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DOTH the wind blow in Hollywood?
With heartier optimism than
in many a year.
If you feel the pulse of the industry at
all, you know that it Is in an upswing.
More and better pictures are being made.
More and better theatres are being built
thi-oughout the nation.
We refuse to believe that the men who
compose the heart and soul of this industry,
from the executive in New York who okays
heretofore implausible deals for stars and
budgets to the exhibitor who owns a theatre
in Deep Sleep, Wyo., (Pop. practically
nothing), are so obtuse as to make additional
substantial investments in what they
have to offer without knowing in advance
that there is an increasing interest on the
part of the general public in going to the
movies.
TV has had it.
Pay TV is going to have it worse, except
for certain special events,
already had it.
as it has
We don't wish to set ourselves up as
investment counselors, but our offhand
advice to anyone who has any holdings in
a pay TV firm is that they should convert
them at once into an interest in a corner
hot dog stand,
There are many reasons, aside from the
inutterable boredom of most TV presentations,
why the general public is showing a
rising interest in getting up off their big
fat couches and going to a picture show
at some theatre in the area instead of trying
to wrest some entertainment from the
flickering glass eye in the living room corner.
The main reason, however, is
better pictures.
Not only are the majors rising, with a
delayed emergence, from an emergency
that all but flattened the industry, but
enterprising others have come along to
demonstrate that you don't have to own a
studio or, initially, even be part of one, in
order to bring customers to the boxoffice.
Two that readily come to mind are
Joseph E. Levine and Samuel Bronston.
These two gentlemen are today among the
titans who emerged from semi-obscurity to
help usher in a new era and show the way,
by sheer courage and conviction, plus an
extraordinary aptitude and judgment in
matters of promotion and financing, to a
number of well-endowed followers.
We are not speaking only of companies
like the Mirisch Bros., who, in association
with United Artists, have been doing an
admirable job of providing tasteful and imaginative
pictures of universal and enduring
appeal. United Artists, in itself, has
shown excellent judgment in its choice of
production associates, and its brand on a
pictui-e today has more meaning and acceptance
than it ever had.
The efforts of companies like these, at
one time viewed with considerable skepticism,
has encouraged a mushrooming of
independent producing-releasing compan-
W-2
ies. all manned by experts of extensive experience.
These include American International
Pictures, Pi'oducers International Picture.s,
Parade Releasing Organization, Parallel
Films, Four Crown, Joe Levine's Embassy
Pictures, Filmgroup, Three Task Productions,
to name a few of the more prominent
ones. All have shown enough confidence
to project more importantly budgeted
releases in addition to the exploitable and
all-essential programmers which exhibitors
cry for.
What the vai-ious stars ventui'ing into
independent production will do remains to
be seen. What they have done so far, aside
from their acting, is not much to applaud,
except in a few isolated instances.
In short, the newbloods are giving the
bluebloods, or the New York-Hollywood
hierarchy enthroned in their ivory towers,
a pretty good shaking up. They are also
giving them a run for their money.
The U. S. Dept. of Commerce, usually
concerned with figures which do not involve
bust measm-ements, concurs with the
general optimism in a widely circulated report
that picture theatre attendance is on
the rise.
These are all very healthy signs.
V ^ J?
MGM is setting great store by "The Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse." According to
the company's declaration, it is exploring
"new media" for publicity and advertising
in association with Fred Stein Enterprises.
It is suggested that it not overlook the
standard media which acquaints the public
with the fact that the picture is in existence
and available to be seen. Have you
noticed how little motion picture advertising
is now taken in the national magazines.,
the circulation of which mounts into millions?
This was a strong support which was
once given to pictures by the producing and
releasing companies and should not be disregarded,
particularly for pictures of the
calibre of "Four Horsemen."
^ J?-
A friend of ours reports from London on
Bing Crosby and Bob Hope sharing a house
30 miles from the metropolis while making
"Road to Hong Kong."
Hope on the subject of the experience:
"I was a bit embarrassed that I might
have to see all of Crosby's dainty things
hanging on the line. But it wasn't so bad.
All that green edging turned out be money
that had slipped."
On the picture, which has a setting partly
Oriental and partly in outer space:
"I think they found the plot in a fortune
cookie."
Bob himself sent us a postcard which
read: "With all these geniuses inventing
rocket ships that can go to the moon, why
can't somebody Invent a ballpoint pen that
starts to write when I do?"
^
Names of 17 Founders
Added to Museum Roll
HOLLYWOOD—Seventeen names have
been added to the growing founder member
ranks of the Hollywood Museum Associates.
New members from film, television, radio,
recording and general business fields
are Eddie Alperson, James T. Aubrey, Sidney
P. Brody, Victor Carter, Robert Cobb,
Guy Delia Cioppa, Don Fedderson, Bobby
Heifer, Stanley Kramer, Francis Lederer,
Jerry Lewis, Bart Lytton, Joel McCrea, Abe
Meyer, William T. Paley, Dr. Pi'ank Stanton
and King Vidor.
The name of each founding member will
b; inscribed on a Wall of Honor in the rotunda
of the mus;um at the time of ItJS
dedication. Construction on the museum
on Highland avenue across from the Hollywood
Bowl is expected to begin late this
year.
Shavelson-Rose Team
Split; Keep Same Terms
HOLLYWOOD—Jack Rose and Melville
Shavelson, who recently concluded their
14-year partnership at Paramount but remained
at the studio as individuals, revealed
that they each have the same pact
with the studio as they had as a team.
Each has multiple-picture arrangements
calling for 33 per cent of the films they
addition to salai-y-
make in
Writer-producer Rose is cun-ently lensing
"Who's Got the Action?" based on his
own original story. Budgeted at $2,000,000,
the featm-e topllnes Lana Tui-ner and Dean
Mai-tin.
Rose's next pix)jects are "Pm-pose
Pleasure" and "Every Wednesday Night,"
both original comedies.
Plautus' First Effort
To Be The Deaf Heart'
HOLLYWOOD—The Initial project of
Plautus Productions, headed by producer
Herbert Brodkin, will be "The Deaf Heart,"
with United Artists financing and releasing.
The property will be screenplayed by
John Vlahos, and Piper Laurie has been
signed to star In the drama which was
originally presented on television's Studio
One series of plays.
Ed Hyman at Studio
HOLLYWOOD—Edward L. Hyman, vicepresident
of American Broadcasting-Paramount
Theatres, arrived from New York
with his assistant Bernard Levy for thenannual
check on pictm-es in production and
slated for release during 1962 by various
studios.
The executives will make a ten-day tour
of major and independent studios to view
product and to obtain information on
orderly distribution.
Eddie Albert Is Emcee
HOLLYWOOD—Eddie Albert, currently
starring in "Who's Got the Action," with
Dean Martin and Lana Tm-ner, flew to
San Francisco to be master of ceremonies
at the convention of Pi-esldent Kennedy's
Food for Peace. Albert has long been a
prominent worker for Meals for Millions,
a program which supplies food to underfed
areas.
BOXOFFICE Febi-uary 5, 1962
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