Harrison's Reports (1939)

148 HARRISON'S REPORTS September 16, 1939 production budgets to meet the new conditions, and there would be no justification for a complaint by the exhibitors, for the pictures would command whatever prices they would be worth, and not the artificial prices that are set by the distributors now. With the Neely Bill a law, economies in production will be effected automatically, for the producers, before starting the shooting of a picture, will see to it that the screen play is "fool-proof"; in other words, it will be gone over thoroughly with a view to making all the alterations needed before shooting starts, so that no alterations may be made during production, for it is in making changes during production that sends costs high. Very often, shooting starts before a screen play is even written. Under such circumstances, a picture costs three times as much as it would have cost had there been a complete screen play. Whenever a discussion of the Neely Bill comes up between some proponent of the Bill and a distributor representative, the distributor representative always bewails the fate, not only of the independent producer-distributor, but also of the small exhibitor ; he says that both will be put out of business if the Neely Bill should become a law. It is peculiar that the majors do not confine themselves to looking after their own interests instead of expressing so much concern for the interests of the independents ; as long as the independents feel that they can prosper under a law that outlaws block-booking and blind-selling, the major companies should let them take care of themselves. BOX-OFFICE PERFORMANCES OF 1938-39 SEASON'S PICTURES— No. 3 ' Paramount "King of Chinatown," with Akim Tamiroff, Anna May Wong, and J. Carrol Naish ; directed by Nick Grinde, from a screen play by Lillie llayward and Irving Reis: Good-Poor. "Midnight," with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche ; produced by Paul Jones and directed bv Elliott Nugent, from a screen play by Don Hartman, Frank Butler," and Preston Sturges : Very Good-Fair. "Sudden Money," with Charlie Ruggles and Marjorie Rambeau; produced by William C. Thomas and directed by Nick Grinde, from a screen play by Lewis Foster : GoodPoor. "Silver on the Sage," with William Boyd and George Hayes; produced by Harry Sherman and directed by Lesley Selander, from a screen play by Maurice Geraghty : V ery Good-Poor. "I'm from Missouri," with Bob Burns and Gladvs George ; produced by Paul Jones and directed by Theodore Reed, from a screen play by John C. Moffitt and Duke Attcberry : Very Good-Fair. "Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police," with John Howard and Heather Angel ; produced by Edmund T. Lowe and directed by James Hogan, from a screen play by Garnett Weston : Fair-Poor. "Never Say Die," with Martha Raye and Bob Hope; produced by Paul Jones and directed by Elliott Nugent, from a screen play by Don Hartman, Frank Butler, and Preston Sturges: GoodPoor. "Mack Door to Heaven," with Wallace Ford, Stuart Krwin, and Patricia Ellis ; produced and directed by William K. Howard, from a screen play by John Bright and Robert Pasker: Fair-Poor. "The Lady's from Kentucky," with George Raft, Ellen Drew, and Hugh Herbert; produced by Jeff Lazarus and directed by Alexander Hall, from a screen play by Malcolm S. Boyland : Good-Poor. "Union Pacific," with Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck; produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, from a screen play by Walter De Leon, C. Gardner Sullivan, and Jesse Lasky, Jr. : Excellent-Very Good. "Hotel Imperial." with Ray Milland, Isa Miranda, and Reginald Owen ; directed by Robert Florey from a screen play by Gilbert Gabriel and Robert Thoeren: FairPoor. "Some Like It Hot," with Bob Hope and Shirley Ross ; directed by George Archainbaud, from a story by Ben Hecht and Gene Fowler : Fair-Poor. "Unmarried," with Helen Twclvetrees and Buck Jones; directed by Kurt Neumann, from a screen play by Lillie Hayward and Brian Marlow : Fair-Poor. "Stolen Life," with Elisabeth Bergner and Michael Redgrave ; produced and directed by Paul Czinner, from a screen play by Margaret Kennedy : Very Good-Poor. "Gracie Allen Murder Case," with Gracie Allen, Kent Taylor, and Warren William, produced by George Arthur and directed by Alfred E. Green, from a screen play by Nat Perrin : Good-Poor. "Undercover Doctor," with J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Nolan, and Janice Logan; directed by Louis King, from a screen play by Horace McCoy and William R. Lipman : Fair-Poor. "Invitation to Happiness," with Irene Dunne and Fred MacMurray; produced and directed by Wesley Ruggles, from a screen play by Claude Binyon : Excellent-Fair. Forty-eight pictures have been released. Grouping the pictures ot the different ratings from the beginning of the season, we get the following results : ExcellentVery Good, 1 ; Excellent-Fair, 1 ; Very Good( rood, 3 ; Very Good-Fair, 6 ; Very Good-Poor, 2 ; Good, 1 ; Good-Fair, 8; Good-Poor, 10; Fair, 2; Fair-Poor, 14. 1 he first forty-eight pictures in the 1937-38 season were rated as follows : ExcellentVery Good, 1 ; Excellent-Good, 1 ; Very Good, 1; Very Good-Good, 2; Very GoodFair, 3; Good, 3; Good-Fair, 12; Good-Poor, 6; Fair, 10; Fair-Poor, 6; Poor, 3. RKO " Twelve Crowded Hours," with Richard Dix and Lucille Call ; produced by Robert Sisk and directed by Lew Landers, from a screen play by John Twist: Good-Fair. "The Saint Strikes Back," with George Sanders and Wendy Barrie ; produced by Robert Sisk and directed by John Farrow, fiom a screen play by John Twist: GoodFair. "Trouble in Sundown," with George O'Brien and Rosalind Keith; produced by Bert Gilroy and directed by David Howard, from a screen play by Oliver Drake, Dorrell McGowan, and Stuart McGowan: Good-Poor. "Almost a Gentleman," with James Ellison and Helen Wood ; produced by Cliff Reid and directed by Leslie Goodwins, from a screen play by David Silverstein and Jo Pagano : Fair-Poor. "Love Affair," with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer ; produced and directed by Leo McCarcy, from a screen playby Delmar Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart : ExcellentV ery Good. "The Flying Irishman," with Douglas Corrigan, Paul Kelly, and Eddie Quillan ; produced by Pandro S. Berman and directed by Leigh Jason, from a screen play by Ernest Pagano and Dalton Trumbo : Fair-Poor. "They Made Her a Spy," with Sally Eilers and Allan Lane ; produced by Robert Sisk and directed by Jack Hively, from a screen play by Michael Kanin and Jo Pagano : GoodPoor. "Fixer Dugan," with Lee Tracy, Virginia Weidler, and Peggy Shannon ; produced by Cliff Reid and directed by Lew Landers, from a screen play by Bert Granet and Paul Yawitz : Fair-Poor. "The Rookie Cop," with Tim Holt, Virginia Weidler, and Janet Shaw ; produced by Bert Gilroy and directed by David Howard, from a screen play by Jo Pagano : FairPoor. "Sorority House," with Anne Shirley and James Ellison ; produced by Robert Sisk and directed by John Farrow, from a screen play by Dalton Trumbo : Good-Fair. "Panama Lady," with Lucille Ball and Allan Lane; produced by Cliff Reid and directed by Jack Hively, from a screen play by Michael Kanin : Fair-Poor. "The Girl from Mexico," with Lupe Velez and Donald Woods ; produced by Robert Sisk and directed by Leslie Goodwins, from a screen play by Lionel Houser and Joseph A. Fields : Fair-Poor. Thirty pictures have been released. Grouping the pictures of the different ratings from the beginning of the season, we get the following results : Excellent, 1 ; Excellent-Very Good, 1 ; Good, 1 ; GoodFair, 10; Good-Poor, 5; Fair, 2; Fair-Poor, 10. The first thirty pictures in the 1937-38 season were rated as follows : Excellent-Good, 2; Good-Fair, 5; Good-Poor, 5; Fair, 5; Fair-Poor, 11 ; Poor, 2.