Boxoffice-July.01/1950

ECA Names
For German
WASHINGTON—The Economic Cooperation
administration this week named the 91
features for which it has recommended our
government guarantee dollars in return for
limited amounts of German marks the films
will earn by release in occupied Germany.
Contracts have already been closed to account
for $2,550,410. with the total expected
to rise by another S700.000 when all the contracts
are out.
The guaranties amount to $25,000 per film
as a portion of its production cost, with additional
funds allocated to out-of-pocket expenses
for printing, dubbing and other operations
directly chargeable to release of the
films in Germany. The.se average $4,500 for
black and white and $21,000 for color films.
NUMBER FROM DISTRIBUTORS
Contracts have gone out for 13 20th-rox
and 13 RKO titles, with the guaranties
amounting to $486,000 and $484,000 respectively,
and for ten Paramount, nine Loews
and eight Warner titles calling for $359,000,
$321,000 and $292,000 respectively. Seven Republic
titles account for $254,000. eight Universal
for $247,000. two Goldwyn for $54,925
and two Eagle Lion for $52,485.
Other contracts will cover six Columbia
offerings, four UA, three Monogram, two
from George Schaefer, two from Selznick
and one each from Motion Picture Investors
Corp., Edward Small and Franchot Tone.
The selections w'ere by a special advisory
committee, of which two members have now
resigned to take high government posts. They
were Thomas K. Finletter. now secretary of
the air force, and Dr. George Shuster. now
adviser to U.S. authorities in Bavaria. Third
member was Mrs. Louise Leonard Wright.
This committee, which screened over 100
of the films itself, relied heavily upon judgments
by the National Board of Review,
the Protestant Film commission, the Legion
of Decency, the General Federation of Women's
Clubs, the British Film Institute and
army reviewers.
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT SEEN
In a letter to ECA Chief Paul Hoffman
the group said it believes the guaranties will
prove to have a beneficial effect upon the
quality of American films to be seen In Germany.
Not all the pictures for which guaranties
were recommended were found to be "of outstanding
high quahty," the group said. Many
w'ere "only reasonably good." It was pointed
out, however, that 160 or 170 American titles
will be released in Germany this year, and
the committee felt that "this number is of
course far in excess of the total number of
outstandingly fine films produced in recent
years."
What the committee sought to do, it explained,
was "to use the financial assistance
provided for by the Congress in such a way
as to induce the motion picture companies
to irxlude among the 160 to 170 films as
large as possible a proportion of films which
will be constructive or creditable." The standard
for judgment was neither high nor low,
but "at such level that as a practical matter
it is possible for a leading company, fully
9/ Features
Guaranties
cooperating with the ECA. to make up a list
of 15 films to be released in Germany, all
or nearly all of which will meet the standards.
Here are — the titles given guaranties:
20th-rox "Come to tht.* Siabl-i," "How Green
Was My Vaiiey," "Leave Her to Heaven," "Down
to the Sea in Ships," "Black Swan," "Blood and
Sand," "Prince o( Foxes," "My Friend Flicka,"
Was "1
a Male War Bride," "Kiss of Death," "Street
With No Name," "Cry of the City," "Buffalo Bill."
RKO — "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,"
"The Woman in the V/indow," "The Fugitive," "The
Informer," "The Last Days of Pompeii." "Top Hat,"
"Th© Window," "Snow White," "Bambi," "Wuthering
Heights," "My Foolish Heart" and—with — the
notation that opinion on this was divided "Joon
of Arc."
— Paramount "The Heiress," "The Uninvited," "And
Now Tomorrow," "Monsieur Beaucoire," "The Paleface,"
"The Road to Zanzibar," "Double Indemnity,"
"California," "The Plainsman," "Reap the Wild
Wind."
MGM — "Fiesta," "Rage in Heaven," "Undercurrent,"
"The Good Earth," "A Date With Judy,"
"Bathing Beauty," "Merry Widow," "Lassie Come
Home," "A Night at the Opera,"
Warner Bros.— "Possessed," "Dark Victory," "Hasty
Heart," "Under Capricorn," "Look for the Silver
Lining,' 'inspector General," "Conflict,' Kev
Largo."
— Republic "The Red Pony," "Moonrise," Wake
of the Red Witch," "Macbeth," "Concerto," "Man
of Conquest," "Rock Island Trail."
Universal — "The Suspect," "Phantom Lady," "Dark
Mirror," "Letter From an Unknown Woman," "Ride
'Em Cowboy," "The Spoilers," "AH Baba and the
Forty Thieves," "The Invisible Man."
Columbia — "Only Angels Have Wings." "Bandit
of Sherwood Forest," "Black Arrow," "Cover Girl,"
"The Desperados," "Lost Horizon."
— United Artists "Carnegie Hall," "City Lights,"
"Stagecoach," "lohnny Holiday,"
Monogram — "It Happened on Fifth Avenue," "Sunbonnet
Sue," "Sixteen Fathoms Deep."
George J. Schaefer — "Champion," "The Men."
Goldwyn—"The Hurricane," "Adventures of Marco
Polo."
— Selznick "Rebecca,"
— "Spellbound."
Eagle Lion "He Walked by Night," "Northwest
Stampede."
River."
MPIC—"Fed
Edward Small — "Man in the Iron Mask."
Franchot Tone — "Man on the Eiffel Tower."
ADDITIONAL FILM RELEASES
Below is a list of additional titles to be released
in Germany. These films are presumed
to have been submitted to ECA for
guaranty consideration and turned down by
the committee for reasons not specified:
— 20Jh-Fox "That Lady in Ermine," "Down Argentine
Way."
RKO — "Tarzan and the Amazons," "Sinbad the
Sailor."
Paramount—"For Whom the Bell Tolls," "The Big
Clock," "Whispering Smith," "Sign of the Cross"
and "The Accused."
MGM — "Great Ziegfeld," "Conquest." "Green
Dolphin Street," "Honky Tonk," "Three Musketeers,"
"Torzan's New York Adventure," "Tarzan Finds a
Son."
Warner Bros. — "Saratoga Trunk," "San Antonio,"
"Mildred Pierce," "Manpower," "Dodge City,"
"Captain Blood," "Colorado Territory."
Universal — "Hit the Ice," "Black Angel," "Scarlet
Street," "This Love of Ours," "Red Canyon," "Family
Honeymoon," "Song of Scheherazade."
Republic — "Plainsman and the Lady," "Fighting
Kentuckian," "V/yoming," "Northwest Outpost,'
"Flame of the Barbary Coast," "Dakota," "In Old
Sacramento." "War of the Wildcats" ("In Old
Oklahoma").
Columbia—' Return of Monte Cristo," "Fuller Brush
Man," "Gilda," "Lady From Shanghai," "1001
Nights," "TVie Lost Tribe," "Tell It to the Judge."
"Walk a Crooked Mile," "Song of India."
United Artists— (Six of the following) "Africa
Screams," "Macomber Affair," "Sundown," "We
Only Live Once," "Sensations of 1945/' "Too Late
for Tears," "Sleep, Mv Love," "Intrigue," "Big
Wheel," "Blood on the Sun."
Monoaram — "Suspense." "Stampe