Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

4 intended to ignore charges that Paramount Pictures suppressed TV patents of Scophony Corp. — which is probably crux of whole hearing? Nobody knows. Comrs. Walker, Hyde and Bartley formed majority in the decision. Comr. Jones dissented from section which eliminated consideration of old anti-trust cases. Comrs. Sterling and Hennock didn't participate. Meeting of examiner Leo Resnick with FCC's and parties' counsel Aug. 5 will kick the question around. Resnick's ruling will determine whether hearing is over, ready for decision, or due to resume interminable wrangle over Scophony case. If Resnick's ruling favors parties, he could plunge immediately into preparing decision, parties could start working on findings of fact, and a final FCC decision could come as early as 6 weeks from now. Most observers think FCC really intended to "wash out" the whole case or that it went as far as it thought it could towards washing it out, with hope that examiner and FCC prosecutory staff would finish the job. Midst the confusion, one thing is clear: Paramount Pictures and industry, generally, are finally rid of long-dead and irrelevant anti-trust violations as deterrents to their holding station licenses. FCC's action was actually a technical victory for FCC hearing div. chief Fred Ford and his staff, because Commission denied all parties' requests that FCC sever their particular problems from the hearing and give them quick decisions. But in the long run, FCC's staff seems to have won the battle, lost the war. THEATRE TV — is it the panacea that some movie industry leaders proclaim it to be? New York Times’ veteran film critic Bosley Crowther has some strong ideas on subject, which he expounded July 6 in appraising Eidophor color theatre-TV demonstrations (Vol. 8:26). He called Eidophor “surprisingly good.” But then he went on to ask : “What can eventually be done with large-screen color TV that can’t be done now with large-screen color film — outside of transporting an image more quickly from its origin to the screen?” Pointing out obvious advantages of theatre-TV’s use in relaying such topical programs as sports and big news events, he added: “But what can be the advantage of transporting to theatres by TV such images of regular entertainment as can now be transported on film (probably a great deal better) is more than this observer can see.” Crowther’s reasoning: “Spyros Skouras, the energetic president of 20th Century-Fox and apparently the most enthusiastic proponent of Eidophor, has painted a glowing picture of the fresh entertainment that might be brought into theatres all over the country through large-screen color TV. He has visioned elaborate productions of such celebrated spectacles as Metropolitan operas, Broadway musicals, symphonic orchestra concerts, Radio City Music Hall stage shows and special programs created by such masters as Rodgers and Hammerstein and Irving Berlin. “No doubt such lavish entertainment would have wide and stirring appeal and would do a great deal to bring customers back into theatres. No doubt, too, the realization that these programs were being brought in ‘live,’ direct from their actual performance, would give an initial sense of novelty. But, allowing that such entertainments might be consistently obtained and that all of the difficult problems of concurrent broadcast to theatres across the country might be overcome, it is questionable how long the novelty of the transportation method would prevail. And it is certainly questionable whether such entertainments might not better be carried into the theatres on film. “After all, there have been motion pictures, in color, of operas, of symphonic orchestras, of concerts, of musical comedies. There is no present reason for assuming that similar pictures transmitted by TV will be fiper in photographic texture or superior cinema-wise. As a matter of fact, it is doubtful that they will even be as good, especially in the essential of expert cinema. Unless some entirely new technique of artistic presentation is devised, it appears that the producers of theatre-TV programs will have to follow the familiar syntax used in films. “In short, it would seem to this observer that a great deal of hope is being placed in a piece of complex mechanism that adds no element of expression to the screen. The motion picture itself was a brand new medium. The addition of sound gave it much greater scope. The electronic camera-transmission system adds only the limited advantage of speed.” * * * * Mr. Skouras’ rebuttal, published by the Times July 13, asserted critic Crowther “missed the point about what Eidophor entertainment will be.” He wrote: “Its strong appeal [will be] in its immediacy — its quick adaptability for presenting live shows cf unmistakably popular appeal. For example, Judy Garland’s appearance at the Palace Theatre was a great success. With Eidophor, a show built around her appearance and telecast to hundreds of theatres would certainly have enormous appeal elsewhere than in New York for the very reason that it would be a live presentation and not a film . . . “It is my opinion that in a short time the legitimate theatres will use this Eidophor system presenting plays to 200-250 theatres simultaneously at advance admissions, thus putting these theatres back on a prosperous footing. A year or so later these same plays will be presented at popular admissions in the motion picture theatres and these theatres will get a tremendous benefit . . . The elimination of the double feature bill will serve to do away with the so-called ‘B’ pictures, raising the standards of motion pictures to heights yet unrealized.” n Strong swing to film by TV (Vol. 8:24,26) was given further impetus this week as CBS-TV’s Man Against Crime joined parade, raising to 27 total of network shows on film, or nearly double the 14 of last year. NBC now will have 13 shows on film, CBS 12, ABC 2. In addition, DuMont will air number of films on local or regional basis. July 28 Spcyisor Magazine estimates film will enjoy 2-1 advantage over live shows this fall.