Kinematograph year book (1944)

Overseas. 13 The usage of automobiles for amusement driving is pretty much out, because of a lack of petrol for ordinary gas-consuming citizens. When those with high petrol-rationing priorities are found to be using cars for amusement driving their chances of losing the high rating is too great to attempt theatregoing by auto. That old debbil annual Government Report on America's highest-paid individuals again disclosed that M-G-M's Louis B. Mayer was tops in the preceding year, his 8935,866 being highest of any salary in any field in the country. The National Chairman of Roosevelt's Democratic Party was named during the year — an exhibitor : Frank Comerford Walker, of the large Comerford Circuit in Pennsylvania. This winter, so far, threatens to be a repetition of last year's with severe cold in many places and a fuel shortage in many more, and an earlier and more widespread epidemic of influenza. Among hundreds of Axis patents frozen here by the Government are scores relating to motion pictures ; these have been made available for commercial promotion by citizens. Last complete year's ticket tax collection was reported by the Government to be $146,372,271, some $58,553,000 over the previous year, with indications of a tremendous further rise in the next twelvemonth. Hollywood's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year, like other industry agencies, turned most of its time to the war effort, its technical branch contributing much to the training of servicemen in the technicalities of picture-making. It interrupted its war attentions only long enough to vote " Mrs. Miniver," M-G-M, as the most outstanding picture of the previous year, and James Cagney and Greer Garson as the year's outstanding performers. This year there will be no big banquet for award presentations ; Academy members will get their " Oscars " in some Hollywood theatre, in March. Government orders curtailing paper usage has hit hard in press-book, poster, billboard and paper accessory promotions. In Canada, paper cannot be used for entertainment promotions except directly on a theatre's premises. Candy sold in theatres has disappeared almost entirely, except for some nonpopular peanut and other items. Chocolate bars are going abroad. New theatre equipment accessories are practically non-existent, except in certain plastics. The repairing of projection room arts is a big problem. With newspapers cutting down on advertising columns, distributors, circuits and thousands of theatres are turning more to radio promotion of product. Hundreds of newspapers have stopped large display theatre advertising, permitting only small insertions. And in many places freepublicity copy has gone by the board for the duration. Theatres almost everywhere during the year adopted cut-rate admissions for all servicemen and servicewomen, and in large cities downtown de luxe houses, in addition, are providing service agencies with daily blocks of free admissions. These are made available also to men in the service of the United Nations. High Army officers have repeatedly praised films for their aid to the morale of men in uniform, both here and abroad. Servicemen's favourites are musicals and comedies — but definitely not war themes. Union sensation of the year was the court-martial of half a dozen members of the former Al (Chicago Gangster) Capone mob being tried for allegedly being in cohoots with ex-projectionist union leaders George Browne and Willie Bioff for extorting millions from the large film companies on threats of calling strikes at their circuit houses. Standing blackouts of threatres and other commercial establishments are no longer required, even on the coasts, except that dimming is practised to save fuel. And this, they call " brownout." Air-alert tests, of course, bring occasional blackouts : theatres are among those establishments holding a high degree of precision in responding to the alert alarms.