American cinematographer (June 1937)

228 American Cinematographer • June, 1937 A GREAT CONVENTION By George Blaisdell I T WAS A great convention, that gathering of the Engineers. Old- timers there are who are prepared to assert that of the forty conventions that have been held this one topped the lot. And while not inclined to blow any horn for any town—not even for New York, and we lived there a lot of years—if the convention proved to be a success it was not in spite of it being held in Hollywood. The ones in the know will tell you it was be- cause of it. T ROSTRUM PRESENCE F or unusually effective de- livery of a technical paper the or- chids are undoubtedly due John For- est of the home office of Agfa, who on Tuesday morning enlightened the del- egates to the Engineers’ convention on “The New Agfacolor Process.” To be sure, this writer was present at comparativ’ely few of the sessions, but he has been in attendance at quite a number of others since the organiza- tion of the society, and it is his con- viction this young man has something out of the ordinary in the way of rostrum presence. Poise would seem to be Forest’s outstanding characteristic, and this is fortified by the earnestness, the mod- esty without a trace of shjmess, the clarity of expression, and the uncon- scious authority of the scholar who knows his subject. With fifty years of usefulness easily ahead of him it is pleasant to con- template what this one man will bring to a great industry in the course of a lifetime. And it must not be forgot- ten that all over the world working with him are thousands of others. T FILE YOUR APPLICATION NOW A REPORT not at this writing of- ficially confirmed says that Sam Goldwyn and Alexander Korda have purchased from IMary Pickford, Charles Chaplin and Douglas Fair- banks control of United Artists. The trio named constitute three-fourths of the original organization. The sum reported to be paid the three is in excess of two million apiece. At the time of the forming of the company—something like a score of years ago—a well-known distributor who from the beginning had been a S. K. WOLF President, Society Motion Picture Engineers He was one of the many who believed then even though he may not now that an actor as a business man not only was not so hot but actually was something exceedingly cold. And so this former songslide mer- chant—and in other days that re- mark belittled nobody—later exchange man, distributor and now producer was moved to remark when speaking of the organizers: “The inmates have taken over the asylum.” The line for those who wish to en- ter some similar asylum, draw down fat dividends across a couple of dec- ades and then sell out for better than two million apiece, forms on the right. And don’t crowd. T BOUQUET FOR THE SERGEANT A t the may meeting of the Los Angeles 8mm Club Member C. G. Cornell in the course of a routine re- port praised Bill Stull’s interview in the April and May issues of this magazine with Sergeant Robert Teo- rey. He declared the Sergeant’s cleverness in devising expedients for accomplishing most useful ends in the way of making home movies was worthy of careful study. President F. R. Loscher at the end of the com- teeman’s report agreed with the pre- vious speaker, saying he hoped every member would be able to read the articles. figure in the industry—going back as far as the song slides, and who to- day is an associate producer—was moved to make a remark that was widely quoted at the time. He was famous for that sort of wisecracks, and not always were they susceptible of reprinting in a family newspaper. EPITAPH If I should die before again we meet Hail and Farewell I send. If pain I’ve caused by thoughtless words unsweet Contrite my head I bend. If vagrant flash of me shall cross your mind I crave your charity: See me in hours when joy was uncon- fined . . . Not in asperity! T A SHOM TO REMEMBER Y OU ARE WARNED in advance so you may discount any seeming enthusiasm that this reporter ever since the days of Kinemacolor has been a nut on color. But what he has on his mind is how Technicolor came into its own on the first evening of the En- gineers’ Convention. For three hours in the Blossom Room of the Holly- wood Roosevelt an audience composed of motion picture experts, the men be- hind the screen, sat—well, yes, you may be permitted to say when but a quarter of an hour away from under it—enthralled at a program of riches. Probably never in the comparatively brief history of the motion picture in- dustry had there been such a program offered to a motion picture audience— meaning to a body that is hard-boiled Continued on Papre 264