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Independent Exchanges
To Get Some RKO Films
NEW YORK—RKO has completed negotiations
with Budd Rogers for the U. S. distribution
of a number of RKO pictures
through independent releasing organizations.
These pictures were not included in the distribution
deal set by RKO with Universal-
International in January, according to Daniel
T. O'Shea, president of RKO Radio Pictures.
Negotiations were conducted by Edward L.
Walton. RKO vice-president, with Rogers,
formerly vice-president and general manager
of Realart Pictures, who will supervise the
operation in conjunction with Walter Branson.
RKO vice-president in charge of worldwide
sales, and Nat Levy and Herb Greenblatt,
RKO sales executives. Promotion of the
pictures also will be supervised by RKO
department heads. Al Stern, worldwide publicity
manager; Dave Cantor, exploitation
manager, and Ben Grimm, advertising manager.
All 32 of the major company exchange
areas will be covered by the distribution
deals and, in addition to the managers of
the releasing fu'ms, 94 salesmen will be involved
in the selling of the films. Many of
these independent companies have already
added former RKO employes to their staffs
to handle the product.
The distribution plan is expected to give
"new life" to the films. RKO said, by providing
a greater sell-off than could have been
anticipated through the normal distribution
channels of RKO's former setup. RKO also
feels that new sales organizations, picking
up the films, will offer a greater stimulant
to the sale of the pictures.
The independent releasing organizations
which will handle the RKO product in the
U. S. are, by territories:
Albany and Buffalo—George Waldman, Waldman
Enterprises, Buffalo; Atlanta and Jacksonville
Chorles Simpson and William Richardson, Capitol
Releasing Corp., Atlanta; Boston and New Haven
Joseph E. Levine, Embassy Pictures Corp., Boston;
Charlotte—^Robert F. Pinson, American-Astor Distributmg
Corp., Charlotte; Chicago Max Roth and
Charles Lindow, Linro, Inc., Chicago; Cincinnati and
Indianapolis—Mrs. Selam Blochsleger, Jay Goldberg
and Helen Bohn, Realart Pictures of Cincinnati;
Dallas and Oklahoma City— Fred A. Meyers, Tower
Pictures Co., Dallas; Denver and Salt Lake City
Hal C. Fuller, Dimension Pictures, Salt Lake City;
Des Moines and Omaha—William Feld, Realart Pictures
of Iowa and Nebraska, Des Moines; Detroit
Jack Zide, Allied Film Exchange, Detroit; Kansas
City—^Robert Herrell, United Film Exchange, Kansas
City; Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland—Newton
P. Jacobs, Favorite Films of California,
Los Angeles; Milwaukee—W. Benjamin,
Screen Guild Production of Wisconsin, Milwaukee;
Minneapolis—Donald Swartz, Independent Film Distributors,
Minneapolis; New Orleans—Milton Dureau,
Masterpiece Pictures, New Orleans; New York
Sherman Krellberg and Richard Perry, Principal Film
Exchange, New York City; Philadelphia and Washignton—Jock
Harris, Screen Guild Productions of
Philo., Philadelphia; Pittsburgh—Milton Brauman
and Bert Steorn, Pittsburgh; St. Louis—George Phillips
and Herman Gorelick, Realart Pictures of St.
Louis, and Cleveland— Irwin Pollard, Imperial Pictures,
Cleveland and Memphis, Fred A. Meyers, Colonial
Pictures of Tennessee, Memphis.
WB Promotes Egolf
NEW YORK—Hans J.
Egolf has been appointed
Warner Bros.' supervisor for Belgium,
Switzerland and Germany by Wolfe Cohen,
president of Warner International. Egolf will
make his headquarters in Zurich. He formerly
was manager of Belgium and supervisor of
Switzerland. Robert Gonze, office manager
in Belgium, has been promoted to succeed
Egolf as Belgian manager.
'Stage Struck' Receives
Special RKO Promotion
NEW YORK — RKO has employed Dick
Weaver, publicity man for stage shows and
special film deals, to promote "Stage Struck,"
starring Henry Fonda, Susan Strasberg and
Joan Greenwood. It is now being shot on
location and at the Production Center here.
Weaver and his staff of five have opened
the campaign. It will continue for 30 weeks
up to the time of release of the picture.
Weaver will be in full charge of all publicity
and exploitation, but will maintain
liaison with RKO publicity staffs here and
on the coast on all matters of company policy.
He said his campaign will have a fourfold
purpose. It will aim for public acceptance
of "Stage Struck" as a big picture, form
a "hard core" of filmgoers prepared to see
the picture prior to reviews, produce a "success
formula" involving distributors, exhibitors,
film salesmen and newspapermen, and
establish a "flagship" picture carrying the
RKO producing banner.
One hundred newspaper critics and amusement
editors in key cities will be invited to
watch production here. The first group arrived
Monday (11) from Boston. It included
Elinor Hughes of the Boston Herald, Alta
Maloney of the Boston Traveler, Peggy Doyle
of the Boston American and Marjorie Adams
of the Boston Globe. Telephone Interviews
from the set will be arranged for critics
who cannot make the trip.
Weaver will also contact 30,000 drama
groups in U. S. high schools, colleges and
community theatres. Letters from those making
the picture will be mailed them from
time to time. They will receive a special
thi'ee-scene script for their own use.
William Dozier, RKO vice-president in
charge of production, arranged the deal with
Weaver.
Fae Miske Buys Rights
To Burstyn Properties
NEW YORK—Fae R. Miske, associated
with Joseph Burstyn for many years, has
bought all the rights to the Burstyn properties
from his estate and will continue in business
under the name of Joseph Burstyn, Inc.
She has been operating head of the company
since Burstyn's death three years ago.
Miss Miske has taken over some 20 films,
including "Open City," "Bicycle Thief,"
"Paisan," "Miracle in Milan," "Justice Is
Done," "The Quiet One" and "Little Fugitive."
All are in active distribution. Her acquisitions
include theatrical, non-theatrical
and television rights. Some cover Canadian
as well as U. S. distribution rights and some
worldwide rights.
She also has several new films. One is the
Greek import, "Stella," starring Melina Mercouri,
which has been booked for exhibition
here. Another is "Portraits of Shame," a
Japanese trilogy featuring the Bungaku Za
Repertory Theatre, to be shown here in September.
RKO Starts Disposing
Exchange Properties
NEW YORK—RKO has just begun the job
of physical disposal of its exchanges. There
are leases to be taken care of and there is
office and projection room equipment to be
sold. The job is complicated for a number
of reasons. One is that this is the first
time in the history of the industry that a
30-city system of exchanges has gone into the
discard. RKO executives have no pattern
to follow.
Right now, office and projection room
equipment is being inventoried and a study
of leases has begun. One exception is New
York. Here Bonded Film Storage has solved
one problem by taking over the space and
equipment.
Firms in the business of purchasing office
equipment in the bulk have begun bidding or
sounding out RKO as to what it has to offer.
The company expects to receive queries from
other motion picture companies which are
talking expansion of field activities. Among
them are Allied Artists, Distributors Corp. of
America and the U. S. distribution unit of
J. Arthur Rank of Britain. In fact, RKO
believes that some guarded queries already
received have come from those sources.
Some key city setups are, of course, more
elaborate than others and may turn out to
pose special problems. Among the cities
having regular two-story exchange buildings
leased by RKO are Boston, Pittsburgh, Charlotte
and Atlanta. They were especially
built for the purposes they have been serving,
with large film vaults and loading platforms.
The disposition of leases will call for considerable
study. Where they are of short
duration—say, those expiring this year—they
may be allowed to run their course. Where
they have a longer time to go, RKO will try
to find good tenants to take over the leases.
The company is hopeful, too, that some landlords
will be glad to take back short-term
leases in the expectation of signing up longterm
renters.
One lease has five years to run, give or
take a month or two. That lease was signed
only two weeks before RKO decided to give
up distribution in the U. S. The indication,
of course, is that RKO's decision was a sudden
one.
What estimate does RKO put on its exchange
holdings? The executives won't
hazard a guess. They say they are "just
feeling our way at the moment." Later on
they'll have a pretty good idea.
"Oklahoma!" Regular Run
In London Opens March 11
NEW YORK—"Oklahoma!" will start a
regular run in London March 11 with extended
playing time in most of the theatres
booking it, according to Walter Branson, RKO
vice-president in charge of worldwide distribution.
Following a 20-week European engagement
in the West End—eight weeks at the Odeon,
Leicester Square, and 12 weeks at the Odeon,
Marble Arch— it has been playing at 21 key
provincial theatres, many of them using the
extended playing plan.
RKO exploiteers have been busy for 16
weeks backing up the provincial dates, placing
photos and serializations of the story in
newspapers and using television, radio, records
and sheet music to promote the music.
14 BOXOFFICE :: February 16. 1957