The Exhibitor (1956)

22 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Takiff Resigns His Pioneer Post; Disbursements Seen On increase New York — Following the successful conclusion of the Motion Picture Pioneers 18th Annual Dinner, Harry J. Takiff, who resigned as treasurer of the Pioneers and Foundation of the Motion Picture Pio¬ neers, Inc., revealed the organization’s total income since its inception on May 1, 1949, to April 39, 1956, amounted to $174,504.68. These funds, Takiff indicated, were de¬ rived from contributions from coporations and individuals, interest on deposits, and from other non-recurring sources. Of this income, total disbursements for the same period were $62,035.06, thus leaving a cash reserve of $112,486.32 as of April 30, 1956, the close of the last fiscal year. The total administrative ex¬ penses, which covered printing, mailing and salaries for special assignments, and auditing for the same period, was $13,187.35, approximately nine per cent of the total income. In checking the above expenditures, it was pointed out that during the last sev¬ eral years the Foundation of Motion Pic¬ ture Pioneers was instrumental in aiding many Pioneers with medical and financial assistance. While yearly income has fluctuated, the disbursements for aiding Pioneers for funeral assistance and medical expens.es has steadily increased and from all ap¬ pearances will continue to increase. He estimated disbursements for Pioneers dur¬ ing 1957 would run to approximately $30,000. The above financial statement and analysis was prepared for the organiza¬ tion by Baumgarten and Arun, C.P.A. Hundreds Gather To Honor O'Donnell, 1956 Pioneer The Pioneer Dinner saw hundreds of industry veterans gathered at the Wal¬ dorf-Astoria to have some fun and honor Texas showman Robert J. O’Donnell as Picneer of the Year. Speeches were kept to a minimum and sparking the humor¬ ous pace was Sol Schwartz, dinner chairman. Eric Johnston presented O’Donnell with a letter from President Eisenhower, and Ned Depinet presented the pioneer of the year with a plaque on behalf of the Lone Star State’s WOMPI organization. Toastmaster Bob Hope added to the fun, noting that his last picture “did well at the boxoffice, now if they would only play it in theatres”; “It’s tough to run a theatre in Texas because the oil keeps coming up through the water fountains”; “We Give TV our best movies, and they turn around and give us Elvis Presley”; “O’Donnell really loves this business. He sat through the Liberace picture twice.” Alfred Daff, U-I vice-president, won a 1957 automobile in a drawing in which the proceeds went to the Pioneer Foundation. The induction of new pictures was con¬ ducted by Jack Cohn and Judge Ferdi¬ nand Pecora. Special scroll of apprecia¬ tion was presented by the organization to retiring treasurer Harry Takiff. YcTes Denies Reports Of Republic Closedown NEW YORK— Herbert J. Yates, president, Republic, last week denied reports that the company planned to close its domestic exchanges and dis¬ continue the production of theatrical films. “The coast statement,” Yates said, “evidently came about when a few producers and directors were laid off until the end of the year on half salary.” Yates added that the studio has 10 scripts ready and that production will resume late in January. Some changes in foreign exchanges may be made, he said, but otherwise distribution will continue the same as in the past both abroad and here. Re¬ public domestic exchanges are as¬ sured a flow of completed pictures into late 1957, he added. Warners, ABC-TV Agree Hollywood — Leonard Goldenson, presi¬ dent, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, and Jack L. Warner, president Warners studios, announced last fortnight that the full facilities of the Warners lot would be made available to producers of filmed television programs for the ABCTV network. New cutting rooms, projection rooms, etc. will be added to the lot to take care of the increased activity. Warner announced that in line with the stepped up TV activity, Warners has also completed arrangements to produce an additional weekly one-hour show plus two half-hour shows for ABC presenta¬ tion. The hour-long show will be a west¬ ern, while the half-hcurs will be a mys¬ tery and an adventure drama. Robert W. Lewine, ABC’s vice-president in charge of programming, and William T. Orr, ex¬ ecutive producer of “Cheyenne” and “Conflict,” will supervise the new Warner show. UA Fieldmen Meet; Study New Campaigns New York — Max E. Youngstein, United Artists vice-president, told the opening session of the company’s fieldmen’s con¬ vention last week that UA’s 48 releases, representing an investment of $42,000,000, will be backed in the next year by in¬ tensive promotion programs incorporat¬ ing the findings of UA’s surveys and the field experience and exploitation men. The studies canvassed exhibitors and TV stations on the effectiveness of current promotional methods and materials. Exploitation representatives were present from major territories in the United States and Canada, and Youngstein paid tribute to them as a vital link between the ad¬ vertising and publicity departments and the local moviegoing public. Roger H. Lewis, national director of advertising publicity and exploitation, outlined a plan for increased local co¬ operation with exhibitors through ex¬ panded newspaper advertising and mer¬ chant cooperative support. He announced that average newspaper ad schedule for the 48 features will represent an increase of about eight per cent over the average of the past two years. Retail cooperative advertising will be similarly enlarged. Lewis cited a 15 city study showing that local exploitation of tie-ups, when care¬ fully planned and actively supported by the field force, contributed significantly to box office reports. Alfred H. Tamarin, assistant national director, outlined promotional activity in the field involving the planting of pro¬ duction and pre-production publicity. This will be expedited through offices in Hollywood and Paris, servicing materials cn films in preparation here and abroad to communications media. Mori Krushen, exploitation manager, outlined campaign plans for upcoming features and conducted a workshop dis¬ cussion on liaison with exhibitors, opti¬ mum use of prepared materials, and re¬ lations with critics, editors, and TV-radio representatives. Other talks were delivered by advertis¬ ing manager Joseph Gould, publicity manager Mort Nathanson, special events director Lige Brien, and west coast pub¬ licity coordinator Leon Roth. Seen at a recent Universal-international studio conference were, seated, left to right, Nate J. Blumberg, chairmen of the board, Milton R. Rackmil, president; and Alfred E. Daff, executive vice-president; and, standing, left to right, Felix Sommer, vice-president; David A. Lipton, vice-president; Charles J. Feldman, vice-president and general sales manager; Melville Tucker, production executive; Edward Muhl, vicepresident in charge of production; Americo Aboaf, foreign general manager; and James Pratt, executive manager. December 5, 1956