Canadian Moving Picture Digest (Oct 25, 1947)

October 25th, 1947 Ba: . , PES ie ARNEY BALABAN, President of Paramount Pictures, in an informal press interview recently, gave his interviewer some interesting data on the present status of motion: pic Jj i on | wit * 3 3 4 up and in respect to box-office, via public appeal. His interview was published in the New York Times, eae under a caption “Inside Opinion” bee ex _ and in connection with this interview, Beet Leonard Goldenson, President of the Paramount The atre Service Corp., added a few wise and enlightening words backed up by very realistic box-office figures. a ENA This interview is in line with the recent attitude which the motion picture. industry has ~ adopted, namely an attitude of defence in relationship to attacks, and an expose of the fall-acies contained in the information, which those eee who attack motion pictures, give to the public. nic eee geen Mr. Balaban emphasizes, that with, or without, ey foreign markets, the Industry is far from down . eee =» and out. ose s x . Present releases reveal marked quality in pro Fee _ -ductions; box-office reporis, on the whole, do ae eet not show, and will not show, when the annual reports are published, a decrease in returns as re oe far as Paramount theatres are concerned, of bee more than 10% over the peak of 1946. bo i See eee GOLDENSON added, “and this despite -&4 stiff competition from night baseball, night football, oS basket ball, hockey and other forms of amusement which ~ were either greatly curtailed, or discontinued during the » war. Weare no doubt losing a lot of potential patronage from among the 10,000,000 ex-service men, most of whom Eee are eager now to enjoy those other amusements which ee ee they had to forego for four or five years”. ee eee Mr. Balaban stated that if box-offices do not a become more depressed than they are at present, the Industry will have no cause for complaint. é . Fe cited the importance of dealing with rising be ae costs of production, in relation to the box-office, Pema “a picture that cost $1,500,000 to produce in Seta 1939, costs $2,200,000, in 1946, to produce, so Pere.) xt . naturally’; states Mr. Balaban, “if we grossed ea Be GDS 500,000, or $3,000,000, the margin of Fe was considerably reduced”. Bae R. BALABAN selected “My Favorite Blonde” for a a eg aah picture of comparable quality, and asked why such / a _picture should take 70 days to produce now, when in 1940 such a picture would take 42 days to produce. ‘ “Studios which do not bring their costs into line, and at Pec the same time improve quality, will find themselves in Pes. | come through more careful planning of stories’. a es aes aie interview covers two columns on one See page of the Sunday New York Times, and on eens ex another page, there is a one column pan, in ae ae which the writer mentions that the revival on SAS eee Broadway of “The Birth of a Nation’ should a have caused a blush, or two, at the Rivoh, the Capitol and Loew's Criterion. At the three mentioned theatres, there was showing “Unxe conquered”, “Green Dolphin Street” and “The Swordsman” I do not know what these three productions represent in millions of dollars invested, but they are worth thinking about. If the “panner” is correct, we are all very wrong, and should coni _ sider ‘million dollar investments, in motion’ pic~ ture gage more carerulyy. 1 ae the “ Te RAY PRESENTS tures, in relation to its financial set— trouble”, concluded Mr. Balaban. “Improved quality will CANADIAN MOVING PICTURE DIGEST. __ ee ope ee is wrong, then there must be an answer to each “panning” which dismisses, witha stroke of the pen, millions of dollars worth of motion picture investment, / I REPEAT, eres is something wrong with an Sighs as powerful as ours, which invests so many millions each year in newspaper advertising, and yet is so bitterly attacked by a press which our millions of dollars supports. What other Industry gets such panning? Thousands of people, each year, are killed in motor accidents, hundreds of thousands are seriously injured. Is the Motor Industry called “a human menace”? Editorially, do writers select the brand of car responsible for ‘accidents? As a result of such accidents, is the Motor Industry attacked? Is it pointed out that motor accidents have increased, etc., etc.; that morons, who do not. know the routine of the simplest multiplication table, drive cars? Granted, a critic has the right to review a picture, to praise, or to condemn it, but in so doing, is it his right of free speech, to attack a whole Industry, because he docs not like one, or two pictures? If the public pays at the boxoffice, who is right, the critic, or the public? LLIANCE FILMS is presenting “Before Him All Rome Trembled”, with Anna Magnani, star of “Open City”, and featuring 40 minutes of Puccini’s opera, “La Tosca”, at His Majesty’s Theatre, twice daily, matinees 75 cents, evenings $1.00, tax included. Tie-ups include a particularly striking window display at Eaton’s, specially designed by Eaton’s window display artist, with the figure of a woman, as “La Tosca’, in a period gown, arm upraised, with dagger in hand, against a background of pleated blue satin, against which is hung portraits of Anna Magnani as “La Tosca” and Tito Gobbi as “Scarpia’’. In the foreground are the masks of comedy and tragedy, including heavy golden cords and tassels. Record albums of Puccini's operas and scenes from the picture are artistically displayed. FHfartney’s, Dupuis Freres, and other merchants are carrying window displays, and music stores are displaying an abundance. of musical and Operatic records. At His Majesty’s Theatre, Montreal, there has been some structural changes, including a new screen, new golden curtains, drapes, refurnishing and reconstruction of lounge space. His Majesty’s is one of the oldest theatres in Montreal, and will in a few years, celebrate the 50th anniversary of its opening. Several years ago, this theatre was lifted, in its entirety, from its foundation, and a new foundation built under the building, an engineering feat which made building construction history. Following “Before Him All Rome Trembled” at His Majesty's, the New York production of “Anna Lucasta’ will be presented. During the coming season, Arthur Hirsch has booked, for this theatre, the Master Artists Series, ures ing world-famous concert artists.