Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1960)

■.. 88, NO. 38 MOTION PICTURE DAILY NEW YORK, U.S.A., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1960 TEN CENTS TOA Resuming Talks with Producers Answers afm Guild in Hollywood on September 9 Warners Asks mdlinger III -Time High Iheatre Gross 5een Likely KCent Average Admission %ld Better 1946 Record Special to THE DAILY DRWOOD, Pa., Aug. 23.-"Total dm picture theatre gross may sa i an all-time high for the year it," Albert E. Sindlinger, president fjiindlinger & Company, market n;'sts, said in an interview here toil Respite the fact that attendance at ligation's motion picture theatres in Wirst seven months of this year ran >.3>er cent behind the same period f [959,"' Sindlinger said, "the naio;/ide theatre gross has already Hied the 1946 level, the motion id re industry's peak year. This ap( Continued on page 2 ) tf. Theatres Seek More W-Pay-TV Drive Kits jjren before they received their it for the anti-pay-TV Congressioniptition campaign, New York City fires have called for an additional ujly of petitions, Philip F. Harling, hi man of the Joint Committee Mast Pay-TV, said yesterday. The Jttf's and RKO circuits, and the a^r Broadway theatres has asked fflj.ii additional supply, in order to icinmodate what they feel will be htj response to the campaign, he (Jeatre Owners of America and ( Continued on page 5 ) iffing Plane Search mpered By Storms Special to THE DAILY iARLESTON, W. Va., Aug. 23. West Virginia Air Patrol search the missing plane carrying the y Griffing family of Oklahoma which has centered near here hampered again today by bad her. Heavy foliage in the area ; searched also could completely ire the single engine Cessna 182, ( Continued on page 2 ) Liaison committees of the Screen Producers Guild and the Theatre Owners of America will resume their discussions Sept. 9 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, it was announced yesterday. Albert M. Pickus, TOA president in New York, and Walter Mirisch, SPG president, in Los Angeles, jointly announced that the committees would meet for luncheon and con( Continued on page 4) N. J. Group Buys Into 3 Conn. Drive-Ins Charles Lane's interests in the New Haven, Summit and Post drive-in theatres in Connecticut, have been acquired by Louis Baurer, Sidney Stern, Irving Dollinger and Wilbur Snaper. They are joined with Arthur Howard in the operation of the drive-ins. Snaper and Dollinger head up Triangle-Liggett Theatre Service in New York City, and Howard heads Affili( Continued on page 4 ) IFIDA Petitions Court In Times Film Suit The Independent Film Importers and Distributors of America has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to file a brief as amicus curiae in the censorship suit of Times Film Corp. against the city of Chicago. The IFIDA action was made known yesterday by Michael F. Mayer, attorney for the organization. The brief states IFIDA is concerned because (Continued on page 4) AT ON J Gets Report On Availabilities Edwin Rome of Philadelphia, special attorney for Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey, yesterday reported to a meeting of the organization here on meetings which he held recently with film distributors on New Jersey exhibitors' complaints of delayed availabilities. As a result of the talks, some dis( Continued on page 5 ) 'Spartacus' Meetings Underway Here Today Universal Pictures' three-day series of orientation meetings on the merchandising of "Spartacus" will get underway at the home office here today with Jeff Livingston, executive coordinator of sales and advertising, presiding. David A. Lipton, Univer(Continued on page 4) REVIEW: Lets Make Love Jerry Wald Prod.-20th Century-Fox — CinemaScope Jerry Wald's production "Let's Make Love" is money in the till— important money— for all situations. Brimming with good humor and songs with class, sung by Marilyn Monroe at high temperature, and introducing the French star, Yves Montand for the first time in a Hollywood production, this picture has as many marketable assets as an old line motion picture company with excess real estate enveloping oil and mineral deposits. The fact that the rather slender plot— that of how-to-marry-a-billionaire without half trying— becomes stretched rather thin toward the end of the second hour is of little consequence. The lavish and eye-commanding musical numbers, attractive costumes and imaginative lighting, in color by De Luxe, and the generous helpings1 of wit and fun erase most of the awareness of the passage of time. Solid comedy sequences are built around separate appearances of (Continued on page 5) Dismissal of Post-'48 Suit Contends Union Contract Not Binding in TV Deal Contending that its contract with the American Federation of Musicians no longer is binding, Warner Bros, has filed a counter-action in U. S. District Court here asking for dismissal of the A. F. of M. suit to bar the sale of its post1948 films to Seven Arts Corp. The Warner Bros, argument asserts that its contract with A. F. of M. was terminated in 1958 when the Federation lost jurisdiction over Hollywood musicians to the Musicians Guild of America. The court yesterday adjourned the scheduled hearing on A. F. of M.'s application for temporary and permanent injunctions to prohibit the ( Continued on page 5 ) Warner Bros. 9-Month Net at $4,577,000 Warner Bros, yesterday reported consolidated net profit for the nine months ending May 28, 1960, of $4,577,000, after a provision of $4,500,000 for federal income taxes. The net profit (not including the net profit of $6,500,000 on the sale of the company's ranch) for the corresponding period last year amounted to $7,249,000 after a provision of $4,650,000 for federal income taxes. Film rentals including television, ( Continued on page 5 ) Moskowitz to Report On Fox Studio Changes A report on progress to date of reorganization at 20th Century-Fox studios will be made to the executive board by Joseph Moskowitz, vice president, later this week. Spyros Skouras, president, will attend the meeting also. Moskowitz returned here yesterday from a six-week visit to the studio.