Hollywood Spectator (1938)

Hollywood Spectator Page Fifteen Cava, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, A. Edward Sutherland, Herbert Biberman, Phil Rosen, Frank Tuttle, John Cromwell, Wesley Ruggles, Rouben Mamoulian and William Wellman. In the face of past criticism and skepticism, these men have toiled in a good cause unflinchingly, and with a determina¬ tion to see it through. They have labored unselfishly and intelligently to attain their goal. They feel that the goal is just around the corner because they have supreme confidence in the motion picture industry. Members Actively Interested . . . N MAY, the Guild elects a new Board. Probably there will be several new faces on the Board, as the directors feel that every man in the Guild membership is capable. During the past year there have been an increasing number of open Board meetings with a gratifying attendance which has crowded the Guild offices. The present leaders have encouraged interest and cooperation to the extent that many not listed here are actively and enthusiastically engaged in serv¬ ing on various committees. .Among these are the com¬ mittees doing the work on the Tri-Guild Ball and the Motion Picture Relief Fund. Pervading the Screen Directors’ Guild is the feeling that when the pro¬ ducer, director, actor, writer and other creative work¬ ers unite in a common cause, namely, the solidifica¬ tion of the motion picture industry, the word “Re¬ lief” will be a total stranger. Industry Should Take Stock By Roy Del Ruth NCE every year, and sometimes more often, every substantial and successful mercantile business sub¬ mits to an inventory which discloses its true state of affairs. A banker has his daily balance sheets; men in the medical profession keep a keen eye on all new developments in technique and compounds. They all amount to about the same thing; taking stock. And that is what is needed in this motion picture industry. Ever so often, on stated periods, we should take stock of our business. We should go over the books very carefully, see what types of pictures and players the public enjoys the most, determine the box-office desires of our patrons. At the risk of sounding like a hack, I can say that far too many producers are still making their pictures for Hollywood, instead of producing them for the fertile fields of patronage be¬ yond the fair hills of our homeland. Some Have the Right Idea . . . ATURALLY, this is not true of all producers. There are those who are smart enough not only to anticipate public demands, but to actually create new trends in entertainment. These are the ones who prosper and one might think that they would profit by the other fellow's shortsightedness. But I have views to the contrary. Under a system which is be¬ yond control, it is a fact that bad pictures profit from the good ones, while the good films suffer from Happy Birthday To The Spectator ★ ★ ★ JOHN TWIST ★ ★ ★ B e s t e s HAROLD WILSON