The film daily year book of motion pictures (1940)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE — The Executive Committee is composed of members of the General Committee and is charged with the formation of policies, election of members, expenditure of funds and supervision of all administrative affairs. The chairman of the National Board of Review is elected from among the membership of the Executive Committee, and ratified by the General Committee. The present chairman is Dr. A. A. Brill. The personnel of the Executive Committee is listed elsewhere in this book. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE — The Membership Committee is the supervising gToup of the Review Committee personnel. It meets regularly to act upon applications and qualifications of prospective members, continues or terminates the service terms of regular members, and makes recommendations to the Executive Committee for the election of new review members. This is a rotating Committee with members added each year. REVIEW COMMITTEE— The review work is conducted in New York City and performed by trained review groups of men and women, who combine to constitute the membership of the Review Committee, numbering over 300 persons and representing a great variety of professions, activities and interest. Through this committee personnel, in its work of film review, selection, classification and recommendation, a constant endeavor is made to reflect the intelligent public opinion of the country. These members, like all other members of the National Board of Review, serve entirely without pay. The decisions of the committees regarding pictures under review rest upon a majority ballot. A number of members, following the usual probationary period of study, have been added to this Committee during 1939. COMMITTEE ON EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOPLAYS— This committee, composed of critics and students of the art of the motion picture, is particularly interested in whatever esthetic values can be found in films, as distinguished from mere popular entertainment. It looks at all the better films and publishes criticisms of those thought worthy of discussion. It selects, annually, the ten films considered to be artistically the best of the year, and through the agency of little theaters and motion picture councils and forums seeks to encourage the showing of films that will create a more general appreciation of the motion picture as an important medium of artistic expression. Their selection of the ten best films for 1939 appears in another section of this publication. This is a rotating Committee and new members are added each year. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE— Early in 1915, when the Board had passed through its experimental stages and had become established as a nation-wide influence in regard to the motion picture with resultant connections throughout the entire country, there was propcssd a comnrttee national in scope and personnel to be known as the National Advisory Committee. The committee formed was an enlargement of the already existing local Advisory Committee. The personnel has changed frcm time to time in this period of years but it has remained country-wide In representation and opinion and at present numbers 53 members from 37 cities. NATIONAL MOTION PICTURE COUNCIL— The community or field work of the National Board of Review is conducted under a National Council. This department of the National Board has had, since its organization in 1916, several designations in line with its ever-changing and developing program. It was first known as the Committee on Children's Pictures and Programs, having its beginning in the classification and lisling of films for youth. As this program of selection grew to cover the need of selective information for the adult as well, the name National Committee fcr Better Films was assumed. Outgrowing a commi'tee activity, it became the Better Films Council, and in 1935, the more descriptive name of National Motion Picture Council was adopted. The designation better films was properly descriptive in 1916, but the intervening years has brought about a marked improvement in fi'ms and a resulting change in approach and attitude toward them. It is the belief of the Board that the present work of a community organization is to unite effectively in a cons'ructive program for the support, study and use both recreationally and educationally of the finer motion pictures now available. Thus the change to the present National Motion Picture Council was made. The Council program is carried out through affilia'ed memberships, both group and individual, service contact groups and correspondents throughout the country. The National Council assists in the organization and program of work of the local groups. The local councils follow the plan initiated by the National Board in 1916 of having a membership composed of representatives from many organizations, cultural, educational, recreational, religious and civic, so that they typify the original movement for organized community participation in the best uses of the motion picture and the support of the best pictures in the community. They provide a means of unifying and making articulate the wishes of the public in regard to the motion picture, and offer a plan which avoids duplication of effort and most effectively integrates the varied and various community interests. The objectives of such organizations are: To demonstrate through the education of public opinion, the effectiveness of selection and classification, instead of censorship, as a means of forwarding the development of the motion picture and its best uses. 748