Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

Sex Selling of 4 'Colonel Blimp 9 Brings Press Attack on Screen Sexy advertising for the staid British production, "Colonel Blimp", released here by United Artists, now showing at Harry Brandt's Gotham theatre in New York, has brought attack on the whole industry by the lay press. The advertising, built around the theme, "The lusty lifetime of a gentleman who was quite a rogue", features the colonel and a lady, in decolletage, whose resemblance to Roger Livesey and Deborah Kerr as they appear in the picture, if any, is coincidental. The theme is carried out on the marquee of the theatre and display signs dominating the theatre building at 47th Street and Broadway. The campaign is credited to Donald Gibbs, of the Buchanan & Company advertising agency, who, according to Time newsmagazine, said the reviews of the picture, even though good, were not the type to sell the film to the average theatregoer. "We sexed it up," Time quotes him, "for the mass population. I'll be glad to know any other way of selling it." Time used a still from the "eminently tasteful and strictly non-sexy" film alongside a reproduction of a newspaper advertisement for the Gotham in a two-column display piece under the head, "A Matter of Taste". Using the occasion to attack the whole motion picture industry, Time said: "Such advertising, which was outlawed years ago in another field by the Food & Drug Act, is by no means uncommon in exploiting pictures." Archer Winsten, motion picture critic of the New York Post, observed: "Its curiously sexy advertising campaign is calculated to attract people who will be bored silly at the movie, and repel those who will love it." Columbia 6-Month !.r.itish Di^r!b"t.ors.h)ait Net Is $950,000 Net profit of Columbia Pictures Corporation for the 26 weeks ended December 30, 1944, was $950,000, it was reported last weekend by Harry Cohn, president. Net profit for the corresponding period the previous year was $955,000. Operating profit for the six-month period in 1944 amounted to $2,125,000, compared with $3,065,000 the year before. Earnings per share of common stock were equivalent to $2.21 for the 26-week period in 1944, compared with $2.33 in the previous year. Estimated provision for Federal taxes for the 1944 period includes provision for income tax of Columbia Pictures International Corporation which distributes films to all foreign countries except Canada, which subsidiary "in the opinion of counsel is not subject to Federal excess profits taxes," the company statement explains. Film Trade With Malta Alleging "an irretrievable loss of thousands of pounds of film rentals because of undesirable trading conditions with Malta, the Kinematograph Renters Society in London has decided against further distribution there until the situation is clarified. Also banned is further trading with Cecil Cattermoul, British representative for various foreign theatre circuits, who allegedly is responsible for the conditions at Malta and for similar difficulties at Gibraltar. Slesin Leaves for Paris As Aide to Hummel Beno Slesin, who was district manager tor Warner Bros, in eastern and southern Europe before the war, left New York last week for Paris, where he will make his future headquarters as assistant to Joseph S. Hummel, vice-president of Warner International Corporation in charge of Continental Europe and adjacent territory. Cohen in Dallas Post A farewell dinner was tendered Ben Cohen last week by the Cincinnati Variety Club. Mr. Cohen, manager of the Strand theatre, has been transferred to Dallas as manager of the Telenews. He will be succeeded by D. P. Meininger. Chicago. Sylvan Goldfinger, Chicago Telenews executive, attended the dinner. Gets Columbia Accessories Distribution of all Columbia advertising accessories will be taken over by National Screen Service as of April 30, it was learned last weekend. Columbia becomes the fifth major company whose accessories are distributed by National Screen. Columbia To Release BMI Film in U. S. May 18 "A Harbor Goes to France," a British Ministry of Information film, is scheduled for release in the United States May 18 by Columbia Pictures. The two-reel film, running 14 minutes, shows how a harbor was built in sections, then towed across a sea and set up on an enemy shore during battle. Republic Appoints Kirk The appointment of Thomas Burton Kirk, as manager of Republic's Memphis branch, has been announced by N. J. Colquhoun, southwestern district sales manager. British Industry j Charges Army Wasting Film I London Bureau The British Board of Trade, at the instance of the Kinematograph Renters Society, is arranging a meeting of military service chiefs to discuss with distributors the alleged ordering by the British Army of a completely unnecessary number of film prints and also the alleged "disgraceful" treatment of prints by Army projectionists called inexperienced and careless. It has been revealed that 147 prints of one picture were ordered, whereas the distributors estimated that 35 easily would have met Army demands. Despite the recent 8,000,000-foot cut of raw stock allocations to the armed services, the KRS alleges that the amount remaining is largely squandered, with never-to-be-used prints of training films distributed in large quantities to Army depots and there left to rot on the shelves. Eckman Voices Indignation With regard to the alleged bad treatment of Army prints, Sam Eckman, Jr., MGM managing director in Great Britain, has expressed indignation at seeing London civilians, who have borne a substantial brunt of the war, deprived of film programs because of the military projectionists' reputed inefficiency. At the same time, the KRS has decided that service authorities must pay as film rental an amount equal to 30 per cent of the gross receipts of all established military theatres in Europe which admit paying audiences, of service men, thereby bringing them into line with similar shows operated by American forces. It is said that the authorities have taken advantage of the original scheme whereby front-line troops have been given shows with a token royalty only by the requisitioning of 35mm theatres in France, Belgium, Holland and Italy. The distributors thus are demanding trading conditions similar to those granted the suppliers of any other goods for the troops, for they visualize that without the stand now taken, they would be faced with grave trading losses when vast armies occupy Germany. Supply Duplicate Negatives Also, the KRS agrees to supply duplicate negatives of popular films to the Army, which will print its own copies, thereby conserving commercial raw stock and removing the undesirable discrepancies in age between oictures shown to British and American troops. A further talking point in the discussions with the service departments is a recent fire at the KRS storehouse in Wales, which completely destroyed an unascertainable but immense amount of footage. A Board of Trades spokesman says the Board is unable to replace the loss. Meanwhile, it is reported that the carbon situation is slightly improved and that the next fixed allocation of carbon for exhibitors will cover two months instead of the three previously planned. The 15 per cent cut in British raw stock allocations scheduled for this month, and possibly through June, is expected to affect the number of release prints for distribution of both British and U. S. films, according to informed sources here, with a further realignment of release areas enforced. Reissues and "B" films may be eliminated or reduced. Top pictures have, in the past, utilized as many as 100 release prints, although some films have been able to get by with 50 to 60 prints, it was said. The Greater London territory, which now has several release areas, is expected to be divided into additional zones in order to conserve on prints. Last year 428 features were released in England, plus 50 reissues, for a total of 478. Frank Buys Runnemede House The Runnemede theatre, Runnemede, N. J., has been taken over by Sam Frank, circuit owner in southern New Jersey. 34 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 28, 1945