondents in the principal capitals of the world. Motion Picture Daily is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, Telephone Circle 7-310O. Cable address: "Quigpubco, New York." Martin Quigley, President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Leo J. Brady. Secretary. Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald, Better Theatres and Better Refreshment Merchandising, each published 13 times a year as a section of Motion Picture Herald; Television Today, published daily as a part of Motion Picture Daily; Motion Picture Almanac, Television Almanae, Fame. Entered as second class matter Sept. 21, 193&, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1*879. Subscription rates per year, $6 in the Americas and $12 foreign. Single copies, 10c.