Variety (June 1959)

PICTURES Not American Distribution Politic? But Germany’s Free Remittances Explain ‘Ask Any Girl’ Pick Question of “company politics” doesn't en’er. into .the selection of films tor international film: festi¬ val*. a spokesman for the Motion Picture Export Assn., said lasjt v. t ck. His common* came in connection w :*h a sterv in last week's issue of Variety 10 wl'ich discussed the selection of the Metro comedy. “A^k Ar.v Cirk” i\;r the Berlin filrh fc-t. The s‘i,ry said tint “to. what extent company politic*. enter intb the question of festival selections is always 'difficult to determine” Problem of a festival like Berlin, it’s pointed out. is that It offers lu tie incentive comnared with Cannes or Venice. Participation in both thc-e tests means an extra permit for each film shown, and aho tree remittance for the earn¬ ings of the respective .picture*. In Germany, the companies can get in ail the ‘films the v need and the revenue is freely re mitt able any- « 1 A VU 11VVV1 A Am Result: Only two. pieiorc?— Ask . Any Girl” and “The Rabb.t Trap" 1 .pVhcre does a- dmtn Onward and Upward [with Cam-ell a! ■ Albany. June 16. New owner of the Leeds Drive-in T h e a t.r e. in " Ne\v York's Catskill Mountain area, is Paul Cameila. projectioriist with an unique background iii ozoner operation; who has taken a lease on the property from William Van Yeehteh. . Cameila started in 1937 as boot liman for the Lamont The-. atre in the Catskill territory. This had a rubber screen erected on . one side of the Catskill Creek and the audi¬ ence on. the other, along with , makeshift facilities for at-the- . time new, drive- n operation: Bill Keineman-Ted Mann Track Besrs fey Airplane On Novel Alaskan Trip Where-does a clirtributpr--aRd-.au -were subreitted to.the Arsocija- q' when they get to-} tion for 'showing at Beri'n. It left gether for a- vacation? Why bear-! MPEA with no choice.-since it can hunting, of course 1 .; What else! j pick on;\ from film* made avail-' Anyway."that’s.what William J. j able to it by the member coni- Keineman, United Artists Gistribu- • panics. tion v.p.. and Ted Msnn v circuit j --- operator of Minneapolis, did: re-j i 1 cently in the Alaskan wilds. And' Castle’s Nev? UbiA Assault; Urges Media Guaranty Go ™^ n ana - M4nn headquar ., Tn r5 ron=narpo tered at Juneau and took off with , IV vJaSmlCiLv. bush pilots. "Whenever they’d spot! Washington. June 16. ; -a - bear from the air. the plane ! turnout of the would start tracking United States Information They each bagged a big one before ‘ Cu-tle of Now York, coming back home. founder and former o-.vmr-presi- dent of Castle Films now Univer- Heineman at one : point spotted ' r big bear in the haze and felled ! salh has returned to the attack. He him. On coming close, however.! testifed again Friday '12* before the animal rose arid started charg- i tiie U. S. Senate's .subcommittee 6n ing. at which point Heincmah’s gun ; Appropriations. . • failed and the guide started blazing [ Castle bluntly advocated imnie- away. The bear fell again, but; diate replacement of Turner Shel- When the hunting party canie to! ton. the USIA film chief, saying pick him up. he was gone. After;, “he has now become the ’chief trailing him- for six 'dangerous* i proponent t o r made-in-Moscow miles. Heineman gave up. A cou- ; propaganda films for exhibition pie of days later he bagged a 600 * in leading theatres throughout the pounder only three days out of; L'niicd sfate's/’ hibernation. i Ca«tle. the author of two books . --——:— . -■ j attacking American propagandas* amateur, inept and wasteful, of¬ fered the senators a check-list \ of possible economics, orghig total elimination of USIA’s Press & Pub- 1 Nations Service.as “honeycombed with wa<te and dunlication.” This v.ou’d save taxpayers S9.23I.0D0. Castle thought no more than $1- 500.000 ought to .go to the USIA Motion Picture Service which lie termed “an international disgrace.’’ American film dmtrbiutors will be interested in one recommenda¬ tion of Castle concerning the U'SLVs Media Guaranty Fund. Un¬ der which- rental monies in certain countries with blocked currencies are redeemed into- dollars .for the Americans. Castle think this Fund should be removed t r.o m USIA • State; and placed “where it be¬ longs” in the Dept, of Commerce. MELVYN DOUGLAS HEADS SAN SEBASTIAN JURY Madrid. June 16. Yank stage-screen actor Melvyn Douglas wiil wield the jury gavel at San Sebastian's Seventh Inter¬ national Film Festival next month. ■ with three Spanish panelists. jamL one each from Italy. France and ! Germany. , 1 Spanish trio, in addition to pro- ; ducer Manuel (loyanes and diree-' tor Juan Antonio Bardem. will in-' corporate for the first time a rank- 1 ing art figure—D a n i e 1 Vasquez ; Diaz. Italy is sending Corriere del¬ la Sera’s film critic A r turo Lano- cita. Fest director Zulueta has bids out for French director Mattel Carne and Germany’s O. W.- Fisher to complete the main award Gold¬ en Seashell jury. Yank jury seat almost wenlt to Ernest Hemingway who withdrew “an unreflected commitment’; al¬ most before it was made. Heming¬ way, however, and Ava Gardner have accepted to make uncomjtnon guest appearances at the July; 11- 20 fest. ' Dell Bocks has published a spe- ! cial paperback edition of Univer-; sal’s “This Earth Is-Mine.” ! ^RIETY Europe to U. S. George Braindt .Alistair .Cooke ... Ernest Emerlirig Hazel Guild Sid Hickox Stella Kadmon Norman Marla;. Billy Reeves. George Rosen - Paul Steiner . Caroline Burke Swann Hector Villa-Lobos. >/' Robert Whitehead U; S. to Europe Louis Barrier. Polly Bergen Kari Bernstein John J. Clark Geene Courtney . Donald Crisp Leonard. Field Freddie Fields Claude Heilman ; . Edward H block . George Ditto ’ Seymour LitV.inoff Hobe Morrison Edith PiaX Nornian Eoseniont .Dinah- Shore 5 ' Harry Sosnik '. Roger L. Stevens .Gloria- Stew art: . Henry Stprck ■_ L. A. to N. Y. Irwin, 7 'Allen • y Al . Capp : Ann Corio . klark Dr.hiOn Duke Ellington. George Engluhd Sylvia Fine . , Frank M. Folsom.. William Gargan . Peter GlenviUe Rita Hayworth Van Heflin . Alfred Hitchcock George Jessel Henry .; King .. Irving P- Lazar Jeanette. MacDonald John Lee Mahin Martin Rac kin ; Milton R.. Rackmil Gene Raymond Emmett . Rogers - Max Shulman Oliver Smith Joe Steele Milburn Stone . Raymond Stross Miles White Robert. Wi c e N. Y. to L A. . Paul. Benson .. Irving .Drutman Hugh Fordin Bud Getschal. Marie Miles Joe Wolhandler Wednesday, June 17, 1^35 National Boxoffice Survey Biz Starts to Perk; ‘Any Girl- New Champ, ‘Phillys’ 2d, ‘Some Hot’ 3d, ^©6^’ 4th, ‘Seas’^ 5tH Cooler weather plus some. new\. strong product looks tp give, film business in key cities covered by Variety a nice . lift this • round. This, upbeat promises to be further extended in the next few* weeks . as vacations get into full swing and additional,, big: product is .released. New' boxoffice champ is “Ask Any Girl” <M-Gn out for the first time to any extent this session. It is bearing but the potential strength- indicated , by its N.Y. Music Hall engagement,.. where now in its fourth’ w;eeJc. 1 “Young Philadelphians’’ fWB». . first last round, is winding up sec T - ond. Pic had been second in the . two preceding weeks. “Some. Like lit Hop’ iUA) again is finishing • third, spot it had held for the two ’ previous stanzas. ; “Room at Top” iConU is placing fourth while “South Seas Adven¬ ture” t Cineramar is fifth. “Shake ‘ Hands With Devil” (-UA) is captur¬ ing sixth spot while; “Mysterians” (M-G), is landing Seventh. | “Al Capone” <AA1, long high. ! on the weekly lists* is finishing . eighth. “It Happened To Jarie” ‘ ‘Col) is taking ninth spot while i “Gigi” i M-Gi rounds out . the Top ! i°. -• “W’oman Obsesed”.( 20th), Com- ' pulsion,” “Diary of Anne Frank,” j (both 20th*. are the runner-up pix. I “Gigantis” CWB», one of the new¬ comers this round, is 1 inclined to be spotty this stanza although okay in Cleveland. “Horrors of Black Museum” 'AI», lusty . in Phiily, looks good in Frisco.'and. big in , Chi.. “Say One’ For Me” i20th), also new, w hich is due at N.Y.: . Paramount this w-eek; is rated good in Minneapolis. “Hangman” (Par): mild in Providence!.is.rated nice in K.C. : ,••• “Iihjtatioh' -of jLife’’- .(’U), .-long! a fave in ratings.; lpoks big in Detroit and Phiily currently. “Shaggy Dog” iBV),. for weeks high on ihe .list, is great in K.C. and hefty, in Denver. “Angry Hills” (M-G); drab .in Balto, looks mild in Buffalo. ; “Windjammer”. (NT), lusty in Portland : and okay in Cleveland, looks big in: Minneapolis. ^Green Mansions” fM-G), fair; in L.A., is nice in. Toronto. '■... “W’atusi” (.M-G) shapes good In Detroit. “South Pacific” (Magna), = okay in K.C. ; shapes big in Omaha and good in Toronto. . ! “Night of Quarter: Moon” fM-G), bright in Chi. looms slow, in Phiily. "Man . in Net” (UA), stout in Detroit, looks: okay in Cleveland. “Gold Rush”:. (Lopert) freissue) is sock in Boston!. “World, Flesh, : Devil” (M-G), lean in Washington [ an d N.Y., is light in L.A. . J “Sleeping Beauty” (BV), good : in St.- Louis, is stout in K.C! and •i okay in. Seattle. “Shane” . (Par) ; (reissue) shapes sharp in Phiily. t (Complete Boxoffice Reports on Pages 8-9.) . New York ScnlndTraefe Irwin Alien tells the story. This producer had cast Ed Wynn as the clown in ’‘The Big Circus” but Wynn’s health was not. top robust. Vis- ». iting his barber on the Coast, Allen: sat along side Peter Lorre wdio asked about the part and suggested a substitute, namely himself. The idea of Lorre, that old menace, as a clown seomed unlikely to Aileii for a moment. But then, he said to himself, why not? End result is that Peter Lorre is the clown in “Big Circus”. Steve Allen’s .salary., for work in, “The Big Circus”'was $90. And he gets billing. It was a courtesy situation. Allen used to work for the .film-s; producer, Irwin. Alien, as a .radio announcer at .$35 per week. “The Sour, Smell of Success” i.s what Clyde Cilmour, Toronto Tele¬ gram -film critic, nicknamed “The Young Philadelphians” in his re-^ view .... Did Tajma, “India’s Exijtic: Enchantress.” once have, ai part¬ ner named Al? Stripper is currently at Casino Theatre, Toronto; . Turner Shelton, U.S. Information Agency motion pictures, chief, [ plaiied^to Hollywood to appear on Frank Capra edition of NEC’s “This Is Your Life” and brag cn his longtime friend, Shelton noted Capra’s various travels abroad , and said Government likes “Hollywood ambassa- . dors” like Capra so foreigners can see “U.S. films are made by intel¬ ligent, cultured and creative people.” Since Paddy Chayefsky’s ’’Middle of. the Night” has a garment in¬ dustry background, Columbia purchased ad space o.ii the “buyers ar¬ rival” page of the New York Times. Ad appeared on Monday (15) . . .. NTA Pictures, which is releasing the French, picture “Women Are Weak,” now' at the Paris Theatre, N.Y., will have you .believe that the film’s, femme star, Pascale Petit, is allegedly thinking of “bringing a . suit against Bosley Crowther because the N.Yw Times critic referred to her as “skinny” in his review. NTA says Mme. Petit’s measurements : . have been notarized as 37-24-36 and. that she thinks “.‘skinny’ is deri¬ sive and injurious to her career.”: . . Samuel Goidwyn hosted: Broad¬ way ticket brokers at a lunchdon last week at the Playbill to discuss. plans for ticket sales of “Porgy and Bess.”.. Lee Remick will hit seven cities to plug “Anatomy of a Murder.”. ^ . Northiveri Orient Air¬ lines has joined Metro in a special promotion. of Alfred Hitchcock’s.: ‘‘North by Northwest.”. . . Hitchcock is.curreatly in New Yorlrto plug the film. Quietly, but not unseen. Samuel Goldtvyn hosted a luncheon at Toots Shor’s, New York, last Friday (12). for advertising and publicity spe¬ cialists w'ho. have been on his payroll on and off over the years. It was ostensibly just a down-memory-lane gab session but there . was' some suspicion that the producer wouldn’t turn a deaf ear! on observations anent his latest. “Porgy and. Bess.” Consensus, was that everybody, meaning everybody, know-s about thq picture. In on the Goldvvyn treat were Howard Dietz, Jock Layrrence, Martin S. Davis, David Gold¬ ing, George tVeissman, Bill Ruder and Lynn Farnol. National Board of Review' monthly. Films in Review’, carries a real rave for Audrey Hepburn. Penned by editor Henry Hart, it reads, in part: “The nun is played by Audrey Hepburn with such complete un¬ derstanding of the full content of each scene that her. performance will forever silence those Who have thought.her less an actress than a symbol of the sophisticated child-woman (exclusively a contemporary idea). In ‘The . Nun’s Story’ (WB) Miss Hepburn reveals the kind of acting talent that can project inner feelings of both depth and com-, plexity so skillfully you must scrutinize her intently, on a second and third viewing of the film to perceive how she does it. Her portrayal of Sister Luke is one of ihe great performances of the screen.” ‘ Warner Bros, handed, producer, reins on two additional properties to Mike Garrison: “Dark at the Top of the Stairs”, and “The Crowded Sky,” to follow “Claudelle Inglish”. V. Hal Wallis has N.Y. model Cin- di Woo'd on multiple-pix escalator pact ... Bernard Smith: takes leave- of-absence from Hecht-Hill-Lancaister for associate producer post on “Elmer Gantryg” Burt Lancaster starrer to go out under Lancaster- Richard Brooks banner for United Artists release ... Jerry \Vald reg¬ istered “Over the Hills and Far. Away” with MPA A for “The Hell.rais- ers,” Boxer Rebellion yarn . . . VValt Disney registered “Pictures at an Exhibition”, . . Rochill Productions acquired film rights to Lt. Col: P. Ramsey,' hero of Luzon campaign'in World War. II, 'and will be fi¬ nanced by Philippine government. Richard Wilson, director of “Al Capone,” is set to produce and di¬ rect “The Nymph and the Lamp” from Halifax ridvelist Thomas,Rad- dall’s novel, the author says; Eva Marie Saint may be in it. Giuseppe DeSantis, Who directed the Silvana Margano-Vittorio Gass- man starrer, “Bitter Rice,” in Italy, has done one in Yugoslavia, “The Road a Year Long.” It’s an added starter at International Film Festival in Stratford, Ont., this summer, along with Germany's “Dream Road of the World.” ’ .. ' : Patricia Marmont, daughter of late silent star Percy Marmont, snagged character role In. Sam Spiegel’s “Suddenly. • Last Slimmer,” a Columbia Pictures release . . . Warner Bros., registered ‘‘Portrait of a Mobster,” based on yarn by Harry Grey. Universal importing actress Norma Marla, Egyptologist Andrew Low, and unnamed mummy to tour the U.S. on behalf of “The Mummy.’* . . . Mercedes McCamhridge set for a; role in Sam Spiegel’s “Sudden¬ ly, Last Summer,” currently filming in London . . .. Metro has prepared a special facts booklet telling the Story of the making of “Ben-Hur.” Some 50,000 copies will be distributed . . . Samuel Goidwyn Jr. off to the southwest to continue his search for a young unknown for the title role in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’’. . . . Les. KCiter and Howard Cosell signed, to handle the radio broadcast of the Patterson- Johansson heavyweight title fight which United Artists is sponsoring ‘ on behalf of “The Horse Soldiers.”. . Myrna Hansen released from j her term contract with Metro and returns to freelancing. [ Russell V. Downing, president of. Radio City Music Hall, hosted a I cocktailery at the theatre’s exec suite Monday (15) for Fred Zinne- mann. Latter directed “Nun’s Story,” next at the Hall . . . Buena Vis¬ ta’s Frank Petraglia to Montreal to supervise the opening campaign for “Sleeping Beauty.”. . .. Film industry brass in large number will be at the opening tonight (Wed.) of ‘‘Five Pennies” at the Capitol . . . Pyramid Books has a second printing of 250,000 copies of “Al Capone’* coming off the presses July 1 . . . Albert Sindlinger, who researches jiist about everything, is at band with; the information that Jack Paar is the most talked-about tv. personality. Michael Bracken, 13-year-old son of Eddie Bracken tin “Say Darling’* at the Colonie r N.Y. Musical Theatre), is being tested by MGM for the title role in “Huckleberry Finn:” Mrs. Bracken is Connie Nickerson,: leading lady of “What a Life.” The Brackens and their five children live in Darien, Conn. Charles Coburn will be 84 Friday (19). His newest picture - is “John Paul Jones”. . . Steve Broidy, Allied Artists president, has; his first grandson. Barton Keith, born to . his daughter-irirlav.’, Mrs. Arthur . Broidy, on the Coast Friday (12). Ernie Emerliug, Loew’s Theatres pub-ad veepee? back: from Euro¬ pean trip . . ; Universal has prepared a promotion-exploitation man¬ ual on “This Barth Is Mine,” specifically designed, for the foreign mar- . ket . . . More than $.18,000 raised for the benefit , of the Greater New' York Council, Boy Souts of America at a special preview of Columbia’s “It Happened to Jane,” at the Odeon Theatre Monday ( 15 ) night James Stewart elected a trustee of Princeton for ai four-year term . . . Joseph E. LeVine, president of Embassy Pictures, off oii a “hard sell’* seven-city tour on behalf of his “Hercules,” He’s; being accompanied by promotion v.p. Bill Doll . . . Gordon Sawyer, Samuel Goldwyn’s technical director, in. froth the Coast to supervise test-runs Of “Porgy and Bess” at the Warner Theatre, where film will preem oh June 24. Sawyer will check the theatre’s new Todd-AO installation and sbe- track stereophonic sound system.