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A ^cfi^ont
MOT SINCE J. ARTHUR RANK unveiled
his $5,000,000 epic "Caesar and Cleopatra"
has the British press alloted so much
space to a picture as that given last week
to "Hamlet." The big difference, though,
is that the space given to the former film
was filled with unfavorable criticism—to this
latest offering the press is eulogistic with
scarcely a dissenting voice.
The picture opened on Thursday with a
royal premiere attended by the king and
queen. Two days before that it was shown
to the press and it was obvious from the
very large number of journalists present that
editors had made up their minds in advance
that this was not a subject for a straight
review but that it justified a news story.
On the evening of the press show two of
the three London evenings ran a large page
one review of the film, hailing it as the
greatest prestige picture yet produced by
British studios. The morning after every
daily newspaper ran two-column stories with
stills from the film. To the American reader,
accustomed to 56-page papers this may mean
little, but it should be remembered that
daily and evening newspapers in Britain are
still limited to four pages and to give st
much space to a news story is very rare.
Even the Daily Express, which is bitterly
anti-Rank at the moment, was loud in its
praise.
How important is all this to the average
American exhibitor? To the neighborhood
and small town houses it probably means
nothing. To the theatres in the big towns
and to the art houses which have specialized
in British pictures this film is going to
mean a gross twice as large as that of
"Henry V."
It is difficult in cold blood to sit down
to review "Hamlet," for its emotional impact
while watching the film is tremendous. Two
and a half hours is a very long time to sit
through any film without fidgeting and it is
a tribute to the picture to say that the attention
only wanders for seconds at a time,
and that mainly during the long panning
shots which could be trimmed. Hamlet, as
Olivier sees him, is a man obsessed with love
of his mother and furiously jealous of the
uncle who has supplanted his dead father.
The scene in the queen's bedchamber when
he berates his mother for re-marrying is
high drama and the tension of the sequence
is almost unbearable. Later, during Ophelia's
mad scene which is brilliantly played by
Jean Simmons, the silence in the theatre
was intense and it seemed that everyone was
waiting for this 18-year-old actress to make
a slip in what must be the most difficult
woman's role in a Shakespearean play. Miss
Simmons handled the part magnificently
and completely vindicated the faith which
Olivier had in her.
The Rank office has learned a lesson with
its "Henry V," which was released in England
on a normal basis and which was comparatively
unsuccessful here. "Hamlet" will
play at the Odeon, Leicester Square, for as
long as it will hold up with only two shows
a day (the picture runs 2'i hoursi and reserved
seats for all but the lowest-priced
part of the theatre. After that it will play
selected spots for long engagements and
By JOHN SULLIVAN
SCENE FROM "HAfllLET"—Laurence
Olivier, who portrays Hamlet, and Eileen
Herlie in the role of his mother, the
queen, are shown above as they appear
in a scene from the Two Cities film
presentation of William Shakespeare's
"Hamlet," which opened at the Odeon
Theatre, Leicester Square, in London
last week. Hamlet is shown in the bedchamber
of his mother. They are disturbed
by a noise behind the arras, and
Hamlet draws his dagger. He thinks it
may be the king.
then, perhaps, will be given a normal release.
Much the same policy will be adopted in
the U.S.
* * *
AS A SIDELIGHT ON "HAMLET" it
is
interesting to note that the British censor
has awarded the picture a "U" (universal or
general) certificate which means that both
children and adults will be admitted to the
cinemas showing the film. In spite of the
fact that the film contains some of Shakespeare's
bawdy dialog and some situations
that would not pass the censor in a film with
a modern setting. This is presumably because
the story is a classic and the dialog
is a study subject in schools anyway.
That the censor is not always so amenable
is proved by the fact that the much-discussed
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" after
being cut by order of the London county
council and banned completely by the Surrey
coimty coimcil has now been recommended.
It is now reported that the police
chief of Leeds has paid a special visit to
London to see the film and has recommended
that it be banned in that town. Birmingham
justices have also asked to see the picture
before allowing it to be shown.
"No Orchids" is a bad film in the sense of
technique and it is doubtful whether It
should have been made at all, but this attempt
by busybodies all over the country to
get it banned strikes at a fundamental principle.
As in the U.S. British producers have
their own unofficial body of censors whose
word is invariably accepted by local councils
and a picture passed by the board is rarely
challenged. The action of local authorities
over this film should be watched with close
attention by the BFPA for. if this tendency
to override the censor's ruling should spread
it can involve producers in a heavy ioss.
With a production completed from a script
originally passed by the censor and then
banned by local councUs a loss of half a
million dollars has to be faced.
WARDOUR STREET WAS SHOCKED to
hear of the sudden death of S. B. "Bobby"
Dubow, general sales manager of United
Artists in England. He was hard at work on
the day of his death and at lunch time went
to a Turkish bath, where he collapsed and
died. Executives of the company attended
the cremation ceremony. He leaves a wife
and two grown-up children, one of whom is
on the staff of Eros Films.
SHIPMAN AND KING, who operate a circuit
of 37 theatres around the London area
are floating a share Issue shortly. The total
capital involved is believed to be in the region
of $5,000,000, which is moderate when it is
considered that their theatres are unopposed
in every case.
The theatre owners are, of course, also
controllers of the Alliance Film Studio group
which owns Riverside, Southall and Twickeiiham
stjidlos.
• • • '
BRITISH PRODUCERS are pressing the
board of trade to announce the new quota
for British pictures now instead of waiting
until July. The quota will take effect from
next October and producers are arguing that
to delay the announcement until July will
cause uncertainty in the industry and make
it difficult to obtain film finance.
ARRIVING IN NEW YORK this
week is
Howard Thomas, producer in chief of Pathe's
newsreels and short subjects. Although separately
controlled, British Pathe has business
associations with French Pathe and
with Warner Pathe News of America and
Thomas is due in New York for conferences
with the American company to discuss their
future relations.
Another subject of vital interest to the
company is television, and during his stay
Howard Thomas will visit the RCA laboratories
at Princeton to see new technical advances
in American television.
Extra 'Best Years' Show
For Overflow Refused
GLASGOW—Local magistrates have refused
to permit the Odeon Cinema Theatre
here to hold an extra late showing of "The
Best Years of Our Lives," Samuel Goldwyn
production, to accommodate overflow crowds
at the regular shows.
An exhibitor in Southport, England, has
run Into similar trouble. City magistrates
denied W. H. Bellis permission to open his
theatre at 7 p. m. Sundays instead of 8 p. m.
during the run of "Best Years." Bellis booked
the RKO release through May.
CEA to Honor Gen. Curtis
At Luncheon on May 20
LONDON—The Cinematograph Exhibitors
Ass'n will honor Maj. Gen. Edward P. "Ted"
Curtis, vice-president in charge of worldwide
sales for Eastman Kodak, at a luncheon at
Grosvenor House May 20. General Curtis
was host to J. Arthur Rank during the letter's
recent visit to Rochester, N. Y.
32 BOXOFFICE
:
: May
15, 1948