Boxoffice-October.01.1955

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Denver Is Hoping to Make
Festival Annual Affair
DENVER^A fabulous "first" in international
publx relations for theatres was scored
here in the Festival of Italy which turned the
town upside down for a week and reverberated
over several countries. The promoters
envision this as the beginning of an annual
international festival, similar to the Edinborough
Festival in Scotland, bringing tourists
from every corner of the earth to see
the creme de la creme of the creative arts
and the industrial products of all countries.
The comprehensive program included the
appearance of film stars flown from Rome,
two world and four American premieres of
new Italian films, retrospective showings of
"Fifty Years of Italian Cinema." a spectacular
two-n:ght International Symphony fashion
exposition for the benefit of the Denver
Symphony, and an Italian fair featuring
Italian products at the Daniels & Fisher department
store. The affair was sponsored
by the Italian ambassador, the state of Colorado
and the city of Denver, and aroused cooperative
interest all the way up to the State
Department and received floods of publicity
in many mediums.
The idea of the festival started, quietly
enough, with a visit by the Italian consul at
Denver, Dr. Giulio Bilancioni, to Joseph
Ross, dynamic new president of Daniels &
Fisher, a store recently purchased by William
Zeckendorf for Webb & Knapp. Dr.
Bilancioni broached the idea of an Italian
fair at Daniels & Fisher, with official Italy
helping to clear the way for the imports.
The idea fired Ro.ss' imagmation. He
conferred with Frank H. Ricketson jr.. president
of Fox Intermountain Theatres, and
Robert W. Selig, FIM division manager.
OnlfourScretii
ORDER 'eetteamoTion
PICTURE
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SAN FRANCISCO 2, CAIIF
P^RALD L.KARSKI
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.JHEATRE
BUY
I Absentee owner says $10,000
year net from 650 scofs, only
theatre in large payroll town.
Out of TV area. Others, write for list.
THEATRE EXCHANGE COMPANY
5724 S.E. Monrot St.
Portland 22. Orejon
260 KHrny Street
in Francisco 8. Ca!
Helen Black, manager of the Denver Symphony
orchestra and former advertising
manager for Daniels & Fisher, suggested the
fashion exposition as a benefit for the orchestra.
Motion picture stars were needed
to give the project the needed publicity
angle.
DIRECTED BY PAUL ANGLIM
Fox Intermountain assigned Paul G. Anglim.
in charge of special films, to the job of
festival director. He began with a search for
the best available pictures for world and
America premieres and started negotiations
with IFE Releasing Corp. for the Italian
stars. He also went to work on official proclamations
by Gov. Ed C. Johnson and Mayor
Will P. Nicholson. The Italian ambassador.
Manlio Brosio. and his staff cleared the way
of a multitude of difficulties.
In addition to Ambassador Brosio. distinguished
visitors included Silvana Pampanini
and Irene Genna. Italian film stars; two
members of the Italian parliament and several
members of the Naples city council. Italian
trade commissioners and consuls from several
American cities, the Countess Simonetta
Visconti Fabiani of the Italian haute couture,
who showed her collection at the fashion
exposition, and numerous members of the
Italian nobility and the international set.
The film phase of the festival was launched
with the premiere of "Madame Butterfly."
Italo-Japanese production of Puccini's opera,
at the Denver Theatre, following a dinner
given at the Denver Art Museum by Mayor
Nicholson for the ambassador and the stars.
The theatre was jammed, and thousands were
turned away.
AWARD TO MRS. GEORGE SKOURAS
At the Grand Awards ceremony which preceded
"Butterfly," the state of Colorado presented
Golden Aspen Leaf awards to Ellsworth
Bunker, president of the American
Red Cross, president of the American Italy
Society, and former ambassador to Italy; to
Mrs. George P. Skouras for her philanthropies
to the Boys Towns of Italy, and to the Italian
film industry for its postwar recovery and
the general high standard of recent Italian
films.
The Denver Post-National Film Critics
Award went to the best Italian film of 1954
and up to September 1. "Romeo and Juliet."
selected by 60 critics of wire services, magazines
and newspapers.
The brilliant first premiere was followed
up the next night with the premiere at the
Aladdin of "The K-2 Victory." Later in the
week, the Rocky Mountain News made a
special award for this film to the Alpine
Club of Milan.
Four premieres followed at the Esquire
"Llna. Too Bad She's Bad." with Sophia
Loren and Vittorio de SIca: "Bread, Love
and Jealousy" (Frisky), with Gina Lollobrigida
and de Sica; "Maddalena." with
Marta Toren. and "Green Magic," the Brazilian
Jungle documentary produced by Count
Leonard Bonzi.
Retrospective programs, changed daily at
the Bluebird Theatre covered Italian filmmaking
from the first newsreel of 1908 to "The
Bicycle Thief," and included one program,
"The Great Actresses," that starred Lyda
Borelli. Eleanore Duse. Lollobrigida and Anna
Magnani.
The festival was front-paged and given column
after column of space every day in Denver
daily newspapers. Wire services and
Fox Movietone News covered all major events.
The U. S. Information Agency and the Voice
of America recorded radio programs, shot
newsreels and filmed TV shows for 31 countries.
The whole project was underwTitten by
Fox. Daniels & Fisher, the Italian diplomatic
service, IFE, and hundreds of official and
commercial participants In the festival. The
theatres and the store did not expect to make
any profit from their part in the big venture,
except public-relationswise and for the future.
SE ATT LE
Tack J. Engerman of Northwest Releasing
Corp. returned from a two-week trip covering
the Idaho and Washington territory,
including Spokane and the Yakima Valley.
Zollie Volchok is now in southern Oregon .
The Rex Theatre at Newport, operated by
Snyder and Adams, has reverted to its former
owner Charles Bishop, who has closed
the house for the time being . Rose
Theatre at Colfax, formerly owned by F. C.
WeskU and sons, ha.s been sold to Vince Paskan.
Now Weskil operates at only Pullman
and Sand Point.
Bill Stahl, National Theatre Supply salesman,
attended the Independent Theatre
Owners convention at the Florence Hotel in
Missoula, Mont. . recommendation
of the Seattle censor board, no one under 21
years of age will be admitted to "I Am a
Camera," which opened at the Paramount
following the fifth week of "To Catch a
Thief."
"Borscht Capades of 1955" were presented at
the Palomar for a single performance October
1 . . . Sherman Beidler, operator of the
Grand, Elma, was on the Row . Griffith
and Ed Walyer of the Selah, Selah. were
also visitors . Bonholzer was in from
Ephrata. Howard McGhee from Walla Walla
and Joe Rosenfield was over from Spokane
.... Glen Haviland. 20th-Fox salesman, is
convalescing a little longer before returning
to fuUtime work.
Shirley Davidson, secretary at Columbia, was
to be married to Dale Hallgren October 2 . . .
Wedding bells will ring too. for Lois Tonchock,
cashier at Northwest Releasing Corp.
who will become Mrs. Harvey Roeder on
October 15. She will be replaced by Louise il
Welle . Carey. 20th-Fox cashier,
returned from a California vacation . . . Peter
Barnes was on the Row from Okanogan
and Oroville.
The Lido Theatre, Mount Vernon, owned
by R. A. Gardiner, has just installed new
Walker screen and ultra Panatar lenses for
widescreen presentations. Equipment was
supplied by National Theatre Supply.
Robert Boyle Is Speaker
HOLLYWOOD— Robert Boyle. Universal
art director, discussed his craft's Influcnci
on home fashion trends when he spoke a
a National Home Fashion League luncheon
60
BOXOFFICE
:: October 1, 195