Variety (November 1957)

12 'VARIETY'S' LONDON OFFICE 1 St. Martin's Plac«, Trafalgar Square Uariett EVTEItXATIOXAI. Italo Communist Party, Under Cloak 0( Cultural Film Setup, Now Going Rome, Nov. 12 ■ The Italian Communist Party has entered the distribution-exhi¬ bition field in pictures, according to a report from Bologna, in the heart of the Red belt of Emilia. Source reports that leftwingers, ap¬ parently . disguising the effort as: The Mace’ Picked Up By Rank for Distrib London, Nov, 19. Following its successful opening in Canada and New York "The cultural association of ‘Triends Sceptre and the Mace" has been of the cinema," have been buying * snappe( i up f 0 r British distribution !h0 SeS»« I* Rank Film Distributor?. It opens they have been building or in the West End this week, and has reconditioning meeting halls into' already started its provincial run theatres boasting 250 to 800 seats. in key c ities. To escape c £ ntro1 ;> ■ 1 t ! ck€ I t ® "The Mace” is a documentary f oniy memberehips) are sold. In prQduced by the National Film this ''f 3 '* ^ . 5 Board of Canada. It shows the ar- from the rival of Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa, fice. Yet * 5t k? the glittering scene as she opened turning into a . and Canada’s Parliament and vividly gamzation, able to negotiate and eXplains Canadian Parliamentary purchase features outri^it for precedure and how the Queen fits showing to members. For thejr,^ . f CK ^ f •„ moment, the movement would be into it. Shot in Eastmancolor and available both in 36m and 16m, "The Mace" will shortly he re¬ leased for exhibition in British schools. Europe Fix Pool The Rome, Nov. 12. three-country committee limited basically to the region of Emilia, where the Communist party has traditionally maintained its Italian stronghold. What apparently has brought the ma ter to Yank attention here is that the "circuit" reportedly not only books leftist product or Russian pix which might other* wise not see the light or day in the country, but also is reported to have bought release rights out¬ right on some U.S. product. From early indications, the move _seems to be a development of the long-popular film club idea in this , ., _ country. Film societies grew and ■ charged with setting up the Euro- developed rapidly in the years i pean Film Pool organization will following the las*. World War with! hold its next meetlng v in Hamburg the object of showing art pix and \ N 2 5-27 screen classics for the students of - motion pictures.. A strong in- 1 Principal topic up for discus- filtration effort has been made in ■ sion by members of delegations tli is sector over the years, with \ from’ Italy, France, and Germany some success, by the Communis' ; will be a report to be subrnitte d To’fight it, the church at first = t0 German Minister of Economy set up rival .clubs. Later it went Ludwig Erhard on Nov. 28, into regular showing of pix in ‘ parish film houses and audito¬ riums, which subsequently were united in a large and powerful association, the ACEC (Catholic Exhibitor’s Assn). This is said to control over 4,000 of Italy's 16,000 cinemas. Tho Roamin' Roman SAM’L STEINMAN details why Old Revistas (Italian Revues) Never Die: They Just Keep Rolling Along * * * one of the many Editorial Feature* In the upcoming 52d Anniversary-Number •r PftttlETY Belgium’s Film Biz Up in Arms Vs. Competish of Brussels World’s Fair Takeover Of Hurok’s Paris Rep Bonn. Report will compare the German film industry setup with that of France and Italy, devoting special attention to the film aid laws, Germany to date has no aid legislation, and this is viewed as a major hurdle before a Conti¬ nental pic pact can be sealed, f Other subjects of discussion will I be the coordination of procedure [ by the three film industries in 1 their presentation to the respec- ; tive governments of plans regard- ' ing the substitution of current : bilateral co-production agreements • with new tripartite pacts. Confabs „ | will also cover a proposal to go . ,, ’ aNOV * „ . i to the various governments to uni- After some 20 years ^ P*™} fy financial and other, film legisla- repiesentative of Sol Hurok, ] t i 0 n in France, Italy and Germany European concert impresario L, within the frameW ork of the Euro- Leonidoff is Joining National Ar- pean Coram0 n Market idea. Lat- tists Corp. of Nevv York as its con- ter topic wag already discussed tmental general director. He is, of} during the recent tripartite talks course, not the Leon Leonidoflj held in Munich 0 ct. 2 7 and 28. who has long been senior producer T . . v .. , at the Rad o City Music Hall N.Y.I Ita . han delegation to Hamburg President Luben Vichy of NAC,. meetl ogs wiR compriseEitel Mon- who has been visiting a series of : ac0 ’ Goff re do Lombardo, Alfredo European centres signing up con-‘. * E ° n ^° Gian n ell i,_ Nicola cert attractions for America, raided! D e Pirro and Benedetto Orta. Hurok of Leonldoff in the wake off a whole series of N.Y. officials: Hurok enticed away from NAC; upon ending his (Hurok’s) tie of many years to set up his own book-: ing office. * Now in Works 'London, Nov. 19. A bid for takeover of British Lion Filmj, the government-owned distribution company, is in the works! Behind the takeover, ac¬ cording to authoritative reports here, is agent Christopher Mann, who, it’s understood, is organizing a syndicate, of producers and direc¬ tors to provide the necessary bank¬ roll. Mann declined to comment when questioned by Variety, but neither did he dedy that he was associated with, the deal. He indicated that he might have some observations to make within two or three weeks, even though he had nothing to say at the present time. It’s been a fairly open secret along Wardour Street (London’s Film Row) for some weeks that a group was negotiating the British Lion takeover, but utmost secrecy had hitherto been maintained. There’s no hint at the present time of the amount involved, but the company has an authorized capital of. $2,800,000 of which $1,680*000 has been issued. Any offer for the acquisition of the company- would, presumably, need clearance at Treasury and Board of Trade level and it’s not clear what the procedure would be. In its present setup, the share Capi¬ tal of the company is owned by the National Film Finance Corp., which, in turn, originally got its coin from the Treasury. British Lion is, in any event, about to undergo important execu¬ tive changes following the appoint¬ ment of Sir Arthur W. Jarratt, its managing director, as honorary president of the Kinematograph Renters Society, It’s-been gener¬ ally assumed that David Kingsley, who’s also a member of the board and - managing director of the NFFC, would move in to fill, the vacancy. That appointment, how¬ ever, has to. be made by the direc¬ tors of .the film hank. In the last annual report for the year ended last March 31, British Lion showed a ; trading loss of around $60.00Q. before taking into account dividend and interest pay¬ ments. There was no dividend pay-, menC BRITISH PIX INDUSTRY WANTS NO ADMISH TAX Loudon, Nov. 19. Total abolition of Admissions Tax is the British picture indus¬ try’s goal. The Cinematograph! Exhibitors’ Asso. has stated that nothing short of this can save it. The CEA, in supporting this claim, which will he made by the All-Industry Tax Committee to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has instructed its members to make known the; full facts about any the¬ atre closings to their members of Parliament. -Publicity about the¬ atres which go dark, the associa¬ tion says, should be directed towards Westminster, because ef¬ forts to interest the public in the need for tax abolition were not only unprofitable, but might have the effect of creating an* unfavor¬ able impression in the. public’s mind as to the future of the in¬ dustry. Vienna Philharmonic Already Booked — Statoper Tour in Prospect—-Spanish Horsemen to Hit U.S, Luben Vichy, the former Met Opera basso who became a concert impresario as president of National Artists Corp., returned Monday ‘ 18) from Europe with exclusive managerial rights for. Austrian state-subsidized cultural organiza¬ tions. He has world tour rights for the Vienna Philharmonic, which will hit Russia, Japan, Phiflipines and the U. S. in 1959. NAC hopes to book American dates in I960 for the Vienna Stato¬ per, Vienna Opera Ballet and the Burgteatre repertory. Latter is the main problem, because of its .Ger¬ man language dramas. Another Vienna -organization, the Spanish Riding Academy, which has exten¬ sively toured European centres, will be managed for U. S. arena bookings. Vichy's reported contract with the Austrian Ministry of Culture is for five years. It does not, of r course, preclude private mariage- [ments making deals with private ^Austrian entertainers, Andre Mer- tehs of Columbia Concerts has his own "Vienna On Parade" opening in the U. S. this January for an ex¬ tensive tqur. Dicker Patrice Wymore . London, Nov. 19. Patrice Wymore is planning to open in cabaret in London. Music Corp. of America has offered her ltd Harry Morris, ’boss of Mayfair’s Colony Restaurant. . Morris, Who will visit New York in January in search of floorshow talent, said he is also dickering With Kaye Ballard for her to re¬ turn to London cabaret at the Colony, British Film Actor Named College Rector Edinburgh, Dec. 12, James Robertson Justice, British film actor, was elected Lord Rec¬ tor of Edinburgh University. He outdistanced the other nine candi-, dates with d total of 1003 Votes. Justice, 52-year-old actor, has, flayed the role of surgeon in the Rank Organization's “Doctor" films. He is the second film actor to become rector of Edinburgh, the first having been Alastair Sim. Justice was nominated by medi¬ cal students. He beat nine others, who included Malcolm Mugger- idge, controversial British tv per¬ sonality (who recently criticized Royalty in the Saturday Evening Post), and tele personality Jacque¬ line Mackenzie, actress and mimist. Arg. Film Studios Buenos Aires, Nov. 12. Time is fleeting hut Argentina’s film studios are still gathering cob¬ webs, very few pictures are rolling or ip print, and production inter¬ ests are distinctly soured over van¬ ished hopes that the new Film Law (62/57), passed last January,, would automatically bring a revi¬ val of their industry. ' Producers had imagined they would be given the .millions pouring in from the 10% boxoffiee tax to play around with while unemployed film work¬ ers looked to it to restore their jobs. No one has relied on good pic¬ tures to give the industry the needed shot. Recent releases of pictures made subsequent to the revolution have done nothing to counteract the citizenry’s feeling that the native material isn’t worth seeing. "La Sombra de Safo” (Sappho’s Shaw) ((ADOCA), a se¬ quel to a hit of 1943, "Sappho,” flopped miserably. "Alfonsina Storni" (D’An Fran), based on the life of a loved Argentine poetess, arid the historical "La Muerte en las Calles” (Death in the Streets) (Atalaya), a historical opus set in 1808, were both boxoffiee failures, protection notwithstanding. A feeling is beginning to spread, in fact, that the wrong people are in charge of production. Chagrin over the Film Law’s failure 'to put things right is so strong that the industry union (Sin- dicato de la Iridustria Ciriemato- grafica Argentina, known as SICA), now grouping every one of the. industry forces, has published a first bulletin embodying an unusu¬ ally scathing denunciation of the National Screen Institute, created under the law.in' ApriL To quote the Union, the Institute "ha4 utter¬ ly failed and is directly tesponsifcle for the dire straits, of the indus¬ try workers." The Union diatrihe winds up with an appeal to the gov¬ ernment to sweep out the Screen Institute President, Antonio Aita, and his board. Aida's resignation, has been a foregone conclusion for - months; but somehow gets no official an¬ nouncement. Estimates are that the 10% box- office tax for \he Institute has al¬ ready yielded 30 million pesos, which producers eye covetously. The Institute is.expected to loan some of this to film worker coop¬ eratives for production purposes, and a deal is under way to use them for purchase of the shuttered EmelcO studios, which would be leased or loaned to experimental fiim groups. Current activity on local lots has Lucas Demare rolling "Behind the Long Wall," from a Sixto Pondal Rios script,, with Susana Campos and Lautaro Murua in the leads. * Th e Long Wall" was erected un¬ der the Peron dictatorship to: close off the view of the shanty tQ\vns*in which the dictator’s most enthusi¬ astic, supporters and* worst victims .had to live. - . v Ruben Cavaiotti is preparing work on "Prisoner 1040,” which he' will direct for Enrique Faustin, based on a story by Uruguayan author Juan C. Patron. This will (Continued on page 14) Paris, Nov.. 19. Wnrd has been,<received that film circles in Belgium are up"in arms against the overpowering competi¬ tion which the Brussels World’s. Fair may develop during its six- month (April 17 to Oct. 17) tenure. With Russia and U. S. probably getting the- top . play tekhibits be¬ ing practically side by side), the news that both will count heavily* on permanent film setup has Bel¬ gian ; distribution and exhibition circles feeling this may seriously dent their b.o. receipts during the fair. Additionally, there will be three film fests going 'on at the fair. This, it’s feared, mean that films will languish at the regular cinemas in Brussels, which sup¬ plies the key receipts from, this small country, . ■ Hence, the Belgian filmites. feel that 195$ may turn- out to be a - reaHy non-Vintage year as'„far as film glosses gO.VExhibs in Brussels and other keys are now concocting ideas to combat this rugged rival¬ ry, To tap the big influx of Yank and Anglo visitors, exhibs hope to demand and get top new British and American product* for showing in original versions with subtitles all over Brussels, not a common practice. Dubbed versions are usually used. ' . Exhibs also hope to make-up losses via daily midnight, shows, thereby catching crowds after they leave the fair. Small Belgian night¬ life current is envisaged as helping these late-late shows. Foreign films may also be shown in Anglo and German subtitled versions to get visitors who do not dig French -or other lingos. Also being consid¬ ered are special programs of pix: that the average visitor might not be able to see at home.' Battle For Int’l Film Okay • Film circles are* also watching fair’s battle for recognition by the Federation of IntemationaL^Film Producer Associations still going on. Though wanting the Fair .and its film fest aspects to be a suc¬ cess from a national point of view, some Belgian distribs and exhibs secretly hope that a real interna¬ tional film fest is not held ^o as to eliminate further • competition. FIFPA still has not given the proposed Brussels International Film.Fest, May 30 to June 13 next year, an "A" rating. It is believed that the French strength in the org is bringing the stalling. At any rate there will be an . International Experimental Film Fest, April 21- 25, to crown the amateur pic which is tops in giving _ new ways and methods Of film technique and ex¬ pression. There also will be a fest which will screen the best pictures of all times as chosen by the leading world film-historian* and critics. . Rome Film B.0. Rome, Nov. 12. Rome ' film boxoffiee returns, usually indicative of the remainder ' of the country, showed a slight up¬ ward trend after a disastrous fall start. Arrival of strong product * also helped the upward swing, with Yank pix. predominating the top spots. \ Highest daily averages -were be¬ ing racked up here by "10 Com¬ mandments" (Par), helped by ad¬ vanced prices in its current two-a- day at the Ffaihma. The DeMille opus is averaging, more than $1,500 per day, high for this" city, at the ■ comparatively small showcase. . Gross to date Is around $25,500. Top local grosser at the moment is "Teahouse of August Moon" (M-G), Currently better" than $35,- 000 in Rome first-runs alone. It is closely followed by “Sun Also ■Rises’’ * (20thJ, witli .$34,500; and an Italian pic, "Cabiria "; (DeLauren- tiis), with $34,400, ~ ! Other pix showing strength in early returns are ^Prince apd the - Showgirl" (WB), “Gunfight at OK Corral" (Par) and "Sea. Wall" I (Rank).