Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1960)

fuday, January 25, 1960 Motion Picture Daily 11 wLA. Product REVIEW: i j ( Continued from page 1 ) W ble "A" productions at an average By of two per month. ineman told division and district agers assembled in the Ambasi a East Hotel that a total of 30 >r projects are now in production ctive preparation for filming. Cites Ail-Time Record je said that the blockbuster proi for 1960 and beyond reflects b increasing number of associa; with the industry's leading in■ndent producers and star-pro■rs. An all-time record high of 3 70 top independent producers cited by the sales chief, leineman declared that the prol of releases for 1960 is "poweried" with the "finest concentraof quality product" from Janustraight through December. In is of stars, properties and box3 potential, the program is equal m\lhing that the industry has in a 12-month period, he said. ?\ie\ving the company's schedule, leman mentioned John Wayne's «l000,000 Batjac production of Alamo," which he forecast !d be one of the greatest grossing in history. It will be released 3"i two-a-day roadshow basis. List Is Impressive nong the blockbuster attractions 3 released under the new program Stanley Kramer's "On the Beach," ard Small's "Solomon and Sheba," /it-Hill-Lancaster's "The Unfor■a," Jurow-Shepherd-Pennebaker's Fugitive Kind," Cagney-Monttery's "The Gallant Hours," DRMWorld's "The Nightfighters," IUHley Kramer's "Inherit the Wind," Otto Preminger's "Exodus." so, Harold Hecht's "A Matter of "viction," Jean Negulesco's "Apple Bed," Lancaster-Brooks' "Elmer try," Stanley Kramer's "Inlvitation i Gunfighter," Edward Small's the Giant Killer," Longridge '•rprises' "Studs Lonigan," HechtLancaster's "Summer of the Seventh Doll," Mirisch Company's 13 Apartment," Bert Gordon's "The and the Pirates," Filmar Producs "The Last Days of Pompeii," sch-Alpha's "The Magnificent •n," Marilyn Montroe in Seven ' "The Misfits," and H. M. Films' res of Glory." Fourteen in Preparation ajor productions currently in acpreparation for 1961 include: Preminger's "Advise and Con' Mirisch's "Battle," Plato SkouCalifornia Street," Mirisch's "By Possessed," Anatole Litvak's le On Her Hands" (Francoise n's "Do You Like Brahms,") )ld Hecht's "Flight From Ashiya," He-Small's "Greengage Summer," iland-Mirisch's 'Hawaii," Penner's "Paris Blues," Mirisch's "One, , Three," Anthony Mann's "Ripe t," and Mirisch-Wyler's "Roman ridle." so, Mirisch-Wise's "West Side y" Mirisch's "Two for the See The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond Warner Bros. Done in the stark realism which is the fashion in the present cycle of gangster pictures, this United States Production by Milton Sperling ranks high in that classification. It is carefully produced with an eye to recreating the details and the atmosphere of the incredible gangster days of the late '20's; well acted by the principals, Ray Dan ton, Karen Steele and Elaine Stewart; and painstakingly directed by Budd Boetticher. In addition to these professional assets it has for subject a character who, although he actually never ranked very high in the hierarchy of gangdom of the period, achieved a sort of notoriety by absorbing an astonishing number of slugs— and recovering— before the five shots which finally killed him. The story, by Joseph Landon, follows the known facts of the era reasonably closely with only enough embroidery to make a unified storv of Diamond's short and sordid life. Danton as Legs is convincingly cold, self-centered and single-minded. Starting as a small time thief in partnership with his brother, Warren Oates, he cons his way into a job as Arnold Rothstein's bodyguard. When that gambling overlord dies suddenly by gunfire— the picture implies it was either by connivance or directly at the hands of Diamond— the ambitious young man moves in as Rothstein's principal heir. The move is objected to by several of the other heirs apparent, with violent results. Diamond's reign is brief however. When another, stronger and more efficient combine moves in he is finally mowed down, after Karen Steele, his wife and early love has left him in self-disgust and after he has been disarmed and betrayed by Elaine Stewart whom he had betrayed while worming his way into Rothstein's graces. Among supporting plavers Simon Oakland is most effective as the New York detective who hounds but can never nail Diamond and Joseph Ruskin and Richard Gardner are effectively sinister as Matt Moran and Mad Dog Vincent Coll. The picture suffers to some extent because in making Diamond the central character it makes of him a sort of hero in reverse, an emphasis which is ineffectively neutralized by pointing out the destruction of the gangland legend that he could not be killed. Running time, 101 minutes. General classification. February release. J. D. Ivers saw," starring Elizabeth Taylor, Hecht Hill Lancaster's "The Way West," Fred Coe's "The Miracle Worker," Robert Rossen's "The Hustler," Mirisch-Wise's "The Haunting of Hill House," Alciona's "The Gladiators," Anthony Mann's "The Ceremony," Anatole Litvak's "The Capri Story," Harold Hecht's "Taras Bulba," Mirisch-Alpha's "633 Squadron," and "Short Weekend," to be directed by David Miller. Underscoring the boxoffice value of the new program, Heineman stated: "Our line-up for 1960 and beyond features the most sought-after properties of our time— best-sellers and plays which have been pre-sold to millions all over the world. We know that exhibitors will share our enthusiasm for this superb array of product and talent. We look forward to the mutually beneficial gains and outstanding success reflected in the grossing potential of UA's program." Barison Rites Tuesday Funeral services will be held at 11 A.M. tomorrow at Riverside Memorial Chapel, Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, for Edward E. Barison, 53, independent film distributor, who died in Hollywood last Thursday, Two Trust Actions Are Settled and Dismissed The settlement and dismissal of two film anti-trust actions which had sought aggregate damages of $2,520,000 was announced on Friday by Harry Pimstein, attorney for the plaintiffs. The actions, charging distribution companies, Stanley Warner and American Broadcasting Paramount Theatres with discrimination in the licensing of films, had been brought by Carruth Theatre Corp., operator of the Rivoli, Rutherford, N. J., and the SMP Corp., former operator of the Cameo, Newark. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Confirm W.B. Report New York State Supreme Court Justice Vincent A. Lupiano last week signed a motion to confirm a referee's report settling a Warner Bros, stockholders' action opposing stock options granted Jack L. Warner, president, and four other directors of the company. A settlement with the plaintiffs had been concluded some time ago, Breakfast ( Continued from page 1 ) of the Bureau of Information of the New York Archdiocese. Edmund C. Grainger, industry executive and member of the law firm of O'Brien, Driscoll & Raftery, was toastmaster. Among the invited guests on the dais were Merv Griffin, Horace McMahon, Florence Henderson, Bert Wheeler, Walter Kinsella, Ed Begly, Eddie Dowling, Frank Fay, Lisa di |ulio and Thomas Hayward of the Metropolitan Opera Company, Fred Kelly and Tom Dillon of the CatholicActors Guild, Msgr. Thomas F. Little, executive director of the Legion of Dec ency, and Rev. Patrick J. Sullivan, S.J. The Breakfast, tenth annual such affair in the New York area, followed 9 o'clock Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, celebrated by Bishop Joseph F. Flannelly, administrator of the Cathedral. Industry Might Benefit From Tax Bill Changes By E. H. KAHN WASHINGTON, Jan. 24,-It was ascertained over the weekend that exclusion of the motion picture industry from the benefits of the tax-deferral bill, H.R. 5, was not a deliberate blow aimed at penalizing the industry. At least two Congressmen called the film problem to the attention of the committee. It stemmed from a decision by the Ways and Means Committee that royalty income is "passive" income. Recipients of royalties, therefore, were limited under the terms of the bill approved by the committee to deferral on a percentage of gross income. In the case of the motion picture industry, the amount of royalty income is normally in excess of the maximum percentage of income on which deferral may be claimed. There remain a number of possibilities for changes in the bill before it is finally reported to the House on Feb. 8. For one tiling, the committee may change its mind and write in an exemption. This does not seem likely. Finance Group Could Aid It is also possible that a change favorable to the industry might be made in die Senate Finance Committee, which will have to consider the bill after it passes the House. It is understood, in fact, that the Treasury has agreed to consider such a change. For practical purposes, whether motion pictures are written into the bill or not, it will be possible to obtain tax deferral on foreign income by operating abroad through a foreign corporation organized in a socalled "tax-haven country." In view of the many qualifications the Ways and Means Committee put in the way of qualifying for tax deferral as a U.S.based foreign business corporation, it would seem that this is likely to be by far the simplest method of deferring payment of U.S. tax on foreign income until it is repatriated.