Entered aa second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post olliee at New York, New York, under the act of March Harrison's Reports3, 1879. , Yearly Subscription Rates: Published Weekly by United States $17.00 Harrison's Reports, Inc., U. S. Insular Possessions... 19.00 Canada and Mexico 19.00 1270 Sixth A Mot , on Picture Reviewing Service Avenoe Other Countries 19.50 New York 20, N. Y. 45c a Copy Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Circle 7-4622 Established July I, 1919 Martin Starr, Editor A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XLIV SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 1962 No. 1 Lay-Press Lays Off Films Tv Executives to Pictures Not so long ago, the public relations primer of the Things moved fast this past week out at the Culver motion picture industry was a way of life in the pub' City studios of Metro'Goldwyn'Mayer. In short sue' lie prints envied, copied and lifted by most of the cession Sol C. Siegel, vice president in charge of pro' other industries away up front of the industrial pa- duction, asked to be relieved of the mammoth job of rade. Today, films is the low man on the totem pole running the studio; a few days later, Joseph R. Vogel, of the lineage pumpers. Many of the other industries president of the company announced that Robert M. have thrown away our primer, because they've passed Weitman would head up studio operations. us. That it should be so, is one of the deplorable con' The last year has been an unhappy one for Siegel. ditions of our business. " and, what would be more While he will continue supervising production on the calamitous is to continue doing little about it as has long overdue "Mutiny on the Bounty," it is a year been the sad case, these past few years. late and several million dollars beyond original budget' The motion picture business is not begetting for ing. "Lady L" with a $5,000,000 cost chalked up itself the kind of laypress treatment it deserves, mer' against it is reported to have been shelved. "The Four its and is entitled to. Ours is an industry of flesh and Horsemen of the Apocalypse," is another blockbuster blood, beauty and brains, romance and excitement. that has given Siegel a big headache. In mid-August, at What makes up the world of everyday reality, is the lunch with Vincente Minnelli, who had just com- warp and woof of the film industry in its own world pleted the film, he told us that the spectacle should of make'believe. These are the very emotionalities that be on its way to the moviegoers much before the end the newspapers of the nation deal with in their news of '61. It is not yet in release. stories, features, editorials, alharound reporting. Weitman, New Hand at Movie Making That's life and the films interpret it. Weitman is primarily of the theatres (Paramount, With each passing year, it seems from the metro- N. Y.) . But, that background he left behind him when politan papers we read, the general news of the films he began to labor in the vineyards of network Tv from gets less and less space in the entertainment section where he went about a year ago to head up M-G-M's of the dailies. We're not speaking of spot news of big, Tv setup. In the realm of movie production, Weitman topical stories that break and which involve the is a "brand new hand. To what uses his Tv experience names of the movies. They bolt their way to the front could be put in film production, is hard to say. Tv, at page becasue of the circulation strength and reader' best, is a faltering medium entertainment'wise. It is ship value of the items, the "name" protagonists, etc. dressed up with gimmicks, gizmos, gadgets. It's a free, But, where the film industry has lost the ball game is (Continued on Bac\ Page) in the everyday run of material that fails to see the light of the printed page to any measurable extent. Motion Picture News Gets Brush-Oft Extra Production Issue, Next Week We can go down the list and come up with one There'll be two issues of "Harrison's Reports" that's as big as our arm wherein little, if any, space next week. One (Vol. XLIV, No. 2) will be the was given to items that seemed to have basic news regular weekly issue with the news, editorial, value for the readers. We know that the movie editors reviews. The other issue will deal, in full, with the on the papers, the wire services are serviced with ap- indexing of the releases, the listing of the prod- propriate press releases from our publicity depart- uct of the releasing-distributing companies. This ments. will take in the latter months of 1961 and such of that is Only the other day, for instance, those of us on the 1962 set production-release-wise. trades were serviced with a Motion Picture Industry This, (called "the pink") will detail, in full, what Review (news release) by the United States Depart- the distributing companies are definite will ment of Commerce. For trade paper editors it was reach the screens of the theatres in the forepart "62 big news. We ran to our typewriters. Each in his own of . There will also be, of course, in this way, saw to it that this good news was relayed to his extra issue (next week) the listing of the sched- readers. For good news, it was indeed! The Wash- ules of the Short Subjects to be released by the ington tabulators made it known that box office re' distributing companies in the year ahead. All in ceipts, throughout the country, had gone up in the all, it will be a supplemental issue worth waiting year gone by. In 1960, the take, in admissions, was for! (Continued on Back Page) 1962 2 HARRISON'S REPORTS January 13, "The Happy Thieves" with "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" with Rita Hayworth, Rex Harrison, Joseph Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Edward Judd Wiseman, Alicia Valli, Gregoire Asian (Universal'lnt'l, May; 90 mins.) Set; 88 mins.) (United Artists, Release N«t GOOD. Science fiction, these past few years, has FAIR. A former film exploitcer (Richard Condon) supplied the movie makers with plot structures that wrote the original of this. From novel to screen tran- have climbed to insurmountable heights of fantastic of the tales dealing with the world sition some of the flavor, mystery and entertainment imagination. Many from their fictional values were lost. The result is far from expectations above, beyond and below toppled and somewhat disappointing. All throughout its tell- pedestals because of unacceptable believability. Even gullible refuses to accept the science ing you keep on saying, « this has been done before. the innocently There are few novel twists to the tale, nor surprises fiction films whose probable logic is stretched too far too thin. British entry has an almost fright- that spring at you with the suddenness of good, story- and This ening ring of strong probability and acceptable be- telling excitement. For, hair-raising, nerve-tingling, lievability. What's more important, it is highly enter- sheer excitement is the lubricant of mystery. Without emotional im- taining. So much excitement, weird-like emotional it, the flow of the movie is sluggish, the the viewer, that before it, pact dull and the net results rather displeasing. impact inundate you know Harrison, suave, smooth, boldly courageous gives a the story has unspooled itself with a swiftness and good account of himself. Brilliant Britisher, he is smoothness that make you wonder where the 90- minutes went to. given to talk, talk, talk. But, that's the way the script unfolds itself. Rita Hayworth, his confederate, fails London has already sounded its full-throated to rise to any great distinction. The support is strong. "bravos" over this entry in the realm of science fiction. The British moulders of mystery-talcs lean heavily Considering that most of the action is in the city (as do our own makers of mystery movies) on odd room of a London daily, our irrepressible, indispens- camera angles; intricate lighting setups; chill-thrill able brethren of the press would have been the first shadowy stuff. If they usually produce their dramatic to rip this apart were it not faithful to the reality of effects, they're not used here. Yet the straight-away journalistic operation, even if it is spun out of the camera manipulation was rather good. The tale re- mesmeric pattern of cinematic make-believe. Verily, fuses to take itself seriously, follows the attitude of it's the way our British gentlemen of the press go the leads and fails to milk its quota of excitement such about telling their story to the thundering whir and mystery melodramas hold promise of. Since Madrid roaring grind of the Hoe presses that give the pres- entation of believability and authenticity that is the locale of the make-believe story, it was cameraed an aura right in the sunny setting of Spain. All the outdoor account for the goodness of this cinema, and makes it is splendid, shots had that old-world beauty that dresses up a film a vehicle of entertainment. The acting even for so many of us Americans who can't get to these to the use of amateur Arthur Christiansen (as an places. The mystery highlights several cold, commer- editor) who in real life (2 5 -years) was editor of the Daily Express.