Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1950)

Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, June 7, 1!: Paramount Believes Phonevision Faulty Phonevision was mentioned by Barney Balaban, president, in his report at Paramount's first annual stockholders' meeting here yesterday when he said that after careful study of every aspect of the device. Paramount "seriously questions its basic technical and economic feasibility." "We believe that these technical and economic objections are inherent in the device," he said. On a question from a stockholder, Austin Keough, vicepresident and general counsel, said he believes that under existing law film companies cannot be compelled to license films to Phonevision. Balaban (Continued from page 1) is "too early to add up the final score" on the ultimate effect of the new medium on films, "I am sure that when the time comes the prophets of doom will have been proved to be false prophets." Yesterday's meeting was the first for the film company and Balaban and all 15 other directors were re-elected by overwhelming majorities. Managements' proposal to eliminate the 614,794 shares of common stock which have been purchased by the corporation, reducing to 3,385,206 the total number of shares authorized, was approved by a substantial margin. Proposals by minority holder James Fuller asking a ceiling of $10,000 annually on pensions and seeking board consideration of salary reductions for executives were turned down by a vote of about 10 to one. Reports on Consent Decree Presiding over the meeting with the assistance of Austin Keough, vicepresident and general counsel, and Edwin L. Weisl, member of the board, Balaban commented briefly on the reorganization of the old Paramount Pictures, Inc., and the decision to split the company as a means of freedom from the industry anti-trust suit. He said that it appears that the U. S. Supreme Court's affirmation of the divorcement decree against the remaining major defendants in the case "completely vindicated" the management's recommendations concerning the reorganization and justifies the stockholders' approval of it. "It is comforting to know that the course we took was right and timely," he added. BANKING FOR THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY BANKS COMPAN Trust NEW YORK MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION Review "The Next Voice You Hear . . . (Mctro-Gold-wyn-Mayer) Hollywood, June 6 THIS is the picture in which, as widely reported in the press, God goes on the radio to speak to His people. He speaks to them briefly, over all stations, at 8 :30 nightly for six nights, resting on the seventh. Lots of them miss his first few broadcasts, not happening to be listening in at the time, but His words are thoroughly reported, and by the end of the week He has a virtually universal audience. During the series He has told them they have been neglecting their home work, mentioning love, understanding and peace as matters in regard to which they have been lax, and has threatened to send them "another 40 days of rain," emphasizing this threat with a brief but violent storm. When He has finished the series His listeners give evidence of having taken His admonitions to heart. This is also the picture which, as quite as widely reported in the press, Dore Schary produced in elaborate but far from holeproof secrecy in 14 shooting days on a budget in the $500,000 area, establishing a post-war low in production economy by M-G-M standards. The means by which he achieved the reconciling of his theme with his economics could turn out to account for the success or the failure of the enterprise. Producer Schary started with a magazine story by George Sumner Albee which he turned over to Charles Schnee, best known in pictures for his script of "Red River," as a basis for the script from which William A. Wellman directed. Writer Schnee went back into M-G-M history for the character of "Joe Smith, American," and built his story around the reactions of Joe and his family, plus a few friends and acquaintances, to God's broadcasts. Their reactions are represented, of course, as typifying those of all mankind. The time is now, the place a town like Los Angeles, and Joe is an aircraft worker, a nice guy, grumbling a little at his job, critical of his wife's cooking, but earnestly solicitous of her welfare, his son Johnny's, and that of the imminently expected baby. Joe is a bit dubious about God's first broadcast, suspecting a hoax of some sort, and is not very sure about the second one, but when God turns on the storm to emphasize His threat, Joe is convinced. He is also scared. He is scared to the point of getting soundly drunk, for which his wife forgives him, and is scared again when his wife undergoes false labor pains, is rushed to a hospital, and brought back. But he rids himself of fear, as do the others, when God points out the evil of fear, and deports himself admirably when genuine labor pains set in, taking his wife to the hospital and standing by calmly while the baby is being born. Meanwhile he has rid himself also of envy of his working boss and of dislike for his wife's spinster sister. Tames Whitmore plays Joe, Nancy Davis his wife, Gary Gray his son, and Lillian Bronson his sister-in-law, all splendidly, with Art Smith, Tom D' Andrea and Jeff Corey adding solid portrayals. Dialogue is singularly naturalistic, as well as intimate, and is used sparingly. Naturalistic and intimate, also, is the handling of the wife's pregnancy, labor pains and so forth, 'inclusive of dialogue references to the same and of costuming which follows the contours of pregnancy. This report is written following a previewing of the picture to a trade press group at the studio, where the picture affected the womenfolk in a manner to indicate its is at least a two-handkerchief job for the distaff side of the theatre audience, although whether for reasons of womanly sympathy for a woman in childbirth or of spiritual response to God's broadcasts was not clear. Most of the menfolk appeared deeply impressed also. The picture promises to create much comment, possibly divided in character but all stimulating to the box-office. Running time, 83 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, not set. William R. Weaver In the decline of grosses from wartime peaks, the film business is no different from any other industry, Balaban held. However, peculiar to the film industry, efforts to reduce costs lag behind the decline in revenues in part, for the reason that films may be produced when the market is at its highest level and amortized when some recession takes place, r -J uf Balaban said the "most formidable obstacles" in cutting production costs lie in the fact that costs for labor, material and services were established at wartime levels. He said "encouraging progress" has been made with regard to this problem and added he has every confidence that management eventually will be able to keep the costs in line with "the realities of our present and anticipated markets. On the foreign front, Balaban said the company has been more successful in obtaining dollars from blocked funds than had been anticipated when trade restrictions abroad were imposed. He said he figures Paramount at the end of 1949 had about $5,000,000 in blocked foreign currencies in addition to undivided funds in the name of the Motion Picture Export Association. Balaban said the industry probably will share in the benefits when foreign countries complete economic recovery programs and in certain areas "heartening progress already has been made." He called for greater industry showmanship and said he is convinced that the "properly located and well-run American motion picture theatre is solidly established as an American institution and will continue, for the foreseeable future, to be our principal customer." Almost half of Balaban's prepared statement and a large part of the discussion which followed at the meetingcentered around television. He said analysis has failed to show any direct relationship between the rise of video and the decline in film grosses, that the drop-off in box-office receipts has been substantially the same in both TV and non-TV areas. In discussing Paramount's television properties, Balaban reported that the company's station KTLA, Los Angeles, is now operating "in the black." 1 Name Committee fori Information Plan Washington, June 6. — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Connally today appointed a sub-committee to study proposals of Senator Benton for a greatly | expanded government information program in foreign countries. Benton has said Hollywood would fieure prominently in plans foi^ jh a stepped-up program, v"' The sub-committee consists of Senators Thomas, chairman, and McMahon, Fulbright, Smith and Lodge. Benton himself is not a member of the committee. Rehearings (Continued from page 1) Hi decision without hearing appea arguments. Industry attorneys pointed out I the course adopted by the Supr< Court is almost without preced particularly in view of the fact 1 the government itself did not opr the Loew's, 20thFox and Wat petitions for review but, instead, f a counter-appeal. Under similar cumstances, when petitions for rev in such a case are not opposed, Supreme Court usually takes the c That it would do so in this instE had been generally assumed by partment of Justice attorneys as as the defense. Industry legal opinion is that stays granted the three compa pending the applications for rev will expire when the Supreme Coi latest mandate reaches the New Y Federal Court, and that at that 1 the latter court's Feb. 8 order will gin to run from its original date. In Washington yesterday, it stated at the Supreme Court that new mandate will not go out foi least 25 days and probably not 30 or 35 days. In that event, Loe 20th-Fox and Warner would 1 only one more month thereafter, which to prepare and present a i of divorcement, which the New Y court ordered to be ready within months from Feb. 8. It is reasonable to suppose, hi ever, that under the circumstances New York court would listen to plications for an extension of deadline, if such a request "were be made by the companies. The K York decree also directed the threi submit plans for theatre divestitun next Feb. 8. It granted them tl years in which to carry out appr divorcement plans. 1 MITCHELL MAY, Jr CO., INC. INSURANCE Specializing in requirements of the Motion Picture lndustr \ 75 Maiden Lane, New Yorki 510 W. 6th St., Lor Angelet