Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

nday, December 7, 1959 Motion Picture Daily PEOPLE Expect Good Attendance at Allied Conclave en. Kenneth B. Keating (Rep., 1 will participate in the Health Peace Dinner honoring Max D. :ngstein, United Artists vice-preslt, Dec. 14 at the Hotel Biltmore. • dinner is sponsored by the Chile's Research Institute and Hos1 of Denver. □ (tto Preminger, now in New York, iscussing with executives of United Its plans for his forthcoming film ion of the Leon Uris novel, "Exo" The production will be filmed srael in the spring, for UA release. □ Soger Wood, booker for Capital Re^ |ing Corp., Atlanta, has resigned to with Universal there in the same jicity. lumbia and BMI ( Continued from page 1 ) ew company to be known as the ver Music Corporation. Jonie Taps, umbia studio executive and genmanager of Colpix Records, the jumbia Pictures record division, 'Ids the new music firm, i'aps will henceforth divide his time veen Hollywood and New York, iding one month alternately East West. While in New York, Taps j work with Columbia vice-presi|t Paul N. Lazarus, Jr., and Paul kler who has been associated with |s in an executive capacity for the two years. While on the Coast, iddition to heading up the record sion of the company, he will cone to supervise the integration of ipany-controlled music both for umbia feature production as well or Screen Gems, Inc., the Columtelevision subsidiary, olumbia's additional music interincludes the Columbia Pictures >ie Corporation in partnership with piro-Bernstein. Kean Retires at WB Ind. ; Name Blakely Special to THE DAILY NDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 6. Claude ifCean, branch manager here for •jrner Bros. Pictures, has retired, iiwing approximately 30 years in film industry. het Blakely from the Detroit Waroffice has been appointed as uh manager to succeed McKean. uher of Jerry Sager liuneral services were held yesterfor Mrs. Mildred Strump, 69, her of Jerry Sager, advertisinglicity executive for B. S. Moss satres. Mrs. Strump died Friday j|Trafalgar Hospital here, following ;ngthy illness. In addition to her survivors include the husband, ry Strump; two sisters and three ldchildren. ( Continued from page 1 ) reserved satisfaction with the promised attendance, noting that the convention site is far removed from Allied's nearest strongholds and that many of the organization's members are among the class of exhibitors that has been most affected by the attendance decline of recent years. Allied leaders here are agreed that the convention will be a constructive one, and will make up in practical assistance and business-building ideas for showmen in attendance whatever it may lack in old-time Allied "fireworks." If the convention program prepared by the sponsoring Wisconsin unit reflects the temper of official Allied and this year's convention, which it must to a very large degree, the emphasis will be on businessbuilding programs and constructive approaches to solutions of exhibition's problems. Social Activity Provided And in keeping with this pacific theme, plenty of time will be allowed delegates to relax and enjoy south Florida's early winter warmth. Or, so the Miami Chamber of Commerce hopes, at least. To this end, convention business sessions, after tomorrow's opener, will be held in the morning and, except for informal social events extending into the evenings, delegates will be on their own. Thus, with a little cooperation from the local weather bureau, those in attendance should benefit from their surroundings as much as from much valuable business information to be gleaned from the convention sessions. Johnson will call the first session to order tomorrow afternon, with Horace Adams, retiring Allied president, in the chair. Marcus will give the keynote address, which will be followed by open discussion This will be followed by a report on the Council of Motion Picture Organizations' program of activities for the coming year, to be made by Charles E. McCarthy, Compo executive director. Thereafter, Irving Dollinger, Allied's representative on the executive committee of the American Congress of Exhibitors, will report on ACE's accomplishments to date and program for the future. An open discussion on ACE will follow. Industry Leaders to Speak Tuesday morning's session will be devoted to showmanship and film merchandising. Speakers will include Walter Mirisch, producer and ex-theatre operator; Rube Jackter, Columbia Pictures vice-president and general sales manager; Sam Arkoff, vice-president of American International Pictures; David Lipton, vice-president of Universal in charge of advertisingpublicity; Robert Ferguson, Columbia Pictures national advertising-publicityexploitation director; Roger Lewis, United Artists vice-president in charge of advertising-publicity; Mrs. Margaret Twyman, director of community relations for the Motion Picture Association of America; Milton London, president of Michigan Allied, and Beverly Miller, of Kansas-Missouri Allied. ACE Report on Wednesday The final convention session Wednesday morning will start off with a report on ACE by S. H. Fabian, chairman, with a question-and-answer period to follow. An open forum on general exhibitor problems and trade practices will conclude the business sessions. The convention will come to an end with the annual banquet, a feature of which this year will be the presentation for the first time of Allied States' awards to outstanding industry members. Among the recipients will be Rock Hudson, actor of Compo Committee (Continued from page 1) Cooper, representing the MPAA; Emanuel Frisch of Metropolitan Motion Picture Theatres Association; Ben Marcus, serving temporarily as representative of Allied States Association; William Namenson, representing ITOA; LaMar Sarra, representing TOA, and McCarthy, ex-officio. Arrangements are being made, McCarthy said, for an early meeting of the committee for the purpose of organizing and mapping campaign plans. Newsmen to See 'Cranes' New York metropolitan area newspaper leaders will attend a special preview showing this week of "The Cranes Are Flying," the Soviet motion picture which will be the next attraction at the Fine Arts Theatre. The first film to be presented in the United States under the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Cultural Exchange Agreement of 1958, "The Cranes Are Flying" is being distributed here by Warner Bros, at the request of the U.S. State Department. Miami Anti-Trust Suit Dismissal Is Upheld Dismissal of the claims of the plaintiffs in the Walder anti-trust suit against the major distributors involving the Tivoli Theatre in Miami, Fla., was unanimously upheld by a New York Federal Court of Appeals last week. The suit was originally filed in New York in 1951 and charged the distributors had conspired with Paramount Enterprises to "monopolize" exhibition in Miami to the injury of the Tivoli. E. Compton Timberlake argued the case before the three judge appeals panel of Oct. 9 for the defendants, also represented by John F. Caskey and Miles J. Lane. Para, to Handle 'Roses9 "Blood and Roses," a modern mystery drama to be directed by French film maker Roger Vadim, will be distributed world-wide by Paramount Pictures. The TechniramaTechnicolor film goes into production in Italy in mid-December. the year; Doris Day, actress of the year; Joseph R. Vogel, industry man of the year; William Wyler, director of the year, and Harold Mirisch, producer of the year. Banquet and Parties Scheduled Numerous social events have been scheduled, in addition to the annual banquet, which will be sponsored by the Coca-Cola Co. On Monday, American International Pictures will sponsor a cocktail party; National Screen Service will co-sponsor Tuesday's luncheon; Pepsi-Cola Co. the Tuesday barbecue and night club party; National Theatre Supply, cosponsor of the Wednesday luncheon; and National Carbon Co., the prebanquet cocktail party. In addition, a full program of social events for wives of delegates has been planned. Marcus has said that film merchandising will be cne of the convention's "chief highlights," and that other leading subjects for discussion will be, as the program indicates, ACE, conciliation, trade practices and future planning. Merchandising Called Vital "The proper merchandising of motion pictures has become more important of late because of the shortage of good product and the necessity of of extending the play time because of this shortage," Marcus said. "Though the dearth of good product has been a source of extreem concern to all in exhibition, there is one shining light that has come out of this quandary and that is that exhibition has become more conscious of the necessity of the proper selling of movies. "This is a good sign because it shows the return to aggressive, enthusiastic and healthy showmanship on the part of the exhibitor who, during the war years when business was booming and product was available in abundance, became lax in his efforts to properly sell to the public the chief commodity of his screen. Some New Things Added "This convention will also offer some innovations that have not heretofore been featured. Important among these is the change developed in the convention year book which, this year, is being titled the "Manual of Theatre Merchandising Ideas." In addition to its advertising content, there are many pages devoted entirely to successful and proven merchandising ideas for both outdoor and indoor theatres. This is truly a showman's guide for year 'round profits for there are numerous campaigns and merchandising ideas that can be used every month of the year. The "Service Manual," which is also included, should be read by every employee that works in a theatre. The exhibitor who keeps this book for future reference will find that these ideas will pay off handsomely for him," Marcus said. The Allied board of directors, which convened here yesterday, continued its deliberations today and was still in session at a late hour tonight.