Variety (December 1957)

Wednesday, December 4, 1957 Stop Worrying—It’s Here: Scentovision ^ The word “smell” has sorpetimes been employed as a figurative adjective to describe a motfon picture. Now there's a chance that it will be used literally if a new invention registered with the pat¬ ent office in Washington turns out successfully. Known as Scentovision, the new mechanism blends motion pic¬ tures with appropriate odors. It picks up signals from the film and releases a smell that fits the situation. The inventor is a. Swiss. Hans Laube, described as an expert in osmology, the science of odors. The process is owned by. the Scentovision Corp. of N.Y., of which Len Ruskin is president. Stanley Wafner Corp. is reported to have provided the financing for the development of the inven¬ tion. ' LOSS FEAR SomeExhibsDmiNewsprmt c Spodighls- jHUIITS FILMS As Television Steps Up Display Ads Charles Reagan Victim of Economy Sweep-*—Frank Walker Turns Cpnsultant—Other Vogel Cuts Upheaval, in Loew’s Inc. top- echelon executive lineup continued last week with the resignation of sales v.p. Charles M. Reagan and the appointment of John P. Byrne, assistant general sales manager, to the top distribution post. Also as part of.the shifts at Lbew’s, which prexy Joseph R. Vogel has under¬ taken to revitalize the . company, saw Frank Walker, head of MGM Records, step down from division topper, to a consultant post in Lbew’s Inc., of which he is a v.p. (See separate story in music sec¬ tion.) Reagan’s resignation, not un¬ expected, cam'e late Friday (29) with a terse announcement issued personally by Reagan. The com¬ pany’s publicity department; which usually issues such news, was una¬ ware of Reagan’s action until newspapers called asking ..for more details. Shortly thereafter, a hur¬ ried release was prepared an¬ nouncing Byrne’s appointment. Reagan’s exit follows close on the heels of the resignation of Ar r thur M. Loew as president of Loew’s International. ♦ The exodus of many veteran and high-salaried Loew’s executives has been antici¬ pated for some time. The recent proxy fight, which the company successfully Weathered, and. the clamor from stockholders for sal¬ ary reductions and economy, has piaye.d a major role in bringing about the lopping off from the top. With Vogel currently on the Coast, it’s thought that • changes will Occur pronto. in the studio’s executive lineup^ ^Executives. will be dropped, shifted, or asked tp take substantial salary cuts. More homepffice officials will be treated (Continued on page; 25) Warners, Guild In Compromise’ Pub Confabs Arbitration proceedings relating to Warner Bros:’ decision to elimi¬ nate its 32-man homeoffice art de¬ partment and the company’s firing of eight publicists were temporar¬ ily halted last week as company representatives and the Screen Publicists Guild, went into a pri¬ vate huddle in an effort to “setV tie” the dispute,; ; Conclave was called by the film company which, seemingly seeks a compromise solution and would be willing to retain several of the publicists pinkslipped. Except for staffers who exited the company voluntarily, the “fired” publicists have continued on the WB payroll pending the outcome of the arbi¬ tration proceedings. In the initial arbitration hearing; WB argued that its . plan to close down its art department was not an arbitrable manner. However, the arbitrator appointed by the American Arbitration Assn., Mil- ton Rubin, heard arguments on the matter from the company and from the Guild. ‘. WB and union officials con¬ ferred on Monday (2) and yester¬ day (Tues.). The content of these (Continued on page 20) Universal Lops 125 Hollywood, Dec: 3. Total of 125 employees have been pink-slipped by Universal in a drive to reduce personnel in the face of limited produc¬ tion . activity^ during the com¬ ing months. Meanwhile, it was reported without confirma¬ tion, that the studio next year plans a revision, of its produce ■ tion setup-and may lean more toward indie deals and. a new concentration on tv. produc¬ tion. Among those exiting , the stu¬ dio are William Gordon, pro¬ duction code administrator for the last 10 years; Phil Benja¬ min, a 20 -year veteran, and William Batliner, assistant cast¬ ing directors; and Don Tay¬ lor, veteran employee of the film library department. White Collar Union Hits Stone Wall Members Rally Although negotiations tinuing, a serious impasse has de¬ veloped in Contract talks between the film companies and the Home- office Employees Union, Local H-63, International Alliance of ^Theatrical Stage Employees. Fail¬ ure to. reach an agreement bn ..the four main issues of. money, hours, vacation and severance has caused Russell Moss, executive : v.p. and biz agent of the Union, to summon the -white coilarites to a special membership meeting tonight i Wed.). • ■ ' At this meeting it’s understood that Moss will present to the mem¬ bership a complete blow-by-blow description of what has taken place in the negotiations to date. He is expected to call attention to the “rigid” attitude of the film Com¬ panies and to ask the general mem¬ bership for instructions on what course to take in meeting the im¬ passe. A possibility exists that Moss may ask for a Strike vote. However, even if the membership should demand a strike, the union cannot call but its members unless permission is granted by Richard F. 'Walsh, president of the TA. In previous stalemates between the film companies and Local H-63, Walsh has intervened and brought about a settlement.. The IA topper has long prided himself in the fact that he has never. issUed a strike call against the film industry. Other actions short of a strike call that may be undertaken by. the Union are a slowdown or “absences because of sickness.” Union has bCen turned. down. on its request, for a wage hike, for a reduction in hours from 37*4 to 35, and for three-week vacations for employees with 10 years Of service. It’s said that the film companies have of- - fered an overall 5 % increase, which the union regards as inade¬ quate. Union’s demand’s, it’s saidT v wouid involve a hike of about 20 % for entire; package. Some months ago YAaiErv .gave an account of the “rumpr-tism” then afflicting* the industry, .this concerned the widely-spread re¬ ports of company mergers in full or in part. The rumors abound again, but now are anent person¬ nel. .; Regardless of the validity of the downbeat talk, the fact is that it is being heard (despite some fine financial statements from film and theatre companies of late) and it’s causing unrest. ; A substantial segment of film in¬ dustry employees is in the thrpes of Uneasiness. To;, put it bluntly, there’s a growing fear of one of the most drastic cutbacks: since the retrenchment and realignment that were effected circa 1949. Slowdown in production at Uni¬ versal, ad-pub firings at Para¬ mount and Warners and. new talk of shifting backroom and other ex¬ change work to National 'Screen Service by at least a couple of com¬ panies—these have had a demoral¬ izing effect. But cause , of concern is not so % much What, has already happened as it. is what may transpire within, the next several months: ,.. It’s believed that several com¬ panies, in addition to U are now. angling to reduce backlogs so as to be in a more flexible position— that is, to fashion each new pro¬ duction in tune,with market con¬ ditions on a more up-to-date basis. This does not obtain with the film colony in its entirety. For example, , Loew’s is making an (Continued on page 25) Showmen’s Dream Chicago,. Dec. 3. A run ,at the . boxoffice is preventing some school kids here from getting their home : - work done. A number of Catholic paro¬ chial schools instructed their students to see Paramount’s. “10 Commandments” as " a weekend assignment. Many failed to meet the assignment when they found the five the¬ atres at which it Js currently playing sold out. AI Morgan Cautions Wot Betide the Author Who looks to Writing Repose in an amusing piece titled Don't Touch That Typewriter! another Editorial Feature in the upcoming' 52d Anniversary Number Variety Sale to Video Seen Very Near London, Dec. 3. The lohg drawn out industry has¬ sle over the projected sale by Eal¬ ing Films of' its. pre-1945 backlog to commercial television is likely to. be . resolved Within the next, week Or so. A final decision may*, in fact,: be taken when the general council of the Cinematograph Ex¬ hibitors’ Assn, holds its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Dec. ll. Although a vocal and influen r tial group of indie theatre owners is still clamoring for a boycott on the studio company’s output if the deal goes through, general indus¬ try opinion is hot favoring such drastic action. The majority view¬ point is now leaning towards a quiet and dignified settlement in the h°P<? that the threat of action has been more than enough to. scare off other producers with a yen to trade with.television. Association 1 stands is primarily based on a resolution dating back to 1952 which was approved well before commercial video was “real.” At that time there was growing concern at the use of fea¬ ture. oldies by BBC-TV, but the industry had not envisaged a de¬ velopment in which leading mo- (Gontinued on pagO'24) * More film theatres are dimming the spotlight of printed media buildup for openings. While the film industry has been complaining of the limited attention given pic¬ tures in the news columns of the daily papers, it’s also noted by .ob¬ servers in the trade itself that many showcase theatres in . key cities are now outdistanced by ( 1 ) television and ( 2 ) art houses in terms of advertising insertions. Unlike radio in the Old days, tele¬ vision programs have been heavy spenders right along. But now the layouts are getting bigger and more frequent as competition for audience and ratings among the three networks waxes hotter. Fur¬ ther there’s the greater number of irregularly scheduled programs, either the “specials” or once-ar month airers—which the webs feel must be brought to the attention of the pubblic more so than the continuing series. Except to ballyhoo openings, as in the instance of the past week-¬ end’s display on “Sayonara,” amusement pages in New York in a recent period appeared dominated by ads placed for imported prod¬ uct at the off-Broadway situations. Brigitte Bardot, first in “And God Created Woman” and next in “Light Across the Street,” and Maria Schell, in “Gerviase,” fre- CContinued on page 25) Rube Shor Not To Spend Hig On lsi-Run Ads National Boxoffice Survey Holiday Booms Biz; ‘Joey’ Still No. 1, ‘Days’ 2d,. ‘April’ 3d, ‘Girls’ 4th; ‘Star,’ ‘B-S2’ Next The Thanksgiving week crowds est Cinerama subject.;-' Pefri u»Sd sca leS 4 *,bows,are booming. .;grosses. ; : ; -at first-runs over ^ C a p t U ring llth-place coin, with the country this session. Even “10 Commandments” (Par) roundr along the Atlantic seaboard, where ing out the Golden Dozen. "Baby heavy rains both Thursday aftd Sat, flSUSSSS' rday probahly would have hurt or- up pix ; dinarily, the wicket intake is soar- “Sad Sack” (Par) shapesns most ing. Many houses had the advan- promising newcome?, just being tage of new, strong fare brought launched. The Jerry Lewis comedy in to take advantage of the holi- is great in N. Y. and ChL only .two days. spots opened. “Motorcycle Gang” " “Pal Joey” (Col), which was first (Indie), alsp new, is hotsy in De¬ last stanza, again is holding top troit and Frisco, spot. Playing in some 20 keys “Jailhouse Rock” (M-G.) looms covered , by Variety, the Sinatra- nice in Providence. ‘My Man God- Nova k-Hayworth musical is register- frey” (U), okay in Cmcy, Sooo ing mostly big to wow v trade, in Washington and L. A. “Slaugh- “Around World In 80 Days” (UA), ter on 10th Ave.” from Universal in first position for many months, also, looks fine Yn N. Y. is finishing a strong second. ‘ Gra f shapes «<A„riiTn,m" /onthv pif ftnnnp’« socko in Chi. “Black Scorpion, latest wS S P proniise a hhriUeif^wlth’nearlv^SMOOOs'ln (aa1) ' which has been high on position, with nearly $30M0a in weekl ii sts , is rated smash in Chi and Denver. ”Stdpover Tokyo” S-!nH,*n J uh G fnnrt? d last ^? nd '- * <20th); is okay in Toronto, winding up fourth. . “Mad, Ball” (Col) shapes great “Tin Star” (Par), a new entrant, fa. second session at N. Y. Victoria, is finishing fifth. “Bombers B-52” “Don’t Go Near Water” (M-G) is (WB), not big in.all spots, is tak- pushing to a sock total in third ing sixth money, -“Kiss Them For round *1 N, Y. Music Hall, biggest Me”- (20th.) will be seventh,; while week of engagement. “Search .for Paradise” (Cinerama 1 ; ‘‘pall Stranger”' (AA) is tidy in is winding up in: eighth place. L . X . “Esther Costello’” (Col) ' / “Seven Wonders of World” (Cin- looks fine in N. Y. J 'erama) will be ninth, first time it (Complete Boxoffice Reports on has dropped below “Paradise,” lat- Pages 8-9.) ' J Rube. Shor, midwest circuit oper¬ ator and prominent figure in Allied States Assn., has- notified the dis¬ tributors he intends to sharply re¬ duce his advertising expenditures for his first-run theatres because “present methods and budgets” are out of line with business condi¬ tions. It’s apparent that Shot is but one of many chain owners whq feel showcase. campaigns are too costly in light of diminishing boxoffice returns. This has become notice¬ able particularly in the New York area where some openings have al¬ most gone unheralded. Effective Dec. 23, according, to Robert Morrell, general manager of the Shor company,, ads for pic¬ tures are to he cut 50% in the first week and, in the case of holdovers, 33Vfi% in the second week, Morrell advised the distribs that if. they wanted, to step up their own ads to compensate for his reduc¬ tions he’d cooperate but this woujd be limited to placing of the in¬ sertions. Sales Chief ‘Mortality’ Resignation of Charles M. Rea- n R an as Metro’s sales topper and the ' appointment of John P. Byrne as his successor marks the third change in industry sales posts in recent, weeks. ^ Henry H. “Hi” Martin assumed the^top sales job at Universal on the death of Charles J. Feldman several weeks ago. Charles Boas- berg, former RKO sales chief and more recently a Paramount sales executive, takes over the. top dis¬ tribution spot at Warner Bros, on Jan. 1 . He succeeds Roy Haines, who voluntarily returned to his Rost of western sales; chief with Coast headquarters. Haines had succeeded Ben Kalmenson Who had moved up to executive v.p. when Serge Semenenko took over Control of Warners., Also a comparatively newcomer in the top. sales post is 20th Fox’s Alex Harrison, who succeeded Al Lichtman last year.* Lichtman went into independent produc¬ tion.