The Exhibitor (1966)

Films For Thinking Men Valenti's Industry Goal CHICAGO — Jack Valenti, president, Mo¬ tion Picture Association of America, Inc., ad¬ dressed the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago at a dinner meeting at the LaSalle Hotel attended by several hundred HBS grad¬ uates and their wives. Robert R. C. Miller, president of Greyhound Van Lines, and a Harvard classmate of Valenti, presided. Valenti, who has a Master’s degree in Busi¬ ness Administration from Harvard, 1948, told the Harvardmen of the world-wide importance of motion pictures. Pie recounted USIA sur¬ veys which account American motion pictures to be the most persuasive influence in gaining favorable public opinion abroad. Pie also described “the new creativity” in the American motion picture arena which is emerging from the new breed of motion pic¬ ture managers, creative professionals, actors, and technicians. It is his aim, said Valenti, to establish an active rapport between the educational world and the movie industry. “The ragged cliche that movies are not for thinking people is as outworn today as yesterday’s idiom,” asserted Valenti. No project commands larger priority, said Valenti, than the refreshening of the campus taste for American motion pictures, and the only way to do this is by producing exciting, venturesome movies and by extract¬ ing from the university campus the best it has to offer in skills, talent and imagination. “The contemporary man is better educated, less inclined to blandishment, more under¬ standing of frailty and shorter on toleration of the ordinary than his forebears. That is why our future must produce more contemporary movies to attract the contemporary man. And that is precisely where this resourceful and newly-girded industry is tending.” Fox Ups Dividend NEW YORK — Darryl F. Zanuck, president of 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, an¬ nounced that the board of directors voted an increase in the quarterly cash dividend from 25 cents to 30 cents per share on the outstand¬ ing common stock of the corporation payable Dec. 30 to stockholders of record at the close of business Dec. 6. This represents a 20 per cent increase in the cash dividend. In addition, the board voted a two per cent stock dividend also payable on the outstanding common stock of the corporation Dec. 30 to stockholders of record at the close of business Dec. 6. William Forman, prominent west coast exhibitor and president of Cinerama, Inc., receives a plaque honoring him as 1966 Motion Picture Pioneer of the Year from George Dembow, Pioneers president. The NEW YORK Scene By Me/ Konecoff THE MOTION PICTURE PIONEERS ANNUAL SHOW PLAYED BEFORE THE largest audience in the organization’s 28-year history last week with a last minute surge of additional guests necessitating the expansion of dining facilities in the Americana Hotel’s Imperial Ballroom. Why, it was so big that they had two people singing the National Anthem, the Barry Sisters. Not only was quantity present but quality as well, and in the words of Sherrill Corwin, president of NATO — “If a bomb were to drop on the Americana Hotel tonight, the entire industry would fall into the hands of Otto Preminger, A1 Zugsmith, and Mike Ripps.” Of course, by now, the entire industry knows that the guest of honor named “Pioneer of the Year” was William R. Forman, noted exhibitor and president of Cinerama, Inc. To show you the interest and enthusiasm that was engendered, a plane was chartered on the west coast not only to bring in friends, exhibitors, and press, but also attendees from Hawaii. Seymour Poe, dinner chairman, recalled some of his past experiences with Forman before turning the microphone over to Carl Reiner, toastmaster, who admitted ignorance over the organization as well as the fact that the audience was to be stag. Otherwise, he remarked, he would never have worn his hairpiece, which he reserves only for mixed company. He admitted unconcern as to whether or not he did well that evening, because the worst that could happen was that he wouldn’t be called again. The Reiner humor was evident through¬ out the evening as when he noted a reply from the travel secretary of California’s Governor Brown, who couldn’t attend because he needed a vacation following the disastrous election; or when he admitted that this was his first meeting with Jack Warner, and it had to happen after he sold all of his stock. He even allowed Warner, an unscheduled speaker, two minutes to make a point, and Warner played it straight, keeping to the allotted time and making with no jokes. George Dembow, affable president of the Pioneers and “Gloria Swanson’s old producer,” thanked the many people involved for their help, singling out Poe, Jonas Rosenfield, Jr., Charles Alicoate, Mort Sunshine, Burton Robbins, National Screen Service, Bill Heineman, Bob Selig, Jim Velde, John Hughes, Richard Carnegie, Eastman Kodak, Technicolor, and others. He recalled the start and early years of the Pioneers with a special bow for Adolph Zukor, the first “Pioneer of the Year,” who received a standing ovation. He discussed the selection of Forman, presented the extraordinary dais, and revealed a surprise donation of $51,000 to the treasury of the organization from Forman’s friends and associates, which will further the organization’s aims of helping those in need, veterans of the industry. Sherrill Corwin had some memorable and off-beat gifts to present to Forman, mostly of a gag variety, as well as some words of praise, labeling him “an outstanding showman whose exploits in our business will forever mark him as a man to remember,” both as an exhibitor and as the head and guiding light of Cinerama. Comedian Jackie Vernon started his routine with the admission that he didn’t know who Jack Warner was, and he even didn’t know who Forman was. Then he fractured much of the audience with his routine, which has garnered so much applause on tv and in night clubs. Others who entertained that evening were the Barry Sisters, Paula Wayne, and Barbara Minkus. The new Pioneers were sworn in as usual by the Hon. Ferdinand Pecora. Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, addressed the assemblage, praising the Pioneers, their history, personalities, and aims, and also getting in some general observations on behalf of the industry. He took note, too, of the guest of honor and his contributions to the industry and the world around him. He hoped that he could become a Pioneer in the class of 1991, when he will have been in the industry 25 years. Dembow presented tribute-award to Forman, who was both proud and deeply moved in his response. The co-chairmen of the dinner committee were Charles Alicoate, Marvin Kirsch, Mort Sunshine, and Bob Selig. PARTY NOTE: WALTER READE, JR., WAS HOST AT A COCKTAIL PARTY in the lobby of the Little Carnegie Theatre which featured eight chicks walking around in light blue pajamas. The reason for the color, Reade explained to us, was that it was the official color of the Reade Circuit, but we didn’t get an adequate explanation for the pajamas, which many press and top industry executives turned out to see. The official reason for the affair was to introduce his “Courtesy With A Sty le” program, which is to feature attractive hostesses in many of his theatres to extend a warm and gracious welcome to patrons. We were told that “the hostesses will immediately inspire in the patrons a mood of warm welcome and gracious sincerity. They should make the patron feel at home, wanted.” They will be responsible to the various managers of the theatres where they are assigned and will help relieve them of some of their more time-consuming meet-and-greet chores. This will permit managers to give fuller attention to the manifold problems involved in running a high-traffic, quality theatre today, according to the words of wisdom of a Reade official. Six theatres will premiere the program, with others to be added as time goes by. The hostesses who introduced the bit were from the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant. To all this we say, “allevi,” which is an old Blackfoot Indian expression meaning “it is to be hoped.” One of the things that concerns us is the pajama thing. Can the manager keep his mind on other more necessary things? Will the patron think that the outfit is a hint of the picture quality in the auditorium? Tune in the future and find out. November 30, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 21 .uiiiiiimiiitimiiiiiiiiiiiit