The Film Daily (1945)

r^ "^ DAILY Thursday, July 26, ^^45 Blum on Good and Harmful Publicity (Continued from Page 1) spoiled for all time throughout the territory. Local distribution offices place their material with publications that are the most valuable for publicity purposes and at a time when its release will most benefit box-office. The office can regulate the time of release and can check the release after it appears. When a U. S. syndicate services its client, it is interested in nothing but revenue. The local office does not know when the still or article will appear; it has no control over captions; and certainly, no choice of medium. Unfriendly local editorial comment in such unregulated releases have been a source of box-office loss, instead of advantage. Recently, the situation has become so bad in England that the matter was reported by Fay Allport to the Hays Office. This absurd publicity situation might be compared to the unthinkable decision of a domestic distribution chief, who decided without consulting the international head, to book several houses scattered throughout the world as a favor to a big American exhibitor. What would the domestics say of a non-American distribution manager who grabbed the best stills made by a motion picture unit that happened to be in his territory on location, and then distributed them with improper captions without control, with incorrect production titles, with no regard to timeliness, and exclusively to such publications within the United States as suited his fancy, without so much as a nod to domestic sales or publicity? That is what is taking place abroad! Timidity of Publicity Managers The timidity of domestic publicity managers in discontinuing this harmful practice is unfounded. U. S. syndicates do not accept stills and features from domestic publicity departments because they are kindly disposed towards such departments. They accept the material because it is newsworthy and saleable. Domestic departments, in their desire to produce clippings for domestic departments, find it convenient to disregard the greatest good to their respective companies, never realizing that U. S. syndicates must have motion picture material. Never having been forbidden to send material abroad, it would be unnatural to suppose that U. S. syndicates would turn down the extra change which may be picked up outside the United States and Canada at the expense, and without benefit to the motion picture companies. Since the U. S. syndicates regard "foreign" markets as a source of merely extra change, the prices charged publications abroad is relatively little. This, in turn, has the effect of attracting more and more of the minor or unfriendly publications as U. S. syndicate accounts. Unless this practice is broken up imme Texas Interstate to Build Television House In Galveston as Test for Future Progrants Dallas — Interstate Theaters has manifested interest in theater television via the announcement of plans for a theater in Galveston to be built with tele reception and large-screen reproduction in view. House, an 800-seater to be constructed when materials are available, is to serve as more or less of a test of the circuit's television program. Five other Galveston sites have been acquired for theaters to be television equipped and, when conditions are favorable, older Interstate theaters will be equipped for tele, it is said. Rogovin Named Col. N.E. Div. Manager (Continued from Page 1) company, Montague said. The former branch manager joined the company in 1929 as a Boston salesman, became manager of the New Haven branch in 1933 and returned to Boston as branch manager in 1937. Elkton, Md., Okays Sun. Pix in Special Election (Continued from Page 1) posal when an ordinance was submitted in accordance with a bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly permitting towns and cities to decide the issue. The proposal provides for showing of motion pictures in the afternoon and evening. Carmichael Leaves Metro Lqis Angeles — Ralph Carmichael, local sales manager for M-G-M and a veteran in the company's ranks, yesterday was tendered a luncheon by his associates at the Ambassador Hotel on the eve of his leaving the company to join a local booking combine. George A. Hickey, West Coast sales manager, was host at the affair at which Carmichael was given a wrist watch. Winfield Sheehan Dies in Hospital (Continued from Paige 1) studios and established distribution branches in America and in European and other foreign markets. He discovered numerous stars for the screen, including Will Rogers, Shirley Temple, Lee Tracy, Paul Muni, Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, John Gilbert and Buck Jones. In 1939 Sheehan produced "Florian" for M-G-M and his last production was "Captain Eddie," the story of Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, which premieres in Columbus, 0., Aug. 1, for 20th-Fox. Sheehan was married to Maria Jeritza, opera singer. Eddie Mannix Returns IVcsi Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood— E. J. Mannix, M-G-M sutdio executive who has just completed a tour of European theaters of war as guest of the Government, returns ■ today from New York after making a stop-over in Chicago for conference with Nicholas M. Schenck, president, and Louis B. Mayer, head of production. Mayer is remaining in Chicago and Schenck will return to New York from there in a few days. diately, the hold of the U. S. syndicates on the international film publicity situation will be so strong that it will be practically impossible to escape from it. The international departments have no quarrel with the U. S. syndicates. Even in their non-American dealings, they can be a source of profit to themselves and an aid to the motion picture industry, if dealings with the non-American departments of the U. S. syndicates are limited to international film department channels. There is a tremendous wealth of institutional publicity that may be released through U. S. syndicates to their own and the motion picture companies' advantage. Much specific picture publicity may also be so released under the guidance of the trained international publicity man, whose first concern with these nonAmerican releases will be box-office good, not merely American breaks. Domestic publicity organizations must realize that they cannot adequately serve their companies by permitting the present uncontrolled haphazard planting of stills and feature articles abroad through U. S. syndicates. Correction of the situation may be achieved by the following steps: — • (a) The limitation to the United States and Canada of all stills and feature articles delivered by domestic publicity departments to U. S. syndicates . . . and others . . . with an enforceable notice to the above effect attached to each such still and article: (b) A copy of every still and every feature article delivered by the domestics to U. S. syndicates ... or others . . . should simultaneously be delivered to international publicity departments for use beyond the United States and Canada; (c) All dealings with U. S. syndicates ... or others . . . looking toward releases abroad should be referred for action to international publicity departments. With the growth of the U. S. syndicates abroad and the correspondingly increasing chaos wrought by their non-American subscribers, no time should be lost in correcting the current vicious practice of unlimited — and exclusive — ^releases to U. S. syndicates. State Dept. to Ad In Dutch Pix Monovl (Continued from Page 1) Dutch situation, especially aboil lack of any sort of assurance! the new Dutch government pis I relax the stringent film mioul set up as a war-time measure tl government-in-exile. All decrel the war-time government are sl| to review by the new govern! but there is a strong impressil Washington that, if the new gol ment had any intention of droij or modifying the monopoly d| in any important way, word al]| would have seeped through. The only American civilian represeril in Holland today are OWI officials, whif released an estimated three dozen HoU] films there since the liberation. As stand at present there is a good deal cj cern over what happens to these films] the OWI finally leaves the country. It ; sible that they may take the films with] if the only alternative is to leave the] handling: by a g-overnment monopoly. ing the films to the monopoly, it is | certain, would not be the choice of Atn] distributors, who have already made it] that they do not intend to deal with i\ monopolies. Fear Too Many Restrictions Insiders are beg'inning' to feel fairl. I tain that at least some parts of the moiJ set-up will be retained. While it is pi] that American distributors may be pen] to operate in the country, they fear tha( operation will be circumscribed by g:i[ ment-set price limits, I'un limits and vij other restrictions which would both cut! its and result in so little freedom for [ that they would prefer to stay out o] country. Dutch exhibitors and distributors, it lieved, are pressuring the government il abandon the monopoly, in the hope | through its protection they will be al] limit rentals and the volume of releases. | have a very real fear that British and .i] lean distributors will seek to flood the :J market with a major part of the featuri duction of the past five years — none shown, of course, in Holland — in too stj period. They do not seem to realize, ai| ing to the rumors reaching this country, permitting the market to be glutted wot I no more pro'fitaible for our distributore 1 it would be for them, and they are ief that a flood of releases would threaten own economic position within the exhilj industry, 'Here in Washington, officials are pi;| by the entire picture. Holland has no duction industry, and it is difficult to i' out how the Dutch can expect better pi by antagonizing American producers or ing them out entirely than by resumptii the comparatively free trading oi the pn^ period. Final Word Awaited from Italy No final word yet has been received Italy regarding conclusion of the pact foi interchange of films which is now in the ing. but officials oi the State Deipartmen they see no likelihood of anything holdin the agreement. They are especially enthv tic about the Italian attitude, feeling thj all foreign film and government people as reasonable as the Italians their prot would be light. The Italians, for instance making no stipulations that our pix for s ing in Italy mtist be duibbed in that cou; Actually, according to the State Departnl American distributors will probaibly do of their dttbbing for Italy in that cou Spain, on the other hand, insists not that all American films be dubbed but they be ditbbed in Spain. In addition Spanish government insists that none of films dubbed in Spain may be exportei other Spa,nish-sT)eaking countries unless profi't on the export showings is returne the Sipanish government, which will i pesetas in exchange. This unreasonable demand, dictated by Spanish hunger for foreign exchange, is examiple of the difficulties being encount in those European lands where pix and ernment people refuse to take the helpful reasonable attitude of the Italians.