Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

CALL SMPE MEET SOCIETY'S BEST Attendance Hits New High; Austrian'Says Theatre Television Practical The sixtieth semi-annual convention of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, which concluded its five-day meeting at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood last Friday, was hailed as the most outstanding in points of attendance, number of papers read and over-all importance of the year's achievements. An attendance of 450 delegates, the largest registration since the Society's founding in 1916, and the delivery of 63 papers was announced by W. C. Kunzmann, convention vice-president. Mr. Kunzmann said applications for membership ran a new high, with 90 submitted. "This tremendous interest in the activities of the SMPE can be ascribed mainly to two factors. For one, the motion picture engineers are now released from war service ; and secondly, wartime developments can now be openly discussed." Urges Preparation for Television During the sessions, Ralph B. Austrian, president of RKO Television Corporation, predicted that theatre television will be a commercially profitable enterprise as he appealed to motion picture exhibitors to prepare for it. In a paper titled "The Showmanship Side of Television," Mr. Austrian declared that there are enough events of public interest to "make television a paying proposition to the theatre owner." As an instance of this, he pointed out that the Kentucky Derby can be seen now by a capacity crowd of 65,000. If this event were telecast exclusively to the theatres of America, he said, the public would accept eagerly the opportunity to view the race from a seat in a neighborhood theatre for "one or even two dollars." Cites Newsworthy Events Other events which would make excellent television fare, he pointed out, include boxing matches, baseball, tennis, horse shows, golf matches, etc. The engineering fraternity, he said, is going to produce a technically feasible theatre television system for the motion picture and television industry. "It's only going to take one sellout to start the ball rolling; it's only going to take one man or one company to start theatre television on its way, precisely as one company started sound pictures on their way despite the practically unanyncus opinion that it was a foolhardy, silly novelty." Other aspects of television were discussed in papers by Ralph V. Little, Jr., of RCA, who described a hew 16mm camera capable of converting a 24-frame cinema film to a 30-frame television film, and bv Harry R. Lubcke of Don Lee Broadcasting. The latter talk, covering time element in live subject television, was held at the Disney Studios. That the Navy's vast library of combat film is being made available to the public through educational institutions, research organizations, and the motion picture industry, was revealed by Commander E. Nell in a paper titled "Preservation and Post-War Utilization of U. S. Navy Combat Film." Notes Navy Footage He disclosed that the Navy now has on file approximately 25 million feet of combat film. To accommodate this film, he said, a library was organized as a unit of the U. S. Naval Photographic Center at Anacostia, D. C, which is equipped with 62 air conditioned vaults. The primary function of the film is its utilization in the Navy's post-war training program. At the same session, the engineers were given a demonstration of the use of a magnetic sound recording on film using a 16mm projector. This application of a wartime development was revealed by Marvin Cameras of the Armour Research Foundation, Shicago. . At sessions held at the RCA Victor studios, special cameras and flash lamps for high speed underwater photography were demonstrated by Robert Knapp of California Tech. Paramount also presented a symposium of four subjects, which included improved servo, mechanical and electrical devices for studio production use. Report on Aerial Cameras Motion picture cameras which ' will be able to road map the stratosphere at rocket and jet speeds are being blueprinted for the Army Air Corps, M. W. Warren, representing the Air Material Command at Wright Field, Dayton, declared. Aerial cameras of the future must be able to stop the effects of supersonic speeds and be carried in rocket or projectile as well as aircraft. In another paper, Glenn L. Dimmick of the RCA Victor Division described RCA's newly developed light modulator for sound recording. M. E. Collins, of the Hollywood Engineering section of RCA Victor, described a new de luxe film recording machine incorporating technical advances. Music Hall Sets Three G. S. Eyssell, managing director of the Radio City Music Hall in New York, Tuesday announced a list of three pictures scheduled for opening at the theatre. The pictures are MGM's "Till the Clouds Roll By" and "The Yearling-" and Twentieth Century-Fox's "The Late George Apley." Theatre Business Reacts to End of Columbus Strike Theatre business, off an average of 50 per cent during the 25-day-old transit strike, reacted upward immediately upon resumption of car service in Columbus, Ohio, last Friday. The walkout ended when members of the Transport Workers Union of the CIO agreed to accept a peace plan presented by the Citizens' Committee. The plan called for the men to return to work during arbitration of three disputed points — wages, time and a half for work on six holidays a year and transportation for 175 maintenance men.. The strike caused disruption of theatre bookings. Reissues were substituted for previously announced first runs in several theaters. Matinees were especially hard hit during the walkout. A conservative estimate of box office losses to downtown theaters during the walkout is placed at over $100,000. Case for Organization Is Pleaded by Miller The need for independent theatre organizations is much stronger today than it ever has been, according to O. J. Miller, who Friday resigned as executive secretary of the Independent Theatre Owners of Oregon. In making his last visit with Oregon exhibitors, Mr. Miller pointed out that at the coming Oregon legislative session there is certain to be imposed some additional taxes on theatre operations. He believes that exhibitors will need a breakdown of the various bills and that experts affiliated with independent organizations will be able to furnish such statistics. Consequently ITOO will appoint someone to replace Mr. Miller, who is qualified to represent the industry at the legislative session. Tri-States Owners to Meet In Memphis in December Tri-States Motion Picture Owners will meet in annual session in Memphis in December, J. A. West, president, has announced. A meeting of the board of directors will be held soon to set the date. Mr. West hopes to have the general session of theatre owners of Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi meet at the Variety Club in the Hotel Gayoso during the first week of the month. Officers for the coming year will be elected during the meeting, but so far there is no plan to act on the proposed affiliation of the Tri-State organization with the American Theatres Association, Mr. West said. Change O'Brien, Driscoll Name O'Brien, Driscoll & Raftery, industry law firm, has been changed to O'Brien, Driscoll, Raftery & Lawler following the recent death of Dennis J. O'Brien. Paul O'Brien, son of the deceased and an assistant secretary of United Artists, and T. Newman Lawler, a partner in the firm for the past several years, are represented in the firm's name change. Arthur Driscoll and Edward C. Raftery, United Artists president, are the other partners. 22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, NOVEMBER 2, 1946