Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1960)

'ednesday, November 16, 1960 ^honevision ( Continued from page 1 ) ailed, the average yearly installation id service cost per set was $22.79. The stipulation also includes a sur;y of the results of the Telemeter aeration in Canada submitted by the roadcast Bureau and earlier reported Motion Picture Daily. "There as one omission in this survey," .•cording to the firm that made it) one asked whether the homes that atched Telemeter programs during ie period also watched free-tv. The irvey shows, however, that of the H interviews completed among elemeter homes over a three-day eriod in mid-October, 183 shows ere seen. The 204 homes in which 183 shows il -ere seen spent a total of $163.50 »>» their pay-viewing. The 204 f amies' average weekly expenditure was 0 cents. Motion Picture Daily U^TRA Talks ti ( Continued from page 1 ) jtrike which would have affected perjrmers in New York, Chicago and ,os Angeles. The negotiations are be'ig held at the CBS offices, and were eported yesterday to have progressed a the point where a walkout is conidered extremely unlikely. The netVorks involved, in addition to CBS, Ire NBC, ABC and Mutual. J Spokesmen for the union reported Jast night that agreement had been -eached in several areas but that the wo factions were still seeking to find :ommon ground on the subjects of %e and taped TV shows and payments to actors appearing in commerf Mais. Sherman Honored ( Continued from page 1 ) 'Dec. 12, at the Waldorf Astoria, will .^represent a major event in the industry's campaign to raise funds in .upport of human-rights programs Current with JDA's two constituent agencies, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. ( Sherman, who heads one of the largest nation-wide vending-concessionaire organizations in the country, pioneered in the motion picture industry. Before embarking on his machine vending services career, he operated a chain of 32 motion picture theatres. His many philanthropic endeavors include his work for the United Home for the Aged Hebrews in New Bochelle. He served as the charity's president for several years and has been named the institution's honorary president. He is vice-president of the Hebrew National Orphan Home and is active in the Young Men's Philanthropic League. Joint Defense Appeal, the primary fund-raising agency for the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is seeking a national total of $6,100,000 for support of programs to combat discriminatory practices and group-intolerances. Asks That TV Code Unit P re-Screen Post-1 948' s From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Nov. 15. E. K. Hartenbower, of the Television Code Beview Board, today told a National Association of Broadcasters meeting that the board is trying to pre-screen all post'48 films that have been made available for television before they are distributed to broadcasters. He noted that at least one "package" of films that is being offered contains 12 "questionable" pictures. NAB vice-president Charles H. Tower commented on pay-tv, saying that this "old chestnut" is still around and that no one knows what the future will bring in regard to the Hartford Phonevision test application. He said that he thought NAB had gotten its anti-pay-tv story across to FCC at the Hartford hearings, despite procedural difficulties. Expects Decision Soon He added that he believes that under pay-tv the public will get little or nothing more than it now receives and yet will have to make a direct payment. He thinks the FCC decision on the pay-tv test will be out in three or four months. Commenting on the Telemeter test in Etobicoke, Tower observed that "it isn't a complete bust at this point. On the other hand, it's far from a dramatic success." Tower thinks it will take at least another year to judge the Canadian experiment's success. Tower noted that NAB's efforts to persuade Congress to regulate community antenna television systems failed in the last session of Congress. Another try will be made next year. He said that the question of a station's property right in its signal is being litigated by a group of Salt Lake City stations, and that United Artists is testing the validity of its copyright interest in program material picked up by community-antenna systems. Sees Besult Significant If FCC's New York City ultra-highfrequency test is successful, Tower said, it will be a "large boost in the direction of a move upstairs" for all television licensees. Whether it succeeds or fails, it will have a significant impact on television channel allocations, he added. Ullman, Weinstein DoWIling Head Form New Ad Agency r' MMPTA Officials ( Continued from page 1 ) Downing, Emanuel Frisch and Schwartz, members of the MMPTA inauguration luncheon committee, announced that the meeting will be attended by leaders of all branches of the industry. 4th 'Sunday9 Week Big "Never On Sunday" racked up a tremendous gross of $25,457 during its fourth week at the Plaza Theatre, it was announced by Ilya Lopert, president of Lopert Pictures. Special to THE DAILY ALBANY, Nov. 15.-Northeast Advertising Corporation has been formed, with Irwin Ullman, general manager of Hellman Philadelphia drive-ins, and David Weinstein, manager of the new Hellman in Albany, as top officers to serve theatre, motel and hotel accounts. Its Albany office is at 1375 Washington Ave., address of the Hellman-owned Thruway Motel and of the Hellman theatre. A Philadelphia office will also be maintained. In addition to the Hellman theatres accounts, the new agency will specialize in servicing multiple-run film advertising, according to Ullman. Say U.K. Leads Way ( Continued from page 1 ) right to expect faultless showmanship, and Projectomatic undoubtedly aids modern film presentation. The British installations are in houses that vary in size and type from city centre houses to news theatres and small independents. Users Listed Current users include: Granada Theatres; Star Cinemas; the J. Brennan Circuit; Jacey Cinemas; the Shack Hyde Circuit; Cheshire Country Cinemas; Theatre Administration; Essoldo and Bank's Circuit Management Association. This British invention, the large model of which performs automatically the main functions during a continuous film performance, provides the operator with a "robot" assistant. With this work taken off his hands he can pay closer attention to accurate focusing and adjustments to compensate for variations in the film. He can ensure consistent light valuation and pay attention to dramatic sound effects. In short-he can indulge in showmanship. Acceptance Almost 100% Projectomatic has been almost 100 per cent accepted by operators who use it. They have discovered that it is an aid rather than a displacement of labor. It is a foolproof system, operated by no more than two men, that means more leisure time for the operator and enables him, in fact, to leave the box unattended for 15 minutes at a time. The actual functions that can be performed by Projectomatic, according to the type installed, are: Start and stop projector motors; strike and extinguish arcs; open and close dowsers; change-over of picture and sound (single track optical or multitrack magnetic); start and stop nonsync, motor; amplifier system-soundon-film to non-sync, and vice versa; open and close curtains; dim footlights and houselights through a reactor dimmer; operate screen masking for three aspect ratios. Can Take Color Selector In addition, a color selector system can be fitted, giving facilities for preselection of various combinations of three-color circuits or house-lights. ( Continued from page 1 ) was made yesterday by Charles E. McCarthy, executive vice-president of COMPO, following a meeting of representatives of the constituent COMPO groups in McCarthy's office. Present at the meeting were Kenneth Clark, representing MPAA; D. John Phillips, representing MMPTA; Martin Levine, representing ITOA and Variety Clubs International; Al Floersheimer, representing TOA, and Martin Quigley, Jr., appointed by Jay Emanuel of the COMPO trade press committee to represent the industry's trade papers. A representative of National Allied is a member of the group, but was unable to attend. Hollywood Stars to Attend The group discussed preliminary plans for the dinner, which, it is expected, will be attended by top Federal, State, municipal and civic figures, besides persons from all over the country prominent in exhibition, distribution and production. A large delegation of Hollywood stars, directors and producers is also expected to attend. According to McCarthy, arrangements will be made immediately to fix the time and place for the affair, which, he said, gives promise of being one of the outstanding social events in the industry's history. Mochrie Estimate ( Continued from page 1 ) wide gross has been considered impossible in the past," he added, "but, if any picture is to reach that figure, it surely will be 'Ben Hur.' " It has opened in 325 cities throughout the world and has already amassed over $40,000,000 at the box office. Of that total $30,000,000 represents the 270 United States and Canada engagements and the rest is from the 55 overseas engagements where "BenHur" is also heading for all-time records. Anniversary celebrations are coming up next week at the Egyptian, Los Angeles; the Saxon, Boston; and the Boyd, Philadelphia. They will be joined before the first of the year by the Coronet, San Francisco; University Theatre, Toronto; Michael Todd, Chicago; London is also getting set for an anniversary celebration Dec. 16. $2,400,000 in New York Six theatres have followed the lead of Loew's State, which has grossed over $2,400,000 at the box office in its first year, by grossing $1,000,000. They are the Boyd, Philadelphia; Egyptian, Los Angeles; the Coronet, San Francisco; the Michael Todd, Chicago; and the Empire, London. Nine other cities have already topped a half -million at the box office: The Saxon, Boston; Alouette, Montreal; University, Toronto; Lincoln, Miami; United Artists, Detroit; Warner, Washington; Warner, Pitsburgh; Theatre Tokyo, Tokyo; Nangai Gekijo, Osaka. "Ben-Hur is now playing in 27 countries.