Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

ON THE MARCH Scully Calls f°r A Return to Old Ballyhoo Tempo by RED ICANN TT J HILE visiting the Paramount studio, \/\ Adolph Zukor called for abandonment of "light, meaningless pictures'' in favor of those which have "something to say," according to an interview in Motion Picture Daily. Other quotes : "There is no room today for escapism in films. . . . "We are beyond the lush period of the war when anything stood up. . . . "Since motion pictures are the only source of escape for a hard-ridden world from its daily drudge [a reference to greater emphasis contemplated for the foreign market] they bear a tremendous responsibility. Credibility is important." This is worth analyzing. Even those who constantly urge motion pictures should reflect more accurately and more intimately the times of which they are a part — count us in, please — hardly will agree with the respected chairman of Paramount's board. There is as much need for escapism today as there ever has been. The question is whether or not these unpredictable and uncertain days do not call for more. Reasonable proponents of a more realistic and a harder-hitting screen have been misinterpreted seriously by those who do not share their viewpoint. No one — or, surely, no one who is a rational member of the industry — believes such standard story equipment as boy-meets-girl ought to be thrown overboard. It would be as ridiculous to strike for the elimination of musicals as it would be to strike for a mass-entertainment commodity in which political exhortation substitutes for Esther Williams doing one off the high-diving board. Esther's O.K. That goes for Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth and a long list of other attractive damsels. So, too, for Jimmy Durante and, among others, for Bing and Bob, although Zukor feels Crosby and Hope hereafter must hew to consistency and characterization in order to maintain themselves as symbols of laughter. If this industry is ever misguided enough to move out on its escapism formula for a straight line of attractions without benefit of its established, and even necessary, contribution to unadulterated make-believe, it will not long remain a major industry. But it likewise appears self-evident, in as huge an enterprise as this with living space for "South of the Chisholm Trail" and "Mourning Becomes Electra," that there is latitude enough for a portion of the product which looks boldly into the contemporary mirror and endeavors to report what it finds. Even that is not enough, however. TT7HAT is found there must be embelW lished with the full embroidery of entertainment. For it is this which the pro ducer asks the exhibitor to purchase. The ticket-buyer, paying for entertainment, wants what he buys, or won't be back. Nevertheless, a story about a current this-or-that can get over its point when it is treated properly, which is another way of declaring it has to be supported logically by the recognized trappings of commercial production. There is more. Selectivity of material must be careful. Sound judgment must be exercised in determining what is in the public interest. Reflection of newspaper headlines, for example, is not necessarily the whole answer. We do not want a film, or a series of films, based on night club dancers suspected of shooting down men on yachts in Havana harbor. The responsibility to which Zukor refers, of course, is tremendous. The credibility of which he speaks is desirable, but to recognize them is also to recognize why they must be judiciously applied. On the point that the lush period of the war when anything stood up is gone, the answer became final months ago. Anything does not stand up. The observers of checks and balances have been aware for some time that audience selectivity which had retired toward the inconsequential during the boom years is emerging steadily, week by week. Audiences are choosing again, and for the long haul it is an extremely fortunate piece of business that this is so. It means merit will bring the big reward, not a pocketful of money with few places to go. It means a gauntlet thrown at Hollywood's feet. It means the creators are faced with the necessity of stemming the current declining tide in quality. It means the product must be improved. Big attractions continue to begef big money, never doubt. Ask the exhibitor lucky enough to play one. Tucked away on inside news pages cf Motion Picture Daily are a couple of items which ought not be discounted. 1. — The Kansas-Missouri Theatres Association, meeting in St. Louis, devoted five sessions to a discussion of the tone of current product, concluding that the prevalence of murder mysteries telegraphed a signal for parents to find other avenues of entertainment for their children. 2. — The Hilltop Community Council of Columbus, O., continues to eye with considerable doubt the theatre practice there of combining murder mysteries with attractions of known appeal to children, like the Disney features. The 27 organizations which make up the council evidently are hell-bent for correction. Their direction seems to be sound. A call for distributors and exhibitors to return "to the tried and true methods of traditional ballyhoo to sell their pictures," was sounded by William A. Scully, UniversalInternational vice-president and general sales manager, last week at the two-day exploitation and publicity meeting at the Hotel Astor in New York. Maurice A. Bergman, U-I's eastern advertising and publicity director, presided at the sessions, attended by the home office and field promotion staffs. Besides Mr. Scully, speakers at the meeting included A. J. O'Keefe, assistant general sales manager ; C. J. Feldman, western division sales manager; Fred Meyers, eastern division sales manager ; James J. Jordan, manager of the contract, playdate and sales department, and Al Horwits, eastern publicity manager. Mr. Bergman said the company's field exploitation representatives would be given greater authority to develop key city promotion plans. This, he said, would lead to closer cooperation with exhibitors. He also said that a specialized unit would be developed in the home office and in the field to work on the development of J. Arthur Rank productions. He was followed by William J. Heineman, general sales manager for the Rank division of U-I, and Jock Lawrence, vice-president and public relations director of the Rank organization in the U. S. Mr. Heineman said $1,000,000 would be spent on promoting five Rank pictures in this country. Last week also saw another U-I convention, this one a sales meeting in Europe, presided over in Paris by J. H. Seidelman, U-I president. U-I executives from 13 countries attended and were shown a lineup of new U-I product. The convention also included an outline by Harold Sugarman of the company's extensive 16mm plans. Sales policies for "The Egg and I," as well as for other U-I productions, will be discussed at a two-day sales meeting at the U-I home office April 19-20. The company's district sales managers will attend. Monogram Southern Managers Meeting Saturday, Sunday A regional sales meeting of all southern exchanges of Monogram was to be held Saturday and Sunday at the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel in Atlanta. Branch managers from Charlotte, Memphis, Atlanta and New Orleans will attend and the meetings will be presided over by Arthur Green^att, Monogram's eastern sales manager. Convicted on Lottery Charge The New York Court of Appeals in Albany upheld last week the conviction of Albert Schleicher, manager of the Blenheim theatre, the Bronx, N. Y., on a lottery charge, resulting from cash awards made from the stage of his theatre. 18 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 19, 1947