Boxoffice-December.20.1952

,
general counsel, will discuss the latest developments
on arbitration at the annual conven-
tion of Allied Theatre Owners of the Gulf
States to be held January 12-13 at the Jung
j
RKO Speeds Releases;
23 in First 6 Months
NEW YORK—RKO has scheduled 23 pictures
for release beginning this month and
through to mid-June 1953. Charles Boasberg,
general sales manager, said Tuesday il6).
Seven are in Technicolor.
Set for December are "Captive Women,"
with Robert Clarke and Margaret Field; the
rerelease of "The Bachelor and the Bobby
Soxer" and "Bachelor Mother," "Blackbeard
the Pirate" in Technicolor, starring Robert
Newton, Linda Darnell, William Bendix and
Keith Andes, and prerelease of "Hans Christian
Andersen" in Technicolor, starring Danny
Kaye, Farley Granger and Jeanmaire.
The January list comprises "Androcles and
the Lion," starring Jean Simmons, Victor Mature,
Robert Newton, Maurice Evans and Alan
Young; "Never Wave at a WAC," with Rosalind
Russell, Paul Douglas and Marie Wilson,
and "No Time for Flowers," starring Viveca
Lindfors and Paul Christian.
February will see prerelease of "Peter Pan,"
Disney all-cartoon Technicolor feature;
"Angel Face," starring Miss Simmons and
Robert Mitchum, and "Sword of Venus," with
Robert Clark and Catherine McLeod.
March pictures will be "The Persuaders,"
starring Edmund O'Brien and William Talman;
"Night Without Stars," with David
Farrar and Nadia Gray, and the rerelease of
"Fort Apache" and "Blood on the Moon."
April pictures will be "Beautiful But Dangerous,"
starring Miss Simmons and Mitchum;
"The Sea Around Us," Technicolor documentary,
and "Port Sinister," with James
Warren and Lynne Roberts.
May pictures will be "Sea Devils" in Technicolor,
starring Yvonne DeCarlo and Rock
Hudson; "Mickey Mouse Birthday Party" in
Technicolor, special feature composed of six
Mickey Mouse shorts, and "Below the Sahara"
in Technicolor, a Pathe-Denis film.
June pictures will be "Break-Up." starring
Miss Simmons and Mature, and "Split Second,"
starring Stephen McNally, Jan Sterling,
Andes, Alexis Smith and Arthur Hunnicutt.
RKO Planning Early Start
For Five New Pictures
NEW YORK— Early start of five pictures
planned by RKO Radio, according to com-
is
pany announcement, and Charles Boasberg,
general sales manager, has gone to the coast
to confer with Howard Hughes.
The pictures are:
"Gambler Moon," to be produced by Edmund
Grainger with Robert Mitchum
starred. Work will start as soon as Mitchurn
finishes in "The White Witch Doctor" for
20th Century-Fox.
"High Frontier," air story to be produced
by Robert Sparks from an original by Beirne
Lay Jr,
"Size 12," Technicolor film based on an
original story by Jerome Weldman, with Harriet
Parsons as producer.
"Second Chance," comedy romance with
South American background which Sam
Wle.senthal will produce from an original
story by Oscar Millard.
"The Return of Zorro," adventure story by
Walter Ferris and Prances Kavanaugh,
adapted by Laurence Hazzard.
24
Proposes Unique Split
Of RKO Pictures Co.
NEW YORK—Formation of two new RKO
companies out of RKO Pictures—one for production
and the other for distribution—has
been suggested by Milton M. Gettinger. lawyer
with numerous distribution and banking
connections in the industry.
As an outgrowth of the move Gettinger
would have the distribution company merge
with United Artists and he would transfer
the backlog to Realart for sale or reissues.
The studio would be leased for production
of independent pictures on a profit-sharing
basis.
There had been reports for more than two
weeks that G«ttinger had suggested suoh a
plan to various groups while the Stolkin
impasse was under discussion. The agreement
between Howard Hughes and Stolkin
for a resumption of control by Hughes is believed
to have out-dated the plan.
Robert S. Benjamin, chairman of the
United Artists board, commented; "No one at
United Artists is now negotiating, nor has
anyone in the past negotiated any deal with
or for an RKO merger or otherwise, nor has
anyone been authorized on United Artists'
behalf to do so."
Gettinger's proposal in connection with
United Artists was that UA continue in existence,
but transfer its distribution contracts
to the new RKO company in return for a
block of stock.
Under the terms of the Gettinger plan,
holders of the 3,914,914 shares of RKO Pictures
stock now outstanding would receive
one share in each of the new companies for
Tlie authorized shares of RKO
their holdings.
Pictures are 4,000,000. Gettinger estimated
that at the end of 18 months bank loans could
be reduced and $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 of
working capital could be made available to
stockholders.
Hollywood Film Producers
Asked to Pay More Tax
LOS ANGELES—As a means of
increasing
municipal revenues, the Los Angeles city
council has approved a proposal by its
revenue-taxation committee to boost taxes
levied on motion picture producers, based on
gross production costs. The proposal has been
referred to the city attorney, who will draft
an ordinance covering the increa.ses and submit
it to the city council for passage.
Pees now range from $50, based on filmmaking
costs of less than $25,000, to $700
for pictures costing $500,000 or more. The
maximum, under the suggested ordinance,
would be upped to $1,500.
Apparently permanently sidetracked, however,
because of determined industry opposition,
was an additional proposed tax covering
the rental of production facilities and the
loanout of talent from one studio to another.
Says Film
Fund Needed
For Public Relations
NEW YORK—This industry should
have a public relations fund and it should
produce a picture telling the story of the
industry, said Maurice Bergman, public
relations director for Universal International,
in an address before the Ass'n of
Motion Picture Advertisers Thursday (18.i.
Lack of such a fund is one of the most
conspicuous deficiencies in the industry's
public relations effort, he said.
"It is a strange omission to think that
we do not even use our screens in the
20,000 theatres in the country to counterattack
and to educate the people on our
many commendable attributes," he said.
"It seems that we only use the screen for
propaganda when we are faced with an
emergency, or to assist other causes than
our own."
Abram Myers Will Discuss
Arbitration at N. O. Meet
NEW ORLEANS—Abram F. Myers, Allied
hotel.
Col. H. A. Cole will report on the progress
of the admission tax campaign. Jack Kirsch
will sketch what happened at the November
17-19 national convention in Chicago, and
Max E. Youngstein, United Artists vice-president,
will talk on distribution and advertising
problems.
Wilbur Snaper, national president, also is
expected to .address the convention, according
to Abe Berenson, Gulf States president.
Mankiewicz Now Staging
'La Boheme' for 'Met'
NEW YORK—Joseph L. Mankiewicz, motion
picture director, is now trying his hand
at staging an opera. He is at work on two
versions of "La Boheme," one in the original
Italian and the other in English written by
The first
Howard Dietz, MGM vice-president.
performance will be December 27. After it he
will go to Hollywood to resume motion picture
direction. He plans to retiu'n in May to prepare
to stage another opera for the Metropolitan
Opera House.
The two versions of "La Boheme" will be
performed alternately. Mankiewicz has different
casts for each. He plans less "frantic
stage movement" which he said often was
meaningless and distracted attention from the
music, and changes in the usual type of
backgrounds to conform to the story. He is
the first motion picture director to stage
an opera.
Noel Meadow to Reissue
1932 German-Made Film
NEW YORK—"Congress Dances." produced
by Erich Pommer in Germany in both English
and German language versions and released
in the U.S. by United Artists in 1932.
has been acquired for reissue by Noel
Meadow.
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