Variety (September 1953)

16 nCT€lll2f9 W'^needay, September 2, 1953 With the excepllori of Britain, wher^ thffe Is^ stiil an interest in aterebpix, 3-D is prdying a dud in the. foreign niaiTKet. Depthies n>?vcr did catch on. with European aii- ;dicnces: and rouWed pnly^ mild ^j'p- thusiasni eIsewherev so that exhiI'.s bad .little yirt.centivc for. installinK the: 3'D equipment, • - Tolol oi foreit^n houses tiiat i'ovv . can . phiy ;^-J)e'r.s ;■ h at around 350 with a edheent ration in! the. larger • .ciU.es; N,V,.. dislrib execs say that ’theatres 'tturt. can do: so . vvill: gladiy , take 3'b product that .comes alonR, no thea- Ire op Is. Investing any edih in apparatus . to. sho.w ;. Ihr.eerdirhen- .siohalpix;'/ y'• ■ View^ that S-d: has completely, petered Out,.,a broad was, con ti'a- dicted la.st week in NiV.' by Noridn Vriitei 1 cy.. Mohogham Inter>’ai. ion^ al p.reky. who .said British . an-, diences wert'n’l. .as hostile to 3-1). as they’d been ,p.ki ured in repfk:t s. ile.. (houfvhl the idame, should :.be attribilled to tlie fact that the Hist ,3-I)erH shown in .ihitain, winy not bm. hits, Hitchey said Allied Art- i.st.s" own 3-1) entry, '.'The .Maze.’V has hei-n, .set for .six- .situalions. i’ic ; will open: Orst : at: t^e. Astoiia; .lh’ightdn,vSept. 7; The MonOgram foreigiv eh.ief ;th()iighl .Brilaln.’s' ABC circiiU- lias, about 70 liouses couippeci for 3-i> with Odeon good for linothe.r 30 'installation.s, . be.'- pilo . the show- ing of deplhiek abroad, hoi one of them has so. far been relea.sed in “Oat” ver.sion.. ; However; _ the :d^s- li;ibs ale not • donyihg that they’ll riiakr*.: the switch sooner, or later and point out;thab:tlieik is ho dif-i ficuliy. in • conyerting' a S^D• pie into . a regular one;; A;s execs In N.Y. see ih Iherelll eychtnally: he one or . I wo 3-1) e 0 li i p p i?d t h e at r e s in e v cry capital clf l he world,. : l)if.0(mily of .gainiiig a 3-^ toe^ hold abroad, isn’t due to pix aionc*. The neee.ssary , efluipment isn’t, ayailable in nnany areas.; ImportaT lion of the . .special viewers. has b.ecn a prohlchh evei^ywheie': a in sonic eounlriesl like Tndonesia; has; ’ t out 3-;I) altogether. Leonard Spinrad has wound up his assignment as press relations consultant to the 3i-D viewer divi- sion of the Polaroid Cbrp. Spinrad, who'k consultant on. pix biz matters . for various large ou t- fits, served as liaison for Polaroid with the majors distribs and pub-, iicati.ons in N,.y^ He also estab- lished the. Polaroid 3-p N,ows for the Cambridge prg.y to forced Intb 3-D fetuiis NewTrod; Minneapolis^ Septi i. ■ .Production situation here, has takert ■a.turh that threatens to force many neighbprhoQd and .suburban theatre.s Unwiilingly to’ install 3-D euviiprhent,;''.. With three of the downtown first run bouses playing almost a- .»suc- cession .of. the deepie.s, a nurnbe.r. ()f; the subseijueht runs are con- fronted at times with either prat duef sHohages Or the uiiavailability: of , .siifl’icieiitly sirpng boxbffice picturesi V Ihirarnount circuit has fallen in line to the, extent of equipping its local ace heighborhood house^ the Uptown, for 3-.D; although Hart^ ry B. French, the chain’s president,, had stated, only - recchtiy that .‘Tor, the.preseht” his .eight Twin Cities’ .subseqiierit run theatres; four each ih; Mirineapolis and. Paul, would Ignore the :deepie .dev,el.opmenti ; 'i’he Uptown: is frequenUy forded to bid- cbrnp.etltiyely ■ for . 20-day availability pictures with .tiie com- paratively nearby independent St.. Louis Park.- thiis making the pro-' duct problern: rhore= vexatipus.. for it wben; it .lo.ses Out on top flat pic- liires. It refuse.s to play airy pic-' tune day; and : date ; with the Stf Louis Ikirk, . i ■ ;. Among the many, ifidependeht neighborhood and' .suburban the- alres Jicre, only two .so far have been e(piippcd; for 3-D and 'aie plai'ing.-the deepies. N finest and most succes.sfur of: the thea- I re.s- in the earlie.st slot, 28 .•.:day,s, t he i ndependent Teih'ace, is get t ing i\v . nicely without .3-D,:bid.s :fbr and Invar iahiy lands. tbe;eiTam. of the : product and runs practically aH its pic^^^ a full week, ihstea'd of ni aki n g 't Wp p r m ore el van ges, which is. the policy for many of the other subsequeht runs, : Allport, MPEA Execs Meet On Upcoming Brit, Talks Fayette W, Allport, Motion Pic- ture Export Assn, rep in Britain, is due to return borne bn a combi- nation vacation-biz trip next week. Before goin^ off for a rest, AU- port win hold preliminary discus- sions in N. Y: . With MPEA., execs on the ■ Upcorning Bfitish negotia- tions, Talks. Qh 9 new Anglo- American . remittance . pact are .skedded to get ’ Under way in Washington .Sept, 22, .. Ellis A mall., . Society . of Irider pendent, Motion Pitlure Producers prexyv .Said: last week that - he and reps of; the Ind:Tendent Mbtibn Picture Export Assn, wbuld join iri the.: British \ negotiation.s. .. as : Minnea;poUs,\S . North; Cv ritral. Allied .has iKsited a pIeato the terlilory:s exhi bitors not to buy any.pictures. It a.s- Mires theni that if .they.: have trouble and liolify. the organiVation. "it will .square the. deal around:*.’ : The recent .‘’fas.h’’ of, 50'’f> pictures is deplored;: /' ■ '?i)on’l buy these percentage pie- tures^you: don’t have to,” tlie ex- /bibilors are told. ‘‘W.e all Know - that; no situation grossing under $I ,()O0 a week Can bi cak even 'on the present type of percentage •"ideal.” .V--, -* ' Exivjhilors again are being ad- ^ vised ".noF to go overboard” on \«ny of the present 3-D, Clnemar Scope or other widescreen <leaIs., but at least lb wait until after the national Allied: .States conyenlion . in Ko.stOh A)ct. 5-7 before buying equipmenl; Defin ito reeoinnuMula- lions will come out Of the conven- tion... It: says, •/: : It reports, too; that ;instanceS of blind chockiivg have he('ii; felated at recent regional nleeting.s. 3-Dfoldingr .Cpi'itltiu.ed irom paKe 3 i SiiSS <’<>n1inulMi fVeiU p.iire .V ■ conceited::Over the drop jn Iviz In • sornr aikas; 10^ Brayilv 'for ahsUiiicc.:. ■.• . he,-said; rentes':•are;:(lowvi: 13<.r."• ■ . lyxecs at; other-(^inponies SCO the ; i’l‘;ing. infialipiiary ■ spiral •vabrond' .caivsing .tlKun , :furtlver. 'heada'che.s Apd briiigljig added union: demand.^. . . Soi.no'tcol t;h.e..di.stribs l.layon’t been' f . ■ su llioic.iii ly •^fVnn. i n t’esist I ng ;• t h is. . pr.es.sure, pijrtly Vb.ik’ause they ard .t(?;o .worried oyer losing- a certain ,, • voJ umc - (if biisivK's.s' due -to: I h real - ...: bni'd .strikes and - otlver nveasu.re.s, ; . Cbhiplaihts ..are ; h.e'ard, too, that .;:Jpea| managers ai’e’‘apl .lo''Aidvise . their .New YOi'k plliees to go. along '.. With wage dcma.mls ridher than ../try to cope with the situation bn the spot. Beasoning is simply that, if an increa^se, is graiited, it stands tb :aid their own requests for a ==h i gher-sala r-y^==^===^^=^^ nvoment." Uni versai’s A If fed E. Dli IT. wit h' two' depthics under his belt and six more to go, thinks the stn- dib.s will dbfihiteiy continue to use 3-D.“n vronT die,” he slated em- phatically. “The cookie era is over, that’s all. From now on,, the third dimension will have to fit in(b the picture instoad ..of. going Its sepa- rate way.s. We’ve got to get rid Of the : gimmuks ahd :get down to I io nest-aTgobd ne.s.s p let u re m a ki n g. ” .Countering the exh|b. Lietion which has, already kissed off 3-D ii s a s h or11 iv ed dx peri m c n t. W k iter Heade. Jr. Waltop Readb, Tlieiitres prexy, said Monday 131) .in N. V. that, (lespite all the eomplaining, *'3 tD filnris still do better than aver- age for iis,” It's beenvsugge.stcd. bv indle produc'cr Hal E. cqie.stef fdr one, that, the 3-Ds’ future isn’t -m file cream houses but in the notion marki't, where audiences aC.lunlly gel: a kick but of wearing the glasses.. .' ... : . ^ ., : _ Those^ who 'see a-D as a fasl-fad- Ing. novelty ako confess to .some hillcrhcss over 1 he \vay. t he wliolc development'was handled by MoL lywoodv VThey made a lot-of 'quick- ies; and' went out for a fast buck." ope. exbib 'complamed: “With the kind .of ter.ms they asked, the dis- . tributors inay have gotten vvliat .they wore after;. .,The ones that were hu ii, as us.ual, Were .i h e - I hek- dre :men:.” To.which, in the visual cemnU'r J‘Cf»’ain,.a circuil operator like; itoade replies that . he • sees nothing wrong in the w’ay 3^D ‘was . hand ltd; V; .' .'rotal ^ of ; U;, S.:.: bouses, now. equipped.tQ show 3-D-runk to abofit 3.2q() and isn’ldikely to grow miicb .niore. It's ■pointed: .out, ' however, that some: .Irnportant productions lensed ,iri 3-p are coming from the studios' and that this> may revive the b-o.appeal of the (iepthte.s. To which the .skeptics reply that pul)- lic antagonism, to glasses has grown to the point where the 3-D lag ha.s become .a drag on the b o, rather, than a ..booster and should be junked to permit full concentra- tion on other forms of screen pre.v WashingtonV Sept;. I.. ; National Labor Relations 'Board has ruled that, on the basis of. a bargaining election, . Local 47fi> Studio Mechanics of lATSE, is the proper bargaining Unit for the; scenic designef, scenic artist, and set painter and p.iperhanger, of Wilding Picture Praductipns, IncMi in Chieago, United Scenic Artists Local 350,: Brotherhobd. of Paint-; er.s., interyen.ed and:.:sought to rep- resent the yeraployees. •; A. baivgaining election'saw: 13 of 10 ballots challehgecl and ;NLRB, had to settle the challenges befbrb rnaklng its decision: • \ PENN OZDNER SUES > Philadelphia, Sept. 1. 'James and Roc.co Castrignano, t.raciing as the ■.Midway . I)rive''-in, near Wilkes-Baffe, Pa.,. hav^^ filed ■suit for equitable' relief in. U. S. Pistyic^ CoiJ7‘t :here, seeking clear- a'n.co 21 clays after . Wilkes-Barre runsv;: ;■‘ The .suit also; a.sks for:. Midway Drive-in’s right to bid .cbmpetitiye^ Ty against, the heorby Pafsons, Pa„ Theatre, and avers that the ozoner has, : oniy indefinite .availability from five .majors, : Named in the complaint w-ere- all majors and the C om 9 r f o r d C i r cnit .The Ca.slr i g rva- nos plan to file an- action for .dam- ages later; • . . ;■ /: lb Star iri Pic \ ■ New Grleahs,'Sept. L ;.A .Hollywood cast . including Wanda Hendrix , as star has been signed for't lie pic, ‘‘Je.s.se : James’ Wonwn,” which will go into pro- duction .on location al Silver Greek,:Mlss:; Sept. U. 3’ h e fi 1 m w i 11 be the first p ro d u c- ti0,o of: Panbrama Pictures. ,Co,rp., a Mi:sslssippi firm founded recently to produce feature-length fjlms.in that, .slate. Idoyd Royal, of. Meri- dian. Is president, He said Donald (Red)' Barry has been signed to a longterm contract as . actor-pro- (iuccr. - R.byal sard here Friday (28) the co.mpnny‘S; initiai prodiicUon will be shotm. Technicolor;, .lack .Bqur tel and Arlene .Whelart: have. been sighed in addition: to Miss Hendrix and Barry, he said; . CW BpoMng Eased: Sdine by McVic^ - :Ghicagd, 'Sept;:d-:>" /■ Congestion .of.: pix: at, distributors iiei e.. duc to lack, (if Loop butiets, win. be:relieyed somewhat; whertThe MvVickers enters permiinelUly into Hie fii'StTrhu .field ^-Friday (4).: It's significant of the profu.sion of toja ^rawer product that this house was' able ,1.0 vv-in th;e bid ■ for .such im^ port ant fare as ."Band Wagon,’’ wiih. w hicb-:it;w;iIV make..lts:bow..- • ' , Multi-week tieiip.of heavy gross- ers at the . big 'theatres',here has been makingi the backlogging of ,;fi lm.s cr it lea 1... Or i en taL, St at e-Lake, WO.od.s 'and. the i'aegfeld^ all have their current pix slated for lengthy, run.^:, and the ;Palace, now .showing Cinerama,' can be counted out as ian ouliet. .for other fiLstruns, High potential fare like; ’’Stalag 17”, is in only for two .w'eekis at the Slate-Lake rn mid-September, jusm bef oreopens TOr ap unlimited period. SDG Sett HotpitaUzatipl HollyWQodr Sept. 1. One of the most comprehensivi medical and hospitalization plan; in the motion picture industry was signed by the Screen pirectors Guild of America and the Conti- nental Casualty Co. of Chicago, Agreement, :which went into ef- fect to(lay 11), was recommended by the Guild’s .in.sUrance commit- tee^ cbmppsed of Lesley Selander, J. ; Richard Bremerkamp, Glaude Biriyon and, George Marshall, ; . Formosa and >thb Malay .Penin- sula, will be locations fop two films to : be produeed, by Arisoni Bond early next year, with: the cobperar li on :of General issim o G h ian g Kai- Shek. Pictures,;will be “Under the Mandate of Heaveh” and .‘‘Tigers, of Tanjpng Malinr.’’: / : ' First will be bn the work of: the Chlne>se Nationalist arrhies. Sec- pbd : will depict the strugglewith Ch ihese Co m m u n i st s i n Mai ay a | • 120 Metro Execs Launch V . ■ Hollywood,. Sept,'.L Metro’s ‘‘See For Ypur.self’’ epri- yentibn bpehed yesterday (Mon.) with 120 executives and sales reps frbiTi all part of. the wbidcl .here.to get, acquainted with the studio’s hew product. : Delegates, headed by Charles M- Reagan, Will view 9 completed pietpres, starting with “Easy To Love.” Other films ate “Take the High ‘Ground/' “Kiss Me . Kate,” “'The Long, Long .Trail,-‘ “All the Brothers. Were Val iant,” ‘’Fort Bravo,” “’rorcb Song,” “Rhapsody” and. *;Saadia.” Footage will also be shown from tw'o uncbrripleted films; ‘‘Rose Marie” :and “Khights of the Round Table/! :v ; Holly>vbod, Sept: ■ 1; ' Johii Brahm checke(l/in: at Ed- ward ^Productions to direct Bryan.- Foy’s “The Mad Musician.” .'.Lee Loeb: clbsed: a deal giving him first call On- film rights to all science-fiction yarns appearing ih: Ama'/ing' Stories mag .. Metro as- signed Charles .Walter^ to direct "Paris Story,” to ; be produced abroad by Sam Zimbalist. Leonard Goldstein paid Metro $104,000 for the use of ;yan.: john- son in “Gatling ,. ;Gun.“ . . . Marla Engl[ish miakes her film bow in “Ca.'^anova’s Big Night’* at . Para- mount.. .. John Justin talking a term player'I^eal with 20th-Fox;; Norman Panama and . Melvin Frank revising the screenplay of “White .ChrLstnias” at Paramoufit, to coincide with the ca.sting of Danny Kaye, who replaced Donald .0 ■Gonnbr. . . Arthur Freed assigned as prodimer of “The Romberg Story/’ with Leonard Spigelgass and Joseph Fields scripting at Metro>:V^:.^.: Constance . Smith obtained re- 1 ea$e from her 20th-Fox contract and signed as a freelancer for Pahoramic’s VMan / in the Attic.” .. . Larry Gross bought “African Chant,” authored by Alyce Can-, field, for indie production. ; For the first time in her: career Judy Holliday will star in. a tune- film, playing the role of Ruth in Cplumbi.a’s_remake,:.b^^ .Eireeri?*^ Flclure, based on a script ;by Sonya Levien and Wiiliam Lud- wig, will be produced in Techni- color: by Fred. Kohlmar, staFting Nov;. 1, ..■■ Powell takes a five-week leave of absen(?^e from his RKO j P.rqducer post , Sept.. 15,. tb direct ■ “'The'. Cafne .Mutiny '• Court Maf- tial” for Paul Gregoiy and Charles Laughton. ' This marks his,bow as “git dire.ctar. Stage production, is booked .for ,16 weeks on. the iTad, with Henry FoiidaV John / Hbdiak and Lloyd Nolaii ,in i,he. cast.' . .^ , bah biiryea .signed a, two?picture deal at UI, starting as costar with j Johh Payne and Marl Biahchard in •‘Fort LaramleT,Allied Artists .signed Lesley Selander to direct and .Siefling Hayden: to star ih “Arrow, in the Dust” . . ; John Far- row/ will direct and John Wayne I* will star in :.Warnebs’/ “The Sea Chase,” based on a novel by An- drew Geer:. ; , Three-D version of “Top Banana” has been edited ;(lo wn =t o==LI0=-m i n u t€.s=fa h d'=^slated for ati October release. Unerirtab 3-D Future, The lOc-pfer-pair cost of 3-D viewing glasses,, which has been riling both exhibs and distribs who feel the price is too high, is held justifiable by ^some manufacturers on the grounds that costs of re- tooling for such products must be aihoptized pronto, It’s argued. that. 3-D’s futiire is uncertain,' that a sudden fadeOut of that new' dimen- sion would leave the specs makers with equipment that coiildn’i be used for 'any other purpose, Meanwhile, despite the. pros and cons in the trade anentthe values of 3-E>: an exec of “Piagie-Vuers, Inc.,; claims that orders for his out- fit’s goggles ate on the increase: .Robert Hall, the Magic-VUers rep, said his; company i.s now putting out. glasses in close to Capacity vol- ume of 3,000,000. per wepk.:. Hail* inCideiitally, figures that 3rD: will be used for the ipost part- in the futurer-withi less, expensive pix of the type which appeals to action fans and the youngsters. The new dimensiori gives the “B” :pic sufficient extra value so that it no. longer will be; sJufi'ed off in the. market; ;lw: opines: - WARNER GRABBED . Warner; Theatre in. Washington has: been added by the Stanley, Warner (ihain to the list of theatres set to; receive Ciherama, Proce:.ss ; wiil probably .be unveiled there 'in-; late October. GOnversion bf. the . Warner to the ^ new process will / leave SW with only one downtown first-run ; house,: the / Metropolitan^: Company also. operates the Ambas- sadbr, a nabe firsf-'runner: which has been playing pictures day-anf^^ date with the Warner, • • . Selection of ; thb Warner marks/; the second:house for; Oinerania since SW obtained- the .exhibitibri . and production rights to ' the- medium. SW’s Boyd :Theatre in Philadeiphia.gets the .mediuni o.n , Oct. S/ Two' additions wili give the theatre chain a total of six Ciner- ama hpuses.' It plans to vopen 20, ' including several abroad, by .the oud bf the year. Company is cur- . rently surveying houses in Torb'ntb,: ' Montreal, Dallas and San Franciseb. Sharp improvement inv20th-Fox . film ' rentals for the half yeaf^' ended June 27, 1953, gave the ebnipahy net earnings pf/ ^156,300 for the^ : 26-week period, an.; increase of. .• .$4,000 bv.er 1052, Ifowever, as pre* dieted by 20th . prexy - Spyros P. Skouras, the second quarter; which e.nded; June .27, T953, showed a $865,656 loss as compared with a,' net; of $877,811 in ’52. Official explanation from 2Gth iij:. that ‘The .transition of the company .. to Cinemascope pictures has acl- yersely affected earnings for ; the seco n d quarter, ” Fi rst quarter earnings were $1,023,9'654 Film ' rentals foru^ the first 26 weeks;, of 1953 totaled $48,415;246, an increase of almost $4,5.00,000 over the comparable period in ’52, when they were $43,988,793. .'Total , half-year earnings in *53 were the equivalent of 6c: per\ share. of com- mon st()ck,s*ame.as in'*52. .; ■ .Company last week . declared a /qAioTterly /cais^^^^ dividend of .25c per:; share ph the eomrrioh stbcic but- sta.nding: payable Sept. 26, .1953 to .' stockholdefs of record at Hie close. pf. busihess.bn Sept.; Iff; 1953, ; New Charlotte GToup ■ /;]&uys:;T'N,C“'Theatm^ / Greensboro,: iN;C;;;Sept; L ; Seven . North. Cardiiha theatres have bCeii, bought, .by Stellings- GpsSett,. Ihc., a new jCharlolte con- cern, from 'H, B. Meiselmah Thea- tres, Inc. The deal is for equips me.nt of the houses and of Ibases on the buildings. No real estate! was inejuded and no disclosure was made of the arobunV of money involved in the transactions. . Partners in the hew: Cbmpany are E. G. Stellings; theatre bpera'* tor, and, P, C. Gossett, who has been ; in the textile mill supply ', business for sevefai years. Stell- =ings=is=/presideht-and=GossetWv^p--= and ireatmier.