Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1960)

iday, March 21, 1960 Motion Picture Daily 00K REVIEW XYWOOD RAJAH: The Life id Times of Louis B. Mayer. By Usley Crowther. 330 pages. IUuI rated and indexed. Henry Holt & 3. $5.50. 3 doubt, in the course of his long er in Hollywood Louis B. Mayer e some enemies and incurred the ke of others. They should revel his unflattering portrait of the ier M-G-M studio head, as drawn :he motion picture critic of the i York Times, Bosley Crowther. It known fact that Mayer also had ids. They are not likely to be sed by a reading of this book, bis is an invidious picture of er and one which, because of the ect's prominent and influential :ion in the industry for more than : decades, casts an unwelcome on die industry itself. The auobviously holds his subject in esteem and, by implication, the j stry in which the subject wielded power for so long does not fare better. ! shapes up as a very extreme, alf, readable, view of what was withraoubt one of the outstanding ragsches stories of the American busiworld of this century. Mayer, son of immigrants, started work rag and metal hunter on the its of St. John, N.B. He not only lime head of what was for many s the most profitable and talented studio in Hollywood, but he the friend and associate of the t in many walks of life. He was lfluence in Republican politics and nade millions in a relatively few s after taking up thoroughbred ding and racing, although he was ■mplete stranger to it beforehand, is achievements, seen in a differlight than that focused on them Crowther, might have been matefor another saga in the Great :rican Tradition. Here, they are ily the idiosyncracie-s of an indiviin a fortunate position who was celled to the top as much if not e by opportunity and scheming •y ability and sagacity. • hronologically, it follows Mayer l his start as an exhibitor in HaverMass., into distribution in Boston ;e successful by a deal with Jesse ky for his and C. B. DeMille's !ures. This was followed by a tiewith Al Lichtman's Alco Film p. in 1914, and the New England chise for "The Birth of a Nation," :h gave him a bankroll and entree production, layer's first was a serial with icis X. Bushman and Beverly ne, called "The Great Secret" and te at Bushman's studio in New v. Thereafter, he lured Anita vart away from Vitagraph and, i after the legal strings were ied, he was in Hollywood proing at the Selig Zoo. That was ]918. Four years later he met ■ 'Bridge/ Muni Fete Victors ( Continued Pietro Germi for the same film; and best story, Walter Khoury. A number of other special awards were made to various countries participating. Observers of the films shown were in general agreement that the quality was not high with many classified as "mediocre." On the other hand, the three American pictures (MGM's "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" and Columbia's "Suddenly, Last Summer" in addition to "The Last Angry Man") were well received by the audience and regarded as above average in comparison with most of the others that were entered. There was also general agreement that the German delegation tended to dominate the festival due to a well-organized publicity campaign. Linda Cristal Outstanding The American delegation had to rely exclusively for its glamour on Linda Cristal, but she did an outstanding job and seemed to be the most popular of the foreign actresses who attended. Crowds followed the gracious and lovely Argentina-born actress wherever she went. A strong impression was also made by other members of the American delegation which certainly dominated the festival from a "prestige" standpoint, since it included Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Paddy Chayefsky, and Delbert Mann. Mankiewicz, whose film "Suddenly, Last Summer" was shown out of competition, was the official American representative on the from page 1 ) festival jury and saw at least four pictures a day and sometimes six. In addition he attended the numerous other events to which the delegates were asked. All the American delegates, which also included George Vietheer and Robert Corkery of the Motion Picture Export Assn.; Larry Lipskin of Columbia International; and the writer, were enthusiastic about the manner in which the Argentines ran the festival. There were the usual mix-ups, of course, but the general good will and anxious-to-please attitude of the officials compensated for the difficulties. Crowds Enthusiastic The various delegations, including West Germany, England, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, France, Portugal, and Poland, continued throughout to be received with enthusiasm by the crowds. One observer said that greetings of the film guests as they arrived at the railroad station were more adulatory than that given President Eisenhower on his recent visit. The Argentine industry itself was also out in force with many top stars and directors on hand. Plans are being made for a third festival next year, and Enzo Ardigo, festival commission chairman, and Ariel Cortazzo, commission secretary, said they hope to do even a better job then. They said they want to start arrangements earlier next year than this, which would facilitate the entry of films from foreign countries and the appearances of stars. Irving Thalberg and in 1923 the two were turning out pictures for First National and Metro. Then Marcus Loew picked Mayer to head production for the newly merged Metro-Goldwyn company in 1924. Success attended the new studio and its management, but it brought differences between Mayer and Nicholas Schenck and Mayer and Thalberg over compensation, authority, costs and other matters. Out of the compensation arguments came the profit-participation contracts which made Mayer the nation's highest paid executive in later years. Relations with William Randolph Hearst, with Republican politicians, the abortive Fox Film Corp.-MGM merger, and Mayer family affairs— the marriage of his daughter Irene to David Selznick and of his daughter Edith to William Goetz, as well as the much later alienation of two daughters from their father are touched upon. Thalberg's death and the signing of Dore Schary bring the story into the more familiar modern era of MGM, culminating in the decline in the studio fortunes in the mid-1950s which ended the Mayer tenure. This is Crowther's second book about MGM and its people, his first, "The Lion's Share," having been published in 1957. The fascination this company seemingly holds for the author seems a curious thing. Sherwin Kane Committees Named for Tri-State Convention Committees for the first joint convention of Alabama Theatres Association, Motion Picture Theatre Owners and Operators of Georgia and Tennessee Theatre Owners Association, which will be held May 29, 30 and 31 at the Hotel Dinkier Plaza in Atlanta, were announced yesterday by presidents of the three Theatre Owners of America-affiliated units. The three state unit presidentsJames W. Gaylord, Jr. of Troy, Ala., J. H. Thompson of Hawkinsville, Ga. and Earl H. Hendren of Erwin, Tenn., will serve as an ex-officio steering committee for the meeting. This is the first time the three units have ever combined forces for a joint convention. Appointed to the joint committee are: from Alabama— Gaylord, R. M. Kennedy and Dan Davis; GeorgiaThompson, John H. Stembler and Carl L. Patrick; Tennessee — Hendren, Willis Davis and Stacy Wilhite. 'Eat* Music Promotion Doris Day's recording of the title song from "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" will be released today with 5,000 disc jockeys receiving advance copies from Columbia Records. MGM has included a page of programming ideas for disc jockeys. Theatre Solution For 'Adult' Films Special to THE DAILY CLEVELAND, March 20.-\Vher, an area deluxe theatre recently played "Suddenly, Last Summer," it eliminated its junior and children's admission scale and sold adult price tickets only. The owners of the theatre are opposed to advertising "for adults only," believing this type of publicitry attracts rather than repulses attendance by young people. It was only by approaching the boxoffiee that patrons learned of the one, adult price. This automatically eliminated those who ordinarily enjoyed the lesser scales. Under no circumstance, however, were adult tickets sold to any young people, who were turned away if they were unattended by an adult. If they come with an adult they were admitted at the discretion of the accompanying adult and there was no admission charge made. Letter Sent to House Managers This policy is in line with a letter which every Greater Cleveland theatre manager recently received, regarding "Suddenly, Last Summer," from Mrs. James S. Mumper, youth and matinee chairman of the Motion Picture Council of Greater Cleveland. The letter said, among other things, "We have received several inquiries from film chairman who are concerned that it— ( "Suddenly, Last Summer")— may be shown over the weekend when so many young people attend the theatre. In view of the nature of this film, may we remind the theatre people of Cleveland of their responsibility to the community to make such films available only to adults?" S.P.G. Seeks New Pacts With Three Companies The screen Publicists Guild has opened negotiations with 20th Century-Fox, United Artists and Warner Bros, for new contracts covering the artists, writers and other specialists in the New York advertising and publicity departments of the three motion picture companies. The present two-year contracts with the three distributors will expire during the second week of April. The Guild's contracts with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia and UniversalInternational are effective until April, 1961. The publicity and advertising employes are seeking a 10 percent wage increase, the establishment of a nine per cent health-welfare-pension fund, higher minimum wages for all classifications, increased vacations and improvements in the contractual jobsecurity provisions. A minimum wage standard of $175 weekly is being sought for senior publicists, the Guild's highest classification. M inimums for other classifications would be: publicist, $140; associate publicist, $100, and apprentice, $75.