Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

hiesday, December 1, 1959 Motion Picture Daily 7 )sney, B. V, Sales Meet n Hollywood Dec. 7 From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 30. Sales ind promotional plans for the Walt Fbisney-Buena Vista production-distribution program of six top budget Attractions to be released through j Christmas, 1960, will be formulated at series of conferences starting Dec. f at the Disney Studios in Burbank. The Disney films set for release during the coming year are: "Toby Ty,er," "Kidnapped," "The Sign of Lotto," "Pollyanna," "Swiss Family Robinson" and "Jungle Cat." The jroduct line-up represents an estinated $16,000,000 negative cost, the company said. Conference Planned Walt Disney, chairman of the roard; Roy Disney president; E. Carion Walker, advertising and sales /ice-president; Joe Reddy, publicity lirector, and other studio executives ,vill confer on the six-picture program ,vith Irving H. Ludwig, Buena Vista Dresident; Lou Gaudreau, executive /ice-president; Ned Clarke, foreign ;ales manager; Charles Levy, ad-pub iirector; James O'Gara, Eastern division manager; Jesse Chinich, Western ■division manager; Leo Greenfield, assistant Eastern division manager; Howard Hein, assistant Western division manager; Mike Poller, short subject sales manager; Emmet Cashman, playdate manager, and Joe Flynn, contact approval manager. I Executives of Empire Universal Films Ltd,, distributors of Disney productions in Canada will attend. Regional Heads to Attend Buena Vista district managers to attend with their sales managers are: Herb Schaefer, Northwestern; Mort Magill, Eastern; Ted Levy, East Central; Kenneth Laird, Southeastern; Douglas Desch, Southwestern; Harris Dudelson, Midwestern; Marvin Goldfarb, Rocky Mountain, and Don Conley, Pacific Coast. New York advertising, publicity and exploitation personnel to attend are: Robert Dorfman, exploitation manager; Gil Pearlman, copy chief; Mike Hertz, art director, and publicist John Boone. The entire Buena Vista New York and branch office sales force will also attend the meetings. Survey Shows Color Wanted Canadian Showmen Will Present Own New Award Special to THE DAILY TORONTO, Nov. 30. Canadian showmen are to have a showmanship award of their own under a proposal adopted by the Motion Picture Industry Council of Canada at their annual meeting. The award, sponsored by the council, with the assistance of exhibitor and distributor groups, will be a grand award following quarterly selections. All details have not been finalized, although there is a committee set up to deal with the issue. The winning campaigns will be used for discussion purposes at exhibitor meetings. ( Continued film. First, of course, were the names of actors and actresses; second— rather surprisingly— was whether it was in colour. Third factor was the trailer; press criticism and word-of-mouth came well down the list. The third chart indicated the factors influencing the enjoyment of a film. Overwhelmingly first was story value; stars came second, and, again surprisingly, photography was third. Spectacle, colour and wide-screen were well down the list. The general attitude towards colour also gave surprising results. Colour was regarded as essential to musicals, travel and Biblical films, but many people actually preferred crime and mystery films to be in black-and-white. Two in Each Type Shown For the second series of experiments two films of very different type were shown in colour and black-and-white. Through the co-operation of Columbia and Technicolor, black-and-white prints were made of two colour films, "The Admirable Crichton" and "Gideon's Day." Members of an invited audience, unaware of the purpose of the from page 1 ) showings, were asked to rate the entertainment value of the films. "The Admirable Crichton" was thought to be very good by 49 per cent of people who saw it in blackand-white and by 59 per cent of those who saw it in colour. "Gideon's Day" was rated very good by 35 per cent of the people who saw it in black-andwhite, and by 48 per cent of those who saw it in colour. Color Liked for Itself There was, Leeks indicated a 10 per cent swing in favour of a film simply because it was in colour. He suggested that the drop in attendances during the past two years may be associated with the reduction in the proportion of films made in colour, from 45 per cent in 1956 to 28 per cent during 1958. One could not say, he concluded, that a single film made in colour would automatically attract more people; but the enjoyment of the film was going to be measurable by the desire of the audience to return to the cinema more than would otherwise be the Fox Property ( Continued from page 1 ) upon payment of $1,000 per day for such extension. The contract to sell was also amended with respect to a portion of the property, for the construction of a luxury hotel. This would not affect more than 10 per cent of the studio property. As to such portion, the seller would take a 7 per cent second mortgage to be amortized within ten years, for the amount of the purchase price as to such portion, provided the first mortgage would not exceed two-thirds of the value of the land and the hotel, and that an equity investment would be made junior to the second mortgage of not less than $12,000,000. Such equity investment would be proportionately decreased if a smaller plot is taken for the hotel. Each of the two-year payments of $7,C0O.O00 and the final payment of $5,980,000 would be advanced one year, shortening the 10-year period during which total payments should be made to 9 years instead of 10 years. The property covering the last payment would not be deeded to the buyer if the second mortgage on the hotel were in default. Provision for Sewer-Building To provide for additional trunk sewer facilities in existing streets which will be necessary to accommodate the development of the studio property, the buyer may defray the cost thereof from the purchase money up to $2,000,000 or the unreimbursed portion thereof from the municipality, and add such amount to the last payment of the property to be deeded under the contract to sell. Great expense has been incurred by the buyer in preparing for the devel Wage Proposals in British Industry Hit Special to THE DAILY LONDON, Nov. 30.-Strong opposition to the latest CEA (Cinematograph Exhibitor's Association) and KRS ( Kinematograph Renters' Society) wage proposals by NATKE's (National Association of Theatrical and Kine Employees) executive council is forecast by the union's general secretary Sir Torri O'Brien. "Our branches are already up in arms against the CEA suggestion for a year's extension of the present agreement with very minor alterations in the working condition. The CEA will need to make a more realistic offer to us if peace in the industry is to be maintained." "The KRS," Sir Tom added, "has declined to make a wage offer and its proposal to extend the current agreement by six months will certainly be rejected. If the CEA and KRS go on in this way they will be inviting serious trouble." Sir Tom also referred to negotiations between the union and the producer associations. "The employers," he said, "are unduly complicating the position by proposing major changes in the working conditions." opment of the property to date, and unforeseeable technical delays have taken place, it was stated. By the terms of the extension agreement the buyer releases all claims against the seller and thereby confirms to the Twentieth Century-Fox subsidiary the right to retain the $2,500,000 payment paid last May. The terms of the sale and lease back of approximately 75 acres of the property on which the principal studio buildings arc located remain unchanged. 27 Out of 58 Upcoming Films Are in Color Out of some 58 pictures tentatively scheduled by the major Hollywood distributors for release in the first four months of 1960, less than half, or 27, are in a color process, a survey of release charts showed yesterday. The survey also disclosed that 20th Century-Fox and M-G-M are companies releasing more films in color in that period in proportion to those in black-and-white. Three Judges ( Continued from page 1 ) dent of Theatre Owners of America and also is chairman of the industry research committee of the American Congress of Exhibitors. Marcus is a former president of National Allied and presently is serving as a member of the COMPO triumvirate. Seadler, MGM advertising executive, now heads the Advertising and Publicity Directors committee of the Motion Picture Association. , The contest is part of National Screen's 40th anniversary celebration. Focal theme of the contest is to highlight the importance of trailers to theatre operations. First prize will be $1,000 in cash; second $800; third $600; fourth $400, and fifth $200. Contest participation ended Nov. 27. The judges will meet early in December and proceed with the designation of the five winners to be selected from among the many contestants who participated. Theatre Reopening ( Continued from page 1 ) nounced a Dec. 6 reopening date with the appointment of Milton Bryer as manager. Bryer, who has been out of the industry for the past ten years, formerly managed theatres in Akron and Bryan, O. In Wellsville, the Liberty Theatre, owned by Vogel Brothers, Paul and Jack, which has been closed since last April, opens again on Christmas Day under a winter playing time schedule. Paul and Jack Vogel will operate the Liberty, which their father, Clarence Vogel, built in 1922, during an 18week winter period. During the summer they will devote their time to the operation of their Ohio and Maryland drive-ins. And from Oak Harbor comes word that Mr. and Mrs. Justine Knopp are reopening their Royal Theatre, only theatre in the town of about 2,500 population, for weekend operation. 4U' Sets Dividend ( Continued from page 1 ) stockholders of record at the close of business Dec. 13. Meanwhile directors of Decca Records, Inc., parent of Universal, yesterday declared a regular quarterly dividend of 25c. per share on the company's capital stock, payable Dec. 29 to stockholders of record Dec. 15.