The Exhibitor (1955)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR NT'l Among the many attending the recent special celebrity, press and public “sneak” preview of 20th-Fox’s “Seven Year Itch,” Loew’s State, New York City, were, left to right, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, star of the film; Harold Arlen and Margaret Truman; 20th-Fox vice-president Charles Einfeld and Mrs. Einfeld; and W. C. Gehring, 20th-Fox assistant general sales man¬ ager, with film star Judy Holliday. The next day the film opened to record-breaking crowds. urcws of ini: New York City Crosstown Arthur Silverstone, 20th-Fox assistant general sales manager, is on a business trip to Canada. . . . Alex Harrison, 20thFox western sales manager, was in Chicago on business. He was due back this week. Francis M. Winikus, national director of advertising, publicity and exploita¬ tion, United Artists, flew to Washington for meetings with U. S. Navy Depart¬ ment public relations personnel on the promotion campaign for Commander Edward L. Beach’s “Run Silent, Run Deep,” the new runaway best-seller to which UA has acquired the screen rights. The Washington conference will help develop a campaign patterned on the huge effort behind “Not As A Stranger,” the long-term best selling novel that UA is about to put into release. The campaign will be backed by UA and Henry Holt and Company, publishers, and will in¬ clude heavy advertising budgets, pointof-sale promotions, and a long-range publicity effort by the full staffs of both book and film companies. Robert S. Benjamin, chairman of the board, United Artists, returned from a trip to Italy and Spain. While in Italy, he attended the world premiere of “Summertime.” In Spain, he conferred with producer-director Robert Rossen on “Alexander the Great.” Sheree North, topcast with Betty Grable in 20th-Fox’s “How to Be Very, Very Popular,” came in for a two-week stay. . . . Allied Artists’ vice presidents Harold Mirisch and Alfred Crown came in from London, with Mirisch proceed¬ ing to Hollywood after a brief stopover. . . . Mrs. William C. T. Gaynor has been named chairman, and Robert W. Dow¬ ling, vice-chairman, of the premiere committee for the gala Astor opening of UA’s “Summertime,” proceeds of which will go to the “Salute to France” program being carried on by the Amer¬ ican National Theatre and Academy to further Franco-American cultural re¬ lations. Aubrey Schenck, executive producer, “Desert Sands,” and Howard W. Koch, producer of the forthcoming SuperScope, Technicolor film, arrived to confer with UA executives on promotion and distribu¬ tion plans. . . . MGM star Ann Miller left by plane for Istanbul. She will visit also Beruit, Cairo, Alexandria, Rome, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, and London, and most likely will attend the Berlin Film Festival, June 24 to July 5. Henrietta Fulci, MGM’s publicity de¬ partment, married Raymond Conti at St. Raymond’s Church in the Bronx. . . . Mike Simons, MGM director of exhibitor relations, and Emery Austin, MGM ex¬ ploitation head, were in St. Louis, attend¬ ing the company’s 21st Ticket Selling Workshop, at the Chase Hotel. . . . Sandra Block, secretary to 20th-Fox assistant exploitation manager Eddie Solomon, was married to Sidney Cohen, and left on a Florida honeymoon. . . . Spyros P. Skouras, president, 20th-Fox, left for a series of conferences at the Hollywood studio. With more than 2,000 persons jam¬ ming the Times Square area fully an hour-and-a-half before the boxoffice was opened, 20th-Fox’s “‘The Seven Year Itch” made a spectacular debut at Loew’s State. . . . Crowds began forming as early as 7:30 a.m., and at 9 a.m., when the boxoffice was opened, lines extended from the boxoffice south to Broadway and Kevin McCarthy, co-star, Allied Artists' “An Annapolis Story,” recently visited Edward R. Morey, vice-president, AA, in New York, and is seen showing the execu¬ tive his press book. 45th Street, and east from Broadway to Sixth Avenue, with extra details of police called upon to restrain the en¬ thusiastic fans. . . . On-hand to welcome fans, sell tickets, and sign autographs between 9 and 10 a.m. were Roxanne, TV personality who makes her motion picture debut in the film, and George Axelrod, who co-authored the picture’s scenario with Billy Wilder. The mor¬ ning event brought out reporters and photographers from the metropolitan newspapers, wire service men, camera crews from Movietone News, and CBS-TV, assuring national reportage for the gala launching of the attraction. Skouras is now operating the Westbury Drive-In, Westbury, Long Island. . . . Associated Prudential has taken over operation of Commack Drive-In, Cornmack, Long Island; Massapequa DriveIn, Massapequa, Long Island, and Hemp¬ stead Turnpike Drive-In, Beth Page, Long Island. A daughter, Diane Beth, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Adam Wachtel. Wachtel is office manager, Sargoy and Stein, special counsel for various motion pic¬ ture distributors. Miss Mary E. Tuttle, Glen Rock, N. J., director of personnel, RKO Theatres Corporation, has been named new presi¬ dent, Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association, South Hadley, Mass., for a three-year term. Miss Tuttle is chair¬ man of the board of the Alumnae Ad¬ visory Center, an association of 20 col¬ leges which helps graduates who are seeking jobs in New York. She is on the Extension Division Faculty of the New York State School of Labor Relations, Cornell University, and is on call ,as an outside consultant for the Human Rela¬ tions Workshop, sponsored by New York City College. A member and past-presi¬ dent of the New York Personnel Club, Miss Tuttle has been director of RKO personnel since 1948. . . . Herbert H. Greenblatt, RKO’s domestic sales man¬ ager, left for Canada, where he will discuss with the Toronto and Montreal branches forthcoming productions which the company will release between now and the end of the year. Jules A. Birnbaum, son of Columbia’s assistant secretary Bernard Birnbaum, married Elaine Isaacs. (Continued on next page) June 15, 1955 NEW YORK