Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

fndustry Pauses to Mourn Roosevelt FIRST in shocked disbelief and then in the may of comprehension, the motion picture ustry received the news of the death of 'resident Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the isiness day neared its close on Thursday, jpril 12. Work was suspended at the home feces in New York and at the studios. Theaps throughout the land cut into their prorams as the people of the motion picture orld mourned the passing of the best friend ley had ever had in the exalted position. New York offices and the studios in Hollyood were closed all day Saturday, and theaes darkened their screens until 6 o'clock the -ening of the day of funeral services at the 7hite House in Washington, where the body the President reposed en route from the :athbed at Warm Springs, Ga., to the ancesal home along the Hudson River in Dutchess Dunty, at Hyde Park, N. Y. Many theatres mained closed throughout that day and eveng All studios in Hollywood, acting indepen?ntly. had stopped production within an hour ter the news of President Roosevelt's death as received. Quiet descended upon the long■awn strife of the studio strike as picket lines ere withdrawn. Most of the film exchanges that normally main open on Saturday were closed for the iv. Attendance at theatres over the tragic weekid, aside from the closing period, was the r.allest in years as the grieving populace canned its social and entertainment activities. Stars of the screen and radio joined in a oadcast program to the nation April 15, the iv of the funeral at Hyd_ Park. Beginning Monday, the public slowly rexned to the theatres, and the wheels of the dustry began to pick up speed as the people : the trade turned to the future and pledged ill support to Harry S. Truman, new Presi?nt of the United States, and intensified their irticipation in the war effort on the eve of e Seventh War Loan campaign. Vewsreel Special )pans Nation At 4:35 P.M., Eastern War Time, Thursday, pril 12, 1945, President Franklin Delano oosevelt died in a small cottage at Warm prings, Ga. At 5:49 P.M. that day, the news was broadist to a shocked nation. At 1:15 P.M., Friday, April 13, a span of i hours, a special newsreel release, one full ;el in length, was thrown upon the screens of eatres in New York, Washington, Boston, Buflo and Albany at about the same time. Hours :fore, planes were winging across the face of le nation, carrying prints of the newsreels' )ecial release to all the theatres of the couny under the highest Government priorities, ationwide coverage was achieved by Sundav, pril 15. Thus did the five newsreels fulfill their mison, in presenting the graphic record of perips the most dramatic news event in 80 years, nee President Abraham Lincoln was assasnated in Ford's Theatre in Washington, April 5, 1865. The newsreel companies were just making Acme STARS who appeared in the RKO release. "Forever and a Day", present a scroll to President Roosevelt pledging the profits of the picture to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. At the White House in March, 1943: C. Aubrey Smith, Roland Young, Brian Aherne, Mrs. C. Aubrey Smith, Ruth Warwick, Lady Hardwicke, Victor Soville, associate producer, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Basil O'Connor and N. Peter Rathvon, president of RKO Radio Pictures. JAMES ROOSEVELT, in 7939, visiting exhibitors of the country in behalf of his Globe Productions, a United Artists production company, chats with John Danz and Frank Newman in Seattle. up their releases for the following Tuesday when they received the flash on April 12. Work on the regular copy was suspended and the staffs swung into an all-night and into-Friday endeavor which produced the film record of the President's public career from 1910 to his last speech in Congress less than a month ago. The five newsreels, Pathe News, Movietone News, Paramount News, Universal News and News of the Day, compressed their screen biographies into some 700 feet of film each. All reels Tuesday were devoted to the funeral services at Washington and Hyde Park and to the first message of President Truman to the joint session of Congress Monday. From 5 :49 P.M., Eastern War Time, April 12, to the close of the Sunday broadcasts, April 15, commercial advertising was erased from the air as the radio networks told the story of the life and death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In news bulletins, commentaries, dramatic presentations and addresses by prominent people from the capitals of the United Nations, the radio bombarded the populace for three and a half days with information about the first man to hold the office of the Presidency for more than two terms. Minimum sponsor identifications were permitted on those shows which could be presented in keeping with the tragic occasion. All light entertainment and comedy shows were cancelled. Normal activities of the networks were resumed Monday morning with salutes to Harry Harris & Ewing FRANK COMERFORD WALKER, head of the Comerford circuit, receives his commission as Postmaster General from President Roosevelt at the White House. S. Truman, new President of the United States, and pledges of support for the successful prosecution of the war. The motion picture industry entered completely into the radio observance of the occasion. The National Broadcasing Company paid a two-hour tribute to the late President on the night of April 15, with the Hollywood Victory Committee and the Association of Motion Picture Producers in Hollywood participating. The nation's press devoted its huge newsgathering and writing facilities to complete coverage, dropnin? much display advertising. OTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 21, 1945 13