Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1941)

4 Motion Picture Daily Friday, September 26, 1941 Industry Leaders at Senate's Film Hearings Photos copyright Harris & Ewing Leading executives of the industry as they appeared this week at the hearings of the Senate subcommittee investigating the film industry in Washington. The picture at the left shows Nicholas M. Schenck, president of Loew's, Inc., conferring with Wendell Willkie, counsel for the industry in the investigation. In the photo at the right is seen Harry M. Warner, president of Warner Brothers, who testified yesterday. Seated directly behind Warner is Herbert Freston, of the Warner legal staff. Report Drive In Committee To Stop Probe (Continued from page 1) Will Hays will also appear. Some observers feel that since the hearings have so far proved nothing of importance, the subcommittee members of themselves may try to wash their hands of any further proceedings providing they can gracefully find a way out. Today the subcommittee was again on the defensive. It was a memorable day in the capital. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor arrived. They were no competition, however, for the hearings which were attended by what probably was the biggest crowd since the sessions opened. Harry M. Warner, president of Warner Bros., was the witness before the subcommittee and drew a record turnout. Wendell Willkie noised that the "campaign oratory" charge made by Chairman Clark against him was an "absolute falsehood" and Clark apologized. Sen. Sheridan Downey took the Senate floor to invite his colleagues to a special showing of "Land of Liberty" which he had arranged for the Cabinet, the members of Congress and the press, tomorrow afternoon at the Archives Building, because the picture had been charged with being "propaganda" and he thought the members of Congress had better see and decide for themselves. Last, but not least, Sen. MacKellar of Tennessee introduced a bill for repeal of the Neutrality Act. Otherwise Washington was fairly quiet. As a matter of fact the film probe hearings were completely ignored in one of tonight's local newspapers — it just got crowded out. Harry Warner gave a brilliant performance. He is regarded as having bested the subcommittee members at every turn. He turned the tables on them and did the questioning, much to their own surprise and the roaring delight of the assemblage. This has not happened before. The high point of his testimony came when following an extremely strong tirade against Great Britain by isolationist Chairman Clark, in a discussion as to what might be construed propaganda and what might not, Warner asked : "Now, Senator, don't you think that your statement just made is propaganda — is inflammatory and likely to incite persons within hearing of your voice or who read what you have said, because of prestige and dignity a man in your position puts behind such words? You know you and your colleagues are as much moulders of public thought as anybody else." In a discussion as to what types of persons could be incited by such pictures as "Underground" or "Confessions of a Nazi Spy," Warner answered Clark : "Only a Nazi would be incited. Now, don't get me wrong," Warner said, "I think that decent people would only feel sorry and sympathetic towards the victims of Nazi bestiality, not hatred." When the committee attempted to inject the monopoly issue and again asked the same questions about the companies working in collusion, Warner replied : "I didn't inherit my company like Loew's. I developed mine. You heard Mr. Schenck say the other day that he wouldn't stop at any price to get good manpower. Well, I developed my manpower — and besides he took my son-in-law away from me. "I've seen more of Nicholas Schenck in this room at these hearings in the past few days than I've seen of him in three years." "You may charge me with being anti-Nazi but you can't charge me with being anti-American," Warner said. He also said that he is against any kind of censorship of the freedom of the press and the screen and radio and impressed upon the committee that he would "discharge any employe who would threaten or coerce the press." In fact, the committee members found themselves on the receiving end almost throughout from Warner. He even told them that such investigations as this one only "give aid and comfort to the enemy" at a time when the country is hoping and striving for unity. Adroitly also he didn't fail to get over the fact that "One Foot in Heaven," a new Warner picture, was opening soon in this city and he in Stage Groups Will Meet Monday To Demand End of Industry Probe A citywide conference of civic and trade union leaders and persons interested in civil rights has been called for Monday at the Martin Beck Theatre to demand discontinuance of the current investigation of the industry. The call to the conference was signed by presidents of theatrical union groups, including Frank Gillmore, Associated Actors and Artistes of America; Thomas J. Lyons, N. Y. State Federation of Labor; Elmer Rice, Dramatists Guild, and Thomas Murtha, Central Trades and Labor Council of Greater New York, and also head of Local 4, Stagehands Union. Terming the investigtion "an anti-administration publicity stunt which, unless throttled, will lead to some form of censorship and breed religious and racial discord," the call for the conference stated that passage of a suitable resolution would be considered as well as "a permanent committee to take such action as may be necessary." vited the committee to come and see it. When Clark brought up the beginnings of the Hays office and conditions in the industry about IS years ago, Warner replied : "Yes, and you don't know how much I may have had in correcting the conditions you mention." Brooks Approves 'York' Sen. Brooks told Warner he saw "Sergeant York" and "There was no propaganda in it." "If none of the other pictures have any more propaganda in them than that did, then I believe this hearing itself will be a cleansing of the charge against you," he said. The low point of the day seemed to be when Sen. Tobey, also an isolationist, asked Warner if he had heard that the British Purchasing Commission in Washington had established a policy of not hiring "Irish, Germans or Jews." Warner said he would look into it. Sen. Tobey, at today's hearing, attempted to explore charge by Aubrey Blair, secretary of the Junior Screen Actors Guild, that army equipment and soldiers had been used in production. Tobey read similar charges by J. W. Buzzell, secretary of the Los Angeles Central Labor Council, and a letter from the War Department refusing to furnish information as to pictures made with army aid. Meanwhile, the fate of the investigation may be decided Monday at a meeting of the Senate Audit and Control Committee called by Sen. Scott Lucas of Illinois, at which the Fidler-Fisher vouchers will be taken up. It is expected the committee may approve the vouchers already submitted but insist that the propaganda group get a specific allocation from the Senate for further expenses. The committee will hold no hearings next week. During the week members will see some of the pictures which have been talked about and are expected to content themselves with three or four.