Variety (February 1961)

Wednesday, February 8, 1961 PICTURES UNDECIPHERED DIXIE DOODLE Indirect Aid to ‘Classifying?’ Could be a rhubarb at the Motion Picture Assn, of America because of the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision which sustains prior censorship on films as being Constitutional. Fear is that local community groups, in trying to set up censorship panels, will in many situations lay emphasis on the alleged' need for the classification of features as being suitable for adults alone, pr children too. ' MPAA is against such classification. Organization feels that a producer, setting out to make a picture only for adults (with an awareness of classification) would go too heavy on strong material. He would feel himself justified in the knowledge that the kids are to be barred. MPAA is afraid that said producer migKT go over¬ board. On the other hand, there are some filmmakers aligned' with MPAA, directly or indirectly, who are on the side of classification for the professed reason that it will mean that children are not exposed to adult film fare. TOA Hints Self-Regulation Plan: Classification, Play Code Pix Only S SECRECY S™’ So Good at Fox, Atlanta, STILL SUPREME Wilby-Kincey Almost Gives Facts Dallas, Feb. 7, h A broad hint of the policy Thea¬ tre Owners of America will advo¬ cate for industry self-regulation of pictures to avoid censorship from outside forces is contained -in an address which TOA prexy Al¬ bert M. Pickus has prepared for delivery here tomorrow (Wed.) to the annual convention of the Texas Drive-In Theatres Assn. Reviewing the pressure that the film industry and particularly thea¬ tres have faced recently because of the content of films, Pickus said: there appears to be two channels by which to attack the problems. One, he said, would be the strengthening of the effectiveness of the Production Code in Holly¬ wood by making it unprofitable for a producer to market his film with¬ out a code seal. The other would be to place the responsibility for the viewing of pictures by children directly On the parents. Although Pickus did not spell --1 Atlanta, Feb, 7. Sprinkle With Data , K takea * ° f b ° xoff ‘ ce doin * Hollywood, Feb. 7. f ? r * motton plcture to atay mor * Realizing the importance of than ^two weeks at Fox Theatre, analyzing the present-day mar- 5,000-seat Wilby-Kincey flagship ket, Roger Corman has estab- here. Three-week runs are excep- lished a statistical and mar- tional and when Warner Bros/ ket research department for „. .. * his distribution arm. The Film- « Up *}° Vi ve ~ group, and assigned Carlena, record * lt was considered fan- Pratt former Union Bank fi- tastic management figured the S^dal aMlyst to hefd t.y mark would “«!« be surpassed. Purpose is to analyze exhibl- They reckoned not, however, with tion and audience surveys bn {J® drawing power of William Filmgroup product. Miss Pratt Holden and Nancy Kwan in Para- will work with distribution mount’s ‘‘The World of Suzie v.p. Skip Regan and exchange which exploded into the operations director Margaret blockbuster category Two weeks Urevich. ln a xow theatre advertised a start- tag date (in newspaper space and radio and television spots) for IT* Disney’s “The Swiss Family ||C |I/m ft| KirrH* Robinson.” Twice they were forced fj O MU MM 1 UVlIe to draw down when “Suzie’s” puU " Just would not diminish'. More of Bi&ies I/ *bb lww day (3) but not until she has racked Having completed the program S p * new record - 37 daya tij * f _af_1 HOI_1_ _ By Robert j. landry Sprinkle With Data The film business is “great” in P Hollywood Feb 7 for * motion P lctur e to stay more Dixie—so they sayl Realizing the importance‘of than } wo weeks at Fox Theatre, The mimeograph machines, and analyzing the present-day mar- 5,000-seat Wilby-Kincey flagship even the teletypes, emit many a ket, Roger Corman has estab- here. Three-week runs are excep- grateful note, many a wistful boast. Ushed a statistical and mar- tional and when Warnpr Rr * • But nobody in Dixie, almost lit- ket research department for ,, en Wa ™ er B ™ s * erally nobody; ever supplies a fact Ms distribution arm. The Film- „ Mame ran Up -]° a f j ve * or a figure- Dixie handouts about group, and assigned Carlena, y ,e f. k record * R was considered fan- business being “great” cannot be pr a tt, former Union Bank fi- management figured the researched, corroborated, pinned nancial analyst, to head it ^ mark would never be surpassed, down or related to comparative Purpose is to* analyze exhibl- They reckoned not, however, with data. The South’s “great” business tion and audience surveys bn the drawing power of. William is not a datum point but an adjec- Filmgroup product. Miss Pratt Holden and Nancy Kwan in Para- tive.. The story is all headline and will work distribution mount’s “The World of Suzie no text. y.p, skip Regan and exchange ^ on T ^>” which exploded into the This curious—because sp wide- operations director Margaret blockbuster category. Two weeks spread—regional refusal to spell Urevich. , a XOw theatre advertised a start- out its pride in success with the tag date (in newspaper space and rest of show business is nothing _ Xad io and television spots) for new. For going on 40 years tim IT « tO Disney’s “The Swiss Family m „ South has been the least-reported, II Q Tl/— |V| Robinson.” Twice they were forced TlX Tax Tally most secretive segment of the - ** ^ ^ * IlvIIa to draw down when “Suzie’s” pull Washington, Feb. 7. American film industry. . just v f ould not diminish'. U.S. Treasury anticipates Even in the “Northernized” city M/U*A At „ c J . u . sfc „ *5® , sar ? e ’ f Ra y Stark’s brisker b.o. trade next year. In of Miami the pattern remains. iflUl v VI DlHRlw Suzie will be leaving as of Fri- the outgoing Eisenhower Ad- Mitchell Wolfson’s Wometco cir- day (3) but not until she has racked ministration’s budget, admis- cult, a publicly-held company, re- Having completed the program S P * new record * 37 days the sion tax receipts for the fiscal leases the corporate facts as. re- 0 f pictures‘for 1961 release, con- *° X " year beginning next July 1 are quired by law but is mute on how sisting of 10 xtudio-made or fi- For reasons, which have never estimated at $38,000,000 —* an individual houses fare. Wometco nanqe( i pictures and 14 pictures ac- been cIear to Variety Atlanta increase of $2,000,000 over the feared spotlighting poor profit sit- quired from outside sources. Uni- showmen, like those in New Or- current year. uations might draw construction, of yersal has started the production le ans, Dallas and other Dixie Actual take from the levy rival theatres nearby. Florida State 0 f entries for the 1962-63 releasing metropoli will never spell out their ^hiring fiscal 1960 was* $34,- Chain, the rivals, take similar clam- year which starts next Nov. 1. success stories. They distinguish 494,000. like pose. ^ ^ Prexy Milton R. Rackmil told between degrees of prosperity only Of course it must be acknowl- a sales executive conclave in N.Y. ta their adjectives: Translate ni T . # edged that among the non-commu- -this week that the company has "great” to mean "okay” and the xlrAlirno K AimAfltlh 1 nieators in the South are theatres currently in production five pic- scaIe of values falls into focus. In ftJ&UlUdS IVrVIHI IinV controlled in Manhattan. Nor is it tures slated for 1962-63. He In- the case of “The World of Suzie r 3 likely that any theatre Is built, or dicated that the company will be Wong,” the film version came into __ ^ A not built, on a basis of published releasing a greater percentage of town on tail of the legit version, K I \liATir A Kama figures. Interstate’s Raymond P. potentially big boxoffice produc- which had four near-capacity JV.li. IJIIUW"A" AdUld wmie when asked by Dallas cor- tion than during 1960. He said that houses at $5 at the 2,000-seat ■ respondent Bill Barker if its poll- u win have at least 10 big pictures Tower. That made the burg TCanca* ntv v-h n cy was a directive from AB-PT in in production during the 1961 cal- peculiarly “Suzle”-conscious. q Dvrn , qknnJL thA 9 nth kv N * Y - said this was “partly” trlie. endar year. The program, he said, Meither Interstate nor Trans-Texa, would luyolve “the greatest pro- For reasons, which have never out the exact details of TOA’s pro- chief.' is slated for the keynote ad- ever reveal 'Veekfy attendance ZSn If I U 1 A j. n _i u avo _ -oni ®nri nicn Skouras will set the tefilpo for The situation is prettily summed up and the impressive boxoffice c ,, fnr fhi fntrnrifmtion a registration expected to top the up by Variety’s stringer in Nash- names that willappear ln the U C u S !^J h ^™ ual International for theintroduction olasystem of 500 mark with exhibs and Indus-' ville. Red 0’Donnelir“Have been offeSigs. Martin Specially Short Film Festival will be at Ober- (Continued on page 66) tryites coming in from upwards of told by owners and operators that stressed the lineuD scheduled for ^ , .^ est Germany, thii week 30 states. Last year’s registration they do not object to furnishing release during the second half of t D, J: , u* , ^ ^ ri. 1 * I n • , n J T topped 500 for an all-time high academic reports—viz, good, fair, 1961. Ju f 5r by John Grier- £tflIC8l 1 OintS i 0S6u In despite one of the season’s worst poor, etc., but otherwise compare -- ! on “ on J Hjitain and Robert Favre _ 9 i _ !^*^ ri ?15 overin? most of th * themselves to merchants who do PHILLIPS WITH TAPLINGER Membe?s inchide Tn* MeS Ethical Points Posed In I des sno ‘Circle of Deception’ As Decency Legion Bother exchange area. not pubticlze their grosses or Franklvn PMUios'’’has' io’ined A inciu ^r an J American More than 70 displays already profits.” Robert 5. Taplinger Associates as V f 0g ? 1 ;h dI ??c°«i Of e set for the spacious fourth Charles R. Sanders Jr. reports head of tht public relations firm’s 16 * lar Sest of the U.S. film .* j_ _ __r.ii.mkt. e n ^ . ... . . ..... SUUicllca. anmn/i floor trade. show, according to from Columbia, S.C., that theatre Coast office in Beverly Hills. Legion of Decency, Roman W. W. Barritt, Wichita, UTO presl- operators In that area “intend to Phillips is a vet in the Industrial Catholic reviewing group, has dent. He said co-chairmen of the stick to their silent policy.” He promotion field and at one time given a “separate classification” to (Continued on page 64) (Continued on page 66) was a publicist at Warners. 20th-Fox s upcoming “Circle of —---:- Deception,” World War II espion- . _ _ _ _ , _ _ ^ , , EHasSSS Presidents of Allied, TOA Meet Feb. 16 and Merger Theme Perks “morally offensive in themselves, ' ^ _ _ require some analysis and explana- a scheduled Feb. 16 luncheon i Leaders of hoth TOA and Allied I bility of joining TOA. The Alliance nA inn nmimnian tu tion as a protection to the un- meeting ln New Y ork between have long advocated the establish- circuit has enrolled its theatres in dUAKD LONrlRMS ALL informed aeamst wrong internre- ««« toa it ifa w iiJJU societies. Others judging: Bert Haanstra (Director from Holland); Jargen Roos (Director, Denmark); Lindsay Anderson (Di¬ rector, Britain); Eduard Hofmaa (Director, Czechoslovakia); P. M. Atamanow (Director of Cartoon Films, USSR); Prof. Jerczy Toep- litz (President of the International Federation of Film Archives and Director of the Polish Film Academy). informed against wrong interpre ... TT „ .. . ___ tattons and false conclusions.” Marshall H Fine the new presl- grQup but certain mem bers of Al- bership in the Indiana Allied unit. WARNFRS’ FfHFf ON Decency group says the film dent of Allied States Assn., and ij ed invariably feared that they Due* Delinquents nnililUViJ DuifijcItUls poses multiple problems about war- Albert M. Pickus, president of The- would be swallowed up in TOA mn« ahim Uon 0 vn*rian« ^ ack Warner, president, and time morality “such as the de- atre Owners of America, is certain and that their needs differed from ^ t ch times ln^iudfne delin- a11 other t offic ers of Warner Bros., ception of the innocent, the recom- t touch off new speculation of those of the lar g° chains which aU ences in dues navmente TOA wer ®. reelected by the board at a mendation of lethal pills, the use ofTmSww^n they consider to dominate TOA. ast week. _ __ . Marshall H. Fine, the new presi- *---,— - - . , .... , , , . 5‘wuHi vcimiu. mcmucia wi Decency group says the film dent of Allied States Assn., and ii e d Invariably feared that they poses multiple problems about war- Albert M. Pickus, president of The- would be swallowed up in TOA ment of one national exhibitor TOA, although it retained its mem- group, but certain members of Al- bership in the Indiana Allied unit. Due* Delinquents utetiaaiiun ui leuiai pms. uie use *k Q luusiuci iu uuuuuaie iua. r.__ i*. ncc*.. of sex as a weapon etc.,” and the possibih y of a merger between Ho ' ever _ T0A has gone to great SlatealsoincludesBenKalmen- though it doesn't attempt to JustI* the two exhibitor organizations. pains to stress that 60% o( lts * ^ e “t deal dmring the li“t year. son. exec v.p.; Herman Starr, Wolfo fy “such immorality,” poses issues While the two organizations membership consists of individuals iiltfl ^ SSiihfS Cohen * steve Trilling. Edmond L. with required “maturity of Judg- have worked together on occasion who own and operate single thea- the mpgani zation’wili rontinu® «n DePatie » William T. Orr and James $30,000 LOAN SETTLED FOR $500 BY GARLAND Los Angeles, Feb. 7. Warner Bros.’ $30,000 suit against with required “maturity of Judg- have worked together on occasion who own and operate single thea- m-will Ztinm,! DePatie, William T. Orr and James ment.” in the past on certain projects, the tres. th^TOA^anner^It’sconsid- ?’ ConkIi " g * V K S; Herbert Fr ? 3 ’ . chances of an amalgamation were One of the leading TOA pro- ered more likely that a nfew na- treasurer- 6 ^a]tpr hnf^r^onnl HAA T A AW CCTTT rn always summarily.ruled out, espe- ponents of a single exhibitor or- tional organization, perhaps uttliz- tr 0 ll er and assistant treasurer* rAn wHXtL cia1 ^ “bring the period when board Edward'ude?, hea"' ofindf Sme of "mbrrfla American Harland E. Holman, assistant trea s : FOR S500 BY GARLAND chairmaI1 and e eneral counsel pendent Exhibitors of New Eng- Congress of Exhibitors, wiU ^"? g * r ^ d J^ w *|S rim <p juu bi ufinuuu/ Abram F Myere> now retlredi dom . , landj a former Unit . has a i so emerge f Warner b 5 ^nnn^ntt^e.lnct lnated th » aHalrs » f Allied. With Pushed the Idea recently. Fine, who has Indicated that tie Freston & Fllts - gen ~ raL cou nsel. Judv Garland and Sid Luft over a My er * off the scene, the oppor- The present dissension in Allied, Is not dead set against the idea /"* a fk 0 U c loom Bhton t.mttv fnr a m or dor or +ho form* whIch saw Indiana Allied resign of one exhibitor trade association ^atnollC Snowmen s Mas* i on? P if npv?nvM-al?^1**' from the nati °nal organiation, With if it will benefit theatreowners, in- San Francisco. Feb. 7. htr f other units expected to follow suit, itiated the' meeting with Pickus. Catholic Entertainment Guild of court by Jack L. Warner for $500. hibitor ^organization, has bright- Is b e ij eved to be providing the in- “Perhaps through our conversa- Northern California will hold its WB prexy claimed he lent coin enea consiaeraoiy. centive for the merger talks. The tion,” he wrote the TOA chief, eighth annual Holy Commurrau to the Lufts so they could vacation TOA Is making effort to down- n. E. unit pulled out of Allied last “might even develop a possibility Mass at St. Patrick’s Church, Feb. in Europe and publicize actress’ beat the merger possibilities, year in a fight that saw it in oppo- whereby some of our present dup- 19. with Monsignor Vincent F. Mc- starrer, “A Star Is Bom.” Miss Pickus said the labelling of the sition to the Indiana group. The lications of efforts might be avoid- Carthy, chaplain of the Frisco Va- Garland and her husband asserted meeting as a summit conference New Englanders have delayed com- ed, now or at some future date, ef- riety Club, celebrant of the mass, they had expected to return money “is unfortunate,” since It only rep- ing back although the present re- fecting a mutual savings for us! Post-communion breakfast will from picture profits, but there resents “an informal, get-acquaint- gime Is one that it favors. The Hoo- both, again to the advantage of i be held at Sheratou-Palace’s Com- weren’t any. ed .social meeting,” siers have been weighing the possi- the theatreowners everywhere.” Utock Room,