Variety (September 1954)

Wednesday, September 1, 1954, PICTURES S > O $ . Hollywood, Aug. 31. Samuel (foldwyn* who turned 72 last Friday (2^), copped the spotlight on the educational front this “week via a tieup with, the U. of California at Los Angeles. The veteran filmmaker established an award of $1,000 to be presented by the Goldwyn Foundation for the best creative writing submitted in an annual UCLA com- petition. University Chancellor Raymond B. Allen pointed out that this is the second endowment from Goldwyn, the first being a four-year, $2,000 scholarship established at UCLA Medical School in 1953. After 1956 there continually will be four “Goldwyn scholars" at the med. school. The creative Writing will be judged by a board comprising 0 Robert E. Sherwood, the presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (now Charles Brackett) and the Screen Writers Guild (now F. Hugh Herbert) and Prof. Kenneth Macgowaft of the UCLA Theatre Arts Dept. lAiTVI IV UUUIIVII UV1TV0 Ul lUlIVll 1TAUU Ever-growing dependence of US-f film "companies on their foreign earnings has producers abroad mulling ways and means of exploit- ing this fact so as to push their pix in the'American market. This attitude has been given its clearest expression in recent weeks by Tom O’Brien, British labor em- issary, who has been telling US unions that there must be recipro- city of some kind if the the Ameri- can distribs are to continue reap- ing the benefits of large remit- tances from Britain. O’Brien goes a step further and calls for a voluntary agreement on ’the part of American major cir- cuits to show a certain number of British films each year. Their in- centive for entering into such an arrangement, he says, is the real- ization that their welfare depends on the welfare of the producing- distributing outfits. And the lat- ter, of course, are in turn depend- ent on their foreign income, which runs anyvVhere between 42% and 40% of their total revenue. American execs, while.testifying to the importance of Hollywood’s foreign take and its indirect bear- ing on all sectors of the industry— including exhibition—argue that (Continued on page 10) Extra Italian Permit Aids !) Problem of Universal’s demand for more Italian lieenses was solved yesterday (Tues.) when the Motion Picture Export Assn, in- formed the foreign managers that the Italian government had agreed to grant lyiPEA an extra permit, bringing the total for the new pact year to 190. MPEA at the same time got around the obstacles of the Ital- ians* insistence that there be no transferability of permits among the companies. .This was done by getting the Italians to agree that MPEA would pick up only 90% of its licenses now. The rest will be taken up before May 1, 1955, the half-year mark in the new Italo film agreement. Availability of one more license, in addition to the permit offered by RICO, allows MPEA to swing into the plan outlined by United Ar- tists’ Arnold Picker. Scheme pro- (Continued on page 19) MANKIEWICZ IN N.Y. TO PREP ‘BAREFOOT’ PREEM Joseph Mankiewicz arrived in N.Y. yesterday (Tues.) on the new Italian liner, Cristoforo Colombo, to pitch in on premiere prepara- tions for “The Barefoot Contessa.” Mankiewicz wrote, directed and produced the film, which is his first indie release. It bows at the Cap- itol, N.Y., Sept. 29 in a benefit for CARE, global relief and rehabil- itation agency. Following- a brief .stay in Goth- am, the filmmaker will trek to the Coast and a Samuel Goldwyn com- mitment. He’s to direct Goldwyn’s upcoming “Guys and Dolls.” i Ginsberg on Coast to Get ‘Giant’ Production Going Henry Ginsberg left New York for the Coast over the weekend following confabs with Warner Bros, homeoffice execs on George Stevens’ production of Edna Fer- ber’s “Giant.” ♦ On the Coast, Ginsberg will launch production on the film which he is producing in associa- tion with Stevens Later will di- rect and WB Will release the film. Despite .fnitial beefs relating to the 50-50 terms, Nate Halpern’s Theatre Network Television is chalking up deals for the Sept. 15 Rocky Marciano-Ezzard Charles closed-circuit theatre telecast. Hal- pern estimates that he can rack up 90% ‘ of the Available cldsed- eircuit situations if he can get a break on AT&T line clearances. The TNT topper said he had 75 spots, including 14 drive-ins, on the dotted line, but that the actual total of theatres at fight time is subject to line clearances. In any event, he’s sure that he’ll surpass thfe record 61, including nine ozo- ners, that carried the June meet- ing between Marciano and Charles. After some tough negotiating, particularly with the circuits, Hal- pern revised his terms and. intro- duced a scale system based on the (Continued on page 29) Dfop U.S. ‘Isolationist’ Anti-British Pic Exhib Policy, Pleads O’Brien Need for a commercial recipro- cal arrangement on a voluntary basis to widen the showings of British pix in the U. S. was stressed in N. Y. last week by Tom O’Brien, British M.5.“and film union spokes- man. Returning to Britain tomorrow (Thurs,) after a tour of the U. S., O’Brien said he had come to the conclusion that an v insufficient number of good British films are being shown in the U. S'. “They’re available, but they are not being plugged hard enough,” he ob- served. O’Brien commented that he had met a. great rriariy people who* in his opinion, would be happy to see British films, provided they are given a chance to do so. “It’s just that they aren’t given the oppor- tunity,” he thought. The only practical solution— arid he doesn’t favor any legislative moves towards that end—is a com- mercial agreement between the U. S. circuits and the British pro- ducers, providing for the chains to (Continued on page 22) 4 > Nearly every flrstrun theatre in the country and a large portion of neighborhood and suburban runs have donned modern dress. The industry thus has done its biggest face-lifting job since exhibitors re- did their houses to accommodate the introduction of sound 25 years ago. Dr. (Charles Daily, Optical engi- neer on the Paramount studio, fig- ures that up to 8,000 theatremen have installed new and larger screens and shelled out for other innovations. Accounting for a large part of the overhaul is Cinema- Scope, the presentation of which required extensive retooling. In line with the overall updating, Daily and other execs at Par have been at work on an unusual pro- gram for the picture business. While 20th-Fox has insisted on in- stallation of certain equipment as a condition to its licensing of C’Scope product, Par has been in- ducing theatremen to facelift for the purpose 'of better setting off the pictures from any company. In the past year Daily has made 50 flying trips to the field. He’s huddled with hundreds of theatre- men individually, inspected thea- tres and advised on improvements, and addressed thousands at demon- strations of Pair’s VistaVisiOn in major cities. Par has no special requirements in its sale of V’Vision pix. Films in that process will be made avail- able to all houses regardless of screen size pr whatever. However, the company is urgirig exhibs to modernize for the purpose of giv- ing the public the best physical presentation of screen fare. Longterm project Company embarked on the proj- ect nearly two years ago. Theatre- men were asked at that time to swing to widescreen in showing “Shane,” Alan Ladd-Jean Arthur • starrer. Not long after, 20th re- moved the wraps from its C’Scope (Continued on page 27) NCA Points Up Rental Beefs in Drive for Big Allied States Turnout Minneapolis, Aug. 31., North Central Allied has launched a campaign to get this territory’s exhibitors to attend the National Allied States’ 25th anni- versary convention in Milwaukee Oct. 12-14 en masse. In its current bulletin, which tells theatreowners “Milwaukee is an attendance must,” NCA de- clares the meeting will be the most important in Allied’s history “because of what the film com- panies are doing to the exhibitors in the way of extracting film rentals unheard of in our busi- ness.” S. D. Kane, NCA executive counsel, says “we’ll go all out” to get every one of our territory’s ex- hibitors possible to be on hand to join in a monster protest. “While the film companies are getting disgustingly fat and flabby, the exhibitors are becoming thin- ner and thinner, and are doomed to die of malnutrition,” asserts the bulletin in its plea for a total turn- out. REVUE TO HIGHLIGHT PIX PUBLICISTS’BALL A satirical revue, written and acted by members of the N. Y, Screen Publicists Guild, will high- light the second annual “Movie Page Ball” of the group, to be held at the Hotel Pierre, N. Y., Get. 15. Following the success of last year’s initial ball* the SPG decided to make the event an annual affair. Last year’s show, a spoof of the # industry, was entitled, “The History* 61 the Motion Picture.” Moskowitz Winds O’Seas Jaunt on C’Scope Setups Joseph H. Moskowitz, 20th-Fox v.p. and eastern studio rep, re- turned Monday (30) to N. Y. aboard the lie de France from a trip to London, Paris and Munich. 20th. exec was conferring in Europe on production of Cinema-"' Scope films, some to be made as coproductions with 20th. In Brit-, ain, the company has already set up a sked of between eight and 10 films; the first to be “That Lady,” starring Olivia deHavil- land. Loew’s Splitaway The separation of Loew’s into separate theatre and production- distribution companies brings to a close antitrust litigation against the major film companies started by the Government in 1938. The initial. complaint listed all eight major companies, and after the trial started in 1940, a consent decree was agreed upon by the five companies having theatre in- terests—Paramount, RKO, 20th- Fox, Warner Bros, and Loew’s. The separation of theatre and production interests, brought about through pressure applied by Allied States Assn, which is again seeking further Government regulation of the industry, brings to end an important era of the picture busi- ness and is estimated to have cost the film companies several millions in legal fees. The original consent decree en- joined certain practices and pro- vided that the Government would not seek a separation of the inter- ests for a period of at least three years.. In, 1944, the Dept, of Jus- tice took action to obtain divorce- ment relief. A three-judge Expedit- ing Court held hearings in 1945. It rendered an opinion in June, (Continued on page 27) Cites Danger to B.O. From Too Many Super-Specials; Public Can’t Pay Tariffs Minneapolis, Aug. 31. This territory’s independent ex- hibitors are worried as to whether the public will have the entertain- ment purchasing power to support sufficiently what promises to be a continuous and constant flow of big, expensive pictures requiring advanced admissions and “abnor- mal” grosses. S, Di Kane, North Central Al- lied executive counsel, says that exhibitor circles are bringing up the question as to whether the re- striction of production almost en- tirely to such type pf offerings will prove economically sound. With these super-productions hitting the theatres at the rate of one or more every week, it’s prob- lematical if the essential large patronage, justifying : their steep costs arid the heavy percentage terms exacted from exhibitors, can be continuously forthcoming, ac- cording to present theatre-owner feeling, he says. Exhibitors are setting forth such views now in the territory as an argument for the filrri companies to return, in part at least, to their former procedure of producing a preponderent majority of less pre- tentious pictures, Kane reveals. If this eventuates, as he confi- dently believes it will, product again will be in sufficient supply to service the many exhibitors who (Continued on page 10) Loew’s, the last of the major film companies forced to separate theatre from production-distribu' . tion holdings, officially becomes two separate firms today (Wed.). The divorcement is the result of a GovernmOnt consent degree agreed upon in 1940. The production-distribution com- pany will continue to be called Loew’s Inc., while the new thea- tre firm has been designated Loew’s Theatres Inc, The produe tion company’s pix will continue to be issued under the Metro banner. The stock in the theatre Subsidi- aries will remain in the hands of Loew’s Inc. until stock is issued by the new theatre company. . The consent judgment requires that the distribution by Loew’s to its stock- holders of the neiv theatre com- pany stock be made within three years from February, 1952, except that under certain circumstances it may be made within five years from that date: Originally the di- vorcement was to take place by Feb. 6, 1954, but Loew’s received a six-month postponement from Lep Friedman, V. P. & Tfeas. the Dept, of Justice. Joseph- R. Vogel, current head of theatre operations as a veepee, has been set as president of Loew’s Theatres. The other officers are: Leopold Friedman, veepee and (Continued on page 27) Okay on 'Camera James Woolf, reppirig Romulus Films, London, is due in N. Y. next week for meetings concern- ing Production Code approval of “I Am A Camera,” picturization of the John van Druten play which is being cooroduced by Romulus and Moulin Productions. Latter, an American production unit, is headed by Alfred Crown. Script has yet to; be submitted to the Code Administration. It’s understood that Woolf and Romu- lus execs will seek a determination of how the scenario must be shaped in order to win the okay. Story focuses on an amoral Eng- lish girl in Germany at the time of anti-Jewish violence. Film is set for lensing in London and Ger- many beginning next month, with Julie Harris and Shelley Winters in key roles. Woolf also will work on casting of “Story of Esther Costello,” also on the Romulus-Moulin joint pro- duction sked. Two top femmr' as- signments are open. On another front. Moulin is sole producer of “Moby Dick,” which is in its fifth week of pro- duction and is now shooting in Wales. John Huston is directing, with Gregory Peck and Richard Basehart in |ead spots. Distribution tieup has yet to be set. Two previous Moulin entries, “Beach- head” and “Duel in the Jungle,” were released through Warners. WALSH’S BRIT. INVITE IN GOODWILL LABOR PITCH Richard F. Walsh, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Em- ployees prexy, has been invited to visit Britain as part of a move to foster better Anglo-American labor relations. Disclosure was made in N. Y. last week by Tom O’Brien, British labor leader who has been discussing differences between - British and U. S. film unions in N. Y. and on the Coast. O'Brien, who. had a last huddle with Walsh in N. Y. yesterday (Tues.) prior to returning home tomorrow (Thurs.), said Walsh hadn’t been able to set a date for the London trip, but that he’d likely do so after a trip, to the Coast within the next two weeks. Invitation to Walsh also covers anyone he may wish to bring along.