The Exhibitor (1965)

. . MillHHHIIIIIHIMIIIIMIItHHIIIIIthHMM! The NEW YORK Scene By Mel Konecofi SEVERAL SCORE EXHIBITORS FROM THE NEW YORK AREA GATHERED AT the Baronet Theatre the other morning to listen to Columbia vice-presidents Rube Jackter and Bob Ferguson discuss the promotion and advertising efforts on behalf of the summer release line-up of the company. Jackter sounded very sincere in his statement that he would like to see the exhibitors present get more money out of the pictures when they played their theatres. The pictures are big and important, he noted, but need imaginative, enthusiastic support. Jackter said films have no ceiling on grosses, and they can be greater than ever when you have what the public wants, but the public has to be stimulated to come out and attend. Ferguson observed that the distributors are taking more and more risks while not making the profits they should. Some of the pictures are not doing the business they should, though advertising expenditures have been on the increase continually. The com¬ pany is now spending thirteen million dollars a year on advertising to support pictures. “Unless we can get cooperation from the theatres we can’t expect to do better,” he said. Some theatremen, he lamented, don’t use the materials provided them and this hurts. It wasn’t possible for his department to go into each theatre and put up posters and run trailers he said. Using a combination of slides, trailers, footage, newsreels and advertising displays, Fer¬ guson presented detailed merchandising plans for “Lord Jim,” “Cat Ballou,” and “Genghis Khan.” He noted that Columbia has created a “want-to-see” attitude through the use of roadshow engagements, special pre-release playdates and promotion plans for each film that “can bring the kind of grosses you have dreamed of.” “Lord Jim” has garnered more front page space than any film in recent years — more than 27 national magazines, extensive national television and newspaper coverage and merchandising tie-ins with the country’s most important department stores. All of these have been incorporated into the new campaign on the film which is being readied for summer release. “Cat Ballou,” in its pre-release engagements across the country, had done very well at the boxoffice following successful sneak previews, word-of-mouth and screenings for opinion-makers, and he estimated that the film could be the biggest comedy money-maker in company history. The spectacle “Genghis Khan” is receiving massive advertising placement as well as the biggest television saturation campaign ever set for a motion picture in New York. Three network stations here will plug the film in prime time the day before opening with the viewers estimated at 6,500,000. He felt that the public was ready; to receive these three following appropriate softening-up time. Also discussed were “The Collector” and “Ship of Fools,” both of which are scheduled for pre-release this summer with general release planned for later in the year. THE METROPOLITAN SCENE: TO THE MANY PEOPLE WHO CALLED AND wrote expressing sympathy over the recent loss of our dad, we extend blanket thanks until we can get around to individual expressions of gratitude . . . One of the sidelights of the United Artists stockholders meeting was the opinion of a medical doctor shareholder that there is therapeutic value in going to the movies and that emphasis to get people into the theatres should be aimed at young people to get them off the streets and out of mischief and towards the oldsters to whom he recommended film viewing as a great form of relaxation . . . Jimmy Stewart talk-sings “Shenandoah” on a Decca record . . . Many perusers of the N. Y. Times were curious about the ad in the real estate section which sought a “quiet, secluded house” with a “well-built cellar that can be made com¬ fortable to keep a young female.” Natcherly it was in connection with William Wyler’s “The Collector” and we wonder if they found one . . . Jerry Cutler left the AIP publicity department to form his own independent production organization, Seret Productions. Mike Kaplan, of the Independent Film Journal, replaces him working with the wonderful Ruth Pologe . . . Carl A. Gottlieb joined the Arthur Cantor office as production associate. He will be in charge of checking projects for presentation on stage . . . City College will re¬ organize its film courses in the fall to integrate them more fully into the liberal arts cur¬ riculum, according to Dr. Buell G. Gallagher, president of the college. He thinks films as an art form and means of communication have become increasingly important in our society ... A series of special screenings of “The Agony and the Ecstasy” got under way in major cities across the country for educators, school principals, assistants etc., to allow educators to fit the subject matter into their curriculums for the fall . . . Any licensed medico named Dr. Schreck can attend the RKO Palace premiere of “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors” as the guest of Paramount Pictures . . . Someday we have to ask Jim Moran what he thinks of the feline of the species. That’s an inside observation appreciated by a limited number of industryites and press people. POP-UP NOTE: A TRICKY INSTITUTIONAL PROMOTION PIECE IS ON ITS WAY to exhibitors, television stations, press and magazine editors, etc., from Universal Pictures. It’s a colorful item that is labeled “Things Are Popping At Universal” that is at peace in fiat form but when you lift the cover, things literally pop. A model of the MCA Tower swings into position and at the windows of the tower are the personalities appearing in the current Universal Pictures in release and in Universal television shows. On the oppo¬ site field are large color shots of 15 of the world’s biggest boxoffice names as well as titles of the film. It looks like it should be worth the two dollars it cost in conversational value alone. If you didn’t get yours, nudge Universal. Church Stresses Policy Opposing Film Nudity NEW YORK — The Episcopal Committee for Motion Pictures, Radio and Television, governing body of the National Legion of Decency, stated it “will continue to apply the ' policy of resisting every effort to employ nudity in film production.” It was believed that the body reiterated its position so that its policy would not be misconstrued by film makers, especially since the Production Code Administration review board had made an exception on nudity in ! “The Pawnbroker.” The statement of the Episcopal Committee, signed by the Most Rev. John Krol, D.D., j J.C.D., Archbishop of Philadelphia, chair¬ man; Most Rev. John A. Donovan, D.D., | auxiliary Bishop of Detroit; Most Rev. Wal¬ ter W. Curtis, S.T.D., Bishop of Bridgeport; Most Rev. Timothy Manning, D.D., J.C.D., ; auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles; and Most Rev. L. T. Lane, D.D., J.C.D., Bishop of Rockford, read: “For several years there has been definite evidence of an attempt, till now unsuccess¬ ful, on the part of some producers to in¬ troduce nudity into major American films. “In itself nudity is not immoral and has long been recognized as a legitimate subject in painting and sculpture. However, in the very different medium of the motion picture it is never an artistic necessity. The long history of film production proves that dra¬ matic and artistic effort has been achieved without recourse to nudity in motion pic¬ tures. “The temptation for film-makers to ex¬ ploit the prurient appeal of nudity in this mass medium is so great that any concession to its use, even for otherwise valid reasons of art would lead to wide abuse. “For this reason, the National Legion of Decency will continue to apply the policy of resisting every effort to employ nudity in film production. Though some may regard this policy as rigid and perhaps arbitrary, it is a policy which is in the best interests of the national community and of the motion picture industry itself.” Ariz. Welcomes New House PHOENIX, Ariz.— Associated Independent Theatres, Inc., will open the Valley’s new¬ est theatre in the Camelback Mall Shopping Center, Scottdale, about July 15. Charles (Scotty) Stokes, supervisor for A.I.T. in Arizona, formerly at the Plaza, Patchogue, Long Island will assume general management. He is also in charge of theatres in Hayden Plaza East and Hayden Plaza West. The new theatre has a decor of “contem¬ porary Scottdale western” in keeping with the spirit of the town. It will have a capacity of 856, all push-back loge seats with facilities for smoking. The interior will have an unu¬ sual chipped-stone finish. Split-face masonry will expose the material. The ceiling will be adapted in a series of carved sections for acoustical as well as decorative purposes. Cutler Exits AIP Post NEW YORK — Milton Moritz, American In¬ ternational national advertising-publicity di¬ rector, announced that Jerome Cutler has resigned from the AIP publicity department. Cutler, who works with eastern publicity director Ruth Pologe, will shortly leave the New York office to form Seret Productions, his independent production organization. 18 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR June 16, 1965