The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1939)

THE EXHIBITOR IS HOLLYWOOD NEWSREEL WARREN STOKES' • HELLO, FOLKS! This is WARREN STOKES speaking to you from Hollywood over the JEP network. Movieland is off to the races and yours truly was nearly off to the hoosegow because of that new department, "The Exhibitor’s Production Form Sheet," which has really started something in this celluloid village. With a flock of G-Men in town to clean up the alleged vice conditions, we had to do a lot of tall talking to prove We were not running a bookie joint. It all started when some of the studio boys kept both our phones busy, requesting additional copies of The Exhibitor, because their bosses were losing their "Form Sheets’’ with the whole department under suspicion. The race track jargon we had to hand out from our one remaining copy evidently got crossed up with a tapped wire and we had a couple of visitors who had to be convinced. They finally agreed that we had the right idea and they were on the wrong track. Note: Better save your "Form Sheets” in case it happens to you. And now for a few advance tips: Metro Runs Tarzan • TARZAN FINDS A SON” had a trial run at the Carthay Circle and it looks like a surprise entry from the Metro stables. We clocked this one at 81 minutes and it showed a fast pace from start to finish. "TARZAN” WEISSMULLER is in top form displaying great speed under water, and his "son,” JOHN SHEFFIELD, is a frisky young colt that shows great promise with lots of appeal to the family trade. To begin with, young Tarzan won a preliminary handicap over more than 200 entrants in this race for cinematic fame. Fie runs the older Tarzan a close second and will undoubtedly be a big favorite with old and young ticket buyers on first, second and subsequent runs. Some fascinating animals romp through this one to the home stretch with nearly every type of wild animal in captivity in America passing before the camera for a photo finish. This entry is run off in picturesque background and, while still of a fantastic nature, furnishes thrilling entertainment which, if only by virtue of its deviation from current formula should prove a welcome relief and win a surprise share of the public purse. It is the best bet to come out of Hollywood in a long time. You can whip up public interest for good returns on this one, and make no mistake, both young and old will buy tickets on this entry if you get behind it with the showmanship cam¬ paign it justly deserves. Small Stable Set • EDWARD SMALL returns co Hollywood from a vacation in Honolulu and budgets his seven en¬ tries for the 1939-40 season at $5,000,000. The purse will be expended on "My Son, My Son,” "The Life of Rudolph Valentino,” "Two Years Correction . And Apology In announcing last week The Exhibi¬ tor’s Grand Shorts Awards, credit for producing "The Declaration of Indepen¬ dence (Two-Reel Color Dramatic) and "Swingtime in the Movies” (Two-Reel Color Musical) was erroneously given Executive Producer Hal B. Wallis. Gordon Hollingshead should have been accorded the credit as producer, whose Vitaphone two-reel subjects justly stood pre-eminent in their fields. The Editors of The Exhibi¬ tor regret the error. Son of Tarzan Before the Mast,” "Quantrill the Raider,” "Kit Carson, Avenger,” "South of Pago Pago” and "Food for the Gods.” His "The Man In the Iron Mask” is nearly ready for its trial run on the preview track and we will be there to clock it when it goes to the post under the United Artists colors. Watch your Production Form Sheet for running time and possibilities of this entry. Berman Dismounts • PANDRO BERMAN turns in spurs at RKORadio to resign as production head, effective Octo¬ ber 1. This young executive has brought a num¬ ber of winners past the post but wants to get out of the saddle for a rest after several years of hard riding. Murmurings around the RKO pad¬ dock lead us to believe that he will be succeeded by George Schaefer, RKO president, whom the tongue waggers say, will move his executive set-up to the studio. The Form Sheet shows the RKO stable out of the running lately despite some apparently good pictures. This also applies to some of the other studios. If the movie moguls will scratch some of their carbon copy entries, break up the cycle habit, which slows up the receipts on the later releases. On the Wrong Track • PARAMOUNT IS A PACE-SETTER in the development of new talent with a score or more promising youngsters now being exploited and elevated to the top of the cinema ladder. This is one trend other studios can copy by recog¬ nizing the declining star value of older personali¬ ties. This, in view of apparently good pictures failing to show in the home stretch, must be done if the industry expects to get back in the running for better profits. The same applies to Holly¬ wood’s writing talent content to take the eastiest way out through cut and dried formula. The cure seems to be an injection of new blood in the pro¬ duction field. Too much emphasis has been placed on star and name value without the reali¬ zation of depreciation through constant wear and tear. Name value in this business does not hold indefinitely like the trade mark of any other commodity. The film salesman will tell you that Lizzie Glutz is an established name on a par with Ford, he might even go so far as to tell you that Ford automobiles sell because of the estab¬ lished name, that they have been outselling other cars for years through an established name value. Ford is a business man, smart enough to bring out a new model every year but Hollywood ex¬ pects to show the same models indefinitely because it is filled with one track minds on the wrong track. And that takes us back to paddock until next week. This is WARREN STOKES saying, "So Long, Folks!” SAMUEL GOLDWYN’S production ^ THE HURRICANE vith Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond Massey, John Carradine and Jerome Cowan Directed by JOHN FORD RELEASED THRU UNITED ARTISTS June 7, 1939