Harrison's Reports (1948)

32 February 21, 1948 Amendment thereby removing the necessity to license 18,000 theatres by dealing with a few producers instead. The administrative costs thereby saved if ASCAP performance rights are eliminated from our theatres should inure to the benefit of all concerned. However, if ASCAP elects to oppose the Lewis Amendment, it will be positive evidence that their legal stranglc-hold on the exhibitors' throats concerns them most; that modifying their demands is a wellplanned effort to break up the national unified collaboration of exhibitors, the like of which has never before been believed possible. "We, as individual exhibitors, should therefore keep our exhibitor ranks of opposition intact, regardless of what some group leaders do by way of superficial compromise. Let us not sign any long term, ten-year, ensnaring contracts that will dull our efforts to obtain cure-all legislation. "We should not fear that distributors will saddle us with more than did ASCAP. It being more than obvious that motion picture theatres create popularity for songs that have long been dead and forgotten, and little-known new songs, the distributors being the good and exceptionally sharp busii.essmen that we know they are, can be counted upon even to collect from ASCAP for creating revenue that ASCAP will receive on songs popularized in that manner, instead of paying ASCAP as we and the producers now do. It is not unreasonable to expect that eventually some of such revenue should be passed on to the benefit of the exhibitor. "In our opinion it is nothing short of stupidity to seriously consider the suggestion that we should pull our punches for the passage of the Lewis Amendment for fear that the distributors will charge us more than ASCAP has heretofore collected. It is our humble opinion that the distributors are now collecting all the traffic will bear, and can be expected to so continue. "The Lewis Amendment will aid producers to help themselves and relieve us from ASCAP's legal stranglehold as well." There is little this paper need add to the cogent arguments advanced by the ATOI and by Judge Uvick as to why every exhibitor should get solidly behind the Lewis Bill. With the date of the hearings almost on hand, you may expect the propaganda against the bill to gain momentum. The wise exhibitor will not be deluded by any of it, but what is more important is that he should not permit others to become deluded. Those who oppose the bill will make every effort to show that the majority of the exhibitors are satisfied with the present music-tax set-up, and that the proposed bill will be to their disadvantage. And they may get away with it unless each of you make it a point to write to your Congressmen and Senators immediately, informing them of how unjust the tax is, and urging them to support the Lewis Bill to the hilt. "Caged Fury" with Richard Denning, Buster Crabbe and Sheila Ryan (Paramount, March 5; time, 61 min.) This program melodrama should give fair satisfaction as a supporting feature in small town and neighborhood theatres. The fact that the plot is commonplace will, no doubt, be overlooked by the action fans, for it has a goodly quota of suspense and excitement. Besides, the story's circus background provides some pretty interesting scenes, with the thrills being brought about by the action that takes place in a cage full of ferocious lions. The scenes that show the principal characters taming the wild animals have been done before; nevertheless, they hold one in suspense. The direction is good and the performances adequate: — Richard Denning, a lion trainer, Mary Beth Hughes, a lion tamer, and Buster Crabbe, a clown, work together in a sensational lion taming act. Engaged to Mary but covetous of Sheila Ryan, another performer; who was Denning's girl-friend, Crabbe deliberately bolts an escape door in the lions' cage, causing Mary to be killed by one of the animals. He then induces Frank Wilcox, the circus owner, to give Sheila Mary's spot, which she accepts over Denning's objections. Sheila proves herself a capable performer, and the breach between Denning and herself is soon healed. Unable to make any headway in his pursuit of Sheila, Crabbe determines to do away with Denning. Several narrow escapes from death arouse Denning's suspicions; he catches Crabbe bolting the escape door, as he had done for Mary's death. Crabbe escapes and, in the chase that follows, his car goes over a cliff and vanishes into the sea. Believing him dead, Sheila and Denning marry and continue with the act themselves. Crabbe reappears several months later and corners Denning in his dressing room. A fight ensues, during which an overturned oil lamp sets fire to the circus. Spectators run for their lives, and wild animals escape from their cages. It all ends with Crabbe being clawed to death by a lion he had mistreated. David Lang wrote the screen day, William Pine and William Thomas produced it, and William Berke directed it. Adult fare. "Mr. Reckless" with William Eythe and Barbara Britton (Paramount, March 26; time, 66 min.) Although the cast of players give it some name value, this is just a run-of-the-mill Pine (f Thomas program melodrama, burdened by a trite screen play that wanders all over the lot. Moreover, it is given more to talk than to action. But since it docs have several exciting situations it will probably get by with undiscriminating audiences in secondary theatres. The main story line revolves around William Eythe, a footloose oil worker, who returns to Los Angeles after a twoyear absence and finds that his neglected girl-friend, Barbara Britton, a waitress, had become engaged to Nestor Paiva, his middle-aged friend, who was her employer. Out of regard for his friend, Eythe does not attempt to win back Barbara, although both were still in love. Obvious plot manipulations bring the three together in a nearby oil town, where Eythe had obtained a job, and where Paiva, accompanied by Barbara, had gone to open a new restaurant. Numerous incidents involving several sub-plots serve to delay Barbara's marriage to Paiva, during which time her love for Eythe is rekindled. Eythe, rather than break his friend's heart, decides to leave town. Barbara, unhappy, decides not to marry Paiva and prepares to return to Los Angeles. Learning of her love for Eythe, Paiva mistakenly believes that she planned to run off with the young man. He heads for the oil field and, in a blind rage, attacks Eythe atop an oil rig, falling to his death after a bitter battle. It closes with Barbara and Eythe reunited. Considering the "old hat" material, the players do as well as can be expected, but since most of the characterizations are not particularly sympathetic the story is lacking in dramatic impact. £ome mild comedy is provided by Minna Gombell, as a tough but warm-hearted landlady, Walter Catlett, as her lazy husband, and Lloyd Corrigan, as Barbara's problem father. Maxwell Shane and Milton Raison wrote the original screen play, Pine Thomas produced it, and Frank McDonald directed it. Unobjectionable morally. "The Challenge" with Tom Conway and June Vincent (20th Century-Fox, March; time, 68 min.) This is a "Bulldog Drummond" picture, the first of a new program series being released by 20th Century-Fox. Like its predecessors, the plot of this version is rather far-fetched; nevertheless, its mixture of mystery, murder, skullduggery, and some comedy, coupled with the fact that suspicion is directed at several of the characters, holds one's attention fairly well. The melodrama-loving fans should enjoy it, for it has considerable suspense and excitement. Tom Conway, an old hand at playing suave amateur sleuth roles, slips into the "Bulldog Drummond" characterization with ease. Briefly, the story revolves around several heirs interested in the hidden fortune of a retired sea captain, who had been murdered mysteriously. Conway enters the case when June Vincent, the murdered man's adopted daughter, seeks to buy from him a ship model, which had been owned by the captain, and which had been given to Conway by a friend. Her willingness to pay for the model far more than it was worth arouses Conway's curiosity; he refuses to sell it. Later, the model is stolen from him and, in his efforts to recover it, he becames involved, not only with June, but also with the other two heirs, Richard Stapley, the captain's nephew, and Eily Malyon, his housekeeper. Each was intent upon finding a known gold treasure hidden by the captain, and Conway finds reason to suspect each of them for the commission of the murder. After numerous adventures, he discovers the hiding place of the treasure through a secret code stitched into the sails of the ship model. But before Conway can act, both he and June are captured by henchmen employed by the nephew and housekeeper, who admit the crime and force him to reveal the hiding place under threat of harming June. He bows to their demands, but through a clever trick gets word to the police who trap the culprits. June is established as the rightful owner of the gold, but by this time she shows a greater interest in Conway. Frank Gruber and Irving Elman wrote the screen play from the story by Sapper. Ben Pivar and Bernard Small produced it, and Jean Yarbrough directed it. Unobjectionable morally.