Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1947)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS What Next? SOME Kentucky exhibitors would rather see the politicians check their theatres. The Kentucky Association of Theatre Owners has drawn a bill which it intends to introduce in the 1948 state legislature. The bill establishes an "audit board," eligibility standards for auditors, rules for them, their fees and maintenance, and an office with personnel. It appoints the Lieutenant Governor as audit board chairman, the Attorney General as member, and empowers the Governor to appoint three other members, and states that more members may be appointed from a list supplied by the exhibitors' association. For an exhibitor to allow any person not authorized by the board to check theatres, would be a misdemeanor. Exhibitors would be "instructed'' to supply information to authorized inspectors. Anniversary THE Motion Picture Export Association under Irving Maas, vice-president and general manager, completed its first year of operation this week and a roundup shows the Association active in 10 of the 13 countries in which it was originally chartered to operate. Distribution agreements have not been reached with only three countries — Bulgaria, -Yugoslavia and Russia. Elsewhere, the Export Association's product, a pool of films culled from current and past releases of the organization's eight member companies, is reported to be doing very well at the box office. MPEA, organized to present a united industry front to countries with state-ruled industry monopolies, made its first deal in August, 1946, when it signed an interim agreement for the release of 40 pictures with the Netherlands East Indies. A pact with the Czechs followed in September, 1946, while American films started to show in Holland during January, 1947. Poland signed in December, 1946. MPEA at present is releasing U. S. films in Germany and Japan under Army supervision. Parade STARTING September 26, a number of well known French stars will present oneman stage shows at the Ambassador theatre, a New York house operated by the Siritzky Brothers and devoted entirely to the showing of French films. The first attraction will be Tino Rossi, celebrated French singer, who will remain on the Ambassador stage four weeks, giving two shows a day. He will be followed by Edith Piaff, French stage actress who will sing, and by the famous French comedian, Fernandel, who will ATA asks MPTOA leaders to join in fight for tax reduction Page 13 THIRTY-TWO legislatures adjourn, with adverse laws in only two Page 13 AMERICAN showmen should welcome British films, says Skouras Page 14 UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL sales drive to honor Blumberg and Rank Page 14 ON THE MARCH— Red Kann in comment on industry affairs Page 20 CONNORS, out fishing, studies offer of UA presidency Page 21 BRITISH exhibitors, in annual meet, hit "Buy British only" plan Page 22 FILM company dividends increase 39% in first quarter of year Page 27 NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT— Notes on industry personnel across country Page 32 STUDIOS in Spain have ambitious plans for increased production Page 38 SERVICE DEPARTMENTS Hollywood Scene Page 30 IN PRODUCT DIGEST SECTION In the Newsreels Page 39 Showmen's Reviews Page 3677 Managers' Round Table Page 43 Short Subjects Page 3679 Picture Grosses Page 49 Advance Synopses Page 3679 Short Product at First Runs Page 42 Short Subjects Chart Page 3680 What the Picture Did for Me Page 41 The Release Chart Page 3682 take over toward the end of November. A IjfXld Oil special Christmas show, starring Mistinguette, French cabaret star, and some showgirls from the Moulin Rouge in Paris, also is planned. No Jingles AMERICAN advertising men had something to think about last week when Moscow dispatches related Moscow Radio's first try at commercial announcements. The Russian station, with characteristic heavy-handed forcefulness, lumped all of its advertisements into one eight-minute period, broadcast three times a day. They included spot announcements from 11 organizations — theatres, stores and factories — and were read by a man and a woman announcer. Strangely enough — or maybe it was the absence of singing commercials that did it — Russian listeners are said to have happily accepted their radio's new policy and have even asked for more. NOT many actors achieve their Shakespearean dream. Orson Welles, of deeply enunciated delivery, apparently has achieved his. In Salt Lake City last week he unveiled his version of "Macbeth" in one hour and 45 minutes. The New York Times correspondent wrote that Mr. Welles "did not improve Shakespeare by his editing; neither did he seriously harm him." He added that Orson "unexpectedly played a conservative Macbeth," and that "the Wellesian stage settings and lighting effects were impressively eerie, although at times the darkness was slightly overdone." And now to the motion pictures. Orson is being permitted by Republic to put "Macbeth" onto film. The stage production was a test for the film scenario. Switch Morale THIS is one exhibitor's way of relieving local distress. Up in Nova Scotia, miners and families caught in a now lengthy strike, are marking time wearily. F. M. Gregor, owner of the Majestic theatre, New Waterford, knows how they feel. He also knows they now count their pennies. Therefore, Mr. Gregor each week distributes 200 free tickets to miners' families. WHEN the Motion Picture Association, backing a series of short subjects on the American scene, discovered the other day that Warners was making on its own a short on the very subject planned as the first of the series, it transferred its authorization from MGM to Warners. The Warner subject is "Power Behind the Nation," its thesis being cooperation between workers and management. The association will probably give MGM the next of the series. John Nesbitt, producer of MGM's "The Passing Parade" series, was to have supervised the first MPA short. 8 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JUNE 14, 1947