The Exhibitor (1964)

VARIETY ( Continued from page 5) international chief barkers, Edward Emanuel, George W. Eby, and John H. Rowley, to¬ gether with three public-spirited Buffalo cit¬ izens, Cy King, editor of the Buffalo CourierExpress; H. H. Kirkover, editor, Buffalo Evening News; and Robert King, vice-pres¬ ident, WHBW. Also at the banquet, a special award was given to Rex North, 1963 chief barker, Vari¬ ety Club of Great Britain, “in recognition of its outstanding service to the children of Great Britain.” Lifetime gold card Variety memberships were presented to Rotus Harvey, outgoing international chief barker, and C. J. Latta, member of Variety’s international executive board. C. J. Latta presented special plaques to seven past international chief barkers, John Harris, Jack Beresin, John H. Rowley, George C. Hoover, George W. Eby, Edward Emanuel, and Rotus Harvey. All were present except Harris and Beresin. Carreras announced his crew for the forth¬ coming year. International press guy will be David Jones, presently chief barker of the Variety Club of Great Britain. Reappointed as international representatives were R. L. Bostick, Memphis, representative at large; Phil Stone, Toronto, Canada; Harry Kodinsky, Pittsburgh; W. M. Brizendine, Baltimore; and D. J. Goodlatte, London, Eng¬ land, European representative. To take the place of Nat Nathanson, form¬ er representative who was elected property master earlier in the day, Carreras appointed Fred Stein, chief barker, Tent 25, Los Angeles. Dr. Farber Receives Humanitarian Award The International Humanitarian Award — presented each year by Variety Clubs Inter¬ national “for the most outstanding service to children and humanity” — was awarded to Dr. Sidney Farber, Boston, world-renowned scientist who developed the first chemical control of leukemia. “Variety marked the turning point in my research and life,” Dr. Farber said in a speech accepting the award. He explained that in 1947 he came to Vari¬ ety and its then international chief barker, Growing Public Interest In Filins Aids In Building Better Audience Rifkin Den ies Bowing To Police Censorship BOSTON — Julian Rifkin, head of Rifkin Drive-In Theatres, owner of the Braintree Drive-In, which has figured in a contro¬ versy between the police chief of the town and the Boston Herald over “censorship” of the “The Silence,” made his first state¬ ment on the matter: “For the btnefit of all exhibitors and any other individual feeling strongly about one’s civil rights, I would like to state cate¬ gorically that the picture completed its scheduled nin and that at no time was a request made to stop showing the picture acceded to. The picture was not pulled.” The police chief had stated that he asked the owner to discontinue showing “The Silence” and that on the next Tues¬ day a special children’s show was held as scheduled, and on Wednesday the show¬ ing of the film in question was discon¬ tinued. the late Robert O’Donnell, with a specific proposal for an institution that would con¬ duct research on children’s cancer and treat children afflicted with it. “At that time, not one institution in the world had the resources to use the knowledge that medicine had available,” he said. In the case of children’s cancer (leukemia) , Dr. Farber said the therapy consisted then only of diagnosis, transfusion, then certain death in a few weeks or months. “Great strides have been made since. Acute leukemia is still incurable, but it can now be controlled, and the lives of children af¬ flicted with it can be prolonged as much as 5 to 12 years,” he said. Dr. Farber concluded by saying that Vari¬ ety Clubs International has made an in¬ spiring contribution to the welfare of children and the eradication of disease. “You have not felt your full strength yet,” he said. “As long as there is a problem to be solved, a disease that has to be cured, you must go on and on.” 1 H-.c : •5* INTERNS nmaamms A m party m THE m _ _ __ _ A prescription for fun — fresh oranges innoculated with vodka, was offered recently to members ®f Variety Clubs International at their Buffalo convention as part of the campaign on Columbia’s The New Interns.” Seen from left to right with the pretty nurses are Ernest Stern, Associated Theatres, Pittsburgh; William Onie, Oxford Amusement, Cincinnati; and Ray Culley, TWA, Las Vegas Tent. NEW YORK — Margaret G. Twyman, di¬ rector of the community relations department of the Motion Picture Association of America, addressed the Fordham University Film Con¬ ference recently on the subject, “The Film Industry and Film Study.” The theme of the Conference was “Creating an Active Film Audience.” In her remarks, Mrs. Twyman highlighted the many activities of the MPAA community relations department in helping the public to better understand and enjoy motion pic¬ tures. In discussing motion pictures as an art form, she stated: “It is only comparative¬ ly recently that film people of all descrip¬ tions have come to regard themselves as par¬ ticipants in what we now refer to as a ‘legitimate art form.’ ” Mrs. Twyman continued, “But as the craft of film making has developed, so has a pre¬ occupation with self-analysis . . . introspec¬ tion, if you will. With this growing aware¬ ness has come an acceptance of . . . indeed a pride in . . . the fact that film making is a legitimate art, a legitimate means of com¬ munication, as well as a legitimate source of entertainment, enlightenment, and at times inspiration.” In pointing out the new and growing in¬ terest in film audiences, Mrs. Twyman said: “Within the business community and within the community of creative artists there is some evidence that interest in ‘building better (not just larger) audiences’ is increasing. How do we know this? Well one way we know it is because people like Paul Newman and Robert Rossen will say ‘yes’ when we ask them to participate in educational projects. We know it because some of our industry leaders are now giving lectures in some of the more reputable courses being offered at both the high school and college level.” In describing some of the activities of her department in the area of film education, Mrs. Twyman reported on a new venture to be conducted by her department — “I think you will be interested to know that during this coming year we will be developing just such a program through one of the largest women’s organizations in the country. We are committed to provide hundreds of clubs at the grassroots level with materials basic to the understanding of today’s films and today’s film making. This is a broad experi¬ ment of sorts, it is a new approach, and it has come about not only because of our im¬ patient eagerness but because of the spon¬ taneous and growing interest on the part of these club members. This is encouraging.” In concluding her remarks and pointing cut the differences between film education in the classroom as compared to the kind of education required for adult audiences, Mrs. Twyman said: “Most people in my experience have an insatiable appetite for information about movies. This can run the full range from curiosity about the private lives of the stars to very extensive curiosity about some of the technical aspects ... the magic ... in the creation of a film. As more written material is prepared on these subjects . . . more can be distributed, placed into the hands of citi¬ zens everywhere . . . supplementing the class¬ room education with a broader education of all of the adult population. These are some of the accomplishments we hope for.” July 15, 1964 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 7