Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1959)

v, March 5, 1959 Motion Picture Daily 3 Roach Elected PC President 'White Paper' Study Likely THE DAILY Bureau YWOOD, March 4. Hal jr., representing the Alliance ision Film Producers, was president of the Motion Picnanent Charities yesterday at lization's annual meeting. He union official Carl Cooper serve for one year. officers elected for 1959-60 Walter Mirisch, Screen Proluild, vice-president; Sidney . Allied Industries, secretary, ,>rge Slaff, Samuel Goldwyn jns treasurer. Measurer's report to the memstated that MPPC to date Id a total of $1,120,300 from ubscribers. Rabbi Board s Censorship Special to THE DAILY NY, March 4.-The New ard of Rabbis, Inc., in their for State Legislation, 1959," that "We feel censorship, of the press, radio, televistage or the cinema— is an of America's traditional free k Rabbinate of the State of the paragraph on censorftinued, "reiterates its belief bility of the true and the triumph in the free market We express our complete the citizens of our state and eschew the evil and reject :h is untrue. eaffirm the right of artists, publicists, dramatists, etc., to problems as they see them, that their work is not ob ^ressbook Readied WB 'Star Is Born' om THE DAILY Bureau YWOOD, March 4. Warhers is preparing new ads ?ssbook for "A Star Is Born" give the Judy Garland-James tarrer deluxe treatment in a selected bookings during the jbe months. A test date for *ialized handling is the firstly Palace, Cincinnati, starting I Artists Board eet Here Mar. 20 \om THE DAILY Bureau YWOOD, March 4. MeetAllied Artists board of diivill be held in New York B0, it was announced today Broidy, president. In addiBroidy, those on the board West Coast are George D. W. Ray Johnston, Sherrill ! and Roger W. Hurlock. jare Edward Morey, Paul and Herman Rifkin. ( Continued Tenn.), has received a large number of complaints against the distributors, mostly from members of Allied States Association. These complaints are now under study, he added, for determination of whether they constitute enough of an anti-trust problem to warrant full-fledged investigation and hearings. Some of the exhibitor complaints are coming to the subcommittee from the offices of individual Senators, forwarding mail they have received. Others are coming directly from exhibitors or from the Washington office of Allied, this subcommittee aide asserted. Expected' by Horace Adams Allied president Horace Adams recently declared Allied expected a hearing on its "White Paper" charges before a Congressional committee headed by a presidential aspirant. Only two committees having jurisdiction in this field are headed by men mentioned as presidential possibilities —the Senate judiciary subcommittee on anti-trust policy, headed by Kefauver, and a Senate Small Business subcommittee headed by Senator Humphrey (D., Minn.). Other senators mentioned as presidential hopefuls, such as Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, do not have assignments on committees operating in this area. The Senate Small Business Com from page 1 ) mittee, which has held extensive hearings on film industry trade practices, made no mention of possible hearings on the industry in a 19-point agenda recently approved for action this year. The industry fight could be added to the agenda, but committee officials said so far there has been no move to do this. The judiciary subcommittee has already announced hearings on a number of anti-trust bills, and also major investigations of the drug, auto and steel industries. Just when it could get around to the film fight is unknown. Myers Reticent Allied general counsel Abram F. Myers refused to say whether Allied is trying to get hearings before either the judiciary or small business committees, though the volume of mail to the Kefauver committee would indicate this objective is their current target. Myers did say, however, that a recent approach made by an Allied member to Senators Randolph and Byrd, West Virginia Democrats, was "not an official approach from Allied." Both Randolph and Byrd, following a meeting last Friday with an Ohio Allied member, said they would ask both the judiciary and small business committees to investigate the industry. Report Albany Opposed To Film Censor Bills Special to THE DAILY ALBANY, N. Y., March 4. A usually well-informed source, not connected with the Joint Legislative Committee on Offiensive and Obscene Material, today expressed skepticism that favorable action would be taken on the four film bills the committee recently introduced, and later considered at the public hearing in New York. A committee spokesman had no comment on this prediction. Time will prove whether it is correct. Church Group Delays Move Meanwhile, the State Council of Protestant Churches delayed until next Tuesday a statement by its legislative commission on the controversial measures. Hearing Postponed COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 4.-The first hearing on the O'ShaughnessyLynch bill, which would classify motion pictures according to adult and family audiences, has been postponed to March 10 by the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee. Mrs. Celia J. Minton ERIE, Pa., March 4. Funeral services were held here today for Mrs. Celia J. Minton, who died Sunday. She was the wife of J. Vance Minton, manager of Shea's Theatre here since 1932. Wometco Remodeling Theatre for 'Anne' Special to THE DAILY MIAMI, March 4.— Wometco Theatres will carry out a complete overhaul job on its Cameo Theatre in Miami Beach, in anticipation of the opening April 20 of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Sidney Meyer and Mitchell Wolfson, co-owners of Wometco, have announced that the film will be shown exclusively in Florida for a year with a reserved seat schedule. New Seating Planned The front of the old theatre will be altered and so will the box office New seats will be installed and the screen will be enlarged to handle CinemaScope. Full stereophonic sound will be another feature. An advertising campaign to promote the 20th-Fox release will be extended to cities all over the state. 'Verboten' Dual Bow A dual world premiere of Samuel Fuller's "Verboten" will take place at the Palace Theatre, Milwaukee, and Fox Theatre, Detroit, on March 13, according to Foster Blake, general sales manager for Rank Film Distributors of America, Inc. Terry Turner is currently in Milwaukee and Detroit organizing a special exploitation campaign to promote the pre PEOPLE Christian De Lamaziere, French publicist, has been appointed director of European operations for Three Arts Distributors, Inc., producers who recently opened a New York office. De Lamaziere will headquarter in Paris. Additionally, the company has engaged Bert Landon, former Bozell & Jacobs account executive, as director of public relations here. □ Nate Schultz, general manager of Selected Theatres Co., Cleveland, has enrolled his Gala Drive-in Theatre, Akron, in Theatre Owners of America. □ Joel Lewis, manager of the Five West Theatre, Baltimore, Md., has been named manager also of the Playhouse there. Both theatres are art houses of the Schwaber Circuit. □ Maurice "Red" Silverberg, Universal salesman in Cleveland, has resigned and is returning to Pittsburgh, from which city he had been transferred to Cleveland last July. □ Bob Gordon and Paul Lucas, novitiates in the industry, have taken over the 400-seat Diana Theatre, Rittman, O., from Lucille Young. □ Daniel Echo, assistant sales manager of the industrial tubes sales department at Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories, has been named manager of the department. □ J. A. Mackrell, manager of the Haymarket Theatre, Newcastle-onTyne, England, has been named Champion Manager for 1958 by the Associated British Cinemas group. Alex Cooperman, Sol Maizels and James Selvidge have been named field supervisors for Citation Films, Inc. Selvidge will cover the Seattle area, Maizels Portland and Cooperman Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Salt Lake City. □ Perry Davis, Jr., operating manager for Stewart & Everett Theatres, Charlotte, has resigned that post and has joined Jack Smoak in the operation of Automation, Inc., sellers and servicers of electric equipment. R. T. Albrecht, owner of the Ritz Theatre, Newberry, S. C, has joined Theatre Owners of America. His membership was secured by George Roscoe, TOA director of exhibitor relations. □ Henry J. McKinney has been named eastern district supervisor of National Theatre Supply Co. He will continue to act as branch manager of die Boston office in addition to his new duties.