Variety (February 1961)

4 PICTURES P^Ri&rf Vcdneidaj, February 1, 1961 Sees lesson for Showmen In Sonney’s 11 States Area On ‘Honeymoon of Terror* Realism of Kennedy Braintrust Hollywood, Jan. 31. 4 - Impact of youth In the recent | presidential election can be trans-j LIZ AS 'JUSTINE/ TOO? lated from ballot box to boxoffice if filmakers are prepared to deal with the same topical, hard-hitting issues and concepts that Involved millions of young people in both party camps throughout the cam¬ paign. So declared producer Stan¬ ley Colbert, who noted, ‘‘These young people constitute the bulk of the motion, picture audience, and they have proven they are pre¬ pared to take active parts when they are not talked down to.” Colbert, whose latest film, “The A ena,” deals with the fight for academic freedom and the right to be different, feels Hollywood is committing the-classic mistake of taking a group for granted. “Par¬ ents and educators,” he said, “are attempting to shorten adolescence, but Hollywood is trying to length¬ en it.” He explained that Holly¬ wood’s “self-imposed notion of ar¬ rested adalescence” does not jibe with the participation of American youth in the campaigns. “And it’s the extension of this notion to themes for young people’s pictures that puts Hollywood out of touch with the younger generation.” A great lesson is to be learned from the success of 20th-Fox*s “Blue Denim,” Colbert said. “With¬ out jazz and frills, the thematic material was strong enough and current enough to make the film successful,” he went on. Colbert stated that the early pic¬ tures aimed at teenagers were ex¬ citing because of their novelty. “But jive haven’t changed the theme?’ he charged, “and we’re playing the same record over and over.” Of the concepts that boil cut of the election, Colbert sees value in such themes as the chal¬ lenge to accept responsibility, the awareness that freedoms must be fought for rather than taken for granted, etc. “Richard Nixon, for instance, has declared that his political activities for the next four years will be aimed primarily at the undergrad¬ uate.” Colbert pointed out. “In our film, ‘The Arena,’ the princi¬ pals are high school seniors, and they’ll be able to vote in the next presidential election. Hopefully, the picture speaks to young audi¬ ences as they are being spoken to by President Kennedy and the new administration.” Pic Is now being prepared for release by United Artists. Believed a Proviso For Mankiewicz Doing ‘Cleopatra’ Joseph L. Mankiewicz has taken over the directorial reins on 20th- Fox’s long-delayed “Cleopatra,” It Was confirmed in New York Friday (27). • Predicted in last weeks Variety, director was scheduled to fly to London yesterday (Tue&.) where studio work is to resume shortly, prior to moving to Egypt for location shooting. It’s understood that part- of the agreement for Mankiewicz to ao “Clea” might be for star Elizabeth Taylor to essay title role in Man- kiewicz’s upcoming “Justine,” on completion of the current pic. Di¬ rector was working on the “Jus¬ tine” script when called upon to take over for the resigned Rouben Mamoulian on '“Cleo.” Both “Cleo” and “Justine” are Walter Wanger productions for 20th. Swedes Snap Back After TV Letdown Decline of motion picture thea¬ tre- attendance in Sweden, which reached alarming proportions im¬ mediately following the introduc¬ tion of television there, now shows sign of. tapering off, indicating that theatres and television will con¬ tinue to coexist, according to the American-Swedish News Exchange in New York. Approximately 200 of the na- ition’s 2,501 (circa 1955> theatres | have closed in recent years, with !most of the closings being of mar- ; ginal houses which did not operate ; fulltime. ! Preliminary figures show that i theatre attendances in Stockholm for the first nine months of 1960 jwere about 4.2% below those for the comparable period in 1959. i However, attendances in recent years had been declining at a rate of 10 to 11% annually. In Gothen¬ burg and Malmo, where tv was in¬ troduced later than it was in Stockholm, attendance decline in the first nine months of 1960 was between 8 and 8.5%. Practically all of Sweden is now within the range of tv coverage. Europe to U. S. Hollywood, Jan. 81. Sonney Amusement Enterprise*, which acquired worldwide rights to "Honeymoon of Terror,” will re¬ tain distribution rights in 11 west¬ ern states and state-rights in bal¬ ance of U.S. Film currenly is world preeming at Tower Theatre, San Diego, Gal. ‘King & F Using N.Y. City Centers Mailing lists The mailing list of ticket-buyers built up over many years by the N. Y. City Center on behalf of its grand opera, operetta, ballet, drama and, most recently, Gilbert & Sullivan seasons will be made available for a special ticket cam¬ paign on behalf of the reissue-in¬ big-negative (Grandeur 70) of 20th- Fox’s “The King and I.” It Is hoped thereby to tap broader sources of patronage, pre-condi¬ tioned to like “King and I,” which was successfully revived on the stage of N. Y. City Center last spring. Access to a legit mailing list of this calibre, a point of pride with the auspices, could open a valuable new method of merchandizing for hardticket films, it is thought. The deal, arranged by 20th veep Charles Einfeld and announced with pomp, ceremony and cock¬ tails by 20th prexy Spyros Skouras and Center director Jean Dalrym- ple at Mayor Wagner’s Grade Mansion last Thursday (26), in¬ volves the Center’s “sponsorship” of the film’s engagement which starts March 23. In addition, the film is being offered to Center subscribers as “an extra added at¬ traction” to the regular spring series. of live musicals at the Cen¬ ter, beginning April 12.' To what extent the non-profit City Center will participate in the film’s revenues has not been re¬ vealed. However, the promotion of the film by the City Center, which has a “sponsor” list-of 2,500, plus a large subscription list, will undoubtedly help get the picture off to profitable start. While “The King and I” Is re¬ garded as a “natural” for this kind of promotion—being not only an immensely popular and durable (Continued on page 28) N. Y. to L. A. Edward Kingsley Carl Peppercorn Martin H. Poll Walter Reade Jr. Natalie Wood L. A. to N. Y. Russell Ames Barney Balaban Jacques Bar Jack Boyle Frederick Brlsson Seymour Burns Jimmy Durant® Cy Feuer Betty Field Peter Glenville George Gobel George Grizzard Dennis Hopper Larry Kasha Arthur Kennedy Herman King Edward F. Kook Hilda Kook Ernie Kovacs David A. Lipton Jerry Ludwig Dean Martin Jimmy McHugh Anthony Perkins Eric Portman Andre Previn Basil Rathbone Dorthy Sandlin Maurice Silverstone Warren Stevens Tuesday Weld U. S. to Europe Betty Allen Royal Ballet Michael Cninigo Margot Fonteyn Pilade Levi Joseph Mankiewez Eurt Shevelove Sig Shore Bill Batchelor Dave Brubeck George Cravenne Paulette Goddard Eric Goodhead Kurt Hellmer Dave Lewis Jeanne Moreau Eric Pleskow Francis Winikus Shelley Winters Export ‘Dangereuse’ Paris, Jan. 31. “Liaison Dangereuse,” th® film which the French author¬ ities have until now refused to license for export, has been cleared for Japan, Denmark and some other lands. Anticipated: will hit U.S. In due course. Metro Execs’ Wages & Expenses Top executives of Metro received total remuneration, including fixed allowances for expenses, of $1,062,053 during the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 1960. This is disclosed in the proxy statement summoning stockholders to the annual meeting In N. Y. on Feb. 23. The annual session, usually held at Loew’s State Theatre, has been, shifted to the Hotel Astor. Individual salaries listed show prexy Joseph R. Vogel, production chief Sol C. Siegel, and studio executive Benjamin Thau each making $156,000 annually. Robert H. O’Brien, vice president and treasurer, is down for $78,000, and Benjamin Melniker, vice president and general counsel, received $65,000. In addition to their basic salaries, Vogel and Thau are entitled to receive $1,000 per week for the number of weeks of employment since a specified date. Similarly O’Brien and Melniker are entitled to receive $500 and $250 weeklv respectively. All In all, a total of $205,460 was secured during the 1960 fiscal year for the termination payments. Stock Options According to the proxy statement, up to Jan. 13, 1961, stock options covering 12,400 shares, including 6.000 shares for Siegel, 3.000 shares for O’Brien, and 1.600 shares for Melniker, were exercised at $30.25 per share. The market value of the company’s stock at the dates these options were exercised ranged from $4256 to $45V4 per share. Under an earlier option plan, approved in 1951, onUons for 7.829 shares were exercised in 1960, including 3,728 shares for Vogel and 4.101 shares for Thau, at S22.04 per share. The market value of shares on the dates of exercise ranged from $30 to $34 per share. Feb. 23 Meeting The meeting is being called to elect 15 directors, with the entire present slate being renominated by the management. Shareholders will also consider a resolution offered by Lewis D. and John J. Gilbert calling for the election of directors by cumulative vot’’n«. The manage¬ ment indicates in the p~rx'- statement that.it4s opnc to this system of choosing directors and recommends a vote against the proposal. J IATSE-Studios 4-Year Pact Hollywood, Jan. $1. Internationa Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes and the theatrical and television film studios here have contracted for four years. Calls for 10% pay rise on first two years, another 5% there¬ after. Additionally IATSE gets 9% of studios’ gross from sale of theat¬ rical residuals to tv syndicators. » M » M » ♦ M »♦»»»»» »f M ♦♦»»<> ;; New York Sound Track \\ «. < ► More of same: front cover line above Screenland Mag title “Liz: ‘Eddie, Please Don’t Leave Me!’ ” Inside the bank reads: “As the am¬ bulance bore her away writhing in agony, Liz, perhaps for the first time In her life, begged for love, begged for the nearness of a man." Roger Vadim whose “Marquis de Sade” (see story, page one) will occupy his summer has ChristUne Rochefort’s novel “Repos du Guer- rier” lined up for filming next autumn. Novelist reputedly collected $50,000 for rights. Newlyweds Mike Selsman and Carol Lynley off Saturday (28) for a delayed honeymoon in Mexico City and Acapulco. After their return Feb. 8, Mike reports to his new post at Paramount while Carol, who just finished “Return to Peyton Place,” plays a housewife ... Jeanne Moreau, star of “The Lovers” and the upcoming “Moderator Canta- bile,” here from Paris . . . Vincent Price doing the lecture circuit again ... At ceremonies here last Wednesday (25) at the Fashion Industries Auditorium, the fifth annual Creative Film awards were presented to Robert Breer, Jane Belson Conger, Bruce Conner, Carmer D’Avino and Ed Emshwiller. Awards are given films concerned with “exploration of film medium as a fine art form.” Reportedly at the insistence of director Vincente Minnelli, Metro’s “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” was rewritten, to fit the character portrayed by Glenn Ford. The role was played by Rudolph Valentino in the original version. Producer Julian Blaustein is said to have fought against the changes in the script. " ■ ■ Paul N. Lazarus Jr. is a granddad, It being a son for Elizabeth and Paul 3d. Named him David John . . . Natalie Wood went west after working here with Elia Kazan on “Splendor in the Grass”. . . Janies Bell,-just signed by Warners for a role in “Claudelle Inglish,” first went to work at this studio in 1931 as a Georgia convict in “I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.” Since Loew’s Theatres has entered the hotel business it is throwing the lushest shindigs in town. The company introed Claude Philippe, new general manager of the now-building Summit and Americana Ho¬ tels in N. Y., in the Tower Suite of the Time & Life Building last Wednesday (25). Guests’ names were written on a white card and placed on a silver platter. A butler delivered the card to a Loew’s rep¬ resentative who, in turn, introduced the guests to Philippe and" Preston R. Tisch, president of Loew’s Hotels, and Mrs. Tisch. Restaurant Asso¬ ciates, operators of the Tower Suite and represented by v.p. Philip Miles, provided an exotic cocktail feed and filled the place with about as many butlers and maids as there were guests. Ernie Emerling, Loew’s pub-ad v.p., and Jim Shanahan, the hotels’ p.r. topper, pro¬ vided a bottle of imported champagne, neatly encased in a basket, for each departing guest . . . Ben Kaufman, publicity director of Valiant Films, married social worker Helen M. Rodabaugh on Saturday *28) with Justice Samuel C. Coleman, currently sitting in N. Y. Supreme Court, performing the ceremony . . . Diahann Carroll is back from Paris after winding up her role in “Paris Blues” and a special singing assignment for “Goodbye Again.” Both are United Artists pictures. Di¬ rector Martin Ritt wound up the filming of “Paris Blues.” a Pennebaker production, on Thursday (26) with final interior shots involving star® Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier finished his chores last week and returned to the U. S. | Panning the 20th-Fox release, “Marriage-Go-Round,” St. Paul Dis¬ patch film critic Bill Diehl observed that it’s “becoming increasingly difficult to review motion pictures and still keep any column about them fit for a family to read.” Margaret Twyman, director of community relations for the MPA A, gave a luncheon meeting of the Buffalo Federal of ’Women’s Club the lowdown on censorship and classification Thursday (26) . . . Publicist A1 Davis has moved his offices . . . Karlton J. Rosholt, a Minneapolis writer and newscaster, has joined staff of Louis de Rochemont Asso¬ ciates to assist in distribution of “Question 7,” new feature commis¬ sioned by the Lutheran Film Associates as a sequal effort to their “Martin Luther.” Pic will have seven openings in early March. Walter Reade Jr.’s Continental Distributing has apparently re¬ acquired “Angel Baby,” originally coproduced by Continental but later taken on by Columbia. Reade on the Coast this week to discuss release plans for the pic . . . Astor Pictures made some “substantial revisions” and now its “Girl in Room 13” has received a B (objection¬ able in part for all) rating instead of the original C (condemned) by the Legion of Decency. Also given Bs in the new Lesion listing are Metro’s “Go Naked to The World,” 20th’s “The Millionairess” and Valiant’s “It Takes a Thief.” Spyros P. Skouras, 20th prexy, Wednesday (25) was given an award by the Defense Dept., for “outstanding service in the field of docu¬ mentary films.” based on the work of Movietone News in last eight years . . . Continental Distributing has taken on Jim Moran Associates and Bill Gandall to help promote its upcoming circus feature, “Hippo¬ drome”. . . Rosemary Clooney will record the “The Season of Love,” number used behind the credits for husband Jose Ferrer’s “Return to Peyton Place.” Metro has signed Elvis Presley for four films . . . Olivia de Havilland will fly from Paris to attend the return premiere of "Gone With the Wind” in Atlanta on March 10 in commemoration of the Civil War Centennial. Miss de Havilland, who won an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Melanie in the film, attended the world premiere of the David O. Selznick production in Atlanta 21 years ago. Metro has re¬ tained the Meyer Davis orchestra to play at the benefit costume ball which will be held in conjunction with the new opening of the picture. Eric Pleskow, United Artists Continental manager, and Francis M. Winikus, special assistant to v.p. Arnold Picker, in from Europe for homeoffice talks on global promotion and marketing plans on UA product . . . Variety Clubs International holds its 34th annual conven¬ tion at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach April 25 to April 29 . . .“When the Clock Strikes” is the new title for the United Artists* release formerly known as “You Can’t Run Far.” The picture is being made for UA by Robert E. Kent at Key West Studios . . . Otto Prem¬ inger is bringing his European ballymen^Bill Batchelor and George Cravenne—to New York to coordinate plans for the European premiere and subsequent engagements of “Exodus”. . . Hars Conreid signed for Stanley Kramer’s “Judgment at Nuremberg”. . . Don Murray and Wal¬ ter Wood, producers of “The Hoodlum Priest,” in Gotham to work out release plans with United Artists . . . Dale Washerman has completed the shooting script of “Sea and the Shadow,” which Charles Guggen¬ heim will make on location in Brazil. Haskel Wexler has the camera assignment. That Federation of the Handicapped dinner at the Plaza honoring Dore Schary finally came on Sunday (22) night after being postponed previously because of the Dec. 12 blizzard. The weekend weather, with reports of more snow, had the group’s planners in a t : 7.?.y. With United Artists' Max Youngstein as toastmaster, Schary finally picked up his (Continued on page 24)