The Exhibitor (1964)

Fox Accent On Merchandising Aids ' Man In Middle" Showcase Release Shopping Center Theatres Up General D-l Earnings BOSTON — Record sales and earnings in 1963 were reported for General Drive-In Corporation by Richard A. Smith, president. The theatre company, operators of movie houses in 20 states, had earnings of $902,875 equal to 98 cents a share on the 919,802.5 shares outstanding, for a 17 per cent increase over 1962 earnings of $770,520 or 84 cents a share. Revenues reached a new peak of $15,637,297 compared to last year’s $12,799,231. New records were also attained in cash income, which rose to $1,724,241, or $1.87 per share from $1,469,656, or $1.60 per share; total assets, which reached $17,656,483 and net worth, which rose to $8,809,028 equal to $9.58 per share. Smith stated that a healthy drive-in op¬ eration and a growing contribution from the expanding shopping center theatre division were major factors in the considerably im¬ proved results. “In keeping with our program of concen¬ trating on the new shopping center theatre area,” Smith said, “we have opened 10 new units since publication of last year’s report. This exceeds the total for any previous year. Not only is this our fastest growing divi¬ sion,” he added, “but in 1963 it accounted for 24 per cent of total company revenues compared to 13 per cent in 1961. Of ap¬ proximately 17 new shopping center theatre units which we expect to complete in the next year, 10 will be twin-auditorium houses.” WB Declares Dividends NEW YORK — The board of Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., declared a dividend of 12x/2 cents per share on the company’s common stock, payable May 5, 1964, to stockholders of record on April 10, 1964. The board also elected the following of¬ ficers: president and principal executive of¬ ficer, Jack L. Warner; executive vice-presi¬ dent, Benjamin Kalmenson; vice-presidents, Herman Starr, Wolfe Cohen, Edmond L. De Patie, William T. Orr, Morey Goldstein, and Richard Lederer; secretary, Howard Levinson; treasurer, Thomas J. Martin; controller and assistant treasurer, Walter Meihofer; assistant treasurer, Harland E. Holman; assistant sec¬ retaries, Roy J. Obringer and Peter D. Knecht; and general counsel, Freston & Files. George J. Huebner, Jr., executive engineer in charge of Chrysler Corporation’s research depart¬ ment, known as “the father of the turbine,” is seen at Universal City, Cal., where he is assisting with the filming of U’s “The Lively Set,” drama with a racing car background. William M. Schary, Hollywood editor, MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR, is seen on the left. NEW YORK — An exhibitor merchandising conference at 20th Century -Fox developed a “community unit” concept for the newlyformed Showcase presentation whose 23 metropolitan area theatres will participate in the first-run release of “Man in the Middle” on March 4. The neighborhoodlevel approach was stressed with the announcement of an incen¬ tive $500 prize contest for theatre managers who develop the most effective community campaigns. Five prizes will be awarded, with the top one a $250 U. S. Savings Bond. The meeting at the Fox home office, presided over by Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., 20th-Fox vice president and director of advertising-public¬ ity-exploitation, was attended by managerial and promotion representatives from many of the leading New York area circuits, including Loew’s, Century, Brandt, Skouras, Walter Reade-Sterling, Interboro, Fabian, Hecht, Tri¬ angle, Associated Independent, and Cinema. Max E. Youngstein, executive producer of “Man in the Middle,” and Joseph M. Sugar, Fox vice-president in charge of domestic sales, also addressed the meeting. Among the leading circuit executives who attended the session were Arthur M. Tolchin, assistant to the president of Loew’s Theatres; Bernard Myerson, executive vice-president of Loew’s; Ernest Emerling, vice-president of Loew’s for advertising-publicity; Robert Sha¬ piro, managing director of the Paramount Theatre; James Pisappia, head buyer-booker for Interboro; Ed Schuman, chief buyerbooker for Walter Reade-Sterling; Charles Cole, advertising-publicity director for Cen¬ tury; Ben Gladstone, head buyer-booker for Town & Country Theatres; Spyros Lenas, chief buyerbooker for Skouras Theatres; and Martin Newman, general manager of Century Theatres. Rosenfield explained that the new Showcase presentation “turned New York into a series of small town communities, with each theatre utilizing all the facilities and possibilities for promotions in its individual area on behalf of a new motion picture.” This local approach, Rosenfield said, “enables a participating thea¬ tre to achieve an impact with the distribution IFIDA Salutes Sunshine NEW YORK— The IFIDA board of gover¬ nors praised the outstanding activities of Mor¬ ton Sunshine as dinner coordinator of IFIDA’s third annual dinner dance. The statement, sued by Michael F. Mayer, executive direc¬ tor of IFIDA, follows: “IFIDA has been thrilled with the services of our outstanding dinner coordinator, Mor¬ ton Sunshine. This year’s affair was a pace setter for entertainment attendance and high spirits generally. The foreign film industry deserves and is receiving the best in support of its awards. All of the comments received at our office indicate that those present had a wonderful time. The awards were handled with simplicity and taste. We were especially thrilled with the presence of such outstanding dignitaries as our master of ceremonies, Theo Bikel, the president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and top names from stage and screen, as well as ambassadors from for¬ eign countries. We wish to give full recog¬ nition to the fine work of Morton Sunshine. company’s campaigns which would not be possible otherwise.” Following a screening of the film, the ex¬ hibitors were given a detailed account of the hand-tailored promotion and advertising cam¬ paigns for their areas. A major element in the “Man in the Middle” promotions are tie-ups with local neighborhood retailers. These include mirror posters for use in all appropriate local establishments; cross-promo¬ tion window posters for shops in the immedi¬ ate vicinity of the theatre; a candid photo contest tie-in with camera stores and super¬ marts, and a dramatic rear-view projection of theatre-plugging trailers for placement in stores with heavy traffic. Book and music store promotions were also listed through tie-ups with Bantam Books and 20th Century-Fox Records. The theatrical and special one-minute cross-plug trailers for the film were also screened at the meeting. These stress the film’s strong story values and the potent star cast of Robert Mitchum, France Nuyen, Trevor Howard, Barry Sullivan and Keenan Wynn. An advertising schedule that provides for major spot tv buys on ABC and NBC stations, plus a saturation radio campaign coupled with special disk jockey promotions was out¬ lined. A dramatic half -page ad for The New York Times the Sunday before opening is angled for women and young-adult audiences, in line with the strong Green Sheet praise for the picture and its recommendation for adults and mature young people. The latter segments of the public will be reached also by an intensive tour schedule mapped for Youngstein and Howard Fast, whose novel “The Winston Affair,” is the basis for the picture. They will make area¬ wide discussion appearances, in conjunction with screenings, before women’s clubs, film councils, and college film and literary groups. Other Fox officials participating were Abe Goodman, advertising director; Rodney Bush, exploitation director; Mort Segal, publicity manager; Adrian Awan, exploitation manager; and Michael Shapiro, speical exploitation rep¬ resentative. Marcus Joins 20th-Fox NEW YORK — Morey Marcus, Far East film veteran, has been appointed home office Far East specialist at 20th Century-Fox, it is announced by Seymour Poe, executive vicepresident. He will work in liaison with Geza Polaty in the field, under the company’s revitaliza¬ tion of its foreign distribution organization. Polaty leaves for his headquarters in Tokyo over the weekend. Under the program, announced earlier by Poe, each territory is to be administered by a supervisor in the field, backed up by a specialist based at the home office in New York. The plan has been put into operation for Latin America with the previously an¬ nounced appointment of Francisco Rodriguez as field supervisor in Mexico City, with Karl Knust occupying the home office Latin desk. Marcus resigned as Far East representative for Cinerama to accept the Fox appointment. He previously was associated in the Orient with Republic, Paramount, and MGM. 1 1 February 19, 1964 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR