Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1958)

Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, October 29, 1! III! PERSONAL MENTION DARRYL F. ZANUCK has left here for Paris and other sections of the Continent to attend the multiple European openings of "The Roots of Heaven." • Danny Kaye will return to New York from London today via B.O.A.C. • Harry Feinstein, Stanley Warner Theatres zone manager, has left New Haven for Albany, Troy and Utioa. He is accompanied by James A. Bracken, contact manager, and Harry Zimmerman, realty head. • Glenn Ford, who is a vice-president of the Navy League, will be toastmaster tonight at the 55th annual banquet of the league at the Waldorf Astoria here. • Dimitri Tiomkin is in New York from the Coast for a two-week visit. • Mervyn LeRoy and James Stewart will arrive in Washington today from Hollywood. B. S. Moss Acquires Theatre in Miami Beach B. S. Moss Theatres has acquired the Roosevelt Theatre in Miami Beach, it was announced here yesterday by Charles B. Moss, president of the circuit, which has three other theatres in Florida as well as in New York, Long Island and New Jersey. The Roosevelt will be under the personal direction of Larry Morris, vicepresident of Moss Corp. Currently the 1,200-seat Roosevelt is closed for extensive alterations, redecoration, and installation of new projection and sound equipment. It will reopen in December showing first-run Hollywood and foreign films. Name Downing, Jackter Russell V. Downing, president of Radio City Music Hall, and Rube Jackter, sales manager of Columbia Pictures, has been named joint chairmen of the motion picture producers and distributors section of the annual drive of the Greater New York Councils, Boy Scouts of America, it was announced yesterday by Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., and Burton E. Robbins, co-chairmen of the amusements industries division of the campaign. Downing and Jackter soon will name several co-chairmen to assist in solicitation for the drive. Finance Leaders Honor UA ( Continued their convention luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria yesterday. Presenting the Conference's Award of Achievement to chairman of the board Benjamin, who represented the company, Herbert R. Silverman, honorary chairman of the Conference, said the Award was given to UA as "a firm that has set a standard of performance for American business and which has made full use of its opportunity to grow." United Artists was the first motion picture company ever honored by the organization. The Award was given to UA in the big business category. Two others were made in small and medium-sized groupings. Cites Two Features In his presentation speech Silverman traced the rise and decline of United Artists from 1919 through 1950 when it showed a net loss of $871,000 and seemed ready to fall into bankruptcy. "It was a moribund company in a declining industry." He highlighted UA's revival when the new Krim-Benjamin management group took over. He described how United Artists was able to overcome with the help of a substantial loan ($3,500,000 from Walter E. Heller Co.) a serious product shortage and within a short time guarantee exhibitors 36 films a O from page 1 ) year. In this connection he mentioned such early successes as "The African Queen" and "High Noon," two of the top grossing feature films of the industry. "In an industry that has never been known for cost-consciousness, they (UA management) cut costs to the minimum," he said. The industry had looked for its profits to the production end and had never considered distribution a profitable source of business. United Artists management team encouraged the production of quality pictures, even to the point of letting production losses on one offset production profits on another. It built distribution into a major source of revenue. 1957 Compared with 1951 In 1957, he added, UA had built its worldwide gross to $70,008,242 (it was $19 million in 1951) and in that year (1957) UA went to the public with an offering of debentures and stock which were successfully placed. The gross revenues for 1958 are estimated to exceed $80,000,000. "This type of management does not merely save a company," Silverman declared, "it saves a large industry, a vital communications medium, a major art medium in which the United States has been the pace-setter of the world." World Travel Congress To Meet at Music Hall Radio City Music Hall will be the scene of the opening session of the 28th annual convention and World Travel Congress of the American Society of Travel Agents on Monday morning, prior to the regular opening of the theatre for the day. The convention session, which some 2,000 delegates are expected to attend, will take place at 9:30 A.M. The Music Hall will open for its regular schedule of shows at 11:30 A.M. The opening meeting is being held at the Music Hall at the invitation of Russell V. Downing, president of Ithe theatre, to enable delegates from all the world to see for themselves the theatre to which they have been sending tourist groups for so many years. Delegates are being invited to join the public in seeing the Music Hall's first show. Weiner to Push Stamps Sanford Weiner, vice-president and general sales manager for Film Representations, has been named national franchise sales representative for Movie Stamps, Inc. He has disclosed that franchises have been set for the trading stamp plan in theatres of Washington and Dallas. Ad Committee to Jake Up Complaints Nov. 6 Problems resulting from public criticism of motion picture advertising and recent newspaper and legislative attentions paid to it will be discussed by the full advertising-publicity directors committee of the Motion Picture Association at its next meeting on Nov. 6. Several recent meetings of the Advertising Advisory Council and of subcommittees have directed attention to the problems. Y. Frank Freeman, Paramount vicepresident and studio head, met with a subcommittee recently to discuss the attitude of the Los Angeles Newspaper Publishers Assn,. which recently proposed the submission of film advertising to it for approval. A report on the meeting with Freeman is expected to be made to the full committee on Nov. 6, at which time proposals for dealing with this and other problems will be discussed. S-W Dividend 25c The board of directors of Stanley Warner Corp. has declared a dividend of 25 cents per share on the common stock, payable Nov. 26 to stockholders of record Nov. 10. Change 'Damn Yankees7 j Title on Foreign Prints Warner Bros, is retitling "Da; Yankees" on all prints to be ui| abroad to "What Lola Wants." fi switch is based on the theory that j baseball connotation has no mean ! for patrons outside the U.S. "W>, Lola Wants" is the name of Gwj Verdon's big song-and-dance num in the film. 'Oscar' Driv mi 1 m .•-ji ril ( Continued from page 1 ) event for April 6 here yesterday. Tj meeting, held in the hoard room the Motion Picture Association, v called by Robert Ferguson, Columii Pictures director of advertising-pi licity, and sub-committee chairm for radio and TV of the MPA advl tising and publicity directors co mittee. The group agreed to prepare a en solidated plan incorporating the b suggestions from the TV and ra« H* men and submit it to Sid Blume stock, coordinator of all MPA pron tion and publicity activities for 1 « 1959 telecast. Blumenstock outlined the status current plans for the telecast at 1 meeting yesterday. In additii Charles McCarthy, information din tor of COMPO, explained the co* eration of the exhibitor chairmen the field last year. Plans are to set similar committees under the sup vision and direction of COMPO the 1959 telecast. Attending the meeting yestejl f from the major companies were Fe' Greenfield, Warner Bros.; Bud Young, United Artists; Roger Carl Columbia Pictures; Jerry Evans, U'f versal Pictures; Bill Stutman, Tw«| tieth Century-Fox, and Marvin Lei! M-G-M. Similar meetings of other compa exploitation men will be held. io Buccaneer Bow ( Continued from page 1 ) raising efforts will be assisted by motion picture opening. The premiere will be followed t| same evening by a celebrities' bj in the Grand Ballroom of the Hoj Astor. As an integral part of the p)' miere celebration, the ball too will i sponsored by the American Cane Society chapter. Government officials, civic a| business leaders, celebrities of sta| screen and television will be includ in the guest list for the premiere a: ball. It is expected that many of tj persons prominently identified wij the making of the picture also w attend the dual event. MOTION PICTURE DAILY. Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; James D. Ivers, Managing Editor; Richard Gertner, News Editor; Floyd E Stoil Photo Editor; Herbert V. Fecke, Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel, Production Manager, TELEVISION TODAY, Charles S. Aaronson, Editorial Director; Pmky Herman, Vmcf: Canby, Eastern Editors. Hollywood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, Samuel D. Berns, Manager; Telephone HOllywood 7-2145; Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Wai. mgton, D. C; London Bureau, 4, Bear St. Leicester Square, W. 2. Hope Williams Burnup, Manager; Peter Burnup, Editor; William Pay, News Editor. Correspondents in i t principal capitals of the world. Motion Picture Daily is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefel] Center. New York 20, Telephone Circle 7-3100. Cable address: "Quigpubco. New York." Martin Quigley, President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo. J. Sullivan, Vice-Pre dent and Treasury; Leo J. Brady, Secretary. Other Quigley Publications: Motion Picture Herald, Better Theatres and Better Refreshment Merchandising, each published 13 times a ye as a section of Motion Picture Herald; Television Today, published daily as a part of Motion Picture Daily; Motion Picture Almanac, Television Almanac, Fame. Entered as secoi class matter "Sept. 21, 1938, at the Post Office at New York, N. 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