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^L ^//._^,mencun 3,auoriteS lU of 1951
JUNE
ALLYSON and Bing
Crosby, in that order, have won
top honors for the second year
among America's favorite film stars.
Securing her lead over the masculine
contingent by v/inning twice in
a row, the little actress, whose name
first appeared in the voting lists in
1943, establishes herself as no flashin-the-pan,
but as an example of the
steady pull to popularity by means
of a long string of solid successes at
the boxoffice. She proves, again,
that the American movie fan is not
a fickle
individual who changes his
loyalties from year to year. Many
things go into the making of a
popular favorite. These include years
of well-ployed roles in good pictures,
a careful handling of the build-up
through publicity plus, of course, the
essential quality of personal magnetism.
Miss Allyson seems to have
demonstrated her ability to grasp
and hold the affections of motion
picture fans.
Jane Wyman's rise to third place
in the combined list is another
example of the long years an actress
may wait to win the favor of the fans.
Five years ago, despite some ten
years and 35 pictures before the
camera, she did not place among
runnersup in the poll, although she
had a substantial number of hits behind
her. Yet in the last three years
she has reached the top rungs of
the popularity ladder.
Nosing out favorites of other years
on the combined list, three feminine
stars appear for the first time. Doris
Day, Susan Hayward and Jeanne
Grain displace Claudette Colbert,
Loretta Young and Olivia de Havilland.
Of last year's stars Clark
Gable, Bob Hope and Spencer Tracy
have slipped out, but John Wayne
makes it for the first time. Crosby,
Gregory Peck, Gary Grant and Gary
Cooper of the old guard still reign,
apparently indestructible in popularity.
This year, as in all the years it has
been in existence, the poll brings
home the fact that stardom, in itself,
THE WINNERS
1. June Allyson
2. Bing Crosby
3. Jane Wyman
4. Esther Williams
5. Gregory Peck
6. Gary Grant
7. Gary Cooper
8. Doris Day
9. Susan Hayward
10. Betty Grable
11. leanne Grain
12. John Wayne
does not necessarily bring popularity.
Nor will the movie fans vote into
popularity a personality on the basis
of a single smash hit. If this were
true, then, stars such as Mario Lanza,
with his performance in "The Great
Caruso," Jose Ferrer in "Cyrano de
Bergerac" and Judy Holliday of
"Born Yesterday" would grace the
winner lists.
Progressing to the list of male winners
the three newcomers are noteworthy.
Gene Kelly and Montgomery
Clift moved into this category from
the male runnersup of last year. Both
of these stars, hovering close, received
boosts in great pictures which
were of inestimable value in furthering
their careers. In the case of
Kelly, the almost revolutionary "An
American in Paris" put his name on
the lips of countless Americans.
With Clift, it was "A Place in the
Sun," in which his performance was
outstanding.
The entire industry has watched
with keen interest the rise in the past
two years of Dean Martin and Jerry
Lewis. Grosses began to climb with
"At War With the Army" and these
two have become unquestionably
the top favorite comedy team of the
year. Whether this will remain a
lasting popularity or burn itself out
remains to be seen. But their teenage
following seems to be second to
none in a field where a duo of this
magnitude is a very rare occurrence.
Among the list of feminine stars,
Ava Gardner and Jane Powell receive
this accolade for the first time,
rising from the ranks of runnersup
in 1350.
This year's poll was broken down
to determine whether the men who
manage the country's motion picture
theatres feel the same way about the
stars as do their patrons. It was
found that these two groups are in
definite disagreement. Exhibitors,
who rate the value of a star on boxoffice
performance almost exclusively,
agree only in the instance of June
Allyson as the top star of 1951.
Among men stars, they consider
John Wayne the biggest draw, and
place only four other men in the top
12—Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby and
the Abbott and Costello team. Aside
from these, they chose Esther Williams,
Doris Day, Betty Grable, Mar
jorie Main, Jeanne Grain, Jane Powol!
and Susan Hayward, in the order
named. The fact that John Wayne
this year is 12th on the list of combined
winners in the full poll and
fifth among men stars would seem
to indicate that, after the long pull
through the years, the fans are tending
to catch up with the exhibitors'
estimate of this star.
Exhibitors also evaluate highly
Randolph Scott, Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis, Spencer Tracy, Van
Johnson, Clark Gable and James
Stewart among the men and Jane
Wyman, Elizabeth Taylor, Claudette
Colbert and Loretta Young among
the women.
In an effort to get a true representative crosssection
of the stars the fans favor, questionnaires
are sent to the following individuals and groups:
1. A comprehensive list of newspaper motion
picture editors.
2. Independent theatre owners not .•subject to
producer-affiUalion pressure or influences.
3. National Screen Council Members, who each
month select the outstanding picture thai is suitable
for family entertainment, which then receives
the BOXOFFICE Blue Ribbon Award. The Council
is composed of newspaper and magazine motion
picture editors, radio film commentators and representatives
of better films councils, civic and
.educational organizations.
BOXOFFICE 19