20th Century-Fox Dynamo (April 1950)

i Seeing Is Believing W HEN this company planned the* product reported in this book it did so with the firm determination of providing exhibitors and public with a steady flow of outstanding screen entertainments. That determination is rapidly materializing into definite accomplish- ment. I make that statement advisedly, for I have just returned from our jstudio where I saw most of the pictures we will release in the next eight months. If seeing is believing, and it is, then, in all truth, I can predict that this product is the finest offered in any similar period by any com- pany. W HAT I saw at the studio during the month I spent there left no doubt that our pictures will measure up to our customers’ loftiest hopes—and produce a public satisfaction that will react extreme- ly beneficially at the box office. Among the pictures I viewed there are at least three that the public in pre-war and during World War II days would have gladly paid road- show prices to see and come away feeling they had got their full money’s worth. “Broken Arrow”, with color by Technicolor, is one of these. Darryl Zanuck’s personal production of “No Way Out” is another. The third is well in production. S ELDOM have I been as moved by a motion picture as I was by “Broken Arrow”. Unquestionably, this is the greatest Indian versus white man story filmed. It is big, spectacular—and will have as tremendous an impact on those who view it as it did on those of us who have seen it. We have previewed “Broken Arrow” in several cities and towns. Audience reaction and the written comments of these patrons conclu- sively proved we have a picture of great scope and appeal to every type and age of moviegoer. We feel so confident of the unlimited possibilities of “Broken Arrow” that we have decided to give it special handling. We have au- thorized an extensive advance campaign to make the public conscious of the coming of one of the most important events in motion picture exhibition. Z ANUCK’s “No Way Out” is that distinguished producer’s most not- able achievement in motion picture entertainment. None will dis- pute the contention of those privileged to have seen “No Way Out that it will take its place alongside this industry’s most memorable pic- tures. “No Way Out” has been conceived and produced in Zanuck’s characteristically frank style of dealing realistically with the dramatiza- tion of a contemporary condition influencing the lives of the multitude. There is no hesitancy in predicting that it will win numerous honors and further add to the stature of the motion picture. Because of its entertainment excellence and universal appeal, I feel “No Way Out” will not only accentuate the truth of the “movies- are-better-than-ever” slogan, but it will prove that in the field of diver- sion none does or can offer so much as the motion picture. “No Way Out” is the motion picture at its best. T HEN there is “The Gun-Fighter”, starring Gregory Peck. It is my belief that Peck gives in this outdoor epic a finer performance than he gave in “12 O’Glock High”. A suspenseful, intriguing drama of the futile effort at regeneration by a notorious killer, who might have attained greatness in the* pursuit of lawful business, “The Gun-Fighter” has everything to suggest it will be an outstanding success. We saw “Panic In The Street”, a sensational picture about a sen- sational subject. Given semi-documentary treatment by Elia Kazan, who directed “Pinky”, “Gentleman’s Agreement” and “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn”, this picture has terrific driving force and a realism that will meet any box office challenge. B UT, there are others, each outstanding in its type of story. Of those scheduled for early release and prti-assuring public satisfaction are “A Ticket To Tomahawk”, in Technicolor, and “Night And The City”, a vigorous expose of the London underworld and night life. My studio visit induces but one conclusion: that before 20th Century-Fox customers loom- a year of important prosperity and profit.