Harrison's Reports (1958)

20 HARRISON'S REPORTS February 1, 1958 "Allied is impressed by the quiet competence with which Mr. Vogel is striving, not only to preserve Loew's, but to restore it to its former eminence as a producing and distributing organization. It admires him for what he is accomplishing in the face of great difficulties. Allied knows there is a desire among ex' hibitors to meet him and to know him, and is con' fident that his appearance will attract many to the convention to greet him. Allied also is confident that the good impression he will make will enhance the good will and prestige of his company. "All exhibitors are looking forward to the day when Leo's roar, often repeated, will herald the show' ing of entertaining box-office pictures." Continuing in this complimentary vein, Myers had this to say under the heading, "Exhibitors as Film Executives" : "History shows that not all exhibitors who became the chief executives of film companies remember with sympathy or understanding the problems of the theatre owners. "Exhibition as an important composite part of the motion picture industry is proud of Messrs. Skouras and Vogel, two great exhibitors who have reached the top in two top-notch companies and still remember that they were once theatre men. "The film companies have their problems, as anyone studying their financial statements will appreciate. But Messrs. Skouras and Vogel, loving the business as they do, are doing their best to keep the theatres supplied with film, and for that they rate cheers. "Most exhibitors and many others think that distribution methods, policies and practices need re-appraisal and overhauling. When the time comes for this, and it should be soon, we hope that these great former exhibitors, with their expert knowledge of theatre operations and problems, will take an active part and not leave all exhibitor contacts and all decisions to sales managers and the company lawyers." POSITIVE ACTION Rather than merely wail about the sale of post1948 pictures to television, exhibitor members of the Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey have decided to do something positive about the matter by refusing to book pictures offered by producers and distributors who have indulged in such TV sales. Moreover, the membership, at a meeting held last week, adopted a motion instructing its representatives to inform National Allied's board of directors, at the forthcoming Louisville meeting, of the unit's stand, and to urge the board to recommend to the national membership that consideration be given "to the stupidity of further supporting those producers who are selfishly destroying the motion picture business" by making post-'48 product available to television. Following the meeting, Sidney Stern, New Jersey Allied's president, disclosed to trade paper reporters that his members had singled out for criticism Stanley Kramer, for "High Noon"; Romulus Productions, for "Moulin Rouge"; Sam Spiegel, for "The African Queen"; and John Bryan, for "The Purple Plain." All four films were recently shown on television. The members directed their fire also against Republic, which has just licensed more than 200 of its post-48 features to six NBC stations in different parts of the country. Included in the deal are such John Wayne blockbusters as "The Quiet Man," "The Fighting Kentuckian" and "The Sands of Iwo Jima." Last week, WRCA-TV, NBC's outlet in New York, telecast "The Last Command," starring Sterling Hayden, which Republic released to the theatres in August, 19??, and which was exhibited in many theatres during 19?6 and 19?7. As a matter of fact, "The Maverick Queen,"starring Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan, is a 19?6 release included in the TV deal and probably will be telecast in the very near future, thus lending credence to the public's mistaken belief that most, if not all, current motion pictures will shortly be shown on television. Although Republic has stopped production on theatrical features, it still has quite a number of pictures that are in current release and that are set for future release. If exhibitors throughout the country follow the lead of the New Jersey Allied exhibitors, Republic will soon learn that the loss in theatre revenue may very well wipe out its profits from TV sales. "Outcasts of the City" with Osa Massen, Robert Hutton and Maria Palmer (Republic, Jan. 10; time, 61 min.) A minor program melodrama. Set in post-war Germany, it offers a sketchy tale of romance and murder, centering around the deep love that develops between an American pilot and a German girl, and around the complications that arise when she rejects her former sweetheart, an arrogant Nazi officer, who seeks revenge and loses his life in a murder plot that backfires. There is nothing very believable about the story, which suffers from a lack of coherence and clarity, and even though it has a short running time it impresses one as being insufferably long. The direction and acting are ordinary, and the photography fair: — Forced down in Germany during the war, Robert, Hutton, an American Air Force Lieutenant, is aided by Osa Massen, a German girl, who keeps him hidden in her shack until the occupation forces take over her country. They fall deeply in love and, though fraternization is prohibited, they continue to see each other secretly and are married by an understanding priest. Complications arise when George Neise, a German officer and former sweetheart of Osa's, returns from the battlefront and unsuccessfully tries to resume their relationship. Bitter and jealous over her love for Hutton, he decides to seek revenge. He makes love to Maria Palmer, a former friend of Osa's but now a woman of questionable morals, who joins him in a plot to get Hutton out of the way. The plot backfires, however, and Neise is killed. All evidence points toward Hutton as the killer, and at a court martial Maria perjures herself to have him convicted. In the course of events, Osa, aided by the priest, convinces Maria that Neise had used her as a tool for vengeance. Her last minute testimony saves Hutton from execution and he and Osa look forward to a brighter future together. It was produced and directed by Boris L. Petroff from an original story and screenplay by Stephen Longstreet. Adult fare.