Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1937)

Tuesday, October 12, 1937 MOTION PICTURE DAILY 3 SMPE Hears Sound Moving About Screen (Continued from page 1) two microphone amplifier channels are employed in recording the stereophonic sound. Maxwell pointed out that the production companies must decide when the new development will be incorporated in actual production. The opening day was featured by the election of several officers, not including the president, who carries over for another year ; an opening address by S. K. Wolf, president, reports of several committees, the beginning of a long series of technical papers on the developments of the year in the technique of the screen, and an informal luncheon at which Louis Nizer, attorney, and Martin Quigley were the speakers. Quigley, in his brief address to the convention, ofTered a spirited defense of the industry in its concentration on entertainment as the prime function of the screen. His theme was "Propaganda, Education and the Entertainment Film." Cites Critics' Ulterior Motives Certain persons, Quigley declared, raise objections to the use of the screen as a medium of entertainment only, and seek to bring about its employment for other purposes, chief among them educational and propagandistic. He quoted from Dr. Fred Eastman, educator and clergyman, professor at Chicago Theological Seminary, who has asserted that producers should think of themselves as educators, not "as a bunch of entertainers." Another quotation was from Norman Thomas, who has declared that the motion picture should take life as it is, and "morals would take care of themselves." There is too much Cinderella in films, Quigley quoted Thomas as saying. Replying, the publisher asserted these men may be described as "lacking in candor." Following their suggestions, he said, would create a condition whereby those persons who wish to use the film for their own purposes would be dictating what should be produced. Decries Propaganda There is no indication that the public desires anything but entertainment from the motion picture theatre, Quigley pointed out, and declared it would be dishonest if the theatre showed anything else under guise of pure entertainment. The propagandists, who show a marked approval of the realistic type of film, he said, seek actually to destroy the hours of happiness which the screen now brings to the public. They would turn the theater into a place of political debate, and not a place of refreshment, and would create a spirit of discontent, he declared. He agreed that the screen has certain definite responsibilities, chief among them being an obligation to abide by the dictates of decency. Concluding, Quigley declared that these outside sources which seek to use the screen for other purposes are po tentially a source of the destruction of the industry, which has a right to exist "and has rendered a great public service." Nizer stressed the value of the screen in brmgmg about a movemeni. tor peace througnout the world, in its inherent value of making the difierent peoples of the world more familiar with one another. He praised the work of the engineers, who have contributed so much to the screen, where science contributes nothing to any other art form. Willifred Vice-President New officers elected yesterday were E. A. Willifred, financial vice-president; Dr. L. A. Jones, reelected engineering vice-president; Kenneth F. Morgan, executive vice-president, vV est Coast ; J ames Frank, secretary , L. W. Davee, treasurer, and Herbert uriffin. Dr. A. C. Hardy and Ralph F. Farnham, elected to the board oi governors. Griffin and Hardy were reelected. Another outstanding demonsttation of the day was that on third dimensional pictures by George W. Wheelwright, 3rd, of the Land-Wheelwright l^aboratories, Boston. Based on tne use of Polaroid glasses by the audience, an effect of third diminsion is produced. N. D. Golden Heard N. D. Golden, head of the films division of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Dep't of Commerce, spoke an "Safeguarding and developing Our Film Markets Abroad." Taxes and complex restrictions which continue to be imposed in many foreign countries form one of the greatest problems American producers must face abroad, he said. Some are unreasonable, Golden declared, and the industry is justified in taking a strong stand with the object of bringing, about their elimination. In such action, the producers would be supported by the desire of the foreign audiences to see and hear American entertainment films. Foreign markets, which play an important pari in the success of the industry, must be safeguarded, he said. American pictures are maintaining their immense popularity abroad, declared Golden. Many Papers Read Other technical papers read at yesterday's session included the following : "Hunting v^'ith a Microphone the Songs of Vanishing Birds" by P. Kellogg, Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University ; "High-Speed Motion Picture Photography Applied to the Design of Telephone Apparatus," by W. Herriott, Bell Telephone Laboratories ; "Further Progress in Film Storage," by Capt. J. G. Bradley, National Archives, Washington ; "The EfTect of the Composition of an MQ Developer on Its Reduction Potention," by R. M. Evans and W. T. Hanson, Jr., Kodak Research Laboratories ; "A Modern Motion Picture Laboratory," by C. L. Lootens, Republic Productions ; "Modulated High Frequency Recording as a Means of Determining Conditions for Optimal Processes," by J. A. Baker and D. H. Robinson of RCA ; "Distortion in the Reproduction of Hill-and-Dale Records," by M. J. DiToro, Thomas A. Edison, Inc. ; "Recent Developments in Hill-and-Dale Recorders," bv L. Vieth and C. F. Wiebusch, Bell telephone Laboratories ; "Nomenclature Two Other Fellows Hollywood, Oct. 11. — Josef Pasternack, musical conductor of Vick's radio show, and Joe Pasternak, producer of Universal's "100 Men and a Girl," are getting hardened to a scrambling of their mail, 'phone calls and office appointments, but don't know what to do about the newspaper that ran a biography of one with a portrait of the other. Neither does anybody else. So they're to meet across a luncheon table as a coramittee of two on ways and means. and Specifications Including Description of the Various Tyes of Movietone Release," by J. K. Hilliard, M-G-M ; "Film Perforation and 96Cycle Frequency Modulation in Sound Film Records," by J. Crabtree and W. Herriott, Bell Telephone Laboratories. The program for today is as follows : 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.— Salle Moderne; Engineering Practice Session. "Air-Conditioning witli Litliium Chloride"; G. A. Kelley, Surface Combustion Corp., Toledo. "The Activated Alumina System as Applied to Air-Conditioning and Drying Problems"; G. L. Simpson, Pittsburgh. Lectrodryer Corp. "Die Castings and Their Application to Photographic Appliances"; C. Pack. Doehler Die Casting Co., New York. "The Use of Inconel for Photographic Film Processing Equipment"; G. L. Cox, International Nickel Co., Inc., New York. "Vacuum-Tube Engineering for Motion Pictures"; L. C. Hollands and A. M. Glover, RCA Manufacturing Co. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.— Salle Moderne; Lighting and Studio Session. "Spectral Distribution and Color-Temperature of the Radiant Energy from Carbon Arcs Used in the Motion Picture Industry"; F. T. Bowditch and A. C. Downes, National Carbon Co. "Recent Developments in Background Projection"; G. G. Popovici, Bronx, N. Y. "Recent Developments in Gaseous Discharge Lamps"; S. Dushman, Research Laboratory, General Electric. Report of the Studio Lighting Committee, R. E. Farnham, Chairman. "Light Control in Photography"; G. Mili, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. "Modulated High-Frequency Recording A? a Means of Determining Conditions for Optimum Processing"; J. O. Baker and D. H. Robinson, RCA Manufacturing Co. "Recording Tests on Some Recent HighResolution Experimental Emulsions"; J. O. Baker, RCA Manufacturing Co. 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.mi— Salle Moderne. Showing of Selected Historical Motion Pictures Arranged by John E. Abbott. Director of the Film Library, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Showing of a Recent Feature Picture and Shorts (2 Hours). Allied Leaders at Detroit Convention (Continued' from page 1) schedule is the appointment of a successor to H. M. Richej', general business manager of the local unit, who left the ranks last summer to join Co-Operative Theatres of Michigan. Ray Branch of Hastings is expected to be re-elected president for a fifth term. He feels that the local unit has been strengthened in the last few months and expects a large turnout from all over the state. "Cantor's Son" Near End "The Cantor's Son," an all-Jewish musical starring Moishe Oysha, will be completed at the Film Arts studio in the Bronx this week. GTP Granted An Appeal by Highest Court (Continued from page 1) ground the state was interfering with Federal Government's exclusive right to regulate commerce with foreign nations. The court also denied a petition to T. L. Tally and the Corbar Corp. for rehearing of its suit against the Fox Film Corp. The case arose out of the Fox West Coast bankruptcy, the petitioners seeking to have the reorganization set aside on the ground that it was fraudulent. The lower courts ruled against the petitioners and were upheld by the Supreme Court. An appeal of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for review of a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals absolving Cecil B. DeMille from alleged avoidance of income taxes by use of a holding company was rejected by the court. Rule on DeMille Prod. The bureau in its petition contended Cecil B. DeMille had been employed by DeMille Prod, from 1924 to 1929 to avoid payment of taxes. The corporation, a holding company owned personally by DeMille and his associates, accumulated a surplus of $1,606,515 by 1929, but had paid in dividends only $192,000. The Bureau contended the corporation was used for the purpose of avoiding surtaxes, as had been charged last session by bureau officials appearing before the Tax Investigating Committee of Senate and House. It was contended that DeMille and his wife owned 70 per cent of the holding company, Ella King Adams, a relative of Mrs. DeMille, held 10 per cent and DeMille's attorney held 20 per cent until after 1927 when DeMille and his wife owned 97 per cent. Kansas City, Kan,, Irked by Hays Reply (Continued from page 1) sociation has no jurisdiction or control over the internal afTairs or business policies of members," the letter states. It also points out that the order of exhibition availability at theatres in any contiguous area is universally "a matter of competition between theatres in such areas for contracts with distributors," and adds that as the two Kansas Cities are in the same competitive area "there can be only one first run of a picture in such area." Willette characterized the reply as "buck passing" in commenting on it here. "If Hays is going to pass the buck, well and good," he said. "There are other ways in which we can force this discrimination to public attention. But Mr. Hess made the mistake of trying to make us believe that Kansas City, Kan., is merely a suburb of Kansas City, Mo." Willette said he would answer Hays' letter in a few days after conferring on the subject with civic leaders and the local theatre owners' association.