Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1959)

February 13, 1959 Motion Picture Daily edpie ACE Group Will Confer with Justice Dept. Dana has been named Buflach manager for Rank Film tors of America, succeeding ese, who has resigned. Dana, with United Artists in the |ed RFDA on Feb. 9. □ v'olff, long with the Fanchon i co circuit and most recently : of Southside Theatres, Los will be guest of honor at a al luncheon to be held at tanut Grove, Ambassador Ho. larch 4, marking his retirem show business. The Southait was sold recently to Robippert and Ed Zabel. □ Pinkston, booker for Univertlanta, has resigned to join ere in the same capacity. □ ,afeve, for 20 years manager Capitol Theatre in Windsor, ; resigned to accept the post Ting director of the Windsor il Auditorium now under con Russell, of Hartsville, Tenn., i over and reopened the York it Red Boiling Spring, Tenn. □ owan, a member of the Naelefilm Associates publicity •nt for the past year, has been irector of publicity for the ned-and-operated stations. Industry Matured ontinued from page 1 ) I Editors Advisory Commit Ihe U.S. Treasury's Savings ivision. ;k 50 years for the screen to scope technically, and it has :n longer for the motion pice liberated and given its full from limiting restrictions of censorship and niggardly Gerard told the representasome 5,500 industrial house blications. maturity has come slowly to added, it has arrived at a me for an industry that has over the mantle of mediots mass competitor— TV." changes that have occurred, iointed out that creative taors, writers and directors— Sn over from "the tycoons." (Cited the growing pre-eminindependent producers who, 'are free to select their sub ler and are flexible in their tts." Here Wednesday Artists' "The Last Mile" will he Victoria Theatre here on HV. ( Continued from page 1 ) with heads of production and distribution; and That a research program is being prepared to seek a "new look" in motion picture presentation in both picture and sound. Members of the committee who will visit the Department of Justice are Horace Adams, president of Allied; George Kerasotes, president of TO A; Emanuel Frisch, past president of MMPTA, and Sumner Redstone, attorney and New England exhibitor. Primarily they will seek clarification on the points raised in report of the committee on industry government relations approved at the December 12 meeting of ACE. Three Subjects Considered These include the present legality or illegality of block booking in competitive situations; changes in the consent decrees to equalize the various clauses governing production and dis tribution by the former affiliated circuits; and the degree to which pooling arrangements in multi-situation towns can now be entered into by exhibitors. In connection with the latter point, the committee on industry government relations asked that exhibitors forward any information relating to any particular locality where it would be helpful to independent exhibitors if such arrangements were permitted. Plan Grass-Roots Drive Committee members agreed that the whole problem of fighting toll television should be delegated to the Joint Committee on Toll-TV which has been engaged in this activity since 1954. This unit will inaugurate a grass roots campaign with the assistance of ACE area chairmen to seek support in Congress for a prohibition against toll TV. Considerable such support has already been apparent. All members of the ACE committee on M-G-M Slates ( Continued from page 1 ) studio administrator, and the executive committee. The company recently announced plans for a line-up of 41 pictures, one of its largest programs in years. The releases scheduled for the next eight months are as follows: February: "Night of the Quarter Moon," "The Journey," and "First Man into Space." March: "The Mating Game" and "Nowhere to Go." April: "Green Mansions" and "Ask Any Girl." May: "The World, The Flesh and The Devil" and "Watusi." June: "Count Your Blessings" and "The Big Operator." July: "North by Northwest" and "The Beat Generation." August: "Tarzan, The Ape Man" and "For the First Time." September: "The Scapegoat" and "The Angry Hills." ABPC Schedules ( Continued from page 1 ) production in 1959, and has a number of other properties under consideration. In addition, according to ABPC managing director C. J. Latta, the company this year will have a line-up of six half-hour television series, each comprised of 39 episodes. These TV films are produced in cooperation with ABPC's American partners. 4 UA 'Hot' Records United Artists Records is releasing three LP Albums and a 45 rpm single in connection with Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot," a comedy of the twenties scheduled to open in New York in the early spring. UJC Tells of Advances In Intergroup Relations Special to THE DAILY ALBANY, N. Y., Feb. 12.-Twentytwo states have enacted laws banning discrimination in "public accommodations" since 1947. The American Jewish Committee through president Irving M. Engel, cited this "advance" in presenting to Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller today 50 copies of an evaluation, "The People Speak." Listed as meeting with Rockefeller, on the eve of Lincoln's birthday, were: Engel, Bishop William A. Scully, of the Albany Catholic diocese, and Dr. Frank Borne, Negro leader and executive director of the New York Commission on Intergroup Relations. Engel's analysis, based on an 11year survey of cumulative gains in human rights, declared that in 1947 "the constant and corrosive indignity of segregation— in schools, housing, restaurants, theatres, parks, playgrounds, hotels, hospitals and even cemeteries— blighted the lives of onetenth of our population." Despite setbacks, "human rights achievements in the United States are at their highest peak in history," the document pointed out. SPG to Seek ( Continued from page 1 ) wood, which has a $210 minimum for senior publicists. The Guild's contracts with 20th Century-Fox and Warner Bros, permit reopening on wages and minimums as of Feb. 10, 1959. Reopenings with Columbia and Universal-International come up a month later, followed by a reopening of the M-G-M contract. The present contracts with 20th CenturyFox and Warner Bros, went into effect last April and continue until April 9, 1960. However, the Guild has the right to terminate the contract on April 11 this year if no agreement is reached in the current negotiations. toll TV will become members of the Joint Committee. On the research program, Max Cohen, chairman, introduced Hazard Reeves, who developed the sound system for CinemaScope and who has offered the facilities of his company to the committee. Reeves outlined a proposed program and will serve on the committee. Cohen also said that the committee was anxious to find a new name or descriptive phrase for stereophonic sound which could be copyrighted and reserved exclusively for theatre use. Production Fund Sought The committee said that ways and means are being studied to raise money for production, to further the general interest of the industry, and for administrative expenses. The money recently made available from the funds held in escrow since the distribution of the industry institutional short subjects some years ago will be used only for administrative expenses. A committee consisting of William Forman and R. J. O'Donnell was appointed to explore the possibilities of producing a series of short subjects to promote industry welfare and glorify motion picture entertainment. The executive committee authorized a certificate of membership to be issued to every exhibitor becoming a member of ACE. All constituent organizations and area chairmen will cooperate in distribution of applications and certificates. Meeting Well Attended At the session Wednesday the following members of each of the six committees were present: Ways and means to increase production—S. H. Fabian, chairman; R. J. O'Donnell, alternate; James Coston, Ned Depinet, Sam Rosen, Ruben Shor, William Goldman and Sam Pinanski. Post'48 films— William Forman, chairman; Harry Arthur, Jr., alternate, Leopold Friedman, Leslie Schwartz, and J. Myer Schine. Producer-exhibitor-distributor relations—Horace Adams, chairman; Irving Dollinger, alternate; Eugene Picker; Herbert Hahn (substituting for Leonard Goldenson), and Edward Lider. Kerasotes Present Toll-TV— George Kerasotes, chairman; Albert M. Pickus, alternate; Philip F. Harling, Arnold C. Childhouse, Lamar Sarra, and Wilbur Snaper. Industry-government relations committee—Emanuel Frisch, acting chairman; Edward L. Fabian, Arthur Lockwood, Harry B. Hendel, Sol M. Strausberg, and Sumner Redstone. Industry research— Max A. Cohen, chairman; Ernest Emerling, Harry Mandel, Ted Mann, Julius Sanders, Marshall H. Fine, Milton H. London, Byron Linn (representing Tom Friday), Gerald Shea, Raymond Willy, Sidney Stern, Russell Downing, and Hazard Reeves.