Variety (July 1958)

■VARIITY'r LONDON OFPICI I $*• Martin** Flat*, Trafalgar Squar* PfikiE&i INTKK’VATIONAI. 13 & SMILES IN SPAIN Arg. Exhihs Forced by Low Admish Festival Restrictions Awkward To Forego Paying 60% Wage Tilt RATES AS HIT To U-S. With Reduced Releases; Buenos Aires. July 22. - The dilatory practices of Latin American governments have neyer been more in evidence than in the past two months, during which Argentine exhibitors and distribu¬ tors have awaited a government decision on'film admission prices. Authorities have admitted that present prices are too low. particu¬ larly since 60% mass wage; in¬ creases were granted by President Frohdizl last May 13, arid they are well disposed towards the exhibi¬ tors, recognizing that these have been sacrificed by previous govern-, ments, to keep film entertainment within reach of the masses. Despite this, the cost Of living is spiralling so alarmingly that again the exhibs are made the scapegoats because that film entertainment is consid¬ ered vital to the public welfare. The matter was brought to a bead last week when exhibits were unable to pay their personnel the 60% increases decreed by the gov¬ ernment. They can’t: do it either until the government comes to a decision and lifts ceiling prices. In turn this, sparked a union com¬ plaint to the government, and the threat of yet another strike. Early this week, confabs began ■between the exhibs and Secretary of Commerce Carlos Orfila, within whose province the decision now lies. The conversations have been proceeding for two days. Prelim reports are that the atmosphere is friendly {by contrast with the hostility shown towards exhibitors unde xprevious governments). A factor in. the exhibs’ favor Is; that the new National Screen Institute President^ Narciso Machtnaadiare- na, is well up in film trade com¬ plexities, and has openly said that cinema prices are absurdly, low. The exhibitors proposed creating four . categories of film theatres, charging progressively higher scales. They have proposed charg¬ ing 23c, 20c, VlVzc. and 15c, ac¬ cording to size, product, etc. .This leaves >15 deluxe firstruns free to fix their own prices when exhibit¬ ing r such pix as “10 Command¬ ments” (Par), “War an3 Peace’’ (Par) and “Giaint” (WB). WB In Japan: Not Techni Moves Work In Paris to Rome Plant Rome, July 22. The new. Rome Technicolor plant will receive; much of the business of the recently : shuttered Paris Techni operation, it was revealed, here. Remainder of slack will be handled by the London Technicolor plant:. Paris shutdown was called temporary by a company source here, and in line with company economy . move . and European re¬ organization. ; . Rome plant is currently hand¬ ling, print orders and will start full scale operation, including an¬ swer .printing and; other opera¬ tions, starting Aug- X Tokyo, July 22. William Schwartz, manager of WB for Japan, refused to dignify, :with categorical refutation, charges burgeoning in certain elements of the Japanese press that Warners was unfair in its mid-May dismis¬ sal of 14 of its 199 Japanese em¬ ployees. In a general statement; however, Schwartz denounced the charges and dismissed them as un¬ truths. ^ ;• The charges, now also being cir¬ culated in a letter of petition signed by a number of leading. Japanese journalists and film crix, called the action by WB and other U.S. majors “most cruel, inhuman, unpleasant and regrettable.’’ The letter says that the matter may be brought to the attention ’ of the National Diet by labor un¬ ions. BARDOT BRINGS FINE Home; July 22. Three reps of a film distributing company have been found guilty of offending; public morals and fined a token 10,000 lire ($16), They were accused of putting up immod¬ est posters to advertise the . films, a “Zarak” and “Mademoiselle Strip¬ tease” with Brigitte Bardot. Action was on a .complaint lodged more than a year ago by . ah indk vidual. The fine was ordered paid to him and he said he would turn it over to an organization to. pro¬ tect the morals of children. Decision has been appealed by the. distributor, CEID. “L ’Osser- vatore Romano,” the. Vatican daily, declared the decision cleaned the streets “of the invading vulgarity of the cult of movie star&” Paris, July 22. Adolphe Trichet, prexy of the Syndicate of French Film Exhibi¬ tors, claims the French film setup is severely menaced if the. Film Aid Law is not renewed in early ’60, In. spite of shifting political and economic aspects, including the coming Common. Mart, Trichet feels that Film Aid will have to be extended for two years to weather changing film tides. \ Trichet is also worried about falling film attendance , here which has been balanced somewhat by hiked admission prices. Though film attendance, fell 4% this year, admission fees Were raised 18%. But this is only a stopgap, arid Trichet opines that audiences have to be brought back and consoli¬ dated before French films can ever find a true equilibrium. Trichet says it Is up to producers to make better films because French quality has fallen lately. He feels that .programming has to be . liberated, with: more than weekly program changes allowed as well as: double features vtfiere necessary: He insists that the 6%' exhih tax is .too heavy on exhibs and, in spite of film aid for reno¬ vating of houses, will have to be eased'somewhat. Yanks Not as Bad As Shown in U.S. Films ■ Berlin, July 22: . “I think, that feiature-length doc¬ umentaries have now, at least in Germany, . better.; commercial chances than ever before. Feature film production obviously has reached a standstill. Good docu¬ mentaries guarantee mass appeal.” That's the opinion of Hans Dom- nick, producer-director of “Dream Road of the. World,” a full-length documentary in color and Cinema- Scope about the Pan-American Highway (from Alaska to Mexico), Germany’s official contribution to the current Berlin International Film Fest. Speaking of the U;S., Domnick said he found put again that “America isn’t.as bad as so often depicted in her own films.” He re¬ ferred to such films as ,f Black- board Jungle” and- the series of gangster pix now overflowing the German market. “Those films give not only a distorted picture of America; they also contribute to •spoil the Americari reputation quite a bit. We think that the Americans should be more careful in selecting their pix for: the Eu¬ ropean market.” Ted Krassner, formerly handling special assignments in connection with sales and distribution of “10 Commandments” 1 (Par), ' named exec aide to Edward G. Chumley. ■ U.S.-Canadian sales manager for I the film. By HANK; WERBA Madrid, July 22. . . American mption picture indus¬ try participatioh has elevated. the San Sebastian International Film Festival to a ranking spot amonij .1958 film fests arid by this action has sparked a promising turn in Spanish-American film relations. . Basque capital’s sixth annual event opened Sat. (19) on a star- spangled note. Kirk Douglas, Mrs. John Davis Lodge and Motion Pic¬ ture Export Ass’ri rep Frank Ger- vasi headed U. S. industry delegar tion at test’s curtain raiser, “The Vikings” (UA).. United Artists corporate dele¬ gation particularly pleased Span-, iards.. Headed ' by vice-presidents Arnold Picker and Charles Smad- ja, it included Continental man¬ ager. Mo Rothman, Spain rep George Ornsteiri, all:. executives and provincial staffers .of C. B. Films, UA’s outlet in Spain. ; Yank Day at San Sebastian was marked essentially by., a high-pow¬ ered one-man public relations act enthusiastically performed by “Vikings” star - producer Kirk Douglas, who was given police pro¬ tection from hundreds of zealous Basque film fans. „ j Spain’s top film authorities were present throughout the day, at UA’s evening reception for . Kirk Doug-, las,, the brilliant opening ceremo¬ nies at Teatro . Victoria Eugenia and the : Motion Picture Export Ass’n; fete at the beach resort’s chic tennis clqb. V Paramo|iint then took , the ball from United Artists with the ar¬ rival of Alfred Hitchcock on Mori. (21) accompanied by Mrs . Hitch¬ cock, Par’s Continental director John Nathan and Paris pub chief Odette,. Yank Film Director Anthony Mann, doing. fest jury duty, is an¬ other target for the 100-strorig press corps and /Visiting delega¬ tions, Depth support comes from. Lex Barker, megger Steve Previn, Gia Scala (Col contractee) and Ralph Forte: A “Solomon • & Sheba” (UA) contingent fronted by King Vidor was due for closing of festival. ' .Spanish press has given* Holly¬ wood its first all-out kudoes in three years and the full extent of XL S. efforts here is being recorded fot official and public opinion. American observers, expect San Sebastian to expedite MPEA-Spairi full settlement talks and. facilitate solution of the crucial quota-repar¬ tition snags. - Film eritries are still very much on the weak. side. With half the schedule ; urispooledy Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” (Par) appears an odds-on f avorite with Japan’s “Duel of the Samurai” in . yunner-up position: Italy, France, England, Poland, Czechoslovakia may alter standings in remaining sessions. Main; award is Golden Seashell: jury is presided over by Spain film director . Luis. Berlanga and in¬ cludes Anthony: Mann, Ana Maris- cal (Spain), Charles Delac (France); Fritz Podehl (Germany), and Vit¬ torio Sala (Italy). The Zulueta Award for best performances and the Cantabrico Pearl prize, for the best Spanish-language film will also be tendered at closing cere¬ monies July 29. Italo Film Crix Awards Rome, July 22. Coveted Grolle d’oro awards, chosen by a jury of top Italo pix critics* this year were awarded to Guilietta Masina, Alberto Sordi, and Luchino Visconti. Prizes were : announced at Saint Vincent, Miss Masina received a kudo, for her acting in. “Cabiria” while Al¬ berto Sordi was named best actor for “Ladro Lui, Ladra. Lei.” Lu¬ chino Visconti’s award was for his direction of “White Nights.” / Miss Masina also recently re¬ ceived the French “Victoire” prize, as the; best foreign actress; Venice Availables Make the Point To Show Best Films From Three Pix Fests London, July 22. The London -Filin Festival, which the British Film Institute will stage this year in collaboration with the London County Council, is to be held on Oct. 6-14. Object of the fest Is to exhibit 'the best of the films shown at the Venice, Cannes arid Berlin festival though, pix ex¬ hibited: will not necessarily be only the winners. The BFI is hoping that several of the directors and producers of these films, will visit the festival as guests. . Aussie Exhibs Fight Vs. Tele By ERIC GORRICK Sydney, July 22, Dwindling cinema biz in the city and suburban, zones here is the reason'why Aussie exhibitors are seeking a leader to guide them out of -the current sticky mess created by televisiori and “it couldn’t hap¬ pen here”' attitude adopted by the industry in general. The . rapid growth of tv Down Under is. iieeri iri a report recently issued by the George Patterson Ad Agency. Report claims that present indications are that tele ! should reach the. 50% saturation level in June of : 1959. It states there are 100,000 sets in the Syd¬ ney metropolitan, area, 110,000 in Melbourne. Heace, the report estim.ates there is a total tele aud¬ ience pf 360,000 in Sydney and 390,000 iri Melbourne. Agency contends that 70-90% of all sets were in use during , the peak viewing periods from 7-9:30 p.m- interesting point is. that the majority of tv programs here carry an American tag. Must Fight To Beat Decline Bernie Freeman, m.d. of Metro, operating its own loop here, said in a recent interview with Variety that quite a few local exhibs had cut put glamor from their so-called showmanship ideas arid were con¬ tent merely to stick up a few posters and wait for trade to come. Freeman added that many subur¬ ban cinemas today were still in the same old down-at-heel condi¬ tion they were years ago. He also said that certain managements had even cut down their cleaning staff: Tom Virgona, who operates an independent chain here, said to Variety: ‘The product today is as good as any of last year—and the year before that. We can’t com¬ plain about Hollywood letting us down. We have let ourselves down. The industry should appoint a specialized publicity expert to go out and sell the public.” Chaim stores are now reported ready to buy certain suburban cin¬ emas from loop arid independent interests as trade reaches the zero mark. Several cinemas are switch¬ ing, from a six-weekly policy to thrice-weekly. One suburban cin¬ ema recently had so few payees in that the .manager decided to re¬ fund their admission money. The proof that there’s nothing wrong, with films is Steen in the nine months- scored by “Around the World in 80 Days” (UA) at the Paris,; Sydney, with more to follow. Other .top. smash hits here are “10 C omni a ltd in e n ts” (Par), “Bridge oil River Kwai” (Col), “Peyton Place” (20th), “Raintree County” (MG); “Sayonara” (WB), “Pal Joey” (Col) and “And God , Created Woman” (Col). F Problem faced by the American companies in contributing eligible filriis for the many international film festivals was underscored again, when the Motion Picture Ex¬ port Assn, received only three nominations from its members for the Venice film fest. Latter runs Aug. 25 to Sept. 7. Out of these three, MPEA se¬ lected Paramount’s “Black Orchid” as the official American entry and Warner Bros,’ “The Naked and the Dead” as runner-up. There have been unconfirmable reports that Venice has invited “God’s Little Acre” to participate. As for 20th-Fox, which shuns the MPEA selection procedure, the company originally had two films set for Venice, but then had to bow out because it needed them for foreign release.' It’s now un¬ decided whether it’ll have a pic¬ ture available, though “A Certain Smile” is a possibility. What’s more, it stars two foreign person¬ alities, Rossa.no Brazzi and Chris- . tine Carere. There’ll be only one “official” American entry at Ven¬ ice. If there are any other U. S. films, they’ll be invited. Main difficulty With the fests is the rule—-now changed for the lesser events—that no picture shown can have been released out- side_ Of its country of origin. Op¬ erating with reduced schedules, the distribs can’t deliberately with¬ hold product to accommodate the fests. This has, . on occasions, created the iinpressiori that MPEA, almost with deliberation, tends to enter the “wrong” kind of pictures. Fact is that its own choice is sharply limited both by the fest rules and by the membership’s own preference for entries which are exploitable in Europe, immediately after the festival to take the great¬ est possible advantage of the pub¬ licity. Berliner Ballet (Ms in BA Buenos Aires, July 22. The Berliner Ballet is presented, here in. the First International Dance Festival, by Clemente Lo- coco S. A. and Iriberri Concerts Management as - part of a tour which has so far covered Brazil, Uruguay, and proceeds to - Chile, Peru, Ecuador; Colombia, Vene¬ zuela and the Caribbean. When in Berlin the group is subsidized, but is earning its way on tour, with Lbcocp and Iriberri putting up the ante to a tune of $30,000 for fares and excess baggage as far as B. Aires. The three-month tour also calls for travel expenses of $180 daily for the troupe, apart from a $7,000 fee per month. . Directed by choreographer Ta¬ tiana Gsovsky (who worked at the Colon Opera here for some years), and is a severe disciplinarian who keeps her dancers rehearsing a minimum of five hours daily, with exceptionally good effect. Heinrich Kreutz as conductor is responsible for the unusual arid interesting mu¬ sical arrangements. The soloists are Gert Reinholm, Helga Som- merkamp, Andre Marliere, Janet Sassoon, . Pepe Urban!, Rainer Weise, Harald Horn, Blanca We- dia; Jeffrys Hobart, Jurgen Feindt. Corps de Ballet: Uta Ollertz, Herbert Dolpp, Kat von Bulow, Gitta Karol, Drita Krueiu, Heinz : Starcken, Claude de Longe. Top price locally was $3.20, lowest $1. Group cultivates the neo-classic, modern school, and is distinguished mainly for plastic beauty of poses, grace in aerobatics and disciplined , rather than dynamic choreography. , It excels at mime presenting a : beautifully costumed, subtle and , interesting miscellany of original l programs, erring only on the side of excessive length. Nid.