Harrison's Reports (1951)

140 HARRISON’S REPORTS September 1, 1951 exhibitors are pledging not only hard work but also hard cash. In some cases exhibitors are pledging as much as 5c a seat to help finance the drive. Others are raising large sums by other means. Just talk with Bob O'Donnell, who is now touring major cities, meeting with exhibitors, about the response this campaign is getting. He is as constantly amazed by the unbounded enthusiasm of these showmen as I am.” Spirited ‘‘Movietime" meetings, attended by representatives of all branches of the industry, have been and are being held throughout the country for the purpose of integrating regional campaigns with the national campaign. If a meeting has not yet been scheduled in your territory, you may be sure that one will be set up in the very near future. It should not be necessary to urge any of you to attend these meetings and participate in the campaign, for the drive is shaping up as the greatest coordinated exploitation effort ever undertaken by the business, one that is bound to help every exhibitor, no matter where his theatre is located or what run he has. A NOVEL AND SOUND IDEA A unique plan to help exhibitors personalize a powerful sales message to their patrons has been formulated by the Allied National Convention Committee with the cooperation of National Screen Service, according to an announcement this week by Wilbur Snaper, chairman of the convention. All registered exhibitors attending the Convention at the Biltmore Hotel in New York, October 28, 29, 30, 31 and November 1, will be photographed individually by regular 35 mm. motion picture cameras and sound equipment at the NSS studio booth. Each exhibitor will be given the opportunity to record a personal message to his patrons, and provision will be made for the inclusion in the film of titles of forthcoming pictures. A print will be prepared as rapidly as possible to enable the exhibitor to screen it in his theatre almost immediately upon his return. Snaper emphasized that there will be no charge for either the filming or the print since National Screen is providing the equipment, technical assistance, film and laboratory work as a service to all National Allied members. Arrangements can be made for additional prints where more than one theatre will require them. This “Take-Home Trailer," as it has been labeled, will be prepared in a way that will enable the exhibitor to include it in his newsreel to give it added impact and audience interest. As pointed out by Mr. Snaper, the value of this type of personal message from the exhibitor to his patrons, in which he will talk about his visit to New York, the screening of new pictures, and the bright prospects in store for the movie-going public, cannot be overestimated. “Obsessed” with David Farrar and Geraldine Fitzgerald (United Artists, Sept. 7; time, 77 min.) Produced in Great Britain, this “gaslight” dramatic offering is boresome, for the story unfolds almost entirely by dialogue and the action is much too slow. It is also unpleasant, for the two lovers are presented as not having faith in each other — each suspects the other of having poisoned the hero’s wife, when neither in fact was guilty. The situations that show each accusing the other of guilt are not pleasant. Throughout most of the proceedings the spectator is bewildered as to which of the characters is deserving of sympathy. The story has no underlying moral unless it is the theory that one should never lose faith, but it would be stressing the point too much to discover such a moral. The direction and acting are good enough, but the atmosphere is too sombre and the photography dark: — When his invalid wife dies, David Farrar, as well as his friends and neighbors, feel relieved, because she was a domineering woman. Farrar, a school teacher, is in love with Geraldine Fitzgerald, his wife’s secretary-companion, and his wife’s death frees them from maintaining a clandes tine affair and enables them to plan marriage. Only Jean Cadell, the dead woman’s elderly housekeeper is depressed and at the same time bitter against Farrar and Geraldine because of her knowledge of their affair. The first impulse that comes over Farrar and Geraldine is to flee from the house, but they realize that such a step might cast reflection on their past relationship. They decide to remain for a while and then leave for a honeymoon in Italy after their marriage. Their happiness, however, is short-lived when Roland Culver, a Scotland Yard inspector arrives and informs them that there is considerable doubt as to the cause of the death. They appear horrified at the news and are completely shaken when a chemical examination reveals that arsenic had been found in the dead woman’s body. Doubt enters the mind of each of the lovers concerning the possibility that the other had done the poisoning, and there is considerable recrimination between them as each finds reason to accuse the other of having committed the killing. Culver, however, carries on his methodical investigation and eventually proves that the poison had been given by Miss Cadell, from whom he obtains a confession. She had tried to incriminate the lovers. Ernest Gartside produced it, and Maurice Elvey directed it, from a screenplay by Charles Frank and David Evans, based on the play “The Late Edwina Black,” by William Dinner and William Morum. Adult fare. “Disc Jockey” with Ginny Simms, Michael O’Shea, Jane Nigh and Tom Drake (Allied Artists, Aug. 23; time, 77 min.) The value of this picture to your box-office will depend almost entirely on the names that appear in it and on the songs that are played and sung, for the story is very weak. Some parts of it are interesting and laugh-provoking, but other parts are slow and “gabby.” In addition to the singing of Ginny Simms, songs and musical numbers are offered by such entertainers as Russ Morgan, Tommy Dorsey, Sarah Vaughan, Herb Jeffries, The Weavers, George Shearing, Nick Lucas and Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. There is also an all-star jam session featuring Jack Fina, Vito Musso, Red Nichols, Red Norvo, Ben Pollack and Joe Venuti. Additionally, some twenty-eight of the better known disc jockeys from most of the country’s principal cities appear in the picture. With such an array of names, there is no question that Allied Artists will exploit the picture extensively, and this should be of considerable help to the box-office: — Michael O’Shea, a combination disc jockey and radio promotor, finds himself in a spot when Jerome Cowan, a candy manufacturer and one of his principal clients, refuses to renew his contract except at a greatly reduced figure. Cowan claimed that disc jockeys were no longer businessgetters. Meanwhile Jane Nigh, O’Shea’s secretary, has her own troubles; Tom Drake, her boy friend, had befriended Ginny Simms, a comely but unknown singer, and wants O’Shea to audition her. Jane accuses Drake of having become romantically interested in Ginny. Drake, hurt, storms out, leaving Ginny and a record of her voice. Curious, Jane puts the record on the playback machine, and O'Shea, listening in, is impressed by Ginny’s voice. He immediately sets in motion a plan to make Ginny the country’s top vocalist. He enlists the aid of recording artists and disc jockeys from all parts of the country to prove that platter spinners have not lost their selling power, and within a matter of a few weeks Ginny becomes a big name and wins a spot on O’Shea’s nightly show as a disc jockeyette, plugging Cowan's candy. Jane, in a spirit of revenge, writes and hands Ginny a set of commercials to read over the air, each one derogatory to Cowan’s candy. But the derogatory lines, instead of reducing sales, create a boom. As a result, Cowan falls in love with Ginny and signs a new contract with O’Shea at a fat increase. Jane and Drake make up and plan to marry. Maurice Duke produced it, and Will Jason directed it, from a story and screenplay by Clark E. Reynolds. Suitable for family audiences.