The Film Daily (1948)

rsday, March 4, 1948 O '\ DAILY. n "Archibald Hopeful BOOK REVIEWS of Duty Solution :i MAGIC SHADOWS, The Story of '•'he Origin of Motion Pictures. By ^'Aartin Quigley, Jr. Georgetown Unify erf*-^_Press. 191 pages. $3.50. A .erry Ramsaye points out in "* he "Foreword, Martin Quigley, Jr.. 4 as primarily prepared a one-man ^•ymposium on the "pre-history of the :kiiotion picture." The author keeps too close to the promised format that ■wjsjs than a page of the text is deati oted to the advent of "talkies," W*hen, in 1927, the Winter Garden 4 choed to the songful-throbs of "The azz Singer." «f "Magic Shadow" carries the quest W>i an understanding of optics, moNfon, and projection from pre-Baby'^bnian times through the April evening in 1896 when Edison's Vita:"-:;ope made its premiere in Koster nd Bial's Herald Square Music Hall )V& New York. Quigley points out in cr.tjs introduction that while six o*Bandeville acts preceded the first Public showing of Thomas Armat's Projector, the "flickers" stole the "■ • now. ™ And so, it might be said. Aristotle aSpd Archimedes, through their esiblishment of optical science, paved = niie way for the ultimate demise of :)':"neir own nation's gift to the world, ': i audeville, which had its beginnings ■:i:5ith the Greek choruses and reli*Waiis festivals. Quigley recalls names we last ■:: eard in Physics courses — Euclid, ,'J*liny, Seneca, Ptolomy, Roger BaSyn. da Vinci, Kepler and Kircher, jjlid a host of others. He explains •'-'■si hat each one did to further the jfllunrledge of "magic shadows." tells '.^ow Etienne Gaspard Robertson, ::••"•* ith his Phantoscope, was the sub"•*■ ct of the first political censorship, ascribes the work of the LangenHP eim brothers of Philadelphia and f5 ie pioneering Louis Daguerre. Indexed with the care befitting a ientific volume. Quigley has in .-... uded a descriptive chronology, and ';:~!; chapter-by-chapter bibliography. """ ore than a score of photographs A id drawings illustrate the pathway ",:, fading to our sound-equipped the..''.'.''. ers of today. (Continued from Page 1) from renewing auld acquaintance, Archibald said, was to discuss distort ! bution plans not only with U-I and E-L, but also to visit exchanges and to talk with exhibitors in Cleveland, Buffalo, Albany, Pittsburgh, Washington and Philadelphia. He hoped to be able to do all this by Mar. 27, when he and Mrs. Archibald j are scheduled to sail for England. Of the 40 J. Arthur Rank productions scheduled for 1948, and budgeted at about $40,000,000, Archibald's unit, Independent Producers, is slated to deliver six, of which three are in the cutting room and three are in production. Now being snipped are: "Oliver Twist," "Red Shoes" (in Technicolor), "Esther Waters." Under the megaphone are: "Dulcimer Street," "Blue Lagoon" (Technicolor), "Passionate Friends," tentatively titled. Three others in preparation are: "All Over the Town," "Once a Jolly Swagman," "Fair Stood the Winds for Friends." Quality will not be sacrificed to economy. Archibald said. And he emphasized the point. 'The future of the British industry lies in making' a due proportion of big ambitious pictures." It would be wrong-, he added, to concentrate either wholly on super-productioi tures. "Trying to by any book way in which to achieve "Try, Try Again" Pensacola, Fla. — For two consecutive meetings the City Council has voted, 5-4, against repeal of the amusement and tobacco tax. Proponents declare the matter will be brought up for action again and again until they do get a repeal. or entirely on progTam fea ; ;; ropose State Dept. Pix '-'rieup with Italian Reels (Continued from Page 1) .;J! amendment to the appropriation '^"1 to permit the USIS to contract th Italian newsreels to have them rry footage supplied by the State ;nartment. Stefan told the House yesterday J^jat "we spend millions of dollars making and purchasing motion ctures to be shown in embassies rfj»d consulates, but are overlooking """"e greatest and most effective media r the display of these motion picres — the present established theers throughout the world. To my . owledge, the State Department has " ' ade no efforts to effectuate such an rangement." : costs," he said, "but not rules. There isn't any one s being tackled." He hoped "by applying industrial efficiency methods as are applied in other businesses." He cited the instance of directors and 'cameramen who on their own initiative met to decide on ways of reducing costs. Whatever efficiency methods would be adopted. Archibald said, would be applied solely to the technical and organizational phases of production: not where creative effort is concerned. Archibald said the Gainsborough and Two Cities studios have been successful at cutting shooting schedules. The Independent, his own. unit, he admitted, was not so successful in reducing the shooting times. British industry, like the American, is in sore need of the foreign market, he said. Referring to top budget JAR films, Archibald estimated that only about 60 per cent of the cost is amortized domestically. Archibald dismissed the idea of "slanting" films for a particular market. "Before a picture can be international," he said, "it must be national." During the war, he had noticed that the British documentaries which were most warmly received here were usually the same ones that were heartily accepted at home. However, when a film was slanted for American consumption, neither side of the pond thought much of the effort. Goldenson Chairman Of Boy Scout Drive (Continued from Page 1) Friedlander; independent theaters and circuits, Fred J. Schwartz, Century; publishers, Jack Alicoate, The Film Daily, and Martin Quigley, Quigley publications. Also, music publishers and composers, Emanuel Sacks; motion picture suppliers and laboratories, Frank Meyer, Paramount; producers and distributors, Goldenson; ticket brokers, Joseph Newman, Piccadilly Ticket Service; sports, Ed Sullivan, Daily News; artists, Milton Berle; independent producers, Neal Agnew, president of SRO. Thomas Brown Dead Iowa City, la. — Funeral services were held here for Thomas Brown, 73, pioneer exhibitor and owner of the Strand Theater for many years. He retired in 1943. RKO Sets 3 Important Early Spring Releases i Continued from Page 1) RKO releases he saw on the Coast. Spring leadoff attraction will be "I Remember Mama," set to open at Radio City Music Hall on March 14; "The Miracle of the Bells," opening at the Rivoli on March 16, and "Fort Apache." Latter stars Henry Fonda currently in the hit Broadway stage production, "Mr. Roberts." Other product mentioned by Mochrie for Spring and Summer release included Walter Wanger's Technicolored "Joan of Arc," "Rachel and the Stranger," "Your Red Wagon," "Stations West," "Roughshod," Walt Disney's "Melody Time," "The Velvet Touch," and "Berlin Express." Set 8-Week Run for In-Store Video Film Shows (Continued from Page 1 1 manager of DuMont station WABD in New York. In addition to entertainment shorts, commercials involving national advertisers will be utilized in the programming, as well as educational films, household hints, etc. RCA has agreed to provide the necessary equipment for the operation which will involve about a dozen video sets strategically placed throughout the store, plus a camera projector in a control room. THE INDUSTRY REFERENCE — S GREA TEST BOOK OF Wallis Italian Producing Plans Wait Balaban Okay It's up to Barney Balaban, Paramount prexy, whether Hal Wallis will produce "September" in Italy, said Joseph H. Hazen, president of Hal Wallis Productions which has a 12-picture deal with Paramount. Hazen told The Film Daily that picture number 10 ("Sorry, Wrong Number") has just been finished; picture number 11 ("Be Still My Love") is about to be completed. Wallis is due in New York very shortly. Decision will probably be made then, Hazen said, whether his associate will film "September," as the last of the dozen due Paramount. PRODUCTION * DISTRIBUTION * EXHIBITION * PLAYERS • DIRECTORS • CAMERAMEN * DIALOGUERS * SCENARIO WRITERS * TELEVISION • CIRCUITS • TECHNICAL * FINANCIAL * FOREIGN This is only a part of what is covered in this OUTSTANDING BOOK OF REFERENCE. 194 30th Edition NOW in Work Published By THE FILM DAILY \_sut -3o