Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1959)

A Motion Picture Daily i Tuesday, April 2j] New Award for 'Ones' At Spain Cinema Week United Artists' "The Defiant Ones," produced and directed by Stanley Kramer was awarded first prize at the International Religious Cinema Week of the City of Valladolid, Spain The UA release also received first prize from the screen writers of Spain for best theme and cinematographic development George Ornstein, United Artists representative in Spain, will accept the awards on behalf of UA and Kramer in Madrid Pike Acquires {Continued from page 1) by Jerry Nance. The theatres taken over by Pike include the Barksdale & Don Drive-Ins and the indoor Davis in Bossier City, La.; the Sunset Drivein and the indoor theatres, Don Rex and Broadmoor, Shreveport La. The acquisitions make it the largest circuit in the New Orleans exchange area. Recent Pike acquisitions also included units of Joy's Theatres, Inc., the indoor Joy at Vicksburg, and the Joy Drive-in and hard top in Shreveport. Managerial appointments for the newly acquired theatres are Charles Williams, formerly with McElroy Theatres, as city manager of indoor theatres in Shreveport, Bossier City; Charles Gowan, city manager of driveins, and M. E. Brown as manager of the Joy, Vicksburg. Warn on Ohio Tax (Continued from page 1) in a speech prepared for delivery before the Senate taxation committee. The committee is hearing proponents and opponents of the omnibus tax bill, No. 376, sponsored by Sen. Stephen Olenick, Democrat, Youngstown. "The state saw fit several years ago to give theatres relief from the admissions tax," said Prickett. "At that time, permission was granted to cities to apply the admissions tax. Many of them did. Since that time, cities and towns being aware of the desperate situation of the motion picture theatre have repealed the tax. The one major city still collecting the tax is Cleveland. If the bill is passed, it will add a burden to the theatre industry which may well mean the closing of as many as 50 per cent of the existing theatres in Cleveland." Prickett said that there are now only 75 theatres operating in the Cleveland area, compared with 108 indoor and drive-in theatres, 10 years ago. He said he was in Cleveland a few days ago and learned of the closing of the 1300-seat Capitol. Jack Armstrong, Bowling Green, who operates 21 theatres in Northwestern Ohio, told the committee that the proposed tax "would be a great blow and will cause the closing of many more theatres." He said "we need tax relief in order to stay in business." He pointed out that city admission levies recently were repealed in the towns of Maumee, Napoleon and Port Clinton. Columbia Sets 99 Features Embassy SI; ( Continued by the "new Columbia team" headed by president A. Schneider with production head Samuel J. Briskin who starts his second year this week as vice-president in charge of studio operations. With the change-over of Columbia to its present form, some of the leading filmmakers in the industry have joined its roster of independents who release through the company's worldwide distribution set-up. Not counted in the general program is Samuel Goldwyn, whose "Porgy and Bess" is being distributed by Columbia. At present, 34 independent producing companies, in Hollywood, New York and abroad, are on the Columbia roster. Independents Listed Columbia independent producers in Hollywood include Ansark (Norman Krasna), Arwin (Doris Day-Martin Melcher), Harry Joe Brown-Randolph Scott, William Castle and Associates, Clover (Sam Katzman), Corona (Roger Edens), RD-DR, Louis de Rochemont), DRB Productions, Globe Enterprises (Samuel Fuller), William Goetz Productions, Arthur Hornblow, Jr., Fred Kohlmar Productions, Morningside (Charles Schneer), Harry Romm Productions, Richard Quine Productions, Stan Shpetner Productions, George Sidney Productions, Security Pictures, Inc. (Sidney Harmon and Philip Yordan), Theodora Productions (Cornel Wilde), Thunderbird Productions (Kendrick Sweet and Don Siegel), Charles Vidor Productions, Philip A. Waxman Pictures and the YOF Corporation (Bryan Foy). Also producing at the studio in Hollywood directly for Columbia are Boris D. Kaplan and Michael Blankfort. Four in New York Based in New York are Otto Preminger, David Susskind, Sudan (Paddy Chayefsky) and Drexel (Dick Clark). Making their headquarters in Europe are Stanley Donen, Hammer Films, Highroad Productions (Carl Foreman), Raoul Levy, Sam Spiegel and Warwick Films (A. R. Broccoli and Irving Allen). The record number of properties involved includes films now completed and awaiting release; films which are being edited, scored or dubbed; films which are now in production; and films which are on the planning boards, awaiting the start of production. Twenty-eight films have completed principal photography and are in the various phases of post-production activity prior to release; six are in production now; nine will go before the cameras by June 1; and 56 are scheduled to go into production by June 1 of next year. Properties Purchased The properties include best-selling novels, hit roadway plays, original stories and screenplays and biographies. Drama, comedy and music are all represented. Films awaiting release, ranging from page 1) from those which have just completed shooting to those in the final stages of pre-release include: "Babette Goes to War," "The Bandit of Zhobe," "Battle of the Coral Sea," "City of Fear," "The Crimson Kimono," "Face of a Fugitive," "Gideon of Scotland Yard," "Gunmen from Laredo," "Hey Boy! Hey Girl!", "The H-Man," "Idol on Parade," "It Happened to Jane," "Juke Box Rhythm," "Killers of Kilimanjaro," "Middle of the Night," "Murder Reported," "The Last Angry Men," "The Legend of Tom Dooley," "The Mouse That Roared," "The 30 Foot ride of Candy Rock," "The TwoHeaded Spy," "The Women Eater," "The Young Land," "They Came to Cordura," "Verboten," "Yesterday's Enemy" and "Zex." Five in Production In addition to Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder," pictures now in production are "Man on a String," "Once More, with Feeling," "Our Man in Havana," "Rim of the Canyon" and UPA's "1001 Arabian Nights." The nine films scheduled to start production by June 1 are: William Goetz's "A Magic Flame," Sam Spiegel's "Suddenly, Last Summer," Ansark-Sidney's "Who Was That Lady?", William Goetz' "The Mountain Road," William Castle's "The Tingler," Philip A. Waxman's "Krupa Story," Harry Romm's "Have Rocket, Will Travel," and Clover's "Lucky" and "High Trap." Briskin leaves here soon for New York where he will confer with Schneider and vice-presidents A. Montague, Leo Jaffe, Rube Jackter, Paul N. Lazarus, Lacy Kastner, L. J. Barbano and Mortimer Wormser. Also attending the sessions will be M. J. Frankovich, in charge of Columbia's European production. Briskin, who has a straight threeyear contract with no participation in any of the films, and no personal productions, hopes to make at least 30 films annually at the studio apart from those made by producers abroad, with the majority of films made in color. Columbia divides its printing between Pathe Laboratories and Technicolor, and plans to use the latter's Technirama process on many of its features. Optimistic Regarding Future Briskin stated "there will always be a successful motion picture business," and forecast the "end of the marginal theatre due to lack of product." He called attention to revamping of short-term deals with producers and directors into long-term agreements to establish a nucleus of operation when he took over the studio reins, as well as the signing of new faces like James Darren, Michael Kallin, Jo Morrow, Evie Norin and Ernie Kovacs. Briskin concluded with a reference to the new practice of regular Wednesday meetings of studio department heads to determine a course of action on programs, purchases and schedules. (Continued from page I "not going to buy any picturescan't use a hard sell," report' the company has eight pictun ished, bought and paid for, to take care of its releasing si for the next 18 months. In addition to "Hercules, goes into general release ear summer, these pictures are: "J Ripper," "The Law," "White > "Aphrodite, Goddess of Love,' cules Against the Gods," "Tl cus" and "Destruction of the \ The latter two are temporar) Levine emphasized the E release schedule is a direct r< the "product shortage." He de his company as a "free-wheeli highly flexible organization," o is not going in for "stereotype bution." Before investing million dollars" in the feature tioned above, Levine said, E looked at at least 100 before making a final decision. Openings, Holdover Boost Life' Grosses Universal-International's "In of Life" continued to roll up U-I business in new openings o country this past weekend wh' ting holdover records in its ini gagements, the country reporti terday. In its first three days at th Theatre in New York the fi $6200. At the Arcadia Theatre adelphia on its first six days, $| at the Paramount in Rochester the Indiana in Indianapolis $13,000 and $11000 in three a| day respectively. The best U-1 iness in several years was roll in new openings at the War Milwaukee ($8800 in three the Majestic in Dallas ($12,j three days), the Worth in Forti; ($7500 in three days). To File Legal Briefs In UA, P.O. Dispute Both sides in the United / Post Office Department disp' the issues of obscenity and mail of the postal card reproducli Goya's painting, "The Naked have until next Monday to file following a session yesterday the Civil Service Hearing C; sion at the General Post Officii eral thousand copies of the card were seized by the Post after UA mailed them to prou film, "The Naked Maja." UA was reported to be prep appeal any decision to the District Court here if the rulinj in its favor. 'Hot9 Big in 3rd W United Artists' "The Naked achieved a big third week g $58,685 at Loew's State Theati where it is holding over for a week.