Motion Picture Daily (Jan-Mar 1951)

4 Motion Picture Daily Tuesday, March 27, 1951 National Pre-Selling CECIL B. DeMILLE is starred in a short Technicolor film which he recently completed for Paramount to be shown in theatres throughout the country in connection with the annual drive of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations, which will start in April. The picture is entitled "The House on Any Street," and DeMille appears in the film and serves as commentator, with a cast of young Paramount players and children from the Orthopedic Hospital, where some of the scenes were shot. Leonard Goldenson, president of United Paramount Theatres, is president of the UCPA, and Bob Hope is national drive chairman. • Bill Farrell, singing star of M-G-M records, is profiled in the April Seventeen. The article, titled "Young New Voice" tells of his rise to fame from high school vocalizing. An illustrated double-page in the same issue features the 18-year old French dancing star, who tells how she came to be chosen by Gene Kelly as his leading lady in the forthcoming "An American in Paris." MGM's Technicolor musical, "Royal Wedding" is named "Picture of the Month" by the magazine. • Woman's Home Companion for April, due on newsstands, has a twocolumn story on the different characterisations of "Alice in Wonderland" — including the original little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll's famous book. Under the title, "Do You Know Your Alice," four pictures and captions ask one to identify the real Alice Liddell, the historic drawing of "Alice" by John Tenniel, Walt Disney's cartoon character and a photo of Kathy Beaumont, who is the "voice" of "Alice" in the new motion picture. • Waycross, Georgia, wins the world premiere showing of "Queen for a Day" in a contest between 540 cities, conducted by producer Robert Still man over Mutual Broadcasting. April 14 will be the lucky day, and Southern hospitality will be pushed to new heights to prove how popular this pro motion idea turned out to be. The entire city is involved, and the contest to determine the "Queen" will be held in Waycross Stadium, seating 10,000, or more than half the population. The climatic event will be a grand ball in honor of the winning "Queen" with the whole town invited. The picture has been named by the General Federation of Women's Clubs as "one of the best ever seen," by Mrs. Harry Lilly, national chairman. • An all-out promotion and exploitaation campaign for "The Scarf" was kicked off with the arrival in NewYork of Mercedes McCambridge, star of the film, for a two-week round of intensive publicity efforts under the direction of Max E. Youngstein, vicepresident and director of national advertising for United Artists. James Barton will also participate in a series of personal appearances, with the star appearing on various radio and television shows, and for the entire round of newspaper, magazine and fan interviews. Youngstein's staff, under Fransic Winikus, ad manager, and Al Tamarin, publicity manager,_ have devised a hard-hitting campaign based on the sensational theme of the picture. Review "Go for Broke" (Metro-Go Idwyn -Mayer) DORE SCHARY, who turned out an outstanding war production in "Battleground," repeats the performance in "Go for Broke." The picture recounts the story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, one of the most decorated fighting units of World War II, which was composed of Americans of Japanese ancestry. All were volunteers from the Continental U. S. and Hawaii. The curiously catching title, "Go for Broke," derives from Hawaiian dice-shooting slang for "shoot the works !" which was their battle cry. Van Johnson is the only major marquee name in the virtually all-male cast. Gianna Canale, as a soldier-bewitched Italian lass, shares a brief interlude of passing amour with Johnson. As for performances, they are all convincing and top-notch. The picture is one of seize and scope, constituting 92 minutes of undiluted entertainment. Whether the picture will stimulate the box-office popularity it merits is a question that can not be answered with certainty m these days of renewed wartime anxieties. The story opens with Johnson, fresh out of OCS, assigned to the newlyactivated 442nd. The idea of being assigned to a platoon of Japanese-Americans is distasteful to him and he is not very subtle in disguising his feelings. Attempts to get a transfer are unavailing so Johnson releases his frustrations in strict disciplinary measures for the hard-pressed platoon. The unit goes overseas, and gradually, under fierce baptisms of fire, Johnson begins to feel a close bond with his men. By the time the finale rolls around Johnson is aware of the monstrousness of prejudice and its affront to the fraternity of man. Robert Pirosh, who directed and wrote the screenplay, has injected a vivid sense of documentary realism into the combat scenes. The regiment's relentless drives to battlefield glory, now a matter of recorded history, are recreated with power and imagination. Sub-plots and comic incidents weave in and out of the film to add to its imposing stature. Schary has done it again. Running time, 92 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, May 25. Mandel Herbstman Painters Union (Continued from page 1) trial board composed of members of its general executive board has found him guilty of "willfully and knowingly associating himself with organizations and groups which subscribe to the doctrines of the Communist Party" and has ruled that he "shall not hold nor be permitted to hold any office whatever or the position of business representative in or with any or all locals for a period of five years." Sorrell, whose contract with Local 644 as a business agent has two years to go, said he is calling a meeting for April here to place the matter before the full membership. Sorrell, who pointed out he has sworn before a Congressional investigating committee that he is not and never has been a Communist, said "I have never worked for the International, which has attempted recently to destroy our organization in order to nullify a multi-million dollar law suit involving another AFL union and motion picture producers. Members of Local 644 are my employers. I shall abide by their decision concerning my future activities in their behalf, but this ruling does not affect my presidency of the CSU. You can say for me that the International's decision will lead to court action, and that if the Kefauver Committee gets hold of all this it will be more interesting than those peanut affairs they huddled over in New York. Can Fire Witness (Continued from page 1) the House Un-American Activities Committee during the coming hearings on alleged Communist activities in Hollywood. Cole was cited for contempt during the 1947 Un-American Activities Committee hearings when he refused to answer whether he was a Communist Party member. Loew's soon after suspended his employment, despite a contract, and Cole sued for reinstatement with back pay under the contract. Loew's argued that it could break the contract under the contract's general "morals" clause. District Judge Leon Yankwich upheld Cole, but the Circuit Court ruled for the studio, and Cole appealed to the high court. It is known that the Motion Picture Association of America and other industry groups have been watching closely the outcome of the Cole appeal. Cole's appeal not only had a bearing on the future but also was regarded as somewhat of a test case for some four or five other film workers suspended as a result of the 1947 hearings, who also had contracts. And Drive-ins They Shall Be: Allied Washington, March 26.— Allied States has admitted defeat in its campaign to have drive-in theatres called "outdoor theatres." Allied general counsel Abram F. Myers stated in a bulletin that the term "outdoor" was brought forward to emphasize the kinship between drive-ins and conventional theatres. "But word drive-in was too firmly established and could not be supplanted," he declared. From now on, even Allied will call 'em "drive-ins." Links Drive-ins to Industry's Future Washington, March 26. — Predicting that drive-in theatres will become more and more important in the set-up of the film industry, Abram F. Myers, general counsel of Allied States, declared that "it is inevitable that for a long time theatre construction will be largely confined to drive-ins." Myers said this would be true because of scarcities of building materials and building skills, if for no other reason. Morris Mechanic, owner of the New Theatre, Baltimore, staged a gala opening for "Bird of Paradise" with civic and social leaders, beautiful models, a special drum and bugle corps and Debra Paget's sarong, with sound trucks, kleig lights and fanfare. The fashion show and auctioning off of the sarong for the benefit of the Cancer Fund was attended by the Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Baltimore, with a host of other dignitaries. — Walter Brooks Justice Motion Today Hits Sutphen Claim The Justice Department is scheduled to file today a motion asking the U. S. Supreme Court to affirm the action of the threejudge statutory court denying Sutphen Estates of the right to intervene to contest the Warner consent decree. The motion, to be filed with the New York Court, declares that Sutphen's lease on the Strand Theatre, Washington, is in no way lessened in value as a result of the consent decree, and that Sutphen has no standing in the proceedings. It will be several weeks before the matter actually reaches the Supreme Court and is acted on. Allied Bid Plan (Continued from page 1) cussion, emphasizing the "vastness" of the issues involved. He said the distributors had promised to give Allied fairly soon, answers on Allied's plan to change the competitive bidding sections of the Paramount decree. Myers said all discussions had been "in the most general terms — just canvassing the edges of the situation," and that "nothing definite was agreed on or pointed up." Meetings were held with Paramount general counsel Austin Keough and with J. Robert Rubin and William Rodgers of Loew's, according to Myers. He said further meetings with these officials and with spokesmen for other companies would be held "in the near future, but definitely not this week." Confirms Story of Halting 'Red' Script Hollywood, March 26. — Roy Brewer, IATSE international representative and chairman of the Hollywood AFL Film Council, confirmed a story by columnist Victor Riesel to the effect that Brewer was instrumental in preventing production by a major studio of a script by "a Broadway playwright with a long pro-Commie record" which attacked an important labor union and American industry. Riesel's article said studio executives, when appraised of the Communistic nature of the script, tried to get the author and director to okay suggested revision but were unable to do so and therefore "dumped" the script. Brewer said the incident happened within the "past three or four months" but declined to name the picture, author, director or studio, claiming the matter had been handled confidentially. Riesel addressed today's meeting of the AFL Film Council.