Variety (February 1961)

60 HCTUKES Pfikucfi Wednesday, February 8, 1961 Legal Fees Darling As Loew-Laskey ; Gone Sour , Untangle 17 Theatres By GUY LIVINGSTON Boston, Feb. 7. The first break in the long legal deadlock between two Boston ex¬ hibitors, partners for 22 years, came when litigation in five the¬ atres was settled by agreement bound by a Federal Court decree. E. M. Lowe and Lawrence G. Laskey have been battling in the courts for more than a year and a half seeking an equitable division of 24 corporations, of which 17 are theatres. Litigation in five theatres w r as settled by agreements bound by the decree in the long, complicated battle between the two exhibitors. Still pending in the courts is the division of 12 more theatres. The consent decree w r as issued by Chief Judge Roszel Thomsen of the U.S. District Court in Mary¬ land, and came only a few r minutes before the Governor Ritchie Drive- in Theatre in Glen Burnie, Mary¬ land, was to be sold at auction Wednesday (25). Under the terms of the.^agree- ments, Loew will buy the stock of the Governor Ritchie Theatre from Laskey, who owns 37Vfe% of the stock. Also, Loew will buy the 12t£% of the stock owned by Louis W. Richmond, Boston exhibi¬ tor, owner of the Kenmore Theatre, art house; and George Rittenberg, an attorney, who owns 12^%. Loew owns 37^» % of the stock. . The other properties included in the agreement are: Milford Drive- in, Milford. Conn., in which Laskey and Rittenberg will purchase Loew’s and Richmond’s stock; Mt. Vernon Drive-in, Alexandria, Va., in which Laskey and Rittenberg will buy Loew’s and Richmond’s stock; Center and Stuart theatres, Boston, in which Loew will buy the stock owned by Laskey and Max Finn, former E. M. Loew general | manager, who is a stockholder with Laskey in several of the properties; property at 680 Washington St., Boston, in which Loew will buy Laskey and Finn’s stock.. 30 Days Leeway The consent decree binds all par¬ ties to carry out the agreements and the closing date for all these trasactions is 11 a.m„ 30 days from the signing of the agreement, which took plare Wed. (25) atres, with Loew owning the other 50%. Attorneys for Laskey, Finn and Rittenberg were Hale and Dorr of Boston, represented by David Bur- stein, James St. Clair and Jerome Fasher, and Theodore Sherbow of Baltimore. Lawyers for E. M. Loew w-ere Philip Fine of Boston and Edwin Ira Ulman and William Som¬ erville of Baltimore. Lawyers for Richmond were James Peacock of Baltimore and Peter Parker. Albany, Feb. 7. A potentially warm wind blew for the motion picture industry on Capitol Hill*the same day last week that a probable cold one hit the State Education Department’s Mo¬ tion Picture Division. The Executive Budget, submit¬ ted to the Legislature by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, eliminated the position of assistant director _ . ■ and three of the six reviewers in By Hollywood Product}*™^ the ttme time _ Senalor School Kids Luncheon Period Will Be Enlivened Milwaukee, Feb. 7. Milwaukee Public School Board last week voted down a resolution which would have curtailed the ex¬ hibition of “Hollywood-produced” films to students during their lunch hours, a practice followed in some of the local schools. Board director William E. Hintz asked for the ban, saying that some of the pix being shown were “stink¬ ers” which he would not want his own children to see. Principal who shows The Three Stooges is “tak¬ ing the easy way oqt,” he said, add¬ ing that schools should instruct, not entertain. Among the pix which he claimed had been shown at one school were “The Deadly Mantis” and “The Mole People.” School board’s appointment and instruction committee did not back Hintz. Harold S. Vincent, superin¬ tendent of Milwaukee schools also disagreed. CARNEGIE LEGIT HALL CONVERTING TO FILMS Currently being refurbished for a spring opening as a new Man¬ hattan firstrun art house is the Carnegie Hall Playhouse, a down¬ stairs site, facing Seventh Ave, re¬ cently home of a number of off- Broadway legit shows. Auditorium, in the Carnegie Hall'building, will be known as the Carnegie Hall Cinema. There is also the Little Carnegie on 57th St. . - . House will be operated by Rob- The court ordered that all ac- ; er t Ferman, Meyer Ackerman and counting problems and disputes arising out of the provisions of the attached agreements shall be re¬ ferred to the accounting firm of Haskins and Sells, and determina¬ tion and solutions from an account¬ ing standpoint, which determina¬ tion when filed with the court in proper form shall be binding upon all parlies hereto.” The consent decree, which winds up these corporations, reads Eve Schlosser, who for several years have been operating arties in The Bronx, Scarsdale, Syracuse and Irvington, N.Y. 15 Tepe’ Exploiteers Columbia has assigned 15 exploi¬ tation specialists to work on open¬ ings across the country of "Pepe,” according to ad-pub director Rob¬ in part: “The Court shall have full j ert S. Ferguson. Each field man, and complete power to enforce its ' under the supervision of exploita- decisions hereunder, including the ' tion manager Richard Kahn, w r ill power to issue declaratory judg¬ ments or decrees, decrees of sped- fic performance , decrees of injunc¬ tion, including mandatory injunc¬ tions, and further including the usual full contempt powers of the Court, in the absolute discretion of the Court, whether or not the nor¬ mal prerequisites for the exercise of said remedies, decrees, and poivers shall exist.’’ Scheduled for a court hearing In Boston today, Tuesday (31), is the matter of the Kingston. Mass. Drive-in Theatre, in which Loew owns 50% of the stock; Laskey 25%. and Finn, 25%. Unable io reach an agreement in the Wells Beach, Me. Casino Corp., in which Laskey and Loew' each own 50% of the stock, the property will be sold to the highest bidder Monday (6) in Portland, Me. Also pending in Maine courts is the division of the Augusta and Bangor Drive-in theatres, in which Loew owns 50% of the stock; Las¬ key 25%, and Finn, 25%. Addi¬ tional cases in litigation include the Thompson Square Theatre and Puritan Theatre, Boston 1 ; Hollis Theatre, Framingham, Mass.; Springfield Mass. Drive-in; Hart¬ ford. Conn. Drive-in, and Civic The¬ atre in Portsmouth, N. H. The decree marked the first breakthrough in the Loew-Laskey tangle to have the courts make an equitable division of the properties of all 17 theatres as the parties themselves are unable to agree. Laskey and Finn together own 50% of the stock in some the these the¬ cover several cities as the film bows. For example, the man who cov¬ ers the premiere in Los Angeles will be moved next to such other areas as San Diego and Phoenix. Infra-Lite Motion Picture' Pro¬ ductions Inc.-has been authorized to coduct business in Huntington, Suffolk County. Capital stock is 200 shares, no par value. Alan J. Sanders of Huntington Station, was filing attorney at Albany. Six Slate Film Reviewers Would Lose Positions If Rocky’s Budget Prevails John J. Marchl, Richmond County Republican, introduced a bill pro¬ viding for an increase in the rate for license fees on original films from $3 to $3.50 per thousand feet, but for a change in the charge for prints from $2 per thousand feet, to $3 for each “entire copy”—plus an additional $1 fee for each one thousand feet. There appeared to be some indi¬ rect connection between the ac¬ tions.. The Governor, In vetoing last year’s Marchi-Savaresg bill which called for a hike to $4 per thousand feet on original films, but a cut to $6.50 for each addi¬ tional entire copy, had, in effect, directed a “reexamination of the effect of the present fees on the distribution of motion pictures. Commenting that “It is recog¬ nized there should be a reexamina¬ tion,” the Chief Executive wrote that “The budget and workload of the Division of Motion Pictures should be carefully reviewed by the Commissioner of Education and the Director of the Budget prior to the preparation of the proposed 1961-62, with a view toward reduc¬ tion of administrative costs without adversely affecting the quality of the services performed by the Division of Motion Pictures.” The elimination of four positions at the heart of the MPD’s opera¬ tion—a step recommended bj* the Budget Division, after a “time and motion study”—was the result. The Education Department, which believes the 50% reduction in the reviewing staff and the lop¬ ping off of the assistant director, unwarranted and unwise, will seek to have the jobs reinstated in the supplemental budget. Director Louis Peace and three reviewers will be left—with in¬ spectors, projectionists and secre¬ tarial-clerical workers—if the Ex¬ ecutive Budget “holds.” Rockefeller vetoed the 1960 film license fees measure “because the revenues which* the State would receive under it would not even suffice to cover the administrative costs of the licensing function.” He did recommend that “The motion picture industry and the Budget Division should further study the factors underlying this bill, so that an agreed solution may be achieved for effectuation on April 1, 1961, the effective date of the bill now before me.” The new bill would take effect June 1, 1961. John, Frankenheimer to direct one of three Metro productions John Houseman is prepping. Smart Sell £ Complete Sell [DAVE LIPTON MARKET CREDO] Universal’s marketing approach was outlined to the company** sales executives last week at a N. Y. conclave by pub-ad v.p. David A. Lipton. He said the company’s effort to create public Interest tn its product was characterized by the “smart sell” combined with the the "complete sell.” He defined the “smart sell” as the careful y consideration of every possible selling avenue in a given motion picture, selecting what would appear the smartest aspect, be it “soft” or “hard” sell. ~ Elaborating on U’s use of the “complete sell,” the pub-ad exec said this phase started out with double-truck tradepaper ads an¬ nouncing the start of production of each important picture. He indicated that this not only’provided exhibitors with advance In¬ formation on forthcoming pix, but that it also conditioned the motion picture editors of newspapers nationally and those inter- 'ested in film news in all media. Editors made initially aware of upcoming important pix are believed by Lipton to be more recep¬ tive to use of the publicity and photographic material provided by the company during production and continuing until release. Another characteristic of U’s “complete sell,” Lipton indicated, _ Is the company’s practice of pre-selling through national adver¬ tising In newspapers, magazines, television and radio. U is one of the few companies that utilizes national magazines extensively for pre-selling purposes. Lipton stressed that during the next year U was among the top motion picture advertisers in national media. EnjoinedfromUse of ‘Exodus Tag, Hoffer Releases ‘Earth Cries Out’ Hyman, Levy Scanning Product in Hollywood Edward L. Hyman, V.p. of Amer¬ ican Broadcasting-Paramount The¬ atres, and his assistant, Bernard Levy, are due in Hollywood from New York today (Wed.) for a sur¬ vey of new production. This is an annual junket for Hy¬ man, who’s scheduled to visit all the studios, view completed pro¬ ductions and rushes of films in work and confer with production officials. Following this he’ll put together a “Report from Hollywood,” which will list, with his comments, forth¬ coming releases. Not Yet Rolling But ‘Nuremberg’ Trial Film Already Set in Berlin Stanley Kramer’s “Judgment at Nuremberg,” which deals with the German war crime trials, is already scheduled to open in West Berlin on Dec. 14 this year. The premiere date was set this week although the picture does not face the cam¬ eras until Feb. 22 in Hollywood. The West Berlin opening was heralded In a full-page ad in the N.Y. Times on Friday (3). It also appeared in yesterday’s (Tues.) in¬ ternational edition of the newspa¬ per. The picture has been booked into the Kongress Halle, home of the Berlin Festival, and is being hailed as the international pre¬ miere in “the tinder-box of Eu¬ rope.” The Times ad is headed “Der Tag” and features a large represen¬ tation of a Nazi swastika being smashed by a fist, which Kramer has chosen as the symbol for his film. The ad says that the partic¬ ipants in the West Berlin showing will be “the global press,” brought together-from the four corners of the earth in an unprecedented con¬ gress, to be eyewitnesses to a mo¬ tion picture that will profoundly affect the thoughts, the emotions, the lives of people everywhere.” Main Street Phobia On N. Y. Ads; Amateurs Alter Professional Copy Film advertising men, long weary j for more small space ads. the ad- of the constant complaints of ex- j men believe it’s about time that hibitors about the contents of the theatremen thought in bigger press books, blame the theatremen j terms and took large insertions in fnr misusing thpse nrnmntinnal i their newsoarners Perhans this these promotional j their newspapers. Perhaps this practice, said one ad chief, would convince theatregoers of the im¬ portance of pictures the exhibitors are trying to sell. The argument that the ads are geared for New York and not for Dallas, Omaha, and Kansas City is another illusion the admen are out to destroy. They contend that ad¬ vertising if it’s right, apneals to basic emotions and Instincts of all people, whether you’re trying to sell comedy or sex. They point out, for example, that all products —cigarets, autos, cereals, shoes. for misusing guides. The main exhibitor beef, accord¬ ing to one ad exec, is that the ads in the press, books are too large for small town newspaper inser¬ tions and that the ads have big- city appeal. Statements such as these rile the admen in N.Y. who feel that the ex¬ hibitors, who alter ads to their‘own taste, aren’t qualified to do so and, result, frequently destroy a j picture’s appeal. Rather than exhibitors clamoring etc.—employ the Same advertising across the country whether they use newspapers, magazines, radio or television. Local dealers, it’s stressed, never take it upon them¬ selves to alter the ads of the manu¬ facturers. A Ford ad in New York would be the same one inserted in Omaha. The emotions film adver¬ tising are designed to convey have the same basic appeals in Pans or Paducah and In New York or New London, say the admen. Perhaps, argue the admen, if ex¬ hibitors used large ads without changing the art work and the copy, they might discover that these ads aren’t so bad after all and that they are capable of bring¬ ing people into theatres. Although stymied in his efforts to present a 1948 Italian film, “The Earth Cries Out” under the title of “Exodus,” Bernie K. Hoffer, a new¬ comer to the film industry, is pro¬ ceeding with the reissue of his film under the original title. Ajay Film Distributors, headed by Arnold, Jacobs, is handling the distribution and has obtained an initial date— the Symphony Theatre on Upper Broadtfay in Manhattan. Hoffer’s film, known in Italian a* “II Grido della Terra,” deals with a similar theme as the Otto Pre¬ minger production which United Artists is releasing as a hardtlcket entry. It tells the story of the exodus of the Jews from Europe to Israel shortly after World War n and details the conflict between the Haganah and the Igrun. The film was originally shown in N.Y. in 1948 at the Ambassador Theatre, now a legit house. Hoffer’s attempt to offer “The Earth Cries Out” as “Exodus” was based on his contention that the film was made in Italy under that title although it was never released as “Exodus." He also argued that the company that produced the film was known as Exodus Production Co. UA, however, blocked Hoffer by obtaining a court injunction against the Issuance of his picture under the “Exodus” title. At present, Hoffer is being particularly careful about usirjg the word “exodus” in his advertising or in a special pro- log which he wrote for the film. In describing what his film is about, he talks about the “egress” of the Jews from Europe to Israel. Varied Guesses j Continued from page l leans toward properties or person¬ alities whose life stories are in public domain. “Baby Face Nelson,” which pro¬ ducer wrote from headlines; “Val¬ ley of the Dragons,” career of a comet from an idea by Jules Verne, and next pic after winding “Drag¬ ons,” Kiki Roberts yarn based on gangster moll, are typical of basic script cost between $5,700 to $6,- 000. Vital items like these fall into general pattern of cutting cor¬ ners. If scripts farmed out, Zim- balist tallies cost as prohibitive and beyond his ken. Getting back to “Baby Face,” do¬ mestic gross of $6,000,000 will net $2,000,000 for producer and other* allied with him. Pic is due for an¬ other $ 1 , 600,000 foreign net. Zimbaiist, naturally, doesn’t mentionT6 to 18 hours- per diem he puts^in on each pic, and fact he never -draws salary but waits for profits to Toll in before ordering a new T-bird. Peter Holm Move* San Francisco, Feb. 7. Peter Holm has been shifted from house manager of Fox West Coast’s 4,600-seat Fox here to man¬ ager of FW’s Lido, Los Angela* artie. Kenneth King moves into vacated spot Robert Apple remains managing director of the big theatre.