Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

ON THE MARCH Hays Asks Patien by RED KANN EffoHfor Ulllty SEVENTH WAR LOAN— AND WHY THE Seventh War Loan starts May 14, ends June 30. The over-all quota — corporate and individual— is $14,000,000,000; the individual, the biggest to date — $7,000,000,000. In "E" bonds alone, $4,000,000,000. You may be wondering why this biggest of all individual quotas now? Hasn't the peak already been reached? This is why: The Battle of Japan must be backed up, paid for by a free people, intent on sweeping the Pacific clear of Fascist hate — forever. With the war in the West the first and major concern, we have not yet been able to go all-out in the East. But neither has the Jap. The war to crush the Jap will be bigger, tougher and longer than most Americans expect. The Allied Military Command has estimated that it will take years, not months. The destruction of Japan's armies has not yet reached the annual rate of normal replacements—between 200,000 and 250,000 men a year. And the Jap, as our forces in the Pacific know, fights to the death. As far as Japan is concerned, the outer empire— and the men who defend it — are expendable. The Jap will fight the Battle of Japan from inside the inner empire, of which Iwo Jima was an outpost. Iwo Jima, according to Admiral Nimitz, was a pattern of the resistance our forces may expect to meet in future offensives. The single greatest obstacle to the crushing of Japan is distance. While in the Battle of Europe supply ships from bases in England had only an overnight run to make, ships in the Pacific have long-reach round trips taking up to five months to make. To crush Japan will take time, heroic and back-breaking effort, overpowering equipment. Millions of fighting men — freshly outfitted and equipped — will have to be moved from Europe halfway around the globe and supplied day in, day out by hundreds of new ships now building. More of everything will be needed. More B-29's, more tanks, more half-tracks, jeeps and trucks. More rockets, mortars, airborne radar. A whole new air force is in creation — huge new bombers dwarfing the Superfortresses — fast new jet-propelled combat planes, the P80, or "Shooting Star," coming of? the lines by thousands. These are some of the 101 ways in which dollars are needed more than ever to bring America's might to its full strength so that we may crush the foe the faster, make an end of killing and bring the men back home. These are some of the reasons why there is a Seventh War Loan*. And Now It s Told iIME will tell and so shall we." This appeared in this space on December 2 as the final line in a discussion about types of films, tying more particularly to war films but ruling off no others. The point in the making then was simple enough and in two sections: [1] That production breaks down into a *Excerpted, practically without change and with minor additions, from the official copy policy on the Seventh War Loan from the War Finance Division, Treasury Department, Washington. well-defined and well-grooved series of parts and that each of these parts has a name. Thus, the comedy and the comedy-drama, the drama, the musical, the mystery, the imperishable Western and the and-so-forths ; that, aside from flurries into an occasional fantasy or musical biography or the like, the overall pattern, year in and year out, reflects no basic change because no basic change is possible. [2] That the well-known tendency to catalogue the careers of attractions by type and frequency of appearance is apt to catch the disciples of such thinking in a position of discomfort and embarrassment. This, because superiority and quality have a fortunate habit of rising above such presumed handicaps and of making their weight felt. The outpouring had another reason, then current. Its name was "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." Posed was the question if it would click and posed also was our own conviction there was hardly a question about it. Time, however, was to tell and now is the time. "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" already has played 700 week stands or longer than week stands. To date, its performance compares very favorably with "Mrs. Miniver" and "Random Harvest," both tremendous grossers and among Metro's top attractions in recent years. Thus far it is in the same coveted division as "Meet Me in St. Louis" and, with that attraction, is heading for first honors in Leo's 1944-45 firmament. If prevailing strength continues, it may do as well as $4,000,000 — distributor's end, of course — in the domestic market. Elsewhere, this : In 17 key cities overall first run business on "Objective Burma" was 106 per cent. Source: "Picture Grosses," Motion Picture Herald, March 31, 1945. In an identical number of key situations combined grosses on "Winged Victory" were 121.1 per cent of average. Source: "Picture Grosses," Motion Picture Herald, February 3, 1945. Who said audiences won't support war pictures? They will when those war pictures are distinguished. Footnote : Metro, for one, has no misgivings. John Ford is now directing "They Were Expendable." Its cost? Maybe $4,000,000 before the shooting dies down. ■ M Visiting Republic sales representatives were lined up at a Valley restaurant near the studio for photographic ceremonials. Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Don Barry and others broke into "Sweet Adeline" while the cameraman fussed. Taking about as much of it as he could, Francis Bateman, western division manager, finally burst with : "Now I know why we can't have Don Barry in singing Westerns." ■ ■ "Wine with your dinner, sir ?" asked the head waiter at a plushy Hollywood restaurant. "Perhaps Ayala or Paul Roget, '28? Very rare these days, you know." Your occasionally whimsical observer, straight into the head waiter's eyes : "Have you Goldwyn, '24?" Whimsical head waiter, straight into your observer's eyes : "No sir. That's one we haven't got." Endless patience, tireless effort and a non-par an approach are needed to make the objectif of the San Francisco conference of the United I tions a complete success, declared Will Hays, president of the Motion Picture Produc and Distributors of America. He spoke at a m\ ing in Indianapolis Sunday night, sponsored by Indiana Council on Foreign Relations and state's Foreign Policy Association. "There will be many who do not entirely prove of this or that aspect of the proposals t laid before the San Francisco gathering, no the charter that should come out of its labors fore the summer," Mr. Hays said, and added, that very reason, we shall need to mobilize all resources of restraint, patience and good will.' Mr. Hays, former Postmaster General and publican National Committee chairman, was at time of the last world peace treaty and sulj quently, associated in this country's foreign polk Of that period, he said Sunday night: "I saw high minded leaders, able, earnest deeply patriotic, let small disagreements di them from big goals. . . . Hearts hardened in process of struggle. . . . Differences of honest viction crumpled into prejudices of partisan e tion — but then as now, the majority of the An ican people and their leaders certainly favored s machinery to head off new wars." it Ontario Government Moves To Regulate "Soundies" Action has been taken by the Ontario Gov ment to regulate the use of "Soundies," coin-o ated motion picture machines, which have n' their appearance in centers where 60-cycle ( tricity is available. Under the order-in-council, the Theatres Cinematographs Acts has been amended to vide for an annual license fee of $50 for each chine, and for censorship of films for use in boxes at the rate of $2 per 400 feet of 16mm jj tive print. The film normally used in one "1 ing" is 800 feet which would require $4 in cert ship fees. In Hull, Quebec, a bylaw recently was pa imposing an annual fee of $200 per machine, bi Ontario the provincial government has taken the regulation of juke-films while the munici] ties are considering a special local business lid charge to be paid by the operators. India's Film Critics Cite 20th-Fox's "Bernadette" "The Song of Bernadette" has received 'he annual award of the Bengal Film Journalists A lociation, Calcutta, India, as the best picture for 1 j(4, according to a cable received by Murray Sil [rstone, president of Twentieth Century-Fox Ir rnational Corporation. Jennifer Jones, who its in the film based on Franz Werfel's novel m directed by Henry King, was named the isst actress of the year. Two other Twentieth <; ntury-Fox pictures were among the 10 choseijas outstanding for the year. They were "He;jen Can Wait" and "Jane Eyre." Michaud Leaves to Join Schless in Europe Henri Michaud, assistant general manager Paramount in Continental Europe, North Ai and the Near East, left New York last week an embarkation point from which he will head his Paris headquarters. He expects to join Rc Schless, general manager for the division, left New York April 11, stopping first in Lon Miss Frewer Forms Unit M. E. Frewer, for many years an associate number of the industry's independents, has c pleted plans for the establishment of her own ganization, Frewer Service Company. With hquarters at 1560 Broadway, New York, Miss F: er will devote herself to secretarial represents of various independent motion picture interest; 28 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 28, (45