Variety (September 1954)

MCTUBES VednwU;) September 1, 1954 Continuous Vlfmon Flow at Par; Masons’ Suit on Marriage Bustup i Hollywood, Au?. 31. True to tlie promise made last March by prexy Barney Balaban that Paramount would have a con- tinuous flow .of. Vista Vision pic- tures going into release, the studio has now backlogged seven com- pleted VV features and has three currently before the cameras, .even before the first, “White Christ- ma$, ,> has opened. Latter makes its initial bow. next month at the Ra- dio City Music Hall, N/Y., but be- fore that time Paramount will have launched two new Vista Vision fea- turcfii While the industry not already committed to Cinemascope has been slow to signal acceptance of VV lensing, main stumbling block has been the “lazy 8” cameras. Most of those either converted or specially built are on the Para- mount lot and, although Techni- color is making some conversions, cameras remain in short supply with manufacturers reluctant to build without orders on hand. A number of announcements of upcoming VV productions have been made since the successful demonstration staged at the studio March 2, but only one independent has taken actual steps at lensing. As a result, the first non-Para- mount VV production will be “Girl Rush,” the Rosalind Russell star- rer which Frederick Brisson’S In- dependent Artists will make at RKO. It’s set for September roll- ing, using VV camera conversions furnished by Technicolor. Paramount now has six convert- ed Stein cameras, plus two Techni- color VV cameras on lease. This week the studio will take delivery on four new Mitchdll cameras es-. pecially designed for the bigscreen process. These are said to repre- sent the first modernization of the camera and projection since sound, and to be the greatest change in cameras in more than 25 years. Nine Cameras Due By Dec. 1 Paramount will have a total of nine Mitchell VV cam- eras. Two Will be high-speed, cap- able of shooting 96 frames a min- ute, or four times regular speed, and will bemused for special effects. The studio is also receiving a con- verted Bell & Howell for the title and inserts department, and an- other will be delivered in five \veeks. More of these will come later for various uses. Paramount, a holdout from the first against the anamorphic lens- ing processes, such as 20th-Fox's Cinemascope, and stereophonic sound on the ground that it could not continue to serve all of its cus- tomers in all types of 'theatres if switching to squeeze-lensing, is higher today on VistaVision than it was when the possibilities were first uncovered in September, 1953, when “White Christmas” scenes were tested. “Christmas,” starring Bing Cros- by and Danny Kaye with an Irving Berlin score, started lensing Sept. 21, 1953, after Paramount had com- pleted various tests with a con- verted Stein camera. This lone camera was used alongside a con-' ventional camera when the picture rolled and for the first 10 days both methods of lensing were used. It was then that studio toppers made the decision that hereafter VV would be used, and a second converted Stein was brought in. Trade demonstrations around the world have been held since March of this year to show off the pho- tographic quality of the "lazy 8” lensing. The term derives from the fact that negative is exposed to two frames at a time while running horizontally through the camera, instead of the conventional, four- sprocket-hole frame fed vertically through a standard camera. • Gain In Quality By reducing this double frame negative in the optical printing to the regular 35m single frame, the VV process^reduces grain, elimi-r nates fuzziness and “gives a bigger, brighter and better picture” when projected in the various widescreen aspect ratios up to 2 to 1 or higher. Same gain in quality is claimed for squeeze printing the VV nega 4 - tive for 2.55-1 anamorphic projec- tion via prismatic projection lenses such as the SuperScope (Tush- insky). Paramount’s offer to furnish exhibitors wishing them with squeezed prints has had no test yet as “White. Christmas” is the Los Angeles, Aug.* 31.’ James and Pamela Mason filed $1,500,000 libel suit in Superior Court against Erskine Johnson, initial release, but houses equipped Hollywood columnist, the L* A with variable prismatic expander Daily News and Fawcett Publica- lenses and the large curved screens tions. Complaint says. Johnson necessary for the anamorphic ratio. wro t e , Jhd the other defendants Will he* supplied upon demand. published, a story that the Mason With VistaVision, paramount is malT iage was going on the rocks, recommending Perspecta stereo- Actor and, his wife want $1,000,- phonic sound, a three-track optical qqq f r0m the columnist and $250,- sound controlled to horns behind q 00 apiece from the News and the screen. However, all prints, Fawcett, regular or squeezed, will carry a standard photographic sound track, with a control track for Perspect^, so that they will reproduce on any standard optical sound head in any projector anywhere in the world. A recent survey by the studio of 149 theatres in the 32 exchange centers revealed that 93% can play the recommended 1.85-1 aspect ratio at full screen width up to 50 feet. Only 30 of these key the- atres could handle a picture width CinemaScope andt related fac- The Schenectady (N.Y.) Unton-Star iii ap editorial Thursday (26) on the recent report of the N.Y. State Joint Legislative Committee on Problems of the Aging, which criticized motion pictures for portraying senior citizens as “gabby grandpas, meddling aunts and ancient tramps” and showing old age as !‘a,trap, a pit, a helpless end/' declared that “What gets iSs is everybody is becoming so sensitive,,so touchy. If every movie,, every novel, every play, were watered down to spare anyone’s feelings, they would be*, exceedingly dull, and highly inaccurate, Life doesn’t run that way.” “Movies are entertainment,” continued the-editorial, “They Should be viewed always in that-perspective. In entertainment one of the most important things is to be able to ‘laugh at ourselves? ” Although the writer “never saw a newspaper movie that didn't exaggerate, didn’t irrjtate professionally, didn’t present an 'unfair picture,* he “fteven- lost any sleep over it.” ^ , .. . * 1 The editorial cited Lewis Stone in the Hardy series “of a few years back” as one example of motion pictures “in which older'persons have been accorded due respect.” Pointing out that “the movies have been blamed, from time to time, for being unfair to about every group, from ministers to gangsters,” the TJnign-Star said, “in many instances the charge probably stands up,” ' ■** Universal Consolidated Oil Co. is reported having completed its 20th-FoX No. 2 well, which did about 750 barrels of oil daUy of 24-de- gree gravity crude. It is a 7,000-foot well in the previously-discovered deep zone in the Beverly Hills oil field, Los Angeles v basin, and located on the film company’s 260-acre lot. This,well, together with the No. 1 well, have been shut in, awaiting installation of needed tankage and pipeline facilities. Universal company plans to Start a third well on of more .than 50 feet. tors boosted 20th-Fox half-year The S ame proper^ in the next 30 days 1 . “White Christmas” was followed par „i nf , R to S3.096.545. compared tne same prop ' y m next ° . * earnings to $3,096,545, compared Foreign Prods . Continued from page S by “Three Ring Circus” (formerly w j th a ne t of $158,309 for the same Certain Chicago theatres are getting a sizable hypo this week from “The Big Top”) on the VV, produc- period in 1953 . the company re- the International Brotherhood of Electrical, Workers, Local 1031, En- tion line and since its completion por t e d last week.(26), — . ^ tertalnment committee of the IBEW has bought out two special shows lensing has been finished on Air The $3,096,545 net for the 26 of “cinerama” and purchased 2,400 tickets from Balaban & Katz for Command,” “Were No Angels, W eelcs ended June 26, 1954, was its membership. Largest local irt the entire AFL, 1031 .also stages an ‘■Run For Cover, Love Is A a ft er $2,600,000 irt taxes and expens iv e weeklorig vaude bash with topdrawer headliners several Weapon” and .“Two Captains brought per share earnings up to times a vear (formerly “Blue Horizons”). $1.17, on the 2,644,486 shares of Now shooting are “Lucy Gal- common. outstanding. -Per share RKO is concentrating on exploitation possibilities of philately. Ideas lant,” “To Catch a Thief” and earnings last year for that period based on the stamp-collecting gimmick are being planned for most ‘Eddie Foy and the Seven Little were $.06. ... . upcoming RKO releases.* It was first tried with King Bros. “Carnival Foys,” All 10 are in Technicolor. Second quarter earnings for 1954 story,” which was made in* Germany. Pressbook advised exhibs where Down for September starts, also were $1,048,515, compared with a they could obtain, “genuine stamps issued in Germany,” for use on in Technicolor, are Alfred Hitch- net loss of $865,656 for the pame rem j n der-postcards, cock’s “The Trouble With Harry” quarter in 1953. The company last and a new Martin & Lewis comedy,* week declared a 40c. per share “You’re Never Too Young.” quarterly ' cash dividehd payable Sept. 30, ’54 to stockholders of rec- ord Sept. 10 , 1954, First quarter divvy was the regular 25c. with 10c: added as a bonus. Half-year comparison showed a drop in film rentals of more than he O’Brien kind of reasoning $500,000. However, other operat- doesn’t take into account a number ing income was up by about of human factors. “It’s a fallacy $1,000,000 and dividends by more to say that all that’s needed is the than $500,000. Amortisation, taken showing of British, French, Ital- on the same basis as in prior, years, ian or any other foreign films on was down to $27,869,351 for 1954 the circuits,” Was. one comment, compared to $33,205,273. Partici- tains one or more names known “There’s just one thing mjssing— pation in film rentals was $3,533,- to American audiences. The Alec people have to come in and see 366 this year, compared to $4,264,- ^Guinness pix, for instance, have these pictures, too.” 988 in ’53. Film distribution and ad- done increasingly well with the Forcing’ of Pix ministrative expenses were up rise of Guinness as a b.o.-attrac- While they can summon i num- about Jl.OOJUJOO-to $14,245,290— tion, ^Even so .thesefilmsi haffent her of good arguments against any in. 1954. Film rental drop has no played the larger circuits wher “forcing’* of foreign language pix significance other than that the money is on U.S. theatres, American indus- 20th took in almost the same „in a number of coproductions both try observers also are fully aware 1954 but with far fewer pix. in Britain and on the Continent that pure reason doesn’t always en- Whereas taxes on the 1954 het are .now using American * perfor;m- ter into the argument. They know, came to $2,600,000, the $158,309 ers. If “High and Dry,” which for instance, that there is a wide earnings in 1953 required no tax preview audiences have received misconception abroad about the provisions at all. . very warmly, manages to break potential of the U.S. market for Earnings of .Jjth-Fox for 1953 new ground, observers feel it’ll be foreign imports and that these mis- before taxes were $8*210,887. It’s a further tipoff to where the key understandings largely spring from been estimated by, 20th execs, on the U. S. market is hidden. It’s a failure to graep the true com- the basis of current earnings and noted at U that Britain in the past position of the American audience. Pi x forthcoming, 4hat__this .figure has turned out some pix with high ‘High’ to Test Continued from page 7 “That’s why Europeans are often so astounded when one of their big hits doesn’t make out over here,” commented one of the indie im- porters this week. “They think tastes are largely the Same, and that what’s a hit in Europe is au- tomatically a b.o. success in the U.S. When that doesn’t happen* there is big disappointment all around, and, naturally, someone gets blamed.” Example of this is cited in con- nection with J. Arthur Rank’s “A Queen is Crowned” which, in the opinion of the Rank people, didn’t get the kind of playoff in the U.S. it deserved. John Davis, Rank’s lop exec, blasted American exhibs for failing to give “Queen” a. proper whirl. Actually, the film was weakened by thorough tv coverage of the Coronation and a lack of in- terest in some parts of the coun- try. Tendency on the part of foreign producers to use Hollywood's for- eign earnings a£ a lever to estab- lish 1 themselves in the U.S, without, however, following the normal —and slow—commercial processes, is a source of concern to American distribs. Latter keep arguing that they don’t control bookings and that the. only answer is good, ac- ceptable pix, possibly in dubbed version. There is a feeling, however, that, with rising local production everywhere, the situation is apt to get worse rather than better. It all goes back, say these Ameri- can execs, to the determination on the part of foreign producers to establish a quid pro .quo in the matter of American film remit tances. They don’t care how It’s done, just as long as their pix gain entrance to the U.S. and are in line for potential dollar rtluins. may well double in 1954, Continued from page 5 commercial appeal, such as “Blue Lagoon” and several outdoor ad- venture stories like “Ivory Hunt- ers.’ Trouble is that such pix have a tendency to copy Hollywood. Execs close to'the field feel that what- need a number of weekly changes, eV er solution is .found must pre- he points out. . serve the distinctive national ap- “Without realizing it, the film pea i of a film while at the same companies may be digging their time encompassing thfe elements graves by spending huge amounts which would make it attractive to on every picture in the effort to the American public, make it a super-special boxoffice NGA Lambaste ; Continued from page. 7 ; smash. There can be to much of good things. “If the market holds more big attractions than the buying public can digest - there ,will be heavy ’losses- on costly and meritorious by failure to provide sufficient pictures—losses that could easily prints *» **CA demands to know “why, in Before this present splurge dn a ] mos t every case, does the addi- big pictures, we d hgve only the tional clearance or later avail- ithPvvTin ability result in the distributors J nf nL JkI being able to offer the picture cause of the industry belief it s the odojnet much weaker comDetinc only sort o£ fare that can bring Sfc t or in a vhort maS" nnnnln ir.fr, fVwaofr-oo Wofoof fir PrOQUCl, Or, HI 3 SnOfl marKd . people inta .theatres and defeat tv. However, there has been a general It also asks “why, in almost every case, does the later avail- nc e<ise in patronage, too, for the a bj]ity on a percentage picture re- mweltv wears'off ., plctures as tv s suit In the distributor 6 getting what Kane is confident that the pro- sSooIva' ducers eventually will find that h ° d3yS ’ sch ° o1 va ' their own and exhibition’s health ca r« ns * elCf , , . , . - “By every common sense rule,” the bulletin concludes, “it would Sah Antonio, Aug. 31. The drive-in theatre, like the auto„ has become a national con- venience, and not a luxury, said Preston Smith, Lybbock, retiring prez of the Teaxs Drive-In Thea- tre Owners Assn. At the three-day convention of the group which closed last Tues- day night (24), Smith declared that * drive-in theatres are a needed form of entertainment for the en- tire family. He pointed out that many persons who are sick or Rune find a haven in the ozoners. Smith also pointed out that big factors in the upswing of drive-in theatre business throughout the state are improved screens and' sound, and a higher calibre of films now being produced. • He an- nounced that there are now 175 members in the state group and some 400 drive-in theatres, with the number increasing . annually. Claude C. Ezell, prez of the In- ternational Assn, of Drive-Ins, said that drive-in construction is up all over the world. He said the out- door type of theatre was catching, on rapidly in Latin America, Aus- tralia and South Africa. There has also been a “tremendous” develop- ment of drive-in houses in .this country, he added.. ‘ * Jack Farr of the Trail Drive-In, Houston, newly-elected prez, re- ported that his city is the hotspot of the driVe-in theatre business in the United States. Many innova- tions in this state are quickly picked up in other parts of the counttry, he declared. Returned from a recent trip to the northwest and; Canada, he said that Tex^s was the heart of the drive-in the- atre industry. Other new officers include Arthur Landsman, San Antonio; E. L. Peck, Dallas, and Dub Blank- enship, Lubbock, veepees; Charles Weisenberg, Dallasr-sccretary, and Tim Ferguson, Grand Prairie, treasurer. Three board members of the executive committee in- cluded Eddie Joseph, Austin; Don Douglas, Dallas, and Rubin Frfels, Victoria. dictates a more balanced output of meritorious but less costly pic- ,, , tures, punctuated with- occasional seem that when availabilities are super-productions, instead of a altered due to ‘print shortage,’ it “flood” of the latter, . would adversely affect the distrib- He does recognize that fewer utor about half the time and bene- theatres and pictures and longer fit hlm in the other half of the runs may bring purchasing ppten- cases, tial into better, line with theJarge , “When it works .out .tfiat the amount of costly output/ But fie claimed shortage’s result is always still believes that “nearly every pic- to benefit the distributor or in- ure” can’t be a socalled “big” one, crease rentals then, we say, the as at present. shortage is phony.” Metro's Lillian Roth Bio Metro nabbed the rights yester- day (Tues.) to the Lillian Roth bio, “I’ll Cry Tomorrow.” M-G report- edly shelled out $100,000 for the tome. * Paramount had fieen an active bidder for the yarn detailing Miss Roth’s comeback traiR hut stalled when Metro exceeded its, bid of $75,000.