Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

James Mason the Top Ten Winner In Poll of British Exhibitors How British Showmen Voted British exhibitors, in the exclusively British players, players, who may be either classification: BRITISH 1. JAMES MASON 2. DAVID NIVEN 3. GEORGE FORMBY 4. ERIC PORTMAN 5. LAURENCE OLIVIER 6. MARGARET LOCK WOOD 7. ROBERT DONAT 8. PHYLLIS CALVERT 9. ANNA NEAGLE 10. ROBERT NEWTON Motion Picture Herald Fame poll. Western players, who are all American, American or British. Here are the Top INTERNATIONAL 1. BING CROSBY 2. BETTY GRABLE 3. GREER GARSON 4. DEANNA DURBIN 5. BETTE DAVIS 6. BOB HOPE 7. HUMPHREY BOGART 8. GARY COOPER 9. SPENCER TRACY 10. ABBOTT & COSTELLO 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. vote for three groups, and the International Ten winners in each WESTERN ROY ROGERS WILLIAM BOYD GENE AUTRY RICHARD DIX JOHN WAYNE GARY COOPER RANDOLPH SCOTT JOHNNY MACK BROWN JOEL McCREA ALBERT DEKKER by PETER BURNUP in London STARTLING are 1944's changes in the roster of Britain's Ten Best Money-Making Stars. Among them is the dethronement of George Formby, best-loved comic in these Islands. He has been dropped from six years' unchallenged pre-eminence, to third place. James Mason is the 1944 leader. And the names of no fewer than six of last year's winners in the annual Motion Picture Herald Poll of British exhibitors, vanish entirely from this year's list. Mr. Mason, and David Niven, the runner-up figured nowhere in 1943's count. These notable results of the balloting do not betoken a sudden determination among the British to roll the heads of the mighty; they rather disclose a parallel with the nation's current mood and temper. British Theatregoers Sick of War Films The fact is, British theatregoers are wholeheartedly sick of so-called war films ; they enthusiastically refrain from attending theatres luckless or unwise enough to book them. An easy explanation is that when you live within the daily sound and smell of bombs, when your son or friend is overseas fighting, you'd rather not be reminded of it in your recreation. Yes, the British want those "escapist" films — but the Poll discloses, escapist films with a difference. To be noted, primarily, is the marked decline ni the appeal of the country's hitherto favoured clowns. Mr. Formby suffers a partial eclipse, but the phenomenon is total in the cases of Arthur Lucan ("Old Mother Riley") and Arthur Askey, both persons of accomplishment in their chosen field who figured prominently in last year's voting. Clearly (so it is urged) it's not nonsense, no matter how adroit it may be, that people shop for in their theatres at this time. Beneath the stolid, commonly inarticulate surface of the average Briton, there's a new awareness, after five years of steeled resistance in war, to affairs of the world. Observers of politico-sociological conditions draw ponderous attention to the circumstance. The Poll points the moral with easier force. Each Winner an Artist Of Real Distinction Each of the 1944 Ten Best in Britain is an artist of ripe distinction, contributing a warm (if, admittedly, highly romanticised) intelligence to the screen, and has figured in films which lend lustre, so it's claimed, to the motion picture by reason of their serious merit. This fact, Britain's motion picture makers urge, deserves close study by the industry. James Mason's work, hitherto, has not been seen widely on American screens, although the excellence of his performance may have been noted in "Thunder Rock" and "Candlelight in Algeria." But it's a safe assumption that Mr. Mason will be Hollywood-bound in early course. For -there's a warm earnestness to his acting, a mellow romantic air which commends itself to audiences of every sort. Mason is a Yorkshireman educated at Cambridge University, where he aspired once to be an architect. If the women of Britain had a pin-up boy, James Mason undoubtedly would rate the position, so rapid has been his advance in romantic roles, so assured his portrayal of diverse sentiments. In less than nine months we have seen him in three pictures and in many dissimilar roles — "Candlelight," "Hotel Reserve." "Fanny by Gaslight." The holder of second position in 1944 — David Niven — was seen during the year in one picture only, "The Way Ahead." It might be said that this is a war picture ; however, it is essentially a story, not of battle, but of the echoed undertones of war. Niven (who is now a colonel in the British army) is the JAMES MASON civilian who must go to battle in the emergencies of war, in "Way Ahead." That same quality of warm understanding, of sympathetic insight, is exhibited by all the others of the Ten Best of 1944-. Three are women — Phyllis Calvert (notable in "Fannv bv Gaslight"). Margaret Lockwood (more latelv seen in "Love Story"), and Anna Neagle (in the phenomenally successful "Yellow Canary"). The work of Laurence Olivier, Robert Donat and Eric Portman is well known to American audiences. Robert Newton, who achieved a Ten Best ranking in the 1942 Poll, but was "out of the money" last year, achieved tenth place in the 1944 vote. A wartime sailor in the Royal Navy, he was seen, during the 12 months now reviewed, in one film only, "Happy Breed." In that he gave a memorable, moving performance. GJ.'s in England Factor In International Result There's a circumstance in the International division of the poll of British exhibitors which distinguishes this year's canvass. Throughout the year it has been the country's pride and pleasure to entertain hosts of soldiers from the United States. To those placid towns in the quiet shires, where nothing ever happens, have come G. I. Joes from every state in the Union. The G.I.'s have entered into the lives of our villages. They've gone to the pictures with the local families. It is the welcome presence of the American doughboy, so neighbourhood managers aver, has been a big factor in the British popularity of Bing Crosby, Betty Grable, Greer Garson, Bob Hope and the rest of the International Ten Best. The 1944 Poll is truly an Anglo-American one. Then, too. King Bing, of Swing, and Bob Hope have the incalculable advantage of their world-wide radio audiences. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JANUARY 6, 1945 45