Variety (March 1959)

PICTURES S Wednesday, March 11, 1959 fcfissiisTr SHOPPING CENTRE & PIX: PALS 'Continental’ Pinch-In Tailoring Adopted by 20th s Domestic Sales Paralleling its recent fnoves abroad, 20th-Fox is eliminating its domestic sales supervisory staff in the U. S. The personnel is being re-absorbed into the organization. Decision was detailed yesterday (Tues.) by Alex Harrison, 20th’s general sales manager. He de¬ scribed it as. “not an economy measure, because I don’t even , know yet whether it’s going to save ' us 15 cents. It is being done for the sake of efficiency and in line with the belief that the local peo¬ ple should have all possibly auton¬ omy to make decisions.” 20th is doing away with division heads and district managers. It only has two division heads now —Glenn Norris and Martin Mos- kowitz—and seven district chiefs are affected. They’ll . take over branches. Some of the present branch managers will retire. Others will become branch sales heads. Some salesmen also may leave the company. There is no change in the pres¬ ent number of branches, though Harrison didn't rule out the pos¬ sibility that, eventually, this situa¬ tion also may have to be re-exam¬ ined. Other companies have closed branches in the States. Harrison said Norris and Mos- kowitz during the past two years had functioned as his assistants rather than as division managers. There are indications that the status of the two men may change in the not-too-distant future. Har¬ rison would say only that they may be given "special assignments,” by which is meant that they’ll be handed assignments to handle sales on specific top attractions, like “South Pacific” and ‘‘Diary of Anne Frank.” Though Harrisojo tagged the en¬ tire move "revolutionary,” it has actually been in the blueprint stages for over a year, but was held in abeyance. Both Harrison and 20th prez Spyros P. Skouras be¬ lieve strongly in field autonomy and this philosophy is now to be put to a test. The indications are clear that, if the streamlined setup doesn’t produce the desired re¬ sults, even more drastic measures —this time of an economy rather than an efficiency nature — are likely to be taken. UAStfllOpenTo Idea’ Budgeteers Though United Artists plans to drop the straight second feature product, it’ll still be very much in the market for low-budget "idea” pictures, Max E. Youngstein United Artists v.p. and one of the company’s owners, said in N.Y. last week. "We may cut down in volume, but not like some of the other com¬ panies,” Youngstein said. "Thrge years from now we’ll still have at least 36 pictures a year for re¬ lease.” Youngstein said “Marty” had proven there was a market for the “idea.” picture. He pointed to UA's upcoming “Take a Giant Step” and "The Rabbit Trap” as other examples of small pix with a big potential via.their -provoca¬ tive content. Asked why, if the “idea” picture had a good chance even in the smaller situations, a film like "Twelve Angry Men” didn’t pan out, Youngstein said that, first of all, “Men” hadn’t done quite that badly, and—secondly—“may¬ be we just didn’t hit it from the Tight angle. It could, have been our fault, too.” Though it racked up a record film rental volume in 1959,- UA hasn’t found the sraallies doing enough to warrant holding them. However, most of these have been routine entries, good only for the lower half of a double bill. Giggle-Box for Kids Dallas, March 10. If cartoons are the big things for the kids, then Big. Town, new shopping center here, al¬ lows the children to accom¬ pany their parents on a shop¬ ping spree without missing a thing. A Big Town has a car¬ toon theatre called the Giggle Box, which will offer hour and a half cartoon sessions for the small fry. Tickets are free, but parents must obtain them from any of the merchants. Attendants on duty will see to it that no child leaves the theatre until his parents call for him. U Goes Along On Best-of-Bad US. Deal in Spain Universal last fteek fell into line and the Motion Picture Export [ Assn, board thus—informally— ratified the proposed Spanish agreement under which the Span¬ iards will hand out 80 licenses for the year starting Oct. 31, 1959. Half of these 80 permits will be given to the American distributors. Frank Gervasi, the MPEA’s Mediterranean chief, who had come to N. Y. to put the Spanish agreement before the board, re¬ turned to Madrid last week to set¬ tle the details. At the first board meet. Universal, refused to okay the deal, objecting to age limita¬ tions put on the films which are to be covered by the new licenses. Universal has sold out* to a local distributor in Spain. While the number of licenses going to the MPEA member com¬ panies is comparatively small (it’ll be divided up according' to the global license formula), the Yank distribs do have the right to take on additional European-made films for Spanish distribution. They also get extra licenses \o handle origin nal versions. New deal provides for a 30*7 remittance from Spain, condi¬ tioned on dollar availability. How¬ ever, the remaining peso earnings can be invested in coproduction, location work. etc. It was origi¬ nally meant to run from Sept. 1, but the Spaniards insisted on push¬ ing the date back. The great difficulty in Spain lies in the large* number of American films which, while, the U. S, em¬ bargo on Spanish shipments was on, were sold to local Spanish in¬ dependents. New licenses issued in Spain must partly cover these films, and the availability of the pictures has. naturally, tended to greatly weaken the MPEA posi¬ tion in trying to work out a new agreement. There is nothing, even now, to prevent the companies from selling additional films out¬ right to Spanish indies, though the latter would have to get licenses for them before they can be shown. AL TAMAR! HEADS COL T0RGY & BESS’UNIT A1 Tamarin, former United Art¬ ists publicity executive, has been named to head Columbia’^ special | promotional unit for Samuel Gold- wyn's “Porgy and Bess.” He suc¬ ceeds Bill Doll who resigned to join the Joseph Levine outfit in the ! promotion of “Hercules.” . Tamarin Checked into the “Porgy” [unit at Col’s homeoffice on Monday (9). Joe Hyams, former Hecht-Hill- Lancaster Coast publicity chief, also joined the “Porgy” unit in N. Y.. on Monday. NEWEST 1NSTANG By GEORGE GILBERT Value of shopping centres as sites for motion picture theatres was pointed up anew last week with disclosure that Fabian Thea¬ tres ‘ and Eastern Management Corp. are on the verge of closing a deal to-build a 1,200-seat deluxe house in the Garden State Plaza shopping development in Para- mus, N. J. Construction is slated to start as soon as a long-term lease is inked with the Garden State Plaza Corp. One of the largest shopping areas in the U.S., the Plaza is controlled by the Macy department store in¬ terests. It opened two years ago in the heart of the North Jersey suburban territory. New theatre, to be designed by architect Sidney Schenker, will Utilize equipment capable of screening films in Todd-AO and stereophonic sound. Interior will also contain a “neo-classic” sky¬ light lounge where a snack bar and cultural exhibits will be set up. House will be jointly operated by Fabian and Eastern, Natural tie between shopping centres and the film industry was seen several years ago by such cir¬ cuit operators as Walter Reade Jr., head of the chain bearing his name, and Ramos Cobian, a San Juan, Puerto Rico, exhibitor. Last Fall Reade opened a drive-in thea¬ tre in the Dover, N. J., shopping centre. He also operates a restau¬ rant in the Plaza centre. Cobian recently completed a! $350,000 theatre in a huge new ¬ shopping centre in Rio Piedras, a' San Juan suburb. “Put the thea¬ tres into bright shopping centres with restaurants, attractive land¬ scaping and room to stroll about window-shopping, and the whole! family will want to ‘go to the mov-! ies’ as they did years ago.” de¬ clares Cobian. Another asset, he adds, is the availability of ample free parking spaee. [{Novelists Vexed at Paperbacks Paid Ad Idea a la Magazines; May Have Film Tieup Angles Top of the Krim Chicago, Buffalo and Min¬ neapolis have been tabbed as the winners in United Art¬ ists’ "Salute to Arthur Krim” sales drive. Winning branch . toppers are Harry Goldman, Chicago; Burton Topal, Buf¬ falo, and Carl Olsen, Minne¬ apolis. Gene Tunick, eastern district manager, led in the final district standing. Drive, honoring the UA president, awarded an overall total of $60,000 in prize money over a 37-week period. Comeback of Hardtops Hollywood, March 10. A recent swing around the coun¬ try visiting exhibitors and their theatres has shown him "the pic¬ ture of tomorrow,” Loew’s sales v.p. John P. Byrne believes. This “picture,” as he sees it, is a pat¬ tern of exhibition developing in the changing face of suburbia in which the hardtop theatre is “mak¬ ing a comeback.” It's always been apparent that the ozohers were impractical in those parts of the country where winter weather closed them down five months a year. But now, re¬ ports Byrne, the hardtops are try¬ ing themselves in with new shop¬ ping centres springing up all over the country to provide shops, serv¬ ices and offices for the burgeoning housing developments that fringe the metropolitan area. It’s a natural wedding of facili¬ ties, he says. The theatre is usually dark during the day hours when parking lots are filled with custom¬ ers for the remainder of the proj¬ ect. At night, the parking areas are open for theatre patrons, and customers are getting the habit again—raided by bright, clean houses where films are pleasantly showcased. “Exhibition,” says Byrne, "has reached the highest point in years during f he past six to eight months. Not only in boxoffice re¬ turns but in the general optimism that exhibitors feel and show.” Principal reason for this, says the sales chief, is the steady and consistent flow in recent months of top-grade film product. Speaking for Metro, Byrne said the studio has the longest-range program in its history of planned production arid “orderly release.” At any rate, concludes Byrne, it’s pointless for production to knock exhibition, for one branch of the industry to harass another. Exhibition, he says, is in business to stay, with the best possible busi¬ ness for everyone, if it is assured (Continued on page 17) See Fact-Lag In Gloom-Draping Of Film Trade Boxoffice "studies” showing a continuous business decline, as re¬ ported by the consumer and finan¬ cial press, are unrealistic and ren¬ der the film industry a disservice. This was asserted in eastern home- office circles this week following an analysis by researcher Albert Sindlinger as picked up by the Wall Street Journal. While the accuracy of Sin- dlinger’s figures (showing a b.o. drop of 9.8% to 20% in the Janu¬ ary-early February period, as com¬ pared with the same time a year ago) are not disputed, the tradcs- ters say a compensating factor has been ignored. This centers on the fewer number of theatres in opera¬ tion and the cuts made in theatrical production. Various of the large companies, in reducing their the¬ atrical schedules. are drawing rev¬ enue from television and other ac¬ tivities and this compensates for the drop in theatrical income. The reports of the slide in ticket sales depict only the downbeat side, state the filmites in New York. The entire picture of pro¬ duction-distribution is not so de¬ pressing. Wall St. Journal story was not all pessimism. Daily saw* the pos¬ sibility of a hypo for film makers via the Academy Awards presenta¬ tions. "blockbusters” of the future and the opening of the drive-in theatres. Film producers who have in re¬ cent years arranged paperback novel editions of upcoming fea¬ tures as standard promotional rou¬ tine may find themselves caught in a developing quarrel between pa¬ perback pubs and novelists. Writ¬ ers are beginning to yowl that pubs propose to sell paid advertising in paperbacks, along magazine lines, without the author’s permis¬ sion and without cutting the au¬ thor in on the advertising gravy. Writers have a long-time gripe against the paperbacks because of the low-average t1£c) royalty paid, and the authors feeling that the pubs are waxing fat on other peo¬ ple’s talent. Novelists deny that a paperback is comparable to a mag¬ azine, or that the publisher has the sole right to add paid ads. They argue that the paperback is one man’s work, is based on his skill, not as magazines might argue, the editor’s. In the creative writ¬ er’s estimate, the inclusion of paid ads in a novel may constitute "invasion of privacy” at law*. Film companies themselves have j been among the types of advertis- j ers envisioned as purchasing line- : age in paperbacks. , Hoyts Pact New Product Deal TEMPEST’ AT EASTER ALL-MEDIA PROMOTION Dino DeLaurentiis’ production of “Tempest.” Paramount release due to open in around 400 theatres at Eastertime, is getting a hefty pro¬ motional push via television audi¬ ences. But company is set to use all media in addressing itself to the public at large, including bill¬ boards, radio promotion; maga¬ zines, newspapers, star tours, etc. As for the angles on luring tv viewers, Par has a two-page, four- color insertion (at a cost of $34,- 125) going in the March 21 issue of TV Guide. Also: tieups with radio and tv stations, a specially prepared open-end tv clip w’itli Van Heflin with which a local in¬ terviewer can appear to be talking to the star (script is furnished^, naturally), appearances of the film’s stars on national live shows, etc. All in all "Tempest” ought to be exposed to a combined tv audi¬ ence of 150,000,000 persons, says Par. Lee Remick replaces Lana Tur¬ ner in star lineup of Otto Pre¬ minger’s “Anatomy of a Murder” following latter’s bowout after dispute with producer. . Sydney, March 10. ; End of a longtime product feud ; between Warner Bros, and the : Hoyt'*.* c ; rcuit here is rated a happy [conclusion to.what may have been i Hymagin^ to show biz generally via ; fN '* .washing of “soiled” linen in ' the newspapers. Warners-Hoyts : have had nroduet fallouts before ; rn the all-important question of : first-run playdates a..d rental I terms. i Manv key show biz personalities [ here feared this time that WB ' would make an ally of the indepen¬ dent exhibitors cr a first-run outlet to combat Hoyts. This would have eiven Warners a chance to break into the blanket release policy in¬ troduced by other key distributors he»*e. Any idea that maybe WB would [ swing over to Greater Union The- : atres. Hoyts opposition loop Hoyts, I was sidetracked by the friendly ; agreement between the two loops, i New deal covers Warner top pix j such as "Indiscreet,” "Marjorie | Morningstar,” “Old Man and Sea” j and “No Time for Sergeants.” i Hoyts now has product coming from 20th-Fox. United Artists and Warners. Three Sydney key houses : are tied up with “80 Days” <UA) ! at the Paris; “Cinerama” at the 1 Plaza, and “South Pacific” (20th) j at the Mayfair. The WB product j will be keyed to open first at the ; 2.250-seat Regent here. 5 HARASSED CRITIC , RETURNS TO DIXIE Albany, March 10. Ormonde Plater, who as motion picture critic for the Albany Knickerbocker News ’“as twice the ! target of official protests by local ^managers of circuit theatres that ; he adopted a “too tough” attitude ; toward commercial films, and who ; reported several months ago that ; his pass for the Stanley Warner j Strand had been "lifted”—after he ! rapped Paramount’s “Houseboat" as “a bore,” ,has joined the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Plater, also a reviewer of stage plays, summer theatre, music and art, as well as a feature writer, for The Knicknews, is a native of the New Orleans area. Dick Weber and Tony Burton, of the news staff, are among those now covering pictures for the Gan¬ nett daily.