The Exhibitor (1966)

lllliilliniUMHIIIIIIIIIIItllll! LONDON Observations by Jock MacGregor 1 CANNOT RECALL A FILM FUNCTION QUITE LIKE ASSOCIATED BRITISH Cinemas’ celebration dinner at the London Hilton. It was unique on several counts. For the first time ever, all managers, field executives, head office chiefs, and company directors were together. There were virtually no speeches and no head table. Sir Philip Warter, C. J. Latta, Robert Clark, Bill Cartlidge, Bill Carpenter, David Jones, Jimmy McDonald and the other top brass were dispersed around the tables to achieve the greatest personal contact. In all, 356 were present. The only sad note was that Jack Goodlatte had developed a temperature on his return from seeing “The Bible” in Rome and had to send his best wishes. Bill Cartlidge did say a few words of welcome. He explained that the dinner was to thank managers for their help and cooperation during difficult times (shortages of boxoffice product and staff) which had now ended, told them to relax and enjoy themselves and be at the Warner next morning to see a compilation of shots from the Paramount, Warner-Pathe, and MGM product which they will be showing. He successfully reflected the spirit of the evening by comparing it to the “sheer joy of a family gathering.” B. H. Clifford, Lincoln, thanked Bill on behalf of fellow managers and requested that a good will message should be sent to Jack. My pleasure was enhanced by realising how many present I knew and for so long. After the coffee, table hopping became an enjoyable pastime. THE ODEON, LEICESTER SQUARE, STAGED TWO PREMES IN THE WEEK. On Monday, “Othello” was shown in the presence of the Queen in aid of charity, and on the following day was moved to the smaller Haymarket Odeon for an unlimited two-a-day hard ticket run. Most critics hailed the film on the grounds that it will enable future gen¬ erations to see Olivier’s great stage performance. On Thursday, “Modesty Blaise” was world premed in aid of the Newsvendors Benevolent Fund and had the wholehearted support of the Express newspaper group. Special editions, contents bills, the lot backed it. Every Londoner must know that it has opened. Directed by Joe Losey and starring Monica Vitti, this female secret agent drama is lovely to look at, thanks to fabulous settings and dresses, but has its tongue so firmly in its cheek that some of the less critical could be forgiven for sometimes wondering what it is all about. Based on the Evening Standard’s strip cartoon, this would seem to be a film which can not help but make news. It was invited to the Cannes Festival, and all hell broke loose when Princess Margaret, attending for the first time, was delayed. Many booed, cheered a crack about royalty and punctuality, and made headlines in countless papers. Festivals get a severe ribbing in “To Win a Prize on Sunday,” Peter Baker’s satirical novel, which, come to think of it, is pretty vicious to the industry in general. Always before, I suspected that he adored festivals. He hardly ever misses one. MICHAEL KLINGER AND TONY TENSER HAVE SCREENED A SERIES OF private previews of Compton’s latest, Roman Polanski’s “Cul-de-Sac,” which is pretty strong meat, to put it mildly, and is not for the squirmish. Quite a lot of nudity is intro¬ duced logically, in a matter of fact manner, and certainly not for sensationalism. Somehow, in consequence, it seems all the more unnecessary. It can indeed offend and damage the cinema’s image. Many moviegoers in big and small towns alike who would never dream of going to a nudie might not expect such things in an English speaking picture of such stature. They could be profoundly embarrassed. There are distinguished performances by Francoise Dorleac, Donald Pleasence, and Lionel Standee, of whom I have been seeing quite a lot lately. He was among the 200 personalities at the Variety Club’s annual star gala at the Festival Gardens. Other big names included James Mason, Clint Walker, Barry Morse, Lome Greene, Roger Moore, and Liz Fraser. The “Miss Variety Club” beauty contest, my personal contribution, has in nine years become one of the biggest in the country despite the modest prizes. This year, there was a record entry, and big press, tv, and newsreel coverages resulted. “Jock’s annual treat,” as some so rightly call it, has really caught the imagination! And mention of Variety makes me blush a little. In my coverage of the convention, I referred to Sir Billy Butlin (through force of habit, I fear) as “past chief barker.” Of course, after a break of some years, he’s Britain’s chief barker for a second term. My apologies. Bill. BERNARD SCHWARTZ IN TOWN TO PROMOTE HIS COLUMBIA RELEASE, “Rage,” has been captivated by the potentialities of filming in Mexico. He is much impressed by the artistic and creative talent and the facilities, and believes that a dozen or so copro¬ ductions annually are likely. . . . Visiting from Australia, Dale Turnbull tells me he is involved in a development incorporating three cinemas in one building. Down under as elsewhere, he reports unprecedented success for “Sound of Music.” ... A heartfelt plea is expressed by zoo man Jimmy Chipperfield, who provides and trains animals for many movies, in the Guild of Film Production Executives monthly news letter. All too often, it is the very last minute before he is asked to provide even dangerous animals, and he adds that like humans, many can get upset and lose their heads if they are rushed. Then a long wait is inevitable until the animal has forgotten and quietened down. This can give a producer with a tight schedule palpitations. ... For four years, Leslie Pinder, Forest Gate Odeon, East London, has been receiving anonymous letters enclosing money for old age pensioners and children to be given admission tickets and chocolates. Efforts to identify the benefactor have drawn a blank. . . . Congratulations to Peter Reed, general sales man¬ ager, on his appointment as a director of Paramount here. He is among the brightest and most popular of the younger executives and goes out of his way to keep contact with his exhibitor customers and the trade press. . . . The Circlorama in Piccadilly Circus, now run by Classics, is offering a repertory policy. . . . Rank’s George Grafton Green has been given permission to film the treasures in the royal palaces in color. . . . Joan Fontaine’s starrer for Hammer — Seven Arts and 20th-Fox distribution outside the U.K. has been retitled “The Witches.” N.Y. East Side Loaded With Top Foreign Features NEW YORK — Hailing a trend toward the showing of foreign films in New York’s best theatres, Michael F. Mayer, IFIDA’s executive director, called the development “heartening for the foreign film distributors who comprise our membership.” Mayer noted that during the last week in April, nine east side theatres were playing top foreign product as opposed to a handful ex¬ hibiting other films. In addition, “John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightening: Day of Drums,” was being exhibited in two top the¬ atres, while another house had a revival pro¬ gram of fine old favorites. “The trend back to foreign films in New York’s east side art houses is a great sign of vitality in our industry. We are delighted to see such fine pictures as “Morgan,” “The Shop On Main Street,” “Shakespeare Wal¬ lah,” “The Gospel According To St. Mat¬ thew,” “Cloportes,” “The Girl-Getter,” “Dear John,” and “A Tout Prendre” being exhibited in some of the finest theatres in New York. These films will unquestionably go on through long runs in top houses all over the country. “The east side art houses have been the home and staging ground for the great foreign films of the past decade. We of IFIDA are thrilled and delighted that all signs point to a continuation of their ascendency. We urge exhibitors everywhere to take due notice of the trend.” Lewis Sues Paramounf LOS ANGELES — Jerry Lewis filed a breach of contract and slander suit against Paramount Pictures in the Superior Court asking $5,000,000 damages. Lewis’ complaint charged his former part¬ ners with “improper accounting” on three films, and maintains that Paramount breached their contract by violating a clause which stated that the studio would not release or reissue any of the star’s prevous pictures 90 days before or after a new Lewis release was ready to go on the market. He also asserts the studio slandered him by making accusations that the termination of his contract was be¬ cause his pictures were no longer making money. BV Ups Halloran NEW YORK — Irving H. Ludwig, president of Buena Vista, has announced the promotion of Pat Halloran from Omaha branch manager to the post of east-general district manager headquartered in Cleveland. Tomoji Goto, director in charge of exhibition tor Japan's Shochiku Company, Ltd., was a recent guest at Universal City Studios and was welcomed by Edward Muhl, vice-president in charge of produc¬ tion of Universal Pictures. 14 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR May 18, 1966