Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1950)

Motion Picture Daily Wednesday, November 15, 1950 SAG Recommends Pay Increases Hollywood, Nov. 14, — Sentiment for obtaining compensation increases in the next Screen Actors Guild contract to be negotiated with employing producers were expressed in advisory recommendations voted at the annual membership meeting. Recommendations, which did not attain the status of resolutions, were that day-played minimum scale be raised from the present $55 to $100, that negotiators persist in their efforts to obtain additional compensation when pictures are reissued, that the SAG board seek to enlist the aid of other unions in the educational campaign regarding the adverse effects of the Taft-Hartley Law. SAG president Ronald Reagan told members that a provision in new contract giving players additional payment for work in pictures subsequently released for television use will be among the main objectives in negotiations. S. FrankeVs Mother Dies at Her Home Mrs. Kate Frankel, 75, mother of Shirley Frankel, secretary to Samuel Schneider, Warner Brothers vice-president, died Monday at her home after a long illness. She is survived by her husband, Daniel ; four daughters ; a son ; five grand-children, and two great grand-children. Funeral services will be held today at the Boulevard Funeral Parlor, Brooklyn. Reviews NJ Allied ( Continued from page 1 ) president, said members of the organization have found it impossible to negotiate with the New York branch on film prices. The afternoon meeting was followed by the New Jersey Allied annual beefsteak dinner at the Ritz Restaurant here. Representatives of all segments of the industry in the New York Metropolitan area attended the dinner. "Branded" {Paramount) A RICH pictorial background has been provided Alan Ladd in this outdoor action drama about a desperado who has a strong personal code of honor. The picture is a large-scale Western in Technicolor and has greater plot development than the average in its category. In about every way, however, it respects the narrative convention. The fans should find it quite satisfactory. Ladd portrays a tight-lipped and self-assured gunfighter who is adroit with his fists and his pistols. He is approached in his mountain hideout by two strangers, Robert Keith and John Berkes, who interest him in a strange proposition. Their scheme is to have him pose as the long-lost son of a wealthy Texas rancher and eventually take over the ranch. All that Ladd needs is to be branded with birthmark which the missing son had and that chore is taken care of forthwith. Keith, who gave a fine performance as the detective in "Edge of Doom," performs equally well here. Almost at the outset he proves his native villainy by killing Berkes so that the anticipated loot would be divided two ways instead of three. Presently Ladd rides off to the ranch, owned by Charles Bickford, and cleverly allows himself to be taken for the missing son. As the conspiracy gains momentum, Laddy suddenly changes his' mind, largely because he has fallen in love with Bickford's daughter, Mona Freeman. This of course brings down upon Ladd the furtive hostility of Keith. Ladd decides to find the real son and the mission takes him into the a mountain stronghold of Joseph Calleia, a Mexican bandit, who has adopted the missing son after a childhood kidnapping. It takes some manly doings before Ladd succeeds in bringing the son home. The wild flight that precedes the return is a high point of the film and Rudolph Mates's direction gets the most out of it. Mel Epstein produced from the screenplay by Sydney Boehm and Cyril Hume. Running time, 95 minutes. General audience classification. For January release. M. H. Rustlers on Horseback (Republic) THIS latest "Rocky" Lane Western, with Gordon Kay as associate producer and Fred C. Brannon as director, follows the usual Western formula but is a satisfactory film within its genre. Lane is given an opportunity of playing a dual role, that of a bad man and that of a marshall. The issues between good and bad are clear cut and the story easy to follow. This time we have Lane on the trail of a gang planning some pretty big jobs in the neighborhood. He is trailing one of the suspects who is mistakenly cut down by a bullet from one of his colleague's guns. Lane decides to temporarily impersonate the bandit and that is where the action starts. Lane carries on this pose while the big boss arrives to sell a ranch he acquired from the owner who has been murdered. Lane eventually reveals his true identity and with the help of his trusted aide, Eddy Waller, puts an end to the gangsters' plans. There is the usual hard riding and enough gunplay and fist fights for any Western addict. Lane is, as usual, satisfactory, while John Eldredge plays the gang boss. Others in the cast are Roy Bancroft, Claudia Barrett and George Nader. Running time, 60 minutes. General audience classification. How Hollywood selects stars, picks titles, predicts boxoffice HOLLYWOOD LOOKS AT ITS AUDIENCE BY LEO A. HANDEL, DIRECTOR, THE MOTION PICTURE RESEARCH BUREAU The first comprehensive book on film audiiT^^/Vv* ence research, containing nine valuable I'^^^X* charts and over half a hundred informative tables, plus appendix and bibliography, in 240 easy-to-read pages. ERIC JOHNSTON SAYS: "This book is a noteworthy contribution to the science of research in the motion picture field." IRVING HOFFMAN CALLS IT: "A book that makes you think." DAVID O. SELZNICK SAYS: -Hollywood Looks at Its Audience not only gives the Hollywood and New York executives of this business a good look at the problems facing them, but also gives the layman a good, informative look at the motion picture industry." $3.50 at all bookstores A Publication of the University of Illinois Press in Urbana ITOO Agenda (Continued from page 1) charges of "unfair" price schedules of National Screen. Two clinics were held, separated into outdoor and indoor theatres, with 40 to 50 persons attending each. Republic Forms (Continued from page 1) The board of directors is headed by Richard Altschuler and includes Charles B. Newbery. Altschuler heads Republic's foreign sales. British Lion recently appointed Morris Helprin of New York its American representative for distribution of its pictures there and acquisition of American films for B-L distribution here. Helprin Heads (Continued from page 1) and acquisition of American pictures for British Lion distribution over there. Helpr in will leave here for London Nov. 22 and on his return to New York about Dec. 1 will leave for Japan to set up London Films of Japan there. Theatre TV (Continued from page 1) they are played, worked into a full theatre schedule which starts in the morning. Theatre concessions are handled as they would be at a football game and the capacity audience cheer, leap to their feet, and razz the officials as though they were at the scene of the game, Wallerstein said. Other speakers were Jack Braunigel, general manager of the Commonwealth Theatre Drive-ins, of Kansas City, and Robert Mochrie, vice-president and general sales manager of RKO Radio Pictures. Tome Edwards of Farmington, Mo., was re-elected president of the association. Also re-elected were Louis K. Ansell, St. Louis, board chairman ; Thomas James, St. Louis, vice-president ; Joe Ansell, St. Louis, treasurer ; Lester Kropp, secretary, and the following regional vice-presidents : Mrs. Bess Schulter of St. Louis ; Charles Weeks of Dexter, Mo. Rank Studio (Continued from page 1) features here except with Canadian finances. Under its new ownership the well-equipped plant will be known as the Sovereign Film Studio and its facilities will be available to independent producers of both theatre and television films. Frank O'Byrne, the present manager, will continue to be in charge of operations, it is understood. Will your Will work? Will your final wishes fail to be realized because you've made a faulty will? Technical flaws, a misused word, the absence of a few important elements, all can invalidate your obvious intent. If there is uncertainty in your mind, please accept a copy of this new booklet. "Make a Will That Will Work" is a handy reference guide to every phase of will making problems. Your copy is waiting for you at any Bank of America branch; or write the Trust Department, 660 Soulh Spring Street, Los Angeles. Do it today— -while you're thinking about it. 25mtk of Amtvxtn NATIONAL savSings ASSOCIATION Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation