Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

VOL. 86, NO. 72 MOTION PICTURE DAILY NEW YORK, U.S.A., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1959 TEN CENTS JSear Deadline Showdown this Week Is Seen On 'Oscar' TV Johnston Here for MP A Meeting; May Consult ACE A final decision on whether or not the Academy Awards telecast next March will be under industry or outside commercial sponsorship is expected to be reached during the visit here this week of Eric Johnston, Motion Picture Assn. president, who arrived here from Washington yesterday. An informal meeting of as many member company presidents as are available is scheduled to be held at the MPAA board room today to further discuss the subject, but the meeting will not be a formal session of the MPAA board, it was stated. It is understood that the industry's option on the NBC network telecastbroadcast for 1960 has technically expired, but NBC is asking only that it be given reasonable time in which ( Continued on page 4 ) L A. County Is Upheld In Claim Against Todd From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 12. Construed as test case of Los Angeles County's right to levy a film tax on negatives, the Superior Court on Wednesday rejected the Michael Todd Co. contention that negatives and copyright are intangibles, granting claim (Continued on page 6) Schwartz to Managers: I Be Part of Community The obligation of a manager to make his theatre a vital part of his community was stressed by Sol A. Schwartz, president of RKO Theatres, in his keynote talk at a meeting of the circuit's theatre managers held here last week. Schwartz said the (Continued on page 2) TELEVISION TODAY— page 4 Rowe Appointed Para. Advertising Manager The appointment of Gerald Rowe, effective immediately, as advertising manager of Paramount Pictures was announced here Friday by Jerome P i c kman, vicepresident i'n charge of advertising, publicity and exploitation. In his new post Rowe will work under the direction of Martin Davis, national advertising, publicity and exploitation manager of the company. To accept his new position Rowe has resigned from the Buchanan Division of Lennen and Newell advertising agency where he was associate supervisor of entertainment accounts. Prior to that he was senior copy writer at Donahue and Coe for two years. Gerald Rowe De Rochemont Acquires Italian Him Interest By VINCENT CANBY Louis de Rochemont Associates, independent producer distributor, is expanding its activities in the foreign field with the purchase of a 25 per cent interest in the , newly formed Italian production company, International Golden Star of Italy. The announcement was made at a press conference at the de Rochemont offices here held by F. Borden Mace, (Continued on page 2) Wald Sees 'Best' Gross $20,000,000; Lauds Adler Producer Jerry Wald expects his 20th-Fox release "The Best of Everything" to gross $20,000,000 worldwide, which would put it in the same class with "Peyton Place," he said here at the weekend just before he returned to Hollywood. Wald was here on promotional activity for "Best" as well as his recently completed "Beloved Infidel." At the same time Wald paid tribute to the "valuable cooperation" he has consistently received from Buddy Adler, studio production chief. Wald said Adler has been of great help in the success his films for 20th-Fox have achieved. Titanus, M-G-M in Deal For Three New Pictures By JERROLD WEITZMAN Titanus Films and Metro-GoldwynMayer have completed arrangements for financing and distribution of three new films, Franco de Simone, general manager of the Italian producing company, announced at a press conference here. Details were worked out by the Titanus management with Joseph R. Vogel, president of Loew's, Inc., and Sol C. Siegel, vice-president in charge of production. Already completed is "The Magistrate," an Italo-Spanish co-production, the print of which was delivered to M-G-M last week, which will distribute in every country but the U.S., Canada, Italy, and Spain. Now nearing completion in Rome ( Continued on page 2 ) Summer Uptrend in Theatre Attendance Will Continue Unabated, 'Value Line' Predicts The uptrend in motion picture theatre attendance enjoyed by the industry this past summer is likely to continue, the Value Line, an invesment survey, reports in its current issue. The publication notes that "in mid-August attendance reached the highest level since the turn of the decade, following an uptrend since early spring of this year." Underlying economic factors, it adds, suggest the present rise will continue. It predicts that Hollywood "should benefit from the public's rising disposable income, their increased leisure time, and an expanding population in the 15-24 age group." The survey report also credits the improvement in business to "adult ideas" in several new productions, saying the "greater maturity of subject" in many films has been "enthusiastically received at the box office." Jackter Plans Realign Col. Sales Force For Future Goodman Ass't Sales Mgr., Heavy Product Slate Set (Picture on Page 3) Milt Goodman, Columbia Pictures sales executive, has been named assistant general sales manager in a move which Rube Jackter, vice-president and general sales manager, said was demanded by the company's greatly stepped-up production and release program here and abroad. The post of assistant sales manager at Columbia has been vacant since July, 1957, when Jackter succeeded Abe Montague as general sales man( Continued on page 3) Now What About the Contusion Over ACE? The following statement was issued at the weekend by Horace Adams, president of Allied States, with the explanation that it was intended "to end the existing confusion concerning the attitude of National Allied and its affiliated regional associations on concilation: "Allied accepted the conciliation plan (Continued on page 6) Two Film Heads Lose; 1 Wins in U.K. Election From THE DAILY Bureau LONDON, Oct. 12. Two motion picture industry heads were among the Labour Party candidates ousted in the national elections last week which the Conservatives won by a landslide. Douglas Richards, CEA president, failed to oust the Conservative in Plymouth and Sir Tom O'Brien, general secretary of NATKE, suffered an unexpected defeat in Nottingham, which he has represented since 1949. On the other hand Eric Fletcher, deputy chairman of Associated British Picture Corp., was re-elected by his Islington constituency.