The Exhibitor (1952)

THE EDITORS STUDIO SURVEY Appears every fourth Wednesday as a regular special feature department of EXHIBITOR, and is devoted exclusively to the arts, people, creative ability, and physical properties which make up the production side of the motion picture industry. Edited from the west coast, all information relating to its editorial contents should be directed to editorial director Paul Manning, 428 South Mansfield Avenue, Los Angeles 36, California. For all other information, address EXHIBITOR, published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc. Publishing offices: 246-48 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19, New York. Volume 5, Number 7 July 9, 1952 As the only voting of its kind, the International Laurel Awards reflect personal credit on people as well as on pictures. By their ballots, theatremen who guide the destinies of the theatres and drive-ins pay their respects in their own way. And exhibitors know their players well. For example, in the first poll, in 1949, Doris Day was selected as the leading new female personality. In the fourth voting, she has now been chosen as the top female star, an indication not only of the quality of the voting but also the manner in which boxoffice values have a way of proving themselves. There are many other examples which could be presented to show how important the selections have become but suffice it to say that this 1951-52 group of winners and runners-up represents a solid crop of people and pictures which have meant much at the nation's boxoffices. The Special Awards, also, have taken on greater significance, allowing the editors an opportunity to add their own plaudits to those demonstrated through the balloting. While the structure of the International Laurel Awards is com¬ prehensive, the Special Awards are significant in that they cover portions of the field which do not easily lend themselves to voting. As Paul Manning, STUDIO SURVEY editor, has so often said, Hollywood knows the job it has to do. It has confidence in itself, and, backed by the exhibitors of the country, it feels that it can overcome any recession or form of competition if it knows that the exhibitors are standing back of those who produce the films. The 1951-52 International Laurel Awards are proof of this support. On the pages that follow, the full story is told. To those who helped make this possible go our heartfelt thanks and appreciation. T I HE results of the fourth annual International Laurel Awards poll well demon¬ strate how conscious exhibitors are of the efforts of the individual players, producers, directors, and other craftsmen responsible for the films which play the screens of theatres everywhere.