The Exhibitor (1964)

Film Councils' Atlanta Convention Will Honor MG M's Reissue Program NEW YORK— MGM will receive a special citation at the annual convention of the Federation of Motion Picture Councils of America in Atlanta, April 1-2, for its effoits in bringing back the great motion pictures of the past and for its continuing reissue of all-time favorite films based on the classics. The unit at MGM which handles this program is under the direction of Fred Schwartz. The development of the special MGM unit by Schwartz has been directed toward ex¬ hibitor-community relationship. His long¬ time background as head of a leading the¬ atre circuit has given him the intimate knowledge of how to combine the interests of community and theatre. With the current extension of the use of the GreenSheet by theatres and press, it is of interest to note that 15. -years ago, Schwartz was one of the first theatre operators in America to dis¬ tribute the Green-Sheet to his pations. The citation by the Motion Picture Coun¬ cils will be presented at the wards banquet, the concluding night, April 2, and will be accepted for MGM by Si Sead'ler, who will also be on the program that morning. Seadler’s address will be “Bringing Back Great Motion Pictures — How the Film Councils In¬ spired An Important MGM Project.” He will describe the operations of the unit whose promotion he handles, illustrating its two most successful series, “Golden Operettas and “World Heritage Pictures,” with 16mm reels relating to them. In behalf of the latter series, he will show newsreel footage of the record-setting engagement at Stanley War¬ ner’s Wellmont, Montclair, N. J., which through the combined efforts of its managing director, Harry Wiener, and MGM, attracted 40 bus-loads of students from outlying ter¬ ritories. The Federation of Motion Picture Councils has extensive coverage in the nation and its tribute to MGM points up the renewed respect and attention which the press and national organizations are giving the motion picture industry. Selected representatives from each Council will attend plus a large Atlanta delegation. Each Council represents up to 75 local or¬ ganizations in their communities, including educational affiliations, religious, libiary, service clubs and other areas, so that in the aggregate their representation is literally in the hundreds of thousands. Brazil Gets Film Date NEW YORK— Madame Dora A. de Vasconcellos, Consul General of Brazil in New York, announced her sponsorship of the re¬ lease of the film, “The Given Word,” in America, released by Lionex Films. “The Given Word’ is a drama of human conflict in present-day Brazil. The film re¬ ceived the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and also the Grand Prize at the San Francisco Film Festival, as best picture of the year. The opening of this film at the Beekman on March 24 marked a milestone for the Bra¬ zilian motion picture industry. Several other quality Brazilian films will hopefully be re¬ leased in the United States in the very near future. Famous Players Reports Profit Rise, Bright Prospects TORONTO— President R. W. Bolstad told stockholders that profits of Famous Players Canadian for 1963 were $1,929,921, or $1.11 per share, as compared to $1,802,079, or $1.04 per share in 1962. Profits on the sale of fixed assets and investments for 1963, not included in these figures, are $109,366 or six cents a share, compared to $865,370 or 50 cents a share in 1962. Bolstad was optimistic as to the future, saying, “With generally favorable weather conditions, a better flow of boxoffice attrac¬ tions, our theatre operations for the first part of this quarter are showing an im¬ provement over the same period last year.” Theatres, Movie And Legit, Planned For Baltimore BALTIMORE, Md. — Morris Mechanic an¬ nounced details of his plan to build a 1500 seat stage and movie theatre in Charles Center. Mechanic said the 30,000 square foot build¬ ing would be erected on the southwest corner of Charles and Baltimore streets, site of the old Sunpapers Building, with a row of retail stores next to it. The total cost of the project is expected to be almost $4,500,000. Under the plans, the city will rent the land to him under a 75-year, $30,000 a year lease, with a purchase option for the first 30 years. Mechanic said this theatre, of modern de¬ sign, would be built above a row of groundlevel stores, with a street entrance to the theatre. There will be parking for 150 cars under ground. Another local man is going ahead with plans to open his own legitimate theatre in the fall. He is Ross Chappie, formerly of Philadelphia, and his plans call for a suburban playhouse offering a varied program of straight plays and musicals on a year-round basis. Chappie has been associated with the organ¬ ization running the Painters Mill Music Fair, Owings Mills, since 1960, and his theatre is modeled on the tent concept. Morris Lefko, vice-president and general sales man¬ ager for MGM, recently presented to Paul Newman, star of MGM’s forthcoming “The Outrage,” the trophy voted him by the Foreign Press Association naming him “World Film Favorite.” General D-l Plans Theatre In Mass. Shopping Center BOSTON — General Drive-In Corp. will build a new 1,200-seat hard top theatre in Saugus, Mass., in the New England Shopping Center development on Route 1, Richard A. Smith, president of the Boston based na¬ tional theatre chain, and Alan J. Green, presi¬ dent of the center, announced. Smith said the theatre will be “in the tradition of the highly successful cinemas at Northshore and Shoppers’ World” in the Boston suburban area, and the 20 others which the chain has erected in shopping centers across the country in the past three years. The New England Shopping Center was selected as the location of the circuit’s new theatre because of the tremendous popula¬ tion growth of the area and the obvious need for increased recreational facilities, Smith re¬ vealed. The center itself occupies approxi¬ mately 400,000 square feet. Construction of the theatre begins shortly, and the house is scheduled for a fall opening. Pushback seats on an inclined floor, a build¬ ing design which will eliminate traffic con¬ gestion and box office queues, and acres of parking space, stereophonic hi-fi speakers con¬ cealed in auditorium walls, air conditioning system changing from heating to cooling, art gallery, staggered seating providing un¬ obstructed views from every seat, and huge 62 -foot screen are some of the features for the new theatre. General Drive-In Corp. has been a pio¬ neer in the development of the shopping center theatre, “just as it was a leader in the development of the drive-in theatre dur¬ ing the 40’s and 50’s,” Smith pointed out. Its first shopping center theatre opened in Shoppers’ World, Framingham, Mass., in 1951. During the past year, the company added similar theatres in Peabody, Mass.; Cutler Ridge, Fla.; Chicago; Charlotte; Austin, Tex.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Madison, N. J.; Or¬ lando, Fla.; Cleveland; and Dallas. Fifteen more theatres are planned for construction during 1964. Choose Your Language! LOS ANGELES — Cinerama’s “American Journey” show for the U. S. Pavilion at the N. Y. World’s Fair will be presented in five languages, it was announced by Jeremy Lepard, producer-director of the 15 minute presentation. Embassy president Joseph Levine was recently con¬ gratulated by Natalie Wood, left, and Dana Wynter after accepting three awards at the annual Golden Globes Awards dinner of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 10 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR March 25, 1964