Variety (June 1959)

'VARIETY'S' LONDON OFFfCB-. .. * St, Marlin'* Place/ Trafalgar Squar# PSriety IXTERXATIOXAL 11 By BERNARD J. WILLIAMS - ^ ' . Sinagppre, June 9. Malava. led 'bv Its reigning . monarch, the Yang, De Pertuan : Agong and his. Queen Consort, the Raja; Perfnasuri Agong, hosted the Sixth Asian Film Festival, last, montli, in- its. capita! city, Kuala Lumpifr..- ; ‘ •/ Participating in the five-day festival that: brought the cream of ' the Oriental him world and the big names: in the. South East. Asian . and Far Eastern film industry Were over 200; delegates represent¬ ing the Philippines:; Indonesia, Japan, South Korean Hong Kong, Nationalist China.. Malaya and Singapdre. - - ' : Over 40 ; filrns, of . dramatic: and .nonrdrairiatic. categories, were judged by .a jurors : hahibpicked from ..the. countries, participating.' . .- The Festival.created, aprecedent .in that the opening ceremony. . was performed by a feigning.moiiarch, and in that it got the full- . est support and encouragement from the Government of Malaya, ; .mainly due to the' moral" sup port - of Malaya’s first Premier. Prince:; Abdul Rahman. ’ .. Malaya’s; Premier Abdul Raznk, laying. down welcqm.e mat for . delegates and observers, said “international goodwill is..not simply a matter cf .exchanging, views. between -ambassadors, .but; it iS also fostered'bv conferences such as . the Sixth Asian Film Festival. - . Malaya and Singapore, won five of the 22 awards, ■ with the .Mar.; dayan; Film .Unit epic deeumentary “Brunei”. snatching one of the top prizes as being the best film.- of-, the year/.in the non dramatic .class..; ; Among the Malayan and ^Singapore aty.ard Avinners, was; pope mher than the former Premier Prince Abdul. Rahman .whose film •.play- fof•' *;M.ah.sari’vvb.n a special award, for the best' picture de-.- . picling a countr\ ^s. folklore. Awards were as follows:. • .. Eest- Filni: To Shaw; Organization (Hong- Kongv produc tion,- “The- Kingclom and. the Beauty Best Direction; “The Precipice” .(Japan) starring Fujficp Yama¬ moto -and .Ken ji SugaWara, directed by Yasiizo Masumura.. Pro¬ duced by: Masaiclii P V: !;BestScehario:As'aboye;. : , Best Golcf . Photography: As above; Best Black & White photography: “Darling Daughter.” (Hong. . Kongh starring Yen Clnm and Jeanette Lin Tsui.- Directed, by Doe Ching- and .produced by vShaw Organization. . . Best Editipfr: “Her Tender Heart,” (Hong Kong V with -Yu Ming, . ; Directed by Tang. IluaPg. Nlption' Picture . and General Ihyestip.ent Best Music: ‘'Calendar; Girll” CHong Kong V Li Mei and Chang; Chung Wen, Directed by Doe Cliing, Motion Picture ..and Genera! .• Investment Co. . . r - V ; ' : I Best Sound Recording:;. “The Precipice” (Japan/ / V.- ■ Best Art. Direction: “The Precipice” (Japanh . Best ' Actor: Kinnosuke Kakamura :in “Hero of The; Town”...(J&* pan». • Best Actress: Yu Min in “Tender Heart” (Hong Kong). ; Best Supporting' Actor:- Ryunosuke . Tsukigata in “Hero of The . Town.” . .; Best Supporting Actress:. Tsui Tsia Pin in “The Cliff;’ (Nation- alist China).' . ' ; .*;• '. . . /.•’ ■-'/ ' - Documentaries: Best Photography: ‘-Tra'nefe in; the Tunnel’ , .(Ja- , P ,Tiie culmination of. the Festival brought; glowing speeches of encouragement and future support from Malaya’s King; its Premier and the organizers; the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia,- ■; '... '•/•• • /'... / Malaya’s. Queen, the' Raja Permasuri Agong. .-presented the ‘•Gold” -and “Silver’* Gongs, (equivalent of Hollywood's Oscars/ to ... the winners. : ..... • ; I '• ■ i Two Indie Producers Launch Drive Mexico City, June 9; . With rising production’costs, and . public apathy to similar two-week quickies, a drive has begun here to weld independents, into .aystrong •producing unit. Goal, of this move is to combine talents, for the pro- .. duction of major pix which can also be. shown outside of Mexico’s bor¬ ders. . . The oid idea of the Union of Mexican Producers Co. has been brushed off by Francisco P.. Cabre¬ ra, and Antonio del Castillo/with the duo making the sales pitch to independents not allied, with, or . owning stock in, any .9* the existing major producing, firths. Aim of the current reorganiza¬ tion is to combine executive ail'd production talents of independents bavins considerable experience. Cabrera said that the combined forces would, give, impetus to. the . drive, to improve quality\of. Mexi¬ can pictures; Under present setup, . shoestring prodiicers, no matter how talented, are held back by a chronic lack of financing. In the proposed ; producer’s co m p a n y, known as . Unipromex, members, would pony up specified sums for the production budget kitty. Ail woud be members of the admini- . s’rative board; with this sitting in oi story conferences designed to okay scripts having profit poten¬ tials. "-. ■ 'w . Then; from the member pool, the most likely producer w o u 1 d . be named “executive producer” and - h e would have carte blanche, with- i out any stalling, tp shoot the film:: On its .completion, all. producers would share in profits, based: on their initial investment ih the firm. It is too early to st°ie whether the idea will click. There’s the “rugged individualist” an.g’e among independents which might lead to complications iii a cooperative ef¬ fort. Too, certain; indies; express iiieir complete satisf.actibn : with the. old, trite quickies for a quick dollar. But the Cabrera-Castillb team is positive that it will convince indey pendents that now is the time for all good producers to get together for the good of the industry E. German Film Star Scrambles From Reds Frankfurt,. June 9. Latest of. the long line of. refu¬ gees. to come scrambling over the Iron .GUrtaih is the East German pix star; Kur.t Oligmtleller. In ask¬ ing. for sanctuary, he pointed out that the . Communist secret, state police had asked him to report on the political 1 activities of his col¬ leagues. Oligmiteller left West Germany 16 years ago. After he became a star in the East Berlin De.ursche Theatre,, he had numerous leading rolbs. in DEFA; films, which are made under Communist control in East. : Germany. Likewise, he starred in.; plays on' East German .television. . . ... ; y In France, But Latest Setup Seems Paris, June 16. The new Film Aid Law, set up by Andre Malraux, Minis¬ ter of Culture, and Antoine Pinay, Minister of Finance, probably will be made official, tomorrow (Wed.). However, it’s reported that film industry or¬ ganization reps have informed Malraux they are not in com¬ plete record with the new law. Son?*: further have said they would like a complete break with governmental ad¬ ministration of the film setup and its aid in any form. That means the industry, if It can combine all its diverse branches of prediction, d ; s- tnbution and exhibition, would eventually set un its own aid pattern and refuse government help. Filmites cite that the refusal of govern¬ mental subsidy would fit in with general aims of ether Common Mart members, espe¬ cially Germany, which frowns on this sort of help. This move could enhance coproduction and also aid film people, some claim. Most of the pic industry syn¬ dicates here are somewhat’ ruffled by the governmental altitude to¬ wards the new Film Aid Law which is supposed to be passed as a decree this week, and to go into j effect immediately; They feel that Paris, June 16. j Andre Malraux. Minister of Cul- According to the government; ture, and Antoine Pinay. Minister Centre Du Cinema, France took; 0 f Finance, should have worked $15,000,000 in offshore film take more closelv in consultation With last year. But this is not a complete ; the industry before promulgating picture since this comprises only the new Aid Law. repatriated.-producer’s shares and j However MaJraux and Pinay did taJt With various industry reps and that have come m during 19o8.; syndicates ' - - Settle Italo ANICA Row Rome. June 16. Internal hassle which recently rocked ANICA, the Italian pro¬ ducer-distributor association, has been completely settled. An official communique has been issued ac¬ centing the renewed unity of the grouping and the total extinction of all friction between members. . Fracas arose some time ago be-. tween various officials in the or-j ganization, principally Titanus’. Goffredo Lombardo and Dino De Laurentiis. A flock of accusations and rebuttals further confused the issue:.; Result was that Goffredo Lombardo stepped out as head of ) the UNPF, the producer’s . group.; and later began a court suit. This . also- has now been dropped, and : Lombardo is hack in the fold. j Association, statement also): unanimously confirms Eitel Mona-! co, head of ANICA, as temporary ] prexy. of the UNPF, a post he has j held since Lombardo ankled the' 1 group.. Montevideo, ; June 9. Show* biz has suffered severely since disastrous floods hit Uruguay in the Match-May period. Swollen rtvers overflowed the Rincon Bone- te dam,. jand submerged the- power house which supplies .most of . Uru¬ guay’s electricity, It will be six months before the damages can be repaired,. In the meantime, Uru¬ guay. is deprived of 60^. : of its power. This puts the country iback on a leVel with Argentina; where the Peron regime neglected power renewal for 12 years, thus, causing a blackout which cannot be rem¬ edied in years: . For some' weeks, in Uruguay, film performances were cut or until common Sense prevailed, and the government relaxed restrictions to.nave _come m aunng : syndicates, but went ahead on an exterit where things: are. now:‘ their own in formulating the new ■practically^ back to_■ normal. .More-1.- ^ films have gamed m world ■ L a ^. which replaces the old over, some first-run houses were I w ,w. ■ ^ o :... . • • -.’ T . 0 . one expiring next January. A $ 5 .- Europe; South America. U.S. and _ qoo. 000 fund has been set up to to use■ private i bou !“ America. l.b. and . 0 0 0 , 000 fi Canada gave the lion s share, fol-; liqm^ate all producer and exhibi- l lowed bv Aisa. A-fripa and rtivprsp : *__ - - - - - - * able to arrange. power sources: .. . .. , AjP ., . Uruguay’s most; important news- iteS^rtL^hT^gn'bizT^ i V* 1 * FiIm ' Ai ? handouts du6 until papers El Pais and. El Dia had rei iSrshi^FrS^ Film can^t 1 Januar ^ next > e2r - c.ently + installed an independent ! US ualiv amortize itself in French ' ^ a f e £ ial credit, fund will generator, and will gam goodwill speaking marts, - France’s industry | be /?f U P \ io hel ^ producers, by .helping out. exhibitors, .. | and its governmental reps are mak-1 fj 11 * 8 D ? longer getting any funds The country’s economy is: ; badly>ihg a.greater pitch for foreign biz. ■ forfheatre^reiuroiSjijng which are hit because a; great portion of the i Pic. trade with Eastern bloc coun-; t to been a^com- sheep and; cattle herds ;were lost, tries is being stepped up as well as P,r^ d ^ ^ wll l pf an This has accentuated the diminish- coproduction and greater exchange ^ ilandout ing boxoffice returns of Uruguay’s pacts with non-Common Mart coun- C d , UC ^H * P i^ Cei K legit: theatres. /Somb theatres are'tries. The most recent example is ta £ e : but 4 t h:s shuttering.- First the Albeniz, then ; the. French handout of coin for re- ! JJJ? ^° b . ab1 ^ ^ mu_h lower tnan the Colon, the Cibirs, the Artigas I furbishing of theatres that will * ^ and how. even the traditional 18 of [give 20 to 25 weeks playing time ; = ’ to " 3 rds tlieir Jiilio has shuttered. Argentine im-! annually to French films in Eng- n presario Francisco Gallo operates! land. This may be extended toi .There will L-e quality handouts the sriial! Odeon over here;, send-M other , countries, and maybe even g l ven according to the reactions ing. over.his legit companies from'the U:S., as reported, in Variety,;^! a special comm-Uee on scripts. Buenos Aires, for brief tours. This j May 27. . ; ; If the pic is judged to be a fine only ser\ r es to insure, some extras Meanwhile the 20^ franc de- “’o 1 t prestige item it will months’ /work for his players, not being a coin-making operation. Legiters in Uruguay blame the [ growth of the Little Theatre move- meht on the encouragement given these groups by the newspaper crix, Who. were often overly severe with professional legit show's. One of these Little Theatre groups has put bn a musical show, “Caracol, col, col . . .’’ at the tiny Verdi The¬ atre, . which is proving a great hit. Rome, June 9. “The Tempest” (DeLaurentiis) and “Naked Maja” . (Titanus) still. lead the way . in the seasonal box- Office ..stakes, ;. recent first-run checks shpw'. Another, iocally-shot picture (but without Yank finance), “I, Soliti Ignoti” (The;.Usual Un¬ identified . Persons). (Lux), : still holds the No, 3 position. . Other b o. winhers in Italy to date are, in order of strength, “The Vikings” (UA-DEAR i, “Catpori Hot Tin Roof” (M-Gh/’Xes Tricheufs” (The. Cheats) (French-Metro), “Eji-.. rope by. Night” (Italian-Warners),: “Vertigo’’ (Par) and “The Big Country” (DEAR). “Tehipest” topped some $600,- 000 in its first-run dates, while “Maja” came close to those totals. Others : in the above-mehtioned winner list all topped the 200 mil¬ lion lire mark (some $300,000). Van Cliburn, now 24, packed the Palais Die Ghaillot in Paris for His first piano recital, critics were pleased to find a musician instead of a freak. Rim London, June 16. Two Americans, are proposing to enter a British film for the upcom¬ ing Moscow Film Festival; They are Carl Foreman,. executive pro-., ducer of. Open Roid Films, and Walter Shensoh, whose first film, “The Mouse That Roared,.” was .jriade under that company’s ban¬ ner. Foreman is a member of the |-Federation of British Film Makers,: but may. offer his film outside com¬ petition if it is not nominated; . Explaining his thinking^ Fore-; mail said that festivals should be encouraged on principle, particu- larly. from the point of view of promoting cultural exchanges. He felt . particularly that Americans should be: represented at Moscow bearing in mind that the Russians had sent the Bolshoi Ballet , to the U.S., and that, in his view* there should be a two-way traffic. Aside from Moscow, ’‘Mouse. That Roared” is also definitely being submitted for San Francisco. valuation is helping by allowing g ^t . * special sum of com. _ Credit films to go cheaper to foreign dis- 1 wl “ be furnished at small interest tribs and still bring in the same , £, at€8 via guarantee by the Aid amount of francs. However. Yank 1 Funds which will be. probably, foreign, film handlers feel that ? art . °l tb< : Crecut National fund French demands are still too ex, J>r industrial a:d rather than un- orbitarit. :: der tbe c<?ntre Du Cinema as here- French producers still have to depend on Film Aid (the new' law Exliibs get help via a reduction is, due to be promulagted this ih taxes on admissions over an week) for. profits on. pix and coin : eighty ear period. So, it is expected towards neyr projects. Future promised quality handouts for pres¬ tige pix may also help production and allow for film fodder with greaiter. foreign lure and chances. British Govt. Plans For. Theatre Tax Concession that both arms of : iilmaking may be pacified. However, industry dis¬ sension and outcry is expected when this new law goes into effect. Pinay and Malraux appear to have worked out things peacefully and are in disagreement mainly on one point which is the future of the state-owned nroductiort and exhib arms. UGC and SOGEC. Malraux wants to keep them under the state to use fo: worthy screen projects while Pinay wants to get rid of them via private sales to use London, June 16.. A tax concession which will be worth about $7,000,000 .m a full year is to. be. introduced by the i,, . v, -- t ;- government during the Report!^* ? ' 1 ' ler ananaal P ur * Stage of the Finance BilL That .. . . _ fa stated by Chancellor of the . ? «P» r ‘ Exchequer Heatheote Amory when” v E > accepting in principle a Conserva- ^ a S s hip house Normandie, might tive amendment during the Com¬ mittee Stage of the; Bill. The amendment, which the Chancellor explained needed re¬ drafting for technical reasons.' would give relief to the tune of about $56 per week to theatres throughout the country. The Chancellor turned down a Labor amendment for total abolition of the' admission duties,, as such a proposal Would not only aid thea¬ tres finding it hard to survive but “the; large number still operating at a satisfactory profit.” become a music hall via selling out to a known record company. .Rome, June 9. Workers in the distributor sec¬ tor of the Italian fi^m industry will get a pay hike of fi.50%, retro¬ active to April 1. . New’ contract terms wire nego¬ tiated here by reps of ANICA in meetings with the three worker* unions, FILS. FULS and FIALS. New pact is for. two years.