Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April 1, 1953 Icy set for "Julius Caesar,** Metro's filmization of the Shakespeare classic, company is reportedly on the prowl for a legit-type theatre for its Broadway showcasing. Ne- gotiations, it’s reported, hate been held with the Sfanherts as well as other legit theatre ops, with a May opening date is "view. Talks with the Shqberts also involves houses in other cities. Presentation of film versions of the Bard’s efforts on a roadshow basis have proved successful in the past Both “Henry V” and “Sam- let” chalked up substantial returns playing to specialized audiences. i.inwrWn | f of the bally campaign for '‘Caesar” finds Metro sponsor- ing a Shakespearian reading com test in the N. Y. metropolitan area, with 46 high schools competing. Although not yet in release, "Caesar” is already garnering awards. Parents mag will presenl its “extraordinary award, to the picture, third time in 27 years mat a film has received the honor Christian Herald is' also readying an accolade, St Louis Trade Zone To Get 25 New Ozoners St. Louis. March 31. There are 25 new ozoners build- ing or planned in the St Louis trade area, with possibility of more being readied for the 1953 season. At tiie end of last year, there were" more than 100 ozoners operating in this area. LeRdy Baston and John Kirby, Effingham, ILL, have let a contract for a $75,000 ozoner near Casey, HI. Other spots in southern Illinois where new ozoners will be con- structed or are about to be started are near Beardstown, McLeansbor, Yieana, Breese, Carlyle, Anna, Belleville, Cobden ML Carmel and Jonesboro. In SL Louis county and outside Missouri, 10 or more new ozoners are ■ being built while in northeastern Kentucky, also in SL Louis trade area, plans have been made Tor five new ozoners. imt that both houses wfll be kept dark in May and June at least. The Strand and Tower are in- volved in a suiL In compliance with the consent decree. Para- mount sold them to a group which now is suing to have the deal, rescinded and to recover the $75,-1 000 of the $150,000 purchase price already paid. 3-D to Dominate 2-Day Confab of Olno Exhibs Columbus, March 31. It’ll be a 3-D convention when! the Independent Theatre Owners I of Ohio gather Tor their annnal two-day meeting April 7 at the Deshler-Wallick Hotel here. Only a few speakers have been j scheduled, says Robert A. Wile, ITO exec secretary, but they’ll all talk on the depth technique. Among those to be heard are: Herbert Bar- nett, Society of Motion Picture En- gineers prez; Ralph Heacock, RCA theatre product manager; J. W. Servies, veepee of National Thea- tre Supply and of SMPE. Martin 1 Quigley, Jr., is also scheduled for a ! brief talk. j Banquet speaker will be Arthur i I*. Mayer, author of "Merely Co-i lossaL” Regular film clinics, a feature originated in Ohio, are also sched-; uled. Drive-in Clinic will be led ) by T. L, Mendelssohn, of United Booking Service in Indianapolis; Small Town Clinic by* William A, Carroll, general manager of Cara- van; and SubsequentrRun Clinic by William Snaper, national presi- denL Metro Delays 'Rope's End' [ Hollywood, March 3L , Unable to decide in what process , the upcoming “Rope's End** will be [ shot, Metro postponed start of the [ film from Thursday (2) to next • Monday rfih t _ Studio is considering Metrovi- r sion, the Metro-owned widescreen 1 System, and Cinemascope, 20th- Fox’s system offered to all studios. With the Motion Picture Assn, of America showing interest in the newly incorporated Assn, of Cin- ema Laboratories, Inc., which brings together indie labs on a na- l tional basis for the first ti m e, pos- sibility now looms that the lab group will be widened to include the so-called "captive** or com- pany-affiliated labs. John Stott, DuArt-TriArt exec and prexy of ACL, disclosed in N.Y. Monday (30) that he’s been contacted by both COMPO and the MPAA, and that he expects to meet with Ralph D. Hetzel. MPAA v.p., in N.Y. later this week- ! MPAA pitch is that there is a nat- jjural tie-in between^ ACL and I MPAA aims. Next ACL meet of the group’s 15 charter members is skedded for April 20 in N.Y., when the mem- bership will be asked to approve the association's bylaws. Labs are 1 paying dues of $50 a year. There’s I to be another meeting in May, pos- jj sibly in Los Angeles, in conjunc- 1 tion with the -Society of Motion • picture and Television Engineers j convention, when ACL officers I will be elected. I Current slate has Stott as prexy, a Russell Holslag as treasurer and S Harry Sale as secretary. Indie labs I would welcome the entry of the (company labs and of Technicolor into their association, since it I would strengthen their position vis-a-vis the industry; 210G Finnish Divvy . Film companies arc currently in the process of divvying $210,000 of accrued earnings remitted from Finland. Transfer clears out all of the American distribs' frozen funds in that country. Motion Picture Assn. o| America members recently divided a $200,- 000 melon from Srveden, which also cleared out their balances 1 there. Amount Involved In the deal by which Paramount bought the rights to Sam Taylor’s play, “Sabrina Fair,” actually could go higher than the $75,000 purchase price reported last week. That’s the minimum sum in -the pre-production arrangement Par is called upon to shell out, additionally, a royalty for every week the play runs on Broad- way, plus other coin for every week’s run of a touring company. 4The ceiling price is $200,000. Columbia is playing up the news, emanating from Sydney, Aus- tralia, that a Japanese whaling ship, the Settsu Mara, was crushed in the Antarctic ice pack and abandoned by its crew. The same thing happens in “Hell Below Zero," the Alan Ladd starrier, currently filming in London, for Columbia release. Production stills in 3-D, plugging “The House of Wax,” will be made available by Warners to first-run houses for use in their lobbies. Ten panels, each equipped with three viewers. Will show 30 different 3-D scenes. Panels will also be made available to merchants for window displays, A Palisades, N. J., exhib is using 3-D pix as an enticement to bring customers in to see the more prosaic “flats.” Every Saturday night the theatreman hands a pair Of tix to Cinerama to the holder of a lucky number. ! “Forbidden Games," French Import, is released by Times Film Corn, and not Arthur Mayer-Edward Kingsley as noted in the Yajeiety 11st- i ing of Oscar winners last week (25). Lyons, Camera Vision j Stock Suit Settled! Hollywood. March 31. j Federal Judge Ernest Tolin yes-J terday (Mon.) okayed a settlement! whereby Arthur S. Lyons gives up ij some of his shares to Camera j Vision Productions, Inc., and j waives $15,000 due in diwys, in jj the suit brought by Mrs. GOda ■;> Dahlberg, N.Y., and Mr s. Ho se K. Davis of Hawaii against CVP prexy Lyons and directors Edgar Morris and Edward Flynn. Women sued, contending they in- vested $320,000 in the company. They declared that Morris kept incomplete books and demanded an accounting. They accused Lyons of “misappropriating’* funds and act- ing “fraudulently.” Corporation was formed to. develop a special camera invented by Jack Strauss. Judge Tolin ordered a board of directors meeting April 20. _ I L de Rocfcemont Preps N. H. Documentaries Concord, N. H., March 31. Louis de Rcchemont of Newing- ton, producer of “Lost Bound- aries.’* “Walk East on Beacon" and other films, has been engaged to make a documentary picture de- picting life in New Hampshire as part of the stepped-up “Sell New Hampshire” campaign. John Brennan, of the Stale Plan- ning & Development Commission, and Prof. Austin Olney, director of the audio-visual centre at U. of New Hampshire, in Durham, will co-operate in providing material for the film. Some of this material* including wild-life shots from the Fish ■& Game Dept, is already available. De Rochemoni has also started shooting a short film featuring the Spaulding high school orchestra and band in Rochester* N. H.