The Exhibitor (1963)

Continued • the public’s time, dollars, and interest with the great leisure time activities that are part of our daily routine, it takes more than advertising dollars to sell an audience,” according to Lipton. “Today, our advertising budgets are effective only if they are part of a total marketing plan conceived for the needs of and the audience for each individual picture,” Lipton said. He continued, “A carefully constructed marketing plan is the key to successful merchandising of motion pictures for it provides publicity, promotion and advertising realistic objectives, and makes available the opportunity to reach the largest possible audience at a cost consistent with the econom¬ ics of the individual picture. Only through this custom-han¬ dling can the best laid plans of advertising and publicity be fully realized,” he concluded. Lipton cited the Universal campaign on “Charade” as an example of this custom-handling, pointing to the unusual publicity and promotional opportunities made available through long-range planning and the resultant pro-selling impact at the local level on the mass motion picture audience. Also receiving the long-range advertising, publicity, and promotional build up is “Captain Newman, M.D.” and now on the ready line are “The Chalk Garden,” “Wild and Won¬ derful,” and “Bedtime Story,” among the releases of the first six months of 1964. With 1963 drawing to a close, Universal has started pro¬ duction of new films which will not reach the theatres of the United States and Canada before later in 1964 than July. They include “Marnie,” the new Alfred Hitchcock Production in color from the novel by Winston Graham and starring “Tippi” Hedren and Sean Connery, which is already in pro¬ duction; “Send Me No Flowers,” the Universal-Martin Melcher Production in color from the Broadway play by Nor¬ man Barasch and Carroll Moore, and uniting Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Tony Randall again, also in production. Also “The Richest Girl in Town,” the new Rose Hunter Pro¬ duction in color starring Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet, Andy Williams, and Maurice Chevalier which is before the cam¬ eras. Also set to go is “Kitten With A Whip,” based on the novel by Wade Miller and starring Ann-Margaret. Major shooting is completed on “The Island of the Blue Dolphins,” the Universal-Robert B. Radnitz Production in color based on the famous Scott O’Dell prize-winning novel from the producer of the box office successes “Misty” and “Dog of Flanders.” Also completed is “Renegade Posse,” the Gordon Kay and Associates Production starring Audie Murphy, Darren McGavin, and Ruta Lee, and the Hammer Production “The Evil of Frankenstein,” in color, starring Peter Cushing. 20th-Fox Twentieth Century-Fox disclosed its 1964 major release program, indicating an orderly flow of product boasting an array of top box office stars and balanced with comedy, drama, romance, and melodrama. In revealing the program, Joseph M. Sugar, vice-president in charge of domestic sales, declared: “Our schedule for 1964 represents the contributions of many of the leading creative talents now working in the film medium; and in theme and story content, recognizes the diversity in entertainment ap¬ peal. We know it is our strongest program in years, and we are confident it will be one of the most successful ever to come from this company.” The release program will, of course, be marked by the continuation of the highly successful “Cleopatra” in major roadshow engagements, with additional reserved-seat runs still to be launched. Leading off the 1964 program will be “Move Over, Dar¬ ling,” the romantic comedy starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen. While the picture is set to debut in key cities at Christmas, its mass release will take place in January. Next year’s schedule, to date, follows: “Move Over, Darling”; “Man in the Middle,” starring Robert Mitchum, France Nuyen, Trevor Howard, Keenan Wynn, Barry Sullivan, and Alexander Knox; “Shock Treat¬ ment,” starring Stuart Whitman, Lauren Bacall, Carol Lynley, and Roddy McDowell; “Third Secret,” starring Stephen Boyd, Diane Cilento, Jack Hawkins, Richard Attenborough, and Pamela Franklin; Re-release of Darryl F. Zanuck’s “The Longest Day,” much-acclaimed D-Day epic with 42 inter¬ national stars; “What a Way to Go!” the romantic comedy starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings, and Dick Van Dyke; “Fate Is the Hunter,” taut aviation drama starring Glenn Ford; “Cassandra at the Wedding,” starring Natalie Wood in a dual role; “The Visit,” based on the international stage success, starring Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Quinn, and Irina Demich; “Erasmus With Freckles,” a modem and un¬ usual comedy starring James Stewart and reuniting him as a team with director Henry Koster and scripter Nunnally John¬ son; “High Wind in Jamaica,” based on the classic novel of Richard Hughes; “Our Mother’s House,” from the celebrated Julian Gloag novel, with screenplay by Eleanor Perry, who scripted “David and Lisa.” Ingrid Bergman and AntKony Quinn, starring in “The Visit.” The expanded 1964 production program is taking shape with 24 screenplays in script preparation, six of which will be shot abroad. The attractions include “The Circle,” “The Smashmaster Caper,” and “The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones,” for producer Aaron Rosenberg. Also: “The Sound of Music,” and “The Sand Pebbles,” both for producer-director Robert Wise. Also: “The Day Custer Fell,” “Goodbye, Charley,” “Trap For a Man,” and “The Pleasure Seekers,” all for producer David Weisbart. Also: “Illicit” and “The Hand of Mary Constable,” for Fred Kohlmar. Also: “Von Ryan’s Express,” “The Praying Mantises,” “The Yen of Corporal Brown,” “No Adam in Eden,” “Those Mag¬ nificent Men in Their Flying Machines,” “The Bait,” “Jus¬ tine,” and ‘Watcher in the Shadows.” 50 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR December 25, 1963