Variety (November 1954)

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52 TV-HOLMS Wednesday, November 17, 1954 London, Nov; 16.. In an indirect way there likelihood of a British govt, a encv financing.the. production of te.cpix for the U.. S. market; The Nj ional Film Finance Gorp, which powered by Act of Parliament to cl Vance coin for British featur production, is also entitled to give financial aid to commercial telefilm.. roclucers; This authoritative viewpoint Was. given; to Variety last week by Ba- x’Id Kingsley, managing diVcc or ol tire Films Bank. He admitted, fact, that they bad.already received overrr applications for financial aid. Some,.*he Said, were so good, that there was no reason why the finance should not: be forthcoming from rdinar., bank'mi sources; ■] Others were so .unattractive that they did- not merit action. In the . early days of i.' ineep- tion.jhe NFFC angered Factions of. tire British studio industry by giv- ing financial backing to a company ngaged on the product Lon ' a series, of. .half-hour teleplx mainly for the American market* The corn-, concerned,' Pdrthian P.roduc- ; were under contract make . series of featurets .With Annette Mills and . her 'famed Muffin the Mule puppet. The. company folded during production; and a large slice of the NFFC investment was lost. Kingsley explained that their brief was to aid British production and the Act didn’t limit their, tivities to films for theatrical cx- hi ition only. With the comi . f commercial television in Britain, he saw no reason why they liould not consider .applications in this field and, recognizing that the- homo Varket would be inadequate to en- sure a reasonable .finaiieial return, was aware that a producer would need American network coni rads to keep out of the fed. In this the., NFFC could participate Anglo-American telefilm ■ pfo.d tic- ti ’ ' Ava’* TV Status Hollywood, Nov. i6. Associated Artists^ Produce tiohs’ sale to tv of “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman," starring Ava . Gardner and James Mason, has resulted in investigation by Metro’s legal . departmefb.t of alleged viola^ tiori of Miss Gardner’s loanout contract. Film was produced abroad in 1551. Studio inves- tigation f ol io w$ disclosure “Pandora'* is. in pacakge of 34 pix acquired by KTLA from Associated, A studio spokesman said, “Under the. agreement by which they obtained the serv- ices of Aya Gardner, they are prevented from showing the, icture tv,’’ “Pandora,’’ 'so. starring James. Mason, was produced by Joe Kaufman and A1. Lewin. Agreement was also reached at the time of the loanout that Metro would have distribution rights to the film in this coun- try.. Studio attorneys are also investigating this aspect of the situation, SEVEN-UP'S MAJOR SPREAD IN TELEPIX Chicago, Nov. 16. MCA-TV and the Seven-Up Co., through J. Walter Thompson, are putting the last touches to a deal whereby the beverage firm will buy the “Soldier of Fortune” vidpix h series in some 125 markets. Parent.' company Is currently holding meet- ings with its bottlers around the ( country, pitching the series: for spot i bookings as a co-op ad venture. Seven-Up plans to launch the property next spring. 34; Some Updated :i Col Pix Turns Over Original Footage To Screen Gems Subsid Columbia Pictures is giving. Screen Gems, its. telepix subsid. free use of footage out of its old. fealur.es for expensive telepix dramatizations. Screen Gems ‘ already using Columbia footage in “.Rin Tin Tin” and is planning use of jungle footage from the olcl Columbia “Jungle Jim” features in its new Johnny ^Weismuller “Jungle Jim” telepix starrer. Idea of using the old footage is the costliness of putting up'new effects for the telepix, For exam- ple. last week's “Rin Tin Ti. ” on ABC-TV had a. dam explosion as the local point Of the story, al- though the pictures of the dam and tlie explosions themselves only con- sumed about three minutes. Erec- tion and explosion of a darn would have cost about $35,<J00, or more than the cost of one episode. Screen Gems therefore weaved in footage from a Columbia western at virtually no cost to itself. Hollywood, Nov. 16. KTLA has acquired 34 feature films,, all/‘first fit ” on tv here, from Associated Artists Pro due ti Three of the pix are 1954 releases which haven’t been ?een in theatre, here yet. Klaus Lands-; berg, channel topper, disclosed deal contains unique plan where- by the 1954 releases will be seen day-and-date with their theatrical slio.wings lie r e Current,trio of releases, part of the package a^quued, from Asso- ciated. r British ‘‘Green Scarf.” starring Michael Redgrave; Ann Todd and Leo Genh; “Those Who Bare,'.’ with Akim TamirofT. and “An Inspector Calls,” with Patricia Neal,"Alistair- Sim and Eileen Mor In addition there are seven 1953 releases, 10 from 1952, 10 from 1951 and Six from 1950. W.k. limes topping the pix include Ava Gardner, Jain Mason, Hedy Lamarr, Charles Boyer, Ginger Rogers, Merle Oberon, Paul Hen- ried, Orson Wells, Maureen O'Sul- livan, JOanne Dru, Richard. Conte, Vaness Brown, John Ireland, Evelyn Keyes, Dennis O’Keefe, Ann Sheridan, Dan Duryea, George Sanders, June Havoc, Ella Raines, Dick Haymes, Rex Harri- son. Lilt Palmer, Paulette. God- dard. Hollywood, Nov. 16. “Substantial” hikes, i Salary mi ' iums and new, sliding scale of mihimums for telefilms depend- { ins on number of lines spoken, as well as substantial changes and up- pances in formulae for tv rerun payments will be asked by the Screen Actprs Guild in upcoming, negotiations with producers, of tv pix and teleblurbs, according to SAG national exec secretary John L. Dales. Dales also disclosed at a mem- bership meeting thaf SAG mem- bers who earn up to $7,50.0 annu- ally. which includes 70% of senior membership, now garner almost as much work in vidfilms as in the- atrical pix. They get 54% of jobs in theatrical films, 46% in telepix. There has been a steady increase in employment in theatrical pix, vidfilms and teleblurbs during first half this year over last year. TV Director Kenneth Thomson of SAG disclosed the Guild. col- lected and distributed to members S268.294 in rerun payments. Break- | down shows $190,329 is from 480 | telefilm shows in. 10-months period ' since beginning of rerun payments.. Siinv not including residuals made ’in”,advance, when; actors were em- ployed, with $77,965 from Allied Artists for actors’ tv rights in i Monogram theatrical '.pi'x made 1 after Aug. 1, 19.48; and sold to tv. Screen'Gems is retitling the 44 “Fireside Theatre” reruns it has acquired from Procter & Gamble and Frank Wisbar to “Top Tele- vision Plays of 1955.” Reason, for the “Top Plays” tag is the rating ' success its group of 13 “Ford Theatre” reruns had this summer, on NBC-TV Tuesday nights for IJelene Curtis. It’s cutting out th Gene Raymond introes and narration, and instead putting in two minutes of opening and closing with a stet film clip and different narrations for each film* with the interest focussed on the writer; 4 line, with the “Top Plays” idea. Firm starts selling the pix in January, after completion of the 13-week clearance involved in the deal, Ziv Television Programs is launching an -Unusual promotion stunt in connection with its upcoming Eddie Cantor series. It’s a “five daughters contest,” open to any family ith five daughters in cities in which the show will appear.. It’s part of a series of promotion and . merchandising devices Ziv has prepared for local sponsors. One of the suggestions Ziv makes to sponsors using the contest is a prize to be offered, by the sponsors—an Eddie Cantor Achievement Award to the parents of femme quintets; John J. Schneider of the Biow agency, currently executive v.p. of the National Television Film Council, has. been nominated for presi- dent of the Council to succeed Mel Gold. Elections to be held i December will also confirm other : nominations:. William'. Reddick of the William German Co.,.for exec v.p.; Syd Mayers of Unity Television for exec secretary; Samuel Spring, the film attorney, for treasurer; and: Beulah Jarvis of NBC for general secretary. Nominees for divisional v.p.s are: James Ellis of the Kudner v.p. for agencies; Archie Mayers, Unity prexy, v.p, for distribution; Bert Hecht of Bill Sturm studios, y.p.forproductionr Ardien Rodner, W ABC-TV, N.Y. program chief, v.p. for stations; and Ken CoWari v.p. for membership. Sheldon Reynolds; who’s been talking about producing a filmed series based ph “The Saint,” has “no rights whatever” to the character, according to Leslie Charteris, writer-of the detective series.. Charteris wired Variety this week that he “cannot speculate on his (Reynolds’) motives for yaking this unfounded claim,” but emphasized that Ih producer has no deal. Reynolds is currently in Europe shooting “Foreign Intrigue” and “Sheridck Holmes.” William Morris agency, which reps him, had no comment to make about Charteris’ statement. ‘Star & Story’ Markets Anheuser-Busch has bought eight more eastern and midwest markets for Official Films’ “Star and the Story” in an expansion of its first major vklpix buy east of the Rock- ies. Budweiser regional now totals 14 markets, with the. new ones add- ed including Cincinnati (WKRC), Cleveland (WEW S), Toledo iWSPDV, Columbus (WBNS), Zanesville (WHIZ), Des Moines (WHO), Mason City (KGLO) and Wichita (KEDD). Series is in a total of 47 mar- kets, including 14 originally bought from Don Sharpe by Rheingold, Which carries the series under the title “Henry Fonda Presents,” with Fonda acting as host ih those mar- kets. Biggest regional set by Offi- cial other than the Budweiser deal was one with Interstate Insurance for Orlando, Augusta 1 and Pensa- cola. • * -Most of the new G-E institutional spots (you must see them on the "General Electric Theatre'*!}; are «. • ♦ V,: let k Producing films for Television and Industry in our own air conditioned studio at 1600 Broadway in the heart of New York City, Circle 7-2264 ‘Frustration Time* in Chi ; Continue^ froiA page 49 *. ‘ s • . • ' * and are now rounding: out their.; ad plans for next year" But in the main the outfits that failed to get their series bankrolled by Oct. 1 have found a. lot of doors closed to them that might have been open 60 or 90 days earlier. What’s happened not only in Chi with its four network identified stations, but elsewhere in midewst markets of consequence, is that available choice time for film berthing has long since been snapped up. And if it’s a good time slot and a hot tele pix property it’s at least a 26-week firm deal, frequently 39 weeks and sometimes even 52. f The celluloid hustlers recognize that" their- industry, ' unlike most Other businesses, has an arbitrary ceiling 1 posed by the scarcity -of tv time. One voiced it thusly: “Sure, there’s always room for another good series,: but there’s obviously not enough room for everyone’s— especially now that the season has ■ started, most of the buying com- \ pleted, and new product continuing j to hit the market.” j Caught in the Middle j Especially hard hit are those; syndicators who held their prbp-1 erties off the local and regional 1 marts in the hopes of consummat- ing a national or a network deal. It’s an open secret that a few of the vidpix firms have tried to play both ends against the middle with the lads in the hinterlands sound-, ing out local and regional pros-1 pects while the homeoffice toppers [ were shooting for the big kill. j Much attention is now being fo-j cused on the so-called calendar year advertisers, who . are laying j their 1955 schemes. But here, too;.'’ there’s an ironic twist encountered by some of the salesmen. A few of these prospective buyers had been warmed up oh the tv film story as early? as last July or August; But at that early stage, especially for thpse pushing new shows, there’s usually a wait-and-see re- action. And, as has happened, when the potential ba'nkrellers | plans start to really firm up it few months later and he evidences stronger interest in the series on the basis of the ratings it has been earning, he has to be informed that, he’s top late because it’s been al- ready- sold in the markets he wants. Despite the seasonal lull, , some of the more experienced salesmen profess to see encouraging long- range signs that a pattern of ‘ ma- turity is : beginning to emerge in the still young industry. For exam- ple, certain “brand ^names'** are. coming to the fore with a reputa- tion of quality and service that makes the selling entre that much easier. Production and syndication firms are building track records to the extent that there’s a‘ develop- ing feeling: among, agencies that if I it’s “so: and sd’s ■Series, 'it gotta be* ■ u‘ • * good.” All of which leads to the thinking that what with the coii- tiuing mergers, consolidations and dropouts, the vidpix industry is shaking down into a more stable business. Screen Gems Continued from page 49 10 synopses are ready, with spring sale for fall airing planned. In addition, sales v.p.. John Mitchell said there are two. mor properties under consideration, with Screen Gems’ aim being a to- tal of 10 nationally-sponsored shows for next season. If this were achieved, the production, budget would, zoom past the $10,000,0P0 mark. Mitchell, who disclosed the firm’s intention to refrain from producing directly for syndication for at' least another year, said the decision was based on current mar- ket conditions. The 4 market is “glutted,” Mitchell said, and price- cutting is so rampant that, he’s convinced that many distribs arc making “bail-Out” Sales prepara- tory to complete liquidation of their firms. It won’t be long, he said, before there are only a few : major distribs in the field, and Screen Gems will be one of them. At that time*, when the market is more like a sellers’ market, the firm will start producing for syn- dication. This attitude doesn’t mean that its syndicated sales operation has been lost in the shuffle. On the con- trary, press of business on .“Ford” and “Fireside Theatre” reruns plus non-network sales on the other properties have caused a new ex- pansion of the staff, which now to- tals 16 in .the field, with offices now in Detroit, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Los. Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas ahd Atlanta. Mitchell just returned from a four-week produe- tiomsales trip on which he added staffers, and. Cohn is just back from a five-week homeoffice huddle on the Coast that included a trip to Mexico City that resulted in th dubbing deals. Parker, Steckler Mull Tintpix Series Frank Parker, singer, on tlie Ar- thur Godfrey shows, and legitiv producer. Ripy P; Steckler, are plan- ning . a series of half-hour. color telepix based on inspirational and reflective stories. Pair will shoot three or four films on the Coast starting in about six weeks, thca will try to peddle the package. Avmstrong & Harris, their attor- neys, are negotiating for properties for the series, ! There’s; a possibility that Parker j may host the series, btft the deev Fsioti. hasn’t been made .yet. 1 . * » -