Variety (December 1953)

Wrclnftdar, December 2, 1953 A press agent's nightmare—no plug despite the expenditure of ( onsidcrable coin and effort—was experienced momcntarilv by Metro staffers on Thanksgiving Day. With a float and knights on prancing steeds in the Macy's parade in New York. M-G anticipated a TV plug for “Knights of the Round Table," its first Cinemascope picture. When the float came into view, however. Merle Mueler. the NBC- TV announcer, merely stated “there goes the knights of the round table." No picture mention, no Metro connection, that’s all Stali- ns who had arranged the deal, at considerable cost to Metro, felt their ulcers erupt as they prepared explanations to their bosses However, just before the Metro float disappeared from camera view Mueller heroically came through with a lavish mention of the inc- line and the studio. The day was saved arid the M-G flacks re- turned to their Thanksgiving dinners. 1 lu- usual scramble is desirable theatre hooking' the l hris(mas-to-\e\v Ye ud. a lush st,iii/a Oddlv the film industry seems mulled altogether featui aimed at children whose ;i d\ as ticket Inn ei s i-, <m* l. etoi v v |, M |, fattens the at this pei iod Here is tli * l imeis.d has piekrd its first Cl tie maSon per It's t«» be “Men of lion ' based mi Hie Howard I’vle novel which is laid against medi- i-v.il Hi it .i in 1 w o nun e properties aie uniter i-bpsidei alum lot Cihe- inaScope t real menf Company's production sked calls no tlu- tensing id 84 pis during tin* , iail rent fiscal year (>1 the 84. a total ot 111! v ill he m color l is releasing seven ol its tca-niies sis in Tecliniiolor and one ill 8-D between December and l-'ehr li- ars Sturt mg with the January re- leases.'all ot l pis will In* *> 111 1 - l.vdile ho screening in ratios up In 2 lo 1 Milton It Itai kind. I press and Mlreil E I tall, eser s p w ill go In tlu* Coast lalei this week tor di>- eusimis pi eliminai .v t<* the l sales meet al the slmtio Dec'. 7 11 At lh.il I tint*, a final decision svill lu* mule mi wlial two other films aie to he CimuiiaSi-oped It's believed t i t lain Ilia) “The Galileans” ssdl he one ol them li is expected In make duplicate standard version4 ol all ol ils (ineinaScopers. Ozoners Meet Feb. 2 First roils cjit'ion of the National .\)lii-il Drisem riu-.ilre \ssn is scl for the Nethei land I'la/a lloii-t l ineinnati. Keh 2 4, w ith I he auaptnhilit v ol new set yen tech niqiu-s for the o/olii-i s a pi mm i.ent part of tin* agenda ituhen Slior is convention t h.ni man and an advisors coimmilec includes \hr.im F Mveis and Mil Inn Shaper, board chaiim.m anti president respect ivrlv ot \Hicd States Assn e season where par- ents gne the knis thrill bs tak- ing cili i'ow n tow n "to see a movie I'm main a moppet the Christinas sf.in/a seises as mlrd- ducllon to the wonders o| a Ing downtown home In previous years, there's hern a Walt Disne's spi-nal available or a film simil.il to Samuel (ioidwvn's Hans Chris- tian Andersen Even companies without films readv lor'general release are in.ik- ing attempts in In* represented in several situations with their upcom- ing "Ini!" filn terming tin* en- gagements as test pro-release runs United Aitmts tor example, is s(ill hoping to line up a Broadway date lor tin* John Huston production. heal tlie Devil,' starring Jennilcr Jones and I lompliiev Bogart Company a! o has two tentative Xmas dates in I .os Angeles and San Francisco for "Ait of hove." Kirk Douglas starrer. Ollier l \ Xmas dal;*- include tvvo lor (!il- bert X Sullivan three for “Cap- tain’s I'aradise” and two for "The Joe I.om St or v ” RKO. plagued for some time with a product slioilage. will he sparsel.v represented with three Xmas dales in Texas for the Jane Russell slarrer. "The French Line Companv had hoped H> have the King Bros. “Carnival Slorv " readv for a Broad wav mil- Snaider Says He Hasn’t Sold Any Portable Theatre TV Gear as Yet expansion of theatre TV facili- ties via the rental of portable equipment to small theatres struck a serious snag this week as a re- sult ot a hassle between Box Office Television. Inc., promoters of i lo-ed-circuit events, and Snaider Television Corp., manufacturers ot Hie portable units. According to Joseph Snaider. proxy of the equip- ment company, his company will not do business with BOTV until the theatre TV firm comes through “with, the green stuff.” Snakier charged that BOTV had reneged on its promise to purchase equip- ment. has stalled and stalled, has fiseii us for numerous demonstra- tions, but still hasn't bought, a single set.” A spokesman for BOTV said 11 ore is no conflict with Snaider. We want exhibitors to see what tie equipment is like first," he said. "As soon as an exhibitor iri- dic.des that he wants the Snaider mil we’ll buy it from him and rent it to theatres. So far nobody who has seen the equipment lias (Continued on page 22 • Earle Lyon’s New Indie Hollywood. Dee. 1. New indie companv, Enterprise Cinema Productions, has been formed with Earle Lvon as presi- dent. Richard Bartlett as veepee anil David Kovar as treasurer. Qutlit has already made one pic- ture. "Dieppe Raid,” with I .yon producing and Bartlett doubling as writer-director. Next production will he "Calliope." Schedule calls for three films a vear. BK<) Ini iiie-s volume ahin;id and dollar lemillanees to the I S arc greater currently than in the past tvvo years, according 1<> \l fied W Clown foreign department head lli-A hack in N A lolldu ing a IP week global Imp im !nd ing eight weeks in the l ai lyisl As Hu product Sllpplv I lie ever slated Hie Company has a new line up already set Im the next six months, lie’s looking Howard to /oi accelerated pi odnrl ion pro gram” and president James If Grainger has given him assurances of a foreign department release sked for a lull 12 months Bolstering, the IfKO filiation in the global niaikef. Crown report- ed, were a variety ol larlors An economy program ha- ml XT id 000 yearly Horn Hie cost ol foreign operations, greater aiponomv given by Grainger to company managers in foreign capitals' exfuhitm «o operation, spirited v.oik hv the IfKO personnel and leirftnii.il di ! rihut ion deals. K» \ lo the upped “dollars in N A'” lor the rompanv was the thawing ol fro/* n funds m many global points, au h a T ram e and Bra/il. While tin* economies achieved have been meaning! ill. money- fCoiitmu**d on page 20' A undue I exhibitoi leader laled llus week that reports re- lating lo Warner Bros, loremg ol 'OMwanled" pielnres have been filed with tin- Dept ol Justice and lie Senate Small Birmess Com- mit lee Tei limn; Wainei flic ' lough I ov ol 11ic imlu 1 rv . I ,eo I ; Wol toll bo nd f hail man ol Allied of Iowa, Nebraska Norlli and Soiilli Dakota and Mid < .-tilial, said I Ft •* i sluh oi gani/al mn had oh lanlia! ev lih-ni e ol this ( I early illeg il Iliad ire . (l aim inemhei . who have iieen iUl»|edd to ll " ()l»e lepoll, according lo Wolroll. coiilams a quote Irom a Waim-r salesman who is listed a- saving "Nobody ev ei goes lo jail foi I hat Columbus;, Dec. 1 Parade of nine witnesses ap- peared before Public Utilities Com- mission of Ohio Monday <3pi to hack up the Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio's light for adjust- ment of film trucking rates. Hunt- ington. Cincinnati trucking lines rates are called unfair and un- equal. Prior to hearing c-nmmi-sion over-ruled a trucking company mo- tion to throw out the case for lack of jurisdiction, claiming matter was interstate commerce affair. The-commission ruled it had juris- diction in the Case, except where state lines were crossed. Witness pointed out such (Continued on page 28 l ull Military Treatment Accorded ‘( ’ease Fire’ Unusually strong bally potential in a lieup with the Arinv is being realized by Paramount with its re- lease ol the II.il Wallis production ot “Cease Fire.” Gen Mafk Clark and other brass'are si voiiglv aiding. Proem in X Y hot Tuesday i24h via the Ariiiv a -isls. looked and sounded like a maim military oper- ation A --iinil.il opening is set for Dec. 22 in San Francisco. Ollier key proems are being lined up Local Army commands are being alert to give Par I lie same coopera- tive treatment as m Gotham. De Luxe Laboratories in N. Y . a v h oily-owned subsidiary of 20th- Fox. intends to sinkMn*tween S1 500 000 and S2.000.000 into its con- \ ei-ion to Technicolor, according l<> Man E. Freedman. De Luxe p ew. who arrived in N. Y. from the Coast over the weekend. Freedman said it was lvis under- standing from the Technicolor peo- p!<* that the Techni lab was “very < !•> e" to finding a solution for ap- pl.'Tn'g its dve-transfer. imbibition process to Cinemascope pix. Lab currently isn’t able to produce a qualify CinemaSeope print in its own imbibition method. Deal lias been made by Techni f»>V De Luxe in N. Y. to turn out imbibition prints. No Techni in- vestment is involved. It will be between eight to ten months before Pc Luxe can get rolling on Techni- i Mir. Freedman indicated He said 'Continued on page 78» Il is an ama/mg tiling, o«*- f lared Woleoll ' tli.il some filet companies seem unable to opeiatc vi ilhout riding the line hair In** bet weep legality and law hieakoig. mote open than not < ompleiel-.' on the illegal sole, and it’s fjuil'* a commentary on a company that today, when exhibitors are havn ; a hell ol a lime slaving open with the la- I pillules, 11 1 *• \ should loop to forcing.." , Wolcott flal | y : fated that "v •• can arid will slop thi, illegal pra< lice," anil In* added, il Wairo-i oi ahv other company persists III tlie piaito-e 1 nmeoru- Will go to Jail OUT SOON! 48th Anniversary Number STANLEY WARNER’S 1ST STOCKHOLDERS MEET \ feat ip e - b-ngt h < omim-i f ia| film in roloi id/lr/ii;' a lop doer , i oi anil Hoi I v wood name to been set b\ a Mil'.’ aukee heel f ompan; Pii tiiie a public i<-! t- taon pJOjCft ot Hie .Miller • Brew - ing ( i v. ol he filii.i ii by .{ei i v I an bank PioHueiion al He* L I I V lof in 1 loll wood St -11 ing \i jj ha llurii arid Ai - t kill hi an/ it \ til he fill f-( ted |e,* .John Bialun who megged "Mir- acle ol I ;«tiiti a Joi VVainer Bifr lmin> Picfo-l v i originally slated to i the flneeloiial cbf»re, hm Ijft f fl mil hef 1(1 e of It f finlllf t i n g < " r»loitlne|il I li-ti I Pled Wo i 'III- Iflfrg ” ill: Hie! tr**-**-4u/ at ioi foot ago taken m Bavaiia. (.e: man.' . and in M 1 1 - • Fust annur.l stockholders meet* ing of t'u* Stanley Warner Corp v II he held On”Jan. 14 in Wrl- luingfon. Del. Corporation was in- (oi jK)rated in Delaware following e split last year into theatre and production-distribution companies “i Warner Bros. Although operating a-* a com- p'd.'- for one year. SW si ill hasn't announced a dividend polic''. Scv- V'"d months ago in a letter to k lolder. proxy S If. 'Si f-a- * -an s;,j ( | company was delaying '’Png a divvy because of e<(:a ’.' relating ’ to the in-hdiat on. k;t equipment in theatres tor the ‘ "W projection techniques. Usual Advertising rates prevail Forms closing shortly . 1*4 ■ A : ■ Special exploitation advantages Copy end space reservation: may be sent to any Variety office NEW YORK 36 HOLLYWOOD 28 CHICAGO 11 LONDON, W. C. 2 154 W. 46th St. 6311 Yucca St. 6f2 N. Michigan Ave. 8 Sh Mortin’t flac* Trofalgar Squar*