Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1944)

Brevity Is The — WHAT'S in a name ? Last week in Hollywood, Walter Lantz revealed the following figures : It takes 10 years for a cartoonist to learn how to animate drawings for the screen. To make one of Lantz' "Cartunes," 65 artists work 40 hours a week for four weeks. In that period 30 cartoonists draw 30,000 drawings, of which 20,000 are discarded. Each animator, with the i help of three assistants, draws 25 feet or 37>4 seconds of animation each week. A composer works for four weeks on the musical score. It takes 25 musicians three hours to record it. Two cameramen spend four weeks photographing a seven-minute subject. In Technicolor, each drawing must be photographed three times. For each foot of motion picture, 48 pictures are taken. For each minute of running time 4,320 pictures are photographed, or a total j of 30,240 pictures for one "Cartune." And they call them shorts. Competition COMBINING cartoon and live-action tech. niques evidently is not exclusive. Walt Disney ! will demonstrate his progress in this direction i when his "Three Cabelleros," long in work, unI furls. Hugh Harman is busy in the same general ; area, however. He says no more cartoon shorts ' for theatres from him, but features only and has two on his agenda. One will be "King Arthur" — 10 per cent animation, 90 per cent live action — and "Hollywood Merry-Go-Round," a satire. Somewhere in the indeterminate future is a third called "The Little Prince." Reports have it Mr. Harman would like to see Orson Welles as co-producer of it. Anticipation WARNER BROTHERS, anticipating the recapture of Bataan, is completing a two-reel Technicolor short subject titled "Pledge to Bataan," which will be released upon the announcement of the return to Bataan by the Americans. The film's footage will include Philippine invasion scenes. I Communism Again THE word Communism, rapidly becoming j a Hollywood synonym for I-don't-like-you, j popped up again last week. Six of the 2,800 ^ members of the Screen Office Employees Guild walked into Judge Clarence M. Hanson's Superior Court room — and into the newsprints — Ij to charge that the Guild was promoting ComI munism in its use for political purposes -of a j fund obtained by levying against its memberI ship, under approval voted in a special meeting of the same called for that purpose, at the rate of $1 to $2 the person. Judge Hanson issued a temporary restraining COVER DYNAMICS The Herald's exciting cover composition this week is a nnontage combining a real war photograph, from the European front, and a touch of symbolic poster design calculated to express our war designs for Japan in terms of torn flag symbolism — all in behalf of the coming Sixth War Loan drive. The photographic component is an official picture of the attack of a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter on a German ammunition truck, and scoring a direct hit. The plane was piloted by Captain Raymond M. Walsh of Long Island City, New York, and Fort Myers, Florida. He went through safely, barely escaping the blast, and landed at his base, presumably somewhere in France. Incidentally, those P-47's cost about $50,000 each, and they do not all come back. War Bonds buy them. order pending hearings of evidence called for Wednesday of this week. The Guild obtained a court order requiring the six complainants to file depositions on Tuesday specifying the source of the information on which they based their charge. The court is interested in facts. Then two of the six walked away from the case, one asserting that her name -had been used without her authority and the other declaring she had had too much publicity and didn't want any more. Another of the six turned out to be a member of the Guild only in the past tense. Said Glenn Pratt, business manager of the Guild, "It is more than a coincidence that hitherto inactive members should institute such expensive legal action immediately prior to elections. It is our belief that these members are being used as tools of political interests. . . . The charges are completely false." Thus the Guild answered. At about midpoint in the flow of news, which flowed extensively enough to prompt the Los Angeles Times to editorial comment, it turned out that the temporary injunction had not been based on the Communism charge at all, but upon an allegation that the Guild had used the fund to promote a candidate for federal office, in violation of federal law, which was also promptly denied. Wednesday Superior Judge Emmet H. Wilson extended Judge Hanson's restrainer for 10 days, pending an answer by the Guild officials accused of conspiracy. However, he denied a petition for a restraining order to prevent the use of Guild funds to oppose a specific proposition on the ballot to be in rather wide use come next Tuesday, November 7. Paralyzing CROONER Bing Crosby can, in the words of a lieutenant colonel, answer crooner Frank Sinatra's challenges with the boast : "I even hypnotize snakes 10,000 miles away." And this is how Bing does it, again in the words of the lieutenant colonel, Earle O. Thornton, Jr., who wrote from New Guinea to Bing in Hollywood. Said he : "Several nights ago I was sitting in my tent listening to one of your programs. After leaving briefly and on returning I raised my foot to step into the tent. Right where I would place my foot was a four-foot death adder. He was in a coil, and had his head slightly raised, and was facing the radio as if he were listening." The letter related that Colonel Thornton killed the snake, which had remained motionless. Nobby Nob Hill ' RESIDENTS of exclusive Nob Hill, San Francisco's Park Avenue, now have a motion j picture theatre of lush luxuriousness. The Nob | Hill theatre opened recently at the Fairmont Hotel. It seats only 250 and each seat is described as a "loge." Features of the house i include a rear projection mechanism; and preparations for television, according to the managers. Oliver J. Grover, who formerly headed a large theatre circuit in Austria, controlling 90 houses, and later produced films in Paris, operates the Nob Hill with Irving C. Acker ■ man. The house policy is one feature and short subjects. First showing was "Song of Bernadette." i Sins Of The Son , . . WALTER SLEZAK plays a fine Nazi. His smug, pompous, sneering characterizations are familiar on Stage and screen. Adolf Hitler recently watched Mr. Slezak's routine in the features "This Land Is Mine" and "Lifeboat." The films were seized from ships sailing between Sweden and various Allied ports. To Leo Slezak, Walter's father, still in Germany, recently came some Nazi officers. Senior Slezak was notified he has been fined 100,000 marks because of his son's activity in the motion picture. Action I THE municipal authorities of Portland, Ore., have taken action against juvenile delinquency, i Mayor Earl Riley met with the censor board, i As a result theatres are required to advertise . that no tickets will be sold to persons under 18 to "a spook or other midnight shows, unless accompanied by an adult." Theatres have also been requested to discourage unaccompanied minors from buying tickets. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, published every Saturday by Quigley Publishing Company, Rocl<efeller Center, New York City, 20. Telephone Circle 7-3100; Cable address "Quigpubco, New ,| York." Martin Quigley, President; Colvin Brown, Vice-President; Red Kann, Vice-President; T. J. Sullivan, Secretary; Terry Ramsaye, Editor; James D. Ivers, News Editor; Ray Gallagher, ^ oiS''1i*-ii'"^ Manager; Chicago Bureau, 624 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 5; Hollywood Bureau, Postal Union Life Building, Hollywood, 28. William R. Weaver, editor Toronto Bureau 242 Millwood Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, W. M. Gladish, correspondent; Montreal Bureau, 265 Vitre St., West, Montreal, Canada, Pat Donovan, correspondent; London Bureau, r-ru if", ^ ^°P^ Williams Burnup, manager; Peter Burnup, editor; cable Quigpubco London; Melbourne Bureau, The Regent Theatre, 191 Collins St., Melbourne, Australia, Cliff Holt, correspondent; Sydney Bureau, 17 Archbold Rd., Roseville, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, Lin Endean, correspondent; Mexico City, Bureau, Dr. Carmona y Valle 6, Mexico City, Luis Becerra Cells, correspondent; Buenos Aires Bureau, J. E. Uriburi 126, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Natalio Bruski, correspondent; Rio de Janeiro Bureau, R. Sao Jose, 61, C. Postal 834, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Alfredo C. Machado, correspondent; Montevideo Bureau, P. O. Box 664, Montevideo, Uruguay, Paul Bodo, correspondent; cable Argus Montevideo. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. All contents copyright 1944 by Quigley Publishing Company. Address all correspondence to the New York Office. Other Quigley Publications: Better Theatres, Motion Picture Doily, InternationaJ Motion Picture Almanac, and Fame. Entered as second-class matter, Jaimary 12, 1931, at the Post. Office, at New York , City. U. S. A,, under, the act of March 3, 1879. .Published weekly by Quigley Publishing Co., 1 Inc., at 1270 .Sixth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N.' Y. Subscription prices $5.00 a year in the Americas, $10.00 a year Foreign. Single copy, 25 cents. All contents jl copyright 1944 by Quigley Publishing Company. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, NOVEMBER 4, 1944 9