Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS Spot of Bother WITH A FORTITUDE characteristic of the English, Clifford G. Dickinson, Monogram representative for the United Kingdom, informed his home office: "We had our little spot of bother in Maidenhead.'' The airily dismissed bother amounted to the complete loss of his home in the Thames Valley flood at Maidenhead and the loss of the house of friends in which he stayed. No Discrimination THE STATE DEPARTMENT announced Tuesday that it was in receipt of a "conciliatory" note from the Swedish Government which promises that there "will be no discrimination against U. S. products" in the operation of its trade program. A Department spokesman said the note is still under study and that a further statement will be made. The U. S., on March 24, sent a vigorous protest to Sweden after that Government put into effect import restrictions "to maintain foreign excess recerves.' At that time it was believed that severe quotas would be placed upon the importation' of U. S. films. DECREE or not Decree? — That is the question before industry Page 13 MAJOR companies obeying court ruling of dissolving pools Page 16 SEVENTEEN new arbitration complaints filed in one week Page 16 ON THE MARCH— Red Kann in comment on industry affairs Page 18 RANK contract closed with Universal, running 21 years Page 18 SERVICE DEPARTMENTS Hollywood Scene Page 26 In the Newsreels Page 43 From Reader Page 42 Managers' Round Table Page 47 Picture Grosses Page 53. Short Product at First Runs Page 40 What the Picture Did for Me Page 45 RODGERS insists business will hold up if trade buckles down Page 20 REDS failed in attempt to capture studios, says Johnston Page 2 1 MEXICAN film unions ban importation of all 16mm product Page 22 ONE hundred and eight years of showmanship in three executives Page 23 NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT— Notes on industry personnel across country Page 32 IN PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION Showmen's Reviews Page 3561 Short Subjects Page 3563 Advance Synopses Page 3562 Short Subjects Chart Page 3564 The Release Chart Page 3566 Battle of Stanwyck London Bureau BARBARA STANWYCK and her husband, Robert Taylor, made a personal appearance at the Empire theatre in London last Thursday for the premiere of Miss Stanwyck's and David Niven's "The Other Love" and drew crowds rivalling those that gathered for the recent Command Performance. Fans mobbed the Stanwyck automobile 300 feet away from the theatre and over-ran the police. Mr. Taylor had to be carried into the theatre by police. A shattering time was had by all. A mink-and-orchid audience, including the Speaker of the House of Commons, several Cabinet Ministers, 50 Members of Parliament, numerous Peers, 23 Ambassadors or diplomatic ministers, half London's stage and screen celebrities attended the premiere. "The Other Love" was produced by Enterprise and is being distributed abroad by MGM and in the U. S. and Canada by United Artists. Proceeds from the premiere were donated to the Lord Mayor's National Flood Disaster Fund. Gift IT MAY be that Britain, stricken these months by blizzards and floods, and reeling financially, spends too much money for things like American tobacco and American films, as some of her politicians contend. However, some of the money came back to Britain last week when the Motion Picture Association, in behalf of all American film companies, donated $20,000 to London's Lord Mayor Fund for victims of floods. THIS and THAT [Continued from preceding page] is important, it is being held down against what seems an anticipation that prices will be lower. <J The late Mr. Harry Kendall Thaw, who spent an estimated million on lawyers and psychiatrists, left $10,000 to Evelyn Nesbitt, and $50 to Mr. Walter Winchell. ^ In the words of an eminent electronic engineer in our industry, that naval training cruise, complete with an armada, going to the British Isles and assorted north European ports this pregnant summer is entirely co-axial. C| How many among us will be remembering, now that his passing has brought into the news Charles S. Whitman, former District Attorney in the famed Rosenthal case and one-time Governor of New York, that one of his most able lieutenants has been these many years, and is yet, an amazingly efficient and amazingly unmentioned soft-shoe motion picture executive on Broadway? €]f An addition to the patois of World War II comes the term "grey market". It describes the pricing of plywood panels in a region described as "legal but illicit" by reason of slips between regulation and practice. 1§ It is pleasant to read that some of Mr. Mack Sennett's classics of silent slapstick are to be brought back by Mr. J. J. Balaber. The cinema of pie-in-thepuss probably served a great psychic need in its day better than some of the recent psychologically conscious pictures of freudulent and zilborg intent. — Terry Ramsaye Music Bill UNDER THE TERMS of a recently signed 18-month contract with the American Federation of Musicians, the newsreels .in New York have each agreed to hire a 30-piece orchestra for six three-hour recording sessions during the 18-month period which will cost each newsreel company an estimated $7,110. The reels customarily use canned music from their libraries for scoring purposes which has made James C. Petrillo, AFM head, unhappy. An Immortal MARCEL PAGNOL, France's leading motion picture director, was installed as a member of the French Academy in Paris March 27. He is the first representative of the motion picture industry to be elected to join the company of the "Forty Immortals." Now 50 years old, he won fame in America with "The Baker's Wife" and "Harvest." MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 5, 1947