The Film Daily (1945)

hursday, August 30, 1945 vm' DAILY 11 ndian Black Market Profits Invested in Films lew Money Flood Expandig Production, But Benefit lay Prove Temporary (Continued from Page 1) ar consider the film industry as the limber one medium for investment," lid Wadia. "They look upon the inastry as manna from heaven and ley vifill soon be crashing the busi3SS in spTte of the fact they know i>thing about it." Tremendous Expansion This flood of new money, he said, ill result in a tremendous expanon of production activity that :omises to be only of temporary inefit to the industry unless the jjwcomers decide to operate on a ilid business basis and are not motiifited solely by greed for profit. For a while these new producers ill ride on the tide," Wadia asilrted. "Then there will be a letdown :iiless they are willing to apply busiiss methods to their operations and e not interested merely in immeate profits and in cashing in on the ar boom." Wadia said that, paradoxically, this ■eduction expansion will have the feet of causing an industry depres3n because as it is there exists a icklog of some 150 completed films ill to be exhibited in India; besides, ere are not enough theaters in the untry to take care of any abnormal olcrease in film product. He doubted fjcreased native production would irm American films in India. The producer was pessimistic about e future of the industry in India, ying that prospects "are not as ight as everybody expects them to He placed the blame largely on e Indian industry's concern with ir profits alone and the absence of ,y long-range program. Sees Bubble Bursting "Those in the business are look» only at the rosy, exaggerated ture of war-time conditions. They e still riding on a bubble that will rst any day," he said. The Indian industry was described Wadia as still being in its injlncy although it was established 30 ars ago. He blamed the lack of owth on two factors principally, le first, he said, was that those gaged in films were interested lely in the money motive to the gleet of the industry's welfare, ch persons had no interest in the lustry as such, he asserted. As the '.end factor handicapping the delopment of the industry he cited — iat he called "the peculiar position iia is in today as compared with ie nations." Wadia disclosed that public opini in India was bringing about some axation in the strictures placed on ^i content of pictures by the aui)rities. "Less of the meat is now ng cut out," he said. He pointed t, however, that film producers in |. country are still limited by govliment officials to themes that are lli* HOLLYWOOD SPEAKING Br BALPH wn.K HOLLYWOOD DETTE DAVIS has been added to the cast ^ of "Hollywood Bond Caravan," a tworeeler being produced at Paramount for the U. S. Eighth and the Canadian Ninth Victory Loans. Bing Crosby and the U. S. Maritime Service Training Station choir of 60 voices are now at work in the first song number, "We've Got Another Bond to Buy," by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson. Louis Harris is producing the picture, with Tom Baily serving as co-ordinator between the industry and War Finance groups. Melville Shavelson, of Hollywood Writers Mobilization, wrote the script. William Russell is directing and Bernard Luber is supervisor. The Eighth War Loan runs from October to December. • • Jack L. Warner has signed Richard Basehart, star of the Broadway production of "The Hasty Heart," to an exclusive longterm contract. While the company owns the screen rights to "The Hasty Heart," Baseheart's first assignment has not yet been decided. • • RKO has extended the contract of 8year-old Sharyn Moffett for another year. She will be featured in "Child of Divorce," an adaptation of the Leopold Atlas play which dates back to the '30' s. Peace Brings Hour Earlier Opening in Springfield Springfield, Mass. — The war's end has brought increased changes at Springfield's downtown houses. At Loew's Poll, a first-run house. Manager George Freeman disclosed that shows will start one hour earlier than they did prior to surrender. In the future, doors will open at 10:30 a.m., instead of 11:30. At Loew's Court Square Theater, Edward Harrison, manager, revealed discontinuance of midnight shows, which had been in effect three nights weekly for the convenience of war workers on swing-shifts. religious or historical or that deal with marital triangles. Raw Stock Controls Lifted With war activity over, the film business is slowly going back to noi'mal, Wadia reported. He also disclosed that war-inspired raw film controls had been lifted in India. Wadia said that his company's post-war plans included the creation of a division for the distribution in India of the product of American film and equipment firms that have not enjoyed representation there. While in America the producer, internationally known as an amateur photographer, plans to arrange for an exhibit of camera art. Wadia is due to leave for Hollywood on Sept. 14, vdth his departure for Bombay set for the end of October. BORIS MORROS, who will produce "Carnegie Hall" in Technicolor, has cabled Michael Kalatozov, head of Soviet film industry, to secure the services of Shostakovitch and Prokofieff, famous Russian composers, to write special music and play themselves in the picture. Other important musical personalities are also being sought to contribute to the production with Jose Iturbi and Henrietta Shumann already signed. As soon as he has lined up the leading names he desires Morros will set the production date. • • "Something resembling a tempest in a teapot has been brewed by certain elements who view 'Dillinger' and other mob pictures with great alarm," said Morrie King. "There is nothing in Dillinger' to glorify that notorious character or the career he chose to follow. I fail to see why pictures like 'Dillinger' breed crime any more than such hits as 'Double Indemnity' and 'Murder, My Sweet.' Lawlessness and murder were major elements in both of these productions and I didn't hear a single guardian of the public morals wail in protest when they were released." • • Twelve productions are awaiting release dates at Monogram, giving the company the largest backlog in recent months. Century, Local 306 Agree On Empire Dissolution (Continued from Page 1) junction held by the theater firm on Dec. 31, 1948, when the modified contract between the circuit and Empire runs out. The injunction to halt the demise of Empire was obtained by Century following the union's absorption by Local 306. Modification of the agreement, which marks the end of a 13-year feud between Local 306 and Century, calls for wage adjustments for Empire projectionists and permits recognition of Local 306 as the bargaining agent for Empire men for the purposes of a new contract four months before the expiration of the modified agreement. The original agreement between Empire and Century was to have expired in 1951. Local 306 Starts to Revive Contract Negotiations Efforts to revive negotiations between Local 306 and film companies for contracts covei'ing circuit operators and those at home offices, exchanges and local studios were started yesterday at a meeting of representatives of the union and the companies with Richard F. Walsh, lATSE head. Talks between Local 36 and the companies were called off last week when an impasse was reached. Another meeting will be held after Labor Day. Czech Deal Gives Reds' Films Edge (Continued from Page 1) ed in foreign distribution circles here yesterday. The Soviet-Czech deal is understood to cover a 10-year period, and it is understood that there is a provision in the pact for a graduated scale, thus assuring a still greater percentage of playing time for the Russians through the years. The U. S. distribs. are adamant in their refusal to negotiate with the Czech State Monopoly and, it is understood, have advised the OWI that unless there is an open market there for American pix, they do not care to have their 40 pictures made available to OWI exhibited in Czechoslovakia. The American position has been outlined to the State Department in full and it is expected to play no small part when a Czech trade commission, due here shortly, opens negotiations for an American trade treaty. Mt. Vernon Kiwanians Told of Pix War Service Edward C. Dowden, chairman of WAC public relations committee for New York City, delivered a talk yesterday before the Mt. Vernon Kiwanis Club on "Movies At War." Dowden, Loew's exploitation director for this area, explained details surrounding the war loan campaigns; Red Cross War Fund and United Nations drives; and the industry's cooperation with the OWI in presenting the Army with hundreds of films. He was introduced by George Miner, manager of Loew's Mt. Vernon. Other Loew men present were district manager, James Grady and Saul Handwerger of the publicity department. Signal Corps Mahing 600-Reel War History A 500,000-foot motion picture history of the war, said to be the most ambitious project of the Signal Corps Photographic Center, is now in production at the Astoria plant, CloseUps, Corps publication, reveals. Already 150,000 feet of edited film have been produced and the completed job will embrace 53 chronologies in 600 reels. Staff of the Historical Film Branch of the Combat Films Division has been extended to handle the job, with more than 30 officers, enlisted men and civilians transferred to the branch since Japan's surrender.