The Exhibitor (1956)

10 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Industry Credit Plan Leaves Public Cold Indiana Survey Disappoints; Johnston Asks Abandonment AsMPAA Financed Study Shows No Boxoffice Boost New York — Eric Johnston, MPAA president, reported to the board of direc¬ tors last week that a survey in Marion County, Indiana, indicated that a system of “charging” admissions does not offer “promise of appreciably increasing movie attendance.” In view of what Johnston called “the disappointing result,” he recommended that no further action be taken on a credit plan. At the same time that Johnston was informing the board, the company sales managers met at MPAA headquarters to hear an analysis of the report from the distribution subcommittee that supervised the survey. The subcommittee comprises William Gehring, 20th-Fox, chairman; Charles M. Reagan, Loew’s; and Charles Feldman, Universal. In Indianapolis, Gehring, in behalf of the subcommittee, was to meet with ex¬ hibitors to report on the results of the survey. The study was initiated and financed by the MPAA after consultation and in cooperation with these exhibitors. Two separate plans were studied, and it appeared that neither made much of an impression on the public. One called for the issuance of a credit card while the other concerned the sale of a chit book gocd for so many admissions at a saving over the single admission price. Youngstein Answers Critics New York — United Artists vice-presi¬ dent Max E. Youngstein, replying to re¬ cently published charges that motion pic¬ ture advertising is “lurid,” told a conven¬ tion of the company’s fieldmen in New York last fortnight that the yardstick for film advertising should be the same as that applied to other industries. Attacking “the holier-than-thou-compounded-by-stupidity attitude of the film industry’s critics,” Youngstein declarerd that “we are the direct descendants of the circus and we will continue in that vein. The policy of UA,” he said, “is that ads must meet our own standards of good taste, which we feel are equal to any¬ one’s. But it is our decision to make and ours alone. ... It is absurd to com¬ pare our advertising to the Cadillac ads and the dainty displays in Vogue. Sus¬ taining this vitality and excitement is the key to our whole promotion plan. We don’t intend to be deflected by prissy and irrelevant considerations of elegance or tone. “The proper gauge of an ad,” Young¬ stein said, “is how many tickets it sells. We and we alone are the authorities on this. We don’t condone or employ vul¬ garity, but on the other hand we don’t expect to become defensive, humble, meek or furtive. When there are decent sex elements in our pictures, we intend to say so in our ads. If there’s rough action, our ads will tell about that, too.” Stellings Hails Allied Move To Seek Industry Arbitration CHARLOTTE— Ernest G. Stellings, president. Theatre Owners of America, returned here last week after a round of conferences with distribution heads in New York, and hailed the reso¬ lution of National Allied in Dallas looking to the establishment of arbi¬ tration. Pointing to a similar move by the TOA at its last convention in New York, Stellings said, “These are states¬ manlike moves.” The TOA head said he found com¬ pany presidents and general sales managers as concerned with the state of distributor-exhibitor relations as are the exhibitors and said they “are willing to do more than their share to improve these conditions.” He reported that he assured the company executives that “TOA will dedicate itself completely to industry efforts aimed at promoting the selling of more tickets at our boxoflfices, and that we will aid in any sound way to accomplish that objective.” Stellings said he planned meetings with other company executives. Hutner, Steinberg Upped New York — Meyer M. Hutner has been appointed national publicity manager for Warners, and Charles S. Steinberg has been advanced to the post of home office publicity manager, it was announced by Robert S. Taplinger, vice-president and director of advertising and public rela¬ tions. Steinberg will assume many of the duties of the late Larry Golob. Hutner recently resigned as advertis¬ ing and publicity director for Samuel Goldwyn Productions to join Warners in g special assignment for liaison with leading independent producers associated with the company. Previously, he was publicity director for eight years at 20thF’ox. Thau Appointed Head Of MGM Studio Staff Hollywood — Benjamin Thau, vicepresident and executive of MGM since 1232, last week was appointed adminis¬ trative head of the studio by J. R. Vogel, president of Loew’s, Inc. Vogel also an¬ nounced E. J. Mannix, general manager, for many years one of the top executives of MGM, will work in close association with Thau, as will J. J. Cohn. Lawrence Weingarten, Marvin Schenck, Kenneth MacKenna, and Saul Rittenberg, who will function as execu¬ tive staff. In confirming the selection of Thau as head of the studio, Vogel stated, “Mr. Thau is one of the best known executives in the motion picture industry, and per¬ haps one of the least known to the pub¬ lic. Quiet and unassuming, his name rarely appears in print.” Thau was originally brought to the studio by L. B. Mayer and worked closely with the late Irving Thalberg and Mayer, who later made him his executive assist¬ ant. Prior to his association with Loew’s, Inc., Thau had made an outstanding repu¬ tation with the Keith Vaudeville Book¬ ing Office and later with the Orpheum Circuit Booking Agency. RKO-Pathe Plans Shift New York — RKO Pathe will shortly close its operation at the 105th Street Studios in New York, and consolidate its production activities at the RKO Pathe Studio, Culver City, Cal., it was announced last week by Jay Bonafield, RKO Pathe vice-president. The home-office opera¬ tion of RKO Pathe will remain in New York. United Artists' fieldmen from districts in the U. S. and Canada recently attended a three-day meeting at the Warwick Hotel, New York, to discuss the most intensive promotion program in the company's history. Seated, left to right, are Addie Addison, Dallas; exploitation manager Mori Krushen; Howard Pearl, Detroit; Wally Heim, Chicago; and Max Miller, Philadelphia. Standing are Bill Gandall, Pitts¬ burgh; Archie Laurie, Toronto; Earl Keete, Seattle; Bill Sholl, Los Angeles; Bill Prass, Denver; Bernie Young, New York; Joe Mansfield, Boston; Al Fisher, assistant exploitation manager; and Bill Shirley, Buffalo. On the right. Max E. Youngstein, vice-president, addresses the gathering as William J. Heineman, vice-president in chrage of distribution, and Roger H. Lewis, right, national director of advertising, publicity, and exploitation, listen. Thau December 12, 1956