Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

RANK PLANS FILMS FOR CHILDREN ONLY Features Are Designed to Promote Principles of Civic Consciousness London Bureau Feature pictures aimed exclusively at audiences of children and designed to inculcate in them principles of "civic consciousness and good neighborliness" are being produced by J. Arthur Rank, British: producer, distributor and exhibitor. Mr. Rank told Motion Picture Herald in Londoh this week that he had arranged for "one of America's foremost cartoon specialists" to join his organization and that within the next few months six cartoon subjects would be delivered to British theatres showing special Saturday morning children's shows. Mr. Rank's director of children's production, Mary Field, gave preliminary details of the program in November when she visited New York. The pictures are being made by Gaumont-British, one of the Rank-controlled producing units. 300,000 in Cinema Clubs The children's cinema clubs, organized last year by Mr. Rank, have a membership of 300,000, and the special films are shown to them through the Odeon and Gaumont-British circuits, controlled by him. Regarding production for this specialized audience, Mr. Rank said: "Our great experiment is passing through the inevitable period of trial by error. But we have so far succeeded that a propose now to make full-length feature films for children only. I contemplate also — for motion picture (as I see it) must inevitably play its part in fashioning our post-war community life — extending the idea of the Boys and Girls Clubs to young people older than the age groups for which we now cater. "People outside the industry's orbit have been fruitful with suggestions. "They have suggested, for example, that the technique fashioned by Mr. Disney would be most useful in conveying to childish minds those lessons in civic consciousness, of good neighborliness, which we seek to inculcate. "I have arranged for one of the foremost 'cartoon' specialists of America to join the Club production organization. We aim at delivering six 'cartoon' films to the Clubs within the next few months." Clubs Have Proved Worth The children's clubs, he believes, "have proved their worth in many directions. Child welfare authorities, students in juvenile delinquency, magistrates, leaders of diverse religious denominations, have been kind enough to express their approval of our endeavors and to aid us in furthering them," he said. "I plan a vast extension of the Clubs' service. As a first step, we are ensuring the production of short films of improved entertainment value which, at the same time as I believe, will improve the outlook of our child members. My team of chosen producers, under the leadership of Mary Field, have already achieved some remarkable results in their first experiments. "They set out to make little pictures which would entertain the youngsters and which ENTERTAINMENT FIRST, IS RANK CREDO London Bureau J. Arthur Rank, England's leading film executive, in his New Year's -message said: "Our service to the public is one of , entertainment. That must be foremost in our thoughts and endeavours. The public are entitled to receive what they have paid for at the box office. It is acknowledged on all hands that Britain's industry has done a superb job during the war in helping sustain the nation's morale by the production and wide exhibition of what are known as propaganda films. But the function of the public motion picture theatre is — first, last, and all the time — entertainment. Our fellow-citizens come to us for recreation and refreshment. It is our duty to ensure that we make available to them that for which they seek in the highest and the most efficient form. "I deprecate the suggestion that the theatre should be employed, in time of peace and freedom, as a machine of propaganda. "I see no place in our post-war theatres for motion pictures exhorting their audience to do this or not to do that. "Our exclusive duty is the purveyance of decent entertainment on the highest possible level." would — without the children realizing it — implant some seed of decent citizenship in their fertile minds. The aim was to make parables in pictures which might make amusement for the youngsters; which without doubt would interest them and hold their attention," he said. Refutes Dictator Charge Mr. Rank is conscious of the circumstance that allegedly monopolistic tendencies Xo Britain's motion picture setup may have the effect of giving him the status of dictator of the country's youthful thought and belief. Regarding some expressed criticism in this direction, he commented: "I have heard it said that grave danger exists in the work I am trying to do — as a private individual might — with the highest motives. It has been said that T may affect, in the execution of my plans, the whole range of thought of the nation's young people. "I appreciate fully the sincerity of those fears. "I maintain, nevertheless, that what I am striving to achieve is the improvement of a child's outlook on life during its most receptive period, without relation to any particular political or religious creed. Our one concern is to assist them to grow into better men or women ; our one pre-occupation to assist — in that essential demand in the post-war world — the condition, the feeling, the thought of good neighborliness. The clubs are non-profit organizations. Children between the ages of seven and 14 are eligible, and pay sixpence, approximately 10 cents, for admission to the theatres every Saturday morning to view the special shows. The film houses take out only the overhead, with the balance of the revenue going into the club treasuries for the production costs of the children's pictures. The rest of the funds are contributed by Mr. Rank. The British executive plans a production output of a two-hour program of entertainment features and shorts weekly for British children within five years. Currently there are enough pictures planned and in production for at least one reel or more a week of special children's material for this year. During her visit here. Miss Field explained | that production deals were under way for spe i cial pictures to be made in Sweden, the U. S., 1 Norway, Canada, and possibly Russia, France j and Czechoslovakia after the war. ; Steam Will Head ! Southern Circuit Harry Stearn, former manager of Schine the ' atres in Middlesboro, Ky., recently opened headquarters in Corbin, Ky., for a new theatre circuit, the Hayman Viv Enterprises. In addition to the ; Viv theatre in Corbin, the group of film houses j includes two theatres in Appalachia, Va., and one | in Pikeville, Ky., all former Schine houses sold under the divestiture order of the Federal District I Court, Buffalo, N. Y. i Mr. Stearn will be general manager of the four ' theatres for the Charles Hayman Enterprises, New | York, parent company, which operates theatres in ' the east. Before woxking for the Schine interests, Mr. Stearn was with Paramount and the old B. F. Keith circuit. He has been in show business more than 30 years. Hodge Assistant Director Of British MOI Film Unit Thomas Baird, director of the film division of the British Information Services, announced in New York last Friday the appointment of Thomas Hodge as assistant director of the division. Mr. Hodge was transferred in November to New York from Chicago, where he had served for two years as film officer of the BIS. During the first years of the war, he was in charge of the mobile film units in northwest England for the British Ministry of Information. Mr. Baird left for Hollywood Monday for one of his periodic visits to the studios. He expects to return east within three weeks. Censorship of Films to and From England Is Ended Censorship of films to and from England terminated Monday, according to a report in Hollywood last Friday. Although no official announcement was made by the Office of Censorship, the bureau notified its New York and Hollywood offices of the move, effective January 1. No further relaxation of censorship restrictions is planned for the immediate future. The export and import rules applying to films to and from other countries, exercised by the Los Angeles Board of Review, will continue in effect. Five Monogram Releases Are Set for January Monogram will release five productions during January. The first release, scheduled January S, is "The Navajo Trail." On January 12 "Army Wives" will be released, with "Adventures of Kitty O'Day" dated January 19. "They Shall Have Faith" and "The Jade Mask" are set for January 26. Larry Kent to England Larry Kent, representative for Twentieth Century-Fox on the Gaumont-British board of directors, left New York for England last week to take up his new duties. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Kent was executive assistant to Spyros Skouras, president of Twentieth Century-Fox. 36 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JANUARY 6, 1945