The Exhibitor (1966)

Co. nip roves financial Status A> fit ns Win Favorable Reception NEW YORK — At the meeting, in lieu of the amnial meeting of s ockholders of Columbia Pictures Corporation, presided over by A. Schneider, president of the corporation and of Screen Gems, Inc., all nine members of the current board of directors were re-elected to hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders, by an affirmative vote of more than 90 percent of the voting shares. Reelected for another term were A. Schnei¬ der, Donald S. Stralem, Alfred Hart, Leo Jaffe, Samuel J. Briskin, Jerome S. Hyams, Herbert L. Bamet, Chester I. Lappen, and Ben Regan. Charles Schwartz, secretary of the corpora¬ tion, stated that Columbia has invited the Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas, which has recently acquired a 20 percent interest in the company, to select two representatives to join the board. This, Schwartz noted, is permissible under the by-laws of the corporation, which provide for expansion of the board up to 13 members, and will take place when the Banque de Paris has nominated its two representatives. In a report to the stockholders, Jaffe, execu¬ tive vice-president of Columbia, stated that “material progress has been made in improv¬ ing the financial status'’ of the company during the past six months. He further noted that the first half of fiscal 1966-67 “will show a marked improvement on a consolidated basis” com¬ pared to the previous six months. Part of Columbia’s reflected improvement, Jaffe said, is due to “results from pictures re¬ leased since the start of our fiscal year, coupled with a number of successful pictures released during the preceding year.” Among the eminently successful films re¬ leased during the fiscal year ended June 1966, Jaffe cited William Wyler’s “The Collector,” William Frye’s “The Trouble With Angels,” Irving Allen’s first Matt Helm adventure “The Silencers,” the Carl Foreman-Columbia pre¬ sentation “Born Free,” and Harold Hecht’s “Cat Ballou.” Jaffe further emphasized that consolidated profit for the fiscal year ended in June was $1.11 per share, as compared with 97 cents for the preceding year, despite the fact that “earnings were adversely affected by substan¬ tially higher interest charges created by the tight money market.” Noting that “several important pictures that are now completed or in various stages of completion hold great promise,” the Columbia executive stated that the company has “every reason to believe that the improvement now indicated will be manifested for the balance of this year and the following year.” Among the Columbia releases mentioned by Jaffe that should prove successful in the final analysis in increasing profits for the current fiscal year are Jerry Lewis’ “Three On A Couch,” Sol C. Siegel’s “Walk, Don’t Run,” the Robert A. Goldston-Otto Plaschkes pro¬ duction of “Georgy Girl,” and Irving Allen’s current Matt Helm adventure, “Murderers’ Row.” An important factor in Columbia’s future profits, indicated by Jaffe, is that only a nomi¬ nal part of the income from the latter two films will benefit the second quarter, whereas the major part of the derived revenue will be reflected during the third and fourth quarters of the current fiscal year. Jaffe also cited Columbia’s most recent product, including Richard Brooks’ “The Pro¬ Dr. John M. Converse, director of the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, presents Mrs. John V. Lindsay, the wife of New York's mayor, with the first pair of tickets to the American premiere of the B urton -Zef f i rel I i production of "The Taming of the Shrew," the proceeds of which will go to the Society for the Rehabilitation of the Facially Disfigured, maintained by the Institute. The Colum¬ bia release will premiere at New York's Coronet. fessionals,” Fred Zinnemann’s “A Man For All Seasons,” Sidney Lumet’s “The Deadly Affair,” and the Sam Spiegel-Anatole Litvak production of “The Night of the Generals,” as being especially successful during the initial playdates, and demonstrating exceptional po¬ tential for the remainder of the current fiscal period. Elaborating on what he described as “a continuity of important pictures ahead of us that will augment the present forward progress of the company,” Jaffe presented the stock¬ holders with a preview of the soon to be re¬ leased Columbia product and some of the company’s future productions. Beginning with the Burton-Zeffirelli produc¬ tion of “The Taming of The Shrew,” which will have its world premiere at the Royal Command Film Performance in London on Feb. 27, followed by its American premiere at the Coronet Theatre in New York on March 8, Jaffe discussed Charles K. Feldman’s “Casino Royale,” to be released throughout the nation in April, as well as a number of releases for the remainder of the current fiscal year. Also addressing the stockholders group was Jerome S. Hyams, executive vice-president and general manager of Screen Gems, Inc., who re¬ ported that Screen Gems, 88 percent of which is owned by Columbia, “has just completed the best year in its history— its eighth consecutive year of record profits.” And Hyams added, “all indications are that this current fiscal year will be even better.” Other business conducted at the meeting included the reelection of Price Waterhouse and Co. as the corporation’ independent public accountant and auditor. In addition, the stockholders voted in an overwhelming majority to defeat three stock¬ holder-proposed resolutions, including the pro¬ posal by Mrs. Evelyn Y. Davis to eliminate charity contributions by the company, and the proposal by Lewis D. and John J. Gilbert con¬ cerning the Employee’s Profit-Sharing Retire¬ ment Plan and Employee’s Stock-Bonus Re¬ tirement Plan, and the proposal by Messrs. Gilbert for compulsory retirement of directors of the corporation at age 72. Mich. Showman Active To Win Community Support UTICA, MICH. — If enthusiasm, technical knowhow, and a real feeling for the community have any part in successful theatre manage I ment, then the Delux Theatre and its new I owner, Charles Boening, should go a long way. 3 Boening has owned the Delux only a month,, but his flair for promotion, his success as a manager of quality theatres, and his desire to become successful in the community have already had a marked effect at the box office. He is busy now involving local merchants throughout his community. He plans to offer a special night for the ladies. Six leading merchants’ stores. Boening is sure this will “Ladies Night” a success. All ladies will be welcomed to the theatre free of charge. They’ll have an attraction that will appeal to the ladies and will be served free cookies and punch, too. To receive their free admission ticket, ladies have to visit any of the six merchants stores. Boening is sure this will start people coming to his theatre. Boening plans to install a new marquee; the lobby will have hi-fi music and an art gallery showing the works of local painters. He plans to offer a strict policy of absolute quiet and orderliness, and this should have an appeal to the adults, according to Boening. A special matinee on a Saturday and Sunday to appeal to the small fry, and a reduced admis¬ sion student card for the teen-ager should help. He wants to make his Delux a family type entertainment center. The new owner said, “We want you to feel free to bring your , family to the Delux without any fear of being embarrassed by the kind of picture we show. “Everyone entering my theatre will be given courtesy, respect, and service that he would expect in the finest theatres in the country. And if you don’t think you are receiving it, just let me know.” says Boening. He also promises “to make the theatre avail¬ able for community benefits or special club meetings.” He wanted to give special credit to Irving and Adolph Goldberg of the Jewel Theatre, Mt. Clemens, and Mr. Prevost of the Cinema I and II, Macomb Mall, for his past industry experiences. “Millie’' In 19 Roadshow Dates NEW YORK — Universal Pictures has set 19 roadshow engagements of "Thoroughly Mod¬ ern Millie,” Ross Hunter’s Technicolor musi¬ cal with a cast headed by Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing, James Fox, John Gavin, and Bea Lillie, to start during the months of April, May, and June following the world premiere at the Criterion Theatre here on March 21 as a benefit for the Museum of the City of New York, it was announced by Henry H. “Hi” Martin. The starting dates of these roadshow en¬ gagements, the majority of which will be launched with major benefits, are the Cleve¬ land Circle, Boston, April 5; Stanley, Phila¬ delphia, April 5; Stanley Warner, Los Angeles, April 13; Nixon, Pittsburgh, April 19; On¬ tario, Washington, April 20; Palace, Cleveland, April 28; Northland, Detroit, May 24; Capitol Court, Milwaukee, May 24; Georgia Cine¬ rama, Atlanta, May 24; Centre, Denver, May 24; Majestic, Houston, May 31; Village, Dal¬ las, May 31; Crestwood, St. Louis, May 31; Valley, Cincinnati, May 31; Eastgate #1, Port¬ land, Ore., June 7; Mann, Minneapolis, June 14; Five Points, Jacksonville, June 14; Capri, Charlotte, June 14; and Ingersoll, Des Moines, June 28. 12 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR February 15, 1967