The Exhibitor (1962)

U-i Enters 51st Year With Lineup Pointing Way To Continued Growth NEW YORK — Having just completed its year-long obsei'vance of its Golden Anniver¬ sary which saw the company achieve the best financial results in its 50 year history, Universal enters a new year and a new era with an even greater promise of growth and success, Milton R. Rackmil, president of Uni¬ versal Pictures Company, declared in a yearend statement. This impressive program of box office at¬ tractions, according to Rackmil, is confirma¬ tion of Universal’s confidence in the future of motion pictures as the greatest source of entertainment for audiences all over the world. It also reflects, Rackmil stated, “the high optimism that we at Universal and our producer associates have in the future of our company and our industry.” Going into reelase, in various stages of pro¬ duction, either in final editing and cutting or before the cameras, are 16 films produced either by Universal or in co-production, financing and distribution arrangements. An additional 13 film projects are in various stages of preparation with the first of these to go before the cameras in Hollywood this coming weekend — “The Brass Bottle,” the Universal -Randall -Greshler Production in color starring Tony Randall and Burl Ives, and being produced by Robert Arthur. The 16 films either ready for release, in final production stages, and before the cam¬ eras, besides “Freud” and the Pakula-Mulligan Brentwood production of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” both playing Academy Award qualifying engagements in Los Angeles with “Freud” also rolling up top business in its New York world premiere engagement and “To Kill A Mockingbird” scheduled to open at Radio City Music Hall in New York in February, include “40 Pounds of Trouble,” which opens later this month after its special New Year’s Eve engagements around the country. Starting in April, Universal will release Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” in Techni¬ color starring Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and introducing “Tippi” Hedren; “The Ugly American,” starring Mar¬ lon Brando, Sandra Church, and Eiji Okada; “Paranoiac,” the Hammer Film Production; “Showdown,” starring Audie Murphy, Kath¬ leen Crowley, and Charles Drake; “Tammy and the Doctor,” a Ross Hunter production in color starring Sandra Dee, Peter Fonda, MacDonald Carey, Beulah Bondi, and Mar¬ garet Lindsay; “Lancelot and Guinevere,” in color and Panavision starring Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, and Brian Aherne; “The Kiss of the Vampire,” Hammer Film production in color; “A Gathering of Eagles,” in color, starring Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor, Mary Peach, and Barry Sullivan; “For Love Or Money,” in color starring Kirk Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor, Gig Young, Thelma Ritter, Julie Newmar, William Bendix, and Leslie Parrish; “The Thrill Of It All,” the Ross HunterMartin Melcher Production in color starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Arlene Francis; “The List of Adrian Messenger,” the Joel Production directed by John Huston and starring George C. Scott, Dana Wynter, Clive Brook, and Herbert Marshall, with Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Frank Sinatra participating in unusual character delineations; “Charade,” Conn. Bishop Urges Law To Force Classification HARTFORD — In the first move of its kind in some years, a prominent Connecti¬ cut clergyman has urged legislation to re¬ quire public classification of motion pic¬ tures wherever exhibitors do not volun¬ tarily label films suitable for children. The Most Rev. Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport (Connecticut’s third largest city), has decried the failure of theatremen to label films so that parents can guide their children in motion picture attendance. The Bishop’s statement, significantly, did not take cognizance of a year-old practice of Albert M. Pickus, owner-operator of the Stratford in adjoining Stratford. Pickus, TOA board chairman, has volun¬ tarily included a line reading, “Family” or “Adults” or “Adults, Mature Young People” in his daily newspaper ads. Cari Realigns Execs NEW YORK — Realignment of the executive staff of Cari Releasing Company was an¬ nounced by Lewis S. Ginsburg, executive head of the new distributing company. Among the new appointments were the following: Arthur Greenfield has been ap¬ pointed vice-president and general sales man¬ ager and will be temporarily based at the company’s west coast office; Sam Selsky was named vice-president in charge of foreign sales with headquarters in Paris; and Herb Berg was appointed vice-president in charge of advertising and publicity, operating out of the company’s local office. Martin Schlusselberg has been appointed head booker and will function from the com¬ pany’s New York office. the Stanley Donen production in color starring Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Mat¬ thau, and James Coburn; and “Man’s Fa¬ vorite Sport?” the Howard Hawks Production Gibraltar-Laurel-Universal co-production in color starring Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss, and Maria Perschy. In preparation and recently announced for production are “The Chalk Garden,” the Ross Hunter Ltd. Production starring Deborah Kerr, John Mills, and Hayley Mills; “Mon¬ sieur Cognac,” to star Tony Curtis; “King of the Mountain,” a new Stanley Shapiro-Paul Henning comedy to star Marlon Brando and David Niven; three additional Ross Hunter Productions, “Dark Angel,” to star Rock Hudson; “Madame X,” to star Lana Turner; and “The Richest Girl in Town,” to star Sandra Dee; “It Seems There Were These Two Irishmen,” to star Rock Hudson and Doris Day; “Captain Newman MD,” to star Gregory Peck; a new version of “Beau Geste,” to be produced by George Englund; “Street Corner,” to be produced by George Golitzen; “Shalako,” to be produced by Golitzen; and “Dark Purpose,” to be produced in Italy starting in February with George Marshall directing and starring Shirley Jones and Rossano Brazzi. Durham, N.C., Proudly Unveils New Northgate DURHAM, N. C. — The Northgate, first new house to open here in more than two decades, has several innovations in theatre planning. One of the first such features to be incor¬ porated into a theatre in the two Carolinas is an indoor box office, at which the cashier greets patrons and sells tickets after they get inside out of the weather. The Northgate, located in the Northgate Shopping Center, seats 800, and is owned and operated by Consolidated Theatres, Inc., of Charlotte. It formally opened Christmas Eve. Grocer V. Baker, who has been in theatre management in Durham since 1957, is man¬ ager. More than three acres of paved parking lot are available immediately adjacent to the theatre, and a wide canopy-covered sidewalk surrounds the building. Among innovations entirely new in the area are interior side walls of perforated cor¬ rugated aluminum and a ceiling of acoustical tile so sound is projected perfectly with no echo whatever. The latest in stereophonic sound systems has been incorporated in the structure, and reception is deemed to be perfect from every part of the auditorium. Seats in three harmonious tones of green are spaced 42 inches from back to back. The chairs feature foam padded seats, backs, and arms. For top visibility, each row of seats has been staggered, making “every seat a good seat.” Most spectacular feature of the new theatre is the aqua waterfall curtain which ripples up and down in graceful sweeping scallops. Back of it is a full gold draw curtain. Special spot¬ lights mounted in the ceiling play colored lights on the curtains. An oversize screen, measuring 22 by 42 feet, and a 60-foot stage are provided. A modern concession stand as well as a convenient vending center are in the lobby. Pilzer Joins Fox In Paris NEW YORK — Seymour Poe, vice-president in charge of world distribution for 20th-Fox, has announced the appointment of George D. Pilzer to be executive assistant to David Raphel, Continental division manager for the company. Pilzer will be stationed at the company’s European headquarters in Paris. Joining Columbia Pictures International Corp. in New York in 1951, he was trans¬ ferred to the company’s Continental head¬ quarters in 1952. In November, 1960, Pilzer went on his own, forming a partnership company with Norbert T. Auerbach, which was dissolved early in 1962 when Auerbach joined United Artists. Pilzer later joined MGM as that company’s exclusive sales agent for Continental Europe. He also acted as a producer’s representative. Nims Rejoins Universal HOLLYWOOD — Ernest Nims has joined the executive staff of Edward Muhl, Universal vice-president in charge of production. Nims previously was with Universal from 1946 to 1958, serving as editorial executive during the latter four years of that time. He left in 1958 and joined Columbia Broadcast¬ ing System as associate producer on the highly popular “Rawhide” TV series. 10 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR January 9, 1963