Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1959)

i\ . February 2, 1959 Motion Picture Daily nston Sets | Continued from page 1 ) I; there are formulating new film ions for the film year starting ston, who will be accompanied an by Irving Maas, vice-presif MPEA for the Far East, will ere a week to meet with high iment officials on important in problems. These include film 3 and remittances of earnings. tour will also include Taiwan, Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and id. Johnston is expected back ' York March 9. Taiwan the Next Stop « rowing the Tokyo meetings, in and Maas will go to Taipei, i, where a series of meetings are led to discuss a number of inproblems which have resulted itantially reducing film income pis market during the past year. Ijfong Kong, Thailand and MaLeetings will be held with GovLt officials and American film Lntatives. Udonesia it is expected that disijrs will be held with the GovernIpncerning the transfer of funds, lion in the number of American prmits, and various regulations I iare seriously handicapping the Lan film industry in this area. Incline in the value of the Indoneiipiah has substantially reduced ilan film earnings in this South•jjjian market to the extent that a Appraisal of industry operating JJ is deemed essential. | Editorial ^ Continued from page 1) sM brought about by Rep. Oren Jj chairman of the House ComB.j| on Interstate and Foreign In't necessary," the Post's ediJfeys. "to accept all the roseate Ions for pay TV as a means of !; America up to a new cultural | in order to believe that this SS;l ea should have a chance to j tself. If there is an audience willing to pay for full-length ray plays, Wagnerian operas, eased Hollywood or imported 'jjjj pictures, or boxing matches, lit commercials) should these i it desires be denied? jpere are not enough such peo( "make pay TV a success, then ip>e a flop. If pay TV proves to EDIl'ie predicted audience, we shall lew dimension' in communicaL, which the existing system will accommodate itself." L pros and cons of pay TV, with £5jr'eption of the private use of blic's air waves angler are exJxfjj before the full-page editorial he question, Why not a trial? J New Drive-In [ND PRAIRIE, Tex., Feb. Le drive-in theatre will be esitl on an 8-acre tract on East street, it was announced by E. fan, Dallas developer. M. P. DAILY picture Panel of speakers: the scene at Friday's press conference. Arrayed here, Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., Charles Vidor, William Goetz, Paul Lazarus, Jr., and Rube Jackter. Col. May Roadshow 'Cordura' ( Continued fr dura" and the picture he and Vidor will make, "The Magic Flame." Lazarus introduced the men as producers of whom his company is very proud, and whose program also is expensive. In fact, he observed, for Columbia Goetz's latest is just about the most expensive. Still, he added, he'd seen an hour and forty minutes of roughs and feels the result will astound. He finds in the picture a character delineation, in its exploration, as he put it, of the anatomy of courage, equivalent to that in "The Bridge." Goetz said he doesn't know if New York approves, but he's been told the cost probably will be nearly $5,000,000, and the picture must gross $11,000,000 to break even. It has stars such as Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, Gary Cooper, Richard Conte, it was made almost entirely in Zion National Park, Utah, and it is all on a large scale. Lazarus added it'll be in final form probably in early April. He hazards im page 1 ) it'll be two hours and fifteen minutes, and then he and several from the home office will go to the Coast "and then we'll figure out the best way to get back that $11,000,000." He conceded the company feels it may roadshow the picture. Goetz said of costs— and Samuel Goldwyn's strictures about actors and agents— that he, Goetz, has a "lot of friends who feel the same way about producers." He and Vidor are back from Europe, where especially in Austria they scouted for baroque and rococco locales. Vidor predicted that after Dirk Bogarde is seen in this, he'll be a "draw." He added a picture about a musician will "draw." He recalled to newsmen he'd made "A Song to Remember," about Chopin, and in his estimation it established Cornel Wilde, Columbia executives Rube Jackter, Bob Ferguson, and Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., participated in the discussion. Catholic Vets Score Russian Film Deal Special to THE DAILY MANCHESTER, N. H., Feb. 1.The New Hampshire Catholic War, Veterans have denounced the exhibition of Soviet-made motion pictures in commercial theatres in the United States. The group chided the State Department for approving the showings. The CWV adopted a resolution pledging to "do our utmost to get members of CWV posts, auxiliaries, members of their families and friends to write to our Senators and Representatives, asking them to reconsider and call off this disgraceful showing of clever, subtle Red Russian propoganda." Meanwhile, a resolution asking lawmakers io condemn the proposed exhibition of Soviet films was introduced in the New Hampshire State Legislature. Film Cash Dividends Hit New Low in '58 From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Feb. l.-Publicly reported cash dividends of motion picture companies dropped to a post-war low of $21,424,000 in 1958, the Commerce Department reported. This compared with a revised figure of $27,350,000 for 1957. Payments in December 1958 were put at $3,354,000, compared with $4,123,000 in December 1957, most of the drop being accounted for by the fact that Universal failed to pay in December 1958 a $500,000 dividend paid in December 1957. The Department figures publicly reported cash dividends account for some 60 per cent to 65 per cent of all dividend payments. Commerce has revised its totals for earlier years to take into account a computing error just disclosed for all PEOPLE J. Clyde Fuller, manager of Loew's State Theatre here, has been transferred to Loew's Triboro Theatre in Astoria. Other circuit transfers include: Louis Falk, from the Triboro to the Premier; William Klenert, from the Premier to the 175th Street; Allan Isaacs, from the 175th Street to the Olympia. Harold McMahon, manager of die Olympia, has been assigned as relief manager. □ Walt Disney has been chosen to receive a special award of the Mexican Legion of Decency. He will be honored for consistently producing films of high quality both morally and as entertainment, a spokesman for the Legion said. □ Robert M. W. Vogel has been appointed acting chairman of the Foreign Language Film Committee for the 31st annual Academy Awards during the absence of Chairman Luigi Luraschi, who is in Europe. □ Ray Ellis, conductor-arranger for Columbia Records, has joined MGM Records as popular artist and repertoire director. Prior to his affiliation with Columbia Records in 1957, Ellis did free-lance' arrangements for many independent labels. Award $3,000 in Suit On Theatre Rental Special to THE DAILY GREENSBORO, N. C, Feb. l.-A civil jury in Guilford Superior Court has awarded Standard Amusement Company, Inc., of Greensboro, the sum of $3,000 in its recovery suit against Mr. and Mrs. R. O. Tarkington of Edgecombe County. The verdict brought to a close an involved suit centering around the rental of the Gay Theatre in Gibsonville. Standard Amusement claimed the Tarkingtons owed $3,000 for theatre rental. Jusko Named Para. Buffalo Manager Michael Jusko has been named to replace Hugh Maguire, resigned, as Paramount Buffalo branch manager, it was announced here at the weekend by Hugh Owen, vice-president of Paramount Film Distributing Corp. Jusko, who has been salesman for the company in the Buffalo territory since 1953, will take over duties as branch manager today. industries. Commerce officials found that for the past few years it has been counting companies as having more shares than were actually outstanding, and thus getting larger total dividend payments than actually made. Thus for the motion picture industry, the 1956 total was revised down from $31,579,000 to $31,114,000 and for 1957 down from an earlier $28,868,000 to 827,350,000.