DECEMBER

Italian Film Group Sets
Six for 1953 Release
NEW YORK—Italian Films Export will
aim at the regular commercial theatres,
rather than art houses, with a program of
six major Italian pictures, which are set
for nationwide release during the first six
months of 1953, according to Bernard Jacon,
vice-president in charge of sales.
IFE will have a sales force of 18 men by
January 1, including five division managers,
to cover the 31 exchange areas with selling
material on these pictures, Jacon said. He
will leave December 8 on a month-long trip
to install divisional personnel in the IFE
branch offices in Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta
and Los Angeles, and to finalize booking
dates in major cities.
TO START WITH 'ANNA'
Starting with "Anna," starring Silvana
Mangano, which will be released in January
in an American-language version, recently
dubbed in New York, at least half
of the films will be launched in Americandubbed
versions. "With the language barrier
now lifted for Italian films, the stories and
casts of our pictures assure general audience
interest," Jacon said.
IFE will have promotion campaigns lined
up for all these pictures, including trailers,
advertising campaigns, promotion tieups and
publicity and exploitation material. Specially
prepared kits will enable exhibitors to tie
up with national publicity and promotion on
the pictures. A trailer will be prepared for
TV and six-sheets and all other accessories
will be made up, probably by National Screen
Service, Jacon said.
The five regional IFE offices will be located
(1) in New York, with an eastern divison
manager, who will supervise three sales representatives,
one covering upper New York
State and Hartford; a second covering Boston
and New Haven and a third covering
Washington, Philadelphia and Charlotte; (2)
in Cleveland, with a central division manager,
who will supervise a sales representative
for Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and a second
for Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo; (3)
in Chicago, with a midwest division manager,
who will supervise a sales representative for
Minneapolis and the upper part of Iowa
and Nebraska from Des Moines and Omaha,
and a second for Kansas City, St. Louis
and the south part of Iowa and Nebraska;
(4) in Atlanta, with a southern division
manager, who will supervise a sales representative
for New Orleans and Memphis
and another for Dallas and Oklahoma City,
and (5) in Los Angeles, with a western
division manager, who will supervise a sales
representative for San Francisco, Portland
and Seattle, an another for Denver and Salt
Lake City.
OTHER RELEASES SCHEDULED
The five division managers, each with long
experience in their particular territory, will
be announced by Jacon later in December.
In addition to "Anna," the six IFE releases
set include two other dramas, a romantic
comedy, a musical and a special
Easter release. They are: "Bellissima," starrinR
Anna Magnanl and a child star, Tina
.".1)1^^113, which will be released in February
18
IFE Releasing Corp, new distribution
setup for selling Italian Films Export
product in this country, lias completed
a roster of executives. They are: (1-r,
standing) Bernard Jacon, vice-president
in charge of sales; Jonas Rosenfield jr.,
vice-president in charge of advertising,
promotion and publicity, and (seated) Dr.
Renato Gualino, president.
in a sub-titled version; "Times Gone By,"
an octet of short stories directed by Alessandro
Blasetti, starring Vittorio de Sica,
Gina Lollobrigida and Aldo Fabrizi, to be
released in March in a sub-titled version;
an untitled life of Pope Pius X, which will
be released for Easter in an Americanlanguage
version; "The Young Caruso," featuring
the voice of Mario Del Monaco, now
a Metropolitan Opera star, which will be released
in an American-language version in
April, and "Girls of the Piazza," directed by
Luciano Emmer with Lucia Bose, Liliana
Bonfatti and Cosetta Greco, to be released in
a subtitled version in May.
"Europe '51," the Roberto Rossellini picture
starring Ingrid Bergman with Alexander
Knox, will be released by IFE in the fali
and, after September, there will probably be
an increase of releases to more than one a
month, Jacon said. For the first time, IFE
has enough money for promotion of these
pictures in national magazines, columns and
on TV and radio. There is a possibility that
Anna Magnani will make her first visit to
the U.S. for personal appearances in connection
with "Bellissima," in which she has
a financial interest.
Jacon's first stop will be Chicago, December
8-9, where he will install top personnel
and screen "Anna" for buyers and exhibitors.
He will follow the same procedure
in Cleveland, December 10-13; Atlanta, December
13-16; Los Angeles, December 17-18,
and San Francisco, December 18-20, where he
will also conclude plans for the pre-release
opening of "Anna" at the St. Francis Theatre
January 6. The picture is also set to open
at the Center Theatre, Buffalo, January 8.
Both are United Paramount houses. Jacon
has also scheduled exhibitor sessions in
Dallas, Miami and Jacksonville later in
December.
Jacon held a tradeshowing of "Anna" for
New York circuits before he left for Chicago
and he expects to have showings for all
circuit and independent buyers by January 1.
IFE Releasing Heads
Line Up New Project
NEW YORK—Officers of the newly formed
IFE Releasing Corp. wUl be Dr. Renato
Gualino as president, E. R. Zorgniotti as
executive vice-president, and James Rosenfield
jr. as vice-president in charge of advertising,
publicity and promotion.
All three will continue as top executives of
Italian Films Export. Dr. Gualino is general
director of public relations.
The parent organization (IFE) also has
added a division of newsreels a:'a short subjects
headed by Robert Gordon Ldwards and
a television division under the direction of
Ralph Serpe.
Rossellini Is Directing
Bergman Film in Rome
ROME—Roberto Rossellini has started
shooting the Ingrid Bergman sequence of
"We Women" at Santa Marinella. Tyrrhenian
costal town near here, according to word received
by Italian Films Export in New York.
A sequence starring Alida Valli, directed
by Gianni Franciolini, has been completed
and the Isa Miranda sequence, directed by
Alberto Lattuada, will go before the cameras
shortly. The final episode will star Anna
Magnani under the dii-ection of Luchino
Visconti, who directed her in "Bellissima."
Lux Films will produce a Technicolor version
of D'Annunzio's "Cabiria" in Rome in
1953, according to word received by Italian
Films Export. The original silent screen version
of "Cabiria" was made in Italy in 1913
and was a boxoffice hit, both in Italy and
the U.S.
UA. 2 Italian Producers
In Joint Producing Deal
ROME—An arrangement for the joint Italo-
American production in Italy of pictures for
worldwide distribution has been concluded by
Arthur B. Krim, president of United ArtUts,
and Angelo Rizzoli and Robert Haggiag of
Italy.
The arrangement calls for the merger of
Dearfilm, a company distributing Italian
films, and DAI, the company which is the
exclusive agency for distributing UA releases
in Italy, into a new film distribution company.
This new company will distribute all UA releases
in Italy in the future. Haggiag is the
head of DAI and Rizzoli, Italian publisher
and producer of "Tomorrow Is Too Late" and
"Don Camillo," is the head of Dearfilm.
Kreisler Firm to Handle
Italian Feature in U.S.
NEW YORK—International Film Associates,
headed by B. Bernard Kreisler, former
executive director of the advisory unit
for foreign films for the Motion Picture Ass'n
of America, will distribute the Italian language
feature, "Ring Around the Clock," in
the U.S. in January.
Present plans are to open the picture at
a New York art theatre with a charity benefit,
with proceeds to be turned over to Boys
Town in Italy. The picture was directed by
Paolo Tambmella and stars Paolo Stoppa,
Lamo Gazzolo and Patrizia Mangano.
Kreisler has named Michael Hall publicity
director for
the film.
BOXOFFICE Decembi-r 6. 1952
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