The Independent Film Journal (1944)

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4 January 8, 1944 This Industry Will Have No Trouble in Post-War Adjustment By Barney Balaban President of Paramount Pictures WITH the tide of war taking a definite turn in favor of the Allied Nations, leaders in almost every field of industry in America are giving serious thought to their respective post-war problems. The war has brought additional responsibilities to the motion picture industry — responsibilities which the industry has accepted gladly and fulfilled to the best of its ability. Peace will bring even greater responsibilities— responsibilities to both our own country and to the peoples of a liberated world. But, compared to other large American industries, motion pictures do not face serious post-war problems. Two Basic Reasons There are two basic reasons for the fortunate position in which the film industry finds itself. In the first place, the business of making motion picture entertainment is of necessity a matter of almost day-to-day planning in order to meet the ever-shifting trends of public demand. The industry is accustomed to rapid changes and always is ready to meet the need for a new type ot product. I know of no one in the industry with genius enough to forecast accurately what the public will demand as entertainment five years — or even two years — from now. But I am confident that our writers and production brains will meet new challenges as they have met all changes in world thinking in the past twenty-five years. Secondly, the motion picture industry faces no problem of peacetime retooling or overexpansion. While the war has expanded other industries, it brought numerous restrictions to the motion picture industry and, thanks to these war-time restrictions, there has been no over building of theatres. Technical improvements which have been developed under the stress of war will be most beneficial to our industry when they can be applied under peace-time conditions. Television, with its cathode ray, so essential to radar, is one instance of what I have in mind. While we have been making pictures for war-time audiences, we have been building a backlog of ideas for films to be produced when peace comes. We have given a large percentage of our technicians, actors, writers and directors to the armed services of our country but we have adjusted ourselves to meet this shortage of manpower. With expanded world markets open to us after the war we shall be able to absorb without disruption all of these trained men and women when they return to Hollywood. Foreign Markets The expansion of our foreign markets will make it necessary for us to add additional post-war manpower as salesmen and distributors of our product. It is in this field that we face one of our gravest peace-time responsibilities. It is imperative that the men we choose as our representatives in the liberated countries should be not only able salesmen and experienced distributors; as our business ambassadors they must represent America at its best. They must be men of vision and understanding, of exemplary character and keenly sympathetic to the problems of the people among whom they will live and work. High Ideals Nor does our responsibility end with the appointment of men of this high calibre to represent us abroad. Our motion pictures must be equally representative of the highest American ideals. We know from our pre-war experience the enormous power of the motion picture as a conveyor of ideas and ideals. Although the basic mission of the photoplay is and always will be to provide entertainment it is our duty and our obligation to make this entertainment truly representative of American life, American morals and American ideals. ★ ★ ★ Mayer on War Job? It is stated on good authority that Arthur L. Mayer who has been so active on the War Activities Committee and is at this writing on a tour of the South in behalf of The March of Dimes, is slated for an important War Department job. PAUL MOSS LUNCHEON Next Wednesday. January 12, Theatre Owners and Allied Fields of the Amusement Division of the New York-Brooklyn Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies, will tender a luncheon to License Commissioner Paul Moss. David Weinstock and Leo Brecher are co-chairmen. Tickets are $3. Get yours and be sure to attend. Draft of Decree Is Now With Clark A copy of the latest draft of the Distributors new consent decree is probably already in the hands of Tom C. Clark, Assistant U. S. Attorney General. During the early part of this week company officials and their legal advisors have been huddling and it is believed they finally sent their findings to Clark. Probably sometime next week Clark will discuss the matter with Joseph Hazen, Warner vice-president and general counsel, who will represent the Major Distributors. Clark, who has just returned trom Texas, was tied up this week on a number of other matters under his jurisdiction as head of the criminal division and will be unable to give any attention to film matters for several days. He conferred with Hazen over the telephone arranging to have the proposals sent down by mail so that he might study them over the weekend, with Hazen to go to Washington early next week. Until the new draft has been studied to determine whether it meets the requirements laid down last month, it was said, no decision can be made whether it is in shape for review by exhibitor leaders who have been promised consultation on the document before formal action is taken. ★ ★ ★ Bar Distrib Employees The Pacific Coast Conference of Independent Theatre Owners has gone on record as bitterly opposed to salesmen, or any other Distributor employees, having any interests in theatre properties. They ask that producers and distributors require from all their employees, at least once every 90 days, a declaration under oath that he or she has no interest directly or indirectly in any motion picture theatrical enterprise served by such distributor. t "DIMES" DRIVE UNDER WAY The first shot in the March of Dimes Drive was fired this week when a "flying squadron" composed of Harry Brandt, Edward A. Alperson, Oscar A. Doob and Arthur Mayer planed out of New York for Atlanta where the first "pep" talks were delivered to set the wheels moving in what will probably be the greatest of all drives for the President's favorite charity. From Atlanta the quartette of "pepper uppers" went to Chicago, thence to New Orleans and on to Dallas where a meeting had been called by Bob O'Donnell and Julius Gordon. Milas L. Hurley, state chairman for New Mexico, and L. C. Griffith, Oklahoma chairman, also addressed the meeting. Griffith told of the ravages of infantile paralysis in Oklahoma during 1943. ★ ★ ★ Rogers With Wanger Budd Rogers has been named to represent Walter Wanger Productions for two pictures according to an announcement made by Universal Pictures. Mr. Rogers will serve as representative on the current Walter Wanger picture, "Gung Ho,” and also on the second Wanger picture, "Ladies Courageous.”