Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1959)

2 Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, September 30, 1959 PERSDML MEIVTIDIV HENRY H. MARTIN, Universal Pictures general sales manager, has returned to" Ne\\' York from Hol Philip Gerard, Universal Pictures Eastern publicity manager, is in Washington from New York today for conferences w ith officials of the Navy Department. • JoME Taps, Columbia Pictures studio executi\'e and general manager of Colpix Records, is in New York from Hollywood to consolidate the music interests of Columbia and Screen Gems. Gene Goodman, United Artists branch manager in Atlanta, has returned to his duties following a short illness. • Cecil Grimes, of the Druid Theatre, Tuscaloosa, Ala., has entered the hospital there. • William Koster, representative of Variety Clubs International, attended the Monday meeting of the Variety Club of Albany, N. Y. • Robert Wise, producer-director of "Odds Against Tommorow," will return to Hollywood today from New York. Clayton Pantages, 20th CenturyFox manager in Albany, was a visitor recently at the Schine circuit headquarters in Gloversville, N. Y. • Al and Betty Rook, of the FBO Booking Service, Atlanta, have returned there from Florida. • Mrs. Juanita Elwell, head booker for Bailey Theatres, Atlanta, has returned there with her family from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. N.J. Allied ( Continued from page 1 ) we have read or heard critical comment." The recent Ohio Valley Allied convention at Cincinnati featured talks highly critical of ACE and concihation by Abram Myers, Allied chairman and general counsel; Ruben Shor of West Virginia Allied; Ben Berger, former Allied leader from Minneapolis, and others. 'No Panacea,' He Says "We do not regard conciliation as a panacea for all exhibitor problems," Stern continued. "But we will try it out. Most of our members are within convenient traveling distance of the film exchanges and most of them, I'm sure, have something they'd like to get off their chests. I won't be surprised if Jersey doesn't have enough conciliation cases to keep branch managers busy for some time to come." Stern said Dollinger, one of Allied's representatives on the ACE executive committee, and a prominent figure in New Jersey Allied for many years, is highly respected by the organization's membership, and "in our organization we buy what he says." Follows Two Other Groups Since the Cincinnati Allied convention. New England and Michigan Allied units held conventions and agreed to give conciliation a fair trial and ACE, too. Thus New Jersey Allied becomes the third unit to go counter to the three-month-trial-for-ACE course adopted at the Ohio Valley meeting. Stern said an area problem reported by his members that he feels sure will figure in upcoming conciliation cases here is the distribution practice of permitting a price differential of only five per cent between first and last runs in the territory on high percentage pictures. He said there have been 12 pictures in that category recently in the New Jersey territory. One, he said, was sold fifth run at 35 per cent and the exhibitor knew that it had been sold first run at 40 per cent and an adjustment had been given to that exhibitor. Jersey Allied Convention At Kiamesha Next Spring Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey voted yesterday to return to the Concord Hotel at Kiamesha Lake, N. Y., for its annual convention in 1960, the dates May 31, June 1 and 2. The organization last met in Kiamesha in the fall of 1958. 'Solomon' Bow Will Benefit British Charity The Chest and Heart Association of Great Britain will sponsor the world premiere of Edward Small's $6,000,000 Biblical spectacle, "Solomon and Sheba," at the Astoria Cinema on Oct. 27 in London, United Artists announced. All proceeds from the charity benefit world premiere will be donated to the Chest and Heart Association, of which Queen Elizabeth is a patron and the Duchess of Kent the president. The gala opening of the film will be attended by leading social and civic dignitaries as well as representatives of the international press. UA Closes Film Deal For New Gibson Play Motion picture rights to "The Miracle Worker," new drama for Broadway by William Gibson, have been acquired by United Artists in a deal under the terms of which Gibson will write the screenplay, Fred Coe will produce and Arthur Penn will direct. The stage production will open in New York on Oct. 9 at the Playhouse Theatre. Coe, Gibson and Penn are the same team that was responsible for the stage hit, "Two for the Seesaw," which will be produced for the screen by the Mirisch Co. in association with Seven Arts Films for UA release. Sues on '^Bridge* Ban Legal action has been instituted against the United States by Marion Gering, film producer-director, to force release of "Bridge of Heaven," a Japanese fibn which was last week seized by U.S. Customs officials and banned from exhibition because of alleged "stress on female nudity." to call a meeting of the national board at the earliest possible date. "We feel that from last spring until December is too long an interval to go without a board meeting," Stern said. On tieins, he said there had been numerous complaints that film terms were increased or a print wasn't "available" if exhibitors didn't take a second picture with the one they wanted.. Rifkin Request ( Continued from page 1 ) reply, from Harry Segal, branch manager at U.A., states that next Monday has been set as the date for the meeting. The policy of the Shipyard Drivein is $1 per car except for rare occasions on which the theatre plays first-run product when the admission price is 75 cents per person. "Although we are definitely opposed to the practice of charging $1 per car, we feel that we are being' forced to charge this admission due to the policy of two other drive-ins in the same territory which have adopted this practice. We will continue to charge the lower admission as long as these theatres continue to do so," said Rifkin. "United Artists is asking a per capita deal on "A Hole in the Head," playing second run at the Shipyard. In no other city in New England is this picture being sold on a per capita basis," he added. Charges Admissions Affected In asking for conciliation, Rifkin claims that U. A. is persisting in requesting a per capita deal on this film and others in die same category, thus depriving the Shipyard of import U.A. product. "We feel that U.A. is making it impossible for us to charge our regular admission prices for this product," Rifkin stated. With Monday set for the meeting with Rifkin and Harry Segal at U.A., another conciliation meeting is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16, with Julius Covitz, owner of the Fairmount Theatre, Hyde Park who also has asked for conciliation with United Artists. In his request, Covitz has asked for relief on pictures not picked up by the Oriental Theatre Mattapan. which he follows. Katz Leaving WMGM ^ Raymond Katz, associate director of 1' WMGM, Loew's Theatres radio sta a tion, and a veteran of 25 years with d the company, has resigned effective tl Nov. 2, to give all his time to DurgomKatz Associates, personal management b company in which he has been a part a ner for several years. His duties with ri the station will be taken over tern D porarily by Arthur M. Tolchin, execu Si tive vice-president and director. al Si 'New Northeast Theatre " B BOSTON, Sept. 29.-The Queen's Chapel Drive-in, West Hyattsville. }^ Md., is now under the control ol Northeast Drive-In Theatres, Inc., oi Boston, Michael Redstone, president ^ announced. The property has beei^ ^ purchased outright by the Boston chain ^ from the Johnson & Saimders circuil , of Norfolk, for an undisclosed sum With 1,400 speakers, the theatre wa: ^ built four years ago. ',. Att: ALL THEATRES jt s SEREEI1 TimE! 'Q NATIONAL SCREEN'S g BIG NEW PROMOTIONAL 5 BUSINESS BUILDER 0 ^OU^ copy available at your Q NATIONAL SCREEN EXCHANGE Q Reaction Reported Favorable "There is no justification for policies of this kind," Stern said. "I'm sure conciliation can demonstrate that." Members reported excellent public reaction to the summer business-building campaign in their area, using the Compo station break announcements. A show of hands on participation in another campaign indicated unanimous approval. The meeting instructed Dolfinger to take up members' complaints of film tie-ins with the national Allied board at its December meeting in Miami, and also, meanwhile, to request Myers MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; James D. Ivers, Managing Editor; Richard Gertner, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke Advertising Manager; Gus H. Fausel. Production Manager, TELEVISION TODAY, Charles S. Aaronson, Editorial Director; Pinky Herman Vincent Canby, Eastern Editors. HoU'' Jj wood Bureau, Yucca-Vme Building, Samuel D Berns, Manager; Telephone HOllywood 7-2143; Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C; London Bureau, 4 . Bear St. Leicester Sluare, W. 2. Hope Williams Burnup, Manager; Peter Burnup, Editor; William Pay, News Editor. Correspondents in the principal capitals of the world. 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