The Exhibitor (1959)

16 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR August 19, 1959 United Artists recently held a press reception luncheon at the "21 Club" in New York City prior to the start of its intercontinental convention. Seen, left to right, are William J. Heineman, vice-president; Max E. Youngstein, vice-president; Arthur B. Krim, president; Arnold M. Picker, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution; Charles Smadja, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution; Louis Lober, vice-president in charge of foreign operations. Herb Golden is seen in the foreground, with cigar. Unified Domestic , Foreign Promotion And Sales Plans Discussed At International Conference Of World Execs NEW YORK— Keynoting United Artists’ first intercontinental promotion conferences in New York last week, Vice Presidents Arn¬ old M. Picker, William J. Heineman, Max E. Youngstein and Roger H. Lewis blueprinted a new era of unified domestic and foreign operations in both promotion and sales. Top-echelon promotion and sales execu¬ tives from both sides of the Atlantic heard the UA officials detail the company’s prece¬ dent-setting global concept. At the inaugural session in UA’s home of¬ fice, M. Picker, vice president in charge of foreign distribution, cited the impact of to¬ day’s foreign market in the creation of a single, one-world motion picture industry. Heineman, Vice President, traced the growth of the “domestic” and “foreign” markets from almost two separate industries into the com¬ mon identity which characterizes them today. Youngstein, vice president, announced that the company is entering its global phase with a record product program of about 40 major features valued at more than $65,000,000. Lewis, vice president in charge of advertis¬ ing, publicity and exploitation, described how the company’s domestic and foreign promo¬ tion activities are beng consolidated into a single, global operation to develop the broad¬ est possible international market. Underscoring the new global concept, Picker noted that UA’s foreign revenues have in¬ creased more than six-fold from about $5,000,000 in 1951 to more than $32,000,000 in 1958. Foreign grosses for the first six months of 1959 are running about 20 per cent ahead of 1958 for the corresponding period, he an¬ nounced. Assessing the company’s new global look, Heineman reviewed the historic growth and merging of interests of what were once treated as two distinct and unrelated markets. He cited the growing liaison between domestic and foreign departments as contributing to the company’s steady expansion in recent years. Reporting on UA’s continuing growth, Heineman announced that domestic grosses for the first six months of 1959 reached an all-time high of $21,842,000. Youngstein declared “We have the greatest concentration of top quality product ever marketed by the company. Our production ex¬ perience in the past has taught us that there is a very real and vital potential for quality entertainment throughout the world. With cameras rolling around the world and inter¬ national talents and properties figuring more and more frequently in our production plans, today’s UA releases are ideally oriented for world consumption as they have never been before.” Describing the international concept in terms of the company’s newly reorganized promotion department, Lewis declared that for the first time in motion picture industry history a comprehensive merchandising blue¬ print is being developed to meet the overall and specific needs of individual markets all over the world. Morton Nathanson, newly-appointed direc¬ tor of international advertising and publicity, directed the conference program. Fred Gold¬ berg, national director of advertising, public¬ ity and exploitation, supervised sessions with Nathanson. The biggest promotional outlay in United Artists history will underwrite the company’s new global promotion campaign, it was an¬ nounced by Lewis. The work sessions included a screening of Stanley Kramer’s “On The Beach” and pro¬ motion conferences outlining the global cam¬ paign for the UA release, which will pre¬ miere simultaneously in 22 major cities of the world in December. Another session was devoted to campaign planning for Edward Small’s $6,000,000 pro¬ duction “Solomon and Sheba.” Other UA releases to be considered are Hecht-Hill-Lancaster’s “The Devil’s Disci¬ ple,” “Take A Giant Step,” and ‘The Un¬ forgiven;” Harbel Productions “Odds Against Tomorrow;” Joseph Fields “Happy Anniver¬ sary,” and MPL Productions’ “The Wonder¬ ful Country.” “What we’ve done,” Lewis declared, “has been to unify all of our promotional activ¬ ities to carry our message through to every potential audience of the world. Our plan is to find out the specific needs and require¬ ments of individual markets and then to fill these needs for maximum ticket-selling im¬ pact. This requires money, the best man¬ power available and the best creative think¬ ing in the business. UA is again setting the industry pace in launching its new global policy.” Arthur B. Krim, president, and Robert S. Benjamin, chairman of the boai'd, cited the importance of the company’s new global thinking in launching important product. In a joint message to UA pei’sonnel around the world, Krim and Benjamin declared, “In the distribution of films today, we think of the world as one mai’ket. Most of our major films today are being released on a con( Continued on page 17) United Artists' held its first intercontinental promotion conferences in New York City last week, and seen, left, attending a work session are, left to right, Addie Addison, field representative. New Orleans; Francis Winikus, European assistant to Max E. Youngstein, UA vice-president; Joe Mansfield, field representative, Boston; and Samuel I. Cehen, for¬ eign publicity manager. In the center, producer-director Stanley Kramer is seen leading a promotion discussion for "On The Beach," which will have global premieres in 22 cities of the world in mid-December. Flanking him are Roger Lewis and Mort Nathanson. On the right, at a cocktail reception for the cast of "The Fugitive Kind," are seen UA president Arthur B. Krim; author Tennessee Williams; Mrs. Krim; and producer Martin Jurow.