Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1959)

Monday, September 28, 1959 Motion Picture Daily 3 federal Court Dismisses Earth' Anti-Trust Suit A $7,500,000 anti-trust action "irought against virtually the whole liotion picture industry by the prolucer and distributor of the film, Salt of the Earth," was dismissed a Federal Court here Friday. Judge lidney Sugarman dismissed Inde)endent v. Loew's, et al, when plainiff's counsel admitted in open court hat plaintiffs refused to comply with court order. The order required jlaintiffs' managing agent, Herbert Jibennan to appear for examination )efore trial. 1 Myles J. Lane of Schwartz & Frohich, former United States attorney, ed the argument in behalf of the deendants. Associated with Lane were jcorgiana Koenig and Bernard R. Soricin. Louis Kantor represented defendants Brewer, Francavilla and iA'alsh. Motion Picture Association i vas represented by Sidney Schreiber. Cinerama Interests ( Continued from page 1 ) 'Seven Wonders of the World," ' 'Search for Paradise" and "Cineramasouth Seas Adventure" become the Jproperty of Cinerama, Inc. It also acquires Stanley Warner's interests in domestic and overseas theatres now showing Cinerama productions. " Theatres playing Cinerama which will continue to be operated by Stan ' ley Warner are its Boyd Theatre, Phil Jadelphia, and the Capitol, Cincinnati, and the Palace, Chicago. ' Hazard E. Reeves, president of Cinerama, Inc., announced that the company will immediately launch an ^exhibition program whereby Cine Jrama sound and projection equipment will be made available to theatres in 'the United States and foreign coun I tries which have not yet seen the ,:;wide-screen process. Cinerama, Inc., recently announced [the acquisition of the rights to the best-selling novel, "The Lion," by Joseph Kessel. Negotiations for Cinerama, Inc.'s second story property for production are in the final stages, IsReeves stated. Operation Petticoat CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 his junior Supplies officer operating as a slick promoter in obtaining all the supplies and spare parts needed without regard for "procedures" to keep the World War II sub tub afloat for active duty. The laughs grow louder as Curtis retrieves five stranded Army nurses from a Pacific Island target, causing Grant much concern in maintaining decorum between his shipmates and the female cargo. Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill and Virginia Gregg take on important distaff assignments in the film, while Gene Evans and Arthur O'Connell round out the top co-starring spots to effect a completely enjoyable piece of entertainment. Producer Robert Arthur can be credited with supervising the production of another big moneymaker for the industry. Director Blake Edwards had a field day of fun in translating into hilarious action the smart, well-written screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin. Drafted from a story by Paul King and Joseph Stone, the film is told in retrospect as Grant reviews his Navy log of events aboard the sub before turning over to Curtis the task of destroying her to make way for replacement by an atomic submarine. In the final scene we discover Grant and Miss O'Brien, and Curtis and Miss Merrill have survived their exploits in the Pacific with happy marriages. . . . And as the sun sets over the Pacific and the pink painted sub, (another episode in her life), makes her way to a final resting place the film ends on a note of happy experience. Photography is in Eastman Color. Running time, 124 minutes. General classification. Release, in December. Samuel D. Berns Detroit Strike m»s Sets Special Promotions (For 'Fabian' in Cin. Special to THE DAILY ' CINCINNATI, Sept. 27.-J. E. Watson, local advertising manager for '20th Century-Fox, extended invita Hions to 100 college and high school paper editors, for an interview with "Fabian" at the Hotel Sheraton Gibson here Saturday morning. A prize was given for the best interview. Demand for tickets to see "Fabian" t' Saturday evening at Cincinnati Castle Farm was so great a special matinee appearance was added. Mrs. Laura Gillis Dies , PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27.-Mrs. Laura Gillis, wife of Max Gillis, manager of the Philadelphia branch of United Artists, died here last week. She is also survived by two sons, Donald and Richard. ( Continued from page 1 ) end for the second time in a month and the fourth time in as many years. A request made for a National Labor Relations Board hearing on the dispute indicated the shutdown might continue unless agreement is reached to resume work pending an N.L.R.B. hearing and decision. Exhibitors in the metropolitan area reacted as they have on similar occasions before, by fjuying local radio time and placing a full page ad in "The Shopping News." Also, plans have been made to distribute 500,000 eight-page supplements during the next few days. Detroit Exhibitors Aroused by TV Ads Special to THE DAILY DETROIT, Sept. 27. Exhibitors here were aroused late last week when WJBK-TV (CBS) took full-page advertisements in all the papers advertising "The Great Academy Award Winning Paramount Picture 'Going My Way*." To make it worse they included advance billings for such as "Road to Morocco," "Two Years Before the Mast," "So Proudly We Hail," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Lives of a Bengal Lancer," and 20 other films. Exhibitors took some satisfaction, however in the fact that only the Detroit Press Press published Wednesday night hit the streets. At 4:00 A.M. Thursday a mailers' jurisdictional hassel caused picketing, and the rest of the force refused to cross the lines. Exhibitors feel if the pictures, especially "My Way," had they been reissued to theatres at this time, would have netted a tidy revenue. na Earnings ( Continued from page 1 ) tional $2,000,000 in film rentals. Net proceeds from these latter earnings, after deducting the applicable distribution fees and expenses, will be more than sufficient to pay oft the balance of $1,250,000 owing on the story rights." These profits, he adds, will put the company in the black for the current fiscal year and will asure its profits for at least the next two fiscal years. Magna stockholders are also advised that "Oklahoma!" will be reissued domestically in the summer of 1960 to theatres presently equipped with Todd-AO but which did not have the process installed when the film was first released. In addition Magna has settled litigation with RKO Teleradio Pictures and recaptured distribution rights to "Oklahoma!" for most of the foreign territories. The company expects the reissue will at least reimburse it for investment in the property. For the six months ended July 31 Magna had a net loss of $109,070. Income for the period was $4,872,369. M-G-M, Mecca in Deal To Convert Empire From THE DAILY Bureau LONDON, Sept. 27.-An agreement has been reached in principle between M-G-M and Mecca, Ltd., for the sale to Mecca, dance hall operators, of M-G-M's Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, which would then be converted into a combination dance hall and luxury West End cinema. Cost of the conversion project is expected to exceed £1,000,000 ($2,800,000). Starting time, however, will not be until the completion of the run "Ben-Hur" at the Empire, which starts in December. It is expected to run at least a year. PEOPLE Larry Hyatt, manager of the New Theatre, Baltimore, has been named by RF Theatres there to a newlycreated post in which he will be in charge of group sales. His managerial position at the New Theatre will be taken over by John Wittig, formerly his assistant there. □ Arthur J. Steele, executive vicepresident of Cinema-Vue Corp., will leave shortly for the Orient to present the new Tom Puss cartoon series and other TV properties. He will visit Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Australia. □ Henry Perelman, veteran Philadelphia exhibitor, has taken over operation of the Ambassador Theatre there, continuing the art film policy of the house. □ Lewis T. Rosso, executive production manager of Republic Studios and assistant secretary of Republic Productions, has tendered his resignation from the company. S.E.C. Would Halt Sale Of Guild Films Stock The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit in U. S. District Court here to restrain Guild Films, the Santa Monica (Cal. ) Bank, the Bank of Inglewood (Cal.) and Hal Roach, Jr., from selling the commmon stock of Guild Films until such time as the latter's registration is on file with the S.E.C. The action charges that since Sept. 18 defendants have been selling Guild Films stock through the mails and by other means, although Guild has filed no registration under the S.E.C. Acts of 1933. Jaffe in Philadelphia On Current Sales Drive Special to THE DAILY PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27.-Leo Jaffe, first vice-president and treasurer of Columbia Pictures, arrives at the company's divisional headquarters here tomorrow in connection with the current "Salute to the President" sales drive. Jafte is serving as captain of the drive team embracing the New England and Eastern PennsylvaniaSouthern New Jersey divisions and his team is currently leading the fiveteam competition. While here the Columbia executive will meet with division manager Harry Weiner and the rest of the local personnel on plans to insure consolidation of the team's pacemaking position in the drive honoring president Abe Schneider,