Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1960)

MOTION PICTURE DAILY 87, NO. 42 NEW YORK, U.S.A., THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 1960 TEN CENTS ht Change Made Selig Plan Answers Industry Criticism Still Adamant assificatioil By Showing Family Films to Civic Units 'U'-SAG Deal II Ratified by psembly Unit Uage Considered Likely Younglove Measure Special to THE DAILY BANY, N.Y., March 2. The jibly committee on public educaoday favorably reported a bill luced by Joseph R. Younglove, nan of the Joint Legislative littee on Offensive and Obscene ial, to amend the education law thorizing the motion picture di, State Education Department, ■ensing a film, to classify it as oved for patronage by children ig the elementary and second:hools of the state, s action marked the first time nmittee of the legislature had ived a film classification measure, ne a fortnight after the bill had submitted by Assemblyman iglove. Chances that the Assem ( Continued on page 2 ) 1st Quarter Net $1,250,000 wersal Pictures Co. is expected port net profit in excess of $1,>00 for the first quarter of its nt fiscal year, ended Feb. 1, actng to financial district reports, le estimated result compares with loss of $865,000 for the corresing quarter a year ago. The estid $l,250,000-plus net for the ter just ended represents operat(Continued on page 7) niston to Represent "ustryat Italian Fair From THE DAILY Bureau ASHINGTON, March 2. Eric ston, president of the Motion ire Export Association, will repit the United States film industry he first Congress of the Bureau (Continued on page 2) EVISION TODAY— Page 6 Special to THE DAILY DENVER, March 2.— The success which Robert W. Selig, president of Fox Inter-Mountain Theatres here, has had in meeting public criticism of film content and advertising through meetings to discuss the situation with selected Magna Corp. Reports First Annual Profit Preliminary financial statements of Magna Theatre Corporation for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31 1960, reflect a net profit in excess of $700,000, it was reported yesterday by A. E. Bollengier, vice-president and treasurer of the company. This is the first year since the inception of Magna in 1953 that a net profit has been realized. Bollengier stated that the annual report of the company, which will include audited financial statements, will be ready for distribution in April. Daft to Make 5-Month civic groups has led Theatre Owners of America to call the Selig procedures to the attention of its members a 1 1 over the nation. Selig meets the criticism head on, but turns it into c oust ructive channels b y showing such groups as the Denver County Parent-Teachers Association examples of family-type features, educational and informative shorts which the industry has available and (Continued on page 3) Robert W. Selig African Market Survey Bronston Returns Here; Al Daff, former executive vicepresident of Universal-International, will leave here March 13 for London, en route to Africa where he will undertake a five months survey of the current and potential markets there. Daff said the new African republics and expanding economies of new and old nations there afford what is probably the greatest undeveloped ( Continued on page 6 ) To Coast on New Film Samuel Bronston, producer of the forthcoming "King of Kings," returned to New York yesterday after setting up arrangements in London, Rome and Madrid for the $5,000,000-budgeted film. While in Rome, Bronston had a private audience with Pope John, who offered his cooperation and expressed (Continued on page 7) Contact with Exhibitors, Newsmen Is Best Pre-Sell Weapon, Carle Finds Personal contact by regional publicists with exhibitors and newspaper editors is the strongest pre-sell weapon available to motion picture companies in today's era of accelerated advance publicity. This opinion, based on dollars-and cents evidence, was offered in an interview here yesterday by C. E. "Teete" Carle, one of two exploitation specialists presently employed by Twentieth Century-Fox to function nationally on pictures now in preparation or those already scheduled for release. Carle, who formerly was studio publicity director for Paramount Pictures, is assigned specifically to Mervyn LeRoy's "Wake Me When It's Over," Fox's major picture for Easter release. But it is a function even of the "one picture specialist" to exploit other forthcoming Fox films. Carle therefore spends some of his time in the field publicizing "The Story of Ruth," for release in June. Likewise does Cliff Lewis, Fox's other "specialist," expend his effort on "Wake Me When It's Over," although he is the number one man on "The Story of Ruth." "The gross figures on films which were well-publicized in advance bear out the virtues of beginning-to-end (Continued on page 3) Fails to Move Other Firms 'I/' to Pay Actors 6% After 40% Deduction The break in the solid front of Motion Picture Association of America member companies over the question of payment to Hollywood guilds and unions of a .share in revenues from the sale of lease of post-1948 films to television is unlikely to affect the stand of the remaining companies, informed sources said here yesterday. Company officials pointed to the statement issued following the meeting here last weekend of executives of all companies but Universal, in which they reaffirmed their refusal to make any payments whatever to guilds or unions out of proceeds from post-'48 library sales. "Our company's position has not changed," official after official contacted yesterday stated. In some instances, though, responsible company spokesmen were out of town or not ( Continued on page 3 ) WGA Replies to ACE; Cites Universal Pact From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, March 2. The Writers Guild of America today made public its reply to a telegram from S. H. Fabian, chairman of American Congress of Exhibitors. Signed by Curtis Kenyon, WGA president, the message to ACE includes the following: "We share the deep concern which you feel as representative of exhibitors with a two-and-a-half-billion-dol(Continued on page 3) SPG and TOA Groups Continue Talks Today From THE DAILY Bureau HOLLYWOOD, March 2. Conferences will continue here today between Si Fabian's Theatre Owners of America committee and the delegation representing the Screen Produ(Continued on page 2)