The Exhibitor (1965)

Industry Battles New Review Board In Dallas; Lauds Current System DALLAS — Spokesmen for two statewide motion picture groups called “superfluous” a Dallas proposal to establish a city review board for movies. Officials of the Texas Council of Motion Picture Organizations and the Texas D-I Theatre Owners Association said Dallas has an adequate movie board in the present Texas Motion Picture Board of Review. The organizations praised the board as “one of the most outstanding and most respected review groups in the nation,” and said its ratings are published more conveniently in Dallas than are ratings in any other city in the country. The two movie organizations made the joint statement about a proposed ordinance to come before the City Council. It calls for regulation of attendance at questionable movies for persons under 18, with the movies to be designated by a city appointed board. The motion picture group said it believes the selection of films for young people, like television programs and books, is a parental responsibility. Varied Agenda Highlights KANSAS CITY — Canadian showman N. A. “Nat” Taylor will present “A Hard Look Into the Future” as he keynotes Show-A-Rama VIII at Hotel Continental, March 2. Darrel Presnell, spokesman for United Theatre Owners of the Heart of America, sponsors of the three-day convention and tradeshow, pointed out that Taylor’s subject is squarely in keeping with the convention theme: “Find a Fortune in Your Future at Show-A-Rama VIII.” In Taylor, exhibitors will hear a fellowexhibitor, who also happens to be a distribu¬ tor, producer, trade publisher, attorney, and film buyer. His zestful approach to the in¬ dustry is as fresh today, according to Pres¬ nell, as it was when he started working eve¬ nings in a theatre as a high school boy. He is president of Twinex Century, which operates 60 theatres under the label of 20th Century Theatres; president of International Film Distributors, Canadian outlet for prod¬ uct from Allied Artists, Continental, Embassy, and others; and president of Toronto Inter¬ national Film Studios. He also heads the com¬ pany which publishes Canadian Film Weekly, the country’s only industry publication. Always a supporter of exhibitor organiza¬ tions, Taylor also is a director and past presi¬ dent of the Canadian Picture Pioneers and a wheelhorse of Variety Tent 28, Toronto. An extra touch of glamor will be provided by former Miss America and now screen actress Mary Ann Mobley, who will be brought in Wednesday, March 3, by Allied Artists. She soon will be seen in AA’s “Young Dillinger” with Nick Adams, and while here will be presented with a special Star of To¬ morrow award from UTO. Also expected at Show-A-Rama is actor Johnny Crawford, hitherto best known as Chuck Connors’ son on The Rifleman TV series. Now a young man, Crawford is making his film debut in Bob O’Donnell’s “Indian Paint,” which is set for states rights release. Presnell also said that exhibitors should be alerted to the appearance of LaMar Sarra, vice-president and general counsel of Florida They expressed fear that passage of the or¬ dinance as now proposed “would permit the beginning of a power machine susceptible to political motivation, which inevitably would expand into control over other forms of com¬ munication.” The movie group also said it feels the pro¬ posed ordinance, which would put all films into the two audience categories of “adult” and “general family,” is too general. They noted that the nationally published Catholic Legion of Decency rating has six audience suitability designations. The Texas Motion Picture Board of Review has three designated groups — “adults,” “adults-mature young people,” and “general audience” — and Parents Magazine has the same rating system. The review board, representing various re¬ ligious denominations, has screened and rated more than 9,000 films in the 30 years since it was formed. Mrs. Roderic B. Thomas, Dallas, is now chairman. Kyle Rorex is executive director of Texas COMPO, while Earl Podolnick is president of TDITOA. Show-A-Rama VIII Meet State Theatres, at the convention’s opening session. Sarra will discuss the growing prob¬ lem of state use taxes and how they affect the motion picture industry. Joey Heatherton will accept a special award naming her as “Most Promising Star of To¬ morrow.” While maintaining the star-studded and colorful pace of recent years, next month’s conclave will beef up its work sessions with additional drive-in emphasis, according to UTO president Jay Wooten. He said that the stronger focus on outdoor theatre operation is in direct response to suggestions made by early registrants. Another first this year is in the trades show side of the convention. A formal exhibition opening is planned for 4 p.m. March 1, to be followed by an early evening cocktail party in the exhibition hall, allowing theatremen to get a look at the merchandise and equip¬ ment displays a day earlier than in the past. A fast-paced shirtsleeve session under the generalship of Douglas Lightner, Common¬ wealth, is slated for March 3, each part of which will be presented by a 1965 Showman¬ ship Award winner. Bob Bachman, L & M Management, Chi¬ cago, will deal with drive-in promotions of many types; Bob Klinge, Dickinson city man¬ ager, Joplin, Mo., will outline how to set up a drive-in auction program; Clifford Knoll, Minnesota Amusement’s State, Sioux Falls, S. D., will map the planning and selling of special shows in conventional theatres. United Artists’ Denver branch manager, John Dobson, will talk on “Hollywood, Den¬ ver, and You,” some case studies of distribu¬ tor-exhibitor cooperative campaigns in Den¬ ver. M. B. Smith, Commonwealth vicepresident, will wind up the day’s information file with a package “Great Plains saturation” exploitation, recounting how the idea devel¬ oped and how successfully it has been em¬ ployed to put extra boxoffice oomph in pro¬ gram pictures, particularly those described as “family entertainment.” February 17, 1965 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 9