Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

II COMPANIES HAVE RECORD BACKLOG OF 189 FILMS Releases and Backlogs 7944-45 1943-44 1942-43 1944-45 1943-44 1942-43 Company Released Released Released Completed Competed Completed Sept.-Mar. Sept.-Mar. Sept. -Mar. or in work or in work or in work Columbia 27 23 29 17 16 22 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .21 21 22 19 14 24 Monogram 21 17 23 6 — — Paramount 20 17 . 21 23 26 18 PRC Pictures 23 20 22 6 — 1 . RKO Radio 21 21' 28 20 9 15 Republic 22 25 26 29 12 ' 4 Twentieth Century-Fox. 19 21 30 14 14 13 United Artists 6 17 17 19 5 13 Universal 33 34 34 14 13 17 Warner Bros 12 23 18 ' 22 17 17 TOTAL 225 239 270 189 126 144 Totals in first three columns include specials, Westerns and reissues. Highest for Three Years; Raw Stock and Decree 1 Affect Release Plans With the second half of the 1944-45 season mder way, 11 major companies have a larger acklog of films completed and awaiting re;ase than at any similar period in the last three ears — a total of 189. Affecting distributors' plans for releasing Toduct during the balance of 1944-45 are sevral factors : ! 1. The raw stock shortage and the Govsrnment's order freezing the number of Lrints to be made for each feature at 285. ' 2. The continued war boom box office upptting first run release by long holdovers and extended runs and resulting in slow«r releasing this season then in previous years. ! 3. The uncertain fate of the Consent Defree and the recent Government motion for elimination of clearance between theatres lot in competition with each other. The War Production Board ceiling on prints ps not yet been made a directive and distribuDrs are awaiting the official order, meanwhile ■pplying for their raw stock quotas for the trst quarter of' 1944-45. Last year at this time, company backlogs otaled 126 and in 1942-43 the films completed i\r in work amounted to 144. \Totals Reflect Decrease \\)f Feature Pictures For the period September through March of ,944-45, distributors released or were schediled to release 225 features, compared with 239 listributed in the same period in 1943-44, and 170 in the previous season. These comparaive figures reflect the gradual decrease in feaures produced by the companies since the war, lictated by raw stock conservation. This year. Republic has the biggest backlog n the company's history. It leads the disributors with a total of 29 features completed ir in work, compared with 12 on the Republic lacklog last year and four in 1942-43. The ompany's expansion program of last year, inluding increased production and advertising nd publicity budgets for top features is partly esponsible for the heavy production schedule. llleven Completed of 29 Republic Backlog Of the 29, 11 are completed, IS editing and hree are shooting. Some of the top features nclude: "Earl Carroll Vanities," "Flame of iarbary Coast," "The Great Flamarion" and 'New Faces of 1945." Release dates have been set up to February 18, but the print problem will probably have lome effect on Republic's schedule thereafter. According to an RKO official, the company kd planned to release three of the pictures n block three, "What a Blonde," "Pan-Ameri;ana" and "Betrayal from the East," immedittelv after the recent trade shows, but raw itock shortages for print-making will delay ■elease until the end of March or early April. "The Enchanted Cottage" also has been held ip for distribution, partly because of the print )roblem and partly due to the fact that its star, -)orothy McGuire, appears in Twentieth Cenury-Fox's current "A Tree Grows in Brook lyn," and RKO thought it advisable to present the picture some time after initial distribution of the Twentieth-Fox feature. On the RKO roster are "Wonder Man," Samuel Goldwyn's Technicolor production starring Danny Kaye; "Along Came Jones," starring Gary Cooper and Loretta Young, produced by International Pictures; "Spanish Main," Technicolor, with Paul Henreid and Maureen O'Hara; "China Sky" and "George White's Scandals of 1945." MGM Foresees Problem on Prints for Next Block At MGM it was observed that although the company had sufficient prints on hand for its tenth block, having made the prints in November and December, according to its accustomed policy of printing at least two months ahead of release schedule, print problems are bound to arise concerning the next block of films, not yet set, and it is possible that a few smaller features will be released later than originally planned. On MGM's "National Velvet," which went into release recently, there are a sufficient number of Technicolor prints available because Metro made the prints early in January, before the WPB made known its requests for raw stock curtailment, a company executive observed. The picture is getting pre-release engagements and is sold as a "special." According to a Metro sales official, the company plans to retain a larger number of prints at the home office in its print pool, in order to send out needed prints to trouble spot areas where an account must be served immediately and where the exchange in the territory cannot supply the print. Heretofore, MGM had a pool of about 30 prints at the home office. It is planned to increase the number to 50. On the MGM production roster are four of the company's top-budget productions in Technicolor, "Son of Lassie," "Hold High the Torch," "Ziegfeld Follies" and "Anchors Aweig'h," the latter two musicals. These films are not yet completed and with the jam at Technicolor laboratories continuing to give dis tributors further print headaches, it is indicated they will not soon be ready for' release. Prints for Paramount's fourth block are available, according to a company executive, but not in sufficient number for all four films in the block. No prints have been made yet for any of the pictures on the backlog. "Incendiary Blonde," Technicolor production starring Betty Hutton, and "Road to Utopia" are completed, but release awaits solution of the print problem. The company announced Tuesday it would release 28 pictures this season. Last year Paramount released 33. Twentieth Century-Fox has set dates for "Nob Hill" and "Where Do We Go from Here ?" in April and May, respectively, but the prints orders have not yet been completed. The company does not believe release dates will be postponed due to .the raw stock cuts and is planning to cut down prints on smaller films in order to get through its top features. UA Sets No Release Dates Beyond January 19 United Artists, with a backlog of 19 pictures completed or in work, including six Rank pic-, tures, did not set any release dates beyond January 19. The company is expected to announce release plans for at least two films on the backlog. Since the WPB change of allocations from distributor to independent producer, independents are to make application for their quotas directly to the board. Several producers have completed productions for UA. Warners have set release dates through March 17 and have sufficient prints for the pictures thus scheduled. Beyond that, a company official said, "we will have to wait and see what happens." Several of the company's backlog of 22 were completed last year. "God Is My Co-Pilot," one of the top-budget pictures, had its premiere in Georgia this week. No dates have been set for "Devotion," or "Saratoga Trunk," which mav not be released this season ; "Rhapsody in Blue," "The Horn Blows at Midnight," "The Animal Kingdom," "My Reputation," "Cinderella Jones" or "The Corn Is Green." MOTION PICTURE HERALD, FEBRUARY 24, 1945 35