Boxoffice-March.04.1950

Second Action Filed
For WB Accounting
HOLLYWOOD—Second legal action to be
brought within recent weeks against Warner
Bros, and United States Pictures has been
filed by Mrs. Annie Fastenberg. Warner
stockholder, demanding an accounting of
profits allegedly made on six films produced
for Warner release by the U. S. Pictures unit.
The complaint charges that Milton Sperling,
head of the U.S. Pictures organization, and
his partner at that time—Joseph Bernhard,
now president of Film Classics—entered into
a conspiracy with Warners whereby U. S.
Pictures was provided "unfair" financial aid
by Warners, to the asserted detriment of the
Warner company.
Recently a federal district court action was
filed here by Irving W. Mencher, also a Warner
stockholder, charging nepotism and conspiracy
against the company's best interests
and demanding an accounting of profits and
a declaratory judgment. The defendants in
that suit include Harry M. and Jack L. Warner.
Sperling and Morris Wolf.
Personnelities
(Continued from preceding news page)
JOSEPH WALKER will photograph the Joan Crawford
starrer, "Lady of the House."
Lippert
BEITY SINCLAIR was set as produciion manager
lor "None Come Back."
United Artists
Assigned to producer I. G. Goldsmiths "The Dungeon"
were FRANK F. PLANER, cinematographer,
and RUDOLPH STERNAD, art director. Handed the
production manager chore was BEN HERSH.
Universal-International
BILL THOMAS was named as costume designer
on "Saddle Tramp."
Warners
Assigned as art director on "The All American"
was STANLEY FLEISCHER.
Assigned as art director on "Tea lor Two" was
DOUGLAS BACON.
Title Changes
Lippert
"Hollywood Holiday" to HOLLYWOOD RHYTHM.
"Daredevils of the Highway" to HIJACKED.
"None Came Back" to ROCKET SHIP TO THE
MOON,
20th Century-Fox
"Outbreak" to PANIC IN THE STREETS.
Warners
No, No, Nanette" to TEA FOR TWO.
ENTHUSIASM must start at the top."
Bromidic as such observation may
sound, it is nonetheless the convincing
theme of an interesting and intelligent report
prepared by the advertising committee
of National Theatres and presented at the
recent annual homeoffice huddles of that circuit's
top executives. Members of that committee
are Senn Lawler, Fox Midwest, Kansas
City; Vic Gauntlett, Evergreen circuit, Seattle;
Seymour Peiser, Fox West Coast, Los
Angeles, and Fay Reeder, of PWC's northern
California division, San Francisco.
It being strictly an inter-company affair,
the report, unfortunately, cannot be reproduced
in full. Since it concerns itself with
"some new approaches to the problem of selling
pictures in these changing times," it would
prove engrossing and beneficial for many a
showman outside of the NT family.
A few highlights may, however, be pilfered
for reproduction here and without too greatly
violating the document's confidential
facets.
Witness:
"First, we must believe in our picttires.
Enthusiasm, or the lack of it . . starts in
.
the screening room. Often . . . failure of
a picture to do the business to which it is
depends on the attitude of those
entitled . . .
who see it first . . .
"Time after time, it has been proven that
there is something salable in every picture.
Metro
MARVIN STUART was set as assistant to Director
ROY ROWLAND and HELEN ROSE as wardrobe designed
on "The Tender Hours." AL BILKS was assigned
the camera chore.
"Today is a day without precedent in the
Assigned as set decorator for "Kim" was HUGH
motion picture business. We have better pictures
than we have ever had, yet they are
HUNT.
Monogram
being patronized by fewer people.
GABRIEL DELL, dialog director; JOHN KEAN, mixer;
"Analyze every picture in order to uncover
VIRGIL SlvilTH, recorder; WILLIAM CALIHAN, assistant;
WILLIAM SICKNER, camera, and BERNARD its salable elements. Try, from the moment
W. BURTON, cutter, were added to the production a picture is screened, to develop enthusiasm
crew lor "Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance,"
for it, and transmit that enthusiasm right
Poramoxint
down the line . . . Encourage development of
HOWARD PINE and HOWARD SMITH were set as new approaches to advertising and showmandizing
pictures among all managers.
assistant director and head lilm editor, respectively,
for "Tripoli." Producers Pine and Thomas
have borrowed YVONNE WOOD from Universal to
design Maureen OHaras
"Take a positive approach to all pictures
wardrobe for the picture.
from the moment they are screened and explore
every method by which they can be
RKO Radio
Fashion designer EDITH HEAD was borrowed from
Paramount to create Bette Davis' wardrobe lor "The sold before they are lost through hasty bookings.
Often a picture with a large boxof-
b'lory of a Divorce," Also set for the Skirball-Mannmg
production were LEO TOVER. cameraman, and
fice potential is played out before someone
EARL WOLCOTT, sound engineer.
discovers the right campaign.
"There is no substitute for enthusiasm."
All of which makes much sense from the
exhibitor's—any exhibitor's—viewpoint. But
it shouldn't end there. The preachment, most
especially that portion thereof which holds
that there is no substitute for enthusiasm,
could prove of great value to the producers
and distributors of motion pictures. They,
after all, are the starting point of films; and,
by the same logic, they should be the starting
point of enthusiasm.
And all too often they fail to manifest
the slightest bit of fervor for what they consider
their lesser offerings, those pictures
whose budgets did not attain stratospheric
proportions, or in the final entertainment
values of which they may be disappointed.
Let the average producer and/or distributor
have a feature on which the bankroll was
shot or one in which the hit qualities axe
inescapably apparent and they go all out in
advertising the offering to the trade. At the
same time, they permit to go into release
with little or no drum-beating scores of films
which possibly need a buildup to the nation's
showmen more than do the sure-fire grossers.
Even if it be true, as the NT advertising
committee maintains, that there is "something
salable in every picture." certainly the
producers and distributors cannot expect
rank-and-file showmen to uncover and merchandise
such salability unless they themselves
display some zeal thereover.
If "enthusiasm must start at the top," let
the men who produce and distribute motion
pictures—the men at the very top—start the
necessary chain reaction by selling every picture
to the showmen who in turn will sell it
to the pubUc via the procedure recommended
in the NT report.
There was once a time when film reviewers,
pursuing their nefarious trade, needed
little more knowledge of the King's English
than to be able to read "came the dawn."
Then appeared the talkies, and the education
of aforementioned appraisers required
expanding to include such passages as "they
went thataway."
But productional modus operandi has
changed so radically that unequipped indeed
is the critic who isn't a linguist. In one week
the members of Hollywood's hungry press
were accorded the edifying experience of gandering
two films—Paramount's "Captain
Carey, U.S.A. and RKO Radio's "Stromboli"
"
—in which there was so much Italian dialog
that a translator or Italian-English dictionary
was needed.
But what reviewer has the price of a dictionary?
It's man-bites-dog stuff when a motion picture
director spends his time—and moneysinging
the praises of a publicity man. Yet
that's what happened when Arthur Lubin
bought advertising space in a local tradepaper
to call attention to what an outstanding
job is being done by David Lipton, Universal-International
blurb chieftain, in advertising,
publicizing and exploiting the Lubin-directed
"Francis,"
Anyone who has followed the campaign will
agree that it is a bite to which Lipton and
staff are rightly entitled.
SCRAMBLED-GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
(Eagle Lion Division)
Producer Frank Melford's "The Boy From
Indiana," which is located and was filmed in
.Arizona, will be premiered in Alaska, according
to EL'S imaginative space-snatcher.
Bob Goodfried.
Arthur Eddy, catch-as-catch-can blurber,
broadcasts intelligence to the effect that Dick
Wesson and Joe Bigelow are forming a company
to produce a feature called "Peanuts."
No one is better qualified to handle the
subject than Artful Arthur.
BOXOFFICE :: March 4, 1950 51