Harrison's Reports (1962)

108 HARRISON'S REPORTS July 14, 1962 3i ov ie Business.*. (Continued from Front Page) But, our industry has fallen upon bad times morale wise. Because he's young, the junior executive may not be able to fathom it all out. The job-changing continues, the economics take their toll on the personnel. There is little concern about tomorrow's executive leadership! At a recent testimonial luncheon tendered to Joseph E. Lcvine by the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers, the great showman said in part : "When business is bad, the first one to get fired is the publicity man. When it's good, he's the last one to get a raise." This frank, matter-of-fact, prophetic indictment was greeted by a pall of silence by the assemblage, most of whom were publicity men. Some of them were seasoned ones and unemployed. The Lcvine statement was too sad for this reporter to let it go by. The man from Harrison's Reports was the only one who applauded loudly Jolly Joe's prophetic deduction. Maybe this painful truth, and its implications is one of the causes why, at least one phase of the film's operationals is rather weak. There is no sense of job security. " and you can't build a career when you know that any week may be your last one in the job you're holding. This is not the kind of morale that makes strong mortar for career-future building, -especially in the motion picture industry. "Panic in the Year Zero" (Continued from Preceding Page) mates the 95 minutes. The photography is in keeping with the overall smoothly woven pattern of the tale. Ray Milland, his wife (Jean Hagen) their son (Frankie Avalon) and their daughter are off on a fishing trip. As they reach the outskirts of Los Angeles there are a series of tremendous explosions. They rip the sky apart. They learn that L. A. has been reduced to ruins by a nuclear attack. This creates a situation deathly frightening to the Millands. The people are the menace. They loot, rob, raise their prices to prohibitive reach and otherwise lose all sense of emotional balance. The Millands continue on to their fishing spot. But things are far from calm in the quiet of the woods. Ail animal-like mania has seized these other people too. But, Milland and his family adjust soon to a somewhat primitive form of life that has to be lived under these conditions. The daughter (Mary Mitchel) is raped. Milland seeks out the culprits and kills them. For now on, you live, eat, sleep with your gun by your side. Frankie Avalon is seriously injured in this "kill or be killed" mode of life. He is rushed to a relocation center where he gets the proper treatment. The whole surrounding land knows now that it is in the grip of nuclear warfare. It is a harrowing experience living every minute in the fear that more destruction is on its way. But, the skies soon clear. Quiet returns to the area. Milland and his family get ready to roll back home. As he tools his way on the highways crowded with other frightened people now peacefully on their way home, there seems to be the general, philosophical feeling that this is not the end of the world. Whatever harm civilization suffered for a short spell, life will go on again. Maybe, because of this short-lived catastrophe it may turn out to be Our Films Do Well . . . (Continued from Front Page) lar blockbusters were endowed, helped rack up the big grosses which accounted for the $220,000,000. Hollywood producers, aware of this big foreign market, will take even greater advantage of the situation this year, by casting in their films more foreign names. While rather unknown in these United States, many of these overseas stars are big favorites in their respective countries. The superfluity of sex stories which flow from the foreign studios more than make up for the unwillingness of the Hollywood producer to play along ( and not forgetting the Eric Johnston Office) with the sex-suggestive, obscenity-ridden vehicles which almost dominate the foreign output. foreign Film Hu*ines» Yields 54% Also of help to build the foreign take to a high of 54% is the fact that Hollywood's cameras are roaming the four corners of the globe for their locales. The scenery is familiar to the movie-goers in their respective countries, the national pride is higher and the good will toward American-made film product spells itself out at the box office. That there is growth of the American film in foreign markets and ever more people abroad want to see our product, there can be no doubt. The percentage is now strongly established. American producers will take every conceivable advantage of the situation. If we, of Harrison's Reports, may add our own nature of findings, it would be this: In the past year, especially, our foreign subscription list has been growing steadily. Without benefit of promotion, subscription drives or any other means of getting our message across to the non -subscribers, new ones keep on sending in their $19.50 to join us. Their letters of why they are subscribing to this trade paper are not only encouraging, trade wise, but make us feel that we too, in our own way, are helping to build an ever stronger good will abroad. In our case it's via the theatre operator, film booker and other sources which have an interest in the American-made motion picture. Salute to Motion Picture Herald The first number of the Motion Picture Herald in its new "double issue" make-up has reached us. Henceforth, it will be published every other week. From the standpoint of authoritative film business coverage, in' depth reporting, layout, editorial content, it is a most commendable job of trade paper journalism and a credit to the motion picture industry which is its beat. Even though the trades are considered to be in bitter competition with each other, we of Harrisons Reports still find good reason to say, « hearty congratulations to the Motion Picture Herald for the professionally smooth manner in which it negotiated its transition to the "double issue" policy of publication every other week. a better world in which to live. Produced by Lou Rusoff and Arnold Houghland; directed by Ray Milland; screenplay by Jay Simms and John Morton. General patronage.