The film daily year book of motion pictures (1943)

was the first world premiere in publicity and exploitation history about which nothing was said or written until two weeks afterward. Public Relations Division Oscar A. Doob, Chairman The single thing which the Government realized that the film industry had in great quantity was and is— showmanship. An ability to dramatize events, to ballyhoo some thing or idea with the flair necessary to highlight the values. What the various official agencies who have asked (and received) aid from the industry wanted was an organization with the manpower to "showmanize" a given project. That, in one newly minted word, is the function of this division— to "showmanize." That the activities of this year were successful is a tribute at once to the Divisions which sired them and to the Public Relations Division, which, in a measure "inspired them." The coming year will undoubtedly mean increased activity for the WAC, and to this end the Public Relations Division has been enlarged and, at the same time, decentralized for greater effectiveness. Serving as a field publicity force are 31 Exchange Area Public Relations Chairmen, each with an area committee. They are now functioning. The area chairmen have appointed local chairmen in every city of 25,000 or over population. On the theory that a good national campaign is the sum of hundreds of good local campaigns, this will both simplify and enormously improve the WAC. United Nations Week, one of the year's most important activities, proved the effectiveness of the new arrangement. A Looh Ahead Few, if any of us, could visualize a year ago the profound changes in our personal lives and in American business which actual involvement in this global war was to bring. Nor can we tell precisely today what this next year will mean to any of us. We know the cost in blood and treasure will be terrific. We feel in our hearts that no price is too high to pay for freedom. Last December in his letter appointing Lowell Mellett to be Coordinator of Government Films, our Commander-in-Chief declared that he wanted no restrictions placed upon the motion picture except those dictated by military necessity. President Roosevelt's further statement that the motion picture is one of the most useful media for informing the public has been implemented by various rulings of federal officials designed to maintain production, distribution, and exhibition— not without wartime difficulties, it is true, but we are still functioning— and serving— and expect to continue. Thanks to the foresight and patriotism of leaders of the motion picture industry, in requesting President Roosevelt last December to designate a coordinator of Government films to work with the industry's own coordinator, we have been able to increase and intensify our wartime cooperation while maintaining cherished freedom of action. I believe we have demonstrated the effectiveness of voluntary cooperation, thereby, making compulsion as unnecessary as it is undesirable, and distasteful. Mr. Mellett, in a letter from him to a third party dated November 30, 1942, makes the following significant statement: "I believe sincerely in the freedom of the screen, and everything I have done, or am doing is completely in line with that belief. . . . "Our production is confined to a limited number of factual, informational filmsfour to nine minutes in length— presenting matters it is deemed important for the people to know, and for the Government to have the people know. These follow a pretty consistent pattern in which the responsible head of a Government agency presents this information on the screen— and takes the responsibility for it. We adapt also for American audiences similar presentations furnished by the governments of allied nations. The total is a tiny fraction of the total screen product of America. We are not planning to go deeper." I hope and believe that our industry's aid to the war effort will be even more vital and more varied in 1943 than in 1942 but frankly I am more interested in a better qualitative performance than in larger volume, hence, I'm glad that Mr. Mellett speaks of producing only "a limited number" of short factual Government films. Let every short subject and every trailer on a war theme be of the highest possible quality— whether made by the Government or by the industry. Let us increase their individual impact rather than their total volume. And let us make certain, both in Washington, and in Hollywood and New York, that we are putting first themes first, until the war is won and the peace made secure. The more clearly the pattern of ultimate victory appears, the greater our responsibility as an important medium of communication for strengthening the ties between the United Nations, by adding to our knowledge of and appreciation for each other. Our films followed our flag to the shores of North Africa. Every land freed from the dictators is another land opened to our newsreels, our informational shorts, our inspirational features. Ours is a universal art of world-wide influence. Let us rededicate our time, our talents, our artistry and our zeal to the supreme task of our lives— the winning of the war and the saving of the peace. 155