Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1941)

18 MOTION PICTURE HERALD April 12, 1941 WPA'S BIBLIOGRAPHY OF defense Committee THE ART FILM FINISHED Has Second Subject Book Sponsored by Film Library First of Three, Annotating 8,600 Entries, 4,000 Films The Film as Art, first of three projected bibliographical volumes of "The Film Index" which has been in preparation for several years by Writers' Project of the WPA in New York City under the sponsorship of the Musuem of Modern Art Film Library, has been completed and will be published April 20th by the Film Library and H. W. Wilson Company. The 700-odd page book is divided into two parts: "History and Technique" which is essentially an annotated bibliography of some 8,600 entries of the works of over 2,000 authors, and "Types of Film" wherein references are given to reviews and discussions of over 4,000 motion pictures. Each section of the volume is subdivided into various classifications. This book will be a reference classic. The bibliography project took its rise from the promotional endeavors of Harold Leonard who engaged the attention and ultimate approval of the Federal Writer's Project. A large staff was assigned and sent toiling through the archives and documents and relics of the screen. In his foreword Mr. Leonard speaks of the screen as "this most vital and democratic of modern arts." Democracy of Sources The acknowledgements of the several prefaces indicate also a vast democracy of sources, contributors and researchers, with quite as diverse a staff as would be anticipated of the made-work project in the New York writing field. The coloration of personal and political viewpoints and pursuits of "the party line," however, appear to have been minimized in the editing. Such color is vastly less in evidence than in the mine run of guide books, and the like issuing under WPA auspices. The bibliography is the first comprehensive and competent effort of the sort, and certainly no others have been so pretentious in scope or so analytical in treatment. It may be said that the bibliographers appear to have made a much larger effort to make the movies "an art" than the industry has. In her foreword, Iris Barry, curator of the Film Library, samples and forecasts the adventures to be had in the volume's seven hundredand-odd packed pages. "The bibliography quite properly aims at being comprehensive rather than selective," observes Miss Barry, "but it reveals such interesting facts as that Charlie Chaplin has been written more about than any other film personage, with D. W. Griffith closely behind him, Mary Pickford and Sergei Eisenstein running third and fourth. "Curiously enough," Miss Barry notes, "among the twenty-five films which most frequently have been discussed, no less than twelve are foreign, though these can have meant little to the general public even if they influenced, or imitated, Hollywood technique." Part I of The Film as Art, "History and Technique" is arranged under the following headings : the world of the film, the screen and the stage, the art of film criticism, aesthetics of the film, pre-screen history, the American film, the foreign film, acting and actors, color, dance, directing and directors, editing, music, photography and writing. Part II on "Types of Film" is divided into three general groups : the fictional film, the factual film and miscellaneous types. In each division there are a number of sub-headings to cover almost every type of motion picture. The Film as Art in general covers the period from 1900 through 1935 with certain, selected additions of later works, as for example in the case of documentary films. Moving Picture World, one of the predecessors of Motion Picture Herald, was used as the principal source of motion picture reviews in the period from 1907 to 1914. Several thousand references to those reviews are included. The title of the whole work, "The Film Index," also is identical with that of one of the early trade papers, another precursor of the Herald. For the years 1915-20 Photoplay magazine is cited most frequently in review references. From 1920 on most review references are from magazine articles dealing with the "film as art." The purpose of the WPA Writers' project which assembled the material used in the book was "an effort to organize for reference and study the highly miscellaneous written materials of the motion picture." The published results will be of great value to students and scholars exploring any aspect of the "Film as Art." The amount of work required to gather the material in relation to potential use is so great that such a project most probably could only be financed by a Government interested in making jobs. "Material for selection was assembled from four principal sources: library card catalogs, standard cumulative indices, specialized film bibliographies, and the files of film journals and unindexed periodicals," it is explained in the preface. The trade press is singled out for special attention in the introduction: "Among the film's unique resources of historical documentation, the motion picture trade press must be given first place. It can boast of continuous files from the year 1906 . . . such a record is extant in no other art." A footnote explains, "Students of the educational film, among others, will be interested to learn that the Moving Picture World published serially and reissued in book form, classified catalogs of pre-war educational films, with annotations, including large groupings of film adaptations from many literatures." Keith Stockholders Reelect Directors All directors of Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation were reelected Wednesday at the annual meeting of stockholders. The board was scheduled to meet Thursday to reelect all officers. Directors are: George J. Schaefer, Malcolm Kingsberg, Monroe Goldwater, N. Peter Rathvon, L. P. Yandall, Donald K. David and John J. McCaffrey. Officers are : Mr. Schaefer, chairman of the board and president; Mr. Kingsberg, vice-chairman and executive vice-president; Leon Goldberg, treasurer; William F. Whitman, secretary; O. R. McMahon, W. J. Kernan, William Murray and H. E. Newcomb, assistant _ treasurers, and Louis Joffe and Harry Pimstein, assistant secretaries. Stockholders also approved an amendment to the company's by-laws which provides for the indemnification of directors and officers for judgments which may be levied against them as a result of suits involving their official acts, when performed in good faith. "Calling All Workers" — the second reel approved by the Motion Picture Committee Cooperating for National Defense, is now ready for distribution, according to an announcement by Joseph Bernhard, chairman of the committee. The first reel was "Power for Defense." These reels are in addition to the series of 12 one-minute recruiting trailers which are being shown on behalf of the War Department. Mr. Bernhard also said that the number of exhibitors joining in this defense effort had now passed 9,000, which he believes to be the largest number of exhibitors ever before united for any purpose. "Letters coming to the Committee," said Mr. Bernhard, "indicates that many of the exhibitors who have not yet pledged their cooperation, are not informed concerning the function or the purpose of this voluntary union of theatre men. No Commercial Film "I want to make it clear and emphatic that the committee does not handle commercial film. Its review section passes on films prepared by the government on various phases of the defense effort. This group recommends changes or revisions and only when finally acceptable to the committee, are these government films accepted for a showing in the theatres which have pledged cooperation and become members. "These films are furnished free to the theatres. "When exhibitors show these films they do so as a patriotic duty. "While on the positive side, it is the aim of the committee to maintain national morale, to keep the public informed about the various phases of the defense effort, it also attempts to keep the film which it accepts on behalf of its 9,000 members, as attractive as possible, so that the public is entertained, as well as informed." The Coordinating Committee, which decides whether a picture is to be approved for showing in the theatres, is composed of R. B. Wilby, chairman, A. H. Blank, Charles C. Moskowitz, Spyros Skouras and E. V. Richards. The following exchanges are handling the distribution of these defense reels : Cleveland, United Artists; Cincinnati, Universal; Buffalo, United Artists; Albany, Columbia; Pittsburgh, Vitagraph; New York, Loew's; Boston, Columbia; New Haven, Vitagraph; Philadelphia, Vitagraph; Washington, Universal; Atlanta, Paramount; Charlotte, United Artists; Memphis, Loew's; New Orleans, Paramount; Dallas, RKO; Oklahoma City, RKO; Chicago, Paramount; Detroit, Loew's; Indianapolis, Universal; Milwaukee, 20th Century-Fox; Minneapolis, Universal; Kansas City, 20th Century-Fox; St. Louis, Vitagraph; Des Moines, Columbia, Omaha, Columbia; Los Angeles, 20th Century-Fox; Denver, 20th CenturyFox; Portland, Paramount; Salt Lake City, Loew's; San Francisco, RKO; Seattle, RKO. Pal Contract Extended Paramount has extended the contract of George Pal, producing "Puppetoons" for the company, for the new season, when he will make another series of six. He has completed two of the present series. Fleishman Celebrates Anniversary Sam Fleishman, manager of the Rex theatre in Portland, Ore., since its opening, is celebrating his 25th anniversary. Marcus Joins CBS William Marcus has been added to the Columbia Broadcasting System staff to handle television publicity.