Harrison's Reports (1950)

112 HARRISON'S REPORTS July 15, 1950 used for shooting the picture and, instead of having two prints projected simultaneously by two projection machines, only one positive print, which is printed on both sides of the same strip of film, is required and this may be projected with the exhibitor's standard equipment, thus eliminating the need for two addi' tional projection machines and the employment of twice the number of projectionists, as well as the possible enlargement of the projection booth. An added advantage, according to Mr. Cowan, is that the Polaroid glasses used today, unlike the redand-blue glasses used years ago, will provide no strain on the eyes of the audience. In the old days, one of the most important problems that needed solving before third-dimension pictures could be exhibited to audiences satisfactorily was the manner in which each theatre was to supply its patrons with glasses. This problem had a number of phases, such as cost to the exhibitor, breakage, the different sizes of glasses needed, sterilization, etc. To an extent, these problems are overcome by the present Polaroid system in that the glasses that will be provided are made of a gelatin sheet in a cardboard frame, and at a cost that is so nominal that the patrons may keep them and may, by reversing them, use them as sun glasses. Three-dimensional pictures may pose other problems that cannot be foreseen just now. Whether or not this type of film will prove successful from the entertainment and box-office points of view remains to be seen. Meanwhile Mr. Cowan and the exhibitors financing him are to be commended for their attempt to give the industry the shot-in-the-arm it needs so badly. ART HAS ITS PLACE In an article that appeared in the program book of the annual convention of Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey, Mr. Abram F. Myers, National Allied's general counsel and chairman of the board, had this to say in part about the declining popularity of motion pictures: "A large part — perhaps the major part — of the trouble can be traced to the marked change in the attitude of reviewers and critics in recent years. I can remember when the good pictures all received 'rave notices' and the good points of even minor pictures were stressed. Now only the most outstanding productions are commented on favorably and even the best occasionally suffer from snide remarks. The most overworked word in the drab lexicon of these selfconscious high-brows is 'mediocre' and it is applied indiscriminately without regard to the entertainment value of the pictures. The good old-fashioned 'rave' notices now are reserved for the small number of pictures in which the ivory tower boys think they detect some obscure artistic merit or which convey a message on some issue of doubtful public interest. Honest sentiment and belly-laughs amount to nothing in the estimate of these not-so-amiable gentlemen, even though they still are loved by the theatre-going public. "I am not so foolish as to suppose that any great number of people will accept this theory in preference to their own pet ideas. But along with all the others it deserves careful investigation. I personally hope that when COMPO gets underway it will launch a research project to determine the causes for the declining popularity of the movies and to propose remedies therefore. If that comes to pass, I feel sure that trained investigators will find that the critics have strayed far from their essential duty to inform their readers whether the pictures reviewed possess those qualities which make for entertainment and whether their readers will enjoy seeing them. The people consult the amusement page of the daily paper not for a lecture on art or sociology, but for guidance in their quest for pleasure, and the sooner some reviewers get back on the job, the sooner the present trend away from the movies will be reversed." Mr. Myers has touched upon a subject that should be given deep thought by the nation's motion picture critics, particularly those who are too literary and artistic in their ideas of what constitutes good motion picture entertainment for the great majority of moviegoers. Mr. Myers' remarks bring to mind a speech delivered by Mr. Howard S. Cullman in 1936 at the School of Education, New York University. Mr. Cullman, at that time, was Receiver of the Roxy Theatre, New York City. The following excerpts from his speech are as applicable today as they were in 1936: ". . . to the average American, thinking is the direct antithesis of entertainment. That which is difficult to grasp is, by its very nature, not amusing. The film, therefore, . . . must be readily understood by the lowest as well as the highest intelligence in the audience. ". . . mass entertainment . . . must cause emotional excitation of some kind. This is most readily attained through stimulation of the primary passions such as love, fear, hate and pity. . . . "As a business, the motion picture has, to a very large extent, learned its lesson. It has discovered that good merchandise must be built of sound ingredients; that expert acting, camera work and direction, without an adequate story, will produce feeble results; it has accepted the fact that production, distribution and exhibition can and must be carried on in a fundamental business-like fashion. All this cannot be accomplished when one is one jump ahead of the sheriff. .. . "The prospect is encouraging to those of us who are interested in an adequate supply of salable popular entertainment. For those who cherish hopes of a cinematic art acceptable to esthetes and intellectuals the situation appears less promising. They can expect to find on the screen a progressively improved brand of amusement, utilizing each year the talents of an increasing number of gifted individuals. They will find plenty of hearty laughs and abundance of breathtaking thrills; but for their moments of true mental and spiritual stimulation I fear they will have to hie themselves to the concert halls, theatres and museums, wherein flourish the true arts." If any motion picture critic in your city has, as Mr. Myers says, strayed from his (or her) essential duty to inform the readers whether the pictures reviewed possess those qualities that make for popular entertainment, this paper suggests that you clip this article and send it to him or her.