Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1959)

bursday, December 24, 1959 Motion Picture Daily 5 The Critics Say. . . As influential as the many naon-wide syndicated TV columnists, re the hundreds of local news\aper critics whose views — though Ihey inevitably reflect regional preTerence — more often than not have Rational validity. These reporters, \sked to vote again this year in the ynual MOTION PICTURE DAILYwAME poll of television talent and tiiows, added a variety of comments m their views of the industry. \mong them were the following mports. Robert L. Sokolsky, Syracuse HerJd-Journal, Syracuse, N. Y.: The mys"bry remains. How can a medium do fuch splendid work one evening and lie so poor the next? This season, in larticular, remains a curious combination of highs and lows— sparkling orig!(iality and fear of breaking existing :jormats. On that count alone the quiz bandals have been the best thing hat ever happened to TV. It caused iroducers to crack one mold, if only (b form another. Now, if somebody lould only prove that the private eyes ire allergic to gunpowder or that the :owboys kick their horses! ! Bill Bowden, Van Wert Times-Bultin, Van Wert, Ohio: We need less esterns and more of the arts. Mrs. Vern Toule, Green Bay Pressazette, Green Bay, Wis.: Show less )rograms depicting crime and show nore human interest, thought provokng and informative programs. Too nany westerns with no historical 'alue. When network commercials are hown, local stations should not be illowed to follow with more commer•ials. Madelaine Farrell, Ann Arbor News, Vnn Arbor, Mich.: Less westerns— nore good musicals and dramas. • Richard C. Mandeville, Oswego Paladium-Times, Oswego, N. Y.: Too nuch "copy-cat" practice; — thus-too many jazz detective series, western series. The weaknesses of years past fitill prevalent— playing to low I.Q. nudiences and children. Recent movie technique of many "name" stars and has the boxoffice touch! REVIEW: The 400 Blows Zenith International As touching and profound a portrait of childhood as has ever been put on the screen is to be found in this new film from France called "The 400 Blows." Already a hit in its New York engagement, it should easily repeat that performance at art theatres across the land. Francois Truffaut, a former French film critic, is the author of the perceptive script, and he also directed, being a member of the talented "new wave" of directors in that country. His film does not have much plot in the accepted sense, and what there is can be described in a few lines. An adolescent boy in Paris today, feeling unwanted and neglected by his mother and foster father, is having a difficult time adjusting to life. He is lax in his school work, plavs truant frequently, and runs away from home. He then steals a typewriter from his father's office and attempts unsuccessfully to pawn it. The parents use the theft as an excuse to send the boy to a correction school for juvenile delinquents, and at the end he has escaped from that place, too, and is temporarily on his own again. Rather than simply to tell a story, M. Truffaut was concerned with capturing on film the moods and feelings of this "child of our time." These are universal emotions, regardless of external circumstance, and he has achieved his intentions magnificently, thanks to his own sensitive handling of the material and also to the stirring performance he has got in the leading role from Jean-Pierre Leaud. It is hard to imagine any spectator so callous as to be unmoved by this youngster or to fail to respond to everything he feels and does— whether it is the humorous baiting of a tyrannical teacher in the classroom or the hurt look when he is slapped in the face for reaching for his food too soon in the reform school. (He reminds us here of Oliver Twist asking for "more.") And the sequence in which the boy is questioned in clinical detail by a psychiatrist about why he lies, his feelings toward his parents and other personal things, is the most poignant and powerful of all. Truffaut directs this long scene with the camera on the face of the child the entire time ( the interrogator is never shown ) . And young Leaud packs more revelation of character into these minutes than most adult actors do in an entire film. The English sub-titles provided by Herman Weinberg are as direct and eloquent as everything else about this wonderful picture. Running time, 100 minutes. General classification. Release, current. Richard Gertner nothing to do is also a rotten development. • George Jewell, The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, W. Va.: A suggestion for improvement would be to have flexible programming, i.e., quit cutting off people on the Jack Paar show in middle of sentences for commercials; quit cutting off a baseball game with the score tied going into the 10th inning to pick up a regularly scheduled program, etc. • Jerry Kerns, Meridan Star, Meridan, Miss.: Television still has a great deal to learn in its appeal to the masses. Too often it is guided by the ad agencies who work for a rating rather than a permanent place on the TV horizon. TV should be more creative in these efforts. • Warren Sloat, Morris County Daily Record, Morristown, N. J.: The industry underestimates the intelligence of the average American. Proof of this is the way he will be shaken from his doldrums by a superior one-shot. TV is too afraid of the tongue-clucking biddies of both sexes that object to life in its many manifestations, and are Trial of Stratovision Is Approved by FCC From THE DAILY Bureau WASHINGTON, Dec. 23. The Federal Communications Commission has approved the first test of Stratovision, a method through which a TV signal is sent from a transmitter to a circling plane and back to earthbound TV sets. The commission said that Purdue University could use eight ultra-highfrequency channels to stratocast educational television programs over a 34,000 square mile area centered around Montpelier, Ind. Two simultaneous programs will be sent over four UHF channels at a time to a plane, and then re-broadcast back to more than five million students in more than 13,000 schools. The grant covers the school year beginning September, 1960. entirely too shy about what is even mildly controversial. If somebody doesn't complain, it can't mean very much and there are too many shows with no cause for complaint on anybody's part. There were and are some signs of improvement this year. has the boxoffice touch! PEOPLE Edward Feldman was feted by over 30 industry friends yesterday at a luncheon in his honor at Ruby-Foo's Restaurant here. Feldman, on his way to Hong Kong as international publicity coordinator for "The World Of Suzie Wong," was greeted by "Mayor Kim of Hong Kong," at the affair, and presented with a gift from wellwishers. □ Irving Lester, formerly national advertising representative, has been appointed manager of motion picture promotions of Hearst Advertising Service, Inc. □ Irving Windisch has resigned as vice-president and head of New York office of the Arthur P. Jacobs Co., effective March 1, 1960. Windisch, who was a publicity executive with Warner Bros. Pictures before joining the public relations organization, is recuperating in Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital here from surgery. He will reopen his own public relations office at 1697 Broadway in early part of March. □ Joseph M. Kees has been named manager of the Los Angeles regional office of General Precision Laboratory, Inc., Pleasantville, N.Y. In this new GPL post, he will be in charge of sales and service activities for all GPL products. The address is 180 N. Vinedo Avenue, Pasadena. □ Albert A. List, president of the Glen Alden Corp., parent company of RKO Theatres, and Mrs. List have been honored by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America for their dedication to public service. Presentation of the citation was made at an academic convocation held at the seminary here. Ben Fry Resigns The resignation of Ben Fry as executive vice president of Pathe News, Inc., effective immediately, was announced this week by Burnett Glassman, president. Fry will devote his full time to producing plays for the Broadway stage.