Boxoffice-08.01.1960

. . Nearly
COMPO Sees Attacks
On Films Inspired
NEW YORK—The charge
that persons
or organizations "remote from the scene"
inspire many of the complaints against
motion pictures and picture advertising
was made by the Council of Motion Picture
Organizations in an advertisement in
the July 23 issue of Editor & Publisher.
"There are some people nothing will
please," COMPO stated. "But the complaints
are not nearly as numerous as one
would be led to believe by the noise they
create . all of them seem to have
one common characteristic—they speak
'for all decent-minded people.' "
COMPO suggested that newspapers receiving
complaints should consider the
probability that they have their source
"far away from the newspaper's community
in the home office of a national organization."
Fox Production Progress
Is Outlined by Einield
CHICAGO—Details of the 20th Century-
Fox $40,000,000 production schedule under
way around the world were brought to its
regional advertising and publicity managers
from 12 branches during the week by
Charles Einfeld, vice-president. It was the
first of a series of similar meetings on the
subject.
Between now and the end of the year,
20th-Fox will begin shooting a record
number of top-budget films in England,
Greece, Italy and France and will shoot
key scenes for several in parts of Africa.
Einfeld described complete launching
plans for the fourth-quarter releases.
Among those present were Manny Pearson
of Cleveland; Tom McGuire, Detroit:
J. E. 'Watson, Cincinnati and Indianapolis;
Sol Gordon, Chicago; Louis Orlove, Milwaukee;
Bob Favaro, Minneapolis, Des
Moines and Omaha; Chick Evens, Kansas
City; Jerry Berger, St. Louis; Prank Jenkins,
Denver; Helen G. Yorke, Salt Lake
City, and 'Warren Slee, Seattle and Portland.
Sol Lesser Is Reelected
Head of Film Museiun
HOLL"YWOOD—Producer-exhibitor Sol
Lesser was reelected chairman of the L. A.
County-Hollywood Motion Picture and
Television Museum Commission at the organization's
first annual meeting.
Edmond L. DePatie, vice-president of
Warner Bros. Pictures, was elected assistant
chairman.
Other members of the county commission
are; Harry Ackerma, John L. Dales,
Valentine Davies, A. E. England, George
J. Flaherty, John Guedel, Cm-tis Kenyon,
Mervyn LeRoy and Jack 'Wrather.
UA Sets Print Record
NEW YORK—United Artists set a company
record of 28,404 print shipments for
the two-week period designated United
Artists weeks, June 27 -July 11. according
to James R. Velde. vice-president in
charge of domestic sales.
BOXOFTICE August 1, 1960
Public Hearings Are Asked
Pay TV Forces to
Front
In 'Battle of Hartford
GAY EXCHANGE OF GIFTS —
When 20th Century-Fox executives
held a reception last weelt for the Russian
director and stars of "The Idiot,"
which the company is to distribute in
this country, it was an occasion for exchanging
gifts. In the above photo,
Spyros P. Sliouras, 20th-Fox president,
is wearing a gay Russian cap which
had been presented to hun by Ivan
Pyriev (left), director of the fUm.
Pyriev also presented some Russian
film memorabilia to Skouras. The picture,
which opened at the Normandie
Theatre in New Yorlt, is one of the
cultural exchange pictures negotiated
by Motion Picture Ass'n of America
and the Soviet film industry, with the
assistance of the State Department.
Allied Artists Earnings
For Quarter in a Rise
LOS ANGELES—Steve Broidy, president
of Allied Artists, at a meeting of the
board of directors July 22 reported that
preliminary figures for the quarter ended
July 2, 1960, indicate that operations for
the final quarter continue to show a profit.
Authorization was given by the directors
for the payment on September 15 of the
quarterly dividend of 13^4 cents per share
on the 5 '2 per cent cumulative preferred
stock of the company, the payment to be
made to stockholders of record September
2.
Six Are Elected to Board
Of Screen Actors Guild
HOLLYWOOD—Five actors and one actress—Jane
Powell—have been elected to
the board of directors of the Screen Actors
Guild to fill vacancies caused by resignations
due to absence from Hollywood
and other reasons. The actors are Warner
Anderson, John Doucette, Alan Hale, Ro?-
er Smith and Marshall Thompson. The
six will serve until the guild's annual election
next November.
NEW YORK—The battle over whether
the Federal Communications Commission
should grant a test period for pay television
in Hartford, Conn., has started, with
the proponents and the opponents firing
their first shots almost simultaneously.
Both sides have petitioned the FCC for
hearings on the issue.
The leadoff punch was thrown by Marcus
Cohn, attorney for the Joint Committee
Against Toll TV and the Connecticut
Committee Against Pay TV. Cohn, in his
letter to the FCC, asked for "full and
open" hearings before an examiner and
requested that proponents of the test, in
this case Hartford Phonevision Co., a subsidiary
of RKO-General, Inc., be permitted
to offer evidence and testimony. Hartford
Phonevision previously had asked the
FCC for permission to conduct a threeyear
experiment in Hartford.
In the wake of the Joint Committee's
petition to the FCC, attorneys for Hartford
Phonevision sent a letter to the FCC,
charging that the opponents were seeking
to prevent a test from being conducted.
The Washington law fiitn of Pierson, Ball
& Dowd, representing Hartford Phonevision,
told the FCC that Cohn's request
for a hearing before an examiner was unnecessary
because hearings had been held
on the subject over a range of eight years
by congressional committees and by the
FCC. It was further claimed that delays
in granting a permit would strengthen the
position of wire toll TV which is progressing
rapidly and does not need FCC approval.
It appears unlikely that the FCC will
consider the petitions until early fall inasmuch
as the Commission will be in recess
throughout the month of August. It
is reported that it will be late September
or early October before the FCC will act.
Charlton Heston Signs
For 'El Cid' Title Role
HOLLYWOOD — Charlton Heston
has
been signed by producer Samuel Bronston
to play the title role in his forthcoming
$6,000,000 production of "El Cid," the life
story of Spain's greatest Christian hero.
Anthony Mann will direct the picture
which will be lensed in Technicolor and
Super Technirama.
Julius Plaine, 94, Father
Of Mrs. Robbins, Dies
NEW YORK—Julius Plaine, 94. father
of Mrs. Herman Robbins and Mrs. M. L.
Kaufman, died Monday i25> at the Glen
Falls, N. Y., Hospital after a year of ill
health. He had shown a remarkable recovery
four years ago from two major operations.
Known as the "Governor" to
motion picture friends of Herman Robbins
and other National Screen personnel, he
was a familiar figure summers at the
Edge water Motel of the Robbins family.