Boxoffice-12.1953

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'Moon Is Blue' Wins
In Maryland Court
BALTIMORE—The Maryland State Board
of Motion Picture Censors was "arbitrary
and capricious" in refusing to permit exliibltion
of "The Moon Is Blue" in the state, according
to a ruling handed down Tuesday (8i
by Judge Herman M. Moser in Baltimore
city court. Reversal of the decision the of
censors clears the way for the showing of
the picture throughout the state.
"The court finds as a fact," Judge Moser
said, "that 'The Moon Is Blue' is neither
obscene, indecent, immoral nor tending to
corrupt morals, as those words are used in
the Maryland act, and that, therefore, the
action of the boai-d in banning this film was
arbitrary and capricious."
Judge Moser said that under recent U.S.
Supreme Court decisions the state censorship
board had the right to ban only what is
"obscene and indecent," and that the board
had no "fixed standards" enabling it to interpret
what is "indecent, immoral and obscene."
He said furthermore that either the
board should be abolished or the state should
enact a statute which could be "constitutionally
enforced," and that if the board
were abolished, its functions could be performed
by existing prosecuting officials.
Judge Moser also was critical of the production
code administration of the industry which
had denied the film its approval.
"Even though it might well be urged," he
said, "that the production code administration
was wrong in banning the film, as has
been done by some film magazines, the more
essential point is that those clauses in the
code cited against 'The Moon Is Blue' are not
such standards as may constitutionally be
applied by governmental censors.
"It is clear that the standard of the code
Would be absurd if literally enforced and it is
fatally vague as a legal standard if, as must
be the case, it is implicit that expansions and
limitations must be supplied by the censor."
The judge found that the film's reception
"has been and is favorable," and that it had
resulted in "no record of any harmful or
deleterious effect." He called the film light
comedy, "telling a tale of wide-eyed, brash,
puppy-like innocence, routing or converting
to its side forces of evil it encounters." He
said there were "no illicit, amorous adventures
in this film," and that "in fact, such
conduct is unintended and, instead, the story
is one of virtue triumphant."
R. Dorsey Watkins of the law firm of Piper
and Marbury represented United Artists, distributor,
and Otto Preminger, producer, of
the film. He has applied to the censors for
their seal of approval.
Sydney R. Traub, board chairman, indicated
the decision would be taken to the
Court of Appeals.
Loew's to Pay Dividend
NEW YORK—Directors of Loew's, Inc.,
have declared a dividend of 20 cents per share
on the common stock, payable December 24 to
stockholders of record December 11.
RKO Releasing 'Desperate Men'
HOLLYWOOD — Release through RKO
Radio has been secured for "Desperate Men,"
a western being produced by Benedict Bogeaus,
with John Payne in the starring spot.
Stanley Kramer Returning
To Distribution by UA
HOLLYWOOD—As was generally expected,
future product from Stanley Kramer, independent
producer, will be released exclusively
by United Artists, which organization distributed
his output when he initially started
fabricating motion pictures.
Ki-amer made his plans known at a press
conference on Monday (7), shortly after he
had announced termination of his connection
with Columbia. Such termination was disclosed
a week earlier with the deUvery of "The
Wild One" and "The Caine Mutiny," the last
of 11 pictures made for Columbia, to that
company.
Incorporation papers have been filed in
Sacramento, Calif., for the Stanley Kramer
Pictures Corp., of which Kramer is president,
with Samuel Zagon as vice-president, Anne
Kramer as secretary and Earl Kramer a^
treasurer. The Stanley Kramer Co., which
comprised Kramer, George Glass and Sam
Marx, will remain in existence during the
distribution and playdate life of "The Wild
One" and "The Caine Mutiny," but will engage
in no further production.
Under the new setup, UA will participate in
the financing of Kramer's celluloid output,
which the filmmaker said would be manufactured
at the rate of one and a half pictures
annually—three during the first two
years. No announcement was made as to
what the first property will be. Neither of
his former partners, Glass or Katz, are associated
with Kramer in the new enterprise.
Kramer stressed that budgets and filming
techniques will be tailored to the subject
matter on each individual pictui-e, and that
he will employ not only top boxoffice casts
Maas Aids Reorganization
Of USIA Film Division
NEW YORK—Irving Maas, Motion Picture
Export Ass'n authority on far eastern affairs,
has taken on additional duties as a consultant
to the U.S. Information Agency. He left for
Washington during the week to aid in reorganizing
the motion picture division of the
agency. He will probably remain there until
the end of the year, and then leave for his
planned visit to far eastern countries as
MPEA representative. J. Cheever Cowdin recently
resigned as director of the division.
Theodore Streibert is director of the agency.
UA Books Guinness Film
In Regular Theatres
NEW YORK—United Artists will release
"The Captain's Paradise," the Alec Guinness
STANLEY KRAMER
but also wide-screen and/or 3-D and color
wherever indicated.
"My experiences in the past few years."
Kramer declared, "have taught me that I am
happier when making one picture at a time,
following it through from start to finish. An
independent producer's job doesn't end when
he delivers the negative to the sales department.
Only then does it begin, because he is
very much a part of the selling, advertising
and exploitation campaign."
Kramer thus indicated he will return to
the policy which he has long regarded as
being highly effective—that of the producer
going out on the road to assist in the selling
and exploitation of his pictures as they go
into release.
house, opened in Cleveland at the Stillman
Theatre, general audience situation, December
5, and is also booked at the Warner.
Memphis. December 9 and the Esquire. Denver,
December 9, and the United Artists.
San Francisco, December 23.
Disney Signs Margolies
For 'Desert' Campaigns
NEW YORK— Walt Disney Productions has
retained Albert Margolies & Co. to handle
the campaign on "The Living Desert" in
Washington. Philadelphia. Boston. Chicago.
Cleveland and Miami. The company had handled
the opening in New York. Margolies left
for Chicago during the week. The picture
will open there at the Loop Theatre Christmas.
MGM CinemaScope Dates
NEW YORK—MGM has scheduled two
more C/iristmas day openings for its first
Cinemascope production, "Knights of the
Round Table." added to four previously set
production, in commercial houses thi-oughout
the U.S., instead of confining its showings
in art houses, according to William J. Heineman,
vice-president in charge of distribution.
Guinness' earlier pictures were big
successes in art houses only, including "The
Man in the White Suit," "The Lavender HUl
Mob" and "The Promoter." all of them distributed
by Universal-International.
to New Year's day. Tlie new openings will
"The Captain's Paradise," now in its tenth be at Loew's State, Cleveland, and the Adams,
week at the Paris Theatre, New York art Detroit.
in Kansas City. St. Louis. Pittsburgh and
San Francisco, the last-named being set back
^i BOXOFFICE December 12, 1953