Variety (September 1957)

Wednesday, September 11, 1957 PICTURES “Amusement Stock Quotations For Week Ended Tuesday (10) N. Y. Stock Exchange 1957 Net High Low Weekly vol. Weekly Weekly Tues. Change High Low Close for wk. | 174 11% ABC Vending» 8 1534 15 15 — 24% 1654 AmBr-ParTh 67 18 17%17h —%% 36% 27% CBS “A”. 62 30 275% 28% —l $544 27% CBS “B”.... 97 297% 28 28 —1% 20% 17 Col Pix 9 18% 181% 184% — % 1954 133% Decca ..... 44 183% 18 18% —-M% 115 8134 Eastman Kdk. 52 . 100% 9654 97% —3% 4% 3% EMI ..... . T1. 444 438 434. — % 10% 7% List Ind. ... 24 856 8 8 — % 22 1434 Loew’s..... 243 «16% 434, 14% —1% 36% 28%. Paramount .. 25 34 — 334% 33% — %. 1B% 14% Philce ...-.. 79. 14% 14% 143% — % 40 3153 RCA ....... 181° 34% 33% 33% —. 4% 8% 514 Republic ... 47 T32 634 64 — 5% 134% 11 Rep, pfd..... 2 -11%4 HY% 11% j—% 1844 14% Stanley War. 22 17% 16% 17 —% 29% 2414 Storer ...... 25 24 23% 23% —. % 30% 221% 20th-Fox .... 69 264% 2534 2534 — % 253%4 2014 United Artists 21 21% 2014 2034 —% 30% 2356 Univ. Pix... 1 27 27 27 _ 28% 21 Warner Bros. 16 2134 21 — 21 —114 121% 91144 Zenith .:.... 53 «117 10534) «111334 +534. American Stock Exchange . 444 | 2% Allied Artists 39 344 —% 11% 9 Asso. Artists 68 oe. OV 9% —+% 1% % C&CTele.. 83 15/16 13/16 % —1/16 6 44% DuMont Lab. 23 4% 44 4% —% 45% 2% Guild Films . 264 3% 314. 334 —_—_ i Nat'l Telefilm 37 1% 7% 7% —¥% 9 ° 3% Skiatron .... 266 84 7% 4 + \% 834 5% Technicolor... 41 5% 54% 54 — % 5% 3% Trans-Lux ... 17 414 45% 434 —\% Over-the-Counter Securities Bid Ask Ampex Beer eeerr nero ane secaceseveserese oe 5114 5514 — \% Chesapeake Industries oe ceccvcccocasoene 24% 244 —*%% _ Cinerama Ine. ..... eC ooseeoerressvessece 1% 2 + % Cinerama Prod. sore eeeoesensevessesesea 24 2%. —% DuMont Broadcasting eoce recesses tdenecs 9 954° + % Magna Theatre Coc eee pone sroe deer eseees: 24% 258 — Official Films corto adeeveovrerosessepeore 144. 1% _— Polaroid ar, eee eSeeeseeegeesoseneeseseaeeue 2 .192. — Uv. A. Theatres POOCOOEE SOSH OD ET EREORAESS 414 5% nt. % Walt Disney ae eO ee eo everesoverecrsevess 2014 22)4 — * Actual Volume, (Quotations furnished by Dreyfus & Co.). H ‘wood!’s Oscar TV Sponsorship Continued from page 2 SS He’ 8 already sounded out numerous , of criticism from both within and persons on the Coast and: has yet to | beyond the industry. Beef was that encounter one dissent. It’s under-|this should have been the trade’s tood that even talent agency reps | own show but the audience repeatave verbally committed them-|edly was subjected to the projecselves ‘to the formula, tion of automobiles on parade and Can Reach $800,000 the usual blurbs. The specified fraction of rentals| .Seaton made it elear that this is can amount to $800,000, Johnston reported. In previous years the Oscar outing cost the Olds division of General Motors about $500,000, which was paid to NBC for the time and the Academy for putting on the show. , Under picture industry sponsorship, the monies left over will be allocated to other projects which ‘strictly institutional; not even in Airer will have an opening line such as “The Motion Picture Industry Presents...” and that’s all. Details of the format:are to be worked out: by Seaton and his Acad associates in cooperation with the MPAA advertising-publicity. directors committees, which is headed by Columbia v.p. Paul N. Lazarus Jr. MPAA action in large part was | regarded as a-personal triumph for Seaton. While many persons have supported the idea of the picture business sponsorship, this writerdirector-producer {in partnership with William Perlberg) has worked diligently on, the project. He had a Exhib in on a Pass Exhibitors are to be given a “free ride” so far as the industry’s: sponsorship of the Academy Awards television show is concerned, For the time being, at least. They’re not to he tapped as &@ financing source this. year under the formula proposed by Acad president George “Seaton. and “approved by the Motion Picture Assn, of America. But it was suggested that subse quenitiy this formula might be changed so that theatremen would be called upon to participate. _ Seaton has been advocating. These in¢glude an international film festival, creation of a library. for mutual use by all studios, establishment of an industry museum in Hollywood to accommodate tourists who would usually want to visit a studio, a traveling museum and ex-~ hibits, publication of a quarterly magazine containing articles anent various phases of -production for circulation to edticators, critics and | others, and a cooperative program. with educational institutions, . Monies raised also will pay for the services rendered the Academy. MPAA member companies have _ been footingethe bill for this at-the rate of $150,000, _ Gone Are The Blurbs The “outside” sponsorship of thie Oscar ty présentations in the past consistently has been the subject those companies which felt the Oscars encouraged the “art” but not the “commerce” of films. night (Wed.) to follow through, gram in formal and working order. Moneybags Talk Continued from page 1 to come up withsthe right kind of properties. The managements recognized this and acted acc ordingly, although several company presidents have been outspoken in their percentage teamups. There’s been pressure exerted for diversification, as stockholders watched other industries expand in other fields and, they ask, why not Hollywood? A final note might be added concerning Howard-Hughes..Accoréing-te much trade suspicion, the "RKO as a means of assuaging minority holders -whe had brought ment to the courts, 1 “4 | | Todd’s Threat’ to Put| .jarmed with a “threat” by Mike ‘refused. | enced the vote couldn’t be gauged, ‘tion previously had been given a {press spotlight and jit appearea | taken seriously. | his Oscar. sponsorship proposal things turned out,. there was no |the situation whereby Hollywood ‘magic and strange fascination that “Something has gone wrong in the ‘credit runoff, while pleasing to the finished. The new show is-to be, dividual pictures will be plugged.: “sell” job to do, particularly with | He heads back to the Coast to| that is, putting the financing pro-| if the company they “owned” failed’ beefs about the high costs of the airman bought out all assets of| their complaints about his. mahage Oscars on TV Himself Twas Not U.S. But Too Many Pix That If Acad Nized Backing Forced Up Italo Costs, Sez De Simone George Seaton, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, went into the film company presidents’ meeting on sponsorship of the Oscar tv program BOUT ADDS 5 HOUSES FOR LINEUP OF 170 Addition of five theatres in five more cities has increased the Todd.. Todd put in the form of a telegram his proposal to arrange for the bankrolling of the show on hisown in the event the company chief execs, sitting as the board of the Motion ‘Picture Assn, of America, ‘for the Ray Robinson-Carmen Basilio middleweight championship fight on Sept. 23 to an all-time record of 170 theatres in 127 cities. Requests from additional theatres MPAA voted. approval and the extent to which Todd had influ-} However, his proposi-. of course. Nate Halpern, prez of Theatre Net work Television, which is handling the telecast for the International likely that the company execs wer | Boxing Club. More than 100 TNT aware ‘of #. As a matter of far‘ Seaton had mentioned the Todd maneuver earlier on an informal | basis and, ostensibly, it wasn't lines and a theatre seating capacity of 500,000 are involved in the telecast which. originates from Yankee Stadium, N.Y, Previous network ‘high for a closed-tv bout was for the Rocky Marciano-Archie Moore heavyweight championship fight two years ago when 133 theatres in 93 cities carried the event. Seaton carried a copy of the telegram in his pocket to present it. to the: MPAA group in the event were to run into oppdsition. As | need to produce it. . In. his message Todd deplored was being relegated to the “status; of a fairground free act while a medicine man uses the glamor, Briefs From Lots Hollywood, Sept. 10. Merry Anders signed for a fea motion pictures exercise on the public to sell them a commercial product during our annual Academy Awards presentations.” The “outside” sponsorship of the program in the past was “shocking,” thought Todd; who added: tured -role in “Hell’s Highway” which Aubrey Schenck wil produce and Howard W. Koch direct at Warners ., . Gavin Gordon: and Rev Evans set for roles in Don Hartman’s production of “The Matchmaker” at Paramount . . Steve Cochran’s Robert Alexander Productions optioned “Walk ; Wing,” life story of test.pilot Major Speed Chandler as & possible Cochran starrer ... Tom Gries will direct “Girl in the Woods” which Harry L. Mandell will produce for AB-PT Pictures... Aibert C, Gannaway optioned Fred Schiller’s | McCall mag yarn “10 Men and a Prayer” for production under the Gannaway International banner, Elizabeth Frazer reprises her stage role in'the film version of “Tunnel of Love’ which Joseph Fields will produce at Metro .. . Security Pictures added $125,000 to the six-week location budget of Anthony Mann’s ‘“God’s Little Acre,” bringing the total to over $1,500,000 _ «Associated Artists signed Audie Murphy to star in the remake of “To Have and Have Not” in the Humphrey Bogart role . Producer Stanley Rubin bought “Atomic Tragedy in Texas,” Look Magazine article, for indie production, possibly with Richard Widmark in conjunction with the latter’s Heath Productions ... Lesley Selander will direct Jack Wrather’s production of “The Lone Ranger” for United Artists release . Universal signed Walter Matthau to costar in “Middle of the Street,” Howard. Pine production Matty Fox ==amaz Continued from page 3 ing equipment, it’s a. “safe” operation. Once Telemter does the pragramming, however, and uses film, Fox feels that. it Is getting into a Tangerous aren, Fox said he could see a valuable kingdom of films, and the. company heads seem ‘bent on digging their ‘own graves Todd said he felt he could recoup the cost of the show in terms of the values accruing to his single picture (“80° Days Around the World”). Pix Credits aaaaaa Continued from page 7 some suspicion that an offbeat: patrons, does an {injustice to the talent since the audience’s attention is definitely diverted from the names. Approach to titles varies, ranging from the sedate to the hilarious. The days when credits are flashed on in. terious sequence against a monotonous. background are virtually gone. Credits today catch the. mood of the film. Frequently—and it isn’t clear whether Hollywood’s been copy-catting from tv. or vice versa—action is started and gets. underway quite a bit before the credits come on. In contrast, in the upcoming “My Man Godfrey,” |: a butler sets an elaborate dinner table. The placé cards serve as credits, . . . It is agreed that the manner of | title presentation is more important than ever in that it conditions the audience’s receptivity of the film itself. Thus, in “Sweet-Smell of Success,” the ‘mood: of the piece is very clearly: established even before the story itself Starts rolling. Readers =m Continued from page ': — — able item when projected over a five or six-week shooting schedule. “Stranger” will star John Drew Barrymore, . ‘with Lita Milan and Robert Bray--costarred. Robert. Stevens directs. Co-producer is Richard Day, who has a participating interest in the picture. Location lensing will be done at Coney ‘Island and other Gotham points,: “Several versions of emotional scenes,” Robbins said, “will be shot for the European market. In this} | ” case it’s not a question of cheese-|2 “Ro comment. ‘cake but of providing greater dra-|| He explained that he had re‘matic intensity.” Such “dramatic | fused to -cooperate in Bartlesville, intensity,” it’s felt, may be found] Okla., in Caryn’s upeoming film version|a limited. test.” Video Independof Robbins’ bestselling novel, “79jent Theatres prexy, Henry J. GrifPark Avenue.” While this concerns | fing, had offered to both Skiatron a call girl, Robbins anticipates no | and Telemeter to install toll boxes Code problem since it’s a “moral”|in some 100 Bartlesville homes to -story. It’s due to roll next spring |test the effectiveness of pay sysin color and possibly CinemaScope. | tems vs. the VIT method, which inThe third property isn’t set as yet. | volves a flat monthly charge. etc. and really cash in on this, just as long as they don’t try ta assume the programming responsibilities, ” he observed. Fox-West Coast originaly contacted Skiatron, but backed ‘away, and tied up with ; Lelemeter,, when it became clear that Fox. wouldn’t let them control programming. Asked. whether Skiatron was jready to go.in New York, should the Federal Communications Commission authorize over-the-air tests of pay-tv next week, Fox only had closed-circuit felevision network | are still coming in, according to; mobile units and portable tv pro-|jectors, 25,000 miles of telephone. “because I don’t believe in| Rise of production costs in Italy hasn’t been so much caused by American filming activity there as by the normal law of supply and demand, Franco de Simone, general manager of Italy’s Titanus Films, said in New York Monday “When we made 200 films ge year, and everyone was working, wages went up, Now, we make fewer films, and a man will work for the normal local scale if he needs work,” he added. In the past, the assertion has been made on several occasions that lavish U.S. spending in Italy has caused wages to go up and has created’ a problem for the local Italian producers.. De Simone, whose outfit (headed by Goffredo Lombardo) is Bot only in production but also in distribution and runs theatres, said he . personally was “all for healthy competition from good American films “without which we couldn't exist in Europe.” Public generally is showing a trend away from pix, he noted, “and we should welcome good films regardless where they come from. We are facing a common competition for people's Ieisure time. These problems should be faced without national distinc I} tion.” He refused to be drawn into dis cussion as to the possible eventual effects of a successful Europea Common Market on the distribu: tion of American. films on the Com tinent. As for Titanus, the company made eight in *57, of which about half are co-productions. He said co-production with the French was working out well. Titanus co-produced “The Seven Hills of Rome,’ A| starring Mario Lanza, with Metro. and the picture has now been com: pleted. Metro will distribute every where except Italy. De Simone is in the States te huddle on a co-production deal (probably again with Metro) fo1 a projected film on “Goya,” fot which Titanus would like to hav¢ Ava Gardner. Italo exec also hat with him a final script on “Venice the ‘Moon and You,” which he de seribed as a modern romantic com: edy, calling for two American actresses and an Italian Jeading man. Lee Steiner, the Titanus rep in the VU. S., noted that the Titanus deals were. the only “real” co-production deals, in that the Italo outfit actually invests money. For instance, in “Seven Hills of Rome,’ it was Titanus which contributed Lanza's services. Regarding the Italo industry outlook, de Simone said it was much better for 1957 than it had been in 1956. “We are making fewer pictures, and it.looks like the start of a ‘new’ Italian industry,” he said. Titanus so far has produced six in *57 and will make two more within the next two months. Speaking of film festivals, Je Simone opined it was impossible to run a fest simply on “artistic” grounds. “After all, pictures are not for an elite,” he~ commented. “In the long run, it still always comes back to the question of the commercial boxoffice.” Titanus has 15 stages, some of which it rents out to other producers. One Titanus film as yet unreleased in the States is “Pulvert ma Belli” {Poor But Handsome) for which de Simone is trying to negotiate distribution. Video Buoy Continued from page 7 that is, after the film has been in theatricaal release for three years, it would be turned over to us and we could go ahead with the television distribution. The three-year figure isn’t an arbitrary one—we can discuss that at any time. But my own feeling is that in today’s market, a picture in the class we're talking about will have reaped its return within three years and then have virtually no theatrical prospects left.” The telestations owned and operated by General Teleradio, it’s understood, have already provided the pattern for this type of operation through the week-long screenings of films. Part of the O’Neil plan is to continue to have a supply of product for these operations, which are highly profitable.