Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1958)

6 Motion Picture Daily Monday, October 27, 19 Schine Ruling ( Continued from page 1 ) market existed for the Schine Class B theatres. He held such a finding to be "unrealistic" and supported his conclusion with detailed figures on losses experienced by such theatres. Judge Moore also held that the lower court erred in holding defendants Donald Schine, Howard Antevil and Darnell Theatres, Inc., in contempt for conspiring with other defendants because they were not named in the original civil action and the consent judgment entered into by Schine Chain Theatres in 1949 could not bind them. He held that the conviction as to the two individuals and the corporate defendant should be remanded for further hearing and findings. The dissent could be the basis of an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court, but the Schine defendants have not indicated yet whether they will appeal. The Federal District court at Buffalo had found the defendants guilty of contempt in failing to meet the divestiture terms of its Federal consent decree and levied fines totaling $75,000. Scheme's appealed to the Circuit Court and the two-to-one ruling upholding the lower oourt was handed down here last Monday. IN OUR VIEW Television Today Name Four More Films For Director Awards From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 26. Four addition feature films have been nominated for directorial achievement by the Screen Directors Guild, it is announced by George Sidney, president, for the third quarter of 1958. They are "The Big Country," director William Wyler; "Cat on a Hot Tin Boof," Richard Brooks; "Damn Yankees," George Abbott and Stanley Donen; "Gigi," director Vincente Minnelli, and assistant directors William McGarry and William Shanks. Rank Regionals Set Kenneth N. Hargreaves, president of Rank Film Distributors of America, Inc., has set a series of regional managers conferences for New York, Chicago and Los Angeles for the purpose of having field sales personnel meet general sales manager Foster M. Blake, to review current operations, and to discuss forthcoming releases. Hargreaves and Blake will meet, starting this week in New York, with regional managers Abe Weiner of Boston, Robert Folliard of Washington, and Otto Ebert of Detroit. ON [VERY CHANNEL m BROOKS COSTUMES 3 West 61st St.. N.Y.C. Tel. PL. 7-5800 | N intelligent, objective attempt to m learn the precise truth about the i» programs offered the vast American viewing public is vital to the success of the television medium, it is the contention of Donald W. Coyle. Mr. Coyle, vice-president and general sales manager of the ABC Television Network, was speaking recently before a seminar of the Advertising and Sales Executives Club of Kansas City. Television, he declared, must give and take ideas and information to maintain a balanced schedule, and must to that end utilize every available means of acquiring information, since television, is, after all, the modern means of communication. "We must keep in constant liaison with that anonymous audience, the largest in human history, to know its moods and desires," he said. "We must keep a close tab on this audience's many facets, its opinions, its likes and dislikes, its needs and directions." He pointed out that systems of guidance have been devised to attain this end, but that newer and better methods to "measure the pulse" of the public are desirable. Mr. Coyle cited the use of mail and audience measurements. There is a great deal of value in letters, he said, since simply and clearly they tell what representative members of the vast TV audience are thinking and feeling at a given time, with respect to a given television offering. "It helps us shape our programs, it molds our thinking, it gives us an invaluable hint as to the trends and turns of the future," he said. Succinctly, he described ratings: "Ratings are guides, not gods. In many cases the rating a program achieves has an iceberg quality. Ninety per cent of the truth is hidden, and we must dive beneath the surface for the full story." Mr. Coyle made the most valid point that a look behind those ratings affords a sharper picture of the real impact enjoyed by the particular program, and its real value to a particular sponsor. On the basis of information so gathered and carefully and intelligently studied, he initimated, it is possible to predict the potential success, or lack of it, of a new program with a reasonable degree of accuracy. There is no question but that Mr. Coyle has a valid point when he describes ratings as mere surface guides, if they are taken solely at their face value. The application of intelligent research to the program success area can be of immeasurable value if that information is properly analyzed and studied with sufficient objectivity; in other words, if the analysis is conducted without fear or favor, and without due and careful regard to someone's sacred cow. Another important point was made by Mr. Coyle and one which should Sarnoff Wins Critics' Applause wit! Answers on Network Operations By FLOYD STONE Robert Sarnoff Friday morning in a New Yorker hotel meeting lounge turn ] and faced his weeklong guests— television critics from Atlanta, and Seattle ai everywhere else— and for two hours in behalf of the NBC he commands, a swered questions which ran like this: ; — — TBI Why do you still employ Jack Barry? Why do you have so much violence? Why don't you have more children's programs? More specials? More live shows? Do you think people are disenchanted with television? Do you feel critics help or hurt? Sarnoff 's answers and parries and counter questions seemed to newsmen to emerge in a pattern candid, corrective, and where possible informative. They saluted him at the end with standing applause. Fourth Estate Entertained The newspapermen and women all week had been given the sights of New York (and its dining delights), and its sounds (as guests at studios and executive sessions), and were to wind it up over the weekend, those who chose, at the Concord. For many it was the first time here, and certainly the first time closeted confidentally with the executives of a great network. Sarnoff's replies to questions such as those above ran like this: Barry— the sponsors want him and NBC is happy to have him. As for violence, probably relatively to total programming there's less on networks than stations: the networks campaigned for standards, but can't censor local programming, which draws from sources in which there's probably a high content of violence. "The minute you have a program with a violence which appeals to a large part of the audience, you have a whole group of entrepreneurs running up with those programs." Sees No 'Disenchantment' As for children's programs, how does one reconcile the needs of a network with the needs of a limited group? It seemed to him such programs should be a function of stations. As for specials, when you run too many specials they become regulars. Live shows? They ran out of material, and entertainment value. People are not "disenchanted." Even if NBC research hadn't proved people are listening more hours, the preoccupation of the consumer press should be practical proof. Critics? He said he wouldn't be like some: he wouldn't generalize: some critics help, some hurt. In his mind, a critic's obligation is to be r] formed. Other topics, and comments. He f i CBS' Life of Stalin, which got barred from Soviet Bussia, was qui: tionable judgment. A "President1 Hour," which one critic suggest!! would be impractical in time and co: mercially, he thought, "Specials" £ permanent: "in almost every ca their ratings are higher than the pi grams they replace." Publicizing ri ings is "unrealistic, unjust— and inc; table." He'd like to eliminate dup,! cate network coverage of convention —and boredom— but no one is actii; As for color, "We give it a great dt of attention, and I don't know wlj more can be done. I expect there \v be a rise in interest, geometrically." He doesn't believe in but has barred, previews of live shows. Pi sonality factors make performaiu vary, and previews a poor basis jl judgment. As for "editorial viewpoint presentation of problems is "disci sion," which is proper and of whi' diere is enough. Taking a "positioi is editorial. More and more station will take a position. No networks, cannot think of anything worse for network than to support a candidal Did he have any favorite progran any which he would not want miss? Yes, several, but he'd prefer n to name them. Did he feel NBC d veloped talent? Yes, wherever p(i sible, but it did not and would n run a talent school or "farm." Dj! NBC experiment? Yes, especially dv ing summer months it developed n( programs. Did he feel it had ne programs with creativity? Well, wb do you define as creativity? If on tel vision it is newness, impact, ori: inality, and remembrance, yes, ail "Concentration" for instance, is or' ASCAP Meet Thursday The biannual East Coast meetr of the general membership of t| American Society of Composers, A|| thors and Publishers will take pla on Thursday at the Waldorf -Astor here, Paul Cunningham, ASCA president, announced at the wee; end. The meeting will be held in tl Empire Room and will begin at 2 P.M. be borne in mind constantly. That is that a program can become so fused in the public mind with the product it sells as to become almost interchangeable. There is real food for thought in that. — Charles S. Aaronson Beers Joins TNT John L. Beers has been appoint! manager, central division, serving tl midwest, of Theatre Network Telev sion, Inc., it was announced by N than L. Halpern, president.