Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1944)

Hereoscopic, Again 'ilENYON IVANOV, the inventor who reIjfived a Stalin Prize in recognition of his lereoscopic screen for motion pictures, has [jandoned the use of copper wire in favor of . (ass lenses, according to an article in the 'hternationcl Bulletin issued by the Embassy |c the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in jjl^ashington. 'A The article says the original Ivanov screen lis composed of 36,000 verv thin copper wires ajinning in three directions in conformity with I^rtain calculations. About 112 miles of wire re required for a screen of 25 square yards." 'i: goes on : "Ivanov has discovered that the i.Vire can be replaced by very thin optical lenses . 'ith a conical surface. Thousands of such lenses .re fitted on a mirror. On this screen the ■tereoscopic effect is much clearer. The mirror lay weigh as much as a ton." The inventor has presented the new inven on, called "the integral screen," to his country. This announcement from the flotf of scienific miracles from Ktissia which the American •ress has been receiving these twenty years ates the same credence. The function of stereoscopic vision is subjective, and occurs in he brain, not the eyes. Several million dollars lave been wasted by ignorant persons in the Jnited States in pursuit of the chimera of tereoscopic vision without a viewing device. J^ith viewing devices, since 1898 stereoscopic :>ictures have been both practical and demonf rated. Without viewing devices, which sort he images, right for right eye, left for left •ye, stereoscopic motion picture presentation s as impossible as perpetual motion. The redmd-green lorgnette system and the later Hammonds "Teleview" system rising a viewng device with shutters synchronized with the brojector have been these years agone amply demonstrated in New York and elsewhere. Further attention to the subject will be based either upon utter ignorance or positive demonstration.— TR. De-Iced BECAUSE they "cooperated" with the Govirnment in convicting the "Boys from Chi:ago" for whom they had extorted $1,600,000 from the film industry, Willie Bioff, formerly West Coast head of the International Alliance jf Theatrical Stage Employees, and George E. Browne, formerly international president of the same union, are out of prison. Browne and Bioff, convicted in November, 1941, of conspiracy to extort money from motion picture companies, were sentenced to eight and 10 vears, in prison, respectivelv. They each paid a fine of $20,000. They were ordered released on parole by Federal Judge John C. Knox in U. S. District Court in New York, December 22, but they must report every month for five years, either in person or in writing, to a Federal probation officer. Boris Kostelanetz, special assistant U. S. Attorney General, told the court that when Bioff and Browne were convicted, the Government did not .know who their associates were and would never have found out if they had not decided to talk. He suggested that "it seems desirable that some consideration be shown them in respect of their sentences." They were expected to be free by New Year's Eve, awaiting only the service of Judge Knox's written order upon the warden ■ of the Federal penitentiary of Sandstone, Minn., where they were transferred from Leavenworth, Kan. Their future plans were not made known. Bioff's estate at Ventura, Cal., has been sold and his wife is reported to be living in New York at present. Bioff received an additional "reward" in the dismissal Wednesday of the Government's claim of income tax discrepancies. Federal Judge Ralph E. Jenney in Los Angeles granted the request of U. S. Attorney Charles H. Carr, who acted on instructions from U. S. Attorney General Francis Biddle. The case, delayed many times during Bioff's extortion trials, was based on charges that he was short $86,000 in his 1937 tax returns. " SeX'iti'Voice " Appeal AMERICAN screen stars ran away with the 1944 awards given annually by the New York Institute of Voice Teachers to actors for "diction, clarity and 'sex-in-voice' appeal." They outdistanced for the first time their British colleagues. Mrs. J. D. Parsily, president of the institute, announced last weekend that the winners of this year's awards were Charles Bickford, Ellen Drew, Martha Tilton, Walter Pidgeon, Nina Foch, George Brent, Lauren Bacall, Mary Anderson, Gene Tierney and Joan Fontaine. The American voice, Mrs. Parsily said, has finally achieved a stature as great, if not greater, than that of the British. "It is about time that we dropped our slavish enthusiasm for the British type of accent and the ten motion picture stars selected have done much to make the American voice an outstanding example of voice perfection," she observed emphatically. In a debate in the House of Commons last Wednesday on the subject of British expansion of its film industry, Major Henry Adam Proctor, Conservative member, declared that British films were equal to American motion pictures in directors, script, writers and actors. He added: "And we have that peculiar quality of voice which makes English sound like a flute against the American tin whistle." AT 23, Joseph Baisch was the manager of the Gateway theatre at Kenosha, Wisconsin, and his last exploitation job was for Bob Hope's picture, "Caught in the Draft." The day after the picture's run ended he was inducted. Now, three years later, it is Capt. Joseph Baisch, holder of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with seven clusters, and a Presidential Citation. He is back from Africa, Italy and France, where he flew nearly a hundred missions as pilot of a B-25 bomber. Franco-Hollywood Amity PORTENDING amity in the post-war years, the Hollywood Writers Mobilization and the Hollywood Council of Guilds and Unions last week gave an official pledge of cooperation to the French motion picture industry. Comprising, collectively, the bulk of Hollywood's professional personnel, the organizations made their pledge to Pierre Blanchar, president of the French Committee of Liberation for Motion Pictures. M. Blanchar was in Hollywood in connection with the presentation there, to invited audiences, of "La Liberation," a documentary showing the liberation of Paris and the events leading up to that achievement. Hero A POSTHUMOUS award was being considered this week by the War Activities Committee for Alfred Weatherby, until two weeks ago the projectionist at the Orpheum theatre in Ortonville, Minn. He was 50 years old and had been on his job for twenty-eight years. He died after preventing a panic at a War Bond rally. Unknown to the manager and the some 600 patrons in the theatre, the projectionist fought the flames when film caught fire in the booth during the first night showing of "Stage Door Canteen." Suffering minor burns, Mr. Weatherby went on about the business of projecting the second showing of the feature. He quietly retired to his hotel room, saying nothing about the incident. When his condition became serious, he called hotel employees, who called a physician. Before the doctor arrived, Mr. Weatherby died of lung congestion caused by inhaling smoke. In behalf of the Sixth War Loan Committee, Harry Brandt, national chairman, sent flowers and said that an award would be considered. Getting Started A NEW idea is being tested in television programs with regularly scheduled shows to start next week over the DuMont station, WABD, Channel No. 4, in New York for Macy's department store. The shows are produced by RKO Television Corporation. Paramount has a substantial interest in DuMont. Ralph B. Austrian, executive vice-president of RKO Television, announcing the project, said the idea was based on the belief the public would welcome a short, five-minute program devoted exclusively to shopping information. There will be no dancers, singers, plays or puppets, it being designed as a "Display Advertising Section" of an evening's television schedule. It is proposed to telecast Miss Martin Manning, Macy shopping adviser, who will show and demonstrate articles typical of the store's assortment of merchandise. Mr. Austrian declined to estimate the cost of the venture, indicating that it was being tested with mutual cooperation of all parties concerned. RKO Television Corporation is producing other television shows. The company was formed recently for that purpose. MOTiON PICTURE HERALD, published every Saturday by Qulgley Publishing Company, Rockefeller 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; William G. Formby, Field Editor; Ray Sallagher, Advertising 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, 4 Golden Square, London W I, Hope Williams Burnup, manoger; Peter Burnup, editor; cable Quigpubco London; Melbourne Bureau, The Regent Theatre, i9l 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 Voile 6, Mexico City, Luis Becerra Cells, correspondent; Buenos Aires Bureau, J. E. Uriburi 126, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Natalio Bruski, correspondent; Rio de Janeiro Bureou, R. Sao Jose, 61 C. Postol 834, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Alfredo C. Machodo, correspondent; Montevideo Bureau, P. O. Box 664, Montevideo, Uruguay, Paul Bodo, correspondent; coble Argus Montevideo. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. All contents copyright 1944 by Quigley Publishing Company. Address oil correspondence to the New York Office. Other Quigley Publications: Better Theatres, Motion Picture Daily, International Motion Picture Almanac, and Fame. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 30, 1944 9