Variety (September 1957)

barter. SRA prexy Lawrence Webb, in recognizing that its member or-” ganizations are hit hard coin-wise, uppercutted stations that make barter deals by saying “that stations will find out that barter deals are the most costly thing they ever got involved in. Many stations are going to wind up with ‘dog films’ for which they gave away in some cases from three to five years spot time.” Barter deals are condemned by the SRA‘for a number of reasons (not including.the lost moola felt by. the reps). For one thing, says Webb, the barter arrangement makes it possible for film. vendors to sell time less at. than rate card in competition with stations’ own salesman and representatives. One syndication outfit, cites Webb, is selling spots on many’good stations in direct competition with their representatives. | A second criticism of the SRA was. -time for film and authorize the resale of the time by the film -vendor run counter to the exclusivity provision in most representative contracts and embarrass the representative by -creating a.competitive and confusing alternate source of time for national advertisers. ; Webb claims that on by the FCC,” he said. The barter horizon will cloud, according to Webb, because syndicators will have a hard time lining up advertisers and time. 3 000-Mile-Long Bluepencil ‘Dick & Duchess’ Made in England But CBS Knows ‘Wednesday, September 25; Station Reps Blast Bart After gripes by several individual station reps, the Station Representatives Assn, has come out with a delayed blast against barter deals grant preferential rates to one group of advertisers which are not available to others thus violating. the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies contract. deals are brokerage arrangements some of which tie up the stations fora period of from three to five years which will be frowned 1957 that barter deals which trade “Barter What’s. Going On | Censor pencils are so sharp that they cross the Atlantic now, at least in the case of “Dick and the Duchess,” the new Sheldon Reynolds seriés on CBS-TV. ‘As told by Nicol Milinair, exec producer of the series, who, incindentally, feels that the network has been very constructive and cooperative ‘in the venture, net was troubled by an episode featuring that vet trouper Margaret Rutherford. An initial line had her saying. that she’s been “smooching” since she’d been 12. CBS via cable, asked whether the age could be upped to 15. Another request was to change her background from being married-seven times to being widowed the same-number of times. |. Reynolds complied. Miss Milinair, one of the few women other than Hanna Weinstein of Sapphire Productions, Ltd., functioning in an exec production capacity, abroad, said that it’s no cheaper to produce in England than in the States. “Dick and the Duchess” is being filmed af Metro studios int London, at a cost of from about $35,000 to’ $40,000 per episode. Here for a 10-day visit in connection with the series debut, Miss Milinair, who also had been associated with Reynolds on “Forejgn Intrigue” and “Sherlock Holmes,” says Reynolds Productions plans another adventure series to be shot in various capitals on the Continient, as well as a feature: American Dairy's ‘Casey Jones’ Buy American Dairy Assn., long a network sponsor, has moved into the syndicated market with an 18 market regional buy on “Casey Jones,” Screeh Gems. ADA is picking up the Screen Gems’ entry | on an alternate-week basis in the 18 far western cities, with the Columbia Pictures subsidiary already lining up cosponsors in some of the markets. Deal brings the total in which | number of -markets “Casey” is sold-to-70. _ Cities included in the deal, set via the Campbell-Mithun agency, are. Billings,Butte, Great Falls. and Missoula, all Montana; Champaign, Ill, Reno; LaCrosse, Wis.; Sioux Falls, S. D. Medford, Ore., and Yuma, Ariz, “Casey” already ‘numbers among its local clients a couple of dairy.outfits, as well as bakeries and other foed -qampanies: > en Ce SG’s ‘Frankenstem Hollywood, Sept. 24. Joseph M. Schenk Enterprises is involved in “Tales.of Frankenstein” telepix series being produced by ‘Bryan Foy for Screen Gems, Foy confirmed Jast week. Schenk is partnering in. the deal. Shooting sfarts next month on “Frankenstein,” in which Boris Karloff will host and occasionally star. , Amer. Petroleum’s 3006 ‘Centennial’ the American Petroleum Institute for a full hour color spec, to. be budgeted in excess of $300,000, which possibly could be theforerunner of a series of 60-minute filmed shows for.ty. All are to be in the entertainment, dramatic tv vein, utilizing upper case talent, in celebration of the 100th anniversary in 1959 of the petroleum industry in the U. S. Petroleum Institute, In inking deal via BBD&O, wanted a dramatic showcase of the caliber of the science specs of American Tele phone and Telegraph Co., although: Institute’s format will not be. in the documentary style, for a vehicle | for its institutional message. Series, to be titled “Centennial,” will be produced by Jack Denove of Jack Denove Productions, Hollywood. Charles Barry, v.p. of Metro TY, left. for the Coast Monday (23) night to begin preparatory work. at the studio on the project. Deal was signed by Frank M. Porter, American Petroleum Insti-; tute prez, and Joseph Vogel, Loew’s topper. Plan calls for “Centennial” to preempt evening time periods on one of the nets fn ’59. ? oe ? OF’s ‘Invisible Man “The Adventures of the Invisible Man” will be filmed in England next year by Official Films, which made a. deal with William Morris Agency, packager Larry White and Universal’ International, which owns the rights‘to the H. G, Wells story, Plan is to eliminate the original,. ‘macabre side of the story, with the: ty version accenting the comedy-. ‘maystery, . yo | tervals, spanned out-over a 52-week. “America, NBC’s California NationZiv |. ‘New Adventures of Martin Kane,” { Command” and third year producwith another possible in March and -|}a sixth in October. Over a period ‘of a year, Ziv is aiming to put s {skein on the market as spon as {| Chan” is cleaned up; CNP, mop Metro Tinthlms Metro TY has closed a deal with RELEASE TES | PLAYED BY EAR By MURRAY HOROWITZ . | More and more, first-run syndi-! cation is becoming a week-in-weekout business, with new product slated for release over shorter in period. Traditionally, new syndicated series have come -out in various parts of the year, But now, with |’ the market showing resiliency and strength, syndication outfits as soon as they’re in the midst of a mop. up operation on ne serjes, plunge into a selling campaign on another, shortening the span be-. tween new shows, Ziv, one of the bellwethers in the field, offers a prime example. So does Television Programs of al Productions, and _ others. teed off sales inthe spring on followed in the summer by “Harbor tion on “Highway Patrol.” “SeaHunt” is set as the next project, fresh properties info syndication, the largest in number in the field at this stage, approximating a twomonth interval between series. TPA is planning to put another “New Adventures of ~ Charlie ping up on “Silent Service,” is out selling “Boots. and Saddles”; ABC Film Syndication has 13 in the can on “Exclusive!,” which may go the ‘syndication route for ‘winter telecasting, dependent on the sponsor outlook, as. a sequel to “26: Men.” “ABC Film Syndication, incidentally, was not in the first-run field last year. Official Films, which also returned to fhe first-run finds itself in a unique position, having three first-run series to sell simultaneously, “Decoy,” “Sword of Freedom” and “Big Story.” Official Films, like the. other syndicators, would havé preferred to space out their releases, but because. of various commitments and in order to hold.on to the properties could not do so. There are various factors which have underlined the 52-week status ‘of syndication, as contrasted. to selling telefilms to the nets, the. latter field virtually. dependent on seasonal deals. Local sponsors, according to Mickey Sillerman, exec y.p..of PA, now are educated to the use of telefilms, each year bringing in a variety of new sponsors. Feature’ films, in the main, have been relegated to fringe time periods and are not crowding out telefilms. Stations, too, find they can get ratings and compete with telefilms, thereby attracting sponsor coin, What was:an arduous period of orientation in for regional and local biz now is past to a large deBree. Sales organizations, too, have been built up and are continuing to be expanded to handle the added product. Stations, interested in bringing new product in the market, have banded together‘to purchase and launch new properties, also hypoing the sales of properties by talking skeins up with station operators, and even joining in the financing, a-la the deal on Screen Gems’ “‘Casey Jones.’ ‘Top 10 Dance Party’ Into More Markets! “Top 10 Dance Party,” syndic | jeated teenage audience participa-| tion tv series, has racked up a2 number of fresh markets. They include WFIE-TV, Evansville, Ind.; “WEAA-TY, Dallas; WXEX, Richmond, Va., aid WDXI, Jackson, Miss. In Jackson-and Richmond markets, the show was bought in its| entirety by regional Coca-Cola bottlers. Live series, 2 Victor & Richards package, produced and written by Alan Sands, is new -in its third year. ‘ field, | ‘supplies the film free, NBC-TV Film Subsid Going Into Theatrical Production, ‘Service, Mummy, Anyone? Screen Gems wants a mummy for exploitation purposes for its “Shock” package of 52 . Universal horror pictures. Idea is to exhibit the mummy at local stations carrying the films, with particular reference to the four “Mummy” pictures, starting with the original 1932 Boris Karloff starrer and running through three séquels. _ Trouble is, Screen Gems finds that mummies aren’t easy to come by. Columbia Pictures subsid ‘called the Brooklyn Museum after reading that it had tried in vain ta get rid of its specimen. Museum replied that being a taxsupported institution, it couldn’t deal with a.commercial firm, and turned Screen Gems cown. Anacin’s Unique Rerun Pattern On ‘GE Theatre’ MCA TV is beginning to unlock its “General Electric. Theatre” for 2 rerun ride via a deal with Anacin, through the Ted Bates Agency, a deal which has many precedental and unique aspects, First, Anacin guarantees a oneminute participation in the series, if the availabilities are to the agency’s liking, the agency preferring the 8 to 10 p.m. time. period but taking other slots. Anacin’s middle commercial, agency is paying one-and-a-half times the station’s normal oneminute rate card, feeling that with billboarding client is getting an added ride, as: well as a good show. Seeond, Anacin has .signed up for 15 episodes, with an option to go for more. Series in syndication, to be titled “Parade of Stars” will consist of 14 “GE Theatre” shows and one from another MCA TV source, * , Third, . the financial arrangement among sponsor, .station. and MCA TY, according to Coast reports, runs something like. this: Anacin, paying the station for the middle commercial at the one-anda-half times the commercial rate, Station passes the coin on to MCA TY, and in exchange gets to sell the other two spots, opener and closer, to local sponsors. , The deal, part of Anacin’s spot effort, has no limitations as far as TPA’s { ‘Boots Series As Initial Entries Hollywood, Sept. 24. [ California National, NBC’s telefilming subsidiary, will get into theatrical production next year for both domestic and overseas. Approval of the project. first to be ventured by a tv wing of a network, has been cleared with the, {company’s brass by Robert Cinader, CN veepee of programming, and he is presently negotiating for distribution. Subjects under discussion are feature-length versions of two series now being completed or made —‘Silent Service” and “Boots and Saddles.” Of the former 39 have been completed and 16 “Boots” have already been tinned. “Service” deals with subs and “Boots”: have already been tinned. “Service” deals with subs and “Boots” with the now defunct Cavalry Theatrical versions will be entirely new and no footage from the vidpix will be used. | Financing of the two features would be’ underwritten by independent producers with a releasing arrangement, Whether CN will } participate in production costs may depend on what terms can be made ‘with a major releasing company. Cinader has been instructed to explore distribution deals and is now dealing with several ma; jors. | It is Cinader’s contention that CN is better equipped and conditioned to turn out pictures on which the company has worked through 39 episodes than a theatrieal company which ‘vould be starting from scratch. Says Cinader: “we've been through the shakedown or what might be termed a. long rehearsal and know our way around every inch of the way. We have the know-how, the technicians land actors who are well versed in | every phase of production and with these advantages can preduce the pictures for half of what it would cost a studio and with the quality comparable. “The men and the crews have worked together so Jong that it would require little preparation before actual shooting _ starts. ‘Boots’ is being shct on the favorite location spot of the theatrical studios near Kanab, Utah, and for ‘Service’ we've worked in submarine of Terminal Island. Who, then, knows subs better than we do? Or, for that matter, the sprawling ierrance of Utah? -No company ever put in more working days on one subject thet we have. on the two syndicated series. Not (Continued on page 50) Hostess’ | & Dude Ranch’ the number of markets, according; Television Programs of America, to an agency spokesnian. In LA.,j after confabs with advertisers and KKRCA reportedly has been -inked : agencies according to its new pilot for Wednesdays at 10:30 pm. —j policy, has given the greenlight In. some respects. the deal is: for pilot production of two projects, similar to the one inked between: ,irlineé Hostess’ and “Dude MCA TV and Nestle. for DeCaf,; Ranch.” renewed for another 13 weeks.| “Hostess” will be produced by Under latter deal, Nestle guaran-]| Anthony Veiller, with scripting to tees purchase of one-minute pat-ibe done by Arnold Belgard and ticipation at card rate in three to ; Lois Jacoby. Series will feature five MCA TY rerun shows, depend-} dramatic stories of an international ing on the size of the market. The} airline hostess. with location shoot office, is no. longer with the size of the roster of Nestle markets has now grown to 55. TPA Shifts Vidblurb Operation to Coast Television Programs of America’s cofamercial tv film production operation has been shifted completely to the Coast under the aegis of Leon Fromkess, production V.p. | In liné with the shift, Wally Gould, who had been: producer for rommercials in. TPA’s New York com1: pany. ing in England and Far East, although production will.be based in Hollywood. Irving Cummings Jr., producer of TPA’s “Furs series, will produce “Dude Ranch.” a dramatic, situation comedy concerning a dude ranch owner and his teenage daughter, with guest stars planned each week. Casting on Ilatter will begin next week, with Leon Fromkess, exec producer and TPA v.p., in overall charge of two projects. Recently, TPA, in association with Entertainment Productions, ‘Ine, gave the go-ahead signal on’ “Turning Point.’’ a series based on quiz contestants. ao.”