International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1954)

INTERNATIONAL RQJECTIONISl With Which Is Combined PROJECTION ENGINEERING JAMES J. FINN, Editor JAMES MORRIS, Associate Editor Volume 29 MAY 1954 Number 5 Index and Monthly Chat 5 The Anatomy of CinemaScope.. 7 Robert A. Mitchell Who Killed Cock-Robin? 10 Chauncey L. Greene VistaVision: Promise of Sanity.. 1 1 A Bitter Lesson Learned 12 Light-Emitting Characteristics of Peerless Hy-Lumen Reflector.. 14 Backstage at Cinerama 15 Simplex Dual-Speaker, Drive-ln Stereo Sound 17 In the Spotlight ._ 18 lA Elections 19 Brush-Up on Fundamentals: Rectifiers for Projection, III. ... 20 Perspecta Sound 21 What's Your Problem? 22 Letters to the Editor 23 Re-Opening the Drive-ln Theatre 24 The Fair-Haired Boy: WideAngle, Short-Focal Lenses.... 24 Film Biz Thrives on Confusion — or Does It? 26 Personal Notes 27 lA Obituaries 27 Color "Sensation" vs. Color "Stimulus" 28 Goombye Curved Screens? 29 News Notes Technical Hints Miscellaneous Items Published Monthly by INTERNATIONAL PROJECTiONIST PUBLISHING CO., INC. 19 West 44th Street, New York 36, N. Y. Telephone: MUrray Hill 2-2948 R. A. ENTRACHT, Publisher SUBSCRIPTION REPRESENTATIVES AUSTRALIA: McGllls, 183 Elizabeth St., Melbourne NEW ZEALAND: Te Aro Book Depot, Ltd., 64 Courtanoy Place, Welllnston ENGLAND and ELSEWHERE: Wm. Dcv/son & Sens, Ltd., Macklin St., London, W. C. 2 YEARi.y SUBSCRIPTION: United States and possessions, $2.50 (two yeors, $4); Canada and foreisn countries, $3; single copies, 30 cents. Changes of address should be submitted two weeks in advance of publication date to insure receipt of current issue. Entered as second class matter February 8, 1932, at the Post Office ot New York, N. Y., with additional entry at Yonkers, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. E;;tire contents copyrighted 1954 by INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST PUBLISHING CO., INC. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST assumes no responsibility for personal opinions appearing in signed articles, or for unsolicited communications. MONTHLY CHAT MENTIONED previously in these pages — and often with more than a bit of rancor — is the sudden conversion of executive personnel in the motion picture industry to the doctrine of technical competence. We, who have often wondered whether these people knew of the existence of a projection room, a camera, a photo-electric cell, a generator, or a sprocket, are now being beguiled by the spectacle of Mr. Mighty Industry facing an audience and begging for attention to those details which have always determined the success or failure of the industry's effort — the image on the motion picture theatre screen. Recently, the patriarch of the industry, Mr. Adolph Zukor. faced an audience of some 4000 in Radio City Music Hall in New York. Did this venerable gentleman talk about the sale, the price, or the dating of motion pictures? Not at all. He delivered himself of a sane, simple plea that the various processes now being utilized by the industry be given the impetus of good equipment handled competently. Mr. Zukor himself would have no objection, we feel certain, to the appended reconstruction of his remarks: "Today everything that we in this business hope to achieve depends upon our technological resources. We at Paramount feel that all our efforts are dependent upon the finest equipment expertly used. All that we pour into a narrow ribbon of film goes for naught if we do not reproduce it properly on the theatre screen. For my part, I am glad to stand here and beg — beg, mind you — that every theatre in the world avail itself of the finest equipment that money can buy. Such equipment, in the hands of competent craftsmen, will go far toward solving our most pressing problems." Thus spoke Mr. Zukor. But even as he spoke there were among his audience a group of people who, seizing upon such trifles as acetate film, electric motors, push-button curtain drapes and the like, were actively engaged in a concerted action to break down that standard which contributes the vital element to the successful presentation of a motion picture — the sure, deft touch of the experienced craftsman. Sure, give us magnetic soundtracks; sure, give us multiple loudspeakers; sure, give us 3-D; sure, give us ample arclight ranging up to 200 amperes — but. God NO, don't give us the experience, the patience and the trust in a competent day's work which must inevitably accompany such appurtenances. Grant us, God, an overflowing boxoffice, Miami in mid-winter, the country club in the summertime and all the other manifestations of Heavenly munificence. But also, God, deliver us from the scourge of paying in the form of wages for these blessings. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST • MAY 1954