Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, December 30, 1959 1 PERSONAL MENTION GORDON BRADLEY, of the Paramount office in Atlanta, was in Jacksonville from there. Ted Vanett, publicity director for ihe William Goldman Theatres, Philadelphia, is in Graduate Hospital in that city recuperating from surgery. Sam Bailey, of the Westville Theatre, New Haven, Conn., has become a grandfather with the birth of a boy, James Douglas, to his daughter, Mrs. Bruce Lehman, of North Haven, Conn. Wanda Hale, film commentator on the New York Daily News, was in Jacksonville from New York during the Christmas season visiting with her son, Ed Hale, publicist in Florida for 20th Century-Fox. • Harry Dressler, Paramount salesman in Philadelphia, has entered Jefferson Hospital in that city for observation. Robert Bowers, Jr., son of the Allied Artists manager in Jacksonville, was married there on Christmas Eve to Betty Ruth Higginbotham. Kim Novak has arrived in New York from the Coast. Switch 'Mystery' Bow HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 29. In deference to a January 27 dinner at the Palladium honoring President Eisenhower, the West Coast premiere of Michael Todd, Jr.'s "Scent of Mystery," initial production in the new smell-o-vision process, originally scheduled for that night, has been set back to Monday, January 25. get your message across with Pa. Closings (Continued from page 1) sentatives that theatres in his circuit have been put on a week-to-week basis until the first of the year. At that time closings will begin, he said, unless tax relief has been secured. Charles Hill, president of the Service Employees Union, Local B142, confirmed that theatre managements had notified their staffs to expect shut-downs in the near future if there is no tax relief by Jan. 1. Efforts of the local exhibitors to secure elimination or at least some reduction in the amusement tax is one of many such campaigns waged in this state recently. Success was reported in two instances of late: the York city council cut the tax there from ten to five per cent; and the Allentown council eliminated the tax of 8 per cent on all tickets up to 85 cents. Horsham Imposes 10% On the other hand Horsham Township in suburban Philadelphia will put into effect on Jan. 1 a tax of 10 per cent on all tickets. This tax was originally imposed last year and an appeal from it was upheld by the courts. Later state legislation, however, reinforced the right of second class townships to administer the levy and it will now be reinstituted. Hultman Resigns Posts With Eastman Kodak Special to THE DAILY ROCHESTER, N. Y., Dec. 29.Ivar N. Hultman, vice-president of Eastman Kodak Company and general manager of Kodak Park Works, has announced his retirement from the company effective Jan. 1. At that time he will end 41 years of service. Clarence L. A. Wynd, assistant general manager of Kodak Park and a company vice-president, will succeed Hultman as head of the largest manufacturing unit of the Eastman Kodak Company. Kodak Park Works in Rochester, N. Y., employs over 20,000 persons in the manufacture of photographic film, paper and plates, and photo chemicals. The company's color film processing laboratories in the United States are also under Kodak Park general management. Hultman, who has made many important contributions to company progress over the years, has served as a company vice-president since 1945 and as Kodak Park general manager since 1953. Three years ago he was elected a Kodak director. Belafonte Extended Harry Belafonte's current engagement at the Palace Theatre on Broadway has been extended ten more weeks by RKO Theatre executives. Cory Grant Films Seen $10,000,000 at Hall Cary Grant will become the first star whose pictures have grossed $10,000,000 in a single theatre by completion of the current run of his "Operation Petticoat" in Radio City Music Hall. The uncontested Music Hall box office champion, Grant's previous 23 films which played that theatre attracted 10,297,000 customers who paid $9,100,000 in admissions, according to Russell Downing, president of the Music Hall. With "Operation Petticoat" already having taken in $657,800 in the first three weeks and four days of its engagement, there is no doubt that the picture will send the total gross of Grant films well beyond the $10,000,000 mark, he added. Plan Tax Fight (Continued from page 1) legislation already passed by the House of Representatives, and due for Senate consideration in the upcoming session, poses the possibility of television and theatrical film receipts being classed as personal holding company income and thus subject to an 85 percent tax. Producers were alerted to problem by agents and attorneys, who noted existence of new legislation. To support the fight against this new tax legislation, producers are contributing to a war chest for special counsel and tax experts both here and in Washington. Already engaged to spearhead battle are Paul Ziffren, locally, and James W. Riddell and Robert Schulman in Washington. The tax bill in question, H.R. 7588, was originally designed to give relief to music publishers, but the language signifies proposed changes in the personal holding company law which might be relied upon to revise the long-standing interpretation that film receipts are "rentals," not "royalties," thereby subjecting them to personal holding company rates. Producers and their attorneys feel strongly that steps must be taken once and for all to establish the fact that income from motion picture and television films is to be considered "rentals" for Federal income tax purposes. A finance committee set up to raise a war chest is composed of Marvin Faris, William Morris Agency, chairman of the committee; Jack Findlater, MCA, Inc.; Richard Jencks, Alliance of Television Film Producers; Sam Kaplan, Ashley-Steiner Corp.; Julius Lefkowitz, Julius Lefkowitz & Co., and Harry Sokolov, Famous Artists. Cross-Plugging ( Continued from page 1 ) of sale," advised Joseph Friedman, j Paramount exploitation manager. Warner Brothers has "Cash McCall" trailers being shown in Stanley Warner houses and neighborhood theatres in Philadelphia. Many Detroit area houses and the Balaban & Katz cir cuit also will be cooperating with the cross-plugging through use of trailers for "Cash McCall." Locally, United Artists said that "Solomon and Sheba" at the Capitol Theatre is being exploited at all 43 Loew's houses in the New York Metropolitan area. Earlier this year, 50 Michigan theatres played a trailer advising of the opening of "Anatomy of a Murder' at the United Artists Theatre in Detroit. Basis of the sell was the fact that "Anatomy" was filmed in Ishpiming, Mich. Premiere Filmed Twentieth Century-Fox, whose "Journey to the Center of the Earth' opened this month, arranged for newsreels of the film's world premiere at Nashville, home of Pat Boone, co starred in the presentation, to be shown in RKO houses across the country. Skouras theatres are now presenting three-minute trailers treating the life and work of Jules Verne, author of "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Locally, earlier in the year, RKO houses showed trailers exploiting the first-running of "The Diary of Anne Frank" when that motion picture was playing at the Palace Theatre. Twentieth-Fox has also been ex-i perimenting with "new personality"' trailers, which are being shown in connection with openings of films in which the new stars appear. Carol} Lynley and Fabian, among others, lately have been the subjects of the trailers, the company reported. Drive for 'Ben-Hur' M-G-M's "Ben-Hur" is currently be-j ing cross-plugged in Loew's TheatreSj around the city and also in RKO thea-j tres where audiences are being advised' of the film's value "as a product to1 the entire motion picture industry." Stanley Warner theatres in the OhioPennsylvania area are aiding in plug-] ging "Ben-Hur" showings in Pitts-! burgh and Philadelphia. Loew's houses' in Cleveland are plugging the downtown engagement of Metro's "Never, So Few." MGM Signs Houseman HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 29. John Houseman, producer, has been signed by M-G-M to a long-term contract. He will report to the studio on Feb. 1 and will begin immediate preparation of Irwin Shaw's new novel, "Twoj Weeks in Another Town," his 15th major film production. MOTION PICTURE DAILY, Martin Quigley, Edttor-m-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. Holly-. wood Bureau, Yucca-Vine Building, Samuel D Berns, Manager; Telephone HOllywood 7-2145; Washington, J. A. Otten, National Press Club, Washington, D. C; London Bureau, 4, Bear St Leicester Square, W 2. Hope Williams Burnup, Manager; f-eter Burnup, Editor; William Pay, News Editor. Correspondents in the principal capitals of the world. Motion picture Daily is published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, by Quisley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, Circle 7-3100. Cable address: Quigpubco. New York Martin Quigley, President; Martin Quigley, Jr., Vice-President; Theo J. Sullivan, Vice-President and Treasurer; Raymond Gallagher, Vice-President; Leo J. Brady, Secretary. 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