Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS Rank and the War J. ARTHUR RANK can keep a secret but Leonard Lyons, syndicated columnist for the New York Post, caji't. This is the story that Mr. Lyons has to tell about Mr. Rank and the war : On June 5, 1944, an aide to General Eisenhower approached Mr. Rank and told him, "We plan to invade Europe tonight or tomorrow night." But, continued the aide, if the weather is bad the troops now aboard assault craft will have to come ashore and be housed and the best place for them to be housed is in theatres where they can be entertained and rebriefed. According to the Lyons story, if General Eisenhower had to ask the Government to commandeer the theatres the red tape involved might tip off the invasion. Therefore the approach direct was used to Mr. Rank who controls hundreds of English theatres. "Take them," Mr. Rank offered, "I'll be personally responsible." However, there was no need for a sudden and mysterious closing of Rank theatres. June 6 was D-Day. Killed NEW YORK exhibitors and film companies doing business in the state need no longer fear that if any advertising is deemed "indecent" by state authorities, pictures will be barred and theatres closed. The CondonWilson bill, ready for Governor Thomas E. Dewey's signature, was vitiated on Tuesday by an amendment, and its printing delayed so it could not reach the Governor before adjournment of the legislature. The bill had been criticized by the industry and by the press. NAB to PCA THE NATIONAL Association of Broadcasters, currently in the process of revising its "standards of practice" for the radio industry, has conferred on the West Coast with Motion Picture Association officials to see whether any of the provisions of the Production Code Administration are applicable to radio. NAB counsel will report on the conference at NAB's Special Standards of Practice Committee meeting in New York March 31. Yardstick THE RESEARCH division of the Motion Picture Association has as one of its major missions this year the establishment of a dependable statistical yardstick which can be used to measure the economic ups and downs in the motion picture industry, according to Robert W. Chambers, MPA di WINNERS of the Academy Awards for the year 1946 Page 12 INDUSTRY waits on appeal but trust suits continue Page 13 UNITED ARTISTS seeks court stay on final Consent Decree Page 14 BRITISH film labor chief raps move to slash U. S. films Page 25 ON THE MARCH— Red Kann in comment on industry affairs Page 26 SERVICE DEPARTMENTS Hollywood Scene Page 42 In the Newsreels Page 52 Managers' Round Table Page 57 IN PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION Showmen's Reviews Page 3537 Short Subjects Page 3538 BOX OFFICE responds to Oscar sweep for "The Best Years" Page 27 THREE cities in New York State eye the box office for new taxes Page 28 NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT— Notes on industry people across country Page 33 STUDIO pay increase for crafts seen costing $ I I ,000,000 Page 46 MEXICAN producti on company plans to enter exhibition field Page 50 Picture Grosses Page 63 Short Product at First Runs Page 56 What the Picture Did for Me Page 53 Advance Synopses Page 3539 Short Subjects Chart Page 3540 The Release Chart Page 3542 rector. "Ours is the only major industry in the United States which has no such index," he stated in his annual report issued by MPA President Eric Johnston Tuesday. Concurrent with Mr. Chambers' statement, there was aggressive business support for legislation pending in Congress which would authorize a new census of business,, including the picture industry. If the government should conduct such a census, the MPA activity and the Census Bureau mission could be coordinated since the research section of MPA is in process of moving to the Washington headquarters of the Association. To be included in the MPA census will be data on exhibitors, theatre seats, the role played by theatre managers in community life and other matters. Tarzan in Rome TARZAN caused a small riot in Rome recently. The theatre in which "Tarzan's New York Adventure" was recently exhibited was so overcrowded that a fight resulted among those standing in the theatre and those fortunate enough to have found seats. "Childish and enraged fanaticism," commented some sections of the Italian press, which criticized the taste of the Italian audience. On the contrary, the Osservatore Romano commented favorably on the fight, inferring that if the Italian people prefer such candid and simple pictures then there is hope for the Italian soul. Disgusted Hunter HENRY KOSTER, who will direct William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life" for Cagney Productions, is fed up with the talent hunt. Because many producers and directors believe the talent hunt to be a sort of Sacred Cow of the industry, Mr. Koster has been silent for a long time. But since he has talked to more than 250 girls, tested between 30 and 40 of them, without turning up a single newcomer able to play the role of Kitty in "Time of Your Life," he's reached the point and spoken his piece. Mr. Koster believes the talent hunt is discouraging, disheartening, expensive and unproductive. Fadeout TURNING down a petition by the Columbia Broadcasting System for approval of proposed standards to start commercial color television broadcasts, the Federal Communication Commission this week said that with room for only one color television system in the radio spectrum, further experimentation was necessary. "The commission cannot escape the conclusion that many of the fundamentals of a color television system have not been adequately field-tested," the 14-page FCC ruling stated. CBS color television has yet to achieve adequate brightness for home use, the Commission found. It also voiced the opinion that there may be another system of transmitting color which would permit cheaper receivers and narrower band widths. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 22, 194?