Variety (October 1954)

Wednesday October 27, 1954 Edward L. Beraays, the public relations counsel, has organized a committee of citizens to support the U.S. Information Service and help it get more money from Congress. He states! this is a wholly voluntary activity, and there is no client involved. The National Committee for an Adequate! Overseas Information Pro- gram will meet regularly and formulate suggestions. Meanwhile, a .Washington Star story that the head of the USIS ought to have, "cabinet rank” is described by Bemays as not his idea. The current incumbent of the directorship is Ted Stre'ibert, onetime general manager of station WOR, N.Y., who has stated that he would not hold the post indefinitely. “Cabinet rank" slant raised eyebrows iii newspaper ajxd! public relations circles. The management of the Metro-4 politan Opera House having re- versed its policy against any N. Y. theatre carrying 1 the closed-circuit theatre telecast of its Nov. 8 open- ing nighty Nate Halpern’s Theatre Network Television has signed two home city theatres—Fabian’s Fox iri Brooklyn, a 4,000-seater, and the RKO Fordham in the Bronx, a 2,300-seater. In. addition, Halpern has rented' the Guild Theatre, 400- seater in Rockefeller Center, for specially invited guests. Met decided to end the. N. Y. ' blackout when it learned that the opera House Would sell out. At first it was feared that many of the regular opera patrons would bypass the preem because of the popular-type program (a Series of excerpts, of w.k. operas) which the Met decided to present especially for the closed-circuit audience. Depending on last-minute line clearance, it appears that Halpern will have a hookup of 30 theatres for the telecast. The seating ca- pacity, based on reports of advance sales, already exceeds that of the experimental “Carmen" telecast two years ago. Lesson’learned from tli ‘-Carmen'' presentation‘is be- ing put to use, particularly oii scal- ing the admission tab. Many thea- tres over-priced the event, with the Guild in N. Y. asking .a $7 top, al- most equal to that charged by the Met,, a short distance away. The Guild, as a result, did only so-so biz, as did other theatres which overestimated-the ability to pay of opera lovers. Upcoming telecast has been scaled from $2 to $3.60. Early Buildup In Albany . Albany, Oct, 26. Paul Y. Wallen broke newspaper copy (Thursday (21) for the video presentation of “Opening Night at the Metropolitan Opera" in the Grand Nov. 8. Theatre .Network Television origination is scaled at $3.30 and $2.75 in the orchestra and first balcony; $2.75, in boxes; $1.65 and $1.10 in second balcony. Grand, one-time F.- F. Proctor vaudeville house, is considered to have the finest acoustics of any Albany theatre. It played TNT’s first Metropolitan telecast, of a full-length opera, under Fabian operation. Hollywood, Get. 26. Fewer but'better pictures Is the new watchword among Mexican producers, according to Ruben A. Calderon, executive director of Azteca Film, Inc,, distributors of Spanish language films in the United States and Canada. "Because of the success of qual- ity films made in Hollywood,” Cal- deron said, "a similar movement is taking place in Mexico Where for the' first time the producers are Paying particular attention to the story values of the production. The star is still important, but produ- cers are working more closely with Writers so that in the end they will nave a fast, compact picture." Nkit Pery a V.P. Nick Pery, ColumbiaInterna- uonal’s managing director for Europe and the Near East, has peefn elected a v.p, of the organ- ization. Pery several months, ago suc- ceeded Lacy W. Kastner in the K' ope : Near East post, headquar- i ei 'ing. in Paris. Kastner, now exec •P * is stationed at the hohiepffice. William Goldman, Philadelphia circuit owner; William Zimmer- man, film attorney, and William L. Snyder, pic importer, have formed a new company to engage in ac- quiring foreign product f or release in the U. S. plus the production of television films for children. Out- fit is called William Films, Inc. Short time ago Goldman formed Gregory-Goldman Enterprises, - to produce pix and legit shows in association With Paul Gregory. Zimmerman is v.p; and general counsel for this company. Films which Snyder has brought irit'6 U. S. distribution include "Emper- or’s Nightingale" and "White Mane." Wasserinan Awaits Kibbee Script for ‘Big Mike’ Hollywood, Oct. 26. Lew; Wassermari -will handle complete packaging of "Big Mike,” currently being prepped by three partners, /William . Bacher, Wil- liam Hawks and Nicholas Ray. It’S slated to roll after Bacher-Hawks’ "The Tall which Clark Gable, will do after "Soldier of Fortune.’’ First script by, Roland Kibbee will be completed end of Week and turned over immediately to Wasserman. Spencer Tracy and Gene Tierney ire under con- sideration for star roles in period piece about Mississippi river keel- boaters of 1800’s. Ray will direct script based on an original idea by Bricher and on novel "Mike Fink.” Tea and Sympathy’ Talks .Playwright Robert Anderson is due on the Coast in mid-Npvepiber for discussions with: Metro execs on "Tea and Sympathy." After that he’ll return to N. Y. to start work on the screen treatment of his hit: play on which Metro has in option. Anderson said in' N. Y. Monday (25). that he had vno definite ideas as yet on how he’d circumvent pro- duction code objections to his legiter. Under his arrangement With Metro, he didn’t have to start work on the screenplay until he had launched his play "All Sum- mer Long" and had groomed the road company of "Tea." ! Code execs, when they, saw "Tea" on Broadway, said a film based on the legit version without major changes couldn’t get a seal. Both Anderson and Metro feel/they can overcome code objections Without multilating the play or dimming its effectiveness. Anderson said that, in the spring, he may return to the Coast to de- liver the finished treatment and take it Up with code execs. There’s no burning* hurry about it since his contract with Metro provides for Sept., 1956, as the earliest re- lease date for any flim version of "Tea." * Schary’s Defense Dept. Call Dore Schary, Metro v.p. in charge of . Production, will take time out from N, Y; homeoffice confabs this week for a quickie to Washington. Production boss said he’s going to the capital to cdhfer-with De- fense Dept, officials on a number of possible film projects involving the armed forces. Schary previ- ously helmed "Battleground" and "Take the High Ground," both Army yarris, as personal produc- tions. - I EXHIBS CRY TOLL-TV AIMS Exhibitor opposition to toll-ty will tajee the twin line of question- ing the (i). competency, of the Fed- eral Communications Commission in the subscription-tv ' field and (2) attacking pay-as-you-see on the basis; that it isn’t in the public in- terest. Detailed strategy hasn’t; been worked out and further meets of the Chicago-formed "Joint Com- mittee of Toll-TV" ore being put off pending contact- with *other in- terested groups."- The committee was created .by Theatre Owners of America and Allied States execs. It was stressed, at the time that it was open "to ail groups interested in preserving free home television." A member of the group said in N, Y. last week that the "public in- terest" angle was very important inasmuch as the FCC had made it plain that this' would have to be onip of the basis on which, "pay-as- Voa-see telecasting could get its commercial authorization. He added further that exhibs intended to es- tablish the exact scope of the Com- mission in this matter and to what extent it required special consent from the Congress To change 'the. status of the "free", air. "What these fee-tv people really want to do is to eliminate the .mid- dle-men, served; the theatre," he ob- Even as toll-tv proponents hold that it’s all one big misunderstand- ing, that the theatres could well work with a new tv system;, exhibs continue to give evidence of real concern. In Peoria, 111., last week* George Kerasotes, a TO A leader, stated flatly that "Coin-in-the-Slot. tv, as currently proposed by the pe- titions pending before the. FCC, is a very real and ominous threat to our business. More Local Monopoly? It’s a menace, he said, "because it will permit the' stations to tele- cast firstrun movies and to collect a. charge through the medium of coin-operated decoder attachments on the. tv sets; This will create a new communications monopoly in the hands of -a few stations, most of which already are owned by in*' dividuals or firms that already con-! trol the radio and newspaper out- lets . in ’their communities. Such a monopoly Would soon put motion pictures under the supervision of the Federal government/’ As exhibition drew together last week in what appears, like a com- mon stand vs. toll-tv, the three ma- jor subscription-tw companies re- frained from forming a common front, an attitude Which, while .ex- Toll television, now nearing the top of the list of the.trade’s most controversial subjects, will be in-; troduced for discussion at the Nov. 15-16 N. Y. meeting of the Council of Motion Picture Organ-, izations* board of directors. It should set off some fireworks. COMPO is restrained from tak- ing action on any matter unless it has the unanimous approval of member organizations. Since ex- hibitors are hotly opposed to sub- scription tv and at least ope dis- trib, Paramount, is investing in it via Telemeter,, there cannot be, of course, any such uniform endorse- ment. Then Why give toll tv. the COMPO airing in the first place? Indications are that exhibition elements are playing an "angle." They’re seizing upon the all-indus- try org’s meeting as, a means of having all the film companies "stand up and be counted." The theatremen are out to ascertain how each distrib, and not alone Par, stands on the subject of toll tv. However, there seemed some doubt that even this can be brought about. The companies, ever mindful of the antitrust statutes, are not likely to take an official position on any trade mat- ter collectively. Wide range of items is on the fixed agenda for the COMPO com ference, including: suggestions for another whirl with "Movietime, U.S.A-" or some other, means of further enlivening the public’s in- terest in pix; an industry-sporisored television program tied in with an audience poll naming the "best” pictures and players; a Hollywood seminar in which reps of produc- tion, distribution and exhibition would participate; action on na- tional and local levels against ad- missions taxes, a program of group insurance for theatres, and dis- tribution and exhibition of "This Is Your Army," film produced for the Department of Defense. New Year’s Eve Ball For N. Y. Variety Tent Charity Plans are being set for the sec- ond annual Celebrity Ball of the United Epilepsy Assn, in affiliation With the Variety Club of New York. According to Mrs. Seymour D. Hesse, head of the women’s com- mittee, the event will be held again in the Sert Room of the Waldorf- Astoria, N. Y„ on New Year’s Eve. Proceeds will go to the United Epilepsy Assn., which supports the Variety Club Clinic for Children with Epilepsy at the. Columbia- Presbyterian Medical Centre. ‘LOVERS, HAPPY LOVERS’ Motion Picture Assn, of America board will Consider an appeal from t producer Paul Graetz for a code Seal for his film, "Lovers, Happy Lovers/*"* Board’s decision is ex- pected to come late this week pr next week. Graetz on Monday (25) had a lengthy powwow with code admin- istrator Geoffrey Shurloclc. As a result, outlook for "Lovers’* getting code approval is said to be con- siderably brighter. The English-language film,, re- leased in Europe under the title "Mori. Ripois,” is current at. the Little Carnegie Theatre, . N. Y.; When Graetz first' applied for a seal for his production, he Was turned down. "Immorality" of the film's theme was cited as the rea- son. „ Graetz, who claims an invest- ment of $900,000 in his pic, main- tains that it is the type film which must get bookings in commercial houses—rather than the arties—if he’s to recoup his money. He can't get any widespread circuit dates without the seal, he holds. Ephraim London is acting as Graetz’s legal rep in the matter. "Lovers" has been nixed by the code as well as the National Le- girip of Decency, Latter first hand- ed the film a "B” rating, then changed its mind and put it into the "C", ; condemned category, ac- (cording to Graetz. Code , seal issue concerning "Lovers" has served to highlight European producers' unhappiness With their position via the code setup. Latter, they complain, is a lot tougher on imports than on do- mestic product/ Graetz hirriself is on . record as favoring separate code classifications for foreign pix. His "Lovers" passed the N.Y. state censor without a single deletion. UA-Aritold Case Settled 1 Shortly before it was scheduled to go- to trial last week before N.Y. Supreme Court Jtistice Henry Clay Greenberg, a $370,568 damage suit brought by Arnold Productions against United Artists was settled arid discontinued. Action involved three films produced by the late Arnold Pressburger arid assigned to UA for distribution in.Germany, Italy, and several other European countries. Arnold Productions charged UA gave an improper accounting of the earnings of "Hangmen Also pie," "It Happened Tomorrow" and "Scandals , in Paris." It also sought return of tv rights . to "Scandals.” Answering the com- plaint, UA claimed it was unable to remit from Germany because of "many difficulties/' Settlement is subject to terms and conditions now beihg negotiated by attorneys for the respective litigants. nttUBES 7 plainable in its comptetitiveness, is seen hurting tiiem when the FCC calls Its hearings, Stating that exhibs had declared "open war" on subscription-tv, Arthur Levey, prez of Skiatron Electronics & TV Corp., saw the row "a war of misrepresentation/' Theatteowners, he said, are so ap- prehensive because they're vulner- able; arid .they’re vulnerable "be- cause-they are fighting a rearguard action against progress in the en- tertainment world. The theatre owners' crusade is an undeclared war against the public’s demand for better tv entertainment." Like Zenith’s Eugene F. McDon- ald before him, Levey scored the "remarkable inconsistency" of ex- hibs in fighting now for "free" home tv which they battled for so long. Levey Climaxed by stating that it would "take far. more than a declaration ofwar against toll-ty to persuade the public that it should be denied! the freedom of choice conferred by subscription television/’ McDonald had said exhibs were "trying to stop the Wheels of progress with a fly swat- ter” via their opposition to toll-tv. Toll-TV Divided It’s obvious by now that, when the Commission holds its hearings on toll-tv, the pay-as-you-see in- terests will be a house divided.. In his application to the FCC for a commercial license, Matthew Fox— for Skiatron TV-urged a license Which, for a three-year period. Would restrict subscription-tv to UHF stations-. There are strong indications that this is not a view shared by other pay-as-you-see pro- ponents. All appear agreed that, whatever its form, subscription-tv would'and should be a supplementary service to free home-tv, allowing programs beyond the economic reach of tv Sponsors. The Fox petition was based on the difficulties being ex- perienced by the nation’s UHF sta- tions which have beeri finding it, difficult to compete with the estab- lished VHF outlets. Neither the. broadcasting nor the film production interests are as yet officially in the subscription-tv act. As far as Hollywood is concerned, the longer it can remain on the sidelines, the better it’ll like it. There is unmistakable sentiment among a good many Coast pro- ducers in favor of toll-tv or at least experimentation with it. Opinions along this line were voiced in N. Y. recently by two indie filmtriakers— Otto Preminger and Walter Wang- er. Both observed that,, if it works; fee-tv might be an ideal Way for getting their investment back a lot faster. Both said they’d be inter-, ested in' making pix for toll-tv. Samuel Goldwyri. in the past also has spoken with interest of pay-as- you-see. While many of the producing Outfits are genuinely interested in "slot-tv"; method and its potential, they’re loath to. say so for fear of offending their exhib customers. Reply to McDonald Film exhibition's Joint Commit- tee on Toll /Tv . this week raised the spectre of totalitarianism in defending its position vs. subscrip- tion tv. Replying to-a blast from Zenith' prexy Eugene McDonald, who had ridiculed the film men’s sudden defense of; fi*ee tv, the committee said use of the free air for toll-tv "must be prevented at . all costs" since "it must be remembered that the first step toward totalitarian- ism is the control of all communi- cations systems, as would result with the establishment of slot machine tv/' In a joint statement, Alfred Starr of Theatre Owners of Amer- ica and Trueman T. Rembusch of Allied said ; A majority of the pres* ent vhf stations supported the ex- hibs’ stand vs. free-tv. They also derided McDonald’s assertion that toll-ty would strengthen free-tv. "(He) does not explain what lis- teners seeking free tv would do for entertainment in a one station market when, that station was be? irig used by toll-tv operators," the committee declared. “Nor does he explain what Would happen to free television in a two or three station market when through competition all stations would be forced into toll-tv at choice broadcasting hours, depriving listeners of meager means of ail available television broadcast channels."