Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1951)

Thursday, November 15, 1951 Motion Picture Daily 7 Pioneers (Continued from page 1) brothers, who have been named "Pioneers of the Year" by the organization of founders and builders of the industry, will receive a special plaque honoring them "for their vision and enterprise in bringing sound to the screen; for their boundless courage in blazing a new path in screen entertainment and public service; and for their unswerving faith in motion pictures and in their industry as a bulwark of the American way of life." Guests at the dinner will include Henry Ford II, president of the Ford Motor Company; David Sarnoff, chairman of the board of RCA ; Frank M. Folsom, president of RCA, and Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America. 12th Annual Award Jack Cohn, president of the Pioneers, reports that the award to the Warners, the 12th annual award, will be the first that the Pioneers has bestowed on more than one individual. The 93 new inductees follow : Edwin A. Aaron, Morris Alin. Alexandre Aptekmann, Louis J Barbano, George T. Beattie, Albert Beck, Maurice Berg-man, Joseph Bernard, Harry M. Bernstein, Foster M. Blake, Morton B. Blumenstock. Ralph Branton, Nathan N. Brower. Milton E. Cohen, Joseph Cordero, Alfred E. Daff. Paul Daniels, Deon J. DeTitta. Albert D'ezel, David Diamond, Jack Etra. Emil K. Ellis. Also, Howard Feigley, Sr., Charles J. Feldman, Harold D. Field, Sr., Joseph E. Fontaine, John Freese. Sam A. Galanty, Manning J. Glick. Harry Glickman, Wally Goldstein, Morris Grassgreen, Arthur Greenblatt, John Ha.mrick, Francis L. Harley. Maurice Harris, Walter F. Higgins, Richard Hildreth, Morris Jacobson, Thomas James, James J. Jordan. Herbert T. Kalmus, Sam Katz, Egon Klein. Melvin H. Koff, Lee Koken, Stanley Kolbert. Charles P. Kontulis. Also, Harry Kosiner, B. G. Kranze, Robert A. Kreier, Karel Lamac, Carroll J. Lawler, Calvin C. Leeder, John Lefebre, Joseph Levy, Norman Lewis, S. N. Lichter. A. • E. Lichtman, Byron R. Linn. David A, Lipton, Benjamin Lorber, Mannie Marcus. Allan S. Moritz, H. J. Nelson, Joseph J. Nolan, John Petrauskas, Jr., Lewen Pizor, Matthias Radin, Anthony Ricci, John Robertas. David Robbins. Also, Edward Salzberg, James C. Shank lint Theodore A. Shaw, Max M. Shulgold, Ab'e E. Siegel, Samuel N. Simon, Irving Sochin, Ralph B. Staub, Benjamin W. Steerman, William Steiner, Irving Stolzer, Jerome Paul Sutten, Charles Mark Thall, Douglas Travers, Carlos Vasseur, Eugene F. ; Walsh, Harry I. Waxmann, George Weiss, Irving Wernick, Ralph B. Williams, Mitchell Wolfson. Jack Warner Cited By Treasury Dept. Hollywood, Nov. 14. — Jack L. /arner has received the U. S. Treasiry Department's Distinguished Service Award, presented to him at 'Varner Brothers studio by Joseph fessick, State Director of U. S. Savings Bonds. The award, highest honor conferred by the Treasury Department for Public Service, was given for the studio's leadership in building security for the nation through the sale of savings bonds. The award was signed by secretary of the Treasury John Snyder who said in an accompanying letter : "The patriotic and unselfish serv ce of the Warners — Harry, Albert id Jack — has been outstanding irough the years." 25-Cent WB Dividend At a special meeting of the board of directors of Warner Brothers here yesterday a dividend of 25 cents per share was declared payable on Jan. 5, 1952 to holders of common stock of record on Dec. 7, 1951. Reviews 'Hong Kong (Paramount) A QUICKLY-PACED story of intrigue in post World War II in China, "Hong Kong" has been carefully packaged with the ingredients necessary to popular favor. Producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas have given the story a generous production treatment including color by Technicolor. Action of a standard type pops every inch of the way with a satisfying element of suspense added to the movement. Ronald Reagan has returned to China after the war to make a quick fortune but instead he runs into the new warfare. Always the_ adventurous, lone-wolf type, he soon finds himself the guardian of a dead Chinaman's_ fiveyear-old son, Danny Chang. Since Reagan cannot leave the boy to die 'in the fields he decides to take him along. Eventually he comes upon a field mission service headed by Rhonda Fleming and in time the little party grows to three. The intrigue gets underway when Reagan discovers the boy has in his possession a valuable idol. Reagan conspires to dispose of the boy, get the money for the idol, and do a disappearing act. He makes a deal for the sale with some underworld characters but then has a change of heart. He discovers that he cares for the welfare of the boy and that he loves Miss Fleming, What ensues is an underworld kidnapping of the boy and a desperate, .melodramatic attempt by Reagan and Miss Fleming to get him back. ^Their attempt is eventually successful, but only after a series of flights, chases and considerable gunfire and fisticuffs. There will be few who can resist the guileless charms of little Danny Chang. Winston Miller wrote the screen story, based on a tale by Lewis R. Foster. Foster also directed. ! Running time, 91 minutes. General audience classification. For January release. Mandel Herbstman "Callaway Went Thataway" (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) AFRESH and exciting satire on the rise to fame of the television cowboy is etched in "Callaway Went Thataway." A bright, affecting script loaded with wit and imagination has been fashioned by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. Howard Keel plays a dual role as a cowboy actor, one as a hero of the bygone film era and the other as a modern TV star. Also in the cast are Fred MacMurray and Dorothy McGuire, as two advertising agency "hucksters." As the story opens, Keel, the old film cowboy has long since dropped out of sight, a casualty of hard drinking. The playing of his films on television, however, has made him a hero again and very much in demand. Since a fortune can be made by producing a new series for TV with Keel, MacMurray and Miss McGuire launch a desperate search for him, The search is unavailing. Just when MacMurray and Miss McGuire are about to confess to the would-be sponsor that the search is hopeless, they find a cowboy on a Colorado ranch who is the image of the old film star. In a series of comic episodes that are better seen than described in words, the cowboy is groomed to pose as the old idol. In time he becomes a national institution, but trouble bubbles when the old Keel comes on the scene and demands the full share of the popularity and "gravy.'' A series of complications are developed artfully and the humor inherent in the situation is well realized. The ending is a surprise one in which virtue wins out, a foundation for youngsters is established, and romance blossoms between the latter-day Keel and Miss McGuire. Others in the cast are Jesse White, Fay Roope and Natalie Schafer. Panama and Frank also produced and directed. Running time, 81 minutes. General audience classification. Release date, Dec. 28. M. Herbstman 'Man in the Saddle' (Columbia Pictures) ACTION again is the principal exploitation ingredient of this Randolph Scott western starrer which features the usual amount of gun-play and skullduggery. The color by Technicolor enhances the value of some of the out-ofdoors mountain shots. The story, which runs according" to time-tested formula, concerns an ambitious woman, a greedy, unscrupulous ranch owner, and Scott, as Owen Merritt, caught in the middle between conflicting forces. Scott's girl, Joan Leslie, marries the wealthy owner of the Skull Ranch, Alexander Knox, who portrays Will Isham, because she thinks that she will find security as his wife. , The bargain turns sour, however, when she realizes she still loves Scott and recognizes the unbridled ambitions of her new husband. Knox sends out his hired gunmen, led by Richard Rober, who portrays Ray Dutcher, to drive Scott off his land and in the process two of Scott's close friends are killed. The gunplay sets the ball rolling for a number of subsequent action-packed scenes, featuring Ellen Drew as Nan Melotte, an attractive neighboring school teacher who also is in love with Scott. The finale finds Miss Drew and Scott united, while the wealthy, greedy rancher is killed by his own hired gunman, who is j later killed by Scott in a settling of accounts. Others in the cast include John Russell, Alfonso Bedoya, Guinn Williams, Clem Bevans and Cameron Mitchell. Harry Joe Brown produced and Andre de Toth directed, from a screenplay by Kenneth Garnet, based on a novel by Ernest Haycox. Running time, 87 minutes. General audience classification. For December release. Murray Horowitz Mclnerney (Continued from page 1) Mclnerney, Jr., and a sister, Mrs. Marguerite Wilkinson of Miami Beach. Born in New York City, Mclnerney attended Fordham and Columbia Universities before joining the old New York Herald as a reporter. Later he joined the old New York World and Variety in the same capacity. He left the newspaper field to do publicity for Cosmopolitan Pictures and then Universal Pictures, joining the Paramount exploitation department in 1924. Paramount promoted him in 1925 to the post of publicity director of the Rivoli and Rialto theatres on Broadway, both owned at that time by the company. With the opening of the Paramount Theatre on Times Square in 1926, Mclnerney became publicity director of that house, a post he continued to hold until his death. When the Brooklyn Paramount was opened in 1928 that theatre was added to his jurisdiction. As an ambulance driver in World War I he sustained wounds in both legs. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Queens. Fabian Ads Promote Movie-Going Habit Albany, N. Y., Nov. 14.— Four Fabian theatres in Schenectady ran special newspaper copy yesterday stating : "We know — you have — because of the increased number of persons attending— noticed the vast improvement in 'movies' of late. They are going to continue to improve. Get back the habit of seeing a movie once a week. It is a good habit." The copy carried a "Movietime U.S.A." slug. That long green stuff will make you forget 'em! Take the cure! 0 The Week End that Shook the Wbrld^ LAUGHT&