Variety (Jan 1942)

January 7, 1942 77iirfy-$ixth PSSU^Y Annlvenary PICTURES 11 FILM PRODUCT OUTLOOK FOR 1942 Despite War's Uncertainties, Theatres Incline to Belief That Flow of Good Product WiU Go a Long Way Toward^ Stabilizing Biz This Year QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ALREADY MANIFESTED ^ RETAKES OF 1941 I By George E. Phair Hollywood,. Jan, 4. Now comes a stonn of titles to annihilate the Jap, Of songs and motion pictures aimed to wipe him off the map. Ten thousand title writers toll with hot and furrowed brow; If songs and films could wreck the Jap, he would be ruined now. It was a most momentous year, the year of '41, And let us hope that '42 will see the warfare done, And all the Japs restricted to their Island neighborhood. Compelled to hear the titles that were made in Hollywood. - • • ♦ When vou meet a fellow toho has not been tested /or a role <n 'For Whom the Bell Tolls,' i/ou know he ij o sfranffer in Hollt/ivood. • » • In Hollywood flaokerlea there are two forms of art—sweater •»*••'• , . . Suggestion for a food ad: John (Before) Carradine and Laird (After) Cregar. , , " YlameT hoys are contemplating a sequel to 'One Foot In Heaven,' figunng that two /eet are better tlian one. • * • ■ Jean Parker sends word aboot the plcoolo player who- be- came » pianist becanse he oonldn't lay his cifaret on the plceolo. A nijiht club /Ishf Is largely tripe— One punch and many reams of type ■ * • * And Al30 In Teohnlealor Time and Hollywood work wondrous changes In history. If tough old Belle Starr came back to earth she would be startled to learn that she is a glamour gal with a heart of gold. • * * Gents In ocademlo halls wUI tell yon that comedy Is an escape from life, and gents In varlons stodlos, will tell yon It Is an escape from 77B. • ♦ • Though the antics of the comics Seldom elevate the heart, They improve the economics Of the motion picture art. • • • When an actor is a heel at 1:30 p.m. and a hero at 3:15, it^ not a sign of reformation—it is a double feature. • • • Whether a star bites a dog or vice verao. It Is stIU news. ■ • • • Sam Goldtoyn finished 'Ball of Fire' and Is rec-jing a book titled 'White Hell.' Loolcs like a uNirm urinter. » • • ■ Foar seasons In Holly wood. are sunny time, rainy time, optloB time, and Oscar time. • * • .An actor goes out trolling where the sturdy fish abounds And hoolcs a puny little smelt upon his daily rounds. when .the flack grabs hold of same , The smelt acquires a Tnassive frame. It soon becomes a swordfish and it weighs 200 pounds. • • • The garment worn by Tyrone Power in 'Son of Fury* is "ot a sarong, which is feminine. It is a pareau, of the masculine gender, although the film fans out in Kansas won't notice the difference. They will think Ty prowled Dottie I.amouT's wardrobe. • ♦ • The way the gals about town are knitting soz, yon woold think the soldiers were centipedes. • * •' An author , sold his deathless tale To Hollywood for gobs of kale. They made a picture out of same Which set his tender ears aflame. It seems the film, rollcs never took The time to read the ^author's book. • * * As far as Deanna Durbin is concerned. Universal can 'Live Alone and Like It.' • • • Once npob a time there was a film comic who never played hi bnrlesqne. The snob. • * • A fend In a film studio Is almost as ferocloos as a grudge nght In the ring, which generally winds np as the lost word In anatalned lethargy. • • * Eddie Sjnall is going in for antique boudoir furniture. First it was 'Twin-Beds' and now it's Up in Mabel's Room.' • ♦ • When an aotor grows big enough to pick bis own spots he often picks a spot behind the eight ball. • • • Tales of Manhattan' will require a lot of tailoring to make that dress suit fit Eddie-Robinson and Chuck Laughton. • * * Bollywood Is a' place where motion pictures arc produced ■t Intervals between gin rummy games. By Roy Cfaartier Although the war creates uncertainty, theatre operators are inclined to believe it will be temporary and that a con- tinued flow of better product than was furnished a year ago will go a long way in stabilizing business during coming months. The £ght with the Axis powers broke' badly for the boxoOice, coming as- it did three weeks before Christmas, when the gross levels decline due to shopping and other factors. At the same time the distributors were affected and this past December the quality of pictures allowed to go on release or take dates was higher than in past years. During December of 1940 dlstribs even withdrew certain pictures from the books for the Christmas-shopping period so that they would not be sacrificed to the usual seasonal dip extend- ing from. Thanksgiving generally up to the year-end holidays. While pictures released since Sept. 1 have not been out- standingly stronger than for the same period a year ago, each mouth on the new 1941-42 season so far has been benefited by better pictures than were sent on release for the corresponding months in 1940, including December. Additionally much better boxoftice film sent on release in November has materially aided December whe/e they are carried over into the latter month. Delay in making deals has also bunched numerous good pictures subsequent to their earlier dates of availability. The standing of distributors, based on the 1941-42 pictures that have already been seen or shown, has shifted somewhat as compared with the first four months of the previous (1940-41) 'season. Most notable in this respect is the im- provement in the prodnct of 20th Century-Fox and Para- mount, while Metro has disappointed its backers somewhat on pictures so far released. Based on what is on the horizon from Metro, the company is expected to get into a stronger stride before the winter is over, however. Twentieth-Fox started its 1941-42 semester on August 1 Instead of oh arrival of September as the others did, with result this company obtained somewhat of a jump on deals as well as dates. Through Ueeeml>e'r 31, 20th will have re- leased a total of 24 features Top Pictnm I j So far on the new season, 20th's top.pictures at the b-o. have been 'Charley's Aunt,' 'Sun 'Valley Serenade,' 'Yank in the R-AJ,' 'I Wake Up Screaming,' 'How Green Was My 'Valley,' 'Weekend in Havana.' Some of these pictures how- ever, have not yet reached a sufficient number of dates to determine just how far their strength extends at the b.o. but based on what is known at the moment the expectations are good. Par's toppers for the final quarter of 1941 have been 'Hold Back the Dawn,' 'Nothing But the Truth,' 'Birth of the Blues,' 'Skylark' end 'I,ouisiana Purchase,' an average of one big one a month. The best on the Metro schedule since Sept. 1 have been 'Honky Tonk,' 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' 'Smilin' Through,' 'H. M. Pulham, Esq.,' 'Lady Be Good' and Two-Faced Woman,' while over in the Warner camp its outstanding, pictures through to the new year include 'Navy Blues,' 'Maltese Falcon,' 'One Foot in Heaven,' 'International Squad- ron,' They Died With Their Boots On,' 'You're in the Army Now' and 'Sergeant York,' the last-mentioned a terrific box- office entry. BKO leaders are 'Citizen Kane,' .'All That Money Can Buy,' 'Suspicion,' 'Dumbo' and 'Little Foxes.' Except for its New York ddte, 'Dumbo' was held up for Christmas bookings. From Universal the best business has been shown by 'Unfinished Business,' 'It Started with Eve,' 'Appointment for Love,' 'Keep 'Em Flying' and 'Never Give a Sucker an Even Break,' while just sent out on the holidays in a few selected spos is 'Hellzapoppin' which stacks up well in buyer estimation. On the UA list so far this season are 'Lydia,' 'Sundown,' 'Corsican Brothers' and 'Tanks a Million,' but none of these has been a smash. In 'Shanghai Gesture,' a year-end release, the exhibitors believe UA has a big one. Columbia has furnished 'You'll Never Get Rich,' Texas,' • 'You Belong to Me' and 'Men in Her Life' as its best pictures, while sent into holiday release is 'Bedtime Stcry,' on which the hopes are high. In addition to many of these pictures which carry over " into January, February and March dating, a sizeable list of pictures that are handicapped as potentials by exhibitors- buyers will be sent on release and regardless of the war it is believed the first as well as probably the second quarter of 1942 will make a very strong bid for patronage. I On the 1948 Horizon - | Pictures on the way that look froni better than average to big include 'The Vanishing 'Virginian,' 'Woman of the Year,' 'We Were Dancing,' 'Babes on Broadway,' 'I Married an Angel,' 'The Lady Is Willing,' 'Ball of Fire,' 'Playmates,' 'Bahama Passage,' 'Mr. Bug Goes to Town,' 'Sullivan's Trav- els,' 'Great Man's Lady,' '^eap the Wild Wind,' "The Man Who Came to Dinner,' The Male Animal,' 'Kings Row,' 'Twin Beds,' 'Jungle Book,' 'To Be or Not to Be,' 'Remember the Day,' 'A Gentleman at Heart,' 'Son of Fury,' 'Roxie Hart," 'Song of the Islands,' 'Rings on Her Fingers,' 'China Cara- van," 'Joan of Paris,' 'Valley of the Sun,' 'To the Shores of Tripoli,' 'Ride 'Em Cowboy, and possibly others. Some of these films may not be released until spring or even early summer, while on the other hand certain films not now looked for during January-February-1 larch, may be shpt out during this first quarter of the new year. ■Very often calculations of buyers go wrong on certain pictures and the very ones from which big b.o. is expected do not pan out that way when they get into the theatres. In any event, exhibitor and buyer optimism is running pretty high for 1942. Newsreel War Coverage Will Be a Matter of Luck By Frederic UUman, Jr. (Editor of RKO-Pothe News) The newsreels will vastly extend their coverage and In- crease their importance during the war years which lie ahead. Their representatives will be strategically spotted over the five continents and the seven oceans. But even a network of coverage and a corps of cameramen cannot assure the reels of complete war material. Censorship and luck will be important factors. At this writing the rules of censorship have not been laid down, U indeed it is possible to concoct such a set of rules. 'The Array will have jurisdiction over the newsrell films relating to military affairs. The Navy will have the right to suppress or delete pictures of naval action. The newsreel organiza- tions will submit to wartime censorship, yielding to the judgment of military experts as to what war scenes may or may not be released. Luck will be a bigger factor. Probably 50 cameramen will service the combined newsreel companies in war zones. ' Some of the. men are in combat areas now; more are on the way, and still others will be assigned as total war spreads. But SO or even 100 men are a mere handful in covering the fighting which takes place in the four quarters of the globe. In other wars, the arenas of battle have been confiiied, at least to a continent. In attempting coverage of war all over the world it 'wlU often as not be a matter of luck in having a photographer on ' hand when any one battle takes place. Not that battle areas are unpredictable but, to effectively photograph war scenes, newsreel photographers will need government aid to get to the battle sites and military transportation in toting equipment to points from which the pictures can be made. Jn these first few weeks of war, Government officials have been fair in their requests to the newsreel producers. They have used sensible judgment in not trying to use Uie reels as propaganda media. ^. They have made no burdensome rules, nor have they made any arbitrary demands. Theatres—particularly those playing first run releases- are certain to profit by exploiting newsreels during the war. It is a safe guess that if battle scenes or naval.engage- ments are. photographed,, and released without undue dele- tions by censorship, the boxoflice vlue of such pictures will be powerful. 10 Best Newsreel Subjects of. '41 By Mike Wear The newsl'eels' opportunity for jnitiatlve or originality were few and far between in 1941, a year marked by the pre- dominance of roto coverage (that in which each reel is given duplicate material), particularly on the World War n battle- ' front 'Variety's' 10 best stories are gleaned from the way such yams shaped up in the newsreel theatres, how they impressed the reviewer and reacted on the audience; not particularly on the event's import but how handled. They follow: 1. President Roosevelt's war address after .''apan had at- . tacked U. S., and swift action of Congress in declaring war on Japan (Paramount). Expertly done. 2. Churchill-Roosevelt meeting on the high seas (News of Day). Although all the U. S. newsreels got the same story on this vital event, N. of D. scored a big beat even if held up for release so all got the^ some distribution break. 3. Dakar defense preparations by the French and flrsf mo- tion pictures of how this vital African port, closest to South America, sliapes up (Paramount). Exclusive story by Pierre Naintree and first films permitted by the Vichy government. 4. Series of comedy stories framed around a monkey in a Buffalo zoo. (Universal). Dug up through initiative of smaller city correspondent. Closest approach to filling void left by. Lew Leiir's continued absence. 5. Saga of Ark Royal (News of Day). Though all from the library, smart editing by M. D. Cloflne elevated it to a rare human interest yarn because of the many times the British airplane carrier was previously reported sunk. 6. The truth about. Martinique (Paramount). Douglas Dupont, cameraman, secured exclusive films showing how French gold is piled up there, some 200 "U. S.-made planes are rotting on the docks, how poor the natives are, and the num- ber of French warships tied up there. 7. Bringing war wounded back home to Australia (Movie- tone). Crack story, skillfully edited and narrated, and of particular interest on how the Australian government (which, of course, okayed the pictures) is treating war realism and morale. . • 6. Air raid stories on how London fared after the blitz fire and biggest bombing attack (Movietone). Other reels had the same material but this one stood out. . 9. Convoy from Iceland (Pathe). Neal Sullivan's camera work made this graphic. 10. Defense of Tobruk (Paramount). Trim editing and intelligent use of man-on-spot voice lifted this above others which had much the same material. Honorable Tnention; British convoy fights off air attack (Movietone) and Inauguration of Roosevelt, first presideat In U. S. history to serve a third term (Paramount). Both roto jobs but winners because of original handling am] editing.