Business screen magazine (1938)

♦ The Highway Transportation industry ought to produce a bangup public relations film to offset the general lack of knowledge concerning that industry's vast contribution to state tax funds and its service to business. Here's a job which films alone can do in bringing the realistic story of this industry before those who influence its destinies — government regulatory bodies and its customers. A really great and wholly American document might well be created if the sponsors will stick to the truth in itself. There's glorification enough in the everyday labors of the trucker, sufficient prestige in the cold fact that 3,109.508 truck operators, employing over 6,000,000 people, serve every city and hamlet in the U. S. Not to mention the 48.492 communities unserved by railroad! That this accounts for only 5% of the nation's inter-city freight bill is evidence worth screening. ♦ Technicians and business film users who have heard of the new mercury lamps recently developed and demonstrated at the San Francisco Fair by General Electric know that this new water-cooled light develops tremendous illumination from an extremely small and comparatively cool tube. That this invention will prove a great boon to the entire field of projection may be anticipated but at present the quality of light produced is not sufficiently white to give the best results, particularly in the case of color films. An upto-the-minute and authoritative technical slant will be a feature of an early number. ♦ Sponsors can draw a pretty liberal measure of confidence in the film medium as a result of the recent Eveready surveys made by Dr. Henry C. Link's Psychological Service. The facts and figures cost the sponsor a neat sum but we're in hopes that the very favorable conclusions which laid the foundation for Eveready 's present widespread minute-movie campaign (900 theatres, following .sales quotas) can be put into print in these pages someday soon. West Coast (\Y) and Jam Handy produced. ♦ E.MBARKED ou a coursc of eighttime-a-year publication. Business Screen's dating schedule draws it plenty of reader correspondence of the "can't wait . . . why don't you come out oftener" variety, and a few digs from people who like to live on the calendar and read their magazines with the monthly bills. # CAMERA EVE NEWS AND COMMENT ON BUSINESS FILMS To one and all the editors reply that they consider this publication's task one of creative and original leadership rather than that of neirs reporting; that a more liberal schedule favoring research is in these times to be preferred to an antedated system that brings out magazines on a newspaper basis and that sometimes pulls them out of existence by its irresistible force. As witness a lamented Scribners. ♦ Exhibitors at the recent OilWorld Exposition held by that industry in Houston used films with such effectiveness that the Houston Press business columnist, Paul Hochuli, was lead to remark: "More and more exhibitors are turning to this form of presentation (films). Two or VOLUME ONE ^a b le of more films are growing this year where only one unreeled during the last show. There should be plenty more at the next. "A lot of the dryness has been taken out. You don't get a bunch of stills and blue prints. A number of the films have story structure upon which the product is exhibited. Some are in color, and there's lots of action in all." ♦ New and Newsworthy: Henry Hobart heads the recently opened New York offices (41 East 42nd Street) of Industrial Pictures, Inc., Detroit producer, it was announced by Herbert V. Book, president. Bertram Willoughby, who heads the Ideal Picture Company in Chicago, is the new prexy of the Allied Non-Theatrical Film NUMBER SEV-EN C-o/i ten IS Cover Subject: Field Mechanic: An Aviation study by Robert Yarnelt Ritchie for American Airlines, Inc. The Film Forum 4 Distribution for Profit 11 Seventh Row Center Is Restless 14 The New Films 15 Let's Sell It In Pictures 16 Speak Your Audience's Language 18 Wings for the World 19 An Original Business Screen Film Idea The Tractor Dealer Tells 'Em 23 Publicitj for Y'our Films 24 Esso Marketer Films 25 Slidefilms: Digest-Reviews of New Programs 27 Behind the Screen 29 ♦ Business Screen Magazine, issued by Business Screen Magazines, Inc., Twenty North \Yacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois on May 15, 1939. Editorial Director, O. H. Coelln. Jr.; Managing Editor, R. C. Danielson. Acceptance under the Act of June 5, 1934, authorized February 20, 1939. Issued 15 times annuall.v — including 4 Visual Education yumbers (not circulated in the business field) . Subscription price: Domestic So. 00 for twelve numbers (of Business Screen) . 50c the copy. Foreign. $6.00. Publishers are not responsible for the return of unsolicited m.s. unless accompanied by stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Entu"e contents copyright, 1939, by Business Screen Magazines. Inc. Trademark Reg. U. S. Patent Office. Association just organized. The Association will direct its activities against print bootlegging, duping; will fight adverse legislation, endeavor to get better releases and work for closer cooperation within the film distributing library business. ♦ Announcement this month of Cinecolor's developments in the 16mm. print field has been noted with interest by business film users. The economy of this 2-color process will add an effective weapon to advertising armament if uniformity is achieved in the prints. The news from the Coast also carries some interesting notes concerning Magnacolor and its possible adaptation to business films. Of all color processes the user will demand what only Technicolor has thus far always given — uniform, dependable quality; but perhaps this demand will now be met by technical standardization in the other processes as well. ♦ Someday the prospective sponsor of a commercial motion picture will call a producer into his office and say, "I want you to make a picture for us. One of those advertising movies like Union Pacific. We'll put on a premeer in Apple Junction that will make Omaha look like a whistle stop on the Toonerville Trolley." If the producer belongs to the Goldwyn or Zanuck menage he will spend the rest of the afternoon explaining that Hollywood's attitude on commercial tie-ups is that of appearing pleasantly surprised via its exploitation department if the story department happens to think of a yarn that somebody else will help the studio advertise via the newspapers, magazines, window displays and other forms of publicity. But Goldwyn's Hollywood is a haven for simon-pure amateurism insofar as any advance selling of screen ideas is concerned. True enough, busses, motorcars, airplane travel, tractors, magazines, refrigerators, and ladies frocks are frequently "plugged" but those things are arranged on a basis of diplomatic reciprocity which can hardly be depended on as a substantial means of merchandising by any type of business. For what Hollywood giveth it often taketh away and today's pleasure jaunt in a Whooziz Eight is tomorrow's dizzy whirl ahead of a posse which ends suddenly in a spintering crash hardly fit for polite mention. NuiMBER SeV-EN