Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

ON THE MARCH UA Executives \ by red kann Will See "Duel" HOLLYWOOD THE wind doesn't roar here in March as it does, let's say, back East. But Hollywood may experience a wind and roar unique in its unique history if the 19th annual Academy Awards, due then by custom established, create the upsets which some predict are in the throes. After 18 times around, these awards have come to mean something. Those here who have raised their voices for more public relations mixing in with the publicity are in accord, pretty much, that they have done a good job in this direction. It has to be said for the Academy that it is on record with noble effort to keep the honors vibrating to the arts and the sciences and removed from commerce and trade. Yet no matter how noble the purpose and how keen the ambition, the two cross paths as inevitably they must. The picture and the players of the year always get a world-wide press. Where the producer and distributor can, they will take advantage of the circumstances and deport themselves accordingly, and this goes for exhibitors alert enough to tie the facts to their marquees. There can be no ruckus raised over this. Probably, it is correct to observe the awards generally are regarded by the world outside as Hollywood's testimonials to its best feet forward despite the name which these awards carry. The changeover is not being wholly welcomed, however. There is criticism of mo? tive. There is question if the decision is entirely desirable and wise to place in the hands of a couple of thousand Academy members, maximum, the final voice which is to tell the world thereafter what all of Hollywood wants best to be remembered by. There is heard in increasing, if not formidable, accent how this shifting about cuts into the core of the broad democratic base so long prevailing and which gave opportunity to approximately 10,000 individuals to cast the die. While the actors may continue to nominate the best players — and the directors their man — they will only nominate. THERE is in the air more than an occasional uplifted eyebrow over the current membership drive which was launched in June when the Academy had 1,021 members and, as of a few days ago, had 1,571. But the eyebrow that is up is less concerned with mere number and more entranced by the component parts — how the executiveand-the-producer branch has jumped from 213 to 310; actors from 154 to 289; art directors from 63 to 77; cinematographers from 75 to 114; directors from 89 to 125; film editors from 32 to 85; short subject men from 55 to 61 ; sound men from 38 to 96; writers from 107 to 170 and public relations [publicity! men from 42 to 91. Etc. The speculation, perfectly normal in Hollywood where the business of jockeying into position is one of the arts the Academy has never formally recognized, furthermore is not so much a speculation over what they are, but who they are and where they work. What some cannot comprehend, to boot, is why the rules have been rewritten on another front to eliminate the long-established practice of making it required for contending attractions to play a minimum of one week in regular run in a regular theatre at prevailing admissions with such run getting under way not later than December 31 of the voting, or calendar, year and closing on the seventh day if that's the way the producer wants it. The "current emergency," soft language for the strike, and "crowded booking schedules" [with 33 first runs, linked in various day-and-date combinations, in Greater Los Angeles] are official explanations outlining why any producer may enter the race now if he flashes a release print seven times, consecutively or not, in the metropolitan area broadened to include Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, et al, where there are studios and where studios have projection rooms. The Academy states this will open wider the competition by allowing more attractions to start from post. What it does not state, but what it means, is that any studio's backlog may be dredged at will and as generously as the studio may determine for bidders. What may come out is an Academy award picture for 1946, plus winning performances, winning direction and the like, which no audience around the nation has set eyes on. THIS can have box office advantages and, of course, the victorious producer will not be slow to move in. But what comes out additionally is the pitting of unreleased 1947 product against released 1946 product in what the critical ones maintain would be unfair and completely contrary to the premise on which the entire Academy structure has proceeded since its inaugural. Middle-of-the-roaders take the position the structural change will demonstrate its benefits in additional drawing power and place a high-merit attraction in earlier release than its distributor may have contemplated. The opposition points up the disservice to the product already released. 'It thinks it emphatically curious that the new formula provides for no stop-dates, ironically observing that the voting thus becomes possible all the way into late January or early February when films even now shooting can be ready and when finished films awaiting color prints may become eligible. And that takes us back to the wind and the roar, to the probability both will prevail and to the end of the column. United Artists executives, headed by! Gradwell L. Sears, vice-president in charge! of distribution; J. J. Unger, general salesj manager, and Walter Gould, foreign man-| ager, were to leave for the Coast Friday to: inspect product. Their trip took on added! significance in view of the current UA dis-j pute with David O. Selznick which also involves release of "Duel in the Sun" and the: recently reported UA-Enterprise deal with distribution of Loew-Einfeld's "Arch of Triumph" at stake. The coast-bound group was to include Edward M. Schnitzer, eastern sales manager ; Maury Orr, western sales manager ; Robert M. Goldfarb, home office manager, and six district managers, Jack Ellis, Clayton Eastman, Moe Dudelson, Charles S. Chaplin, Rud Lohrenz and C. W. Allen. W. E. Callaway and Fred M. Jack will join the group in Hollywood. Paul Lazarus, Jr., head of advertising, publicity and exploitation, is already on the coast, having left New York November 29. Tom Waller, publicity manager, said he was going to the coast with instructions to be ready to prepare publicity for both "Duel" and "Arch." The Selznick dispute was discussed at a UA board meeting in New York November 29, but no decisions were made and the matter was put off for another meeting December 10. UA heads said that officially there was no connection between the inspection of the pictures by UA executives and the decision to be made in regard to "Duel" by the board in New York. It is not clear how a UA decision to han i die "Duel" would affect its release of the j "Arch" film. Plans call for both pictures to be roadshown, but under the New York ! decision a company may roadshow only one j picture a year. It is understood that the j company takes the position that as distributing agency for many independent producers, it should be entitled to more than one j roadshow a year. Meanwhile, UA seems willing to take on distribution of both pictures. The official attitude is that since the final decree has not 1 been handed down there is no need to deal with the roadshow Question until it arises. McCann-Erickson to Handle Enterprise Productions Enterprise Productions, headed by David Loew and Charles Einfeld, has appointed McCann-Erickson, of Los Angeles and New York, as the exclusive advertising agency for its pictures, a spokesman for the agency said in New York Monday. The agency will work with an estimated budget of $2,000,000 for the first six Enterprise releases. The contract stipulates that the agency is to handle no other film accounts. Marion Harper, vice-president of McCann-Erickson, has flown to Los Angeles from New York to assume direction of the account. 22 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 7, 1946