The Film Daily (1934)

Saturday, April 7, 1934 FILM DAILY SPRING SHORT SUBJECT QUARTERLY 15 i iy »I Names, Music and Youth, Educational 34-35 Policy By E. W. HAMMONS President, Educational Pictures "DIG name personalities, music, and youth. These will be the foundation on which Educational will build its short subjects program for 1934-35. We feel that our experiment in moving part of our comedy production to New York has been even more successful than we had hoped for. By writing, casting and shooting comedies here, we have been enabled to present far more star names of unquestioned boxoffice strength than we could have done otherwise . . . more big names, in fact, than we have ever seen before on one season's group of comedies. Such names as Ernest Truex, Helen Morgan, Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Stoopnagle and Budd and The Three Ritz Brothers are important in anybody's theater. Since our work with such famous stage and radio stars this season has been so satisfactory, and since these and others have been available to us only for work in the East, we shall, of course, continue a large part of our activity here. Ernest Truex has already signed to make a number of pictures for us, and several other important stars will be announced soon. The musical comedy, and the "comedy with music," have found such an eager market this season, that it is our intention to increase the number of such subjects on our new schedule. By "comedy with music," I mean the picture with complete and logical comedy story, into which new music has been woven without disrupting the comedy story. Prominent display given to short subjects by Rsdio City Music Hall in its newspaper ads. Another example of giving space to shorts in newspaper ads. PARAMOUNTJROGRAM THREE-FOURTHS READY Out of 101 one-reelers and 24 tworeelers scheduled by Paramount for the 1933-34 season, 72 one-reelers and 20 two-reelers, or about threefourths of the program, have been completed. This leaves only four two-reelers and 29 one-reelers to go. 71 Short Subjects On Imperial Lineup Imperial's 1934 short subject lineup includes a total of 71 subjects, divided into seven series, as follows : 13 one-reel Edgar Guest Poetic Gems, 13 one-reel Spicy Silhouettes, 13 Travelogues in color, 8 three-reel westerns featuring Wally Wales, 12 two-reel action melodramas, 6 tworeel kiddie reviews and 6 one-reel novelties. In other words, the music is fitted to the comedy, rather than the comedy being written around the songs. Such a picture was "Going Spanish," featuring Bob Hope and Leah Ray. . There will be not less than 12 Musical Comedies on Educational's two-reel output for 1934-35, and the popularity of the musical number will have just as big an influence on our single-reel line-up. It is my firm conviction that, more and more, the music of the average theater program will be presented through the short subject. Youth will be evident not only in the Frolics of Youth, where the whole story revolves around the antics of the younger set, but will add its influence throughout the whole program. Youth and beauty will have a prominent place in all our comedy casts. Comedy Treatment Must Change With Public Mood By AL MERTZ Short Subject Sales Manager, RKO Radio Pictures /"vURS is a business ot constantly changing paces and that is why the making of a comedy requires such care and skill. As public mood changes, so must comedy treatment be altered from time to time so there be no stagnation and that a consistent flow of good product be maintained. Too often has it been said that the value of shorts to a program cannot be estimated. That is not true. But many times the proper shorts are not set in With the feature, which, as a result, makes for an uninteresting program. There is no reason for that kind of booking — shorts constitute 50 per cent of the show and an exhibitor should make it his business to see that his program is balanced, and also, to take advantage of "marquee names" in shorts and "scoops" in the News Weeklies. If this procedure is followed, and the exhibitor gets every advantage out of his short subject program by getting behind it in earnest, I feel sure that better business will result therefrom. Sees Code Benefiting Independent Shorts Restrictions of the code on the forcing of shorts with features by major companies will prove of considerable benefit to independent short subject producers, in the opinion of John M. Crinnion, president of Amity Pictures. By virtue of his individual effort, the independent producer can build character and individualism into his shorts, making both quality and novelty possible, says Crinnion. In the last six months Ainity has released 11 shorts, ranging from one-reel subjects to four-reelers, and headed by the musical featurette, "Puss in Boots." Miniature Press Sheets On Walt Disney Subjects As an additional aid in helping showmen sell their Walt Disney "Mickey Mouse" and "Silly Symphony" programs to the public on a scale similar to a feature, the United Artists publicity department is now making available separate miniature press sheets on each of the Disney short subjects. Besides containing many exploitation suggestions, which have been tried and proven in tie-ups in New York City, each press sheet consists of an assortment of one and two column ad and publicity cuts, lobby material and an attractive array of publicity material suitable for local newspapers. Among the other accessories offered in the Disney press sheets are sets of 8 x 10 stills, a stock one sheet, a special trailer and a colored 40 x 60 display. Powers Output on Schedule The total of 19 cartoons from Celebrity Productions, this season have been produced or are in production in accordance with schedules. Twelve of these are on the M-G-M program, -and six are being released on the independent market. Of the Powers ComiColor series of six cartoon fairy tales in color, three have been released and three are in work for release at six-week intervals. Seven "Willie Whopper" cartoons in black and white have already been delivered to M-G-M by Celebrity, and six more subjects are in various stages of production for current season release. NOVELTY AND HUMOR CALLED '34 KEYNOTES The keynote of short subjects for the coming year will be novelty and humor, according to Abe Montague, Columbia sales manager. "Even the cartoons will depend more on humor than on animation," says Montague. "During the last few years we have developed the mechanical possibilities of cartoons so fully that animation alone no longer entertains. Personalities will continue to be important but only when they are given adequate and proper material. Names without novelty and comedy mean little. And the novelty must exist in the material as well as in the treatment." 16 Shorts for 1934-35 Scheduled by Film Exch. A third series of the "Living Book of Knowledge," consisting of eight novelty animal and travel subjects, will be included in the 193435 program of the Film Exchange, according to H. Pergament. Among other subjects will be "Gow," fourreeler with feature version; "Peace," three-reeler; "Orphan Oddities," including "Strange Wedding Sign," "Believe It or Don't," "Jack and Jill," "Otto Gray and His Cowboys" and two other subjects. One-sheet for exploitation of two-reel Ernest Truex comedy.