r

. . For
Here's Reason for Refurn to
After Novelty of TV Wears Off!
.
WACO—G>'nt«r Quill, amusements editor
of the Tribune-Herald here. Fum.s up an attitude
which many people are beclnnlnK to
feel toward televl.slon. and which theatremen
hope will become the dominant public reaction,
with the.se words. "For screen entertainment,
make mine movies."
Under a two-column head. "Look. Ma. No
Commercials Screen Treats. Make
Mine Movies." Quill wrote in a recent Sunday
issue:
• • •
You leave your chair to cross the room and
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adjust the controls or change channels.
Tlio doorbell rings—someone Is wanting
someone at the .same hou.se number on another
.street.
A plane overhead muffles the sound and
cau.ses the picture to wave like Old Glory.
The telephone rings Wrong number? What
con.solation is that?
The picture goes haywire The crazy mirror
in the carnival's Fun Hou.sc can do it better.
"We have temporarily lost the audio portion
of the program. Please stand by"—and
watch the Jaws flap .soundlessly. This never
happcn.s during the commercial.
Tlie local announcer cuts in to w-arn of a
tornado in southwestern Arkansas.
Volume too high for dad. too low for lad.
Mother wants Playhouse 90 at 8:30. Junior
wants Tennessee Ernie at 8:30. Dad wants
quiet, especially at 8:30.
Honestly, now isn't that television in your
home?
Sure. I'm among the millions grateful for
television. For topical broadcasts, ball games
or a President addressing Congress, it's tops.
But for screen entertainment, make mine
movies.
There, at least. I sit in uninterrupted comfort
and watch pictures that have dimension.
The best my home set can offer is 21 inches,
a size that robs the television camera of its
mobility, restricts Its use to closeups or medium
shots. Or. I .should say. its effective use,
for the boys will still try the long shot and
the pan shot, with disastrous visual results.
And the commercials: insipid, regurgitating!
Not to say repetitive, .so that even the
few clever ones lose their punch after a few
rounds. And. what is worse, thrown at you
every few minute.s with arrogant disregard of
story continuity or mood.
And, nowadays, if you don't like westerns or
Mickey Mouse Club, you might as well let the
tube rest. There are exceptions, to be sure,
and some of them notable. But don't cite
Shakespeare. I .saw the mo.st recent one,
"Twelfth Night "—reduced to an hour and a
half (all the spon.sor would go for, which is
:iiimittedly considerable) and to absurdity.
And there are admitted areas of distressing
similarity: sponsor control and code control
or. Just as bad. the fast-buck approach;
reor tor $3
~ i rcarj tor J7
n Rtmittonc* EnclOMd Send Invoico
..JEONE.
STATE
POSITION
eoxoffici THE NATIONAL FILM WEEKLY 52 issues a year
823 Von B'unI Bl.d . Koniai City 24, Mo
Stories with stock characters, formula plots,
easy cinematic situations and the predictable
ingredients of any vast entertainment factory
I
but multiplied, on television, every halt
houri; and reduction of serious script writers
to copy boys—by the advertising agency, director,
producer and actor in television and
by the .studio office or the New York office
in
films.
But we're not likely to .see things like
"Around the World in 80 Days," "War and
Peace,"" ""Ten Commandments" and "Giant,"
to mention only a very few, on television.
And. come to think of it, perish forbid! To
each his own.
The recent industry .slogan, "Get More Out
of Life—Go Out to a Movie." is a lot more
than Just a .showman's pitch.
WOMPI Holiday Party
For 400 Youngsters
NEW ORLEA.N.s Approximately 400
youngsters from institutions in this area were
entertained by the Women of the Motion
Picture Industry at the local chapter's annual
Christmas party held in Rene Brunet"s
Famous Theatre, according to a belated report
from the WOMPI publicity chairman.
James, husband of Loraine Cass. WOMPI
service chairman, acted as Santa Claus and
distributed beautiful dolls, costumed by
WOMPIs and members of the Nichols chapter
of the Future Business Leaders of
America, which WOMPI is spon.soring here,
to the girls, and oodles of appropriate toys
to the boys. There were a movie feature,
cartoons and a Disneyland U.S..\. supplied by
Floyd Harvey Jr. of Buena Vista and Mrs.
Harold F. Cohen of Cohen Enterprises. All
sorts of goodies were available for the youngsters.
TTie city of New Orleans donated the tree,
the Public Seri'ice Co. supplied traasportation.
Paramount Gulf Theatres and Richards
Center donated candy. Danny Brandon of
Transway gave popcorn and supplies and.
of cour.^e. Rene Brunet turned over his theatre
and was a grand guy all around in
looking after the comfort of the youngsters.
Named to WOMPI committee chairmanships
were Mrs. Imelda Geissinger. Richards
Center, membership; Mrs. Gene Barnette.
Delta Theatres, finance. Mrs. Anna
Oliphint. Richards Center, co-chairman, is
the national treasurer, and Miss Ruth Toubman.
Southeastern Tlieatre Equipment, and
Jane Moriarity, Richard Center, bulletin
committee.
Trimester awards were presented to students
at the Bethlehem Home and Sacred
Heart Orphanage—Laura Hamann. 13. and
Rose Ander.son. 10. The trimester awards is
the newest project WOMPI instituted .several
months ago. They are awarded to children of
the two selected institutions who achieve the
highest scholastic ratings during the trimester.
The awards are articles of wearing
apparel.
On January 25. several members will be
stationed in each of the in-town theatres to
take up collections for the March of Dimes.
Edward Selzer to Retire
As WB Cartoon Chief
m)I,LYU\K)l) hdi^.tul Sd.ui. head of
Warner Bros. cart