PG^

. . . "The
. . . Superb
. . "The
. . Dean
^ IB^COMMENT ^
M'O": (WB), January's Blue Ribbon Award
winner, again proved that John Wayne
has a big following among NSC members
(especially exhibitors). Runnerup honors
were evenly divided between "TTie Fantastic
Planet" (New World) and •'Three Sisters"
(AFT), with honorable mention going
to "Mr. Superinvisible" (K-Tel Int'I).
The month's balloting brought a plethora
of complaints, primarily devoted to three
areas: 1 . Few, if any. of the films listed had
played in several regions. (This problem lies
with distributors, who are prone to release
their product in peculiar patterns—instead
of nationwide.) 2. The noticeable lack of
G- and PG-pictures. (Here the fault lies
with the producers, who seem to be becoming
less inclined toward making "family"
films.) 3. Many theatres playing strong G-
and PG Christmas releases (i.e.. "The
Sting." "Papillon," "The Day of the Dolphin"
and "Robin Hood") were retaining
such sure-fire hits for eight weeks or more.
These three problems probably will not
be solved until producers and distributors
realize that people will go to the movies at
other than holiday times—// ihe product is
there.
The following is a sampling of NSC
members' opinions— pro and con:
"The Fantastic Planet"
Imaginative and good general family entertainment.
— Lois Baumocl. Cleveland
Fantastic Planet" is really
MPC .
quite fine. Even the smaller children are
kept entertained.—Charles A. Fisher. Central
Cinema Co., Inc.. Overland Park, Kas.
Fantastic Planet" is a very different
kind of animation picture, this time in
science-fiction. Well-done and most interesting.—M
r s. Paul G e b h a r t. Cleveland
WOMPI . . . Hardly fantastic, but still
worth a look.—Alvin Easter. Cinema Magazine,
Minneapolis.
"Three Sisters"
"Three Sisters" continues the excellence
of the AFT series, and stands alojie as a fine,
moving drama . . . assuming one can accept
the heavy doses of Russian fatalism.—Fred
W. Wright jr.. Evening Independent, St.
Petersburg . . . "Three Sisters" is an intelligent
transfer to the screen of a great play.
—Bmce H. Petri, Fond du Lac Reporter
drama; acting at its best.—Dana
S. Davis, Columbia (Mo.) Tribune ... All
the members of the family enjoyed this
picture.—Mrs. Leslie T. Barco. Greater
St. Louis BFC ... It is certainly not family
fare, but the recent choices have often been
quite far out.—Mrs. Julie Steiner, GFWC.
N.Y.C.
Although AFT can't take credit for producing
"Three Sisters," it nonetheless deserves
our hearty thanks for bringing this
beautiful and touching Olivier version of
Chekhov's play to America. I haven't seen
such brilliant ensemble acting on screen in
Jl^lthough AFT product is excellent,
it's not generally suitable for children.
With this in mind, I have chosen
the t%vo ("Mr. Superinvisible" and "Instinct
for Survival") I feel are suitable
for family viewing.—Bruce W. Harmon,
Cooper Theatres, Inc., Lincoln.
"McQ" is the only possible film to
vote for.—Barry Morrison, Denver
"Mr. Superinvisible": Really, children
should be as protected from this
sort of thing as from "The Exorcist."
The jiggling camera and frequent colortone
changes—as if each day's shooting
had been done on whatever film they
had on sale at the discount store that
day— pose a >ery real threat of eye
damage. Film distributors and exhibitors
have as much of an obligation to
protect children from this as they do to
shield them from excess sex, nudity and
violence.—Doug Smith, Buffalo Courier-Express.
"McQ": Wayne makes a vain attempt
at a police action-drama. Action
fans will find "McQ" unfulfilling, since
there is too little gun play and fisticuffs
to warrant more than mild excitement.
"The Gospel Road": Cash has made a
futile attempt at depicting the story of
Christ. The film is too low-budget and
amateurish to merit attention.—Tony
E. Rutherford. WKLC Radio, Huntington,
W. Va.
cesses of AFT's ambitious first season.
Jim Shertzer, Winston-Salem Journal.
"Mr. Superinvisible"
K-Tel has made a surprisingly, very good
little film and we should encourage such
efforts as "Mr. Superinvisible." The NSC
should support such valiant efforts. They
need us to survive.—Don Leigh McCulty.
W. Va. Theatre Booking Service. Clarksburg
Fun entertainment for the whole
family.—Sandra Cook, Spartanburg (S.C.)
. . . family really enjoyed this one.—Elavne
Bybee, KID Radio, Idaho Falls . . . Exhibitors
Journal . Jones was delightful. My
should do their best to promote and
encourage independent product and marketing
that has the quality of "Mr. Superinvisible"
and K-Tel.—Tim Warner, Theatre
Operators. Inc.. Bozeman, Mont. . . .
Best family picture.—Ralph W. Bradshaw.
Ritz Motor Vu, Tooele, Utah . . . It's the
only fun picture of the month.—Janice
Hanson, Triangle Drive-In, Rockwell City.
Iowa.
Miscellaneous
(Listed in order of votes received)
object to some of the casting, but Johnn\
Cash should be encouraged and receive far
more support from moviegoers than he has
for this contribution he has made to fine,
family-film entertainment.—Dan Dunkelberger.
Oral Roberts U., Tulsa.
In "The Gospel Road." with Johnny
Cash, the scenes are splendid, as well as the
music. Everyone should enjoy this picture!
—Charles A. Fisher, Central Cinema Co.,
Inc.. Overland Park. Kas. . . . How can
you vote on this mess? "TTie Gospel Road"
is the only possibility.—Emery Wister,
Charlotte News.
Instinct for Survival hung just enough
historic storyline onto admittedly stock nature
footage to provide a very sensitive and
entertaining show. Commendably different
in that it never glorified man's destruction
of animals or permitted the animals to be
made fools of. Loud cheers for the producer.
Sun Infl.—Doug Smith. Buffalo Courier-Express.
Never Look Back: The beauty of the
mountain scenes is most engrossing. An interesting
film.—Mrs. Wayne F. Shaw,
NSUSD of 1812. Lawrence. Kas. . . . While
an almost impossible story, it holds one's
interest the entire time.—Mrs. Paul Gebhart.
Cleveland WOMPI.
Sticks, Stones & Whatever
What a sad list this month. I can't even
figure out your winner. If one is simply
judging quality. "Three Sisters" was beautifully
wrought. While several of the listed
films have not yet opened in Richmond,
those that have— like "McQ" and "The
Serpent"—are certainly not for children,
and I'd hate to subject anybody of any age
to "Deaf Smith," Expect next month will
be better.—Carole Kass, Richmond Times-
Dispatch . . . For what I hope are obvious
reasons, I pass.^—James R. Ruth, Sunday
News. Lancaster.
Billings is in the wilderness when it
comes to new films. Haven't seen any of
these, so will have to skip voting again this
month. Theatre management in Billings is
rather odd, to say the least. They keep giving
us reruns of "M*A*S*H" and "The
Godfather" instead of showing us new films.
Real film buffs in Billings have to go to
Denver to see new films, but that becomes
rather expensive after a while.—Kim Larsen.
Billings Gazette ... A lean month.
Nothing on the list is worthwhile.—H.G.
Lewis, Lewis-Andrews Theatres, Chicago.
Happily, I have not seen ONE of the
current selections, but I know the background
of these films and not one is worth
the time of filling out this card. Quick! Our
movies need HELP.—Al Shea, West and
East Bank Guides. New Orleans . . . Only
"Black Moses," "Deaf Smith," "Kung Fu,"
"McQ" and "Outside Man" have played in
Miami. If I had to make a choice between
these pictures, it would be the white space
between the titles that I would select. I enjoyed
that much better.—John Walker,
WCKT-TV. Miami.
The only one I've seen that is even close
to deserving a vote is "McQ," but it is such
a corny, hackneyed, trite epic that I can't
bring myself to mark the box. No vote this
month.—Larry Thomas, exhibitor, Fayetteville,
W. Va. . . .
The Gospel Road: Since the objective of
the National Screen Council to try and
More lemons than a
is a long time. Olivier's direction turned the
pick a film of the month for the whole grocery store this month. Haven't seen
play into a work entirely satisfying as film,
and Geoffrey Unsworth's photography and
"Fantastic Planet" or "Three Sisters"
family, I would select Johnny Cash's "The
William Walton's score assisted greatly. Gospel Road." It abounds with a fresh
"Three Sisters" and "The Homecoming" warmth and style that are rare with Bibletheme
otherwise. I'd rather go to a fire than to
one of this month's selections.—John Kane,
seem likely to be the most dazzling suc-
films. TTiere may be good reason to American Int'I Pictures,
N.Y.C.
12 BOXOFFICE :: March 25. 1974