Motion Picture Herald (1954)

WINNERS Some upsets in pre-conceivecl ideas as to who would win in this quarter of the Quigley Awards competition were provided by our judges — all to the good and proper, for we never argue with judges. But we recognize the fact that they have close decisions to make — based on their showmanship experience. William T. “Bill” Hastings was an easy winner in large situations, and Jack Bridges, manager of Famous Players — Canadian’s Victory theatre in Timmins, Ontario, was a winner on points, in small situations. We reviewed Bill Hastings’ campaign on “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in a recent issue, and we will cover Jack Bridges’ several entries in another report, soon. The judges credited him with doing a swell job in a small city, where it was obvious that he was on his own, without outside help. The runners-up, whose names were focussed on the three ballots, each of which named ten in order of preference, resulted in more upsets, and even closer footwork in the judge’s box. It was nip and tuck between several Canadians, several British and several overseas contenders, and the domestic scene suffered somewhat, because better campaigns are coming across the border than from near at hand. We’ve said before that showmanship hasn’t been comparatively as good at home as it is abroad. In the usual order, the seven next in line for honors, following the three top winners, were as follows : Jim Cameron, Capitol theatre, Fort William, Ont. John M. Endres, Calderone theatre, Hempstead, L. I. Bob Harvey, Capitol theatre, North Bay, Ont. Ted Irwin, Electric theatre, Larned, Kansas. George Mann, Eureka theatre, Eureka, Calif. Heinz Schenk, Paramount Films, Frankfurt, Germany. David B. Williams, Gaumont Cinema, Preston, England. Overseas contenders were numerous, and we had veteran Rutgers Neilson, in charge of publicity abroad for RKO Pictures, as our special authority in this department. He not only went over all the campaigns three times, but he deliberated with himself for quite some time, before filling out his ballot. He finally settled on the prize-winning showmanship submitted by Vieri Niccoli, publicist for Paramount in Italy, who won a trip to Hollywood with his campaign on “War of the Worlds” — and was our recent visitor, in New York. There’s no question of his qualifications for the highest third quarter overseas award. It was nothing funny that brought these broad smiles to the faces of our distinguished judges during their period of study of campaigns entered — but genuine surprise and appreciation for a smart example of good showmanship that was found in one of the books under discussion. When one discovers something really unusual in quality — a shout goes up to call the attention of the other panelists. Above, we have Charles Hacker, manager of operations at the Radio City Music Hall, and a Quigley Grand Award winner in his own right; Jeff Livingston, eastern advertisng manager for Universal Pictures, and Rutgers Neilson, director of overseas advertising and publicity for RKO-Radio Pictures in New York. 3rd Quarter Citation Winners H. G. BOESEL Palace Milwaukee, Wis. HUGH S. BORLAND Louis, Chicago, III. RAY BOYEA Broadway Newburgh, N. Y. PAUL BROWN Fresno, Fresno, Cal. AL CAMILLA Modjeska Milwaukee, Wis. A. E. CAULEY Paramount Peterboro, Can. MAX A. COOPER Cove, Glen Cove, N. Y. RICHARD DE BOW Trans-Lux, New York PHILIP DE SCHAAP Paramount Films Amsterdam, Holland S. EPSTEIN Metro Perth, Australia PAUL FLODIN Paramount Films Stockholm, Sweden CHARLES GAUDINO Poli, Springfield, Mass. C. H. GRAVES Wintergarden Sydney, Australia T. ISE Paramount Films Tokyo, Japan PAUL JACOBS La Roy Portsmouth, Ohio MARGE KEINATH Jackson Jackson Heights, N. Y. R. L. KING Metro Adelaide, Australia IGOR KLEIN Tower, Peckham, Eng. S. D. KULKARNY Paramount Films Bombay, India JUAN LAUPHEIMER Paramount Films Santiago, Chile ED LINDER Gopher Minneapolis, Minn. A. LOEWENTHAL Ward, New York C. L. MC FARLING Orpheum, Sioux City, la. TONY MASELLA Palace Meriden, Conn. LIN MARTYN Capitol Niagara Falls, Can. H. S. MOH Paramount Films Hongkong ROBERT NELSON Broadway Timmins, Can. R. W. PARKER Regal, Torquay, Eng. GEORGE PETERS Loew's, Richmond, Va. J. PLUNKETT Paramount Films Paris, France ROBERT PRACHETT Paramount Films Havana, Cuba BOB RAPPAPORT Town, Baltimore, Md. OSWALDO ROCHA Paramount Films Rio de Janeiro, Brazil TED RODIS Astoria Astoria, N. Y. ANTONIO SASTRE Paramount Films Mexico City, Mex. JERRY SCHUR Crotona, New York IRVING SCHWARTZ Pelham, New York HAROLD SHAMPAN Odeon, Woolwich, Eng. C. R. SHEPHERD Paramount Films Djakarta, Indonesia MURRAY SHARF State, Newark, N. J. JACK SIDNEY Century Baltimore, Md. GEORGE SNYDER Paramount Syracuse, N. Y. JOE SOMMERS Kingston Kingston, N.Y. MICHAEL STRANGER Plymouth Worcester, Mass. A. W. STANISCH Kentucky Louisville, Ky. PAUL TURNBULL Granada Hamilton, Can. WILLIAM WALLOS Mid-City Kenosha, Wis. G. WIGGLESWORTH Metro Brisbane, Australia MANAGERS' ROUND TABLE SECTION, OCTOBER 30, 1954 37