Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1959)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY 85, NO. 70 NEW YORK, U.S.A., TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1959 TEN CENTS ependents •oducers in itain Form Company d Bryanston Films; ed by Balcon, Setton By WILLIAM PAY DON, April 13.-Sixteen leadtish film producers have joined to form their own production listribution company. The new zation will be known as BryanFilms Ltd. Sir Michael Balcon >e chairman and Maxwell Setiianaging director, i'h of the producers, represent1 "teams" in all, will invest his hnoney in the venture and furfinancial support is being sup' by Gerald and Kenneth Ship' ( Continued on page 2 ) or Youngstein at PA Luncheon Today [x E. Youngstein, vice-president taited Artists, will be guest of at the annual luncheon of the Slated Motion Picture Advertisers J:oday, which more than 200 in]' leaders are expected to attend. Iiffair will be held in the Geora (Continued on page 2) jy' Advance Here jady $83,670 Ivance sales for the engagement hmuel Goldwyn's "Porgy and at the Warner Theatre here lg June 24 had reached $83,670 fday. The figure represented I and organization block sales j through a special unit set up 'lumbia Pictures, distributors of lodd-AO film. lers to date range through Oc! and the bulk was received ■ to the announcement of theatre I pening date. In addition numer alephone requests from individfiave been received at the thea|id arrangements are being made .ndle these orders as soon as reI 1 seat tickets are put on sale. CONSTRUCTIVE VALUE OF HERALD' MEETS HAILED The tremendous constructive value for all concerned of the merchandising conferences sponsored by Motion Picture Herald in New York was emphasized last Friday, the concluding day of the three-day affair. Silas F. Seadler, advertising manager of M-G-M, at the Astor Hotel luncheon which followed the screening and discussion of the M-G-M film, took the opportunity to express his deep gratification to Martin Quigley and Martin Quigley, Jr., for holding the conferences. At the same luncheon, Seymour Morris, director of advertising and publicity for the Schine circuit, with headquarters in Gloversville, N. Y., announced that he planned a promotional contest among managers of the circuit, the winner or winners to be the circuit's guests at the next series of merchandising conferences, which probably will be held in late In Kansas For M-G-M's "For the First lime" Conference see page 5. For 20th-Fox's "Robin Hood" Conference see page 5. List of Exhibitors Who Attended on page 4. September or October. Martin Quigley, Jr., emphasized that this, the second series of conferences, was much better attended than the initial ( Continued on page 4 ) Industry Joining in National Library Week Participation of the film industry in National Library Week, which began Sunday and continues through next Sunday was announced yesterday by the advertising and publicity directors committee of the Motion Picture Association, headed by Charles Simonelli. In saluting National Library Week the ad-publicity directors committee prepared a special poster to be used in libraries. The poster, 17x22 inches, in three colors, carries the titles of 16 successful novels which recently have been released as motion pictures or are scheduled to be released shortly. Copies of the poster, together with ( Continued on page 3 ) Arwin Expands Slate to 12 Features, 1959-1961 From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, April 13. Arwin Productions, company headed by Martin Melcher, has expanded its current program from six to 12 features to be filmed within the 1959-61 period, at an overall budget allocation of $24,000,000, it was announced today. Six new co-production deals involve commitments of three features each to MGM and Universal. Present commitments are allocated to MGM, Universal and Columbia, which will star (Continued on page 4) Fox Maintains Staffs in Three U.K. Cities From THE DAILY Bureau LONDON, Apil 11 (by Air Mail)Under its streamlining policy, the London, Liverpool and Newcastle sales branches of 20th Century-Fox are to cease to exist as such, but the company states that in each branch it will continue to maintain a sales force and dispatch department together with a skeleton administrative staff. In a statement to the trade the company's managing director, James Pattinson, said, "experience has shown (Continued on page 2) Harris Bill Covers Only Home-Reception Pay-TV From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, April 13. The Harris bill to give the Federal Communications Commission control over wire pay-television applies only to pay-TV for home reception. Some industry officials had considered the bill broad enough to cover pay-TV by wire going into theates. The bill wasn't available until today, but a perusal of it shows that it applies specifically to pay-TV programs "transmitted by wire and intended to be received by home television receiving sets." Films on TV Ruled Subject To Censorship Decision Seen Having Far-Reaching Results ^Special to THE DAILY KANSAS CITY, April 13.-Television stations in Kansas showing motion picture films must have the movies examined and approved by the state board of review, John Anderson, Jr., Kansas attorney general, said in an opinion announced at the weekend. The state official's decision, made as the result of a request from Robert Duncan, Atchison County, Kan., attorney, is expected to have far-reachin results and to stir anew the controversy over censorship. The attorney general also said in the opinion that films and reels publicly exhibited at Kansas State University and the University of Kansas and 16mm movies publicly displayed (Continued on page 3) MP A Sets Committee To Meet ACE May 12 The Motion Picture Association has created a committee on exhibitor relations which will meet with a committee of the American Congress of Exhibitors on May 12 to discuss exhibitor-distributor problems, the MPAA announced yesterday on the eve of a meeting of ACE's executive committee here today. Named to the MPAA exhibitor relations committee were Spyros Skou( Continued on page 21 Para. Will Re-Release Two Presley Pictures Paramount Pictures yesterday announced plans to re-release two of Elvis Presley's biggest film hits, "Loving You" and "King Creole." The Hal Wallis productions have been scheduled for reissue in June for showing singly or as a double bill. News stories from West Germany about Presley's army experiences and (Continued on page 2)