Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1960)

Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, August 16, >j() Mirisch Slates ( Continued from page 1 ) company, we are in essence a major studio without the walls, brick and mortar, but comparable in production and star talent strength," Mirisch pointed out. Reports that Hollywood is becoming a "ghost town" due to the number of films being made abroad, is a complete misnomer, the company head stated, called attention to the fact that "80 to 90 per cent of die film projects are created in Hollywood, utilizing Hollywood crafts and guilds; but die plane facilities today make it easier to give the public actual backgrounds for greater box-office appeal. However, with problems of shooting abroad, we find it costs less to shoot here." All Types of Stories "Despite this, of the 14 films which will encompass basic material from best-selling novels, non-fiction, and original screenplays to hit Broadway shows, only two of these will be made abroad," Mirisch added. Questioned on the effect of rising costs of production, Walter Mirisch said, "the industry is striving to make more important films with longer shooting schedules since these are the only ones bringing in the money; and we feel that today's potential grosses are commensurate with the increase in costs." Figuring prominently in the schedule of films, all to be released through United Artists are: 'La Douce' Included Billy Wilder's third film in association with the Mirisch Company, "Irma La Douce," which the writerdirector-producer will shoot in Paris next summer; Fred Zinnemann's production and direction of James Michener's novel, "Hawaii"; William Wyler's production and direction of Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour"; "West Side Story," currently in production, which Robert Wise is producing and co-directing with Jerome Robbins, and John Sturges' production and direction of "The Great Escape." Foui for Walter Mirisch Producer Walter Mirisch's slate of four comprises "By Love Possessed"; "Two for the Seesaw," which will star Elizabeth Taylor under Delbert Mann's direction; "Pioneer, Go Home," starring Elvis Presley, ^ and John O'Hara's "A Rage to Live." Producer-director Robert Wise will also add "The Haunting of Hill House" and "Battle" to his schedule for the Mirisch company. "Counsellor-at-Law" and "Roman REVIEW: Studs Lonigan UA-Longridge Name Goldblll Accomplished producer-writer Philip Yordan, working with director Irving Lemer, a new cast, and an obviously limited budget, has produced an interesting experiment in cinematic art. It is a screen version, necessarily a vast compression, of the James T. Farrell sociological and psychological novel of the depression years which has been a perennial best seller for years, "Studs Lonigan." It is an experiment which comes off with uneven results. Trying to adhere to the author's original study of a sensitive and impressionable youth subjected to the hard environment of Chicago's South Side during the bitter extremes of the 1920's and early 1930's, Yordan and Lemer turned to a kind of camera shorthand. The result is an impressionistic picture, uneven in tone and at times short of the desired effect on the audience. Christopher Knight in the lead and title role tries hard in a difficult part, and the rest of the cast works equally hard and ineffectively. Venetia Stevenson is Lucy Scanlon, the remote and unapproachable girl around whom young Studs builds his dream love life. Helen Westcott, is the lonely school teacher who establishes a rapport which inevitably becomes a physical affair with Studs and Carolyn Craig is her pretty niece who succeeds her as his lover. Frank Gorshin, Jack Nicholson and Robert Casper are the restless members of the gang who tie Studs to his neighborhood and roots, and Dick Foran and Katherine Squire are the misunderstanding father and mother. Veteran Jay C. Flippen is excellent as Father Gilhooley, the parish priest who counsels Studs understanding^ but ineffectively. The picture succeeds best in creating the atmosphere and environment of the place and the era and least in motivating Farrell's complex characters. The author's frank treatment of sex, both adolescent and mature, is retained in the picture, limiting it to mature audiences. Running time, 95 minutes. Release date, September. to J. D. Ivers Candle" round out the roster of 14. "West Side Story," "Hawaii" and "Irma La Douce" are being considered as potential roadshow projects. In addition to these films the Mirisch organization holds multiplepicture deals with Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin and the European star Horst Bucholz. Personnel realignments to meet the company's expanded program include Leon Roth's appointment as executive assistant to Harold Mirisch in addition to his current duties as vicepresident supervising advertising, publicity and distribution. His first new assignment will be to act as liaison with producer-director Fred Zinnemann on all production aspects of Hawaii. Raymond Kurzman, for several years resident counsel for the Mirisch Company, now assumes the title of assistant to vice-president Marvin Mirisch. Robert Mirisch, son of Harold Mirisch, will enter the company as assistant to Walter Grauman, producer-director of TV's "The Untouchables," Grauman has been engaged to develop new television projects. The company now is involved in the "Wichita Town" series, now in reruns, and the Mirisch-Four Star show, "Peter Loves Mary," starring Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, which debuts over the NBC-TV network this season. (Continued from page 1) assume his new duties Sept. 6 lid will work under Nat Weiss, pub'tb manager. Prior to the Sept. 6 date, Golcutt will fly to California for meet with studio publicity chief I Brand and members of his staff Ji, A member of the Columbia Pio publicity staff for 14 years, Golc» held a variety of promotional in that organization. During || War II he served aboard the naval destroyer "Blue," coming tcj lumbia immediately after his se:| tion from the service in 1945. Rejection of Bicks (Continued from page 1) j for being "unlikely to vote to firm" Bicks' nomination. Noting! he has been a "frequent critic o:| Eisenhower Administration and il of its appointees," Proxmiref serted that "the Administrationl serves a solid pat on the back fo.J fine performance" of Bicks and eral Trade Commission chairman! W. Kintner. itit ID iteat leer G.P.E.C. Income (Continued from page 1) increase of 18 per cent over the $102, 301,439 reported for the first six months of 1959. For the three months ended June 30, 1960, net earnings were $1,145, 051, compared with $1,143,114, for the second quarter of 1959. Sales for the quarter were $65,065,883. Sales for the equivalent period in 1959 were $55,319,803. Lower profits on increased sales during the second quarter resulted primarily from heavy delivery schedules of equipment on cost plus fixed fee contracts. This temporary imbalance is not expected to continue through the second half of 1960, according to the company. Exploit 21 Previews Of 'Inherit the Wind' United Artists and the Stanley Kramer organization are launching a coordinated exploitation drive in some 21 major cities around the country to back the program of simultaneous sneak previews for Kramer's "Inherit the Wind" on Aug. 29, it was announced by Roger H. Lewis, UA vicepresident in charge of advertising, publicity and exploitation. Key elements of the campaign for the preview program include a radiotelevision promotion, a full schedule 11 ^ A. A. Brown Dead; \| flk Former Movietone If Special to THE DAILY MIAMI BEACH, Aug 15.-| Brown, a former roving editoi| 20th Century-Fox Movietone died this morning of heart failul St. Francis Hospital here. "A.A.j he was familiarly known to mo| the public figures of his day, wasl in Russia of Russian-Danish pal and came to the U. S. as a | young man. He was hired by prodc Edmund Reek in 1929 as a col man to devise society stories suif for Movietone News. In the course of his newsreel cij "A. A." interviewed about every figure of any importance. Services will be held on Thufl at the Philbrick Funeral H| Miami Shores, Fla. 'End9 Gross $120,1 William Goetz' "Song Will End," the story of Franz Liszt, ■ istered the biggest opening four W, this year at the Radio City M Hall and one of the biggest opei in the 27-year-old history of the w| famed showcase. The Columbia |j tures release grossed $120,106 first four days of its world preifcs engagement. of cooperative ads, special progp theatre posters and displays, W level exploitation and a news* and magazine publicity drive in pc of the preview cities. Situations include Nashville, p falo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, pcuse, Columbus, Dayton, Aon. Canton, Cleveland, Toledo, Hoi on, Evansville, Indianapolis, Harinri New Haven, Reading, Wilminfon, Richmond, Des Moines and SrJngfield, Mass.