Variety (July 1953)

Wednesday, July 1, 1953 PICTURES MORE Fi 1 in compariy execs expressed 4 Incredulous surprise last week over a si element from Ed Sullivan, ‘ ; To:<n 1 of the Town’' TV show m e., that divided audience reac- tion had forced him to cancel fu- ture pic “previews*’ on his ; pro- . / Distribs said it had been their understanding that t h e m u c h - hailed. Holly wood-TV cooperation had brought excellent response, and that this had been frequently confirmed by S u l 1 i v a n staffers. Distrib spokesmen also insisted it was their impression that the or- der to stop the previews had come down directly from the sponsor, Lincoln-Mercury, and was based on the latter’s unwillingness to underwriit pix plugs repping hun- dreds of thousands of dollars worth of free film advertising; ; Sullivan, in explaining his move to VAgiErV last, week, .said. 50% of his mail favored dropping pix clips.. This; he explained, was due to the “peculiar psychology” of the TV audience, which resents films on a. “live.” show. Sullivan added he himself was sorry the mail re- .(Continued on page 14) SUBPOENA RKO ALUMNI IN STOCKHOLDER SUIT Los Angeles, June 30. L A. County Clerk issued sub- poenas calling for depositions by Pore Sctiary, "N. ■ Peter Rathyon, Jerry Wald, Norman Krasna, Sid Hogeli, Sam Bischoff; Jack Skir- ball and Frank Ross in the minor-, ity stockholder suit against RKO and Howard Hughes. All were once connected with the studio as execs or indies. Subpoenas were issued at the request of the Las Vegas court where EH B, and Marion V. Casteman.■,and. Louis Feuerman have filed the suit charging RfCO executives v yil h “i llegal, collusive ati'd negl;i.gqnt” activities. Henry Herzbrun, attorney for the plaintiffs, declared the deposi- tions were necessary to show that the RKO board of directors made “large expenditures of money that were illegal, and monetary ad- vances to producers with reckless abandon”'' • . of 24 Oldies in London London, June 30. Metro has closed its first distri- bution deal here with an outside [ distrib, giving EroS Films the reis- sue rights, to .24 dldieSi--fbr ;/ im.miedi-. ate release. Among the films figuring iiy the deal are “Mr; ’ Chips,” “Copper- field”, and “Rio Rita ” Transaction was on sharing terms, ,and is sub- ject tp indefinite continuahce. Equipment: Ballanfy.ne Co., in Omaha, has entered- field of 3-D equipment, manufacturing and dis- tributing interlocks for projectors called Bai-Lok models. Three types are available. One is for use with Simplex, RCA and Ballantyne Models 8 and 9 sound heads. An- other is for Ballantyne Model 6 .sound heads. Third is for Selsyn motor interlock. First shipments v\ent to Martin Theatres, Colum- bus, Ga., and Y&W Management Cotp.. Indianapolis. Art: Otto Luther, ex-art director °f Warner Bros., has. just devel- oped a simplifiedmetfiod of creat- ing 3-[) art work. Luther’s proc- ess, j; or which a patent is pending, uUlj/cs two colors—red and green red and green, specs, It is ■ being studied by .films for.animat- • ed r-artoons. Other projected uses “ !i)“medium ;involVe advertisirig, Prrrhiums, comic strips and pack- .-aging; ; : • ■■• “ • ' . Bally: ..While some trade quar- !r 1N *' a ' v ® been downbeating 3-D, the Polaroid Corp., leading mariu- ; ‘biuret- of the stereopic specs, is. fjwking on a bally campaign to sen to the public. Heretofore, I 1 J , com Pany has remained on the strielines, leaving the claims and xpiouauori aspects to the filmery releasing a 3-D picture. . rust step in beaming its educa- Program to the public is. out- . p, appointment of Cunningham o n ■ s 1 ac * agency for prompting P • >> P ecs - Leonard Spinrad con- ; I; 1 /'" a * press rep lor Polaroid _^wtM^e-ompanYiJi^rimbWfefm- h,hPatching its story at ex- ri ! )s ' Producers as well as the general public. ' 1 In a ruling Which distrib com- panies’ reps believe is sufficiently significant' to discourage similar suits of the kind, if upheld, an ac- tion against Various film outfits on grounds of ^discrimination in the. prices of. product was dismissed this week in N^Y. Federal Court; Difference, in amount of rentals paid by two theatres does not con- stitute discrimination, ruled Fed- eral Judge Sidney Sugarman. jurist;'.taking this position, de- cided for dismissal of an antitrust suit brought against Paramount, RKO, Warners. 20tli-Fox, Univer- sal, United Artists and Loew’s by the Mayfair Theatre, Hillside,. N. J. Complaint was based on differen- tial in prices paid for pix by the Hillside . and“Warrier• ■theatres in New. Jersey; Judge Sugarman, in an oral rul- ing from the bench, said that, while pic rental, prices charged the War- ner houses, and the. plaintiff’s op- eration were. different, there was no consistency in overall level of prices maintained by the distribs. Therefore, he concluded, there could be .no conspiracy. On other counts, the jurist said there was insufficient evidence of competition between the Hillside and Warner, and there was no evi- dence of damages. Judge Sugarman threw out the case after 11 weeks of trial, upon argument for dismissal made by Louis Nizer, for the defendants generally,rid by John Caskey, for 20th-Fox! Ovei'-a-iriartini diajog Among highly, placed, theatre and film comi- , party, executives—such as those to- ; gether ori last weekend’s trek to j the. Will Rogers Hospital in Sara- nac,- N. Y., and later the guests of National Screen Service. prez Her- man Robbins at his Hotel Al-Bii.r- Norm, Schroon Lake—appeared' a likely sum-up. of some matters troubiing..men':on both sides, of;the exhibition-distribution fence. Other officials; sounded out in- N. Y. this \yeek shared the same observations; The b.o. behavior of some Indi- vidual pix, and how to handle oth- ers. -made for part of the conversa- tion. But the two major points of concern among the distribs were these: . ■ . ■ • (1) . The foreign market, nov/ representing over -40% of A merr- | can coin panics’ total income,, has become increasingly . hazardous. ■'A.riy : ..;k.jngs'i;/;e-. cut in this income, such. as. via new' monetary or trad- ing curbs in Italy, France,, arid so on will seriously iriipair tlie. entire [ trade’s economic structure,.. Dp- j meslie returns long since have ceased to be sufficient to. pay for. production; there simply must be lbe revenue from abroad or len.si.rig' budgets will have to be trimmed* even more drastically than ever. Loss of any substantial part of the worldwide coin/will result in a sit- uation far more resembling panic than anything developing from the post-World War II b.o. decline or the latter-day conversion to new production and exhibition tech- niques. . V (2) . On the domestic front, amount of private antitrust liiiga- (Continucd on page 54) Full-Week Runs Mean For ’Selected’ Indies Hollywood, June . 30. Misunderstanding . about earl ie.r. Statements; concerning the use of 20th-Fox’s Cinemascope lerisps by indie producers was declared by A1 Lichtmari; distribution chief. Who revealed that Errol Flynn Will use the process;; on his forthcoming indie filin'.'in, Europe. ■■ Lichtman explained •„ that the process will be released to selected indies; Ife is currently discussing a deal with W. R, Frank for a Cinemascope deal on “Sitting Bull.” • Of All Col Musicals Choreographer. Jerome Bobbins l, ft for the Coast last night (Tries, > for. confabs, with Harry Cohn arid Jerry Wald, to discuss deal to .'1)6- c'oine dance director Of all Colum- bia inusicals; ... ... He would start with such upcom- ing pix as ''Pleasure’s All Mine,” "Pal Joey,” “Nice Place to Visit,” “Ssiter Eileen” and “Great White Way,” ..-.'■■. -■ ■•'.■: IFE td Be Americain Rep At Venice Film Festival Italian Films Export has been named as U, S 'public relations rep for the Venice Film Festival, which opens ^Vug. 20. Decision was reached in Rome last week following conferences be- tween Dr. Antonio Petrucci, fes^ TiVaT^di'r ector'“ a rid - Jonas~R5se n^ field, Jt., IFE public relations top- per, who returned to . N, Y. oyer the weekend. for Mpls. Nabes; No More TV Blues Minneapolis, June 30. Full-week runs are now the-rule, instead of exception, with most here who play pix 28, 35 and 42 days. Such a policy finds many of these houses, particularly those in the 28-day slot in five best b. o. shape since TV’s local, advent nearly four years ago, local branch managers point out. . Subsequent runs are finding it much more profitable to play such pictures as “Hans ClfristVri An- dersen,” “Salome,” * M o u 1 i n Rouge” and “Peter Pan" the full week. This holds even at advanced admissions,, instead of the former two or more weekly changes of “ordinary” films “that no^longer mean a thing to the b. o.," it’s pointed but. Independent neighborhood thea- tres, the Terrace and Riverview, for example, are playing only the “pick” of the releases,, as soon as they’re available after then* loop first-runs, and patronage is show- ing a steady improvement. Both of the aforementioned; theatres have had a succession, of advanced' admission pictures du'r- Ing recent months, getting. 85c. prices as. compared to $1 downtown for the. Same films during their first-ruiis.. Grosses, especially those at the Terrace, have been highest ever attained. >This is probably one of the. r.e.o- L sons . Why there’s a ; decreasing amount of singing of the TV blues nowadays, exchange heads declare,. .Aware of exhib-nurlured pix biz op posit ion to subscription TV, Skl- atrpn is considering laying off; the film companies, as it mulls plans to riiove up application (o the Fed- eral Oommtynirations Commission for a commercial license for its Subscriber-yislon system' Theory of Skfatron execs is that it’s wiser to concent rale fully on exploiting the support already of- fered to their system by various groups in the world of sports. Leaders in baseball, boxing and collegiate footbalI have iiidicaled they see a big future In one or sev- eral methods of toll-TV; their in- fluence, is expected to be fell when the FC’C gets around to deciding whether subscription video is to be okayed. Skialron : origiha’ily had expected lo go before tiie F(C Ayilh its li- cense plea in October, but it now seems likely that lls attorneys will apply for a.commercial permit, for. N. Y. operation before that time. Reasoning in easing off the pressure on the film distribs is that it would be preferable to tackle the job of convincing I he FCG without the kind, of opposi- tion t hat could be expected. froin the pic industry. At tli.e same time, it’s felt that, once pay-as-you- see TV. is a going concern.-,, the film companies’ altitude wilj be- come much more positive. It’s figured that, the FCG may eventually authorize various sys- tems in different parts of the country. At the same lime, it’s pointed out that all Such systems could be made'compatible by use of a carrier wave, to enable them to pick up one another’s programs, Phonevision booklet-,'mailed out this week from Chicago, spoke of that system as “the only mutually bene fi ciaf we d ding of Ho 11y wood arid television.” II said the FGG could be expected to acl this fall, or winter on Zenilh’s yeor-old pe- tition for a hearing .and approval of its three techniques. ^ . Encouraged by the. booking line- up Tor “Alairv Street to Broadway,’■ set for 250 day-nml-date key city openings on July 31, exhib backers [ of the film being released by Metro are; crintemplating additional pro-; duetton Ventures. ; • PreIitninary disc11ssi0iis, leading, to the continuation of (’itiema P rod u ( i i o n s—company under whose auspices “Main ,-S'i,'w.ri* ftlmed'v-’haye already been ; held. Exhibs may embark, on a six-pic^ (lire project. with Lester Cowan, Who produced “Main St.,” continu- ing as producer. . Financing of tlie IIIm-making ac- ; tlvitieS'. viorild • be similar To tti0; present. arrangement. Leading ex- ivibs would pul lip part of the coin, with the remainder coming Troni bank sourc<‘s. Bankers Trust - Ct». o f N e \y. York helped . finance “Main Si.,” .wlilcli was .brought in at jjjl.OOO.OOO. . : i 'L , oritenijdatirvU';_a'^pro(iuct'’.sh(oi , l;V.--: age as the major liimerles experi- ment wilh: the : new. dimensions, .exhibs feel tinve is piirticularly ripe for launching a production pro- gram. Aiin, of course, is. to help keep (heir theatres supplied wllli a steady flow of product;, • “Main: St.” is seen as .tiie big test of exiiib coOperati(in. Theatre irien' havF; to some extent, proved they crrii combine to produce » (Continued on page 14)- ^ , Hollywood, June 30. Price trig on the Charles Chap- lin studio has been lowered tb $750,000, but all in cash. Origin- ally it was. put on the block at an asking price of niore Ilian $1 ,()()(),- 000. One Soulh-Ainerican investor wanted to biiy on a hniglernv pay- off basis, but Chaplin nixed the deal. At least two -investor's. now ar.« negotiating for 1 lie two-stage s!u- dip. They are chiefly interested in rising it a a rental lot lor invest-; 'merit puipose.se . Pix 2d Joint Production British .producer Herbert Wilcox .. disclosed that he and Republic I prexy Herbert J. Yafes had decj ded '.Oii a - second picture under their joint production deal, but an- nouncement had- to be withheld until they cleared the rights. Pair’s first pic, “Laughing Anne,” will be released in mid-September. . Wilcox returned to London Mon- "ffa^(2"Dr^lTqwingr = t^ Yates and with Warmer Bros, homeoffice execs/ WB is releasing Wilcoxes “The Beggar’s Opera.” ...Indonesian;' remittance of SL- 110.000.. ricgol.iatcd. t)y the Motion Piciuie ;■ Assn,, / of ’ ATncnca ; s ( t ro ubje shoot e r.. Ir.yi ngM a a s, wa s received ■' ; in'"’i s j.r-;Y; Monday (29i. Coin reps 5.0% of the blocked funds accumulated in Indonesia by the U. S. distribs up to Dec.. 1, 1952, and .50% : of; 195^ first, quar- ter earnings, ; While rest of; the frozen coin is theoretically ayri ilable for femit- tance. over a period ;oF years, pos- sibility still -looms that part of it fnay have, to be loaned to the Im donesiari government. . Whether this is to be a forced loan or other- wise; reniains undetermined' pend- ing Maas’ return. Meanwhile MPA A. . execs dis- for a $250,000 remittance from Pakistan, representing coin blocked there since last December, . Hollywood, June 30. Dan Duryea will costa r with Andie Murphy In “The JJiecken- ridge Story,” to be produced by John W. Rogers at U-l . ■.,■ Jack Cummings assigned to produce the film version of “The Tea House of the August Moon.” . .. Aubrey Scheriek and Stuart llelsler to Honolulu to start work on the Scherick-Koch production, “Beach- head,” to be filmed entirely in the Islands . . Pahdro Berman re- turned from England.' to suj)e) vi.se fi n a 1. shoot i n g on VTlie I am g, I jpn g Trailer” at Metro . , . Marshall R. Breedlove, Ifarold Schuster and George O’Brien set 1 1 rig up an indie e-ojnpahy to produce “Everything’s Made for Love.” . •.“'■Tom Gries wi 1 l.:.pr.oduc.e “People Like Us” ior Allan Dowling Productions. Richard Denning shifts Iroiri TV t o play a.. ’1’V prodUcei ! in “The Glass- Webb” at . U-I ‘ . Gloria. Gr.ah.ame. will costar With Gregory Peek in .“Niglit; Peopleformerly “The Cannibals,” tq be produced by Niinnally Johnson for 20th-Fox •in Germany . ; Jonie. Taps'as- : signed to produce “Clowns With Buggy Pants” in 3-D Technicoior for Columbia ... .... Michael Pate . j o i ned the. Way n 6- Fe I lows “ 11 ori rj troupe on location: in Mexico,. John Ireland, will costar wjlh J<>- anrie Dru and Rod Cameron in Edward Small’s “Camel. Corps’’ • Barton MacLane arid John by tell signed for feature roles in ’.'Slade” ' at. Allied Artists , . . George Sid- ney plays, a bit. role as a. stage di- rector in “Kiss Me Kate,” - which' Ke is directing at Metro/ Van Heflin will, star in “Com- ma ncher os,” which.George Stevens will produce and direct independ- ently late this year > . . Mel Shav- elson and Jack Rose, recently--un 1 -. d ^ ? c?m tTK-f ! RTWS nfe.i^ t arid later . as . writer-producers, v/orking on an original for the next Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy.