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IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  5,  1946  No.  1 


TESTIMONY  AT  TRIAL  HITS  BACK 
AT  MAJOR  COMPANIES 

In  the  November  10,  194?  issue  of  this  paper, 
under  the  heading,  "Has  the  Independent  Producer 
an  Open  Market?"  there  was  discussed  the  question 
of  whether  or  not  the  major  companies'  alleged 
monopolization  of  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of 
motion  pictures  had  a  restrictive  control  on  the  pro- 
duction  activities  of  an  independent  producer. 

This  paper  pointed  out  that,  from  what  had  been 
said  in  the  court  room  at  the  trial  of  the  New  York 
anti-trust  suit,  one  was  left  with  the  impression  that 
the  independent  producers  were  not  too  badly  off 
under  the  present  set-up  of  distribution  and  exhibi- 
tion. Such  an  impression,  we  stated,  was  at  variance 
with  the  views  expressed  privately  by  several  inde- 
pendent producers,  and  we  urged,  therefore,  that 
these  views  should  be  expressed  openly  if  independent 
production  were  to  forge  ahead  in  this  business. 

Using  testimony  that  major  company  representa- 
tives had  given  to  the  court  at  the  anti-trust  trial  in 
New  York  City,  the  Society  of  Independent  Motion 
Picture  Producers  has  given  open  expression  to  its 
members'  views  to  prove  that  a  monopoly  in  the 
exhibition  field  does  exist,  thus  denying  to  the  inde- 
pendent producer  an  opportunity  to  compete  with 
the  major  companies  in  a  free  and  open  market. 

In  a  brief  filed  by  the  Society  with  the  Court's 
permission  as  a  "friend  of  the  court,"  it  is  stated :  "It 
is  not  the  purpose  of  this  brief  to  present  matters 
of  law  ...  or  to  engage  in  any  lengthy  discussion  .  .  . 
of  the  evidence  presented  to  the  Court.  It  is  our  pur- 
pose, rather,  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  Court  to 
some  phases  of  the  evidence  which  may  perhaps  be 
entirely  overlooked  by  counsel  representing  the  Gov- 
ernment and  the  defendants  but  which  we  believe  to 
be  of  vital  importance  in  a  correct  determination 
of  the  questions  involved.  ..." 

The  brief  then  calls  attention  to  part  of  the  testi- 
mony given  by  Austin  C.  Keough,  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  Paramount,  to  prove  the  case  of 
the  independent  producer: 

"The  independent  producer  usually  is  the  best  and 
most  talented  man,  whether  he  be  a  producer  or  a 
director  or  sometimes  a  writer,  or  sometimes  a  star, 
man  or  woman,  and  for  one  reason  or  another,  good 
to  themselves,  they  go  into  independent  production 
and  nobody  has  any  interest  in  their  venture  except 
as  they  perhaps  provide  financing  for  them." 

The  brief  then  explains  to  the  court  that  the  inde- 
pendent producer  must  make  an  outstanding  picture 
in  competition  with  the  average  picture  made  by  any 
one  of  the  "big  five";  otherwise  his  picture  hasn't  a 


chance  because  of  the  control  of  the  choice  theatres 
by  the  "big  five."  "...  the  evidence  fairly  shows 
that  the  motion  pictures  produced  by  the  producing 
organizations  of  the  'big  five'  are  given  preference 
in  playing  time,  length  of  engagements  and  terms 
over  the  pictures  produced  by  independent  producers. 
Indeed,  a  fair  summary  of  the  testimony  of  certain  of 
the  witnesses  for  the  defendants  shows  that  the  dis- 
tributor-exhibitor defendants  claim  the  actual  neces- 
sity of  owning  and  operating  theatres  for  the  very 
reason  that  they  cannot  be  assured  of  making  a  profit 
on  their  production  activities  without  this  ownership 
or  control  of  theatres  in  which  their  picture  can  be 
exhibited.  ..." 

Documentary  evidence  introduced  by  the  Govern- 
ment shows,  the  brief  states,  that,  by  the  use  of  theatre 
pooling  agreements,  franchises,  cross-licensing  and 
profit  participations,  the  "big  five"  are  now  engaged 
in  monopolistic  practices  within  the  purview  of  the 
Sherman  Act.  "...  It  is  no  answer  for  these  defend- 
ants to  say  that  when  they  initially  entered  the  exhi- 
bition field  by  the  purchase  of  theatres  that  step  was 
taken  as  an  absolute  business  necessity.  It  is  the  history 
of  practically  all  combinations  in  restraint  of  trade 
that  the  business  commenced  as  an  individual  under- 
taking, in  open  and  free  and  fair  competition,  became 
an  illegal  combination  in  restraint  of  trade  by  growth 
and  by  the  gaining  of  power  attendant  upon  that 
growth  to  enormous  proportions.  ..." 

The  brief  points  out  the  fact  that  the  "big  five" 
owns  practically  all  the  first-run  theatres  in  all  the 
large  cities.  From  these  comes  the  biggest  proportion 
of  the  box-office  receipts,  and  the  independent  pro- 
ducer has  no  hope  of  ever  getting  his  pictures  shown 
in  them  in  open  competition,  because  the  "big  five" 
have  a  strangle  hold  on  the  major  portion  of  the  box- 
office  receipts,  and  the  independent  producer  is  dis- 
criminated against  by  the  imposition  of  unfavorable 
terms  and  by  being  denied  choice  play-dates  and 
extended  runs. 

Although  the  government,  as  the  plaintiff,  did  not 
accuse  the  "big  five"  of  maintaining  a  monopoly  in 
production,  the  brief  of  the  independent  producers 
asks:  of  what  advantage  is  the  fact  that  there  is  free 
and  open  competition  in  the  production  field  when 
the  defendants  control  the  main  exhibition  outlets? 
"From  what  source,"  queries  the  brief,  "is  an  inde- 
pendent producer  able  to  make  his  outstanding  con- 
tribution to  the  industry  if  he  is  to  find  a  two  million 
dollar  motion  picture  on  his  hands  with  no  fair  oppor- 
tunity of  having  it  exhibited  in  the  main  centers  of 
population  in  the  United  States  upon  terms  and  con- 
ditions fairly  equal  to  those  of  major  producers  with 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


2 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  5,  1946 


"The  Seventh  Veil"  with  Ann  Todd 
and  James  Mason 

(Universal,  no  release  date  set:  time,  92  min.) 

A  very  good  psychological  drama.  It  is  an  English- 
made  production,  with  an  all-English  cast,  and  it  offers 
adult  audiences  a  real  treat,  for  a  number  of  reasons: 
It  has  an  intelligent,  intriguing  story;  expert  direction 
and  fine  performances  by  the  players;  human  interest; 
suspense  and  excitement;  and  unusually  good  sym- 
phonic music,  which  is  woven  into  the  story  without 
interfering  with  the  action.  Although  it  is  the  type 
of  picture  that  will  have  a  particular  appeal  for  class 
audiences,  it  will  undoubtedly  give  satisfaction  also 
to  others  because  of  its  emotional  appeal.  Since  the 
players  are  not  known  in  this  country,  the  picture 
will  require  extensive  exploitation: — 

Rescued  from  the  Thames  after  an  attempted  sui- 
cide, Ann  Todd  maintains  an  obstinate  silence  over 
the  cause  of  her  acute  depression.  Herbert  Lorn,  a 
psychiatrist,  places  Ann  under  narco- hypnosis  to 
learn  the  reason  for  her  mental  unrest.  In  a  trance, 
she  relates  that,  as  a  schoolgirl  of  fourteen,  her  teacher 
had  caned  her  hands  on  the  eve  of  a  musical  examina- 
tion, causing  her  to  fail  Heart-broken,  and  orphaned 
by  the  death  of  her  father,  she  had  gone  to  live  with 
James  Mason,  a  distant  cousin,  who  was  a  strange, 
brooding  figure,  openly  resentful  of  women.  Mason,  at 
first  cold  to  her,  had  discovered  her  gift  for  music, 
and  had  sent  her  to  the  Royal  Academy  of  Music  to 
study.  There  she  met  and  fell  in  love  with  Hugh  Mc- 
Dermott,  a  Canadian  bandleader,  but  Mason,  dis- 
approving, had  put  an  end  to  the  romance  by  taking 
her  to  Paris  to  continue  her  studies.  After  years  of 
intensive  training,  during  which  Mason  dominated 
her  life,  Ann  had  become  a  renowned  classical  pianist. 
She  had  tried  to  renew  her  romance  with  McDermott, 
only  to  learn  that  he  had  married.  Shortly  afterwards, 
she  had  fallen  in  love  with  Albert  Levien,  an  artist,  and 
over  the  objections  of  Mason,  had  tried  to  elope  with 
him.  Their  car,  however,  had  crashed,  causing  injuries 
to  her  hands.  Believing  that  she  would  never  be  able 
to  play  again,  she  had  become  depressed.  The  psychia- 
trist, having  unveiled  her  mind,  manages  to  cure  her 
fixation,  as  well  as  to  unite  her  with  the  man  she  really 
loved — Mason. 

Muriel  and  Sydney  Box  wrote  the  original  story 
and  screen  play,  Mr.  Box  produced  it,  and  Compton 
Bennett  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"I  Ring  Doorbells"  with  Anne  Gwynne 
and  Robert  Shayne 

(PRC,  Feb.  25;  time,  65  min.) 

Based  on  Russell  Birdwell's  book,  of  the  same  title, 
this  emerges  as  a  rather  ordinary  program  newspaper 
melodrama,  with  comedy,  and  with  a  murder  mystery 
thrown  in  for  good  measure;  it  should  serve  its  pur- 
pose as  the  lower-half  of  a  double-bill  in  secondary 
houses.  There  is  so  little  to  the  story  that  it  barely 
holds  one's  interest.  Moreover,  it  is  too  talky.  A  good 
part  of  the  action  is  in  a  comedy  vein,  but  it  fails  to 
liven  up  the  action.  Still  another  fault  is  the  fart  that 
the  spectator  is  never  held  in  suspense,  for  the  outcome 
is  obvious.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  engaging  per- 
formances by  the  players  save  it  from  complete  medio- 
crity: — 


Pierre  Watkin,  a  newspaper  publisher,  confides  to 
Michael  Shayne,  his  ace  reporter,  that  he  disapproved 
of  Jan  Wiley,  with  whom  his  son  was  in  love,  because 
he  suspected  her  of  being  a  "gold-digger."  He  assigns 
Shayne  to  obtain  proof  against  her.  Shayne  strikes  up 
a  friendship  with  Dons  Caron,  Jan's  French  maid, 
and,  while  he  makes  love  to  her,  Roscoe  Karns,  the 
paper's  photographer,  installs  a  hidden  camera  in 
Jan's  apartment.  Shayne  finds  himself  obliged  to  keep 
the  maid  entertained  evenings,  thereby  getting  his 
own  romance  with  Anne  Gwynne,  a  free  lance  jour- 
nalist, in  a  tangle.  One  evening  Anne  sees  them  to- 
gether in  a  night-club  and  follows  the  maid  home, 
where  she  discovers  Jan  murdered.  Shayne  and  Karns 
arrive  shortly  afterwards,  and  all  are  taken  to  police 
headquarters  as  suspects.  They  are  released,  however, 
when  John  Eldredge,  the  paper's  drama  critic,  con- 
fesses that  Jan  was  his  former  girl-friend,  and  that, 
in  a  fit  of  uncontrollable  jealousy  over  her  engagement 
to  the  publisher's  son,  he  had  visited  her  apartment 
and  struck  her.  He,  too,  is  released,  however,  when 
laboratory  tests  disclose  that  Jan  had  died,  not  from 
a  blow  but  from  poison.  Shayne,  suspecting  trickery 
in  Eldredge 's  confession,  has  Karns  develop  the  film 
in  the  hidden  camera,  enabling  him  to  prove  that 
Eldredge  dropped  poison  in  Jan's  drinking  glass.  The 
murder  solved,  Ann  forgives  Shayne,  while  Karns 
loses  no  time  getting  acquainted  with  the  maid. 

Dick  Irving  Hyland  wrote  the  screen  play,  Martin 
Mooney  and  Leon  Fromkess  produced  it  and  Frank 
Strayer  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Harry  Tyler, 
Harry  Shannon  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Face  of  Marble" 
with  John  Carradine  and  Claudia  Drake 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 

If  your  patrons  enjoy  fantastic  horror  pictures, 
dealing  with  voodooism,  "undead"  people,  and  scien- 
tists who  experiment  in  things  supernatural,  this  melo- 
drama should  give  fair  satisfaction  as  a  supporting 
feature.  Others  will  be  either  amused  or  bored  by  the 
far-fetched  happenings,  for  the  story  offers  little  that 
has  not  been  done  many  times.  Moreover,  it  does  not 
hold  one's  interest  because  it  is  wholly  unconvincing, 
and  could  appeal  only  to  morbid  natures.  The  situa- 
tions that  show  the  scientists  experimenting  with  dead 
bodies  are  sickening,  particularly  when  the  eyes  open 
suddenly.  Despite  the  routine  story  and  treatment, 
it  is  eerie  enough  for  the  followers  of  this  type  of 
entertainment,  and  the  different  doings  should  pro- 
vide them  with  several  thrills:— 

John  Carradine,  a  scientist,  and  Robert  Shayne,  his 
young  assistant,  use  a  drowned  sailor  in  an  experiment 
to  restore  life.  The  experiment  succeeds,  but  the  sailor, 
crazed,  and  with  his  face  as  rigid  as  marble,  electro- 
cutes himself  in  the  machinery.  Carradine's  Haitian 
housekeeper  (Rosa  Rey),  a  believer  in  voodooism, 
who  was  devoted  to  Claudia  Drake,  Carradine's 
youthful  wife,  felt  that  her  mistress  was  in  love  with 
the  young  assistant.  To  induce  Shayne  to  reciprocate 
Claudia's  affection,  the  housekeeper  resorts  to  voo- 
dooism. Meanwhile  the  police,  having  found  the  body 
of  the  electrocuted  sailor  on  a  beach  nearby,  become 
suspicious  of  Carradine's  experiments,  causing  Shayne 
to  become  upset.  Carradine,  to  ease  the  young  man's 


January  5, 1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


3 


mind,  sends  for  Maris  Wrixon,  his  fiancee.  When 
Maris  arrives,  the  housekeeper  resents  her  presence  in 
the  belief  that  she  would  interfere  with  her  mistress' 
attempts  to  win  Shayne's  love.  She  devises  a  plan  to 
kill  Maris  by  suffocation,  but  murders  Claudia  by 
mistake.  Carradine  and  Shayne  restore  Claudia  to 
life  but,  deranged  and  under  the  influence  of  the 
housekeeper,  she  kills  her  husband.  By  the  time  the 
police  arrive,  the  housekeeper  commits  suicide,  and 
the  "undead"  Claudia  walks  into  the  ocean,  drawing 
herself. 

Michel  Jacoby  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jeffrey  Ber- 
nard produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Willie  Best,  Thomas  E.  Jackson  and 
others. 

Too  horrifying  for  children. 


"Up  Goes  Maisie"  with  Ann  Sothern 
and  George  Murphy 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  89  min.) 

One  of  the  best  in  the  "Maisie"  series  of  program 
comedies.  Ann  Sothern,  as  "Maisie,"  again  predom' 
inates,  and  despite  a  few  dull  lapses  it  is  good  mass 
entertainment,  able  to  keep  an  audience  amused 
throughout.  This  time  "Maisie"  finds  romance  and 
adventure  when  she  secures  employment  as  secretary 
to  George  Murphy,  handsome  young  inventor  of  a 
helicopter  with  automatic  controls.  The  closing  scenes 
in  particular  are  both  hilarious  and  exciting;  they  show 
"Maisie"  recovering  the  helicopter  from  a  gang  of 
thieves  and  piloting  it  through  the  downtown  section 
of  a  large  city,  narrowly  missing  a  crack-up  with 
numerous  tall  office  buildings.  It  is  a  new  twist  on 
"cliff -hanging"  sequences,  and  should  draw  gales  of 
laughter  from  your  patrons: — 

Shortly  after  Ann  becomes  his  secretary,  Murphy 
learns  that  she  was  accustomed  to  working  around 
planes  because  of  her  experience  in  a  defense  plant. 
He  swears  her  to  secrecy  and  takes  her  to  his  small 
plant,  where  he  and  his  buddies  (Murray  Alper, 
Lewis  Howard,  and  Horace  McNally)  were  building 
the  helicopter.  Ann  takes  a  hand  in  its  construction, 
and  learns  that  Paul  Harvey  was  financing  the  project 
in  return  for  a  share  of  the  profits.  Unknown  to  the 
others,  McNally  was  working  with  Harvey  and  his 
daughter  (Hillary  Brooke)  in  a  scheme  to  steal  the 
invention  from  Murphy.  The  plane  is  built  in  four 
weeks,  during  which  time  Ann  and  Murphy  fall  in 
love.  While  Murphy  goes  to  Seattle  to  arrange  for 
Ray  Collins,  an  industrialist,  to  come  to  Los  Angeles 
to  see  the  helicopter  in  action,  Hillary  tricks  Ann  into 
disgracing  herself  at  a  party.  Ann  runs  away  lest 
Murphy's  career  be  endangered  by  her  behaviour. 
Meanwhile  McNally,  who  had  secretly  built  a  dupli- 
cate of  the  helicopter  for  Harvey,  exchanges  it  with 
the  original  and  sets  fire  to  Murphy's  plant.  Ann, 
learning  of  the  fire,  rushes  to  the  plant  only  to  find 
the  helicopter  in  ruins.  Having  found  reason  to  suspect 
McNally,  Ann  follows  him  to  Harvey's  warehouse, 
where  she  discovers  the  original  helicopter.  While 
Alper  and  Howard  fight  off  Harvey's  henchmen,  Ann 
takes  off  in  the  helicopter  and  succeeds  in  landing  it 
at  the  Rose  Bowl,  where  the  industrialist,  waiting 
with  Murphy  to  see  it  demonstrated,  is  so  impressed 
with  its  maneuverability  that  he  agrees  to  back  it. 


Thelma  Robinson  wrote  the  story  and  screen  play, 
George  Haight  produced  it,  and  Harry  Beaumont 
directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Harvey  Girls"  with  Judy  Garland 
and  John  Hodiak 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  101  min.) 

Good  entertainment.  It  is  an  elaborately  staged 
musical,  photographed  in  Technicolor,  with  all  the 
elements  that  endow  it  with  mass  appeal.  Unlike  the 
general  run  of  musicals,  which  are  of  the  backstage 
variety,  this  one  has  a  Western  setting  in  the  1890's, 
and  it  revolves  around  a  troupe  of  Eastern  waitresses 
who  help  to  establish  a  Fred  Harvey  restaurant  in  a 
New  Mexico  frontier  town.  The  story  itself  follows 
a  familiar  pattern,  but  it  holds  one's  interest  through- 
out because  of  the  engaging  performances,  the  comedy, 
and  the  delightful  musical  sequences.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  music  and  dancing  provide  the  film  with  its 
most  charming  moments.  Best  known  of  the  tunes  is 
the  popular  "On  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe." 
Judy  Garland,  as  one  of  the  waitresses,  and  John 
Hodiak,  as  a  tough  but  square-shooting  gambling 
house  proprietor,  make  an  effective  romantic  team. 
Ray  Bolger's  dancing,  Virginia  O'Brien's  singing,  and 
Marjone  Main's  comedy  antics  are  not  the  least  of  the 
picture's  assets.  Towards  the  finish  there  is  a  rousing 
fight  between  Hodiak  and  the  villains  in  a  burning 
building: — 

En  route  to  Sandrock  to  marry  a  cowboy  whom  she 
had  never  met  (their  courtship  was  by  correspond- 
ence), Judy  Garland  meets  on  the  train  a  group  of 
waitresses  who  were  going  to  Sandrock  to  open  a 
new  Harvey  restaurant.  Arriving  in  the  town,  Judy 
learns  that  the  love  letters  sent  her  were  a  hoax 
perpetrated  by  Hodiak  in  the  name  of  Chill  Wills,  an 
elderly,  illiterate  drunkard.  Judy  gives  Hodiak  a  piece 
of  her  mind  and  secures  employment  with  the  Harvey 
girls.  Lest  the  waitresses'  integrity  and  pristine 
manners  bring  respectability  to  the  town,  thus  re- 
ducing the  profits  he  made  from  Hodiak's  gambling 
house,  Judge  Preston  Foster  starts  a  campaign  to  force 
the  girls  to  leave.  His  henchmen  resort  to  many  mean 
tricks  to  frighten  them,  but  Hodiak,  himself  not 
pleased  about  having  the  girls  in  town,  insists  on  fight- 
ing fair  and  opposes  Foster's  tactics.  Meanwhile 
Hodiak  and  Judy  find  themselves  falling  in  love,  much 
to  the  chagrin  of  Angela  Lansbury,  the  saloon  queen. 
The  Harvey  girls  combat  Foster  by  providing  the  town 
with  wholesome  entertainment,  and  before  long 
Hodiak  decides  to  move  his  establishment  to  another 
town.  Foster,  peeved,  sets  fire  to  the  Harvey  restau- 
rant. Hodiak  gives  him  a  terrific  beating,  but  the  fire 
razes  the  eating  place.  On  the  following  day,  he 
arranges  for  the  saloon  to  be  converted  into  a  tem- 
porary Harvey  restaurant,  and  prepares  to  leave  town. 
But  Angela,  realizing  that  Hodiak  had  lost  his  heart 
to  Judy,  sees  to  it  that  he  remains  behind,  while  she 
and  hei  saloon  girls  head  further  West. 

Edmund  Beloin,  Nathaniel  Curtis,  Harry  Crane, 
James  O'Hanlon  and  Samson  Raphaelson  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Arthur  Freed  produced  it,  and  George 
Sidney  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Kenny  Baker, 
Selena  Royale,  Ben  Carter  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


4 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


whom  he  is  supposedly  in  competition?  The  inde- 
pendent producer  may  produce  an  artistic  triumph 
and  a  picture  of  the  greatest  possibilities,  so  far  as 
public  reception  is  concerned,  but  he  cannot  select  the 
theatres  where  this  picture  is  to  be  shown.  On  the 
contrary,  he  is  told  by  the  big  five'  where  he  can 
show  it  and  he  is  required  to  show  it  in  accordance 
with  a  playing  policy  dictated  by  the  big  five'." 

When  Mr.  Peter  Rathvon,  president  of  RKO,  was 
on  the  stand,  he  was  asked  many  questions  to  which 
he  gave  ample  answers.  The  brief  quotes  his  testimony 
to  impress  the  court  with  the  fact  that  a  theatre-own- 
ing producer  has  many  advantages  over  a  non-theatre- 
owning  one,  and  that,  without  a  theatre  outlet,  RKO 
would  have  been  in  a  very  bad  position  financially. 

Part  of  this  testimony  is  to  the  effect  that,  during 
one  period  of  five  years,  the  company's  production- 
distribution  activities  resulted  in  a  loss  of  about  five 
million  dollars,  which  was  readily  absorbed  by  the 
profit  from  theatre  operations  of  nine  million  dollars. 
This  is,  indeed,  no  trifling  advantage  that  a  major 
company  has  over  the  independent  producer,  whose 
earnings  depend  entirely  upon  the  efficiency  of  his 
production  activities. 

After  pointing  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  wit- 
nesses who  testified  for  the  defendants  stated  in 
unequivocal  terms  that  the  independent  producer  is 
a  talented  man,  one  who  has  been  responsible  for  the 
greatest  advancement  of  motion  pictures  throughout 
the  years,  the  brief  concludes: 

"...  Independent  production  can  continue  only 
if  the  motion  picture  made  by  the  independent  pro- 
ducer is  given  an  opportunity  in  fair,  free  and  open 
competition  with  individual  motion  pictures  made  by 
major  producers.  The  independent  producer  cannot 
exist  and  compete  with  the  majors  if  the  doors  of  the 
first  run  theatres  in  the  major  cities  of  the  United 
States  are  closed  to  him  by  the  producer-distributor- 
exhibitor  defendants  or,  if  opened  to  him  at  all,  are 
only  partially  opened  on  terms  and  conditions  unfairly 
disproportionate  with  those  offered  to  the  distributor- 
exhibitor  defendants." 


SCHINE  CIRCUIT 
FILES  NOTICE  OF  APPEAL 

According  to  a  report  in  Motion  Picture  Daily,  the 
Schine  Circuit  has  filed  notice  that  it  will  take  an 
appeal  to  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  in  connection 
with  the  recent  decree  handed  down  by  Judge  John 
Knight  in  the  Government's  anti-trust  suit  against 
it.  Judge  Knight  ordered  dissolution  of  the  circuit  on 
the  grounds  that  it  operated  in  violation  of  the  Sher- 
man anti-trust  act. 

The  notice  alleged  that  the  decree  entered  against 
the  circuit  was  "contrary  to  the  findings  of  fact  and 
to  the  evidence." 

That  the  Schine  Circuit  has  filed  a  notice  of  appeal 
does  not  come  as  a  surprise.  In  the  opinion  of  this 
paper,  however,  the  case  seems  to  be  too  strongly 
in  favor  of  the  Government  to  hold  forth  much  hope 
for  a  reversal  Assuming  that  the  Supreme  Court  will 
examine  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  it  might  well 
result  in  an  affirmance  of  Judge  Knight's  decision, 
thus  strengthening  further  the  Department  of  Justice 
in  its  fight  to  assure  all  buyers  of  film  free  and  open 
competition. 


PRODUCER-DISTRIBUTORS 
INDIFFERENT  TO  LOCAL  TAXES 
ON  ADMISSIONS 

The  producer-distributing  companies  seem  to  be 
indifferent  to  attempts  by  city  councils  to  impose  a 
tax  on  theatre  admissions.  That  is  what  has  been  the 
experience  of  exhibitors  in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles. 

Recently  the  city  council  decided  to  pass  an  ordi- 
nance imposing  a  five  per  cent  tax  on  theatre  admis- 
sions. 

You  would  naturally  think  that  the  producer- 
distributors  would  stand  behind  the  exhibitors  and 
fight  the  tax.  If  that  is  what  you  think,  then  you  have 
another  guess  coming;  they  did  not  raise  a  finger  to 
fight  it — the  fighting  was  done  by  the  exhibitors  alone. 

So  far  the  exhibitors  have  been  successful  in  fighting 
that  ordinance.  But  who  can  tell  what  may  happen 
tomorrow?  But  if  the  efforts  of  the  city  fathers  to 
impose  a  tax  on  admissions  is  resumed,  it  is  a  question 
whether  the  exhibitors  will  be  as  successful  in  fighting 
it  as  they  have  been  so  far. 

In  any  locality  where  it  is  sought  to  impose  a  tax 
on  admissions,  the  producer-distributors  should  be 
concerned  as  much  as  the  exhibitors,  even  though  the 
effects  of  the  tax  will  not  be  felt  by  the  former  as 
directly  as  they  are  felt  by  the  exhibitors.  Conse- 
quently, to  compel  the  exhibitors  to  fight  off  the  tax 
alone  is,  not  only  a  task  that  may  be  too  great  for  them 
to  accomplish,  but  also  a  rank  injustice. 


IS  THE  SPONSORED 
SCREEN  ADVERTISING  MISTAKE 
TO  BE  REPEATED? 

Some  of  these  days  there  will  be  a  war  again  be- 
tween the  newspapers  and  the  motion  picture  indus- 
try, because  the  picture  theatres  are  encroaching  more 
and  more  into  a  field  that  belongs  to  the  newspapers 
— the  advertising  field. 

If  you  were  in  this  business  in  1931,  you  will  prob' 
ably  recall  that  during  that  year  Paramount  and  War- 
ner Brothers  began  accepting  sponsored  screen  adver- 
tising. Other  companies  were  making  ready  to  enter 
the  field.  They  made  short  subjects  advertising  com- 
mercial products.  The  newspapers  of  the  nation 
were  aroused  and  began  writing  editorials  against  a 
practice  that  was  repugnant  to  the  picture-going  pub- 
lic. As  a  result  of  that  campaign,  both  Paramount  and 
Warners  were  compelled  to  give  up  their  advertising 
activities. 

Rumors  have  had  it  that  some  picture  companies 
are  again  flirting  with  sponsored  screen  advertising, 
and  Harrison's  Reports  is  prompted  to  ask  whether 
the  film  companies  will  repeat  the  1931  mistake? 


ORDER  YOUR  MISSING  COPIES 
OF  HARRISON'S  REPORTS 

During  the  holidays  the  copy  of  an  issue  or  so  may 
have  been  lost  in  the  mails. 

Look  into  your  files  and  if  you  find  the  copy  of  any 
issue  missing,  write  to  this  office  and  it  will  be  supplied 
to  you  free  of  charge.  A  sufficient  number  of  copies 
of  many  back  issues  is  kept  in  stock  for  just  such  a 
purpose. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVIII 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  5,  1946 

No.  1 

(Semi-Annual  Index — Second  Half  of  1945) 

Titles  of  Pictures 


Reviewed  on  Page 


Abbott  and  Costello  in  Hollywood — MGM  (84  min.)  135 

Adventure— MGM  (130  min.)  203 

Adventures  of  Rusty,  The — Columbia  (67  min.)  119 

Allotment  Wives — Monogram  (80  min.)  179 

Along  the  Navajo  Trail — Republic  (66  min.)  .not  reviewed 
An  Angel  Comes  to  Brooklyn — Republic  (70  min.) .  .  .  194 

Anchors  Aweigh — MGM  (139  min.)  115 

And  Then  There  Were  None — 20th  Century-Fox 

(97  min.)   110 

Apology  for  Murder — PRC  (68  min.)   154 

Arson  Squad— PRC  (64  min.)   106 

Bad  Men  of  the  Border — Universal  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 
Bandits  of  the  Badlands — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Beautiful  Cheat,  The — Universal  (59  min.)  110 

Behind  City  Lights — Republic  (68  min.)   150 

Bells  of  St.  Mary,  The— RKO  (126  min.)  191 

Blazing  the  Western  Trail — Columbia 

(55  m.)   not  reviewed 

Blithe  Spirit — United  Artists  (94  min.)   150 

Border  Badman — PRC  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Border  Bandits — Monogram  (57  min.)  not  reviewed 

Both  Barrels  Blazing — Columbia  (57  min.)  . .  .not  reviewed 

Captain  Kidd — United  Artists  (88  min.)  124 

Captain  Tugboat  Annie — Republic  (70  min.)  198 

Carribean  Mystery,  The — 20th  CenturyFox  (65  min.)  .114 

Cheaters,  The— Republic  (87  min.)   107 

Cherokee  Flash,  The — Republic  (55  min.)  ..  .not  reviewed 
Christmas  in  Connecticut — Warner  Bros.  (101  min.)  . .  115 

Club  Havana— PRC  (62  min.)   167 

Code  of  the  Lawless — Universal  (56  min.)  . .  not  reviewed 
Colonel  Effingham's  Raid— 20th  Century-Fox  (70  m.)154 

Colorado  Pioneers — Republic  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Come  Out  Fighting — Monogram  (62  min.)  142 

Confidential  Agent — Warner  Bros.  (118  min.)  174 

Cornered— RKO  (102  min.)  187 

Crime  Doctor's  Warning,  The — Columbia  (70  min.).  162 
Crimson  Canary — Universal  (64  min.)   175 

Dakota — Republic  (82  min.)   178 

Daltons  Ride  Again,  The — Universal  (72  min.)  182 

Danger  Signal — Warner  Bros.  (78  min.)  183 

Dangerous  Intruder — PRC  (62  min.)  122 

Dangerous  Partners — MGM  (78  min.)  123 

Danny  Boy— PRC  (64  min.)   180 

Detour— PRC  (68  min.)   179 

Dick  Tracy— RKO  (61  min.)  199 

Doctor's  Courage,  The — Columbia  (see  "Crime 

Doctor's  Courage")   36 

Doll  Face— 20th  Century-Fox  (80  min.)  202 

Dolly  Sisters,  The— 20th  Century-Fox  (114  min.)  ..155 
Don't  Fence  Me  In — Republic  (71  min.)  ...  not  reviewed 

Drifting  Along — Monogram  (60  min.)  not  reviewed 

Duffy's  Tavern — Paramount  (97  min.)   131 

Easy  to  Look  At — Universal  (64  min.)  123 

Enchanted  Forest,  The— PRC  (79  min.)  151 

Falcon  in  San  Francisco,  The — RKO  (66  min.)  114 

Fallen  Angel— 20th  Century-Fox  (97  min.)   170 

Fatal  Witness,  The — Republic  (59  min.)   134 

Fear — Monogram  (68  min.)  206 

Fifth  Chair,  The — United  Artists 

(see  "It's  in  the  Bag")    23 

Fighting  Bill  Carson — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

First  Yank  Into  Tokyo— RKO  (82  min.)   143 

Flaming  Bullet)! — PRC  (61  min.)   not  reviewed 

Follow  That  Woman — Paramount  (70  min.)   130 

Frontier  Feud — Monogram  (54  min.)  not  reviewed 


Frontier  Fugitives — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Frontier  Gal — Universal  (84  min.)  194 

Game  of  Death,  A— RKO  (72  min.)  192 

Gangs  of  the  Waterfront — Republic  (56  min.)  106 

Gay  Senorita,  The — Columbia  (70  min.)   138 

George  White's  Scandals — RKO  (95  min.)  124 

Getting  Gertie's  Garter — United  Artists  (73  min.) ....  187 

Girls  of  the  Big  House — Republic  (68  min.)  179 

Girl  of  the  Limberlost — Columbia  (60  min.)  142 

Guest  Wife — United  Artists  (88  min.)  118 

Gun  Town — Universal  (53  min.)  not  reviewed 

Her  Highness  and  the  Bellboy — MGM  (108  min.)  ...  Ill 

Hidden  Eye,  The— MGM  (69  min.)  118 

Hit  the  Hay — Columbia  (62  min.)  191 

Hold  That  Blonde — Paramount  (77  min.)   158 

Hotel  Reserve — RKO  (79  min.)  202 

House  of  Dracula — Universal  (67  min.)  191 

House  on  92nd  Street — 20th  Century-Fox  (91  min.)  .  .147 
How  Do  You  Do— PRC  (80  min.)   178 

I  Love  a  Bandleader — Columbia  (71  min.)   130 

Indiscretion — Warner  Bros,  (see  "Christmas  in 

Connecticut")   115 

Isle  of  the  Dead— RKO  (71  min.)   138 

Jealousy — Republic  (71  min.)  118 

Johnny  Angel— RKO  (79  min.)  123 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — United  Artists  (88  min.)  186 

Ki«s  and  Tell — Columbia  (90  min.)  127 

Kitty — Paramount  (92  min.)   163 

Lady  on  a  Train — Universal  (93  min.)  126 

Last  Chance,  The— MGM  (105  min.)  186 

Lawless  Empire — Columbia  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

Leave  Her  to  Heaven — 20th  Century-Fox  (110  min.) .  .203 

Letter  for  Evie,  A— MGM  (89  min.)  190 

Life  with  Blondie — Columbia  (70  min.)  196 

Lightning  Raiders — PRC  (66  min.)  not  reviewed 

Lonesome  Trail — Monogram  (55  min.)  not-reviewed 

Love,  Honor  and  Goodbye — Republic  (88  min.)  146 

Love  Letters — Paramount  (99  min.)   135 

Lost  Trail,  The — Monogram  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

Lost  Weekend,  The — Paramount  (99  min.)   131 

Mama  Loves  Papa — RKO  (60  min.)  124 

Man  Alive— RKO  (75  min.)   154 

Man  in  Grey,  The — Universal  (92  min.)  190 

Marshal  of  Laredo — Republic  (56  min.)  .  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Masquerade  in  Mexico — Paramount  (96  min.)  194 

Men  in  Her  Diary — Universal  (73  min.)  146 

Men  of  the  Deep — Columbia  (see  "Rough,  Tough 

and  Ready")  38 

Mexicana — Republic  (84  min.)  188 

Mildred  Pierce — Warner  Bros.  (Ill  min.)   155 

Miss  Susie  Slagle's — Paramount  (88  min.)  195 

Navajo  Kid,  The — PRC  ( 59  min.)  not  reviewed 

On  Stage  Everybody — Universal  (75  min.)  Ill 

One  Way  to  Love — Columbia  (83  min.)  207 

Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes — MGM  (105  min.). .  114 

Out  of  the  Depths — Columbia  (61  min.)  206 

Outlaws  of  the  Rockies — Columbia  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 
Over  21 — Columbia  (103  min.)  122 

Pardon  My  Past — Columbia  (88  min.)   151 

Paris  Underground — United  Artists  (97  min.)   134 

People  Arc  Funny — Paramount  (92  min.)  163 

Phantom  of  the  Plains — Republic  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 


lithe    HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  -  Second  Half  of  1945,  Page  B 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Pillow  of  Death — Universal  (66  min.)  198 

Portrait  of  Maria — MGM  (77  min.)  206 

Prairie  Rustlers — PRC  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

Pride  of  the  Marines — Warner  Bros.  (119  min.)  126 

Prison  Ship — Columbia  (61  nun.)  198 

Pursuit  to  Algiers — Universal  (65  min.)   170 

Radio  Stars  on  Parade— RKO  (69  min.)  122 

Red  Dragon,  The — Monogram  (64  min.)  199 

Rhythm  Roundup — Columbia  (66  min.)  not  reviewed 

Riders  ol  the  Dawn — Monogram  (58  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 

River  Gang — Universal  (61  nun.)   146 

Road  to  Alcatraz — Republic  (60  min.)  110 

Road  to  Utopia — Paramount  (90  min.)  195 

Rough  Riders  ol  Cheyenne — Republic 

(56  min.)   not  reviewed 

Rustlers  of  the  Badlands — Columbia  (58  min.). not  reviewed 

Saddle  Serenade — Monogram  (56  min.)  ....  not  reviewed 

Sailor  Takes  a  Wife,  The— MGM  (91  min.)  207 

San  Antonio — Warner  Bros.  (  1 10  min.)  186 

Saratoga  Trunk — Warner  Bros.  (135  min.)  187 

Scotland  Yard  Investigator — Republic  (68  nun.)  166 

Scnorita  lrom  the  West — Universal  (63  min.)  166 

Sensation  Hunters — Monogram  (63  min.)  162 

Shadow  of  Terror— PRC  (63  min.)   158 

Shady  Lady — Universal  (93  min.)   143 

Shanghai  Cobra,  The — Monogram  (63  min.)  126 

She  Went  to  the  Races— MGM  (86  min.)  166 

She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes— Columbia  (86  mm.)   178 

Sing  Your  Way  Home— RKO  (72  min.)  183 

Snafu — Columbia  (82  min.)   192 

Song  of  the  Prairie — Columbia  (69  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 
South  of  the  Rio  Grande — Monogram  (62m.)  .not  reviewed 

Spanish  Main,  The— RKO  (101  min.)   158 

Spellbound — United  Artists  (110  min.)  175 

Spider,  The— 20th  Century-Fox  (61  min.)   162 

Sporting  Chance,  A — Republic  (56  min.)  142 

Stagecoach  Outlaws — PRC  (58  min.)   not  reviewed 

State  Fair— 20th  Century-Fox  (100  min.)   134 

Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry,  The — Universal  (80m.)  127 

Strange  Confession — Universal  (62  min.)  184 

Strange  Mr.  Gregory,  The — Monogram  (63  min.)  ...180 

Stork  Club,  The — Paramount  (98  min.)   159 

Sunbonnet  Sue — Monogram  (90  min.)   160 

Sunset  in  Eldorado — Republic  (65  min.)  .  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Swingin'  On  a  Rainbow — Republic  (72  min.)  138 

Tell  It  to  a  Star— Republic  (67  min.)  130 

Ten  Little  Niggers — 20th  Century-Fox  (see  "And 

Then  There  Were  None")   110 

That  Night  With  You — Universal  (84  min.)  150 

They  Were  Expendable— MGM  (135  min.)  182 

This  Love  of  Ours — Universal  (90  min.)   170 

Three's  A  Crowd — Republic  (58  min.)   147 

Tiger  Woman — Republic  (57  min.)   174 

Tokyo  Rose — Paramount  (70  min.)  195 

Too  Young  to  Know — Warner  Bros.  (86  min.)  182 

Trail  to  Vengeance — Universal  (54  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Vacation  from  Marriage — MGM  (94  min.)  192 

Voice  of  the  Whistler — Columbia  (60  min.)   174 

Wagon  Wheels  Westward — Republic  (56  m.) .  not  reviewed 
Walk  in  the  Sun,  A — 20th  Century-Fox  (117  min.) ...  190 

Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland— RKO  (67  min.)   160 

Week-End  at  the  Waldorf— MGM  (128  min.)  119 

What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove — MGM  (95  min.)...  183 

White  Pongo— PRC  (72  min.)   106 

Woman  Who  Came  Back — Republic  (68  min.)  202 

Yolanda  and  the  Thief— MGM  (108  min.)  167 

You  Came  Along — Paramount  (103  min.)  107 


Specials 

A  Song  to  Remember — Muni-Oberon  Mar.  1 

Kiss  and  Tell — Temple-Abel  Oct.  18 

(End  oj  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

7022  Crime  Doctor's  Warning — Warner  Baxter  .  .Sept.  27 
7029  Girl  of  the  Limberlost — Nelson-Clifton  Oct.  11 

7201  Blazing  the  Western  Trail— Starrett  (55  m.)  Oct.  18 

7024  Voice  of  the  Whistler— Dix-Mernck  Oct.  30 

7036  Prison  Ship — Lowery-Foch  Nov.  15 

7202  Lawless  Empire — Charles  Starrett  (58  m.).  .Nov.  15 
Snalu — Parks-Lloyd  Nov.  22 

7023  My  Name  is  Julia  Ross — Foch-Macready  .  .  .Nov.  27 

Hit  the  Hay — Canova-Hunter  Nov.  29 

Life  with  Blondie — Singleton-Lake  Dec.  13 

One  Way  to  Love — Carter-Morris  Dec.  20 

7203  Texas  Panhandle — Starrett  Dec.  20 

Pardon  My  Past — MacMurray-Chapman .  .  .  .Dec.  25 
Out  of  the  Depths — Bannon-Hunter  (formerly 

"Strange  Voyage")   Dec.  27 

Meet  Me  on  Broadway — Reynolds-Falkenburg .  Jan.  3 

Tars  and  Spars — Blair-Drake  Jan.  10 

A  Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie — Morris  Jan.  24 

Frontier  Gun  Law — Charles  Starrett  Jan.  31 

The  Notorious  Lone  Wolf — Mohr-Cartcr. . .  .Feb.  14 

Roaring  Rangers — Charles  Starrett  Feb.  14 

Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest — Wilde-Louise.  .  .Feb.  21 
The  Lady  Misbehaves — Massen-Stonton  Feb.  28 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway.  Hew  Tor^  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  13 

600  Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes — 

Robinson-O'Brien  Sept. 

601  The  Hidden  Eye — Edward  Arnold  Sept. 

602  Abbott  &  Costello  in  Hollywood  Oct. 

603  Her  Highness  &  the  Bellboy — Lamar- Walker  Oct. 

604  Dangerous  Partners — Craig-Hasso  Oct. 

Block  14 

606  What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove? — 

Walker- Wynn   Nov.  Dec. 

607  She  Went  to  the  Races — Craig-Gifford  Nov. -Dec 

608  Vacation  from  Marriage — Donat-Kerr  Nov. -Dec. 

610  Yolanda  and  the  Thief — Astaire-Bremer.  .  .  .Nov. -Dec. 

609  They  Were  Expendable — Montgomery- 

Wayne   Nov. -Dec. 

(Ed.  Note:  "A  Letter  for  Evie,"  listed  in  the  last  schedule 
in  Bloc\  14.  has  been  withdrawn  and  replaced  by  "They 
Were  Expendable.") 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 

6224  Song  of  the  Prairie — Western  musical  (69m)Sept.  27 
6005  She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes — Russell-Bowman.  .  .Nov.  29 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Ninth  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
464  Riders  of  the  Dawn — Jimmy  Wakely  (58  m.)  .Nov.  3 

458  Frontier  Feud — J.M.Brown  (54  m.)  Nov.  24 

452  Drifting  Along — J.  M.  Brown  (60  m.)  Dec.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

561  Lonesome  Trail — Jimmy  Wakely  (55  m.) .  . .  .Dec.  8 

508  Black  Market  Babies — Morgan-Loring  Dec.  15 

505  Allotment  Wives — Francis-Kelly  (re.)  Dec.  29 

516  Strange  Mr.  Gregory — Lowe-Rogers...-  Jan.  2 

565  Border  Bandits — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.)  Jan.  12 

513  The  Red  Dragon — Sidney  Toler  Feb.  2 

572  Moon  Over  Montana — Jimmy  Wakely  Feb.  16 

552  The  Haunted  Mine — J.  M.  Brown  Feb.  23 

Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway.  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  T.) 
Block  1 

4501  Duffy's  Tavern— Ed  Gardner  Sept.  28 

4504  Love  Letters — Jones-Cotton   Oct.  26 

4503  The  Lost  Weekend — Milland-Wyman  Nov.  16 

4502  Follow  That  Woman — Gargan-Kelly  Dec.  14 

Block  2 

4506  Hold  That  Blonde— Bracken-Lake  Nov.  23 

4507  Stork  Club — Hutton-Fiugerald   Dec.-28 

4508  People  are  Funny — Haley-Langford  Jan.  11 

4509  Kitty— Milland-Goddard  Jan.  25 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  Second  Half  of  1945,  Page  C 


Block  3 

4?  13  Miss  Susie  Slagle's — Lake-Tufts   Feb.  8 

4512  Masquerade  in  Mexico — Lamour-DeCordova  Feb.  22 

4511  Tokyo  Rose — Barr-Massen  Mar.  8 

Special 

4531  Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 


(Ed.  N.ote:  "Road  to  Utopia,"  listed  in  the  last  schedule  as 
Ho.  4514,  has  been  withdrawn  from  Bioc^  3  and  made  a 
special.) 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  N..  Y.) 

222  Why  Girls  Leave  Home — Blake-Leonard  Not  set 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Club  Havana — Neal-Lindsay  Oct.  23 

Prairie  Rustlers — Buster  Crabbe  (58  m.)  Nov.  7 

Song  of  Old  Wyoming — Dean-Holt  (67  m.) .  .Nov.  12 

The  Navajo  Kid— Bob  Steele  (59  m.)  Nov.  21 

Detour — Neal  Savage  Nov.  30 

Enchanted  Forest — Lowe-Joyce  Dec.  8 

How  Do  You  Do? — Bert  Gordon  Dec.  24 

Strangler  of  the  Swamp — LaPlanche-Barrat.  . . Jan.  1 
Lightning  Raiders — Buster  Crabbe  (66  m.).  .  .Jan.  7 

Danny  Boy — Robert  "Buzzy"  Henry  Jan.  8 

Six  Gun  Man — Bob  Steele  Feb.  1 

The  Flying  Serpent — Zucco-Kramer  Feb.  20 

I  Ring  Doorbells — Gwynne-Shayne  Feb.  25 

Mask  of  Diijon — Von  Stroheim-Bates  Mar.  7 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 

430  The  Tiger  Woman — Richmond-Grey   Nov.  16 

431  Mexicana — Guizar-Moore   Nov.  15 

446  Along  the  Navajo  Trail — Roy  Rogers  (66m) .  .Dec.  15 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

561  Phantom  of  the  Plains— Bill  Elliott  (55m.)  .  .Sept.  7 

551  Bandits  of  the  Badlands — 

Sunset  Carson  (56  min.)  Sept.  14 

501  Scotland  Yard  Investigator — Smith- 

Von  Stroheim   Sept.  30 

562  Marshal  of  Laredo— Bill  Elliott  (56  min.)  ...Oct.  7 

552  Rough  Riders  of  Cheyenne — Sunset  Carson 

(56  min.)  Nov.  1 

502  Girls  of  the  Big  House — Roberts-Powers  . .  .  .Nov.  2 

563  Colorado  Pioneers — Bill  Elliott  (55  m.)  Nov.  14 

504  Captain  Tugboat  Annie — Darwell-Kennedy  .  .Nov.  17 

503  An  Angel  Comes  to  Brooklyn — Dowd-Duke  .Nov.  27 

507  Woman  Who  Came  Back— Kelly-Loder  Dec.  13 

553  The  Cherokee  Flash— Sunset  Carson  (55  m.).Dec.  13 

564  Wagon  Wheels  Westward— Bill  Elliott  (56m)  .Dec.  21 

505  Dakota — Wayne-Ralston  Dec.  25 

506  Song  of  Mexico — Mara-Barrier  Dec.  28 

508  A  Guy  Could  Change — Lane-Frazee  Jan.  27 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  2 

606  Man  Alive — O'Brien-Drew-Menjou   

607  First  Yank  Into  Tokyo — Neal-Hale   

608  Isle  of  the  Dead— Karloff-Drew  

609  Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland — Warren-Long  . . 

610  The  Spanish  Main — Henreid-O'Hara   

Block  3 

611  The  Spiral  Staircase — Brent-McGuire  

612  Cornered — Dick  Powell  

613  Dick  Tracy — Conway-Jeffreys  

614  Sing  Your  Way  Home- — Haley-Jeffreys  

615  Hotel  Reserve — English  cast  

Specials 

681   Along  Came  Jones — Cooper-Young  

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue) 


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 


609  The  Dolly  Sisters — Grable-Haver  Nov. 

611  And  Then  There  Were  None — 

Fitzgerald-Huston  Nov. 

613  The  Spider — Conte-Marlowe   Dec. 

612  Fallen  Angel — Faye-Andrews   Dec. 

615  Shock — Price-Bari   Jan. 

616  A  Walk  in  the  Sun — Andrews-Conte  Jan. 

610  Col.  Effingham's  Raid — Coburn-Bennett  Feb. 

617  Doll  Face— O'Keefe-Blaine  Feb. 

618  Behind  Green  Lights — Landis-Gargan  Feb. 

Specials 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  Aug. 

614  Leave  Her  to  Heaven — Tierney- Wilde  Jan. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  York,  19,  H-  Y.) 
Getting  Gertie's  Garter — O'Keefe-McDonald  ....Nov.  30 

Blithe  Spirit — English  cast  Dec.  14 

Spellbound— Bergman-Peck   Dec.  28 

Abilene  Town — Scott-Dvorak   Jan.  11 

Whistle  Stop — Raft-Gardner  Jan.  25 

The  Outlaw — Russell-Buetell  Feb.  8 

Diary  of  a  Chambermaid — Goddard-Meredith  Feb.  15 

Breakfast  in  Hollywood — Tom  Breneman  Feb.  22 

Young  Widow — Russell-Hayward  Mar.  1 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  (re.)  Mar.  15 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  York  20,  N-  T.) 

508  This  Love  of  Ours — Oberon-Rains  Nov.  2 

509  Crimson  Canary — Beery,  Jr. -Collier   Nov.  9 

510  The  Daltons  Ride  Again— Curtis-Taylor.  .. Nov.  23 

1103  Trail  to  Vengeance — Grant-Knight   (54m)Nov.  30 

511  House  of  Dracula — Chaney-Atwill  Dec.  7 

512  Pillow  of  Death — Chaney-Joyce  Dec.  14 

513  Frontier  Gal — De  Carlo-Cameron  Dec.  21 

514  Scarlet  Street — Robinson-Bennett  Dec.  28 

515  Girl  on  the  Spot — Collier-Barker  Jan.  11 

516  Because  of  Him — Durbin-Laughton  Jan.  18 

1104  Gun  Town — Grant-Knight  (53  m.)  Jan.  18 

517  Tangier — Montez-Paige   Feb.  1 

518  Idea  Girl— Barker-Bishop  Feb.  8 

519  Little  Giant — Abbott  &  Costello  Feb.  22 

520  Terror  by  Night — Rathbone-Bruce  Mar.  1 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St..  Hew  York  18,  H-  T.) 

505  Mildred  Pierce — Crawford-Carson-Scott  Oct.  20 

506  Confidential  Agent — Boyer-Bacall   Nov.  10 

507  Too  Young  to  Know — Leslie-Hutton  Dec.  1 

508  Danger  Signal — Emerson-Scott  Dec.  15 

509  San  Antonio — Errol-Flynn  Dec.  29 

510  My  Reputation — Stanwyck-Brent   Jan.  26 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

7751  Phoney  Baloney — Fox  fe?  Crow  (7  min.)  Nov.  1 

7901  The  Magic  Stone — Panoramic  (10  m.)  Nov.  8 

7853  Screen  Snapshots  No.  3  (9  min.)  Nov.  15 

7803  Cadet  Cagers — Sports  (8]/2  min)  Nov.  22 

7653  Community  Sings  No.  3  (10  min.)   Nov.  29 

7854  Screen  Snapshots  No.  4  (9  m.)  Dec.  13 

7953  Morale's  Copacabana  Orch. — Film  Vodvil 

(11m.)  Dec.  13 

7601  Catnipped — Flippy  (7|/2  m.)  Dec.  13 

7804  Mermaids'  Paradise — Sports  (9'/2  m.)  Dec.  20 

7654  Community  Sings  No.  4  (11  m.)  Dec.  20 

7601  Catnipped— Flippy  (7|/2  m.)  Jan.  15 

7855  Screen  Snapshots  No.  5  Jan.  17 

7655  Community  Sings  No.  5  Jan.  17 

7501  Rivver  Ribber — Col.  Rhap.  (8  m.)  (reset).  .  .Jan.  31 


Columbia — Two  Reels 

7432  A  Miner  Affair— A.  Clyde  (19  min.)  Nov.  1 

7402  Micro-Phonies — 3  Stooges  (17  min.)  Nov.  15 


7423  Calling  All  Fibbers— V.  Vague  (16'/2  min.)  Nov.  29 
7433  High  Blood  Pressure — Schilling-Lane  ( 19  m.)Dec.  6 


l/6/%   HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  Second  Half  of  1945,  Page  D 


7434  A  Hit  with  a  Miss — S.  Howard  ( 16  min.)  ...Dec.  13 
7140  Who's  Guilty?— Serial  (15  episodes)  Dec.  13 

7435  Spook  to  Me— A.  Clyde  (17  min.)  Dec.  27 

7403  Beer  Barrel  Polecats — Stooges  (17  m.)  Jan.  10 

7436  The  Blonde  Stayed  On— Andy  Clyde ( 16!/2m) Jan.  24 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

W-732  Wild  and  Woolly— Cartoon  (8m.)  Nov.  3 

K-772  Stairway  to  Light — Passing  Parade  (10  m.)  Nov.  10 

K-773  People  on  Paper— Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Nov.  17 

T-712  Merida  and  Campeche — Travcltalk  (8  m.) .  .Nov.  22 

S-753  Bus  Pests — Pete  Smith  (9  min.)   Dec.  1 

S-756  Badminton — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  Dec.  8 

K-774  The  Golden  Hunch— Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Dec.  15 

W-733  Quiet  Please— Cartoon  (8  m.)  Dec.  22 

S-754  Sports  Sticklers — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  ....Jan.  ? 

K-775  Magic  on  a  Stick — Pas.  Par.  (9  min.)  Jan.  19 

S-755  Gettin'  Glamour — Pete  Smith  (7  min.)  Feb.  2 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-701  A  Gun  in  His  Hand— Special  (19  m.)  . .  .Sept.  15 
A-702  Purity  Squad— Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 

Paramount — One  Reel 

R5-2  Paddle  Your  Own— Sportlight  (9  m.)   Nov.  9 

Y  5  - 1  Animal-ology — Speak,  of  Animals  (9  m.)  Nov.  23 

E5-1  House  Tricks — Popcye   Nov.  2 

LT-1  Unusual  Occupations  No.  1  (10  m.)  Nov.  9 

P5-1  The  Friendly  Ghost — Noveltoon  Nov.  16 

D5-1  Man's  Pest  Friend— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Nov.  30 

J5-2  Popular  Science  No.  2  ( 10  m.)  Dec.  7 

U5-2  My  Man  Jaspar — Puppetoon  (7  m.)   Dec.  14 

R5-3  Running  the  Team— Sportlight  (9  m.)  Dec.  14 

E5-2  Service  with  a  Guile — Popcye  Dec.  21 

P5-2  Old  MacDonald's  Farm — Noveltoon  Dec.  28 

D5-2  Bargain  Counter  Attack — Little  Lulu  Jan.  11 

Y5-2  Hill  Billies— Speak,  of  Animals  Jan.  18 

R5-4  Good  Dog— Sportlight  Jan.  18 

U5-3  Olio  for  Jasper — Puppetoon  Jan.  25 

E5-3  Klondike  Casanova — Popcye  Feb.  1 

J5-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  Feb.  8 

P5-3  Cheese  Burglar — Noveltoon  Feb.  22 

R5-5  Dixie  Pointers — Sportlight  Feb.  22 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF5-1  Little  Witch— Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  ...Oct.  26 
FF5-2  Naughty  Nannette — Musical  Parade  Dec.  28 


Republic — Two  Reels 

484  Purple  Monster  Strikes — Morgan-Stirling 

(15  episodes)   Sept.  29 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

581  The  Phantom  Rider— Serial  (12  ep.)  Jan.  26 

RKO — One  Reel 

54117  Hockey  Homicide — Disney  (8  m.)  Sept.  21 

54118  Cured  Duck— Disney  (7  m.)  Oct.  26 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

64301  Athletic  Items — Sportscope  (8  m.)   Sept.  7 

64201  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  1  (7'/2  min.)   Sept.  14 

64302  Battling  Bass — Sportscope  (8  min.)   Oct.  5 

64202  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  2  (7  m.)  Oct.  19 

64303  Ten  Pin  Titans — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Nov.  2 

671  The  House  I  Live  In — Sinatra  (10  min.)  .  .Nov.  9 

64203  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  3  (7  m.)  Nov.  23 

64304  Arcaro  Up — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Nov.  30 

64101  Canine  Patrol— Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  7 

64102  Old  Sequoia— Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  21 

RKO — Two  Reels 

63502  Sagebrush  Serenade — Western  Musical  Oct.  26 

63101  Airline  to  Everywhere — This  is  America 

(17  m.)   Nov.  16 

63202  Russian  Dressing — Headliner  Revival 

(18  m.)   Nov.  23 

63503  Ranch  House  Romeo — Western  Musical 

(reissue)  (17  m.)  Nov.  30 

63402  Mother-in-Law's  Day — Ed.  Kennedy  ( 18m) .  Dec.  7 

63102  TV  A— This  is  America  (18  m.)  Dec.  14 


6505 

6254 
6506 

6352 
6507 

6255 
6508 
6256 
6509 
6257 
6510 
6301 
6258 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

Who's  Who  in  the  Jungle-Gandy  Goose — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Oct.  19 

Bountiful  Alaska — Adventure  (8  m.)   Oct.  26 

Mighty  Mouse  Meets  Bad  Bill  Bunion — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Nov.  9 

Tune  Out  for  Play — Sports  (8  m.)  Nov.  16 

The  Exterminator-Gandy  Goose — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Nov.  23 

Song  ol  Sunshine — Adventure  (9  m.)  Dec.  7 

Mighty  Mouse  in  Krakatoo — Terrytoon  Dec.  14 

Louisiana  Springtime — Adventure  (8  m.)  .  .  .Dec.  21 

The  Talking  Magpies — Terrytoon  Jan.  4 

The  Lost  Lake — Adventure  (8  m.)  Jan.  11 

Svengali's  Cat-Mighty  Mouse — Terrytoon.  .  .Jan.  18 

Pins  and  Cushions — Sports  Feb.  1 

Along  the  Rainbow  Trail — Adventure  Feb.  15 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  12  No.  3— 18  Million  Orphans- 
March  of  Time  (17  m.)   Nov. 

Vol.  12  No.  4— Justice  Comes  to  Germany — 

March  of  Time  (20  m.)  Nov. 

Vol.  12  No.  5 — Challenge  to  Hollywood — 

March  of  Time  Dec. 


Universal — One  Reel 

1344  Doctor  of  Paintings — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  .  .  .Nov. 
1365  Front  Line  Artist — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Nov. 

1345  Jungle  Capers — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Dec. 

1321  The  Loose  Nut — Cartune  (7  m.)   Dec. 

1381  Sing  and  be  Happy — Musical  Feb. 


1681 

1301 
1302 

1303 

1304 

1305 

1306 

1781 
1307 


2501 
2301 
2801 
2404 

2604 
2302 
2303 
2802 
2405 
2605 
2502 
2304 
2503 


Universal — Two  Reels 

1693  The  Royal  Mounted  Rides  Again — Serial 

(13  episodes)  Oct.  23 

Solid  Senders — Jan  Garber — Musical  (15ra.)Nov.  21 
Hot  d  Hectic — Tommy  Tucker — 

Musical  (15m.)  Nov.  28 

Synco-Smooth  Swing — Ted  Fio  Rita 

—Musical  (15  m.)   Dec.  19 

Cuban  Madness-Carlos  Molina — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  2 

Tin  Pan  Alley  Tempos-Phil  Ohman — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  9 

Melody  Stampede-Spade  Cooley — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  16 

1793  The  Scarlet  Horseman — Serial  ( 1 3  ep.) .  Jan.  22 
Swing  High  Swing  Sweet-Jan  Savitt — Musical 

(15  m.)   Feb.  20 


Vitaphone — One  Reel 

Sports  Go  to  War — Sports  (10  m.)   Nov.  10 

Sunbonnet  Blue — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)   Nov.  17 

Fashions  for  Tomorrow — Adventure  (10  m)  .Nov.  17 
So  You  Think  You're  Allergic — Varieties 

(10  m.)  Dec.  1 

Music  of  the  Americas — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.) .  .Dec.  15 

Lyin'  Mouse — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Dec.  22 

Good  Egg— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

In  Old  Sante  Fe — Adventure  ( 10  m.)  Jan.  12 

Peeks  at  Hollywood — Varieties  (10  m.)  Jan.  26 

Headline  Bands — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Jan.  26 

Holiday  on  Horseback — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  2 

Trial  of  Mr.  Wolf— Hit  Parade  (7m.)  Feb.  9 

Michigan  Ski-Daddle — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 


Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

2103  All  Star  Musical  Revue — Feat.  (14  m.)  ..Nov.  3 

2104  Good  Old  Corn — Featurette  (20  m.)  Nov.  24 

2001  Frontier  Days — Special  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 

2106  Hitler  Lives? — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  29 

2002  Forest  Commandos — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  19 

2105  Musical  Shipmates — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  16 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

65139  Sat.  (O)  ..Jan.  5 
65240  Wed.  (E)  .  Jan.  9 
65141  Sat.  (O)  .  .  Jan.  12 
65242  Wed.  (E)  .  Jan.  16 


65143  Sat.  (O)  . 
65244  Wed.  (E) 
65145  Sat.  (O)  . 
65246  Wed.  (E) 
65147  Sat.  (O)  . 


Jan.  19 
Jan.  23 
Jan.  26 
Jan.  30 
.Feb.  2 


65248  Wed.  (E).  .Feb.  6 
65149  Sat.  (O)  .  .  .Feb.  9 
65250  Wed.  (E) .  .Feb.  13 
65151  Sat.  (O)  .  .  .Feb.  16  / 
65252  Wed.  (E).  .Feb^^^J 
651  53  Sat.  (O)  .  .  .1  ~  <^M" 


Fox  Movietone 

36  Thurs.  (E)   ...Jan.  3 

37  Tues.  (O)   Jan.  8 

38  Thurs.  (E)  Jan.  10 

39  Tues.  (O)  Jan.  15 

40  Thurs.  (E)  Jan.  17 

41  Tues.  (O)  Jan.  22 

42  Thurs.  (E)  Jan.  24 

43  Tues.  (O)  Jan.  29 

44  Thurs.  (E)  Jan.  31 

45  Tues.  (O)  Feb.  5 

46  Thurs.  (E)  Feb.  7 

47  Tues.  (O)  Feb.  12 

48  Thurs.  (E)  Feb.  14 

49  Tues.  (O)  Feb.  19 

50  Thurs.  (E)  Feb.  21 


News  of  the  Day 


234  Thurs.  (E)  . 

235  Tues.  (O)   .  . 

236  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

237  Tues.  (O)  .  .  . 

238  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

239  Tues.  (O) 

240  Thurs.  (E)  .. 

241  Tues.  (O) 

242  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

243  Tues.  (O)  . .  . 

244  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

245  Tues.  (O)  .  . . 

246  Thurs.  (E)  .. 

247  Tues.  (O) 

248  Thurs.  (E\  . . 


Jan.  3 
Jan.  8 
Jan.  10 
Jan.  15 
Jan.  17 
Jan.  22 
Jan.  24 
Jan.  29 
Jan.  31 
.Feb.  5 
.Feb.  7 
.Feb.  12 
.Feb.  14 
Feb.  19 
.Feb.  21 


Paramount  Newd 


36 

Thurs.   (E)  . 

.  Jan.    i  2 

37 

Sunday  (O)  . 

..Jan.   7  5 

38 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

.  Jan.  10 

19 

Sunday  (O)  . 

.  Jan.  13 

40 

Thurs.  (E)  .. 

.  Jan.  17 

4; 

Sunday  (0)  . 

.  Jan.  20 

42 

Thurs.  (E)  . . 

.  Jan.  24 

43 

Sunday  (0)  . 

.  Jan.  27 

44 

Thurs.  (E)  .. 

.  Jan.  31 

45 

Sunday  (0)  . 

..Feb.  3 

4  0 

Thurs.  (E)  .. 

.  .  Feb.  7 

47 

Sunday  (0)  . 

.  .Feb.  10 

48 

Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

.  .Feb.  14 

49 

Sunday  (0)  . 

.  .Feb.  17 

50 

Thurs.  (E)  . . 

.  .Feb.  21 

Universal 


464  Thurs.  (E) 

465  Tues.  (O)  . 

466  Thurs.  (E)  . 

467  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

468  Thurs.  (E)  . 

469  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

470  Thurs.  (E)  . 

471  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

472  Thurs.  (E)  . 

473  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

474  Thurs.  (E)  . 

475  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

476  Thurs.  (E)  . 

477  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

478  Thurs.  (E)  . 


.Jan.  3 
..Jan.  8 
.  Jan.  10 
.  Jan.  15 
.  Jan.  17 
.  Jan.  22 
.  Jan.  24 
.  Jan.  29 
.  Jan.  31 
.  .  Feb.  5 
..Feb.  7 
.  .Feb.  12 
.  .Feb.  14 
.  .Feb.  19 
.  .Feb.  21 


All  American  News 

167  Friday   Jan. 

168  Friday  Jan. 

169  Friday  Jan.  \ 

170  Friday  Jan.  25  U 

171  Friday  Feb.  1 

172  Friday  Feb.  8 

173  Friday  Feb.  15 

174  Friday  Feb.  22 


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Harrison's  Reports 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  12, 1946  No.  2 


TINGING  THE  VARIETY  CLUBS  OF 
AMERICA  WITH  COMMERCIALISM 

Under  date  of  December  18,  Robert  J.  O'Donnell, 
National  Chief  Barker  of  the  Variety  Clubs  of  Amer' 
ica,  has  sent  a  circular  letter  the  purpose  of  which 
is  to  boost  the  Silver  Anniversary  of  Columbia  Pk' 
tures. 

"Columbia  Pictures,"  says  the  circular  addressed 
to  all  the  Variety  Club  Tents  in  the  United  States, 
"celebrates  its  Silver  Anniversary  in  1946— and  they 
have  desired  a  plan  whereby  the  eyes  of  the  industry 
— and  the  attention  of  your  local  civic  leaders  may  be 
focused  on  YOUR  Variety  Club  

"This  is,  we  believe,  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
us,  through  the  Columbia  Anniversary,  to  secure  some 
GOOD  PUBLIC  RELATIONS. 

"The  suggested  procedure  is :  Each  Variety  Club  in 
an  Exchange  Center  will  sponsor  a  very  important 
dignified  dinner.  Local  dignitaries — civic  leaders  and 
city  councilmen  will  be  invited.  .  .  . 

"At  this  dinner,  the  Industry's  war  record  will  be 
cited,  special  tribute  will  be  paid  to  the  role  of  the 
exhibitor  in  the  war — the  civic  activities  of  the  Variety 
Club — will  all  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  those 
present.  Briefly,  tribute  will  be  paid  to  the  Industry 
as  symbolized  by  Columbia  Pictures  25  th  Anniver- 
sary. 

"This  is  a  splendid  opportunity  to  bring  the  Story 
of  Variety — and  the  Industry — to  those  outside  our 
Industry — for  representatives  ,  from  all  phases  of 
business,  schools,  and  clubs  will  be  present. 

"If  you  would  like  for  your  Variety  Club  to  par- 
ticipate and  sponsor  such  an  event — please  let  us 
know  ...  we  will  forward  you  plans  in  greater  detail. 

"I,  personally,  feel  this  is  a  splendid  opportunity 
for  Variety  to  establish  an  important  niche  for  itself 
in  the  Community  .  .  .  and  believe  that  much  prestige 
will  be  the  result  of  this  event — which  will  be  handled 
with  great  dignity." 

The  founding  of  the  Variety  Clubs  was  an  inspira- 
tion  on  the  part  of  a  handful  of  Pittsburgh  men  en- 
gaged  in  the  show  business.  They  had  found  a  baby 
abandoned  in  the  foyer  of  one  of  the  theatres  in  that 
city  and  they  decided  to  rear  that  baby. 

Beginning  with  this  compassionable  gesture,  the 
idea  soon  spread  and  today  there  is  a  Variety  Tent 
in  twentysix  exchange  centers  in  the  country. 

The  charitable  spirit  of  the  Variety  Clubs  has 
been  maintained  unsullied  until  December  18,  when 
Bob  O'Donnell  undertook  to  lend  its  beautiful  name 
to  commercialism — to  advertise  a  film  company. 


Who  sold  Bob  O'Donnell  a  bill  of  goods?  Did  he 
think  of  what  he  started  when  he  opened  the  doors 
of  this  charitable  organization  to  sordid  commercial' 
ism?  Let's  look  into  the  matter : 

Other  film  companies  will  be  celebrating,  in  one 
form  or  another,  some  sort  of  anniversary.  Is  Mr. 
O'Donnell  going  to  offer  the  name  of  Variety  Clubs 
to  advertise  these  companies?  He  cannot  deny  it  to 
them,  unless  he  wants  to  show  partiality.  And  if  he 
should  offer  the  facilities  of  the  Variety  Tents  to 
every  film  company,  what  becomes  of  the  charitable 
spirit  of  this  institution? 

And  why  should  Columbia,  or  any  other  film  com' 
pany  for  that  matter,  be  permitted  to  cash  in  on  the 
industry's  overall  war  effort — an  effort  that  is  repre- 
sentative  of  every  branch  in  the  industry?  The  other 
distributors,  the  producers,  the  exhibitors,  the  actors, 
the  writers,  the  technicians,  and  every  other  com' 
ponent  part  of  the  motion  picture  industry  spent 
many  hours  and  much  money  to  help  win  the  war, 
and  any  attempt  to  arrange  a  tribute  to  their  efforts 
"as  symbolized  by  Columbia  Pictures  25  th  Anniver' 
sary"  would  be  a  flagrant  depredation  of  the  credit 
that  is  due  to  each  of  these  groups. 

This  paper  ventures  to  say  that  Bob  O'Donnell  will 
find  great  opposition  to  his  idea  among  the  Variety 
Tents  he  heads.  There  are  members  who  are  guarding 
the  spirit  of  this  institution  as  they  are  guarding  the 
pupils  of  their  eyes — they  do  not  want  and  will  not 
permit  this  charitable  institution  to  degenerate  into 
an  advertising  agency. 

The  writer,  being  a  member  of  the  Variety  Clubs, 
resents  the  prostitution  of  the  spirit  of  this  institution 
and  protests  against  the  use  of  it  in  the  manner  that 
Mr.  O'Donnell  proposes. 


THE  DEFENDANTS  FILE  THEIR  BRIEFS 

On  Monday  of  this  week,  the  defendant  distributors 
in  the  New  York  anti-trust  suit  filed  their  final  briefs 
with  the  Court.  There  remains  now  the  hearing  of 
oral  arguments,  which  is  scheduled  to  take  place  before 
the  three- judge  statutory  court  on  January  15. 

In  addition  to  filing  individual  briefs,  the  five 
theatre-owning  companies  filed  also  a  joint  brief. 
Of  the  "Little  Three,"  Universal  and  United  Artists 
filed  a  joint  brief,  while  Columbia  submitted  a  separate 
brief. 

The  joint  brief  of  the  "Big  Five"  concerns  itself 
mostly  with  arguments  of  law,  through  which  it  is 
asserted  that  the  Government  has  failed  to  prove  its 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


6 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  12,  1946 


"The  Spiral  Staircase" 
with  Dorothy  McGuire,  George  Brent 
and  Ethel  Barrymore 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  83  min.) 

Very  g(X)d!  Produced  with  care,  directed  with  in- 
telligence, and  acted  competently  by  an  impressive 
cast,  this  gripping  murder-mystery  melodrama  offers 
thrills  and  suspense  in  a  manner  that  is  sure  to  hold 
mass  as  well  as  class  audiences  engrossed.  The  settings, 
lighting,  photography  and  music  are  of  considerable 
aid  in  creating  a  tense  atmosphere,  putting  the  spec- 
tator in  a  receptive  mood  for  a  story  of  this  type.  The 
central  figure  in  the  plot,  which  revolves  around  a 
mysterious,  maniacal  murderer,  whose  victims  are 
women  with  physical  handicaps,  is  Dorothy  McGuire, 
who  enacts  the  role  of  a  mute  housemaid.  She  gives 
an  exceptionally  good  performance,  succeeding  in 
making  the  audience  understand  her  every  thought, 
although  she  does  not  utter  a  single  word  until  the 
final  scene,  where  she  regains  her  voice.  The  closing 
situations,  where  Miss  McGuire  is  pursued  by  the 
murderer,  narrowly  escaping  death,  are  terrorizing. 
The  setting  is  a  small  New  England  town  in  1906: — 

Following  the  murder  of  a  crippled  girl,  the  third 
unsolved  killing  in  town,  Dorothy  is  warned  by  Ethel 
Barrymore,  her  aged  invalid  mistress,  to  leave  the 
house.  The  crochety  old  woman  spoke  often  of  her 
late  husband,  who  admired  strength  and  despised 
weakness,  claiming  that  he  would  have  been  dis- 
appointed in  his  two  sons,  Professor  George  Brent  and 
Gordon  Oliver,  both  occupants  of  the  house.  Oliver, 
who  was  infatuated  with  Rhonda  Fleming,  Brent's 
seductive  secretary,  quarrels  with  her,  and  later,  when 
she  goes  to  the  cellar  to  get  her  suitcase  to  leave  the 
house,  she  is  strangled  to  death.  Dorothy  finds  her 
body  under  circumstances  that  convince  her  of  Oliver's 
guilt  and,  through  a  ruse,  she  succeeds  in  locking  him 
in  a  closet.  She  rushes  to  Brent  for  aid,  but  the  pro- 
fessor, cooly  revealing  himself  to  be  the  murderer, 
informs  her  that  there  was  no  room  in  the  world  for 
the  weak  and  imperfect,  and  prepares  to  kill  her. 
Terror-stricken,  Dorothy  manages  to  elude  him  for 
a  time,  but  he  eventually  corners  her.  Miss  Barrymore, 
having  overheard  the  commotion,  comes  out  of  her 
room  and  shoots  him  dead,  only  to  collapse  and  die 
herself.  The  shock  causes  Dorothy  to  regain  her  voice, 
enabling  her  to  go  away  with  Kent  Smith,  a  young 
doctor,  who  had  long  been  in  love  with  her. 

Based  on  the  novel  "Some  Must  Watch,"  the  screen 
play  was  written  by  Mel  Dinelli.  Dore  Schary  pro- 
duced it,  and  Robert  Siodmak  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Elsa  Lanchester,  Sara  Allgood,  Rhys  Wil- 
liams, James  Bell  and  others. 

Too  terrifying  for  children. 

"Because  of  Him"  with  Deanna  Durbin, 
Charles  Laughton  and  Franchot  Tone 

(Universal,  Jan.  18;  time,  87  min.) 
This  comedy  with  some  music  tries  hard  to  be  light 
and  clever,  but  it  never  quite  makes  the  grade;  at 
best,  it  is  only  moderately  amusing,  and  many  picture- 
goers  may  find  it  tiresome.  The  story  is  silly,  even 
irritating,  and  for  the  most  part  the  comedy  situations 
fail  to  "click."  The  three  leading  players  struggle 
valiantly  with  the  material,  but  there  is  not  much  that 
they  can  do  to  awaken  interest  in  the  artificial  story. 
The  Deanna  Durbin  fans  may  be  disappointed,  for 
her  singing  is  kept  to  a  minimum.  The  few  songs  she 
does  sing  are,  however,  the  films  most  entertaining 
moments: — 


Deanna,  a  stage-struck  waitress,  idolizes  Charles 
Laughton,  a  noted  middle-aged  actor,  and  secures  his 
autograph  prior  to  his  leaving  town  on  a  vacation. 
Actually,  Deanna  had  tricked  him  into  signing  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  Stanley  Ridges,  his  manager, 
praising  her  acting  ability.  Assuming  that  Laughton 
wanted  Deanna  as  his  new  leading  lady,  Ridges  gives 
a  party  in  Laughton 's  apartment  to  introduce  her  to 
the  press.  Laughton,  returning  unexpectedly,  arrives 
at  his  apartment  to  discover  the  party  in  full  blast. 
To  save  Deanna  embarrassment,  he  does  not  reveal  her 
hoax  to  the  press,  but  later,  when  he  escorts  her  home, 
he  advises  her  to  forget  her  acting  ambitions.  Deter- 
mined not  to  let  Laughton  dispose  of  Deanna  easily, 
Helen  Broderick,  her  roommate,  notifies  the  news- 
papers that  Deanna  had  attempted  suicide  because  of 
a  lover's  quarrel  with  Laughton.  The  actor,  chagrined, 
finds  himself  compelled  to  offer  Deanna  the  lead  in 
his  show  lest  he  receive  unfavorable  publicity.  Mean- 
while Franchot  Tone,  the  play's  author,  learns  of 
Deanna's  inexperience  and  refuses  to  accept  her,  but 
Deanna's  personality  and  singing  talent  soon  wins 
him  over.  He  falls  in  love  with  her  but  becomes  re- 
sentful when  Laughton,  too,  shows  signs  of  affection, 
leading  him  to  believe  that  she  had  resorted  to  trickery 
to  secure  the  lead.  Tone's  jealousy  results  in  a  quarrel 
between  Laughton  and  himself.  He  resigns  as  stage 
director  and  orders  his  name  removed  from  the  play. 
On  opening  night,  Tone,  unable  to  resist  watching 
Deanna  act,  stands  in  the  wings.  Deanna  scores  a 
success,  and  Laughton,  noticing  Tone  in  the  wings, 
alters  the  closing  lines  of  the  play  in  a  manner  that 
leads  Deanna  into  Tone's  arms. 

Edmund  Beloin  wrote  the  screen  play,  Felix  Jack- 
son produce  it,  and  Richard  Wallace  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Donald  Meek  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Abilene  Town"  with  Randolph  Scott 
and  Ann  Dvorak 

(United  Artists,  Jan.  11;  time,  88  min.) 
A  fairly  good  Western.  Dealing  with  a  conflict 
between  homesteaders,  who  sought  to  establish  farms 
on  Government  lands  in  Kansas  during  1870,  and 
cattlemen,  who  were  determined  to  keep  the  land  an 
"open  range,"  the  story  is  for  the  most  part  interesting, 
and  since  the  action  is  fast-moving  one's  attention  is 
held  well.  The  Western  fans  in  particular  will  find  it 
to  their  liking,  for  it  has  all  the  ingredients  that  appeal 
to  them — a  courageous  marshal  who  outwits  the  vil- 
lains, bringing  law  and  order  to  the  community,  good 
horseback  riding,  shooting,  and  exciting  brawls.  As 
for  others,  there  is  a  generous  sprinkling  of  comedy, 
a  few  musical  interpolations,  and  romantic  interest. 
Randolph  Scott  plays  the  fearless  marshal  with  con- 
viction : — 

As  marshal  of  Abilene,  Kansas,  Scott  has  his  hands 
full  keeping  law  and  order  in  a  town  divided  within 
itself;  on  one  side  of  the  main  street  were  saloons  and 
gambling  palaces  catering  to  cattlemen,  and  on  the 

other  side  were  the  stores  of  the  town's  merchants  

the  permanent  population — who  wished  for  order  to 
prevail,  but  who  feared  that  the  homesteaders  would 
eliminate  the  cattlemen,  spelling  economic  dis- 
aster for  themselves.  Ann  Dvorak,  a  dance  hall  queen, 
who  loved  Scott,  constantly  battles  with  him  because 
he  exposed  himself  to  danger,  and  Rhonda  Fleming, 
a  merchant's  daughter,  who,  too,  loved  Scott,  feared' 
that  his  job  would  one  day  cost  him  his  life.  To  dis- 
courage the  homesteaders  from  settling  on  the  "open 


"January  12,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


7 


range,"  the  cattlemen,  headed  by  Dick  Curtis,  burn 
out  their  camp  and  kill  several  persons.  Lloyd  Bridges, 
youthful  leader  of  the  homesteaders,  convinces  his 
followers  that  they  must  block  the  cattle  trail  with 
barbed  wire  to  make  the  country  safe  for  them  and 
their  families.  This  action  incurs  the  wrath  of  the 
cattlemen,  causing  them  to  stampede  their  herds 
through  the  wire.  Scott,  realising  that  the  time  for 
a  showdown  had  come,  convinces  the  merchants  that 
it  would  be  to  their  ultimate  benefit  to  support  the 
homesteaders  and  to  drive  the  lawless  element  away 
from  the  town.  Keeping  his  forces  in  check,  Scott  per- 
mits the  cattlemen  to  riot  and  wreck  their  own  side 
of  the  street  before  he  attempts  to  arrest  Curtis.  The 
cattle  baron  resists  and  is  slain  by  Scott.  Confused 
by  the  loss  of  their  leader,  and  by  Scott's  cool  but 
determined  warning  that  they  leave  immediately,  the 
cattlemen  ride  out  of  town  quietly.  With  law  and 
order  restored  to  the  town,  it  all  ends  with  Ann  in 
Scott's  arms,  and  with  Rhonda  in  Bridges'  arms. 

Harold  Shumate  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the 
novel  "Trail  Town"  by  Ernest  Haycox,  Jules  Levey 
produced  it,  and  Edwin  L.  Marin  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Edgar  Buchanan,  Helen  Boice,  Howard  Free' 
man  and  others. 


"Whistle  Stop"  with  George  Raft, 
Victor  McLaglen  and  Ava  Gardner 

(United  Artists,  Jan.  25;  time,  85  min.) 

A  somber,  unpleasant  crime  melodrama.  There  is 
little  to  recommend  it  as  entertainment,  for  its  story 
about  the  seamy  side  of  life  in  a  small  town  is  sordid 
as  well  as  hackneyed,  and  not  one  of  the  characters 
is  sympathetic.  The  hero  is  a  shiftless  gambler  with  no 
redeeming  features,  and  the  heroine,  a  woman  of 
questionable  background,  plays  him  against  a  shady 
bistro  owner  to  win  his  love.  Another  drawback,  inso- 
far as  the  masses  is  concerned,  is  the  slow-moving 
action.  Low-key  photography  and  subtle  directorial 
touches  have  been  resorted  to  in  an  effort  to  give  the 
proceedings  tenseness  and  meaningness,  but  the  pic- 
ture on  the  whole  is  so  confused  and  vague  that  it  fails 
either  to  excite  one  or  to  hold  one's  interest : — 

After  an  absence  of  two  years  in  a  big  city,  Ava 
Gardner  returns  to  her  "whistle  stop"  home-town  to 
take  up  her  romance  with  George  Raft,  a  shiftless  but 
handsome  fellow.  Keenly  disappointed  to  find  that 
Raft  had  not  changed  his  ways,  Ava  permits  Tom 
Conway,  a  night-club  owner,  to  resume  the  lavish 
attentions  he  had  once  paid  her.  Raft,  in  love  with 
Ava,  realizes  that  he  must  have  money  in  order  to 
win  her.  Accordingly,  he  falls  in  with  a  plan  proposed 
by  Victor  McLaglen,  Conway's  ex-convict  bartender, 
who  suggests  that  they  waylay  Conway,  and  rob  and 
kill  him.  Ava,  learning  of  the  plot,  prevents  its  con- 
sumation  and  induces  Raft  to  accept  a  job  at  honest 
labor.  Conway,  insanely  jealous  over  Raft's  winning 
of  Ava,  and  suspicious  of  the  attempt  made  on  his 
life,  engineers  an  elaborate  trap  to  dispose  of  Raft 
and  McLaglen.  He  stages  a  fake  robbery  at  his  cafe, 
murders  his  "bouncer,"  then  invites  Raft  and  Mc- 
Laglen to  come  to  the  cafe  for  a  friendly  chat.  He 
sets  off  a  burglar  alarm  as  they  arrive,  forcing  both 
to  flee  from  the  police  as  murder  suspects.  In  the  chase 
that  follows,  Raft  is  wounded  badly,  but  he  and 
McLaglen  manage  to  escape  on  a  freight  train  to  St. 
Louis,  where  both  are  given  refuge  in  the  home  of  a 
friend.  McLaglen,  to  disprove  Raft's  accusation  that 
he  was  a  double-crosser,  in  league  with  Conway,  re- 
turns to  town  alone  and,  after  furnishing  Ava  with 


evidence  to  clear  Raft,  visits  Conway  at  the  cafe.  They 
kill  each  other  in  the  ensuing  fight.  Raft's  name 
cleared,  Ava  entrains  for  St.  Louis  to  start  life  with 
him  anew. 

Philip  Yordan  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel 
by  Maritta  M.  Wolff,  Seymour  Nebenzal  produced  it, 
and  Leonide  Moguy  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Jorja  Curtright,  Florence  Bates  and  others. 

Unsuitable  for  children. 


"My  Reputation"  with  Barbara  Stanwyck 
and  George  Brent 

(Warner  Bros.,  Jan.  26;  time,  94  min.) 

A  powerful  romantic  drama,  with  a  particular 
appeal  for  women.  It  will  probably  do  outstanding 
business,  for  it  is  the  sort  of  picture  your  patrons  will 
recommend  to  their  friends  after  leaving  the  theatre. 
Dealing  with  the  dilemna  of  an  attractive  young 
widow,  who,  seeking  to  make  a  new  life  for  herself, 
finds  herself  torn  between  love  for  a  kind-hearted, 
handsome  army  officer,  and  her  two  schoolboy  sons' 
attitude  toward  her  desire  for  him,  the  story  is  one 
that  constantly  plays  on  the  emotions,  often  bringing 
forth  tears.  Barbara  Stanwyck,  as  the  widow,  is 
superb;  she  wins  the  spectator's  unbounded  sympathy 
by  her  devotion  to  her  children  and  by  the  manner 
in  which  she  conducts  herself,  despite  malicious 
gossip  about  her  romance  with  George  Brent,  the 
officer.  The  elegantly  mounted  production,  the  capable 
performances,  and  the  intelligent  direction  make  it 
a  drama  of  distinction : — 

Grief-stricken  over  the  sudden  death  of  her  hus- 
band, Barbara,  a  charming  cultivated  young  woman, 
finds  her  life  made  more  difficult  by  her  domineering 
mother  (Lucille  Watson),  who  insists  that  she  wear 
mourning  clothes  and  lead  the  life  of  a  recluse.  Bar- 
bara resists  her  mother  and  devotes  herself  to  her 
two  sons  (Scotty  Beckett  and  Bobby  Cooper).  En- 
gulfed by  ioneliness  when  the  boys  go  off  to  school, 
Barbara  accepts  an  invitation  from  friends  to  spend 
a  week-end  at  a  winter  resort.  There  she  meets  Brent, 
who  wastes  no  time  pressing  his  attentions  on  her. 
Her  stand-offishness  causes  a  quarrel  between  them, 
but  weeks  later,  when  they  meet  again  in  Chicago, 
Barbara  drops  her  reserve  and  they  soon  become 
deeply  attached,  despite  Brent's  assertion  that  he  was 
not  the  marrying  sort.  They  have  a  gay  time  in  the 
weeks  that  follow,  with  Barbara  ignoring  her  mother's 
unwarranted  protests,  and  dismissing  blithely  ma- 
licious gossip  by  family  friends  about  her  affair  with 
Brent.  Eventually,  her  sons  overhear  the  gossip  and 
confront  her  with  it.  When  she  refuses  to  make 
denials,  they  believe  the  gossip  to  be  true.  That  night, 
New  Year's  Eve,  Barbara  learns  that  Brent  had  to 
leave  for  New  York  on  orders  to  go  overseas.  She 
decides  to  accompany  him,  and  informs  her  sons  of 
her  decision.  Disillusioned,  they  run  away  to  their 
grandmother's  home.  Barbara  rushes  there  and,  after 
pouring  out  her  heart  to  them,  wins  back  their  love 
and  understanding.  She  keeps  her  rendezvous  with 
Brent  at  the  railroad  station,  but  informs  him  of  her 
decision  to  remain  at  home  with  her  boys.  Brent,  appre- 
ciative of  her  dilemna,  asks  her  to  marry  him  when 
he  returns  from  overseas. 

Catherine  Turney  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the 
novel  "Instruct  My  Sorrows"  by  Clare  Jaynes.  Henry 
Blankc  produced  it,  and  Curtis  Bernhardt  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Warner  Anderson,  John  Ridgely, 
Eve  Arden,  Esther  Dale,  Jerome  Cowan  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  12,  1946 


charges  of  monopoly  in  the  distribution  and  exhibi- 
tion of  motion  pictures.  The  brief's  introduction 
maintains  that  "motion  picture  distributors  are  free 
to  choose  their  customers  in  accordance  with  their 
own  notions  of  self-interest;  to  license  their  products 
in  any  lawful  manner  designed  to  assure  them  the 
largest  reward  and  to  maintain  the  stability  of  their 
enterprises  by  embarking  on  any  business  authorized 
by  their  charters,  including  the  ownership  and  opera- 
tion of  theatres,  upon  which  their  stockholders  are 
willing  to  hazard  their  capital.  The  right  to  choose 
customers  includes  the  right  to  choose  them  arbi- 
trarily. ..." 

The  "Big  Five's"  denial  of  the  Government's 
charges  is  treated  in  the  brief  by  means  of  two  major 
points.  In  the  first  point  it  is  argued  that  "the  license 
agreements  used  in  the  industry  are  lawful,"  and  the 
brief  then  goes  into  a  discourse  of  the  necessity  and 
of  the  legality  of  runs,  clearance  agreements,  per- 
centage licenses,  and  the  specifying  of  minimum  ad- 
missions prices  during  the  exhibition  of  the  particular 
picture  or  pictures  licensed. 

In  the  second  point  it  is  argued  that  the  theatre- 
owning  companies,  "each  independently  engaged  in 
producing  and  distributing  motion  pictures,  are  en- 
titled as  a  matter  of  law  to  own  theatres  exhibiting 
pictures  to  the  public";  that  "competition  in  both  dis- 
tribution and  exhibition  is  substantially  increased, 
rather  than  diminshed,  by  a  theatre  exhibiting  the 
pictures  of  more  than  one  distributor";  that  "five 
wholly  autonomous  companies  cannot  be  treated  'col- 
lectively' to  establish  a  Sherman  Act  violation";  that 
"a  definite  agreement  to  restrain  trade  or  to  monop- 
olize must  be  established,  either  by  evidence  of  an 
actual  agreement  or  by  proof  of  circumstances  from 
which  such  an  agreement  may  be  properly  inferred"; 
that  "separate  license  agreements  of  two  or  more  dis- 
tributors with  a  theatre  operated  by  either  an  inde- 
pendent or  by  one  affiliated  with  a  distributor,  are 
not,  in  and  of  themselves,  circumstances  from  which 
collective  action  to  monopolize  can  be  inferred";  that 
"  'cross-licensing,'  as  used  in  this  case,  is  but  an  empty 
catchword,  not  establishing  'collective'  action";  that 
"there  is  in  this  case  no  evidence  of  exclusion  or  dis- 
crimination from  which  an  agreement  to  restrain  trade 
is  to  be  inferred";  that  "the  Government  has  failed 
to  sustain  its  burden  of  proving  circumstances  from 
which  an  inference  of  agreement  to  restrain  trade  may 
be  properly  drawn";  that  "divestiture  is  a  wholly  un- 
warranted remedy  in  the  case  at  bar";  that  "to  grant 
this  blanket  indiscriminate  relief  would  be  an  act  not 
warranted  by  evidence  of  existing  wrongs";  and  that 
"the  relief  of  divestiture  has  no  relation  to  the  matters 
complained  of." 

In  the  joint  brief  submitted  by  Universal  and  United 
Artists,  and  in  the  separate  brief  filed  by  Columbia, 
these  companies  answer  the  Government's  charges 
against  them,  and  defend  their  operations  as  not  being 
in  violation  of  the  Sherman  Act. 

In  addition  to  the  aforementioned  briefs,  the  "Big 
Five,"  on  January  2,  filed  with  the  Court  a  separate 
brief  dealing  with  the  decisions  in  arbitration  pro- 
ceedings under  the  Consent  Decree. 

As  was  reported  in  the  October  20  issue  of  this 
paper,  the  government  during  the  trial  offered  as  evi- 
dence of  anti-trust  violations  certain  arbitration  cases 


and  Appeal  Board  decisions.  The  theatre-owning  dis- 
tributor-defendants, through  their  battery  of  lawyers 
objected  vehemently  against  the  admission  of  arbitra- 
tion proceedings  as  evidence  of  violations,  but  the 
Court,  after  taking  the  question  under  advisement, 
overruled  their  objections. 

At  that  time  it  was  evident  that  the  "Big  Five"  con- 
sidered it  most  important  to  keep  this  evidence  relating 
to  arbitration  out  of  the  case,  and  it  was  deemed  a 
blow  to  their  defense  when  the  Court  decided  to 
accept  the  evidence.  Now  again  their  great  concern 
about  this  evidence  is  manifest  in  the  fact  that  they 
took  pains  to  prepare  a  separate  brief,  consisting  of 
1  1 1  pages,  dealing  with  only  the  one  subject — the 
Consent  Decree  and  the  arbitration  decisions  under  it. 

The  brief  defends  the  Consent  Decree  and  the 
operation  of  its  arbitration  machinery,  and  it  chal- 
lenges the  Government's  allegation  that  the  decree  is 
inadequate  to  give  the  relief  that  the  Sherman  Act 
requires.  Maintaining  that  Government  counsel 
agreed  to  all  provisions  of  the  decree  when  it  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  Court  in  1940  for  approval,  the  brief 
asserts  that  "the  unjustified  attempt  by  present  coun- 
sel for  the  Government  to  minimize  the  importance 
of  the  decree  .  .  .  deserves  nothing  but  criticism." 

Most  of  the  brief  is  devoted  to  a  separate  analysis 
of  each  of  the  arbitration  proceedings  that  had  been 
received  in  evidence  by  the  Court,  and  the  remainder 
concerns  itself  with  a  brief  history  of  the  Consent 
Decree,  with  arguments  of  law  stressing  the  legality 
of  its  provisions,  and  with  a  restatement  of  the  de- 
fendants' objections  relative  to  the  admissibility  of 
the  arbitration  decisions  as  evidence  of  anti -trust  vio- 
lations. 

The  conclusions  reached  by  the  brief  are  as  follows: 

"  1 .  The  arbitration  system  has  been  efficiently  and 
impartially  administered.  (Ed.  Tsjote:  The  Govern- 
ment's brief  specifically  concedes  that  it  has  no  com.' 
plaint  on  this  score) . 

2.  The  arbitration  system  is  an  efficacious  method 
of  settling  industry  disputes. 

"3.  If  there  are  any  real  defects  in  the  system,  due 
to  the  limitations  on  the  scope  of  the  arbitration,  they 
are  subject  to  cure  by  revision  of  existing  provisions. 

"4.  Even  if  the  facts  recited  in  the  opinions  were 
proved  as  facts  in  this  case,  they  do  not  establish  any 
violation  of  law,  nor  do  they  show  any  consistent 
pattern  of  discrimination  against  any  class  of  ex- 
hibitors. 

"5.  The  number  of  arbitrations  instituted,  400  and 
the  many  thousands  of  contracts  entered  into  since  the 
entry  of  the  decree,  out  of  the  total  number  of  theatres 
in  the  country,  18,000,  shows  that  there  does  not  exist 
in  the  industry  widespread  claims  of  discrimination 
and  unfairness.  Indeed,  we  think  it  is  most  significant 
that  the  scope  of  the  relief  which  most  of  the  com- 
plaints have  sought  was  not  a  striking  down  of  the 
essential  methods  of  doing  business  but,  rather,  only 
some  particular  amelioration  of  their  individual  play- 
ing position." 

And  now  the  industry  must  wait  until  January  15, 
for  the  oral  argument,  at  which  time  the  Government 
will  undoubtedly  point  out  to  the  Court  its  views  on 
the  shortcomings  and  weaknesses  of  the  arguments 
contained  in  the  aforementioned  briefs. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  19,  1946  No.  3 


MORE  ABOUT  THE  PROPOSED 
NEW  NATIONAL  EXHIBITOR 
ORGANIZATION 

Despite  the  conspicuous  absence  of  genuine  inde' 
pendent  exhibitor  support,  the  proponents  of  the  new 
national  exhibitor  organization,  which  is  to  be  known 
as  the  Theatre  Activities  Committee  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Industry,  are  determined  that  the  new  setup 
shall  come  into  being. 

At  a  meeting  in  New  York  two  weeks  ago,  the 
Interim  Committee  appointed  to  form  the  new  asso- 
ciation voted  to  hold  the  first  convention  in  St.  Louis 
early  in  April,  at  which  time  will  be  made  a  formal 
bid  for  national  exhibitor  support.  Delegates  to  the 
convention  will  be  selected  by  states. 

The  meeting  of  the  Interim  Committee  was  closed 
to  the  press,  but,  according  to  a  report  in  Motion 
Picture  Herald,  field  meetings  will  be  called  by  the 
exhibitor  chairmen  of  the  War  Activities  Committee 
in  each  exchange  center  for  the  selection  of  a  dele- 
gate from  each  state.  Where  more  than  one  exchange 
area  is  located  in  a  state,  one  delegate  shall  be  chosen 
for  each  such  area.  Each  state,  however,  will  have  a 
delegate  regardless  of  whether  it  has  a  film  exchange. 

Meanwhile  the  Conference  of  Independent  Exhibi- 
tor Associations,  which  is  comprised  of  twenty-two 
independent  exhibitor  organizations,  has  steadfastly 
refrained  from  participating  in  the  new  association's 
formation. 

As  it  has  already  been  stated  in  these  columns,  the 
proponents  of  the  new  organization  are  comprised 
mostly  of  men  whose  interests  are  either  directly  or 
indirectly  connected  with  the  theatre-owning  pro- 
ducers, and  what  they  propose  to  form  would,  in 
effect,  be  another  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of 
America. 

Accordingly,  one  begins  to  wonder  if  there  isn't  a 
method  in  the  determination  of  these  proponents  to 
form  another  organization.  Can  it  be  that  this  deter- 
mination is  in  some  way  related  to  the  major  com- 
panies' plans  for  the  future  of  MPTOA,  the  organi- 
zation that  is  subsidized  and  controlled  by  them?  The 
developments  should  be  interesting. 

WILL  THE  PRODUCER-DISTRIBUTORS 
FOLLOW  THE  EXAMPLE  SET  BY 
THEIR  LEADER? 

Among  the  principal  features  of  the  new  tax  law 
that  went  into  effect  on  January  1  are  the  elimination 
of  the  85]/2  per  cent  excess  profits  tax  on  corporations, 
and  the  provision  that  taxable  income  for  corpora- 


tions with  net  profits  exceeding  $50,000  becomes  sub- 
ject to  tax  at  rates  not  exceeding  38  per  cent.  It  is 
estimated  that  these  reductions,  as  well  as  others 
included  in  the  law,  will  reduce  by  $3,136,000,000 
the  amount  of  Federal  taxes  to  be  paid  to  the  Treasury 
by  business  firms. 

Recently,  Eric  A.  Johnston,  president  of  the  Mo- 
tion Picture  Association  (formerly  the  MPPDA), 
who  owns  a  number  of  electrical  equipment  manu- 
facturing plants  in  the  State  of  Washington,  an* 
nounced  a  plan  whereby  the  employees  of  his  com- 
panies would  share  in  25  per  cent  of  the  net  profits 
before  taxes.  Terming  this  move  as  his  solution  of 
the  problem  of  "industrial  democracy,"  Mr.  John- 
ston said:  "We  have  political  democracy  and  so  we 
must  have  democracy  for  industry  to  make  workers 
feel  that  they  are  a  part  of  management  and  that  they 
have  a  voice  in  what  is  going  on." 

Since  the  motion  picture  industry,  particularly  the 
producer-distributors  who  are  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation that  Mr.  Johnston  heads,  will  benefit  greatly 
by  the  aforementioned  tax  reductions,  one  is  prompt- 
ed to  ask  if  Mr.  Johnston  might  not  try  to  imbue  his 
member  companies  with  his  commendable  philosophy 
of  live-and-let-live.  The  tremendous  increased  profits 
that  will  undoubtedly  accrue  to  the  producer-distribu- 
tors as  a  result  of  the  new  tax  reductions  will  place 
them  in  a  position  where  they  could  readily  afford  to 
share  their  good  fortune  with  their  customers,  the 
exhibitors,  through  the  medium  of  sorely  needed  re- 
ductions in  film  rentals.  The  lowering  of  film  rentals 
would  indeed  be  a  form  of  profit-sharing,  and  it  would 
go  far  in  bringing  to  the  motion  picture  industry  the 
sort  of  democracy  that  Mr.  Johnston  speaks  about. 

Mr.  Johnston  has  set  the  example  in  the  electrical 
equipment  field.  Will  the  producer-distributors  fol- 
low this  example  in  the  motion  picture  field? 


ONLY  GOOD  PICTURES 
WILL  DO  BUSINESS 

"Hitting  a  new  boxoffice  high  in  the  first  five  weeks 
of  its  playing  time,"  declares  an  RKO  publicity  re- 
lease, "  'The  Bells  of  St.  Mary's'  .  .  .  promises  to  out- 
gross  any  other  picture  ever  produced.  This  amazing 
record  is  proof  that  the  expected  post-war  attendance 
slump  will  not  take  place  as  long  as  the  public  can 
buy  top-notch  fi^m  entertainment,  in  the  opinion  of 
Ned  Depinet,  RKO  Radio  president." 

If  the  phenomenal  business  done  by  this  picture  is 
to  serve  as  proof  that  no  post-war  attendance  slump 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


10 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  19,  1946 


"Breakfast  in  Hollywood"  with 
Tom  Breneman  and  Bonita  Granville 

(United  Artists,  Feb.  22;  time,  93  min.) 

Good  entertainment!  The  story  is  simple,  yet  charming, 
and  it  has  plentiful  human  appeal,  romantic  interest,  and 
comedy;  it  is  certain  to  entertain  all  those  who  will  see  it, 
for  it  comes  as  a  welcome  relief  from  the  heavy  type  of  pic- 
tures some  of  the  other  companies  are  producing.  Based  on 
the  popular  audience-participation  radio  show  of  the  same 
title,  the  action  revolves  around  Tom  Breneman,  the  show's 
genial  master  of  ceremonies,  and  it  depicts  a  day  in  his  life, 
during  which  time  his  activities  include  everything  from 
staging  his  radio  show  to  playing  cupid  to  a  young  couple 
and  humoring  gentle  old  ladies.  Breneman,  who  plays  him- 
self, has  a  fine  screen  personality;  his  naturalness  and  good 
humor  endear  him  to  the  audience.  Considering  the  fact 
that  the  story  is  light,  much  credit  is  due  Robert  S.  Golden, 
the  producer,  and  Harold  Schuster,  the  director,  for  its 
consistently  entertaining  and  refreshing  quality.  Worked 
into  the  proceedings  to  good  effect  are  a  number  of  musical 
highlights,  featuring  Spike  Jones  and  His  City  Slickers,  the 
King  Cole  Trio,  and  Andy  Russell,  the  popular  "crooner." 

The  story  opens  with  a  re-enactment  of  Breneman's  radio 
show,  during  which  he  meets  Bonita  Granville,  a  Minneapo- 
lis girl,  who  had  come  to  Hollywood  to  meet  her  sailor  sweet- 
heart; Edward  Ryan,  an  honorably  discharged  sailor  not 
yet  out  of  uniform;  Zazu  Pitts,  a  middle-aged  spinster,  whose 
secret  ambition  was  to  win  the  radio  show's  "screwy"  hat 
contest  and  be  kissed  by  Breneman;  Bculah  Bondi,  a  gentle, 
elderly  widow,  who  sought  to  win  an  orchid  as  the  show's 
oldest  guest;  and  Billie  Burke,  a  drab,  timid  housewife, 
whose  husband,  Raymond  Walburn,  was  a  philanderer. 
Outside  his  radio  work,  Breneman  concerns  himself  chiefly 
with  patching  up  the  broken  romance  between  Bonita  and 
Ryan,  who  had  fallen  in  love  after  she  discovered  that  her 
boy-friend  had  jilted  her.  He  participates  also  in  other  good 
deeds,  such  as  instilling  Miss  Bondi  with  a  desire  to  live 
after  she  had  been  injured  seriously  in  an  accident;  indi- 
rectly helping  Miss  Burke  to  win  her  straying  husband  back 
into  the  fold;  and  satisfying  Miss  Pitts  by  trying  on  her  hat 
and  kissing  her. 

On  the  whole,  the  picture  gives  one  a  pleasant  feeling 
throughout,  and  since  human  interest  is  what  most  people 
want  in  their  entertainment  "Breakfast  in  Hollywood"  is 
destined  to  make  a  success. 

Earl  W.  Baldwin  wrote  the  original  story  and  screenplay. 

"Behind  Green  Lights"  with  Carole  Landis 
and  William  Gargan 

(20th  Century-Fox,  Feb.;  time,  64  min.) 

This  mixture  of  crooked  politics,  blackmail,  and  murder 
mystery  is  a  fair  program  entertainment.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  story  is  far-fetched  and  quite  involved,  it  should 
satisfy  the  undiscriminating  followers  of  this  type  of  melo- 
drama, for  it  has  a  fair  share  of  suspense,  and  the  murderer's 
identity  is  concealed  until  the  end.  Most  patrons,  however, 
will  have  little  trouble  identifying  the  killer  after  the  first 
few  reels.  The  action,  most  of  which  takes  place  within 
twelve  hours  at  police  headquarters,  is  fast,  and  in  a  few 
situations  exciting.  There  is  some  slight  comedy  relief,  but 
the  romantic  interest  is  unimportant: — 

The  murder  of  a  blackmailer,  whose  body  is  found  in  front 
of  police  headquarters,  convinces  Lieutenant  William  Gar- 
gan that,  with  the  mayoralty  election  only  a  few  days  away, 
some  one  was  trying  to  discredit  the  police  and  the  city 
officials.  Searching  through  the  dead  man's  effects,  Gargan 
discovers  that  Carole  Landis,  daughter  of  the  reform  candi- 
date, had  visited  the  dead  man's  apartment  that  night.  He 
questions  Carole  and,  though  she  admits  having  gone  to  the 
apartment  to  recover  some  important  documents,  she  denies 
the  commission  of  the  murder.  Roy  Roberts,  an  opposition 
political  boss,  brings  pressure  on  Gargan  to  book  Carole  for 
murder  in  order  to  discredit  her  father,  hinting  that  it  would 
help  him  to  become  chief  of  police.  But  Gargan  refuses. 
Through  Mary  Anderson,  the  dead  man's  estranged  wife, 


and  Charles  Russell,  her  attorney  and  sweetheart,  Gargan 
uncovers  evidence  proving  that  the  blackmailer  had  been 
poisoned  and  shot  after  death.  The  discovery  leads  him  to 
suspect  Don  Bcddoe,  his  medical  examiner,  who  had  failed 
to  note  this  information  on  his  report.  After  a  series  of 
incidents,  in  which  Roberts  unsuccessfully  tries  to  have  the 
blackmailer's  body  removed  from  headquarters,  Gargan, 
through  Mabel  Paige,  an  old  flower  woman,  discovers  that 
Beddoe  had  visited  the  dead  man's  apartment  that  night. 
The  information  enables  him  to  reconstruct  the  crime  and 
to  prove  that  Beddoe  had  committed  the  murder  under 
Roberts'  orders. 

W.  Scott  Darling  and  Charles  G.  Booth  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Robert  Bassler  produced  it,  and  Otto  Brower  directed 
it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Scarlet  Street"  with  Edward  G.  Robinson, 
Joan  Bennett  and  Dan  Duryea 

(Universal.  Dec.  28;  time,  102  min.) 
The  advance  publicity  this  picture  has  received  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  censorship  ban  against  it  in  New  York  State  and 
in  Minneapolis  will,  no  doubt,  cause  it  to  draw  large  crowds, 
but  it  will  prove  a  disgrace  to  the  industry.  It  is  strictly  adult 
entertainment,  and  definitely  not  for  the  family  trade.  From 
an  artistic  point  of  view,  the  screen  play,  production,  direc- 
tion, and  acting  are  of  the  highest  order.  Those  who  can 
stand  strong  melodrama  should  find  it  extremely  fascinating, 
for  its  tale  about  a  mild-mannered,  middle-aged  cashier, 
whose  naive  involvement  with  an  unscrupulous  prostitute 
and  her  vile  procurer  drive  him  to  robbery  and  murder,  is 
a  masterful  piece  of  story  construction,  charged  with  sus- 
pense and  filled  with  intriguing  situations  from  beginning  to 
end.  But  for  sordidness,  brutality,  and  a  display  of  man's 
basest  passions,  it  is  unsurpassed.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
flouts  openly  the  principles  of  objective  morality  and  the 
boundaries  of  good  taste  as  established  by  the  Production 
Code. 

In  the  development  of  the  story,  Edward  G.  Robinson,  a 
timid  casher,  makes  the  acquaintance  of  Joan  Bennett  when 
he  encounters  her  on  the  street  struggling  with  a  bully  (Dan 
Duryea),  whom  he  chases  away.  Without  revealing  that 
Duryea  was  her  boy-friend,  Joan,  a  woman  of  questionable 
morals,  accepts  Robinson's  offer  to  see  her  home  safely  and 
leads  him  to  believe  that  she  was  an  unemployed  actress. 
She  mistakenly  believes  him  to  be  a  wealthy  artist  when  he 
tells  her  that  he  painted  for  a  hobby.  On  the  following  day, 
Duryea,  upon  learning  about  Robinson  from  Joan,  conspires 
with  her  to  make  the  timid  man  fall  in  love  with  her  in  a 
plot  to  milk  him  of  his  money  and  to  induce  him  to  install 
her  in  a  swanky  apartment.  Robinson,  tired  of  his  shrewish 
wife  (Rosalind  Ivan),  who  objected  to  his  painting,  falls  easy 
prey  to  Joan's  wiles  and  steals  money  from  his  firm  to  rent 
an  apartment.  He  moves  all  his  paintings  there,  and  continues 
to  steal  to  satisfy  her  demands,  unaware  that  she  was  giving 
the  money  to  Duryea  and  using  the  apartment  to  carry  on 
her  affair  with  him.  When  Duryea  presses  Joan  for  more 
money,  she  lets  him  sell  a  few  of  Robinson's  unsigned  paint- 
ings. They  create  a  sensation  in  the  art  world,  and  through 
Duryea's  shrewd  manipulations  Joan  is  credited  as  the  artist. 
Robinson,  pleased  that  his  work  had  been  recognized,  allows 
her  to  take  the  credit.  One  night,  after  Robinson  discovers 
that  his  wife's  former  husband,  believed  dead,  was  alive,  he 
rushes  to  the  apartment  to  tell  Joan  the  good  news  only  to 
find  her  in  Duryea's  arms.  Dejected,  he  leaves  the  apartment 
but  returns  later  and  stabs  her  to  death.  Duryea  is  arrested 
for  the  crime  and,  through  Robinson's  false  testimony,  is 
convicted  and  electrocuted.  Meanwhile  Robinson  loses  his 
job  when  his  thievery  is  discovered.  He  goes  to  pieces,  men- 
tally and  physically,  and  tries  to  commit  suicide,  but  the 
attempt  is  thwarted.  Years  later,  he  is  shown  as  a  derelict, 
known  to  the  police  as  a  mental  degenerate  who  was  trying 
to  give  himself  up  for  a  crime  he  did  not  commit. 

Dudley  Nichols  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Fritz  Lang 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Margaret  Lind- 
say, Samuel  S.  Hinds,  Jess  Barker,  Vladimir  Sokoloff  and 
others.  *See  pages  1 6  and  20. 


January  19,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


11 


"Tomorrow  is  Forever"  with 
Claudette  Colbert,  George  Brent 
and  Orson  Welles 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  105  min.) 

Good.  Well  produced  and  skillfully  performed,  this 
humarvinterest  drama  offers  entertainment  of  a  quality  that 
should  appeal  particularly  to  women.  Many  of  the  situations 
stir  one's  emotions  deeply,  but  on  the  whole  the  story  fails 
to  attain  the  strong  dramatic  climaxes  that  the  material 
offered.  The  action  is  rather  slow,  since  the  story  progresses 
through  talk  instead  of  through  motion,  but  one's  interest 
never  lags,  for  one  follows  with  sympathetic  understanding 
the  emotional  problems  of  the  leading  characters.  The  pic- 
ture has  good  box-office  possibilities  because,  first,  of  the 
players'  popularity,  and  secondly,  of  the  fact  that  the  story 
has  been  widely  read  as  a  magazine  serial  and  as  a  novel: — 

Shortly  after  the  Armistice  of  1918,  and  prior  to  the 
birth  of  her  son,  Claudette  Colbert  is  notified  that  her  hus- 
band (Orson  Welles)  was  missing  in  action.  George  Brent, 
her  employer,  befriends  her,  and  six  months  after  her  child 
is  born  she  marries  him.  Meanwhile  Welles  was  alive;  his 
identification  tag  had  been  shot  away  when  he  was  wounded 
severely,  and  rather  than  return  to  Claudette  a  cripple,  he 
chose  to  conceal  his  identity  and  to  remain  abroad.  Twenty 
years  later,  on  the  eve  of  World  War  II,  Welles  returns  to 
America  and,  by  an  ironical  twist  of  fate,  is  employed  by 
Brent  as  a  chemist.  Completely  unaware  that  Brent  was 
married  to  Claudette,  Welles  discovers  this  fact  when  he 
visits  Brent's  home  on  a  business  watter.  Claudette,  however, 
does  not  recognize  him,  because  plastic  surgery  and  a 
beard  had  changed  his  features.  He  learns  also  that  Claudette 
was  the  mother  of  two  sons,  the  eldest,  Richard  Long,  being 
his  own,  a  fact  unknown  to  the  boy.  Realizing  that  Claudette 
was  married  happily,  Welles  hides  his  emotions.  Claudette, 
however,  finds  reason  to  suspect  his  identity  and  presses  him 
for  an  admission,  but  Welles  denies  her  suspicions  and 
urges  her  to  forget  the  past  and  enjoy  her  happiness  with 
Brent.  Meanwhile  Richard,  a  headstrong  boy,  expresses  a 
desire  to  join  the  RAF.  When  Claudette,  terrified,  refuses 
her  permission,  the  boy  runs  away  from  home.  Welles  brings 
him  back  from  the  railroad  station,  and  convinces  Claudette 
that  Richard  must  leave  with  her  blessing.  The  circumstances 
under  which  Welles  effects  the  reconciliation  between 
mother  and  son  taxes  his  broken  health  and  brings  about  his 
death.  But  before  he  dies  he  destroys  all  evidence  of  his 
identity  in  order  to  insure  Claudette's  happiness. 

Lenore  Coffee  wrote  the  screen  play,  David  Lewis  pro- 
duced it,  and  Irving  Pichel  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Lucile  Watson,  Natalie  Wood,  Sonny  Howe  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Shock"  with  Vincent  Price  and  Lynn  Bari 

(20th  Century-Fox;  Feb.;  time,  70  min.) 

An  impressive  program  psychological  melodrama,  cen- 
tering around  a  psychiatrist,  who,  to  prevent  an  overwrought 
woman  patient  from  unmasking  him  as  a  murderer,  attempts 
to  keep  her  in  an  unbalanced  state  of  mind.  The  story  is 
interesting,  and  the  direction  and  acting  are  good.  But,  as  is 
the  case  with  most  pictures  dealing  with  human  suffering, 
whether  physical  or  mental,  it  is  not  a  cheerful  entertain- 
ment. An  unpleasant  feature  is  the  added  touch  of  brutality 
in  which  the  psychiatrist  tries  to  kill  his  patient  by  an  over- 
dose of  insulin;  her  suffering  is  so  realistic  that  squeamish 
patrons  may  be  sickened.  Although  the  action  moves  at  a 
slow  pace,  it  is  charged  with  considerable  suspense  through- 
out. Vincent  Price,  as  the  doctor,  is  convincing: — 

Pacing  distractedly  in  her  hotel  room  while  awaiting  her 
husband's  momentary  return  from  overseas,  Marjorie  Hen- 
shaw  walks  out  on  the  balcony  and  sees  Price  murder  his 
wife  during  a  quarrel.  The  shock  proves  so  great  that  she 
lapses  into  a  state  of  amnesia.  Frank  Latimore,  her  husband, 
finds  her  in  that  condition  and  summons  the  hotel  doctor, 
who  suggests  that  Price,  an  eminent  psychiatrist,  take 
charge  of  the  case.  A  quick  resume  of  the  situation  con- 
vinces Price  that  Marjorie  had  witnessed  his  crime.  He  orders 


her  moved  to  his  private  sanitorium  in  the  suburbs,  and 
there,  through  hypnosis,  he  makes  her  repeat  what  she  had 
seen.  Disturbed,  Price  confides  his  predicament  to  Lynn 
Bari,  his  private  nurse,  with  whom  he  was  having  a  love 
affair.  Together  they  plot  to  destroy  Marjorie's  memory  by 
combining  drugs  with  hypnosis.  Meanwhile  Price  succeeds 
in  establishing  his  wife's  death  as  accidental.  Despite  the 
efforts  to  destroy  her  mind,  Marjorie  becomes  quite  lucid  on 
what  she  saw  at  the  hotel.  This  development,  coupled  with 
the  fact  that  the  police  suspected  that  his  wife  had  been 
murdered,  makes  Price  desperate;  he  decides  to  heed  Lynn's 
advice  that  he  kill  Marjorie  with  overdoses  of  insulin.  To 
protect  himself,  Price  convinces  Latimore  that  his  wife  was 
hopelessly  insane,  and  that  only  insulin  treatments  might 
save  her.  Latimore  agrees  reluctantly,  and  returns  to  the 
city.  While  administering  the  lethal  dose  of  insulin,  Price 
cannot  bear  Marjorie's  suffering  and  orders  Lynn  to  prepare 
an  antidote.  When  Lynn  refuses,  Price  chokes  her  to  death. 
Meanwhile  subsequent  events  had  led  Latimore  to  suspect 
Price  of  treachery,  causing  him  to  seek  the  advice  of  Charles 
Trowbridge,  another  psychiatrist.  Trowbridge  and  Lati- 
more arrive  in  time  to  save  Marjorie,  while  the  police  take 
Price  into  custody. 

Eugene  Ling  wrote  the  screen  play,  Aubrey  Schenck  pro- 
duced it,  and  Alfred  Werker  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Michael  Dunne,  Reed  Hadley  and  others.  Adult  entertain- 
ment. 


"Ziegfeld  Follies"  with  an  all-star  cast 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  110  min.) 

In  point  of  lavishness,  this  magnificently  staged  Techni- 
color musical  has  seldom,  if  ever,  been  matched;  the  splen- 
dor of  the  production  is  in  itself  enough  to  hold  one  fasci- 
nated. As  entertainment,  it  should  satisfy  generally,  although 
some  patrons  may  be  disappointed  find  that  there  is  no  plot. 
It  is  an  aggregation  of  sketches  and  musical  numbers,  giving 
different  MGM  stars  an  opportunity  to  take  part  in  the  pic- 
ture. Some  of  the  numbers  are  very  good,  some  fair,  and 
some  indifferent.  All  are  exquisitely  staged.  The  music  is 
not  particularly  outstanding,  but  it  is  melodious. 

Presented  as  a  straight  musical  revue,  the  show  starts  with 
William  Powell  as  the  late  Florenz  Ziegfeld  in  his  palatial 
apartment  in  Heaven,  dreaming  of  once  more  creating  a 
"Ziegfeld  Follies"  with  the  talent  and  resources  available 
today.  His  dream  begins  with  "Bring  on  the  Beautiful 
Girls,"  a  lavish  production  number  featuring  Lucille  Ball 
and  a  host  of  shapely  chorus  girls.  Esther  Williams  follows 
with  "A  Water  Ballet,"  in  which  she  gives  a  graceful  exhi- 
bition of  her  swimming  talents.  Keenan  Wynn  is  next  in 
"Number  Please,"  a  highly  amusing  sketch  about  his  diffi- 
culties with  a  telephone  operator.  Then  comes  James  Mel- 
ton and  Marion  Bell  in  an  opulent  operatic  production  num- 
ber in  which  they  sing  "Traviata."  They  are  followed  by 
"Pay  the  Two  Dollars,"  a  comedy  sketch,  in  which  Victor 
Moore  finds  himself  in  all  sorts  of  trouble  with  the  law  be- 
cause Edward  Arnold,  his  lawyer,  insists  that  he  appeal  a 
two  dollar  fine  for  a  subway  violation.  The  next  sequence 
features  Fred  Astaire  and  Lucille  Bremer  in  a  ballroom 
scene.  Then  come  Fanny  Brice,  Hume  Cronyn,  and  William 
Frawley  in  an  amusing  mixup  over  the  ownership  of  a 
winning  sweepstakes  ticket;  Lena  Home  singing  a  love  song 
in  a  colored  cabaret;  Red  Skelton  in  an  hilarious  impersona- 
tion of  an  inebriated  television  announcer;  Fred  Astaire  and 
Lucille  Bremer  in  "Limehousc  Blues,"  an  effective  dramatic 
pantomime,  superbly  staged;  Judy  Garland  in  "A  Great 
Lady  Has  an  Interview,"  a  vastly  entertaining  song  and 
dance  satire  on  an  affected  actress;  Gene  Kelly  and  Fred 
Astaire  in  a  gay  song  and  dance  duct;  and  Kathryn  Gray- 
son singing  a  ballad. 

Despite  this  combination  of  beauty,  talent,  scenic  effects, 
and  music,  the  picture  drags  at  several  points. 

Arthur  Freed  produced  it,  and  Vincent  Minnclli  directed 
it.  The  different  sketches  were  directed  by  Roy  Del  Ruth, 
George  Sidney,  Robert  Lewis  and  Lemuel  Ayres.  Unobjec- 
tionable morally. 


12 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  19,  1946 


will  take  place  "as  long  as  the  public  can  buy  top- 
notch  film  entertainment,"  then  heaven  help  the  mo- 
tion picture  industry,  for  the  greatest  percentage  of 
pictures  released  each  year,  excluding  even  the  as* 
sembly-line  pictures,  are  by  far  below  the  entertain- 
ment qualities  offered  by  "The  Bells  of  St.  Mary's," 
the  sort  of  picture  that  comes  along  only  once  in  a 
great  while. 

An  interesting  point  about  this  publicity  release  is 
that  it  marks,  to  the  knowledge  of  this  writer,  the 
first  time  a  major  company  executive  has  admitted 
that  a  cut  in  theatre  attendance  was  expected  in  the 
post-war  era.  It  is  an  admission  the  exhibitors  might 
well  bear  in  mind  when  approached  by  a  film  salesman 
with  the  usual  excessive  rental  demands. 

Assuming  that  Ned  Depinet  is  correct  in  his  belief 
that  the  expected  post-war  slump  will  not  take  place 
where  high  quality  pictures  are  shown,  the  industry 
is  still  left  in  the  expectation  of  a  slump  where  the 
pictures  are  either  mediocre  or  poor.  The  exhibitors 
cannot  afford,  therefore,  to  relax  their  resistance 
against  high  rental  demands,  particularly  in  those 
instances  where  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  the  high 
quality  of  the  pictures  being  bought. 

Audiences  will  again  become  more  discriminating 
in  their  choice  of  film  entertainment,  and  the  exhibi- 
tors will  have  to  meet  this  condition  by  becoming  more 
economical  in  every  phase  of  their  operations. 

"Tars  and  Spars"  with  Janet  Blair, 
Alfred  Drake  and  Marc  Piatt 

(Columbia,  January  10;  time,  86  min.) 

By  virtue  of  its  melodious  songs,  well-staged  dance 
routines,  and  the  comedy  antics  of  Sid  Caesar,  a  new- 
comer, "Tars  and  Spars"  shapes  up  as  a  better  than 
average  program  musical,  good  enough  to  top  a 
double-bill.  The  story  itself  is  thin  and  familiar,  and 
its  treatment  lacks  originality,  but  it  serves  its  purpose 
as  a  background  for  the  musical  numbers  and  the 
comedy.  Sid  Caesar,  whose  clowning  is  in  the  Danny 
Kaye  manner,  practically  steals  the  picture.  His  bur- 
lesque routine  of  how  Hollywood  fashions  a  war  pic- 
ture is  extremely  funny.  Alfred  Drake,  who  won 
fame  as  the  singing  star  of  the  stage  show  "Okla- 
homa," has  a  winning  personality  and  a  pleasant 
singing  voice,  but  there  is  nothing  outstanding  about 
his  work.  A  highlight  is  Marc  Piatt's  expert  dancing. 
On  the  whole  it  is  a  pleasing  entertainment : — 

After  ending  a  21 -day  endurance  test  on  a  raft 
only  fifty  feet  from  his  Coast  Guard  base,  Alfred 
Drake,  S  1/c,  finds  Janet  Blair,  a  Spar,  at  his  desk. 
Thinking  that  he  had  been  relieved  for  active  duty, 
Drake  picks  her  up  and  spins  her  around.  They  fail, 
much  to  Janet's  embarrassment,  but  Sid  Caesar, 
Drake's  pal,  explains  that  Drake  fell  because  of  weak- 
ness after  his  ordeal  "at  sea,"  painting  him  as  a  ship- 
wrecked hero.  Janet,  sympathizing  with  Drake>  agrees 
to  accompany  him  on  a  date,  but  she  soon  learns  the 
truth  about  his  "heroism,"  and  leaves  him.  Later,  at 
an  amusement  park,  Drake  records  a  love  song  within 
Janet's  hearing  and  wins  her  back.  Finally  ordered  to 
sea,  Drake  bids  Janet  a  fond  goodbye  and  promises  to 
write  her.  He  soon  learns,  however,  that  he  had  been 
ordered  to  Catalina,  twenty  miles  away.  Ashamed, 
he  does  not  write  to  Janet.  Meanwhile  Janet,  while 


rehearsing  for  the  Coast  Guard  show,  plays  Drake's 
recording  of  the  love  song,  which  catches  the  ear  of 
the  officer  directing  the  show.  He  orders  Drake  re- 
turned to  the  base  immediately  for  a  part  in  the  show. 
Janet,  learning  that  Drake  had  been  only  twenty  miles 
away,  breaks  with  him  because  of  his  failure  to  write. 
Shortly  afterwards,  Drake  heads  for  battle  duty,  while 
Janet  accompanies  the  show  to  Honolulu,  where  it 
was  to  make  its  debut.  There,  it  all  ends  on  a  happy 
note  when  Drake's  battle-scarred  ship  comes  into  port, 
enabling  him  to  take  part  in  the  show,  and  to  reunite 
with  Janet. 

John  Jacoby,  Sarett  Tobias,  and  Decla  Dunning 
wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Milton  H.  Bren,  Lt. 
Comdr.,  USCGR,  produced  it.  The  cast  includes 
Jeff  Donnell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Meet  Me  on  Broadway"  with 
Marjorie  Reynolds,  Fred  Brady 
and  Jinx  Falkenburg 

(Columbia,  January  3;  time,  78  min.) 

A  routine  program  romantic  musical,  suitable  as  a 
supporting  feature  wherever  something  light  is  needed 
to  round  out  a  double-bill.  It  has  the  usual  quota  of 
song  and  dance  numbers,  none  of  which  are  particu- 
larly outstanding  but  which  are  good  enough  to  please 
those  who  are  not  too  demanding  about  their  screen 
fare.  Neither  the  story  nor  the  twists  it  takes  are 
novel;  it  develops  just  as  one  expects.  One's  interest  is 
held  mainly  by  the  engaging  performances  of  the 
players.  The  comedy,  at  best,  is  only  moderately  amus- 
ing, and  the  production  values  are  modest : — 

Fred  Brady,  temperamental  director  of  a  Broadway 
musical  show,  loses  his  job  when  he  gets  into  an  argu- 
ment with  the  show's  producer,  much  to  the  concern 
of  his  sweetheart,  Marjorie  Reynolds,  the  show's 
featured  singer,  and  his  pal,  Allen  Jenkins,  a  song- 
writer. He  tries  to  become  a  producer  on  his  own  and 
is  unsuccessful  until  he  meets  Loren  Tindall,  a  young 
socialite,  who  engages  him  to  produce  an  amateur 
musical  benefit  show  at  a  swank  country  club.  Because 
Marjorie  wanted  him  to  quit  show  business  and  find  a 
regular  job,  Brady  tricks  her  into  accompanying  him 
to  the  country  club  to  appear  in  the  show.  Marjorie, 
furious  at  first,  relents  when  Brady  informs  her  that 
he  expected  to  earn  $5,000  as  his  share  of  the  receipts, 
enabling  him  to  marry  her.  During  rehearsals,  Brady 
discovers  unusual  singing  talent  in  Jinx  Falkenburg, 
daughter  of  Gene  Lockhart,  wealthy  president  of  the 
club.  Reasoning  that  Lockhart  would  back  a  Broad- 
way show  if  his  daughter  were  to  appear  in  it,  Brady, 
to  impress  him,  agrees  to  turn  over  his  share  of  the 
benefit  show's  receipts  to  charity.  Meanwhile  Tindall 
had  developed  a  romantic  interest  in  Marjorie,  and 
Jinx  had  taken  a  liking  to  Brady.  When  Marjorie 
learns  of  Brady's  donation,  she  gets  into  a  spirited 
argument  with  him,  causing  him  to  walk  out  on  the 
show.  Spring  Byington,  Tindall's  mother,  a  one-time 
vaudeville  star,  follows  Brady  and  persuades  him  to 
return.  It  all  ends  with  the  show  a  smash  success,  with 
Marjorie  and  Brady  reconciled,  and  with  Jinx  and 
Tindall  deciding  that  they  were  meant  for  each  other. 

George  Bricker  and  Jack  Henley  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Burt  Kelly  produced  it,  Leigh  Jason  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


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India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50  1{g  Editoria,  p0ijcy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JANUARY  26,  1946  No.  4 


THE  PRODUCER  PROPAGANDISTS 
ARE  AT  IT  AGAIN 

The  three  days  of  final  oral  arguments  in  the  Gov 
ernment's  New  York  antitrust  suit  against  the  eight 
major  companies,  which  was  brought  to  a  close  last 
week  after  being  in  litigation  since  June,  1938,  were 
marked  by  frequent  remarks  and  interjections  on  the 
part  of  the  judges,  who  asked  many  pointed  ques- 
tions of  both  sides. 

Some  of  their  remarks,  particularly  those  of  Au- 
gustus  N.  Hand,  the  presiding  jurist  of  the  three 
judge  statutory  court,  were  featured  prominently 
in  trade  paper  stories,  giving  one  the  impression  that 
the  defendant'Companies  would  emerge  from  the 
trial  victorious,  or,  at  the  very  worst,  be  compelled  to 
make  some  changes  in  certain  of  their  trade  prac 
tices  with  little,  if  any,  injury  to  their  theatre  holdings. 

These  pessimistic  stories  were  inspired  chiefly  by 
Judge  Hands  following  statement,  made  during  the 
arguments  presented  by  Robert  L.  Wright,  the  Gov 
ernment's  counsel: 

"...  your  aim  is  to  upset  all  ownership  of  theatres. 
Now  that  is  an  extremely  drastic  remedy  that  I 
should  think  was  extremely  unlikely  that  this  court 
will  give.  But  that  is  merely  a  first  impression  of 
myself,  and  I've  got  to  study  this  very  carefully  in 
other  ways  than  just  by  merely  reading  through  the 
briefs — once,  of  course." 

While  it  is  true  that  the  aforementioned  statement, 
as  well  as  others  made  by  the  court  during  the  three' 
day  hearings,  leave  one  with  the  feeling  that  the 
judges  are  not  convinced  that  divorcement  is  the 
answer  to  the  complex  industry  problems,  and  that 
they  are  reluctant  to  grant  such  relief,  it  should  be 
remembered  that  their  ultimate  decision  will  be  based 
on  facts  and  propositions  of  law.  And,  if  the  judges 
find  that  the  defendants  have  violated  the  law,  it  is 
their  responsibility  to  take  the  necessary  remedial 
measures  even  if,  in  their  opinion,  such  measures  are 
harsh.  As  pointed  out  in  the  Government's  final  brief, 
the  defendants'  claim  that  theatre  divorcement  would 
be  injurious  to  their  operations  without  benefitting 
the  public  is  a  matter  for  Congress,  and  not  for  the 
Court,  to  determine. 

At  one  point  during  the  arguments  presented  by 
Wright,  Judge  Hand  stated  that  he  was  trying  to 
break  up  an  industry  system  without  devising  a 
substitute  system.  Wright  replied  that  it  was  not 
an  obligation  of  either  the  Government  or  the  Court 
to  set  up  a  new  system,  adding  that  the  only  duty  of 
the  Department  of  Justice  was  to  enforce  the  law, 


while  the  court's  function  was  to  determine  if  there 
were  any  violations  of  the  law.  "The  court,"  said 
Wright,  "cannot  shy  away  from  the  complexities  of 
the  case  because  the  remedy  would  have  to  be  too 
drastic.  Where  the  law  requires  it,  it  has  to  be  done." 

In  his  argument,  Wright,  contending  that  the 
Government's  charges  were  questions  of  law,  main' 
tained  that  clearance  per  se  is  illegal;  that  established 
runs  should  be  eliminated  and  pictures  sold  on  the 
auction  block;  that  the  Consent  Decree  should  be 
scrapped,  particularly  insofar  as  it  provides  for  the 
arbitration  of  clearance;  and  that  not  only  divorce' 
ment  but  also  dissolution  of  the  affiliated  circuits 
is  required  to  restore  free  competition  to  exhibition. 

On  the  opening  day  of  the  oral  arguments  it 
struck  some  court  observers  that  Wright  seemed 
confused  by  the  questions  put  to  him  by  the  court, 
but  all  agree  that,  in  his  concluding  argument  in 
rebuttal,  Wright's  presentation  and  broad  analysis  of 
the  issues  involved  were  masterful. 

The  attorneys  for  the  theatre'Owning  defendants 
were,  of  course,  most  vehement  in  their  denials  of 
the  Government's  allegations,  each  emphasing  that 
the  Government  had  failed  to  prove  its  charges,  de- 
daring  that  divorcement  would  bring  chaos  to  the 
industry,  and  asking  that  the  case  be  dismissed. 

The  attorneys  for  the  "Little  Three,"  the  non' 
theatre-owning  defendants,  defended  block-booking 
and  contended  that  the  exhibitors  favored  full  sea- 
son selling.  Columbia's  counsel  argued  that  his  client 
would  be  ruined  if  the  court  outlawed  block-booking, 
and  counsel  for  Universal  and  United  Artists  de- 
clared that  the  elimination  of  clearance  and  run,  and 
the  selling  of  pictures  on  the  auction  block,  would 
lead  to  organized  chaos  in  the  distribution  of  pictures 
and  would  give  no  security  to  the  exhibitors. 

With  oral  arguments  concluded,  it  is  expected  that 
the  court  will  make  a  study  of  the  case  without  delay, 
and  that  a  decision  will  be  forthcoming  in  from  two 
to  three  months. 

As  it  has  already  been  said  in  these  columns,  pre- 
dictions on  the  outcome  of  lawsuits  are,  at  best,  guess 
work;  one  would  have  to  make  a  thorough  study  of 
the  intricacies  of  the  evidence,  the  testimony,  and 
the  numerous  briefs,  before  one  can  qualify  as  a 
predictor.  Nevertheless,  the  producer-propagandists 
are  in  full  swing  with  their  predictions  on  the  prob- 
able outcome  of  the  trial,  some  of  them  stating  that 
the  chances  for  complete  divorcement  are  slim,  and 
that  whatever  remedies  may  be  ordered  relative  to 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


14 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  26,  1946 


"The  Shadow  Returns"  with 
Kane  Richmond  and  Barbara  Reed 

(Monogram;  no  release  date  set;  time,  60  min.) 

This  program  murder-mystery  melodrama  with  comedy 
is  of  minor  importance.  First  in  Monogram's  new  "Shadow" 
series,  there  is  not  much  to  recommend  in  it,  for  the  story 
is  confusing  and  developed  mostly  by  dialogue,  causing 
one  to  lose  interest  in  the  proceedings.  To  some  extent  it 
attempts  to  follow  the  formula  of  the  "Thin  Man"  pictures 
by  having  the  hero's  sweetheart  help  solve  the  crime,  but 
the  plot  developments  are  so  lacking  in  freshness  and  the 
comedy  is  so  labored  that  it  fails  to  be  either  interesting 
or  amusing.  Whatever  excitement  the  melodramatic  action 
may  create  is  rendered  ineffectual  by  the  silly  comic  inter- 
polations.  Even  the  performances  are  only  fair;  but  this 
is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  players  were  unable 
to  cope  with  the  mediocre  material,  as  well  as  with  the 
uninspired  direction: — 

Josef  Yomans  (Emmett  Vogan)  is  given  Government 
permission  to  open  a  grave,  and  he  retrieves  from  it  a 
set  of  jewels.  Upon  receiving  a' tip  that  the  jewels  were 
smuggled  in  from  Australia,  Police  Inspector  Cardona 
(Joseph  Crchan)  follows  Yomans  to  the  home  of  Michael 
Hasdon  (Frank  Rcicher).  He  is  joined  in  the  investigation 
by  Lamont  Cranston  (Kane  Richmond),  the  police  com- 
missioner's  nephew,  a  student  of  criminology,  who  was 
secretly  "The  Shadow,"  known  to  the  police  as  a  mys- 
terious cloaked  figure,  who  had  an  amazing  knack  for 
solving  baffling  crimes.  At  Hasdon's  home,  the  inspector 
and  Cranston  find  that  Yomans  and  the  jewels  had  dis- 
appeared mysteriously,  and  that  Hasdon  claimed  owner- 
ship of  the  gems.  Shortly  afterwards,  Hasdon  is  killed 
by  a  fall  from  a  balcony.  Aided  by  Margo  (Barbara  Reed), 
his  girl-friend,  and  by  Shrevvie  (Tom  Dugan),  his  butler, 
Cranston,  disguised  as  the  "Shadow,"  learns  that  several 
questionable  characters  were  negotiating  with  Breck  (also 
played  by  Emmett  Vogan),  Hasdon's  secretary,  for  the 
missing  jewels.  After  a  series  of  adventures,  during  which 
three  more  people  die  from  balcony  falls  in  what  appear 
to  be  suicides,  Cranston  locates  the  gems  in  a  warehouse 
and  discovers  that  they  were  really  capsules  containing 
a  secret  formula  for  a  revolutionary  plastic  material.  With- 
out disclosing  his  identity  as  the  "Shadow,"  Cranston 
guides  the  inspector  into  proving  that  Breck  had  been 
trying  to  obtain  the  plastic  formula  for  himself,  and  that 
he  had  dragged  the  others  from  the  balcony  by  means  of  a 
bull  whip. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Joe 
Kaufman  produced  it,  and  Phil  Rosen  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Pierre  Watkin,  Robert  E.  Keene  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Flying  Serpent"  with  George  Zucco 
and  Ralph  Lewis 

(PRC,  Feb.  20;  time,  59  min.) 

Very  ordinary.  Supposedly  a  horror  melodrama,  it  will 
barely  get  by  as  a  supporting  feature  in  secondary  theatres. 
Although  the  story  is  somewhat  different  from  those  that 
are  generally  used  in  pictures  of  this  type,  it  is  so  fantastic 
that  it  is  doubtful  if  it  will  scare  anyone  but  children; 
adults  will  probably  find  it  too  ludicrous.  Moreover,  the 
plot  developments  are  obvious  and,  even  though  the  play- 
ers try  hard,  they  are  not  very  convincing.  The  picture 
looks  as  if  it  were  produced  on  a  very  modest  budget: — 

George  Zucco,  an  archeologist  living  in  New  Mexico,  dis- 
covers a  fabulous  treasure  that  was  presumably  hidden 
by  Montezuma,  the  Aztec  emperor.  With  the  treasure  he 
finds  a  flying  serpent,  a  prehistoric  creature,  which  he 
keeps  in  a  cage  to  guard  the  fortune.  Zucco  had  discovered 
that  the  serpent  would  kill  anyone  who  possessed  one  of 
its  feathers.  When  a  fellow  scientist  inquires  too  closely 
into  his  activities,  Zucco  plants  a  feather  on  the  man 
and  takes  him  to  the  Aztec  ruins.  There,  unobserved,  Zucco 


frees  the  serpent,  which,  guided  by  the  smell  of  the  feather, 
attacks  and  kills  the  scientist.  Others  who  become  inquisi- 
tive of  Zucco'6  activities  suffer  a  similar  fate.  The  strange 
killings  arouse  the  interest  of  Ralph  Lewis,  a  murder- 
mystery  radio  announcer,  who  visits  the  scene  of  the 
crimes  and  broadcasts  a  day-to-day  account  of  the  investi- 
gation. Meanwhile  Lewis  carries  on  an  investigation  of 
his  own  and  comes  across  clues  that  lead  him  to  suspect 
Zucco  of  the  murders.  Three  additional  victims  are  claimed 
before  Lewis  discovers  the  treasure  room  together  with 
the  serpent,  to  which  Zucco  had  taken  his  step-daughter 
(Hope  Kramer)  with  intent  to  kill  her.  In  the  course  of 
saving  the  girl's  life,  Lewis  accidentally  releases  the  ser- 
pent from  its  cage;  it  flies  toward  Zucco,  who  had  a 
feather  in  his  pocket,  killing  him.  Lewis  then  shoots  and 
kills  the  flying  creature,  after  which  he  and  Hope  look 
forward  to  a  happy  romantic  future. 

John  T.  Neville  wrote  the  original  story  and  screen 
play,  Sigmund  Neufeld  produced,  and  Sherman  Scott 
directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 

(Editor's  Note.  During  the  action,  the  camera  shifts  fre- 
quently to  a  radio  station  clocl{  on  which  the  name  "GVuen" 
is  plainly  visiblej 


"Strangler  of  the  Swamp"  with 
Rosemary  La  Planche  and  Robert  Barratt 

(PRC.  Jan.  t;  time,  58  mm.) 

Routine  program  fare.  It  should  serve  its  purpose  as  a 
supporting  feature  wherever  audiences  like  spooky  pictures, 
for  it  manages  to  give  one  the  creeps.  Since  the  story  deals 
with  the  supernatural,  it  is,  of  course,  a  fantastic  affair,  the 
sort  that  will  amuse  rather  than  scare  discriminating  pa- 
trons. More  than  the  story  or  the  acting,  it  is  the  dismal 
swamp  settings,  the  low-key  photography,  and  the  sudden 
appearances  of  a  grotesque  "ghost"  character  that  give  the 
picture  its  chilling  effects.  The  constant  danger  to  the  hero- 
ine manages  to  hold  one  in  some  suspense.  There  is  a  ro- 
mance, but  no  comedy  relief. 

The  story  opens  with  the  mysterious  murders  of  four 
people  in  a  swampland  community,  which  had  been  put 
under  a  curse  by  Charles  Middleton,  who  had  been  hung 
years  previously  for  a  crime,  despite  his  protests  of  inno- 
cence; he  had  vowed  to  return  from  the  grave  to  strangle 
his  hangmen  and  their  descendants.  When  Franklin  Conlan, 
the  village  ferryman,  is  found  strangled,  Robert  Barratt,  a 
leader  in  the  community,  finds  among  the  dead  man's  effects 
a  confession  to  the  crime  for  which  Middleton  had  been 
hung.  To  blast  the  villagers'  superstitions  that  Middleton's 
ghost  roamed  the  swamps,  Barratt  proposes  that  they  use 
the  funds  for  a  new  church  to  drain  the  swamp,  but  the 
villagers  reject  the  proposal.  Meanwhile  Rosemary  La 
Planche,  Conlan's  granddaughter,  comes  to  the  community 
to  take  over  her  grandfather's  duties  as  "ferryman."  She 
falls  in  love  with  Blake  Edward's,  Barratt's  son.  Barratt 
raises  objections  to  the  romance  on  the  grounds  that  Rose- 
mary's grandfather  had  been  a  murderer.  One  night  Mid- 
dleton's ghost  appears  and  tries  to  strangle  Edwards  as  he 
walks  through  the  swamp.  Rosemary,  finding  the  young 
man  still  alive,  attempts  to  go  for  a  doctor,  but  the  ghost 
blocks  her  every  move.  She  finally  manages  to  reach  Barratt 
and,  despite  the  ghost's  efforts  to  stop  them,  they  rescue 
Edwards  from  the  swamp  and  take  him  to  an  old  chapel. 
Realizing  that  he  could  not  walk  into  the  holy  place,  the 
ghost  threatens  to  wait  for  them.  Rosemary  pleads  with  him 
to  leave  vengeance  to  the  Almighty,  and  offers  to  give  up 
her  own  life  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  others.  Her  plea  has  the 
effect  of  breaking  the  ghost's  power,  and  he  disappears  into 
thin  air  for  all  time.  Repentant,  Barratt  begs  Rosemary's 
forgiveness  and  accepts  her  as  his  daughter-in-law. 

Frank  Wisbar  wrote  the  screen  play  and  directed  it.  Raoul 
Pagel  produced  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


January  26,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


15 


"A  Guy  Could  Change"  with  Allan  Lane 
and  Jane  Frazee 

(Republic,  Jan.  27;  time,  65  mm.) 

Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  picture.  Revolv- 
ing around  the  regeneration  of  a  newspaperman,  who,  be- 
cause  his  wife  had  died  in  childbirth,  takes  an  unreasonable 
dislike  to  his  infant  daughter,  the  story  is  weak  and  arti- 
ficial; for  that  reason  it  lacks  dramatic  power.  Moreover, 
its  treatment  is  so  routine  that  one  knows  in  advance  just 
what  is  going  to  happen,  causing  one  to  lose  interest  in  the 
outcome.  It  moves  along  at  a  slow  pace,  and  it  is  only  in  the 
closing  scenes  that  anything  exciting  happens,  but  even 
that  lacks  realism.  For  example,  there  is  a  fist  fight  in  which 
the  hero  and  villain  batter  each  other,  falling  over  furniture 
and  rolling  on  the  floor,  yet  neither  one  loses  his  hat.  The 
cast  performs  acceptably,  but  the  choice  of  Twinkle  Watts, 
as  the  hero's  eight-year-old  daughter,  is  not  a  good  one;  she 
lacks  the  personal  charm  and  appeal  one  enjoys  seeing  in  a 
child  that  age.  The  romantic  interest  is  pleasant: — 

Embittered  when  his  wife  dies  after  giving  birth  to  their 
daughter,  Allan  Lane  arranges  with  his  sister  (Mary  Treen) 
to  care  for  the  infant.  After  a  period  of  eight  years,  during 
which  he  had  become  hard  and  cynical  in  a  determination 
that  his  love  for  a  woman  shall  not  hurt  him  again,  Lane's 
attitude  towards  his  daughter  (Twinkle  Watts)  remains  one 
of  indifference,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  child  idolized 
him.  His  attitude  undergoes  a  sudden  change,  however, 
when  he  meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Jane  Frazee,  a  waitress, 
who  admonishes  him  for  neglecting  the  child.  Ashamed, 
Lane  becomes  attentive  to  his  daughter  and  takes  her  to 
meet  Jane.  The  child  and  Jane  become  fast  friends,  and 
Lane,  in  high  spirits,  asks  Jane  to  marry  him.  Meanwhile 
Gerald  Mohr,  a  bank  robber  in  prison,  escapes;  he  had  been 
convicted  on  Jane's  testimony,  who  had  been  a  bank  teller 
at  the  time.  Sworn  to  revenge,  Mohr  learns  Jane's  home  ad- 
dress from  a  co-waitress  and  goes  to  her  apartment.  Lane, 
calling  for  Jane  at  the  restaurant,  learns  that  Mohr  had  in- 
quired for  her.  He  rushes  to  her  apartment  and  arrives  just 
as  Mohr  shoots  her.  A  fist-fight  ensues,  with  Mohr  jumping 
to  his  death  from  a  window  to  evade  capture.  Jane  is  rushed 
to  a  hospital,  where  Lane  saves  her  life  by  a  blood  trans- 
fusion. 

Al  Martin  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  William  K.  Howard 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Bobby  Blake, 
Wallace  Ford,  Adele  Mara,  Eddie  Quillan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Song  of  Mexico"  with  Adele  Mara 
and  Edgar  Barrier 

(Republic,  Dec.  28;  time,  59  min.) 

With  the  exception  of  those  who  enjoy  motion  picture 
travel  tours  and  Latin-American  music,  this  minor  program 
picture  will  have  little  appeal  for  average  audiences.  Writ- 
ten, produced,  and  directed  by  James  A.  FitzPatrick,  the 
picture  is  somewhat  similar  to  his  famed  Traveltalks,  except 
that  it  is  of  feature  length,  and  that  the  array  of  Mexican 
scenery,  folk  songs,  dances,  and  colorful  costumes,  is  inter- 
spersed with  a  romantic  story  about  an  American  girl  who 
runs  away  from  her  sweetheart  because  he  placed  business 
above  romance.  The  story,  however,  is  trite,  merely  serving 
as  an  excuse  for  the  camera  to  roam  all  over  Mexico  while 
the  boy-friend  tries  to  win  back  the  girl.  Some  of  the  dia- 
logue is  bilingual.  The  songs  and  dances  are  charming,  and 
some  of  the  scenery  is  beautiful,  but,  as  said,  the  picture's 
appeal  on  the  whole  will  be  limited: — 

After  giving  up  her  stage  career  to  marry  Edgar  Barrier, 
a  high-powered  executive,  Adele  Mara  learns,  after  their 
engagement,  that  he  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  business 
and  little  to  her.  Determined  to  teach  him  a  lesson,  Adele 
breaks  the  engagement  and  flies  to  Mexico  to  visit  Raquel 
de  Alva  and  George  Lewis,  her  friends.  Raquel,  after  hear- 
ing about  Adele's  troubles  with  Barrier,  arranges  for  her 
to  start  a  flirtation  with  Jose  Pulido,  a  popular  Mexican 


singer,  in  the  belief  that  it  would  bring  Barrier  to  his  senses. 
Meanwhile  Barrier,  following  Adele  to  Mexico,  strikes  up 
an  acquaintance  with  Jacqueline  Dalya,  a  gay  divorcee,  who 
was  a  fellow  train  passenger.  He  tells  her  of  his  troubles 
with  Adele,  and  she  offers  to  help  him  win  her  back.  In 
Mexico,  Adele,  to  rouse  Barrier's  jealousy,  plays  up  to 
Pulido's  amorous  advances.  But  Barrier  in  turn  makes  her 
jealous  by  being  attentive  to  Jacqueline.  Under  the  divorcee's 
tutelage,  Barrier  undergoes  a  complete  transformation, 
even  making  it  appear  as  if  he  was  neglecting  his  business 
to  romance  with  her.  His  attitude  soon  has  the  desired  ef- 
fect on  Adele,  who  agrees  to  marry  him  if  he  would  give  up 
his  pleasure-seeking  life  and  return  to  work.  Her  mission 
accomplished,  Jacqueline  sets  her  cap  for  Pulido. 

The  cast  includes  the  Tipica  Orchestra,  Elizabeth  Waldo, 
Carmen  Molina  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons"  with 
Phyllis  Calvert,  Stewart  Granger 
and  Patricia  Roc 

(Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time,  88  min.) 

A  fairly  good  British-made  tragedy,  revolving  around  a 
woman  suffering  from  schizophrenia — a  split  personality. 
The  story  itself  is  incredible,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
presented  tends  to  confuse  one  during  the  first  half,  but 
once  the  motives  behind  the  odd  activities  of  the  heroine 
are  made  clear  the  tale  becomes  highly  engrossing.  Although 
it  should  direct  a  particular  appeal  to  class  audiences  who 
enjoy  good  acting  and  novelty  of  plot,  the  masses,  too, 
should  find  it  to  their  liking,  for  at  times  it  is  powerfully 
dramatic.  As  the  affected  heroine,  Phyllis  Calvert  is  re 
quired  to  change  her  personality  from  that  of  a  quiet-living 
wife  and  mother  to  that  of  a  mistress  of  a  low-class  thief, 
a  job  she  does  extremely  well.  Since  the  players  are  un- 
known in  this  country,  the  picture's  drawing  power  is 
questionable.  The  action  takes  place  in  Italy  in  the  1930's, 
and  the  production  values  and  photography  are  of  the 
highest  order: — 

While  living  in  a  convent  as  a  young  girl,  Phyllis  Calvert 
is  attacked  brutally  by  a  gypsy,  just  prior  to  her  marriage 
to  John  Stuart,  a  wealthy  wine  merchant.  The  experience, 
however,  affects  her  mind,  and  she  develops  a  dual  per- 
sonality. Years  later,  Phyllis  and  Stuart,  happily  married, 
welcome  home  their  grown  daughter  (Patricia  Roc),  who 
had  been  educated  in  England.  Having  led  a  calm  and 
cloistered  life,  Phyllis  is  shocked  by  her  daughter's  modern 
manners  and,  after  a  period  of  illness,  she  disappears. 
Stuart  then  reveals  to  Patricia  that  her  mother  was  a  schizo' 
phrenic;  that  she  had  disappeared  on  three  previous  occa- 
sions, folowing  nervous  shocks,  and,  after  returning  home, 
had  remembered  nothing  of  her  absence.  Patricia  deter- 
mines to  find  her  mother,  and  enlists  the  aid  of  Peter  Glen- 
ville,  a  gigilo  acquaintance.  Meanwhile  Phyllis,  dressed  as 
a  gypsy,  makes  her  way  to  the  Florentine  slums,  where  she 
goes  to  the  home  of  Stewart  Granger,  elder  brother  of 
Glenville,  whose  mistress  she  became  with  each  personality 
change.  Granger,  head  of  a  gang  of  thieves,  could  not  un- 
derstand her  sudden  appearances  and  disappearances.  In 
the  course  of  helping  Patricia  search  for  her  mother,  Glen- 
ville discovers  that  his  brother's  mistress  was  the  missing 
woman.  He  uses  this  knowledge  in  a  diabolical  plot  to  entice 
Patricia  to  the  slums  with  intent  to  seduce  her.  In  the 
events  that  follow,  Phyllis  sees  Glenville  carry  Patricia  to  an 
upstairs  room,  and,  without  realizing  that  she  was  her 
daughter,  but  mistaking  Glenville  for  Granger,  she  jealously 
stabs  him.  Before  he  dies,  Glenville  throws  a  stilleto  at 
Phyllis.  Recognizing  the  dying  gypsy  woman  as  her  mother, 
Patricia  takes  her  home.  There  she  dies  with  the  benediction 
of  the  church. 

Roland  Pertwee  wrote  the  screen  play,  Maurice  Ostrer 
and  R.  J.  Minncy  produced  it,  and  Arthur  Crabtree  di- 
rected it.  Adult  entertainment. 


16 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


January  26,  1946 


certain  trade  practices  might  well  be  welcomed  by 
the  defendant'companies  as  solutions  to  some  prob- 
lems of  long  standing. 

Those  of  you  who  have  been  following  the  Gov 
ernment's  anti-trust  suits  in  recent  years  will  recall 
that,  in  connection  with  the  Crescent  and  Schine 
cases,  similar  pessimistic  stories  made  the  rounds  by 
word-of -mouth  and  in  print.  The  Government's  vic- 
tory in  each  of  these  cases  is  now  history.  And  history 
has  a  habit  of  repeating  itself. 


A  CORRECTION 

In  the  review  of  "Scarlet  Street,"  which  appeared 
in  last  week's  issue,  it  was  erroneously  stated  that 
this  picture  was  under  a  censorship  ban  in  Minne- 
apolis. The  picture  has  been  banned  in  Milwaukee, 
not  Minneapolis.  As  of  this  writing,  the  picture  is 
still  banned  in  New  York  State. 


"Swing  Parade  of  1946"  with  Gale  Storm 
and  Phil  Regan 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  75  min.) 

This  is  an  agreeable  combination  of  music,  comedy 
and  romance,  good  enough  to  top  a  double-bill  in 
small-town  and  neighborhood  houses.  The  story  is 
not  particularly  novel,  but  since  it  is  acted  engagingly 
by  the  leading  players,  and  since  the  chief  enter- 
taining qualities  of  the  picture  are  in  the  melodious 
songs,  the  production  numbers,  and  the  comedy,  it 
keeps  one  pleasantly  entertained  all  the  way  through. 
Gale  Storm  is  as  charming  as  ever  in  a  part  that 
gives  her  an  opportunity  to  display  her  talents,  both 
as  a  singer  and  actress.  The  "Three  Stooges,"  as 
night-club  waiters,  under  the  supervision  of  Edward 
Brophy,  provoke  considerable  laughter  each  time 
they  appear.  Two  song  numbers  by  Connie  Boswell, 
music  by  Will  Osborne  and  his  Orchestra,  and  spe- 
cialty songs  by  Louis  Jordan  and  his  Tymphany  Five, 
are  musical  highlights  that  should  go  over  pretty 
well : — 

Determined  to  prove  that  he  could  make  his  own 
way  in  the  world,  Phil  Regan,  son  of  a  wealthy 
banker  (Russell  Hicks),  prepares  to  open  a  new 
night-club,  despite  the  opposition  of  his  father,  owner 
of  the  night-club  site,  who  wanted  him  to  give  up 
the  entertainment  field  for  the  banking  business.  To 
prevent  the  club's  opening,  Hicks  employs  numerous 
process  servers  to  serve  his  son  with  eviction  papers, 
but  Regan  succeeds  in  dodging  them.  Gale  Storm, 
unemployed  and  seeking  a  stage  career,  tries  des- 
perately to  get  an  audition  in  Regan's  club,  but  is  re- 
fused entry.  When  she  answers  an  ad  for  a  recep' 
tionist  with  Hicks'  firm,  the  banker  puts  her  to  work 
as  a  process  server.  She  goes  back  to  Regan's  club, 
but  this  time,  through  a  series  of  coincidents,  she 
gains  admittance  and  obtains  employment  as  a  singer. 
Delighted,  she  decides  not  to  serve  the  eviction  papers. 
Regan  falls  in  love  with  her  and  gives  her  a  featured 
spot  in  the  show.  Meanwhile  Mary  Treen,  a  family 
friend,  arranges  with  Hicks'  to  become  reconciled 
with  his  son  on  opening  night.  But,  through  a  mis- 
understanding, Hicks'  is  ejected  from  the  club  by 
Regan's  waiters.  Peeved,  Hicks  sees  to  it  that  the 
eviction  papers  are  served  on  Regan,  but  does  it 
in  a  manner  that  leads  the  young  man  to  believe  that 


Gale  had  a  hand  in  the  matter.  A  quarrel  leads  to 
a  break  between  the  young  lovers  but  it  all  turns  out 
for  the  best  when  Hicks,  having  a  change  of  heart, 
tears  up  the  eviction  papers  and  explains  Gale's 
innocence.  Their  differences  settled,  Gale  and  Regan 
help  to  make  the  opening  a  huge  success. 

Tim  Ryan  wrote  the  screen  play,  Lindsley  Parsons 
and  Harry  A.  Romm  produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlson 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  John  Eldrcdge,  Leon 
Belasco  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Terror  by  Night"  with  Basil  Rathbone 
and  Nigel  Bruce 

(Universal,  Feb.  1;  time,  60  min.) 
A  fairly  good  "Sherlock  Holmes"  program  mys- 
tery melodrama.  Those  who  have  enjoyed  the  other 
pictures  in  the  series  will  probably  enjoy  also  this 
one,  for  the  action  is  pretty  exciting  and,  for  the 
most  part,  mystifying.  Following  the  formula  em- 
ployed in  the  previous  pictures,  Basil  Rathbone,  as 
"Holmes,"  goes  about  solving  the  crime  in  his  quiet 
way,  while  Nigel  Bruce,  as  "Dr.  Watson,"  his  aide, 
provides  occasional  bits  of  comedy  by  his  blustering 
antics.  Though  far-fetched,  the  methods  "Holmes" 
employs  to  outwit  the  crooks  are  contrived  cleverly. 
One's  interest  is  held  pretty  well,  for  suspicion  is 
directed  at  several  of  the  characters  and  it  is  not 
until  the  finish  that  the  guilty  person's  identity  is 
divulged: — 

Rathbone  and  Bruce  are  hired  by  Geoffrey  Steele 
to  guard  a  famous  jewel  that  he  and  his  mother  were 
taking  to  Scotland.  Aboard  the  train,  Rathbone  meets 
Inspector  Dennis  Hooey,  of  Scotland  Yard,  who, 
too,  had  been  delegated  to  protect  the  jewel.  En  route, 
Steele  is  murdered  mysteriously  in  his  compartment, 
and  the  famous  gem  disappears.  Hooey,  aided  by 
Rathbone  and  Bruce,  undertakes  an  investigation 
and  finds  reason  to  suspect  among  the  passengers 
Frederick  Worlock,  a  professor;  Renee  Godfrey,  a 
woman  of  questionable  character;  and  Alan  Mow- 
bray, a  retired  British  officer,  for  whose  integrity 
Bruce  vouched,  having  served  with  him  in  India  years 
previously.  Carefully  sifting  his  clues,  Rathbone 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Mowbray  was  actually 
a  notorious  international  jewel  thief,  noted  for  his 
clever  schemes,  and  that  he  was  implicated  in  the 
crime.  Upon  reaching  Edinburgh,  the  train  is  boarded 
by  the  local  police,  who,  after  hearing  Rathbone 
prove  that  Mowbray  had  instigated  the  murder,  find 
the  jewel  in  his  possession  and  arrest  him.  The  jewel 
thief  attempts  to  escape,  but  Rathbone,  aware  that 
the  arresting  officers  were  impostors,  part  of  Mow- 
bray's plan  to  escape  with  the  gem,  subdues  Mow- 
bray and  through  a  clever  ruse  tricks  the  fake  police 
into  taking  Inspector  Hooey  off  the  train  in  the 
belief  that  they  had  Mowbray  in  tow.  While  Hooey 
reveals  himself  on  the  station  platform  and  arrests 
the  impostors,  Rathbone,  on  the  train,  handcuffs 
Mowbray  and  discloses  to  Bruce  that  the  real  dia- 
mond had  always  been  in  his  possession  since  he  had 
substituted  a  fake  one  in  its  place. 

Frank  Gruber  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Roy 
William  Neill  produced  and  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  2,  1946  No.  5 


OF  INTEREST  TO  DISTRIBUTORS 
AS  WELL  AS  TO  EXHIBITORS 

Harrison's  Reports  takes  the  liberty  of  presenting  to 
the  exhibitors  as  well  as  to  the  distributors,  other  than  War' 
ner  Brothers,  correspondence  dealing  with  an  experience  of 
the  Palace  Theatre,  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  relative  to  the  practice 
of  blind  checking.  The  subject  is  treated  so  clearly  in  the 
following  letters  that  comment  is  hardly  necessary: 
MIDWESTERN  BOOKING  AGENCY 
1187  North  High  Street 
Columbus,  Ohio 

December  5,  1945 

Mr.  Pete  Harrison 
Harrison's  Reports 
1270  Sixth  Avenue 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Dear  Mr.  Harrison: 

The  enclosed  letter  is  self-explanatory.  I  thought  you 
might  be  interested  in  knowing  it,  if  Warner  Bros,  is  starting 
a  policy  of  blind-clocking  theatres. 

You  may  feel  perfectly  free  to  use  this  information  in 
Harrison's  Reports  if  you  think  it  would  be  helpful  to 
other  exhibitors. 

Very  truly  yours, 

s/  E.  Miles  , 
Secretary 

MIDWESTERN  BOOKING  AGENCY 
1187  North  High  Street 
Columbus,  Ohio 

December  5,  1945 

Mr.  Abrose 

Warner  Bros.  Pictures  Corp. 
Cincinnati,  Ohio 
Dear  Mr.  Abrose: 

The  manager  of  the  Palace  Theatre,  Dayton,  Ohio,  has 
reported  to  the  office  that  a  man  seated  in  a  Chevrolet  bear- 
ing license  number  Ohio-524-PH  has  been  parked  opposite 
the  theatre  obviously  clocking  admissions  all  day  December 
2nd,  and  3rd  and  4th. 

He  caused  considerable  alarm  at  the  theatre.  There  have 
been  many  burglaries  and  hold-ups  in  this  neighborhood 
recently  and  the  cashiers  and  theatre  personnel  were  much 
frightened  at  this  man's  being  seated  in  a  car  constantly 
observing  the  girls  in  the  box  offices. 

Upon  our  manager's  questioning  him,  he  advised  that  he 
was  blind-checking  the  theatre  for  your  company  and  that 
his  name  is  Ross  and  that  he  is  residing  in  Dayton;  also,  that 
this  is  not  the  first  time  he  has  checked  the  Palace,  and  that 
your  company  is  also  having  him  check  the  opposition 
theatre,  the  Classic. 

I  consider  the  policy  a  very  sneaking  and  unethical  pro- 
cedure and  I  am  surprised  that  your  company  would  foster 
or  permit  it.  I  cannot  blame  the  girls  in  the  box  office  for 
being  alarmed.  I  have  sold  tickets  myself  and  I  know  how  I 
would  feel  to  have  somebody  parked  at  the  curb  observing 
my  handling  the  money. 

Certainly  your  office  has  never  requested  any  information 
of  this  kind  from  us  here  and  I  am  sure  that  if  you  were  to 
feel  the  information  so  necessary  as  to  go  to  all  this  expense 
and  trouble,  you  would  first  make  an  effort  to  obtain  the 
information  through  legitimate  channels. 


Please  investigate  the  matter  and  advise  me  whether  the 
man  has  misinformed  us. 

Very  truly  yours, 

s/  E.  Miles 
Secretary 

Copy :  Mr.  Jules  Lapidus 

General  Sales  Mgr. — Executive  Home  Offices 
Warner  Bros.  Pictures  Corp.,  New  York  City 

Copy:  Pete  Harrison — Harrison's  Reports — 1270  Sixth 
Ave.,  New  York  City 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 
1270  Sixth  Avenue 
New  York  20,  N.  Y. 

December  15,  1945 

Mrs.  E.  Miles 

Midwestern  Booking  Agency 
1187  North  High  Street 
Columbus,  Ohio 
Dear  Mrs.  Miles: 

Your  letter  dated  December  5,  together  with  the  copy  of 
the  letter  sent  to  Mr.  Abrose  of  Warner  Brothers,  is  on 
hand,  and  we  are  grateful  to  you  for  the  information  con- 
tained therein. 

Before  using  this  information  in  Harrison's  Reports, 
we  should  like,  if  possible,  to  receive  a  copy  of  Mr.  Abrose's 
reply  to  your  letter. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Harrison's  Reports 

MIDWESTERN  BOOKING  AGENCY 
1187  North  High  Street 
Columbus,  Ohio 

December  22,  1945 

Harrison's  Reports 
1270  Sixth  Avenue 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Gentlemen : 

I  have  for  acknowledgement  your  letter  of  December 
15th  addressed  to  Mrs.  Miles.  For  your  information  Mrs. 
Miles  received  an  acknowledgement  of  her  letter  dated  De- 
cember the  15th,  a  copy  of  which  we  are  attaching  hereto. 

Mr.  Abrose,  Cincinnati  Branch  Manager  for  Warners, 
also  advised  Mrs.  Miles  by  phone  on  December  the  15th  that 
he  expects  to  be  in  Columbus  after  January  1st.,  at  which 
time  he  will  discuss  this  matter  with  her. 

Very  truly  yours, 

s/  Arthur  A.  Miller 
Boo\er 

Warner  Bros.  Pictures  Distributing  Corporation 
Warner  Bros.  Pictures 
1600  Central  Parkway 
Cincinnati,  Ohio 

December  7,  1945 

Mrs.  Ethel  Miles 
Midwestern  Booking  Agency 
1187  N.  High  Street 
Columbus,  Ohio 
Dear  Mrs.  Miles: 

This  will  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  letter  of  December 
5th. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


18 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  2,  1946 


"The  Diary  of  a  Chambermaid"  with 
Paulette  Goddard,  Burgess  Meredith, 
Hurd  Hatfield  and  Francis  Lederer 

(United  Artists,  Feh.  2;  time,  86  min.) 

A  fairly  good  period  melodrama,  but  it  is  a  picture  that 
should  entertain  mostly  cultured  audiences,  for,  despite 
touches  of  comedy,  it  is  morbid  and  lacks  mass  appeal.  No 
fault  can  be  found  with  the  production,  for  it  is  exceedingly 
fine  in  every  detail.  And  the  acting  is  uniformly  good,  with 
Paulette  Goddard,  as  a  chambermaid  in  the  Republican 
France  of  1885,  predominating.  But  it  is  in  the  story,  a  tale 
of  murder,  robbery,  and  blackmail,  revolving  around  the 
chambermaid's  desire  to  better  her  station  in  life,  that  the 
producers  have  fallen  down — it  is  rambling,  lacks  dramatic 
power,  and  the  characterizations  are  not  too  clearly  defined. 
Another  drawback  insofar  as  the  masses  are  concerned  is 
that  some  of  the  situations  are  unpleasantly  realistic.  It 
may,  however,  draw  fairly  well  at  the  box-office  because  of 
Miss  Goddard's  popularity: — 

After  assuming  her  new  duties  as  chambermaid  in  the 
chateau  of  Judith  Anderson,  a  snobbish  Monarchist  who 
demanded  submission  from  all  in  the  household,  Paulette, 
tired  of  being  bullied  and  of  being  made  the  victim  of 
scheming  men,  determines  to  achieve  wealth  and  a  better 
station  in  life  by  making  the  most  of  her  womanly  wiles. 
Reginald  Owen,  Miss  Anderson's  browbeaten  husband, 
attempts  to  make  love  to  Paulette,  as  does  Burgess  Meredith, 
an  elderly  psychopathic  next-door  neighbor,  who  tries  to 
woo  her  with  promises  of  wealth  and  luxury.  Francis  Lederer, 
too,  the  household's  unscrupulous  sadistic  valet,  undertakes 
to  win  her  love.  Meanwhile  Miss  Anderson  dresses  Paulette 
in  finery  in  an  effort  to  stir  the  interest  of  Hurd  Hatfield,  her 
consumptive  son,  who  frequently  left  home  because  of  his 
mother's  possessiveness.  Paulette  falls  in  love  with  Hatfield, 
but  the  young  man,  aware  that  his  mother  was  using  her 
to  hold  him  in  the  house,  resists  her  charms.  Angered  at 
being  made  the  victim  of  Miss  Anderson's  machinations, 
Paulette  turns  to  Lederer,  who  planned  to  6teal  the  family 
silverware  and  had  promised  to  share  the  spoils  with  her 
if  she  would  marry  him.  To  satisfy  Paulette's  lust  for  money, 
Lederer  murders  the  demented  neighbor  and  steals  his  hidden 
gold.  Later  he  announces  to  the  family  his  resignation  as 
valet  and  his  forthcoming  marriage  to  Paulette.  The  news 
shocks  Hatfield  into  declaring  his  love  for  Paulette,  and  she 
readily  returns  to  him.  But  Lederer  batters  Hatfield  into 
unconsciousness  and  compels  Paulette  to  flee  with  him  in 
return  for  sparing  Hatfield's  life.  As  they  drive  through  the 
village  at  the  height  of  a  Bastille  Day  celebration,  Paulette 
jumps  from  the  carriage  and  accuses  Lederer  of  Meredith's 
murder.  The  villagers  drag  the  valet  to  his  death,  leaving 
Paulette  free  to  return  to  the  arms  of  Hatfield. 

Burgess  Meredith  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  French 
novel  and  co-produced  it  with  Benedict  Bogeaus.  Jean 
Renoir  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Irene  Ryan,  Florence 
Bates,  Almira  Sessions  and  others.  Adult  entertainment. 

"They  Made  Me  a  Killer"  with 
Robert  Lowery  and  Barbara  Britton 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 

A  fair  program  melodrama.  Although  the  plot  is  common- 
place and  offers  few  surprises,  it  should  find  favor  with 
audiences  who  like  fast  action  and  melodramatic  situations. 
Revolving  around  a  young  man  who,  through  circumstantial 
evidence,  is  wrongly  accused  of  bank  robbery  and  a  murder, 
the  story  concentrates  on  his  efforts  to  catch  the  guilty 
persons  and  to  establish  his  innocence.  The  manner  in  which 
he  traps  the  gangsters  while  he  himself  is  hunted  by  the 
police  holds  the  spectator  in  pretty  fair  suspense.  A  subdued 
but  pleasant  romance  is  worked  into  the  plot: — 

Learning  that  Robert  Lowery,  an  automobile  mechanic, 
was  trying  to  sell  his  speedy  car,  Lola  Lane,  a  "flashy" 
woman,  tells  him  that  her  boy-friend  (Edmund  McDonald) 
might  be  interested  in  buying  it;  she  arranges  to  meet  Lowery 
on  the  following  day  in  front  of  a  bank.  At  the  appointed 
time,  McDonald  and  a  confederate  (James  Bush)  rush  out 


of  the  bank  shooting,  jump  into  Lowery's  car,  and  force 
him  to  drive  away.  Lowery  deliberately  wrecks  the  car  in 
an  effort  to  escape,  but  the  crash  knocks  him  unconscious 
while  the  crooks  make  their  getaway.  The  police  arrest 
Lowery  for  the  robbery  and  charge  him  with  murdering  a 
policeman  and  a  bank  teller  (Byron  Barr)  ;  the  police  suspected 
that  Barr  had  been  the  inside  man  for  the  thieves.  Realizing 
that  his  only  chance  for  vindication  was  to  capture  the 
robbers,  Lowery  escapes  from  the  police.  He  communicates 
with  Barbara  Britton,  Barr's  sister,  and,  after  convincing  her 
of  his  own  innocence,  persuades  her  to  help  him  catch  the 
crooks  so  that  he  could  prove  also  her  brother's  innocence. 
Finding  evidence  that  Lola  was  once  a  waitress,  Lowery  and 
Barbara  trace  her  to  a  tearoom  operated  by  Elizabeth  Risdon, 
and  discover  the  crooks  hidden  in  the  basement.  Lowery 
attempts  to  capture  them  single-handedly  only  to  be  captured 
himself.  Barbara,  having  secured  employment  in  the  tearoom, 
manages  to  communicate  with  Lowery  and,  following  his 
instructions,  obtains  for  him  a  recording  device.  Lowery 
attaches  the  device  to  a  juke  box  and  substitutes  a  blank 
record  for  one  that  was  constantly  played  by  Frank  Albert- 
son,  a  policeman.  He  then  goads  the  crooks  into  conversation 
in  which  they  admit  their  guilt,  and  later,  when  the  police- 
man visits  the  tearoom  for  lunch  and  plays  his  favorite  record, 
he  hears  instead  the  confession,  which  leads  to  the  arrest 
of  the  crooks  and  the  liberation  of  Lowery. 

Geofrey  Homes,  Winston  Miller,  and  Kae  Salkow  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Pine-Thomas  produced  it,  and  William  C. 
Thomas  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ralph  Sanford  and 
others.  Adult  entertainment. 

"The  Virginian"  with  Joel  McCrea, 
Brian  Donlevy  and  Sonny  Tufts 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  86  min.) 

A  good  Western  melodrama,  photographed  in  Techni- 
color. The  film  marks  the  fourth  time  that  Owen  Wister's 
widely-read  story  has  been  brought  to  the  screen,  but,  de- 
spite the  familiarity  of  the  plot,  it  has  lost  none  of  its  appeal, 
for  it  has  all  the  ingredients  one  enjoys  in  pictures  of  this 
type — a  quiet  but  brave  hero,  thrilling  melodramatic  situa- 
tions, fast  and  furious  horseback  riding,  good  comedy 
touches,  a  charming  romance,  and  colorful  scenic  back- 
grounds. The  most  exciting  and  suspensive  situation  is  where 
the  hero  and  the  villain  stalk  each  other  on  a  deserted  street 
in  a  fight  to  the  death.  A  highly  dramatic  scene  is  the  one 
in  which  the  hero  is  compelled  to  lynch  his  best  friend  for 
cattle  stealing;  the  play  of  emotion  on  the  faces  of  both  men 
is  realistic.  It  is  a  well-directed  picture,  and  the  entire  cast 
performs  capably: — 

Arriving  in  Medicine  Bow,  Wyo.,  to  assume  her  duties 
as  school  teacher,  Barbara  Britton  finds  it  to  be  a  lawless 
land  ruled  by  gunfighting.  She  falls  in  love  with  Joel  McCrea, 
a  cowboy  from  Virginia,  who  had  compelled  Brian  Donlevy, 
a  suspected  cattle  rustler,  to  apologize  for  an  insulting  re- 
mark about  her.  Donlevy's  cattle  rustling  activities  arouse 
the  cattle  owners,  who  appoint  McCrea  to  head  a  posse 
to  track  down  the  thieves.  McCrea  and  his  men  succeed  in 
catching  the  rustlers,  including  Sonny  Tufts,  his  best  friend, 
who  had  been  lured  to  cattle  stealing  by  Donlevy,  despite 
McCrea's  warning  that  he  would  be  shown  no  mercy  if 
caught.  Donlevy,  however,  escapes.  McCrea  orders  the 
hanging  of  Tufts  and  the  others,  then  sets  off  in  search  of 
Donlevy,  who  shoots  him  in  the  back  from  ambush.  Months 
later,  on  the  day  set  for  his  marriage  to  Barbara,  McCrea 
is  confronted  by  Donlevy,  who  threatens  to  kill  him  unless 
he  leaves  town  by  sundown.  Barabara  pleads  with  McCrea 
to  leave,  but  he  convinces  her  that  he  had  to  accept  Don- 
levy's  challenge  in  order  to  establish  law  and  order  in  the 
West.  At  sundown,  both  men  stalk  each  other  in  the  de- 
serted streets,  and  in  the  ensuing  gun  battle  Donlevy  is 
killed.  With  law  and  order  established,  McCrea  and  his 
bride  set  out  for  the  far  west  to  establish  a  home  of  their  own. 

Frances  Goodrich  and  Albert  Hackett  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Paul  Jones  produced  it,  and  Stuart  Gilmore  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Fay  Bainter,  Henry  O'Neill  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


February  2,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


19 


"Three  Strangers"  with  Sydney  Greenstreet, 
Peter  Lorre  and  Geraldine  Fitzgerald 

(Warner  Bros.  Feb.  16;  time,  92  win.) 

Despite  an  involved,  episodic  story,  this  melodrama  has 
a  fair  share  of  excitement  and  suspense,  and  should  hold 
most  adult  picture-goers  intrigued.  It  is  an  odd  combination 
of  three  separate  stories  tied  to  a  main  story,  dealing  with 
the  individual  destinies  of  three  strangers,  share-holders 
in  a  sweepstakes  ticket.  The  sub-plots,  which  revolve  around 
the  personal  troubles  of  the  three  strangers,  are  interesting 
but  sordid,  and  the  characterizations  are  not  pleasant  ones. 
The  performances,  however,  are  good.  The  climax,  in  which 
the  winning  sweepstakes  ticket  cannot  be  cashed  lest  it 
involve  the  winner  in  a  murder,  is  both  compelling  and 
cleverly  contrived : — 

Believing  in  the  legend  that  the  statuette  of  Kwan-Yin, 
a  Chinese  goddess,  could  grant  the  combined  wish  of  any 
three  strangers,  Geraldine  Fitzgerald,  a  well-bred  English- 
woman, picks  up  two  men,  Sydney  Greenstreet,  a  lawyer, 
and  Peter  Lorre,  a  cultured  alcoholic,  and  takes  them  to  her 
London  apartment.  She  explains  the  legend  to  them,  and  all 
agree  that  they  wished  for  money.  Lorre  produces  a  sweep- 
stakes ticket  that  he  had  just  bought  and  sells  a  one-third 
interest  to  each  of  his  new  acquaintances.  The  trio  then  ask 
Kwan-Yin  to  grant  them  their  wish  that  they  win  the  Grand 
National  Sweepstakes.  After  they  separate,  all  three  are 
shown  to  have  problems:  Geraldine  resorts  to  unscrupulous 
methods  to  regain  the  lost  love  of  her  husband  (Alan 
Napier);  Greenstreet,  having  speculated  improperly  with 
trust  funds,  finds  himself  faced  with  imprisonment  for 
embezzlement;  and  Lorre,  although  innocent,  is  framed 
on  a  murder  charge  as  a  result  of  his  association  with  bad 
company.  The  sweepstakes  ticket  eventually  draws  a  horse 
and,  on  the  day  of  the  big  race,  all  three  meet  again  in 
Geraldine' s  apartment.  Lorre  had  by  this  time  been  cleared 
of  the  murder  charge,  but  Greenstreet  was  still  in  trouble 
and  he  tries  desperately  to  persuade  Lorre  and  Geraldine  to 
permit  him  to  sell  his  share  of  the  ticket  so  that  he  could 
obtain  enough  money  to  make  up  the  discrepancy  in  the 
trust  funds.  When  Geraldine  refuses,  Greenstreet  goes 
beserk  and  hits  her  with  the  statue  of  Kwan-Yin,  killing  her. 
Out  of  his  mind,  Greenstreet  wanders  into  the  street  and 
is  picked  up  by  the  police.  Meanwhile  the  ticket  wins,  but 
Lorre,  realizing  that  any  attempt  by  him  to  claim  the  money 
would  only  involve  him  in  another  murder,  tears  it  up. 

John  Huston  and  Howard  Koch  wrote  the  screenplay, 
Wolfgang  Reinhardt  produced  it  and  Jean  Negulesco 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Joan  Lorring,  Marjorie  Riordan, 
Peter  Whitney  and  others.    Adult  entertainment. 

"The  Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest"  with 
Cornel  Wilde  and  Anita  Louise 

(Columbia,  Jan.  24;  time,  87  win.) 
Revolving  around  the  exploits  of  the  son  of  "Robin  Hood," 
this  costume  melodrama,  photographed  in  Technicolor,  is 
exciting,  but  as  entertainment  it  should  appeal  chiefly  to  the 
juvenile  trade  and  to  such  adults  as  can  accept  a  comic-strip 
adventure  story.  The  action  moves  swiftly  from  one  climax 
to  another  as  the  young  hero  leads  his  colorfully  clad  archers 
against  a  tyrannical  Regent,  who  plotted  to  murder  England's 
boy-king  and  seize  the  throne.  As  the  son  of  "Robin  Hood," 
Cornel  Wilde  plays  the  role  with  robustness;  his  skill  with 
a  bow  and  arrow,  his  swordsmanship,  his  hair-rasing  es- 
capades, and  his  masterful  romancing,  should  delight  the 
youngsters.  Henry  Daniell,  as  the  Regent,  makes  a  des- 
picable villain,  the  sort  one  wants  to  hiss: — 

Learning  of  the  Regent's  plan  to  harm  her  son,  the  boy- 
king  (Maurice  Tauzin),  the  Queen  Mother  (Jill  Esmond), 
accompanied  by  Lady  Catherine  (Anita  Louise),  goes  to 
Sherwood  Forest  to  seek  the  aid  of  Robin  Hood  (Russell 
Hicks).  En  route  they  meet  Robert  (Cornel  Wilde),  Robin 
Hood's  son,  who  leads  them  to  his  father's  retreat.  Learning 
of  the  Queen's  plight,  Robin  Hood  pledges  his  band  to 
rescue  the  young  sovereign.  While  Robin  Hood  and  his 
archers  surround  the  castle,  Robert  and  Lady  Catherine 
gain  entrance  by  disguising  themselves  as  nuns.  Through  an 


ingenious  scheme  they  get  to  the  boy-king's  chamber,  and  by 
means  of  a  rope  lower  him  to  confederates  below.  The  castle 
guards  try  to  prevent  the  rescue,  but  the  archers  succeed 
in  spiriting  the  young  king  away.  Robert  and  Lady  Catherine 
are,  however,  caught,  and  the  Regent  orders  them  put  to 
death  for  aiding  in  the  abduction  of  the  king.  But  when 
he  learns  that  Robert  was  the  son  of  Robin  Hood,  his  old 
enemy,  the  Regent  challenges  him  to  a  sword  duel.  First, 
however,  he  instructs  the  jailers  to  withhold  food  and  drink 
from  Robert  for  three  days  so  as  to  weaken  him,  and  makes 
elaborate  plans  for  the  castle  guards  to  kill  Robert  in  the 
event  he  gained  the  upper  hand  during  the  duel.  Meanwhile 
Robin  Hood  and  his  band  make  their  own  plans;  one  by  one 
they  knock  out  the  guards  and  take  their  places.  On  the 
day  of  the  duel,  Robert,  showing  unexpected  strength,  van' 
quishes  the  Regent  as  he  looks  hopelessly  to  the  guards  for 
help.  Restored  to  his  throne,  the  young  king  gives  his 
blessing  to  the  marriage  of  Robert  and  Lady  Catherine. 

Wilfrid  H.  Pettitt  and  Melvin  Levy  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Leonard  S.  Picker  and  Clifford  Sanford  produced  it,  and 
George  Sherman  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Edgar  Buchanan,  John  Abbott,  George  Macready, 
Lloyd  Corrigan  and  others. 


"The  Blue  Dahlia"  with  Alan  Ladd, 
William  Bendix  and  Veronica  Lake 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  96  win.) 
A  pretty  good  murder  mystery  thriller.  The  plot  is  some- 
what complicated  and  contrived,  and  it  is  a  little  slow  in 
getting  started,  but  once  it  finishes  establishing  the  different 
characters  it  becomes  exciting  and  grips  one's  attention  to 
the  end;  and  since  several  persons  are  under  suspicion  one 
cannot  be  certain  at  any  time  as  to  the  identity  of  the  mur- 
derer. Alan  Ladd,  as  a  returned  veteran  who  is  suspected  of 
murdering  his  unfaithful  wife,  is  cast  in  the  type  of  role  his 
fans  will  enjoy  thoroughly — tough,  fearless,  and  hard-hitting; 
he  awakens  sympathy  because  of  his  innocence  and  of  his 
courage.  The  last  half  of  the  picture,  during  which  he  be- 
comes involved  with  racketeers  as  he  helps  solve  the  case 
and  trap  the  criminal,  has  a  number  of  thrilling  fights. 
William  Bendix,  as  Ladd's  faithful  buddy,  whose  battle 
wounds  cause  him  to  suffer  periodic  mental  lapses,  gives  an 
outstanding  performance.  The  romantic  interest  is  unim- 
portant:— 

Upon  his  return  from  overseas,  Ladd  leaves  his  wife  (Doris 
Dowling)  after  learning  that  she  had  been  friendly  with 
Howard  da  Silva,  a  night-club  owner.  That  same  night 
Bendix  strikes  up  an  acquaintance  with  Doris  at  a  bar  with- 
out knowing  that  she  was  Ladd's  wife,  and  accepts  her 
invitation  to  visit  her  apartment.  Later  she  is  visited  by 
Da  Silva,  who  wished  to  break  relations  with  her  but  dared 
not  because  she  knew  that  he  was  a  fugitive  from  justice. 
Both  men  are  observed  entering  the  apartment  by  Will 
Wright,  the  house  detective,  who  finds  Doris  dead  on  the 
following  morning,  shot  with  Ladd's  gun.  Meanwhile  Ladd, 
having  spent  the  night  in  a  nearby  hotel,  where  he  makes 
the  acquaintance  of  Veronica  Lake,  Da  Silva's  estranged 
wife,  hears  a  radio  broadcast  announcing  Doris'  murder  and 
learns  that  he  was  suspected  by  the  police.  In  the  events 
that  follow,  Ladd  learns  that  Doris  knew  of  Da  Silva's  past, 
and  that  the  police,  having  discovered  that  Bendix  was 
with  Doris  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  suspected  also  his 
buddy.  Da  Silva,  aware  that  Ladd  had  discovered  his  secret, 
has  him  kidnapped,  but  Ladd  puts  up  a  strenuous  fight 
during  which  Da  Silva  is  killed  by  a  stray  bullet.  With 
Da  Silva  eliminated,  the  list  of  suspects  narrows  down  to 
Ladd,  Bendix  and  Veronica,  each  of  whom  had  a  motive 
to  commit  the  crime,  or  was  circumstantially  involved. 
But  Ladd,  through  his  ability  to  handle  Bendix,  his  neurotic 
pal,  uncovers  evidence  that  forces  a  confession  from  Wright, 
the  house  detective,  who,  having  had  a  personal  grievance 
against  Doris,  murdered  her  and  tried  to  direct  suspicion  on 
the  others. 

Raymond  Chandler  wrote  the  screen  play,  John  House- 
man produced  it,  and  George  Marshall  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Hugh  Beaumont,  Howard  Freeman,  Don  Costello 
and  others.  Adult  entertainment. 


20 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  2,  1946 


It  is  my  intention  to  be  in  Columbus  within  the  next  couple 
of  weeks  at  which  time  I  will  discuss  this  matter  with  you 
personally. 

Very  truly  yours, 

s/  J.  S.  Abrose 
MIDWESTERN  BOOKING  AGENCY 
1187  North  High  Street 
Columbus,  Ohio 

January  15,  1946 

Harrison's  Reports 
1270  Sixth  Avenue 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Gentlemen: 

With  further  reference  to  our  letter  of  December  the  22nd, 
Mr.  Abrose,  Cincinnati  Branch  Manager  for  Warners,  was 
in  to  see  Mrs.  Miles  Thursday,  January  the  10th. 

Mr.  Abrose  stated  that  the  assignment  for  checking  the 
Palace  Theatre,  Dayton,  Ohio  on  December  2-3-4  was 
given  by  his  home  office,  and  he  knew  nothing  about  this 
checking  engagement  until  we  called  it  to  his  attention  in  our 
letter  of  December  the  5th.  He,  also,  advised  this  practice  is 
common  among  the  major  film  companies,  and  while  he 
personally  didn't  like  it  there  was  nothing  he  could  do  about 
it  as  far  as  his  company  was  concerned.  He  insists  it  is  not 
confined  to  our  theatre  alone,  but  is  general  practice. 

The  I.T.O.O.  Convention  is  being  held  in  Columbus, 
January  22-23,  and  Mrs.  Miles  intends  to  bring  this  matter 
before  the  meeting  at  that  time. 

Very  truly  yours, 

s/  Arthur  A.  Miller 
Boo\er 


NEW  YORK  BAN  ON 
"SCARLET  STREET"  LIFTED 

The  Motion  Picture  Division  of  the  New  York  State 
Education  Department  has  rescinded  its  ban  on  the  exhibition 
of  "Scarlet  Street"  after  accepting  two  minor  deletions 
from  the  film. 

These  deletions  include  the  shortening  of  the  murder 
scene  in  which  Edward  G.  Robinson  kills  Joan  Bennett  by 
stabbing  her  seven  times  with  an  ice  pick,  and  the  elimination 
of  a  line  of  dialogue  spoken  by  Dan  Duryea  while  inspecting 
an  apartment  with  Miss  Bennett.  The  eliminated  dialogue  is: 
"Where  is  the  bedroom?" 

The  deletions  approved  are  so  minor  that,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  paper,  the  overall  sordidness  of  the  film  is  in  no  way 
affected.  It  still  remains  a  picture  that  should  not  be  shown 
to  family  audiences.  'Reviewed  on  page  10. 

"The  Well-Groomed  Bride"  with 
Olivia  DeHavilland,  Ray  Milland 
and  Sonny  Tufts 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  75  min.) 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  extremely  thin,  this 
farcial  romantic  comedy  is  a  fairly  good  light  entertainment, 
the  sort  that  should  please  most  audiences.  The  plot  centers 
around  the  last  remaining  magnum  of  French  champagne 
in  San  Francisco,  and  around  the  struggle  for  its  possession 
between  a  navy  lieutenant,  who  wanted  it  to  launch  a  ship, 
and  a  prospective  bride,  who  wanted  it  to  serve  at  her 
wedding  to  a  football  hero.  The  lieutenant's  efforts  to  obtain 
the  bottle  from  the  girl  result  in  situations  that  are  con- 
stantly comical  and,  at  times,  hilarious.  But  more  than  any- 
thing else  it  is  to  the  credit  of  the  players  that  the  picture 
is  entertaining,  for  they  play  their  respective  parts  with 
zest,  even  succeeding  in  building  up  suspense  in  the  slender 
story: — 

Because  his  new  ship  was  to  be  named  after  a  famous 
French  brig  on  the  following  morning,  Captain  James 
Gleason  decides  that  nothing  less  than  a  magnum  of  French 
champagne  will  suffice  for  the  christening  ceremonies.  He 
orders  Lieut.  Ray  Milland  to  obtain  the  magnum  without 


fail.  After  a  fruitless  tour  of  San  Francisco's  wine  shops, 
Milland  finally  locates  the  last  remaining  magnum  in  the 
city  at  one  of  the  shops  only  to  be  beaten  to  its  purchase  by 
Olivia  de  Havilland.  Milland  pleads  with  her  to  let  him 
have  it,  but  Olivia  refuses  because  she  had  promised  to  cele- 
brate her  impending  marriage  to  Lieut.  Sonny  Tufts,  an 
army  flier  and  former  football  hero,  with  the  largest  bottle 
of  champagne  in  the  city.  Determined  to  have  the  magnum, 
Milland  sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  hold  up  the  wedding. 
His  efforts  are  unsuccessful  until  he  learns  that  Constance 
Dowling,  Tufts'  former  sweetheart,  was  in  town.  He  cleverly 
tricks  Tufts  into  meeting  Constance  at  a  cocktail  bar,  making 
it  appear  to  Olivia  as  if  Tufts  were  "two-timing"  her. 
Olivia,  angered,  calls  off  the  wedding,  picks  up  the  cham- 
pagne, and  announces  that  she  was  going  to  the  navy  yard 
with  Milland  to  christen  the  ship.  But  Milland's  joy  is 
shortlived  when  Olivia,  learning  that  he  had  engineered  the 
scheme,  refuses  to  turn  over  the  champagne.  In  the  mix-ups 
that  follow,  Tufts  comes  into  possession  of  the  bottle  and 
refuses  to  turn  it  over  to  the  navy.  Milland  resorts  to  many 
tricks  to  discredit  Tufts  and  at  the  same  time  placate  Gleason, 
but  by  the  time  the  ceremonies  are  ready  to  start  he  is  still 
without  the  bottle.  At  the  last  possible  moment,  however 
Olivia,  realizing  that  she  had  fallen  in  love  with  Milland, 
tricks  Tufts  into  surrendering  the  bottle  in  time  for  the 
christening.  Meanwhile,  Tufts  had  discovered  that  he  really 
loved  Constance,  not  Olivia. 

Claude  Binyon  and  Robert  Russell  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Fred  Kohlmar  produced  it,  and  Sidney  Lanfield  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Percy  Kilbride  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Idea  Girl"  with  Jess  Barker 
and  Julie  Bishop 

(Universal,  Feb.  8;  time,  60  min.) 

Just  a  moderately  entertaining  comedy  with  some  music. 
The  story  is  thin,  the  action  slow,  and  the  dialogue  ordinary. 
What  is  supposed  to  be  comedy  is,  for  the  most  part,  plain 
silliness;  for  that  reason  it  becomes  tiresome  after  a  while. 
The  action  never  strikes  a  note  of  realism,  and  not  one  of 
the  characters  does  anything  to  win  the  sympathy  of  the 
audience.  The  few  song  interpolations  played  by  Charlie 
Barnett's  Orchestra  and  sung  by  Laura  Deane  Dutton  come 
as  a  welcome  relief.  Set  this  one  down  for  the  lower-half 
of  a  mid-week  double-bill: — 

Jess  Barker,  partner  with  Alan  Mowbray  in  a  music  pub- 
lishing firm,  returns  from  a  road  trip  to  find  that  Mowbray, 
influenced  easily  by  a  pretty  woman,  had  engaged  Julie 
Bishop  as  a  "song  plugger,"  and  that  he  had  given  her  a 
five-year  unbreakable  contract.  Ignorance  of  the  business 
prompts  Julie  to  make  several  deals  with  different  persons 
under  terms  that  threaten  to  bankrupt  the  firm.  Barker, 
irritated  by  her  unconventional  methods,  tries  to  make  the 
best  of  the  situation,  but,  when  he  discovers  that  her  next 
scheme  was  a  song-writing  contest  for  amateurs,  he  orders 
Mowbray  to  get  rid  of  her  and  to  cancel  the  contest.  The 
office  secretary,  however,  inadvertantly  mails  out  the  contest 
application  blanks,  and  the  firm  is  soon  deluged  with  a  flood 
of  popular  songs,  among  which  was  one  from  George 
Dolenz,  a  student  of  classical  music,  who  had  submitted  the 
song  under  a  false  name.  Barker's  anger  fades  when  social 
and  civic  groups  support  the  contest,  and  when  the  Mayor 
offers  to  sing  the  winning  tune.  Dolenz's  song  emerges  the 
winner,  but  when  Barker  is  unable  to  locate  him,  he  finds 
himself  faced  with  charges  of  using  the  mails  to  defraud. 
After  much  confusion,  Dolenz  is  finally  found,  and  it  all 
ends  with  the  firm  reaping  huge  profits  from  his  song,  while 
Barker  and  Julie  decide  that  they  are  in  love. 

Charles  R.  Marion  wrote  the  screen  play,  Will  Cowan 
produced  it,  and  Will  Jason  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Joan  Fulton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  9,  1946  No.  6 


BOB  O'DONNELL  TAKES  EXCEPTION 

THE  VARIETY  CLUBS  OF  AMERICA 
Majestic  Theatre  Building 
Dallas  1 ,  Texas 

January  28,  1946 

Mr.  P.  S.  Harrison,  Editor 
Harrison's  Reports 
1270  Avenue  of  the  Americas 
New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
Dear  Pete: 

I  deeply  regret  the  action  which  you  took  in  your  recent 
issue  of  Saturday,  January  12th — in  denouncing  the  recent 
recommendation  which  I  made  to  the  various  Tents  of  the 
Variety  Clubs  of  America — and  in  using  the  lead  .  .  . 
"Tinging  the  Variety  Clubs  of  America  with  Commercialism." 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  ask  that  you  use  this  letter  in 
any  matter  whatsoever — but  I  can  assure  you,  that  if — after 
reading  it — your  opinion  has  changed  ...  I  shall  appreci' 
ate  the  benefit  of  your  new  point  of  view. 

Also,  it  is  not  my  purpose  in  writing  this  letter  to  start 
a  controversy  with  you — I  merely  wish  to  give  you  my 
thoughts  as  a  National  Officer  of  Variety — and  ask  that 
you  use  your  own  good  judgment  as  to  whether  or  not  I  was 
deserving  of  the  editorial  you  wrote  in  your  "Harrison's 
Reports." 

First  of  all,  when  the  request  was  made  to  me,  as  National 
Chief  Barker  of  the  Variety  Clubs  of  America,  to  assist 
in  the  celebration  of  Columbia  Pictures  Corporation's  25th 
Anniversary  .  .  .  along  with  the  American  Federation  of 
Music  Clubs  and  the  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs — 

— and  to  aid  in  sponsoring  a  dinner  to  be  held  in  most 
exchange  cities  in  which  Variety  Clubs  have  been  estab' 
lished — the  idea  very  definitely  appealed  to  me  as  an 
opportunity  to  bring  the  local  Variety  Club  to  the  front 
in  civic  affairs. 

We  did  not  select  Columbia  Pictures — they  selected  us — 
and  I  want  to  qualify  this  by  stating  that  if  the  same  proposal 
had  been  made  by  anyone — from  Monogram  to  Metro — 
it  would  have  appealed  to  us — for  it  offered  an  opportunity 
to  pay  tribute  to  our  Industry  .  .  .  and  to  bring  the  activities 
of  our  Industry  and  our  Variety  Clubs  to  those  outside  of 
our  business. 

You,  and  other  theatrical  trade  paper  editors  who  sit  in 
New  York  City  have — I'm  afraid,  very  little  conception 
of  the  limited  scope  and  opportunities  for  important  events 
of  this  nature  in  towns  like  Oklahoma  City,  St.  Louis, 
Albany,  Des  Moines,  Omaha — and  other  towns  of  that 
type. 

As  a  member  of  Variety  yourself,  you  are  in  position  to 
refer  to  the  record  for  the  past  three  years — and  you  will 
notice  that  we  have  at  all  times  attempted  to  make  the 
local  Club  Rooms  headquarters  for  all  theatrical  activities — 
birthday  parties—and  so  on. 

Dallas  was  particularly  fortunate  in  being  the  recipient 
of  the  Charity  Citation  for  the  year  1944 — and  the  presen- 
tation of  this  Award  was  the  occasion  of  a  great  celebration 
.  .  .  attended  by  the  Governor,  the  Mayor,  and  other  digni' 
taries.  BUT  .  .  .  how  many  Clubs  have  such  an  opportu- 
nity— ? 

One  of  the  weaknesses  of  our  organization  is  the  failure  of 
the  national  organizations  to  take  advantage  of  our  club 


rooms — such  as  the  beautiful  Quarters  we  have  in  the  Black- 
stone  Hotel  in  Chicago.  While  the  sales  managers'  meetings 
of  almost  every  company  are  held  at  the  Blackstone — the 
Club  Quarters  themselves  are  not  used. 

The  Variety  Clubs  are  non-sectarian  and  are  operated 
from  a  strictly  non-profit  standpoint  .  .  .  local  autonomy 
prevails  in  all  Clubs  and  the  local  charities  are  the  ones 
supported.  We  have  an  obligation  to  see  that  events  are 
held  in  the  Club  Rooms  and  that  they  are  handled  in  a 
manner  to  reflect  dignity  to  our  Industry. 

While  you  state  that  you,  as  a  member  of  Variety,  "resent 
the  prostitution  of  the  spirit  of  this  institution  and  protest 
against  the  use  of  it  in  this  manner"  .  .  .  and  that  your  paper 
ventures  to  say  it  will  have  great  opposition  .  .  . 

.  .  .  may  I  say  first — I  respect  your  objection  as  a  member 
of  Variety  .  .  .  but  want  to  tell  you  that  the  majority  of 
the  Tents  located  in  Exchange  Centers  have  approved  this 
plan!  Fifteen  have  voiced  enthusiastic  approval  and  only 
one  Tent,  Philadelphia,  has  voiced  an  objection  as  being 
opposed  to  the  plan. 

I  have  attempted  to  point  out  to  Philadelphia,  the  same 
as  I  am  to  you — that  this  proposal  definitely  has  merit  .  .  . 
and  that  any  gathering  or  event  conducted  in  a  dignified 
manner  .  .  .  even  though  paid  for  by  Columbia,  or  any  other 
concern,  offers  a  splendid  opportunity  to  tell  the  story  of 
Variety — to  tell  of  the  activities  of  our  Industry  .  .  .  during 
World  War  II  .  .  .  and  during  Peace  Times.  There  is  no 
thought  of  glamorizing  or  depicting  the  honoree  as  the 
lone  hero! 

You  say  you  wonder  if  Bob  O'Donnell  was  sold  a  bill 
of  goods!  I  can  only  answer  that  by  saying  that  when  the 
proposition  was  presented  to  me  I  received  it  in  the  spirit 
in  which  it  was  intended — and  considered  the  vast  assistance 
it  would  be  to  Variety  .  .  .  knowing  that  it  would  be  handled 
in  a  dignified  and  showmanship  like  manner. 

Our  good  friend,  Charlie  Skouras,  Chief  Barker  of  the 
Los  Angeles  Tent,  accepted  this  proposal  in  a  most  glowing 
and  enthusiastic  manner  .  .  .  outlining  the  way  in  which  he 
wanted  to  handle  the  Hollywood  event  .  .  .  taking  into 
consideration  the  fact  that  it  is  the  capitol  of  the  Motion 
Picture  Industry  .  .  .  stating  he  believed  it  should  be  done 
in  an  outstanding  manner. 

I  can't  help  but  have  the  thought  that  so  long  as  fellows 
like  Carter  Barron  in  Washington — -Charlie  Skouras  in 
Los  Angeles — and  all  the  rest  of  the  fellows  who  have 
responded  in  an  approving  way — 

— concur  that  we  are  not  "prostituting  Variety"  but 
making  a  constructive  effort  to  establish  Variety  and  our 
Industry  with  the  civic  leaders  in  the  respective  commun- 
ities— we  cannot  be  too  far  wrong. 

And — I  still  have  hopes  of  having  the  one  contrary  vote 
being  turned  into  an  affirmative  one. 

Tents  which  are  unheard  from  as  yet  are  Charlotte, 
Dayton,  Minneapolis,  Columbus  and  Cleveland  and  Pitts- 
burgh. 

If  you  will  again  refer  to  my  letter  of  December  18th, 
you  will  see  that  Variety  is  merely  a  co-sponsor  .  .  .  that 
there  are  two  other  national  organizations — the  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs  and  the  American  Federation  of 
Music  Clubs  participating. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


22 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  9,  1946 


"Bad  Bascomb"  with  Wallace  Beery, 
Margaret  O'Brien  and  Marjorie  Main 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  110  min.) 

Although  it  offers  nothing  novel,  this  large-scale 
Western  should  give  fair  satisfaction  to  most  picture- 
goers.  There  are  numerous  thrilling  as  well  as  appeal- 
ing situations  throughout,  but  the  story,  which  deals 
with  the  reformation  of  a  notorious  outlaw,  is  padded 
too  much;  there  are  whole  stretches  where  it  gives 
one  the  feeling  of  extreme  slowness.  With  proper 
editing  it  could  be  livened  up  considerably.  As  the 
rascally  but  soft-hearted  bandit,  Wallace  Beery  is 
cast  in  the  type  of  role  for  which  he  is  best  suited. 
Little  Margaret  O'Brien,  as  the  child  who  brings 
about  his  reformation,  is  as  winsome  as  ever.  The 
by-play  between  Beery  and  Marjorie  Main,  an  over- 
bearing widow  with  romantic  inclinations,  provides 
a  light  comedy  touch  throughout.  The  strongest 
thrills  occur  towards  the  finish,  where  Indians  make 
a  vicious  attack  on  the  Mormon  caravan : — 

To  escape  arrest  by  Federal  agents,  Beery  and  J. 
Carrol  Naish,  his  partner,  a  renegade  white  reared 
by  Indians,  take  refuge  with  a  band  of  Mormons 
trekking  to  Utah.  Both  men,  in  the  guise  of  converts, 
are  invited  to  join  the  caravan  by  Russell  Simpson, 
the  Apostle  leader,  who,  in  keeping  with  custom, 
orders  them  to  work  for  unattached  women.  Beery 
soon  finds  himself  attached  to  Marjorie,  and  Naish  is 
appropriated  by  two  sisters,  old  maids,  who  pamper 
him.  A  strong  attachment  springs  up  between  Beery 
and  Margaret,  Marjorie's  granddaughter.  In  time, 
Beery  and  Naish  learn  that  the  wagon  train  was 
carrying  gold  to  finance  the  building  of  a  hospital  in 
Utah;  they  plan  to  steal  the  gold  and  make  an  escape. 
Meanwhile  Margaret  is  taken  ill  and  put  to  bed.  The 
two  men  locate  the  treasure  but  Beery  postpones  the 
getaway  to  watch  over  Margaret.  Naish,  impatient, 
kills  the  Apostle  leader  and  tries  to  steal  the  gold 
himself,  but  Beery  chases  him  off.  Angered,  Naish 
goes  into  the  hills  and  arouses  a  band  of  hostile  In- 
dians to  attack  the  caravan.  Beery,  aware  of  Naish's 
plan,  makes  a  desperate  ride  to  a  fort  nearby  to  sum- 
mon help,  fully  realizing  that  he  was  sacrificing  his 
own  freedom.  He  returns  at  the  head  of  the  rescuing 
regiment  in  time  to  halt  the  massacre  and  kill  Naish. 
The  Mormons  saved,  Beery  bids  them  farewell  and 
leaves  with  the  soldiers  to  pay  his  debt  to  society. 

William  Lippman  and  Grant  Garrett  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Orville  O.  Dull  produced  it,  and  S. 
Sylvan  Simon  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Frances 
Rafferty,  Marshall  Thompson,  Connie  Gilchrist  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"A  Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie" 
with  Chester  Morris 

(Columbia,  Jan.  24;  time,  60  min.) 

Ordinary  program  fare;  it  is  no  better  and  no  worse 
than  the  previous  pictures  in  the  "Boston  Blackie" 
series,  nor  is  it  different  in  either  story  content  or 
treatment.  The  formula  is  the  same — Chester  Morris 
becomes  involved  innocently  in  a  crime  and  is  com- 
pelled to  track  down  the  criminals  in  order  to  clear 
himself.  There  is  the  usual  feud  with  Richard  Lane, 
as  the  police  inspector,  and  the  dumb  detective  antics 
of  Frank  Sully.  The  plot  is  so  far-fetched  and  confused 
that  the  melodramatic  situations  are  more  ridiculous 
than  exciting.  Emphasis  is  placed  on  the  comedy,  but 
the  results  are  feeble: — 

Lynn  Merrick,  Morris'  old  girl-friend,  hides  her 


baby  in  his  apartment  and  explains  that  she  feared 
Robert  Scott,  her  husband,  just  released  from  prison, 
might  try  to  harm  the  child.  Scott,  who  had  trailed  her 
to  the  apartment,  is  shot  and  killed  mysteriously  just 
as  he  tries  to  enter.  Morris  orders  George  E.  Stone, 
his  pal,  to  spirit  Lynn  and  the  baby  out  of  the  apart- 
ment, but  he  himself  is  caught  by  Police  Inspector 
Richard  Lane  and  arrested  for  the  crime.  Morris,  pro- 
testing his  innocence,  manages  to  escape  from  Frank 
Sully,  Lane's  assistant,  and  in  the  course  of  events  he 
discovers  that  Lynn  did  not  have  a  child,  and  that  she 
had  intimated  to  Lane  that  he  had  been  her  former 
sweetheart  and  had  fired  the  shot  that  had  killed  her 
husband.  Further  investigation  convinces  Morris  that 
Lynn  had  set  up  an  elaborate  scheme  to  extort  money 
from  her  wealthy  father-in-law  in  exchange  for  his 
murdered  son's  "baby."  Disguising  himself  as  the 
father-in-law,  Morris  confronts  Lynn  in  her  home 
and  offers  her  $10,000  for  the  baby.  When  she  de- 
mands a  larger  sum,  Morris  threatens  to  call  the 
police,  causing  Erik  Rolf,  Lyn's  accomplice,  to  reveal 
himself.  In  the  ensuing  fight,  Rolf  gains  the  upper 
hand  over  Morris  and  makes  his  escape,  but  he  is 
caught  in  the  lobby  of  the  building  by  Lane,  who 
had  been  trailing  Morris.  Rolf  confesses  that  he  had 
murdered  Lynn's  husband  as  part  of  their  extortion 
plan. 

Ben  Markson  wrote  the  screen  play,  John  Stone 
produced  it,  and  Lew  Landers  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Riverboat  Rhythm"  with  Leon  Errol 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  65  mm.) 

A  mediocre  program  comedy  with  music.  Aside 
from  the  ardent  Leon  Errol  fans,  it  will  probably  have 
little  appeal  for  picture-goers  in  general  because  of 
the  story's  inanity.  What  is  supposed  to  pass  as 
comedy  is  nothing  more  than  garrulousness  and  stupid 
slapstick,  the  sort  that  may  draw  laughs  from  chil- 
dren. The  music,  played  by  Frankie  Carle  and  his 
Orchestra,  is  dragged  in  by  the  ear,  but  it  is  melodious 
and  comes  as  a  welcome  relief  from  the  nonsensical 
chases  and  the  prattle.  In  short,  it  fails  to  entertain, 
amuse,  or  hold  one  in  suspense  and  it  has  no  human 
interest  value : — 

Errol,  operator  of  a  Mississippi  showboat,  is  arrested 
by  the  sheriff  of  Frazier's  Landing  for  putting  on  a 
show  without  a  license.  Just  as  Errol  is  taken  into 
custody,  Walter  Catlett,  a  Southern  Colonel,  trips 
the  sheriff  into  the  river  and  instructs  Errol  to  steam 
away.  The  boat,  however,  runs  aground  near  a  river- 
front hotel,  the  owner  of  which  notifies  the  sheriff  and 
demands  that  the  boat  be  removed.  Catlett  appeases 
the  owner  by  informing  him  that  the  boat  was  owned 
by  an  influential  "Colonel  Witherspoon."  This  news 
reaches  the  ears  of  Jonathan  Hale,  another  Colonel, 
whose  sister  had  been  abandoned  by  "Witherspoon" 
thirty  years  previously;  Hale  had  vowed  to  shoot  him 
on  sight.  When  the  sheriff  arrives  on  the  scene,  Errol, 
to  evade  him,  disguises  himself  as  a  Southern  Colonel 
only  to  be  taken  for  "Witherspoon"  by  the  irrate 
Hale.  There  follows  a  series  of  chases,  during  which 
Errol  dons  and  doffs  the  disguise,  depending  on 
whether  he  was  being  pursued  by  Hale  or  the  sheriff. 
He  is  ultimately  caught  by  Hale,  but  escapes  harm 
when  Hale's  sister  puts  in  a  sudden  appearance  and 
claims  him  as  her  missing  husband.  Errol  finds  himself 
on  the  verge  of  an  enforced  honeymoon  with  a 
strange  woman,  but  he  is  saved  again  by  Catlett,  who 


February  9,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


23 


appears  and  reveals  himself  as  the  missing  "Wither' 
spoon,"  and  takes  his  bride  in  tow.  With  Errol's 
true  identity  revealed,  the  sheriff  tries  to  arrest  him, 
but  Errol  trips  him  into  the  river  again  and  makes 
his  escape. 

Charles  Roberts  wrote  the  screen  play,  Nat  Hold 
produced  it,  and  Leslie  Goodwins  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Glenn  Vernon,  Ben  Carter,  Manton 
Moreland  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Hoodlum  Saint"  with  William  Powell 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  91  min.) 

A  pretty  good  drama ;  it  catches  one's  interest  at  the 
onset  and  never  loses  its  grip.  Revolving  around  a 
disillusioned  veteran's  exploits  in  amassing  and  losing 
a  fortune,  the  story  has  deep  human  appeal,  comedy, 
and  pathos,  presented  in  a  manner  that  should  appeal 
to  the  masses.  The  entertainment  value  lies  mostly  in 
the  characterization  by  William  Powell  of  the  oppor- 
tunist;  he  does  excellent  work,  making  the  character 
charming,  believeable,  and  likeable.  James  Gleason, 
"Rags"  Raglund,  Frank  McHugh,  and  the  late  Slim 
Summerville,  as  Powell's  hoodlum  friends,  who  keep 
him  constantly  faced  with  the  problem  of  keeping 
them  out  of  jail,  provide  some  good  comedy  as  well 
as  dramatic  situations.  The  romance  between  Powell 
and  Esther  Williams  is  charming : — 

Returning  to  St.  Louis  from  World  War  I,  Powell 
finds  his  job  as  a  newspaper  reporter  gone  and  no 
work  in  sight.  Disillusioned,  he  determines  to  make 
good  in  a  big  way  without  regard  for  moral  scruples. 
He  crashes  a  society  wedding  and  meets  Charles 
Trowbridge,  a  newspaper  publisher;  Esther  Williams, 
his  neice;  and  Henry  O'Neill,  a  utilities  magnate,  with 
whom  Trowbridge  had  been  feuding.  Powell  talks 
Trowbridge  into  hiring  him  to  expose,  through  a 
series  of  newspaper  articles,  O'Neill's  monopolistic 
tactics.  The  articles  prove  sensational,  and  Powell  uses 
them  to  sell  O'Neill  the  idea  of  changing  his  role  from 
villain  to  public  benefactor  by  offering  his  company's 
stock  to  the  general  public.  The  idea  succeeds,  and 
within  a  short  time  Powell  is  made  vice'president  of 
the  company.  He  tries  to  resume  his  romance  with 
Esther,  whom  he  had  neglected  while  amassing  a 
fortune,  only  to  learn  that  she  had  married  another 
man.  Disheartened,  he  becomes  attentive  to  Angela 
Lansbury,  a  cafe  singer.  Meanwhile,  to  keep  his 
hoodlum  friends  out  of  his  life,  Powell,  as  a  gag,  tells 
them  to  pray  to  St.  Dismas,  the  "hoodlum  saint," 
whenever  they  got  into  trouble;  he  secretly  helps  them, 
leading  them  to  believe  in  St.  Dismas'  power  for  good. 
As  a  result,  they  start  a  St.  Dismas  fund  for  charity. 
The  1929  stock  market  crash  wipes  out  Powell's 
wealth  and  that  of  his  friends.  Gleason,  accepting  his 
losses  philosophically,  persuades  Powell  to  pray  to 
St.  Dismas  for  help.  Shortly  afterwards,  he  finds  a 
newspaper  job,  but  illness  compels  him  to  go  to  a 
sanitarium.  Meanwhile  his  friends,  sorely  in  need  of 
money,  are  induced  by  Angela  to  join  her  in  a  plan  to 
raise  donations  for  the  St.  Dismas  fund  and  to  "skip" 
with  the  money.  Gleason,  fearing  that  his  buddies 
would  land  in  jail,  appeals  to  Powell  for  help.  Powell 
leaves  his  sick  bed,  and  his  pleas,  augmented  by 
Gleason 's  prayers  to  St.  Dismas,  cause  Angela  and 
the  others  to  relent  and  turn  back  the  funds.  Esther, 
now  a  widow,  reunites  with  Powell,  happy  in  the 
thought  that  he  had  forsaken  his  desire  for  riches 
and  had  achieved  his  humanization. 

Frank  Wead  and  James  Hill  wrote  the  original 


screen  play,  Cliff  Reid  produced  it,  and  Norman 
Taurog  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Lewis  Stone  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Sentimental  Journey"  with  John  Payne, 
Maureen  O'Hara  and  Connie  Marshall 

(20th  Century 'Fox,  March;  time,  94  min.) 

A  fairly  good  drama  of  the  tear-jerker  variety;  it 
should  find  favor  mostly  with  women.  It  depends 
chiefly  on  the  talents  of  seven-year-old  Connie  Mar- 
shall,  a  newcomer,  for  its  entertaining  quality,  for  the 
story  itself  is  thin  and  slow-moving.  Connie's  wist- 
fulness  is  so  appealing  and  her  acting  so  realistic  that 
she  moves  the  spectator  to  tears  in  some  of  the  situa- 
tions. She  awakens  deep  sympathy  by  her  efforts  to 
fill  the  void  in  John  Payne's  life  after  the  tragic  death 
of  his  devoted  wife.  Payne's  resentment  of  the  child's 
intrusion  in  the  midst  of  his  grief  is  understandable, 
and  his  eventual  acceptance  of  her  as  a  necessary  part 
of  his  life  pleases  one.  Maureen  O'Hara,  as  Payne's 
wife  is  appealing,  as  is  William  Bendix,  as  a  family 
friend.  It  is,  however,  a  somewhat  depressing  enter- 
tainment because  of  the  unhappiness  that  Payne,  a 
sympathetic  character,  is  shown  enduring: — 

Maureen,  an  actress,  happily  married  to  Payne,  a 
Broadway  producer,  tries  to  hide  from  him  the  fact 
that  she  was  suffering  from  a  serious  heart  ailment. 
One  day,  while  strolling  on  the  beach,  she  meets 
Connie,  an  orphan,  and  becomes  intrigued  by  the 
child's  imaginative  mind  because  she  was  so  much 
like  herself,  when  she  was  a  little  girl.  Aware  that 
her  days  were  numbered,  Maureen  decides  to  adopt 
the  child  so  that  Payne  would  not  be  lonely  after  her 
death.  Payne  consents  to  Connie's  adoption,  but  he 
soon  becomes  resentful  of  her  intrusion.  Meanwhile 
Maureen  quietly  trains  Connie  to  cater  to  Payne  and 
care  for  him  just  as  she  did.  But  she  soon  realizes 
that  the  child's  presence  was  interfering  with  her 
marriage,  and  decides  to  return  her  to  the  orphanage. 
The  emotional  stress,  however,  causes  Maureen  to 
suffer  a  heart  attack,  and  before  dying  she  makes 
Connie  promise  never  to  leave  Payne.  Maureen's 
death  is  a  terrific  blow  to  Payne,  and  the  more  Connie 
tries  to  take  her  place  the  more  poignant  becomes  his 
grief.  Maureen  appears  to  Connie  in  a  vision  and 
explains  to  her  the  necessity  of  understanding  and 
patience  with  Payne,  but  the  child's  efforts  to  imitate 
Maureen  unnerve  Payne  so  much  that  he  scolds  her. 
Heartbroken,  Connie  runs  away.  While  waiting  for 
for  the  police  to  find  her,  Payne  wanders  into 
Maureen's  room  and  discovers  a  phonograph  record, 
made  by  her  in  anticipation  of  death,  in  which  she 
tells  Payne  that  Connie  was  the  living  link  between 
them.  Realizing  that  his  attitude  had  hurt  the  child, 
Payne,  aided  by  Bendix,  goes  in  search  of  her  and 
finds  her  on  the  beach  where  she  first  met  Maureen. 
Won  over  by  her  warmth  and  sincerity,  he  takes 
Connie  home  and  makes  her  promise  never  to  run 
away  again. 

Samuel  Hoffenstein  and  Elizabeth  Rheinhardt 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter  Morosco  produced  it, 
and  Walter  Lang  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Sir 
Cedric  Hardwicke,  Mischa  Auer  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

In  the  review  of  "The  Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest," 
published  in  last  week's  issue,  the  release  date  was 
given  as  January  24.  The  correct  release  date  is 
February  2 1 . 


24 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  9,  1946 


Nothing  you  have  stated — no  argument  you  have  pre- 
sented— has  so  far  changed  my  opinion  .  .  .  and  I  sincerely 
regret  that  you  have  used  your  splendid  paper  to  damn 
my  action — which  was  taken  only  with  the  thought  of 
promoting  the  best  interests  of  Variety  and  certainly  not 
in  the  manner  you  have  assumed. 

In  conclusion,  I  want  to  repeat  that  so  long  as  I  am 
Chief  Barker  of  the  Variety  Clubs  of  America,  any  worth- 
while recommendation  or  suggestion  from  any  company  will 
be  considered  .  .  .  and  if  deemed  worthy  and  advisable,  will 
be  presented  to  the  respective  Tents.  In  the  final  analysis, 
they  are  the  ones  who  must  make  the  decisions. 

The  only  other  paragraph  of  your  editorial  to  which  I  can 
refer  has  been  covered- — the  one  in  which  you  say  other 
companies  will  be  celebrating  in  one  form  or  another  and  I 
am  going  to  offer  the  name  of  Variety  to  advertise  these 
companies.  NO  .  .  .  not  for  advertising  purposes — but  for 
a  celebration — YES! 

Certainly  no  partiality  will  be  shown — and  should  others 
desire  to  avail  themselves  of  the  Variety  Club  Quarters  .  .  . 
and  to  eulogize  Variety  Clubs  and  the  Industry — such  a 
proposal  would  be  given  due  and  serious  consideration. 

I  believe  that  when  you  see  the  booklet  in  which  the 
Heart  Reports  will  be  presented  at  the  forthcoming  Conven- 
tion— to  be  held  in  New  York  in  May — you  will  realize 
that  nothing  has  happened  to  the  charitable  spirit  of  the 
Variety  Clubs  .  .  .  you  will  be  convinced  that  it  has  been 
maintained  unsullied  .  .  .  and  you  will  realize  that  nothing 
has  happened  to  mar  this  glorious  part  of  our  organization. 

Sincerely, 

R.  J.  O'DONNELL 

ALLIED  THEATRES  OF  MICHIGAN 
POINTS  THE  WAY 

On  February  11,  12,  and  13,  Allied  States  Association 
of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors  will  hold  its  annual  meeting 
of  the  Board  of  Directors  in  New  York  City,  at  which  time 
it  will  elect  new  officers  and  map  its  plans  for  the  ensuing 
year. 

According  to  the  announcement  made  by  Abram  F. 
Myers,  Allied's  general  counsel  and  chairman  of  the  board, 
the  tentative  agenda  includes  his  annual  report,  in  which  he 
will  review  the  events  of  the  past  year  as  well  as  the  problems 
the  exhibitors  will  face  this  year;  the  directors'  reports  on 
economic  conditions  in  their  respective  territories;  a  commit- 
tee report  on  checking  abuses  with  proposed  remedies  there- 
for; a  report  by  the  Caravan  Committee  on  high  film  rentals 
and  the  steps  taken  to  combat  them;  a  committee  report  on 
the  attitude  of  the  distributors  in  reference  to  16  mm.  ex- 
hibition; and  a  discussion  devoted  to  strengthening  public 
relations  and  especially  to  increasing  the  effectiveness  of  the 
regional  groups  and  the  national  group  in  handling  matters 
affecting  the  independent  exhibitors  before  municipal, 
county,  state  and  national  legislative  and  administrative 
bodies. 

Mr.  Meyers  points  out  also  in  his  bulletin  that  the  recent 
"fall  and  winter  conventions  and  membership  meetings  of 
Allied's  regional  associations  have  been  the  largest  and  most 
interesting  for  many  years.  With  the  war  behind  them, 
the  independent  exhibitors  are  showing  a  keen  interest  in 
industry  problems  and  a  desire  to  enlarge  and  strengthen 
their  associations."  He  states  that  "cooperation  among  the 
Allied  units  is  increasing  and  the  purpose  to  extend  this 
cooperation  through  National  Allied  to  the  other  truly  inde- 
pendent organizations  included  in  the  CLE. A.  [Con- 
ference of  Independent  Exhibitor  Associations]  has  been 
made  clear,"  and  that  the  action  taken  by  the  CLE. A., 
with  reference  to  its  refusal  to  participate  in  the  formation 
of  the  Theatre  Activities  Committee,  the  proposed  new 
national  exhibitor  organization,  has  already  been  approved 
by  seven  Allied  units,  as  well  as  by  several  other  regional 
associations  in  the  CLE. A. 

In  connection  with  the  stand  taken  by  Allied  Theatres  of 
Michigan,  Mr.  Myers  attached  to  his  bulletin  a  statement 


by  Ray  Branch,  president  of  the  organization.  Read  it;  it 

is  interesting: 

"When  the  CLE. A.  was  assembled  at  Washington  and 
took  the  stand  that  it  could  see  no  justification  for  the  new 
proposed  exhibitor  organization,  it  did  so  for  two  reasons. 
First,  because  it  could  not  see  how  any  new  formation  could 
improve  upon  the  successful  operation  of  its  own,  and 
second,  it  could  not  truthfully  admit  that  it  was  failing  to 
satisfy  its  membership.  Aside  from  the  enumerated  reasons, 
what  else  could  be  considered? 

"There  was  nothing  offered  or  proposed  for  the  welfare 
of  all  exhibitors  alike  that  was  not  being  done  or  in  prospect 
for  the  future.  If  Allied  States  Association  and  the  CLE. A. 
have  failed  in  anything,  it  is  because  they  have  not  en- 
gendered enough  enthusiasm  among  the  regional  units  to 
cause  them  to  come  forward  on  a  voluntary  basis  and  con- 
tribute more  financial  assistance  and  moral  support.  It  would 
not  be  possible  for  a  new  organization  to  embark  upon  a 
more  constructive  program  that  would  benefit  its  member- 
ship, nor  place  them  in  a  better  position  to  command  the 
respect  of  their  patrons  or  those  with  whom  they  now  en- 
joy business  relations.  Therefore,  I  again  repeat  that  I  can 
see  no  justification  for  the  formation  of  a  new  organization. 

"At  a  conference  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  Michigan 
held  January  16th,  a  vote  of  confidence  was  expressed,  and 
its  delegate  to  the  forthcoming  Annual  meeting  was  in- 
structed to  voluntarily  increase  its  dues  and  pledge  contin- 
uance of  its  membership.  We  have  an  organization  now 
that  can  do  all  the  things  proposed  if  proper  support  is 
available  and  forthcoming.  Therefore,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
this  is  just  a  test  of  strength  among  the  units  that  support 
their  National  Organization." 

Allied  of  Michigan  is  to  be  congratulated  for  its  far- 
sighted  action  in  backing  up  its  vote  of  confidence  with  a 
voluntary  increase  in  dues,  for  without  proper  financial 
support  no  organization  can  combat  effectively  the  forces 
that  work  against  the  interests  of  independent  exhibition.  It 
costs  money  to  send  representatives  to  appear  before  differ- 
ent legislative  committees  on  tax  proposals  and  other  matters, 
as  well  as  to  carry  on  promotional  work. 

Examine  again  the  tentative  agenda  of  Allied's  annual 
board  meeting  and  you  will  see  that,  although  the  agenda 
contains  but  a  few  of  the  important  problems  and  topics 
that  will  be  discussed  and  acted  upon,  they  are  enough  to 
point  up  the  constant  need  for  strong  independent  ex- 
hibitor cooperation. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  frequently  in  these  columns  that 
one  of  the  greatest  protecting  factors  for  independent  ex- 
hibition is  organization.  Only  by  pulling  together  can  the 
independents  hope  to  put  up  an  effective  defense  against 
hostile  forces.  And  yet,  there  are  any  number  of  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  who  are  blind  to  the  need  of  organiza- 
tion; they  either  do  not  belong  to  an  exhibtor  unit,  or,  if 
they  do,  are  lax  in  payment  of  dues  as  well  as  in  taking 
some  active  part  in  their  association's  continuous  efforts 
to  protect  their  interests. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  any  exhibitor  is  utterly 
indifferent  to  his  own  problems  and  interests,  for  his  in- 
difference makes  the  operation  of  his  own  business  all  the 
more  trying. 

Those  who  do  not  belong  to  an  exhibitor  association  are, 
in  effect,  "mooching"  on  fellow  exhibitors  who,  through 
payment  of  dues  and  through  hard  work,  are  bearing  the 
burden  in  the  continuing  fight  to  better  the  lot  of  the  inde- 
pendent exhibitor. 

Other  regional  units  will  undoubtedly  want  to  follow 
the  lead  of  Allied  of  Michigan  in  giving  additional  financial 
assistance  to  their  national  association,  but  to  do  so  they 
will  need  support.  Those  of  you  who  have  not  yet  joined 
an  exhibitor  unit  should  snap  out  of  your  indifference  and 
do  so  at  once!  Harrison's  Reports  believes  that  you  should 
join  an  Allied  unit,  but  if  for  some  reason  you  cannot  or 
are  unwilling  to  do  so,  join  any  other  truly  independent 
unit.  And  those  of  you  who  are  behind  in  dues,  pay  up 
immediately!  Otherwise  you  cannot  expect  your  organiza- 
tion to  function  as  it  should  to  protect  your  interests. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  16,  1946  No.  7 


THE  INEQUITIES  OF  SHIFTING 
SALES  POLICIES 

In  recent  weeks  there  has  been  a  rising  tide  of  exhibitor 
resentment  against  Paramount  and  Twentieth  Century-Fox 
because  of  the  alleged  shifting  sales  policies  both  have 
adopted  in  regard  to  "The  Lost  Weekend"  and  "Leave  Her 
to  Heaven."  " 

It  seems  that  both  companies  believe  that  they  had  under- 
estimated the  grossing  power  of  their  respective  pictures 
and  had  concluded  deals  with  exhibitors  upon  terms  that, 
in  their  opinion,  are  not  commensurate  with  the  pictures' 
value.  Accordingly,  each  company  has  set  out  on  a  cam- 
paign to  obtain  revised  terms  from  those  to  whom  the 
picture  had  already  been  sold,  and,  in  instances  where  deals 
were  not  concluded,  each  is  demanding  terms  that  are 
higher  than  those  originally  designated,  including  preferred 
and  extended  playing  time. 

In  the  case  of  Twentieth  Century-Fox's  "Leave  Her  to 
Heaven,"  a  protest  meeting  was  held  by  the  independent 
exhibitor  members  of  Allied  Theatre  Owners  of  New  Jersey, 
on  February  4,  at  which  time  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted  unanimously : 

"WHEREAS,  independent  exhibitors  of  New  Jersey 
have  negotiated  with  20th  Century-Fox  Film  Corp.  for  the 
feature  'Leave  Her  to  Heaven'  and  conducted  such  nego- 
tiations with  the  authorized  representatives  of  the  Fox 
Corporation;  district  manager,  sales  supervisors,  and  the 
salesmen  in  the  New  York  exchange;  and 

"WHEREAS,  the  percentage  terms  offered  by  the  Fox 
Corporation  at  the  first  conference  were  accepted  by  these 
exhibitors  but  were  subsequently  withdrawn  by  the  Fox 
Corporation  who  demanded  in  addition  that  the  feature  be 
given  preferred  playing  time  designated  by  the  Fox  Cor- 
poration, which  amended  offer  was  again  accepted  by  said 
exhibitors;  and 

"WHEREAS,  this  second  offer  was  then  also  withdrawn 
by  the  Fox  Corporation  who  demanded  a  higher  percentage, 
which  was  also  granted  by  the  said  exhibitors,  but  this  offer 
too  was  withdrawn  by  the  Fox  Corporation,  who  then 
demanded  in  addition  extra  playing  time,  which  demand 
was  also  granted  by  the  said  exhibitors  and  finally  this  fourth 
offer  was  also  withdrawn  by  the  Fox  Corporation  who  then 
demanded  a  still  higher  percentage;  and 

"WHEREAS,  in  several  instances  the  dates  from  several 
exhibitors  were  accepted  and  confirmed  by  the  Fox  Corpora- 
tion who  nevertheless  refused  to  deliver  the  picture  under 
the  terms  agreed  to  at  that  time  and  made  said  additional 
demands  several  days  before  play  date,  and  in  one  instance 
tried  to  impose  a  split  figure  after  the  picture  had  played 
on  straight  percentage  terms,  stating  that  the  exhibitor  had 
made  too  much  money;  now  therefore  be  it 

"RESOLVED,  that  the  independent  exhibitors  of  New 
Jersey  here  assembled,  declare  their  condemnation  of  the 
methods  used  by  the  20th  Century-Fox  Film  Corp.  in  selling 
the  feature  'Leave  Her  to  Heaven'  and  herewith  record  their 
protest  against  the  shifting  policies  of  this  company  and  its 
bad  faith  in  dealing  with  the  independent  exhibitors  of  New 
Jersey." 

Tom  Connors,  distribution  head  of  Twentieth  Century- 
Fox,  has  disclaimed  knowledge  of  the  aforementioned 
allegations,  and  he  has  asserted  that  he  would  investigate 


the  matter.  At  this  writing,  he  has  not  yet  reported  on  his 
findings. 

In  the  case  of  Paramount's  "The  Lost  Weekend,"  that 
company's  position  is  explained  in  the  following  letter  from 
Charles  Reagan,  its  distribution  head,  to  Mo  Wax,  editor 
and  publisher  of  the  Film  Bulletin  : 
"February  1,  1946 
"Dear  Mr.  Wax : 

"In  response  to  the  request  contained  in  your  letter  of 
the  29th,  I  am  glad  to  advise  you  of  our  position  on  the  sale 
of  'The  Lost  Weekend'  so  that  your  readers  may  be  thorough- 
ly informed  on  the  subject. 

"It  is  true  that  we  are  now  selling  'The  Lost  Weekend' 
at  a  higher  sales  classification  than  was  originally  designated 
for  it. 

"With  the  amazing  box-office  results  of  the  first  showings, 
it  was  unquestionably  plain  that  we  had  grossly  under- 
estimated the  public  enthusiasm  for  the  picture.  Succeeding 
engagements  clearly  proved  the  error  of  our  pre-release 
designation  and  we  then  knew  that  a  reconsideration  of  its 
classification  was  not  only  justifiable  by  its  abnormal  strength 
but  was  to  be  expected. 

"Our  customers  have  been  the  first  to  recognize  that  the 
box-office  performance  is  a  reliable  guide  to  its  general  price 
level  when  comparative  grosses*  are  so  sensationally  estab- 
lished as  to  defy  reasonable  question. 

"Therefore,  since  the  grossing  certainty  of  'The  Lost 
Weekend'  is  widely  accepted,  we  have  corrected  our  mistake 
in  instances  where  deals  were  not  concluded.  In  such  cases 
we  are  now  selling  the  picture  at  its  proper  terms.  Where 
contracts  have  been  approved  we  are  asking  our  customers 
to  recognize  voluntarily  the  unusual  development  on  'The 
Lost  Weekend'  and  to  agree  to  a  revised  deal  in  keeping 
with  its  performance.  In  those  cases  where  this  appeal  is 
disregarded  the  picture  will  certainly  be  delivered  under 
the  terms  of  the  contract  already  approved,  and  we  hope 
there  is  no  misunderstanding  on  this  point. 

"On  sustained  results,  from  situations  of  all  types  and 
sizes,  'The  Lost  Weekend'  continues  to  surpass  the  highest 
grossing  releases  of  the  season,  and  I  feel  confident  that 
your  readers  will  fully  understand  our  position." 

Mo  Wax's  editorial  comments  regarding  Mr.  Reagan's 
explanation,  which  appeared  in  his  Film  Bulletin's  February 
4  issue,  are  so  meaningful,  and  the  questions  he  asks  are  so 
pertinent,  that  Harrison's  Reports  takes  the  liberty  of 
reproducing  them,  in  part,  for  the  benefit  of  its  readers: 

"There  can  be  no  argument  with  the  claim  that  'The 
Lost  Weekend'  is  a  box-office  success,  at  least  in  the  early 
runs  .  .  .  But  there  are  vital  points  not  covered  in  Mr. 
Reagan's  otherwise  candid  letter  which  require  clarification. 

"Recognizing  the  desire  of  every  distributor  to  obtain 
the  highest  possible  returns  for  his  product,  it  is  yet  perti- 
nent to  observe  that  this  desire  must  be  compatible  with 
equity  and  respect  for  the  customer's  rights. 

"That  leads  directly  to  a  question  of  the  ethics  of  with- 
holding approval  of  contracts  on  a  block  of  pictures  for  an 
abnormal  period  to  await  box-office  results  on  one  of  the 
group.  What  of  the  fact  that  such  a  procedure  impinges  the 
exhibitor  squarely  upon  the  horns  of  an  unhappy  dilcmna: 
either  accept  the  increased  terms  asked  by  the  distributor, 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


26  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  February  16,  1946 


"Deadline  at  Dawn"  with  Susan  Hayward, 
Paul  Lukas  and  Bill  Williams 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time.  83  min.) 

A  fair  murder  mystery  melodrama.  The  arty  ap- 
proach  to  the  story  may  appeal  to  class  audiences,  but 
it  is  doubtful  if  the  rank  and  file  will  find  it  to  their 
liking.  The  plot  is  so  improbable  that  it  lacks  convic- 
tion, and  much  of  the  dialogue,  intended  to  convey 
to  the  spectator  the  philosophical  beliefs  of  some 
of  the  characters,  is  so  muddled  that  one  docs  not 
understand  what  it  means.  Another  drawback  mso' 
far  as  the  masses  are  concerned  is  that  most  of  the 
action  is  slow;  it  does  not  pick  up  speed  until  the  final 
reels.  Here  and  there  the  action  is  exciting  and  has 
moments  of  suspense,  but  on  the  whole  it  fails  to 
grip  ones  attention,  and  the  constant  talk  gives" one 
the  feeling  that  a  stage  play  had  been  transplanted  to 
the  screen : — 

Recovering  after  a  drunken  escapade,  Bill  Wil- 
liams, a  sailor  on  furlough,  discovers  a  large  sum  of 
money  in  his  pocket.  He  recollects  that  he  had  been 
fleeced  in  a  crooked  card  game,  after  which  he  had 
accompanied  Lola  Lane,  a  cafe  hostess,  to  her  apart- 
ment to  fix  her  radio;  he  assumes  that  he  had  stolen 
the  money  from  her.  Wandering  into  the  dance  hall, 
he  meets  Susan  Hayward,  a  hardened  taxi-dancer, 
and  tells  her  of  his  dilemma.  Impressed  by  his  honesty 
and  naiveness,  Susan  offers  to  accompany  him  to 
Lola's  apartment  to  return  the  money.  They  find  her 
murdered,  and  Williams,  believing  that  he  might 
have  killed  her,  decides  to  give  himself  up.  Susan 
insists  that  he  wait.  An  examination  of  the  apartment 
reveals  to  her  that  Lola  had  been  a  blackmailer,  and, 
through  different  clues,  she  and  Williams  track  down 
her  victims,  including  Osa  Massen,  Constance  Worth, 
and  Jerome  Cowan.  But  Susan  is  unable  to  pin  the 
guilt  on  any  one  of  them.  Paul  Lukas,  a  kindly,  philo- 
sophical cab  driver,  joins  Susan  and  Williams  in  their 
search  for  the  killer.  Meanwhile  Joseph  Calleia,  Lola's 
gangster-brother,  learns  of  her  death  and  accuses 
Williams,  but  Lukas  persuades  him  to  withhold  judg' 
ment  and  to  help  them  find  the  killer.  All  are  even- 
tually picked  up  by  the  police,  who  compel  Williams 
to  admit  that  he  might  have  murdered  Lola  during 
his  drunken  stupor.  Just  as  he  is  arrested,  Lukas  clears 
up  the  mystery  by  revealing  that  Osa  was  his  daugh- 
ter, and  that  he  had  murdered  Lola  because  she  was 
trying  to  break  up  Osa's  marriage.  His  troubles  ended, 
Williams  persuades  Susan  to  give  up  her  dance-hall 
life  and  to  accompany  him  to  his  base  in  Norfolk — 
her  home  town. 

Clifford  Odets  wrote  the  screenplay,  Adrian  Scott 
produced  it,  and  Harold  Clurman  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Marvin  Miller,  Steven  Geray,  Joe  Saw- 
yer, Joseph  Crehan  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Murder  in  the  Music  Hall"  with 
Vera  Hruba  Ralston  and  William  Marshall 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  84  min.) 
A  fairly  good  murder- mystery  melodrama,  with 
several  entertaining  ice  skating  sequences  thrown  in 
for  good  measure.  The  spectator's  attention  is  held 
throughout  because  of  the  mystery  surrounding  the 
murder,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  guilty  person's  iden- 


tity is  not  revealed  until  the  very  end.  Since  several 
persons  are  under  suspicion  one  cannot  be  sure  at  any 
time  as  to  the  killer's  identity,  and  the  ending  is  some- 
what of  a  surprise,  for  the  one  who  had  committed 
the  crime  is  the  one*  least  suspected.  The  story  itself 
is  contrived  in  a  far-fetched  way,  but  the  events  lead- 
ing to  the  solution  hold  one  intrigued.  The  direction 
and  performances  are  capable,  and  the  production 
values  good : — 

After  serving  a  five-year  sentence  for  the  accidental 
death  of  Vera  Hruba  Ralston's  skating  partner, 
Edward  Norris,  a  producer,  invites  her  to  his  apart- 
ment. There  he  plays  for  the  first  time  an  original 
composition  and,  after  professing  his  love,  asks  her 
to  star  in  a  new  show  he  planned  to  produce.  When 
she  refuses,  he  attempts  to  blackmail  her  by  threaten- 
ing to  involve  her  in  the  death  of  her  partner.  Later, 
Norris  is  found  murdered  under  circumstances  that 
point  to  Vera's  guilt.  William  Marshall,  Vera's 
sweetheart,  determines  to  clear  her,  but  circumstances 
compel  him  to  confide  Vera's  predicament  to  Ann 
Rutherford,  her  understudy  at  the  Music  Hall  ice 
show,  and  Helen  Walker  and  Julie  Bishop,  fellow 
performers;  years  previously,  Julie  had  accused  Vera 
of  stealing  Norris  away  from  her.  In  the  course  of 
events,  Marshall  learns  that  Nancy  Kelly,  a  former 
skating  star,  now  the  wife  of  Jerome  Cowan,  a  column- 
ist, had  visited  Norris  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  and 
that  she,  too,  had  been  threatened  with  blackmail. 
To  prove  Vera's  innocence,  Marshall  tries  to  pin  the 
guilt  on  Nancy,  but  Cowan,  who  had  been  aware  of 
his  wife's  predicament,  establishes  an  alibi  for  her. 
Meanwhile  Inspector  William  Gargan,  who  had  been 
investigating  the  murder,  narrows  his  suspects  down 
to  Vera,  Julie,  and  Nancy,  and  after  sifting  the  evi- 
dence comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Vera  was  guilty. 
Just  as  he  accuses  Vera  in  her  dressing  room,  she 
overhears  Ann  humming  a  tune,  which  she  recognizes 
as  the  one  Norris  had  played — for  the  first  time — 
before  his  death.  Faced  by  Vera,  Ann  confesses  that 
she  had  killed  Norris  because  she  was  secretly  in  love 
with  him  and  had  heard  him  profess  his  love  for  Vera. 

Frances  Hyland  and  Laszlo  Gorog  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Herman  Miliakowsky  produced  it,  and  John 
English  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Jack  LaRue 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Notorious  Lone  Wolf"  with  Gerald  Mohr 

(Columbia,  Feb.  14;  time,  64  min.) 

Routine  program  fare.  It  is  the  first  in  Columbia's 
revived  "Lone  Wolf"  series  of  crook  melodramas  and, 
as  such,  is  a  most  inauspicious  start.  The  story  is  a 
contrived,  far-fetched  affair  that  offends  one's  sense 
of  logic,  and  it  is  given  more  to  talk  than  to  action. 
The  familiarity  of  the  treatment,  and  the  lack  of  sus- 
pense, tends  to  lessen  the  spectator's  interest  in  the 
outcome.  Gerald  Mohr,  as  the  reformed  jewel  thief, 
is  just  passable;  he  lack's  the  suavity  and  finesse  that 
Warren  William  lent  to  the  role  in  the  previous 
series.  Eric  Blore  again  enacts  the  part  of  the  "Lone 
Wolf's"  valet,  and  his  comedy  antics,  mildly  amusing 
at  best,  fail  to  compensate  for  the  picture's  overall 
tediousness : — 

Soon  after  his  return  from  the  armed  forces  over- 


February  16,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


27 


seas,  Mohr  finds  himself  questioned  by  the  police  in 
connection  with  the  theft  of  a  famous  sapphire.  He 
learns  that  two  Indian  potentates  were  offering  a 
fabulous  reward  for  its  return  with  no  questions 
asked.  Later,  during  a  visit  to  a  night-club  operated 
by  Dan  Beddoe,  Mohr  finds  the  two  potentates  present 
and  notices  the  sapphire  in  the  elaborate  headdress 
of  Virginia  Hunter,  a  dancer.  Following  her  per- 
formance,  Mohr  goes  to  her  dressing  room  and  finds 
her  murdered.  Beddoe  accuses  him  of  the  crime  and 
holds  him  for  the  police,  but  Mohr  manages  to  escape 
before  their  arrival.  He  disguises  himself  as  a  chauf' 
feur,  kidnaps  the  potentates,  and  takes  them  to  the 
apartment  of  Janis  Carter,  his  girl-friend,  where  he 
makes  them  captives.  Together  with  Eric  Blore,  his 
valet,  Mohr  changes  clothes  with  the  Indian  princes 
and,  impersonating  them,  moves  into  their  royal  hotel 
suite  and  sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  catch  the  jewel 
thief,  as  well  as  Virginia's  murderer.  He  soon  learns 
that  Ian  Wolfe,  a  jewelry  merchant  and  "fence"  for 
Beddoe,  had  the  sapphire  in  his  possession.  But  before 
going  to  Wolfe's  store  to  pick  it  up,  Mohr  and  Blore, 
still  disguised  as  the  potentates,  trick  Beddoe  into 
meeting  them  there  by  inferring  that  Wolfe  meant  to 
double-cross  him.  Beddoe  falls  into  the  trap,  and 
Mohr,  by  means  of  a  tiny  radio  hidden  underneath 
Blore's  garments,  summons  the  police.  Beddoe, 
realising  that  he  had  been  tricked,  attempts  a  getaway, 
but  the  police  arrive  in  time  to  apprehend  him,  not 
only  for  the  theft,  but  also  for  the  murder. 

Martin  Berkely  and  Edward  Dein  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Ted  Richmond  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross  Leder- 
man  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  John  Abbott,  Wil- 
liam Davidson  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman" 
with  Johnny  Weissmuller 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  win.) 

Fairly  good  entertainment  for  the  followers  of  the 
"Tarzan"  series.  The  story,  which  revolves  around 
"Tartan's"  pursuit  of  a  jungle  tribe  of  savage  killers, 
has  all  the  vigorous  excitement  of  the  previous  pic- 
tures. Johnny  Weismuller's  hair-raising  adventures 
as  he  single-handedly  annihilates  the  tribe  will  un- 
doubtedly thrill  the  children,  and  the  antics  of  Cheeta, 
the  chimpanzee,  should  delight  them.  Even  adult  audi- 
ences should  find  it  entertaining,  in  an  amusing  way, 
because  of  the  many  fanciful  and  wildly  melodramatic 
situations : — 

While  visiting  a  jungle  town  with  his  wife  and  son 
(Brenda  Joyce  and  Johnny  Sheffield) ,  Tarzan  learns 
that  a  merchant  caravan  had  been  wiped  out  by 
leopards.  Tarzan,  knowing  the  ways  of  the  big  cats, 
doubts  the  story,  but  he  is  scoffed  at  by  Lazar  (Edgar 
Barrier),  the  half-breed  public  health  officer.  Un- 
known to  Tarzan,  Lazar  had  revived  an  ancient  society 
among  the  natives,  whose  members,  led  by  a  high 
priestess  (Acquanetta),  wore  leopard  skins  and  iron 
claws,  and  preyed  upon  caravans  passing  through  their 
sacred  territory.  Aware  that  Tarzan  was  a  potential 
menace  to  her  tribe,  the  high  priest  dispatches  Kimba 
(Tommy  Cook) ,  a  young  boy,  to  spy  on  him.  Kimba 
gains  Tarzan's  confidence  and  is  taken  on  by  him  as 
a  servant.  One  day  Tarzan's  son,  while  playing  in  the 


jungle,  witnesses  an  attack  by  the  leopard  men  on  a 
caravan  carrying  young  girls  to  school.  He  races  home 
with  the  news,  and  Tarzan  sets  out  in  pursuit.  He 
manages  to  rescue  the  girls,  but  the  leopard  men 
overwhelm  him  and  take  him  to  their  cave.  Mean- 
while another,  party  of  leopard  men  go  to  his  home 
and  seize  his  wife  and  son.  While  the  high  priestess 
makes  arrangements  to  torture  Tarzan  and  his  family 
to  death,  Cheeta,  the  chimpanzee,  unnoticed,  frees 
Tarzan  from  his  bonds.  Aiding  his  wife  and  son  to 
escape,  Tarzan  then  starts  a  landslide  that  seals  the 
entrance  of  the  cave  and  destroys  the  sinister  leopard 
men. 

Carroll  Young  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sol  Lesser 
produced  it,  and  Kurt  Neumann  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Dennis  Hooey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Cinderella  Jones"  with  Joan  Leslie 
and  Robert  Alda 

(Warner  Bros.,  March.  9;  time,  88  mm.) 

Just  a  moderately  entertaining  comedy  with  some 
music;  it  will  have  to  depend  on  the  popularity  of  the 
players  for  its  box-office  chances.  The  story  moves 
along  swiftly,  but  it  has  little  substance  and  is  rather 
inane.  The  several  musical  numbers  are  neither  pre- 
tentious nor  exceptional,  and  the  comedy,  much  of  it 
in  a  slapstick  vein,  fails  to  provoke  more  than  a  few 
laughs.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  players  try  hard  to 
make  more  of  the  material  than  it  really  offers,  but 
their  efforts  do  not  make  much  of  an  impression  on 
the  spectator.  Moreover,  the  story  lacks  human  appeal 
- — no  one  does  anything  to  awaken  sympathy : — 

Joan  Leslie,  a  singer  with  Robert  Alda's  band, 
learns  that  she  had  inherited  ten  million  dollars,  and 
that,  to  qualify  for  the  fortune,  her  uncle's  will  pro- 
vided that  she  must  be  married  on  a  certain  date  to 
a  man  whose  I.  Q.  was  at  least  150.  Although  in- 
fatuated with  Alda,  Joan  leaves  him  to  search  for  an 
intelligent  mate.  To  accomplish  this,  she  enrolls  in  an 
all-male  college,  which  accepts  her  as  a  student  when 
she  promises  S.  Z.  Sakall,  the  chemistry  professor, 
that  she  would  donate  funds  for  a  new  laboratory 
after  marrying  and  winning  her  inheritance.  But  when 
William  Prince,  a  handsome  young  professor,  whom 
she  finds  romantically  attractive,  protests  against  her 
enrollment,  Joan  leaves  the  school  and  finds  work  in 
a  local  restaurant.  Sakall,  envisioning  the  loss  of  the 
laboratory,  attempts  to  further  a  romance  between 
them.  Meanwhile  Alda  arrives  in  town  and  persistent- 
ly presses  his  suit  for  her  hand.  The  rivalry  between 
Alda  and  Prince  results  in  a  number  of  brawls  between 
them,  in  which  Sakall  becomes  involved.  Joan  finds 
herself  in  a  whirl  trying  to  decide  which  one  to  marry, 
but,  with  her  eye  on  her  inheritance,  she  finally  chooses 
Prince.  On  the  final  day  on  which  she  had  to  be 
married  under  the  terms  of  the  will,  Joan  discovers 
that  Alda's  I.  Q.  was  in  excess  of  200.  Delighted,  and 
in  love  with  him,  she  manages  to  become  his  bride  in 
time  to  guarantee  her  fortune. 

Charles  Hoffman  wrote  the  screen  play,  Alex  Gott- 
lieb produced  it,  and  Busby  Berkely  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Julie  Bishop,  Edward  Everett  Horton, 
Charles  Dingle  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


28  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  February  16,  1946 


or  pull  out  the  whole  block  of  pictures  and  create,  at  a 
late  date,  a  void  in  his  bookings? 

"This  appears  to  be  exactly  the  disadvantageous  situation 
in  which  Paramount  placed  some  of  its  customers  who 
bought  the  block  containing  'The  Lost  Weekend'  when  it 
was  first  offered. 

"Nor  can  another  fact  be  tossed  off  lightly.  The  block  in 
question  included  two  top  percentage  pictures,  which  many 
of  the  accounts  had  either  booked  or  already  played  and 
for  which  they  had  paid  heavily  when  they  learned  of  the 
revised  terms  for  'Weekend.'  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
many  of  these  exhibitors  had  looked  to  the  alcoholic  epic  as 
the  one  picture  in  the  block  that  would  net  them  a  good 
profit. 

"This  poses  an  important  problem  in  exhibitor-distributor 
relations.  Is  there  some  unwritten  law  that  the  theatre  is  not 
allowed  to  make  a  good  profit  any  more?  Are  the  film 
companies  to  be  granted  the  privilege  of  upping  terms, 
whenever  convenient  to  them,  for  the  purpose  of  restricting 
an  exhibitor's  take  to  a  fixed  minimum? 

"Paramount  (or  any  of  the  other  majors)  seldom  under- 
estimate the  value  of  their  pictures;  to  the  contrary.  And  it 
is  not  justification  of  the  policy  of  overpricing  to  say  that 
the  exhibitor  can  come  into  the  exchange  to  plead  for  a 
kick-back.  We  know  some  who  are  proud — yes,  even  those 
who  are  forced  to  follow  the  practice.  What  if,  on  occasion, 
the  customer  unexpectedly  does  get  a  'buy' — must  that  be 
cause  for  up-ending  the  sales  organization  and  creating 
ill-will  by  demanding  extra  money? 

"Paramount  docs  quite  well  financially,  well  enough  to 
avoid  the  necessity  for  coming  to  its  customers  to  ask  for 
gratuities.  We  think  that  the  exhibitor  operating  a  moderate- 
size  theatre  is  entitled  to  a  good  picture  on  outright  terms 
once  in  a  while,  so  that  he  will  be  compensated  for  the 
profit  he  did  NOT  make  with  some  of  those  40  percent 
specials  .  .  ." 

Mo  Wax's  condemnation  of  Paramount's  "Lost  Week- 
end" sales  policy  is  justified,  and  some  of  his  remarks  could 
be  applied  with  equal  force  to  Twentieth  Century-Fox  for 
its  attitude  with  "Leave  Her  to  Heaven."  Harrison's 
Reports  is  proud  to  take  its  stand  besides  Mo  Wax. 

It  is  high  time  the  exhibitors  determined  to  resist  the 
distributor  practice  of  shifting  sales  policies  without  regard 
for  their  customers  rights — the  right  to  look  to  the  occa- 
sional capacity-drawing  picture  to  absorb  a  part  of  the 
losses  they  suffer  throughout  the  year,  due  either  to  reduced 
attendances  caused  by  unfavorable  weather  conditions  and 
other  circumstances,  or  to  the  fact  that  a  highly  touted 
picture,  for  which  they  had  paid  high  percentage  terms 
and  had  given  preferred  playing  time,  failed  to  live  up  to 
its  box-office  promise. 

The  distributors  themselves  depend  on  the  exceptional 
top-grossing  pictures  to  make  up  the  financial  set-backs 
they  suffer  during  the  course  of  a  year  because  some  of  the 
pictures  undertaken  did  not  turn  out  to  be  sterling  attrac- 
tions and  did  not,  therefore,  draw  revenue  that  was  com- 
mensurate with  their  cost.  In  such  cases,  the  exhibitors,  too, 
suffered.  Why,  then,  do  the  distributors  refuse  to  recognize 
that  the  exhibitors,  too,  must  be  given  an  opportunity  to 
participate  in  the  extra  profits  garnered  from  the  occasional 
top-grosser? 


GIVE  THREE  MINUTES  OF 
YOUR  SCREEN  TIME 

This  week — February  16  to  24 — the  motion  picture  in- 
dustry is  joining  in  the  observance  of  American  Brotherhood 
Week,  sponsored  by  the  National  Conference  of  Christians 
and  Jews. 

The  industry's  part  in  the  observance,  under  the  chair' 
manship  of  Spyros  P.  Skouras,  will  be  marked  by  the  nation- 
wide exhibition  of  a  three-minute  trailer,  "The  American 
Creed,"  produced  by  David  O.  Selznick  and  starring  James 
Stewart,  Van  Johnson,  Shirley  Temple,  Eddie  Cantor, 
Katharine  Hepburn,  Jennifer  Jones,  Walter  Pidgeon,  Ingrid 
Bergman,  and  Edward  G.  Robinson. 


In  order  to  gain  the  widest  distribution  in  the  shortest 
possible  time,  10,000  free  prints  of  this  trailer  are  being 
made  available  to  all  exhibitors  through  National  Screen 
Service's  exchanges.  Those  of  you  who  cannot  obtain  a 
print  for  showing  during  Brotherhood  Week  are  asked  to 
obtain  one  for  showing  on  the  week  following. 

The  purpose  behind  this  observance  is  to  promote  national 
unity  and  inter-racial  good-will  among  Americans  of  all 
faiths.  It  is  a  worthy  purpose,  and  the  exhibitor,  through  the 
medium  of  his  screen,  can  do  his  part  in  eliminating  racial 
and  religious  intolerance  from  the  American  scene  by  show- 
ing the  trailer  at  every  performance. 


REGARDING  PROPAGANDA  IN 

MOTION  PICTURES 

THE  CHICAGO  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 
5757  University  Avenue 
Chicago 

Fred  Eastman,  Litt.D. 
Biography,  Literature,  Drama 

January  10, 1946 

Mr.  P.  S.  Harrison,  Editor 
Harrison's  Reports 
1 270  Sixth  Avenue 
New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Mr.  Harrison: 

For  many  years  1  have  been  following  weekly  your  edi- 
torials and  have  usually  found  myself  in  hearty  agreement 
with  them  wherever  they  concern  the  public  policies  of  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry.  But  in  your  issue  of  December 
29,  you  take  the  position  that  Mr.  Harry  Warner  was  unwise 
or  impractical  when  he  said,  "Motion  pictures  can  show  the 
people  of  every  nation  how  much  their  own  welfare  is 
dependent  on  the  scientific,  cultural  and  industrial  achieve- 
ments of  the  other  nations.  They  can  dramatize  the  funda- 
mentals of  the  world  today  .  .  ."  You  conclude  your  editorial 
with  the  old  stereotype,  "Let  the  motion  picture  continue 
its  natural  role — that  of  entertaining  people." 

It  is  entirely  unlike  you  to  use  such  a  stereotype  and  to 
attack  Mr.  Warner  or  any  other  producer  who  may  be 
trying  to  stir  up  the  Motion  Picture  Industry  to  its  peculiar 
social  responsibilities  in  these  critical  days. 

It  is  not  a  question  of  propaganda  or  entertainment. 
Everyone  knows  that  the  motion  pictures  have  as  one  of 
their  functions  the  entertainment  of  the  public,  but  God 
help  the  pictures  and  the  public  if  that  is  the  only  function 
the  industry  is  going  to  recognize  just  now. 

-Here,  on  the  University  of  Chicago  campus,  we  have 
become  acutely  aware  of  the  danger  which  civilization  laces 
because  of  the  atomic  bomb.  The  scientists  themselves  are 
doing  all  in  their  power  to  educate  the  public  to  the  fact 
that  unless  we  create  a  world  community  as  a  basis  for  a 
world  state  which  can  control  the  uses  of  atomic  energy, 
civilization  is  doomed.  The  nuclear  scientists  think  that  we 
have  but  about  five  years  to  build  such  a  world  community. 
This  is  a  bigger  job  and  a  quicker  one  than  public  schools 
and  religious  organizations  can  accomplish.  It  can  only  be 
done  by  the  media  of  mass  education :  motion  pictures,  press 
and  radio.  Just  how  they  will  do  it  the  leaders  of  those  in- 
dustries must  determine.  They  did  marvelous  work  in  in- 
forming the  people  concerning  the  dangers  of  fascism. 
Here  is  a  far  greater  danger,  but  it  also  has  a  great  promise — 
the  promise  of  a  better  life  for  all  of  us  if  we  can  use 
constructively  the  power  of  the  atom  for  industry,  medicine, 
and  human  welfare,  instead  of  for  human  destruction. 

There  is  one  other  argument  which  ought  to  be  conclusive, 
and  that  is  that  the  Motion  Picture  Industry  will  not  survive 
any  longer  than  civilization  survives.  It  behooves  the  Indus- 
try, therefore,  for  its  own  sake,  as  well  as  for  humanity's, 
to  devote  a  considerable  part  of  its  energies  and  talents  to 
this  crucial  issue. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am, 

As  ever  yours, 

FRED  EASTMAN 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  23,  1946  No.  8 


ALLIED'S  ANNUAL  BOARD  MEETING 

Jack  Kirsch,  head  of  Allied  of  Illinois,  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  National  Allied  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  held  in  New  York  on  February  11,  12  and  13. 
He  succeeds  Martin  G.  Smith,  head  of  the  Independent 
Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio.  Harry  H.  Lowenstein,  head  of 
Allied  of  New  Jersey,  was  elected  secretary,  succeeding  Roy 
E.  Harrold  of  Indiana.  The  following  officers  were  reelected : 
Abram  F.  Myers,  general  counsel  and  chairman  of  the 
board;  Pete  J.  Wood,  Ohio,  recording  secretary;  and  Wil- 
liam J.  Ainsworth,  Wisconsin,  treasurer.  All  the  members 
of  the  executive  committee  were  reelected.  They  are:  Col. 
H.  A.  Cole,  Sidney  Samuelson,  M.  A.  Rosenberg,  Nathan 
Yamins,  Smith,  Kirsch,  and  Myers. 

A  highlight  of  the  meeting  was  the  adoption  and  approval 
of  a  plan  to  eliminate  theatre  checking  as  now  practiced. 
Details  of  the  proposal  are  being  withheld  pending  con- 
ferences with  distributor  representatives  on  the  merits  of 
the  plan.  It  is  understood,  however,  that  the  proposal  calls 
for  the  elimination  of  checkers  and  the  substitution  of  an 
auditing  plan  whereby  an  exhibitor's  books  will  be  audited 
by  an  accounting  firm  not  affiliated  with  the  distributors. 

Other  acts  of  the  board  included  the  adoption  of  a 
resolution  opposing  any  attempts  to  coerce  exhibitors  into 
participating  in  drives  and  taking  up  audience  collections; 
the  approval  and  adoption,  as  its  own,  of  the  resolution 
adopted  recently  by  Allied  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  and  by 
the  ITO  of  Ohio,  opposing  further  acquisition  of  theatres 
by  the  affiliated  circuits  pending  final  determination  of  the 
New  York  anti-trust  suit;  the  ratification  of  the  stand  taken 
by  the  OLE. A.  opposing  formation  of  a  post-war  Theatre 
Activities  Committee;  and  the  adoption  of  a  resolution 
protesting  against  the  alleged  distributor  practice  of  with- 
holding approval  of  film  licenses  until  a  few  days  before 
play-dates  so  as  to  demand  higher  terms  from  the  exhibitor. 

Other  issues  discussed  at  the  meeting  included  the  repeal 
of  war  tax  rates  on  admissions;  the  attitude  of  the  distrib- 
utors as  to  what  constitutes  "competition"  when  they  say 
that  they  will  not  license  16  mm.  films  in  competition  with 
established  theatres;  the  recent  developments  in  Television; 
film  rentals;  and  the  economic  conditions  and  outlook  in-  the 
several  territories  covered  by  the  Allied  regional  units. 

If  every  independent  exhibitor  could  observe  the  thorough- 
ness with  which  the  Allied  Board  discussed  the  different 
trade  problems,  and  the  steps  they  took  to  combat  prac- 
tices that  are  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  independent 
exhibition,  he  would  be  convinced  that  very  little  goes  on  in 
this  industry  that  escapes  the  attention  of  the  alert  Allied 
leaders.  Their  constructiveness,  their  tirelessness  in  battling 
against  abuses  that  threaten  the  very  existence  of  inde- 
pendent exhibition,  entitle  these  leaders  to  the  undivided 
support  and  thanks  of  every  independent  exhibitor  in  the 
country. 

A  SENSIBLE  DECISION 

Herbert  Yates,  Sr.,  president  of  Republic  Pictures,  is  a 
sensible  man.  Whenever  he  makes  any  decisions,  they  are 
based  on  common  sense,  and  are  prompted  by  practical 
considerations. 

The  January  31  issue  of  Daily  Variety  quotes  him  as 
having  decided  not  to  sell  Republic  pictures  in  foreign 
countries  until  the  foreign  distributors  make  payment  for 
them  in  dollars,  in  New  York.  He  feels  that  conditions  are 
so  unsettled  in  foreign  countries  that,  without  a  guarantee 
that  payment  for  the  pictures  will  be  forthcoming,  the  risk 
of  losing  the  investment  is  too  great. 

That  Herbert  Yates'  decision  is  sensible  may  be  evi- 
denced by  the  recent  incident  in  France.  The  American 


distributors  had  500,000,000  francs  in  accumulated  profits 
because  the  French  Government  forbade  the  export  of 
exchange,  and  when  the  French  Government  devalued  the 
franc  by  fifty  per  cent  the  American  distributors  lost  one- 
half  of  the  money  they  had  on  deposit  with  the  French 
banks. 

The  trouble  between  the  American  picture  industry  and 
some  of  the  European  governments  would  be  settled  in  no 
time  if  the  American  distributors  told  the  recalcitrant  gov- 
ernment that  no  American  pictures  would  be  sent  to  that 
country  until  it  played  fair  with  American  pictures  and  the 
income  from  those  pictures.  And  without  the  import  of 
pictures  produced  in  the  United  States,  exhibition  in  that 
country  would  be  dealt  a  blow. 

Apropos  with  this  discussion  is  another  matter  that  should 
be  given  thought — that  of  rushing  to  Latin-American 
countries  and  building  studios  for  the  production  of  Spanish- 
language  pictures.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  the  local  pro- 
ducers may  resent  the  encroachment  of  their  field  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  there  is  the  danger  of  losing 
the  studios  with  their  valuable  equipment  by  expropriation 
in  the  event  some  radical  government  comes  into  power. 
And  losing  such  properties  to  rival  producers  will  do  the 
American  industry  no  good. 

DOUGLAS  FAIRBANKS,  JR., 
TOLD  THE  TRUTH 

Speaking  to  members  of  the  Hollywood  Women's  Press 
Club  at  a  recent  meeting,  Douglas  Fairbanks,  Jr.,  said  that 
Hollywood  is  "in  bad"  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  because 
of  the  poor  quality  of  the  pictures  it  has  been  producing. 

According  to  the  Hollywood  Reporter  of  January  24, 
Brian  Donlevy  took  issue  with  Mr.  Fairbanks  and  said : 

"I  get  sick  and  tired  of  hearing  people  knock  Hollywood 
and  the  motion  picture  industry  simply  because  it  seems  to 
be  the  fashionable  thing  to  do.  If  everyone  else  were  as  well 
aware  of  the  world's  problems  as  the  film  industry  has  proven 
itself  to  be,  we  would  most  certainly  be  living  in  a  better 
world  today. 

"I  would  like  to  remind  Mr.  Fairbanks  that  when  the 
world  was  saying  that  Hitler  was  not  to  be  feared,  Holly- 
wood was  turning  out  pictures  like  'Confessions  of  a  Nasi 
Spy,'  'Mortal  Storm'  and  other  pictures  that  showed  the 
scourge  of  Nazism  and  Fascism.  .  .  ." 

The  remainder  of  Mr.  Donlevy's  statement  was  in  the 
same  vein. 

If  Mr.  Donlevy  had  understood  Mr.  Fairbanks,  he  would 
not  have  made  the  unpardonable  error  of  criticizing  him  for 
something  he  had  not  said.  Mr.  Fairbanks  stated  that  Holly- 
wood is  discredited  abroad  because  of  the  poor  quality  of 
pictures  it  has  been  producing.  He  did  not  intimate  that 
Hollywood  was  not  alive  as  to  its  responsibilities  so  far  as 
awakening  the  world  of  the  danger  from  Nazism  as  well  as 
Fascism.  Mr.  Donlevy  should  have  confined  himself  to 
disproving  Mr.  Fairbank's  statement  about  the  quality  of 
pictures  Hollywood  has  been  producing. 

Recently  I  had  the  opportunity  of  discussing  the  same 
matter  with  a  prominent  managing  director  of  a  theatre 
situated  in  a  large  city,  and  what  he  said  to  me  bears  out 
Mr.  Fairbanks. 

"Of  the  five  million  persons  that  have  been  released  from 
the  armed  forces,"  my  friend  said,  "nine  out  of  ten  of 
them  are  so  sick  of  the  Hollywood  pictures  that  they  don't 
want  to  see  another  as  long  as  they  live.  That  is  what  those 
I  had  come  in  contact  with  have  told  me.  Never  in  the 
history  of  the  picture  industry  has  the  quality  sunk  so  low. 
And  the  producers  had  better  look  out,  for  the  lush  times 
arc  about  over." 


30 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  23,  1946 


"Young  Widow"  with  Jane  Russell  and 
Louis  Hayward 

(United  Artists,  March  1;  time,  100  min.) 
Because  of  the  great  amount  of  publicity  Jane  Russell  has 
received  in  recent  years,  this  drama  may  draw  fairly  well 
at  the  box-office,  but  as  entertainment  it  is  just  fair;  dis- 
criminating patrons  may  find  it  tiresome.  The  story,  which 
deals  with  the  emotional  problems  of  a  young  widow,  whose 
husband  had  been  killed  overseas,  is  thin  and  familiar,  and 
it  unfolds  in  just  the  manner  one  expects.  Moreover,  it  is 
slow  and  draggy.  Some  of  the  situations  are  forced  and  a 
great  effort  has  been  made  to  bring  forth  tears,  but  it  rarely 
succeeds  in  really  affecting  one's  emotions.  Miss  Russell 
photographs  well  and  is  attractive,  but  as  an  actress  her  lack 
of  experience  is  obvious;  her  characterization  is  a  highly 
sympathetic  one,  but  she  fails  to  make  it  dramatically 
effective : — 

Bewildered  and  heartbroken  when  her  husband  is  killed 
overseas,  Jane,  a  newspaperwoman,  goes  to  live  on  a  Vir- 
ginia farm,  where  both  had  spent  many  happy  hours.  The 
familiar  surroundings  serve  only  to  intensify  her  grief,  and 
she  decides  to  return  to  her  job  in  New  York.  On  the  train, 
she  meets  Louis  Hayward,  an  audacious  Army  flier,  who 
tries  unsuccessfully  to  flirt  with  her.  Arriving  in  New  York, 
she  goes  to  live  with  Penny  Singleton,  a  close  friend,  who 
shared  her  apartment  with  Marie  Wilson,  a  "dizzy"  show- 
girl, whose  dates  with  numerous  servicemen  kept  the  house- 
hold in  an  uproar.  Hayward  follows  Jane  there  and  persists 
in  his  attentions  until  she  reveals  that  she  had  just  been 
widowed.  His  apologetic  manner  softens  her  resistance  to 
him,  and  before  long  a  close  friendship  springs  up  between 
the  two,  marking  a  renewed  interest  in  life  for  her.  Hay- 
ward, deeply  in  love  with  her,  proposes  marriage,  but  she 
remorsefully  declines  his  offer  because  of  her  inability  to 
set  aside  the  yearning  love  she  still  felt  for  her  departed 
husband.  Understanding  her  feelings,  Hayward  presses  his 
suit  no  further.  But  on  the  following  day,  when  Jane  learns 
that  he  had  been  ordered  to  fly  to  Japan,  she  realizes  her 
love  for  him;  she  rushes  to  the  airport,  arriving  in  time  to 
wave  him  farewell  with  a  promise  to  wait  for  his  return. 

Richard  Macaulay  and  Margaret  Bucll  Wilder  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  the  novel  by  Clarissa  Fairchild  Cushman, 
Hunt  Strombcrg  produced  it,  and  Edwin  L.  Marin  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Kent  Taylor,  Cora  Witherspoon,  Connie 
Gilchrist  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Madonna's  Secret"  with  Francis 
Lederer,  Ann  Rutherford  and 
Gail  Patrick 

(Republic,  Feb.  16;  time,  79  min.) 

A  somber  but  interesting  program  murder-mystery  melo- 
drama, artistically  produced;  it  is  good  enough  to  top  a 
double-bill  wherever  this  sort  of  picture  is  liked.  The  at- 
mospheric settings,  competent  direction,  and  capable  per- 
formances set  the  proper  mood  for  a  story  of  this  type,  and 
it  holds  one's  attention  throughout  because  of  the  plot's 
interesting  developments.  The  murderer's  identity  is  con- 
cealed until  the  very  end,  and  its  revelation  comes  as  a 
complete  surprise.  Although  the  action  lacks  excitement,  it 
holds  one  in  suspense,  for  one  is  never  sure  whether  the 
hero,  who  shows  symptoms  of  being  a  psychopathic  case, 
committed  the  crimes  or  not.  The  romantic  interest  plays 
an  important  part  in  the  proceedings: — 

Francis  Lederer,  a  moody  Parisian  artist  working  in  New 
York,  employs  Linda  Sterling  as  his  model  but  paints  the 
face  of  his  former  Paris  model,  who  had  been  murdered 
mysteriously  years  previously.  When  Linda  resents  his 
painting  of  the  dead  model's  face,  Lederer,  realizing  that 
she  had  fallen  in  love  with  him,  promises  to  paint  her 
portrait.  Following  completion  of  the  painting,  Linda  cele- 
brates the  occasion  with  Lederer  and  his  mother,  Leona 
Roberts.  In  the  morning  she  is  found  murdered — poisoned 
and  drowned  in  the  same  manner  as  the  French  model. 
Edward  Ashley,  a  dramatic  critic  who  knew  Lederer  in 
Paris,  informs  the  police  of  the  sameness  of  the  crimes,  in' 
dicating  that  Lederer  slew  the  girls  for  inspiration.  Lederer 
is  arrested  but  released  for  lack  of  evidence.  Determined 
to  avenge  the  death  of  Linda,  Ann  Rutherford,  her  sister, 
assumes  another  identity  and  obtains  employment  as  Lederer's 
new  model.  But  she  soon  finds  herself  in  love  with  him, 
and  becomes  convinced  of  his  innocence.  When  Gail  Patrick, 
a  wealthy  divorcee,  takes  an  interest  in  Lederer,  Ann  suffers 
pangs  of  jealousy.  Shortly  afterwards,  Gail  is  found  mur- 


dered in  the  same  fashion  as  the  others.  Lederer,  arrested, 
informs  Ann  that  he  suffers  lapses  of  memory  and  expresses 
a  belief  that  he  might  have  committed  the  murders.  Ann 
protests  his  self-suspicion  and  vows  to  help  him  prove  his 
innocence.  Lederer's  mother,  realizing  that  Ann  loved  her 
son-  dearly,  takes  the  distracted  girl  to  her  home  to  rest. 
There,  the  old  lady  drugs  Ann  and,  after  revealing  that 
she  had  committed  the  murders  to  keep  her  son's  life  free 
of  romantic  entanglements,  prepares  to  kill  her.  The  police, 
who  had  been  following  Ann,  break  into  the  house  and 
shoot  the  old  lady  before  she  can  make  Ann  her  fourth 
victim. 

Bradbury  Foote  and  William  Thiele  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Stephen  Auer  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Thiele  directed 
it.  Adult  entertainment. 

"A  Yank  in  London"  with  Anne  Neagle, 
Rex  Harrison  and  Dean  Jagger 

(20th  Century-Fox.  March;  time,  106  min.) 

Restrained  performances  by  the  cast,  coupled  with  the 
sentimental  appeal  of  the  story,  makes  this  British-made 
romantic  drama  fairly  good  entertainment.  It  was  released 
originally  in  England  under  the  title,  "I  Live  in  Grosvenor 
Square."  The  story,  a  love  triangle,  has  considerable  human 
interest,  and  all  the  characters  are  sympathetic.  It  revolves 
around  an  American  soldier  in  London,  an  English  noble- 
woman, and  her  fiance,  a  British  soldier-politician.  The 
manner  in  which  the  American  wins  the  aristocratic  heroine'6 
love,  and  the  gallantry  with  which  the  fiance  accepts  his 
loss,  result  in  situations  that  are  warm  and  charming  and, 
at  times,  deeply  moving.  The  ending,  where  the  American 
sacrifices  his  life  in  order  to  avoid  a  crash  landing  in  an 
English  village,  is  tragic.  Intermingled  in  the  drama  are 
deft  touches  showing  how  the  British,  at  first  resentful  of 
the  American  soldiers  and  their  ways,  took  them  to  their 
hearts.  The  story  takes  place  before  V-E  Day  and,  except 
for  one  fleeting  combat  scene,  it  is  void  of  war  action: — 

Arriving  in  London,  Dean  Jagger,  a  waist  gunner  in  the 
USAAF,  is  billeted  in  the  home  of  an  English  Duke  (Robert 
Morley),  who,  fascinated  by  Jagger's  American  mannerisms, 
invites  him  to  spend  the  weekend  at  his  country  estate. 
There,  Jagger  meets  Anne  Neagle,  the  Duke's  daughter, 
and  Rex  Harrison,  her  fiance,  a  British  officer  seeking  elec- 
tion to  public  office.  Anne  and  Jagger  fall  in  love,  but  she 
does  not  reveal  this  to  Harrison  lest  it  upset  him  emotionally 
and  interfere  with  his  election  campaign.  Harrison,  how- 
ever, senses  her  feelings  for  Jagger  and,  following  his  defeat 
on  election  day,  he  gallantly  bows  out  of  her  life  so  as  not 
to  interfere  with  her  happiness.  Jagger's  efforts  to  keep 
Anne  from  learning  that  he  was  endeavoring  to  be  put  on 
active  combat  duty  result  in  a  misunderstanding  between 
them,  and  she  resumes  her  friendship  with  Harrison.  But 
the  gallant  rival,  realizing  that  her  heart  was  with  Jagger, 
contrives  to  bring  them  together  again.  Their  reconciliation 
comes  to  a  tragic  end,  however,  when  Jagger,  returning 
from  a  mission  with  a  damaged  plane,  sacrifices  his  life  in 
order  to  prevent  his  plane  from  crash  landing  in  the  midst 
of  an  English  village. 

Maurice  Cowain  wrote  the  screen  play,  Herbert  Wilcox 
produced  and  directed  it,  and  Max  Greene  was  associate 
producer.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Live  Wires"  with  the  Bowery  Boys 

(Monogram,  Jan.  12;  time,  65  min.) 

Good  program  fare.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story 
is  hardly  worth  writing  about,  this  first  of  Monogram's  new 
"Bowery  Boys"  series  is  a  decided  improvement  over  the 
last  series,  in  which  virtually  the  same  players  were  featured 
as  the  "East  Side  Kids";  it  has  better  production  values, 
tighter  direction,  and  the  comedy  situations  are  much  more 
imaginative  and  amusing.  As  in  the  other  pictures,  Leo 
Gorcey  dominates  the  proceedings  and  he  is  very  effective; 
his  antics  cause  one  to  laugh  frequently,  even  though  they 
are  nonsensical.  His  encounter  with  Mike  Mazurki,  a  gang- 
ster twice  his  size,  provides  the  picture  with  some  of  its 
most  hilarious  moments: — 

Due  to  his  quick  temper  and  his  attraction  for  women, 
Gorcey  cannot  hold  on  to  a  job.  Pamela  Blake,  his  sister, 
induces  John  Eldredge,  her  employer,  to  hire  him  but  he 
quits  after  a  fight  with  the  supervisor.  Together  with  Huntz 
Hall,  his  pal,  Gorcey  obtains  employment  as  a  process  server 
for  an  auto  financing  company,  and  he  does  so  well  that  he 
is  assigned  to  track  down  an  auto  theft  racket  headed  by 
unidentified  gangsters,  whom  the  police  had  been  unable  to 


February  23,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


31 


apprehend.  In  the  course  of  his  investigation,  Gorcey  tangles 
with  Mike  Mazurki,  one  of  the  gangsters,  from  whom  he 
is  rescued  by  his  pals  and  the  police,  but  not  before  he  learns 
that  Eldredge,  Pamela's  employer,  was  secret  head  of  the 
racket.  Meanwhile  Eldredge,  aware  that  Gorcey  and  the 
police  were  closing  in  on  him,  makes  elaborate  plans  to 
leave  the  country  and  tricks  Pamela  into  agreeing  to  accom- 
pany  him.  Gorcey  and  the  police,  however,  apprehend  him 
at  the  airport. 

Joseph  Mischel  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jan  Grippo  pro- 
duccd  it,  and  Phil  Karlson  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Bobby  Jordan,  William  Benedict,  Claudia  Drake,  Patti 
Brill  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Dragon wyck"  with  Gene  Tierney, 
Walter  Huston  and  Vincent  Price 

( 20th  Century-Fox,  April;  time,  103  mm.) 

One  can  find  little  fault  with  the  production  that  Darryl 
Zanuck  has  given  this  picture,  but  it  is  doubtful  entertain' 
ment  for  the  masses.  It  is  a  psychological  drama,  and  as 
such  may  prove  of  interest  to  intellectuals.  But  as  far  as 
the  picture-goer  of  the  rank  and  file  is  concerned,  the  action 
is  too  slow  and  draggy,  and  the  plot  tends  to  make  him  feel 
morbid.  It  is  an  extremely  depressing  story  oi  the  unhappi' 
ness  that  comes  into  the  life  of  a  young  farm  girl  when 
she  becomes  the  second  wife  of  a  murderous,  pathological 
landowner,  driven  mad  by  his  thwarted  desire  to  have  a 
son.  One  feels  sympathy  for  Gene  Tierney,  as  the  second 
wife,  but  this  is  not  enough  to  sustain  one's  interest,  since 
the  story  is  developed  in  a  ponderous,  time-worn  way.  It 
may,  however,  do  fairly  well  at  the  box-office,  since  it  is 
adapted  from  the  best-selling  novel  of  the  same  name.  The 
action  takes  place  in  1844: — 

Gene,  a  spirited  girl  living  on  a  modest  Connecticut  farm 
with  her  parents  (Walter  Huston  and  Anne  Revere),  per- 
suades her  father  to  let  her  live  with  Vincent  Price,  a 
distant,  wealthy  cousin;  Price  had  requested  that  Gene 
serve  as  companion  to  his  six-year-old  daughter  (Connie 
Marshall),  in  return  for  the  advantages  of  living  at  Dragon- 
wyck,  his  palatial  Hudson  River  estate.  At  Dragonwyck, 
Gene  finds  that  Price's  tenant  farmers,  led  by  Glenn  Langan, 
a  young  doctor,  were  rebelling  against  paying  rents  and 
tribute  to  Price  for  lands  they  and  their  families  had  farmed 
for  years.  She  notices  also  that  a  coolness  existed  between 
Price  and  his  wife  (Vivian  Osborne),  a  sickly  woman,  and 
that  Connie  was  detached  from  her  parents.  Price  falls  in 
love  with  Gene  and,  following  the  sudden  death  of  his  wife 
from  an  illness  Langan  could  not  diagnose,  he  asks  her  to 
marry  him  and  reveals  that  his  life  with  Vivian  had  been 
unhappy  because  she  had  borne  him  a  daughter  instead  of 
a  son.  Dazzled  by  his  proposal,  and  sympathizing  with  him, 
Gene  marries  Price.  In  due  tune  she  bears  him  a  son,  who 
dies  at  childbirth.  As  a  result,  Price's  feelings  towards  her 
undergo  a  change;  he  becomes  sullen,  locks  himself  in 
an  attic  room,  and  takes  to  drugs.  Unknown  to  all,  Price 
had  killed  Vivian  by  means  of  a  poisonous  plant  placed  in 
her  room;  he  adopts  the  same  method  to  rid  himself  of  Gene. 
Meanwhile  Connie,  concerned  over  Gene's  failing  health, 
appeals  to  Langan  lor  help.  Through  a  chance  remark  made 
by  the  child,  Langan  discovers  Price's  deathly  scheme;  he 
rushes  to  Dragonwyck  in  time  to  rescue  Gene.  Price,  by 
this  time  insane,  is  shot  to  death  by  the  tenant  farmers  as 
he  tries  to  evade  arrest. 

Joseph  L.  Mankiewicz  wrote  the  screen  play  and  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Spring  Byington,  Henry  Morgan  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Catman  of  Paris"  with  Carl  Esmond 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  65  mm.) 
To  the  followers  of  horror  melodramas  who  care  little 
about  credulity  in  stories,  this  should  prove  satisfactory 
program  fare;  it  is  eerie  enough,  and  a  mood  of  suspense 
is  sustained  fairly  well  throughout,  despite  its  lack  of 
physical  action.  The  story  deals  with  reincarnation,  the  prin- 
cipal character  being  a  young  author,  who  is  under  the 
delusion  that  he  turns  into  a  "catman"  while  suffering 
mental  lapses.  But  there  is  nothing  startling  or  novel  about 
the  fantastic  tale,  and  its  treatment  follows  a  well-worn 
pattern.  Most  of  the  situations  demand  that  the  spectator 
stretch  his  imagination  to  a  considerable  degree.  It  has  been 
given  a  better  production  than  most  pictures  of  this 
species: — 

Carl  Esmond,  a  successful  French  author,  returns  from 
the  Orient  suffering  from  a  strange  illness  that  leaves  him 


with  lapses  of  memory.  Shortly  after  his  return,  Paris  is 
terrorized  by  a  "catman,"  who  commits  two  fiendish  mur- 
ders by  clawing  his  victims  to  death.  The  commission  of 
both  crimes  occur  under  circumstances  that  point  the  finger 
of  suspicion  on  Esmond.  Suspected  of  being  the  "catman," 
Esmond  is  attacked  by  a  group  of  Parisian  citizens  while 
he  dines  with  Lenore  Aubert,  his  sweetheart.  The  two 
escape  from  the  restaurant,  and  Lenore  hides  him  in  her 
home.  On  the  following  day,  Douglas  Dumbnlle,  Esmond's 
best  friend  and  sponsor,  spirits  him  away  from  the  police 
to  a  chateau  in  the  country.  Lenore,  aware  that  Esmond 
was  under  the  delusion  that  he  was  the  "catman,"  courage- 
ously accompanies  him  to  prove  to  herself  and  him  that 
he  was  not  the  satanic  creature  he  believed  himself  to  be. 
That  night,  as  she  prepares  to  retire,  a  cat-faced  man  leaps 
at  her  through  an  open  window.  The  timely  arrival  of  the 
police  saves  her  from  a  horrible  death.  As  the  "catman" 
lies  dying,  his  features  change  into  that  of  Dumbrille,  who 
reveals  that,  upon  his  death,  he  will  have  gone  through  his 
ninth  and  last  reincarnation,  thus  releasing  Esmond  from 
the  amnesia  spells  he  had  cast  over  him  as  a  cover  up  for 
his  own  crimes. 

Sherman  L.  Lowe  wrote  the  screen  play,  Merek  M.  Libkov 
produced  it,  and  Lesley  Selander  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Adele  Mara,  Gerald  Mohr,  Fritz  Feld  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


ABRAM  F.  MYERS'  ANNUAL  REPORT 
TO  THE  ALLIED  BOARD 

(continued  from  bac\  page) 
the  Schine  and  Crescent  Cases  if  he  abandoned  the  suit 
against  the  Big  Eight  in  that  condition.  Moreover,  the  De- 
partment of  Justice  is  committed  by  numerous  statements 
in  Court  and  in  the  press  to  a  policy  of  accepting  nothing 
short  of  the  full  measure  of  relief  prayed  for  in  its  petition. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  inevitable  that,  in  such  circumstances,  an- 
other effort  would  be  made  to  stay  the  Attorney  General's 
hand  and  the  independent  exhibitors  and  public  groups 
should  be  alert  to  detect  and  oppose  any  such  movement. 

"Meantime,  the  way  is  being  paved  for  a  favorable  con- 
sideration of  the  case  by  the  Supreme  Court  almost  as 
though  Fate  had  ordained  it.  The  former  decisions  of  that 
Court  in  the  Interstate  and  Crescent  Cases  both  have  a 
bearing  on  the  issues  in  the  suit  against  the  Big  Eight.  It  is 
probable  that  the  judgments  in  the  Schine  and  Goldman 
Cases  will  come  before  the  Court  for  review  before  the  Big 
Eight  Case  reaches  there.  And  last  week  the  Bigelow 
(Jackson  Park)  Case  came  on  for  final  hearing.  In  that  case 
the  Government  filed  a  brief  as  amicus  curia  in  support  of 
the  petition  for  certiorari;  also  a  short  but  very  powerful 
brief  on  the  final  argument.  If  the  Supreme  Court  reverses 
the  judgment  in  the  Bigelow  Case — and  I  think  it  will — 
not  only  will  another  precedent  have  been  set  but  the  way 
will  have  been  opened  for  independent  exhibitors  to  recover 
seven-fold  the  losses  inflicted  upon  them  by  the  affiliated 
chains  by  means  of  suits  under  Section  7  of  the  Sherman 
Act.  But  the  important  point  is  that  by  the  time  the  Big 
Eight  Case  is  docketed  on  appeal,  the  Supreme  Court  wiil 
have  a  comprehensive  grasp  of  conditions  in  the  motion 
picture  industry  and  will  know  what  to  do  about  them. 

"Independents  should  be  prepared  to  submit  recom- 
mendations. Some  sort  of  order  will  have  to  be  entered  by 
the  District  Court;  and  if  the  Court  should  direct  that  it 
extend  to  the  challenged  trade  practices,  the  independent 
exhibitors  should  be  prepared  to  offer  definite  rcommenda- 
tions.  At  the  Bretton  Woods  meeting  the  CLE. A.,  as  a 
matter  of  tactics,  approved  the  Attorney  General's  proposals 
for  a  revised  Consent  Decree.  This  was  ratified  by  this  Board 
at  the  time  and  re-affirmed  by  the  Board  at  the  Columbus 
and  Pittsburgh  meetings.  The  peculiar  circumstances  which 
made  it  expedient  to  approve  those  proposals  in  1944  and 
194?  no  longer  exist.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  might  be  well 
for  the  organized  independent  exhibitors  to  re-examine  the 
proposals  on  their  merits,  uninfluenced  by  considerations  of 
strategy.  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  in  approving  the  pro- 
posals Allied  or  CLE. A.  took  a  false  position  as  to  any 
particular  item;  the  question  is  whether,  in  deference  to 
the  Attorney  General's  position  the  independents  withheld 
recommendations  which  they  might  otherwise  have  made. 
The  proposals  no  longer  have  any  standing  since  they  were 
rejected  by  the  delcndants  and,  lacking  any  agreement  on 
a  revised  decree,  the  Attorney  General  brought  the  case  on 
for  trial." 

(continued  next  wee\) 


32 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


February  23,  1946 


ABRAM  F.  MYERS'  ANNUAL  REPORT 
TO  THE  ALLIED  BOARD 

The  following  report  was  made  by  Abram  F.  Myers, 
Allicd's  general  counsel  and  chairman  of  the  board,  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  held  in  New 
York  on  February  11,  12  and  13. 

Harrison's  Reports  reproduces  the  report  in  full,  be- 
cause of  the  importance  of  the  questions  and  problems  that 
Mr.  Myers  touched  upon. 

"Outstanding  events.  Trial  of  the  Government's  anti' 
trust  suit  against  the  Big  Eight  and  the  emergence  of  the 
Conference  of  Independent  Exhibitors'  Associations  as  a 
clearing  house  for  all  truly  independent  exhibitor  organiza- 
tions were  the  milestones  of  motion  picture  history  in  1945. 

"The  suit  goes  to  trial.  It  has  long  been  evident  that  the 
reforms  necessary  to  correct  abuses  would  not  be  forth- 
coming until  there  had  been  a  judicial  review  of  basic 
industry  organization  and  practices.  Experience  has  dem- 
onstrated the  futility  of  negotiating  with  the  affiliated 
interests  for  the  relinquishment  of  special  privileges  which 
they  have  come  to  regard  as  vested  rights.  And  even  if 
differences  could  have  been  composed  as  between  the  parties 
to  such  negotiations,  the  industry  still  would  have  remained 
in  an  exposed  position,  never  knowing  when  or  where  the 
legal  lightning  would  strike. 

"Allied  has  never  swerved  from  its  position  that  the  case 
should  be  tried  on  its  merits,  for  that  is  the  only  way  in 
which  a  judicial  determination  could  be  secured.  At  the 
Columbus  meeting  a  year  ago  the  Board  urged  the  Attorney 
General  to  petition  the  Court  for  ad  interim  relief  and  for 
an  order  setting  the  case  for  trial  on  a  day  certain.  The 
General  Counsel  was  authorized  to  offer  the  Court  a  brief 
as  amicus  curia  in  support  of  such  petition,  in  case  it  was 
filed.  The  Attorney  General  having  taken  the  necessary 
step,  such  a  brief  was  offered  not  merely  in  the  name  of 
Allied,  but  in  the  name  of  CLE. A.,  and  it  was  received  by 
the  Court. 

"The  case  was  set  for  trial  on  October  8  and  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  made  an  extensive  field  investigation  in 
preparation  therefor.  During  the  summer  it  came  to  our 
attention  that  a  determined  effort  was  being  made  in  certain 
quarters  to  head-off  the  trial.  The  Board  is  acquainted  with 
the  counter-measures  taken  by  Allied  and  the  other  bodies 
comprised  in  CLE. A.,  and  of  the  effective  work  done  by 
certain  public  groups  which  formerly  had  supported  the 
Neely  Bills.  Copies  of  correspondence  forwarded  to  me 
showed  that  by  early  September  the  Attorney  General  had 
given  assurances  the  case  would  go  to  trial;  and,  as  you  all 
know,  it  did  go  to  trial  on  schedule. 

"An  unemotional  trial.  After  Judge  Goddard  had  indi- 
cated that  he  would  not  make  a  favorable  ruling  on  the 
Government's  application  for  a  temporary  injunction  the 
Attorney  General  filed  a  certificate  under  the  Expediting 
Act  thereby  transferring  jurisdiction  of  the  ca6e  to  a 
statutory  three-judge  Court  to  be  named  by  the  senior 
Circuit  Judge.  This  was  an  unusual  procedure  inasmuch 
as  the  case  had  been  pending  before  Judge  Goddard  for  so 
many  years.  But  to  close  observers  of  the  proceeding  it 
seemed  a  necessary  step.  In  their  view  Judge  Goddard's 
adverse  rulings  on  virtually  all  motions  by  the  Government — 
especially  the  motion  to  compel  certain  defendants  to  dis- 
gorge theatres  acquired  subsequent  to  the  Consent  Decree — , 
his  comments  during  the  opening  statements  when  the  case 
first  came  on  for  hearing  in  1940,  and  his  indulgence  of 
defense  counsel  in  their  dilatory  tactics,  raised  a  serious 
doubt  as  to  his  impartiality  in  this  case.  It  was  surprising 
that  he  was  named  to,  and  consented  to  sit  on,  the  statutory 
Court  which  ousted  him  of  his  jurisdiction. 

"At  a  preliminary  (pre-trial)  hearing  before  the  three- 
judge  Court,  Judge  Hand,  the  presiding  judge  announced 
very  firmly  that  the  tying  up  of  so  many  Federal  judges  on 
a  single  case  imposed  a  hardship  on  the  Second  Circuit  and 
that,  therefore,  the  case  would  have  to  be  tried  very  quickly. 
At  this  stage  Government  counsel  announced  that  he  would 
submit  a  documentary  case  and  would  call  no  witnesses. 
This  came  as  a  surprise  to  all;  but  to  none  more  than  to 
the  defense  attorneys  who  had  examined  the  records  of  all 
prospective  exhibitor  witnesses  with  a  microscope  in  prep- 
aration for  cross-examination.  Judgment  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  this  decision  should  be  withheld  until  the  case  has  been 
finally  decided;  until  we  have  the  findings  of  the  Court  and 
its  comments  on  the  evidence. 

"Thus  the  Government's  case  as  presented  was  wholly 
devoid  of  color,  and,  despite  the  lengthy  opening  state- 
ments on  both  sides  the  presentation  left  the  Court  largely 
in  the  dark  as  to  the  issues.  Following  the  presentation  of 


this  'blind  case'  the  defendants  called  a  large  number  of 
witnesses  whose  testimony  consisted  mainly  of  blanket 
denials  of  the  charges  of  the  Government's  petition.  These 
witnesses  were  special  pleaders,  their  testimony  was  largely 
argumentative,  and  this  gave  the  defendants  a  considerable 
advantage.  By  the  end  of  the  trial  the  Court  had  learned 
nearly  all  it  knew  about  the  case  from  the  lips  of  the 
general  sales  managers  and  circuit  heads.  The  Court  had 
before  it  the  tremendous  task  of  studying  hundreds  of 
documents  in  the  light  of  the  briefs  and  the  final  arguments. 

"The  C.I.E.A.  on  December  3  authorized  the  preparation 
and  submission  of  a  brief  as  amicus  curia  on  final  argument. 
The  brief  was  prepared,  printed  and  submitted,  but  leave 
to  file  it  was  denied.  A  brief  offered  by  the  Society  of 
Independent  Motion  Picture  Producers  met  with  a  like  fate. 
While  this  was  disappointing,  it  is  believed  that  the  briefs 
served  their  purpose.  Judge  Goddard  had  raised  the  question 
whether  there  were  any  complaints  against  the  defendants. 
The  two  briefs  were  an  effective  answer  to  his  query;  their 
submission  and  the  action  of  the  Court  thereon  are  a  part 
of  the  record  which  ultimately  must  go  to  the  Supreme 
Court. 

"Decision  not  indicated.  Early  in  Mr.  Wright's  opening 
argument  on  final  hearing  Judge  Hand  observed  that  'to 
upset  all  the  ownership  of  theatres  ...  is  an  extremely 
drastic  remedy  that- 1  should  think  was  extremely  unlikely 
for  this  Court  to  give."  This  statement  has  been  seized  upon 
by  unidentified  spokesmen  for  the  defendants  and  by  certain 
—but  not  all — trade  papers  as  indicating  a  sweeping  victory 
for  the  defendants,  or  at  most,  a  slap  on  the  wrist.  Of  course, 
if  Judge  Hand  had  announced  his  decision  at  that  stage  he 
would  not  be  fit  to  be  a  judge. -The  transcript  shows  that 
after  making  the  quoted  remark.  Judge  Hand  went  on  to 
say:  'But  that  is  merely  a  first-impression  by  myself,  and  I 
have  got  to  study  this  thing  very  carefully  in  other  ways 
than  just  by  reading  through  the  briefs  once  .  .  .'  An  equally 
significant  remark  by  Judge  Hand,  during  the  argument  by 
Mr.  Seymour  (Para.),  seems  to  have  been  overlooked. 
Wright  had  called  attention  to  the  remarkable  agreements 
under  which  Fox  West  Coast  operates  the  theatres  of  other 
defendants  in  San  Francisco.  That  had  made  an  impression 
on  the  Court  which  Seymour  was  seeking  to  overcome.  But 
before  he  could  launch  into  the  subject  Judge  Hand  said: 
'Now  before  you  do  that,  I  am  not  entirely  clear  why  the 
Government  does  not  or  that  it  should  not,  if  there  is  a 
violation  of  the  Sherman  Act  in  this  West  Coast  situation, 
ask  for  relief  against  it  in  this  case.  You  say  that  inter-state 
commerce  is  not  involved.  I  should  think  it  probably  was.' 
And  after  Seymour  had  minimized  the  importance  of  the 
formula  deals  made  by  Paramount  with  the  Evergreen  Cir- 
cuit, Judge  Bright  asked  him:  'Are  there  any  formula  deals 
with  exhibitors  other  than  those  of  the  defendants,  asso- 
ciated or  affiliated  with  the  defendants?'  To  which  Seymour 
replied:  'So  far  as  I  know  there  are  not,  your  Honor.'  By 
that  time  the  Court  was  catching  on. 

"Wright's  reply  argument,  covering  59  printed  pages, 
was  easily  the  outstanding  performance  of  the  entire  trial. 
The  Court  still  was  in  a  fog  about  most  of  the  practices, 
and  was  testing  his  position  with  searching-  questions  con- 
cerning others,  but  Wright  came  through  without  making 
any  concessions.  The  Court  clearly  tried  to  force  him  to 
suggest  some  form  of  remedy  short  of  divorcement  and 
dissolution  but  he  stood  his  ground.  Certainly  he  destroyed 
any  notion  that  provisions  of  the  Consent  Decree  could  be 
continued  with  or  without  adjudication  of  law  violation, 
unless  the  Government  agreed  thereto — and  in  his  brief 
and  arugment,  he  made  it  plain  that  the  Government  could 
not  agree.  And  he  pointed  out  the  absurdity  of  permitting 
the  defendants  to  retain  their  great  holdings  and  power 
whilst  stripping  Crescent  and  Schine  of  their  lesser  holdings. 
He  said:  'If  we  were  wrong  in  the  Schine  and  Crescent  cases, 
we  were  wrong  here;  but  it  seems  to  me  the  Supreme  Court 
has  said  that  we  were  right  in  those  cases.'  And  he  referred 
to  the  remark  of  some  unnamed  cynic,  when  the  Crescent 
and  Hartford  decisions  came  down  on  the  same  day:  'Well, 
if  you  are  dealing  with  a  medium  size  organization,  you  can 
take  it  apart  and  give  effective  relief,  but  the  minute  you 
get  something  big,  the  Courts  shy  away  from  it.' 

"Supreme  Court  must  decide.  Since  the  determination  to 
press  the  case  was  reached,  I  do  not  think  anyone  has 
supposed  that  the  decision  of  the  District  Court  would  be 
the  last  word.  Should  that  Court  grant  effective  relief,  it 
is  a  moral  certainty  that  the  defendants  will  appeal.  If  that 
Court  should  merely  hand  them  a  parking  ticket — as  one 
trade  paper  suggested — the  Attorney  General  would  be  in 
honor  bound  to  appeal.  He  could  not  justify  his  position  in 
(continued  on  inside  page) 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 


 HARRISON'S  REPORTS 

Vol.  XXVIII      NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  23,  1946 


No.  8 


(Partial  Index  No.  1 — Pages  2  to  28  Incl.) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Abilene  Town — United  Artists  (88  min.)   6 

A  Guy  Could  Change — Republic  (65  min.)   15 

Ambush  Trail — PRC  (60  min.)  not  reviewed 

Bad  Bascomb — MGM  (110  min.)   22 

Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest,  The — Columbia  (87  min.).  19 

Because  of  Him— Universal  (87  min.)   6 

Behind  Green  Lights — 20th  Century-Fox  (64  min.)  ...  10 

Blue  Dahlia,  The — Paramount  (96  min.)    19 

Breakfast  in  Hollywood — United  Artists  (93  min.)  ....  10 
California  Gold  Rush — Republic  (56  min.). .  .not reviewed 

Cinderella  Jones — Warner  Bros.  (88  min.)   27 

Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie,  A — Columbia  (60  min.)  22 

Days  of  Buffalo  Bill — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Deadline  at  Dawn— RKO  (83  min.)   26 

Diary  of  a  Chambermaid,  The— United  Artists  (86m.)  18 

Face  of  Marble,  The — Monogram  (72  m.)    2 

Flying  Serpent,  The— PRC  (59  min.)   14 

Frontier  Gun  Law — Columbia  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Harvey  Girls,  The— MGM  (101  min.)   3 

Hoodlum  Saint,  The— MGM  (91  min.)   23 

Idea  Girl— Universal  (60  min.)   20 

I  Ring  Doorbells— PRC  (65  min.)    2 

Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — Universal  (88  min.)..  15 

Meet  Me  on  Broadway — Columbia  (78  min.)   12 

Murder  in  the  Music  Hall — Republic  (84  min.)   26 

My  Reputation — Warner  Bros.  (94  min.)   7 

Notorious  Lone  Wolf,  The — Columbia  (64  min.)  ....  26 

Riverboat  Rhythm— RKO  (65  min.)    22 

Roaring  Rangers — Columbia  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Romance  of  the  West — PRC  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

Scarlet  Street — Universal  ( 102  min.)   10 

Sentimental  Journey — 20th  Century-Fox  (94  min.)  ....  23 

Seventh  Veil,  The— Universal  (92  min.)   2 

Shadow  Returns,  The — Monogram  (60  min.)   14 

Shock — 20th  Century-Fox  (70  min.)    11 

Six  Gun  Man — PRC  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Song  of  Mexico — Republic  (59  min.)   15 

Spiral  Staircase,  The— RKO  (83  min.)   6 

Strangler  of  the  Swamp — PRC  (58  min.)   14 

Swing  Parade  of  1946 — Monogram  (75  min.)   16 

Tars  and  Spars — Columbia  (86  min.)   12 

Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman — RKO  (72  min.)  ...  27 

Terror  by  Night — Universal  (60  min.)    16 

Texas  Panhandle — Columbia  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

They  Made  Me  a  Killer — Paramount  (62  min.)   18 

Three  Strangers — Warner  Bros.  (92  min.)    19 

Tomorrow  is  Forever — RKO  (105  min.)   11 

Up  Goes  Maisie— MGM  (89  min.)   3 

Virginian,  The — Paramount  (86  min.)   18 

Well-Groomed  Bride,  The — Paramount  (75  min.)  ....  20 

Whistle  Stop— United  Artists  (85  min.)    6 

Ziegfeld  Follies— MGM  (110  min.)   11 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Jor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

7022  Crime  Doctor's  Warning — Warner  Baxter  . .  Sept.  27 
7029  Girl  of  the  Limberlost — Nelson-Clifton  Oct.  11 

7201  Blazing  the  Western  Trail— Starrett  (55  m.)  Oct.  18 

7024  Voice  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Merrick  Oct.  30 

7036  Prison  Ship — Lowery-Foch  Nov.  15 

7202  Lawless  Empire — Charles  Starrett  (58  m.)..Nov.  15 
7010  Snafu— Parks-Lloyd  Nov.  22 

7023  My  Name  is  Julia  Ross — Foch-Macready  . .  .Nov.  27 

7018  Hit  the  Hay — Canova-Hunter  Nov.  29 

7019  Life  With  Blondie — Singleton-Lake  Dec.  13 

7012  One  Way  to  Love — Carter-Morris  Dec.  20 


7203  Texas  Panhandle — Starrett  ( 55  m.)  Dec.  20 

7005  Pardon  My  Past — MacMurray-Chapman  Dec.  25 

7035  Out  of  the  Depths — Bannon-Hunter  (formerly 

"Strange  Voyage")   Dec.  27 

7014  Meet  Me  on  Broadway — Reynolds-Falkenburg.  Jan.  3 

Tars  and  Spars — Blair-Drake  Jan.  10 

A  Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie — Morris  Jan.  24 

Frontier  Gun  Law — Charles  Starrett  (59m.). Jan.  31 
The  Notorious  Lone  Wolf — Mohr-Carter.  .  .  .Feb.  14 
Roaring  Rangers — Charles  Starret  (55m.).  .  .Feb.  14 
Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest — Wilde-Louise.  .  .Feb.  21 
The  Gentleman  Misbehaves- — Massen-Stanton 

(formerly  "The  Lady  Misbehaves")  Feb.  28 

Just  Before  Dawn — Baxter-Roberts  Mar.  7 

So  Dark  the  Night — Geray-Cheirel  Mar.  14 

Throw  a  Saddle  on  a  Star — Western  Musical. Mar.  14 

Perilous  Holiday — O'Brien- Warrick  Mar.  21 

Gunning  for  Vengeance — Charles  Starrett.  .Mar.  21 
Talk  About  a  Lady — Jinx  Falkenburg  Mar.  28 


Me tro-Goldwyn- Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  7or\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  13 

600  Our  Vines  Have  Tender  Grapes — 

Robinson-O'Brien  Sept. 

601  The  Hidden  Eye — Edward  Arnold  Sept. 

602  Abbott  &  Costello  in  Hollywood  Oct. 

603  Her  Highness  &  the  Bellboy — Lamar- Walker  . . .  .Oct. 

604  Dangerous  Partners — Craig-Hasso  Oct. 

Block  14 

606  What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove? — 

Walker- Wynn   Nov.  Dec. 

607  She  Went  to  the  Races — Craig-Gifford  Nov.-Dec 

608  Vacation  from  Marriage — Donat-Kerr  Nov.-Dec. 

610  Yolanda  and  the  Thief — Astaire-Bremer.  .  .  .Nov.-Dec. 

609  They  Were  Expendable — Montgomery- 

Wayne   Nov.-Dec. 

Block  15 

611  The  Harvey  Girls — Garland-Hodiak  Jan.-Feb. 

612  Portrait  of  Maria — Foreign  cast  Jan.-Feb. 

613  Up  Goes  Maisie — Sothern-Murphy  Jan.-Feb. 

614  A  Letter  for  Evie — Hunt-Carroll  Jan.-Feb. 

615  Sailor  Takes  a  Wife — Allyson-Walker  Jan.-Feb. 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson   Feb. 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

464  Riders  of  the  Dawn — Jimmy  Wakely  (58  m.)  .Nov.  3 

458  Frontier  Feud — J.  M.  Brown  (54  m.)  Nov.  24 

452  Drifting  Along — J.  M.  Brown  (60  m.)  (re.) .  .Jan.  26 
(End  of  1944-45  Season) 
Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

561  Lonesome  Trail — Jimmy  Wakely  (55  m.) .  . .  .Dec.  8 

501  Sunbonnet  Sue — -Storm-Regan  Dec.  8 

508  Black  Market  Babies — Morgan-Loring  Dec.  15 

505  Allotment  Wives — Francis-Kelly  (re.)  Dec.  29 

565  Border  Bandits — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.)  Jan.  12 

516  Strange  Mr.  Gregory — Lowe-Rogers  (re.)  . . . .  Jan.  12 

509  Live  Wires — Bowery  Boys  Jan.  12 

528  Face  of  Marble — Carradine-Drakc  Jan.  19 

513  The  Red  Dragon— Sidney  Toler  Feb.  2 

572  Moon  Over  Montana — Jimmy  Wakely  Feb.  16 

527  The  Shadow  Returns — Kane  Richmond  Feb.  19 

552  The  Haunted  Mine — J.  M.  Brown  Feb.  23 

507  Fear— WillianvCookson   Mar.  2 

503  Swing  Parade  of  1946 — Storm-Regan  Mar.  16 


February  23,  1946       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


4501 
4504 
4503 
4502 

4506 
4507 
4508 
4509 

4511 
4512 
4513 

4516 
4517 
4518 
4519 


4531 


Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  18,  H-  T.) 
Block  1 

Duffy's  Tavern — Ed  Gardner  Sept.  28 

Love  Letters — Jones-Cotton   Oct.  26 

The  Lost  Weekend — Milland'Wyman  ....Nov.  16 

Follow  That  Woman — Gargan-Kelly  Dec.  14 

Block  2 

Hold  That  Blonde — Bracken-Lake  Nov.  23 

Stork  Club — Hutton-Fitzgerald   Dec.  28 

People  are  Funny — Haley-Langford  Jan.  11 

Kitty — Milland-Goddard  Jan.  25 

Block  3 

Tokyo  Rose — Barr-Massen  Feb.  8 

Masquerade  in  Mexico — Lamour-DeCordova  Feb.  22 

Miss  Susie  Slagle's — Lake-Tufts  Mar.  8 

Block  4 

The  Virginian — McCrea-Donlevy  Apr.  I 

The  Blue  Dahlia—  Ladd-Lake  Apr.  19 

They  Made  Me  a  Killer — Lowcry-Britton.  . .  .May  3 
The  Weil-Groomed  Bride — DeHavilland- 

Milland   May  17 

Special 

Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  H-  T.) 

Club  Havana — Neal-Lindsay  Oct.  23 

Prairie  Rustlers — Buster  Crabbe  (58  m.)  Nov.  7 

Song  of  Old  Wyoming — Dean-Holt  (67  m.).  .Nov.  12 

The  Navajo  Kid— Bob  Steele  (59  m.)  Nov.  21 

Detour — Neal  Savage  Nov.  30 

Enchanted  Forest — Lowe-Joyce  Dec.  8 

How  Do  You  Do? — Bert  Gordon  Dec.  24 

Strangler  of  the  Swamp — LaPlanche-Barrat. . . Jan.  1 
Lightning  Raiders — Buster  Crabbe  (66  m.). .  .Jan.  7 

Danny  Boy — Robert  "Buzzy"  Henry  Jan.  8 

Six  Gun  Man— Bob  Steele  (59  m.)  Feb.  1 

Ambush  Trail— Bob  Steele  (60  m.)  Feb.  17 

The  Flying  Serpent — Zucco-Kramer  Feb.  20 

I  Ring  Doorbells — Gwynne-Shayne  Feb.  25 

Mask  of  Dijon — Von  Stroheim-Bates  Mar.  7 

Romance  of  the  West — Eddie  Dean  (58  m.) .  .Mar.  20 

Terror  on  Horseback — Buster  Crabbe  Mar.  20 

Murder  is  My  Business — Beaumont- Walker.  .  .Apr.  10 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 

561  Phantom  of  the  Plains— Bill  Elliott  (55m.)  .  .Sept.  7 

551  Bandits  of  the  Badlands — 

Sunset  Carson  (56  min.)  Sept.  14 

501  Scotland  Yard  Investigator — Smith- 

.Von  Stroheim   Sept.  30 

562  Marshal  of  Laredo — Bill  Elliott  (56  min.)  . .  .Oct.  7 

552  Rough  Riders  of  Cheyenne — Sunset  Carson 

( 56  min.)  Nov.  1 

502  Girls  of  the  Big  House — Roberts-Powers  . . .  .Nov.  2 

563  Colorado  Pioneers— Bill  Elliott  (55  m.)  Nov.  14 

504  Captain  Tugboat  Annie — Darwell-Kennedy  .  .Nov.  17 

503  An  Angel  Comes  to  Brooklyn — Dowd-Duke  .Nov.  27 

507  Woman  Who  Came  Back— Kelly-Loder  Dec.  13 

553  The  Cherokee  Flash — Sunset  Carson  (55  m.).Dec.  13 

564  Wagon  Wheels  Westward— Bill  Elliott  (56m)  .Dec.  21 

505  Dakota— Wayne-Ralston  Dec.  25 

506  Song  of  Mexico — Mara-Barrier  Dec.  28 

509  Gay  Blades— Lane-Ashley  Jan.  25 

508  A  Guy  Could  Change — Lane-Frasee  Jan.  27 

565  California  Gold  Rush— Elliott  (56  m.)  Feb.  4 

554  Days  of  Buffalo  Bill— Carson  (56  m.)  Feb.  8 

510  The  Madonna's  Secret— Lederer-Patrick  Feb.  16 

551  Crime  of  the  Century — Bachelor-Browne  Feb.  28 


RKO  Features 

( 1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  2 

606  Man  Alive — O'Brien-Drew-Menjou   

607  First  Yank  Into  Tokyo— Neal-Hale   

608  Isle  of  the  Dead — Karloff-Drew  

609  Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland — Warren-Long 

610  The  Spanish  Main — Henreid-O'Hara   


Block  3 

611  The  Spiral  Staircase — Brent-McGuire  

612  Cornered — Dick  Powell  

613  Dick  Tracy — Conway-Jeffreys  

614  Sing  Your  Way  Home — Haley- Jeffreys  

615  Hotel  Reserve — English  cast  

Block  4 

616  From  This  Day  Forward — Joan  Fontaine   

617  Deadline  at  Dawn — Hayward-Lukas  

618  Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman — Weissmuller. 

619  A  Game  of  Death — Loder-Long  

620  Rivcrboat  Rhythm — Leon  Errol  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue)  . 
661  Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever— Colbert-Welles-Brent 


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

609  The  Dolly  Sisters — Grablc-Haver  Nov. 

611  And  Then  There  Were  None — 

Fitzgerald-Huston   t  .Nov. 

612  Fallen  Angel — Faye- Andrews   Dec. 

613  The  Spider — Conte-Marlowe   Dec. 

617  Doll  Face— O'Keefe-Blaine  (re.)  Jan. 

610  Col.  Effingham's  Raid — Coburn-Bennett  Feb. 

620  Behind  Green  Lights — Landis-Gargan  Feb. 

615  Shock— Price-Ban  (reset)  Feb. 

618  Jesse  James — Reissue  Feb. 

619  Return  of  Frank  James — Reissue  Feb. 

616  A  Walk  in  the  Sun — Andrews-Conte  (re.)  Mar. 

621  Sentimental  Journey — Payne-O'Hara  Mar. 

622  A  Yank  in  London — English  made  Mar. 

Specials 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  Aug. 

614  Leave  Her  to  Heaven — Tierney- Wilde  Jan. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Getting  Gertie's  Garter — O'Keefe-McDonald  .  . .  .Nov.  30 

Blithe  Spirit — English  cast  Dec.  14 

Spellbound — Bergman-Peck   Dec.  28 

Abilene  Town — Scott-Dvorak   Jan.  11 

Whistle  Stop — Raft-Gardner  Jan.  25 

Diary  of  a  Chambermaid — Goddard-Meredith  Feb.  15 

Breakfast  in  Hollywood — Tom  Breneman  Feb.  22 

Young  Widow — Russell-Hayward  Mar.  1 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  Mar.  15 

The  Outlaw— Russell-Buetell  :  Not  Set 


508 
509 
510 

1103 
511 
512 
513 
514 
515 
516 

1104 
517 
518 
519 
520 
521 
522 
523 
524 

525 
526 
527 
528 
529 
530 
531 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  York  20,  H-  T.) 

This  Love  of  Ours — Oberon-Rains  Nov.  2 

Crimson  Canary — Beery,  Jr. -Collier   Nov.  9 

The  Daltons  Ride  Again — Curtis-Taylor.  .  .Nov.  23 
Trail  to  Vengeance — Grant-Knight   (54m)Nov.  30 

House  of  Dracula — Chaney-Atwill  Dec.  7 

Pillow  of  Death — Chaney-Joyce  Dec.  14 

Frontier  Gal — De  Carlo-Cameron  Dec.  21 

Scarlet  Street — Robinson-Bennett  Dec.  28 

Girl  on  the  Spot — Collier-Barker  Jan.  11 

Because  of  Him — Durbin-Laughton  Jan.  18 

Gun  Town — Grant-Knight  (53  m.)  Jan.  18 

Terror  by  Night — Rathbone-Bruce  (re.) .  .  .  .Feb.  1 

Idea  Girl— Barker-Bishop  Feb.  8 

The  Seventh  Veil — English  cast  Feb.  15 

Little  Giant— Abbott  g?  Costello  Feb.  22 

Notorious  Gentleman — Taylor-Grey  Mar.  1 

Tangier — Montez-Paige  (reset)   Mar.  8 

The  Man  in  Grey — English  cast  Mar.  15 

Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back — Sondergaard- 

Grant   Mar.  22 

House  of  Horrors— Goodwin-Lowery  Mar.  29 

Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — English  cast.  Apr.  5 

Blonde  Alibi— Neal-O'Driscoll   Apr.  12 

So  Goes  My  Love — Loy-Ameche  Apr.  19 

Night  in  Paradise — Bey-Oberon  May  3 

Strange  Conquest — Wyatt-Gilmore  May  10 

She  Wolf  of  London — Haden-Porter  May  17 


Pa^e  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index        February  23,  1946 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Tiew  Yor\  18,  H.  T.) 

505  Mildred  Pierce — Crawford-Carson-Scott  Oct.  20 

506  Confidential  Agent — Boyer-Bacall   Nov.  10 

507  Too  Young  to  Know — Leslie-Hutton  Dec.  1 

508  Danger  Signal — Emerson-Scott  Dec.  15 

509  San  Antonio — Errol-Flynn  Dec.  29 

510  My  Reputation — Stanwyck-Brent   Jan.  26 

511  Three  Strangers- — Greenstreet-Lorre  Feb.  16 

512  Burma  Victory — Documentary  Feb.  16 

513  Cinderella  Jones — Leslie-Alda  Mar.  9 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

7751  Phoney  Baloney — Fox  6s?  Crow  (7  min.)  .  .*.  .Nov.  1 

7901  The  Magic  Stone — Panoramic  (10  m.)  Nov.  8 

7853  Screen  Snapshots  No.  3  (9  min.)  Nov.  15 

7803  Cadet  Cagers — Sports  (8J/2  min)  Nov.  22 

7653  Community  Sings  No.  3  (10  min.)  Nov.  29 

7854  Screen  Snapshots  No.  4  (9m.)  Dec.  13 

7953  Morale's  Copacabana  Orch. — Film  Vodvil 

(11m.)  Dec.  13 

7804  Mermaids'  Paradise — Sports  (9|/2  m.)  Dec.  20 

7654  Community  Sings  No.  4  (11  m.)  Dec.  20 

7855  Screen  Snapshots  No.  5  (9  m.)   Jan.  17 

7655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (10  m.)  Jan.  17 

7805  Rasslin'  Romeos — Sports  (9y2  m.)   Jan.  24 

7601  Catnipped— Flippy  {l]/2m.)  (reset)  Feb.  14 

7856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9j/2  m.)   Feb.  15 

7656  Community  Sings  No.  6  (9  m.)  Feb.  21 

7954  Three  Sets  of  Twins— Film  Vodvil  (10  m.) .  .Feb.  28 

7657  Community  Sings  No.  7  Mar.  7 

7857  Screen  Snapshots  No.  7  Mar.  15 

7902  Strange  Hunter — Panoramic  Mar.  21 

7501  Rivver  Ribber— Col.  Rhap.  (6m.)  (reset) ..  Apr.  5 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

7432  A  Miner  Affair— A.  Clyde  (19  min.)  Nov.  1 

7402  Micro-Phonies — 3  Stooges  (17  min.)  Nov.  15 

7423  Calling  All  Fibbers— V.  Vague  (16</2  min.)  Nov.  29 

7433  High  Blood  Pressure — Schilling-Lane  ( 19  m.)Dec.  6 

7434  A  Hit  with  a  Miss — S.  Howard  (16  min.)  . .  .Dec.  13 
7140  Who's  Guilty?— Serial  (15  episodes)  Dec.  13 

7435  Spook  to  Me— A.  Clyde  (17  min.)  Dec.  27 

7403  Beer  Barrel  Polecats — Stooges  (17  m.)  Jan.  10 

7436  The  Blonde  Stayed  On— Andy  Clyde(  16|/2m)Jan.  24 

7424  When  the  Wife's  Away— Herbert  (17  m.)  .  .Feb.  1 

7425  Hiss  and  Yell— Vera  Vague  (18  m.)  Feb.  14 

7404  A  Bird  in  the  Head— Stooges  (17  m.)  Feb.  28 

7405  Uncivil  War  Birds — Stooges  ( 17  m.)  Mar.  7 

7437  Mr.  Noisy— S.  Howard  (16'/2m.)   Mar.  21 

7160  Hop  Harrigan — Serial  (15  chapters)  March 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

W-732  Wild  and  Woolfy— Cartoon  (8  m.)  Nov.  3 

K-772  Stairway  to  Light — Passing  Parade  (10  m.)  Nov.  10 

K-773  People  on  Paper — Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Nov.  17 

T-712  Merida  and  Campeche — Traveltalk  (8m.).  .Nov.  22 

S-753  Bus  Pests — Pete  Smith  (9  min.)   Dec.  1 

S-756  Badminton — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  Dec.  8 

K-774  The  Golden  Hunch— Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Dec.  15 

W-733  Quiet  Please— Cartoon  (8  m.)  Dec.  22 

S-754  Sports  Sticklers — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  Jan.  5 

K-775  Magic  on  a  Stick— Pas.  Par.  (9  min.)  Jan.  19 

S-757  Fala  at  Hyde  Park— Pete  Smith  (10  m.)  Jan.  19 

T-713  Land  of  the  Mayas— Traveltalk  (9m.)  Jan.  26 

S-755  Gettin' Glamour — Pete  Smith  (7  min.)  Feb.  2 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-701  A  Gun  in  His  Hand— Special  (19  m.)  . .  .Sept.  15 
A-702  Purity  Squad — Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 


Paramount — One  Reel 

E5-1  House  Tricks — Popeye(6m.)  Nov.  2 

LT-1  Unusual  Occupations  No.  1  (10  m.)  Nov.  9 

R5-2  Paddle  Your  Own— Sportlight  (9  m.)   Nov.  9 

P5-1  The  Friendly  Ghost — Novcltoon  (7  m.)  Nov.  16 

Y5-1  Animal-ology— Speak,  of  Animals  (9  m.)  Nov.  23 
D5-1  Man's  Pest  Friend — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Nov.  30 


J5-2  Popular  Science  No.  2  (10  m.)  Dec.  7 

U5-2  My  Man  Jaspar — Puppetoon  (7  m.)   Dec.  14 

R5-3  Running  the  Team — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Dec.  14 

E5-2  Service  with  a  Guile — Popeye  (7  m.)  Dec.  21 

P5-2  Old  MacDonald's  Farm — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  .  .Dec.  28 

L5-2  Unusual  Occupations  No.  2(11  m.)   Jan.  4 

D5-2  Bargain  Counter  Attack — Little  Lulu  Jan.  11 

Y5-2  Hill  Billies — Speak,  of  Animals  (9  m.)  Jan.  18 

R5-4  Good  Dog — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Jan.  18 

U5-3  Olio  for  Jasper — Puppetoon  Jan.  25 

E5-3  Klondike  Casanova — Popeye  (8  m.)  Feb.  1 

J5-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  (10  m.)   Feb.  8 

P5-3  Cheese  Burglar— Noveltoon  (7  m.)   Feb.  22 

R5-5  Dixie  Pointers — Sportlight  Feb.  22 

L5-3  Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  (10  m.)  Mar.  8 

E5-4  Peep  in  the  Deep— Popeye  Mar.  15 

U5-4  Together  in  the  Weather — Puppetoon  Mar.  22 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF5-1  Little  Witch— Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  ...Oct.  26 
FF5-2  Naughty  Nannette — Musical  Parade  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 
FF5-3  College  Queen — Musical  Parade  (19  m.) .  .  .Feb.  15 


Republic — Two  Reels 

581  The  Phantom  Rider— Serial  (12  ep.)  Jan.  26 


64301 
64201 
64302 
64202 
64303 
671 
64203 
64304 
64101 
64102 
63405 
64204 


63502 
63101 

63202 

63503 

63402 
63102 
63103 
63504 

63203 
63403 
63702 


RKO — One  Reel 

Athletic  Items — Sportscope  (8  m.)   Sept.  7 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  1  min.)  ....Sept.  14 

Battling  Bass— Sportscope  (8  min.)   Oct.  5 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  2  (7m.)  Oct.  19 

Ten  Pin  Titans — Sportscope  (8m.)  Nov.  2 

The  House  I  Live  In — Sinatra  (10  min.)  .  .Nov.  9 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  3  (7m.)  Nov.  23 

Arcaro  Up — Sportscope  (8m.)  Nov.  30 

Canine  Patrol — Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  7 

Old  Sequoia — Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  21 

Ski  Master — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Dec.  28 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  4  (8  m.)  Dec.  28 

RKO — Two  Reels 

Sagebrush  Serenade — West.  Musical  (19  m.)Oct.  26 
Airline  to  Everywhere — This  is  America 

(17  m.)   Nov.  16 

Russian  Dressing — Headliner  Revival 

(18  m.)   Nov.  23 

Ranch  House  Romeo — Western  Musical 

(reissue)  (.17  m.)  Nov.  30 

Mother-in-Law's  Day — Ed.  Kennedy  (18m) .  Dec.  7 

TV  A — This  is  America  (18  m.)  Dec.  14 

Great  Lakes — This  is  Amer.  (16  m.)  Jan.  11 

Rhythm  Wranglers — Western  Musical  (reissue) 

(19  m.)   Jan.  18 

Twenty  Girls  and  a  Band — Head.  Rev.  ( 18m.)  Jan.  18 
Trouble  or  Nothing — Ed.  Kennedy  (18  m.)  .Jan.  25 
Maid  Trouble— Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  Feb.  2 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6505  Who's  Who  in  the  Jungle-Gandy  Goose — 

Terrytoon  (7m.)  Oct.  19 

6254  Bountiful  Alaska — Adventure  (8  m.)   Oct.  26 

6506  Mighty  Mouse  Meets  Bad  Bill  Bunion — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Nov.  9 

63  52  Time  Out  for  Play— Sports  (8  m.)  Nov.  16 

6507  The  Exterminator-Gandy  Goose — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Nov.  23 

6255  Song  of  Sunshine — Adventure  (9  m.)  Dec.  7 

6508  Mighty  Mouse  in  Krakatoo — Terrytoon  Dec.  14 

6256  Louisiana  Springtime — Adventure  (8  m.) .  .  .Dec.  21 

6509  The  Talking  Magpies — Terrytoon  Jan.  4 

6257  The  Lost  Lake — Adventure  (8  m.)  Jan.  11 

6510  Svengali's  Cat-Mighty  Mouse — Terrytoon.  .  .Jan.  18 

6401  The  World  Today— Special  Jan.  25 

6301  Pins  and  Cushions — Sports  (9  min.)   Feb.  1 

6258  Along  the  Rainbow  Trail— Adventure  Feb.  15 

6512  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Wicked  Wolf — Terry. Mar.  8 
63  53  Diving  Dandies — Sports   Mar.  15 

6513  Mighty  Mouse  in  My  Old  Kentucky  Home — 

Terrytoon   Mar.  29 

6201  Show  Girls — Vyvyan  Donncr  Apr.  5 

6259  Cradle  of  Liberty — Adventure   Apr.  26 


February  23,  1946       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  12  No.  3— 18  Million  Orphans- 
March  of  Time  (17  m.)   Nov.  2 

Vol.  12  No.  4 — Justice  Comes  to  Germany — 

March  of  Time  (20  m.)  Nov.  30 

Vol.  12  No.  5 — Challenge  to  Hollywood — 

March  of  Time  (18  m.)  Dec.  28 

Vol.  12  No.  6— Life  with  Baby- 
March  of  Time  (21  m.)   Jan.  25 


United  Artists — One  Reel 

The  Flying  Jeep — Daffy  Dittys  (7J/2  m.)  Aug.  20 


Universal — One  Reel 

1344  Doctor  of  Paintings — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  . .  .Nov.  f 

1365  Front  Line  Artist — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Nov.  12 

1345  Jungle  Capers — Var.  Views  (9  ni.)  Dec.  10 

1321  The  Loose  Nut— Cartune  (7  m.)  Dec.  17 

1381  Sing  and  be  Happy— Musical  (10  m.)  Feb.  18 

1322  Poet  and  Peasant — Cartune  (7m.)   Mar.  18 

1366  Maestro  of  the  Comics — Per.  Odd.  (9  m).  .Mar.  18 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1681-1693  The  Royal  Mounted  Rides  Again— Serial 

(13  episodes)  Oct.  23 

1301  Solid  Senders — Jan  Garber — Musical  (15m.)  Nov.  21 

1302  Hot  6?  Hectic— Tommy  Tucker- 

Musical  (15  m.)  Nov.  28 

1303  Synco-Smooth  Swing — Ted  Fio  Rita 

— Musical  (15  m.)   Dec.  19 

1304  Cuban  Madness-Carlos  Molina — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  2 

1305  Tin  Pan  Alley  Tempos-Phil  Ohman — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  9 

1306  Melody  Stampede-Spade  Cooley — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  16 

1781-1793  The  Scarlet  Horseman— Serial  ( 1 3  ep.) .  Jan.  22 

1307  Swing  High  Swing  Sweet-Jan  Savitt — Musical 

(15  m.)  Feb.  20 


Vitaphone — One  Reel 
1944-45 

1511  Arabian  in  the  Rockies — -Sports  (10m.).  .  .  .Aug.  25 

1710  Bashful  Buzzard — Loo  ney  Tune  (7m.)....  Sept.  1 5 

1711  Peck  Up  Your  Troubles— Looney  Tune  (7  m.)Oct.  20 
1313  Busy  Bakers— Hit.  Parade  (7  m.)  Oct.  20 

1725  Hare  Tonic — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)   Nov.  10 

1712  Nasty  Quacks — Looney  Tune  (7m.)   ....Dec.  1 

1512  Days  of  '76— Sports  (10  m.)  Dec.  22 

1713  Book  Revue — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

1513  Cavalcade  of  Archery — Sports  (10  m.)  Jan.  22 

1726  Baseball  Bugs — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)   Feb.  2 

1714  Holiday  for  Shoestring — Looney  Tune  (7m.)  .Feb.  23 

1715  Quentin  Quail — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Mar.  2 

1716  Baby  Bottleneck — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Mar.  16 

1717  Hare  Remover — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Mar.  23 

(More  to  come) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

2601  Spade  Cooley — Mel.  Mas.  ( 10  m.)  Sept.  1 

2402  Miracle  Makers — Varieties  (10  m.)   Sept.  1 

2401  Alice  in  Jungleland — Varieties  (10  m.)  ...  .Sept.  22 

2602  Here  Come  the  Navy  Bands — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)  Sept.  29 

2603  Musical  Novelties — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Oct.  6 

2403  Story  of  a  Dog — Varieties  (10  m.)  Oct.  27 

2501  Sports  Go  to  War — Sports  (10  m.)   Nov.  10 

2301  Sunbonnet  Blue — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)   Nov.  17 


2801  Fashions  for  Tomorrow — Adventure  (10  m).  Nov.  17 

2404  So  You  Think  You're  Allergic — Varieties 

(10  m.)  Dec.  1 

2604  Music  of  the  Americas — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)..  Dec.  15 

2302  Lyin'  Mouse— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Dec.  22 

2303  Good  Egg— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

2802  In  Old  Sante  Fe— Adventure  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

2405  Peeks  at  Hollywood — Varieties  (10  m.)  Jan  26 

2605  Headline  Bands— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Jan.  26 

2502  Holiday  on  Horseback — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb  2 

2304  Trial  of  Mr.  Wolf— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Feb.  9 

2503  Michigan  Ski-Daddle — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 

2606  Jan  Savitt  ii  Band— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Mar.  16 

2504  With  Rod     Gun  in  Canada— Sports  (10  m.)Mar.  16 

2305  Little  Lion  Hunter — Cartoon  (7  m.)   Mar.  23 

2505  Snow  Eagles — Sports  (10  m.)  Mar.  30 

2803  All  Aboard — Adventure  (10  m.)   Mar.  30 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

2103  All  Star  Musical  Revue — Feat.  (14  m.)  ..Nov.  3 

2104  Good  Old  Corn — Featurette  (20  m.)  Nov.  24 

2001  Frontier  Days — Special  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 

2106  Hitler  Lives? — Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  29 

2002  Forest  Commandos — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  19 

2105  Musical  Shipmates — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  16 

2003  Movieland  Magic — Special  (20  m.)   Mar.  9 


NEWSWEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 


65153 
65254 
65155 
65256 
65157 
65258 
65159 
65260 
65161 
65262 
65163 
65264 
65165 


Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 


. .Feb.  23 
.  .Feb.  27 
.Mar.  2 
.Mar.  6 
.Mar.  9 
.Mar.  13 
.Mar.  16 
.Mar.  20 
.Mar.  23 
.Mar.  27 
.Mar.  30 
.Apr.  3 
.Apr.  6 


Fox  Movietone 


50  Thurs  (E) 

51  Tues.  (O) 

52  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

53  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

54  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

55  Tues.  (O)  .. 

56  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

57  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

58  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

59  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

60  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

61  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

62  Thurs.  (E)  . 


.  .Feb.  21 
. .Feb.  26 
. .Feb.  28 
..Mar.  5 
..Mar.  7 
.  .Mar.  12 
.  .Mar.  14 
.  .Mar.  19 
.  .Mar.  21 
.  .Mar.  26 
.  .Mar.  28 
..Apr.  2 
..Apr.  4 


Paramount 

50  Thurs.  (E)  . 

51  Sunday  (O) 

52  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

53  Sunday  (O) 

54  Thurs.  (E)  . 

55  Sunday  (O)  . 

56  Thurs.  (E.)  . 

57  Sunday  (O)  . 

58  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

59  Sunday  (O)  . 

60  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

61  Sunday  (O)  . 

62  Thurs.  (E)  . 


News 

. .  Feb.  2 1 
. .  Feb.  24 
.  .Feb.  28 
..Mar.  3 
..Mar.  7 
.  .Mar.  10 
.  .Mar.  14 
.  .Mar.  17 
.  .Mar.  21 
.  .Mar.  24 
.  .Mar.  28 
. .  Mar.  3 1 
..Apr.  4 


Universal 


News  of  the  Day 


248  Thurs.  (E)  . 

249  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

250  Thurs.  (E)  . 

251  Tues.  (O)  . 

252  Thurs.  (E)  . 

253  Tues.  (O)  . 

254  Thurs.  (E)  . 

255  Tues.  (O)  . 

256  Thurs.  (E)  . 

257  Tues.  (O)  . 

258  Thurs.  (E)  . 

259  Tues.  (O)  . 

260  Thurs.  (E)  . 


.  .Feb.  21 
.  .Feb.  26 
.  .Feb.  28 
..Mar.  5 
..Mar.  7 
..Mar.  12 
..Mar.  14 
.  .Mar.  19 
.  .Mar.  21 
.  .Mar.  26 
.  .Mar.  28 
..Apr.  2 
..Apr.  4 


478  Thurs.  (E) 

479  Tues.  (O)  . 

480  Thurs.  (E) 

481  Tues.  (O)  . 

482  Thurs.  (E) 

483  Tues.  (O)  . 

484  Thurs.  (E) 

485  Tues.  (O)  . 

486  Thurs.  (E)  . 

487  Tues.  (O)  . 

488  Thurs.  (E) 

489  Tues.  (O)  . 

490  Thurs.  (E) 


,  .  .Feb.  21 
. . .  Feb.  26 
, . .Feb.  28 
..Mar.  5 
..Mar.  7 
.  .Mar.  12 
.  .Mar.  14 
.  .Mar.  19 
.  .Mar.  21 
.  .Mar.  26 
.  .Mar.  28 
..Apr.  2 
..Apr.  4 


All  American  News 

174  Friday  Feb.  22 

175  Friday  Mar.  1 

176  Friday   Mar.  8 

177  Friday   Mar.  15 

178  Friday   Mar.  22 

179  Friday   Mar.  29 

180  Friday   April  5 


Entered  as  aecond-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  poet  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  State*   $16.00  (Formerly  Sixth  ATenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

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Canada                               16.50  wew  1  or*  zu»       1  •  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.60  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Rs  Editoria,  Poiicy .  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  2,  1946  No.  9 


AN  UNDERSTANDING  EXECUTIVE 

Of  the  Hollywood  first-rank  executives,  it  seems  as  if 
the  only  one  who  understands  the  labor  situation  and  has 
a  remedy  for  it  is  Herbert  Yates,  Sr.  In  a  recent  interview 
with  the  Film  Daily,  he  said  that  the  remedy  for  the  present 
union  squabble  is  for  the  studios  to  shut  down  until  such 
time  as  the  union  leaders  get  sense  into  their  heads  and 
bring  peace  to  the  production  end  of  the  picture  industry. 

Whether  the  other  executives  believe  in  such  a  stern 
measure  or  not,  it  seems  as  if  they  will  be  compelled,  sooner 
or  later,  to  adopt  Yates'  suggestion,  for  unless  peace  comes 
to  the  industry  no  studio  will  be  able  to  produce  pictures 
uninterruptedly. 

Soori  it  will  be  impossible  to  produce  pictures  at  a  cost 
that  will  enable  the  producers  to  make  a  profit. 

Of  course,  shutting  down  the  studios  is  not  an  easy 
matter,  for  IATSE  threatens  to  pull  the  projectionists  from 
the  theatres,  thus  shutting  down  the  entire  industry. 

Though  the  present  squabble  is  only  jurisdictional  and 
the  studios  are  finding  themselves  in  the  middle,  innocent 
bystanders,  it  is  doubtful  whether  IATSE  will  dare  pull 
the  projectionists  out  of  the  theatre  booths,  for  then  the 
question  will  be  brought  to  the  public  directly.  The  public 
will  naturally  resent  it.  And  when  public  sentiment  turns 
against  a  union,  that  union  will  have  lost  its  battle. 

Though  the  Conference  of  Studio  Unions  is  in  a  better 
position  as  far  as  the  public  is  concerned  in  that  the  issue 
is  not  close  to  them,  they  are  in  no  position  to  strike,  for 
last  year's  seven-month  strike  left  its  members  practically 
broke.  I  know  of  cases  where  some  of  them  had  to  beg  for 
loans  from  employers.  And  a  strike  at  this  time  will  not  be 
relished  by  either  them  or  the  others  who  were  out  for  seven 
months. 

It  is  coming  to  a  point  where  the  doctor  must  amputate 
a  leg  to  save  a  life,  and  Herbert  Yates  has  said  it — "amputa- 
tion" may  have  to  be  resorted  to. 


SELL  THE  PUBLIC  FIRST,  MR.  SCULLY! 

Quoting  from  a  statement  made  by  Bill  Scully,  of  Uni- 
versal, in  a  recent  advertising  insert  that  appeared  in  most 
of  the  trade  papers: 

"We  think  the  time  has  come  for  all  exhibitors  to  realize 
that  pictures  with  universal  entertainment  appeal,  no  matter 
where  they  are  made,  have  box-office  potentialities. 

"We  are  releasing  ...  six  English  pictures,  firstly,  because 
they  are  very  fine  pictures  and  conform  to  any  competitive 
standard  of  entertainment. 

"Secondly,  .  .  .  because  we  feel  that  they  will  be  commer- 
cially successful  ...  if  you  augment  the  promotion  effort  we 
are  planning  to  give  them.  .  .  ." 

Mr.  Scully  is  right  when  he  says  that  good  pictures,  no 
matter  where  they  are  produced,  have  box-office  poten- 
tialities, and  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  convincing  the 
exhibitors  that  they  are  good. 

But  making  himself,  and  the  exhibitors,  believe  that  the 
six  English  pictures  Universal  will  release  are  very  good  is 
not  enough;  he  must  convince  also  the  buying  public.  With- 
out a  belief  on  the  part  of  the  ticket  buyer,  the  faith  he 
and  the  exhibitors  may  have  in  the  six  pictures  will  not  be 
enough  to  fill  the  seats. 

Included  in  the  aforementioned  insert  containing  Mr. 
Scully's  statement  were  five  pages  of  beautiful  advertise- 
ments extolling  the  virtues  of  these  six  pictures.  If  Mr.  Scully 
should  exert  similar  efforts  to  sell  the  public  as  he  has 
exerted  in  trying  to  sell  the  exhibitors,  all  will  be  well.  He 
knows  from  experience  that  an  exhibitor  does  not  care  where 
a  picture  is  produced — it  may  be  Timbuctu  or  even  the 
North  Pole;  he  will  book  it  and  pay  good  film  rental  for  it, 
provided  it  draws  the  public.  It  is  there,  then,  where  he  and 
Universal  must  exert  their  honest-to-goodness  efforts — to 
acquaint  the  public  with  the  virtues  of  these  pictures  so  that 


they  will  go  to  see  them.  If  he  should  do  that,  he  need  not 
concern  himself  with  how  the  exhibitor  feels  towards  them; 
he  will  book  them.   

SOME  ONE  SHOULD  START  A 
SELF-ADMIRATION  SOCIETY 

My  friend  Henderson  Richey,  MGM's  exhibitor  relations 
and  sales  promotion  head,  speaking  to  the  salesmen  and 
field  exploitation  men  at  the  recent  MGM  convention  in 
New  York,  praised  the  work  they  did  toward  the  war  effort. 

Mr.  Richey  is  right:  the  MGM  people  did  contribute  a 
great  share  in  the  winning  of  the  war.  But  telling  it  to 
them  means  nothing  to  the  industry  as  a  whole — it  is  just 
as  if  we — every  one  of  us  in  the  picture  industry — were 
patting  one  another  on  the  back,  telling  one  another  what 
nice  fellows  we  are. 

Will  that  bring  any  additional  dollars  to  the  box-office 
when  pictures  are  played,  whether  they  be  the  pictures  of 
MGM  or  of  any  other  producer-distributor?  Not  a  dime! 
The  ones  to  know  of  what  we  have  done  should  have  been 
the  public.  But  in  acquainting  them  with  our  share  in  the 
war  we  have  failed  miserably. 

Just  think  of  it:  in  the  Motion  Picture  Daily  of  February 
1,  the  State  Department  is  quoted  as  having  said  that  it  is 
delayed  in  the  formulation  of  a  plan  of  the  motion  picture 
phase  of  the  new  information  service  because  the  industry 
has  failed  to  indicate  what  it  wants. 


ABRAM  F.  MYERS'  ANNUAL  REPORT 
TO  THE  ALLIED  BOARD 

(concluded  from  last  wee\) 

"Emergence  of  C.I.E.A.  The  Conference  of  Independent 
Exhibitors  on  the  Consent  Decree,  formed  on  the  initiative 
of  Allied  in  1944,  held  two  meetings  during  the  year:  one 
in  conjunction  with  the  Allied  Board  in  Pittsburgh  on 
August  21  and  again  in  Washington  on  December  3.  At 
the  Pittsburgh  meeting  it  was  proposed  by  representatives 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  Conference  of  Independent  Theatre 
Owners  that  the  scope  of  the  organization  be  enlarged  to 
include  taxation  and  trade  practices.  There  was  general 
acquiescence  in  the  thought  that  the  organization  should 
concern  itself  with  matters  of  common  interest  on  which 
the  constituent  organizations  could  agree.  The  General 
Counsel  of  Allied  was  designated  to  serve  in  a  like  capacity 
for  the  Conference  and  Mr.  Yamins  was  named  Treasurer. 
Counsel  was  authorized  to  name  a  committee  to  assist  him 
in  cooperating  with  Government  Counsel  (to  the  extent 
that  such  cooperation  was  acceptable)  and  in  following  the 
proceedings. at  the  trial.  The  manner  in  which  that  work 
was  carried  on  by  the  General  Counsel,  cheerfully  and  ably 
assisted  by  Jesse  L.  Stern,  Chairman  of  the  Conference,  has 
been  outlined  in  a  series  of  bulletins  and  there  is  no  need 
to  repeat  the  story  here. 

"Stepping  back  to  the  Columbus  Board  meeting  for  a 
moment,  it  will  be  recalled  that  Allied  more  than  a  year 
ago  adopted  a  policy  in  reference  to  the  War  Activities 
Committee.  The  Board  paid  tribute  to  the  work  done  by 
W.A.C.,  with  the  cooperation  of  all  elements  of  the 
industry,  but  declared  that  the  inner  council  of  the  body 
was  not  representative  of  the  industry  as  a  whole  and  did 
not  function  in  a  democratic  manner.  The  resolution  con- 
cluded 'that  the  War  Activities  Committee,  created  for  the 
war  emergency,  will  have  no  reason  for  continued  existence 
after  the  termination  of  the  emergency.'  Notwithstanding 
the  views  thus  expressed,  which  seemed  to  be  shared  by  a 
majority  of  the  independent  exhibitors  with  whom  Allied 
had  contact,  a  few  members  of  that  'inner  council"  proposed 
the  formation  of  a  new  exhibitor  organization  to  carry  on 
in  peacetime  the  work  done  by  W.A.C.  during  the  war. 

"A  meeting  of  the  C.I.E.A.  was  called  for  December  3, 
(continued  on  bac\  page) 


34 


March  2,  1946 


"From  This  Day  Forward"  with 
Joan  Fontaine  and  Mark  Stevens 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time.  95  min.) 
A  very  good  human-interest  drama,  with  strong  emotional 
appeal.  The  story,  which  has  a  veteran  rehabilitation  angle, 
is  an  inspiring  one,  for  it  shows  the  determination  and 
courage  of  a  young  couple,  in  the  face  of  hardships,  to 
establish  a  home  and  family.  It  is  the  type  of  picture  that 
should  get  considerable  word-ol -mouth  advertising,  for  it 
will  be  appreciated  by  the  masses,  who  will  understand 
and  sympathize  with  the  young  couple's  heartaches  and  joys, 
which  are  depicted  with  so  much  realism  that  one  feels  as 
if  the  affairs  of  a  real  couple  were  unfolding.  It  has  deep 
human  appeal  and  a  charming  romance,  and  some  comedy 
that  is  brought  about  in  a  natural  manner.  Mark  Stevens, 
a  newcomer,  displays  unusual  talent  and  should  make  a 
strong  impression;  and  Joan  Fontaine  confirms  the  fact 
that  she  is  a  fine  actress.  At  all  times  the  actions  of  the 
different  characters  seem  real  and  natural.  The  story  is  set 
against  a  New  York  slums  background,  which  has  been 
reproduced  with  great  care  to  details. 

Unfolding  in  a  series  of  flashbacks  as  Stevens,  a  returned 
veteran,  awaits  an  interview  at  a  U.  S.  Employment  Office, 
the  story  opens  in  1937  when  Joan,  Stevens'  sweetheart, 
takes  him  to  visit  her  sister  (Rosemary  DeCamp),  who 
lived  in  the  slums  with  her  two  children  and  her  husband 
(Henry  Morgan),  a  shiftless  but  good-natured  fellow.  Point- 
ing to  her  squalid  home,  Rosemary  warns  Joan  that  marriage 
can  be  a  dreary  expanse  of  monotonous  poverty,  but  when 
Stevens  asks  her  to  marry  him  Joan  consents  in  the  belief 
that  their  love  could  overcome  all  obstacles.  Joan,  following 
her  marriage,  continues  working  in  a  bookshop,  while 
Stevens  works  in  a  factory.  He  loses  his  job  within  six 
months  and  seeks  employment  desperately  but  without 
success.  They  barely  manage  to  make  ends  meet  until  one 
day  Joan  persuades  her  employer,  who  was  preparing  a 
book  for  publication,  to  buy  a  few  of  Stevens'  sketches,  a 
hobby  at  which  he  was  adept.  Their  joy  is  shortlived,  how- 
ever, when  the  book  is  confiscated  as  obscene  and  both 
Stevens  and  the  employer  are  arrested.  Stevens,  though 
innocent,  is  advised  to  plead  guilty  by  Wally  Brown,  one 
of  Joan's  distant  relatives  and  a  "tin-horn"  politician,  who 
arranges  for  him  to  get  a  suspended  sentence.  Matters 
brighten  up  for  the  young  couple  when  war  is  declared  and 
Stevens  secures  a  night-shift  job.  Shortly  afterwards,  he  is 
drafted  into  the  army.  His  thoughts  returning  to  the  present, 
Stevens  secures  assurance  from  the  employment  office  that 
he  would  be  given  a  job  on  the  following  day,  and  he  returns 
home  to  Joan.  There  he  learns  that  she  was  going  to  have 
a  baby.  Confident  that  they  had  survived  too  much  to  be 
defeated  now,  both  face  the  future  resolutely. 

Hugo  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel,  "All 
Brides  Are  Beautiful,"  William  Pereira  produced  it,  and 
John  Berry  directed  it.  Jack  Gross  was  executive  producer. 
The  cast  includes  Arline  Judge,  Renny  McEvoy,  Mary 
Treen,  Queenie  Smith,  Bobby  Driscoll  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Little  Giant"  with  Abbott  and  Costello 

(Universal,  Feb.  22;  time,  91  min.) 

Fair.  Unlike  the  previous  comedies  in  which  Abbott  and 
Costello  have  appeared,  this  one  contains  a  minimum  of 
slapstick  and  concentrates  mostly  on  the  antics  of  Costello, 
as  a  meek  farm  boy,  who,  after  completing  a  correspondence 
salesmanship  course,  goes  to  the  big  city  to  seek  a  career. 
The  story,  of  course,  does  not  make  much  sense;  but  that 
is  immaterial  since  the  individual  situations,  despite  their 
silliness,  are  comical,  and  the  action  is  well  paced.  Costello 
s  fairly  good  as  the  shy  salesman,  provoking  considerable 
laughter  with  his  familiar  brand  of  humor  and  even  winning 
the  audience's  sympathy: — 

Upon  completion  of  his  salesmanship  course,  Lou  Costello 
leaves  his  farm  home  and  his  girl  (Elena  Verdugo)  to  seek  a 
career  in  Los  Angeles.  He  secures  a  job  as  a  vacuum  cleaner 
salesman  through  George  Cleveland,  his  uncle,  bookkeeper 
for  the  firm.  His  first  assignment  is  such  a  dismal  failure 
that  the  general  sales  manager  (Bud  Abbott)  fires  him. 
Cleveland,  feeling  sorry  for  Costello,  induces  the  branch 
manager  (also  Bud  Abbott)  at  Stockton,  Cal.,  to  hire  him. 
There  the  salesmen  make  him  the  victim  of  a  mind-reading 
gag,  leading  him  to  believe  that  he  possessed  the  power  to 
read  one's  thoughts.  His  new-found  confidence  enables  him 
to  outsell  the  other  salesmen  and,  because  of  his  exceptional 
record,  he  is  sent  back  to  the  Los  Angeles  office.  Mistakenly 
believing  that  Costello  really  was  a  mind-reader,  the  general 
manager,  who  had  been  stealing  from  the  firm,  arranges 
with  Jacqueline  De  Wit,  his  secret  bride,  to  flirt  with 


Costello  to  learn  just  how  much  he  knew.  As  a  result,  Costello 
becomes  involved  in  a  situation  that  leads  both  his  sweet- 
heart and  the  manager  to  believe  that  he  and  Jacqueline  had 
been  unfaithful  to  them.  The  manager  cleverly  uses  the 
incident  to  chase  Costello  back  to  the  farm.  When  he 
arrives  home,  Costello  finds  Pierre  Watkin,  the  firm's  presi- 
dent waiting  for  him.  Watkin  informs  him  that  the  man- 
ager had  been  exposed  as  a  thief,  and  that  as  a  reward  for 
his  (Costello's)  outstanding  salesmanship,  he  had  been 
appointed  a  branch  manager. 

Walter  De  Leon  wrote  the  screen  play,  Joe  Gershenton 
produced  it,  and  William  A.  Setter  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Brenda  Joyce,  Mary  Gordon,  Donald  Macbride 
and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Junior  Prom"  with  Freddie  Stewart, 
June  Preisser  and  Judy  Clark 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  69  min.) 

This  first  of  Monogram's  new  "Teen  Ager"  series  is  one 
of  those  program  comedies  with  music  that  should  find  favor 
mostly  with  luvenile  audiences,  for  the  songs,  dances,  and 
music,  are  of  the  "live"  variety.  The  story,  which  revolves 
around  a  group  of  high  school  students  and  around  the 
rivalry  between  two  factions  over  a  school  election,  is  ex- 
tremely thin,  and  its  treatment  follows  a  well-worn  pattern. 
Moreover,  it  has  an  overabundance  of  "jive"  talk,  which 
is  more  annoying  than  amusing.  But  on  the  whole  the  story 
serves  well  enough  as  a  framework  for  the  musical  high- 
lights, which  arc  the  picture's  main  assets.  Abe  Lyman  and 
his  orchestra  appear  briefly  in  the  proceedings: — 

Freddie  Stewart  and  Jackie  Moran,  students,  are  rival 
candidates  for  the  office  of  class  president.  When  Moran's 
wealthy  father  threatens  to  withhold  his  annual  donation 
to  the  school  unless  his  son  is  elected,  Stewart  withdraws 
from  the  campaign,  but  he  re-enters  it  when  Moran  tries 
to  date  June  Preisser,  his  girl-friend.  Frankie  Darro,  Moran's 
campaign  manager,  gains  the  support  of  Noel  Neill,  June's 
sister  and  editor  of  the  school  paper,  causing  violent  argu- 
ments between  the  two  girls,  because  the  school  paper  backed 
Moran.  Stewart  finds  himself  faced  with  certain  defeat,  but 
his  friends  decide  to  conduct  a  musical  campaign  in  his 
behalf  and  their  efforts  win  the  election  for  him.  Later,  at 
a  dance  to  honor  the  winner,  Moran  learns  for  the  first 
time  that  his  father  had  tried  to  swing  the  election.  He  per- 
suades his  father  to  make  the  donation  and  offers  his  con- 
gratulations to  Stewart. 

Erna  Lazarus  and  Hal  Collins  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sam 
Katzman  and  Maurice  Duke  produced  it,  and  Arthur 
Dreifuss  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Eddie  Heywood  and 
his   band,   Harry   Gibson    and    others.  Unobjectionable 

morally.   

"Strange  Impersonation"  with 
Brenda  Marshall  and  William  Gargan 
(Republic,  release  date  not  set;  time,  68  min.) 

A  fair  program  entertainment.  Despite  a  somewhat  far- 
fetched plot,  as  well  as  a  lack  of  fast  action,  it  manages  to 
hold  one's  attention  fairly  well  because  of  the  sympathy  one 
feels  for  the  heroine,  whose  romance  is  dissolved  and  whose 
face  is  horribly  disfigured  due  to  the  machinations  of  a 
jealous  rival.  It  is  not  a  cheerful  entertainment.  It  ends, 
however,  on  a  happy  note,  for  it  is  revealed  that  what  had 
happened  had  been  a  bad  dream.  This  dream  "device," 
which  has  been  employed  rather  frequently  in  recent  pic- 
tures, may  disappoint  some  patrons,  for  the  story  loses  most 
of  its  punch: — 

Having  discovered  a  new  anesthesia,  Brenda  Marshall,  a 
chemist,  arranges  to  perform  the  first  experiment  on  her- 
self that  evening,  attended  by  Hillary  Brooke,  her  assistant. 
Meanwhile  William  Gargan,  her  fiance  and  co-worker, 
learns  that  he  must  leave  for  France  immediately;  he  asks 
Brenda  to  marry  him  and  make  the  trip  with  him.  She 
promises  to  give  him  an  answer  on  the  following  day.  That 
afternoon,  Ruth  Ford,  an  intoxicated  woman,  falls  into 
the  path  of  Brenda's  car  but  is  unhurt.  Brenda,  after  taking 
the  woman  home,  goes  to  her  own  apartment  to  prepare  for 
the  experiment.  She  instructs  Hillary  to  take  notes  of  her 
reactions  and  injects  the  anesthesia  into  herself.  As  soon 
as  Brenda  falls  asleep,  Hillary,  who  was  in  love  with  Gargan 
herself,  causes  the  anesthesia  fluid  to  explode  in  an  attempt 
to  burn  Brenda  to  death.  The  explosion  does  not  kill  Brenda, 
but  it  disfigures  her  face.  While  Brenda  lies  in  the  hospital, 
Hillary  maneuvers  matters  in  a  way  that  leads  both  Brenda 
and  Gargan  to  believe  that  neither  wanted  to  see  the  other. 
After  several  weeks  in  the  hospital,  Brenda,  badly  scarred, 
returns  to  her  apartment.  There  she  is  confronted  by  Ruth, 
who  tries  to  rob  her  at  gunpoint.  In  the  ensuing  struggle 
the  drunken  woman  topples  over  a  balcony  to  her  death, 


March  2, 1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


35 


ancj  the  police  identify  her  body  as  Brenda's.  Assuming  the 
dead  woman's  identity,  Brenda  leaves  New  York  and,  while 
away,  has  plastic  surgery  used  on  her  face,  changing  her 
original  appearance.  In  the  meantime,  Hillary  snares  Gar- 
gan for  her  husband.  Brenda,  by  this  time  suspicious  of 
Hilliary,  returns  to  New  York,  and  Gargan,  not  recognizing 
hert  employs  her  as  his  assistant.  She  re-wins  his  love  and 
reveals  herself  as  Brenda.  But  Hillary,  to  save  herself  and 
to  hold  on  to  Gargan's  love,  cleverly  convinces  the  police  that 
Brenda  was  an  impostor,  and  that  she  was  "Brenda's  mur- 
derer." Shocked  at  the  turn  of  events,  Brenda  falls  into  a 
faint.  She  awakens  to  find  herself  in  her  old  apartment 
with  Hillary  and  Gargan  sitting  beside  her,  and  realises  that 
it  had  all  been  a  bad  dream. 

Mindret  Lord  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Wilder 
produced  it,  and  Anthony  Mann  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes George  Chandler,  Lyle  Talbot,  H.  B.  Warner  and 
others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

ABRAM  F.  MYERS'  ANNUAL  REPORT 
TO  THE  ALLIED  BOARD 

(continued  from  bac\  page) 

"Without  wishing  to  invade  the  domain  of  the  Caravan 
Committee— they  will  hold  the  floor  tomorrow  afternoon — 
1  venture  the  observation  that  the  value  of  the  information 
1  am  discussing  lies  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  used  in 
bargaining  tor  films.  It  is  not  the  mere  possession  of  in- 
formation, but  the  use  that  is  made  of  it,  that  counts.  I  can 
only  say  that  I  have  been  greatly  impressed  by  meetings  I 
have  attended  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  and  by  the  bulletins 
1  have  received  trom  Texas  indicating  the  value  of  the 
Caravan  service  when  intelligently  applied  in  close  coopera- 
tion with  and  under  the  guidance  ot  the  executive  officer  of 
the  regional  trade  association.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  the 
problem  of  high  film  rentals  is  first  in  the  minds  of  all 
exhibitors;  the  trade  associations  must  concern  themselves 
with  it  or  lose  the  interest  ot  their  members;  and  the  obliga- 
tion cannot  be  discharged  merely  by  adopting  resolutions 
and  voicing  complaints. 

"Checking  and  auditing.  Without  trespassing  on  the 
time  ot  the  special  committee  headed  by  Col.  Cole,  I  may 
say  that  the  checking  operations  ot  Confidential  Reports, 
Inc.,  have  constituted  a  large  part  01  the  complaints  coming 
to  my  desk  during  the  past  ten  months.  Most  ot  the  com- 
plaints were  directed  against  the  use  ot  local  checkers.  Many 
ot  them  were  made  without  realising  that  the  distributors 
had  surreptitiousiy  dropped  trom  their  license  agreements 
the  clause  against  local  checkers  which  had  been  inserted 
many  years  ago  at  the  request  ot  the  exhibitors  in  negotia- 
tions conducted  with  the  late  Sidney  R.  Kent.  The  simul- 
taneous elimination  by  all  or  most  ot  the  distributors  of  (1) 
the  anti -local  checker  provision,  (2)  the  provision  making 
confidential  all  intormation  gained  through  checking  and 
auditing  and  ( 3 )  ait  limitations  on  the  tune  in  which  audits 
may  be  made,  constitutes  the  strongest  possible  evidence  of 
a  continuing  conspiracy  among  those  distributors.  Unless 
reforms  are  put  into  ettect  which  will  satisfy  the  just  com- 
plaints ot  the  exhibitors,  it  is  inevitable  that  a  legal  attack 
will  be  launched  against  Confidential  Reports  by  the  organ- 
ised independent  exhibitors. 

"One  helptul  sign  is  that  Dr.  Isadore  Lubin,  who  has  a 
wide  reputation  as  an  economist  and  statistician,  has  been 
elected  president  of  Confidential  Reports,  Inc.  fresh  trom 
the  Government  service,  and  without  previous  exposure  to 
distributor  methods,  his  mind  may  be  open  to  suggestions 
from  exhibitor  sources  and  he  may  bring  a  wholesome  point 
of  view  to  the  solution  of  checking  problems.  It  would  be 
advisable  for  Col.  Cole's  committee,  or  some  other  group 
to  be  named,  to  get  in  touch  with  Dr.  Lubin  and  see  what 
progress  can  be  made  in  ironing  out  the  complaints  against 
his  company,  at  least  as  regards  local  checkers.  I  imagine  he 
can  be  relied  upon  to  weed  out  the  incompetent,  unpre- 
possessing, boisterous  and  drunken  checkers  who  have 
figured  in  many  of  the  complaints. 

"Economic  out\oo\.  As  this  report  is  being  written  only 
an  abiding  faith  in  America  and  her  people  could  justify 
optimism — but  that  is  enough.  Price  and  wage  formulas 
will  be  found  which  will  end  the  strikes  which  now  seem 
to  threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  country.  Once  the 
wheels  start  turning  our  worries  will  be  at  an  end — at  least 
for  a  few  years — -as  production  is  the  answer  to  our  imme- 
diate problems.  In  most  industries  productive  capacity  was 
greatly  expanded  during  the  war;  and  they  soon  will  be 
turning  out  goods  in  such  quantities  that  market  saturation 
and  competition  will  take  care  of  the  price  factor  and  turn 
the  tide  against  inflation.  It  is  the  exhibitors'  misfortune  that 
while  it  seems  likely  many  more  theatres  will  be  opened, 


there  is  no  immediate  prospect  of  a  substantial  increase  in 
the  production  of  films  and  it  seems  likely  that  the  arti- 
ficially created  and  maintained  sellers'  market  will  continue 
for  several  years.  Independent  exhibitors  should  lend  all 
possible  encouragement  to  new  sources  of  product. 

"The  long-term  picture  is  not  nearly  so  bright,  but  it 
would  be  tiresome  and  useless  to  discuss  now  what  may 
happen  in  five  or  ten  years.  It  is  enough  to  remind  you  that 
the  country  will  enter  upon  the  postwar  era  with  the  great- 
est public  debt  in  history,  with  many  of  its  most  important 
resources  depleted,  and  with  irreducible  government  ex- 
penses at  a  staggering  figure.  Thus  in  addition  to  many  of 
the  causes  of  the  great  depression  of  the  thirties,  we  have 
even  greater  and  more  aggravated  conditions.  It  seems  to  me 
that  independent  exhibitors  should  avoid  the  temptation  to 
over-expand  and  should  retain  a  fair  margin  of  liquid  assets 
against  the  day  when  industry  slows  up  and  money  becomes 
tight  and  we  come  to  realise  that  just  as  this  war  resembled 
the  earlier  war,  so  will  the  aftermath  be  the  same. 

"Allied's  activities.  The  principal  work  carried  on  by 
national  headquarters  is  reflected  in  the  early  part  of  this 
report.  In  addition,  there  was  a  considerable  increase  in 
the  special  matters  referred  by  the  regional  organisations. 
Instead  of  the  usual  four  Board  meetings,  we  got  through 
the  year  with  two,  plus  one  meeting  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. While  no  new  territories  were  added  in  1945,  in- 
terested inquiries  have  been  received  from  two  territories 
not  now  included  in  Allied.  Progress  also  was  made  in 
strengthening  the  regional  associations  already  affiliated 
with  Allied.  Three  of  these  have  advised  me  of  astonishing 
increases  in  membership  during  the  year.  It  is  no  mere 
accident  that  these  particular  associations  have  been  especial- 
ly active — again  proving  that  the  exhibitors  will  always 
respond  to  able,  aggressive  leadership. 

"During  the  year  successful  conventions  were  held  in 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Western  Pennsylvania  (Silver 
Anniversary),  Texas  and  Wisconsin.  These  and  the  mem- 
bership meetings  in  other  Allied  territories  were  reported  to 
be  very  large,  attendance  records  having  been  broken  in 
several  instances.  All  this  attests  the  mounting  interest  of  the 
independent  exhibitors  in  industry  problems  and  their 
determination  to  strengthen  and  to  increase  the  scope  and 
usefulness  of  the  regional  organisations.  This  manifestation 
of  exhibitor  interest  is  most  encouraging,  since  a  federation 
like  Allied  cannot  be  stronger  than  its  constituent  bodies. 
If  the  substantial  gains  made  during  1945  are  continued 
through  1946,  and  new  units  are  gathered  into  the  fold, 
the  operations  of  National  Allied  may  be  enlarged  to  em- 
brace matters  of  growing  importance  which  thus  far  have 
not  been  dealt  with  effectively  because  of  the  emphasis  which, 
necessarily,  has  been  placed  on  the  legal  aspects  of  our 
activity. 

"Relations  between  Allied  and  the  Pacific  Coast  Confer- 
ence of  Independent  Theatre  Owners  continued  to  be 
cordial  and  their  cooperation  increased  in  effectiveness. 
Under  the  plan  for  exchanging  observers  at  alternate  meet- 
ings Messrs.  Smith  and  Ainsworth  attended  their  spring 
meeting,  and  Mr.  Ainsworth  now  is  in  San  Francisco  attend- 
ing their  winter  session.  Messrs.  Bruen  and  Poole,  repre- 
senting the  Conference  attended  the  winter  and  summer 
meetings  of  Allied.  These  frequent  meetings  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  P.C.C.I.T.O.  and  the  other  organisations 
included  in  CLE. A.,  have  served  to  eliminate  the  distrust 
and  jealousy  planted  in  independent  ranks  by  antagonistic 
interests  in  a  campaign  to  divide  and  conquer.  Independent 
solidarity  is  attainable,  if,  indeed,  it  is  not  an  accomplished 
fact. 

"At  the  Columbus  meeting  the  entire  slate  of  officers 
was  re-elected,  and  Mr.  Yamins  was  added  to  the  Executive 
Committee.  It  has  been  an  effective  team,  smooth-working 
and  congenial.  I  wish  to  pay  special  tribute  to  President 
Smith  for  his  devotion  to  duty,  his  consideration  in  dealing 
with  his  associates,  his  willingness  to  make  decisions;  and 
particularly  for  attending  numerous  conventions  and  meet- 
ings when  I  was  unable  to  go  because  of  my  work  in  Wash- 
ington. The  Finance  Committee  no  doubt  will  comment  on 
the  splendid  work  done  by  Treasurer  Ainsworth — the  man 
who  makes  you  pay  with  a  smile.  Those  who  have  the 
Caravan  Book  will  need  no  reminder  of  the  tremendous 
amount  of  thought  and  labor  which  Sid  Samuelson  has 
done  as  chairman  of  the  Caravan  Committee.  Finally,  I 
record  my  appreciation  of  the  tireless  and  loyal  devotion  to 
duty  of  Miss  Bertha  M.  Thompson  who  discharged  the 
arduous  duties  of  secretary  to  the  General  Counsel,  chief 
factotum  of  national  headquarters  and  special  assistant  to 
the  Treasurer.  And  to  all  the  officers  and  leaders  who  co- 
operated so  graciously  through  the  year,  and  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  many  courtesies — thanks!" 


36 


March  2,  1946 


in  Washington  to  consider  this  movement.  The  proponents 
of  the  movement  had  contended  that  a  central  committee, 
similar  to  the  reviewing  committee  of  the  Theatres  Division, 
W.A.C.,  was  necessary  in  order  to  'protect'  the  industry 
against  unreasonable  demands  for  exhibiting  sponsored  reels 
and  for  taking  collections.  The  CLE. A.,  with  all  member 
units  represented,  felt  that  the  creation  of  such  a  committee 
would  invite  and  not  discourage  the  very  pressure  which 
the  proponents  professed  to  fear.  After  a  full  discussion, 
lasting  an  entire  day,  the  Conference  unanimously  adopted 
a  declaration  of  principles  in  favor  of  freedom  of  the  screen 
which  should  have  been  welcomed  and  supported  by  every 
element  in  the  business.  I  have  yet  to  hear  any  person  in 
private  conversation  disagree  with  the  sentiments  of  the 
Resolution  of  December  3.  Representatives  of  the  major 
companies  and  of  the  trade  press  have  privately  praised  the 
resolution;  but  they  dare  not  do  so  openly  because  it  it 
believed  to  be  the  policy  of  the  major  companies  to  foster 
any  movement  which  promises— no  matter  how  dimly — to 
cause  a  breach  in  the  independent  ranks. 

"Allied  was  represented  at  the  December  3  meeting  by 
the  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  (except  Mr.  Rosen- 
berg).  The  action  of  the  Executive  Committee  has  been 
ratified  by  organization  action  in  New  England,  Connecti- 
cut, New  Jersey,  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  It  would  be 
appropriate  for  the  Board  of  Directors  at  this  meeting 
formally  to  ratify  the  action  of  the  Executive  Committee 
although,  admittedly,  it  can  be  no  more  than  a  formality 
in  view  of  the  position  taken  by  three-fourths  of  the  Allied 
regional  associations. 

"Public  relations.  The  subject  of  public  relations  will  take 
on  a  new  importance  in  the  years  to  come.  The  motion  pic- 
ture business  is  a  private  enterprise  and  it  should  be  kept 
as  such.  Every  resistance  should  be  offered  to  those  who,  to 
enlarge  their  own  influence  and  salve  their  own  vanity, 
would  transform  it  into  a  public  institution.  The  public 
supports  the  industry  because  it  affords  the  best  entertain- 
ment for  the  money.  The  public  docs  not  spend  its  money 
at  the  boxofficc  to  be  instructed,  conditioned  or  propa- 
gandized. Neither  does  it  go  to  the  theatre  in  order  to  avail 
itself  of  the  privilege  of  contributing  to  whatever  charity 
or  'cause'  may  be  favored  by  some  small  group  within  the 
industry.  Motion  pictures  already  have  active  and  growing 
competition  in  the  amusement  field.  The  industry  may  be 
faced  with  another  formidable  competitor — television — 
within  the  next  three  years.  All  connected  with  the  industry 
had  better  turn  their  thoughts  to  retaining  the  patronage 
built  up  during  the  war  instead  of  devising  means  for  alienat- 
ing good  will.  Can  you  imagine  a  group  in  any  other  industry 
proposing  that  the  customers  of  the  industry,  while  trapped 
in  an  enclosure,  be  solicited  for  contributions  to  any  cause, 
no  matter  how  worthy,  and  that  the  collection  be  taken 
with  the  lights  on  full,  using  an  open  plate  instead  of  a 
slotted  box  (so  that  the  amount  of  each  contribution  will  be 
visible)  and  that  the  plate  be  salted  with  a  few  bills  or  large 
coins  as  a  'come  on"? 

"However,  there  is  another  aspect  of  public  relations  that 
is  even  more  important.  I  refer  to  legislation,  both  desirable 
and  adverse,  and  to  taxation  which  is  never  desirable.  Allied 
has  had  a  good  many  legislative  experiences,  some  successful, 
some  not.  A  federation,  such  as  Allied,  is  well  adapted  for 
effective  legislative  work  nationally.  Congress  is  not  nearly 
so  much  controlled  by  powerful  Washington  lobbies  as 
some  folks  seem  to  think.  Congressmen  are  much  more 
anxious  to  please  their  constituents  who  vote  in  the  home 
precincts  than  to  please  Washington  lobbyists  who  do  not 
vote  at  all.  The  weakness  is  that  too  many  independent 
exhibitors,  and  some  regional  exhibitor  organizations,  have 
not  had  the  foresight  or  energy  to  personally  interest  their 
Congressmen  and  Senators  in  themselves,  their  organiza- 
tions and  their  industry.  If  each  independent  exhibitor  would 
constitute  himself  a  legislative  agent  in  his  own  Congressional 
District,  not  abating  his  efforts  until  his  Congressman 
knows  him  by  his  first  name  and  takes  a  personal  interest 
in  him,  and  coordinating  his  efforts  with  others  through 
the  regional  and  national  organizations,  the  independent 
exhibitors  would  have  the  most  effective  'lobby'  in  the 
country. 

"This  I  have  frequently  held  out  to  you  as  an  ideal  for 
which  you  should  strive.  My  guess  is  that  it  will  soon  become 
a  necessity,  if  the  independents  are  to  protect  themselves  in 
matters  of  legislation.  The  affiliated  interests  long  have 
resented  the  determination  of  the  independent  exhibitors 
to  act  independently  in  such  matters.  That  'independence,' 
however,  has  not  extended  beyond  an  insistence  upon  going 
our  separate  way  whenever  there  was  a  clash  of  interest. 
Allied  always  has  been  willing  to  cooperate  with  other 
branches  of  the  industry  in  matters  of  common  interest. 


Representatives  of  all  branches  have  frequently  stood  shoul- 
i  cr-to-shoulder  on  tax  bills  in  the  national  and  in  the  state 
legislatures.  I  need  not  dwell  upon  the  instances  in  the  past 
in  which  the  representatives  of  affiliated  theatres  have 
differed  in  legislative  matters.  Such  clashes  were  not  con- 
fined to  the  Neely  Bills  but  on  at  least  two  occasions  ex- 
tended to  certain  provisions  of  tax  measures.  And  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  interests  of  the  two  classes  of 
exhibitors  will  always  be  identical  in  the  future.  You  may 
have  noticed  that  the  Government  in  the  New  York  Case 
took  the  position  that  if  the  Big  Eight  felt  the  requirements 
of  the  Sherman  Act  bore  too  heavily  on  them,  they  could 
apply  to  Congress  for  relief.  In  such  a  campaign  the  interests 
of  the  independent  exhibitors  obviously  could  not  be  en- 
trusted to  an  organization  including  in  its  membership,  if 
not  wholly  dominated  by,  the  affiliated  exhibitors. 

"All  this  leads  up  to  two  developments  which  have 
occurred  since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board.  The  first  is 
the  announcement  by  the  proposed  new  exhibitor  organiza- 
tion that,  in  addition  to  acting  as  a  peacetime  W.A.C.,  it 
will  'represent  all  exhibitors  of  the  country  before  agencies 
of  the  Government  and  Congress  in  all  matters  affecting  the 
theatre  industry,  so  that  this  organization  can  state,  when 
speaking  to  departments  of  the  Government,  that  it  does 
represent  all  the  theatres  of  the  United  States."  The  other 
development  is  that  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  W  Dis- 
tributors of  America,  having  switched  to  the  all-inclusive 
name  of  Motion  Picture  Association  of  America,  has  acquired 
a  fine  property,  located  on  Sixteenth  Street,  in  Washington 
which  will  be  used  as  an  impressive  headquarters  for  the 
legislative  and  public  relations  activities  of  that  organiza- 
tion. To  the  extent  that  its  efforts  are  in  the  interest  of  the 
industry  as  a  whole,  the  rejuvenated  Hays  Association  may 
render  a  valuable  service.  To  the  extent  that  it  may  act  in 
the  interest  of  its  members  and  against  the  independent 
elements  in  the  industry,  it  constitutes  a  challenge.  Both 
developments  admonish  the  independent  exhibitors  to 
strengthen  their  political  ties  at  home. 

"Problems  of  the  future — High  film  rentals.  No  matter 
what  changes  may  be  wrought  in  industry  practices  as  the 
final  outcome  of  the  Government  suit  or  otherwise,  those 
who  have  films  will  continue  to  sell  them  and  those  who 
operate  theatres  will  continue  to  buy.  If  the  producer- 
distributors  should  be  shorn  of  their  theatre  holdings,  all 
exhibitors  would  be  regarded  as  customers  and  not  as  actual 
or  potential,  competitors  of  the  affiliated  chains;  also  with 
free  access  to  the  first-run  theatres,  additional  producers 
and  distributors  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  enter  the 
business.  But  even  so,  the  problem  of  buying  films  at  a  fair 
price  would  remain  because  the  selling  organizations  of  the 
major  companies  are  so  accustomed  to  taking  the  hide  with 
the  hair  in  selling  films  to  the  exhibitors  and  have  devised 
so  many  schemes  to  that  end,  that  they  will  continue  their 
unreasonable  exactions  from  sheer  momentum  and  force  of 
habit. 

"The  necessity  for  rousing  the  exhibitors  to  a  sense  of 
their  danger  grows  less  as  the  avarice  of  the  distributors 
increases  and  film  rentals  soar.  The  topic  of  high  film  rentals 
dominates  all  exhibitor  gatherings.  The  meetings  of  once 
docile  organizations,  maintained  and  controlled  by  the 
affiliated  chains,  now  make  the  headlines  due  to  the  com- 
plaints of  their  independent  members.  And  although  the 
distributors  once  opposed  cooperative  buying  combines,  and 
even  refused  to  deal  with  them,  they  are  by  their  brutal 
selling  methods  forcing  the  exhibitors  to  organize  such  groups 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  What  the  ultimate  effects  on  the 
industry  of  this  highly  organized  selling  on  the  one  hand 
and  organized  buying  on  the  other  will  be,  no  one  can  now 
predict.  Certainly  the  personal  element,  individual  initiative, 
is  being  slowly  eliminated  and  an  unnatural  rigidity — it  may 
be  rigor  mortis — is  setting  in. 

"It  is  not  my  purpose  or  function  to  offer  advice  as  to 
whether  or  not  any  exhibitor  should  enter  into  a  cooperative 
buying  combine.  My  only  advice  is  that,  regardless  of 
whether  he  goes  it  cooperatively  or  alone,  every  independent 
exhibitor  and  every  film  buyer  for  independent  exhibitors 
should  avail  himself  of  all  trade  information  available  in 
bargaining  for  films.  Among  the  many  interesting  things 
brought  out  at  the  recent  trial  was  the  expert  information 
system  used  by  each  distributor.  That  information  must  be 
matched  by  the  exhibitors  if  they  are  to  bargain  on  anything 
like  even  terms  with  the  distributors.  Exhibitors  can  obtain 
the  necessary  information  in  two  ways:  First,  through  the 
bulletins  issued  by  the  Caravan  Committee  giving  legal  and 
authentic  information  concerning  reported  transactions  in 
the  several  subscribing  territories.  Second,  by  attending  re- 
gional meetings  and  freely  exchanging  proper  information 
and  comparing  experiences. 

(continued  on  inside  page) 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  poet  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

''S 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      v    .  v  Publisher 

Canada                             16.50  New  York  20,  N.  Y.  p  g  jjARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spam          16.50  A  Motlon  picture  Reviewing  Service   

AustmIia,taNew  '  Zealand,'  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50  Us  Editoria,  Policy.  No  Probiem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

i&C  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  9,  1946  No.  10 


THE  JACKSON  PARK  THEATRE  CASE 

For  many  years,  the  independent  exhibitors  of  Chicago 
have  been  grumbling  against  the  oppressive  practices  that 
have  made  it  difficult  for  them  to  realize  a  fair  profit  on  the 
pictures  they  license  from  the  major  distributors,  because 
of  the  discrimination  against  them  in  favor  of  the  affiliated 
theatres. 

But  now,  these  Chicago  independents,  as  well  as  inde- 
pendents  everywhere,  have  good  cause  to  rejoice  because  of 
the  outcome  of  the  case  known  as  the  Jackson  Park  Theatre 
Case  in  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court.  The  case  is  sometimes 
referred  to  as  the  Bigelow  Case.  Like  the  Supreme  Court 
decisions  in  the  Interstate  and  Crescent  Cases,  the  Jackson 
Park  Case  is  another  significant  victory  for  the  independent 
exhibitors  in  their  long'Standing  battle  to  stamp  out  pred' 
atory  practices  in  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of  pictures. 
It  is  a  battle  that  is  slowly  but  surely  bearing  fruit. 

Because  the  Jackson  Park  Case  has  been  in  litigation 
since  1942,  a  recapitulation  of  the  facts  should  prove 
helpful  to  those  of  you  who  are  either  not  acquainted  with 
its  details  or  may  have  forgotten  them.  The  Jackson  Park 
Theatre  filed  an  anti'trust  suit  in  the  District  Court  for 
Northern  Illinois  under  the  Sherman  and -Clayton  Acts, 
naming  as  defendants  RKO,  Loew's,  Warner  Bros.,  Twentieth 
Century-Fox,  Paramount,  and  Balaban  ii  Katz,  and  charging 
that  they  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  distribute  and  exhibit 
pictures  in  a  manner  that  enabled  the  affiliated  theatres  in 
the  Chicago  area  to  secure  and  exhibit  them  in  advance  of 
independent  exhibitors.  The  bill  of  complaint  alleged  that 
by  reason  of  the  conspiracy,  the  Jackson  Park  was  pre- 
vented  from  securing  pictures  for  exhibition  until  after 
the  affiliated  theatres  had  been  able  to  show  them  in  prior 
and  more  desirable  runs,  regardless  of  the  rental  price 
offered.  As  a  result  of  this  alleged  discrimination  against 
it  in  favor  of  the  affiliated  theatres,  the  Jackson  Park 
charged  that  it  had  been  subjected  to  a  loss  of  earnings  in 
excess  of  $120,000  during  the  five-year  period  from  July 
27,  1937  to  July  27,  1942,  and  it  sought  to  recover  treble 
damages,  as  prescribed  by  the  Clayton  Act.  It  sought  also 
an  injunction  to  restrain  the  distributors  from  favoring  the 
affiliated  theatres. 

The  matter  of  the  injunction  was  reserved,  and  the  case 
went  to  trial  solely  on  the  question  of  damages.  The  jury 
returned  a  verdict  of  $120,000  in  the  Jackson  Park's  favor, 
and  the  Court  handed  down  a  judgment  for  treble  that 
amount. 

The  defendants  appealed  the  decision,  and  the  Circuit 
Court  of  Appeals  for  the  Seventh  Circuit  sustained  the 
jury's  findings  that  the  defendants  maintained,  by  a 
conspiracy  among  themselves,  an  illegal  system  of  distri- 
bution in  the  Chicago  territory,  but  it  held  that  the  evidence 
was  insufficient  to  support  a  finding  by  the  jury  that  the 
Jackson  Park  had  been  injured  by  the  conspiracy.  Accord- 
ingly, it  reversed  the  decision  of  the  lower  court,  and  set 


aside  the  judgment.  Thereupon,  the  Jackson  Park  took 
the  case  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which,  in  an  overwhelming 
7-1  decision,  reversed  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  and 
ruled  that  the  Jackson  Park  was  entitled  to  the  treble 
damages  of  $360,000  granted  originally  by  the  District 
Court. 

Being  one  of  the  most  important  decisions  ever  handed 
down  by  the  Supreme  Court  insofar  as  it  affects  the  motion 
picture  industry,  some  exhibitors  are  wondering  if  the 
decision  would  be  applicable  to  their  particular  situations, 
while  others  are  thinking  about  the  possible  effect  it  might 
have  on  the  pending  ruling  in  the  Government's  New  York 
anti-trust  suit  against  the  eight  major  distributors. 

Not  being  a  lawyer,  I  cannot  endeavor  to  advise  any 
exhibitor  as  to  whether  or  not  the  decision  would  have  a 
bearing  on  his  particular  problem,  nor  do  I  believe  that 
a  lawyer's  opinion  would  be  an  infallible  guide.  But  all  of 
you,  I  am  sure,  will  be  interested  in  the  views  of  Abram  F. 
Myers,  National  Allied's  general  counsel,  who  has  analyzed 
the  decision  in  his  usual  competent,  comprehensive  manner. 
Mr.  Myers,  incidentally,  predicted  in  his  annual  report  to 
the  Allied  organization  that  the  Supreme  Court  would 
reverse  the  judgment  in  the  Jackson  Park  Case.  Following 
are  his  views: 

"  1 .  Probable  effect  on  Government  Suit.  Our  main  interest 
at  this  time  is  in  the  probable  effect  of  the  decision  on  the 
Government's  anti-trust  suit  against  the  Big  Eight.  .  .  . 

"Actually  all  that  the  Supreme  Court  decided  was  that 
there  was  sufficient  proof  of  injury  to  the  Jackson  Park 
Theatre,  flowing  from  the  admitted  conspiracy  to  discrim- 
inate in  the  licensing  of  films,  to  sustain  the  verdict  for 
$360,000  in  favor  of  the  plaintiffs.  The  defendants  brazenly 
conceded  the  illegality  of  the  conspiracy  and  sought  to 
make  capital  of  it  by  arguing  (1)  that  the  conspiracy  was 
so  effective  the  plaintiffs  never  had  been  able  to  buy  in  a 
free  market,  hence  they  could  not  prove  actual  loss  and  (2) 
the  conspiracy  involved  price-fixing  (minimum  admissions) 
thereby  benefitting  rather  than  injuring  the  plaintiffs. 

"The  Court  merely  sustained  the  verdict  on  the  narrow 
issues  which  the  District  Court  had  submitted  to  the  jury, 
which  did  not  include  the  charge  of  price-fixing  or  certain 
other  issues  not  necessary  to  the  purposes  of  this  memo- 
randum. Therefore,  the  trade  papers  were  technically  correct 
in  reporting  the  decision  as  one  on  damages  only.  But  in 
the  concluding  paragraph  of  the  Court's  opinion  the  Chief 
Justice  said : 

"  'We  do  not  mean  to  indicate  by  what  we  have  said 
that  the  jury  could  not,  on  this  record,  have  found  a  con- 
spiracy for  fixing  minimum  prices  or  that  the  Chicago 
system  of  release  was  not  an  unreasonable  restraint  of 
trade  in  other  respects.  We  conclude  that  there  was  evidence 
to  support  a  verdict  of  damages  on  at  least  one  theory  on 
which  the  case  was  submitted  to  the  jury.  We  do  not  imply 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


38 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  9,  1946 


"Tangier"  with  Maria  Montez, 
Preston  Foster  and  Robert  Paige 

(Universal,  March  8;  time,  76  min.) 

Ordinary.  The  drawing  power  of  Maria  Montez,  depend- 
ing on  how  much  she  means  at  your  box-office,  is  about  the 
only  asset  this  picture  possesses,  for  the  story,  a  combination 
of  romance,  international  espionage,  and  murder-mystery, 
is  so  involved  that  it  would  take  a  master  mind  to  unravel 
the  different  happenings.  It  clears  up  somewhat  in  the  second 
half,  but  by  that  time  the  spectator's  interest  is  dissipated 
because  of  the  tiresome  action  up  to  that  point.  Moreover, 
the  characterizations  are  totally  unconvincing,  and  not 
much  can  be  said  for  cither  the  direction  or  the  acting.  In 
fairness  to  the  players,  however,  it  should  be  said  that  they 
are  not  to  blame,  for  the  inept  story  material  and  the  trite 
dialogue  puts  them  at  a  disadvantage. 

From  what  one  can  make  out  of  the  story,  which  takes 
place  in  Tangier,  it  deals  with  Maria  Montez,  Louise  All- 
britton,  and  Kent  Taylor,  posing  as  dancers  in  a  local 
hotel,  while  searching  for  a  mysterious  man  named  "Balizar," 
who  had  been  responsible  for  the  slaying  of  thousands  during 
the  Spanish  Civil  War.  Seeking  "Balizar,"  too,  is  Robert 
Paige,  a  discredited  American  correspondent,  who  hoped  to 
obtain  a  scoop  so  as  to  reestablish  his  reputation.  In  the 
course  of  events,  Maria  learns  that  Reginald  Denny,  a 
hunted  Nazi,  had  registered  at  the  hotel,  and  that  he  carried 
with  him  a  huge  diamond  that  "Balizar"  wanted.  To  trap 
"Balizar,"  Maria  tries  to  steal  the  gem.  Denny  catches  her 
but  Taylor  kills  him  as  Maria  escapes  with  the  stone. 
Preston  Foston,  Tangier's  military  governor,  starts  an 
investigation  of  the  murder  and  falls  in  love  with  Maria. 
When  he  realizes  that  Paige,  too,  was  seeking  the  murderer 
as  a  possible  lead  to  catching  "Balizar,"  and  that  he,  too, 
was  attracted  to  Maria,  he  orders  him  to  leave  the  city. 
Instead  of  leaving,  Paige  gains  Maria's  confidence  and 
starts  working  with  her  in  the  search  for  "Balizar."  After  a 
series  of  events,  different  clues  lead  all  concerned  to  the 
apartment  of  J.  Edward  Bromberg,  whom  they  suspected 
of  being  "Balizar."  Just  as  Bromberg  reveals  that  he  was 
a  secret  Allied  agent  aiding  their  search,  Foster  enters  and 
reveals  himself  as  "Balizar."  He  threatens  to  kill  them  all 
unless  they  turned  the  diamond  over  to  him.  Louise,  seeking 
to  protect  her  friends,  offers  to  give  it  to  him.  He  follows 
her  into  the  hotel  elevator  and  she  deliberately  sacrifices 
her  life  and  kills  him  by  causing  the  car  to  crash  to  the 
bottom  of  the  well.  Their  search  for  "Balizar"  over,  Maria 
and  Paige  look  forward  to  a  happy  future. 

M.  M.  Musselman  and  Monty  F.  Collins  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Paul  Malvern  produced  it,  and  George  Waggner 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Sabu  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Murder  Is  My  Business" 
with  Hugh  Beaumont  and  Cheryl  Walker 

(PRC,  April  10;  time,  63  min.) 

A  routine  program  murder-mystery  melodrama.  It  is  the 
first  of  PRC's  "Michael  Shayne,  Detective"  series,  which 
was  last  produced  by  Twentieth  Century-Fox  with  Lloyd 
Nolan  in  the  lead.  This  time  Hugh  Beaumont  plays 
"Shayne."  Being  the  first  of  the  series,  it  is  not  a  very 
auspicious  start,  for  the  story  is  sketchy  and  somewhat 
improbable.  The  regular  followers  of  pictures  of  this  type 
will  find  that  the  plot  developments  are  obvious;  moreover, 
they  will  have  no  trouble  in  identifying  the  villain,  even 
though  he  is  not  actually  exposed  until  the  end.  For  comedy, 
there  is  the  time-worn  by-play  between  the  hero  and  a 
not-too-bright  police  chief,  but  this  is  just  mildly  amusing: — 

Beaumont,  a  private  detective,  is  employed  by  a  wealthy 
woman  to  deal  with  George  Meeker,  a  playboy,  who  was 
trying  to  blackmail  her.  She  reveals  that  she  had  once  been 
friendly  with  Meeker  because  of  the  unhappy  life  she  led 
with  Pierre  Watkin,  her  second  husband,  and  with  his  two 
grown-up  children,  who  were  constantly  after  her  money. 
As  Beaumont  leaves,  Watkin  tries  to  employ  him  to  frame 


an  insurance  robbery  of  his  wife's  jewels.  Shortly  after- 
wards, Watkins  wife  is  murdered  during  what  appears  to 
be  a  robbery  attempt  by  an  ex-convict  pal  of  Beaumont's. 
Watkin  had  in  turn  killed  the  intruder.  Ralph  Dunn,  the 

police  chief,  openly  disdainful  of  private  detectives,  par- 
ticularly Beaumont,  readily  implicates  him  in  the  crime, 
compelling  Beaumont  to  carry  on  his  own  investigation  to 
dear  his  reputation.  Cheryl  Walker,  Beaumont's  secretary 
and  sweetheart,  determines  to  help  him.  Working  inde- 
pendently, she  makes  a  date  with  Meeker  and  goes  to  his 
apartment.  There  the  playboy  is  murdered  by  an  unseen 
assailant,  and  Cheryl  finds  herself  accused  of  the  crime.  Mean- 
while Beaumont,  carefully  shifting  different  clues,  gathers 
evidence  that  convinces  him  of  the  killer's  identity.  Know- 
ing that  Dunn  would  pay  no  attention  to  his  deductions, 
Beaumont  tricks  him  into  coming  to  Watkin's  residence, 
where  he  manages  to  bring  together  also  the  different  per- 
sons who  might  have  committed  both  murders.  There,  after 
allowing  Dunn  to  make  a  fool  of  himself  by  picking  on  the 
wrong  suspect,  Beaumont  triumphs  over  him  by  proving 
that  Watkin  was  the  secret  killer. 

Fred  Myton  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sigmund  Neufeld  pro- 
duced it,  and  Sam  Newfield  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Lyle  Talbot  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Smooth  as  Silk"  with  Kent  Taylor 
and  Virginia  Grey 

(Universal.  March  1;  time,  65  min.) 

A  fairly  good  program  murder  melodrama.  An  interesting 
story,  good  direction,  and  competent  performances,  set  it 
above  the  average  picture  of  this  type.  Although  the  story 
is  lacking  in  human  interest,  since  it  revolves  mainly  around 
unsympathetic  characters,  it  has  considerable  suspense.  This 
suspense  is  brought  out  by  the  ingenious  machinations  of 
the  villain,  a  lawyer,  who,  jilted  by  the  heroine,  murders 
the  man  she  was  engaged  to  and  makes  it  appear  as  if  she 
had  committed  the  crime.  Since  there  is  no  mystery  involved, 
the  spectator's  interest  lies  in  the  methods  employed  by 
the  district  attorney  to  outwit  the  villain.  Some  of  the 
happenings  tax  one's  credulity,  but  these  are  not  serious 
enough  to  affect  the  overall  value  of  the  production: — 

Kent  Taylor,  an  attorney,  gains  an  acquittal  for  Danny 
Morton,  charged  with  killing  a  girl  with  his  automobile 
while  drunk.  As  part  payment  for  winning  the  case,  Mor- 
ton's uncle,  John  Litel,  a  producer,  had  promised  to  star 
Taylor's  fiance,  Virginia  Grey,  in  a  stage  play.  But  after  the 
trial  Litel  refuses.  Virginia,  a  cold,  ambitious  woman,  jilts 
Taylor  and  starts  a  romance  with  Morton,  hoping  thereby 
to  win  the  role.  Shortly  afterwards  she  meets  Litel,  for 
whom  she  jilts  Morgan,  thus  getting  the  lead  in  his  new 
play.  Taylor,  insanely  jealous,  plans  revenge.  He  steals 
a  bracelet  belonging  to  Virginia  and  obtains  a  cigaret  butt 
bearing  her  lipstick.  He  then  goes  to  Litel's  home  and, 
after  killing  the  producer,  plants  the  bracelet  and  cigaret 
in  the  room.  When  district  attorney  Milburn  Stone  investi- 
gates the  crime,  Taylor  cleverly  confesses  to  the  murder  in 
a  manner  that  leads  Stone  to  believe  that  it  was  an  obvious 
gesture  to  protect  Virginia.  Stone  orders  Virginia's  arrest. 
Still  seeking  revenge  on  Morton  for  breaking  up  his 
romance,  Taylor  leads  the  young  man  to  believe  that  the 
police  suspected  him  of  killing  his  uncle  while  intoxicated. 
Morton,  unsure  of  his  actions  while  drunk,  becomes  con- 
vinced and  plans  suicide.  He  telephones  Stone  to  make  a 
confession,  but  the  district  attorney  asks  him  to  wait  until 
he  arrived  at  his  home.  There,  Morton's  confession  con- 
vinces Stone  that  Taylor  was  the  murderer,  and  he  sets 
an  elaborate  trap  to  prove  his  guilt.  He  gets  word  to  Taylor 
that  Morton  was  afraid  to  kill  himself,  and  when  Taylor 
arrives  to  murder  Morton  detectives  step  from  hiding  and 
arrest  him. 

Dane  Lussier  and  Kerry  Shaw  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack 
Bernhard  produced  it,  and  Charles  Barton  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Jane  Adams,  Charles  Trowbridge  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


March  9,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


39 


"The  Mask  of  Dijon" 
with  Erich  Von  Stroheim 

(PRC,  April  9;  time,  70  min.) 

For  exhibitors  who  cater  to  audiences  that  enjoy  psycho- 
logical melodramas,  this  is  fair  program  entertainment.  It  is  a 
far-fetched  story,  sombre  and  cheerless,  in  which  hypnotism 
is  the  prime  factor,  but  it  manages  to  hold  one's  interest  to 
a  fair  degree.  Erich  Von  Stroheim,  as  a  demented  magician, 
who  resorts  to  hypnotic  powers  to  avenge  the  loss  of  his 
wife's  love,  is  cast  in  the  type  of  role  he  does  well — a 
sinister,  brooding  figure.  His  interpretation  of  the  charac- 
terization gives  to  the  proceedings  a  feeling  of  ever-mount- 
ing suspense.  There  is  no  comedy  to  relieve  the  tension: — 

Von  Stroheim,  a  once-great  magician,  spends  his  time 
studying  the  mysteries  of  metaphysics  and  hypnosis.  Al- 
though destitute,  he  dissuades  his  wife,  Jeanne  Bates,  a 
singer,  from  accepting  any  bookings.  No  longer  able  to 
endure  poverty,  nor  her  husband's  morbid  preoccupation 
with  the  study  of  mesmerism,  Jeanne  leaves  him  and  obtains 
a  singing  engagement  through  the  efforts  of  William  Wright, 
a  band  leader,  who  had  once  been  her  admirer.  Furious, 
and  suspecting  a  romance  between  Wright  and  his  wife, 
Von  Stroheim  vows  revenge.  He  experiments  with  his 
hypnotic  powers  and,  after  hypnotizing  a  close  friend  and 
causing  him  to  commit  suicide,  he  becomes  convinced  that 
he  was  a  master  hypnotist.  He  visits  Jeanne,  places  her  in 
a  somnambulistic  state,  and  commands  her  to  procure  a 
revolver  from  a  gun-rack  in  a  theatrical  prop  shop  and  to 
shoot  Wright.  Jeanne  follows  his  orders  to  the  letter,  but 
when  she  shoots  Wright  the  gun  fires  blanks.  Infuriated, 
Von  Stroheim  returns  to  the  prop  shop  and  finds  that  the 
loaded  gun  he  had  prepared  for  Jeanne  was  still  in  the 
rack;  she  had  taken  the  wrong  gun.  Meanwhile  the  shooting 
had  brought  Jeanne  back  to  normal,  and  she  sets  the  police 
on  Von  Stroheim's  trail.  Stumbling  about  in  the  dark  shop, 
clumsily  trying  to  evade  capture,  Von  Stroheim  trips  and 
falls  onto  a  trickster's  guillotine.  The  steel  blade  is  released 
and  Von  Stroheim,  caught  beneath  it,  is  beheaded. 

Arthur  St.  Claire  and  Griffen  Jay  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Max  Alexander  and  Alfred  Stern  produced  it,  and  Lew 
Landers  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"House  of  Horrors"  with  Robert  Lowery 
and  Virginia  Grey 

(Universal,  Mar.  29;  time,  66  min.) 
This  is  just  another  program  murder  melodrama,  de' 
veloped  according  to  formula,  with  few  surprises.  Nor  is  it 
outstanding  in  either  production  values  or  performances. 
Unlike  the  title  indicates,  there  is  little  about  the  proceedings 
to  horrify  one  unless  the  fact  that  the  murders  are  committed 
by  a  half-witted  giant  can  be  considered  horrendous  rather 
than  unpleasant.  Discriminating  audiences  will  find  the 
far-fetched  plot  hard  to  take.  Its  appeal  should  be  directed 
just  to  those  who,  regardless  of  story  values,  enjoy  melo- 
dramatic action,  for  the  second  half  has  a  few  exciting 
situations: — 

Rondo  Hatton,  a  hunted  murderer  known  as  "The 
Creeper,"  is  believed  drowned  when  the  police  see  him 
plunge  into  a  river.  He  is  rescued,  however,  by  Martin 
Kosleck,  a  surrealist  sculptor,  who  gives  him  refuge  in  his 
studio  apartment  and  persuades  him  to  murder  Alan  Napier, 
an  art  critic,  whom  he  disliked.  Police  inspector  Bill  Good- 
win, investigating  the  crime,  finds  reason  to  suspect  Robert 
Lowery,  an  artist,  whose  work  had  been  criticized  by 
Napier.  He  tries  to  trap  Lowery  by  arranging  with  Howard 
Freeman,  another  critic,  to  attack  Lowery's  work,  but, 
when  Freeman,  too,  is  murdered  under  circumstances  that 
establish  Lowery's  innocence,  the  police  suspect  that 
"The  Creeper"  was  still  at  large.  Meanwhile  Virginia  Grey, 
Lowery's  girl-friend  and  art  columnist,  visits  Kosleck's  studio 
in  search  of  news  and  steals  a  working  sketch  of  a  cloth- 
covered  bust,  which  the  sculptor  described  as  his  secret 


masterpiece,  it  being  a  likeness  of  "The  Creeper,"  whom  he 
believed  to  be  the  perfect  neanderthal  man.  After  arranging 
with  her  editor  to  run  the  sketch  in  her  column,  Virginia 
returns  it  to  Kosleck's  studio  only  to  find  that  he  had  dis- 
covered the  theft.  "The  Creeper"  prepares  to  murder  her, 
but  Virginia  cleverly  turns  him  on  Kosleck,  whom  he  kills. 
In  the  meantime,  Lowery  and  Goodwin,  visiting  Virginia's 
office,  see  the  sketch  and  recognize  it  as  a  likeness  of  the 
wanted  killer.  They  rush  to  Kosleck's  studio,  arriving  in 
time  to  shoot  "The  Creeper"  and  to  save  Virginia  from 
becoming  another,  one  of  his  victims. 

George  Bricker  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben  Pivar  produced 
it,  and  Jean  Yarbrough  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Two  Sisters  from  Boston" 
with  Kathryn  Grayson,  June  Allyson 
and  Jimmy  Durante 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  112  min.) 

Very  good  entertainment;  it  should  be  enjoyed  by  all 
types  of  audiences,  for  it  is  a  very  delightful  combination 
of  comedy,  romance,  and  music,  which  is  made  up  of 
tuneful  melodies  to  please  the  popular  taste,  as  well  as 
operatic  arias  to  satisfy  the  devotees  of  better  music.  The 
story,  although  not  novel,  has  plentiful  human  appeal,  and, 
under  the  deft  guidance  of  Joe  Pasternak  and  Henry  Koster, 
it  is  consistently  entertaining.  It  has  many  amusing  comedy 
situations,  and  the  expert  clowning  of  Jimmy  Durante  is 
outstanding.  He  is  ably  assisted  in  the  comedy  bits  by  Ben 
Blue  and  even  by  Lauritz  Melchior.  Most  of  the  comedy 
mix-ups  are  caused  by  the  efforts  of  June  Allyson  to  help 
Kathryn  Grayson  attain  an  operatic  career.  The  singing  of 
both  Miss  Grayson  and  Mr.  Melchior  is  magnificent.  Miss 
Allyson,  as  winsome  as  ever,  provides  the  romantic  interest 
with  Peter  Lawford.  The  background  is  New  York  at  the 
turn  of  the  century,  and  the  lavish  production  values  are 
in  keeping  with  MGM's  usual  standard  of  excellence.  All 
in  all,  it  is  the  sort  of  entertainment  to  take  one's  mind  off 
one's  troubles : — 

Sent  to  New  York  by  her  aunt  and  uncle  to  study  voice, 
Kathryn,  finding  her  allowance  too  small,  assumes  a  different 
name  and  obtains  a  singing  job  in  a  Bowery  cafe  operated 
by  Jimmy  Durante.  Rumors  that  she  worked  on  the  Bowery 
reach  Boston,  and  her  aunt  and  uncle,  accompanied  by 
June  Allyson,  her  sister,  head  for  New  York  to  investigate. 
When  Kathryn  declares  that  she  sang  in  the  chorus  of  the 
Metropolitan  Opera,  they  insist  upon  seeing  her  perform 
that  evening.  With  the  help  of  Durante,  who  convinces  the 
stage  manager  that  she  was  a  dear  friend  of  Thurston  Hall, 
an  influential  patron  of  the  opera,  Kathryn  bluffs  her  way 
into  the  chorus.  Satisfied  at  seeing  her  perform,  Kathryn's 
aunt  and  uncle  return  to  Boston.  But  June,  having  learned 
the  truth,  remains  in  New  York.  Determined  that  Kathryn 
shall  have  her  opera  career,  June  goes  to  Hall's  home  to 
seek  his  aid.  There  she  meets  Peter  Lawford,  Hall's  son, 
who  assumes  that  Kathryn  and  his  father  had  been  having 
an  affair,  and  that  June  was  trying  to  blackmail  him.  He 
soon  becomes  convinced  of  his  error,  and  to  make  amends 
invites  Kathryn  to  sing  at  a  party  in  his  home.  At  the  party, 
a  series  of  mixups  occur,  during  which  Ben  Blue,  a  drunken 
butler,  identifies  Kathryn  as  a  Bowery  singer.  June,  to 
save  the  situation,  declares  that  she,  not  Kathryn.  per- 
formed at  the  cafe.  To  settle  the  issue.  Hall  decides  to  visit 
the  cafe  on  the  next  evening.  Durante  quickly  rehearses 
June  in  a  song  and  dance  act.  The  act,  however,  proves  to 
be  inadvertent  broad  comedy,  and  Hall,  realizing  the  truth, 
gracefully  gives  Kathryn  an  opportunity  to  sing  a  leading 
role  in  the  opera  with  Melchior.  Her  debut  is  a  huge  success, 
and,  as  she  and  Melchior  blend  their  voices,  June  and  Law- 
ford pledge  their  love  for  each  other. 

Myles  Connoly  wrote  the  screen  play,  Mr.  Pasternak  pro- 
duced it,  and  Mr.  Koster  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Isobel  Elsorn,  Harry  Hayden  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


40 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  9,  1946 


that  the  verdict  could  not  be  supported  on  some  other 
theory." 

"Read  in  the  light  of  the  whole  opinion  this  passage 
seems  a  polite  way  of  saying,  'But  don't  think  the  whole 
darn  system  isn't  illegal.' 

"2.  Discrimination  is  illegal.  The  gist  of  the  Bigelow's 
complaint  was  that  by  reason  of  the  conspiracy  they  were 
prevented  from  securing  pictures  until  after  Balaban  6*1 
Katz  had  shown  them  on  the  earlier  and  more  desirable 
runs.  'The  jury  returned  a  general  verdict  hence  it  was 
necessary  for  the  Court,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  unlawful  conspiracy,  to  examine  the  entire 
record.  In  doing  this  the  Court  was  moved  to  expressions 
not  strictly  relevant  to  the  question  of  damages  which  un- 
mistakably reveal  the  Court's  attitude  toward  the  system 
whereby  the  major  companies  consistently  discriminate  in 
favor  of  affiliated  theatres  and  against  independents  in 
the  licensing  of  films. 

"For  example,  although  under  the  District  Court's  in- 
structions  the  Supreme  Court  had  to  conclude  that  'the 
verdict  did  not  establish  that  the  fixed  minimum  admission 
prices  were  the  result  of  the  unlawful  conspiracy,'  the  Chief 
Justice  at  another  point  took  occasion  to  say:  'There  was 
thus  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the  release  system  and 
the  price-fixing  system  were  each  an  integral  part  of  an 
unlawful  conspiracy  to  give  the  Loop  theatres  the  advantage 
of  a  first-run  protected  from  low-price  competition.' 

"From  the  record  the  Court  concluded  that  the  jury's 
verdict  (which  the  Court  sustained)  was  'based  on  the 
damages  suffered  by  petitioners  (plaintiffs)  in  consequence 
of  the  deprivation,  by  the  discriminatory  operation  of  the 
release  system,  of  their  demonstrated  freedom  to  rent  and 
exhibit  some  films  which  had  not  had  prior  showing." 

"The  'system'  mentioned  is  the  Chicago  system  of  release, 
which  is  described  in  the  opinion.  While  that  system  differs 
in  form,  it  is  not  much  different  in  substance  from  the 
systems  employed  by  the  major  companies  in  other  situa- 
tions where  there  are  affiliated  theatres  competing  with 
independent  theatres. 

"3.  Proof  of  Damages.  One  of  the  greatest  deterrents  to 
the  filing  of  triple  damage  suits  by  independent  exhibitors 
under  Sec.  7  of  the  Sherman  Act  has  been  the  difficulty  of 
proving  losses  resulting  from  the  discrimination.  In  the 
Jackson  Park  Case  the  District  Court  told  the  jury,  in 
effect,  that  there  were  two  theories  of  determining  the 
amount  of  plaintiffs'  damages:  (1)  A  comparison  of  the 
receipts  of  the  Jackson  Park  Theatre  for  four  years  pre- 
ceding 1937  (when  it  obtained  some  films  which  had  not 
been  shown  in  defendants'  theatres)  with  the  receipts  dur- 
ing the  five  years  succeeding  that  year  (when  it  obtained 
no  such  films  due  to  the  introduction  of  double  features); 
and  (2)  a  comparison  of  the  earnings  of  the  Jackson  Park 
Theatre,  which  was  held  to  the  first  week  of  general  re- 
lease, with  those  of  the  nearby  Maryland  Theatre  (B&K) 
which  was  allowed  to  exhibit  on  'C  pre-release  run,  one 
week  ahead  of  the  Jackson  Park.  The  Court  told  the  jury 
they  must  choose  one  or  the  other  of  these  theories.  The 
Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  and  the  Supreme  Court  both 
concluded  that  the  jury  had  based  its  verdict  on  theory  No.  1. 

"The  Court  of  Appeals  in  setting  aside  the  verdict  held 
that  both  theories  were  untenable.  The  Supreme  Court,  in 
reversing  the  C.C.A.,  said:  'Each  of  the  two  classes  of 
evidence  .  .  .  tended  to  show  damage  .  .  .  since  each,  inde- 
pendently of  the  other,  tended  to  show  that  (plaintiffs') 
inability  to  obtain  films  before  they  had  been  shown  else- 
where adversely  affected  their  receipts.  .  .  'The  constant 
tendency  of  the  courts  is  to  find  some  way  in  which  damages 
can  be  awarded  where  a  wrong  has  been  done.  Difficulty  of 
ascertainment  is  no  longer  confused  with  the  right  of 
recovery  for  a  proven  invasion  of  the  plaintiffs'  rights.' 


"As  regards  defendants'  contention  that  their  monopoly 
was  so  complete  the  plaintiffs  could  not  prove  actual  dam- 
ages, the  Court  said  :'The  most  elementary  conceptions  of 
justice  and  public  policy  require  that  the  worng-dotr  shall 
bear  the  risk  of  the  uncertainty  which  his  own  wrong  has 
created."  Again:  'The  evidence  here  was  ample  to  support 
a  just  and  reasonable  inference  that  (plaintiffs)  were  dam- 
aged by  (defendants')  action  whose  unlawfulness  the 
jury  has  found  and  (defendants)  do  not  challenge.  The 
comparison  of  (plaintiffs)  receipts  before  and  after  the  de- 
fendants' unlawful  action  impinged  on  (plaintiffs')  business 
afforded  a  sufficient  basis  for  the  jury's  computation  of  the 
damage.' 

"4.  General  effects.  Industry  lawyers  will  interpret  the 
decision  according  to  the  interest  of  their  clients.  Counsel 
for  the  majors  will  attempt  to  dismiss  it  as  a  mere  ruling 
on  damages.  Representatives  of  the  independents  will  stress 
the  general  tenor  of  the  opinion.  Certainly  the  majors  can 
derive  no  comfort  from  the  decision;  it  strikes  at  the  heart 
of  their  discriminatory  practices.  And  as  pointed  out  in 
the  annual  report,  the  case  has  served  to  further  enlighten 
the  Court  concerning  conditions  in  the  industry.  The  Court 
must  have  been  impressed  by  the  long  line  of  anti-trust 
cases  coming  before  it  involving  the  major  companies. 

"An  immediate  effect  undoubtedly  will  be  to  stimulate 
the  filing  of  triple  damage  suits,  now  that  the  way  has  been 
opened  for  proving  damages  based  on  a  comparison  of 
earnings  with  competing  affiliated  theatres  which  have  been 
the  beneficiaries  of  preferential  treatment. 

"Another  effect  may  be  to  upset  the  Chicago  system  of 
release  since  it  is  reported  that  the  Bigelows  intend  to 
supplement  their  victory  by  applying  for  injunctive  relief. 
Moreover,  the  distributors  and  B  &  K  may  hesitate  to  con- 
tinue a  system  which  has  been  pronounced  illegal  and  threat- 
ens to  expose  them  to  a  multiplicity  of  private  actions. 

"Eventually  the  decision  will  have  repercussions  in  all 
situations  where  discrimination  has  been  systematically 
practiced. 

"The  distributors  would  be  in  a  happier  situation  today 
if  they  had  heeded  Allied's  old  plea  for  'The  right  to  buy'." 

As  Mr  Myers  points  out,  the  decision  is  one  of  damages 
only,  on  which  the  Court  sustained  the  verdict  solely  on 
the  basis  that  there  was  sufficient  proof  of  injury  to  the 
Jackson  Park.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  highest 
court  in  the  land  now  has  a  pretty  comprehensive  picture 
of  the  predatory  practices  that  beset  the  industry,  and  that 
it  looks  upon  them  with  disfavor.  Read  again  the  concluding 
paragraph  of  the  opinion  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Stone 
to  be  convinced  of  the  Court's  general  attitude: 

"We  do  not  mean  to  indicate  by  what  we  have  said  that 
the  jury  could  not,  on  this  record,  have  found  a  conspiracy 
for  fixing  minimum  prices  or  that  the  Chicago  system  of 
release  was  not  an  unreasonable  restraint  of  trade  in  other 
respects.  We  conclude  that  there  was  evidence  to  support 
a  verdict  for  damages  on  at  least  one  theory  on  which  the 
case  was  submitted  to  the  jury.  We  do  not  imply  that  the 
verdict  could  not  be  supported  on  some  other  theory." 

The  distributors  should  read  this  concluding  paragraph 
carefully  and  digest  it,  for  therein  lies  the  handwriting  on 
the  wall.  If  they  will  comprehend  fully  the  purport  of  this 
admonition,  they  will  realize  that  the  time  has  come  for 
them  to  sit  down  with  the  exhibitors  in  a  sincere  effort  to 
work  out  for  the  entire  industry  a  fair  and  equitable  pro- 
gram. Unless  they  discard  their  former  ideas  and  start  doing 
things  in  a  more  human  way,  unless  they  endeavor  to  gain 
the  good  will  of  their  customers,  they  cannot  hope  to  avoid 
judicial  censure  of  the  means  they  are  employing  to  hold 
on  to  unfair  control  of  the  industry. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII                         SATURDAY,  MARCH  16,  1946  No.  11 


JACK  COHN'S  SWEET  TOOTH 

In  a  recent  interview  with  Motion  Picture  Daily, 
Jack  Cohn,  executive  vice-president  of  Columbia, 
is  credited  with  saying  that  "if  the  costs  of  maintain- 
ing and  staffing  candy  counters  and  popcorn  stands 
in  theatres  are  included  in  overhead  charges  against 
a  percentage  picture,  then  distributors  are  entitled  to 
a  share  of  receipts  from  such  concessions." 

Cohn  declared  that  some  theatres  have  four  or 
more  employees  assigned  to  candy  and  popcorn  stands, 
and  he  contends  that  part  of  their  salaries  are  paid 
by  the  distributors  when  the  exhibitors  include  such 
costs  as  deductions  for  overhead  when  playing  per- 
centage engagements.  Accordingly,  he  believes  that 
the  distributor  should  share  in  the  receipts  of  the 
candy  counters  for  whose  maintenance  he  is  charged. 

Cohn  observed  that  the  theatre  candy  business  has 
assumed  such  large  proportions  that  he  wonders 
whether  some  theatres  are  "in  the  motion  picture  busi- 
ness or  the  candy  business." 

Recently,  states  Motion  Picture  Daily,  Joseph  R. 
Vogel,  vice-president  in  charge  of  Loew's  theatres, 
revealed  that  candy  concession  receipts  in  Loew's 
theatres  are  considered  as  part  of  the  gross  receipts  in 
accounting  for  percentage  engagements.  "If  not  for 
the  pictures,"  he  asked,  "who  would  come  into  the 
theatre  to  buy  candy?" 

Cohn  agrees  with  Vogel's  viewpoint,  and  he  re 
gards  the  Loew's  arrangement  as  a  fair  one.  And  he 
adds  the  belief  that,  ultimately,  a  formula  will  be 
developed  for  handling  the  matter  of  candy  profits 
in  a  manner  acceptable  to  both  exhibitor  and  distrib- 
utor. 

A  careful  reading  of  this  report  leaves  one  with  the 
impression  that  Cohn  is  interested,  not  in  eliminating 
the  costs  of  maintaining  and  operating  the  candy  con- 
cessions as  part  of  the  overhead  charges  against  per- 
centage pictures,  but  in  setting  up  a  system  whereby 
his  company  could  share  in  the  exhibitor's  candy 
profits. 

The  candy  and  popcorn  business  done  by  an  ex- 
hibitor is  about  the  only  phase  of  his  operations  that 
has  thus  far  remained  untouched  by  the  distributors. 
Whether  or  not  Columbia  will  eventually  seek  to  dip 
its  hand  into  this  part  of  a  theatre's  profits  remains  to 


be  seen.  That  it  might  stoop  to  such  tactics  is  not  be- 
yond comprehension,  since  its  notorious  record  for 
bleeding  the  exhibitors  is  unsurpassed. 

Since  the  distributors  in  general  examine  the  over- 
head charges  on  a  percentage  engagement  with  a  fine 
comb,  it  is  doubtful  if  many  exhibitors  have  been  per- 
mitted to  include  the  cost  of  maintaining  and  staffing 
candy  counters.  Harrison's  Reports  believes,  there- 
fore, that  Cohn,  in  making  his  statement,  did  not  do 
so  to  call  attention  to  an  "exhibitor  abuse,"  but  to  send 
out  a  "feeler"  for  exhibitor  reaction.  If  that  is  so,  he 
will  soon  have  his  answer — and  in  no  uncertain  terms. 

Incidentally,  since  Cohn  agrees  with  Vogel's  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  no  one  would  come  into  the 
theatre  to  buy  candy,  if  not  for  the  pictures,  some  one 
should  inform  him  that,  in  the  case  of  most  of  the 
Columbia  pictures,  the  sale  of  candy  is  a  good  thing, 
for  eating  it  is  about  the  only  pleasure  the  patrons  get 
out  of  the  show. 


WILL  IT  NOT  PAY  TO  TAKE  THE  PUBLIC 

INTO  YOUR  CONFIDENCE 

NOW  AND  THEN? 

Because  of  the  fact  that  the  threatre  business  is 
done,  in  the  main,  between  seven  and  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  the  public  has  come  to  believe  that  the 
owners  of  picture  theatres  are  coining  money  hand 
over  fist. 

Years  ago  there  was  in  Los  Angeles  an  exhibitor 
named  Home.  Whenever  he  had  a  poor  picture,  he 
would  hang  a  sign  outside  the  box-office  advising  the 
public  to  stay  away  that  day  because  the  picture  was, 
in  his  opinion,  very  bad.  The  people  went  in,  just  the 
same,  inspired  perhaps  by  the  exhibitor's  honesty  in 
telling  them  the  truth. 

Some  enterprising  exhibitor  may,  one  of  these  days, 
print  a  pamphlet  to  be  handed  to  his  patrons  as  they 
come  in  giving  them  facts  and  figures  on  what  he  did 
with  a  previous  picture  that  drew  large  crowds  and, 
on  the  surface,  made  him  money.  I  venture  to  say 
that,  a  move  such  as  this,  being  a  novelty,  would  gain 
public  sympathy  and  induce  picture-goers  to  attend 
his  theatre  more  frequently. 

I  should  like  to  hear  from  some  readers  what  they 
think  of  this  suggestion. 


RALLY  BEHIND  THE  RED  CROSS  DRIVE  -  MARCH  20  to  26 


42 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  16,  1946 


"The  Postman  Always  Rings  Twice"  with 
Lana  Turner  and  John  Garfield 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  113  min.) 
The  popularity  of  the  players,  as  well  as  the  fact 
that  the  story  is  based  on  James  M.  Cain's  widely- 
read  and  widely-discussed  novel,  will  undoubtedly 
result  in  outstanding  grosses  for  this  triangle-murder 
t  melodrama.  As  entertainment,  however,  it  is  strictly 
for  adults,  with  an  appeal  chiefly  to  those  who  can 
stand  sordidncss  dished  up  by  the  carload.  Its  story, 
which  revolves  around  a  young  woman  and  her  lover, 
and  around  the  detailed  methods  they  employ  to 
murder  her  elderly  husband,  is  a  photographic  study 
of  the  baser  sides  of  human  nature,  set  in  a  lustful 
and  murderous  atmosphere,  in  which  moral  conven- 
tions are  thrown  to  the  winds.  Not  a  grain  of  sym- 
pathy is  felt  for  any  of  the  characters,  particularly 
the  hero  and  heroine,  who  show  no  sense  of  decency 
and  are  absolutely  without  any  conscience.  The  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  young  wife  is  arrested 
and  tried  for  murder,  but  is  set  free  through  legal- 
istic tricks,  although  she  pleads  guilty  to  manslaughter, 
are  tantamount  to  a  slur  on  the  legal  profession  as 
well  as  the  courts.  On  the  whole,  the  story  is  un- 
convincing, but  it  has  been  produced  well  and  acted 
capably.  It  should  be  anticipated  that  the  picture  may 
encounter  difficulties  with  the  different  censorship 
boards: — 

John  Garfield,  a  hitch-hiker,  obtains  employment 
in  a  roadside  cafe  operated  by  middle-aged  Cecil 
Kellaway.  He  falls  in  love  with  Lana  Turner,  Kella- 
way's  young  wife,  and  together  they  plan  the  murder 
of  her  husband  in  a  manner  that  would  make  his 
death  appear  accidental.  Their  first  attempt  on  his 
Life  fails,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  "accident" 
arouse  the  suspicions  of  Leon  Ames,  the  district  at- 
torney. They  succeed  in  killing  Kellaway  in  a  second 
attempt,  by  rolling  his  car  over  the  edge  of  a  cliff, 
but  Ames,  who  had  been  following  them,  arrives  on 
the  scene  of  the  crime  shortly  after  its  commission 
and  places  them  both  under  arrest.  Later,  to  secure 
his  case,  Ames  tricks  Garfield  into  signing  a  murder 
complaint  against  Lana,  claiming  that  she  had  tried 
to  kill  him,  too.  But  Hume  Cronyn,  a  shrewd  criminal 
lawyer,  maneuvers  matters  in  a  manner  that  compels 
Ames  to  accept  Lana's  plea  of  guilty  on  a  man- 
slaughter charge,  and  to  recommend  clemency;  the 
court  frees  Lana  on  probation.  Despite  her  changed 
feelings  towards  Garfield,  Lana  marries  him,  hoping 
that  the  notoriety  would  improve  business  at  the 
cafe.  Their  animosity  and  suspicions  toward  each 
other  eventually  fade  away  and  they  reaffirm  their 
undying  love.  In  the  course  of  events,  Lana  is  killed 
in  an  automobile  accident  while  driving  with  Gar- 
field. Though  innocent,  he  is  convicted  of  her  murder 
and  sentenced  to  die. 

Harry  Ruskin  and  Niven  Busch  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Carey  Wilson  produced  it,  and  Tay  Garnett 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Audrey  Totter  and 
others.  (See  April  7,  1 934,  page  56.) 

"The  Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers"  with 
Barbara  Stanwyck  and  Van  Heflin 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  116  min.) 

This  is  another  in  the  current  cycle  of  sordid 
murder  melodramas  that  are  coming  out  of  Holly- 
wood in  ever-increasing  numbers.  It  is  a  well-made 
picture,  capably  directed  and  acted,  and  it  will  prob- 
ably give  a  good  accounting  of  itself  at  the  box-office, 
but  it  is  hardly  suitable  entertainment  for  family 
audiences,  particularly  children.  The  tale  is  a  grim 


she  offers  him  $5,000  to  marry  her  so  that  she  would 
mixture  of  murder,  blackmail,  greed,  and  misuse  of 
official  powers,  in  which  not  one  of  the  characters 
commands  the  respect  or  sympathy  of  the  spectator. 
It  has  a  number  of  ugly  situations  that  are  depicted 
with  stark  realism.  There  is  no  denying  that  the  6tory 
unfolds  in  an  intriguing  manner,  and  that  it  offers 
situations  that  are  packed  with  suspense,  but  it  is 
not  cheerful  entertainment  for  there  is  much  tragedy 
and  no  comedy  at  all.  Its  array  of  sordid  events  scouts 
the  boundaries  of  good  taste. 

The  story,  which  takes  place  in  a  small  industrial 
town,  opens  with  the  murder  of  Judith  Anderson,  a 
domineering,  wealthy  woman,  committed  by  her 
browbeaten,  unhappy  13 -year-old  niece.  The  crime 
is  witnessed  by  the  young  son  of  the  niece's  tutor, 
who  is  influenced  by  the  girl  to  say  that  the  murder 
had  been  committed  by  a  mysterious  intruder.  The 
tutor  (Roman  Bohnen)  sees  through  the  children's 
lie,  but,  realizing  that  the  girl  would  come  into  great 
wealth,  and  being  ambitious  for  her  son,  he  falls  in 
with  the  story  to  retain  a  hold  over  her.  Seventeen 
years  later  finds  Barbara  Stanwyck,  the  niece,  married 
to  Kirk  Douglas,  the  tutor's  son.  She  had  become  a 
successful  business  executive  and  had  used  her  in- 
fluence to  elect  Douglas  as  District  Attorney.  He  had 
in  turn  convicted  an  innocent  vagrant  for  the  murder 
of  her  aunt.  Though  tied  to  each  other,  Barbara  and 
Douglas  lived  unhappily  because  of  her  affairs  with 
different  men.  When  Van  Heflin,  a  professional 
gambler  and  boyhood  friend  of  the  pair,  arrives  in 
town  after  an  absence  of  eighteen  years,  they  recall 
that  he  had  been  in  the  house  on  the  night  of  the 
murder  and  mistakenly  believe  that  he  had  witnessed 
the  crime.  Heflin,  seeking  to  help  Lizabeth  Scott,  a 
derelict  girl  in  trouble  with  the  police,  visits  Douglas 
to  request  his  aid.  Interpreting  the  visit  as  a  subtle  bid 
for  blackmail  money  to  keep  quiet  about  the  murder, 
Douglas  orders  his  detectives  to  give  Heflin  a  beating 
and  drive  him  out  of  town.  Angered,  Heflin  returns 
to  town  to  avenge  himself  and,  through  a  slip  of  the 
tongue  by  Barbara,  he  learns  the  reason  for  his  beat- 
ing. Succeeding  events  deal  with  Heflin's  attempt  to 
cash  in  on  his  new-found  knowledge,  and  with  Bar- 
bara's efforts  to  win  Heflin's  love  and  to  persuade  him 
to  kill  her  husband.  In  the  denouement,  Heflin  scorns 
Barbara  for  Lizabeth,  while  Douglas,  tired  of  his 
wife's  infidelities,  kills  her  and  commits  suicide. 

Robert  Rossen  wrote  the  screen  play,  Hal  Wallis 
produced  it,  and  Lewis  Milestone  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Darryl  Hickman,  Janis  Wilson  and 
others. 


"The  Gentleman  Misbehaves"  with 
Robert  Stanton  and  Osa  Massen 

(Columbia,  Feb.  28;  time,  74  min.) 
A  moderately  entertaining  program  comedy,  with 
some  music.  It  starts  out  in  an  amusing  fashion,  but 
by  the  time  the  picture  is  half  way  through  the  action 
begins  to  pall.  For  the  most  part  the  comedy  is  in- 
effective because  it  is  forced;  and  the  story  itself  is 
of  so  little  consequence  that  it  fails  to  hold  one's 
interest.  It  is  best  suited  for  a  double  feature  program 
in  secondary  houses,  not  only  because  of  its  quality, 
but  also  because  the  players  mean  little  at  the  box- 
office  : — 

Robert  Stanton,  a  Broadway  producer  who  was 
broke  and  in  debt,  is  constantly  at  odds  with  Hillary 
Brooke,  his  leading  lady  and  financial  backer,  because 
of  his  attentiveness  to  other  women.  Through  a 
chance  meeting  with  Osa  Massen,  a  French  refugee, 


March  16,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


43 


Stanton  sees  an  opportunity  to  get  out  of  debt  when 
not  be  deported  to  France.  Stanton  agrees,  stipu' 
lating  that  there  must  be  a  quick  annulment.  After 
the  marriage,  he  discovers  that  Osa's  one  asset  was 
her  fur  coat,  valued  at  $20,000,  which  she  hands  him 
to  sell.  While  Stanton  is  out  trying  to  sell  the  coat, 
Sheldon  Leonard,  a  gangster,  escapes  with  $20,000 
from  a  dice  game  in  the  hotel,  and  in  an  effort  to 
evade  the  police  he  throws  the  money  into  the  nearest 
room,  which  happened  to  be  Stanton's.  Osa,  finding 
the  money,  believes  that  Stanton  had  sold  her  coat 
and  uses  it  to  pay  his  bills.  As  a  result,  Stanton  finds 
himself  in  trouble  with  the  gangster  and  is  compelled 
to  make  him  a  partner  in  his  new  show,  which  Hillary 
had  agreed  to  finance.  Stanton's  troubles  mount  when 
Hillary,  learning  that  he  was  married,  withdraws  her 
support,  and  when  Osa  leaves  him  after  he  misses 
her  hint  that  she  was  to  become  a  mother.  It  all  turns 
out  for  the  best,  however,  when  Leonard,  employing 
strong-arm  methods,  makes  Hillary  his  new  girl- 
friend and  sees  to  it  that  Osa  is  returned  to  Stanton. 

Robert  Wyler  and  Richard  Weil  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Alexis  Thurn-Taxis  produced  it,  and  George 
Sherman  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Frank  Sully, 
Shemp  Howard  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"To  Each  His  Own"  with  Olivia  de  Havilland 
and  John  Lund 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  122  min.) 

A  strong  emotional  drama,  well  acted  and  skillfully 
directed.  Based  on  the  unwed  mother  theme,  the 
story  of  a  self-sacrificing  heroine,  who,  to  insure  her 
illegitimate  son's  happiness,  allows  another  woman 
to  rear  him,  is  the  sort  that  will  exert  a  powerful 
appeal  for  women.  Generally,  it  is  a  collection  of 
situations  that  have  proved  dramatically  effective  in 
similar  dramas.  Some  of  these  are  highly  emotional 
and  will  bring  tears  to  the  spectator's  eyes,  especially 
during  the  scene  where  the  heroine  parts  with  her 
baby,  and  again,  years  later,  when  the  young  man 
discovers  that  she  is  his  mother.  Olivia  De  Havilland's 
portrayal  of  the  mother,  from  a  young,  eager  girl  to 
a  middle  aged  woman,  is  exceedingly  good,  and  she 
has  the  sympathy  of  the  audience  at  all  times  because 
of  her  willingness  to  sacrifice  her  happiness  for  the 
sake  of  her  child.  Although  the  delicate  theme  has 
been  handled  inoffensively,  the  picture  cannot  be 
considered  as  suitable  entertainment  for  children. 

Beginning  in  1918,  the  story,  told  in  retrospect, 
opens  in  a  small  town  where  Olivia  worked  as  a  clerk 
in  her  father's  drug  store.  Bill  Goodwin,  a  traveling 
salesman,  and  Phillip  Terry,  a  local  boy,  vie  for  her 
hand,  but  without  success.  Peeved,  Terry  marries 
Mary  Anderson,  a  local  girl.  At  a  bond  rally,  Olivia 
experiences  a  one-day  romance  with  John  Lund,  an 
army  aviator,  and  months'  later,  following  his  death 
in  action,  she  bears  his  child.  Olivia  and  her  father, 
to  keep  the .  townspeople  from  learning  the  truth, 
devise  a  scheme  whereby  the  baby  would  be  found  on 
a  neighbor's  doorstep,  after  which  they  would  adopt 
it.  But  through  an  odd  series  of  circumstances  the 
baby  falls  into  the  hands  of  Terry  and  his  wife; 
Olivia  is  compelled  to  remain  silent  when  they  de- 
cide to  adopt  the  baby  as  their  own.  She  eventually 
reveals  her  secret  to  Mary,  but  the  foster  mother 
refuses  to  part  with  the  child.  Despondent,  Olivia 
goes  to  New  York,  where  she  becomes  successful  in 
a  cosmetic  business.  By  putting  financial  pressure  on 
Terry  and  his  wife,  Olivia  is  enabled  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  her  child,  but  she  soon  returns  the  youngster 


to  his  foster  parents  when  she  sees  that  he  was  un- 
happy with  her.  She  goes  to  London  to  forget  her 
sorrow.  Years  later,  during  World  War  II,  Olivia 
learns  that  her  son  (also  John  Lund)  was  a  flight 
officer  and  that  he  was  to  arrive  in  London  on  a  fur- 
lough. She  meets  the  young  man  at  the  railroad  sta- 
tion and,  posing  as  a  friend  of  his  family,  showers 
him  with  attention.  Through  Roland  Culver,  an 
English  friend  of  Olivia's,  the  son  comes  to  the 
realization  that  she  was  his  mother.  He  embraces  her 
tenderly,  and  both  look  forward  to  a  new  life  of 
happiness. 

Charles  Brackett  and  Jacques  Thery  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Mr.  Brackett  produced  it,  and  Mitchell 
Leisen  directed  it. 


"The  Green  Years"  with  Charles  Coburn, 
Tom  Drake  and  Dean  Stockwell 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  127  min.) 

A  fine  human  interest  drama.  Based  on  A.  J. 
Cronin's  best-selling  novel,  the  story  is  a  tender, 
heartwarming  tale  about  the  experiences  of  a  poor 
Irish  lad,  from  the  time  he  is  orphaned  at  seven  until 
he  grows  into  young  manhood.  The  boy's  determina- 
tion to  worship  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  of  his 
father,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  adopted  Presby- 
terian family  looked  upon  that  faith  with  disapproval, 
and  his  struggle  to  fise  above  the  environment  of  a 
small  Scottish  mining  village  so  that  he  could  realize 
his  desire  to  study  medicine,  are  inspiring.  Dean 
Stockwell,  who  plays  the  child  character,  gives  a  re- 
markably sensitive  performance;  the  natural  way  in 
which  he  interprets  the  emotions  of  childish  joys  and 
disappointments  marks  him  as  a  child  actor  of  un- 
usual ability.  Tom  Drake,  as  the  boy  in  later  years, 
does  very  well.  A  most  lovable,  colorful  character- 
ization is  that  of  the  boy's  great-grandfather,  as 
played  by  Charles  Coburn.  His  deep  understanding 
of  the  lad's  problems,  and  their  mutual  affection  that 
lasts  through  the  years,  provide  the  film  with  many 
stirring,  as  well  as  humorous  moments.  The  expensive 
settings  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  story,  and 
the  direction  and  acting  of  the  other  cast  members 
are  of  the  highest  order: — 

Orphaned  at  the  age  of  seven,  Robert  Shannon 
(Dean  Stockwell)  is  sent  from  Ireland  to  live  with 
his  maternal  grandparents  (Hume  Cronyn  and  Selena 
Royle)  in  a  Scottish  mining  village.  From  the  very 
start  he  suffers  the  meanness  of  his  tight-fisted  grand- 
father, the  prejudice  against  his  Catholic  faith,  and 
the  taunts  of  his  schoolmates.  But  with  the  help  of  his 
great-grandfather  and  of  his  kindly  schoolmaster 
(Richard  Hadyn)  the  lad  overcomes  his  youthful 
discouragements  and  wins  the  esteem  of  his  schoolboy 
friends.  Grown  to  manhood,  Robert  (Tom  Drake) 
graduates  from  school  with  high  honors  and  with  a 
burning  desire  to  pursue  a  medical  career.  Lack  of 
funds,  however,  coupled  with  his  grandfather's  in- 
sistence that  he  help  support  the  household,  compel 
him  to  work  in  the  coal  mines.  Sympathizing  with 
Robert's  desire  to  better  his  station  in  life,  the  school- 
master secretly  tutors  him  for  a  scholarship,  which 
Robert  fails  to  win  only  because  of  an  untimely  ill- 
ness. In  the  end,  however,  Robert,  through  insurance 
money  left  to  him  upon  the  death  of  his  great-grand- 
father, achieves  his  ambition  to  go  to  college. 

Robert  Ardrey  and  Sonya  Levien  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Leon  Gordon  produced  it,  and  Victor  Saville 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Gladys  Cooper,  Jessica 
Tandy,  Beverly  Tyler,  Wallace  Ford,  Henry  O'Neill 
and  others.  Suitable  for  all. 


44 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  16,  1946 


"Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up"  with  Gail 
Russell,  Diana  Lynn  and  Brian  Donlevy 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  82  min.) 
An  agreeable  light  comedy,  of  program  grade.  It  is  a 
sequel  to  "Our  Hearts  Were  Young  and  Gay,"  and  as  in 
that  picture  the  action  takes  place  in  the  early  1920's,  and 
it  revolves  around  the  adolescent  adventures  of  Diana  Lynn 
and  Gail  Russell,  as  Emily  Kimbrough  and  Cornelia  Otis 
Skinner,  respectively.  The  story  is  light  but  pleasant,  and 
throughout  it  is  studded  with  amusing  mix-ups  that  stem 
from  the  girls  becoming  involved  with  a  tough  but  well- 
meaning  bootlegger.  The  prohibition  era  depicted  gives  the 
film  a  nostalgic  quality,  and  the  styles  and  mannerisms  of 
the  day  arc  burlesqued  subtly.  Brian  Donlevy,  as  the  boot- 
legger, and  William  Demarest,  as  his  henchmen,  measure 
up  to  the  demands  of  their  roles,  but  it  is  Billy  De  Wolfe, 
as  a  resourceful  Bohemian,  who  practically  steals  the  picture 
with  his  comedy  antics: — 

Diana  and  Gail,  pupils  at  a  fashionable  finishing  school, 
arc  in  love  with  James  Brown,  a  Princeton  football  hero,  and 
Bill  Edwards,  a  young  doctor,  their  respective  boy-friends. 
In  order  to  attend  the  Harvard-Princeton  football  game 
unchaperoned,  the  girls  arrange  with  Edwards  to  pose  as 
Diana's  elderly  uncle.  At  the  last  moment,  however,  Ed- 
wards is  unable  to  meet  them  at  the  railroad  station  to  keep 
his  part  in  the  scheme.  To  satisfy  Sara  Haden,  their  sus- 
picious head-mistress,  the  girls  decide  to  pick  an  uncle  from 
the  passing  crowd.  They  appeal  to  Brian  Donlevy,  who 
grasps  the  opportunity  so  that  they  would  unwittingly  help 
him  to  smuggle  two  suitcases  with  champagne  aboard  the 
train.  At  Princeton,  Donlevy  loses  the  girls  in  the  crowd 
at  the  station,  and  the  suitcases  with  champagne  are  de- 
livered to  their  hotel  room.  Horrified  at  finding  the  cham- 
pagne, Diana  spills  it  down  the  sink.  Later,  at  a  gay  party, 
Gail,  unaware  that  Diana  had  disposed  of  the  champagne, 
offers  it  to  her  hostess.  The  girls  overcome  their  problem 
by  filling  the  bottles  with  a  wine  tonic  bought  at  a  drug 
store.  Meanwhile  Donlevy,  having  learned  from  his  agent 
that  the  champagne  was  poisonous,  traces  the  girls  to  the 
party  and  informs  the  guests  that  they  had  been  poisoned. 
Edwards  and  Brown  take  charge  of  the  hysterical  guests 
and  compel  them  to  take  an  emetic  at  once.  The  girls  end 
the  confusion  by  revealing  that  wine  tonic  and  not  the 
poisonous  champagne  had  been  drunk.  Angered  because 
they  had  been  permitted  to  make  fools  of  themselves,  Ed- 
wards and  Brown  break  with  the  girls.  To  win  back  their 
love,  the  girls  decide  to  seek  stage  careers  and  to  become 
figures  in  the  public  eye.  They  rent  an  apartment  in  New 
York's  Greenwich  Village  and,  after  a  series  of  mix-ups,  in 
which  Donlevy  assumes  the  role  of  their  protector,  they 
straighten  out  their  social  and  romantic  difficulties. 

Norman  Panama  and  Melvin  Frank  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Daniel  Dare  produced  it,  and  William  D.  Russell  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Mikhail  Rasumny,  Frank  Fay 
len  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Hot  Cargo"  with  William  Gargan, 
Philip  Reed  and  Jean  Rogers 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  55  min.) 
An  ordinary  program  melodrama,  suitable  for  the  undis- 
criminating  action  fans.  The  story  is  hackneyed,  and  its  treat- 
ment follows  a  familiar  pattern,  but  since  the  action  moves 
at  a  fairly  brisk  pace  it  manages  to  hold  one's  attention 
to  a  degree.  The  most  exciting  scenes  are  those  in  the  end 
where  the  hero  and  his  pal  overcome  the  villain  and  his 
henchman,  but  it  has  little  effect  on  the  spectator  since  he 
guesses  in  advance  just  how  the  action  will  unfold.  A  little 
comedy  and  a  formula  romance  have  been  worked  into  the 
plot: — 


Returning  from  the  South  Pacific,  ex-servicemen  William 
Gargan  and  Philip  Reed  stop  off  in  the  redwood  country  of 
California  to  deliver  a  last  message  to  the  parents  (Will 
Wright  and  Virginia  Brissac)  and  brother  (David  Holt) 
of  a  dead  buddy,  as  well  as  to  Jean  Rogers,  his  sweetheart, 
owner  of  a  lumber  mill.  When  they  learn  that  Wright's 
trucking  business  was  failing  because  of  the  machinations 
of  Larry  Young  and  Harry  Cording,  rival  truckmen,  Gargan 
and  Reed  decide  to  stay  awhile  to  help  the  old  man.  Young 
and  Cording  throw  many  obstacles  in  their  way  to  dis- 
courage Gargan  and  Reed,  but  the  two  veterans  hold  their 
ground  and  manage  to  obtain  a  hauling  contract  from  Jean 
to  sustain  the  business.  Meanwhile  Reed  falls  in  love  with 
Jean,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  Young,  who,  too,  sought  her 
hand.  Matters  come  to  a  head  when  Holt,  the  brother,  is 
killed  in  an  accident  caused  by  Cording.  Gargan  and  Reed 
trace  the  killing  to  Young  and  Cording,  who,  learning  that 
Jean  had  obtained  evidence  that  would  convict  them  of 
the  murder,  kidnap  and  take  her  to  a  mountain  cabin.  By 
the  time  that  Gargan  and  Reed  reach  the  cabin,  Cording 
kills  Young  in  an  argument  and  barricades  himself  with 
Jean.  Using  a  bulldozer,  Gargan  crashes  into  the  cabin  while 
Reed  and  the  sheriff  capture  Cording  and  rescue  Jean.  Reed 
remains  behind  to  marry  Jean,  while  Gargan  continues  his 
homeward  journey. 

Geoffrey  Homes  wrote  the  screenplay,  and  Lew  Landers 
directed  it.  Pine  and  Thomas  produced  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back"  with 
Gale  Sondergaard,  Brenda  Joyce 
and  Kirby  Grant 

( Universal,  March  22;  time,  59  min.) 

An  indifferent  program  picture.  Although  it  is  supposed 
to  be  a  horror  melodrama,  it  is  doubtful  if  it  will  have  a 
frightening  effect  on  any  one.  So  far-fetched  and  ordinary 
is  the  story,  and  so  slow-moving  the  action,  that  patrons  will 
find  it  more  tedious  than  exciting.  Moreover,  the  perform- 
ances are  totally  unconvincing.  The  usual  tricks  of  the  trade 
have  been  used  to  create  an  air  of  mystery  and  suspense,  but 
they  fail  to  impress  one.  There  is  no  comedy,  and  the  roman- 
tic interest  is  of  no  importance.  It  belongs  on  the  lower-half 
of  a  mid-week  double  bill: — 

Arriving  in  Domingo  to  work  as  a  companion  to  Gale 
Sondergaard,  a  kindly,  blind  woman,  Brenda  Joyce  meets 
Kirby  Grant,  an  old  college  sweetheart,  who  drives  her  to 
Gale's  mansion.  There  she  is  frightened  by  the  sight  of 
Rondo  Hatton,  a  deformed,  mute  servant,  but  Gale  re- 
assures her.  Unknown  to  Brenda,  Gale's  blindness  was  a 
sham  to  cover  up  a  scheme  to  drive  the  local  farmers  away 
from  what  was  formerly  her  lands.  She  was  methodically 
accomplishing  this  by  drugging  Joyce  and  drawing  blood 
from  her  while  she  slept  to  feed  a  carnivorous  plant,  from 
which  she  distilled  a  deadly  cattle-poison.  Her  servant  then 
used  the  poison  to  destroy  the  farmer's  cattle.  Grant  and 
Milburn  Stone,  a  Federal  agent,  investigate  the  cattle  deaths 
and  conclude  that  they  were  caused  by  weed-poisoning,  but 
their  inability  to  find  any  poisonous  weeds  in  the  area  con- 
fuses them.  In  the  course  of  events,  Joyce  becomes  sus- 
picious of  Gale  and  discovers  that  she  was  not  blind,  but, 
before  she  can  escape  from  the  house,  the  servant  captures 
her.  Gale  decides  to  kill  her  lest  she  reveal  her  secret.  Mean- 
while Grant  and  Stone,  who,  too,  had  found  reason  to  be- 
come suspicious  of  Gale,  go  to  her  mansion.  Gale,  panicky, 
decides  to  destroy  the  evidence  of  her  crimes  and  orders  her 
servant  to  set  fire  to  the  plants.  In  the  confusion  that  follows, 
Gale  and  the  servant  perish  in  the  flames,  while  Kirby 
rescues  Joyce. 

Eric  Taylor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Howard  Welsch  pro- 
duced it,  and  Arthur  Lubin  directed  it. 
Adult  entertainment. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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New  York  20,  N.  Y. 

A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service 
Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors 

Editorial  Policy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial 
Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 


Published  Weekly  by 
Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

Publisher 
P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 


Yearly  Subscription  Rates: 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXV 111  SATURDAY,  MARCH  23,  1946  No.  12 


Established  July  1,  1919 


Circle  7-4622 


MOTION  PICTURE  CREDIT  THE 
INDUSTRY  DIDN'T  GET 

Before  retiring  from  his  money-raising  job  with  the  U.  S. 
Treasury  Department,  Mr.  S.  George  Little  praised  the 
newspapers  for  their  "amazing"  support  of  the  most  sue 
cesslul  war-financing  job  the  world  has  ever  known. 

Mr.  Little,  who  is  president  of  General  Features  Corpora- 
tion, and  was  special  newspaper  consultant  in  the  war 
finance  division,  sent  a  letter  to  the  newspapers  throughout 
the  nation  citing  the  fact  that  the  newspapers  gave,  during 
the  War  Loan,  as  well  as  the  Victory  Loan,  drives,  318,- 
543,000  lines  of  news  and  editorial  support.  In  addition,  he 
said  that  the  newspapers  published  more  than  $110,000,000 
worth  of  bond  advertising,  much  of  it  either  contributed  or 
sold  to  sponsors  at  reduced  rates. 

"This  amazing  contribution  by  newspapers  to  help  finance 
and  win  the  toughest  war  in  history,"  Mr.  Little  said,  "should 
make  every  newspaperman  proud  of  his  profession — proud, 
too,  of  the  leadership  and  patriotism  of  his  associates,  but 
most  of  all,  proud  of  the  glorious  war  record  that  news- 
papers made  which  will  go  a  long  way  toward  furthering  the 
cause  of  a  free  press  throughout  the  world.  .  .  . 

"During  the  war  years  newspapers  had  more  problems 
than  ever  before  yet  there  was  never  a  time  when  the  Treas- 
ury called  upon  them  for  help  that  they  failed  to  come 
through." 

Mr.  Little  then  thanked  the  newspapers  for  their  in- 
valuable assistance. 

What  Mr.  Little  said  about  the  war  effort  of  the  press  was 
printed  in  conspicuous  places  in  almost  every  one  of  the 
newspapers  throughout  the  nation,  so  that  the  public,  too, 
might  know  of  it. 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  Harrison's  Reports  to  detract 
from  any  of  the  credit  due  the  newspapers  for  their  war 
effort,  for  they  really  did  a  marvelous  job,  and  unselfishly. 
What  this  paper  aims  to  do  is  to  compare  the  effort  of  the 
press  with  that  of  the  motion  picture  industry  and  to  point 
out  how  woefully  deficient  the  industry  has  been  in  acquaint- 
ing the  public,  particularly  the  servicemen,  of  its  contribu- 
tion. 

According  to  a  recent  statement,  the  picture  industry 
contributed  $45,000,000  worth  of  free  film.  Yet,  if  I  can 
accept  the  word  of  a  former  Army  officer,  who  served  almost 
three  years  in  the  Pacific,  only  a  handful  of  men  overseas 
knew  that  these  films,  which  provided  such  pleasant  di- 
vertisement  and  entertainment,  and  which  contributed  so 
immeasurably  to  their  morale,  was  a  GIFT  of  the  motion 
picture  industry  to  the  Government,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
fighting  forces.  Even  this  young  officer,  connected  promi- 
nently with  the  industry  before  the  war,  had  to  return  to 
this  country  on  a  short  leave  before  he  learned  of  this 
valuable  contribution.  "It  was  a  shame,"  he  said,  "that  a 
short  introductory  leader  was  not  attached  to  pictures  to 
inform  the  serviceman  overseas  that  they  had  been  given 
to  the  armed  forces  as  a  gift.  It  would  have  redounded  in 
immense  good  will  and  prestige  for  our  much-maligned 
industry." 

This  Army  man  told  me  that,  among  the  press,  the  big 
national  magazines  did  a  greater  job  outside  the  United 
States  than  the  newspapers.  Time  and  Life,  through  their 


miniature  editions, — both  devoid  of  advertising — did  the 
best  job.  Their  efforts  in  this  direction  were  regarded  highly, 
and  by  identifying  their  publications  as  a  donation  to  the 
armed  forces  they  won  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  the  men 
in  the  field.  These  "miniature"  editions  were  passed  from 
hand  to  hand,  eventually  finding  their  way  into  dayrooms 
and  recreation  huts  where  they  were  filed  permanently. 
Hewswee\,  too,  published  a  miniature  edition,  void  of  ad- 
vertising, that  served  as  a  great  morale  builder  to  the  men 
on  the  fighting  fronts.  The  newspapers,  however,  did  not 
fare  so  well  outside  the  continental  United  States.  Postal 
restrictions  designed  to  reduce  mail  loads  were  largely  ac- 
countable for  this,  and  consequently  only  scattered  clippings, 
included  in  letters  from  friends  and  relatives,  and  an  occa- 
sional reduced  photostatic  reproduction  of  a  local  news- 
paper, the  cost  of  which  was  financed  by  some  advertiser, 
comprised  newspaper  coverage  and  was  naturally  very 
limited  in  appeal  and  scope. 

"In  short,"  he  summarized,  "any  contribution  that  the 
newspaper  industry  might  have  made  to  the  morale  of  the 
armed  forces  could  be  classified  as  negligible,  whereas  the 
motion  picture  industry's  contribution  was  immense.  Yet, 
I'm  afraid  that  many  young  men,  who  cheerfully  endured  a 
tropical  downpour  and  swatted  mosquitos  in  the  heat  to 
watch  a  motion  picture,  left  the  Army  with  the  impression 
that  the  cost  of  the  film  was  borne  by  the  War  Department 
as  was  their  chow,  uniforms,  weapons  and  ammunition." 

Who  is  responsible  for  the  fact  that  the  industry  did  not 
put  its  war  contribution  before  the  serviceman?  None  else 
that  the  War  Activities  Committee.  It  would  not  have  been 
a  great  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Committee  to  suggest  to 
each  film  contributor  to  put  a  "leader"  in  the  beginning  of 
each  feature  informing  the  men  of  the  armed  forces  that 
the  picture  they  were  about  to  see  was  a  gift  from  the  motion 
picture  industry.  They  should  have  been  proud  to  do  so,  for 
what  the  motion  picture  industry  contributed  toward  the 
upkeep  of  their  morale  was  greater  than  what  was  contrib- 
uted by  all  the  other  industries.  And  now,  after  showing  so 
pronounced  a  myopia,  these  very  same  men — the  former 
heads  of  the  War  Activities  Committee — want  to  continue 
leading  you  by  asking  you  to  join  the  Theatre  Activities 
Committee,  their  new  exhibitor  organization. 

What  for? 


ABOUT  BRITISH  PICTURES 

Under  the  heading,  "The  Great  British  Invasion,"  Abram 
F.  Myers,  general  counsel  of  Allied  States  Association  of 
Motion  Picture  Exhibitors,  has  this  to  say  in  an  organiza- 
tional bulletin  dated  March  13: 

"Every  day  from  morning  till  night  the  tom-toms  are 
being  beaten  to  herald  the  establishment  of  a  great  British 
film  industry  which  will  challenge  Hollywood  and  perhaps 
topple  it  from  its  throne.  Most  of  the  bally-hoo  consists  of 
extravagant  claims  as  to  the  quality  of  the  pictures  which 
shortly  will  be  flowing  into  the  American  market.  But  there 
is  also  an  underlying  suggestion  of  coercion.  J.  Arthur  Rank, 
it  is  said,  controls  most  of  the  theatre  circuits  in  England  and, 
therefore,  is  in  a  position  to  grant  playing  time  to  American 
pictures  on  his  screens  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


46 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  23,  1946 


"The  Kid  from  Brooklyn"  with  Danny  Kaye 
and  Virginia  Mayo 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  114  min.) 

Based  on  the  old  Harold  Lloyd  picture,  "The  Milky 
Way,"  this  comedy  should  go  over  very  well  with  the  rank 
and  file,  for,  in  addition  to  the  story  being  fast-moving  and 
comical,  it  abounds  with  tuneful  musical  numbers,  and  it 
has  been  given  a  lavish  production,  photographed  in  Tech- 
nicolor. The  story  remains  substantially  the  same,  with  the 
comedy,  which  often  reaches  hilarious  heights,  provoked 
by  the  naivctte  of  Danny  Kaye,  a  mild-mannered  milkman, 
who  is  led  to  believe  that  he  is  a  great  prizefighter.  Kaye's 
interpretation  of  the  character  is  extremely  amusing;  his 
antics  keep  the  audience  laughing  heartily  throughout.  The 
situation  in  which  he  teaches  Fay  Bainter,  an  aristocratic 
society  matron,  the  art  of  self-defense  is  but  one  of  the  many 
outstanding  comical  sequences.  Walter  Abel,  as  a  crooked 
fight  manager,  and  Lionel  Stander,  as  a  dumb  sparring 
partner,  which  role  he  enacted  in  the  Harold  Lloyd  version, 
add  much  to  the  entertainment  values.  Musically,  the  pic- 
ture is  satisfying,  with  well-staged  dance  numbers  executed 
by  Vera-Ellen  and  the  Goldwyn  Girls,  and  with  songs  sung 
by  Virginia  Mayo.  A  highlight  is  Danny  Kaye's  singing  of 
"Pavlova,"  a  musical  satire  on  modern  ballet,  done  in  his 
inimitable  style: — 

While  defending  his  sister  (Vera-Ellen)  from  being 
molested  by  Steve  Cochran,  a  champion  prizefighter,  and 
by  Lionel  Stander,  his  sparring  mate,  both  drunk,  Danny 
Kaye  is  forced  into  a  brawl  with  them.  In  the  confusion, 
Cochran  is  knocked  out  by  Stander,  but  the  newspapers 
credit  the  blow  to  Kaye,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  Walter 
Abel,  Cochran's  manager.  Kaye  goes  to  Cochran's  apart- 
ment to  explain  what  happened,  only  to  knock  him  out 
again — accidentally — just  as  the  reporters  burst  into  the 
room.  Frantic  lest  the  publicity  cost  him  a  fortune,  Abel 
hits  upon  an  idea — he  decides  to  build  Kaye  up  as  a  fighter, 
then  to  match  him  with  Cochran  in  a  championship  bout. 
Kaye  declines,  but,  when  Abel  convinces  him  that  he  will 
earn  enough  money  to  marry  Virginia  Mayo,  his  girl- 
friend, he  soon  consents.  Kaye  unwittingly  wins  several 
"fixed"  fights  and  gains  fame.  Success  goes  to  his  head,  and 
he  becomes  insufferable,  much  to  the  disgust  of  Vera,  who 
by  this  time  had  fallen  in  love  with  Cochran.  Meanwhile 
Clarence  Kolb,  Kaye's  former  employer  and  millionaire 
milk  dealer,  buys  his  contract  from  Abel.  On  the  night  of 
the  big  fight,  Vera  and  Virginia  urge  Cochran  to  knock 
out  Kaye  to  teach  him  a  lesson.  But  through  the  stupidity  of 
Stander,  who  gives  Cochran  a  sleeping  potion  to  drink, 
making  him  drowsy,  Kaye  is  enabled  to  win  the  fight.  He 
wins  also  Virginia  and  a  partnership  in  Kolb's  milk  firm. 
Cochran  and  Vera  marry,  while  Abel  and  Stander,  broke, 
secure  jobs  as  milkmen. 

Grover  Jones,  Frank  Butler,  and  Richard  Connell  wrote 
the  screen  play  based  on  the  play  by  Lynn  Root  and  Harry 
Clork,  Samuel  Goldwyn  produced  it,  and  Norman  Z.  Mc- 
Leod  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Eve  Arden  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Blonde  Alibi"  with  Martha  O'Driscoll 
and  Tom  Neal 

(Universal,  April  12;  time,  62  min.) 

An  ordinary,  slow-moving  program  murder-mystery 
melodrama;  it  barely  holds  one's  interest.  The  story  is  thin 
and  familiar,  and  it  unfolds  with  a  minimum  of  excitement. 
Moreover,  one  guesses  the  identity  of  the  murderer  long 
before  it  is.  disclosed.  The  only  bright  spot  in  the  picture 
is  John  Berke's  amusing  portrayal  of  a  sneak  thief,  who 
drives  the  police  mad  with  his  fantastic  alibis.  There  is  the 
usual  comedy  revolving  around  a  police  inspector  and  his 
dumb  assistant,  but  most  of  this  falls  flat: — 

Following  the  mysterious  murder  of  Dick  Crockett,  a 
wealthy  physician,  the  police  apprehend  Martha  O'Driscoll, 


the  dead  man's  fiancee,  who  had  broken  her  engagement  to 
him  that  night  to  return  to  Tom  Ncal,  her  former  sweet- 
heart. The  murder  gun  is  traced  to  Neal,  who  is  charged 
with  the  killing  despite  protests  that  he  had  sold  the  gun 
two  months  previously.  The  case  against  Neal  is  strength- 
ened by  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses,  Samuel  S.  Hinds, 
a  half-blind  scientist,  and  Oliver  Blake,  a  doorman,  who 
claim  that  they  had  seen  Neal  leave  the  dead  man's  office 
on  the  night  of  the  crime.  Although  the  evidence  against 
Neal  seemed  conclusive,  Inspector  Donald  MacBride  will- 
ingly cooperates  with  Martha,  who,  convinced  of  Neal's 
innocence,  was  determined  to  clear  him.  Together  they 
track  down  numerous  clues  until  a  search  of  the  dead  man's 
office  files  reveals  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  malpractice, 
and  that  he  had  threatened  to  expose  a  man  who  had  been 
blackmailing  his  patients.  This  evidence  leads  to  the  trail 
of  the  real  murderer,  the  doorman,  who  is  trapped  with 
Neal's  cooperation.  His  innocence  proved,  Neal  reunites 
with  Martha,  who  vows  to  keep  him  out  of  future  mischief. 

George  Bricker  wrote  and  produced  the  screen  play,  and 
Will  Jason  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Robert  Armstrong, 
Elisha  Cook,  Jr  ,  Peter  Whitney,  Matt  Willis  and  others 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Bride  Wore  Boots"  with  Barbara 
Stanwyck  and  Robert  Cummings 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  82  min.) 

A  moderately  amusing  farce-comedy  about  marital  diffi- 
culties, of  a  grade  that  barely  rises  above  program;  its  box- 
office  chances  will  depend  chiefly  on  the  drawing  power  of 
Barbara  Stanwyck.  As  in  most  pictures  of  this  type,  the 
comedy  stems  from  farcical  situations  that  lead  to  misunder- 
standings between  the  hero  and  his  wife,  but  in  this  case 
the  story  is  so  silly  and  the  comedy  so  forced  that  one  finds 
the  proceedings  quite  wearisome.  The  players  try  hard,  but 
the  inept  story  material  does  not  give  them  a  chance  to  rise 
to  any  heights.  The  most  amusing  part  of  the  picture  takes 
place  in  the  final  reel,  where  the  hero,  to  win  back  his  wife's 
affections,  rides  a  hazardous  steeplechase  race,  despite  his 
dislike  for  horses.  But  even  this  entertaining  sequence  is 
not  enough  to  redeem  the  picture  as  a  whole: — 

Although  they  loved  each  other  deeply,  Barbara  Stan- 
wyck, an  ardent  horsewoman,  and  Robert  Cummings,  her 
husband,  a  writer  of  historical  novels,  quarrel  constantly 
over  his  dislike  for  horses,  and  over  her  dislike  of  the  fact 
that  his  work  brought  him  feminine  attention.  Numerous 
petty  arguments,  particularly  over  the  attentions  paid  Bar- 
bara by  Patrick  Knowles,  a  noted  horseman,  and  the  ardent 
advances  made  to  Cummings  by  Diana  Lynn,  an  admirer 
of  his  work,  result  in  the  young  couple  being  divorced  after 
seven  years  of  married  life.  Barbara  is  given  custody  of 
their  two  children,  and  she  moves  into  Knowles'  adjoining 
estate.  Diana,  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  situation,  be- 
comes Cumming's  secretary,  but  Barbara,  still  in  love  with 
Cummings,  breaks  up  her  romantic  campaign  by  sending 
the  children  over  to  Cummings'  home.  Meanwhile  Willie 
Best,  Cummings'  groom,  discovers  that  "Albert,"  an  aged 
horse  Cummings  had  given  to  Barbara  before  the  divorce, 
was  a  sensational  jumper;  he  induces  him  to  enter  the  horse 
in  the  Virginia  Cup  steeplechase.  Knowles,  who  had  his 
heart  set  on  winning  the  cup,  chides  Cummings  about 
"Albert's"  age  and  dares  him  to  ride  the  horse  himself. 
Cummings  accepts  the  challenge.  On  the  day  of  the  race, 
"Albert"  outjumps  and  outruns  the  other  horses,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  he  has  to  stop  every  time  Cummings  falls 
out  of  the  saddle,  finally  winning  the  race  empty-saddled. 
Barbara,  aware  that  Cummings  had  risked  his  neck  to  win 
the  cup  for  her,  reunites  with  him. 

Dwight  Mitchell  Wiley  wrote  the  screen  play,  Seton  I. 
Miller  produced  it,  and  Irving  Pichel  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Peggy  Wood,  Robert  Benchley  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


March  23,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


47 


"Gilda"  with  Rita  Hayworth 
and  Glenn  Ford 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  110  mm.) 

This  melodrama  of  love  and  hate,  set  against  the  lavish 
background  of  a  Buenos  Aires  gambling  casino,  should  go 
over  well  with  adult  audiences,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  story  is  a  vague  and  confusing  one.  Credit  is  due  Charles 
Vidor  for  his  expert  direction,  for,  despite  the  bewildering 
and  somewhat  pointless  script,  he  has  given  to  the  proceed' 
ings  a  sense  of  excitement  and  suspense  that  grips  the  spec 
tator  from  start  to  finish.  So  well  has  he  staged  the  piece 
that  only  discriminating  patrons  will  find  its  vagueness 
disappointing.  It  is  an  unpleasant  picture,  however,  for  it 
deals  with  crime  and  passion,  and  it  revolves  around  char- 
acters who  are  extremely  unsympathetic  and  absolutely 
devoid  of  moral  sense.  Several  of  the  scenes,  particularly 
those  in  which  Miss  Hayworth  sings  and  dances,  are  quite 
sensuous.  It  is  definitely  not  a  picture  for  children: — 

Glenn  Ford,  a  caustic  young  gambler  with  an  ability  to 
use  his  fists,  becomes  confidential  aide  to  George  Macready, 
sinister  owner  of  a  Buenos  Aires  gambling  casino,  who  was 
secret  head  of  an  international  cartel,  operating  in  tung- 
sten, which  was  sponsored  by  the  Nazis.  Shortly  after  Ger- 
many's capitulation,  Macready  leaves  on  an  extended  trip, 
leaving  Ford  in  charge  of  his  operations.  He  returns  from 
the  trip  with  Rita  Hayworth,  a  worldy  woman,  whom  he 
introduces  to  Ford  as  his  bride,  without  realizing  that  she- 
was  a  former  sweetheart  of  Ford's,  and  that  both  felt  an 
intense  love  and  hatred  for  each  other.  Macready  makes 
Ford  responsible  for  Rita,  and  the  young  gambler,  out  of 
loyalty  to  Macready,  is  compelled  to  endure  her  taunts  and 
to  cover  up  her  flirtations  with  other  men.  In  the  course 
of  events,  Macready  murders  a  Nazi  agent  and  is  com- 
pelled to  flee  the  country.  He  fakes  an  ocean  plane  crash, 
leading  all  to  believe  that  he  had  perished.  Ford  takes 
command  of  his  operations  and  marries  Rita,  but,  instead 
of  living  with  her,  he  virtually  makes  her  a  captive  and 
causes  her  to  suffer  for  the  many  taunts  he  had  endured. 
Meanwhile  Joseph  Calleia,  a  secret  police  agent,  closes  in 
on  the  cartel  and  persuades  Ford  to  give  up  his  control. 
He  urges  him  also  to  effect  a  reconciliation  with  Rita. 
Macready  suddenly  appears  on  the  scene  and,  accusing  Ford 
and  Rita  of  double-crossing  him,  attempts  to  shoot  them. 
But  Steve  Geray,  a  philosophical  washroom  attendant,  stabs 
him  to  death.  Calleia  declares  the  killing  to  be  one  of  self- 
defense,  clearing  Geray  and  permitting  Ford  and  Rita  to 
leave  the  country  and  start  life  anew. 

Marion  Parsonnet  wrote  the  screen  play  and  Virginia 
Van  Upp  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Joe  Sawyer,  Gerald 
Mohr,  Robert  Scott  and  others. 


"Johnny  Comes  Flying  Home"  with 
Richard  Crane  and  Faye  Marlowe 

(20th  Century-Fox;  April;  time,  65  min.) 

A  fair  program  comedy-drama.  The  story,  which  revolves 
around  the  trials  and  tribulations  of  a  trio  of  ex- Army  fliers, 
who  seek  to  build  up  a  private  air  freight  service,  follows  a 
familiar  pattern,  but  since  its  theme  is  timely,  and  since  it 
combines  appealingly  human  interest,  romance,  and  some 
comedy,  it  should  get  by  nicely  with  undiscriminating  audi- 
ences. All  the  principal  characters  are  sympathetic,  and 
several  of  the  situations  are  filled  with  pathos.  Most  of  the 
excitement  occurs  at  the  finish,  where  the  hero  risks  his 
life  to  test  a  new  jet  plane,  thus  earning  enough  money  to 
finance  the  purchase  of  a  second  plane  and  to  insure  the 
success  of  himself  and  his  buddies: — 

Richard  Crane,  Charles  Russell,  and  Henry  Morgan,  ex- 
Army  pilots,  find  their  civilian  jobs  boring  after  the  ex- 
citement of  their  war  days.  By  pooling  their  savings,  they 
buy  a  war-surplus  C-47  and  set  themselves  up  in  an  air 
freight  business.  Crane,  warned  by  Army  doctors  to  stay 
out  of  the  air  because  of  a  nervous  ailment,  becomes  busi- 
ness manager  of  the  firm  while  Morgan  and  Russell  do  the 


flying.  Romantic  complications  enter  Crane's  life  when, 
over  his  objections,  his  partners  hire  Martha  Stewart,  an 
aircraft  worker,  as  their  mechanic.  The  three  partners  soon 
find  that  repairs  and  but  one  plane  left  them  in  the  red  and, 
to  make  matters  worse,  their  plane  is  impounded  because 
of  inability  to  meet  a  repair  bill.  Their  heroic  rescue  of  a 
stranded  millionaire  and  the  subsequent  reward  enables 
them  to  regain  their  plane,  but  they  realize  that,  in  order 
to  obtain  worthwhile  hauling  contracts,  they  must  have  a 
second  plane.  Miles,  who  needed  money  to  pay  for  his 
wife's  (Faye  Marlowe)  confinement,  secretly  signs  to  test 
a  new  jet  plane  for  a  fee  of  $10,000 — enough  to  pay  the 
hospital  and  buy  an  extra  plane.  Crane  begs  Russell  to 
give  up  the  flight  for  his  wife's  sake,  but  his  friend  refuses. 
On  the  day  of  the  test,  Crane  locks  Russell  in  a  telephone 
booth  and  takes  the  plane  up  himself.  His  successful  flight 
proves  to  him  that  he  was  physically  fit  to  fly  again,  and  the 
fee  insures  the  payment  of  the  hospital  bill  as  well  as  the 
purchase  of  the  second  plane. 

Jack  Andrews  and  George  Bricker  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Aubrey  Schenck  produced  it,  and  Benjamin  Stoloff 
directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Wife  of  Monte  Cristo"  with 
Lenore  Aubert  and  John  Loder 

(PRC,  April  23;  time,  80  min.) 

By  far  the  costliest  picture  it  has  ever  produced,  PRC 
takes  a  big  step  forward  with  this  adventure  melodrama, 
which  has  a  "Robin  Hood"  theme.  It  is  a  good  program 
entertainment,  the  sort  that  has  popular  appeal,  for  it  offers 
most  movie-goers  the  ingredients  they  enjoy — fast  horse- 
back riding,  thrilling  fights,  exciting  swordplay,  and  a 
colorful,  dashing  heroine,  who  valiantly  risks  her  life  to 
protect  the  poor  from  political  oppressors.  The  plot  is  not 
without  its  inconsistencies,  but  the  average  picture-goer 
will,  no  doubt,  overlook  these  since  the  story  on  the  whole 
is  presented  in  an  interesting  way.  John  Loder,  as  the 
villainous  prefect  of  police,  and  Lenore  Aubert,  as  the 
daring  Countess  of  Monte  Cristo,  do  well  in  their  respective 
roles,  but  the  choice  of  Martin  Kosleck,  as  the  Count  of 
Monte  Cristo,  is  not  a  happy  one;  he  lacks  the  agility  and 
dash  one  enjoys  seeing  in  the  role  he  portrays.  The  action 
takes  place  in  Paris  in  1832,  and  great  care  has  gone  into 
the  reproduction  of  the  settings  and  styles  of  that  period. 
Not  the  least  of  the  film's  assets  is  its  exploitable  title: — 

With  the  plague  sweeping  through  Paris,  the  Prefect  of 
Police  and  his  political  cohorts  (Charles  Dingle  and  Frits 
Kortner)  secretly  capitalize  on  the  poor  by  selling  them 
poisonous  medicine  at  exhorbitant  prices.  Monte  Cristo, 
.  having  dedicated  his  wealth  to  fighting  tyranny  and  in- 
justice, disguises  himself  in  a  black  cloak  and  mask  and, 
known  only  as  "The  Avenger,"  heads  a  band  of  loyal 
followers  who  destroy  the  poisonous  medicine  casks  as 
they  enter  the  city.  During  one  of  the  raids,  the  Count  is 
wounded  in  the  hand.  Fearful  lest  his  injury  give  away  his 
identity,  he  leaves  Paris.  Meanwhile  the  Countess,  attend- 
ing a  dinner  given  by  the  Prefect  of  Police,  learns  that  he 
had  long  suspected  the  Count  of  being  "The  Avenger." 
To  thwart  and  confuse  him,  the  Countess,  an  expert  swords- 
woman,  assumes  the  disguise  of  the  "Avenger"  and  carries 
on  his  work.  She  flirts  with  the  Prefect  and  his  companions 
to  learn  the  details  of  the  extortion  scheme,  and  gains  from 
them  damaging  admissions  that  lead  to  the  death  of  the 
Prefect's  collaborators.  Eventually,  the  Prefect  discovers 
the  Countess'  masquerade  and  imprisons  her.  But  the  Count, 
his  hand  now  healed,  disposes  of  the  Prefect  in  an  exciting 
sword  duel  and  effects  his  wife's  escape. 

Dorcas  Cochran  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leon  Fromkess 
produced  it,  and  Edgar  G.  Ulmer  directed  it.  Jack  Grant 
was  associate  producer.  The  cast  includes  Eduardo  Cianelli, 
Fritz  Feld  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


48 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  23,  1946 


British  films  which  are  accepted  by  this  country.  American 
distributors,  it  is  indicated,  have  sought  to  make  their  peace 
by  investing  in  British  production  companies  and  by  under- 
taking to  release  British  films  in  the  United  States.  De- 
pending  on  how  the  business  is  handled,  this  arrangement 
could  operate  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned  or  it  could 
degenerate  into  a  vicious  international  cartel.  A  course 
should  be  set  before  it  is  too  late. 

"It  goes  without  saying  that  American  exhibitors — the 
independent  exhibitors,  at  least— would  welcome  additional 
sources  of  product  designed  to  relieve  the  existing  film 
shortage.  During  the  past  ten  years  the  principal  American 
distributors — the  Big  Eight — have  systematically  reduced 
the  number  of  their  releases  so  that  the  exhibitors  are 
forced  to  buy  in  a  sellers'  market.  But  under  the  plans  for 
the  handling  of  British  films  in  this  country  by  certain  of 
those  d.stributors,  there  is  a  doubt  as  to  whether  their  total 
annual  releases  will  be  increased.  There  is  also  a  question 
as  to  whether  the  British  films  will  be  allowed  to  sink  or 
swim  on  their  own  merits  or  whether  they  will  be  forced 
upon  the  exhibitors  as  a  condition  to  the  right  to  buy  Holly- 
wood films. 

"These  questions  are  disturbing  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors and  their  misgivings  have  been  voiced  at  recent 

meetings. 

"With  only  a  few  exceptions  foreign  made  pictures  have 
not  found  favor  with  American  audiences.  It  is  not  that 
Americans  are  provincial — their  own  Hollywood  produc- 
tions are  universal  in  their  appeal.  The  reason  is  that  most 
foreign  pictures,  especially  those  made  in  England,  are  so 
excessively  'native.'  The  Hollywood  writers  and  actors  have 
achieved  standards  of  diction  and  enunciation  which  make 
their  productions  popular  throughout  the  English  speaking 
world.  In  order  to  match  Hollywood's  success  the  British 
productions  must  attain  that  standard. 

"The  current  March  of  Time,  'Challenge  to  Hollywood,' 
Vol.  12,  No.  5,  serves  as  a  sample  case.  It  tells  of  the 
great  preparations  being  made  by  the  British  producers  and 
contains  scenes  from  some  of  the  pictures.  We  urge  ex- 
hibitors to  see  this  film.  They  should  then  consider  what 
the  effect  on  American  audiences  would  be  if  they  used 
these  scenes  as  advertising  trailers.  It  is  not  our  purpose, 
nor  would  it  be  fair,  to  rate  the  pictures  according  to  these 
samples.  But  we  deem  it  proper  to  comment  on  the  unre- 
strained British  accents  of  most  of  the  actors. 

"British  producers  will  have  to  learn,  possibly  at  some 
cost,  that  among  Americans  accents  of  such  thickness  are 
associated  with  character  bits,  butlers  and  comics — not  with 
principals.  There  is  no  need  for  those  actors  to  become 
completely  Americanized;  if  they  will  pattern  themselves 
after  Cary  Grant  and  other  distinguished  English  actors 
in  Hollywood  they  will  do  all  right.  This  may  take  some 
time,  but  it  will  have  to  be  done  before  the  'invasion'  be- 
comes a  challenge  to  Hollywood  or  a  benefit  to  American 
exhibitors. 

"An  influx  of  British  pictures  which  are  acceptable  to 
American  audiences  would  be  a  tonic  for  the  entire  industry. 
There  is  need  for  such  pictures  in  addition  to,  but  not  in 
lieu  of,  the  Hollywood  productions.  But  they  must  be 
marketed  on  their  merits  and  not  forced  on  the  independent 
exhibitors. 

"In  demanding  the  right  to  accept  or  reject  these  impor- 
tations in  the  exercise  of  their  free  will,  the  independent 
exhibitors  are  on  solid  ground.  While  the  major  companies 
have  sometimes  included  'foreigns'  in  their  blocks,  they 
have  always  protected  their  own  theatres  against  such  pic- 
tures. This  usually  is  accomplished  by  writing  selective 
rights  or  exclusion  rights  into  the  contracts  licensing  pic- 
tures to  affiliated  theatres.  Anyone  desiring  to  pursue  the 
subject  will  find  clauses  expressly  excluding  foreign  pictures 
in  the  affiliated  theatre  franchises  which  are  a  part  of  the 
proof  in  the  Government's  suit.  And  finally,  Sec.  TV  (b) 
of  the  Consent  Decree  provided  that  no  consenting  dis- 


tributor should  require  an  exhibitor  to  license  foreigns  as 
a  condition  of  licensing  other  features. 

"Eric  Johnston,  new  head  of  the  Hays  Association,  hai 
made  some  notable  statements  on  the  subject  of  free  enter- 
prise. The  right  of  the  British  producers  to  offer  their  films 
to  American  exhibitors,  and  the  right  of  the  exhibitors  to 
accept  those  which  are  worthy  and  to  reject  those  which  are 
not,  constitutes  free  enterprise.  Any  mutual  back-scratching 
arrangement  whereby  the  British  and  American  producers 
exchange  products  and  force  them  on  unwilling  exhibitors 
would  be  a  denial  of  free  enterprise. 

"We  do  not  recall  that  Mr.  Hays  ever  protested  against 
the  gradual  monopolization  of  the  American  industry  by 
the  Big  Eight.  Mr.  Johnston  now  has  the  opportunity  to 
halt  this  threatened  international  cartel  in  its  incipiency. 
He  may  offend  some  of  his  members  by  insisting  on  free 
enterprise  now,  but  he  will  save  them  a  lot  of  grief  in  the 
years  ahead." 


"The  Outlaw"  with  Jane  Russell, 
Jack  Buetel,  Walter  Huston 
and  Thomas  Mitchell 

(United  Artiits,  Feb.  8;  time.  115  min.) 

This  western,  which  has  been  kept  out  of  release  for  the 
past  four  years,  due  to  censorship  difficulties,  will  probably 
do  outstanding  business  because  of  the  vast  amount  of  pub- 
licity it  has  garnered  for  itself.  The  chief  purpose  for  which 
the  picture  has  been  produced  seems  to  be  to  attract  picture- 
goers  by  making  an  appeal  to  their  sex  passions.  The  sex 
situations,  both  in  action  and  in  dialogue,  are  suggestive  to 
such  an  extreme  that  the  picture  is  definitely  not  for  the 
family  circle,  least  of  all  the  children.  Other  than  its  studied 
emphasis  on  the  sex  angle,  which  is  the  most  brazen  the 
screen  has  seen  in  years,  the  story  itself  is  fairly  interesting, 
with  a  good  share  of  gunplay  and  suspense,  and  with  a 
number  of  situations  of  high  melodramatic  value.  But  it 
is  an  unpleasant  story,  containing  nothing  that  will  appeal 
either  to  one's  intellect  or  to  one's  emotions.  The  principal 
characters  live  by  lawlessness,  and  not  one  does  anything  to 
win  the  spectator's  sympathy.  At  times  the  action  bogs  down, 
and  at  other  times  the  dialogue  is  so  absurd  that  laughter  is 
provoked  in  scenes  meant  to  be  dramatic.  Walter  Huston, 
as  a  gambler,  and  Thomas  Mitchell,  as  the  sheriff,  give  their 
usual  expert  portrayals,  but  not  much  can  be  said  for  the 
acting  of  Jack  Buetel,  as  Billy  the  Kid,  and  Jane  Russell,  as 
a  half-breed  girl;  their  performances  are  amateurish. 

The  story  opens  with  Buetel,  a  young  outlaw  without 
morals,  acquiring  through  questionable  means  a  horse  owned 
by  Huston,  whose  reputation  as  a  killer  was  known  widely. 
Buetel's  determination  to  retain  the  horse  fascinates  Huston, 
leading  to  a  close  association  between  the  two.  Their  kin- 
ship in  crime  incurs  the  enmity  of  Sheriff  Thomas  Mitchell, 
Huston's  former  pal,  who  orders  them  out  of  town.  Both 
decline  to  leave,  but,  when  Buetel  is  wounded  in  a  gunfight 
as  the  sheriff  tries  to  arrest  him  for  a  killing,  Huston  helps 
the  young  desperado  to  escape  and  takes  him  to  the  cabin 
of  Jane  Russell,  his  (Huston's)  girl-friend,  whose  brother 
had  been  killed  by  Buetel.  Jane,  despite  her  hatred  for 
Buetel,  switches  her  affections  from  Huston  to  him.  Huston, 
disgruntled,  makes  a  deal  with  Buetel  to  return  his  horse  in 
exchange  for  Jane.  From  then  on  the  action  concerns  itself 
with  the  efforts  of  Huston  and  Buetel  to  escape  from  the 
territory,  with  Mitchell  close  on  their  heels.  The  chase  is 
marked  by  a  series  of  events  in  which  violence  enters  the 
love  relationship  between  Jane  and  Buetel,  and  in  which  the 
different  principals  attempt  to  double-cross  one  another. 
Eventually,  Huston  is  killed  by  the  sheriff,  who  in  turn,  is 
outwitted  by  Buetel  when  he  uses  trickery  in  an  attempt 
to  disarm  him.  It  all  ends  with  the  sheriff  ignominously 
handcuffed  to  a  post,  while  Buetel  and  Jane  ride  off  into  the 
sunset. 

Jules  Furthman  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Howard  Hughes 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Joe  Sawyer  and 
others. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF~FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MARCH  30,  1946  No.  13 


JACKSON  PARK  THEATRE  DECISION 
NOW  CONCLUSIVE 

In  a  last  desperate  effort  to  upset  the  Jackson  Park 
Theatre's  sweeping  victory  against  them  in  its  anti' 
trust  suit,  in  which  it  was  awarded  treble  damages  of 
$360,000  and  counsel  fees  of  $30,000,  the  defendant 
distributors  and  affiliated  circuits  in  Chicago  filed 
with  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  on  Friday,  March  22, 
a  petition  requesting  a  re-hearing  on  the  grounds  that 
the  Jackson  Park  Theatre's  specification  of  damages 
was  imperfect. 

On  Monday,  March  25,  the  Court  denied  the  peti- 
tion,  thus  bringing  the  case  to  a  definite  close. 

As  pointed  out  in  the  March  9  issue  of  this  paper, 
the  decision  in  the  Jackson  Park  Theatre  Case  is  one 
of  the  most  important  ever  handed  down  by  the  Su- 
preme  Court,  insofar  as  it  affects  the  motion  picture 
industry,  for  it  serves  to  help  the  independent  ex- 
hibitors  hurdle  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  they  have 
had  to  contend  with  in  the  filing  of  treble  damage  suits 
under  Section  7  of  the  Sherman  Act — the  difficulty 
of  proving  losses  resulting  from  discriminatory  prac- 
tices  in  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of  pictures. 
"The  constant  tendency  of  the  courts,"  said  Chief 
Justice  Stone  in  the  majority  opinion,  "is  to  find  some 
way  in  which  damages  can  be  awarded  where  a  wrong 
has  been  done.  Difficulty  of  ascertainment  is  no  longer 
confused  with  the  right  of  recovery  for  a  proven  in- 
vasion  of  the  plantiffs'  rights.  .  .  The  most  elementary 
conceptions  of  justice  and  pubic  policy  require  that 
the  wrong'doer  shall  bear  the  risk  of  the  uncertainty 
which  his  own  wrong  has  created." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  I  have  received  from  this 
paper's  subscribers  an  unusual  number  of  requests  for 
extra  copies  of  the  March  9  issue,  in  which  was  re' 
produced  Abram  F.  Myers1  comprehensive  analysis  of 
the  decision,  it  is  manifest  that  the  Supreme  Court's 
ruling  has  served  to  encourage  independent  exhibitors 
who  believe  that  their  grievances  against  the  major 
distributors  and  the  affiliated  circuits  are  somewhat 
similar  to  those  of  the  Jackson  Park  Theatre.  A  few 
of  them  have  asked  my  advice  as  to  whether  or  not 
their  particular  situations  would  come  under  the 
ruling. 

Giving  advice  on  such  a  matter  would  require  legal 
training,  as  well  as  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  anti- 
trust laws;  and  since  I  am  not  a  lawyer,  I  cannot  under- 
take to  advise  any  one  as  to  what  he  should  do. 

I  am  sorry  that  I  am  compelled  to  disappoint  some 
subscribers  but  I  will  not  violate  my  rule  of  refraining 
from  giving  advice  on  matters  that  I  am  unfamiliar 
with.  An  exhibitor  must  consult  a  lawyer  in  matters 
legalistic. 


MORE  ON  MOTION  PICTURE  CREDIT 
THE  INDUSTRY  DIDN'T  GET 

Walter  T.  Brown,  who  was  Associate  Coordinator 
on  the  Executive  Staff  of  the  War  Activities  Commit- 
tee, has  sent  me  the  following  letter,  dated  March  26: 

"In  connection  with  your  story,  'Motion  Picture 
Credit  the  Industry  Didn't  Get,'  I  would  like  to  point 
out  that  16mm  gift  films  carried  trailers  saying,  in 
effect,  that  the  films  were  the  gifts  of  the  Motion  Pic- 
ture Industry.  The  wording  of  these  trailers  was 
changed  from  time  to  time. 

"Further,  35  mm  versions  of  gift  films,  shown  in 
the  theatres  of  the  United  States,  carried  trailers  tell- 
ing that  the  film  was  an  overseas  gift  to  service  men 
and  women.  In  this  way  both  service  people  and  at- 
home  audiences  knew  that  the  films  were  furnished 
gratis. 

"The  files  of  the  Army  Overseas  Motion  Picture 
Service  and  the  Public  Relations  Bureau,  as  well  as 
the  War  Activities  Committee  and  the  files  of  the 
producers,  bulged  with  letters  from  men  and  women 
overseas  voicing  their  appreciation  and  thanks  for  the 
free  films.  I  am  enclosing  tear  sheets  from  the  last 
'Movies  at  War'  which  show  some  unusual  corre- 
spondence concerning  overseas  films.  At  times  the 
enemy  forgot  his  orders  to  watch  American  films. 
Occasionally  his  eagerness  to  see  a  film  cost  him  his 
freedom  or  his  life. 

"I  know  you  will  want  to  remind  your  readers  of 
the  errors  in  fact  and  conclusion  in  the  March  23 
edition." 

Upon  receipt  of  Mr.  Brown's  letter,  I  communi- 
cated with  three  servicemen,  friends  of  mine,  who 
have  no  connection  with  the  industry,  and  asked  them 
whether  or  not  they  were  aware  of  the  fact  that  the 
pictures  they  had  seen  overseas  had  been  a  gift  of  the 
motion  picture  industry.  The  first,  who  had  spent  20 
months  in  the  European  theatre,  told  me  that  he  had 
seen  about  a  dosen  pictures.  He  recalled  that  some  of 
the  pictures  were  preceded  by  trailers  indicating  that 
the  showing  had  been  arranged  through  the  Army 
Pictorial  Service  but  he  could  not  recall  seeing  any 
mention  about  the  picture  being  a  gift  from  the  in- 
dustry. The  second  serviceman,  who  had  spent  14 
months  in  Africa,  fallowed  by  13  months  in  Italy, 
did  not  know  that  the  pictures  were  gifts  until  he 
reached  Italy,  and  even  then,  in  a  good  many  instances, 
he  had  seen  nothing  that  would  indicate  that  the  par- 
ticular picture  he  was  seeing  had  been  furnished  gratis 
by  the  industry.  The  third  serviceman,  a  marine,  who 
had  spent  a  total  of  33  months  in  the  South  Pacific, 
had  been  aware  that  the  films  were  industry  gifts, 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


50 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  30,  1946 


"So  Goes  My  Love"  with  Myrna  Loy 
and  Don  Ameche 

(Universal,  April  19;  time,  87  min.) 

Set  in  the  1870's  and  dealing  with  the  early  do- 
mestic life  of  Hiram  Maxim,  the  inventor,  this  comedy- 
drama  is  a  charming,  sentimental  picture,  with  human 
appeal,  loveable  characterizations,  and  delightful  com- 
edy; it  should  direct  an  appeal  mainly  to  family  audi- 
ences in  small-town  and  neighborhood  theatres.  Soph- 
isticated audiences  may  find  it  tiresome  because  of  its 
slow-paced  action  and  its  quiet  type  of  humor,  but 
that  is  in  keeping  with  the  mood  of  the  story,  which 
requires  just  such  a  tempo.  Except  for  a  highly  dra- 
matic sequence  towards  the  finish,  the  emphasis  is  on 
the  comedy,  but  in  several  instances  the  situations 
are  so  contrived  and  long-drawn  out,  and  the  comedy 
so  forced,  that  they  are  rendered  ineffective.  On  the 
whole,  however,  one  is  kept  chuckling  throughout: — 

Myrna  Loy,  a  spirited  country  girl,  goes  to  New 
York  to  join  her  aunt  and  uncle,  frankly  admitting 
that  she  was  out  to  find  herself  a  wealthy  husband 
and  to  make  marriage  her  career.  She  falls  in  love  with 
Don  Ameche,  a  struggling  young  inventor,  but  be- 
cause he  was  poor  she  accepts  the  marriage  proposal 
of  Richard  Gaines,  a  stuffy  but  wealthy  young  man. 
At  the  last  moment,  however,  she  becomes  dismayed 
at  Gaines'  stuffiness  and  asks  Ameche  to  marry  her, 
even  though  she  knew  that  it  meant  a  hand-to-mouth 
existence.  Their  first  year  of  marriage  is  marked  by 
hardships,  but  Myrna  steadfastedly  encourages 
Ameche  in  his  work  and  he  soon  finds  his  inventions 
clicking.  They  are  blessed  with  a  son,  and  as  time 
passes  Ameche  becomes  more  and  more  famous  and 
accumulates  wealth.  Their  child  (Bobby  Driscoll) 
grows  into  a  mischievous  child,  and  his  pranks  con- 
stantly complicate  Myrna's  life.  She  attempts  to 
interest  Ameche  in  the  community  life  about  him, 
but  he  prefers  eccentricity  to  solid  respectability. 
Selfishly  unaware  of  the  distress  he  was  causing 
Myrna,  Ameche  continues  blithely  aloof  from  the 
outside  world  until  his  son  inadvertantly  causes  an 
accident  that  injures  Myrna  severely  and  jeopardizes 
her  life  and  the  life  of  her  unborn  second  baby.  He 
goes  through  much  agony  until  she  gets  safely  over 
the  crisis,  and  in  gratefulness  for  her  recovery  he 
changes  his  way  of  life  to  please  her. 

Bruce  Manning  and  James  Clifden  wrote  the 
screen  play  based  upon  "A  Genius  in  the  Family" 
by  Hiram  Percy  Maxim.  Jack  H.  Skirball  produced 
it,  and  Frank  Ryan  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Rhys  Williams,  Molly  Lamont,  Sarah  Padden  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Mysterious  Intruder"  with  Richard  Dix 

(Columbia,  April  1 1 ;  time,  62  min.) 
For  those  who  enjoy  murder  melodramas,  this 
latest  "Whistler"  picture  should  give  satisfaction. 
This  time  Richard  Dix  is  shown  as  an  unscrupulous 
private  detective,  who  becomes  involved  in  a  series 
of  kidnappings  and  murders  when  he  attempts  to 
steal  a  fortune  from  a  missing  heiress.  The  story  itself 
is  not  new,  but  by  virtue  of  the  plot's  novel  though 
illogical  twists,  the  good  direction,  and  the  competent 
performances,  one's  interest  is  held  all  the  way 
through.  Moreover,  it  is  swift-moving,  exciting,  and 
suspensive.  It  is  not,  however,  a  pleasant  entertain- 


ment. Dix's  role  is  so  unsympathetic  that  his  at' 
tempted  reformation  at  the  finish,  where  he  pays  for 
his  sins,  has  little  effect  on  the  spectator.  Several  of 
the  situations  offer  tense  melodramatic  thrills: — 

Paul  Burns,  a  kindly  old  music  store  owner,  engages 
Dix  to  find  Pamela  Blake,  a  girl  he  hadn't  seen  in 
seven  years.  He  informs  Dix  that  the  girl's  mother  had 
died  recently,  leaving  her  certain  items  that  would 
net  her  a  fortune.  Plotting  to  obtain  the  fortune  for 
himself,  Dix  arranges  with  Helen  Mowery  to  im- 
personate Pamela  and  sends  her  to  Burns  to  claim  the 
valuables.  Unaware  that  Mike  Mazurki,  a  thief,  was 
hiding  in  the  store  and  listening  to  his  words,  Burns 
tells  Helen  that  the  secret  treasure  consisted  of  two 
recordings  made  by  Jenny  Lind,  which  were  valued 
at  $200,000.  Mazurki  steals  a  box  from  the  cellar  in 
the  mistaken  belief  that  it  contained  the  recordings, 
then  murders  the  old  man  and  kidnaps  Helen,  but  he 
releases  her  when  he  learns  that  she  was  an  impostor. 
Aided  by  Helen,  Dix  locates  Mazurki's  hideout,  but 
the  police  arrive  at  the  same  time.  He  escapes  while 
Mazurki  is  shot  down  in  a  gun  battle.  Detectives 
Barton  MacLane  and  Charles  Lane  learn  of  Dix's 
connection  with  the  case  but  are  unable  to  elicit  from 
him  information  as  to  why  Burns  wanted  to  find 
Pamela.  Long  suspicious  of  Dix's  operations,  they 
locate  Pamela  and  arrange  with  her  to  visit  Dix  to 
learn  about  her  inheritance.  Dix,  planning  to  cheat 
the  girl,  informs  her  of  the  recordings  and  makes  her 
his  prisoner.  She  manages  to  escape  and  contacts  the 
police.  Meanwhile  Helen  had  been  murdered  by 
Regis  Toomey,  her  hotel  manager,  who  had  learned 
from  her  the  secret  of  the  recordings  and  planned  to 
obtain  them  for  himself.  Dix,  wrongfully  suspected  of 
the  murder,  is  compelled  to  go  into  hiding.  To  clear 
himself,  he  decides  to  visit  the  cellar  of  the  music 
store  to  find  the  recordings  and  turn  them  over  to 
Pamela.  There,  he  discovers  Toomey  with  the  records 
in  his  possession;  he  kills  him  in  a  gun  battle.  The 
police,  attracted  by  the  shots,  raid  the  cellar  and, 
suspecting  Dix  of  foul  play,  shoot  him  down. 

Eric  Taylor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Rudolph  C. 
Flothow  produced  it,  and  William  Castle  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Nina  Vale  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Gay  Blades"  with  Allan  Lane 
and  Jean  Rogers 

(Republic,  Jan.  25;  time,  67  min.) 

A  fair  program  entertainment.  It  mixes  comedy  and 
drama  with  romance  and  ice-hockey  and  manages  to 
be  fairly  entertaining  in  each  respect,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  story  is  not  particularly  engrossing.  Most 
of  the  comedy  is  provoked  by  the  efforts  of  Jean 
Rogers,  a  Hollywood  talent  scout,  to  maneuver  Allan 
Lane,  an  ice-hockey  hero,  into  signing  a  movie  con- 
tract. While  never  hilarious,  the  plot  developments 
are  consistently  amusing.  The  closing  scenes,  where 
Lane  abandons  his  screen  career  to  help  his  team- 
mates win  the  hockey  championship,  are  fairly  ex- 
citing. The  performances  are  engaging: — 

In  order  to  find  a  male  lead  who  fitted  the  require- 
ments of  Paul  Harvey,  her  employer,  head  of  Mam- 
moth Studios,  Jean  embarks  on  a  nationwide  search. 
In  New  York  she  meets  Lane,  a  husky  fellow,  and 
sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  sign  him  to  a  contract. 
Lane,  whose  interests  lied  in  ice-hockey  and  archi- 


March  30,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


51 


tecture,  is  so  entranced  by  Jean  that  he  allows  her  to 
convince  him  that  acting  was  his  forte.  Despite  his 
dislike  for  screen  tests,  makeup  applications,  and  elo- 
cution lessons,  Lane  submits  to  them  because  of  his 
infatuation  for  her.  In  doing  so,  however,  he  sacri- 
fices  the  friendship  of  his  teammates,  who  malign  him 
as  a  "softie."  A  tenseness  come  between  Jean  and  Lane 
because  of  her  contempt  for  his  ice-hockey  associates. 
Matters  come  to  a  climax  when,  in  a  decisive  game, 
Lane  accidentally  injures  Frank  Albertson,  his  close 
friend  and  teammate.  The  accident  serves  to  add  to 
the  bitterness  his  other  teammates  felt  for  him.  At- 
tempting to  drown  his  sorrows  in  drink,  Lane  be- 
comes  involved  in  a  street  brawl  and  is  arrested.  The 
disparaging  publicity  about  his  potential  star  throws 
Harvey  into  a  rage,  causing  him  to  cancel  Lane's 
contract.  Jean,  realizing  her  love  for  Lane,  gives  up 
her  job  to  be  with  him.  This  turnabout  of  Jean's 
builds  up  Lane's  morale;  he  rejoins  the  team  and  wins 
the  championship  for  them  in  a  crucial  game.  It  all 
ends  with  Albertson's  recovery,  and  with  Jean  and 
Lane  making  plans  for  their  future  together. 

Albert  Beich  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  George 
Blair  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Anne  Gillis,  Robert  Armstrong,  Edward  Ashley  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Just  Before  Dawn"  with  Warner  Baxter 

(Columbia,  March  7;  time,  65  min.) 

An  ordinary  program  murder  mystery  melodrama, 
which  at  times  is  quite  tedious.  It  is  another  in  the 
"Crime  Doctor"  series,  but  it  is  not  as  exciting  as  its 
predecessors.  In  a  few  situations  it  is  suspensive,  but 
on  the  whole  the  story  is  illogical  and  somewhat  con- 
fusing. The  chief  trouble  with  it  is  that  there  is  too 
much  talk  and  very  little  action.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  plot  is  developed  mostly  by  dialogue,  and  unless 
one  hangs  on  to  every  word  spoken  one  has  no  idea  of 
what  the  story  is  all  about.  There  is  no  romantic  in- 
terest, nor  is  there  any  comedy:— 

Called  to  the  home  of  a  neighbor  (Mona  Barrie) 
to  administer  aid  to  George  Meeker,  a  diabetic,  who 
had  suddenly  collapsed  during  a  party,  Warner 
Baxter,  a  noted  psychiatrist,  uses  the  stricken  man's 
own  case  to  give  him  an  injection  of  insulin.  Meeker 
dies  within  fifteen  minutes,  and  Baxter  discovers  that 
the  hypodermic  needle  had  contained  poison  instead 
of  insulin.  Investigating  the  case,  Baxter  receives  in- 
formation from  Meeker's  sister  (Adelle  Roberts)  that 
leads  him  to  Peggy  Converse,  a  girl  from  whom 
Meeker  had  extorted  money.  But,  before  he  can  ques- 
tion the  girls  fully,  both  disappear.  Later,  Marvin 
Miller,  posing  as  the  dead  man's  brother,  visits  Baxter 
and  makes  an  attempt  on  his  life,  leaving  the  psychi- 
atrist temporarily  blinded.  Different  clues  lead  Baxter 
to  believe  that  Miller  was  the  underworld  agent  of  a 
mysterious  plastic  surgeon,  who  transformed  the 
faces  of  criminals  to  cheat  the  law.  Disguising  himself 
as  a  well  known  criminal,  Baxter  visits  Miller  under 
the  pretense  of  wanting  a  "face-lifting."  Miller  takes 
him  to  a  mortuary  owned  by  Martin  Kosleck,  where 
the  operation  was  to  be  performed.  There  he  discovers 
the  bodies  of  the  missing  girls.  After  arranging  for 
the  quiet  arrest  of  Miller  and  Kosleck,  Baxter  lays 
plans  to  catch  the  mysterious  plastic  surgeon.  Wear- 
ing dark  glasses  and  carrying  a  cane  to  simulate  blind- 


ness, Baxter  brings  together  the  group  that  had  been 
present  at  the  time  of  Meeker's  death.  He  talks  to 
each  privately,  and  while  closeted  with  Wilton  Graff, 
the  family  doctor,  the  latter,  believing  Baxter  to 
be  blind,  pours  a  vial  of  poison  into  his  drink,  thus 
revealing  himself  as  the  guilty  person,  who  had  com- 
mitted the  murders  to  silence  those  who  had  learned 
of  his  identity. 

Eric  Taylor  and  Aubrey  Wisberg  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Rudolph  C.  Flothow  produced  it,  and  William 
Castle  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Perilous  Holiday"  with  Pat  O'Brien 
and  Ruth  Warrick 

(Columbia,  March  21;  time,  89  min.) 
"Perilous  Holiday,"  a  romantic  comedy-melodrama 
set  in  Mexico  City  and  dealing  with  international 
crooks,  suffers  from  a  thin,  confusing  script,  yet  there 
is  such  a  gay  spirit  about  most  of  the  action  that  it 
manages  to  be  entertaining  throughout.  Pat  O'Brien, 
as  an  American  secret  agent  on  the  trail  of  inter- 
national counterfeiters,  but  with  enough  time  on  his 
hands  to  seek  romance  with  two  glamorous  women, 
is  chiefly  responsible  for  the  film's  engaging  quality; 
he  is  properly  hard-boiled  or  roguishly  merry,  accord- 
ing to  the  demands  of  the  situation.  In  several  se- 
quences he  sings  rollicking  Irish  melodies  in  a  most 
enjoyable  way.  The  melodramatic  part  of  the  picture 
is  strictly  hokum,  but  it  has  enough  thrills  and  excite- 
ment to  satisfy  the  average  theatre-goer.  There  are  a 
few  Latin- American  musical  sequences  featuring 
Eddie  LeBaron's  Continental  Orchestra : — 

While  in  Mexico  City  on  a  secret  mission,  O'Brien 
starts  a  flirtation  with  Audrey  Long,  an  American 
vacationist.  Later,  acting  on  orders,  he  switches  his 
attentions  to  Ruth  Warrick,  a  Boston  newspaper- 
woman, to  learn  her  reason  for  coming  to  Mexico. 
Audrey,  to  be  near  O'Brien,  contrives  to  have  Edgar 
Buchanan,  a  wealthy  tourist,  take  her  to  a  local  night- 
club, where  they  join  him  and  Ruth.  There,  O'Brien 
learns  that  Alan  Hale,  owner  of  the  club,  had  been 
responsible  for  the  death  of  Ruth's  father,  and  that 
she  had  come  to  Mexico  to  expose  his  secret  "racket." 
In  the  course  of  events,  both  Buchanan  and  Hale  offer 
O'Brien  a  huge  sum  of  money  to  leave  the  country. 
Meanwhile  Audrey,  to  break  up  the  blossoming  ro- 
mance between  Ruth  and  O'Brien,  informs  her  that 
she  had  become  engaged  to  him.  O'Brien,  suspecting 
Hale  and  Buchanan  because  of  their  offers,  joins  forces 
with  Ruth  to  investigate  them.  They  steal  into  Hale's 
home  and  discover  conclusive  evidence  that  he  and 
Buchanan  intended  to  flood  Europe  with  counterfeit 
United  States  currency.  Both  are  caught  by  Hale, 
who  makes  preparations  to  dispose  of  them.  O'Brien, 
however,  having  anticipated  their  capture,  had  made 
arrangements  with  the  local  police  to  stand  by.  He 
and  Ruth  are  rescued  when  the  police  break  in  and 
round  up  Hale  and  his  confederates.  Audrey,  arriv- 
ing on  the  scene,  confesses  to  Ruth  that  she  had  lied 
about  her  engagement  to  O'Brien,  paving  the  way 
for  a  reconciliation  between  them. 

Roy  Chanslor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Phil  L.  Ryan 
produced  it,  and  Edward  H.  Griffith  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Eduardo  Ciannelli,  Minna  Gombell  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


52 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


March  30,  1946 


but  he,  too,  claimed  that  many  of  the  pictures  failed 
to  carry  trailers  informing  the  servicemen  of  the  in- 
dustry's generosity.  He  pointed  out  that,  during  the 
four  months  he  had  spent  in  Japan,  none  of  the  pic- 
tures he  had  seen  carried  any  mention  that  they  were 
gift  films. 

And-  finally,  here  is  what  my  friend,  the  young 
Army  officer  who  was  connected  prominently  with 
the  industry  before  the  war,  and  who  gave  me  the 
information  on  which  my  editorial  was  based,  has  to 

say: 

"I  can  only  recite  the  facts  as  I  saw  and  assayed 
them.  I  must  say  that,  insofar  as  the  people  at  home 
are  concerned,  the  industry  did  publicize  its  efforts  to 
entertain  the  servicemen  overseas,  because  the  intelli- 
gence that  pictures  were  being  distributed  gratis  to  the 
armed  forces  overseas  came  to  me  in  the  form  of  a 
trailer  exhibited  after  a  feature  I  had  seen  on  my  re- 
turn to  the  United  States.  At  that  time  I  had  eighteen 
months  of  overseas  service  behind  me  and  this  was  the 
first  indication  I  had  of  the  generosity  of  the  motion 
picture  industry. 

"I  subsequently  served  an  additional  seventeen 
months  in  the  South  Pacific  and  saw  scores  of  pictures 
— frequently  far  in  advance  of  domestic  release  dates, 
and  while  I  purposely  watched  for  it  I  never  saw  any 
indication  that  the  pictures  were  donated  by  the  in- 
dustry. In  other  words,  of  all  the  men  who  served 
overseas  and  placed  the  greatest  value  on  the  diversion 
afforded  by  motion  pictures,  few  were  aware  of  the 
industry's  expensive  and  thoughtful  gesture." 

In  view  of  what  these  servicemen  have  to  say,  one 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that,  though  an  effort  was 
made  to  apprise  the  fighting  forces  overseas  of  the 
industry's  contribution  towards  the  upkeep  of  their 
morale,  the  methods  employed  to  accomplish  that  aim 
were  not  very  effective.  Accordingly,  the  responsi- 
bility for  this  inefficacy  lies  at  the  door  of  the  War 
Activities  Committee. 


AGAIN  ABOUT  CANDY  PROFITS 

As  predicted  in  the  March  16  issue  of  this  paper, 
the  exhibitors  have  not  taken  too  kindly  to  the  ideas 
expressed  recently  by  Jack  Cohn,  Columbia's  exec- 
utive vice-president,  who  believes  that  a  theatre's 
candy  concession  receipts  should  be  considered  as  part 
of  the  gross  receipts  in  accounting  for  percentage  en- 
gagements. 

According  to  a  report  in  weekly  Variety,  the  stand- 
ing committee  of  the  Associated  Theatre  Owners  of 
Indiana,  through  Don  Rossiter,  its  secretary,  has  ad- 
vised its  independent  exhibitor  members  to  resist 
distributor  claims  for  a  share  of  the  candy  profits  as  a 
"new  inroad  on  the  privacy  and  right  to  operate  their 
business  as  they  see  fit." 

"Your  committee,"  said  Rossiter,  "would  like  to 
point  out  that  if  an  exhibitor  includes  concession  over- 
head in  charges  against  percentage  picture  earnings, 
it  is  because  he  has  been  forced — if  he  wants  to  show 
a  profit — to  do  so  by  the  exorbitant  film  rentals 
charged.  .  .  .  Even  if  we  concede  to  the  distributors 
that  it  is  wrong  to  charge  concession  overhead  against 
percentage  pictures,  how  can  the  distributors  by  the 
wildest  stretch  of  the  imagination  demand  a  percentage 
of  the  concession  receipts?  At  the  most,  concession 
overhead  should  be  separated  from  theatre  overhead." 


HARRY  BRANDT — THE  PSEUDO- 
INDEPENDENT 

The  trade  papers  report  that  a  group  headed  by 
Harry  Brandt,  who,  besides  owning  a  circuit  of 
theatres  in  and  about  the  New  York  area,  is  head  of 
the  Independent  Theatre  Owners  Association  of  New 
York,  has  announced  plans  for  the  formation  of  a 
new  producing  and  national  distributing  company,  as 
well  as  the  purchase  of  Film  Classics,  which  deals  in 
the  distribution  of  reissues. 

Under  the  plan  devised  by  Brandt  and  his  asso- 
ciates, the  new  pictures,  as  well  as  the  reissues  now 
handled  by  Film  Classics,  would  be  distributed 
through  exchanges  in  every  key  city  in  the  country, 
with  local  exhibitors  having  a  financial  interest  in  the 
exchange  in  their  city.  According  to  the  report,  Brandt 
has  broached  the  plan  to  his  association's  members, 
and  it  is  said  that  they  favor  it. 

For  many  years,  the  truly  independent  exhibitors 
in  this  country  have  fought  valiantly  to  bring  about 
a  divorcement  of  theatres  from  production-distribu- 
tion as  a  means  of  settling  the  disputes  that  have  kept 
the  industry  in  a  turmoil.  In  this  fight  they  are  being 
helped  by  the  Federal  Government,  which  has  brought 
against  the  producer-distributors  an  anti-trust  suit  in- 
tended to  effect  the  separation  of  their  theatre  opera- 
tions from  their  production-distribution  activities.  Yet 
Brandt,  who  classifies  himself  as  an  "independent 
exhibitor,"  wants  to  do  the  very  thing  the  Govern- 
ment is  trying  to  break  up. 

If  Brandt  should  follow  through  with  his  plans,  it 
will  not  be  the  first  time  that  he  has  done  the  interests 
of  independent  exhibition  a  decided  disservice. 


A  COMMENDABLE  DECISION 

The  recent  agreement  reached  between  Metro- 
Goldwyn-Mayer  and  the  Hal  Wallis  organization  for 
the  production  of  a  single  motion  picture  dealing  with 
the  atomic  bomb  is  indeed  a  commendable  one. 

Prior  to  the  agreement  both  companies  had  em- 
barked on  a  hectic  race  to  be  the  first  to  produce  and 
release  a  picture  relating  to  that  all-important  subject. 

The  agreement  calls  for  the  transfer  to  MGM  of 
all  story  material  and  research  information  gathered 
by  the  Wallis  organization  for  incorporation  in  the 
MGM  picture,  to  be  known  as  "The  Beginning  or 
The  End."  The  decision  to  combine  their  efforts  for 
the  production  of  one  picture,  in  which  both  com- 
panies will  have  a  financial  interest,  was  brought  about 
by  the  mutual  recognition  that  two  pictures  dealing 
with  the  same  subject  would  involve  duplication  of 
scenes,  personalities  and  episodes,  possibly  resulting 
in  a  lessening  of  the  dramatic  appeal  of  each.  Under 
the  agreement,  MGM  will  produce  and  release  the 
picture,  with  Wallis  consulting  on  the  different  phases 
of  production. 

Harrison's  Reports  congratulates  the  MGM  ex- 
ecutives and  Hal  Wallis  on  their  farsightedness  in 
reaching  such  an  agreement,  and  wishes  them  every 
success.  The  production  and  simultaneous  release  of 
two  pictures  dealing  with  the  atomic  bomb  might 
have  endangered  the  huge  investment  each  would 
have  made.  And  it  goes  without  saying  that  the  ex- 
hibitor, too,  might  have  suffered. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published     Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison  s  Reports,  Inc.. 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  „      v    L-  on  m  v  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  Wew  1  ork  *u>  w-  p.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      ltg  Editorial  p0iicy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE~OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  APRIL  6,  1946  No.  14 


THE  NEW  EXHIBITOR  ASSOCIATION 

Meeting  in  St.  Louis  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  of  this 
week,  the  proponents  of  the  Theatre  Activities  Committee 
formally  organized  their  new  exhibitor  organization  under 
the  name  of  the  American  Theatres  Association. 

Elected  as  temporary  officers  for  an  indefinite  period, 
pending  regular  elections  at  some  future  date,  were  the 
following : 

Ted  R.  Gamble,  Portland,  Ore.,  chairman  of  the  board 
of  directors;  Si  Fabian,  New  York  City,  president;  Charles 
P.  Skouras,  Los  Angeles,  first  vice-president;  William 
Skirball,  Cleveland,  second  vice-president;  Sam  Pinanski, 
Boston,  treasurer;  and  William  Crockett,  Virginia,  secretary. 
Elected  also  were  fifteen  regional  vice-presidents. 

Under  the  approved  constitution  and  by-laws,  the  board 
of  directors  will  be  composed  of  one  director  from  each 
state  having  a  population  of  less  than  one  million,  two  from 
states  having  between  one  and  two  million  population,  and 
three  from  states  having  more  than  three  million.  In  states 
having  three  directors  not  more  than  one  shall  be  in  some 
way  associated  with  an  affiliated  circuit.  The  constitution 
requires  that  the  president  shall  appoint,  if  necessary,  suffi' 
cient  directors  at  large  so  that  the  majority  of  the  board  shall 
at  all  times  consist  of  independent  exhibitors. 

Membership  is  open  to  all  persons,  firms,  or  corporations, 
including  associations  to  which  they  belong,  regularly  ex- 
hibiting 35mm.  films  on  a  commercial  basis. 

A  $100,000  budget  was  approved  for  the  first  year  of 
operation,  with  assessments  to  be  made  in  accordance  with 
established  distributor  percentage  figures  for  each  exchange 
area.  The  exhibitors  in  each  area  will  decide  for  themselves 
the  method  by  which  the  money  will  be  raised.  Dues  are 
to  be  determined  by  the  board  of  directors. 

Stating  that  the  primary  purpose  of  the  association  is  to 
establish  the  theatres  of  the  country  as  a  national  institution 
of  dignity,  influence  and  responsibility,  Si  Fabian,  in  his 
keynote  address,  placed  the  specific  objectives  within  a 
framework  of  two  categories — public  relations  and  industry 
welfare. 

In  the  matter  of  public  relations,  he  described  this  cate- 
gory as  having  two  aspects,  internal  and  external.  Internally, 
he  stated  that  the  exhibitors  cannot  adequately  present  the 
true  values  of  the  theatres  as  a  public  institution  "unless 
they  are  made  conscious  of  the  instrumentality  for  public 
good  they  hold  in  their  hands  and  are  militantly  proud  of 
their  association  with  it  and  humbly  aware  of  their  great 
responsibility."  He  added  that  this  phase  of  the  program 
included  consideration  of  a  self-imposed  code  of  ethics  for 
theatres  in  their  relations  with  the  public,  standards  of 
safety,  of  sanitation,  and  of  comfort;  awards  to  industry 
members  for  outstanding  achievement  within  the  industry; 
plaques  of  recognition  for  compliance  with  the  standards 
decided  upon;  an  educational  program  to  improve  the 
knowledge  of  new  members  (and  old)  concerning  good 
business  methods,  pitfalls,  good  and  dangerous  practices, 
and  in  a  broader  sense  engender  within  the  industry  keener 
appreciation  of  the  theatre,  its  products,  its  traditions  and 
the  great  force  it  must  be  in  the  world  community  of  the 
future;  a  social  program  to  develop  among  the  industry  a 
sense  of  oneness,  sympathy  and  fraternity;  and  a  program 
for  passing  on  the  appropriateness  and  wisdom  of  public 
interest  in  screen  subjects. 


Fabian  suggested  that  the  external  phase  of  the  public 
relations  program  should  include  participation  in  public 
charity  projects,  which  would  include  determination  of 
industry  leadership,  methods,  goals,  motivation,  publicity, 
and  general  control;  Government  cooperation  and  the  use 
of  screens  for  Government  subjects;  use  of  theatres  and 
facilities  for  public  cooperation;  public  endorsement  of  in' 
dustry  opposition  to  public  matters  not  selfishly  related  to 
the  industry  but  of  such  character  as  to  recommend  the 
industry's  interest  and  strength  in  their  determination,  such 
as  full  employment,  public  health,  housing,  and  other  public 
matters  in  which  leaders  of  other  industries  have  been  heard 
but  concerning  which  the  industry  has  been  silent;  donations 
to  charity  by  the  industry;  establishment  of  scholarships  by 
the  industry;  awards  to  citizens  for  outstanding  contribu- 
tions to  peace,  science  and  the  arts;  institutional  advertising; 
institutional  radio  programs;  awards  to  writers  for  outstand' 
ing  stories;  and  awards  to  producers  for  outstanding  pro- 
ductions. 

In  the  matter  of  industry  welfare,  Fabian  said  that  it 
would  be  within  the  province  of  the  association  to  "study 
and  assert  the  advocacy  in  legislative,  governmental  and 
other  matters  affecting  the  industry  and  its  operations,"  and 
he  outlined  these  as  including  taxes,  building  codes,  licensing, 
censorship,  interstate  commerce,  public  health  and  discrim- 
inatory legislation. 

Apparently  motivated  by  the  criticisms  that  have  been 
hurled  at  the  formation  of  this  new  association,  Fabian  gave 
a  number  of  assurances  for  the  record.  He  said  that  there 
is  no  intention  or  desire  to  deprive  individual  exhibitors  of 
their  independent  right  to  operate  their  businesses  in  their 
own  best  interests  without  interference  or  coercion;  to 
dominate  intra-industry  matters,  clearance,  distributofcx- 
hibitor  relations,  or  other  internal  trade  practices;  or  to 
permit  producer  affiliated  theatres  to  dominate  or  dictate 
policy  or  action.  He  added  that  it  was  not  the  intention  of 
the  association  to  be  in  disparagement  of  or  in  conflict  with 
efficient  national,  state  and  city  exhibitor  organizations  now 
functioning. 

Among  the  resolutions  adopted  was  one  limiting  audience 
collections  to  one  in  any  calendar  year,  with  the  proceeds 
to  be  divided  among  as  many  charitable  organizations  as 
are  approved  by  a  seven-man  committee,  comprised  of  not 
more  than  three  affiliated  exhibitors  and  not  less  than  four 
independent  exhibitors.  This  resolution  is  in  keeping  with 
the  suggestion  made  recently  by  National  Allied,  which 
urged  a  single  industry  collection  for  all  causes. 

A  cursory  view  of  the  action  taken  in  St.  Louis  leaves 
one  with  the  impression  that  the  stated  objectives  of  the  ATA 
are  admirable,  and  that,  under  its  constitution  and  by-laws, 
independent  exhibitors,  by  reason  of  the  majority  status 
offered  them  on  the  board  of  directors  as  well  as  on  the 
different  committees,  should  have  a  strong  voice  in  the 
decisions  that  will  be  made.  But  when  one  scrutinizes  what 
has  taken  place  one  gets  a  feeling  that  molasses  is  being 
spread  to  catch  some  flies.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  one  might 
well  ponder  the  reasons  why  this  new  association,  which  is 
overwhelmingly  comprised  of  theatremen  who  are  either 
directly  or  indirectly  connected  with  the  affiliated  interests, 
and  who  are  footing  the  bills,  has  set  itself  up  on  a  basis 
that  seemingly  permits  domination  by  independent  exhibitor 
members,  of  whom,  at  thi.>-  tune,  there  are  probably  not 
enough  to  fill  the  places  on  the  hoard  and  the  different 
committees.  Such  a  set-up  smacks  of  the  unnatural. 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


54 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  6,  1946 


"Black  Market  Babies"  with  Kane 
Richmond  and  Ralph  Morgan 

(Monogram,  Jan.  5;  time,  71  mm.) 

An  interesting  program  melodrama,  revolving 
around  a  racket  that  is  said  to  be  flourishing  in  some 
sections  of  the  country — the  sale  for  adoption  of  un- 
wanted, illegitimate  babies.  Since  the  subject  has 
been  publicized  widely  in  newspaper  and  magazine 
articles,  the  picture  is  the  sort  that  lends  itself  to 
exploitation.  The  story  itself  is  thin,  and  its  presen- 
tation follows  a  familiar  racketeer-picture  formula, 
involving  murder,  switching  of  babies,  and  a  crooked 
"mouthpiece"  to  guide  the  nefarious  doings,  but  it 
manages  to  hold  one's  interest  fairly  well  because  of 
the  competent  performances  and  of  the  heart -stirring 
situations.  One  such  situation  shows  the  head  gang- 
ster switching  a  still-born  child  with  the  new-born 
baby  of  his  wife's  sister  in  order  to  complete  an 
adoption  deal;  the  grief  of  the  young  mother,  who 
had  been  falsely  informed  that  her  baby  had  died,  is 
heartbreaking.  It  is  riot  a  cheerful  entertainment,  and 
at  times  the  situations  are  distasteful: — 

Kane  Richmond,  a  cunning  gangster,  forces  Ralph 
Morgan,  a  weak-charactered  doctor,  to  join  him  in 
the  establishment  of  a  maternity  hospital  to  deal  in 
the  sale  of  unwanted  babies.  Under  the  plan,  unwed 
mothers,  as  well  as  others,  could  get  rid  of  their 
babies  without  going  through  legal  adoption  pro- 
cedures, while  Richmond  sold  the  infants  to  people 
who  could  not  otherwise  adopt  children  through  rec- 
ognized agencies.  Guided  by  George  Meeker,  an 
unscrupulous  attorney,  Richmond  operated  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  law.  He  makes  a  slip,  however, 
when  he  concludes  a  deal  with  an  elderly  couple  to 
sell  them  the  illegitimate  baby  of  their  dead  son  and 
Maris  Wrixon.  When  Maris'  baby  dies  at  birth, 
Richmond,  rather  than  lose  the  $5,000  he  had  been 
offered,  replaces  the  dead  child  with  the  new-born 
son  of  Teala  Loring,  his  wife's  sister,  who  in  turn  is 
told  that  her  child  had  died.  Richmond's  troubles 
begin  when  Maris,  unaware  that  her  baby  had  died, 
asks  for  its  return.  When  Richmond  refuses  her 
request,  she  takes  the  matter  to  the  district  attorney, 
whose  investigation  discloses  evidence  of  the  baby 
switch.  Richmond,  arrested  but  released  on  bail,  tries 
to  compel  Morgan  to  accept  responsibility  for  the 
switch,  but  the  unwilling  doctor,  sick  of  the  un- 
scrupulous doings,  refuses  and  kills  him  in  a  fight. 
Teala's  baby  is  returned  to  her,  and  Morgan,  though 
freed  of  Richmond's  murder,  is  held  for  trial  on  the 
baby  deals. 

George  Wallace  Sayre  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Jeffrey  Bernerd  produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Nana  Bryant,  Addison 
Richards  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Devotion"  with  Ida  Lupino,  Olivia 
de  Havilland  and  Paul  Henreid 

(Warner  Bros.,  Apr.  20;  time,  107  min.) 
Artistically  produced,  intelligently  directed,  and 
well  acted,  "Devotion"  is  a  satisfactory  entertain- 
ment for  class  audiences.  Its  slow-paced  action,  its 
heavy  mood,  and  its  intellectual  dialogue,  limits  its 
appeal  for  the  rank  and  file.  The  story,  which  is 
biographical  of  the  famed  Bronte  sisters,  who  wrote 
"Jane  Eyre"  and  "Wuthering  Heights,"  is  a  touch- 
ing period  drama  of  frustated  love,  and  of  the  trials 
and  heartaches  of  the  sisters.  It  has  it  frivolous 
moments,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  cheerless,  because 


the  characters  constantly  find  themselves  in  an  emo- 
tional muddle  Several  of  the  situations,  however, 
direct  a  strong  appeal  to  the  emotions  of  sympathy. 
The  action  takes  place  in  1830,  against  a  Yorkshire 
village  background: — 

Charlotte,  Emily,  and  Anne  Bronte  (Olivia  de 
Havilland,  Ida  Lupino,  and  Nancy  Coleman)  live 
with  their  father,  Rev.  Bronte  (Montagu  Love)  and 
their  erratic  brother,  Bramwell  (Arthur  Kennedy). 
The  girls,  sensitive,  intelligent,  and  high  strung,  con- 
tinually write  poems,  essays,  and  novels.  Bramwell, 
whose  excessive  drinking  was  a  constant  source  of 
embarrassment  to  his  sisters,  nevertheless  enjoyed 
their  confidence  in  his  ability  to  write  poetry  and  to 
paint,  although  he  was  not  adept  in  either  art.  The 
family  having  little  money,  the  sisters  make  big 
sacrifices  to  finance  him.  Romance  comes  into  the  life 
of  Emily  when  she  falls  in  love  with  the  Rev.  Nicholls 
(Paul  Henreid),  the  new  curate  in  her  father's 
parish,  but  Nicholls,  infatuated  with  Charlotte,  can- 
not return  her  love  Impressed  with  the  literary  genius 
of  both  Charlotte  and  Emily,  Nicholls  secretly  buys 
one  of  Bramwell's  paintings  to  finance  their  educa- 
tion in  Brussells.  The  girls  return  to  England  when 
Bramwell  falls  seriously  ill,  arriving  before  his  death. 
Nicholls,  realizing  that  the  love  both  Emily  and  Char- 
lotte felt  for  him  was  causing  them  great  unhappiness, 
leaves  the  parish  to  resolve  the  desperate  situation. 
Months  later,  Charlotte's  "Jane  Eyre"  is  published 
and  it  becomes  a  literary  sensation.  Charlotte  goes  to 
London,  where  she  is  squired  about  in  triumph  by 
the  great  Thackeray  (Sydney  Greenstreet) .  Shortly 
afterwards,  Emily's  "Wuthering  Heights"  is  pub- 
lished, and  many  critics  recognize  it  as  the  greater 
book.  Emily,  grieved  by  her  unrequited  love  for 
Nicholls,  becomes  desperately  ill  and  dies  in  her  hour 
of  triumph.  Soon  thereafter,  Nicholls  returns  from 
London  to  solace  Charlotte. 

Keither  Winter  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert 
Buckner  produced  it,  and  Curtis  Bernhardt  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Dame  Mae  Whitty,  Victor 
Francen  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Night  Editor"  with  William  Gargan 
and  Janis  Carter 

(Columbia,  Apr.  18;  time,  67  min.) 

A  minor  program  murder  melodrama.  It  derives 
its  title  from  the  radio  program  of  the  same  name, 
but  the  story  has  nothing  to  do  with  newspapermen 
other  than  the  fact  that  the  tale  is  a  news  editor's 
recital,  in  flashback,  of  a  detective's  dereliction  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty,  brought  about  by  his  desire 
to  keep  secret  his  illicit  love  affair  with  a  married 
woman.  The  story  is  somewhat  unpleasant  in  that 
the  hero  treats  his  devoted  wife  and  child  shabbily, 
but  his  eventual  regeneration  makes  the  spectator 
feel  more  sympathetic  towards  him.  On  the  whole 
the  picture  should  get  by  with  those  who  are  not 
too  particular  about  their  screen  fare,  for  it  has  a 
fair  share  of  excitement  and  suspense: — 

In  an  effort  to  steer  an  erring  member  of  his  staff 
to  a  better  way  of  life,  Charles  D.  Brown,  a  news 
editor,  relates  the  experience  of  William  Gargan, 
whose  infatuation  for  Janis  Carter,  a  predatory 
society  woman,  had  ruined  his  career  and  had  almost 
broken  up  his  marriage  to  Jeff  Donnell.  While  park- 
ing on  a  lonely  road  with  Janis,  Gargan  had  wit- 
nessed the  murder  "of  a  young  woman,  but  he  had 
not  reported  the  crime  lest  his  affair  with  Janis  be 


April  6,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


55 


found  out.  He  had  been  assigned  to  help  solve  the 
murder  and,  in  the  course  of  his  investigation,  he 
had  discovered  that  the  dead  girl  had  been  a  friend 
of  Janis',  and  had  found  reason  to  suspect  Frank 
Wilcox,  a  banker,  as  the  killer.  When  an  innocent 
vagrant  had  been  arrested  and  found  guilty  of  the 
crime,  Gargan  had  worked  untiringly  to  obtain  evi- 
dence against  Wilcox,  but  Janis,  who  had  fallen  in 
love  with  him,  had  doublecrossed  Gargan  by  swear- 
ing that  she  had  been  to  a  movie  with  Wilcox  on  the 
night  of  the  murder.  To  disprove  that  alibi  and  save 
an  innocent  man  from  the  chair,  Gargan  had  re- 
vealed his  relationship  with  Janis  and  had  proved 
that  he  himself  had  been  with  Janis  on  the  night  of 
the  crime.  Gargan  had  been  stripped  of  his  badge 
for  neglect  of  duty,  but  he  had  gained  his  wife's 
forgiveness  and  had  become  a  contented  family  man. 
The  young  reporter,  for  whose  benefit  the  editor 
had  related  the  story,  vows  to  return  to  his  family 
and  to  change  his  ways. 

Hal  Smith  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ted  Richmond 
produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Harry  Shannon,  Paul  E.  Burns  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Dark  Corner"  with  Lucille  Ball,  , 
Mark  Stevens,  William  Bendix 
and  Clifton  Webb 

(20th  Century-Fox,  May;  time,  99  min.) 

The  followers  of  tough,  hard-hitting  murder  melo- 
dramas should  find  this  exciting  entertainment.  The 
story,  which  revolves  around  an  harassed  private  de' 
tective,  who  is  suspected  of  having  murdered  his 
blackmailing  ex-partner,  has  a  few  glaring  weaknesses 
and  is  a  bit  too  slow  at  times,  but  it  has  been  presented 
in  so  interesting  a  fashion  that  one's  attention  is  held 
throughout.  There  is  no  mystery  involved  since  the 
spectator  is  aware  of  the  methods  employed  to  frame 
the  detective,  for  this  reason  the  interest  lies  in  the 
manner  in  which  he  unravels  the  plot  against  him. 
Several  of  the  situations  are  highly  melodramatic  and 
full  of  suspense.  Mark  Stevens,  as  the  tenacious  de' 
tective,  handy  with  his  fists,  is  very  good,  as  are  the 
other  players  in  the  cast : — 

Aware  that  Cathy  Downs,  his  wife,  was  having 
an  affair  with  Kurt  Krueger,  a  suave  blackmailer, 
Clifton  Webb,  an  art  collector,  employs  William 
Bendix,  a  gangster,  to  carry  out  a  scheme  by  which 
Mark  Stevens  would  be  tricked  into  killing  Krueger. 
Webb  had  learned  that,  years  previously,  Krueger 
had  been  Stevens'  partner,  and  that  he  had  framed 
him  in  an  auto  accident,  causing  him  to  serve  a  three- 
year  prison  term  for  manslaughter.  Bendix  cleverly 
leads  Stevens  to  believe  that  he  had  been  hired  by 
Krueger  to  molest  him,  but  he  fails  to  rouse  Stevens 
to  the  point  of  murdering  the  blackmailer.  Webb, 
impatient,  arranges  for  Bendix  to  kill  Krueger  him- 
self and  to  hide  his  body  in  Stevens'  apartment. 
Shortly  thereafter,  Webb  gets  rid  of  Bendix  by  push- 
ing him  out  of  a  skyscraper  window.  Meanwhile 
Stevens,  aware  that  the  police  would  think  that  he 
had  killed  Krueger  out  of  revenge,  conceals  his  body 
and,  with  the  aid  of  Lucille  Ball,  his  secretary,  begins 
the  job  of  tracking  down  different  clues  to  learn 
who  was  behind  both  murders.  His  investigation 
eventually  leads  him  to  Webb's  art  gallery,  where 
he  comes  upon  conclusive  evidence  that  proves  the 
art  collector's  guilt.  Webb,  gaining  the  upper  hand, 
admits  the  killings  and  prepares  to  make  Stevens  his 


third  victim.  But  his  wife,  having  overheard  his  ad' 
mission  that  he  had  been  responsible  for  her  lover's 
death,  goes  beserk  with  rage  and  shoots  him  down. 
Cleared  of  suspicion,  Stevens  looks  forward  to  a 
peaceful  married  life  with  Lucille. 

Jay  Dratler  and  Bernard  Schoenfeld  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Fred  Kohlmar  produced  it,  and  Henry 
Hathaway  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Reed  Had- 
ley,  Constance  Collier  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Suspense"  with  Belita,  Barry  Sullivan, 
Eugene  Pallette  and  Bonita  Granville 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  101  min.) 
Very  good!  It  is  the  most  expensive  picture  yet 
produced  by  Monogram,  and  a  comparison  of  its 
quality  with  that  of  the  "A"  pictures  produced  by 
the  major  studios  certainly  entitles  it  to  top  playing 
time.  Its  mixture  of  psychological  murder  melodrama 
and  dazzling  ice-skating  routines  is  an  odd  combi- 
nation, but  so  expertly  have  the  two  been  blended 
that  one's  interest  is  gripped  from  start  to  finish. 
The  picture  lives  up  to  its  title  in  that  suspense  is 
ever  present  as  it  weaves  a  tense  tale  of  jealousy  and 
murder,  revolving  around  a  tough,  unscrupulous 
opportunist,  who  makes  love  to  his  employer's  wife 
and  takes  over  his  business.  Some  of  the  situations 
will  keep  the  spectator  on  the  edge  of  his  seat.  The 
skating  sequences  are  extremely  fascinating;  many 
patrons  will  judge  them  as  being  the  best  ever  seen 
on  the  screen.  Belita  executes  her  routines  with  a 
daring  and  grace  that  is  thrilling  to  see.  Moreover,  she 
gives  a  good  account  of  herself  in  the  acting  depart- 
ment, displaying  a  marked  improvement  over  her 
previous  efforts.  Barry  Sullivan,  as  her  aggressive 
lover,  is  cast  in  a  most  unsympathetic  role,  but  his 
performance  is  very  good.  Particularly  noteworthy 
is  the  photography : — 

Penniless,  Sullivan  arrives  in  Los  Angeles  and 
applies  to  Albert  Dekker,  an  ice-show  producer,  for 
a  job.  Starting  as  a  peanut  vendor,  he  soon  wins 
Dekker's  confidence  and  is  promoted  as  his  assist' 
ant.  Dekker  leaves  on  a  business  trip  and,  during  his 
absence,  Sullivan  wins  the  love  of  Belita,  Dekkers' 
wife  and  star  of  the  show.  Upon  his  return,  Dekker, 
noticing  the  infatuation,  closes  the  show  and  takes 
Belita  to  their  mountain  lodge  for  a  vacation.  Sulli- 
van follows  them,  and  Dekker,  insanely  jealous, 
attempts  to  shoot  him  with  a  high-powered  rifle.  The 
shot  causes  a  snow  slide  in  which  Dekker  is  appar- 
ently buried.  Free  to  marry,  Belita  and  Sullivan  find 
their  happiness  marred  by  clues  indicating  that  Dek' 
ker  was  still  alive,  and  by  the  interference  of  Bonita 
Granville,  a  woman  out  of  Sullivan's  past,  who  was 
determined  to  break  up  their  romance.  Dekker  even- 
tually makes  his  appearance  only  to  be  murdered  by 
Sullivan.  Belita,  shocked  by  his  ruthlessness,  demands 
that  Sullivan  give  himself  up.  To  keep  the  murder 
secret,  Sullivan  plots  to  kill  Belita  during  an  ice- 
skating  routine  in  which  she  jumped  through  a  hoop 
of  knives.  He  loses  his  nerve,  however,  and  as  he 
leaves  the  auditorium  Bonita,  in  a  jealous  rage,  shoots 
him  down.  With  husband  and  lover  gone,  Belita 
goes  on  with  her  skating  career. 

Philip  Yordan  wrote  the  screen  play,  Maurice  and 
Frank  King  produced  it,  and  Frank  Tuttle  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  George  E.  Stone,  Miguelito 
Valdes.  Bobby  Ramos  and  his  band  and  others.  1 
Adult  entertainment. 


56 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  6,  1946 


Let  us  analyze  the  events  thus  far.  As  most  of  you  un- 
doubtedly  know,  the  truly  independent  exhibitor  organiza- 
tions,  such  as  Allied  and  the  other  units  of  the  CLE. A., 
have  from  the  start  openly  opposed  the  formation  of  this 
new  association,  not  only  because  its  promoters  represented 
chiefly  the  affiliated  interests,  but  also  because  what  they 
offered  or  proposed  for  the  welfare  of  exhibition  differed 
little  from  the  plans  of  the  existing  exhibitor  organizations. 
Since  the  avowed  purpose  of  the  new  organization  was  to 
establish  a  unified  exhibitor  front  in  matters  other  than 
intra-industry  relations,  one  would  think  that  its  proponents 
would  have  abandoned  the  idea  after  the  cool  reception  ac- 
corded it  among  independent  exhibitors.  But,  despite  this 
conspicuous  absence  of  independent  exhibitor  support,  they 
determined  that  the  new  association  should  come  into  being, 
and  formulated  plans  for  the  St.  Louis  meeting. 

According  to  trade  paper  reports,  some  200  persons  reg- 
istered at  the  meeting.  This  number  included,  besides 
theatremen,  members  of  the  press,  distributor  representa- 
tives, and  exhibitors'  wives.  The  list  of  those  who  attended, 
as  released  by  the  ATA,  reveals  that  the  greatest  majority 
were  affiliated  theatremen.  Four  states  had  no  representa- 
tation  whatever,  and  a  number  of  other  states  did  not  have 
any  independent  representatives.  And  of  the  few  inde- 
pendents who  did  attend,  the  majority  were  there  as 
"observers."  Ted  Gamble,  in  his  address,  stated  that  those 
present  represented  more  than  6,000  theatres.  It  is,  there- 
fore, obvious  that  the  meeting  was  overwhelmingly  domi- 
nated by  the  affiliated  delegates. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  lack  of  independent  exhibitor  at- 
tendance was  a  disturbing  (though  not  unexpected)  factor 
at  the  convention,  and  that,  to  allay  any  fears  that  the 
association  might  be  dominated  by  the  affiliated  members, 
the  delegates  present  went  to  great  lengths  to  lure  the 
independents  by  offering  them  a  majority  voice  in  all 
decisions.  But  why?  Were  they  motivated  by  a  sincere 
desire  to  establish  a  unified  exhibition  front,  or  were  they 
taking  the  first  step  in  an  overall  scheme  to  supplant  the 
inactive  MPTOA,  which  the  affiliated  interests  no  longer 
find  useful? 

That  such  a  move  is  in  the  offing  is  common  industry 
knowledge.  "Chick"  Lewis,  editor  and  publisher  of  Show- 
men's Trade  Review,  has  this  to  say  in  his  March  2 J  issue: 

"There  are  many  who  predict  that  if  the  original  and 
basic  reasons  for  TAC  (ATA)  show  promise  and  progress, 
the  new  organization  may  get  into  other  exhibitor  problems, 
too.  This  would  be  a  natural  growth." 

And  here  is  what  Sherwin  Kane,  editor  of  Motion  Picture 
Datlv,  has  to  say  in  his  April  2  issue: 

"The  Theatre  Activities  Committee  meeting  in  St.  Louis 
quite  obviously  will  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  future 
of  the  MPTOA. 

"If  the  TAC  emerges  from  the  St.  Louis  conference  as  a 
stalwart,  well-organized  exhibitor  body,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  affiliated  circuits  will  confine  their 
organizational  activities  to  it. 

"The  affiliated  circuits,  no  doubt,  will,  in  the  future,  be 
bearing  the  burden  of  financial  support  of  TAC,  just  as 
they  did  during  its  pre-natal  period.  Once  it  is  organized 
the  expenses  will  go  up,  not  down,  and  the  contributions 
of  the  affiliated  circuits  will  be  considerable.  It  would  be 
contrary  to  all  expectations  if  the  circuits  were  to  continue 
their  membership  in  the  MPTOA  under  such  circum- 
stances." 

While  the  MPTOA  never  accomplished  much  for  the 
affiliated  interests,  it  did  come  in  handy  to  them  as  a  front 
in  battling  genuine  independent  exhibitor  organizations 
before  legislative  bodies.  The  legislators,  not  understanding 
the  difference  between  affiliated  and  unaffiliated,  looked 
upon  the  protests  or  recommendations  of  the  MPTOA  as 
coming  from  truly  independent  exhibitors.  The  chief  use  of 
the  MPTOA  was  to  show  division  in  the  independent  ranks. 

The  outcome  of  the  Government's  New  York  anti-trust 
suit  may  find  the  affiliated  circuits  faced  with  many  problems, 
and  it  is  understandable  that  they  would  want  to  have  in 
readiness  an  exhibitor  organization  through  which  they 
could  speak. 

It  should  be  expected  that  the  promoters  of  the  ATA  will 
now  make  a  concerted  drive  to  lure  the  independents  into 
their  ranks.  Harrison's  Reports  suggests  to  the  exhibitors 
that,  for  the  present,  they  assume  an  attitude  of  watchful 
waiting  lest  they  accept  a  gift  horse  and  find  that  they  had 
been  handed  a  jackass. 


A  GREAT  OPPORTUNITY  TO  GAIN 
THE  PUBLIC'S  GOOD  WILL 

Universal  announced  recently  that,  marking  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  death  of  Franklin  D.  Roosevelt,  it  will 
release  on  April  12  "Roosevelt,  Man  of  Destiny,"  a  two- 
reel  short  subject,  which  is  a  newsreel  biography  of  the  late 
president  from  the  time  he  took  office  in  1933  to  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1945. 

A  prominent  Eastern  exhibitor  has  sent  me  the  following 
letter  regarding  this  short  subject: 

"Universal  is  shortly  going  to  distribute  a  two-reel  subject 
called  "Roosevelt,  Man  of  Destiny,"  which  is  about  19 
minutes  of  newsreel  clips  with  not  one  foot  of  new  material, 
put  together  showing  the  highlights  of  Roosevelt's  career 
a?  President  since  his  first  inauguration,  with  the  large  part 
of  the  footage  devoted  to  his  death  and  burial. 

"The  company  apparently  is  selling  this  to  exhibitors  at 
about  50%  higher  than  it  would  get  for  an  ordinary  two- 
reeler,  and  it  will  probablv  be  listed  as  one  of  the  specials 
they  said  they  were  distributing. 

"My  point  in  writing  you  this  is  that  in  the  first  place 
it  seems  to  me  to  be  pretty  small  potatoes  to  throw  together 
newsreel  footage,  and  then  try  to  commercialize  on  the 
death  of  a  President.  If  the  proceeds  were  going  to  a  Roose- 
velt charity  maybe  they  would  have  an  argument,  but  as 
far  as  I  know  all  the  profits  are  going  into  Universale 
pockets,  and  to  have  a  company  do  something  like  this 
for  no  other  purpose  but  to  make  a  couple  of  bucks  out  of 
a  dead  President  is  commercialism  to  the  nth  degree,  and 
in  the  final  analysis,  when  the  company  asks  extra  dough  for 
a  short,  one  would  think  at  least  that  it  would  invest  some 
money  in  a  contribution  to  justify  the  increased  cost." 

There  is  considerable  merit  in  the  opinions  expressed  by 
this  exhibitor,  particularly  his  observation  that  it  is  in  bad 
taste  to  commercialize  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Roosevelt,  unless, 
of  course,  the  proceeds  would  be  used  for  charitable  pur- 
poses. In  the  case  of  the  late  President,  one  thinks  of  the 
Warm  Springs  Foundation,  which  was  his  pet  charity. 

The  more  I  think  of  this  recommendation,  and  the  more 
I  mull  it  over,  the  more  thoroughly  convinced  I  become  that 
Universal,  by  adopting  a  policy  of  distributing  this  short 
subject  under  a  plan  whereby  the  profits  from  film  rentals 
would  be  turned  over  to  the  fight  against  infantile  paralysis, 
would,  indeed,  not  only  confer  a  great  blessing  on  the 
sufferers  of  this  disease,  but  also  win  for  itself  and  the 
entire  industry  the  good  will  and  respect  of  the  public.  An 
appropriately  worded  trailer  could  be  tacked  on  to  the  end 
of  the  two-reeler  informing  the  picture-goers  of  the  con- 
tribution, with  proper  credit  given  to  the  theatre  for 
exhibiting  the  film  and  paying  for  it. 

The  effect  of  such  a  plan  on  the  picture  patrons  cannot 
help  proving  beneficial  to  the  industry  as  a  whole.  During 
the  past  four  years,  hardly  a  month  went  by  without  the 
picture-goers  being  appealed  to  for  their  financial  support 
in  connection  with  either  war  loans  or  charity  drives.  It 
will,  therefore,  come  as  a  pleasant  surprise  to  them  to  learn 
that  the  industry  was  making  a  contribution  of  its  own 
to  a  worthy  cause  without  passing  a  collection  box. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  late  President  Roosevelt  is 
considered  by  many  to  have  been  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  beloved  Chief  Executives  this  country  ever  had,  a 
pictorial  biography  of  his  presidential  career  will  undoubt- 
edly appeal  to  most  picture-goers,  and  exhibitors  will  take 
pride  in  showing  it.  Under  the  non-profit  arrangement  here- 
tofore mentioned,  most  exhibitors  would  not  hesitate  to 
book  it. 

I  believe  that  there  is  in  this  recommendation  something 
that  merits  Universale  thoughtful  consideration,  and  I 
sincerely  hope  that  the  company  will  see  fit  to  adopt  it. 

ORDER  YOUR  MISSING  COPIES  OF 
HARRISON'S  REPORTS 

Now  and  then  your  copy  of  Harrison's  Reports  is  lost 
in  the  mails,  but  you  don't  know  that  it  is  missing  until 
you  look  up  for  some  information  you  want.  In  such  a  case 
you  are  greatly  inconvenienced. 

Why  not  look  over  your  files  now  to  find  out  whether  a 
copy  of  an  issue  or  two  issues  is  missing?  A  sufficient  number 
of  copies  for  each  issue  is  kept  in  stock  for  such  an  emer- 
gency. All  such  copies  are  furnished  to  subscribers  free  of 
charge. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVIII 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  APRIL  6,  1946 

No.  14 

(Partial  Index  No.  2 — Pages  30  to  52  Incl.) 

Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Accent  on  Crime — PRC  (see  "Delinquent  Daughters") 

1944   118 

Blonde  Alibi — Universal  (62  min.)   46 

Bride  Wore  Boots,  The — Paramount  (82  min.)   46 

Caravan  Trail,  The — PRC  (57  min.)  not  reviewed 

Catman  of  Paris,  The — Republic  (65  min.)   31 

Dragonwyck — 20th  Century-Fox  (103  min.)   31 

From  This  Day  Forward— RKO  (95  min.)   34 

Gay  Blades — Republic  (67  min.)   50 

Gentleman  Misbehaves,  The — Columbia  (74  min.) ....  42 
Gentlemen  With  Guns — PRC  (52  min.)  .  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Gilda— Columbia  ( 1 1 0  min . )   47 

Green  Years,  The— MGM  (127  min.)   43 

Haunted  Mihe,  The — Monogram  (52  min.)  . .  .not  reviewed 

Home  on  the  Range — Republic  not  reviewed 

Hot  Cargo — Paramount  (55  min.)   44 

House  of  Horrors — Universal  (66  min.)   39 

I  Live  in  Grosvenor  Square — 20th  Century-Fox  (see 

"A  Yank  in  London")   30 

Johnny  Comes  Flying  Home — 20th  Century-Fox  (65m.)  47 

Junior  Prom — Monogram  (69  min.)   34 

Just  Before  Dawn — Columbia  (65  min.)   51 

Kid  from  Brooklyn,  The— RKO  (114  min.)   46 

Little  Giant — Universal  (91  min.)   34 

Live  Wires — Monogram  (65  min.)   30 

Madame  Pimpernel — United  Artists  (see  "Paris 

Underground")  1945    134 

Madonna's  Secret,  The — Republic  (79  min.)   30 

Mask  of  Dijon,  The— PRC  (70  min.)   39 

Moon  Over  Montana — Monogram  (54  min.)  .not  reviewed 

Murder  is  My  Business — PRC  (63  min.)   38 

Mysterious  Intruder — Columbia  (62  min.).,   50 

Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Paramount  (82  min.) .  44 

Outlaw,  The — United  Artists  (115  min.)   48 

Perilous  Holiday — Columbia  (89  min.)   51 

Postman  Always  Rings  Twice,  The — MGM  (113  min.)  42 

Smooth  As  Silk — Universal  (65  min.)   38 

So  Goes  My  Love — Universal  (87  min.)   50 

Song  of  Arizona — Republic  (68  min.)  not  reviewed 

Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back,  The — Universal  (59  min.)  44 

Strange  Impersonation- — Republic  (68  min.)   34 

Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers,  The — Paramount 

(116  min.)   42 

Tangier — Universal  (76  min.)   38 

Throw  a  Saddle  on  a  Star — Columbia  (65m.)  .not  reviewed 

To  Each  His  Own — Paramount  (122  min.)   43 

Two  Sisters  from  Boston — MGM  (112  min.)   39 

Under  Arizona  Skies — Monogram  (67  min.) .  .not  reviewed 
West  of  the  Alamo — Monogram  (57  min.)  .  .  .  not  reviewed 

Wife  of  Monte  Cristo,  The— PRC  (80  min.)   47 

Woman  in  the  Case — Monogram  (see  "Allotment 

Wives")  1945    179 

Yank  in  London,  A — 20th  Century-Fox  (106  min.)  ...  30 
Young  Widow — United  Artists  (100  min.)   30 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H  T.) 

7019  Life  With  Blondie — Singleton-Lake  Dec.  13 

7012  One  Way  to  Love — Carter-Morris  Dec.  20 

7203  Texas  Panhandle — Starrett  ( 55  m.)  Dec.  20 

7005  Pardon  My  Past — MacMurray-Chapman.  . .  .Dec.  25 
7035  Out  of  the  Depths — Bannon-Hunter  (formerly 

"Strange  Voyage")   Dec.  27 

7014  Meet  Me  on  Broadway — Reynolds-Falkenburg.  Jan.  3 

7007  Tars  and  Sp.ir.s — Blair-Drake  Jan.  10 

703U  A  Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie — Morris  Jan.  24 

7204  Frontier  Gun  Law — Charles  Starrett  (59m.). Jan.  31 


7028  The  Notorious  Lone  Wolf— Mohr-Carter  Feb.  14 

7205  Roaring  Rangers — Charles  Starrett  (55m.).. Feb.  14 
7004  Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest — Wilde-Louise.  .  .Feb.  21 
7034  The  Gentleman  Misbehaves — Massen-Stanton 

(formerly  "The  Lady  Misbehaves")  Feb.  28 

7021  Just  Before  Dawn — Baxter- Roberts  Mar.  7 

7221  Throw  a  Saddle  on  a  Star — Western  Musical 

(65  m.)   Mar.  14 

7008  Perilous  Holiday — O'Brien- Warrick  Mar.  21 

7206  Gunning  for  Vengeance — Charles  Starrett.  .Mar.  21 

Talk  About  a  Lady — Jinx  Falkenburg  Mar.  28 

Blondie's  Lucky  Day — Singleton-Lake  Apr.  4 

Mysterious  Intruder — Richard  Dix  Apr.  1 1' 

Night  Editor — Gargan-Carter  Apr.  18 

7001  Gilda — Hayworth-Ford   Apr.  25 

Phantom  Thief — Chester  Morris  May  2 

Galloping  Thunder — Charles  Starrett  May  16 

Texas  Jamboree — Musical  Western  May  23 

The  Man  Who  Dared — Brooks-Macready .  .  .  .May  30 
(Ed.  Hote:  "So  Dar\  the  Wight,"  listed  as  a  March  14 
release  in  the  last  schedule,  has  been  withdrawn.) 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
Block  14 

606  What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove? — 

Walker-Wynn   Nov.  Dec. 

607  She  Went  to  the  Races — Craig-Gifford  Nov.-Dec 

608  Vacation  from  Marriage — Donat-Kerr  Nov.-Dec. 

610  Yolanda  and  the  Thief — Astaire-Bremer .  . .  .Nov.-Dec. 

609  They  Were  Expendable — Montgomery- 

Wayne   Nov.-Dec. 

Block  15 

611  The  Harvey  Girls — Garland-Hodiak  Jan.-Feb. 

612  Portrait  of  Maria — Foreign  cast  Jan.-Feb. 

613  Up  Goes  Maisie — Sothern-Murphy  Jan.-Feb. 

614  A  Letter  for  Evie — Hunt-Carroll  Jan.-Feb. 

615  Sailor  Takes  a  Wife — Allyson-Walker  Jan.-Feb. 

Block  16 

618  The  Hoodlum  Saint — Powell-Williams  Apr. -May 

619  Bad  Bascomb — Beery-O'Brien  Apr. -May 

620  Postman  Always  Rings  Twice — Garfield- 

Turner   Apr. -May 

621  The  Last  Chance — Foreign-made  Apr. -May 

622  Two  Sisters  from  Boston — Durante- Allyson.  Apr. -May 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson   Feb. 

617  Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946 — All-star  cast  Mar. 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
561  Lonesome  Trail — Jimmy  Wakely  (55  m.) .  .  .  .Dec.  8 

501  Sunbonnet  Sue — Storm-Regan  Dec.  8 

505  Allotment  Wives— Francis-Kelly  (re.)  Dec.  29 

504  Black  Market  Babies — Morgan-Loring  (re.).. Jan.  5 

565  Border  Bandit* — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.)  Jan.  12 

516  Strange  Mr.  Gregory — Lowe-Rogers  (re.) . . .  .  Jan.  12 

509  Live  Wires — Bowery  Boys  Jan.  12 

528  Face  of  Marble — Carradine-Drake  (re.)  Feb.  2 

513  The  Red  Dragon— Sidney  Toler  Feb.  2 

527  The  Shadow  Returns — Kane  Richmond  (re.). Feb.  16 

572  Moon  Over  Montana — Jimmy  Wakely  (54  m.) 

(re.)   Feb.  23 

566  The  Haunted  Mine — J.  M.  Brown  (52  m.) 

(re.),  Mar.  2 

507  Fear— William-Cookson   Mar.  2 

503  Swing  Parade  of  1946 — Storm-Regan  Mar.  16 

573  West  of  the  Alamo — Jimmy  Wakely  (57  m.).  Apr.  20 

567  Under  Arizona  Skus    J.  M  Brown  (67  iu.)  .  .Apr.  27 

514  Junior  Prom — Stewart- Preisser  May  11 


April  G,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


4506 
4507 
4508 
4509 

4511 
4512 
4513 

4516 
4517 
4518 
4519 


4521 
4522 

4523 
4524 

4531 


Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway.  Hew  Tor^  18,  N-  T.) 
Block  2 

Hold  That  Blonde — Bracken-Lake  Nov.  23 

Stork  Club — Hutton-Fitzgerald   Dec.  28 

People  are  Funny — Haley-Langlord  Jan.  11 

Kitty — Milland-Goddard  Jan.  25 

Block  3 

Tokyo  Rose — Barr-Massen  Feb.  8 

Masquerade  in  Mexico — Lamour-DeCordova  Feb.  22 

Miss  Susie  Slagle's — Lake-Tufts  Mar.  8 

Block  4 

The  Virginian — McCrea-Donlevy  Apr.  5 

The  Blue  Dahlia— Ladd-Lake  Apr.  19 

They  Made  Me  a  Killer — Lowery-Britton .  .  .  .May  3 
The  Well-Groomed  Bride — DeHavilland- 

Milland   May  17 

Block  5 

The  Bride  Wore  Boots — Stanwyck-Cummings .  May  3  1 
Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Russell- 
Lynn   June  14 

Hot  Cargo — Gargan-Reed  June  28 

To  Each  His  Own — Olivia  Dc  Havilland.  .  .  -  July  5 
Special 

Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  Yor\  22,  H-  T.) 

Enchanted  Forest — Lowe-Joyce  Dec.  8 

How  Do  You  Do? — Bert  Gordon  Dec.  24 

Strangler  of  the  Swamp — LaPlanche-Barrat.  ..Jan.  1 
Lightning  Raiders — Buster  Crabbe  (66  m.) .  .  .Jan.  7 

Danny  Boy — Robert  "Buzzy"  Henry  Jan.  8 

Six  Gun  Man— Bob  Steele  (59  m.)  Feb.  1 

Ambush  Trail— Bob  Steele  (60  m.)  Feb.  17 

The  Flying  Serpent — Zucco-Kramer  Feb.  20 

I  Ring  Doorbells — Gwynne-Shayne  Feb.  25 

Romance  of  the  West — Eddie  Dean  (58  m.) .  .Mar.  20 
Gentlemen  with  Guns — Buster  Crabbe  (52m.)  Mar.  27 
Mask  of  Dijon — Von  Strohcim-Bates  (re.)... Apr.  9 
Murder  is  My  Business — Beaumont- Walker.  .  .Apr.  10 

Thunder  Town — Bob  Steele  Apr.  10 

Devil  Bat's  Daughter — LaPlanche-Jamcs  .  .  .  .Apr.  15 

Caravan  Trail — Eddie  Dean  (57  m.)  Apr.  20 

Wife  of  Monte  Cristo — Loder-Aubert  Apr.  23 

Terrors  on  Horseback— Buster  Crabbe  (re.).  .May  1 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

507  Woman  Who  Came  Back— Kelly-Loder  Dec.  13 

553  The  Cherokee  Flash — Sunset  Carson  (55  m.).Dec.  13 

564  Wagon  Wheels  Westward— Bill  Elliott  ( 56m)  .Dec.  21 

505  Dakota — Wayne-Ralston  Dec.  25 

506  Song  of  Mexico — Mara-Barrier  Dec.  28 

509  Gay  Blades— Lane- Ashley  Jan.  25 

508  A  Guy  Could  Change — Lane-Frazee  Jan.  27 

565  California  Gold  Rush— Elliott  (56  m.)  Feb.  4 

554  Days  of  Buffalo  Bill— Carson  (56  m.)  Feb.  8 

510  The  Madonna's  Secret — Lederer-Patrick.  Feb.  16 

511  Crime  of  the  Century — Bachelor-Browne  Feb.  28 

447  Song  of  Arizona — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.) 

(1944-45)  Mar.  9 

513  Strange  Impersonation — Gargan-Marshall .  .  .  .Mar.  16 

566  Sheriff  of  Redwood  Valley— Bill  Elliott  Mar.  29 

512  Murder  in  the  Music  Hall — Ralston  Apr.  10 

515  Undercover  Woman — Livingston-Withers  ...Apr.  11 
5501  Home  on  the  Range — Hale  (Magnacolor) 

(55  m.)   Apr.  20 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  20,  N-  Y.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  2 

606  Man  Alive — O'Brien-Drew-Menjou   

607  First  Yank  Into  Tokyo — Neal-Hale   

608  Isle  of  the  Dead — Karloff-Drew  

609  Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland — Warren-Long 

610  The  Spanish  Main — Henreid-O'Hara   

Block  3 

611  The  Spiral  Staircase — Brent-McGuire  

612  Cornered — Dick  Powell  

613  Dick  Tracy — Conway-Jeffreys  

614  Sing  Your  Way  Home — Haley- Jeffreys  

615  Hotel  Reserve — English  cast  


Block  4 

616  From  This  Day  Forward— Joan  Fontaine   

617  Deadline  at  Dawn — Hayward-Lukas  

618  Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman — Weissmuller. 

619  A  Game  of  Death — Loder-Long  

620  Riverboat  Rhythm — Leon  Errol  

Special* 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper-Young  

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  PinocchJo — (reissue)  . 
661  Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever — Colbert- Welles-Brent 


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  York  19.  H-  Y.) 

609  The  Dolly  Sisters— Grable-Haver  Nov. 

611  And  Then  There  Were  None — 

Fitzgerald-Huston  Nov. 

612  Fallen  Angel — Faye-Andrews   Dec. 

613  The  Spider — Conte-Marlowe  Dec. 

617  Doll  Face— O'Kecfe-Blainc   Jan. 

610  Col.  Effingham's  Raid — Coburn-Bennett  Feb. 

620  Behind  Green  Lights — Landis-Gargan  Feb. 

615  Shock— Price-Ban   Feb 

618  Jesse  James — Reissue   Feb. 

619  Return  of  Frank  James — Reissue  Feb. 

616  A  Walk  in  the  Sun — Andrews-Conte  Mar. 

621  Sentimental  Journey — Payne-O'Hara  Mar. 

622  A  Yank  in  London — English  made  Mar. 

623  Dragonwyck — Tierney-Price  Apr. 

624  Johnny  Comes  Flying  Home — Stewart-Crane.  .  .  .Apr. 

Specials 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald   Aug. 

614  Leave  Her  to  Heaven — Tierncy- Wilde  Jan. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
Getting  Gertie's  Garter — OKeefe-McDonald  ....Nov.  30 

Blithe  Spirit — English  cast  Dec.  14 

Spellbound — Bergman-Peck   Dec.  28 

Abilene  Town — Scott-Dvorak   Jan.  11 

Whistle  Stop — Raft-Gardner  Jan.  25 

The  Outlaw — Russell-Buetel  Feb.  8 

Diary  of  a  Chambermaid — Goddard-Meredith  Feb.  15 

Breakfast  in  Hollywood — Tom  Breneman  Feb.  22 

Young  Widow — Russell-Hayward  Mar.  1 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  Mar.  15 

Rebecca — Olivier-Fontaine  (reissue)   Apr.  26 

A  Night  in  Casablanca — Marx  Bros  May  10 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  York  20,  H-  T.) 

House  of  Dracula — Chaney-Atwill  Dec.  7 

Pillow  of  Death — Chaney-Joyce  Dec.  14 

Frontier  Gal — De  Carlo-Cameron  Dec.  21 

Scarlet  Street — Robinson-Bennett  Dec.  28 

Girl  on  the  Spot — Collier-Barker  Jan.  11 

Because  of  Him — Durbin-Laughton  Jan.  18 

Gun  Town — Grant-Knight  (53  m.)  Jan.  18 

Terror  by  Night — Rathbone-Bruce  (re.) .  .  .  .Feb.  1 

Idea  Girl — Barker-Bishop  Feb.  8 

The  Seventh  Veil — English  cast  Feb.  1 5 

Little  Giant — Abbott  &  Costello  Feb.  22 

Smooth  As  Silk- — Taylor-Grey  (formerly 

"Notorious  Gentleman")  Mar.  1 

Tangier — Montez-Paige  (reset)   Mar.  8 

The  Man  in  Grey — English  cast  Mar.  15 

Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back— Sondergaard- 

Grant   Mar.  22 

House  of  Horrors — Goodwin-Lowery  Mar.  29 

Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — English  cast.  Apr.  5 

Blonde  Alibi— Neal-O'Driscoll   Apr.  12 

So  Goes  My  Love — Loy-Ameche  Apr.  19 

Night  in  Paradise — Bey-Oberon  May  3 

Strange  Conquest — Wyatt-Gilmore  May  10 

She  Wolf  of  London — Haden-Porter  May  17 

The  Cat  Creeps — Collier-Brady  May  17 

She  Wrote  the  Book — Davis-Oakie  May  31 


511 
512 
513 
514 
515 
516 
1104 
517 
518 
519 
520 
521 

522 
523 
524 

525 
526 
527 
528 
529 
530 
531 
532 
533 


v    Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St..  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  Y.) 

505  Mildred  Pierce — Crawford-Carson-Scott  Oct.  20 

506  Confidential  Agent — Boyer-Bacall   Nov.  10 

507  Too  Young  to  Know — Leslie-Hutton  Dec.  1 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index  April  6,  1946 


508  Danger  Signal — Emerson-Scott  Dec.  15 

509  San  Antonio — Errol'Flynn  Dec.  29 

510  My  Reputation — Stanwyck-Brent   Jan.  26 

511  Three  Strangers — Greenstreet-Lorre  Feb.  16 

512  Burma  Victory — Documentary  Feb.  16 

513  Cinderella  Jones — Leslie-Alda  Mar.  9 

514  Saratoga  Trunk — Bergman-Cooper  Mar.  30 

515  City  for  Conquest — Cagney-Sheridan 

(reissue)   Apr.  1 

516  No  Time  for  Comedy — Stewart-Russell 

(reissue)   Apr.  1  3 

517  Devotion — Lupino-De  Havilland-Henreid  .  .  .  .Apr.  20 

518  Her  Kind  of  Man — Clark-Paige-Scott  May  11 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 

7854  Screen  Snapshots  No.  4  (9  m.)  Dec.  13 

7953  Morale's  Copacabana  Orch. — Film  Vodvil 

(11m.)  Dec.  13 

7804  Mermaids'  Paradise — Sports  (9}/2  m.)  Dec.  20 

7654  Community  Sings  No.  4  (11  m.)  Dec.  20 

7855  Screen  Snapshots  No.  5  (9  m.)  Jan.  17 

7655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (10  m.)  Jan.  17 

7805  Rasslin'  Romeos — Sports  (9'/^  m.)   Jan.  24 

7601  Catnipped — Flippy  (iy2m.)  (reset)  Feb.  14 

7856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9J/2  m.)   Feb.  15 

7656  Community  Sings  No.  6  (9  m.)  Feb.  21 

7954  Three  Sets  of  Twins— Film  Vodvil  (10  m.)  .  .Feb.  28 

7657  Community  Sings  No.  7  (10  m.)  Mar.  7 

7806  Canine  Champions — Sports  (9J/2  m.)  Mar.  14 

7857  Screen  Snapshots  No.  7  (9}/2  m.)  Mar.  15 

7902  Strange  Hunter — Panoramic  Mar.  21 

7955  Art  Mooney  fe?  Orch.— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.) .  Apr.  4 

7501  River  Ribber— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  Apr.  5 

7752  Foxey  Flatfoots — Fox  6?  Crow  (6  m.)  Apr.  11 

7702  Kongo  Roo — Phantasy  (6  m.)  Apr.  18 

7807  Timberland  Athletes— Sports   Apr.  18 

7502  Polar  Playmates — Col.  Rhapsody  (6/2  m.)..Apr.  25 

7658  Community  Sings  No.  8  Apr.  25 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

7433  High  Blood  Pressure — Schilling- Lane  (19  m.)Dec.  6 

7434  A  Hit  with  a  Miss — S.  Howard  (16  min.)  . .  .Dec.  13 
7140  Who's  Guilty? — Serial  (15  episodes)  Dec.  13 

7435  Spook  to  Me— A.  Clyde  (17  min.)  Dec.  27 

7403  Beer  Barrel  Polecats — Stooges  (17  m.)  Jan.  10 

7436  The  Blonde  Stayed  On— Andy  Clyde ( 16l/2m)  Jan.  24 

7424  When  the  Wife's  Away — Herbert  (17  m.)  .  .Feb.  1 

7425  Hiss  and  Yell— Vera  Vague  (18  m.)  Feb.  14 

7404  A  Bird  in  the  Head— Stooges  (17  m.)  Feb.  28 

7437  Mr.  Noisy— S.  Howard  (16^2  m.)  (re.)  Mar.  22 

7160  Hop  Harrigan — Serial  (15  chapters)  Mar.  28 

7405  Uncivil  War  Birds— Stooges  (17  m.)  (re.)  .  .Mar.  29 

7438  Jiggers,  My  Wife— S.  Howard  (18  m.)  Apr.  11 

7406  The  Three  Troubledoers — Stooges  (17  m.) .  .Apr.  25 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

T-712  Merida  and  Campeche — Traveltalk  (8m.).  .Nov.  24 

S-753  Bus  Pests— Pete  Smith  (9  min.)   Dec.  1 

S-756  Badminton — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  Dec.  8 

K-774  The  Golden  Hunch— Pas.  Par.  (10  min.)  Dec.  15 

W-733  Quiet  Please— Cartoon  (8  m.)  Dec.  22 

S-754  Sports  Sticklers — Pete  Smith  ( 10  min.)  Jan.  5 

K-775  Magic  on  a  Stick— Pas.  Par.  (9  min.)  Jan.  19 

S-757  Fala  at  Hyde  Park— Pete  Smith  (10  m.)  Jan.  19 

T-713  Land  of  the  Mayas — Traveltalk  (9  m.)  .  . .  .Jan.  26 

S-755  Gettin'  Glamour — Pete  Smith  (7  min.)  Feb.  2 

T-714  Glimpses  of  Gautemala — Traveltalk  (8  m.).Feb.  9 

W-734  Lonesome  Lenny — Cartoon  (8  m.)  Mar.  9 

T-715  Visiting  Vera  Cruz— Traveltalk  (10  m.).  .  .Mar.  16 
W-735  Springtime  for  Thomas — Cartoon  (8  m.)  .  .Mar.  30 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-701  A  Gun  in  His  Hand— Special  (19  m.)  . .  .Sept.  15 
A-702  Purity  Squad — Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 

Paramount — One  Reel 

R5-2  Paddle  Your  Own— Sportlight  (9  m.)  (re.) .  .Oct.  19 
U5-2  My  Man  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  (re.).  .  .Oct.  19 
L5-1  Unusual  Occupations  No.  1  (10  m.)  (re.) .  .  .Oct.  26 
Y5-1  Animal-ology — Speak,  of  Animals  (9m.)  (re. )Nov.  2 

J5-.2  Popular  Science  No.  2  (10  m.)  (re.)  Nov.  23 

R5-3  Running  the  Team— Sportlight  (9  m.)  (re.)  .Nov.  30 
L5-2  Unusual  Occupations  No.  2  (11  m.)  (re  ).  .  .Dec.  21 

R5-4  Good  Dog— Sportlight  (9  m.)  (re.)  Dec.  21 

Y5-2  Hill  Billies-  Speak,  of  Animals  (9  in.)  (re.). Dec.  28 
J5-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  (10m.)  Feb.  8 


Y5-3  In  the  Post  War  Era — Speak,  of  Animals 

(9  m.)   Feb.  8 

R5-5  Dixie  Pointers — Sportlight  (10  m.)  (re.)... Feb.  8 
L5-3  Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  (10  m.)  (re.)  .  .  .Feb.  22 

R5-6  Rhythm  on  Blades — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Mar.  1 

E5-1  House  Tricks — Popeye  (6  m.)  (re.)  Mar.  15 

D5-1  Man's  Pest  Friend — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  (re.)  .Mar.  22 

E5-2  Peep  in  the  Deep — Popeye  (re.)  Mar.  22 

R5-7  Testing  the  Experts — Sportlight  Mar.  22 

P5-1  The  Friendly  Ghost — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  (re.) .  Apr.  5 
E5-3  Service  with  a  Guile — Popeye  (7  m.)  (re.) .  .  .  Apr.  19 

J5-4  Popular  Science  No.  4  (10  m.)  Apr.  19 

U5-3  Olio  for  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  (re.) .  .  .Apr.  19 

L5-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  Apr.  26 

D5-2  Bargain  Counter  Attack — Little  Lulu  (re.).  .May  3 
P5-2  Cheese  Burglar — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  (re.)  .  .  .  .May  17 
E5-4  Klondike  Casanova — Popeye  (8  m.)  (re.)  .  .  .May  31 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF5-1  Little  Witch— Musical  Parade  (17  m.)  (re.). Dec.  28 
FF5-2  Naughty  Nannette — Musical  Parade  (20  m.) 

(re.)   Mar.  15 

FF5-3  College  Queen — Musical  Parade  (19  m.) 

(re.)   May  17 

Republic — Two  Reels 

581  The  Phantom  Rider— Serial  (12  ep.)  Jan.  26 

RKO — One  Reel 

64303  Ten  Pin  Titans — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Nov.  2 

671  The  House  I  Live  In — Sinatra  (10  min.)  .  .Nov.  9 

64203  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  3  (7  m.)  Nov.  23 

64304  Arcaro  Up — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Nov.  30 

64101  Canine  Patrol — Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  7 

64102  Old  Sequoia— Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  21 

63405  Ski  Master — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Dec.  28 

64204  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  4  (8  m.)  Dec.  28 

64306  Winning  Basketball — Sportscope   8  m.) .  .  .  .  Jan.  25 

64205  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  5  (7  m.)  Feb.  1 

64707  Quarter  Horses — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Feb.  22 

64103  A  Knight  for  a  Day — Disney  (7m.)  Mar.  8 

64206  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  6  (7  m.)  Mar.  8 

RKO — Two  Reels 

63101  Airline  to  Everywhere — This  is  America 

(17  m.)   Nov.  16 

63202  Russian  Dressing — Headliner  Revival 

(18  m.)   Nov.  23 

63503  Ranch  House  Romeo — Western  Musical 

(reissue)  (17  m.)  Nov.  30 

63402  Mother-in-Law's  Day — Ed.  Kennedy  ( 18m) .  Dec.  7 

63102  TV  A— This  is  America  (18  m.)  Dec.  14 

63103  Great  Lakes — This  is  Amer.  (16  m.)  Jan.  11 

63  504  Rhythm  Wranglers — Western  Musical  (reissue) 

(19  m.)   Jan.  18 

63203  Twenty  Girls  and  a  Band— Head. Rev.  (18m.) Jan.  18 

63403  Trouble  or  Nothing — Ed.  Kennedy  (18  m.)  .Jan.  25 

63702  Maid  Trouble— Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  Feb.  2 

63104  Report  on  Japan — This  is  Amer.  (19  m.)  .  .  .Feb.  8 

63703  Oh,  Professor  Behave — Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  .Mar.  1 

63105  Street  of  Shadows— This  is  Amer.  (18  m.).Mar.  8 

63204  Sea  Melody— Head.  Rev.  (19  m.)  Mar.  15 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6506  Mighty  Mouse  Meets  Bad  Bill  Bunion — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Nov.  9 

63  52  Time  Out  for  Play— Sports  (8  m.)  Nov.  16 

6507  The  Exterminator-Gandy  Goose — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Nov.  23 

6255  Song  of  Sunshine — Adventure  (9  m.)  Dec.  7 

6508  Mighty  Mouse  in  Krakatoo — Terrytoon  (7m). Dec.  14 

6256  Louisiana  Springtime — Adventure  (8  m.).  .  .Dec.  21 

6509  The  Talking  Magpies — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  .  .  .  .Jan.  4 

6257  The  Lost  Lake — Adventure  (8  m.)  Jan.  11 

6510  Svengali's  Cat-Mighty  Mouse — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Jan.  18 

6401  The  World  Today— Special  (9  m.)  Jan.  25 

6301  Pins  and  Cushions — Sports  (9  min.)  Feb.  1 

6511  Gandy  Goose  in  Fortune  Hunters — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Feb.  8 

6258  Along  the  Rainbow  Trail— Adventure  (8m.).  Feb.  1  5 

6512  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Wicked  Wolf— Terry. Mar.  8 
6353  Diving  Dandies — Sports   Mar.  15 

6513  Mighty  Mouse  in  My  Old  Kentucky  Home — 

Terrytoon   Mar.  29 

6201  Show  Girls- — Vyvyan  Donner  Apr.  5 

6514  Gandy  Guum-  in  It's  All  in  the  Stais    Terry  .  Apr.  12 

6259  Cradle  ol  Liberty— Adventure   Apr.  26 


April  C,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  12  No.  3—18  Million  Orphans- 
March  of  Time  (17  m.)   Nov.  2 

Vol.  12  No.  4 — Justice  Comes  to  Germany — 

March  of  Time  (20  m.)  Nov.  JO 

Vol.  12  No.  5 — Challenge  to  Hollywood — 

March  of  Time  (18  m.)  Dec.  28 

Vol.  12  No.  6— Life  with  Baby- 
March  of  Time  (21  m.)   Jan.  25 

Vol.  12  No.  7 — Report  on  Greece-- 

March  of  Time  ( 19  m.)  Feb.  26 

Vol.  12  No.  8— Night  Club  Boom- 
March  of  Time  (  2  I  m.)  Mar.  22 


United  Artists — One  Reel 

The  Flying  Jeep — Daffy  Dittys  (7'/2  m.)  Aug.  20 


Universal — One  Reel 

1345  Jungle  Capers — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Dec.  10 

1321  The  Loose  Nut— Cartune  (7  m.)  Dec.  17 

1381  Sing  and  be  Happy— Musical  (10  m.)  Feb.  18 

1322  Poet  and  Peasant — Cartune  (7  m.)   Mar.  18 

1366  Maestro  of  the  Comics — Per.  Odd.  (9  m).  .Mar.  18 

1346  Script  Tease — Variety  Views  (9  m.)  Mar.  25 

1347  Dog  Tale— Variety  Views  (9  m.)  Mar.  25 

1367  Wings  of  Courage— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Mar.  25 

1 348  Chimp  on  the  Loose — Var.  Views  (9m.)....  Apr.  1 

1323  Mousie  Come  Home — Cartune  (7  m.)  Apr.  15 

1368  Cartune  Crusader— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Apr.  1 

1  324  Apple  Andy — Cartune  (7  m.)  May  20 

1382  Merrily  We  Sing— Musical  (10  m.)  May  27 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1303  Synco-Smooth  Swing — Ted  Fio  Rita 

—Musical  (15  m.)   Dec.  19 

1304  Cuban  Madness-Carlos  Molina — Musical 

(15  m.)   .Jan.  2 

1305  Tin  Pan  Alley  Tempos-Phil  Ohman — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  9 

1306  Melody  Stampede-Spade  Cooley — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  16 

1781-1793  The  Scarlet  Horseman— Serial  (13  ep.).Jan.  22 

1307  Swing  High  Swing  Sweet-Jan  Savitt — Musical 

(15  m.)  Feb.  20 

1881-1893  Lost  City  of  the  Jungle— Serial 

(13  ep.)  Apr.  23 

1  308  Takin'  the  Breaks — Russ  Morgan — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  22 

1309  Banquet  of  Melody — Matty  Malnick — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  29 


1726 
1714 
1715 
1716 
1717 
1718 
1719 

1720 


2601 
2402 
2401 
2602 

2603 
2403 
2501 
2301 
2801 
2404 

2604 
2302 
2303 
2802 
2405 


Vitaphone — One  Reel 

Baseball  Bugs — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)   Feb.  2 

Holiday  for  Shoestring — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  .Feb.  23 

Quentin  Quail — Looney  Tune  (7m.)  Mar.  2 

Baby  Bottleneck- — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Mar.  16 

Hare  Remover — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Mar.  23 

Daffy  Doodles — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  Apr.  6 

Hollywood  Canine  Canteen — Looney  Tune 

(7  m.)  Apr.  20 

Hush  My  Mouse— Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  May  4 

(End  of  1944-45  Season) 

Beginning  of  1945-46  Season 

Spade  Cooley — Mel.  Mas.  ( 10  m.)  .......  .Sept.  1 

Miracle  Makers — Varieties  (10  m.)   Sept.  1 

Alice  in  Jungleland — Varieties  (10m.)  .  .  .  .Sept.  22 
Here  Come  the  Navy  Bands — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)  Sept.  29 

Musical  Novelties — Mel.  Mas.  ( 10  m.)  Oct.  6 

Story  of  a  Dog — Varieties  (10  m.)  Oct.  27 

Sports  Go  to  War — Sports  (10  m.)   Nov.  10 

Sunbonnet  Blue — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)   Nov.  17 

Fashions  for  Tomorrow — Adventure  (10  m)  .Nov.  17 
So  You  Think  You're  Allergic — Varieties 

(10  m.)  Dec.  1 

Music  of  the  Americas — Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.) .  .Dec.  15 

Lyin'  Mouse — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Dec.  22 

Good  Egg — Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

In  Old  Sante  Fe — Adventure  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

Peeks  at  Hollywood — Varieties  (10  m.)  Jan.  26 


2605  Headline  Bands— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Jan.  26 

2502  Holiday  on  Horseback— Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  2 

2304  Trial  of  Mr.  Wolf— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Feb.  9 

2503  Michigan  Ski-Daddle— Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 

2606  Jan  Savitt  &  Band— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Mar.  16 

2504  With  Rod  H  Gun  in  Canada — Sports  (  10  m.)Mar.  16 

2305  Little  Lion  Hunter — Cartoon  (7  m.)   Mar.  23 

2505  Snow  Eagles — Sports  (10  m.)  Mar.  30 

2803  All  Aboard — Adventure  (10  m.)   Mar.  30 

2506  Let's  Go  Gunning — Sports  (10  m.)  Apr.  6 

2306  Fresh  Fish — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  6 

2607  Rhythm  on  Ice—Mel.  Master  (10  m.)  Apr.  20 

2307  Daffy  Duck  ij  Egghead— Cartoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

2507  Fin  n  Feathers— Sports  (10  m.)  Apr.  27 

2406  Smart  As  a  Fox — Varieties  (10  m.)  Apr.  27 

2308  Katnip  College — Cartoon  (7  m.)  ...May  4 

2608  Dixieland  Jamboree — Mel.  Master  (10  m.)..May  11 

2804  Facing  Your  Danger — Adventure  ( 10  m.)  .  .  .  May  1 1 

2508  Undersea  Spear  Fishing — Sports  (10  m.).  .  .  .May  18 

2309  Night  Watchman — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  18 

2721  Hair  Raising  Har — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

2605  Girls  &  Flowers—  Adventure  (10  m.)  May  25 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

2103  All  Star  Musical  Revue— Feat.  (14  m.)  ..Nov.  3 

2104  Good  Old  Corn — Fcaturette  (20  m.)  Nov.  24 

2001  Frontier  Days — Special  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 

2106  Hitler  Lives? — Featurctte  (20  m.)  Dec.  29 

2002  Forest  Commandos — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  19 

2105  Musical  Shipmates — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  16 

2003  Movieland  Magic— Special  (20  m.)   Mar.  9 

2004  Gem  of  the  Ocean— Special  (20  m.)  Apr.  13 


NEWS  WEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 


Paramount  News 


65165 
65266 
65167 
65268 
65169 
65270 
65171 
65272 
65173 
65274 
65175 
65276 
65177 


Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E). 
Sat.  (O)  . 


.Apr.  6 
.Apr.  10 
.Apr.  13 
.Apr.  17 
.Apr.  20 
.Apr.  24 
.Apr.  27 
.May  1 
.  May  4 
.May  8 
.  May  1 1 
.May  15 
.May  18 


Fox  Movietone 


62 

Thurs.  (E) .  . 

..Apr.  4 

63 

Sunday  (O). 

..Apr.  7 

64 

Thurs.  (E) . . 

.  .  Apr.  1 1 

6) 

Sunday  (O)  . 

. .  Apr.  14 

66 

Thurs.  (E).  . 

.  .Apr.  18 

67 

Sunday  (O) . 

.  .Apr.  21 

68 

Thurs.  (E) .  . 

.  .Apr.  25 

69 

Sunday  (O) . 

.  .Apr.  28 

70 

Thurs.  (E) .  . 

.  .  May  2 

71 

Sunday  (O). 

.  .  May  5 

72 

Thurs.  (E).. 

..May  9 

73 

Sunday  (O). 

.  .May  12 

74 

Thurs.  (E).. 

.  .May  16 

62  Thurs-. 

63  Tues. 

64  Thurs. 

65  Tues. 

66  Thurs. 

67  Tues. 

68  Thurs. 

69  Tues. 

70  Thurs. 

71  Tues. 

72  Thurs. 

73  Tues. 

74  Thurs. 


(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E), 
(O) 

(E) 
(O) 

(E), 


.  .  Apr.  4 
..Apr.  9 
.  .  Apr.  1 1 
.  .Apr.  16 
.  .Apr.  18 
.  .Apr.  23 
.  .Apr.  25 
.  .Apr.  30 
,  .  .May  2 
,  .  .May  7 
,  .  .  May  9 
,  .  .May  14 
.  .May  16 


Universal 


News  of  the  Day 


490  Thurs, 

491  Tues. 

492  Thurs 

493  Tues. 

494  Thurs. 

495  Tues. 

496  Thurs. 

497  Tues. 

498  Thurs. 

499  Tues. 

500  Thurs. 

501  Tues. 

502  Thurs. 


(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E), 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 


260  Thurs. 

261  Tues. 

262  Thurs. 

263  Tues. 

264  Thurs. 

265  Tues. 

266  Thurs. 

267  Tues. 

268  Thurs. 

269  Tues. 

270  Thurs. 

271  Tues. 

272  Thurs. 


(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E). 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O) 

(E). 
(O) 

(E). 


.Apr.  4 
.Apr.  9 
.Apr.  11 
.Apr.  16 
.Apr.  18 
.Apr.  23 
•  Apr.  25 
.Apr.  30 
.  .May  2 
.  May  7 
.  May  9 
.May  14 
.May  16 


.  .  Apr.  4 
..Apr.  9 
.  .  Apr.  1 1 
.  .Apr.  16 
.  .Apr.  18 
.  .Apr.  23 
.  .Apr.  25 
.  .Apr.  30 
..May  2 
.  .May  7 
.  .  May  9 
.  .May  14 
.  .May  16 


AH  American  News 

180  Friday   Apr.  5 

181  Friday   Apr.  12 

182  Friday   Apr.  19 

183  Friday   Apr.  26 

184  Friday   May  3 

185  Friday   May  10 

186  Friday   May  17 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  APRIL  13,  1946  No.  15 


BEAUTIFUL  THOUGHTS 

As  stated  in  last  week's  issue,  the  American  Theatres 
Association's  public  relations  program,  as  put  forward  by 
Mr.  Fabian,  is  to  include:  Participation  in  public  charity 
projects,  which  would  include  determination  of  industry 
leadership,  methods,  goals,  motivation,  publicity  and  general 
control;  Government  cooperation  and  the  use  of  screens 
for  Government  subjects;  use  of  theatres  and  facilities  for 
public  cooperation;  public  endorsement  of  industry  oppo- 
sition  to  public  matters  not  selfishly  related  to  the  industry 
but  of  such  character  as  to  recommend  the  industry's  in' 
terest  and  strength  in  their  determination,  such  as  full 
employment,  public  health,  housing,  and  other  public  mat' 
ters  in  which  leaders  of  other  industries  have  been  heard 
but  concerning  which  the  industry  has  been  silent;  dona- 
tions  to  charity  by  the  industry;  establishment  of  scholar' 
ships  by  the  industry;  awards  to  citizens  for  outstanding 
contributions  to  peace,  science  and  the  arts;  institutional 
advertising;  institutional  radio  programs;  awards  to  writers 
for  outstanding  stories;  and  awards  to  producers  for  out' 
standing  productions. 

There  is  no  question  in  my  mind  that  the  framers  of 
this  platform  were  inspired  with  great  sincerity.  Every  word 
is  pregnant  with  emotional  appeal.  No  one  could  have 
made  so  beautiful  suggestions  unless  these  came  from  the 
heart. 

But  are  these  beautiful  thoughts  practical?  If  an  ex' 
hibitor  were  to  attempt  to  carry  out  all  these  suggestions, 
he  would  have  to  devote  his  time  to  community  and  na' 
tional  affairs  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else.  For  in' 
stance,  he  would  have  no  time  to  book  his  films,  to  pay  his 
rent,  to  hand  salary  checks  to  his  employees  on  Saturday 
nights,  to  think  of  exploitation  ideas,  and  in  fact  he  might 
even  berate  his  wife  if  she  were  to  remark  that  he  is  de- 
voting too  much  time  to  community  affairs,  and  very  little 
either  to  his  business  or  to  her. 

Mr.  Fabian's  suggestions  are  idealistic  but  impracticable. 
Perhaps  he,  having  accumulated  a  sizeable  fortune  from 
his  theatre  chain,  is  no  longer  bothering  his  head  about  how 
the  "other  half"  lives,  and  about  the  fact  that  most  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  have  to  struggle  to  make  a  living. 

Let  us  now  analyze  some  of  his  suggestions: 

1.  Participation  in  public  charity  projects:  How  could 
an  exhibitor  do  that?  In  no  other  way  than  to  lend  his 
theatre  for  collection  purposes.  Since  this  is  a  matter  that 
occupies  the  attention  of  the  exhibitor  fully  at  this  time, 
let  us  discuss  it  after  every  other  question  has  been  dis- 
posed of. 

2.  Government  cooperation  and  the  use  of  screens  for 
Government  subjects:  I  presume  that,  by  "Government  co- 
operation," Mr.  Fabian  means  "Industry  cooperation  with 
the  Government,"  for  I  don't  see  how  he  could  induce  the 
United  States  Government  to  cooperate  with  any  com- 
mercial enterprise.  And  the  only  cooperation  that  the 
industry  can  give  to  the  Government  is  to  lend  its  screens 
to  it  for  the  exhibition  of  shorts. 

Since  this  subject  is  similar  to  subject  No.  1,  let  us  re- 
serve discussion  of  it  until  the  other  subjects  have  been 
disposed  of. 


3.  Public  endorsement  of  industry  opposition  to  public 
matters  not  selfishly  related  to  the  industry  but  of  such  char' 
acter  as  to  recommend  the  industry's  interest  and  strength 
in  their  determination,  such  as  full  employment,  public 
health,  housing,  and  other  public  matters  in  which  leaders  of 
other  industries  have  been  heard  but  concerning  which  the 
industry  has  been  silent:  I  fear  that  this  proposal  in  Mr. 
Fabian's  platfoim  is  rather  confused;  and  since  confusion 
in  speaking  results  only  from  the  confusion  of  the  thoughts 
of  the  speaker,  I  take  it  for  granted  that  Mr.  Fabian  was 
not  quite  clear  in  what  he  had  in  mind.  At  any  rate,  this 
proposal  covers  a  great  deal  of  ground.  I  presume  he  means 
that  the  program  of  the  new  organization  will  be  to  urge 
each  exhibitor  to  fight  those  who  are  opposed  to  full  em- 
ployment, housing,  public  health  or  other  matters  in  which 
the  industry  heretofore  has  remained  silent.  In  other  words, 
he  wants  the  exhibitors  to  take  over  the  function  of  the 
newspapers. 

Why  should  that  be  so?  Haven't  the  newspapers  done, 
and  aren't  they  doing,  a  good  job?  In  the  opinion  of  this 
paper,  they  have  and  still  are.  But  if  there  should  be  a  case 
here  and  there  where  a  newspaper  has  not  done  its  job 
well,  the  local  exhibitor  would  be  considered  presumptuous 
to  use  the  strength  of  this  organization  to  tell  the  editor 
that  he  had  better  reform. 

4.  Donations  to  charity  by  the  industry:  Does  Mr.  Fabian 
mean  that  every  member  of  the  new  organization  will  be 
told  when  and  how  much  to  contribute  to  the  different 
charity  funds? 

5.  Establishment  of  scholarships  by  the  industry:  How 
many  scholarships  will  be  conferred,  and  how  much  will 
each  member  be  taxed  for  each  one  of  them? 

6.  Awards  to  citizens  for  outstanding  contributions  to 
peace,  science  and  the  arts:  It  seems  as  if  Mr.  Fabian  wants 
to  establish  another  Nobel  prize  committee.  But  the  Nobel 
prizes  are  awarded  on  the  strength  of  r,  fund  that  was  long 
ago  put  in  the  bank  by  Alfred  Bernard  Nobel  for  just  such 
a  purpose,  and  if  the  industry  wants  to  establish  a  similar 
institution  it  has  to  come  through  with  the  "fund"  first. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Fabian,  as  the  owner  of  a  large  circuit,  and 
other  circuit  owners  can  contribute  towards  such  a  fund. 
But  how  much  will  each  independent  exhibitor  be  taxed 
for  a  purpose  of  this  kind?  Prizes  cost  a  lot  of  money,  and 
that  money  must  come  from  the  membership. 

7.  Institutional  advertising.  The  time  when  institutional 
advertising  could  have  been  done  effectively  has  passed. 
The  industry  missed  the  boat,  as  explained  repeatedly  in 
these  columns,  and  those  who  arc  now  offering  to  lead  the 
independent  exhibitors  into  the  promised  land  are  the  very 
same  men  who  were  responsible  for  it.  Besides,  institutional 
advertising  belongs  to  the  production  and  the  distribution 
branches  of  the  industry.  Many  are  the  editorials  that 
Harrison's  Reports  printed  urging  the  producer-distrib- 
utors to  grasp  the  opportunity  to  do  institutional  advertising 
to  gain  the  public's  good  will,  but  its  recommendations 
were  unheeded  because  each  producer-distributor  is  con- 
cerned only  with  his  own  product  and  is  unwilling  to  take 
any  steps  to  strengthen  the  product  of  his  competitor.  Now, 
if  the  producer-distributor  tailed  to  resort  to  institutional 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


58 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  13,  1946 


"Night  in  Paradise"  with  Merle  Oberon 
and  Turhan  Bey 

(Universal,  May  3;  time.  84  mm.) 

This  is  one  of  those  Arabian  Nights  fairy  tales,  photo- 
graphed in  Technicolor  against  a  background  of  splendorous 
sets  and  costumes.  It  is  an  amusing  entertainment  of  its 
kind,  somewhat  different  because  of  its  occasional  use  of 
modern  slang,  and  of  the  tongue-in-cheek  mannerisms  of 
the  players.  But  on  the  whole  it  offers  little  that  is  unusual, 
and  its  appeal  will  be  directed  mainly  to  those  who  have 
not  tired  of  the  numerous  similar  phantasies  that  have  been 
shown  in  the  past  two  years.  The  story,  which  takes  place 
in  the  year  580  B.C.,  is  a  curious  mixture  of  romance, 
adventure  and  politics,  in  which  Aesop,  the  wise  man,  is 
shown  as  a  youth  who  disguises  himself  as  an  elderly, 
crippled  man  in  order  to  save  his  country  from  a  ruthless 
king,  and  at  the  same  time  win  the  love  of  a  beautiful 
Queen.  The  closing  scenes,  in  which  Aesop  rescues  the 
Queen  against  tremendous  odds,  provide  what  little  excite- 
ment the  film  offers: — 

Croesus  (Thomas  Gomez),  King  of  Lydia,  thieatens  war 
on  Samos,  a  small  Greek  island.  To  avoid  a  conflict,  the 
people  of  Samos  send  Aesop  (Turhan  Bey)  to  Croesus' 
court  as  an  ambassador.  Aesop,  disguised  as  an  elderly  man, 
because  no  one  would  accept  wisdom  from  a  youth,  arrives 
at  the  palace  just  as  Croesus  welcomes  Delarai  (Merle 
Oberon),  Queen  of  Persia,  his  betrothed.  Upon  learning 
that  Aesop  had  come  with  a  trade  treaty  instead  of  tribute, 
Croesus  orders  him  killed.  But  Delarai,  flattered  by  a  fable 
that  Aesop  had  hastily  improvised  in  her  honor,  induces 
Croesus  to  spare  his  life.  Meanwhile  Croesus  had  incurred 
the  wrath  of  Atossa  (Gale  Sondergaard),  Queen  of 
Phrygia,  because  of  his  demands  of  tribute,  and  through 
sorcery  she  haunts  him.  Aesop  shows  Croesus  how  to  ward 
off  Atossa's  trickery,  thus  winning  his  confidence.  Delarai 
and  Leonida  (Ray  Collins),  Croesus'  chamberlain,  become 
jealous  of  Aesop's  rising  power  and  plot  to  destroy  him. 
They  arrange  to  have  him  visit  Delarai's  private  apartment 
in  a  scheme  to  discredit  him.  Aesop,  sensing  the  plot,  dis- 
cards his  disguise  and  reveals  his  youthfulness  to  Delarai. 
She  falls  madly  in  love  with  him  and  turns  on  the  scheming 
chamberlain.  Despite  his  great  desire  for  Delarai,  Aesop 
leaves  her  to  marry  Croesus  while  he  goes  to  Delphi  to  see 
the  oracle  in  an  effort  to  prevent  war  on  his  people.  Delarai 
jilts  Croesus  to  follow  him.  Croesus'  men  catch  up  with 
them  and  hurl  them  off  a  steep  cliff,  but  Atossa,  bringing 
her  sorcery  into  play,  saves  them  from  death.  It  ends  with 
Aesop  and  Delarai  raising  a  family  on  the  island  of  Samos. 

Ernest  Pascal  wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter  Wanger  pro- 
duced it,  and  Arthur  Lubin  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Ernest  Truex,  Jerome  Cowan,  John  Litel,  Douglas  Dumbrille 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Behind  the  Mask"  with  Kane  Richmond 
and  Barbara  Reed 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  67  min.) 

Poor  program  fare.  Like  "The  Shadow  Returns,"  its 
predecessor,  this  second  in  Monogram's  series  of  murder- 
mystery  melodramas  has  little  to  recommend  it, 'for  the  story 
is  extremely  silly.  The  players  are  handicapped  by  the  trite 
material  and,  despite  their  efforts,  there  is  not  much  they 
can  do.  Even  though  the  murderer's  identity  is  not  divulged 
until  the  end,  it  fails  to  hold  the  spectator's  attention,  not 
only  because  one  guesses  his  identity  easily,  but  also  because 
the  proceedings  are  so  ridiculous  that  one  takes  no  interest 
in  what  happens.  At  times  the  characters  go  completely 
haywire  in  a  futile  attempt  to  be  comical: — 

When  a  newspaper  columnist,  who  had  been  blackmailing 
a  number  of  racketeers,  is  murdered  in  his  office  by  a  man 
wearing  the  "Shadow's"  costume,  Kane  Richmond,  the 
police  commissioner's  nephew  and  secretly  "The  Shadow," 
is  compelled  to  delay  his  marriage  to  Barbara  Reed  in  order 
to  find  the  killer  and  to  clear  the  "Shadow"  of  guilt.  While 


searching  for  the  murderer,  Richmond  is  constantly  inter- 
fered with  by  Barbara,  who  suspected  him  of  being  roman- 
tically inclined  every  time  he  came  in  contact  with  another 
woman.  She  even  disguises  herself  in  a  "Shadow"  costume 
in  an  effort  to  solve  the  mystery,  but  is  almost  killed  in  a 
fight  with  the  masquerading  killer  as  well  as  with  the  real 
"Shadow."  During  the  course  of  his  investigation  Richmond 
is  hampered  also  by  police  inspector  Joseph  Crehan,  who 
looked  upon  him  as  a  meddling  amateur  detective,  but  he 
manages  to  uncover  clues  that  lead  him  to  the  racketeers 
who  had  been  blackmailed  by  the  dead  columnist.  All  are 
brought  to  the  scene  of  the  crime  where  Richmond,  in  a 
clever  move,  obtains  conclusive  evidence  that  Robert  Shayne, 
the  dead  man's  publisher,  had  committed  the  murder,  but 
he  exposes  the  killer  in  a  way  that  leads  Crehan  to  believe 
that  he  had  solved  the  crime.  "The  Shadow's"  reputation 
cleared,  Richmond  goes  ahead  with  his  plans  to  marry  Bar- 
bara. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  screen  play,  Joe  Kaufman 
and  Lou  Brock  produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlson  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Pierre  Watkin,  Dorothea  Kent,  George 
Chandler,  Edward  Cargan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Joe  Palooka,  Champ"  with  Leon  Errol, 
Elyse  Knox  and  Joe  Kirkwood,  Jr. 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  70  mm.) 

Good  program  fare.  Based  on  the  popular  comic  strip  of 
the  same  name,  the  picture  is  a  highly  entertaining  mixture 
of  prizefighting,  human  interest,  comedy  and  some  romance, 
depicting  the  rise  of  a  modest  gas  station  attendant  to  the 
world's  heavyweight  boxing  championship.  The  story  itself 
presents  nothing  new,  but  its  treatment  is  so  good  and  the 
performances  so  engaging  that  one's  attention  is  held  from 
start  to  finish.  It  is  ideal  fare  for  children,  because  "Pa- 
looka," played  to  perfection  by  Joe  Kirkwood,  Jr.,  is  shown 
as  an  unboastful  but  courageous,  wholesome  fellow,  whose 
honesty  and  clean  sportsmanship  should  prove  inspiring  to 
them.  Leon  Errol,  as  "Knobby  Walsh,"  his  manager,  is  just 
right  in  a  semi-serious  role,  winning  one's  sympathy  by  his 
affectionate  regard  for  "Palooka."  The  action  includes 
fleeting  glimpses  of  such  well  known  fighters  as  Joe  Louis, 
Henry  Armstrong,  and  Ceferino  Garcia.  According  to 
reports,  Monogram  intends  to  produce  a  "Joe  Palooka" 
series.  If  the  future  pictures  will  maintain  the  quality  of 
this  one,  the  series  should  become  highly  popular: — 

Fight  manager  Leon  Elrrol  guides  Lou  Nova  to  the 
world's  heavyweight  championship  only  to  lose  him  to 
Eduardo  Cianelli,  a  ruthless  gangster.  Broke,  and  un- 
successful in  his  efforts  to  find  a  challenger,  Errol  takes 
four  broken-down  fighters  on  a  boxing  tour  of  small  towns. 
During  the  tour  he  meets  Kirkwood,  a  natural  fighter, 
and  with  the  aid  of  Elyse  Knox,  a  society  girl  passing 
through  town,  induces  him  to  enter  the  fight  game.  Kirk- 
wood, under  Errol's  careful  and  kindly  guidance,  wins 
a  series  of  sensational  bouts  and  becomes  leading  contender 
for  the  heavyweight  crown.  Meanwhile  he  falls  in  love 
with  Elyse.  While  training  for  the  championship  match 
with  Nova,  he  has  a  misunderstanding  with  Elyse,  which 
affects  his  training  and  causes  Errol  considerable  concern. 
Cianelli,  respecting  Kirkwood's  ability,  sends  two  hench- 
men to  him  to  bribe  him  into  "throwing"  the  big  fight. 
Kirkwood  gives  both  men  a  beating.  Aware  that  Cianelli 
would  even  resort  to  murder  to  win  the  fight,  Errol  takes 
Kirkwood  to  secret  training  quarters.  On  the  night  of  the 
fight,  Elisha  Cook,  Jr.,  one  of  Cianelli's  henchmen,  attempts 
to  shoot  Kirkwood  while  he  is  in  the  ring,  but  the  scoundrel 
is  captured  along  with  his  boss  by  an  alert  policeman.  Kirk- 
wood wins  the  championship  and  becomes  reconciled  with 
Elyse. 

George  Moskov  and  Albert  de  Pina  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Hal  E.  Chester  and  Mr.  Moskov  produced  it,  and 
Reginald  Le  Borg  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Joe  Sawyer, 
Sam  McDaniel,  Robert  Kent,  Sarah  Padden,  Phil  Van 
Zandt,  Warren  Hymer  and  others. 


April  13,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


59 


"She-Wolf  of  London"  with 
June  Lockhart  and  Sara  Haden 

(Universal,  May  17;  time,  61  min.) 

An  ordinary  psychological  program  murder  melodrama. 
It  is  boresome  and  long-drawn  out,  and  it  is  given  more  to 
talk  than  to  action.  The  plot,  which  has  been  done  many 
times,  is  obvious,  for  the  spectator  is  never  really  in  doubt 
as  to  the  murderers  identity.  One  feels  some  sympathy  for 
the  heroine,  who  is  convinced  by  the  killer  that  she  is  a 
"werewolf,"  but  it  is  not  enough  to  hold  one's  interest. 
Unlike  the  title  indicates,  there  is  nothing  about  either  the 
action  or  the  characters  that  is  horrifying  or  terrifying: — 

On  the  eve  of  her  marriage  to  Don  Porter,  June  Lockhart 
is  terror'Stricken  by  the  news  that  a  child  had  been  mur- 
dered in  a  park  nearby  her  London  home;  she  believed  that 
she  had  inherited  an  ancient  family  "werewolf"  curse,  and 
feared  that  she  might  have  committed  the  crime.  Alarmed 
by  her  belief,  June  breaks  her  engagement  to  Don.  She 
becomes  ill,  and  Sara  Haden,  her  aunt,  who  was  covetous  of 
her  fortune,  tends  to  her  needs  and  makes  a  point  of  keep' 
ing  Don  from  her.  Each  time  another  ghastly  murder  is 
committed  June  awakens  amidst  evidence  that  convinces  her 
of  her  guilt.  Distressed,  she  confesses  the  "killings"  to  Jan 
Wiley,  her  cousin,  who  in  turn  informs  Porter.  The  young 
man,  skeptical,  starts  an  investigation  of  his  own.  Mean- 
while Scotland  Yard  had  posted  men  throughout  the  park 
to  catch  the  murderer.  Aware  that  the  police  would  soon 
catch  up  with  her,  Sara,  who  had  been  drugging  June  and, 
after  committing  the  crimes,  had  placed  evidence  of  guilt 
by  the  young  girl's  bedside,  decides  to  murder  her  and  to 
make  her  death  appear  suicidal.  She  confesses  the  crimes 
to  June  and  makes  known  her  murderous  intention.  Her 
threat  is  overheard  by  a  maid,  who  rushes  to  call  the  police. 
Sara,  hastening  after  the  maid,  comes  to  a  violent  end  in 
a  fall  down  a  staircase.  Her  fears  dispelled,  June  rejoins 
Don. 

George  Bricker  wrote  the  screen  play,  Ben  Pivar  pro- 
duced it,  and  Jean  Yarbrough  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Lloyd  Corrigan,  Dennis  Hoey,  Eily  Malyon,  Martin  Kos- 
leck  and  others. 


"The  Cat  Creeps"  with  Fred  Brady, 
Noah  Beery,  Jr.  and  Lois  Collier 

(Universal,  May  17;  time,  58  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  program  murder-mystery  melo- 
drama. The  story,  which  goes  in  for  wholesale  murders,  is 
interesting  only  mildly,  for  there  is  nothing  novel  in  the 
plot  nor  in  its  treatment.  Even  the  performances  are  only 
fair,  but  this  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  players 
were  unable  to  cope  with  the  material  at  hand.  The  action 
takes  place  in  a  lonely  house  on  an  isolated  island,  and  it 
unfolds  in  a  routine  manner,  with  suspicion  directed  at 
several  of  the  characters  to  mystify  the  spectator.  The  man- 
ner in  which  the  murders  are  solved  is  contrived  and 
absurd.  The  stupidity  of  a  newspaper  photographer  is  used 
as  the  comedy  relief,  but  it  is  not  particularly  comical : — 

When  the  "Daily  Chronicle"  learns  from  Vera  Lewis 
that  a  fifteen-year-old  suicide  was  in  fact  a  murder  involv- 
ing a  huge  some  of  money,  Fred  Brady,  a  star  reporter, 
and  Noah  Beery,  Jr.,  his  photographer,  are  assigned  to  the 
case.  Brady  proceeds  with  the  investigation  reluctantly, 
because  Jonathan  Hale,  who  was  suspected  of  the  crime, 
and  at  whose  island  retreat  the  tragedy  had  occurred,  was 
the  father  of  Lois  Collier,  his  fiancee.  Years  previously,  the 
courts  had  refused  to  indict  Hale,  but  Brady's  editor  now 
sought  to  reopen  the  case  to  ruin  Hale's  political  career. 
Hale  communicates  with  Douglas  Dumbrille,  his  attorney, 
and  together  with  Paul  Kelly,  a  private  detective,  and  Rose 
Hobart,  Dumbrille's  secretary,  they  leave  for  the  island. 
Brady  and  Beery  accompany  them.  Shortly  after  their 
arrival,  Miss  Lewis,  caretaker  of  the  premises,  is  strangled 
to  death.  While  Brady  questions  those  present,  all  are 
astounded  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  Ins  Clive,  a  mystery 


woman,  who,  holding  Miss  Lewis'  pet  cat,  announces  that 
the  soul  of  the  dead  woman  had  entered  the  body  of  the 
animal  and  that  it  would  develop  an  intense  hatred  for  the 
murderer.  Subsequent  events  result  in  the  murders  of  Miss 
Hobart  and  Kelly,  after  each  attempts  to  locate  the  missing 
money.  Brady  eventually  traps  Dumbrille  as  the  killer, 
proving  that  he  had  murdered  the  others  because  they  knew 
of  his  crime  years  previously,  and  had  been  blackmailing 
him.  Brady  also  locates  the  missing  fortune  and  reveals 
that  Iris'  presence,  and  the  story  about  the  cat,  were  part 
of  his  plan  to  catch  Dumbrille. 

Edward  Dein  and  Jerry  Warner  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Will  Cowan  produced  it,  and  Erie  C.  Kenton  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Easy  to  Wed"  with  Van  Johnson, 
Esther  Williams,  Lucille  Ball 
and  Keenan  Wynn 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  109  min.) 
Highly  entertaining!  Luxuriously  produced  and  photo- 
graphed in  Technicolor,  it  should  go  over  very  well  with 
all  types  of  audiences,  for  it  is  romantic  and  "peppy,"  has 
tuneful  music,  and  is  packed  with  comical  situations  and 
clever  dialogue.  The  gags  are  at  times  so  hilarious  that  one 
misses  some  of  the  dialogue.  The  story,  which  is  a  remake 
of  MGM's  "Libeled  Lady,"  produced  in  1936,  holds  the 
spectator  in  suspense  throughout  because  of  its  amusing 
complications,  and  it  is  acted  with  zest  by  the  competent 
cast.  Van  Johnson  and  Esther  Williams  make  a  good  ro- 
mantic team,  and  both  do  well  in  the  song  and  dance 
sequences.  Miss  Williams  shows  definite  improvement  as 
an  actress,  and  Johnson  proves  that  he  can  handle  comedy 
in  expert  fashion.  One  uproarious  sequence  has  to  do  with 
his  troubjes  while  duck-hunting;  his  efforts  to  cover  up 
the  fact  that  he  knew  nothing  about  the  sport  should  draw 
howls  of  laughter.  Keenan  Wynn  and  Ben  Blue  add  much 
to  the  fun,  but  it  is  Lucille  Ball  who  practically  steals  the 
picture  with  her  comedy  antics;  she  has  never  been  better. 
A  song  by  Carlos  Ramirez  and  organ  playing  by  Ethel  Smith 
are  other  highlights: — 

Keenan  Wynn,  business  manager  of  an  important  news- 
paper, is  dragged  away  from  his  wedding  to  Lucille  Ball  to 
handle  a  $2,000,000  libel  suit  brought  against  the  paper 
by  Esther  Williams,  daughter  of  wealthy  Cecil  Kellaway, 
because  of  an  untrue  scandalous  item  that  had  been  printed 
about  her.  To  get  out  of  the  jam,  Wynn  approaches  Van 
Johnson,  a  former  reporter,  whom  he  had  discharged,  and 
agrees  to  pay  him  a  fabulous  fee  to  frame  Esther  into  a 
situation  that  would  cumpel  her  to  drop  the  suit.  Wynn's 
plan  involved  Johnson's  marriage  to  Lucille  in  name  only, 
followed  by  his  winning  Esther's  love,  after  which  time 
Lucille  would  confront  them  as  the  wronged  wife  and 
threaten  court  action.  Following  the  ceremony,  Johnson 
goes  to  Mexico  where  Esther  and  her  father  were  vacation- 
ing. He  cleverly  works  his  way  into  Kellaway's  good  graces, 
and  though  Esther  snubs  him  at  first  she  soon  takes  an 
interest  in  him.  Everything  goes  according  to  plan  until 
Johnson  finds  himself  in  love  with  Esther.  To  keep  her 
from  learning  the  truth,  he  decides  to  make  love  to  Lucille 
to  delay  her  revelation  as  his  wife.  As  a  result,  Lucille, 
too,  falls  in  love  with  him,  complicating  matters  still  further. 
A  climax  is  reached  when  Esther,  tipped  off  that  Johnson 
was  married,  proposes  to  him  to  learn  the  truth.  He  accepts 
and  marries  her  that  night.  Lucille  and  Wynn,  double- 
crossed,  catch  up  with  the  newlywcds  and  accuse  Johnson 
of  bigamy.  But  Johnson  proves  that  his  marriage  to  Lucille 
was  illegal  because  her  Mexican  divorce  from  a  previous 
husband  had  been  ruled  invalid.  It  all  ends  on  a  happy 
note  when  Esther  agrees  to  drop  the  libel  suit,  and  when 
Lucille  decides  that  it  was  Wynn  she  really  loved. 

Dorothy  Kingsley  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack  Cuiuinings 
produced  it,  and  Edward  Buzzell  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Grant  Withers,  Paul  Harvey  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


60 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  13,  1946 


advertising  up  to  this  time,  what  chance  has  the  new  organ- 
ization to  induce  them  to  change  their  thoughts? 

8.  Institutional  radio  programs:  What  was  said  in  the 
preceding  analysis  applies  also  to  this  subject.  Advertising 
by  radio  belongs  to  the  producer-distributors  and  not  to  the 
exhibitors. 

9.  Awards  to  writers  jor  outstanding  stories:  My  Lord, 
Mr.  Fabian,  not  content  with  offering  to  take  over  the 
functions  of  the  Nobel  committee,  wants  to  take  over  the 
functions  also  of  the  Academy  of  Motion  Picture  Arts  and 
Sciences.  Instead  of  attempting  to  invade  the  grounds  of 
Hollywood,  Mr.  Fabian  and  all  those  who  are  inspired  with 
similar  thoughts  should  use  their  influence  to  stop  national 
magazines  from  plagiarizing  on  Hollywood  by  offering  the 
same  kind  of  awards  as  the  Academy  offers.  These  awards 
should  be  left  to  the  Hollywood  institution,  which  estab- 
lished them.  They  mean  something  when  they  come  from 
that  body,  and  very  little  when  they  come  from  bodies  not 
connected  with  the  production  of  pictures. 

10.  Awards  to  producers  jor  outstanding  productions: 
Here,  again,  the  Fabian's  organization  is  attempting  to 
"horn  in"  on  functiorfs  that  belong  properly  to  the  Acad- 
emy. Besides,  there  is  only  one  kind  of  prize  that  a  producer 
values  more  than  anything  else  for  a  meritorious  picture  of 
his — swelled  returns. 

Let  us  now  discuss  the  most  important  industry  question 
— the  use  of  the  screen  for  charitable  purposes  as  well  as 
for  showing  subjects  produced  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment. 

During  the  war,  it  was  necessary  that  the  exhibitors 
sacrifice  personal  interests  for  the  common  good.  We  were 
battling  for  our  very  existence,  and  no  sacrifice  was  too 
great  to  help  our  Government  win  the  war. 

But  now  that  the  danger  is  over,  what  are  the  short 
subjects  that  the  U.  S.  Government  would  want  you  to 
show  on  your  screens?  Would  you  run  a  short  that  shows 
the  effect  on  industry  from  a  coal  strike,  a  steel  strike,  a 
telephone  strike,  or  the  strike  of  any  other  industry?  If  you 
did  run  such  a  short,  the  days  of  your  theatre  would  prob- 
ably be  numbered. 

Suppose  the  U.  S.  Health  Bureau  produced  a  subject  on 
a  certain  disease.  Some  of  you  will  naturally  think  that 
the  theatre  is  not  an  educational  institution,  but  a  place 
that  offers  to  people  relaxation.  After  all,  offering  relaxation 
to  the  body  is  just  as  beneficial  as  is  the  showing  on  your 
screen  of  a  short  that  teaches  people  that  the  disease  in 
question  is  curable  in  its  incipient  stages.  But  the  showing 
of  a  regular  picture  benefits  everybody,  whereas,  the  show- 
ing of  a  short  dealing  with  certain  disease  benefits  only  a 
small  number  and  may  bring  revulsion  to  many. 

But  suppose  you,  individually,  feel  that  a  short  on 
disease  should  be  shown  on  your  screen.  Do  you  require 
membership  in  an  exhibitor  organization  to  tell  you  that? 
And  could  such  an  organization  induce  you  to  show  it  if 
you  felt  that  it  would  do  your  business  harm? 

What  else  is  there  that  your  Goverment  may  request  you 
to  show  that  necessitates  the  establishment  of  a  new  ex- 
hibitor body? 

Let  us  now  discuss  the  taking  up  of  collections  in  your 
theatre  for  charitable  purposes,  a  move  that  has  been  en- 
dorsed by  the  new  exhibitor  body,  for  only  once  a  year. 

Why  should  there  be  any  collections  at  all?  Charitable 
bodies  are  now  so  well  organized  that  there  is  no  home 
that  is  left  unsolicited.  You  make  to  each  one  of  them  the 
contribution  that  you  feel  you  can  afford  to  make.  When  you 
go  to  a  theatre  and  a  contribution  basket  is  shoved  before 
your  eyes,  you  cannot  shout  to  the  holder  of  the  basket 
that  you  have  already  made  your  contribution.  You  .feel 
embarrassed,  of  course,  and  you  stick  your  hand  into  your 


pocket  and  bring  out  either  a  coin  or  a  note,  the  amount 
depending  on  your  social  position,  as  well  as  who  is  sitting 
next  to  you,  or  who  is  the  basket  holder.  And  if  you  happen 
to  be  one  of  those  who  go  to  pictures  three  or  four  times 
a  week,  you  are  embarrassed  just  so  many  more  times.  The 
consequence  is  that  you  stay  away  from  picture  theatres 
and  eventually  lose  the  habit  of  attending  any  of  them, 
or  else  you  are  attracted  to  some  other  form  of  amusement. 

There  should  be  no  collections  whatever  in  picture 
theatres.  Public  sentiment  is  against  such  collections.  You 
can  easily  prove  my  theory  by  conducting  a  poll. 

I  (ear  that  Mr.  Fabian  and  those  who  have  endorsed  the 
new  affiliated-independcnt  exhibitor  body  are  impracticable 
idealists,  despite  the  success  they  have  made  in  business. 

Because  of  the  obligations  that  a  membership  involves, 
they  will  not  get  many  independent  exhibitors  to  join  them. 
Their  efforts  to  get  them  will  result  in  ju6t  that  much  more 
confusion  in  the  industry. 


"Devil  Bat's  Daughter"  with 
Rosemary  La  Planche  and  John  James 

(PRC,  April  15;  time.  67  mm.) 

Minor  program  fare.  It  is  a  murder  melodrama  with 
psychopathic  overtones,  revolving  around  a  mercilous 
psychiatrist  who,  to  cover  up  his  own  crimes,  leads  a  young 
woman  patient  to  believe  that  she  had  inherited  a  murderous 
trait.  It  is  a  far-fetched  tale,  developed  without  new  angles, 
and  since  the  action  is  for  the  most  part  slow-moving,  one's 
interest  in  the  proceedings  diminishes.  The  individual  per- 
formances are  passable,  but  the  players  are  handicapped 
by  the  ordinary  material  and  the  stilted  dialogue.  It  may 
get  by  with  audiences  that  are  not  too  particular  about  plot 
construction  or  production  values: — 

Arriving  from  Scotland  to  visit  her  father,  Rosemary 
La  Planche  suffers  a  mental  shock  when  she  discovers  that 
he  had  died,  killed  by  one  of  the  bats  he  had  been  experi- 
menting with.  She  is  placed  under  the  care  of  Michael  Hale, 
a  psychiatrist,  who  sends  her  to  a  sanitarium.  Frightened  by 
a  nightmare,  in  which  she  appears  to  assume  the  identity 
of  a  murderous  vampire  bat,  Rosemary  rushes  out  of  the 
sanitarium  and  makes  her  way  to  the  home  of  Hale.  There, 
Molly  Lamont,  his  kindly  wife,  convinces  the  psychiatrist 
that  the  girl  should  remain  with  them  until  she  recovered. 
Romance  comes  into  Rosemary's  life  when  John  James, 
Miss  Lamont's  son  by  a  former  marriage,  returns  from  the 
wars,  but  she  shows  no  signs  of  improvement,  despite 
Hale's  treatments.  The  psychiatrist  constantly  forced  sleep- 
ing pills  on  her  in  order  to  insure  her  getting  much  needed 
rest.  One  morning  James'  pet  dog  is  found  dead  from  a 
throat  wound  and  a  bloody  scissors  is  found  in  Rosemary's 
room.  And  on  the  following  morning,  when  Miss  Lamont 
is  found  dead  under  similar  circumstances,  Rosemary  is 
arrested  for  her  murder.  James,  refusing  to  believe  her 
guilty,  starts  an  investigation  of  his  own.  Following  differ- 
ent clues,  James  is  led  to  his  stepfather's  New  York  apart- 
ment, where  he  uncovers  evidence  that  he  had  been  having 
an  affair  with  Monica  Mars,  a  former  fiancee,  and  that  he 
planned  to  leave  the  country  with  her.  He  discovers  also 
that  Hale  had  stolen  valuable  papers  having  to  do  with  the 
experiments  of  Rosemary's  father.  Piecing  together  his 
clues,  James,  accompanied  by  the  police,  confronts  Hale 
and  accuses  him  of  murdering  his  mother  and  of  using 
Rosemary  as  a  scapegoat  to  cover  up  the  crime.  Trapped, 
Hale  makes  a  break  for  freedom,  but  he  is  shot  down  by 
the  police. 

Griffin  Jay  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Frank  Wisbar  pro- 
duced and  directed  it.  Carl  Pierson  was  associate  producer. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  APRIL  20,  1946  No.  16 


A  LETTER  TO  "CHICK"  LEWIS 

Dear  "Chick" : 

After  reading  your  editorial  criticism  of  my  attitude  to- 
wards  the  new  exhibitor  association,  I  felt  that  there  was 
nothing  in  what  you  said  that  required  a  serious  confutation, 
for  I  recognize  the  right  of  an  editor  to  criticise  the  views 
of  another  editor.  But  there  are  a  few  minor  statements 
in  your  criticism  that  I  believe  ought  to  be  replied  to,  and  I 
felt  that  the  present  method  of  reply  is  much  better  suited 
to  the  subject. 

You  found  fault  with  my  suggestion  to  the  independent 
exhibitors  to  assume  an  attitude  of  watchful  waiting  before 
they  become  excited  by  the  advent  of  the  new  association, 
and  chided  me  for  the  fact  that  I  undertook  to  make  my 
observations  even  though  I  did  not  attend  the  St.  Louis 
meeting. 

"Chick,"  in  view  of  the  fact  that  I  was  not  reporting 
the  doings  of  the  ATA  in  St.  Louis  as  news  but  only  made 
observations  on  its  founding  and  its  aims,  it  was  not  neces' 
sary  that  I  be  present.  Had  I  been  there,  I  might  have 
allowed  my  heart  to  overrule  my  judgment,  as  you  seemingly 
have  done.  You  see,  "Chick,"  when  you  undertake  to 
analyze  the  motives  and  aspirations  of  the  leaders  of  the 
new  movement,  you  should  employ  philosophy — the  philos' 
ophy  of  life,  and,  in  so  doing,  you  should  base  your  deduc- 
tions on  logic.  But  when  you  undertake  to  analyze  them 
while  you  are  under  an  emotional  intoxication,  such  as 
overwhelmed  you  by  being  there,  then  you  allow  your  heart 
to  rule,  and  not  your  head.  For  this  reason,  it  is  best  that 
I  was  not  there.  This  enabled  me  to  make  an  objective 
appraisal. 

"Chick,"  you  say  that  I  should  have  been  there  to  have 
judged  for  myself  the  sincerity  of  the  proponents  of  this 
movement.  I  assure  you  that  I  haven't  the  least  doubt  as 
to  their  sincerity  even  though  I  wasn't  there;  I  only  question 
whether  they  themselves  know  that,  what  they  are  proposing, 
cannot  happen,  because  it  is  illogical.  I  have  learned  from 
life  that  people  think  and  act  in  accordance  with  the  way 
they  are  making  their  living.  I  am  sure  that  you  are 
acquainted  with  this  axiom.  Since  most  of  these  proponents 
are  either  directly  or  indirectly  affiliated  with  the  producers 
and  distributors,  how  do  you  expect  them  to  act  in  a  way 
contrary  to  this  axiom? 

Oh,  yes!  these  proponents,  in  order  to  assure  the  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  that  this  new  association  is  not  a  threat 
to  the  interests  of  their  class  but  a  safeguard  to  the  interest 
of  the  industry  as  a  whole,  state  that  the  majority  on  the 
board  will  consist  of  independent  exhibitors.  But  whom 
do  they  consider  independent  exhibitors?  Is  Si  Fabian  an 
independent  exhibitor?  Is  J.  Myer  Schine  an  independent? 
Is  L.  C.  Griffith?  Are  any  of  the  following:  Harry  Brandt, 
Sam  Rinzler,  Walter  Reade,  Fred  Schwartz,  Harry  Nace, 
Max  A.  Cohen,  Walter  Vincent,  to  mention  a  few  who 
will  undoubtedly  be  on  the  board? 

Suppose  you  say  to  me,  "Chick" :  "Wait — don't  be 
hasty;  for  the  new  board  will  not  be  chosen  until  the  next 
meeting.  How  do  you  know  that  the  independent  members 
of  the  board  will  not  be  truly  independent?"  My  answer 
to  you  is  that  I  don't  think  they  will  be!  If  you  should  ask 
me  for  the  reason,  then  I  shall  be  compelled  to  remind  you 
of  a  bit  of  recent  industry  history.  Do  you  remember  the 
time,  in  1944,  when  the  board  of  directors  of  MPTOA 
and  Ed  Kuykendall,  its  president,  went  to  Washington 
and  called  on  Tom  C.  Clark,  at  that  time  Assistant  Attorney 


General  in  charge  of  the  anti-trust  division,  and  recom- 
mended that  the  Department  of  Justice  scrap  the  Consent 
Decree  and  proceed  with  the  prosecution  of  the  New  York 
anti-trust  suit  against  the  major  companies,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  prohibit  the  affiliated  circuits  from  expanding  their 
theatre  holdings?  They  made  other  recommendations,  too — 
(if  you  want  to  refresh  your  memory  read  the  April  15 
issue  of  Harrison's  Reports).  Poor  Ed  was  maneuvered 
into  that  position  by  the  independent  members  of  the 
MPTOA  board.  What  happened  afterwards?  Joseph  Bern- 
hardt, then  head  of  the  Warner  Bros,  theatre  circuit, 
resigned  as  a  director  of  MPTOA  on  the  ground  that  the 
board's  action  was  taken  while  HE  was  not  in  attendance; 
and  with  his  resignation  out  went  the  Warner  Bros.  dues. 
The  fact  that  the  action  had  been  taken  at  a  regular  meet- 
ing of  the  board  and  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  its 
members  did  not  make  any  difference  to  Mr.  Bernhardt. 

At  present,  the  ATA's  platform  is  supposed  to  prohibit 
the  consideration  of  intra-industry  matters.  But  suppose, 
if  the  majority  of  the  board  consists  of  truly  independent 
exhibitors,  a  member  proposed  that  the  rules  and  by-laws 
of  the  organization  be  amended  to  include  the  taking  up 
of  intra-industry  matters,  such  as,  for  instance,  clearance, 
the  right  to  buy,  and  even  as  delicate  a  question  as  separa- 
tion of  theatres  from  production-distribution,  and  the  motion 
was  seconded  and  carried,  what  will  happen?  Well,  I  dare 
not  express  an  opinion  on  that,  leaving  it  to  you  to  say. 

"Chick,"  you  say:  "None  can  deny  the  faithfulness  of 
Pete  Harrison  to  the  Allied  cause.  Come  hell  and  high 
water,  Pete  gives  them  all  he  has  and  then  some."  Your 
statement  is  true  one  hundred  per  cent  except  that  there  is 
in  it  a  slight  implication  that  I  support  Allied  blindly.  You 
are  wrong,  "Chick,"  There  was  a  time  when  I  fought  Allied, 
because  I  felt  that  the  policy  it  pursued  was  not  in  the 
interests  of  the  independent  exhibitors.  It  was  on  the  NRA 
matter.  They  wanted  me  to  advise  the  exhibitors  -not  to 
sign  the  Code.  I  could  not  see  eye-to-eye  with  this  sugges- 
tion on  the  ground  that  it  would  do  harm  to  the  inde- 
pendents' interests,  for  the  Code  prescribed  that,  unless  an 
exhibitor  signed  it,  he  would  have  no  right  to  submit  a 
complaint  against  a  producer-distributor  later  on.  And  I 
did  not  want  to  undertake  such  a  responsibility. 

I  went  into  that  fight  expecting  great  harm  to  my  per- 
sonal interest  by  loss  of  subscriptions,  but  regardless  of 
what  I  stood  to  lose  I  was  determined  to  continue  the  battle, 
for  it  was  a  fight  for  a  principle.  (But  what  was  my  sur- 
prise? Instead  of  being  harmed,  my  subscription  list  in- 
creased by  more  than  five  hundred,  despite  the  cancella- 
tions resulting  from  my  stand.  I  know  you  believe  me  when 
I  say  this,  but  if  you  have  any  doubt  you  may  ask  my 
accountant  to  certify  as  to  the  accuracy  of  my  statement.) 

If  I  support  Allied,  "Chick,"  I  do  so  because,  despite  its 
shortcomings,  it  is  the  only  exhibitor  organization  that  is 
truly  independent.  No  other  organization  compares  with  it 
in  battling  for  the  interests  of  the  independent  exhibitors. 

There  are  many  other  observations  that  I  could  make  to 
you,  "Chick,"  observations  that  would  concern  themselves, 
not  with  the  relatively  unimportant  fact  that  I  did  not 
attend  the  St.  Louis  meeting,  but  with  the  important  reasons 
why  membership  in  the  ATA  will  probably  burden,  not 
aid,  the  smaller  exhibitor,  but  lack  of  space  compels  me  to 
close  with  the  hope  that  I  have  enlightened  you  on  some 
matters  that  you  could  not  understand. 

Cordially  yours, 

P.  S.  Haarison 


62 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  20,  1946 


"Badman's  Territory"  with  Randolph  Scott 
and  Ann  Richards 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  98  min.) 

An  entertaining  "big-scale"  western,  based  on  the  history 
of  the  Oklahoma  Panhandle  which,  for  forty  years,  was 
a  haven  for  outlaws  because  it  was  outside  the  control  of 
the  Federal  government.  The  horsemanship,  gunplay, 
comedy,  and  romance  blend  well  with  the  plot,  making 
an  interesting  picture  out  of  it.  The  running  time,  however, 
is  much  too  long  for  what  the  story  has  to  offer.  There  is 
exciting  action  throughout  caused  by  the  different  en- 
counters  between  Randolph  Scott,  as  a  Texas  sheriff,  and 
the  outlaws  he  meets  up  with  while  visiting  the  territory. 
The  spectator  is  kept  in  suspense  because  of  the  constant 
danger  to  him.  Among  the  notorious  outlaws  depicted  are 
the  James  brothers,  the  Daltons,  and  Belle  Starr.  The  ro- 
mantic interest  is  pleasant: — 

After  a  clash  with  Captain  Morgan  Conway,  of  the  Texas 
State  Police,  over  the  arrest  of  George  "Gabby"  Hayes,  a 
member  of  the  James  brothers'  gang,  deputy  sheriff  James 
Warren  is  wounded  by  Conway.  The  James  boys  (Lawrence 
Tierney  and  Tom  Tyler)  rescue  "Gabby"  and  take  Warren 
with  them  to  Quinto  for  medical  treatment.  Sheriff  Ran- 
dolph Scott,  Warren's  brother,  quarrels  with  Conway  over 
the  incident  and  rides  off  after  Warren,  leaving  the  officer 
swearing  vengeance.  In  Quinto,  Scott  meets  Ann  Richards, 
a  fiery  newspaper  editor,  who  was  crusading  to  have  the 
region  brought  under  Federal  control  to  bring  about  law 
and  order.  She  was  opposed,  not  only  by  the  outlaws,  but 
also  by  the  wealthy  cattlemen  of  the  region,  who  preferred 
their  tax-free  status.  Scott  wins  her  gratitude  when  he 
prevents  her  adversaries  from  closing  down  her  paper. 
Despite  his  lack  of  official  power,  Scott  wins  the  respect 
of  the  outlaws  by  his  fearlessness  and  by  his  ability  to 
shoot  quickly.  While  waiting  for  Warren  to  recover,  he 
helps  Ann  to  circulate  petitions  to  bring  the  area  under 
Federal  control.  Meanwhile  Warren  regains  his  health  and 
is  lured  by  the  Dalton  brothers  (Steve  Brodie,  Phil  Warren 
and  William  Moss)  to  accompany  them  on  a  bank  robbery 
in  Coffeyville.  Scott  follows  in  a  desperate  attempt  to 
keep  Warren  out  of  the  affair,  but  is  too  late;  Warren  is 
killed  in  the  shooting  that  follows  the  raid.  He  returns 
to  Quinto  to  find  that  Conway,  now  a  U.  S.  Marshall,  had 
taken  charge  of  the  territory.  Determined  to  have  his 
revenge,  Conway  tries  to  force  "Gabby"  to  swear  that 
Scott  had  participated  in  the  bank  robbery.  He  kills  the 
old  man  when  he  refuses.  Scott,  angered,  shoots  Conway 
dead  in  a  running  gun  battle.  Held  for  trial,  he  is  acquitted 
by  a  sympathetic  jury,  leaving  him  free  to  marry  Ann. 

Jack  Natteford  and  Luci  Ward  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Nat  Holt  produced  it,  and  Tim  Whelan  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Nestor  Paiva,  Isabell  Jewell  and  many  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Partners  in  Time"  with  Lum  and  Abner 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  72  min.) 

A  typical  Lum  and  Abner  "cracker-barrel"  entertainment; 
if  their  previous  pictures  have  proved  acceptable  to  your 
patrons,  this  one,  too,  should  get  by.  The  story  is  neither 
exciting  nor  novel,  but  it  has  a  wholesome  quality,  plentiful 
human  "interest,  and  comedy  that  provokes  quite  a  few 
chuckles.  It  is  the  type  of  picture  that  will  be  appreciated 
more  by  the  family  trade  than  by  sophisticated  audiences, 
because  of  its  rustic  humor,  and  of  the  fact  that  it  relies 
for  its  entertainment  on  the  antics  of  the  small-town  char- 
acters rather  than  on  the  story.  It  has  very  little  action 
and  plentiful  talk: — 

Lum  (Chester  Lauck)  and  Abner  (Norris  Goff)  are 
informed  by  a  city  "slicker"  that  he  was  the  rightful  owner 
of  the  property  on  which  their  general  store  was  situated, 
and  that  they  would  be  evicted  unless  they  paid  him  $?00. 


Suspecting  the  man  to  be  a  crook,  they  begin  a  search 
through  their  old  files  for  evidence  to  prove  that  the  person 
from  whom  they  bought  the  property  forty  years  previously 
had  been  the  legal  owner.  The  old  men  are  joined  in  their 
search  by  Teala  Loring  and  John  James,  quarrelsome  sweet- 
hearts, who  were  breaking  their  engagement  because  she 
preferred  the  big  city  and  its  gay  life,  while  he  wanted  to 
marry  and  settle  down  in  Pine  Ridge.  As  they  look  for  the 
evidence,  Lum  and  Abner  reminisce  about  the  old  days.  In 
flashback,  the  story  depicts  Abner's  arrival  in  town  in 
a  flashy  automobile  to  visit  Lum,  then  a  young  justice  of 
the  peace;  his  romance  with  Pamela  Blake,  whom  Lum 
had  hoped  to  marry  only  to  find  himself  officiating  at  her 
marriage  to  Abner;  and  Abner's  decision  to  settle  down  in 
Pine  Ridge  and  to  become  Lum's  partner  in  the  general 
store.  As  they  reach  the  end  of  their  reminiscing,  the  old 
partners  find  documentary  evidence  proving  that  they  were 
the  rightful  owners  of  the  property  and  that  the  city 
"slicker"  was  a  fraud.  Meanwhile  Teala,  impressed  by  their 
recital  of  love  and  laughter  in  the  Pine  Ridge  of  forty  years 
ago,  decides  to  remain  there  and  make  a  home  for  James. 

Charles  E.  Roberts  wrote  the  screen  play.  Ben  Hersh 
produced  it,  and  William  Nigh  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Dick  Elliott,  Grady  Sutton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Strange  Conquest"  with  Jane  Wyatt, 
Lowell  Gilmore  and  Peter  Cookson 

( Universal,  May  10;  time,  63  min.) 
A  slow-moving,  minor  program  melodrama,  revolving 
around  the  efforts  of  two  scientists  to  find  a  cure  for  a 
jungle  fever.  Not  only  is  the  story  synthetic  and  incredible, 
but  it  is  also  cheerless  because  of  the  human  suffering  and 
of  the  Sumatra  jungle  background.  There  is  no  comedy 
to  relieve  the  tension.  The  chief  fault  is  that  it  is  too 
theatrical  and  long-drawn  out.  The  characters  are  fairly 
sympathetic  since  they  are  shown  as  being  noble  and  cour- 
ageous, but  this  is  not  enough  to  lift  the  picture  out  of  its 
lethargic  state.  The  romantic  interest  is  unimportant  but 
pleasant: — 

Lowell  Gilmore,  a  celebrated  scientist  seeking  a  cure  for 
a  fatal  tropical  disease,  requests  the  services  of  an  experi- 
enced bacteriologist  to  aid  him.  When  Peter  Cookson,  an 
inexperienced  young  doctor,  is  sent  to  him,  Gilmore  makes 
no  secret  of  his  disappointment,  causing  a  quarrel  between 
them.  Cookson  decides  to  carry  on  his  own  research  work, 
and  he  unknowingly  succeeds  in  finding  a  remedy.  Mean- 
while Gilmore,  too,  had  perfected  a  serum,  and  Cookson, 
elated,  voluntarily  innoculates  himself  with  the  disease  to 
test  Gilmore's  cure.  The  serum  fails  and  Cookson  dies  just 
as  his  own  remedy  is  found  out.  Gilmore,  overwhelmed, 
decides  to  complete  Cookson's  experiments  and  to  publish 
a  medical  report  under  his  name.  To  carry  out  his  plan, 
he  is  compelled  to  assume  Cookson's  identity  when  Jane 
Wyatt  comes  to  the  jungle  as  his  new  assistant.  He  informs 
her  that  he  (Gilmore)  had  died.  Matters  become  compli- 
cated when  Julie  Bishop,  Cookson's  wife,  comes  to  the 
jungle  to  visit  her  husband.  Despite  Gilmore's  explanation, 
she  accuses  him  of  foul  play  and  refuses  to  believe  that 
Cookson  had  died  making  a  test.  Jane,  to  convince  Julie 
of  Gilmore's  honorable  motives,  innoculates  herself  with 
the  disease  to  prove  the  success  of  Cookson's  serum.  In 
the  course  of  events,  a  fire  destroys  the  laboratory  as  well 
as  the  serum,  endangering  Jane's  life.  Gilmore,  working 
from  Cookson's  scientific  notes,  mixes  a  fresh  serum  and, 
with  the  aid  of  Julie,  nurses  Jane  back  to  health.  After 
seeing  to  it  that  Cookson  received  credit  for  the  discovery, 
Jane  and  Gilmore  decide  to  marry. 

Roy  Chanslor  wrote  the  screen  play,  Marshall  Grant 
produced  it,  and  John  Rawlins  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Milburn  Stone,  Samuel  S.  Hinds  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


April  20,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"The  Falcon's  Alibi"  with  Tom  Conway 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 

This  program  murder  melodrama  should  prove  accept- 
able to  the  followers  of  the  "Falcon"  series.  Following  the 
same  formula  employed  in  the  previous  pictures,  Tom  Con- 
way becomes  enmeshed  in  a  jewel  robbery  and  murder,  and, 
to  overcome  police  suspicion  against  himself,  is  compelled 
to  track  down  the  killer  and  unravel  the  crime.  Although 
the  identity  of  the  murderer  is  quite  obvious,  the  spectator's 
attention  is  held  because  of  the  manner  in  which  Conway 
works  out  the  solution.  It  has  a  fair  share  of  suspense  and 
comedy,  and  a  few  exciting  situations,  but  the  story  is 
somewhat  confusing.  The  pace  is  brisk: — 

Discovering  that  her  employer's  (Esther  Howard)  highly- 
insured  pearls  were  only  imitations,  Rita  Corday,  a  social 
secretary,  fears  that  Emory  Parnell,  an  insurance  company 
detective,  will  accuse  her  of  stealing  the  real  ones.  She 
enlists  the  aid  of  Conway,  who  promises  to  investigate. 
Conway  becomes  friendly  with  Miss  Howard  and  meets 
some  of  her  friends  at  a  party,  including  Jason  Robards; 
Elisha  Cook,  Jr.,  an  announcer  on  an  all-night  radio  broad- 
cast; and  Jane  Greer,  Cook's  secret  bride.  During  the  party, 
a  waiter  is  murdered  mysteriously  and  the  imitation  pearls 
stolen.  Conway,  with  the  help  of  Vince  Barnett,  his  aide, 
tricks  Robards  into  revealing  the  hiding  place  of  the  real 
pearls.  The  police,  investigating  the  murder,  catch  Conway 
with  the  pearls  in  his  possession.  He  explains  that  Robards 
was  the  thief,  but  when  Robards,  too,  is  found  murdered 
Conway  is  held  for  the  crimes.  Conway  raises  a  reasonable 
doubt  about  his  guilt  and  persuades  the  police  to  release 
him  for  twenty-four  hours  on  his  promise  to  clear  up  the 
mystery.  Following  up  different  clues,  Conway  discovers 
that  Jane  was  Cook's  secret  bride,  and  that  she  planned 
to  run  away  with  another  man.  He  learns  also  that  Cook 
had  committed  the  crimes  to  buy  Jane  expensive  jewels.  He 
visits  Cook's  studio  and  discovers  that  the  announcer,  by 
means  of  prepared  recordings  of  his  voice,  had  been  enabled 
to  leave  the  studio  during  the  commission  of  the  crimes, 
thus  providing  himself  with  an  alibi.  Meanwhile  Cook, 
having  learned  of  his  wife's  unfaithfulness,  kills  her.  Rita, 
looking  for  Conway,  goes  to  Cook's  studio.  She,  too,  dis- 
covers Cook's  ingenious  scheme  just  as  he  returns  to  the 
studio.  To  preserve  his  secret,  Cook  prepares  to  kill  Rita,  but 
she  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Conway.  Cook,  seek- 
ing to  escape,  plunges  to  his  death  from  a  window. 

Paul  Yawitz  wrote  the  screen  play,  William  Berke  pro- 
duced it,  and  Ray  McCarey  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Ding  Dong  Williams"  with  Glenn  Vernon 
and  Marcy  McGuire 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 
A  routine  program  comedy  with  music,  unpretentious  and 
moderately  entertaining.  The  story  is  rather  inane;  never- 
theless some  of  the  situations  are  laugh-provoking  if  not 
exciting.  There  is  really  not  one  situation  that  will  remain 
in  one's  mind,  and  none  of  the  characters  do  anything  to 
arouse  one's  sympathy  since  most  of  their  actions  are 
ridiculous.  In  its  favor  is  the  melodious  music,  which  is  a 
blend  of  classical  and  popular  tunes.  A  treat  is  the  accom- 
plished piano  playing  of  Richard  Korbel,  an  eleven-year- 
old  boy: — 

Felix  Bressart,  elderly  music  director  of  Sunrise  Pictures, 
is  ordered  to  compose  a  modern  "Blues"  symphony  for  the 
studio's  newest  film.  "Blues"  music  being  utterly  beyond 
him,  Bressart  finds  a  real  problem  on  his  hands.  Marcy 
McGuire,  his  secretary,  takes  him  to  a  night  club  to  hear 
the  clarinet  playing  of  Glenn  Vernon,  a  youthful  band 
leader,  and  persuades  him  to  hire  the  young  man  to  com- 
pose the  symphony.  On  the  following  day,  however,  Bres- 
sart discovers  that  Vernon  could  neither  read  nor  write  a 
note  of  music,  and  that  he  played  music  as  he  felt  it.  Marcy 


solves  this  problem  by  having  two  of  the  studio's  music 
arrangers  follow  Vernon  and  write  down  every  note  he 
played.  But  she  soon  learns  that  Vernon  could  not  play 
"blues"  music  unless  he  felt  sad.  Accordingly,  she  engineers 
numerous  schemes  to  put  the  young  man  in  an  unhappy 
frame  of  mind,  but  her  efforts  are  unavailing.  William 
Davidson,  the  studio  production  boss,  flies  into  a  rage 
when  he  learns  of  the  situation  and  fires  Bressart,  Marcy, 
and  Vernon.  Dejected,  Vernon  goes  to  one  of  the  rcording 
stages  to  listen  to  a  piano  recital  by  Richard  Korbel.  He  is 
so  stirred  by  the  music  that  he  takes  out  his  clarinet  and 
begins  to  play  the  "blues."  An  alert  director  quickly  swings 
a  microphone  over  him  to  pick  up  the  music.  The  impro- 
visation proves  to  be  just  what  was  needed  for  the  new 
picture,  with  the  result  that  all  are  re-hired  by  Davidson. 

Brenda  Weisberg  and  M.  Coates  Webster  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Herman  Schlom  produced  it,  and  William 
Berke  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Sons  of  the  Pioneers, 
Tom  Noonan,  Cliff  Nazarro,  Anne  Jeffreys,  James  Warren 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Make  Mine  Music" 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  75  min.) 
In  "Make  Mine  Music,"  Walt  Disney  has  wrought  an- 
other highly  entertaining  Technicolor  cartoon  feature,  which 
is  billed  as  "A  Musical  Fantasy  in  Ten  Parts."  Actually,  the 
film  is  comprised  of  a  series  of  ten  disconnected  subjects, 
each  about  as  long  as  the  average  one-reel  short.  Some  are 
more  entertaining  than  others,  but  all  are  good,  and  each 
has  something  to  please  movie-goers  of  all  tastes  and  ages. 
It  is  a  delightful  blend  of  comedy,  music,  pathos,  animation, 
and  color,  given  a  most  imaginative  treatment.  The  music 
and  voices  are  the  talents  of  such  well  known  personalities 
as  Benny  Goodman,  the  Andrews  Sisters,  Nelson  Eddy, 
Dinah  Shore,  Jerry  Colonna,  Andy  Russell  and  others, 
whose  marquee  value  should  draw  many  patrons  to  the  box- 
office. 

Part  1,  "The  Martins  and  the  Coys,"  is  a  comical  saga 
of  old-time  backwoods  feuding,  sung  by  the  King's  Men. 

Part  2,  "Blue  Bayou,"  sung  by  the  Ken  Darby  Chrous, 
depicts  a  picturesque  bayou  scene  in  soft  pastel  shades. 

Part  3,  "All  the  Cats  Join  In,"  features  Benny  Goodman's 
music  and  deals  with  the  "rug-cutting"  antics  of  the  "bobby- 
sox"  set. 

Part  4,  "Without  You,"  is  a  love  ballad  sung  by  Andy 
Russell,  picturing  a  kaleidoscope  of  luminous  landscapes, 
seen  through  a  rain-drenched  window. 

Part  5,  "Casey  at  the  Bat,"  recited  by  Jerry  Colonna,  is 
a  highly  amusing  treatment  of  that  famous  poem. 

Part  6,  "Two  Silhouettes,"  danced  by  Tania  Riabou- 
chinska  and  David  Lichine,  and  sung  by  Dinah  Shore, 
combines  live  action  and  animation  in  a  dream-like  ballet. 

Part  7,  "Peter  and  the  Wolf,"  is  a  delightful  version  of 
Sergei  Prokofieff's  fable  in  which  little  Peter,  aided  by 
Sonia  the  Duck,  Ivan  the  Cat,  and  Sasha  the  Bird,  capture 
a  wolf.  The  children  should  love  this  episode. 

Part  8,  "After  You're  Gone,"  featuring  the  music  of 
Benny  Goodman's  Quartet,  is  a  fantastic  set  of  variations 
on  that  favorite  tune,  visualized  on  the  screen  by  animated 
instruments  whose  frenzied  movements  are  synchronized 
with  the  music  against  a  background  of  riotous  colors. 

Part  9,  "Johnny  Fedora  and  Alice  Bluebonnet,"  sung  by 
the  Andrews  Sisters,  is  a  story  of  a  touching  romance  be- 
tween a  man's  hat  and  a  woman's  hat.  It  is  a  choice  episode 
— charming,  pathetic,  and  humorous. 

Part  10,  "The  Whale  Who  Wanted  to  Sing  at  the  Met," 
is  a  complete  opera  in  miniature,  introducing  Willie  the 
Whale,  a  fabulous  mammal  with  three  voices — bass,  bari- 
tone, and  tenor.  It  features  the  voice  of  Nelson  Eddy  and, 
through  a  clever  recording  process,  Eddy  sings  all  three 
voices  at  the  same  time.  This  episode  is  Walt  Disney  at  his 
imaginative  best. 


64 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  20,  1946 


"A  Night  in  Casablanca"  with  the 
Marx  Brothers 

(United  Artists.  Ma)  10;  time.  85  min.) 

Completely  nonsensical,  and  never  pretending  to  be  any 
thing  else,  this  comedy  is  a  good  mass  entertainment,  the 
sort  that  comes  as  a  welcome  relief  from  the  current  cycle 
of  murder  and  psychological  melodramas.  The  Marx 
Brothers,  Groucho,  Chico,  and  Harpo,  last  seen  on  the 
screen  in  1941,  are  as  funny  as  ever,  and  their  "insane" 
antics  keep  the  ludicrous  proceedings  moving  at  a  fast  pace 
and  hold  the  spectator  in  laughter  from  start  to  finish.  The 
story,  which  is  a  burlesque  on  espionage  doings,  deals  with 
their  misadventures  in  post-war  Casablanca  when  they  be- 
come involved  with  Nasi  spies  who  had  smuggled  a  fabu- 
lous treasure  out  of  France.  Their  search  for  the  loot,  and 
its  eventual  recovery,  give  rise  to  series  of  mad  escapades 
that  should  set  audiences  howling. 

The  fun  begins  when  Groucho  is  hired  as  the  manager 
of  a  swank  local  hotel  after  the  three  previous  managers 
had  been  murdered  mysteriously  in  quick  succession.  Un- 
known to  Groucho,  Sig  Ruman,  a  hotel  guest,  was  head 
of  the  spy  ring,  which  was  using  the  hotel  as  a  cache  for 
the  stolen  treasure.  Ruman,  as  part  of  his  plan  to  take  over 
the  hotel's  operations,  had  engineered  the  murders.  To  get 
Groucho  out  of  the  way,  he  orders  Lisette  Verea,  his  se- 
ductive companion,  to  make  love  to  him  so  that  he  (Ruman) 
could  catch  them  in  a  compromising  situation  and  shoot 
him.  Harpo,  Ruman's  valet,  learns  of  the  plan,  and  he 
enlists  the  aid  of  Chico,  a  local  character  who  fleeced  tour- 
ists,  to  protect  Groucho.  An  incident  in  the  hotel's  gamb- 
ling room  helps  Ruman  to  put  the  trio  in  jail,  giving  him 
an  opportunity  to  become  hotel  manager  and  to  prepare 
to  move  the  loot  to  South  America.  Learning  of  Ruman's 
getaway  plans,  the  trio  escapes  from  jail  to  thwart  him. 
Their  fumbling  efforts  cause  them  to  become  mixed  up  in 
a  series  of  hair-raising  mishaps  before  they  apprehend  the 
spies  and  recover  the  loot. 

Some  of  the  situations  are  so  "crazy"  that  there  is  no 
way  of  describing  them,  but  they  are  side-splitting.  Worked 
into  the  plot  are  the  musical  talents  of  Chico  and  Harpo, 
as  well  as  an  unimportant  romance  between  Charles  Drake 
and  Lois  Collier.  It  is  not  the  best  picture  the  Marx 
Brothers  have  ever  made,  but  it  certainly  is  entertaining. 

Joseph  Fields  and  Roland  Kibbee  wrote  the  screen  play, 
David  L.  Loew  produced  it,  and  Archie  Mayo  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Truth  About  Murder"  with  Bonita 
Granville  and  Morgan  Conway 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  min.) 

A  run-of-the-mill  program  murder  mystery  melodrama, 
with  some  comedy.  The  story  is  thin  and  unbelievable,  and 
its  treatment  is  routine.  Moreover,  the  over-abundance  of 
dialogue  slows  up  the  action.  Not  until  the  closing  scenes 
does  the  action  become  a  little  more  exciting.  The  chief 
reason  why  one's  attention  is  held  at  all  is  owed  to  the 
fact  that  the  murderer's  identity  is  not  divulged  until  the 
end,  but  most  patrons  will  guess  it  long  before  then.  It 
lacks  the  suspense  usually  found  in  pictures  of  this  type: — 

After  a  quarrel  with  District  Attorney  Morgan  Conway, 
her  employer  and  sweetheart,  Bonita  Granville,  a  deputy 
district  attorney,  resigns  her  position  and  goes  into  partner- 
ship with  Edward  Norris,  another  lawyer.  Madly  in  love 
with  June  Clayworth,  his  estranged  wife,  who  made  no 
secret  of  her  affairs  with  other  men,  Norris  takes  to  drink. 
Bonita  persuades  him  to  change  his  ways  and  to  attempt 
a  reconciliation.  Visiting  June's  apartment,  Norris  meets 
Don  Douglas,  her  latest  lover,  who  convinces  him  that  his 
efforts  to  win  June  back  were  hopeless.  Norris  resumes  his 
drinking.  That  night,  June  is  found  murdered  under  cir- 
cumstances that  point  to  Norris  as  the  killer.  Conway  orders 
him  held  for  trial.  But  Bonita,  convinced  of  her  partner's 
innocence,  resolves  to  find  the  murderer.  Different  clues 
lead  her  to  suspect  Rita  Corday,  who  had  been  jealous  of 


the  attentions  that  June  had  paid  to  Michael  St.  Angelc, 
her  husband;  and  Gerald  Mohr,  a  bookmaker,  who  had 
lost  a  considerable  sum  to  June  on  a  bet  made  just  prior 
to  her  death.  Bonita's  efforts  to  find  the  killer  constantly 
interfere  with  Conway's  sleuthing,  but  she  eventually  learns 
that  Rita  was  present  in  June's  apartment  at  the  time  of 
the  killing  and  that  she  knew  the  murderer's  identity.  Ac- 
companied by  Conway,  she  hurries  to  Rita's  home;  but 
the  young  woman  is  shot  dead  mysteriously  just  as  she  is 
about  to  name  the  killer.  Rita's  murder  gives  Bonita  reason 
to  6uspect  others  of  the  crime,  and  she  decide*  to  invite  all 
concerned  to  June's  apartment  to  take  a  lie  detector  test. 
Douglas,  arriving  before  the  others,  submits  to  the  test, 
which  betrays  him  as  the  murderer.  He  attempts  to  kill 
Bonita  to  silence  her,  but  Conway  arrives  in  the  nick  of 
time  to  save  her.  With  Norris  cleared,  Bonita  decides  to 
abandon  her  legal  career  for  matrimony  with  Conway. 

Lawrence  Kimble,  Hilda  Gordon,  and  Eric  Taylor  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Herman  Schlom  produced  it,  and  Lew 
Landers  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Do  You  Love  Me"  with  Maureen  O'Hara, 
Dick  Haymes  and  Harry  James 

(20th  Century-Fox;  May;  time,  91  min.) 
Although  there  is  nothing  unusual  about  this  Technicolor 
musical,  it  shapes  up  as  a  fairly  good  mass  entertainment. 
Its  story  about  a  straight-laced,  classical  music  teacher,  who 
transforms  herself  into  a  glamor  girl  and  becomes  converted 
to  "swing"  music,  has  a  familiar  ring,  but  it  is  light-hearted 
and  gay,  with  enough  romance  and  comedy  to  satisfy  audi- 
ences that  are  not  too  discriminating.  Harry  James'  "hot 
swing"  music,  and  Dick  Haymes'  "crooning."  should  have 
a  particular  appeal  for  the  "jitterbug"  crowd.  In  addition 
to  his  trumpet  playing,  James  takes  part  in  the  action,  dis- 
playing fair  acting  ability.  There  are  no  big  production 
numbers,  but  the  costuming  and  backgrounds  are  lavish. 
The  clothes  worn  by  Maureen  O'Hara  will  fascinate  the 
women : — 

En  route  to  New  York  to  arrange  for  Reginald  Gardiner 
to  conduct  a  symphonic  music  festival  at  her  dignified  Phila- 
delphia music  school,  Maureen  O'Hara  is  unable  to  find 
a  seat  on  the  train.  James,  noticing  her  plight,  invites  her 
into  his  private  car  reserved  for  his  band.  When  a  "hot" 
tune  played  by  his  boys  fails  to  impress  Maureen,  James 
ridicules  her  by  referring  to  her  as  the  sort  of  girl  men 
do  not  whistle  at.  Smouldering  at  the  slurs  cast  on  her  prim 
appearance,  Maureen,  upon  reaching  New  York,  transforms 
herself  into  a  glamorous  woman  and  decides  to  visit  the 
night  club  in  which  James  played  to  even  her  score  with 
him.  Learning  that  unescorted  women  were  not  permitted 
in  the  club,  Maureen  approaches  Dick  Haymes,  a  seemingly 
hungry  stranger,  and  offers  to  buy  him  a  meal  if  he  would 
accompany  her.  Haymes,  hiding  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
well  known  "crooner,"  accepts  her  offer.  James,  a  close 
friend  of  Haymes',  does  not  recognize  Maureen  and  starts 
a  flirtation  with  her.  She  triumphs  over  him  by  revealing 
her  identity,  but  James,  undaunted,  persists  in  his  attentions. 
Haymes,  too,  begins  to  pursue  Maureen,  much  to  her  em- 
barrassment, because  of  her  engagement  to  Richard  Gaines, 
colorless  business  manager  of  the  school.  She  eventually 
falls  in  love  with  Haymes,  but  their  courtship  hits  a  snag 
when  Haymes,  through  a  gossip  column,  gains  the  impres- 
sion that  Maureen  was  using  him  to  win  James.  To  add  to 
Maureen's  unhappiness,  the  school  expels  her  when  the 
newspapers  publicize  that  she  had  taken  a  liking  to  "swing" 
music.  It  all  ends  on  a  happy  note,  however,  when  Gardiner, 
enlisting  the  aid  of  James  and  Haymes,  proves  to  the  school 
board  that  "swing"  had  a  place  in  the  art  of  music,  thus 
gaining  Maureen's  reinstatement  and  paving  the  way  for 
a  reconciliation  with  Haymes. 

Robert  Ellis  and  Helen  Logan  wrote  the  screen  play, 
George  Jessel  produced  it,  and  Gregory  Ratoff  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Stanley  Prager,  B.  S.  Pully  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  APRIL  27,  1946  No.  17 


LET  US  STOP  SHAKING  DOWN 
THEATRE  PATRONS 

The  unmorality  of  trapping  theatre  patrons  in  their  seats, 
compelling  them  to  contribute  to  this,  that  or  the  other 
charity  drive,  has  gained  so  much  attention  that  now  even 
newspaper  columnists  are  beginning  to  take  an  interest 
in  it.  In  a  copyrighted  article  (1946)  that  appeared  in  the 
April  3  issue  of  the  New  York  World-Telegram,  Mr.  Robert 
C.  Ruark  employed  no  uncertain  terms  in  condemning  the 
practice.  Here  are  some  extracts  from  his  article,  reprinted 
by  permission: 

".  .  .  let  us  knock  off  this  custom  of  shaking  down  the 
patrons  of  theatres  for  any  and  all  causes  while  the  collectors 
circulate  under  blazing  lights  and  thrust  cans  under  your 
nose.  It's  genteel  blackmail,  at  best.  .  .  . 

"...  I  am  getting  sick  to  death  of  this  perpetual  shake- 
down which  is  based  on  the  theory  that  if  the  lights  are 
turned  on,  every  patron  feels  he  is  under  scrutiny  and 
must  cough  up  a  contribution  or  feel  the  scorn  of  his 
neighbors.  .  . 

"I  intend  to  continue  giving  to  worthy  causes,  but  I've 
quit  allowing  myself  to  be  high-pressured  into  it.  Either 
they  [the  theatres]  separate  charity  from  virtual  blackmail 
in  places  of  amusement  or  I,  like  many  another,  will  cease 
patronizing  those  places. 

"Staying  home  every  night  may  be  painful,  but  it  has 
one  advantage.  Not  even  television  can  project  an  usher 
with  a  collection  plate  into  your  living  room." 

Jack  Kirsch,  president  of  National  Allied,  has  suggested 
that  the  theatres  confine  themselves  to  one  collection  a 
year,  an  idea  that  has  been  adopted  by  the  new  American 
Theatres  Association,  but  this  paper  questions  the  advis- 
ability of  allowing  even  one  collection.  The  reasons  were 
set  forth  in  the  April  13  issue  of  this  paper.  It  was  pointed 
out  that  charitable  bodies  are  now  so  well  organized  that 
there  is  no  home  that  is  left  unsolicited.  In  this  way, 
nearly  every  person  is  approached  for  a  contribution  and 
each  one,  either  gives  what  he  can  afford,  or  declines  to 
give  anything.  But  whichever  way  he  decides,  the  indi- 
vidual is  naturally  resentful  when  he  goes  to  a  theatre  and 
finds  himself  solicited  once  again  under  circumstances  that 
compel  him  to  give  some  amount  in  order  to  save  himself 
of  embarrassment.  And  those  who  attend  picture  theatres 
three  and  four  times  a  week  are  embarrassed  just  so  many 
more  times. 

Running  a  trailer  on  the  screen  calling  the  attention  of 
the  patrons  to  a  particular  charity  drive  and  urging  them 
to  support  it  should  be  sufficient;  there  should  be  no  col- 
lections, for  it  is  unfair  to  the  patrons. 

Why  should  the  relief  agencies  choose  the  picture  theatres 
alone  for  their  drives?  Pete  Wood,  business  manager  of  the 
Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio,  put  it  forcefully 
in  a,  letter  to  Congressman  Augustus  W.  Bennet,  dated 
April  15,  when  he  asked  of  the  Congressman  the  follow- 
ing questions: 

"How  many  department  stores  would  agree  to  a  complete 
stoppage  of  business  four  times  a  day  (five  times  on  Sat- 
urday— when  they  are  busiest)  to  announce  over  their 
loud-speaker  systems  that  during  the  ensuing  fifteen  minutes 


clerks  would  walk  up  and  down  the  aisles  urging  those  in 
the  store  to  contribute  to  this  or  that  cause? 

"Also,  how  many  of  the  railroad  companies,  where 
people  are  really  trapped  in  their  seats,  [Mr.  Wood  should 
have  added,  "as  are  the  picture-theatre  patrons,"]  would 
have  their  conductors,  trainmen,  porters,  etc.,  walk  the 
length  of  the  train  to  make  a  collection  for  some  worthy 
charity? 

"If  you  can  find  just  one  large  chain  of  department 
stores,  or  one  railroad  company  to  say  'yes'  to  a  request  of 
this  nature,  I  will  urge  the  Board  of  Directors  of  this 
organization  to  repeal  the  resolution  regarding  audience 
collections. 

"May  I  take  the  liberty  of  suggesting  that  you  recom- 
mend to  other  lines  of  business  where  there  are  large 
concentrations  of  people  (department  stores,  railroads, 
churches,  restaurants,  schools,  etc.,)  [Mr.  Wood  could 
have  added  football  and  baseball  games,  prizefights,  hockey 
matches,  and  bowling  alleys]  that  they  commence  to  match 
the  marvelous  efforts  put  forth  and  results  obtained  by  the 
motion  picture  theatres  in  the  matter  of  money  collections 
for  worthy  causes." 

I  venture  to  state  that  Congressman  Bennet  will  not  be 
able  to  answer  Mr.  Wood. 

Here  is  something  else  that  you  perhaps  never  thought 
of:  The  more  prominent  a  part  your  theatre  takes  in  col- 
lections for  charity  drives,  the  greater  a  target  it  becomes 
in  tax  matters.  When  your  theatre  makes  a  wonderful 
record  in  collections,  the  average  city  council  member  be- 
lieves that  a  theatre  is  a  gold  mine  and  thinks  nothing  of 
recommending  that  your  admissions  be  taxed.  Most  of 
the  people  are  laboring  under  the  illusion  that  picture 
theatres  are  gold  mines,  because  all  the  business  is,  in  most 
cases,  concentrated  in  the  two  hours  in  the  evening,  from 
seven  to  nine,  whereas  the  business  of  all  other  lines  is 
spread  over  the  entire  day,  and  even  much  of  the  night. 
Isn't  this  handicRn  enough  without  increasing  it  by  con- 
tinuing the  collections? 

Our  industry  leaders  who  are  undertaking  to  head  the 
collection  campaigns  are  helpless;  they  are  trapped,  just  as 
are  many  of  you,  in  heading  these  drives — they  cannot 
say  "No!"  But  if  there  is  enough  agitation  against  theatre 
collections,  I  am  sure  that  they  will  think  twice  before  they 
say  "Yes!" 

If  you  want  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  your  patrons 
approve  or  disapprove  of  collections  in  your  theatre  for 
charity  drives,  all  you  have  to  do  is  print  some  ballots,  put 
the  question  in  the  middle  of  it,  and  have  the  end  portions 
of  the  ballot  perforated  with  the  word  "yes,"  on  one  side, 
and  "No"  on  the  other,  and  pass  them  around.  Have  a  box 
in  the  lobby  where  they  may  deposit  their  ballots.  You  will 
soon  know  how  they  feel.  And,  incidentally,  it  is  the  only 
way  by  which  you  can  escape  local  pressure.  If  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  charity  organization  should  ask  you  to  permit 
a  collection  in  your  theatre  for  their  cause,  you  should  say 
to  him  that  you  will  submit  to  your  patrons  a  questionnaire 
to  have  them  decide  whether  such  a  collection  should  or 
should  not  be  made.  If  you  have  already  polled  your  patrons 
on  the  subject  of  collections  in  general,  you  should  be  able 
to  convince  this  representative  that  your  audiences  are 
opposed  to  them.  You  could  prove  it  to  him  by  showing  hiiu 
the  ballots. 


66 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  27,  1946 


"Blondie's  Lucky  Day"  with  Arthur  Lake 
and  Penny  Singleton 

(Columbia,  April  4;  time,  69  min.) 

Being  no  better  and  no  worse  than  the  previous  "Blondie" 
program  comedies,  this  one  should  prove  satisfying  to  the 
series'  ardent  followers.  In  story  and  in  treatment,  it  is  more 
or  less  a  carbon  copy  of  the  other  pictures,  but  it  offers 
an  hour's  diversion,  probably  to  be  forgotten  immediately 
after  one  leaves  the  theatre.  As  is  usual,  the  comedy  is 
provoked  by  the  complications  "Dagwood"  gets  himself 
into  when  he  unwittingly  does  something  that  displeases 
his  employer,  but  in  the  end  his  ineptitude  proves  beneficial 
to  all  concerned.  The  morning  rush  when  "Dagwood" 
discovers  that  he  is  late  for  work,  and  the  inevitable  dis- 
astrous head-on  clash  with  the  postman  as  he  rushes  out 
of  the  house,  are  among  the  standard  comedy  routines  that 
are  employed  to  good  effect: — 

Left  in  charge  of  the  office  when  his  employer  (Jonathan 
Hale)  is  called  out  of  town,  Arthur  Lake  attends  a  meeting 
of  the  towi.'s  leading  businessmen  to  consider  the  veterans' 
unemployment  problem.  He  is  maneuvered  into  hiring  a 
former  sergeant  as  an  architect  only  to  learn  that  he  had 
employed  Angelyn  Orr,  a  discharged  WAC.  He  takes 
Angelyn  home  to  dinner,  and  Penny  Singleton,  his  wife, 
makes  her  one  of  the  family.  When  Hale  returns  and 
objects  to  Angelyn's  employment,  Penny  intervenes  to 
convince  him  that  he  was  wrong.  Peeved,  Hale  discharges 
both  Angelyn  and  Lake.  Deciding  to  form  his  own  con- 
struction company,  Lake,  aided  by  Angelyn  and  Penny, 
contrive  to  win  a  theatre  construction  contract  away  from 
Hale,  based  on  Angelyn's  design.  To  this  end,  they  wine 
and  dine  Robert  Stanton,  whom  they  mistake  to  be  Paul 
Harvey,  a  theatre  tycoon.  Stanton,  a  wastrel,  had  been 
disowned  by  his  father,  but  he  keeps  this  fact  from  Lake. 
After  spending  his  entire  savings  entertaining  Stanton, 
Lake  discovers  that  he  could  not  help  him.  Stanton,  by 
this  time  in  love  with  Angelyn,  promises  to  get  Lake  an 
interview  with  his  father.  He  manages  to  make  good  his 
promise,  but,  although  Harvey  is  impressed  with  Angelyn's 
design,  he  is  unable  to  give  Lake  the  contract  because  he 
had  promised  it  to  Hale.  Penny  takes  matters  in  hand  once 
again  and,  under  her  guidance,  Lake  and  Hale  patch  up 
their  differences  and  agree  to  work  on  the  contract  to- 
gether. Meanwhile  Harvey,  noticing  that  his  son's  char- 
acter had  changed  for  the  better,  welcomes  him  back. 

Connie  Lee  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Abby  Berlin 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Larry  Simms,  Marjorie  Kent, 
Charles  Arnt,  Frank  Jenks  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Dark  Alibi"  with  Sidney  Toler 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  66  min.) 

A  routine  "Charlie  Chan"  program  murder-mystery  melo- 
drama, differing  little  from  the  other  pictures  in  the  series. 
This  one,  too,  has  a  confusing  story,  handicapped  by  a 
maximum  of  talk  and  a  minimum  of  action,  with  the  result 
that  one  loses  interest  in  the  outcome.  It  has  an  exciting 
situation  here  and  there,  but  on  the  whole  the  story  drags 
to  the  point  of  boredom.  There  is  the  usual  comedy  pro- 
voked by  "Chan's"  colored  chauffeur  and  by  his  son,  but 
much  of  this  is  ineffective  because  of  its  silliness: — 

When  Edward  Earle,  a  former  convict,  is  given  a  death 
sentence  for  murdering  a  bank  guard  during  a  robbery, 
Teala  Loring,  his  daughter,  and  George  Holmes,  her  fiance, 
a  prison  guard,  induce  Charlie  Chan  (Sidney  Toler)  to 
reinvestigate  the  case.  Earle  had  been  convicted  on  the 
strength  of  his  fingerprints  found  at  the  scene  of  the  crime. 
Chan's  investigation  takes  him  to  Earle's  former  rooming 
house,  which  boarded  ex-convicts  only.  After  questioning 
Janet  Shaw,  a  typist;  Milton  Parsons,  an  accountant;  Ray 


Walker,  a  tear  gas  salesman;  and  Joyce  Compton,  a  show 
girl,  each  of  whom  might  have  been  mixed  up  in  the  rob- 
bery, Chan  goes  to  the  prison  to  question  Earle.  He  dis- 
covers that  Earle  was  only  one  of  numerous  ex-convicts 
sentenced  in  similar  cases,  and  he  deduces  that  forgeries 
had  been  made  of  their  fingerprints.  He  learns  also  that  the 
originals  of  the  prints  had  been  stolen  from  the  prison  files. 
As  the  investigation  comes  to  a  close,  several  of  the  suspects 
arc  killed  in  a  theatrical  warehouse,  where  Chan  finds  equip- 
ment for  impressing  rubber  gloves  with  fingerprints.  In  a 
surprise  move,  he  unmasks  Teala's  fiance,  the  prison  guard, 
as  the  head  of  the  gang,  winning  her  father'6  freedom. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  screen  play,  James  S.  Burkctt 
produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlson  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Manton  Moreland,  Benson  Fong,  Ben  Carter,  Anthony 
Warde,  Tim  Ryan  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Heartbeat"  with  Ginger  Rogers  and 
Jean  Pierre  Aumont 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  102  min.) 

A  pretty  good  romantic  comedy,  with  a  continental  flavor; 
it  should  go  over  with  the  rank  and  file.  Its  "Pygmalion" 
story  about  an  escaped  reform  school  girl  who  finds  ro- 
mance with  a  young  French  diplomat  is  far-fetched  and 
somewhat  involved,  but  one  is  kept  amused  throughout  be- 
cause of  the  sparkling  performances  of  the  players.  The 
first  half  of  the  story,  in  which  Ginger  Rogers  becomes  a 
pupil  in  a  Parisian  school  that  taught  one  the  art  of  pick- 
pocketing, and  in  which  she  utilizes  her  education  at  an 
embassy  ball,  is  extremely  amusing  and  novel.  The  second 
half,  which  deals  with  her  efforts  to  win  over  the  diplomat, 
follows  a  well-worn  pattern,  but  it  is  light  and  gay.  Basil 
Rathbone,  as  the  tempestuous  professor  of  the  pickpocket 
school,  turns  in  a  choice  if  brief  performance.  The  pro- 
duction values  are  good: — 

Having  run  away  from  a  girls'  reformatory,  Ginger  be- 
comes easy  prey  for  Rathbone,  who  tricks  her  into  becoming 
a  pupil  in  his  "school,"  despite  her  desire  to  lead  an  honest 
life.  Adolphe  Menjou,  a  distinguished  ambassador,  catches 
Ginger  when  she  tries  to  steal  his  stickpin,  but  instead  of 
turning  her  over  to  the  police  he  dresses  her  as  a  debutante 
and  has  her  escorted  to  an  official  ball  as  part  of  a  scheme 
to  trap  his  wife  (Mona  Maris),  whom  he  suspected  of 
having  an  affair  with  Jean  Pierre  Aumont,  a  young  diplo- 
mat. Ginger's  instructions  were  to  steal  Aumont's  watch  in 
order  for  Menjou  to  learn  if  it  contained  Mona's  photo- 
graph. Ginger  becomes  so  smitten  with  Aumont  that  she 
removes  the  photograph  before  handing  the  watch  to 
Menjou.  Satisfied  that  his  wife  was  true  to  him,  Menjou 
has  Ginger  replace  the  watch  and  orders  her  to  disappear. 
Aumont  pursues  her,  but  Ginger,  inherently  honest,  tells 
him  the  truth  about  herself.  She  informs  him  that  she  had 
become  a  pickpocket  to  "earn"  enough  money  to  purchase 
a  husband  "in  name  only,"  an  act  that  would  automatically 
save  her  from  being  returned  to  the  reformatory.  Shocked 
by  her  background,  but  touched  by  her  candor,  Aumont 
arranges  with  Melville  Cooper,  an  impoverished  n'er-do-well 
friend,  to  marry  her.  Cooper,  using  Aumont's  money  and 
home,  buys  Ginger  fine  clothes  and  makes  of  her  a  lady, 
but,  when  it  comes  to  the  marriage  ceremony,  Ginger,  deeply 
in  love  with  Aumont,  refuses  to  go  through  with  it.  This 
gallant  act  awakens  Aumont's  love  for  Ginger,  but  he 
resists  her  lest  her  past  ruin  his  career.  Ginger,  now  sure  of 
his  love,  cleverly  uses  Menjou's  introduction  of  her  as  a 
debutante  to  ingratiate  herself  with  the  embassy  officials, 
thus  winning  Aumont  and  assuring  him  that  she  would  not 
be  an  impediment  to  his  diplomatic  career. 

Morrie  Ryskind  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert  and  Ray- 
mond Hakim  produced  it,  and  Sam  Wood  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Mikhail  Rasumny,  Eduardo  Ciannelli,  Henry 
Stephenson  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


April  27,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


67 


"Bedlam"  with  Boris  Karloff  and  Anna  Lee 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  79  min.) 

Without  resorting  to  the  usual  bunk  found  in  most 
horror  pictures,  RKO  has  fashioned  a  spine-tingling,  though 
not  pleasurable,  melodrama  out  of  this  story  about  the 
inhumane  conditions  in  London's  ill-famed  "Bedlam"  in- 
sane asylum  back  in  the  18th  Century.  It  is  an  extremely 
unpleasant  tale  revolving  around  the  cruelties  practiced  on 
the  inmates  by  a  sadistic  warden,  accentuated  by  the  fact 
that  the  victims  of  depravity,  and  the  wretchedness  of  their 
existence,  are  depicted  with  agonizing  realism.  The  story  is 
somewhat  sketchy,  but  it  has  been  produced  artistically  and 
is  made  believable  by  good  direction  and  acting.  There  are 
a  number  of  gripping  situations,  the  strongest  being  the  one 
in  which  the  demented  patients,  rebelling  against  Boris 
Karloff,  their  fiendish  keeper,  make  him  their  prisoner  and 
put  him  to  death.  It  is  definitely  not  a  picture  for  children : — 

Karloff,  chief  warden  of  "Bedlam,"  charges  the  citizens 
of  London  two  pennies  to  witness  the  antics  of  the  inmates. 
He  owed  his  position  to  Billy  House,  a  dissolute  nobleman, 
who  had  on  his  payroll  Anna  Lee,  a  frivolous  ex-actress, 
whose  job  it  was  to  keep  him  amused.  Paying  a  visit  to 
"Bedlam,"  Anna  becomes  horrified  at  Karloff's  mistreatment 
of  the  patients  and  she  prevails  upon  House  to  order  reforms 
at  the  institution.  Karloff,  however,  proves  to  House  that 
reforms  would  cost  him  considerable  money,  persuading 
him  to  reject  Anna's  plea.  Enraged,  Anna  leaves  House 
and  seeks  the  aid  of  Leland  Hogdson,  a  great  liberal  and 
political  power.  House,  fearful  that  Hodgson  might  initiate 
reforms,  conspires  with  Karloff  to  have  Anna  committed  to 
"Bedlam"  on  trumped-up  charges.  The  triumphant  Karloff 
goads  her  almost  to  the  point  of  insanity,  but  Anna  does 
all  she  can  to  make  the  inmates  comfortable,  winning  their 
love  by  her  kindness.  Meanwhile  Hogdson  and  Richard 
Fraser,  a  young  Quaker  who  sympathized  with  Anna's 
aims,  manage  to  secure  a  new  trial  for  her.  But  on  the  day 
before  the  trial  Karloff  prescribes  a  "treatment"  for  her, 
designed  to  unhinge  her  mentally.  He  tries  to  take  her 
away  forcibly,  but  the  inmates  intervene  and  make  him 
their  prisoner.  While  Anna  escapes  and  goes  to  Fraser  for 
aid,  the  patients  put  Karloff  on  trial,  during  which  one 
of  them  stabs  him  to  death.  In  a  panic,  they  hide  the  body 
by  walling  it  in  some  new  masonry.  With  Karloff's  dis- 
appearance unsolved,  and  with  a  change  in  political  parties, 
Anna  and  Fraser  begin  the  task  of  turning  "Bedlam"  into 
a  humane  institution. 

Carlos  Keith  and  Mark  Robson  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Val  Lewton  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Robson  directed  it. 

"The  Undercover  Woman"  with  Stephanie 
Bachelor,  Robert  Livingston  and 
Richard  Fraser 

(Republic,  April  11;  time,  56  min.) 

Just  a  program  murder-mystery  melodrama,  with  some 
comedy  touches.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  not  always 
logical,  the  story  holds  one's  attention  to  a  fair  degree 
and  keeps  the  audience  guessing  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
murderer,  who  is  not  unmasked  until  the  end.  The  story's 
treatment  follows  the  routine  formula  of  directing  suspicion 
on  several  of  the  characters  to  mystify  the  audience,  but 
few  people  will  have  trouble  in  guessing  the  solution 
before  the  finish.  The  closing  scenes,  where  the  murderer 
is  cornered,  are  the  most  exciting.  Although  the  romantic 
interest  has  no  bearing  on  the  plot,  it  is  developed  in  a 
light  and  pleasing  manner: — 

Stephanie  Bachelor,  a  woman  detective,  and  Isabel 
Withers,  her  scatter-brained  assistant,  are  summoned  to 
a  dude  ranch  by  Helen  Heigh,  a  wealthy  socialite,  to 
amass  divorce  evidence  against  Richard  Fraser,  her  play- 
boy husband.  Fraser  was  having  an  affair  with  Elaine  Lange, 
a  married  woman,  who  planned  to  wed  him  after  securing 
her  own  divorce  from  Larry  Blake,  her  jealous  husband. 


One  night  Fraser  is  murdered  in  a  desert  ghost  town,  where 
he  was  to  keep  a  rendezvous  with  Elaine.  Robert  Livingston, 
young  sheriff  of  the  town,  takes  over  the  investigation,  aided 
by  Stephanie.  Together  they  find  clues  that  direct  suspicion 
on  Elaine;  Helen;  Blake;  and  Tom  London,  a  hired  hand, 
whom  Fraser  had  mistreated.  London,  pleading  innocence, 
comes  to  Stephanie  and  tells  her  that  he  had  witnessed 
the  crime,  but  before  he  can  disclose  the  name  of  the 
murderer  he  is  killed  mysteriously.  Stephanie,  investigating 
Fraser's  shady  past,  makes  her  own  deductions  regarding  the 
identity  of  the  murderer  and,  through  a  clever  ruse,  traps 
Edythe  Elliott,  mild-mannered  owner  of  the  ranch.  After 
Miss  Elliott  makes  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  kill  Stephanie, 
who  is  saved  by  the  timely  interference  of  Livingston,  she 
confesses  that  she  had  murdered  Fraser  because,  years  pre- 
viously, he  had  seduced  her  daughter,  driving  the  girl  to 
suicide.  She  had  murdered  also  London,  because  he  had 
seen  her  commit  the  crime.  The  mystery  solved,  Stephanie 
and  Livingston  decide  to  form  a  partnership  for  life. 

Jerry  Sackheim  and  Sherman  L.  Lowe  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Rudolph  E.  Abet  produced  >>,  -a,nd  Thoaaas  Garr 
directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Avalanche"  with  Bruce  Cabot,  Roscoe 
Karns  and  Veda  Ann  Borg 

(PRC,  June  20;  time,  70  min.) 
From  a  story  point  of  view,  "Avalanche"  is  a  confusing 
murder-mystery  melodrama,  with  a  formula  treatment,  but 
with  enough  suspense  and  action  to  satisfy  the  followers 
of  this  type  of  entertainment.  But  from  a  production  point 
of  view,  it  is  by  far  superior  to  most  program  pictures  be- 
cause of  its  excellent  photography  and  of  its  interesting 
scenic  backgrounds.  Much  of  the  action  takes  place  on 
snow-capped  mountains  that  are  a  treat  to  the  eye,  and 
worked  into  the  plot  are  a  number  of  snow-slides  that  are 
breathtaking,  as  well  as  a  few  thrilling  ski  chases.  The  out- 
door scenes  are  so  good  that  one  does  not  mind  the  ordi- 
nary plot: — 

Bruce  Cabot  and  Roscoe  Karns,  treasury  department 
agents,  go  to  a  mountain  lodge  to  arrest  a  wealthy  indus- 
trialist for  tax  evasion.  Upon  arriving,  they  learn  that 
the  man  had  failed  to  return  from  a  skiing  trip.  Cabot, 
accompanied  by  John  Good,  a  ski  instructor,  searches  for 
the  missing  man  and  finds  his  body  on  a  ski  trail.  Investi- 
gating the  murder,  Cabot  finds  the  guests  at  the  lodge 
reacting  in  different  ways  to  the  news.  Regina  Wallace,  a 
wealthy  neurotic,  was  heartbroken  because  she  believed 
that  the  dead  man  had  been  in  love  with  her;  Eddie  Parks, 
her  harrassed  husband,  was  confused;  Helen  Mowery,  an 
attractive  girl,  felt  badly  because  she  liked  the  dead  man; 
and  Wilton  Graff  and  his  wife,  Veda  Ann  Borg  were  in- 
different, as  was  Philip  Van  Zandt,  a  gangster.  Shortly 
after,  Cabot  discovers  that  the  dead  man  was  not  the 
industrialist,  but  one  of  Van  Zandt's  henchmen,  and  that 
the  missing  man  was  known  to  have  had  a  half-million  dollars 
in  his  possession.  A  series  of  snow-slides  prevents  the 
guests  from  leaving  the  vicinity  of  the  lodge,  and  in  the 
course  of  events  a  few  mysterious  attempts  are  made  on 
Cabot's  life,  two  of  the  guests  are  murdered,  and  another 
body  found  in  the  snow  turns  out  to  be  the  missing  indus- 
trialist. Cabot  is  led  through  a  scries  of  ski  chases  while 
following  up  the  different  clues,  eventually  trapping  Good 
as  the  murderer,  but  he  breaks  away  and  is  buried  under 
an  avalanche  of  snow.  Cabot  proves  that  the  industrialist, 
in  a  plot  with  Good,  had  arranged  to  identify  the  first  corpse 
as  his  own  in  order  to  evade  taxes,  and  that  Good  had 
killed  the  industrialist  in  an  attempt  to  get  his  fortune.  The 
others  had  been  murdered  because  they  had  discovered 
Good's  secret. 

Andrew  Holt  wrote  the  screen  play,  Pat  di  Cicco  pro- 
duced it,  and  Irving  Allen  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


68 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


April  27,  1946 


IS  YOUR  FIRE  INSURANCE  WRITTEN 
AT  TODAY'S  REPLACEMENT  VALUE? 

In  a  recent  service  bulletin,  under  the  above  heading, 
Pete  Wood,  secretary  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners 
of  Ohio,  offers  to  his  members  sound  advice,  which  should 
be  of  interest  to  all  exhibitors.  This  is  what  he  has  to  say: 

"It  has  recently  been  called  to  our  attention  that  many 
fire  insurance  policies  are  in  effect  today  on  theatre  prop- 
erties which  were  written  at  low  replacement  values.  If  your 
insurance  falls  into  this  category  it  will  be  worth  your  effort 
to  give  some  time  to  the  study  of  the  situation. 

"Let's  assume  that  a  theatre  property  in  1936  cost  $100,- 
000 — today  the  same  building  would  cost  nearer  $150,000. 
Figuring  normal  depreciation  on  today's  cost,  you  would 
have  a  valuation  of  $127,500  in  your  present  building. 
In  contracting  for  insurance  you  agree,  in  most  instances, 
to  the  co-insurance  clause,  which  means  that  you  agree  to 
carry  fire  insurance  up  to  80%  of  the  value  of  the  building. 
For  instance,  if  your  policy  has  been  written  for  the  same 
amount  for  the  past  ten  years  and  the  cost  of  your  building 
was  $100,000,  you  probably  carry  $80,000  worth  of  fire 
insurance,  which  was  80%  of  the  value  of  the  building  ten 
years  ago. 

"However,  if  you  were  faced  with  a  fire  loss  today,  let's 
see  what  you  would  collect  on  this  $80,000  policy.  The 
value  of  your  building  today  is  $127,500 — you  agree  to 
carry  80%  of  the  value  of  the  building  or  $102,000  worth 
of  insurance.  If  you  carry  only  $80,000  worth  of  insurance, 
based  upon  your  1936  valuation  of  $100,000 — you  have 
not  lived  up  to  your  contractual  obligation  with  the  insur- 
ance company.  On  a  $50,000  loss  you  would  be  able  to 
collect  only  40/51st  ($80,000  over  $102,000)  of  the  loss 
or  $39,215.68.  It  would  make  you  a  co-insurer  in  the 
amount  of  $10,784.32,  this  amount  being  what  you  would 
pay  because  under  present  conditions  of  replacement  cost 
your  building  was  under-valuated. 

"Better  get  together  with  an  appraiser  and  your  insur- 
ance agent  and  check  up  on  your  fire  insurance  policies." 

"Her  Kind  of  Man"  with  Zachary  Scott, 
Faye  Emerson,  Dane  Clark  and  Janis  Paige 

(Warner  Bros.,  May  11;  time,  78  min.) 

Although  considerable  money  has  been  spent  on  its  pro- 
duction, this  melodrama  has  not  turned  out  to  be  more 
than  a  fairly  good,  well-dressed  program  picture.  But  it  is 
an  unpleasant  entertainment,  for  its  lurid  tale  about  the 
rise  and  fall  of  a  cold-blooded  gambler  is  completely  lack- 
ing in  human  appeal.  The  story  is  not  always  plausible, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  has  not  been  shown  in 
pictures  of  this  type  before.  Moreover,  it  has  the  draw- 
back of  a  hero  who  remains  a  cad  from  start  to  finish.  The 
heroine  does  not  awaken  sympathy  either,  for  she  is  pre- 
sented as  a  woman  of  weak  character,  even  though  of  not 
despicable  character;  she  takes  up  with  the  gambler  after 
seeing  him  commit  a  murder,  then,  after  leaving  him, 
willingly  casts  aside  the  true  love  of  another  man  to  wed 
him,  remaining  loyal  to  him  even  after  he  kills  his  own 
sister.  But  because  there  is  movement  all  the  time  one's 
interest  in  the  proceedings  is  held  pretty  well.  Some  of 
the  situations  are  quite  exciting: — 

Zachary  Scott,  a  calloused  small-time  gambler,  murders 
Sheldon  Leonard,  another  gambler,  when  he  tries  to  recoup 
his  losses  at  the  point  of  a  gun.  The  killing  is  witnessed  by 
Janis  Paige,  Scott's  girl-friend,  and  by  George  Tobias,  his 
brother-in-law,  who  operated  the  night  club  in  which 
Janis  was  a  featured  singer.  The  body  is  hidden  by  Scott 
and  by  Harry  Lewis,  a  youthful  gunman,  Scott's  bodyguard. 
Scott  hides  out  in  Florida  but  he  soon  becomes  lonely  for 
Janis  and  returns  to  New  York.  There  he  finds  that  Dane 
Clark,  a  Broadway  columnist  had  fallen  in  love  with  her. 
To  get  her  away  from  Clark,  Scott  takes  Janis  to  Saratoga 
to  work  in  a  new  gambling  joint  that  he  and  Tobias  had 
opened.  Meanwhile  Clark  and  detective  Howard  Smith 


come  across  evidence  linking  Scott  with  Leonard's  murder. 
Both  go  to  Saratoga,  where  Scott's  bodyguard  takes  Clark 
for  a  "ride"  and  gives  him  a  brutal  beating.  Janis,  angered, 
breaks  with  Scott.  Months  later,  Scott,  learning  of  Jams' 
engagement  to  Clark,  goes  to  New  York  and,  in  a  whirl- 
wind courtship,  sweeps  Janis  off  her  feet  and  marries  her. 
Shortly  thereafter  he  opens  a  fashionable  gambling  club. 
Smith,  having  accumulated  sufficient  evidence  to  convict 
Scott  of  Leonard's  murder,  stages  a  raid  on  the  club  to 
arrest  him.  In  the  altercation  that  follows,  Scott  accidentally 
shoots  to  death  Faye  Emerson,  his  sister  (Tobias'  wife), 
and  makes  a  getaway.  Janis  persuades  Lewis  to  take  her  to 
Scott's  hiding  place,  and  Scott,  angered,  punches  the  body- 
guard. To  avenge  himself,  Lewis  informs  Tobias  of  the 
hideout's  location,  then  telephones  the  policy  about  the 
anticipated  tussle.  By  the  time  the  police  arrive,  the  gun- 
battle  is  over,  with  Tobias  dead  and  Scott  dying.  He  passes 
away  in  Janis'  arms,  and  it  ends  with  Clark  taking  Jane 
with  him  to  start  a  new  life. 

Gordon  Kahn  and  Leopold  Atlas  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Alex  Gottlieb  produced  it,  and  Frederick  de  Cordova  di- 
rected it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Henry  V"  with  Laurence  Olivier 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  134  mm.) 
Technically,  this  lavish  production  of  Shakespeare's  his- 
torical drama  is  an  artistic  masterpiece,  an  achievement  the 
British  motion  picture  industry  may  well  be  proud  of.  Its 
appeal,  however,  will  be  directed  to  the  very,  very  few — 
the  students  and  lovers  of  Shakespeare  who  can  really  appre- 
ciate an  artistic  interpretation  of  his  works.  Other  than 
to  small  houses  that  cater  to  "arty"  patrons,  the  picture 
has  no  place  in  the  average  theatre  catering  to  mixed 
audiences,  for  unless  one  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  Shake- 
speare's writings,  and  is  mentally  equipped  to  understand 
his  blank  verse,  the  dialogue  will  have  no  meaning  for  him, 
meaningful  as  it  is.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  United  Artists, 
aware  of  the  picture's  limited  appeal,  is  giving  it  a  road- 
show treatment  and  plans  to  restrict  its  exhibition  to  small 
theatres  and  halls  that  are  in  a  position  to  cater  to  special 
audiences. 

Briefly,  the  story,  which  takes  place  in  1415,  revolves 
around  the  attempt  of  Henry  V  to  seize  the  throne  of 
France  because  of  an  ancestral  claim.  With  an  army  of 
thirty  thousand  men  he  sails  for  France  and,  after  laying 
siege  to  Harfleur,  takes  the  town  but  at  great  cost.  His 
army  thinned  and  weakened  by  sickness,  Henry  turns  back 
to  Calais,  but  a  great  French  army  blocks  his  way  at  Agin- 
court,  jubilantly  confident  of  victory  because  of  its  over- 
whelming numbers  and  superior  arms.  Henry,  undaunted, 
rallies  and  encourages  his  men,  and,  leading  them  on  the 
field  of  battle,  defeats  the  French.  Later,  when  Henry  comes 
triumphantly  to  the  French  court,  he  woos  the  Princess 
Katharine  with  a  gallant  ardour  and  wins  her  hand.  Their 
marriage  unites  the  French  and  English  royal  houses. 

The  settings  and  costumes,  enhanced  by  the  Technicolor 
photography,  are  a  delight  to  the  eye.  The  outstanding 
scenes  are  numerous,  but  the  most  memorable  and  exciting 
one  is  the  clash  of  the  two  armies  on  the  field  of  Agincourt; 
it  is  a  spectacle  that  gives  one  an  inspiring  thrill.  Laurence 
Olivier,  who  produced  and  directed  the  picture,  and  also 
plays  the  leading  role  of  Henry  V,  has  done  a  superb  job 
in  each  department.  Renee  Asherson,  as  the  Princess  Kath- 
arine, is  delightfully  piquant;  her  love  scenes  with  the  mon- 
arch, and  the  sequence  in  which  she  endeavors  to  learn 
English,  are  humorous,  warm,  and  completely  captivating. 
With  the  exception  of  Olivier,  none  of  the  other  players 
are  known  in  this  country,  but  each  one  is  excellent  and, 
no  matter  how  small  his  role,  is  absolutely  in  the  spirit  of 
the  play.  The  background  music,  played  by  the  London 
Symphony  Orchestra,  is  distinguished. 

Alan  Dent,  Reginald  Beck,  and  Mr.  Olivier  adapted  the 
screen  play. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF~FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MAY  4,  1946  No.  18 


AN  IMPOSITION  ON  THE 

PICTURE-GOERS 

Color  in  motion  pictures  is  an  added  attraction.  The 
different  hues  and  shadings,  the  sheen  of  the  silk 
dresses,  the  sparkling  of  bright  objects  throwing 
around  color  beams  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 
seem  to  fascinate  audiences,  even  when  the  color  is 
considerably  exaggerated.  People  flock  to  see  a  picture 
in  natural  colors;  and  since  the  only  color  process  that 
has  been  successful  is  Technicolor,  when  one  speaks 
of  color  ones  mind  runs  to  Technicolor. 

For  all  these  reasons  the  producers  of  Technicolor 
pictures  have  an  obligation  towards  the  picture-going 
public  to  deliver  color  in  all  its  Technicolor  glory. 

In  "Renegades,"  the  Columbia  western,  which  has 
been  photographed  by  the  Technicolor  process,  the 
color  is  disgraceful;  and  so  it  is  an  imposition  upon 
the  picture-going  public. 

This  writer  does  not  know  who  is  to  blame — 
whether  it  is  Columbia  or  the  technical  experts  of 
Technicolor;  but  he  does  know  one  thing — not  in 
several  years  has  he  seen  a  picture  in  which  the  color 
was  worse.  The  faces  of  the  actors  look  coppery  and 
the  expressions  are  blank.  And  the  choice  of  Willard 
Parker  as  the  leading  man  was  most  unfortunate,  be 
cause  his  eyes,  being  light  blue,  give  him  a  somewhat 
unpleasant  appearance. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that,  in  every  instance,  Techni- 
color  sends  its  own  experts  to  supervise  production, 
there  seems  to  be  no  excuse  for  the  poor  results  other 
than  that  the  company,  having  been  rushed  for  several 
years  by  production  orders  and  thus  seemingly  unable 
to  supply  the  demand,  may  have  been  compelled  to 
employ  technical  men  who  have  not  received  thorough 
training,  for  if  they  knew  their  business  they  would, 
by  looking  at  the  rushes,  have  determined  that  the 
color  was  defective,  and  they  would  have  taken  proper 
measures  to  correct  the  defects,  whether  it  was  in  the 
camera,  in  the  film  stock  used,  or  in  the  printing.  Or 
perhaps  the  Columbia  men  were  interfering  with 
their  work,  and  thus  these  experts  were  unable  to 
obtain  the  best  results.  Whichever  the  case,  we  know 
one  thing — the  color  is  unsatisfactory  and  will  not, 
in  my  opinion,  please  picture-goers  as  much  as  they 
are  pleased  when  they  see  color  pictures  produced 
and  photographed  by  thoroughly  experienced  persons. 

Technicolor  should  take  special  care  to  deliver  its 
best  work  under  all  conditions.  If  they  are  short  of  ex- 
pert manpower,  they  should  not  undertake  to  photo- 
graph a  picture,  for  the  sake,  not  only  of  the  public, 
but  also  of  its  own  reputation. 


AN  HONOR  THE  WARNERS  DESERVE 

This  year  the  Warner  brothers  are  joining  other 
industry  leaders  in  world-wide  celebrations  to  mark 
the  twentieth  anniversary  of  the  introduction  of  talk- 
ing" pictures.  It  was  on  August  6,  1926,  when  they 
showed  at  the  Warner  Theatre,  on  Broadway,  New 
York  City,  the  first  synchronised  talking  picture,  and 
from  that  day  onward  the  "talkies"  took  complete 
hold  of  the  industry.  Within  three  or  four  years,  silent 
pictures  disappeared  entirely,  and  a  few  years  after 
that,  the  disc  method  of  reproduction  was  replaced  by 
the  film  method. 

Whatever  differences  of  opinion  there  may  exist 
among  exhibitors  as  to  the  sales  methods  that  Warner 
Bros,  employed  during  the  period  of  time  when  they 
had  control  of  the  available  talking  picture  equipment, 
there  is  one  point  on  which  there  should  be  no  dif- 
ference of  opinion — on  the  credit  they  deserve  for 
having  defied  the  opinions  of  others  by  gambling  their 
entire  resources  in  the  development  of  this  new  medi- 
um. It  was  due  to  their  daring  that  the  talking  picture 
advanced  as  rapidly  as  it  did. 

Harrison's  Reports  desires  to  pay  homage  to  that 
daring  of  the  four  Warner  brothers,  counting  the  late 
Sam  Warner,  for  their  bold  pioneering  in  the  develop- 
ment of  talking  pictures  opened  up  a  new  era  in  the 
progress  of  the  industry. 

THE  ROLE  OF  THE  STAR-PRODUCER 

Writing  in  the  April  1  issue  of  Mo  Wax's  Film 
Bulletin,  David  Hanna,  brilliant  young  motion  picture 
editor  of  the  Los  Angeles  Daily  T^lews,  condemned  the 
stars  who  enter  the  independent  production  field.  Un- 
der the  heading,  "Stars  Make  Lousy  Producers,"  Mr. 
Hanna  says  partly : 

"Although  the  existing  prosperity  of  the  indepen- 
dent production  field  and  the  promise  it  holds  out  in 
the  postwar  future  is  welcomed  by  far-sighted  film 
men,  there  is  a  worrisome  element  attached  to  it  that 
commands  inspection;  namely,  the  attraction  it  holds 
for  actors  and  actresses.  .  .  . 

"Today's  crop  of  movie  stars,  sheltered  by  awed 
press  agents,  comforted  by  sympathetic  producers, 
placated  by  gentle  directors,  and  idolised  by  the  public 
are  about  as  adequately  equipped  to  enter  production 
as  Mickey  Mouse  is  to  meet  Joe  Louis  for  the  heavy- 
weight title  ..." 

Mr.  Hanna  recounts  the  failures  of  the  different 
stars,  but  also  points  out  the  exceptions. 

Mr.  Hanna  is  correct  in  stating  that  most  of  the  stars 
are  not  equipped  with  the  necessary  knowledge  to 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


70 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  4,  1946 


"Somewhere  in  the  Night" 
with  John  Hodiak  and  Nancy  Guild 

(  20th  CcnturyPox,  June;  time,  1 10  min.) 

Very  good!  It  is  a  psychological  murder-mystery  melo- 
drama, expertly  directed  and  acted,  revolving  around  a 
veteran,  an  amnesia  victim,  who  follows  up  a  slim  clue  to 
learn  something  of  . his  past.  The  action  intrigues  and  grips 
one  from  start  to  finish  as  the  bewildered  man  finds  himself 
led  into  a  series  of  hair-raising  adventures  in  which  he  be- 
comes enmeshed  with  an  assortment  of  dubious  characters 
who  resort  to  murder  and  violence  in  an  effort  to  recover  a 
stolen  two  million  dollars,  a  robbery  in  which  he  had  been 
connected  but  in  a  way  unknown  to  himself.  The  excitement 
and  suspense  is  sustained  at  such  a  high  pitch  that  the  spec- 
tator is  kept  on  the  edge  of  his  seat.  The  drawing  power  of 
the  players  is  limited,  but  since  the  picture  is  of  a  sort  that 
should  get  word-of-mouth  advertising,  the  results  at  the  box- 
office  may  prove  to  be  pretty  good : — 

Given  a  medical  discharge  from  the  Marines,  John  Hodiak, 
an  amnesia  victim,  goes  to  Los  Angeles  to  learn  something 
of  his  past.  His  only  clue  was  a  baggage  check  that  he  had 
found  among  his  effects.  At  the  railroad  station,  he  exchanges 
the  check  for  a  brief  case,  in  which  he  finds  a  letter  to  him 
signed  by  "Larry  Cravat,"  stating  that  $5,000  had  been 
deposited  in  his  name  at  a  local  bank.  The  letterhead  read, 
"The  Elite  Baths."  Hodiak's  adventures  start  when  he  goes 
to  the  baths  to  inquire  after  "Cravat,"  whom  he  could  not 
recall.  Everyone  he  questions  avoids  his  inquiries  and,  before 
long,  he  is  kidnapped  and  beaten  by  a  gang  of  thugs  who 
wanted  to  learn  "Cravat's"  whereabouts.  In  the  course  of 
events,  Hodiak  becomes  friendly  with  Nancy  Guild,  a  night- 
club singer,  who  asks  Richard  Conte,  a  cafe  owner,  to  help 
him.  Through  Conte's  friendship  with  detective  Lloyd  No- 
lan, Hodiak  learns  that  "Cravat"  had  been  a  private  detec- 
tive, and  that  he  was  wanted  for  the  murder  of  a  man  who 
had  entrusted  two  million  dollars  in  his  care;  "Cravat"  and 
the  money  had  disappeared  after  the  crime.  Hodiak,  aware 
that  the  grenade  that  had  exploded  in  his  face,  giving  him 
amnesia,  had  also  changed  his  facial  features,  begins  to 
dread  that  he  himself  was  "Cravat"  and  that  no  one  recog- 
nized him.  He  determines  to  solve  the  mystery.  After  an 
extensive  investigation,  in  which  numerous  attempts  are 
made  on  his  life  as  he  meets  up  with  different  persons  who 
had  long  been  searching  for  the  missing  money,  Hodiak  finds 
a  clue  that  leads  him  to  the  hidden  loot  and  establishes  his 
identity  as  "Cravat."  But  his  innocence  is  proved  beyond 
a  doubt  when  Conte,  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  steal 
the  money,  admits  to  the  murder  years  previously. 

Howard  Dimsdale  and  Joseph  L.  Mankiewicz  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Anderson  Lawler  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Man- 
kiewicz directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Fritz  Kortner,  Margo 
Woods,  Sheldon  Leonard,  Lou  Nova  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Rendezvous  24"  with  William  Gargan 
and  Maria  Palmer 

(20th  Century-Fox,  May;  time,  70  min.) 

This  is  a  routine  program  espionage  melodrama,  the  sort 
that  may  please  such  action  fans  as  are  not  too  particular 
about  story  values,  for  it  has  enough  excitement  and  sus- 
pense to  satisfy  them.  It  may,  however,  do  above-average 
business  because  the  plot  revolves  around  atomic  bombs,  a 
subject  that  lends  itself  to  exploitation  nowadays.  But  the 
story  itself  offers  little  that  is  novel,  and  its  treatment  follows 
a  time-worn  formula.  The  production  is  typical  of  that  given 
to  secondary  program  features;  and  in  other  respects,  such  as 
acting  and  direction,  is  just  passable. 

The  action  revolves  around  a  group  of  Nazi  scientists,  left 
behind  by  Hitler  to  achieve  his  dream  of  supremacy  through 
atomic  bombs  controlled  by  radio.  David  Leonard,  a  refugee 
scientist  working  with  the  atomic  bomb  experts  in  the 
United  States,  but  secretly  an  associate  of  the  German  group, 
cleverly  eludes  William  Gargan,  a  secret  service  man  assigned 


to  guard  him,  and  heads  for  Germany  with  information  that 
would  enable  the  Nazi  to  complete  their  bomb.  Gargan 
follows  in  pursuit.  He  stops  at  a  little  German  village  in  the 
Harz  Mountains,  where  he  makes  contact  with  Pat  O'Moore, 
a  British  agent.  He  meets  also  Maria  Palmer,  who  posed  as  a 
Swedish  journalist  but  who  was  actually  a  German  agent. 
While  making  an  extensive  search  for  the  scientists'  secret 
laboratory,  known  to  be  hidden  in  a  cave,  Gargan  is  cap- 
tured by  the  Germans.  He  is  brought  to  the  laboratory,  where 
Leonard  had  perfected  an  atomic  bomb,  which,  through  radio 
control,  was  set  to  destroy  Paris  at  9:30  that  evening.  To 
insure  the  completion  of  their  plan,  the  Germans  forge  a 
note  to  O'Moore  in  Gargan's  handwriting,  and  dispatch 
Maria  to  lure  him  to  the  laboratory.  O'Moore,  having  re- 
ceived word  from  London  that  Maria  was  a  spy,  permits 
himself  to  be  taken  in  by  her.  Arriving  at  the  laboratory,  he 
precipitates  a  gunfight  in  which  he  and  Gargan  wipe  out  the 
Nazis  and,  with  but  five  seconds  to  spare,  smash  the  radio 
switch  that  would  have  destroyed  Paris. 

Aubrey  Wisberg  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sol  M.  Wurtzel 
produced  it,  and  James  Tinling  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Herman  Bing,  Kay  Connors  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Boys'  Ranch"  with  James  Craig, 
Skippy  Homeier  and  Jackie  Jenkins 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  97  min.) 

This  drama,  revolving  around  the  rehabilitation  of  under- 
privileged boys,  is  not  particularly  novel,  and  it  uses  up  too 
much  footage  for  the  story  it  has  to  tell,  but  it  is  presented  in 
an  appealing  way  and  holds  one's  attention  fairly  well.  There 
is  deep  human  interest  in  many  of  the  situations,  awakened 
by  the  determination  of  James  Craig  to  establish  a  haven  for 
homeless  youngsters,  despite  the  lack  of  public  confidence  in 
the  project.  In  many  respects,  the  picture  is  comparable  to 
MGM's  "Boys'  Town,"  but,  though  it  has  many  tender  and 
inspiring  moments,  it  lacks  the  dramatic  force  of  that  pic- 
ture. Darryl  Hickman  and  Skippy  Homeier,  as  juvenile  de- 
linquents who  are  regenerated,  give  effective  performances, 
but  top  honors  go  to  little  Jackie  "Butch"  Jenkins,  as  a 
homeless  waif;  he  captivates  one's  heart  completely  with  his 
naturalness,  causing  one  to  either  laugh  or  cry: — 

After  quitting  professional  baseball,  Craig  returns  to  his 
Texas  home,  bringing  with  him  Darryl  and  Skippy,  two 
homeless  boys  in  trouble  with  the  police.  He  leaves  them  at 
a  friend's  ranch  in  the  hope  that  he  will  find  jobs  for  them. 
But,  through  a  misunderstanding  with  Craig's  friend,  the 
boys  take  to  the  road  and,  together  with  a  group  of  tough 
youngsters,  make  their  home  in  a  deserted  building.  Craig, 
finding  the  youngsters  in  their  squalid  quarters,  takes  an  in- 
terest in  their  problems  and  appeals  to  the  local  ranchers  to 
finance  a  ranch  for  homeless  boys.  Ray  Collins,  one  of  the 
ranchers,  offers  to  donate  the  land  if  Craig  would  personally 
supervise  the  boys,  but  provides  that  the  land  be  returned  to 
him  if  the  project  fails.  The  other  ranchers  go  along  with 
the  plan  by  contributing  live  stock  and  farming  equipment. 
Under  Craig's  patient  guidance,  the  boys  become  worth- 
while citizens,  all  except  Skippy,  who  continues  his  way- 
ward ways.  He  steals  money  and  articles  from  the  ranchers, 
who,  unaware  of  the  thief's  identity,  suspect  all  the  boys  and 
lose  confidence  in  Craig's  work.  Skippy.  aware  that  his  com- 
panions suspected  him,  runs  away.  Darryl  follows  him  and 
catches  him  with  the  loot.  In  the  fight  that  ensues,  Darryl  is 
injured  and  left  abandoned  by  Skippy  on  a  small  mid-stream 
island.  As  Skippy  prepares  to  catch  a  train,  he  realizes  that 
Darryl  might  drown  because  of  a  rising  river  flood.  He  turns 
back  to  rescue  his  friend,  then  confesses  to  the  thefts  to  halt 
the  ranchers  from  withdrawing  their  support  of  the  ranch. 
Convinced  that  Skippy  had  reformed,  Craig  welcomes  him 
back  to  Boys'  Ranch. 

William  Ludwig  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert  Sisk  pro- 
duced it,  and  Roy  Rowland  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Dorothy  Patrick,  Sharon  McManus  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


May  4,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


71 


"Cluny  Brown"  with 
Jennifer  Jones  and  Charles  Boyer 

(20th  Century-Fox,  June;  time,  100  min.) 

Margery  Sharp's  best-selling  novel  about  an  unconven- 
tional cockney  girl,  who  had  a  penchant  for  repairing  defeo 
tive  plumbing  and  who  "never  knew  her  place,"  has  been 
fashioned  into  a  highly  amusing  comedy  under  the  deft 
handling  of  Ernest  Lubitsch.  The  popularity  of  the  stars  and 
of  the  story  should  make  it  a  strong  box-office  attraction. 
The  story,  which  is  somewhat  novel,  should  appeal  both  to 
class  audiences  and  to  the  masses.  The  dialogue  is  sparkling, 
and  the  acting  and  direction  outstanding.  In  addition,  the 
production  is  most  lavish.  Jennifer  Jones,  as  the  uninhibited 
girl,  and  Charles  Boyer,  as  a  Czech  refugee  who  sympathized 
with  her  unconventional  desires,  are  excellent;  both  show  a 
fine  flair  for  comedy.  Audiences  will  chuckle  with  delight  at 
the  many  complications  they  get  themselves  into  before  they 
realize  their  love  for  one  another.  Both  have  been  given  ex- 
cellent support  by  a  well-chosen  cast.  The  story  takes  place 
in  pre-war  England: — 

Jennifer,  an  impulsive  miss,  first  meets  Boyer,  a  prominent 
anti-Nazi  liberal,  when  she  goes  to  the  home  of  Reginald 
Gardiner  to  repair  a  stopped-up  drain,  in  answer  to  an  emer- 
gency call  her  uncle,  a  plumber,  could  not  attend  to.  They 
meet  again  at  the  country  estate  of  Reginald  Owen,  a  British 
nobleman,  where  Jennifer's  uncle  had  sent  her  to  become  a 
servant  so  that  she  could  "learn  her  place."  Boyer  was  there 
as  the  guest  of  Peter  Lawford,  Owen's  son,  who  had  taken 
it  upon  himself  to  protect  him  from  possible  harm  at  the 
hands  of  Nazi  spies.  Boyer  and  Jennifer  become  fast  friends 
because  of  their  understanding  of  each  other's  unconven- 
tional ways,  but  both  forsake  all  thoughts  of  romance  be- 
cause she  felt  that  he  was  "not  her  type."  She  starts  a  ro- 
mance with  Richard  Haydn,  a  smug  village  chemist,  and 
plans  to  marry  him.  Meanwhile  Lawford  has  his  romantic 
troubles  with  Helen  Walker,  another  house  guest.  Boyer's 
interest  in  Jennifer,  and  his  attempts  to  straighten  out  Law- 
ford's  romantic  entanglements,  result  in  a  number  of  situ- 
ations that  are  so  completely  misunderstood  by  the  wealthy 
Britishers  that  he  decides  to  take  his  leave.  In  the  meantime, 
Jennifer's  uncontrollable  urge  to  fix  defective  plumbing  em- 
barrasses Haydn;  he  breaks  their  engagement.  As  she  reaches 
the  railroad  station  to  bid  Boyer  goodbye,  both  realize  their 
love  for  each  other;  she  discards  her  cap  and  apron  and  joins 
him  on  the  train.  They  head  for  the  United  States  and  mar- 
ried life. 

Samuel  Hoffenstein  and  Elizabeth  Reinhardt  wrote  the 
screen  play,  and  Mr.  Lubitsch  produced  and  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  Margaret  Bannerman,  Una 
O'Connor,  Billy  Bevan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"In  Old  Sacramento"  with 
William  Elliott  and  Constance  Moore 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  89  min.) 

A  fairly  good  western.  There  is  nothing  unusual  about 
the  story  or  about  the  manner  in  which  it  is  presented,  but 
it  has  been  given  a  good  production  and  should  satisfy  most 
people,  particularly  the  western  fans,  for  it  is  an  entertaining 
blend  of  excitement,  suspense,  romance,  and  comedy,  en- 
hanced by  effective  musical  sequences,  As  a  masked  stage- 
coach bandit,  William  Elliott  is  a  most  sympathetic  villain, 
so  much  so  that  one  almost  regrets  that  he  is  made  to  pay 
for  his  sins.  The  suspense  is  brought  about  by  the  way  in 
which  he  manages  to  keep  his  identity  secret.  Constance 
Moore  makes  an  appealing  heroine,  and  is  particularly  good 
in  the  musical  numbers.  The  action  takes  place  in  1850: — 

Elliott,  posing  as  a  Sacramento  gambler,  is  actually 
"Spanish  Jack,"  a  mysterious  stagecoach  bandit,  who  had 
adopted  a  lawless  life  after  claim  jumpers  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  his  gold  stake.  Constance  Moore,  singing  star  of  a 
showboat,  with  whom  Elliott  was  in  love,  suspects  his  out- 
lawry. Sheriff  Eugene  Pallette  prepares  to  trap  "Spanish 
Jack"  on  his  next  attempted  robbery.  But  Elliott,  tipped  off 


by  Jack  LaRue,  a  treacherous  halfbreed,  who  was  his  secret 
partner  in  crime,  foils  the  plot.  Hiding  out  from  the  posse, 
Elliott  and  LaRue  stop  for  food  at  the  cabin  of  Hank 
Daniels,  a  young  gold  miner,  whom  LaRue  tries  to  rob 
against  Elliott's  wishes.  Daniels  gives  him  a  severe  beating. 
Catching  up  with  the  outlaws,  the  posse  manages  to  trap  La- 
Rue, but  Elliott  makes  his  getaway  and  returns  to  Sacra- 
mento. There  he  finds  Daniels  lavishing  his  gold  on  Con- 
stance and  courting  her.  The  young  man  loses  his  fortune 
in  a  crooked  card  game  and,  to  regain  his  losses,  disguises 
himself  as  "Spanish  Jack"  and  recovers  the  money  from  the 
gamblers.  His  clumsiness,  however,  results  in  his  arrest. 
When  he  denies  that  he  was  "Spanish  Jack,"  Pallette  orders 
LaRue  brought  from  jail  to  identify  him.  Elliott,  realizing 
that  LaRue  would  readily  incriminate  Daniels  to  avenge 
himself  for  the  beating,  makes  a  bold  appearance  in  his 
"Spanish  Jack"  costume,  killing  LaRue  in  a  gunfight,  and 
thus  clearing  Daniels.  In  making  his  escape,  however,  Elliott 
is  shot  down  by  Pallette.  He  dies  in  Constance's  arms. 

Frances  Hyland  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Joseph  Kane 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ruth  Donnely, 
Lionel  Stander,  Grant  Withers  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"A  Stolen  Life"  with  Bette  Davis 
and  Glenn  Ford 

(Warner  Bros,  no  release  date  set;  time,  107  min.) 

A  very  good  romantic  drama;  it  should  prove  to  be  a  top 
box-office  attraction.  The  engrossing  story  is  of  a  type  that 
suits  Bette  Davis'  talents  excellently.  Playing  a  dual  role, 
twin  sisters,  one  serious  and  honest,  and  the  other  flirtatious, 
callous,  and  selfish,  Miss  Davis  makes  one  feel  as  if  each 
character  is  a  separate  and  distinct  personality,  alike  only  in 
looks.  The  story,  which  was  produced  once  before  in  Britain, 
starring  Elizabeth  Bergner,  and  distributed  in  this  country 
by  Paramount  in  1939,  is  substantially  the  same,  except  for 
the  change  in  locale  from  Europe  to  New  England.  The  ac- 
tion is  a  bit  slow,  but  it  holds  one  absorbed  throughout.  Its 
strong  romantic  interest  will  appeal  to  women  in  particular. 
Special  mention  should  be  made  of  the  excellent  trick  pho- 
tography that  has  been  employed  to  bring  the  twin  characters 
together  in  one  scene;  the  technique  is  amazingly  perfect, 
even  to  the  extent  of  having  the  shadow  of  one  sister  fall 
across  the  body  of  the  other  as  they  cross  paths.  The  produc- 
tion values,  the  direction,  and  the  acting  of  the  supporting 
players,  are  of  the  highest  order — 

Kate  and  Patricia  Bosworth  (both  played  by  Bette  Davis) 
are  so  alike  in  appearance  that  not  even  their  close  friends 
can  tell  them  apart.  While  vacationing  in  New  England, 
Kate,  the  sincere  sister,  falls  in  love  with  Bill  Emerson  (Glenn 
Ford),  a  government  lighthouse  inspector.  Ford  accidentally 
meets  Patricia,  the  flirtatious  sister,  and,  thinking  her  to  be 
Kate,  expresses  his  love  for  her.  He  soon  discovers  his  mis- 
take, but  Patricia,  bringing  her  womanly  wiles  into  play, 
wins  his  love  and  marries  him,  much  to  Kate's  despair.  Kate, 
a  sketch  artist,  loses  herself  in  work  to  forget  her  grief. 
Learning  that  Emerson  had  taken  a  trip  to  South  America, 
Kate  goes  to  New  England  to  visit  Patricia.  They  go  for  a 
sail  and,  during  a  storm,  their  boat  capsizes.  Kates  tries  un- 
successfully to  save  Patricia,  and  as  she  slips  out  of  sight 
her  wedding  ring  works  loose  into  Kate's  hand.  Kate  is  res- 
cued, and  everyone  believes  her  to  be  Patricia  because  of 
the  wedding  ring.  She  decides  to  assume  Patricia's  identity. 
Upon  Emerson's  return  Kate  succeeds  in  deceiving  him,  but 
she  is  shocked  to  learn  that  he  wanted  a  divorce  because  of 
Patricia's  unfaithfulness.  Still  posing  as  Patricia,  she  tries 
to  win  back  his  love,  but  Emerson's  mistrust  of.his  wife  makes 
her  position  difficult.  She  finally  decides  to  end  the  ruse,  but 
by  that  time  Emerson  realizes  the  truth  and  both  arc,  there- 
fore, reunited. 

Catherine  Turney  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Curtis  Bern- 
hardt directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Dane  Clark,  Charles 
Ruggles,  Walter  Brennan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


72 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  4,  1946 


enable  them  to  produce  good  pictures,  but  he  is  wrong 
in  condemning  the  practice;  what  he  should  have  con' 
demned  is  their  passing  upon  their  own  story  material. 
Few  of  them  are  qualified  for  that  task. 

It  is  not  wrong  for  a  star  to  produce  his  own  pic- 
tures if  he  will  only  let  those  who  are  qualified  pass 
upon  the  stories.  They  might  well  look  to  Eddie  Dow- 
ling  as  an  example.  Mr.  Dowling  co- produced  a  play 
on  Broadway,  "The  Glass  Menagerie,"  and  it  is  a 
"howling"  success.  Not  only  did  he  co-produce  the 
play,  but  he  also  directed  it  and  appears  in  one  of  the 
leading  parts.  But  whenever  he  appears  on  the  stage, 
he  has  another  director  direct  him.  He  is  smart  enough 
to  know  that  a  lawyer  is  his  own  worst  client,  and  lets 
another  "lawyer"  guide  him. 

If  the  star-producers  should  follow  Mr.  Dowling's 
example,  we  could  have  a  much  higher  grade  of 
product  than  at  present. 

"The  Glass  Alibi"  with  Paul  Kelly, 
Douglas  Fowley  and  Anne  Gwynne 

(Republic,  April  27;  time,  68  mm.) 
A  fairly  good  program  murder  melodrama.  Adults 
who  enjoy  this  type  of  picture  should  be  entertained 
because  of  the  plot's  unusual  ending  in  which  the 
villain,  tricked  by  his  own  fake  alibi,  pays  for  a  crime 
he  did  not  commit.  But  the  story  is  unpleasant  and 
demoralizing,  for  it  shows  how  a  perfect  crime  may 
be  committed.  For  instance,  Douglas  Fowley,  who  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  kill  his  wife,  is  shown  planning 
the  crime  in  detail  to  establish  a  fool-proof  alibi  for 
himself.  There  is  no  mystery  to  the  story  since  one  sees 
Fowley  commit  the  murder,  but  the  spectator  is  held 
in  suspense  not  knowing  in  which  way  he  would  be 
caught : — 

Cy  Kendall,  a  notorious  gangster  hiding  from  the 
police,  forces  his  way  into  the  home  of  Maris  Wrixon, 
a  wealthy  society  girl,  and  telephones  Anne  Gwynne, 
his  girl-friend,  to  meet  him  there.  Fowley,  a  news- 
paper reporter  and  Anne's  current  lover,  overhears 
the  conversation  and  seizes  the  opportunity  to  notify 
the  police  of  Kendall's  whereabouts,  thus  scoring  a 
scoop  and  paving  the  way  to  carry  on  his  affair  with 
Anne  unmolested.  Arriving  at  Maris'  home  to  cover 
the  arrest,  Fowley  recalls  that  she  was  the  young  mil- 
lionairess who,  due  to  an  heart  ailment,  had  but  six 
months  to  live.  He  decides  to  make  love  to  her  in  a 
scheme  that  would  lead  to  marriage  and  then  her  for' 
tune,  after  her  death.  Anne  approves  of  the  scheme 
and  agrees  to  aid  him  financially.  Exercising  suave 
technique,  Fowley  succeeds  in  winning  Maris'  heart 
and  in  marrying  her.  But  as  the  months  pass  by  he 
finds  much  to  his  chagrin,  that  her  health  was  improv- 
ing. Meanwhile  Kendall,  having  learned  from  his 
henchmen  of  Anne's  affair  with  Fowley,  cuts  off  her 
allowance.  Desperate  for  money,  Fowley  plans  to 
murder  Maris  and  to  make  it  appear  suicidal.  He 
arranges  for  Anne  to  rent  a  room  in  a  distant  town 
and  to  "plant"  evidence  of  his  having  spent  the  night 
there  with  her.  He  then  returns  to  his  home,  slips  into 
Maris'  bedroom,  and  shoots  her,  placing  the  revolver 
in  her  hand.  On  the  following  morning  he  returns 
home  and  finds  Paul  Kelly  of  the  homicide  squad 
awaiting  him.  Kelly,  having  long  suspected  Fowley 's 
motives  in  marrying  Maris,  accuses  him  of  her  murder, 
but  Fowley  blandly  informs  him  that  he  had  been  with 
Anne  at  the  time  of  the  crime.  As  Kelly  prepares  to 
check  on  Fowley 's  alibi,  word  arrives  that  Kendall  had 
escaped  from  jail  but  had  been  caught  and  killed,  and 


that  Anne  had  been  found  murdered  in  her  hotel 
room.  Fowley  protests  that  Kendall  must  have  mur- 
dered Anne,  but  Kelly,  preferring  to  believe  his  "fool- 
proof" alibi,  arrests  him  for  the  crime. 

Mindred  Lord  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  W.  Lee 
Wilder  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Jack  Conrad  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Renegades"  with  Willard  Parker, 
Larry  Parks  and  Evelyn  Keyes 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  88  min.) 

Except  for  the  fact  that  it  has  been  photographed 
in  Technicolor,  there  is  nothing  unusual  about  this 
western.  Like  most  pictures  of  its  type,  it  offers  some 
excitement  and  thrills,  for  there  is  the  regular  amount 
of  shooting  and  riding  the  horses  at  top  speed  either 
to  catch  the  villains  or  get  away  from  their  clutches. 
But,  as  entertainment,  it  is  strictly  for  the  ardent  fol- 
lowers of  westerns;  there  is  nothing  about  either  the 
story  or  treatment  that  will  appeal  to  those  who  ex- 
pect something  different  in  "large-scale"  westerns. 
Moreover,  the  color  photography  is  poor,  the  produc- 
tion values  surprisingly  ordinary,  and  it  resorts  to  an 
excessive  number  of  montage  shots  to  pad  out  the  thin 
story.  The  characterization  of  the  heroine  is  poor;  she 
forsakes  the  hero  on  the  eve  of  their  wedding  to  marry 
a  bandit  (a  romance  that  is  developed  in  an  unbeliev- 
able way),  even  though  the  hero  had  given  her  no 
cause  to  leave  him.  The  fact  that,  towards  the  finish, 
she  turns  against  the  bandit  and  returns  to  the  hero 
is  impotent  to  efface  from  the  spectator's  memory  the 
weakness  of  her  character.  Not  much  can  be  said  for 
either  the  direction  or  the  acting: — 

On  her  way  home  in  a  stage  coach  to  marry  Willard 
Parker,  Evelyn  Keyes  and  her  father  (Willard  Robert- 
son) are  held  up  by  Edgar  Buchanan  and  his  two  sons 
(Jim  Bannon  and  Forrest  Tucker) ,  a  family  of  notori- 
ous outlaws.  The  robbery  is  interrupted  by  Larry 
Parks,  a  mysterious  rider,  who  forces  the  bandits  to  re- 
turn the  loot  but  allows  them  to  go  free.  Evelyn, 
attracted  to  Parks,  soon  learns  that  he  was  another  one 
of  Buchanan's  sons,  and  that  he  was  trying  to  lead  an 
honest  life.  While  being  pursued  by  a  posse,  after 
committing  a  crime  in  town,  Parks'  father  and 
brothers  seek  refuge  in  his  cabin  on  the  outskirts  of 
town.  Parks  helps  to  drive  them  off,  but  when  his 
identity  becomes  known  to  the  posse  he  is  placed  un- 
der arrest.  Parker,  convinced  that  the  young  man  was 
innocent  of  wrong-doing,  defends  him  in  court,  but, 
before  the  jury  brings  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty,  Parks' 
father  and  brothers  invade  the  courtroom  and  spirit 
him  away.  Embittered  by  his  false  arrest,  Parks  re- 
joins his  family  in  a  life  of  crime.  Evelyn,  deeply  in 
love  with  Parks,  jilts  the  doctor  to  marry  him.  The 
gang,  accompanied  by  Evelyn,  embarks  on  a  wide 
campaign  of  plunder.  Parker  catches  up  with  them 
only  to  find  Evelyn  on  the  verge  of  motherhood.  He 
takes  her  back  to  town  for  the  birth  of  her  child. 
Weeks  later  Parks  steals  into  town  and  tries  to  per- 
suade Evelyn  to  rejoin  him,  but  she  refuses.  To  save 
Evelyn  and  the  baby  from  harm,  Parker  meets  the 
gang  in  a  gunfight  and  wipes  them  out,  thus  clearing 
the  way  for  his  marriage  to  her. 

Melvin  Levy  and  Francis  Edwards  Faragoh  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Michel  Kraike  produced  it,  and 
George  Sherman  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Lud- 
wig  Donath,  Frank  Sully  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MAY  11,  1946  No.  19 


The  Case  of  Howard  Hughes  Versus  Eric  Johnston 


Every  one  of  you  knows  by  this  time,  I  am  sure,  that 
Howard  Hughes  is  in  a  court  battle  with  the  producers' 
association.  Recently  Eric  Johnston,  the  new  head  of  the 
producers'  association,  objected  to  the  advertisements  that 
Hughes,  producer  of  "The  Outlaw,"  was  inserting  in  the 
newspapers  and  posting  on  billboards  as  violating  the  pre 
ducers'  code.  He  summoned  Hughes  for  trial  with  a  view 
of  expelling  him  from  the  association's  membership  unless 
he  gave  up  the  use  of  rejected  advertising  copy  and  desisted 
from  using  copy  that  had  not  been  submitted  to  the  associ' 
ation  for  approval. 

Mr.  Johnston,  in  a  statement  directed  against  Mr.  Hughes 
and  "The  Outlaw,"  said  partly:  "Mr.  Hughes  submitted 
advertising  which  could  not  be  approved  under  the  provi- 
sions of  our  Code  to  which,  as  a  member  of  the  association, 
he  voluntarily  subscribed. 

"Although  the  advertising  was  disapproved,  Mr.  Hughes 
has  nevertheless  insisted  on  using  rejected  material.  He  has 
also  used  objectionable  advertising  which  was  never  sub' 
mitted  to  the  association.  In  so  doing,  he  has  challenged  the 
association's  system  of  self-regulation." 

But  on  April  23,  the  day  on  which  he  was  to  appear  before 
the  association's  board  for  trial,  Mr.  Hughes  went  to  court 
and  halted  the  proceedings  by  a  temporary  injunction  re- 
straining the  association  from  interfering  with  the  picture 
in  any  way.  A  hearing  on  Mr.  Hughes'  petition  will  be  held 
on  May  16.  Meanwhile  he  has  tendered  to  the  association 
his  resignation. 

Mr.  Hughes'  court  action  was  taken  because  his  lawyers 
advised  him  that,  if  he  should  be  expelled  from  the  associ- 
ation, the  production  seal  might  be  withdrawn  from  "The 
Outlaw,"  and  in  such  an  event  the  picture  would  not  be 
shown  by  the  affiliated  theatres  and  by  many  of  the  inde- 
pendents. 

The  April  30  issue  of  The  Hollywood  Reporter  published 
an  interview  with  Mr.  Hughes  given  to  Billy  Wilkerson,  the 
paper's  owner,  in  which  he  makes  some  interesting  state- 
ments. One  of  the  statements  is  to  the  effect  that  the  major 
companies  were  given  by  the  Hays  association,  and  are  given 
now  by  the  Motion  Picture  Association,  privileges  that  were 
and  still  are  denied  to  the  independent  producers.  "I  have 
enough  clips  of  advertising  on  major  pictures,"  Mr.  Hughes 
is  quoted  as  having  said,  "to  fill  the  Rose  Bowl  [the  famous 
Hollywood  stadium],  all  photographs  and  advertising  that 
the  Hays  office  okayed  for  the  majors,  which  were  used  in 
the  press  of  the  country  to  advertise  many  pictures  and  none 
of  my  advertising,  which  they  blue  pencilled,  was  as  bad.  I 
brought  these  advertising  clips  to  them,  asking  'why';  they 
refused  to  even  look  at  them,  would  not  make  any  compari- 
sons; at  one  time  acknowledging  that  the  exhibition  I 
brought  up  might  have  been  bad,  'but  we  are  correcting  that 
now!'  Correcting  it?  Have  you  read  the  ads  on  Columbia's 
'Gilda'?  There's  hardly  a  line  in  one  of  my  ads  or  a  photo- 
graph, as  suggestive  as  those  ads.  So  why  pick  on  me?  All 
I  have  asked,  all  I  ever  wanted  is  the  same  break  they  would 
give  to  anyone  else  and  I'm  going  to  get  that  break  in  court; 
at  least  I  believe  I  will.  The  very  thing  that  has  been  denied 
me  by  the  Johnston  office  now  and  the  Hays  office  of  years 
ago,  but  given  to  some  of  the  majors,  I  am  now  demanding 


in  court.  I'm  not  only  fighting  my  own  battle  but  that  of 
every  independent.  There  should  be  one  rule  for  all  of  us — 
not  one  for  the  majors  and  a  different  one  for  the  indepen- 
dents." 

Lest  the  readers  of  this  editorial  form  the  opinion  that  I 
am  endorsing  Howard  Hughes'  suggestive  advertisements, 
let  me  hasten  to  assure  them  that  such  is  not  the  case,  for  I 
am  heartily  in  accord  with  the  producers'  association  in  any 
campaign  against  practices  that  tend  to  lower  the  standards 
of  decency;  I  merely  want  to  point  out  that  Mr.  Hughes' 
outburst  is  not  a  figment  of  his  imagination  but  a  statement 
that  is  founded  on  facts. 

The  independent  producers  are  not  given  the  same  con- 
sideration by  the  production  code  administrator  as  are  the 
major  producers.  For  instance,  if  an  independent  used  in  a 
picture  of  his  the  word  "squaw,"  it  would  be  rejected  (and 
rightly  so)  by  the  code  administrator  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  offensive  to  the  Indian  race.  On  the  other  hand,  the  code 
administrator  will  permit  the  major  producers  to  use  in  their 
pictures,  the  dirtiest  language  imaginable,  dressed  up,  of 
course,  to  resemble  smart  dialogue. 

Can  an  independent  use  stories  with  a  suggestive  theme? 
No!  Can  the  major  producers  use  such  themes?  I  shall  let 
you,  the  reader,  answer  this  question  after  submitting  to  you 
certain  facts: 

According  to  April  2  issue  of  Daily  Variety,  Joe  Breen 
issued  to  the  producers  a  "sharp  warning"  to  watch  their  step 
in  the  matter  of  observing  the  production  code.  Says  Vari- 
ety : 

"Breen's  series  of  conferences  with  the  producers  and 
flacks  [publicists]  during  the  past  week  dealt  with  the  ten- 
dency of  the  industry  to  observe  the  strict  letter  of  the  code 
but  not  its  spirit.  Intimation  is  that  Breen  feels  that  both  in 
filming  and  ballyhoo  the  picture  makers  have  been  cutting 
corners,  using  material  that  cannot  be  fingered  as  a  direct 
violation  of  the  regulations  laid  down  by  the  Motion  Picture 
Association  of  America  but  that  still  borders  on  the  objec- 
tionable. ..." 

When  I  read  this  item  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind 
whether  Joe  Breen  was  serious  or  merely  "kidding,"  for  to 
my  knowledge  no  producer  can  get  away  with  material  that 
"borders  on  the  objectionable"  even  if  it  is  not  a  "direct 
violation"  of  the  code.  Where  was  Breen  when  Walter  Wan- 
ger's  script  on  "Scarlet  Street"  was  submitted  to  his  office? 
And  where  was  he  when  the  picture,  after  being  finished, 
was  sent  to  his  office  for  reviewing?  In  Atlanta,  to  name  one 
city,  the  picture  was  condemned  for  violating  decency  and 
propriety,  because  "it  deals  with  an  immoral  woman  and 
illicit  love,  shows  the  enactment  of  a  murder  and  permits  the 
man  who  commits  the  murder  to  go  unpunished  except  by  his 
own  conscience.  It  is  licentious,  profane,  obscene  and  con- 
trary to  the  good  order  of  the  community." 

The  producer  of  this  picture  may  say  to  you:  "Well,  what 
do  you  expect  a  censor  to  say?" 

Even  though  the  object  of  this  discussion  of  mine  is  to 
prove  that  Mr.  Hughes'  statement  is  correct — that  the  pro- 
duction code  administrator  docs  not  apply  to  the  major  pro- 
ducers the  same  code  standards  that  he  applies  to  the  inde- 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


74 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  11,  1946 


"Courage  of  Lassie"  with  Elizabeth  Taylor, 
Frank  Morgan  and  Tom  Drake 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  92  min.) 
From  the  standpoint  of  scenic  beauty  and  simple  dramatic 
charm,  this  third  of  the  "Lassie"  pictures  is  worthwhile,  but 
its  slow-moving,  sentimental  tale  about  a  girl  and  her  dog 
offers  little  that  is  novel;  it  should  appeal  mainly  to  children 
and  animal  lovers.  The  story  is  told  against  a  background 
of  natural  scenery,  which,  in  Technicolor  photography,  is  a 
treat  to  the  eye.  Extremely  fascinating  are  the  opening  reels 
in  which  Lassie  is  shown  as  a  puppy,  frolicking  in  the  forest 
with  the  different  wild  animals.  The  picture  has  a  fine  human 
quality  throughout,  and  the  attachment  that  develops  be 
twecn  Elizabeth  Taylor  and  the  dog  is  appealing.  A  warm 
dramatic  highlight  occurs  at  the  end  where  Frank  Morgan,  de- 
fending the  dog  on  charges  that  he  was  a  "killer,"  makes  a 
quiet  but  impassioned  plea  to  the  court,  saving  the  animal's 
life.  Lassie,  as  in  the  other  pictures,  displays  unusual  intelli- 
gence. The  sequences  having  to  do  with  Lassie's  role  as  a 
war  dog  present  little  that  has  not  already  been  seen  on  the 
screen,  but  they  have  been  handled  well,  despite  their 
familiarity : — 

Straying  away  from  its  mother,  Lassie,  a  collie  puppy,  be- 
comes lost  in  the  wilderness  and  grows  up  with  the  wild  ani- 
mals. Months  later,  while  playing  near  a  lake,  Lassie  is  acci- 
dentally shot  by  two  boys  hunting  birds.  Elizabeth,  who 
lived  on  a  sheep  ranch  nearby,  takes  the  wounded  puppy 
home  and,  with  the  aid  of  Frank  Morgan,  a  neighboring 
rancher,  nurses  him  back  to  health.  Elizabeth  and  the  dog 
become  inseparable  companions.  One  day  Lassie  is  run 
down  by  a  truck  and  the  driver  takes  him  to  a  veterinarian 
in  a  city  nearby,  where  he  recovers.  But  when  his  owner 
cannot  be  located  Lassie  is  sent  to  an  Army  dog  training 
center.  He  eventually  is  sent  to  the  Aleutian  Islands,  where 
he  distinguishes  himself  in  a  battle  against  the  Japs,  but  at 
the  cost  of  his  own  nerves,  shattered  by  gunfire.  Upon  his 
return  to  the  United  States,  he  escapes  from  his  cage  into  the 
mountain  wilds,  killing  chickens  for  his  food  as  he  makes 
his  way  back  to  Elizabeth.  Her  familiar  scent  brings  him  back 
to  normalcy.  But  the  local  ranchers,  aroused  by  Lassie's  raids 
on  their  chickens,  obtain  a  court  order  to  have  him  destroyed. 
Through  an  Army  indentification  number  tatooed  on  Lassie's 
ear,  Morgan  learns  that  the  animal  had  been  a  war  hero;  he 
makes  an  impassioned  plea  to  the  court,  winning  Lassie's 
freedom  by  comparing  his  case  to  that  of  a  soldier  who  may 
return  from  war  not  quite  normal.  Lassie's  beloved  mistress 
clasps  him  in  a  tearful  embrace. 

Lionel  Houser  wrote  the  screen  play,  Robert  Sisk  pro- 
duced it,  and  Fred  M.  Wilcox  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Tom  Drake,  Selena  Royle,  Harry  Davenport,  George  Cleve- 
land and  others. 

"The  Devil's  Mask"  with  Anita  Louise, 
Jim  Bannon  and  Michael  Duane 

(Columbia,  May  23;  time,  66  min.) 

A  routine  program  murder-mystery  melodrama,  with 
enough  eeriness  and  suspense  to  satisfy  those  who  are  not 
too  particular  about  their  screen  fare.  Although  far-fetched 
and  somewhat  complicated,  the  plot  is  fairly  interesting,  and 
one's  attention  is  held  throughout  since  it  is  not  until  the 
end  that  the  mystery  is  solved.  Most  spectators,  however, 
should  experience  little  difficulty  in  guessing  the  murderer's 
identity.  The  closing  scenes,  where  a  maddened  leopard 
threatens  the  lives  of  several  of  the  characters,  are  the  most 
exciting.  There  is  no  human  interest  since  the  characters  do 
nothing  to  arouse  one's  sympathy : — 

When  a  transport  plane  headed  for  South  America 
crashes  and  burns,  the  police  find  an  unidentified  package 
containing  a  human  shrunken  head.  They  check  with  a 
local  museum  that  had  an  exhibit  of  five  shrunken  heads 
collected  by  Frank  Mayo,  a  missing  explorer,  and  find  that 
none  is  missing.  Mona  Barrie,  the  explorer's  wife,  hires  pri- 
vate detectives  Jim  Bannon  and  Barton  Yarborough  to  pro- 
tect her  from  violence  at  the  hands  of  Anita  Louise,  her 


stepdaughter,  and  Michael  Duane,  Anita*6  boy-friend. 
Meanwhile  Anita,  accompanied  by  Duane,  visits  Paul 
Burns,  a  mild-mannered  taxidermist,  who  was  her  father's 
closest  friend,  and  tells  him  that  she  suspected  a  love  affair 
between  her  stepmother  and  Frank  Wilcox,  a  professor,  and 
that  she  believed  them  responsible  for  her  father's  disappear- 
ance. That  night,  at  Anita's  home,  a  mysterious  attempt  is 
made  to  kill  Wilcox  with  a  poisoned  dart  fired  from  a  blow- 
gun.  Circumstantial  evidence  points  to  Duane  as  the  at- 
tacker, and  subsequent  events  cause  Anita  to  lose  faith  in 
him.  Meanwhile,  Bannon  discovers  that  one  of  the  heads  in 
the  museum  was  that  of  the  missing  explorer's.  In  the  events 
that  follow,  Duane  finds  reason  to  suspect  the  taxidermist 
and,  while  visiting  his  shop  with  Anita,  compels  him  to  con- 
fess that  he  had  hated  the  explorer  for  killing  animals  and 
had  murdered  him  weeks  before,  shrinking  his  head  and 
substituting  it  for  one  in  the  museum.  He  knocks  Duane  un- 
conscious and  plans  to  decapitate  both  him  and  Anita  in 
order  to  retain  his  secret,  but  his  scheme  is  interrupted  by 
the  sudden  arrival  of  Bannon.  To  protect  himself,  Burns  lets 
a  pet  leopard  out  of  his  cage  to  attack  Bannon,  but  the 
beast  turns  on  his  master  and  kills  him,  and  is  in  turn  shot  by  • 
Bannon. 

Charles  O'Neal  wrote  the  screen  play,  Wallace  Mac- 
Donald  produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it. 
Adult  entertainment. 

"She  Wrote  the  Book"  with 
Joan  Davis  and  Jack  Oakie 

(Universal,  May  31;  time,  78  min.) 
An  entertaining  farce-comedy.  Combining  the  mistaken 
identity  and  loss-of-memory  themes,  the  story  is  a  thin  but 
novel  tale  about  a  timid  woman  professor,  who,  mistaken  as 
the  author  of  a  risque  best-seller,  lives  the  glamorous  part 
when  she  becomes  an  amnesia  victim.  It  has  amusing  com- 
plications throughout,  but  the  laughter  is  provoked  mainly 
by  the  antics  of  Joan  Davis,  whose  performance  is  superior 
to  the  material  given  her.  There  are  several  extremely  comical 
situations;  a  few  are  slightly  risque,  but  they  are  handled  so 
well  that  they  never  become  offensive.  Mischa  Auer  provokes 
laughter  whenever  he  appears;  his  antics  are  familiar,  but 
nevertheless  comical.  Jack  Oakie,  as  a  press  agent,  has  little 
to  do: — 

As  Joan  Davis,  professor  of  calculus  in  a  small  university, 
prepares  to  go  on  a  trip  to  New  York,  Gloria  Stuart,  wife 
of  the  dean  (John  Litel),  confides  to  her  that  she  was  the 
author  of  a  risque  best-seller,  which  she  had  written  under  a 
pen  name,  and  which  had  been  banned  on  the  campus.  She 
informs  Joan  that  she  had  never  met  her  publishers  and  asks 
her  to  pick  up  a  royalty  check  while  in  New  York.  Posing 
as  the  authoress,  Joan  visits  the  publisher  only  to  find  that 
Jack  Oakie,  his  press  agent,  had  made  elaborate  plans  to 
publicize  her.  She  becomes  panicky  and,  while  attempting 
to  flee  the  unwanted  publicity,  is  injured  in  an  auto  crash  and 
loses  her  memory.  Believing  herself  to  be  the  authoress,  Joan 
leads  an  extravagant,  glamorous  life  as  planned  by  Oakie. 
But  when  she  refuses  to  write  another  book,  Oakie  engages 
Mischa  Auer,  a  bogus  Russian  nobleman,  to  help  her  squan- 
der the  royalty  check  in  the  hope  that  she  will  go  broke  fast 
and  be  compelled  to  write  again.  His  plan  fails,  however, 
when  Thurston  Hall,  an  elderly,  wealthy  admirer,  showers 
her  with  gifts.  After  numerous  escapades,  in  which  Hall's 
jealous  wife  threatens  to  shoot  her,  Joan  regains  her  memory, 
only  to  find  that  she  had  been  expelled  from  the  university, 
which  planned  to  shut  down  because  it  lacked  sufficient 
funds.  Determined  to  save  the  school,  Joan  assumes  her 
glamorous  role  once  again  and,  "crashing"  an  exclusive  din- 
ner party  in  Hall's  home,  insults  the  distinguished  guests 
and  embarrasses  Hall  to  such  an  extent  that,  to  be  rid  of 
her,  he  gladly  agrees  to  finance  the  failing  university.  Grate- 
ful, the  Dean  reemploys  Joan. 

Warren  Wilson  and  Oscar  Brodney  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Mr.  Wilson  produced  it,  and  Charles  Lamont  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Kirby  Grant.  Jacqueline  de  Wit  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


May  11,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


75 


"Without  Reservations"  with  Claudette 
Colbert,  John  Wayne  and  Don  DeFore 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  107  min.) 
Good.  It  is  a  breezy  romantic  comedy,  the  sort  that  should 
go  over  well  with  the  rank  and  file.  The  story,  which  deals 
with  the  misadventures  of  an  authoress  and  two  Marines 
while  on  a  trans-continental  trip,  is  somewhat  sophisticated, 
and  though  it  is  not  very  substantial  it  keeps  one  amused 
throughout,  mainly  because  of  the  witty  dialogue,  the  comi- 
cal situations,  and  the  engaging  performances.  The  gradual 
development  of  the  romance  between  Claudette  Colbert  and 
John  Wayne  takes  place  in  an  amusing  way,  and  the  compli- 
cations she  gets  herself  into  in  order  to  be  near  Wayne 
should  provoke  much  laughter.  At  times  the  action  bogs 
down  because  of  too  much  conversation,  but  on  the  whole 
there  is  hardly  a  dull  moment,  for  it  is  sprightly,  gay,  and 
clever: — 

Claudette,  author  of  a  best-selling  novel  about  the  phy- 
chological  reactions  of  returned  war  veterans,  boards  a  train 
for  Hollywood  to  work  on  the  screen  version.  En  route,  she 
becomes  acquainted  with  John  Wayne  and  Don  DeFore, 
Marine  flyers,  who,  unaware  of  her  identity,  "razz"  her 
book.  Claudette  sees  in  Wayne  the  ideal  hero  for  her  book 
and  determines  to  have  him  play  the  part.  At  Chicago,  she 
learns  that  the  boys  were  to  continue  their  trip  to  the  coast 
on  another  train.  Lest  she  lose  sight  of  Wayne,  with  whom 
she  was  falling  in  love,  Claudette  boards  his  train,  minus 
baggage,  reservations,  or  ticket.  The  boys'  lively  interest 
in  her  leads  the  conductor  to  believe  that  she  was  not  a 
"lady"  and,  following  a  drinking  party  in  which  all  three 
become  slightly  "high,"  he  puts  them  off  the  train  at  La 
Junta,  Colo.  They  pool  their  resources  and  buy  a  second- 
hand car  with  which  to  continue  their  trip.  After  numerous 
escapades  they  eventually  reach  a  small  New  Mexico  town, 
where  Claudette,  in  need  of  funds,  cashes  a  check  in  a  local 
hotel.  The  townspeople,  learning  her  identity,  are  about  to 
lionize  her,  but  a  premature  news  story  announcing  her 
arrival  in  Hollywood  causes  her  to  be  thrown  in  jail  on  a  bad 
check  charge.  The  boys,  who,  too,  believed  that  she  was  an 
imposter,  6ell  the  car  to  bail  her  out,  but  her  producer  turns 
up  and  straightens  out  the  affair.  Wayne,  angered  because 
Claudette  had  hidden  her  identity  and  convinced  that  she 
faked  an  interest  in  him  to  get  him  to  play  the  lead  in  her 
picture,  refuses  to  communicate  with  her.  But  DeFore, 
realizing  that  both  loved  each  other  deeply,  brings  about  their 
reconciliation. 

Andrew  Solt  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel  by  Jane 
Allen  and  Mae  Livingston,  Jesse  L.  Lasky  produced  it,  and 
Mervyn  LeRoy  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Anne  Triola, 
Phil  Brown,  Dona  Drake,  Frank  Puglia  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Phantom  Thief"  with  Chester  Morris 

(Columbia,  May  2;  time,  65  min.) 

A  tiresome  addition  to  the  "Boston  Blackie"  series  of 
program  melodramas.  In  plot  construction,  it  is  a  carbon 
copy  of  the  previous  pictures  in  that  Chester  Morris,  as  the 
reformed  thief,  finds  himself  the  victim  of  incriminating 
circumstantial  evidence  in  a  murder  case,  and  is  compelled 
to  solve  the  crime  in  order  to  prove  his  innocence.  The  story 
is  so  confused,  so  inane,  and  so  illogical  that  one  loses  in- 
terest in  the  proceedings  long  before  the  final  reel.  The  ac- 
cent is  on  the  comedy,  but  most  of  it  is  ineffective  because 
it  is  forced  and  stupied. 

This  time  Morris'  troubles  begin  when  George  E.  Stone, 
his  pal,  asks  him  to  help  Murray  Alper,  a  private  chauffeur, 
out  of  a  jam.  Carrying  out  the  instructions  of  Jeff  Donnell, 
his  wealthy  employer,  Alper  had  stolen  a  valuable  necklace 
from  the  office  of  Marvin  Miller,  a  spiritualist,  and  the 
police  were  on  his  trail.  Accompanied  by  Alper  and  Stone, 
Morris  visits  Miller  to  return  the  jewels.  Miller  invites  them 
to  witness  a  seance  for  Jeff,  and  during  the  demonstration 


Alper  is  stabbed  to  death  under  circumstances  that  lead 
Inspector  Richard  Lane  to  suspect  Morris  of  the  murder. 
Morris,  escaping  from  the  police,  communicates  with  Jeff 
and  learns  that  Miller,  her  former  husband,  had  been  black- 
mailing her,  threatening  to  inform  Wilton  Graff,  her  present 
husband,  that  her  first  marriage  was  never  annulled  officially. 
During  his  investigation,  Morris  comes  across  evidence  that 
leads  him  to  suspect  that  Graff  had  a  hand  in  the  murder. 
As  he  relates  this  belief  to  Jeff,  an  unidentified  man  attempts 
to  shoot  her.  Morris,  working  with  Lane,  decides  to  trap  the 
killer  by  a  ruse:  Lane  informs  Graff  that  his  wife  had  died 
from  the  gunshot  wound,  and  arranges  for  Miller  to  conduct 
a  seance  so  that  he  might  converse  with  Jeff's  "spirit"  and 
uncover  her  "murderer."  Morris  knocks  Miller  unconscious 
and,  donning  his  ritual  raiments,  conducts  the  seance,  with 
Jeff's  aid,  in  a  manner  that  scares  Graff  into  confessing  that 
he,  in  partnership  with  Miller,  had  committed  the  crimes  in 
an  effort  to  gain  control  of  Jeff's  wealth. 

Richard  Wormser  and  Richard  Weil  wrote  the  screen 
play,  John  Stone  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross  Lederman  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Dusty  Anderson  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Strange  Triangle"  with  Preston  Foster 
and  Signe  Hasso 

(20th  Century-Fox,  June;  time,  65  min.) 
Despite  its  unbelievable  story,  this  melodrama  shapes  up 
as  a  fair  supporting  feature,  suitable  for  undiscriminating 
audiences.  It  deals  with  the  machinations  of  a  cheming  ad- 
venturess, who  makes  a  thief  out  of  her  weakling  husband 
while  trying  her  utmost  to  start  a  love  affair  with  his  business 
supervisor.  More  than  the  story,  it  is  the  tight  direction  and 
the  good  acting  that  holds  one's  interest.  Preston  Foster,  as 
the  supervisor,  wins  one's  admiration  because  of  his  recog- 
nition of  the  woman's  worthlessness  and  of  his  refusal  to 
submit  to  her  advances,  but  he  carries  nobleness  to  the  ex- 
treme in  attempting  to  pay  for  the  sins  of  the  husband.  On 
the  whole  the  situations  are  contrived  and  mechanical,  rarely 
striking  a  realistic  note.  The  story  is  told  in  flashback: — 

Foster,  a  returned  veteran,  accepts  a  position  as  district 
supervisor  of  several  banks  owned  by  Roy  Roberts,  his  close 
friend.  Before  starting  work,  he  takes  a  short  vacation  dur- 
ing which  he  meets  Signe  Hasso,  who  starts  a  flirtation  with 
him.  She  disappears  after  an  evening  of  fun,  leaving  him 
without  knowledge  of  her  name  or  address.  He  determines 
to  get  over  his  romantic  "hangover"  by  starting  work,  and 
heads  for  Santa  Rosita,  a  small  town,  where  John  Shep- 
pard,  Roberts'  younger  brother,  was  manager  of  the  local 
bank.  Accepting  Sheppard's  invitation  to  be  his  houseguest, 
Foster  accompanies  him  home  and  is  shocked  to  find  that  his 
wife  was  none  other  than  Signe.  Both  greet  each  other  as 
complete  strangers,  and  later,  when  they  find  an  opportunity 
to  be  alone,  Signe  attempts  to  resume  the  flirtation.  But 
Foster,  sickened  to  find  that  she  was  a  faithless  wife,  refuses 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  her.  He  soon  learns  that  Shep- 
pard  was  in  financial  difficulties  because  of  Signe's  extrava- 
gances, and  that  he  had  stolen  $3,000  from  the  bank's  funds. 
To  save  Roberts  a  heartache,  Foster  works  with  Signe  to  re- 
store the  missing  funds  only  to  find  that  he  had  been  duped 
by  her  into  compounding  the  felony.  He  checks  into  her 
background  and  learns  that  she  had  a  long  criminal  record. 
Meanwhile  Signe  convinces  her  husband  that  he  must  run 
away  with  her,  and  persuades  him  to  steal  an  additional 
$90,000,  planning  to  doublecross  him  by  absconding  with 
the  money  herself.  Foster  arrives  in  time  to  prevent  their 
getaway  and  to  expose  Signe's  scheme  to  Sheppard.  Foster 
is  compelled  to  shoot  Signe  when  she  brandishes  a  gun,  but, 
to  keep  the  truth  from  Roberts,  he  declines  to  explain  why 
he  shot  her  and  is  held  for  murder.  Sheppard,  however, 
gains  Foster's  release  by  confessing  his  thievery. 

Mortimer  Braus  wrote  the  screen  play,  Aubrey  Schenck 
produced  it,  and  Ray  McCarcy  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Anabel  Shaw,  Emory  Parnell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


76 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  11,  1946 


pendents,  I  shall,  for  a  moment,  digress  to  answer  Mr. 
Wanger's  hypothetical  question  by  bringing  forward  the 
statement  of  a  person  who  is  not  a  censor,  but  an  everyday 
decent  person.  I  am  referring  to  Terry  Ramsaye,  editor  of 
Motion  Picture  Herald.  In  an  editorial  that  appeared  in  the 
Herald's  February  2  issue,  Mr.  Ramsaye,  discussing  "Scarlet 
Street,"  said  partly  the  following:  "The  picture  is  a  morbid, 
seamy  story  dealing  with  the  dregs  of  humanity  ..."  And 
the  review  in  Harrison's  Reports  said:  It  is  a  "tale  about 
a  mild-mannered,  middle-aged  cashier,  whose  naive  involve- 
ment with  an  unscrupulous  prostitute  and  her  vile  procurer 
drives  him  to  robbery  and  murder.  ...  It  flouts  openly  the 
principles  of  morality  and  the  boundaries  of  good  taste  as 
established  by  the  Production  Code." 

Where  was  Joe  Breen  when  the  script  of  "The  Corn  is 
Green"  was  submitted  to  his  office?  And  where  was  he  when 
the  picture  was  sent  to  him  for  reviewing?  Does  he  know  that 
in  this  picture  there  is  implied  a  seduction?  And  a  seduction, 
not  out  of  love — you  may  forgive  two  young  people,  madly 
in  love  with  each  other,  for  forgetting  themselves;  but  this 
is  an  unadulterated  sordid  seduction,  the  kind  that  Joe  Breen 
would  not  tolerate  in  an  independent  picture.  I  have  had 
many  talks  with  independent  producers  in  my  several  visits 
to  Hollywood,  and  I  speak  from  knowledge. 

In  the  Variety  interview  mentioned  in  this  article,  Mr. 
Breen  condemned  the  producers'  tendency  of  working 
around,  not  only  themes,  but  also  advertising.  If  I  had  been 
present  when  he  made  his  remarks  on  advertising,  I  would 
have  been  inclined  to  look  him  straight  in  the  eye  and  ask: 
"Did  your  department  pass  on  the  press  book  of  "The 
Strange  Affair  of  Uncle  Harry"? 

I  am  sorry  to  have  to  pick  on  a  second  Universal  picture, 
but  it  illustrates  the  point  most  forcefully.  I  am  referring  to 
"Uncle  Harry."  I  looked  up  the  special  press  sheet,  which 
was  naturally  approved  by  the  producers'  association  before 
being  printed,  and  found  the  following: 

Ad  Mat  No.  402  shows  a  picture  of  the  hero's  sister  re- 
clining over  the  head  of  the  hero.  The  wording  on  top  is: 
"  .  .  .  and  she's  his  sister!"  Below  there  is  the  following  word- 
ing: "The  whispered  words  that  shattered  a  scornful  bond 
— drove  a  man  to  murder — and  stripped  to  trembling  naked- 
ness the  strangest  part  of  a  woman's  soul!" 

Ad  Mat  No.  301  shows  the  hero  and  his  sister  with  heads 
together,  and  the  wording  reads:  "Brother  and  Sister  .  .  . 
whose  intimate  secret  was  everyone's  gossip  .  .  .  whose 
strange  devotions  could  only  lead  them  to  the  gallows." 

Ad  Mat  No.  405  has  this  wording:  "A  woman  torn  by 
emotions  that  incensed  her  own  brother  with  the  desire  to 
KILL!" 

I  could  go  on  quoting  more  similar  wording,  but  I  believe 
that  what  I  have  quoted  is  enough  to  prove  the  point.  All 
this  wording,  together  with  the  posed  photos,  lead  one  to 
believe  that  there  is  a  sex  relationship  between  brother  and 
sister — a  revolting  implication,  although  no  such  relationship 
exists  in  the  story.  And  what  makes  that  suggestion  more 
conclusive  is  this:  The  title  of  the  stage  play  on  which  the 
picture  has  been  founded  was  plain  "Uncle  Harry,"  where- 
as the  advertising  department  of  Universal  added  the  phrase, 
"The  Strange  Affair  of."  That  phrase  is  not  a  part  of  the 
title,  but  merely  supplementary  to  it.  Yet,  the  effect  is  the 
same  as  if  it  were  part  of  the  title. 

'  Would  Mr.  Breen  have  approved  the  wording  in  this 
press  sheet  if  it  had  been  submitted  by  an  independent  pro- 
ducer? 

Let  me  have  an  independent  producer  answer  this  ques- 
tion. I  was  in  Hollywood  recently  and  I  had  a  talk  with  one 
of  them  on  the  same  subject.  He  told  me  that  Breen  ob- 
jected to  certain  situations  in  some  stories  he  contemplated 
producing  although,  he  said,  Breen  approved  similar  situ- 
ations in  stories  submitted  by  the  major  producers. 

I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  call  Breen's  attention  to  this 
inconsistency,  and  he  replied  that  he  did,  but  that  Breen's 
answer  was:  "Well,  the  major  companies  have  the  means 
of  treating  such  situations  artistically."  It  is,  in  my  opinion, 
a  thought  such  as  this  that  has  made  Mr.  Breen  swallow 
major  camels  but  choke  on  independent  morsels. 


Why  should  Mr.  Breen  have  carried  on  for  the  producers 
"refresher  courses"  on  the  code  if  he  and  his  staff  had  done 
their  duty?  Where  is  he  when  the  code  is  violated?  And  why 
should  he  allow  violations  to  go  through  when  he  has  the 
power  to  stop  them?  Perhaps  some  of  you,  readers  of  this 
paper,  are  unfamiliar  with  the  fact  that  Mr.  Breen  can  reject 
anything  that  offends  good  taste  or  in  any  way  violates  the 
code's  provisions,  and  if  a  producer  disagrees  with  Breen's 
decision  he  can  appeal  to  the  New  York  office.  In  such  an 
event,  the  New  York  office  has  the  final  word.  But  in  all 
these  years  I  do  not  recall  a  single  instance  in  which  the 
New  York  office  reversed  Mr.  Breen's  decisions.  Under  the 
circumstances,  his  "teacherish"  admonition  to  the  producers 
to  stop  "skirting"  the  code  is  a  fine  bit  of  comedy. 

As  it  has  already  been  stated,  Harrison's  Reports  is  in 
favor  of  any  constructive  movement  aimed  at  raising  the 
moral  standards  of  the  screen.  It  certainly  does  not  condone 
pictures  like  "The  Outlaw,"  whose  appeal  is  directed,  not 
to  one's  emotions,  but  to  one's  sex  passions;  nor  does  it  con- 
done the  use  of  the  type  of  advertising  that  Mr.  Hughes'  is 
employing  to  attract  people  to  the  box-office.  But  the  point  in 
question  here  is,  neither  that  Mr.  Hughes  has  produced  an 
undesirable  picture,  nor  that  he  is  using  questionable  ex- 
ploitation methods,  but  that  the  producers'  association,  by 
failing  to  apply  to  its  major-company  members  the  6ame 
standards  of  decency  that  it  is  demanding  of  Mr.  Hughes 
and  other  independent  producers,  has  forfeited  the  right  to 
demand  of  them  strict  observance  of  the  provisions  of  the 
code.  And  that  is  the  reason  why  Mr.  Hughes  is  now  defying 
them. 

Unlike  most  independent  producers,  Mr.  Hughes,  being 
a  multi-millionaire,  is  able  to  give  Eric  Johnston,  as  head  of 
the  Motion  Picture  Association,  a  battle,  and  he  may  find 
that  his  association's  do-asTsay-not-as-I-do  attitude  will 
weight  heavily  against  it  when  Mr.  Hughes  presents  his 
facts  in  court. 

I  fear  that  Mr.  Johnston  has  caught  a  bear  by  the  tail. 

"In  Fast  Company"  with 
the  Bowery  Boys 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  63  mm.) 

This  second  picture  in  the  new  "Bowery  Boys"  series  is 
not  as  good  as  the  first  one;  it  may,  however,  satisfy  those 
who  find  the  antics  of  Leo  Gorcey  and  his  pals  amusing, 
despite  the  commonplace  script.  Others  may  find  it  tiresome, 
for  it  is  a  rehash  of  the  boys'  typical  misadventures,  offering 
a  trite  plot,  forced  comedy  situations,  and  considerable  non- 
sensical action.  As  is  usual  in  these  pictures,  one  or  two 
sequences  are  filled  with  rough-and-tumble  melodramatic 
action  that  is  pretty  exciting  although  far-fetched: — 

When  he  refuses  to  sell  his  three  cabs  to  Douglas  Fowley, 
manager  of  a  large  cab  company,  Frank  Marlowe  is  injured 
in  an  accident  engineered  by  Fowley.  Charles  D.  Brown,  a 
priest,  persuades  Leo  Gorcey  to  drive  one  of  Marlowe's  cabs 
so  that  the  injured  man's  family  would  still  have  an  income. 
When  Fowley's  drivers  sabotage  Gorcey's  efforts  to  get  fares, 
Gorcey  enlists  the  aid  of  his  pals  (Bobby  Jordan,  Huntz  Hall, 
and  Billy  Benedict).  Marjorie  Woodworth,  working  for 
Fowley,  lures  Gorcey  to  an  ambush,  where  he  is  beaten  and 
his  cab  wrecked  by  hoodlums.  Together  with  his  pals,  Gorcey 
goes  to  the  mansion  of  Paul  Harvey,  owner  of  the  large  cab 
company,  to  appeal  for  mercy,  but  their  rowdiness  costs 
them  an  opportunity  to  state  their  case.  Learning  of  the 
boys'  experiences,  Jane  Randolph,  Harvey's  daughter,  ar- 
ranges for  Gorcey  to  get  her  father  as  a  fare  so  that  he  could 
tell  him  of  Fowley's  gangster  methods  to  promote  his  com- 
pany. Harvey  becomes  fully  convinced  when  his  own  drivers 
attempt  to  wreck  Gorcey's  cab  while  he  and  his  daughter  are 
passengers.  He  joins  forces  with  Gorcey  and  his  pals,  and, 
after  giving  Fowley  and  his  henchmen  a  thrashing  and  send- 
ing them  to  jail,  appoints  Marlowe,  the  luckless  independent, 
as  manager  to  replace  Fowley. 

Edmond  Seward,  Tim  Ryan,  and  Victor  Hammond  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Jan  Grippo  produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Judy  Clark  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Kates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      Y    ,  ,ft  x,  Y  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  WOW  Iork  zu»  w"  x«  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain          16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Itg  Editorial  Poiicy:  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MAY  18,  1946  No.  20 


THE  BIG-SCALE  ACTIVITIES 
OF  HARRY  "POP"  SHERMAN 

For  several  years,  Harry  Sherman,  affectionately 
known  in  Hollywood  as  "Pop,11  wanted  to  give  up 
westerns  and  devote  himself  to  big-scale  productions. 
And  he  stayed  out  of  production  for  a  long  time, 
determined  to  satisfy  his  ambition.  He  was  not  con- 
tent  with  the  classification  he  had  been  put  in  as  a 
"producer  of  the  best  westerns11  (Hopalong  Cassidy 
series)  and  wanted  to  become  known  as  the  finest 
producer  of  multimillion-dollar  productions.  And  it 
seems  as  if  he  is  destined  to  become  so  known. 

His  tie-up  with  David  Loew's  and  Charlie  Einfeld's 
Enterprise  Productions  has  been  a  fortunate  one.  His 
two  associates,  being  young  men,  have  taken  the 
burden  of  running  his  studio  off  his  hands,  so  that 
Harry  can  now  devote  his  entire  time  and  all  his 
energies  towards  his  big  productions. 

The  first  of  these  productions  is  "Ramrod,"  the 
Luke  Short  novel  that  was  serialised  in  the  Saturday 
Evening  Post. 

Recently  I  received  from  a  friend  in  Hollywood  the 
following  communication  regarding  Harry  Sherman's 
plans  on  this  production : 

"  'Ramrod1  is  practically  on  the  way.  The  script  is 
fine.  The  script  writer  put  absolutely  the  book  in  the 
script.  So  far,  the  cast  includes  Veronica  Lake,  Joel 
McCrea,  Arleen  Whelan,  Don  DeFore,  Preston 
Foster  and  Donald  Crisp.  They  haven't  yet  signed  a 
supporting  cast,  but  at  least  his  leads  are  set.  I  imagine 
the  starting  date  will  be  between  the  15th  and  20th 
of  May.  They  haven't  yet  made  the  final  decision  on 
locations.  Gene  [Strong — former  matinee  idol  and 
now  a  unit  producer}  flew  to  Colorado  looking  for 
locations.  But  in  all  probability  it  will  be  Utah — but 
that  is  only  a  guess. 

"Harry  is  in  the  best  of  health,  and  feels  happy 
that  the  principals  have  at  least  been  signed.  He  went 
up  to  Preston  Foster's  ranch  for  the  weekend. 

"Preston  wants  me  to  remember  him  to  you. 

"Harry  deserves  every  bit  of  the  success  he  made 
in  Hollywood  since  he  left  the  exhibitor  ranks  and 
went  into  production.  He  is  one  of  the  most  kind- 
hearted  persons  one  can  ever  meet.  Everybody  in 
Hollywood  thinks  the  world  of  him.  All  of  his  friends 
are  looking  forward  to  seeing  him  make  top  pictures. 
I  know  he  will,  for  he  has  intelligence,  brains,  and  has 
a  heart  as  big  as  a  mountain.  .  .  . 

"When  are  you  coming  West  again?" 

Harrison's  Reports  wishes  "Pop"  Sherman  con- 
tinued success,  for  no  one  is  more  deserving  of  it. 


Through  the  years  he  has  produced  pictures  that  were, 
not  only  of  good  quality,  but  also  decent  and  clean, 
let  alone  commercially  saleable. 


MORE  ABOUT  THEATRE 
COLLECTIONS 

According  to  a  report  in  the  May  1 5  issue  of  weekly 
Variety,  the  matter  of  holding  down  charity  collec- 
tions in  theatres  to  one  a  year  is  proving  to  be  so 
"knotty"  a  problem  that  there  is  "a  growing  move- 
ment on  foot  to  drop  all  plate-passing  in  the  coming 
year." 

The  report  states  that  the  Charities  Committee  of 
the  American  Theatres  Association  is  "beset  by  a 
flock  of  applications  by  charity  organizations  which 
did  not  heretofore  slice  the  theatre  melon,"  and  that 
the  problem  of  allocating  the  funds  from  one  collec- 
tion to  the  satisfaction  of  all  is  almost  insoluble.  An 
added  problem  stems  from  the  fact  that  many  organ- 
izations, which  have  not  shared  in  national  drives,  are 
pressing  for  an  allotment  that  would  be  within  the 
range  of  what  they  had  received  from  local  collections. 

"Local  charities  in  many  places,"  says  Variety, 
"took  a  substantial  part  of  community  chest  drive 
funds  while  actively  supporting  campaigns  in  their 
towns.  Exhibitor  committee  members  point  out  that  a 
nationally  directed  campaign  would  require  an  army 
of  clerks  and  administrators  to  fix  and  handle  appor- 
tionment of  funds  and  that  when  the  dust  settled  the 
probabilities  are  that  no  one  would  be  satisfied." 

There  is  no  question  that  one  collection  a  year  will 
prove  as  great  a  headache  to  exhibitors  as  will  a 
number  of  collections.  If  an  exhibitor  agrees  to  partici- 
pate in  a  national  collection  drive,  he  must,  in  order 
to  retain  the  good  will  of  local  charity  organizations, 
be  given  assurance  that  each  of  them  will  receive  a 
share  of  the  receipts.  To  accomplish  this,  the  national 
drive  committee  will,  of  necessity,  be  compelled  to 
employ  a  vast  force  to  allocate  the  funds  properly. 
But  what  will  be  the  result?  The  exhibitor  will  prob- 
ably find  that  the  share  given  to  each  of  the  partici- 
pating organizations  will  be  far  from  satisfactory 
because,  not  only  will  there  be  too  many  fingers  in 
the  pie,  but  also  the  cost  of  administering  the  funds 
will  be  great. 

The  best  solution  is,  of  course,  to  conduct  no  collec- 
tion at  all  and  save  a  headache.  But  if  an  exhibitor 
feels  that  he  must  take  part  in  at  least  one  collection 
drive,  he  should  be  smart  enough  to  confine  it  to  local 
charities.  Thus  his  efforts  will  gain  him  good  will, 
instead  of  drawing  brickbats. 


78 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  18,  1946 


"The  Searching  Wind"  with  Robert  Young, 
Sylvia  Sidney  and  Ann  Richards 

(Paramount,  August  9;  time,  118  mm.) 
A  forceful  drama.  Hal  Wallis  is  deserving  of  praise  for 
the  intelligent  way  in  which  he  has  presented  Lillian  Hell- 
man's  successful  play  ahout  the  mistakes  by  diplomats, 
whose  well-meaning  attitude  of  appeasement  aided  the  rise 
of  fascism  and  thrust  the  world  into  another  disastrous 
conflict.  And  praise  is  due  also  the  players  for  their  superior 
performances.  But  the  picture's  appeal  will  be  directed 
mainly  to  serious-minded  audiences,  who  will  appreciate 
and  understand  the  meaningful  message  that  the  story 
conveys;  the  masses  will  probably  find  the  subject  matter 
too  deep.  Another  drawback,  as  far  as  the  masses  are  con- 
cerned, is  the  fact  that  the  story  is  developed  entirely  by 
dialogue;  there  is  very  little  movement.  Its  tale  of  diplomatic 
ineptness,  as  reflected  through  the  career  of  an  American 
diplomat,  has  considerable  human  interest  and  a  few  of 
the  situations  stir  one  deeply.  The  romantic  interest,  a 
triangle  affair,  plays  an  important  part  in  the  proceedings. 
The  action  covers  the  period  between  both  world  wars 
and  unfolds  mainly  in  flashback. 

The  story  opens  in  1944' at  the  Washington  home  of 
Robert  Young,  a  former  American  ambassador.  Present  at 
dinner  are  Young;  Ann  Richards,  his  wife;  Douglas  Dick, 
their  son,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  war  with  a  leg 
injury;  Dudley  Digges,  Ann's  father,  a  retired  publisher; 
and  Sylvia  Sidney,  a  newspaperwoman,  with  whom  Young 
was  in  love.  As  they  dine,  the  radio  announces  the  death  of 
Mussolini,  and  the  news  recalls  to  the  group  the  events  of 
the  past  twenty-three  years.  In  flashback  it  is  shown  that 
in  1922,  Young,  an  attache  of  the  U.  S.  Embassy  in  Rome, 
had  been  in  love  with  Sylvia  but  she  had  decided  not  to 
marry  him  because  of  his  failure  to  recognize  the  threat  of 
fascism.  Shortly  afterwards,  Young  had  married  Ann,  who 
had  been  studying  music  in  Rome.  In  due  time,  Young  had 
been  made  an  ambassador  and,  during  the  rise  of  Hitler  and 
Nazism,  he  had  refused  to  recognize  the  peril  and  had  been 
reluctant  in  reporting  the  true  facts  to  Washington,  despite 
the  pleadings  of  Sylvia,  whose  path  he  crossed  from  time 
to  time.  Their  love  for  each  other  had  been  known  to 
Ann,  but  she  had  asked  Young  to  wait  for  a  divorce  until 
their  son  had  grown  older.  At  the  time  of  the  Munich 
crisis,  Young,  influenced  somewhat  by  Ann,  who  had 
sought  to  keep  her  son  out  of  a  war,  had  advised  Washing- 
ton to  follow  a  course  of  appeasement.  Returning  to  the 
present  day,  the  story  ends  with  the  son's  indictment  of  his 
parents  as  unconscious  appeasers  and,  after  informing  them 
that  his  leg  was  to  be  amputated  on  the  following  day,  he 
expresses  the  hope  that  the  future  generation  will  avoid 
their  mistakes.  The  parents  acknowledge  their  errors  and, 
for  reasons  not  made  very  clear,  Sylvia  decides  to  step  out 
of  Young's  life. 

Miss  Hellman  wrote  the  screen  play,  Hal  Wallis  produced 
it,  and  William  Dieterle  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Albert 
Basserman,  Dan  Seymour,  Ian  Wolfe  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Man  Who  Dared"  with  George 
Macready  and  Leslie  Brooks 

(Columbia,  May  30;  time,  66  min.) 

A  pretty  good  murder  melodrama.  Its  story  about  a  cru- 
sading newspaperman,  who  "frames"  himself  on  a  murder 
charge  to  prove  the  weakness  of  circumstantial  evidence, 
only  to  find  that  he  cannot  clear  himself,  is  practically  a 
remake  of  "Circumstantial  Evidence,"  produced  by  Chester- 
field in  1935.  It  has  a  fairly  absorbing  plot,  and  it  holds 
one's  attention  throughout  because  it  is  not  until  the  end 
that  he  proves  his  innocence  by  trapping  the  real  murderer. 
The  fact  that  he  has  to  break  out  of  jail  to  clear  himself 
heightens  the  excitement.  Some  of  the  situations  are  far- 
fetched, but  the  solution  is  worked  out  in  a  logical  manner: — 

George  Macready,  a  columnist  noted  for  his  crusades 
against  murder  convictions  based  on  circumstantial  evidence, 
is  put  on  trial  for  the  murder  of  a  gangster.  The  state's 
evidence  against  him  was  purely  circumstantial.  While  wait- 


ing for  the  jury's  verdict,  Macready  reveals  to  his  attorney 
that  he  had  purposely  planned  the  charge  against  him.  He 
explains  that  he  had  an  appointment  with  the  gangster  but 
had  found  him  dead  at  the  meeting  place,  with  a  note 
beside  the  body  stating  that  Arthur  Space,  a  racketeer, 
had  killed  him.  To  prove  his  crusade  against  circumstantial 
evidence,  he  had  arranged  everything  to  establish  his  own 
guilt,  then  confided  his  scheme  to  Forrest  Tucker,  a  friend, 
who  had  put  the  incriminating  note  in  a  safety  deposit  box. 
When  the  jury  returns  with  a  verdict  of  guilty,  Tucker  goes 
for  the  note  while  Macready  explains  his  hoax  to  the  court. 
On  his  way  back  to  court,  Tucker  is  kidnapped  by  Space, 
beaten,  and  left  for  dead.  He  is  taken  to  the  hospital  by 
the  police,  who  find  Macrcady's  gun  on  him.  When  ballistic 
experts  prove  that  the  gangster  had  been  killed  by  a  bullet 
fired  from  Macrcady's  gun,  the  columnist  is  sent  to  prison. 
Macready  escapes  from  his  guard  and  goes  to  Space's  home. 
There  he  obtains  the  racketeer's  gun  and  compels  him  to 
accompany  him  to  the  ballistics  expert,  who  establishes  the 
fact  that  Space  had  switched  the  barrel  of  his  gun  to  that 
of  Macready's.  His  innocence  verified,  Macready  is  set 
free,  satisfied  that  his  theory  had  been  proved. 

Edward  Bock  wrote  the  screen  play,  Leonard  S.  Picker 
produced  it,  and  John  Sturges  directed  i.t 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"One  More  Tomorrow"  with  Ann  Sheridan 
and  Dennis  Morgan 

(Warner  Bros.,  June  1;  time,  88  mm.) 
This  remake  of  Philip  Barry's  play,  "The  Animal  King- 
dom," which  was  first  produced  by  RKO  in  1932,  is  fairly 
good  entertainment.  Some  changes  have  been  made  in  the 
story  to  modernize  it,  but  its  theme  remains  substantially 
the  same — that  of  a  millionaire's  irresponsible  son  who 
loves  a  poor  girl  but  marries  an  avaricious  socialite,  only 
to  return  to  his  first  love  after  his  wife's  true  character  is 
revealed  to  him.  It  is  a  good  combination  of  human  interest 
and  comedy  and,  though  it  is  a  bit  too  talky,  and  somewhat 
far-fetched,  should  appeal  generally.  The  heroine  is  a  sym- 
pathetic character;  and  so  is  the  hero,  to  some  extent.  It 
has  considerable  comedy,  provoke  mainly  by  the  antics  of 
Jack  Carson  as  the  hero's  "fresh"  but  loyal  butler; — 

Ann  Sheridan,  photographer  for  a  photo  magazine,  is 
assigned  to  do  a  society  lay-out  on  a  birthday  party  for 
Dennis  Morgan,  flighty  son  of  wealthy  Thurston  Hall. 
Attracted  to  Ann,  Morgan  drives  her  home,  much  to  the 
disappointment  of  Alexis  Smith,  a  spoiled  socialite,  who 
sought  to  marry  him  for  his  money.  At  Ann's  apartment, 
Morgan  meets  a  group  of  her  friends,  who  published  an 
unsuccessful  but  worthy  liberal  magazine  that  exposed 
glaring  wrongs  in  national  and  civic  affairs.  Morgan  offers  to 
finance  the  magazine  and  becomes  its  editor.  He  falls  in 
love  with  Ann  and  asks  her  to  marry  him,  but  she  declines 
because  she  felt  that  their  different  stations  in  life  would 
interfere  with  their  happiness.  She  goes  away  to  forget  him. 
In  bitterness,  Morgan  marries  Alexis,  who  immediately 
starts  out  to  change  his  life  by  persuading  him  to  see  less 
of  his  liberal  friends.  Dropping  by  the  editorial  office  one 
day,  Morgan  learns  that  the  magazine  was  preparing  to 
expose  a  large  copper  company  for  sending  faulty  material 
to  the  fighting  forces.  He  approves  the  expose,  despite  his 
father's  protest  that  it  would  ruin  his  monied  friends.  Ann, 
returning  from  her  trip  to  accept  Morgan's  marriage  pro- 
posal, is  shocke'd  to  learn  that  he  had  married  Alexis,  but 
she  goes  back  to  work  on  the  magazine  to  help  him  with 
the  expose.  Meanwhile  Alexis,  bribed  by  Morgan's  father, 
persuades  him  to  drop  the  expose  by  lying  to  him  that  his 
own  father  would  be  ruined.  Ann,  discovering  Alexis' 
deception,  berates  her.  Their  quarrel  is  overheard  by  Carson, 
Morgan's  butler.  Learning  about  Alexis'  double-dealing 
from  Carson,  Morgan  leaves  her.  She  goes  to  Reno  for  a 
divorce,  clearing  the  way  for  Morgan's  marriage  to  Ann. 

Charles  Hoffman  and  Catherine  Turney  wrote  the  screen 
play,  and  Peter  Godfrey  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  John 
Loder,  Jane  Wyman,  Reginald  Gardiner  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


May  18,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


79 


"O.S.S."  with  Alan  Ladd  and 
Geraldine  Fitzgerald 

(Paramount,  July  26;  time,  107  min.) 

A  thrilling  espionage  melodrama.  It  should  prove  a  treat 
to  followers  of  this  type  of  entertainment,  for  without  re- 
sorting to  the  usual  claptrap  found  in  most  spy  pictures 
this  one  grips  the  spectator  from  the  very  start  and  holds 
his  attention  throughout  because  of  the  interesting  plot 
developments,  the  fast  melodramatic  action,  and  the  fact 
that  the  main  characters  are  constantly  exposed  to  danger. 
Being  the  first  picture  to  dramatize  the  exploits  of  our 
country's  spies,  agents  of  the  Office  of  Strategic  Services, 
America's  top  secret  agency  during  World  War  II,  the 
film  lends  itself  to  exploitation.  The  first  part  is  fascinating; 
it  shows  in  detail  the  rigid  course  undergone  by  O.S.S. 
trainees  in  order  that  they  be  proficient,  not  only  in 
accomplishing  their  missions,  but  also  in  concealing  their 
identities.  Alan  Ladd,  cast  in  a  characteristic  two-fisted  role, 
underplays  the  part  effectively.  His  romance  with  Geraldine 
Fitzgerald  is  appealing,  and  though  it  ends  on  a  tragic  note 
it  is  convincing: — ■ 

After  completing  their  training  course  as  O.S.S.  agents, 
Alan  Ladd,  Geraldine  Fitzgerald,  Don  Beddoe,  and  Richard 
Benedict  are  sent  to  France  as  a  team  to  work  with  the 
F.F.I,  in  sabotage,  prior  to  the  Allied  invasion  of  Normandie. 
Their  specific  mission  was  the  destruction  of  a  key  railroad 
tunnel.  When  Beddoe,  their  leader,  is  discovered  and  killed 
by  the  Nazis,  Ladd  assumes  the  group's  leadership.  At  first 
dubious  about  working  with  a  woman  on  such  a  dangerous 
mission,  Ladd  soon  learns  to  respect  Geraldine's  ability  when 
she  succeeds  in  interesting  a  German  colonel  in  her  talents 
as  a  sculptress  and  uses  her  womanly  wiles  to  induce  him 
to  take  her  along  on  a  train  trip  to  Normandie.  Ladd 
manages  to  get  aboard  the  locomotive  and,  as  the  train 
pulls  into  the  tunnel,  he  compels  the  engineer  to  bring  it 
to  a  stop.  Working  quickly,  he  spirits  Geraldine  out  of  the 
colonel's  compartment  and,  before  making  their  escape,  they 
plant  an  explosive  that  blows  the  tunnel  to  bits.  Both  join 
a  straggling  stream  of  refugees  and  make  their  way  to 
Paris.  There,  they  are  intercepted  by  Harold  Vermilyea,  a 
Gestapo  agent,  who  agrees  to  help  them  for  a  lavish  bribe. 
Vermilyea's  aid  enables  them  to  remain  in  Paris  and  to 
pass  on  vital  data  to  the  Allies.  Their  pact  with  him  is 
eventually  discovered,  but  they  manage  to  evade  capture. 
They  are  next  assigned  to  the  Rhine  to  report  on  enemy 
movements  and,  during  the  course  of  their  operations, 
Geraldine  is  apprehended  by  the  German  colonel  she  had 
duped.  Ladd,  communicating  vital  information  to  the  Allies, 
finds  himself  faced  with  the  choice  of  remaining  at  his  post 
or  going  to  Geraldine's  aid.  He  sticks  to  duty,  but  in  doing 
so  sacrifices  Geraldine's  life. 

Richard  Maibaum  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced  it, 
and  Irving  Pichel  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Patrick 
Knowles,  Gavin  Muir  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Dressed  to  Kill"  with  Basil  Rathbone 
and  Nigel  Bruce 

(Universal,  June  7;  time,  72  min.) 

A  fairly  interesting  "Sherlock  Holmes"  mystery  melo- 
drama, but  it  is  spoiled  somewhat  by  plot  twists  that  are 
a  bit  too  pat.  Nevertheless,  it  should  satisfy  the  followers 
of  this  type  of  entertainment,  for  it  is  sufficiently  mysti- 
fying and  has  a  fair  share  of  excitement  and  suspense.  As 
is  usual,  Basil  Rathbone,  as  "Holmes,"  solves  the  case  in 
his  typical  confident  but  far-fetched  manner,  aided,  of 
course,  by  Nigel  Bruce,  his  blundering  but  well-intentioned 
friend.  There  is  no  connection  between  this  story  and  the 
two  pictures  of  the  same  title  that  were  made  by  20th 
Century-Fox  in  1928  and  1941: — 

Following  the  sale  of  three  identical  music  boxes,  made 
in  Dartmoor  Prison  and  auctioned  off  in  London,  two  of 
the  purchasers  are  murdered  and  their  boxes  stolen.  Rath- 
bone interests  himself  in  the  case  and  soon  discovers  that 
the  tunes  played  by  the  boxes  held  a  message  indicating 
the  hiding  place  of  a  stolen  set  of  Bank  of  England  plates 
for  engraving  five-pound  notes.  He  discovers  also  that  the 


murders  were  the  work  of  a  gang  composed  of  Patricia 
Morison,  Frederick  Worlock,  and  Harry  Cording,  con- 
federates of  a  prisoner  in  Dartmoor.  Rathbone  manages  to 
obtain  the  third  music  box  and  decodes  a  message  from  its 
tune  indicating  that  the  plates  were  hidden  in  the  library 
of  a  Dr.  "S."  Meanwhile  Patricia  and  her  confederates, 
needing  the  third  music  box  to  complete  the  message,  cap- 
ture Rathbone  and  steal  the  box  from  Bruce,  his  aide, 
before  the  detective  can  free  himself.  While  Rathbone  and 
Bruce  each  blames  himself  for  this  turn  of  events,  Bruce, 
quoting  from  the  writings  of  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  noted 
English  lexicographer,  unconsciously  suggests  to  Rathbone 
a  clue  to  the  probable  hiding  place  of  the  plates.  Rathbone 
hurries  to  the  memorial  home  of  Dr.  Johnson,  arriving  their 
in  time  to  trap  Patricia  and  her  accomplices  in  the  act  of 
finding  the  plates. 

Leonard  Lee  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by  Sir 
Arthur  Conan  Doyle,  and  Roy  William  Neill  produced 
and  directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Monsieur  Beaucaire"  with  Bob  Hope 
and  Joan  Caulfield 

(Paramount,  Aug.  30;  time,  93  min.) 
This  burlesqued  version  of  Booth  Tarkington's  "Monsieur 
Beaucaire"  is  a  highly  entertaining  comedy-farce,  played  in 
slapstick  style.  The  story,  of  course,  does  not  make  much 
sense,  but  it  should  go  over  very  well  with  most  audiences 
because  of  its  hilarious  complications.  Bob  Hope,  as  a 
bungling  royal  barber  in  the  court  of  King  Louis  XV,  is  at 
his  best,  and  those  who  enjoy  his  inimitable  style  of  clown' 
ing  will  certainly  get  their  money's  worth.  The  mixups  he 
gets  himself  into  when  he  is  compelled  to  masquerade  as 
a  nobleman,  who  sought  to  avoid  a  marriage  of  state,  are 
completely  ludicrous,  but  they  are  so  comical  that  even  the 
most  hardened  spectator  will  find  it  difficult  to  hold  back  his 
laughter.  The  closing  scenes,  where  Hope  engages  in  a 
sword  duel,  are  riotously  funny.  The  production  values 
are  lavish: — 

Suffering  pangs  of  unrequited  love  for  Joan  Caulfield,  a 
scullery  maid,  who  was  out  to  catch  the  King's  (Reginald 
Owen)  eye,  Bob  Hope  masquerades  as  the  King  and  makes 
love  to  her,  raising  the  Queen's  ire  and  putting  the  King 
in  "hot  water."  As  a  result,  Joan  is  banished  from  France 
and  Hope  is  ordered  beheaded.  Meanwhile  the  King,  to 
avert  a  war  with  Spain,  arranges  a  marriage  of  state  between 
Patrick  Knowles,  a  nobleman,  who  was  the  greatest  swords- 
man in  France,  and  Marjorie  Reynolds,  a  Spanish  princess. 
Knowles,  to  repay  Hope  for  helping  him  out  of  a  jam  with 
the  King,  spirits  him  out  of  jail  and  takes  him  along  on  the 
trip  to  Spain,  accompanied  by  Cecil  Kellaway,  the  King's 
ambassador.  En  route,  they  come  upon  the  carriage  of  the 
Princess  just  as  it  is  attacked  by  a  band  of  cutthroats, 
headed  by  Joseph  Schildkraut,  who  was  plotting  to  seize 
the  Spanish  throne.  Knowles,  with  flashing  sword,  slays 
the  attackers  and  volunteers  to  drive  the  Princess  to  Madrid. 
Both  fall  in  love  without  revealing  each  other's  identity. 
Hope  and  Kellaway  continue  the  trip  and,  upon  their 
arrival  in  Madrid,  Kellaway,  unable  to  explain  Knowles' 
absence,  compels  Hope  to  assume  his  identity.  In  the  mean- 
time Schildkraut,  foiled  in  his  attempted  murder  of  the 
Princess,  decides  that  Hope  must  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
To  accomplish  this  end,  he  enlists  the  aid  of  Joan,  who  had 
made  her  way  into  Spain.  In  the  course  of  events,  Hope 
continually  gets  himself  out  of  one  jam  after  another  as 
he  tries  to  carry  on  the  masquerade  and  still  protect  his 
life.  Eventually,  on  the  day  of  the  wedding,  his  identity 
is  discovered  by  Schildkraut,  who  challenges  him  to  a  duel. 
He  is  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Knowles.  It  all  ends 
with  Knowles  and  the  Princess  marrying  for  love  as  well 
as  for  reasons  of  state,  and  with  Joan  and  Hope  becoming 
reconciled. 

Melvin  Frank  and  Norman  Panama  wrote  the  screen 
play,  George  Marshall  directed  it,  and  Paul  Jones  pro- 
duced it.  The  cast  includes  Constance  Collier,  Hillary 
Brooke,  Leonid  Kinskey,  Howard  Freeman  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


80 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  18,  1946 


CHICAGO  CENTER  OF  EXHIBITOR 
ATTRACTION  NEXT  WEEK 

Allied  States  Association  is  holding  a  board  of 
directors  meeting  next  week;  and  so  is  the  Conference 
of  Independent  Exhibitors. 

C.I.E.A.  will  meet  on  May  23,  with  Jesse  L.  Stern, 
of  New  York  City,  presiding.  The  Allied  board  will 
meet  on  May  24  and  25.  Both  meetings  will  take 
place  at  the  Palmer  House. 

Mr.  Abram  F.  Myers,  Allicd's  counsel  and  chair- 
man of  the  board,  is  very  enthusiastic  as  to  the  attend- 
ance. In  a  bulletin  dated  May  13,  he  says  partly  the 
following: 

"The  intense  interest  of  the  independent  exhibitors 
in  maintaining  and  strengthening  their  organizations 
is  shown  by  the  heavy  registrations  for  the  Allied 
board  meeting  and  the  Conference  of  Independent 
Exhibitors'  Associations  which  will  be  held  in  Chicago 
next  week. 

"Planned  merely  as  gatherings  of  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Allied  and  C.I.E.A.  regional  associations, 
they  are  fast  taking  on  the  proportions  of  a  national 
convention.  Excluding  wives,  over  40  out  of  town 
exhibitors  have  registered  for  the  Allied  board  meet- 
ing and,  excluding  wives  and  duplications,  there  are 
20  additional  registrations  for  the  C.I.E.A.  meeting. 

"These  represent  hotel  registrations  for  exhibitors 
coming  from  a  distance.  It  does  not  include  those 
from  Chicago  and  nearby  territory  who  doubtless  will 
attend  in  considerable  numbers.  ..." 

It  is  expected  that  several  regional  associations, 
which  have  not  heretofore  participated  in  C.I.E.A., 
will  send  representatives  to  the  meeting. 

According  to  this  bulletin,  film  supplies  and  film 
rentals  will  be  discussed  extensively  at  these  meetings. 
Steps  and  measures  to  be  taken  by  each  of  the  organ- 
izations for  the  increase  of  their  memberships  will  be 
discussed  and  decided  upon. 

Incidentally,  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  May  25, 
Illinois  Allied  will  give  a  dinner  to  Jack  Kirsch  to 
honor  him  for  having  been  elected  president  of  nation- 
al Allied.  This  dinner  will  be  attended  by  about  1 500 
persons,  including,  not  only  exhibitors  and  other 
industryitcs,  but  also  local  and  state  dignitaries. 

"Swamp  Fire"  with  Johnny  Weissmuller, 
Buster  Crabbe  and  Virginia  Grey 

(Paramount,  Sept.  6;  time,  69  min.) 

An  unimpressive  plot,  stilted  dialogue,  and  un- 
inspired direction  make  this  program  melodrama 
mediocre  entertainment.  The  plot  developments  are 
so  routine  that  the  picture  holds  few  surprises  for 
the  average  spectator.  Here  and  there  it  has  a  situa- 
tion that  is  mildly  exciting,  but  on  the  whole  the 
action  is  slow-moving  and  dull.  The  only  thing  in  its 
favor  is  the  popularity  of  Johnny  Weissmuller,  whose 
name  may  mean  something  at  the  box-office,  but  not 
much  can  be  said  for  his  acting;  it  is  "wooden."  Nor 
is  there  anything  outstanding  about  the  performances 
of  the  other  players: — - 

Weissmuller,  a  bar  pilot  on  boats  entering  the 
Mississippi  River,  returns  from  the  war  with  his  self- 
confidence  shattered  because  the  ship  he  had  com- 
manded had  been  torpedoed.  He  finds  Carol  Thur- 
ston, his  sweetheart,  still  true  to  him,  despite  the 
efforts  of  Buster  Crabbe,  a  villainous  trapper,  to  win 
her  love.  Virginia  Grey,  a  wealthy  vacationist  in  the 
Bayou  country,  sets  her  cap  for  Weissmuller,  much 
to  Carol's  chagrin.  Weissmuller 's  friends  help  him 
to  regain  his  confidence  and  he  resumes  his  work  as 


a  pilot,  but  tragedy  strikes  when  he  accidentally  col- 
lides with  another  ship,  killing  Carol's  grandfather. 
Heartbroken,  Weissmuller  goes  to  New  Orleans  on 
a  drunk  and  ends  up  in  a  hospital  after  being  injured 
by  an  automobile.  Virginia  identifies  him,  takes  him 
home,  and  cleverly  prevents  Carol  from  communicat- 
ing with  him,  leading  each  to  believe  that  the  other 
had  fallen  out  of  love.  When  Weissmuller  recovers, 
Virginia  persuades  her  father  to  make  him  overseer 
of  their  private  island,  on  which  restrictions  on  hunt- 
ing and  trapping  had  been  placed,  depriving  the 
local  trappers  of  their  only  means  of  existence.  Crabbe, 
plotting  revenge  on  both  Virginia's  father  and  Weiss- 
muller, sets  fire  to  the  island.  In  the  events  that  follow, 
Carol  is  trapped  by  the  flames  when  she  attempts  to 
warn  Weissmuller,  who  in  turn  saves  her  life  after 
giving  Crabbe  a  sound  thrashing.  Learning  the  truth 
about  Virginia's  machinations,  Carol  and  Weiss- 
muller become  reconciled. 

Geoffrey  Homes  wrote  the  screen  play,  Pine  and 
Thomas  produced  it,  and  William  Pine  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Pedro  de  Cordoba,  Pierre  Watkin 
and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Larceny  in  Her  Heart"  with  Hugh 
Beaumont  and  Cheryl  Walker 

(PRC,  July  10;  time,  68  mm.) 
This  second  of  PRC's  "Michael  Shayne,  Detective" 
scries  is  an  ordinary  program  murder- mystery  melo- 
drama, the  sort  that  will  serve  to  fill  time  wherever 
audiences  are  undiscriminating.  It  is  completely  lack- 
ing in  originality  either  in  story  or  in  treatment,  and 
for  the  most  part  is  so  confusing  that  one  loses  interest 
in  the  outcome,  even  though  the  mystery  is  not  solved 
until  the  end.  It  lacks  the  suspense  usually  found  in 
pictures  of  this  type.  There  is  some  comedy,  but  it  is 
pretty  weak.  The  title  has  no  connection  with  the 
story: — 

An  urgent  request  from  Gordon  Richards,  a  civic 
leader,  to  locate  his  missing  stepdaughter,  causes 
Hugh  Beaumont  to  postpone  a  vacation  trip  with 
Cheryl  Walker,  his  secretary-sweetheart.  Beaumont's 
trouble's  begin  when  a  young  girl  answering  the  step- 
daughter's description  is  murdered  in  his  office.  Fear- 
ful lest  the  police  accuse  him  of  murder,  Beaumont 
enlists  the  aid  of  Paul  Bryar,  a  friendly  reporter,  to 
help  him  hide  the  body.  After  the  corpse  disappears 
and  reappears,  they  finally  dispose  of  the  body  on 
Richards'  lawn  only  to  learn  on  the  following  day 
that  it  had  been  fished  out  of  the  bay.  Beaumont  finds 
reason  to  suspect  Richards  and  makes  a  date,  with 
his  maid  to  question  her,  but  before  he  can  keep  the 
appointment  the  girl  is  almost  strangled  to  death.  He 
revives  her  and  secures  enough  information  to  con- 
vince him  that  the  solution  of  the  case  lay  within  the 
confines  of  a  sanitarium  operated  by  Douglas  Fowley. 
Beaumont  has  himself  committed  to  the  sanitarium, 
where  he  locates  the  missing  girl,  held  there  against 
her  will.  After  a  series  of  events,  he  traps  Richards 
and  proves  that  he,  in  league  with  Fowley,  had  held 
the  girl  prisoner  in  an  effort  to  obtain  her  money. 
He  proves  also  that  the  dead  girl  had  been  hired  by 
Richards  to  impersonate  the  stepdaughter  only  to  be 
murdered  by  him  after  she  had  served  her  purpose. 
Having  cracked  the  case,  Beaumont  and  Cheryl  leave 
on  their  vacation. 

Raymond  L.  Shrock  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sig- 
mund  Newfeld  produced  it,  and  Sam  Newfeld  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Ralph  Dunn,  Milton 
Kibbee  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  MAY  18,  1946 


Vol.  XXVIII 


No.  20 


(Partial  Index  No.  3 — Pages  54  to  76  Incl.) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Alias  Billy  the  Kid — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Avalanche— PRC  (70  min.)   67 

Badman's  Territory— RKO  (98  min.)   62 

Bedlam— RKO  (79  min.)   67 

Behind  the  Mask — Monogram  (67  min.)   58 

Black  Market  Babies — Monogram  (71  min.)   54 

Blondie's  Lucky  Day — Columbia  (69  min.)   66 

Boys'  Ranch— MGM  (97  min.)   70 

Bride  Wasn't  Willing,  The — Universal  (see  "Frontier 

Gal")  1945    194 

Caravan  Trail — PRC  (62  min.)  not  reviewed 

Cat  Creeps,  The— Universal  (58  min.)   59 

Cluny  Brown- — 20th  Century-Fox  (100  min.)   71 

Courage  of  Lassie — MGM  (92  min.)   74 

Dark  Alibi — Monogram  (66  min.)   66 

Dark  Corner,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (99  min.)   55 

Devil  Bat's  Daughter— PRC  (67  min.)   60 

Devil's  Mask,  The — Columbia  (66  min.)   74 

Devotion — Warner  Bros.  (107  min.)   54 

Ding  Dong  Williams— RKO  (62  min.)   63 

Do  You  Love  Me? — 20th  Century-Fox  (91  min.)   64 

Easy  to  Wed— MGM  (109  min.)   59 

Falcon's  Alibi,  The— RKO  (62  min.)   63 

Galloping  Thunder — Columbia  (54  min.)  .  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Gay  Cavalier — Monogram  (65  min.)  not  reviewed 

Glass  Alibi,  The— Republic  (68  min.)   72 

Gunning  for  Vengeance — Columbia  (56  m.) .  not  reviewed 

Heartbeat— RKO  (102  min.)   66 

Henry  V — United  Artists  (134  min.)   68 

Her  Kind  of  Man — Warner  Bros.  (78  min.)   68 

In  Fast  Company — Monogram  (63  min.),   76 

In  Old  Sacramento — Republic  (89  min.)   71 

Joe  Palooka,  Champ — Monogram  (70  min.)   58 

Lady  of  Mystery — Columbia  (see  "A  Close  Call 

for  Boston  Blackie")    22 

Make  Mine  Music— RKO  (75  min.)   63 

Memory  for  Two — Columbia  (see  "I  Love  a  Band- 
leader") 1945   130 

Night  Editor — Columbia  (67  min.)   54 

Night  in  Casablanca,  A — United  Artists  (85  min.) ....  64 

Night  in  Paradise — Universal  (84  min.)   58 

On  the  Carpet — Universal  (see  "Little  Giant")   34 

Partners  in  Time— RKO  (72  min.)   62 

Phantom  Thief,  The — Columbia  (65  min.)   75 

Rainbow  Over  Texas — Republic  (65  min.) .  .not  reviewed 

Rendezvous  24 — 20th  Century-Fox  (70  min.)   70 

Renegades — Columbia  (88  min.)   72 

She-Wolf  of  London — Universal  (61  min.)   59 

She  Wrote  the  Book— Universal  (78  min.)   74 

Somewhere  in  the  Night — 20th  Century-Fox  (110  min.)  70 

Stolen  Life,  A— Warner  Bros.  (107  min.)   71 

Strange  Conquest— Universal   (63  'min.)   62 

Strange  Triangle — 20th  Century-Fox  (65  min.)   75 

Suspense — Monogram  (101  min.)   56 

Terrors  on  Horseback — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Thunder  Town — PRC  (57  min.)  not  reviewed 

Truth  About  Murder,  The— RKO  (63  min.)   64 

Undercover  Woman,  The — Republic  (56  min.)   67 

Up  She  Goes — MGM  (see  "Up  Goes  Maisie")   3 

Without  Reservations— RKO  (107  min.)   75 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 

Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
7014  Meet  Me  on  Broadway — Reynolds-Falkenburg.  Jan.  3 

7007  Tars  and  Spars — Blair-Drake  Jan.  10 

7030  A  Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie — Morris  Jan.  24 


7204  Frontier  Gun  Law — Charles  Starrett  (59m.). Jan.  31 
7028  The  Notorious  Lone  Wolf — Mohr-Carter  Feb.  14 

7205  Roaring  Rangers — Charles  Starrett  (5 5m.).. Feb.  14 
7004  Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest — Wilde-Louise. .  .Feb.  21 
7034  The  Gentleman  Misbehaves — Massen-Stanton 

(formerly  "The  Lady  Misbehaves")  Feb.  28 

7021  Just  Before  Dawn — Baxter- Roberts  Mar.  7 

7221  Throw  a  Saddle  on  a  Star — Western  Musical 

(65  m.)   Mar.  14 

7008  Perilous  Holiday— O'Brien-Warrick  Mar.  21 

7206  Gunning  for  Vengeance — Charles  Starrett 

(56  m.)  Mar.  21 

7016  Talk  About  a  Lady — Jinx  Falkenburg  Mar.  28 

7020  Blondie's  Lucky  Day — Singleton-Lake  Apr.  4 

7025  Mysterious  Intruder — Richard  Dix  Apr.  11 

7023  Night  Editor — Gargan-Carter  Apr.  18 

7001  Gilda— Hayworth-Ford   Apr.  25 

7207  Galloping  Thunder— Charles  Starrett  (54  m.) 

(re.)   Apr.  25 

Phantom  Thief- — Chester  Morris  May  2 

Texas  Jamboree — Musical  Western  (re.)  ...  .May  16 

The  Devil's  Mask — Louise-Bannon  May  23 

Two  Fisted  Stranger — Charles  Starrett  May  30 

The  Man  Who  Dared — Brooks-Macready .  .  .May  30 
The  Walls  Came  Tumbling  Down — Bowman- 
Chapman   June  7 

Renegades — Keyes-Parker   June  13 

Dangerous  Business — Merrick-Tucker   June  20 

The  Return  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Litel  June  27 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
Block  14 

606  What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove? — 

Walker- Wynn   Nov.  Dec. 

607  She  Went  to  the  Races — Craig-Gifford  Nov.-Dec 

608  Vacation  from  Marriage — Donat-Kerr  Nov.-Dec. 

610  Yolanda  and  the  Thief — Astaire-Bremer.  . .  .Nov.-Dec. 

609  They  Were  Expendable — Montgomery- 

Wayne   Nov.-Dec. 

Block  15 

611  The  Harvey  Girls — Garland-Hodiak  Jan.-Feb. 

612  Portrait  of  Maria — Foreign  cast  Jan.-Feb. 

613  Up  Goes  Maisie — Sothern-Murphy  Jan.-Feb. 

614  A  Letter  for  Evie — Hunt-Carroll  Jan.-Feb. 

615  Sailor  Takes  a  Wife — Allyson- Walker  Jan.-Feb. 

Block  16 

618  The  Hoodlum  Saint — Powell-Williams  Apr. -May 

619  Bad  Bascomb — Beery-O'Brien  Apr.-May 

620  Postman  Always  Rings  Twice — Garfield- 

Turner  Apr.-May 

621  The  Last  Chance — Foreign-made  Apr.-May 

622  Two  Sisters  from  Boston — Durante-Allyson .  Apr.-May 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson   Mar. 

617  Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946 — All-star  cast  Mar. 

Monogram  Features 

(630  N.inth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
504  Black  Market  Babies — Morgan-Loring  Jan.  5 

565  Border  Bandits — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.)  Jan.  12 

516  Strange  Mr.  Gregory — Lowe-Rogers  Jan.  12 

509  Live  Wires — Bowery  Boys  Jan.  12 

528  Face  of  Marble — Carradine-Drake  Feb.  2 

513  The  Red  Dragon — Sidney  Toler  Feb.  2 

527  The  Shadow  Returns — Kane-Richmond  Feb.  16 

572  Moon  Over  Montana — Jimmy  Wakely  (54m.).  Feb.  23 

566  The  Haunted  Mine— J.  M.  Brown  (52  m.) 

(re.)   Mar.  2 

507  Fear — William-Cookson   Mar.  2 

503  Swing  Parade  of  1946 — Storm-Regan. .Mar.  16 

573  West  of  the  Alamo — Jimmy  Wakely  (57  m.) .  Apr.  20 

567  Under  Arizona  Skies — J.  M.  Brown  (67  m.)  .  .Apr.  27 


May  18,  1946  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Monogram  Features  (cont'd) 

514  Junior  Prom — Stcwart-Preisser  May  11 

529  Gay  Cavalier— Roland-Ames  (65  m.)  Mar.  30 

519  Dark  Alibi— Sidney  Toler  May  25 

502  Joe  Palooka,  Champ — Kirkwood-Errol  May  28 

562  Gentleman  from  Texas— J.  M.  Brown  June  8 

574  Trail  to  Mexico — Jimmy  Wakely  June  29 

Special 

Suspense — Bclita-Sullivan   June  15 


Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  York  18,  K  T.) 
Block  2 

4506  Hold  That  Blonde— Bracken-Lake  Nov.  23 

4507  Stork  Club— Hutton-Fitzgerald   Dec.  28 

4508  People  are  Funny — Haley-Langford  Jan.  11 

4509  Kitty— Milland-Goddard  Jan.  25 

Block  3 

4511  Tokyo  Rose — Barr-Massen  Feb.  8 

4512  Masquerade  in  Mexico — Lamour-DeCordova  Feb.  22 

4513  Miss  Susie  Slagle's — Lake-Tufts  Mar.  8 

Block  4 

4516  The  Virginian — McCrea-Donlcvy  Apr.  5 

4517  The  Blue  Dahlia— Ladd-Lake  Apr.  19 

4518  They  Made  Mc  a  Killer — Lowery-Britton. .  .  .May  3 

4519  The  Well-Groomcd  Bride— DeHavilland- 

Milland   May  17 

Block  5 

4521  The  Bride  Wore  Boots — Stanwyck-Cummings.  May  31 

4522  Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Russell- 

Lynn   June  14 

4523  Hot  Cargo — Gargan-Reed  June  28 

4524  To  Each  His  Own— Olivia  De  Havilland  July  5 

Block  6 

4526  O.S.S.— Ladd-Fitzgerald  July  26 

4527  The  Searching  Wind — Young-Sidney  Aug.  9 

4528  Swamp  Fire — Wcissmullcr-Crabbe  Sept.  6 

4529  Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers — Stanwyck- 

Heflin   Oct.  13 

Special 

4531  Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 

4532  Monsieur  Bcaucaire — Bob  Hope  Aug.  30 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  H-  T.) 
Strangler  of  the  Swamp — LaPlanche-Barrat. . . Jan.  1 
Lightning  Raiders — Buster  Crabbe  (66  m.).  .  .Jan.  7 

Danny  Boy — Robert  "Buzzy"  Henry  Jan.  8 

Six  Gun  Man— Bob  Steele  (59  m.)  Feb.  1 

Ambush  Trail— Bob  Steele  (60  m.)  Feb.  17 

The  Flying  Serpent — Zucco-Kramer  Feb.  20 

I  Ring  Doorbells — Gwynne-Shayne  Feb.  25 

Romance  of  the  West — Eddie  Dean  (58  m.) .  .Mar.  20 
Gentlemen  with  Guns — Buster  Crabbe  (52m.)  Mar.  27 
Mask  of  Dijon — Von  Stroheim-Batcs  (re.). .  .Apr.  9 
Murder  is  My  Business — Beaumont- Walker.  .  .Apr.  10 

Thunder  Town — Bob  Steele  (57  m.)  Apr.  10 

Devil  Bat's  Daughter — LaPlanche-James  ....Apr.  15 

Caravan  Trail — Eddie  Dean  (62  m.)  Apr.  20 

Wife  of  Monte  Cristo — Loder-Aubert  Apr.  23 

Terrors  on  Horseback — Buster  Crabbe  (55m.)  .May  1 

Ghost  of  Hidden  Valley — Crabbe  June  3 

Avalanche — Cabot-Borg   June  20 

Colorado  Serenade — Eddie  Dean  June  30 

Larceny  in  Her  Heart — Beaumont- Walker.  .  .  .July  10 
Queen  of  Burlesque — Young-Ankers  July  24 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

509  Gay  Blades — Lane-Ashley  Jan.  25 

508  A  Guy  Could  Change — Lane-Frazee  Jan.  27 

565  California  Gold  Rush— Elliott  (56m.)  Feb.  4 

554  Days  of  Buffalo  Bill— Carson  (56  m.)  Feb.  8 

510  The  Madonna's  Secret — Lederer-Patrick  Feb.  16 

511  Crime  of  the  Century — Bachelor-Browne  Feb.  28 

447  Song  of  Arizona — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.) 

(1944-45)  Mar.  9 

513  Strange  Impersonation — Gargan-Marshall. . .  .Mar.  16 

566  Sheriff  of  Redwood  Valley— Bill  Elliott  Mar.  29 

512  Murder  in  the  Music  Hall — Ralston  Apr.  10 

515  Undercover  Woman — Livingston-Withers  ...Apr.  11 

555  Alias  Billy  the  Kid — Sunset  Carson  (56  m.) .  .Apr.  17 
5501  Home  on  the  Range — Hale  (Magnacolor) 

(55  m.)   Apr.  18 

514  Catman  of  Paris — Esmond- Aubert  Apr.  20 

516  The  Glass  Alibi — Fowley-Gwynne  Apr.  27 


448  Rainbow  Over  Texas — Roy  Rogers  (65  m.) ...  May  9 

518  Passkey  to  Danger — Bachelor-Richmond  May  11 

567  Sun  Valley  Cyclone— Bill  Elliott  May  10 

556  El  Paso  Kid — Sunset  Carson  May  22 

519  The  French  Key— Dekker-Ankers  May  18 

520  Valley  of  the  Zombies — Livingston-Booth .  .  .  .May  24 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Jork  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  3 

611  The  Spiral  Staircase — Brent-McGuire  

612  Cornered — Dick  Powell  

613  Dick  Tracy — Conway-Jeffreys  

614  Sing  Your  Way  Home — Haley-Jeffreys  

615  Hotel  Reserve — English  cast  

Block  4 

616  From  This  Day  Forward — Joan  Fontaine  .... 

617  Deadline  at  Dawn — Hayward-Lukas  

618  Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman — Weissmuller 

619  A  Game  of  Death — Loder-Long  

620  Rivcrboat  Rhythm — Leon  Errol  

Block  5 

621  Without  Reservations — Colbert  Wayne  

622  Badman's  Territory — Scott-Richards  

623  Ding  Dong  Williams — McGuire-Vernon  

624  The  Truth  About  Murder — Granville-Conway. 

625  Partners  in  Time — Lum  and  Abncr  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue) 
661  Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever — Colbert-Welles-Brent  .  .  . 

692  Make  Mine  Music — Disney  


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 


(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 

617  Doll  Face— O'Keefe-Blaine   Jan. 

610  Col.  Effingham's  Raid — Coburn-Bennett  Feb. 

620  Behind  Green  Lights — Landis-Gargan  Feb. 

615  Shock— Pnce-Bari   Feb. 

618  Jesse  James — Reissue  Feb. 

619  Return  of  Frank  James — Reissue  Feb. 

616  A  Walk  in  the  Sun — Andrews-Conte  Mar. 

621  Sentimental  Journey — Payne-O'Hara  Mar. 

622  A  Yank  in  London — English  made  Mar. 

623  Dragonwyck — Tierney-Price  Apr. 

624  Johnny  Comes  Flying  Home — Stewart-Crane.  .  .  .Apr. 

625  The  Dark  Corner — Stevens-Ball  May 

626  Do  You  Love  Me? — O'Hara-Haymes-James  May 

627  Rendezvous  24 — Gargan-Palmer  May 

628  Cluny  Brown — Jones-Boyer  June 

629  Somewhere  in  the  Night — Hodiak-Guild  June 

630  Strange  Triangle — Foster-Hasso  June 

Specials 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  Aug. 

614  Leave  Her  to  Heaven — Tierney-Wilde  Jan. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Getting  Gertie's  Garter — O'Keefe-McDonald  . . .  .Nov.  30 

Blithe  Spirit — English  cast  Dec.  14 

Spellbound — Bergman-Peck   Dec.  28 

Abilene  Town — Scott-Dvorak   Jan.  11 

Whistle  Stop— Raft-Gardner  Jan.  25 

The  Outlaw— Russell-Buetel  Feb.  8 

Diary  of  a  Chambermaid — Goddard-Meredith  Feb.  15 

Breakfast  in  Hollywood — Tom  Breneman  Feb.  22 

Young  Widow — Russell -Hayward  Mar.  1 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  Mar.  15 

Rebecca — Olivier-Fontaine  (reissue)   Apr.  26 

A  Night  in  Casablanca — Marx  Bros  May  10 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 

515  Girl  on  the  Spot — Collier-Barker  Jan.  11 

516  Because  of  Him — Durbin-Laughton  Jan.  18 

1104  Gun  Town— Grant-Knight  (53  m.)  Jan.  18 

517  Terror  by  Night — Rathbone-Bruce  (re.)  Feb.  1 

518  Idea  Girl— Barker-Bishop  Feb.  8 

519  The  Seventh  Veil— English  cast  Feb.  15 

520  Little  Giant — Abbott  ii  Costello  Feb.  22 

521  Smooth  As  Silk — Taylor-Grey  (formerly 

"Notorious  Gentleman")  Mar.  1 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


May  18,  1946 


522  Tangier — Montez-Paige  (reset)   Mar.  8 

523  The  Man  in  Grey — English  cast  Mar.  15 

524  Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back — Sondergaard- 

Grant   Mar.  22 

525  House  of  Horrors — Goodwin-Lowery  Mar.  29 

526  Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — English  cast. Apr.  5 

527  Blonde  Alibi— Neal-O'Driscoll   Apr.  12 

528  So  Goes  My  Love — Loy-Ameche  Apr.  19 

529  Night  in  Paradise — Bey-Oberon  May  3 

530  Strange  Conquest — Wyatt-Gilmore  May  10 

531  She  Wolf  of  London — Haden-Porter  May  17 

532  The  Cat  Creeps — Collier-Brady  May  17 

533  She  Wrote  the  Book — Davis-Oakie  May  31 

534  Dressed  to  Kill — Rathbone-Bruce  June  7 

535  The  Runaround — Raines-Cameron  June  14 

536  Lover  Come  Back — Brent-Ball  June  21 

537  Inside  Job— Foster-Rutherford  June  28 

538  The  Ghost  Steps  Out— Abbott  &  Costello  July  5 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H.  T.) 

510  My  Reputation — Stanwyck-Brent   Jan.  26 

511  Three  Strangers — Greenstreet-Lorre  Feb.  16 

512  Burma  Victory — Documentary  Feb.  16 

513  Cinderella  Jones — Leslie-Alda  Mar.  9 

514  Saratoga  Trunk — Bergman-Cooper  Mar.  30 

515  City  for  Conquest— Cagney-Sheridan 

(reissue)   Apr.  1 

516  No  Time  for  Comedy — Stewart-Russell 

(reissue)   Apr.  13 

517  Devotion — Lupino-De  Havilland-Henreid  .  .  .  .Apr.  20 

518  Her  Kind  of  Man— Clark-Paige-Scott  May  11 

519  One  More  Tomorrow — Sheridan-Morgan.  ..  .June  1 

520  Janie  Gets  Married — Leslie-Hutton  June  22 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 

7855  Screen  Snapshots  No.  5  (9  m.)   Jan.  17 

7655  Community  Sings  No.  5  (10  m.)   Jan.  17 

7805  Rasslin'  Romeos — Sports  (9'/2  m.)   Jan.  24 

7601  Catnipped— Flippy  (V/2  m.)  Feb.  14 

7856  Screen  Snapshots  No.  6  (9"/2  m.)   Feb.  15 

7656  Community  Sings  No.  6  (9  m.)  Feb.  21 

7954  Three  Sets  of  Twins— Film  Vodvil  (10  m.)  .  .Feb.  28 

7657  Community  Sings  No.  7  (10  m.)  -  Mar.  7 

7806  Canine  Champions — Sports  (9J-4  m.)  Mar.  14 

7857  Screen  Snapshots  No.  7  (9]/2  m.)  Mar.  15 

7955  Art  Mooney  &?  Orch.— Film  Vodvil  (11  m.).Apr.  4 

7501  River  Ribber— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  Apr.  5 

7752  Foxey  Flatfoots — Fox  g?  Crow  (6m.)  Apr.  1 1 

7658  Community  Sings  No.  8  (8j/2  m.)  (re.)  Apr.  11 

7702  Kongo  Roo — Phantasy  (6  m.)  Apr.  18 

7807  Timberland  Athletes — Sports  (8  m.)  Apr.  18 

7502  Polar  Playmates— Col.  Rhapsody  (6>/2  m.).  .Apr.  25 

7858  Screen  Snapshots  No.  8  (10  m.)  Apr.  25 

7559  Community  Sings  No.  9  (10|/2  m.)  May  9 

7753  Unsure-Runts— Color  Rhapsody  (7'/^  m.) .  .May  16 

7859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  (11m.)  May  23 

7808  Diving  Aces — Sports  May  30 

7703  Snap  Happy  Traps — Phantasy  June  6 

7660  Community  Sings  No.  10  June  13 

7956  Dick  Stabile  6s?  Orch  June  16 

(Ed.  N.ote:  "Strange  Hunter,"  a  Panoramic  short,  listed 

on  the  previous  index  as  a  March  21  release,  has  been  with- 
drawn.) 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

7403  Beer  Barrel  Polecats — Stooges  ( 17  m.)  Jan.  10 

7436  The  Blonde  Stayed  On— Andy  Clyde(  16J/2m)Jan.  24 

7424  When  the  Wife's  Away — Herbert  (17  m.)  .  .Feb.  1 

7425  Hiss  and  Yell— Vera  Vague  (18  m.)  Feb.  14 

7404  A  Bird  in  the  Head— Stooges  (17  m.)  Feb.  28 

7437  Mr.  Noisy— S.  Howard  (16'/2m.)  Mar.  22 

7160  Hop  Harrigan — Serial  (15  chapters)  Mar.  28 

7405  Uncivil  War  Birds— Stooges  (17  m.)  Mar.  29 

7438  Jiggers,  My  Wife— S.  Howard  (18  m.)  Apr.  11 

7406  The  Three  Troubledoers — Stooges  (17  m.).  .Apr.  25 

7426  Get  Along  Little  Zombie — Herbert  (17  m.) .  .May  9 
7410  Ain't  Love  Cuckoo?— Schilling  (19  m.)  June  6 

7407  Monkey  Businessmen — Stooges  ( 18  m.i .  .  .  .  June  20 

Metro-Gold wyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

S-754  Sports  Sticklers — Pete  Smith  (10  min.)  . . .  .Jan.  5 

K-775  Magic  on  a  Stick— Pas.  Par.  (9  min.)  Jan.  19 

S-757  Fala  at  Hyde  Park— Pete  Smith  (10  m.)  Jan.  19 

T-713  Land  of  the  Mayas— Traveltalk  (9  m.)  Jan.  26 


S-755  Gettin'  Glamour— Pete  Smith  (7  min.)  Feb.  2 

T-714  Glimpses  of  Gautemala — Traveltalk  (8  m.).Feb.  9 

W-734  Lonesome  Lenny — Cartoon  (8  m.)  Mar.  9 

T-715  Visiting  Vera  Cruz— Traveltalk  (10  m.)  . .  .Mar.  16 
W-735  Springtime  for  Thomas — Cartoon  (8  m.)  .  .Mar.  30 

T-716  Mission  Trail— Traveltalk  (10  m.)  Apr.  13 

M-738  Musical  Masterpieces — Miniature  (10  m.)  .Apr.  20 

S-758  Studio  Visit— Pete  Smith  (10  m.)  May  11 

K-776  Our  Old  Car— Pass.  Par.  (11  m.)  May  11 

S-759  Equestrian  Quiz — Pete  Smith  (9  m.)  May  18 

Metro-Gold  wyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-701  A  Gun  in  His  Hand— Special  (19  m.)  . .  .Sept.  15 
A-702  Purity  Squad — Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 

Paramount — One  Reel 

J5-3  Popular  Science  No.  3  (10  m.)  Feb.  8 

Y5-3  In  the  Post  War  Era — Speak,  of  Animals 

(9  m.)   Feb.  8 

R5-5  Dixie  Pointers— Sportlight  (10  m.)  Feb.  8 

L5-3  Unusual  Occupations  No.  3  (10  m.)  Feb.  22 

R5-6  Rhythm  on  Blades — Sportlight  (9  m.)  Mar.  1 

E5-1  House  Tricks — Popeye  (6  m.)  Mar.  15 

D5-1  Man's  Pest  Friend— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Mar.  22 

R5-7  Testing  the  Experts — Sportlight  (re.)  Mar.  29 

P5-1  The  Friendly  Ghost— Noveltoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  5 

E5-2  Service  with  a  Guile — Popeye  (7  m.)  Apr.  19 

J5-4  Popular  Science  No.  4  (10  m.)  Apr.  19 

U5-3  Olio  for  Jasper — Puppetoon   (7  m.)  Apr.  19 

D5-2  Bargain  Counter  Attack — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  .May  3 
Y5-4  In  the  Wilds— Speak,  of  Animals  (9  m.) .  .  .May  10 
R5-8  Riding  the  Hickories — Sportlight  (9  m.) .  .  .  .May  17 

P5-2  Cheese  Burglar — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  May  17 

L5-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  (10  m.)  (re.)..  May  24 
U5-4  Together  in  the  Weather — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  .May  24 

E5-3  Klondike  Casanova — Popeye  (8m.)  May  31 

P5-3  Old  MacDonald  Had  a  Farm— Novel.  (7  m.) .  June  7 
E5-4  Peep  in  the  Deep — Popeye  (7  m.)  June  7 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

FF5-1  Little  Witch— Musical  Parade  ( 17  m.)  (re.)  .Dec.  28 
FF5-2  Naughty  Nannette — Musical  Parade  (20  m.) 

(re.)   Mar.  15 

FF5-3  College  Queen — Musical  Parade  (19  m.) 

(re.)  May  17 

Republic — Two  Reels 

581  The  Phantom  Rider— Serial  (12  ep.)  Jan.  26 

582  King  of  the  Forest  Rangers — Serial  (  12  ep.)  .  Apr.  27 


64101 
64102 
64305 
64204 
64306 
64205 
64307 
64103 
64206 
64308 

64207 
64104 

63402 
63102 
63103 
63504 

63203 
63403 
63702 
63104 
63703 
63105 
63204 
63106 


RKO — One  Reel 

Canine  Patrol — Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  7 

Old  Sequoia — Disney  (7  m.)  Dec.  21 

Ski  Master — Sportscope  (8m.)  Dec.  28 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  4  (8  m.)  Dec.  28 

Winning  Basketball — Sportscope   8  m.)  .  .  .  .Jan.  25 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  5  (7  m.)  Feb.  1 

Quarter  Horses — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Feb.  22 

A  Knight  for  a  Day — Disney  (7  m.)  Mar.  8 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  6  (7  m.)  Mar.  8 

Black  Ducks  fe?  Broad  Bills — Sportscope 

(8  m.)  Mar.  22 

Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  7  (7  m.)  Apr.  12 

Pluto's  Kid  Brother — Disney  (7  m.)  Apr.  12 

RKO — Two  Reels 

Mother-in-Law's  Day — Ed.  Kennedy  ( 18m)  .  Dec.  7 

TV  A — This  is  America  (18  m.)  Dec.  14 

Great  Lakes — This  is  Amer.  (16  m.)  Jan.  1 1 

Rhythm  Wranglers — Western  Musical  (reissue) 

(19  m.)   Jan.  18 

Twenty  Girls  and  a  Band — Head.  Rev.  ( 18m.)  Jan.  18 
Trouble  or  Nothing — Ed.  Kennedy  (18  m.)  .Jan.  25 

Maid  Trouble— Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  Feb.  2 

Report  on  Japan — This  is  Amer.  (19  m.) .  .  .Feb.  8 
Oh,  Professor  Behave — Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  .Mar.  1 
Street  of  Shadows — This  is  Amer.  (18  m.).Mar.  8 

Sea  Melody — Head.  Rev.  (19  m.)  Mar.  15 

Two  Million  Rooms — This  is  America 

(16  m.)  Apr.  5 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6509  The  Talking  Magpies — Tcrrytoon  (7  m.) . . .  .Jan. 
6257  The  Lost  Lake — Adventure  (8  m.)  Jan. 

6510  Svengali's  Cat-Mighty  Mouse — Tcrrytoon 

(7  m.)   Jan. 

6401  The  World  Today— Special  (9  m.)  Jan. 


May  18,  104G 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6301  Pins  and  Cushions — Sports  (9  min.)  Feb.  1 

6511  Gandy  Goose  in  Fortune  Hunters — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Feb.  8 

6258  Along  the  Rainbow  Trail— Adventure  (8m.). Feb.  15 

6512  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Wicked  Wolf— Terry. 

(7  m.)   Mar.  8 

6353  Diving  Dandies — Sports  (8  m.)  Mar.  15 

6513  Mighty  Mouse  in  My  Old  Kentucky  Home — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Mar.  29 

6201  Show  Girls — Vyvyan  Don  net  (10  m.)  Apr.  5 

6514  Gandy  Goose  in  It's  All  in  the  Stars — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Apr.  12 

6259  Cradle  of  Liberty— Adventure  (8  m.)  Apr.  26 

6515  Mighty  Mouse  in  Throwing  the  Bull — Terry. 

(7  m.)  May  3 

6354  Sea  Sirens — Sports  May  10 

6516  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Trojan  Horse — Terry. .May  24 

6517  Dinky  Finds  a  Horse — Terrytoon  June  7 

6355  Golden  Horses — Sports  June  21 

6518  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Johnston  Flood — Terry  .June  28 

6260  Across  the  Great  Divide — Adventure  July  5 

6519  Gandy  Goose  in  Peacetime  Football — Terry.. July  19 

6520  Gandy  Goose  in  The  Golden  Hen — Terry..  .  .July  26 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  12  No.  5 — Challenge  to  Hollywood — 

March  of  Time  (18  m.)  Dec.  28 

Vol.  12  No.  6— Life  with  Baby- 
March  of  Time  (21  m.)   Jan.  25 

Vol.  12  No.  7 — Report  on  Greece — 

March  of  Time  (19  m.)  Feb.  26 

Vol.  12  No.  8— Night  Club  Boom- 
March  of  Time  (21  m.)  Mar.  22 

Vol.  12  No.  9 — Wanted — More  Houses — 

March  of  Time  (20  m.)  Apr.  19 

United  Artists — One  Reel 

The  Flying  Jeep — Daffy  Dittys  (7'/2  m.)  Aug.  20 

The  Lady  Said  No— Daffy  Dittys  (8  m.)  Apr.  26 

Universal — One  Reel 

1381  Sing  and  be  Happy — Musical  ( 10  m.)  Feb.  18 

1322  Poet  and  Peasant — Cartune  (7  m.)   Mar.  18 

1366  Maestro  of  the  Comics — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.) .  .Mar.  18 

1346  Script  Tease — Variety  Views  (9  m.)  Mar.  25 

1347  Dog  Tale— Variety  Views  (9  m.)  Mar.  25 

1367  Wings  of  Courage— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Mar.  25 

1348  Chimp  on  the  Loose — Var.  Views  (9  m.) .  . . .  Apr.  1 

1323  Mousie  Come  Home — Cartune  (7  m.)  Apr.  15 

1368  Cartune  Crusader — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  Apr.  1 

1324  Apple  Andy — Cartune  (7  m.)  May  20 

1382  Merrily  We  Sing— Musical  (10  m.)  May  27 

1369  Scientifically  Strong— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  10 

1325  Who's  Cooking  Who — Cartune  (7  m.)  June  24 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1 304  Cuban  Madness-Carlos  Molina — Musical 

(15  m.)   ,  Jan.  2 

1305  Tin  Pan  Alley  Tempos-Phil  Ohman— Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  9 

1306  Melody  Stampede-Spade  Cooley — Musical 

(15  m.)   Jan.  16 

1781-1793  The  Scarlet  Horseman— Serial  ( 1 3  ep.) .  Jan.  22 

1307  Swing  High  Swing  Sweet-Jan  Savitt — Musical 

(15  m.)  Feb.  20 

1203  Roosevelt — Man  of  Destiny — Special  (8  m.). Apr.  10 
1881-1893  Lost  City  of  the  Jungle — Serial 

(13  ep.)  Apr.  23 

1308  Takin'  the  Breaks — Russ  Morgan — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  22 

1309  Banquet  of  Melody — Matty  Malnick — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  29 

1310  Swinging  Down  the  Scale — Musical  (15m.)  .June  26 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

2303  Good  Egg— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Jan.  5 

2802  In  Old  Sante  Fe — Adventure  (10  m.)  Jan.  12 

2405  Peeks  at  Hollywood — Varieties  (10  m.)  Jan.  26 

2605  Headline  Bands — Mel.  Mas.  (10m.)  Jan.  26 

2502  Holiday  on  Horseback — Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  2 

2304  Trial  of  Mr.  Wolf— Hit  Parade  (7  m.)  Feb.  9 

2503  Michigan  Ski-Daddle— Sports  (10  m.)  Feb.  9 

2606  Jan  Savitt  6?  Band— Mel.  Mas.  (10  m.)  Mar.  16 

2504  With  Rod  6?  Gun  in  Canada— Sports  ( 10  m.)Mar.  16 

2305  Little  Lion  Hunter — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Mar.  23 

2505  Snow  Eagles — Sports  (10  m.)  Mar.  30 


2803  All  Aboard — Adventure  (10  m.)   Mar.  30 

2506  Let's  Go  Gunning — Sports  (10  rn.)  Apr.  6 

2306  Fresh  Fish — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  6 

2607  Rhythm  on  Ice — Mel.  Master  (10  m.)  Apr.  20 

2307  Daffy  Duck  (i  Egghead— Cartoon  (7  m.)  Apr.  20 

2507  Fin'n  Feathers — Sports  (10  m.)  Apr.  27 

2406  Smart  As  a  Fox — Varieties  (10  m.)  Apr.  27 

2308  Katnip  College — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  4 

2608  Dixieland  Jamboree — Mel.  Master  (10  m.)..May  11 
2510  Facing  Your  Danger — Sports  (10  m.)  May  11 

2508  Undersea  Spear  Fishing — Sports  ( 10  m.)  .  .  .  .May  18 

2309  Night  Watchman — Cartoon  (7  m_)  May  18 

2721  Hair  Raising  Hare — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

2805  Girls  ff  Flowers— Adventure  (10  m.)  May  25 

2701  Kitty  Kornered — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  June  8 

2310  Little  Brother  Rat — Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  8 

2702  Hollywood  Daffy— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  June  22 

2311  Johnny  Smith  vV  Poker  Huntas — Cartoon 

(7  m.)  June  22 

2722  Acrobabby  Bunny — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.) .  . .  .June  29 

2509  The  Riding  Hannefords — Sports  ( 10  m.)  . .  .  June  29 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

2001  Frontier  Days — Special  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 

2106  Hitler  Lives?— Featurette  (20  m.)  Dec.  29 

2002  Forest  Commandos — Special  (20  m.)  Jan.  19 

2105  Musical  Shipmates — Featurette  (20  m.)  Feb.  16 

2003  Movieland  Magic — Special  (20  m.)   Mar.  9 

2004  Gem  of  the  Ocean — Special  (20  m.)  Apr.  13 

2005  South  of  Monterey — Special  (20  m.)  June  1 

2006  Hawaiian  Memories — Special  (20  m.)  June  15 


NEWS  WEEKLY 
NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 

Universal 


65177 
65278 
65179 
65280 
65181 
65282 
65183 
65284 
65185 
65286 
65187 
65288 
65189 
65290 
65191 


Pathe  News 

.May  18 
.May  22 
.May  25 
.May  29 
.June  1 
.June  5 
.June  8 
.June  12 
.June  1 5 
.June  19 
.June  22 
.June  26 
.June  29 
.July  3 

■July  7 


Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O)  . 
Wed.  (E) 
Sat.  (O) 


Paramount  News 


74 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.  .May  16 
.  .May  19 

75 

Sunday 

(O). 

76 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

.  .May  23 

77 

Sunday 

(O). 

.  .May  26 

78 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

.  .May  30 

79 

Sunday 

(O). 

.  .June  2 

80 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

.  .June  6 

81 

Sunday 

(O). 

.  .June  9 

82 

Thurs. 

(E) . . 

.  .June  13 

83 

Sunday 

(O). 

. .June  16 

84 

Thurs. 

(£)•• 

.  .June  20 

85 

Sunday 

(O). 

.  .June  23 

86 

Thurs. 

(EL*. 

.  .June  27 

87 

Sunday 

(O). 

. .June  30 

88 

Thurs. 

(E).. 

..July  4 

502 

Thurs.  (E).  . 

.May  16 

503 

Tues.  (O).. 

.  .May  21 

504 

Thurs.  (E). 

.  .May  23 

505 

Tues.  (O).  . 

.  .May  28 

506 

Thurs.  (E)  . 

.  .May  30 

507 

Tues.  (O) .  . 

.  .June  4 

508 

Thurs.  (E). 

. .June  6 

509 

Tues.  (O). . 

. .June  1 1 

510 

Thurs.  (E) . 

. .June  1 3 

511 

Tues.  (O) .  . 

. .June  18 

512 

Thurs.  (E). 

.  .June  20 

513 

Tues.  (O) . . 

.  .June  25 

514 

Thurs.  (E) . 

. .June  27 

515 

Tues.  (O).. 

..July  2 

516 

Thurs.  (E). 

..July  4 

News  of  the  Day 


Fox  Movietone 

74  Thurs.  (E)  May  16 

75  Tues.  (O)  May  21 

76  Thurs.  (E)  May  23 

77  Tues.  (O)  May  28 

78  Thurs.  (E)  May  30 

79  Tues.  (E)  June  4 

80  Thurs.  (E)  June  6 

81  Tues.  (O)  June  11 

82  Thurs.  (E)  June  13 

83  Tues.  (O)  June  18 

84  Thurs.  (E)  June  20 

85  Tues.  (O)  June  25 

86  Thurs.  (E)  June  27 

87  Tues.  (O)  July  2 

88  Thurs.   (E)  July  4 


272  Thurs.  (E) .  . 

273  Tues.  (O).  .  . 

274  Thurs.  (E). . 

275  Tues.  (O) .  .  . 

276  Thurs.  (E).. 

277  Tues.  (O) .  .  . 

278  Thurs.  (E)  .  . 

279  Tues.  (O).  .  . 

280  Thurs.  (E) .  . 

281  Tues.  (O) .  . . 

282  Thurs.  (E).. 

283  Tues.  (O) .  .  . 

284  Thurs.  (E). . 

285  Tues.  (O) .  .  . 

286  Thurs.   (E).  . 


•  May  16 
.May  21 
•.May  23 
.  May  28 
.May  30 
.June  4 
.June  6 
.June  1 1 
.June  13 
.June  18 
.June  20 
.June  25 
.June  27 
.July  2 
.July  4 


All  American  News 

186  Friday   May  17 

187  Friday   May  24 

188  Friday   May  31 

189  Friday   June  7 

190  Friday   June  14 

191  Friday   June  21 

192  Friday   June  28 

193  Friday  July  5 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Harrison's  Reports 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  MAY  25,  1946  No.  21 


THE  SERIOUS  CASE  OF  REMAKES 

From  an  exhibitor  who  wishes  that  his  name  be  kept 
out  of  this  editorial  I  have  received  the  following 
letter : 

"In  the  last  few  years  it  seems  that  quite  a  number 
of  pictures  have  been  produced  by  Universal  based 
on  stories  that  were  made  into  pictures  before.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  was  my  patrons  who  called  my  atten' 
tion  to  it  several  times.  They  insisted  that  they  had 
seen  the  pictures  before,  and  I  thought  they  were 
mistaken. 

"But  the  other  day  I  saw  'Strange  Conquest'  in  a 
Universal  projection  room  and  I  knew  that  I  had 
seen  the  story  before,  so  when  I  returned  to  my  office 
I  began  a  search  of  my  records  and  discovered  that  it 
was  the  same  picture  as  'The  Crime  of  Dr.  Hallet,' 
which  Universal  produced  and  released  in  1938,  with 
Ralph  Bellamy,  Josephine  Hutchinson  and  William 
Gargan.  You  will  find  the  review  in  the  March  26, 
1938  issue  of  your  paper. 

"With  your  ability  to  dig  into  these  things  more 
thoroughly  than  I  can  because  of  your  training,  will 
you  look  into  this  case  and  at  the  same  time  try  to 
find  out  how  many  other  remakes  Universal  has  sold 
us  lately  and  take  the  right  steps  to  stop  this  unethical 
practice?  I  say  unethical  because  Universal  says 
nothing  about  remakes  when  it  sells  us  the  program, 
and  when  I  show  those  pictures  my  patrons  complain 
that  I  am  showing  reissues  without  advertising  that 
they  are  reissues." 

Since  receiving  this  letter  I  looked  into  the  matter 
and  found  that  this  exhibitor  is  right:  "Strange  Con- 
quest" is  a  remake  of  "The  Crime  of  Dr.  Hallet." 

For  the  purpose  of  presenting  facts  and  not  mere 
theories,  I  take  the  liberty  of  reproducing  the  synopsis 
of  the  story  of  "The  Crime  of  Dr.  Hallet,"  as  it  ap- 
peared in  Harrison's  Reports.  Thus,  by  reading  the 
synopsis  of  "Strange  Conquest,"  which  appeared  in 
the  April  20,  1946  issue,  and  by  comparing  it  with  the 
synopsis  of  the  aforementioned  picture,  you  will  be 
able  to  determine  for  yourself  whether  the  two  pic- 
tures have  been  founded  on  the  same  story  (different 
actors,  of  course,  act  the  parts,  but  the  facts  are  the 
same  with  the  exception  of  some  minor  changes  in 
"Strange  Conquest")  : — 

"THE  CRIME  OF  DR.  HALLET 

"Bellamy  and  his  assistant  (William  Gargan), 
overworked  and  despondent  because  of  their  failure 
to  discover  a  serum  for  the  cure  of  red  fever,  are  de- 
lighted when  they  receive  word  that  another  doctor 
was  to  be  sent  to  assist  them.  But  when  the  doctor 
(John  King)  arrives,  they  are  disappointed,  for  he 
was  a  young  man.  They  give  him  menial  work  to  do 
and  refuse  to  discuss  with  him  their  research  work. 
King,  working  on  his  own,  discovers  the  cure,  which 
he  writes  up  in  his  diary.  Just  as  he  was  going  to 
disclose  his  findings  to  Bellamy,  Bellamy  himself  hits 


on  what  he  thought  was  a  cure.  King  injects  himself 
with  the  fever  germ  to  permit  Bellamy  to  test  his  cure. 
But  it  does  not  work,  and  King  dies.  Bellamy  finds 
King's  notes.  Feeling  miserable  because  he  had  not 
shown  confidence  in  King,  he  decides  to  do  some- 
thing to  bring  King's  name  to  the  public.  He  posts  a 
notice  of  his  own  death  and,  assuming  King's  name, 
continues  the  work  on  his  discovery,  using  King's 
money.  Josephine  Hutchinson,  a  competent  doctor, 
arrives  as  the  new  assistant.  Just  when  things  were 
going  along  well,  King's  wife  (Barbara  Read)  arrives 
and  discovers  the  deception.  She  accuses  Bellamy  of 
having  killed  her  husband,  and  informs  him  she  would 
prosecute  him.  But  she  is  taken  ill  with  the  fever. 
Gargan,  by  appealing  to  her  vanity,  convinces  her 
that  if  she  were  to  take  Bellamy  back  for  trial  she 
would  only  be  giving  him  publicity,  whereas,  if  she 
went  home  alone,  with  the  record  of  her  husband's 
discovery,  she  would  become  famous.  Everyone  is 
happy  when  she  finally  sails.  Bellamy  and  Miss  Hut- 
chinson, who  had  fallen  in  love  with  each  other,  look 
forward  to  a  useful  life  together." 

In  "The  Crime  of  Dr.  Hallet,"  Carl  Dreher  is 
given  as  the  author  of  the  story,  and  Lester  Cole  and 
Brown  Holmes  as  the  screen-play  writers;  in  "Strange 
Conquest,"  Carl  Dreher  and  Lester  Cole  are  given 
as  the  authors,  and  Roy  Chanslor  as  the  screen-play 
writer. 

My  discovery  as  a  result  of  this  exhibitor's  letter 
whetted  my  appetite  and  I  began  refreshing  my 
memory  by  looking  into  other  stories  for  the  possi- 
bility that  they,  too,  may  be  remakes.  And  I  discovered 
that  Universale  "Hi'  Beautiful,"  reviewed  in  the 
November  18,  1944  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports,  is 
the  same  picture  as  "Love  in  a  Bungalow,"  released  by 
Universal  in  1937,  and  reviewed  in  this  paper  on  July 
10  of  that  year.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  authors  are 
the  same  in  both  pictures — Eleanore  Griffin  and 
William  Rankin.  There  are,  of  course,  some  changes 
in  the  details  of  "Hi'  Beautiful,"  but  the  plot  is  the 
same. 

Here  are  a  few  other  cases  of  Universal  remakes : 
"Murder  in  the  Blue  Room,"  reviewed  in  the  October 
28,  1944  issue,  is  the  same  as  "The  Missing  Guest," 
reviewed  in  the  August  27,  1938  issue,  and  again  the 
same  as  "Secret  of  the  Blue  Room,"  reviewed  in  the 
July  22,  1933  issue.  Some  of  the  details  are,  of  course, 
slightly  different,  but  the  plots  are  the  same  (the 
murders  take  place  in  the  "blue  room") ;  and  so  is  the 
name  of  the  author  in  all  three  pictures — Erich  Phi- 
lippi. 

"Strange  Confession,"  reviewed  in  the  November 
17,  1945  issue,  is  the  same  story  as  "The  Man  Who 
Reclaimed  His  Head,"  reviewed  in  the  December  29, 
1934  issue.  Again  the  details  are  different,  but  the 
plot  is  the  same.  And  the  story  in  both  pictures  is 
(Continued  cm  last  page) 


82 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  25,  1946 


"Specter  of  the  Rose"  with  Ivan  Kirov, 
Viola  Essen,  Judith  Anderson 
and  Michael  Chekhv 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set,  time,  90  min.) 
This  tragedy  may  be  a  treat  for  adult  patrons  who  enjoy 
pictures  that  are  "arty"  and  off  the  beaten  path.  But  it  is 
not  entertainment  for  the  masses,  for,  although  there  is 
human  interest  in  the  story,  it  is  too  wordy,  somewhat  de- 
pressing, and  even  harrowing  for  them.  Set  against  a  back- 
ground of  ballet  dancing,  the  story  deals  with  a  ballerina's 
love  for  a  half-crazed  ballet  dancer,  who  suffers  intervals 
of  homicidal  madness.  It  has  considerable  suspense  due 
to  the  anxiety  one  feels  over  the  welfare  of  the  ballerina, 
whose  life  is  constantly  in  danger.  Ivan  Kirov  and  Viola 
Essen,  newcomers  to  the  screen,  perform  exceptionally  well 
in  the  leading  roles,  and  the  gracefulness  with  which  they 
execute  their  dancing  chores  should  prove  a  delight  to  the 
admirers  of  classical  dancing.  The  Bohemian-like  charac- 
terizations of  some  of  the  other  players,  particularly  Michael 
Chekhov,  as  a  ballet  impresario,  are  somewhat  exaggerated, 
and  the  dialogue  they  speak  is  at  times  quite  meaningful 
and  at  other  times  just  as  meaningless.  The  music  and 
photography  are  excellent,  but  all  in  all  it  is  the  sort  of  pic- 
ture that  will  appeal  to  a  select  audience: — 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Kirov  was  suspected  by  the  police 
of  having  murdered  his  first  wife,  Viola,  deeply  in  love 
with  him,  marries  him.  Judith  Anderson,  a  famous  but 
aged  ballet  teacher,  with  whom  Viola  studied,  warns  her  to 
leave  Kirov  lest  he  murder  her  during  one  of  his  fleeting 
intervals  of  madness,  in  which  he  suffered  hallucinations — 
watching  his  evil  self  dancing  wildly  in  a  ballet  costume  and 
wielding  a  murderous  knife.  Viola  ignores  the  warning,  de- 
termined that  her  devotion  to  him  and  his  own  will  to  remain 
sane  shall  overcome  his  temporary  fits  of  madness.  Both 
become  the  stars  of  Chekhov's  ballet  troupe,  and  Kirov  is 
hailed  throughout  the  country  as  another  Nijinsky,  despite 
his  recurring  moments  of  madness,  during  which  he  makes 
several  unconscious  attempts  on  Viola's  life.  On  the  eve 
of  the  troupe's  final  performance,  Kirov  becomes  hopelessly 
mad.  Viola,  to  keep  him  from  being  put  in  an  insane 
asylum,  hides  him  in  an  obscure  hotel.  There,  while  Viola 
falls  into  a  deep  sleep  from  exhaustion,  Kirov  goes  into  one 
of  his  mad  dance  routines  that  ends  with  a  leap  through  a 
window,  twenty  stories  above  the  street. 

Ben  Hecht  wrote,  produced,  and  directed  the  screenplay. 
The  cast  includes  Lionel  Stander  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Walls  Came  Tumbling  Down"  with 
Lee  Bowman  and  Marguerite  Chapman 

(Columbia,  June  7;  time,  82  min.) 
A  pretty  good  program  murder-mystery  melodrama.  The 
followers  of  stories  of  this  type  should  enjoy  it,  for  the 
solution  is  not  disclosed  until  the  end.  The  story  is  some- 
what involved,  but  it  moves  at  a  pretty  swift  pace,  has  com- 
petent performances,  and  is  worked  out  logically  at  the  con- 
clusion. There  is  a  good  sprinkling  of  comedy  to  relieve  the 
tension,  and  fair  romantic  interest.  A  few  fist  fights  heighten 
the  excitement.  On  occasion,  the  dialogue  is  rather  sophisti- 
cated : — 

When  his  old  friend,  a  rector,  is  found  dead,  Lee  Bow- 
man, a  columnist,  suspects  that  he  had  been  murdered;  he 
had  learned  that  the  dead  man  had  been  concerned  over  an 
affair  involving  two  bibles  and  a  missing  painting.  Bowman 
meets  Marguerite  Chapman,  who  had  come  to  the  rectory 
to  visit  the  priest,  and  when  she  refuses  to  reveal  her 
identity  he  enlists  the  aid  of  newspaper  friends  to  check  up 
on  her  background.  Meanwhile  he  is  visited  by  George 
Macready,  a  fake  missionary,  who  gives  him  $1000  to  find 
and  hand  over  the  bibles  within  three  days.  Next,  he  is 
visited  by  J.  Edward  Bromberg,  who,  too,  offers  to  pay 
him  for  the  bibles.  Bowman  eventually  learns  that  Mar- 
guerite came  from  a  wealthy  Boston  family,  and  when  he 
confronts  her  she  explains  that  her  grandfather  had  been 
an  art  collector,  and  that,  twenty-five  years  previously,  he 


had  died  in  the  rector's  home.  She  explains  also  that  her 
grandfather  had  left  two  bibles  containing  a  code  that 
indicated  the  hiding  place  of  the  missing  painting,  a  price 
less  work;  that  Bromberg  was  her  agent;  and  that  she  kept 
her  identity  a  secret  to  prevent  a  criminal  ring  from  ob- 
taining the  painting.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  rector's 
elderly  sister  is  murdered,  and  one  of  the  bibles,  which 
she  had  in  her  possession,  is  stolen.  Bowman  follows  up  a 
maze  of  clues  and  discovers  the  second  bible  hidden  in  the 
grave  of  Marguerite's  grandfather.  Efforts  are  made  to  re- 
lieve him  of  the  bible  and,  after  a  series  of  adventures,  in 
which  Bromberg,  too,  is  found  murdered.  Bowman  succeeds 
in  trapping  Macready  and  Edgar  Buchanan,  a  crooked  law- 
yer, as  the  killers.  With  the  second  bible  obtained  from  the 
crooks,  Bowman  completes  the  code  and  finds  the  painting 
hidden  in  the  walls  of  the  rectory.  He  and  Marguerite  de- 
cide to  wed. 

Wilfrid  H.  Pcttitt  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel 
by  Jo  Eisinger,  Albert  J.  Cohen  produced  it,  and  Lothix 

Mcndes  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Lee  Patrick,  Jonathan 
Hale  and  others.    Unobectionable  morally. 

"It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog"  with 
Carole  Landis  and  Allyn  Joslyn 

(20th  Century-Fox.  July,  ttme,  70  min.) 
A  very  entertaining  comedy-melodrama;  it  is  better  than 
average  program  fare.  Its  story  about  a  reporter's  troubles 
with  his  editor  is  lightweight,  but  the  action  is  so  fast  and 
comical  and  the  situations  so  well  conceived  that  one  is 
kept  chuckling  from  start  to  finish.  Allyn  Joslyn,  as  the 
reporter,  is  excellent.  His  adventures  with  a  war  dog,  with 
whom  he  becomes  involved  after  mistaking  him  for  an  ac- 
complice in  a  holdup,  provide  the  film  with  many  hilarious 
laughs;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  hardly  a  dull  moment 
Incidentally,  the  dog,  a  Doberman  pinscher,  draws  as  many 
laughs  as  the  players.  Nonsensical  though  it  is,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  most  patrons  will  enjoy  the  picture  and  will 
recommend  it  to  their  friends: — 

Tired  of  his  assignment  as  science  editor,  Joslyn,  to  get 
back  his  old  job  as  crime  reporter,  determines  to  impress  his 
editor  by  tracking  down  the  missing  witness  of  a  govern- 
ment case  against  a  black  market  racketeer.  He  joins  John 
Alexander,  a  policeman  off  duty,  at  a  cocktail  bar,  and  as 
both  have  their  drinks  Carole  Landis  enters  with  her  dog, 
a  war  hero,  and  asks  Ralph  Sanford,  the  bartender,  for  some 
bones.  Just  as  Carole  leaves  the  lights  go  out  and,  by  the 
time  they  are  put  on  again,  Sanford  discovers  $70  missing 
from  his  cash  box.  Joslyn,  seeing  news  value  in  the  story, 
telephones  his  editor  that  an  unidentified  blonde,  aided  by 
a  dog,  had  committed  the  robbery.  Returning  to  the  bar, 
Joslyn  learns  from  Alexander  that  he  had  taken  the  money 
himself  as  a  gag.  Unable  to  retract  the  story,  Joslyn,  to  keep 
out  of  trouble  with  his  editor,  compels  Alexander  to  report 
the  "robbery"  to  his  sergeant.  He  then  traces  Carole  to  her 
apartment  and  manages  to  kidnap  the  dog  so  that  both 
would  not  be  seen  together  by  the  police,  thus  exposing  his 
story  as  a  fake.  Later,  he  hands  over  the  dog  to  one  of  the 
racketeer's  henchmen,  who  had  threatened  him  to  "lay 
off"  the  search  for  the  missing  witness.  Meanwhile  Carole 
tracks  down  Joslyn  and,  revealing  herself  as  a  policewoman, 
demands  the  return  of  her  dog.  Joslyn,  frantic  lest  his  editor 
learn  the  truth,  confesses  his  predicament  to  Carole.  And 
when  he  learns  that  she,  too,  was  looking  for  the  missing 
witness,  he  appeases  her  by  offering  to  help.  Both  set  out  on 
the  trail  of  the  witness  and  become  involved  in  a  series  of 
incidents  that  culminates  with  their  locating  the  witness 
only  to  find  themselves  trapped  by  the  racketeer  and  his 
henchmen,  who  prepare  to  dispose  of  them.  They  are  res- 
cued, however,  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  dog,  who  employs 
his  war  training  to  disarm  and  cow  the  villains. 

Eugene  Ling  and  Frank  Gabrielson  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Edwin  Lanham,  William  Girard  produced  it, 
and  Herbert  I.  Leeds  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Henry 
Morgan,  Margo  Woods,  Reed  Hadley  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


May  25,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


83 


"Passkey  to  Danger"  with  Kane  Richmond 
and  Stephanie  Bachelor 

(Republic,  May  1 1;  time,  58  min.) 

An  entertaining  program  melodrama;  it  is  fast-moving 
and  exciting,  and  has  a  fair  share  of  romance  and  comedy. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  somewhat  far-fetched, 
it  is  developed  in  an  interesting  way.  The  hero,  an  advertis- 
ing executive,  is  a  likeable  character,  and  his  display  of 
courage  in  the  face  of  danger  wins  the  spectator's  admira- 
tion. The  closing  scenes,  where  the  criminals  threaten  to 
kill  him,  hold  one  in  suspense.  A  rousing  fight  at  the  finish, 
after  the  capture  of  the  criminals,  comes  as  an  anti-climax, 
but  it  should  thrill  the  action  fans: — 

Kane  Richmond  dreams  up  an  advertising  "teaser"  cam- 
paign asking  the  reader  to  solve  the  secret  of  the  "Three 
Springs,"  and  sells  the  idea  to  Gerald  Mohr,  owner  of  a 
dress  firm,  who  agrees  to  pay  him  $50,000  upon  delivery 
of  the  final  advertisement  of  the  series,  the  one  that  con- 
tained the  solution.  Actually,  the  solution  had  to  do  with 
new  creations  to  be  worn  at  Palm  Springs,  Saratoga  Springs 
and  Colorado  Springs.  Mohr,  unaware  of  the  solution  de- 
mands a  copy  of  the  final  ad  immediately,  but  Richmond,  in 
accordance  with  his  contract,  refuses  to  show  it  to  him. 
Shortly  afterwards,  Richmond  finds  himself  accosted  by 
mysterious  persons  demanding  that  he  reveal  the  solution. 
One  of  them,  Fred  Graham,  a  sadistic  fellow,  resorts  to 
violence.  Richmond  soon  finds  himself  implicated  in  several 
murders  and  determines  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  commo- 
tion started  by  his  campaign  With  the  aid  of  Tom  London, 
a  private  detective,  he  learns  that,  years  previously,  three 
brothers  named  "Spring"  had  been  convicted  for  embezzling 
millions  of  dollars.  All  had  escaped  from  jail  and  had  assumed 
different  names,  and  they  were  now  after  Richmond  because 
they  believed  that  the  solution  to  his  advertising  campaign 
held  their  secret.  He  learns  also  that  Graham  was  leader  of 
a  blackmail  ring,  who  sought  to  obtain  the  solution  from 
him  to  use  against  the  brothers.  Unknown  to  Richmond, 
Mohr  was  one  of  the  brothers.  In  the  course  of  events,  Rich- 
mond, aided  by  London,  lures  the  brothers  and  the  black- 
mailer to  one  place,  where  all  are  apprehended  by  the  police. 

O'Leta  Rhinehart  and  William  Hagens  wrote  the  original 
screen  play,  William  J.  O'Sullivan  produced  it,  and  Lesley 
Selander  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Adele  Mara,  John 
Eldredge  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Don't  Gamble  with  Strangers"  with 
Kane  Richmond  and  Bernadene  Hayes 

(Monogram,  no  release  date  set;  time,  68  mm.) 

Although  it  is  hampered  by  a  weak  story,  this  racketeer- 
type  melodrama  should  give  satisfaction  wherever  patrons 
are  not  too  exacting  in  their  demands.  It  is,  however,  an 
unpleasant  entertainment,  for  the  whole  picture  is  made 
up  of  the  cold  and  ruthless  actions  of  the  hero,  who  exhibits 
not  one  decent  trait.  Nor  do  any  of  the  other  characters 
win  sympathy,  for  their  actions,  too,  are  not  worthwhile. 
Moreover,  the  story  conveys  no  moral  since  the  death  of 
the  hero  is  not  brought  about  by  means  of  law  and  order, 
but  by  another  racketeer,  whom  he  had  doublecrossed. 
Towards  the  finish,  the  story  turns  into  a  murder  mystery 
that  is  solved  in  a  most  unbelievable  way: — 

Kane  Richmond,  a  crooked  gambler,  and  Bernadene 
Hayes,  an  adventuress,  become  partners  after  meeting  on  a 
luxury  liner  on  which  they  were  fleecing  passengers.  While 
traveling  on  a  train,  Bernadene  and  Richmond,  posing  as 
sister  and  brother,  ingratiate  themselves  with  Frank  Dae, 
a  well-to-do,  middle-aged  man,  and  accept  his  invitation  to 
stop  off  at  his  home  town,  which  was  also  the  place  where 
Richmond's  brother  (Bill  Kennedy)  was  in  prison  for  em- 
bezzling funds  from  Charles  Trowbridge's  bank  to  pay 
gambling  losses  to  Phil  Van  Zandt.  Richmond  visits  his 
brother  in  jail  and  persuades  him  to  reveal  the  hiding  place 
of  the  stolen  funds  on  the  pretense  that  he  would  use  the 
money  to  care  for  his  (Kennedy's)  wife  and  child.  Rich- 
mond uses  the  money  to  start  gambling  in  town  and,  by 


shady  methods,  gets  control  of  Van  Zandt's  gambling 
casino.  While  his  fortunes  rise,  Richmond  decides  to  go 
for  higher  stakes  in  the  person  of  Gloria  Warren,  wealthy 
heiress  and  niece  of  banker  Trowbridge,  with  whom  assistant 
district  attorney  Peter  Cookson,  Dae's  son,  was  in  love. 
When  the  romance  almost  culminates  in  an  elopement, 
Bernadene,  jealous,  exposes  Richmond's  crooked  gambling 
methods  to  Cookson.  But  before  Richmond  can  be  arrested 
he  is  shot  dead  mysteriously.  Bernadene,  Gloria,  Cookson, 
Dae,  and  Richmond's  brother  are  held  as  suspects  since  each 
had  a  motive  to  commit  the  crime,  but  at  the  last  moment  it 
is  discovered  that  Van  Zandt  had  fired  the  fatal  shot.  Berna- 
dene is  sent  to  jail  for  her  part  in  the  gambling  racket,  and 
Gloria  and  Cookson  are  reunited. 

Caryl  Coleman  and  Harvey  Gates  wrote  the'screen  play, 
Jeffrey  Bernerd  produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine  directed 
it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Stranger"  with  Loretta  Young, 
Edward  G.  Robinson  and  Orson  Welles 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  94  min.} 
This  melodrama,  revolving  around  the  tracking  down  of 
a  Nazi  war  criminal  posing  as  a  professor  in  a  New  England 
college,  is  not  a  cheerful  entertainment,  but  it  is  intensely 
gripping.  The  settings,  the  skillful  direction,  and  the  com- 
petent performances  have  succeeded  in  making  the  action 
realistic  in  the  extreme.  There  are  situations  in  which  one 
is  held  in  high  suspense  and,  in  some  of  them,  a  sense  of 
doom,  of  impending  death,  prevails.  Since  Orson  Wells,  as 
the  professor,  is  known  to  be  an  impostor,  the  spectator's 
interest  lies  in  the  manner  in  which  Edward  G.  Robinson,  as 
an  agent  of  the  allied  crimes  commission,  hunts  him  down 
and  traps  him  into  admitting  his  identity.  One's  interest  is 
intensified  by  the  fact  that  Robinson,  in  trapping  Welles,  is 
faced  with  the  problem  of  protecting  the  life  of  Welles'  un- 
suspecting American  bride.  The  climax,  in  which  Welles  is 
stabbed  to  death  by  a  mechanical  figure  on  a  church  clock, 
will  make  your  audience  gasp: — - 

In  a  determined  effort  to  find  Welles,  who  had  escaped 
from  Germany  without  leaving  any  clue  by  which  he  could 
be  identified,  Robinson  permits  Welles'  assistant,  Konstan- 
tine  Shayne,  to  "escape."  He  follows  Shayne  across  the 
Atlantic  to  a  small  Connecticut  town.  There  Shayne,  aware 
that  he  was  being  trailed,  knocks  Robinson  uncnoscious  and 
believes  him  to  be  dead.  He  hurries  to  Welles  to  warn  him 
of  the  determined  search  being  made  for  him.  Welles,  upset 
lest  Shayne's  presence  unmasks  him,  kills  his  former  aide  and 
buries  the  body  in  the  woods.  Meanwhile  Robinson  re- 
covers consciousness  and  discovers  Shayne's  disappearance. 
Through  a  local  shopkeeper  he  learns  the  name*  of  the 
town's  newcomers  and  soon  finds  reason  to  suspect  Welles 
of  being  his  man,  but  in  the  absence  of  legal  proof  he  de- 
cides to  play  a  waiting  game.  Welles,  newly  married  to 
Loretta  Young,  daughter  of  a  local  judge,  is  compelled  to 
poison  Loretta's  pet  dog  when  the  animal  discovers  Shayne's 
grave.  The  dog's  death  leads  Robinson  to  the  discovery  of 
Shayne's  body,  and  Welles,  aware  that  Loretta  had  known 
of  his  meeting  with  Shayne,  confides  to  her  that  he  had 
murdered  the  man  because  he  had  tried  to  blackmail  him  in 
connection  with  a  love  affair.  He  thus  wins  Loretta's 
promise  not  to  reveal  that  he  and  Shayne  had  met.  In  the 
meantime,  Robinson  takes  Loretta's  father  and  brother  into 
his  confidence,  and  the  three  ot  them  try  to  convince  her 
that  Welles  was  a  vicious  criminal  and  that  it  was  her  duty 
to  help  bring  him  to  justice.  Welles,  realizing  that  Loretta 
had  lost  faith  in  him,  cold-bloodedly  plans  to  kill  her,  but 
Robinson's  alertness  toils  his  scheme.  He  goes  into  hiding  in 
the  clock  tower  of  a  church,  where  Robinson  corners  him. 
In  the  ensuing  struggle,  Welles  is  stabbed  to  death,  the 
victim  of  a  freak  accident  caused  by  the  clock's  mechanism. 

Anthony  Veiller  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Victor  Trivas  and  Decla  Dulling.  S.  P.  Eagle  produced  it, 
and  Mr.  Welles  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Philip  Merivale, 
Richard  Long,  Billy  House  and  others.  Adult  entertainment. 


84 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


May  25,  1946 


again  credited  to  the  same  author — playwright  Jean 
Bart. 

"The  Climax,"  reviewed  in  the  September  30,  1944 
issue,  is  the  same  as  the  picture  of  the  same  title  re- 
viewed in  the  February  22,  1930  issue.  Details  dif- 
ferent; plot  the  same.  In  both  pictures  the  Edward 
Locke  play  is  the  foundation. 

"The  Great  Impersonation,"  reviewed  in  the 
December  19,  1942  issue,  was  founded  on  a  story  by 
the  same  author  as  a  story  of  a  picture  under  the  same 
title,  reviewed  in  the  December  14,  1935  issue,  with 
this  difference — the  story  in  the  1942  version  was  so 
changed  that  it  cannot  really  be  said  that  it  is  a  re- 
make, except  that  there  is  no  excuse  why  it  should 
have  been  made  a  second  time,  for  the  first  version 
was  no  more  than  fair  and  the  second  version  was  no 
better.  The  author  in  the  two  stories  is  the  same — 
E.  Phillips  Oppenheim. 

"Smooth  as  Silk,"  reviewed  in  the  March  9,  1946 
issue,  is  a  remake  of  "Notorious  Gentleman."  In  both 
pictures,  Florence  Ryerson  and  Colin  Clements  are 
the  accredited  authors.  Neither  version  was  anything 
to  brag  about. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  cases  that  I  investigated. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  more  of  them — enough  to  con- 
vince you  that  Universal  should  abandon  the  remakes 
and  spend  some  money  on  fresh  story  material.  After 
all,  the  brains  of  the  Hollywood  writers  have  not  run 
dry! 

While  investigating  the  Universal  remakes,  I  came 
upon  a  strange  case  of  another  picture,  which  in  my 
opinion,  is  a  remake — "The  Man  Who  Dared,"  pro- 
duced by  Columbia. 

For  the  purpose  of  letting  you  make  comparisons, 
I  am  reproducing  the  synopsis  of  the  story,  which 
appeared  in  last  week's  issue : 

"THE  MAN  WHO  DARED 

"George  Macready,  a  columnist  noted  for  his  cru- 
sades against  murder  convictions  based  on  circum- 
stantial evidence,  is  put  on  trial  for  the  murder  of  a 
gangster.  The  state's  evidence  against  him  was  purely 
circumstantial.  While  waiting  for  the  jury's  verdict, 
Macready  reveals  to  his  attorney  that  he  had  pur- 
posely planned  the  charge  against  him.  He  explains 
that  he  had  an  appointment  with  the  gangster  but  had 
found  him  dead  at  the  meeting  place,  with  a  note  be- 
side the  body  stating  that  Arthur  Space,  a  racketeer, 
had  killed  him.  To  prove  his  crusade  against  circum- 
stantial evidence,  he  had  arranged  everything  to 
establish  his  own  guilt,  then  confided  his  scheme  to 
Forrest  Tucker,  a  friend,  who  had  put  the  incriminat- 
ing note  in  a  safety  deposit  box.  When  the  jury  re- 
turns with  a  verdict  of  guilty,  Tucker  goes  for  the 
note  while  Macready  explains  his  hoax  to  the  court. 
On  his  way  back  to  court,  Tucker  is  kidnapped  by 
Space,  beaten,  and  left  for  dead.  He  is  taken  to  the 
hospital  by  the  police,  who  find  Macready 's  gun  on 
him.  When  ballistic  experts  prove  that  the  gangster 
had  been  killed  by  a  bullet  fired  from  Macready 's 
gun,  the  columnist  is  sent  to  prison,  Macready  escapes 
from  his  guard  and  goes  to  Space's  home.  There  he 
obtains  the  racketeer's  gun  and  compels  him  to  accom- 
pany him  to  the  ballistics  expert,  who  establishes  the 
fact  that  Space  had  switched  the  barrel  of  his  gun  to 
that  of  Macready 's.  His  innocence  verified,  Macready 
is  set  free,  satisfied  that  his  theory  had  been  proved." 

Now  read  the  synopsis  that  was  printed  in  my  re- 
view of  the  Chesterfield  picture,  "Circumstantial  Evi- 
dence," which  appeared  in  the  May  11,  1935  issue: 


"CIRCUMSTANTIAL  EVIDENCE 
"Chandler,  a  newspaper  reporter,  does  not  believe 
in  sentencing  any  one  to  death  on  circumstantial  evi- 
dence only.  In  order  to  prove  how  wrong  such  a  sys- 
tem is  he  arranges  with  a  co-worker  and  friend,  Ar- 
thur Vinton,  to  quarrel  in  public  over  Miss  Grey,  so 
that  Chandler  might  threaten  Vinton.  After  this  Vin- 
ton is  to  set  fire  to  his  house,  leaving  a  skeleton  there 
to  burn,  and  evidence  pointing  to  Chandler;  Vinton 
is  then  to  disappear  and  Chandler  would  be  arrested. 
At  the  trial,  Vinton  would  reappear.  Everything 
works  well  up  to  the  point  where  Vinton  sets  fire  to 
the  house.  Just  as  he  is  to  leave  some  one  shoots  him 
and  he  dies.  Chandler  is  arrested  and  sentenced  to 
die  in  the  electric  chair.  He  is  saved  eventually  when 
Claude  King,  the  owner  of  the  newspaper,  confesses 
that  he  had  murdered  Vinton  when  he  found  out  that 
his  wife  and  Vinton  had  been  lovers." 

Columbia  gave  credit  to  Maxwell  Shane  and  Alex 
Gottlieb  as  the  authors  of  "The  Man  Who  Dared," 
whereas  my  records  show  that  Tom  Terns  was  the 
author  of  "Circumstantial  Evidence,"  the  Chester- 
field picture. 

This  seems  to  be  a  case  for  the  Screen  Writers 
Guild. 

"The  French  Key"  with  Albert  Dekker 

(Republic,  May  18,  time,  67  mm.) 
As  a  murder-mystery  melodrama  with  the  accent 
on  comedy,  "The  French  Key"  barely  makes  the 
grade;  it  is  no  more  than  moderately  entertaining  pro- 
gram fare.  The  fault  lies  mainly  in  the  fact  that  the 
story  is  involved  and  far-fetched,  so  much  so  that 
one  loses  interest  in  the  outcome  before  it  is  half-way 
through.  It  strives  to  be  breezy,  but  the  comedy  is  so 
forced  that  it  falls  flat.  Albert  Dekker  and  the  other 
players  do  all  they  can  to  make  the  picture  enter- 
taining, but  all  are  handicapped  by  the  poor  material. 
The  romantic  interest,  which  is  dragged  in  by  the  ear, 
has  little  bearing  on  the  plot : — 

Dekker,  a  fast-talking  book  salesman,  and  Mike 
Mazurki,  his  "strong-arm"  buddy,  find  themselves 
locked  out  of  their  hotel  room  for  non-payment  of 
rent.  A  French  key  had  been  placed  in  the  lock.  They 
enter  the  room  through  the  window  of  an  adjoining 
apartment,  only  to  find  a  dead  man  on  the  bed,  clutch- 
ing in  his  hand  an  1822  gold  coin.  Lest  they  be  blamed 
for  the  killing,  the  boys  set  out  to  find  the  murderer. 
The  trail  leads  them  to  Frank  Fenton,  a  coin  collector, 
who  offers  them  a  large  sum  of  money  for  the  coin, 
and  to  Selmer  Jackson,  a  wealthy  industrialist,  who, 
too,  offers  to  buy  the  gold  piece.  But  Dekker,  anxious 
to  clear  himself  of  suspicion,  refuses  to  sell,  particu- 
larly since  several  attempts  had  been  made  on  his 
life.  In  the  course  of  events,  Jackson  himself  is  mur- 
dered, and  Dekker,  questioning  his  daughter  (Mar- 
jorie  Manners) ,  learns  that  her  father  had  owned  an 
abandoned  gold  mine  in  the  West.  He  flies  to  the 
mine  to  investigate.  There  he  meets  and  tangles  with 
Fenton,  who  had  come  to  the  mine  in  an  attempt  to 
make  off  with  a  hoard  of  gold  coins  hidden  in  the 
mine  shaft.  Shifting  the  different  clues,  Dekker  dis- 
covers that  the  man  who  had  been  murdered  in  his 
room  had  been  a  caretaker  at  the  mine;  that  Jackson 
had  been  melting  down  illegally  held  gold  coins  into 
bullion;  and  that  he  had  been  using  the  mine  to  lead 
government  officials  to  believe  that  the  gold  he  sold 
had  come  from  the  mine. 

Frank  Gruber  wrote  the  screen  play  from  his  own 
novel,  and  Walter  Colmes  produced  and  directed  it. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVIII 


SATURDAY,  JUNE  1,  1946 


No.  22 


A  GREAT  SPEECH  FROM 
A  GREAT  HEART 

As  every  one  of  you  undoubtedly  knows,  the  Allied 
board  of  directors  and  the  Conference  of  Independent 
Exhibitors'  Associations  held  meetings  in  Chicago  on  May 
23,  24  and  25.  They  were  well  attended  gatherings. 

On  Saturday  evening,  May  25,  Allied  Theatres  of  Illinois 
gave  a  testimonial  dinner  in  honor  of  Jack  Kirsch  on  the 
occasion  of  his  having  been  elected  president  of  National 
Allied.  It  was  the  biggest  exhibitor  affair  in  years.  More 
than  fifteen  hundred  guests  paid  tribute  to  Mr.  Kirsch, 
a  popular  and  dynamic  leader. 

Among  the  many  industry  leaders  who  attended  this 
inaugural  dinner  was  Mr.  Spyros  Skouras,  president  of 
Twentieth  Century-Fox. 

The  speech  Mr.  Skouras  delivered  was  one  of  the  eve- 
ning's highlights.  The  soundness  of  his  views,  and  his  start' 
ling  proposal  that  the  exhibitors,  if  they  are  dissatisfied  with 
the  present  distributor  arbitration  system,  set  up  a  system 
of  their  own,  made  so  deep  an  impression,  not  only  on 
exhibitors,  but  also  on  distributors,  that  Harrison's 
Reports  feels  that  it  is  rendering  the  industry  a  great  serv- 
ice by  reproducing  the  entire  speech: 

Mr.  Toastmaster,  Mr.  Kirsch,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

This  gathering  of  so  many  representatives  of  the  motion 
picture  industry  to  do  honor  to  the  new  president  of  Allied 
is  a  wonderful  omen. 

If  the  fraternal  spirit  evidenced  here  tonight  is  continued 
in  our  working  relations  next  Monday  morning,  the  prob- 
lems of  our  industry  are  well  on  the  road  to  solution. 

For  four  years  now,  I  have  been  president  of  a  company 
which  produces  motion  pictures  and  which  distributes  them 
to  exhibitors  throughout  the  world.  In  addition,  we  operate 
many  theatres  throughout  the  country. 

However,  before  becoming  president  of  this  company, 
which  literally  represents  a  cross-section  of  our  industry, 
all  of  my  business  life  had  been  spent  as  an  exhibitor. 

It  has  been  my  experience  as  an  operator  of  motion 
picture  theatres  that  has  been  my  guide  as  a  producer  and 
distributor. 

As  president  of  Twentieth  Century-Fox,  my  goal  has 
been  to  make  the  kind  of  pictures  that,  as  an  exhibitor,  I 
would  want  to  show  in  my  theatres. 

The  great  and  ultimate  object  of  our  industry  is  to  bring 
entertainment,  inspiration  and  relaxation  to  the  people, 
and  at  the  same  time,  educate  and  elevate.  But,  I  repeat, 
most  important  is  to  entertain. 

As  an  exhibitor  for  more  than  30  years — because  I  still 
consider  myself  an  exhibitor — I  sought  to  buy  for  my 
screen,  those  pictures  which  met  these  tests. 

In  my  present  position,  I  have  tried  to  provide  that  type 
of  film  for  you. 

This  has  been  no  easy  task.  Like  every  other  industry, 
much  of  our  manpower  was  in  the  armed  services.  Our  stars 
toured  the  globe  entertaining  troops,  building  morale  and 
selling  war  bonds.  Great  personalities  which  we  had  de- 
veloped over  the  years  were  no  longer  available  to  us.  And, 
then  the  high  cost  of  living — of  war  prosperity, — or  what- 
ever you  may  call  it — hit  us.  Our  production  costs  mounted 
rapidly. 

This  was  not  due  to  our  extravagance  any  more  than  the 
increase  in  your  theatre  expenses,  or  the  fact  that  your  own 
grocery  bill  is  twice  what  it  was  five  years  ago,  is  due  to 
your  extravagance.  To  be  sure,  we  pay  our  great  stars,  our 
executives,  our  producers,  our  directors  and  our  writers  the 
compensation  that  is  in  keeping  with  their  abilities  and 
their  contribution  to  the  company. 


As  we  all  know,  everything  costs  more.  Wages  in  every 
field  are  up  and  every  material  we  buy  is  more  expensive. 

Our  industry  has  been  as  hard  hit  by  these  increases,  and 
even  more  so,  than  any  other.  In  addition  to  the  increases 
brought  about  by  wage  and  material  price  rises,  the  motion 
picture  companies  have  been  confronted  by  insistent  de- 
mands for  better  and  ever  more  costly  films. 

The  taste  of  the  American  public,  and  for  that  matter, 
the  taste  of  the  world  audience,  has  become  ever  more  dis- 
criminating where  films  are  concerned,  and  all  demand 
strong  box  office  attractions. 

You  and  your  patrons  demand  the  finest  stories  on  the 
market  and  since  the  number  of  such  stories  is  compara- 
tively small,  the  best  ones  command  ever  higher  prices. 

Naturally,  this  increased  cost  of  production  has  had  a 
very  important  influence  on  the  relation  between  all  com- 
panies and  their  exhibitors. 

The  only  source  of  payment  for  the  production  of  motion 
pictures  is  the  dollar  paid  in  by  the  public  at  the  box  office. 
Out  of  that  dollar,  every  expense  of  the  whole  industry 
must  be  paid. 

Since,  however,  that  box  office  dollar  is  collected  by  the 
exhibitor's  cashier,  there  has  grown  up  in  the  minds  of 
some  exhibitors  the  mistaken  belief  that  it  was  all  theirs. 

As  a  result,  they  felt  it  was  their  privilege  to  share  as 
little  of  it  as  possible  with  the  producer  of  the  film. 

And  some  distributors,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  fell  into  the 
same  way  of  thinking.  In  their  opinion,  the  box  office 
dollar  was  their  exclusive  property  to  do  with  as  they  would 
because  they  had  made  the  original  investment  in  the  film 
that  drew  the  crowds. 

In  my  opinion,  both  theories  are  wrong. 

The  dollar  which  the  patron  pays  must  support  the 
entire  industry  and,  therefore,  belongs  to  the  entire  indus- 
try. It  was  earned  by  our  mutual  efforts  and  should  be 
shared  fairly  by  all  who  made  its  collection  possible. 

No  organization  of  producers,  distributors  or  exhibitors 
that  sets  itself  up  to  prevent  the  equitable  distribution  of 
that  box  office  dollar  is  doing  justice  to  its  own  group  or  to 
the  industry. 

It  is  not,  I  submit,  the  proper  purpose  of  Allied,  or  of 
any  other  organization,  to  resist  a  fair  and  equitable  division 
of  that  dollar,  or  to  oppose  in  an  organized  manner  fair 
and  intelligent  methods  of  determining  what  that  division 
should  be — or  how  it  should  be  measured. 

And  certainly,  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  Allied  or  of  any 
other  organization  to  justify  the  offenses  of  those  who  have 
not  respected  their  contractual  obligations.  Nor  is  it  your 
purpose  to  oppose  the  efforts  of  distributors  to  correct  such 
abuses  where  they  may  occur. 

Gentlemen,  I  want  to  appeal  to  you,  in  your  own  interest, 
to  put  your  own  house  in  order.  You  are  an  all-important 
factor  in  our  industry  and  with  that  importance  goes  re- 
sponsibility. You  must  see  to  it  that  each  one  of  your 
members  so  conducts  himself  that  never  again  will  one  of 
them  be  embarrassed  because  a  distributor  asks  for  an  ex- 
planation. 

The  effort  of  our  company  has  been  to  make  good  pic- 
tures and  to  price  them  fairly.  We  have  tried  to  make  quick 
and  effective  adjustments  where  our  prices  were  out  of  line 
with  the  money  you  actually  took  in  at  the  box  office  and  Tom 
Connors  and  myself  personally  encouraged  this  practice. 
Certainly,  therefore,  we  are  entitled  in  all  fairness  to  collect 
that  which  is  due  us  and  to  take  the  proper  business  steps 
to  see  that  our  contracts  are  performed. 

The  main  point  of  contention  after  all  in  our  great  indus- 
try is  film  rental.  It  is  on  this  point  that  I  believe  the  ex- 
(Continucd  on  last  page) 


86 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  1,  1946 


"Centennial  Summer"  with  Jeanne  Crain, 
Cornel  Wilde  and  Linda  Darnell 

(20th  Century-Fox,  August;  time,  102  min.) 
Set  against  the  background  of  the  colorful  days  of  Phila- 
delphia's Centennial  Exposition  in  1876,  this  Technicolor 
musical  romance  is  the  type  of  entertainment  that  should 
appeal  to  the  masses,  for  it  is  gay,  nostalgic,  and  romantic. 
The  story,  which  is  based  on  the  popular  novel  of  the  same 
name,  is  lightweight,  and  it  unfolds  in  the  manner  one 
expects,  but  this  is  more  than  made  up  for  by  the  delightful 
musical  score  written  by  the  late  Jerome  Kern,  and  by  situ- 
ations that  are  alternately  charming,  appealing  and  amusing. 
One  song  in  particular,  "Up  with  the  Lark,"  will  undoubt- 
edly become  a  national  hit  because  of  its  simple,  catchy 
melody.  The  romance  is  developed  in  a  charming  and  at  the 
same  time  comical  manner.  The  production  values  are  lav- 
ish:— 

Walter  Brennan,  a  railroad  worker  with  an  inventive 
mind,  finds  his  peaceful  house  in  a  turmoil  when  word  comes 
that  his  wife's  (Dorothy  Gish)  sister,  Constance  Bennett,  a 
vivacious  divorcee,  was  en  route  from  Paris  for  a  visit.  Con- 
stance arrives,  accompanied  by  Cornel  Wilde,  a  nephew  by 
marriage,  who  was  representing  France  at  the  Exposition. 
Brennan's  grown  up  daughters  (Jeanne  Crain  and  Linda 
Darnell)  find  themselves  attracted  to  him.  Despite  Wilde's 
obvious  liking  for  Jeanne,  a  demure  girl,  Linda,  a  flirtatious 
sort,  who  was  engaged  to  William  Eythe,  a  local  doctor, 
sets  her  cap  for  him.  Through  trickery,  Linda  convinces 
Wilde  that  Jeanne  was  engaged  to  Eythe,  thus  discouraging 
him  from  romancing  with  her  sister.  Meanwhile  Brennan, 
who  had  invented  a  special  railroad  clock,  was  unable  to 
bring  it  to  the  attention  of  the  railroad's  president  (Gavin 
Gordon)  because  of  the  interference  of  Charles  Dingle,  his 
superintendent.  Constance,  who  had  become  friendly  with 
Gordon,  decides  to  help  Brennan,  but  her  interest  in  his 
invention  is  misunderstood  by  her  sister,  who  suspects  Bren- 
nan of  flirting  with  her.  By  this  time  Jeanne,  unable  to  bear 
her  unrequited  love  for  Wilde,  leaves  home  to  stay  with  her 
grandmother.  In  the  meantime  Wilde  discovers  Linda's 
"  duplicity  and  rushes  to  Jeanne  only  to  learn  that  she  had 
gone  away.  Heartbroken,  he  joins  Brennan,  who  had  been 
locked  out  of  his  home,  and  both  drown  their  sorrows  in 
drink.  Numerous  complications  ensue  before  every  one's 
troubles  are  resolved,  and  it  all  ends  with  Jeanne  winning 
Wilde;  Linda  contenting  herself  with  Eythe;  Brennan  be- 
coming reconciled  with  his  wife,  happy  in  the  knowledge 
that  his  clock  had  been  accepted  by  the  railroad;  and  Con- 
stance departing  on  another  one  of  her  trips,  this  time  ac- 
companied by  the  railroad  president. 

Michael  Kanin  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel  by 
Albert  E.  Idell,  and  Otto  Preminger  produced  and  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Barbara  Whiting,  Kathleen  Howard, 
Buddy  Swan,  Avon  Long  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Talk  About  a  Lady"  with  Jinx  Falkenburg 

(Columbia,  March  28;  time,  71  min.) 
Just  an  ordinary  program  comedy-drama,  with  some  music. 
The  story  is  far-fetched  and  quite  obvious,  causing  one  to 
lose  interest  in  the  outcome,  but  if  the  spectator  can  over- 
look the  plot's  defects  he  may  find  a  few  features  to  enter- 
tain him,  such  as  Joe  Besser's  low  comedy  antics;  music  by 
Stan  Kenton's  orchestra;  and  Jinx  Falkenburg's  singing  of 
a  few  songs,  which  come  as  a  pleasant  relief.  There  is  more 
dialogue  than  action,  making  the  action  slow-paced.  It  is  the 
sort  of  picture  one  forgets  immediately  after  leaving  the 
theatre,  for  it  does  not  have  even  one  outstanding  situa- 
tion:— 

Disappointed  in  love,  Richard  Lane,  a  wealthy  New  York 
night-club  owner,  motors  west  to  forget.  His  car  breaks 
down  in  a  small  Ohio  town  and,  while  waiting  for  repairs, 
he  drinks  himself  into  unconsciousness.  Jinx  Falkenburg,  a 
kindly  flower  shop  clerk,  safeguards  his  wallet  and  sees  to 
it  that  he  is  taken  to  a  hotel.  On  the  following  day,  Lane, 
impressed  with  Jinx's  honesty,  decides  on  a  strange  prank: 


He  makes  it  appear  as  if  he  had  been  killed  in  an  auto  ac- 
cident and,  before  going  into  hiding,  arranges  for  Jinx  to 
inherit  his  two  million  dollar  estate.  Trudy  Marshall,  Lane's 
widow,  and  Forrest  Tucker,  his  best  friend  and  manager  of 
the  night-club,  determine  to  contest  the  will  in  the  belief 
that  Jinx  was  a  "gold-digger."  Tucker  visits  Jinx  and  in- 
duces her  to  reject  the  inheritance,  but  she  changes  her 
mind  when  he  implies  that  she  had  tricked  Lane  into  leav- 
ing her  his  fortune.  News  of  the  inheritance  starts  local 
gossip  that  compels  Jinx  to  leave  town.  She  goes  to  New 
York  determined  to  clear  her  reputation  and  to  learn  why 
she  had  been  named  in  the  will.  Tucker,  to  win  the  case 
in  court,  embarks  on  a  smear  publicity  campaign  to  dis- 
credit Jinx,  but  he  soon  relaizes  that  she  was  actually  an 
honest  girl  and  falls  in  love  with  her.  Trudy,  aware  that  she 
had  lost  Tucker's  support,  publicly  accuses  Jinx  of  stealing 
her  husband  and  of  persuading  him  to  change  his  will.  Jinx 
is  saved  from  embarrassment  by  the  sudden  appearance  of 
Lane,  whom  he  suspected  had  married  him  for  his  money. 
Her  reputation  cleared.  Jinx  accepts  Tucker's  marriage 
proposal. 

Richard  Weil  and  Ted  Thomas  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
a  story  by  Robert  T.  Andrews  and  Barry  Trivers,  Michael 
Kraike  produced  it,  and  George  Sherman  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Valley  of  the  Zombies"  with  Robert 
Livingston  and  Adrian  Booth 

(Republic,  May  24;  time  56  min.) 

A  mediocre  program  melodrama,  centering  around  one  of 
those  fantastic  "living  dead"  characters,  whose  thirst  for 
human  blood  results  in  several  murders.  Besides  being  im- 
plausible, the  story  is  unoriginal  and  its  treatment  trite. 
The  best  thing  that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that  its  title,  which 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  story,  may  lure  the  horror- 
picture  fans  to  the  box-office,  but  once  in  the  theatre  it  is 
doubtful  whether  they  will  be  pleased,  for  there  is  little  about 
the  action  or  the  main  character  that  is  horrific.  An  attempt 
has  been  made  to  inject  comedy  in  the  situations  that  deal 
with  the  efforts  of  a  young  doctor  and  his  nurse-sweetheart 
to  find  the  criminal  and  clear  themselves  of  suspicion,  but 
most  of  this  is  ineffective  because  the  players  are  handi- 
capped by  the  weak  dialogue  and  forced  situations: — 

Dr.  Charles  Trowbridge,  a  brain  specialist,  is  murdered 
by  Ian  Keith,  who,  before  committing  the  crime,  reveals 
himself  as  an  insane  patient  whom  Trowbridge  had  pro- 
nounced dead  years  previously.  Through  self-administration 
of  a  secret  potion,  Keith  had  attained  a  state  of  "living 
death,"  which  required  that  he  receive  periodic  transfusions 
of  human  blood.  Keith  tries  to  bury  the  doctor's  body  in  an 
abandoned  cemetery,  but  he  is  frightened  away  by  the  ap- 
proach of  a  police  car.  Investigating  the  crime,  detective 
Thomas  Jackson  visits  the  doctor's  office,  where  he  finds  Dr. 
Robert  Livingston,  Trowbridge's  assistant,  and  Adrian 
Booth,  his  nurse,  under  circumstances  that  leads  him  to 
suspect  them  of  the  murder.  Both  are  held  for  questioning 
but  are  released  for  lack  of  evidence.  Determined  to  clear 
their  names,  Adrian  and  Livingston  embark  on  an  investi- 
gation of  their  own.  When  Adrian  discovers  in  the  office 
wastebasket  a  file  card  giving  Keith's  case  history,  Living- 
ston, on  a  hunch,  decides  to  visit  the  mausoleum  in  which 
Keith's  casket  had  been  stored.  They  find  the  casket  empty. 
Their  quest  leads  them  to  Keith's  abandoned  home,  ad- 
joining the  cemetery,  where  they  become  involved  in  several 
more  murders  before  they  find  themselves  face  to  face  with 
Keith.  In  the  events  that  follow,  Keith  kidnaps  Adrian  and, 
through  hypnotic  powers,  compels  her  to  accompany  him 
back  to  the  laboratory  and  to  give  him  a  transfusion.  Liv- 
ingston and  the  police  reach  the  laboratory  in  time  to  trap 
Keith  and,  after  a  hectic  chase  on  a  roof-top,  shoot  him  down 
while  he  totters  on  the  parapet. 

Dorrell  and  Stuart  McGowan  wrote  the  screen  play  and 
produced  it  from  a  story  by  Royal  K.  Cole  and  Sherman  I. 
Lowe.  Philip  Ford  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


June  1,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


87 


JACK  KIRSCH'S  INAUGURAL  SPEECH 

There  is  one  thing  I  have  in  common  with  all  the 
former  presidents  of  Allied  States  Association:  I  did  not 
seek  the  job. 

Every  two  years  a  nominating  committee  after  consulting 
with  the  members  of  the  board  puts  the  finger  on  some 
poor  fish.  And  no  matter  how  much  he  may  wiggle  and 
squirm,  he's  hooked. 

I  recall  that  a  few  years  ago  the  committee  reported  the 
name  of  M.  A.  Rosenberg,  thereby  throwing  that  esteemed 
gentleman  into  a  mild  panic.  He  made  a  most  moving  speech 
in  which  he  cited  a  half  dozen  reasons  why  it  would  be 
absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  serve.  When  he  had  finished 
he  was  informed  by  the  chairman  that  he  had  "never  been 
more  eloquent  or  less  convincing";  and  before  the  laugh 
subsided  M.  A.  found  that  he  was  the  new  president  of 
Allied. 

On  a  clear  crisp  day  last  February  I  bade  good-bye  to 
my  family,  cleaned  up  my  desk  and  set  out  for  New  York 
with  a  carefree  heart.  Only  those  who  have  been  privileged 
to  attend  the  Allied  board  meetings  can  know  what  a 
pleasant  experience  it  can  be.  The  importance  of  the  sub- 
jects dealt  with,  the  wide  range  of  the  discussion,  the 
decisive  actions  and  the  splendid  fellowship  all  combine  to 
make  these  meetings  memorable.  But  on  this  occasion  my 
pleasure  was  short-lived.  Fate  in  the  form  of  the  nomi- 
nating committee  decreed  that,  from  there  on,  the  program 
was  going  to  be  different. 

Don't  get  the  impression  that  I  gave  up  without  a 
struggle.  Far  from  it.  But  the  nominating  committee  was 
composed  of  the  toughest  collection  of  bullheads  ever 
assembled,  and  I  didn't  stand  a  chance.  And  so  I  returned 
to  Chicago  in  a  very  sober  frame  of  mind,  burdened  with 
the  responsibility  of  leadership  in  national  affairs  during  a 
most  critical  period  in  the  history  of  our  great  industry. 

About  the  only  thing  that  reconciled  me  to  my  fate  was 
the  knowledge  that  throughout  my  administration  I  would 
have  the  advice,  the  support  and  the  encouragement  of  the 
finest  group  of  men  it  has  ever  been  my  good  fortune  to 
meet  up  with.  I  felt  that  no  matter  how  tough  the  going 
might  become  the  trail  had  been  well  blazed  and  with  a 
wealth  of  experience  at  my  elbow  the  Chicago  Kid  could 
not  fail.  I  wish  at  this  time,  out  of  the  fullness  of  my  heart, 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  Allied  board  members:  To  the  mellow 
and  industry-wise  Col.  Cole;  to  the  dynamic  and  useful 
Sidney  Samuelson;  to  the  erudite  and  close-thinking  Nate 
Yamins;  to  the  suave  and  keenly-analytical  Martin  Smith 
and  his  effervescent  side-kick,  Pete  Wood;  to  M.  A.  Rosen- 
berg whose  sound  judgment  supplies  the  balance  wheel;  to 
the  faithful  and  cooperative  Ray  Branch;  to  Harry  Lowen- 
stein  who  is  always  in  there  pitching  for  Allied;  to  the  alert 
Max  Alderman  and  amiable  "Mike"  Leventhal  whose 
"Baltimore  will  go  along"  is  always  such  sweet  music;  to 
"Solid  John"  Adler,  expert  in  all  manner  of  organization 
work  and  Bill  Ainsworth,  that  gem  among  treasurers;  to 
Trueman  Rembusch,  our  latest  addition,  whose  burning 
energy  may  even  wear  down  Sid  Samuelson  one  of  these 
days;  to  Morris  Finkel  another  new  corner  in  the  ranks  of 
Allied  whose  leadership  should  gain  wide  recognition;  and 
last,  but  not  least,  our  Chairman  and  General  Counsel, 
Abram  F.  Myers,  on  whose  store  of  knowledge  and  wisdom 
we  call  and  never  in  vain. 

Having  been  saddled  with  this  great  responsibility,  I  have 
accepted  it  as  a  challenge  and  I  am  resolved,  with  the  help 
of  my  cabinet,  to  do  a  good  job.  We  in  Chicago  have  not 
been  wholly  unsuccessful  in  our  organization  efforts;  in 
fact,  if  it  were  not  for  my  innate  modesty,  I  would  claim 
that  it  is  the  best  exhibitor  association  in  the  country.  I 
intend  to  apply  to  National  Allied  some  of  the  principles 
that  have  served  us  well  in  Chicago.  The  big  advantage 
which  a  well-conducted  regional  has  over  a  national  body 
is  that  it  can  keep  in  close  touch  with  its  members.  I  intend 
as  far  as  conditions  will  permit,  to  bring  National  Allied 
and  its  work  home  to  the  independent  exhibitors.  And  in 
order  that  its  work  may  be  better  appreciated  I  intend  that 
Allied  shall  concentrate,  as  far  as  possible,  on  those  matters 
which  are  vital  to  the  exhibitors  in  the  every  day  operation 
of  their  theatres.  The  Allied  leaders  have  no  embarrassing 
alliances  to  prevent  them  from  speaking  out  for  their  mem- 
bers on  issues  affecting  other  branches  of  the  industry. 
There  are  no  hampering  restrictions  on  the  scope  of  Allied's 
activity  and  interest  when  the  welfare  of  the  exhibitors  is 
at  stake. 

This  I  think  you  will  agree  is  as  it  should  be.  No  organ- 
ization should  presume  to  speak  for  the  independent  ex- 


hibitors in  reference  to  film  prices,  trade  practices  or  indus- 
try readjustments  made  necessary  by  law,  if  to  do  so  would 
put  its  leaders-  in  a  false  position  due  to  their  affiliation 
with  other  branches  of  the  industry.  It  is  my  view — and  it 
is  reflected  in  the  published  resolutions  of  the  national 
board — that  every  division  of  interest  in  the  industry  should 
be  represented  by  its  own  trade  association.  Further,  that 
in  matters  of  mutual  concern,  in  which  these  different 
organizations  can  see  eye-to-eye,  they  should  cooperate 
freely  for  the  common  good.  Allied  stands  ready  now,  as 
it  always  has,  to  cooperate  with  the  representatives  of  other 
branches  in  such  matters.  If  such  cooperation  has  broken 
down  in  some  cases,  interested  parties  are  asked  to  investi- 
gate thoroughly  before  reaching  any  conclusion  as  to  the 
cause. 

It  is  absurd  to  say,  as  a  few  have  done,  that  Allied's 
insistence  on  the  maintenance  of  separate  organizations  for 
independent  exhibitors  reflects  a  non-cooperative  attitude. 
Striving  to  do  the  best  we  can  for  our  members  does  not 
mean  war  to  the  knife.  We  in  Chicago  have  battled  the 
exchanges  and  the  higher-ups  as  well  over  the  terms  and 
conditions  for  film;  and  if  you  don't  think  those  battles 
were  tough,  ask  anybody  who  had  a  ringside  seat.  But  in 
those  encounters  neither  side  lost  its  respect  or  its  regard 
for  the  other.  In  the  course  of  our  dealings  I  have  formed 
cherished  friendships  among  the  distributor  leaders  and  I 
am  gratified  and  honored  by  the  presence  of  many  of  them 
here  tonight.  That  is  my  attitude  and  as  president  of  Allied 
I  shall  strive  to  make  it  a  national  policy.  I  am  confident  that 
with  the  good  will  displayed  here  in  Chicago  during  the 
past  few  days  it  will  succeed. 

I  very  much  hope  that  this  frank  disclosure  of  Allied's 
policy  and  mine  will  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
industry.  I  am  especially  anxious  that  it  shall  be  made  known 
to  the  independent  exhibitors  who  have  become  confused 
by  recent  developments  and  who  are  being  beckoned  by 
many  hands  to  follow  strange  leaders.  In  the  period  of  re- 
adjustment which  lies  ahead  the  exhibitors  need  a  strong 
organization,  with  no  entangling  alliances  or  crippling  reser- 
vations, to  deal  with  the  problems  with  which  exhibitors 
are  most  concerned.  You  all  know  what  those  problems  are; 
mainly  they  have  to  do  with  securing  supplies  of  suitable 
film  at  prices  within  their  means.  If  anyone  doubts  this  he 
is  referred  to  the  proceedings  at  any  gathering  at  which  the 
exhibitors  are  allowed  to  speak  out.  Allied  is  striving  to 
cope  with  these  problems  by  the  collection  and  dissemination 
of  trade  information  through  the  Caravan  and  in  many 
other  ways.  The  effectiveness  of  some  of  these  measures  is 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  exhibitors  who  participate. 
Therefore,  Allied  extends  a  cordial  invitation  to  all  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  of  good  will  to  join  in  these  undertakings. 

Allied,  of  course,  recognized  that  the  building  of  an  all- 
inclusive  independent  organization  calls  for  time,  patience 
and  understanding.  The  seeds  of  suspicion  that  have  been 
sown  by  those  who  follow  a  policy  of  divide  and  conquer 
cannot  be  eradicated  in  a  day.  In  the  meantime,  there  is 
urgent  need  for  cooperation  by  independent  exhibitors  on 
a  national  scale  with  respect  to  those  matters  with  which 
only  independent  organizations  can  deal.  To  this  end 
Allied  States  Association,  the  Pacific  Coast  Conference  of 
Independent  Theatre  Owners  and  several  other  regional 
associations  have  formed  the  Conference  of  Independent 
Exhibitors'  Associations  as  a  common  meeting  ground  and 
clearing  house.  If  it  should  serve  no  better  purpose  than 
to  bring  together  independent  leaders  from  all  sections  of 
the  country,  in  order  that  they  may  become  better  acquainted 
and  exchange  views  and  information,  the  effort  would  be 
justified.  But  the  Conference  has  gone  much  further  and 
is  now  tackling  directly  some  of  the  problems  I  have  men- 
tioned. I  am  not  authorized  to  speak  for  the  Conference 
but  I  am  sure  that  its  Chairman,  Jesse  Stern,  will  back  me 
up  when  I  say  that  there  is  a  place  in  its  councils  for  those 
associations  which  are  in  good  faith  dedicated  to  the  pro- 
motion and  protection  of  the  independent  exhibitors' 
interests. 

Perhaps  I  should  not  have  burdened  you  with  a  serious 
speech  on  such  a  happy  occasion.  But  I  had  these  things 
on  my  mind  and  they  needed  to  be  said.  In  closing  I  wish 
to  express  my  deep  gratitude  to  Van  Nonukos,  James  Greg- 
ory, and  their  associates  for  arranging  this  affair  and  to  all 
of  you — both  honored  and  paying  guests — for  attending. 
The  whole  thing  has  been  most  inspiring  to  me  and  in  view 
of  this  testimonial  of  your  friendship  and  support  I  would 
be  most  unworthy  il  I  did  not  respond  by  giving  the  best 
that  is  in  me  to  the  tasks  that  lie  ahead. 


88 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  1,  1946 


hibitors  and  distributors  must  first  get  together.  The  ex- 
hibitor  should  present  his  case  to  each  individual  distrib- 
utor honestly,  openly  and  on  the  highest  plane  of  business 
ethics.  The  distributors  are  forced  by  high  cost  of  produc 
tion  to  demand  higher  terms,  and  they  favor  percentage 
as  the  most  equitable  plan.  I  am  confident  that  by  sitting 
down  together  and  frankly  discussing  mutual  problems,  a 
proper  percentage  basis  for  every  type  of  theatre  can  be 
worked  out,  which  will  distribute  the  box  office  dollar 
equitably.  Once  we  have  solved  this  problem  and  remove 
this  major  obstacle  to  complete  harmony,  all  of  our  other 
difficulties  will  quickly  fade. 

During  the  recent  war,  our  industry  presented  a  .united 
front.  Every  member  cooperated  and  we  are  all  justly  proud 
of  the  results.  Today,  the  motion  picture  industry  stands 
foremost  among  the  benevolent  and  philanthropic  industries 
of  the  world.  The  American  Red  Cross,  the  Infantile  Paraly- 
sis Foundation,  the  American  Cancer  Society,  the  U.S.O. 
and  the  National  War  Fund,  have  all  been  supported  whole- 
heartedly by  our  united  effort.  You  have  also  joined  in 
sponsoring  American  Brotherhood  Week,  which  was  set 
up  by  the  National  Conference  of  Christians  and  Jews. 

At  this  very  moment,  many  of  you  are  aiding  one  of  the 
most  worthy  of  causes — the  United  Jewish  Appeal.  Indeed, 
I  would  like  to  take  a  minute  of  the  time  allotcd  mc  here 
this  evening,  to  discuss  this  appeal  with  you.  The  United 
Jewish  Appeal  is  dedicated  to  saving  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  Jews  in  Central  Europe  from  complete  destruction. 

During  my  visits  to  Europe,  Greece,  and  Palestine,  I  saw 
first-hand  the  horrors  that  were  visited  on  this  great  people 
by  Hitler.  Those  who  survived  the  torture  and  hatred 
of  the  Nazis  are  in  desperate  need  today. 

This  organization  plans  to  remove  them  from  the  nations 
which  no  longer  appreciate  the  tremendous  contributions 
the  Jewish  people  have  made  to  scientific,  educational,  med- 
ical and  cultural  development  of  our  civilization,  and  gave 
us  our  religion. 

I  know  of  no  greater  humanitarian  effort,  and  I  am  con- 
fident that  you,  and  all  of  us,  will  rise  to  its  support. 

All  these  appeals,  to  which  I  have  referred,  are  national 
in  scope.  But  they  represent  only  a  small  part  of  what  you 
exhibitors  do  for  local  charities  in  your  own  communities. 
Today,  thanks  for  the  most  part  to  you,  our  industry's 
name  is  linked  with  charity  and  civic  responsibility.  We, 
united  in  war,  and  by  our  common  effort,  achieved  a  proud 
record  of  accomplishment.  Now  that  we  are  at  peace  can 
we  not  devote  that  same  unity  of  effort  to  the  solving  of 
our  own  problems? 

Of  course  we  have  problems.  They  are  very  difficult  prob- 
lems— some  of  them  seem  insurmountable.  But  we  will 
never  solve  them  by  distrust,  by  gossip,  or  for  that  matter 
even  by  letters  to  government  officials. 

I  for  one  do  not  believe  that  there  are  different  groups 
in  our  industry  and  that  the  interest  of  one  is  opposed  to 
the  other.  To  my  mind,  the  interest  of  the  independent 
exhibitor,  which  this  association  represents,  is  no  different 
from  the  interest  of  other  exhibitors. 

In  my  opinion,  the  interest  of  exhibitors  is  not  antag- 
onistic to  that  of  the  producers  and  distributors.  All  of  us 
are  engaged  in  the  ultimate  effort  of  trying  to  bring  to 
more  people  one  thing — better  motion  picture  entertainment. 
With  that  common  goal,  there  can  be  no  room  for  internal 
bickering,  private  quarrels  and  dissensions. 

Tonight,  we  honor  Jack  Kirsch,  who  last  February  was 
elected  National  President  of  Allied  States  Association  of 
Motion  Picture  Exhibitors.  He  succeeds  our  good  friend 
from  Ohio,  Martin  Smith,  and  is  a  worthy  successor  to 
the  long  line  of  able  and  effective  showmen  that  Allied  has 
had  over  the  years. 

Jack  has  been  a  consistent  advocate  of  unity  and  har- 
mony. He  was  an  important  factor  in  the  short-lived  UMPI, 
and  as  chairman  of  the  Trade  Practice  Group,  demon- 
strated his  capacity  for  fairness,  realism  and  impartiality. 

In  that  spirit,  I  am  going  to  presume  tonight  to  suggest 
to  you,  Jack,  some  major  objectives  which  should  be 
achieved  during  your  administration. 

First,  I  urge  unstinted  co-operation  with  every  worth- 
while movement  in  the  industry.  Whatever  fosters  better 
public  acceptance  of  our  industry,  benefits  all  of  us  direct- 
ly. When  one  section  of  our  industry  is  attacked,  all  parts 
feel  the  effect.  A  hostile  move  in  a  distant  state  may  be  the 
forerunner  of  a  direct  local  attack  within  a  few  weeks. 

Secondly,  I  urge  upon  you  an  effective  program  of  com- 
promise, conciliation  and  arbitration  as  to  trade  practice 


disputes.  More  and  more  the  major  disputes  in  this  industry 
are  coming  to  be  not  between  an  exhibitor  and  a  distributor, 
but  between  two  exhibitors. 

The  difficult  questions  of  run,  of  clearance,  of  the  rights 
of  the  old  customer,  of  the  effect  of  new  theatres  built  in 
opposition  to  established  theatres,  pose  problems  that  call 
for  great  statesmanship  if  they  are  to  be  solved  equitably. 

These  cannot  be  solved  by  denouncing  the  major  com- 
panies who,  after  all,  produce  the  pictures  by  which  you  and 
I  live.  Nor  can  our  problems  be  solved  by  bitter  attacks  on 
each  other.  Finally,  they  certainly  cannot  be  solved  by 
suing  the  distributors. 

The  answer  obviously  is  for  you,  as  exhibitors,  to  set  up 
your  own  arbitration  machinery.  After  all,  when  the  dis- 
tributors' expenses  mount,  you  are  the  ones  who  eventually 
must  pay  the  costs.  Simple  business  sense  should  dictate 
that,  wherever  possible,  we  should  eliminate  unnecessary 
expenditures  of  any  kind. 

If  the  arbitration  system  maintained  by  the  distributors 
is  not  adequate,  you  will  have  to  supplement  and  add  to  it. 
But  it  takes  more  than  a  system:  It  takes  a  spirit  of  fairness, 
a  spirit  of  conciliation,  a  spirit  of  being  willing  to  live  and 
let  live. 

We  cannot,  in  the  years  to  come,  move  our  business  from 
film  row  to  the  court  house,  and  we  need  not,  if  everyone  in 
the  industry  will  approach  these  problems  realistically,  and 
with  patience,  understanding  and  a  willingness  to  co-operate 
in  their  solution. 

Third,  and  finally,  I  urge  upon  you  that  Allied  should 
not  be  simply  a  negative,  opposition  organization. 

We  hear  too  often  of  the  things  which  Allied  is  against. 
We  hear  that  Allied  is  against  percentage  pictures.  Allied 
is  against  preferred  playing  time.  Allied  is  against  local 
checkers.  What  we  must  hear,  if  this  industry  is  to  go  for- 
ward, is  an  affirmative  program,  a  program  that  recognizes 
the  economic  problems  of  the  producers,  the  rights  and 
economic  problems  of  the  established  theatre  operators  of 
the  country,  the  rights  of  every  free  man  to  enter  our  busi- 
ness, and  seek  to  harmonize  them  all. 

If  we  are  all  to  succeed  and  if  we  are  to  discharge  the 
responsibilities  we  owe  to  the  great  public  who  seek  our 
theatres  in  search  of  entertainment,  of  inspiration  and  of 
happiness — if  we  are  to  discharge  the  responsibilities  which 
we  owe  to  our  families,  of  providing  for  them  now  and 
giving  them  some  security  when  we  are  gone — then  we 
must  all  join  together  in  really  seeking  a  mutually  satis- 
factory solution  to  our  problems. 

You,  Jack,  are.in  a  position  to  call  upon  all  of  the  leaders 
of  our  industry  whenever  problems  arise  and  present  them 
frankly  and  honestly  with  proper  suggestions  as  to  how 
they  can  be  solved.  All  you  have  to  remember  is  that  you 
must  recognize  the  problem  of  the  producer  and  distributor 
as  well  as  that  of  the  exhibitor  when  you  offer  solutions. 

The  arbitrary  refusal  to  co-operate  on  percentage  con- 
tracts, requests  for  preferred  playing  time,  or  on  any  other 
controversial  question,  is  not  the  answer. 

We  must  not  operate  as  though  we  were  in  enemy  camps. 
We  must  recognize  the  fact  that  we  are  allies  working 
together  toward  a  common  objective — the  betterment  and 
prosperity  of  our  industry. 

If*we  approach  our  problems  in  that  spirit,  I  am  certain 
that  we  can  solve  them  amicably.  The  distributor  should 
recognize  that  there  are  only  so  many  days  of  pereferred 
playing  time  in  a  year.  If  he  feels  that  he  is  getting  his  fair 
share  of  the  available  time,  he  will  not  complain. 

Similarly,  the  distributor  also  should  recognize  that  the 
exhibitor  is  in  business  for  profit  just  as  he  is.  He  should  not, 
therefore,  seek  to  prevent  the  exhibitor  from  making  that 
profit. 

I  am  confident  that  your  national  board,  under  the  very 
able  guidance  of  Abram  Myers,  and  with  that  valuable  aide 
and  assistant  whom  you  have,  Van  Nomikos,  a  real  leader, 
you  can  do  much  during  the  coming  years  toward  bringing 
about  that  closer  association,  sympathy,  and  understanding 
which  is  imperative  if  our  industry  is  to  rise  to  the  full 
heights  that  it  is  capable  of  attaining. 

Tonight  we  honor  you,  Jack,  as  the  new  head  of  Allied. 
We  honor  you  because  of  your  achievements.  We  honor 
you  because  of  our  affection  for  you. 

But  most  important  of  all,  in  honoring  you,  we  also  urge 
upon  you  your  great  responsibilities  for  providing  the 
leadership  we  know  you  to  be  capable  of,  so  that  all  of  us 
may  go  forward  together  prosperously,  triumphantly. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JUNE  8,  1946  No.  23 


WHAT  A  PUBLISHER  SHOULDN'T  DO 


In  the  issue  of  the  Hollywood  Reporter  of  February 
8,  W.  R.  Wilkerson,  editor  and  publisher  of  that 
paper,  reviewed  the  MGM  picture  "Army  Brat,"  the 
title  of  which  has  now  been  changed  to  "Little  Mr. 
Jim." 

I  have  seen  many  a  review  in  which  the  reviewer 
poured  out  his  spleen,  but  never  have  I  seen  a  review 
as  venomous  as  this  one. 

For  the  purpose  of  having  you  judge  for  yourself 
how  unfair,  how  unjust,  how  mean,  how  truth' 
shattering  is  this  review,  I  am  taking  the  liberty  of 
reproducing  it: 

"Every  time  a  studio  sees  one  of  its  kid  stars  grow- 
ing  up,  someone  on  the  lot  gets  panicky  and  begins 
measuring  time  as  earnestly  as  the  child's  increasing 
height,  and  the  result  is  too  often,  a  picture  like  'Army 
Brat1 — a  poorly  contrived  tale  developed  solely  around 
the  particular  natural  specialty  of  the  baby  actor.  The 
studio  has  run  true  to  form  with  this  one. 

"For  about  six  reels,  a  quite  sincere  attempt  has 
been  made  to  re'fdm  'The  Kid'  with  a  cavalry  post 
background,  then  the  show  drifts  into  a  maudlin  mood 
that  apparently  was  thought  to  need  no  plot,  and  the 
picture  winds  up  with  every  one  choking  back  salt 
tears,  and  the  band  playing  and  the  flags  flying.  All 
this  stamps  Army  Brat'  a  low-grade  B  effort,  with 
nothing  in  the  way  of  boxoffice  allure  to  insure  that 
it  will  earn  a  dollar. 

"The  top  name  in  the  cast  is  'Butch'  Jenkins,  whose 
only  claim  to  fame,  besides  being  a  kid  with  freckles,  is 
his  reluctant  reading  of  cute  kiddie  quips.  The  other 
leads,  James  Craig  and  Francis  Gifford,  are  more  com- 
petent performers,  although  hardly  marquee  names. 
And  their  acting  here  is  not  going  to  make  the  studio 
any  fortune. 

"The  story,  played  strictly  for  tears  and  chuckles, 
is  stale.  The  action,  which  concentrates  on  kid  fights 
that  will  draw  guffaws  from  any  boy  who  ever  went 
to  a  public  school,  is  about  as  exciting  as  an  afternoon 
at  a  fashionable  kindergarten.  True,  there  are  lines 
given  to  little  Jenkins  that  are  delightful  and  really 
funny,  but  in  the  main,  the  conversation  is  the  sort 
you'd  expect  in  a  script  cooked  up  in  a  week. 

"Because  the  film  is  a  last-stand  showcase  for  the 
boy,  it  is  as  episodic  as  a  local  bus,  with  a  deadly  dose 
of  cuteness.  The  writers  and  producers  tried  valiantly 
to  wring  the  audiences'  hearts — but  in  so  obvious  a 
fashion  that  such  tried-and-true  gimmicks  as  the  death 
of  the  boy's  mother  brought  only  yawns  from  the  pre- 
view witnesses. 

"The  direction,  by  Fred  Zinneman,  is  competent,  its 
competence  includes  such  touches  as  making  sure 


there  is  flour  on  a  cook's  face  when  he  is  cooking  and 
a  solid  shoe-black  mouse  on  a  boy's  eye  when  he's  been 
in  a  fight.  But  then  he  had  little  to  work  with. 

"As  for  the  production  values,  if  this  isn't  the 
cheapest  film  turned  out  in  Culver  City  in  20  years, 
somebody  was  padding  the  budget  and  taking  lettuce 
home. 

"No,  'Army  Brat'  is  not  a  good  picture.  If  it  is  to 
be  sold  at  all,  it  will  have  to  be  billed  with  something 
very  special,  and  then  a  smart  manager  will  give  away 
dishes." 

Since  the  picture  was  shown  to  the  trade  press  only 
two  weeks  ago,  with  the  understanding  that  the  review 
be  printed  not  before  June  4,  it  is  evident  that  Billy 
Wilkerson  caught  the  picture  in  February  at  a  sneak 
preview. 

For  the  purpose  of  a  clear  understanding,  let  me 
say  that  a  sneak  preview  is  arranged,  either  by  the  pro- 
ducer of  a  picture,  or  by  the  studio,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  ascertaining  the  public's  reaction,  so  that, 
if  there  is  anything  about  the  picture  that  either  dis- 
pleases the  audience  or  does  not  receive  the  desired  re- 
action, the  studio  proceeds  to  make  alterations  in  order 
to  improve  it.  The  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  studio  is 
noted  for  the  care  it  gives  to  its  productions  and  for 
its  readiness  to  retake  scenes  when  necessary.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  most  major  studios  often  do  make  re- 
takes for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  quality  of  a 
picture.  Any  review,  then,  written  when  a  picture  is 
shown  at  a  sneak  preview  does  not  represent  the  final 
quality  of  a  picture,  unless,  of  course,  the  press  had 
been  invited  to  the  preview  for  reviewing  purposes. 
Wilkerson  should  have  known,  therefore,  that  a  re- 
view written  under  such  circumstances  is  unfair,  not 
only  to  the  studio,  not  only  to  the  producer,  not  only 
to  the  director,  not  only  to  the  players,  but  also  to  the 
exhibitors.  An  exhibitor  guided  by  such  a  review  will 
most*  likely  fail  to  exploit  the  picture  properly,  thus 
risking  the  loss  of  a  considerable  income. 

Wilkerson  was,  in  the  opinion  of  this  writer,  well 
aware  of  the  fact  that  he  was  reviewing  the  picture 
under  unfavorable  circumstances,  yet  he  seems  not 
to  have  been  the  least  concerned  about  the  possible 
effect  his  vituperative  remarks  would  have  on  the 
artistic  reputations  of  those  connected  with  the  pic- 
ture's making,  for  at  the  time  he  wrote  this  review  he 
was  in  the  midst  of  a  fight  with  the  MGM  studio. 
Wilkerson  had  an  axe  to  grind:  MGM  had  with- 
drawn its  advertising  from  his  paper,  and  he  was  in 
a  retaliativc  mood.  The  proof  of  it  to  me  is,  not  only 
the  tone  of  his  review,  but  also  the  fact  that,  at  that 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


90 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  8,  1946 


"The  Runaround"  with  Ella  Raines 
and  Rod  Cameron 

(Universal,  ]une  14;  time,  86  min.) 

This  romantic  comedy-melodrama  should  go  over 
with  most  audiences  pretty  well.  Its  fast-moving 
story,  which  deals  with  the  efforts  of  two  rival  detec- 
tives to  find  and  return  a  runaway  heiress  to  her 
wealthy  father,  is  filled  with  so  many  mirth-provok- 
ing complications  that  one's  interest  is  held  undi- 
minished from  beginning  to  end.  Most  of  the  laughs 
are  provoked  by  the  clever  tricks  both  men  employ 
as  they  try  to  outwit  each  other  in  order  to  get 
possession  of  the  girl.  The  adventures  of  the  heroine 
and  one  of  the  detectives,  as  they  make  their  way 
from  coast  to  coast  while  trying  to  elude  the  second 
detective,  are  highly  amusing  and  somewhat  remi- 
niscent of  "It  Happened  One  Night."  It  has  con- 
siderable excitement,  too,  for  every  time  the  rivals 
catch  up  with  each  other  a  rousing  fight  ensues.  The 
ending  will  come  as  a  surprise  to  the  spectator: — 

When  Broderick  Crawford,  his  employer,  head  of 
a  detective  agency,  discharges  his  best  friend  (Frank 
McHugh),  Rod  Cameron  resigns  his  job  and,  with 
McHugh,  starts  a  detective  agency  of  his  own. 
Through  questionable  methods,  Cameron  learns  that 
Samuel  S.  Hinds,  a  financier,  was  seeking  Crawford's 
aid  to  locate  his  headstrong  daughter,  who  had  run 
away  from  home  to  marry  a  sailor.  Cameron,  posing 
as  Crawford's  assistant,  tricks  Hinds  into  giving  him 
the  assignment,  but,  when  Crawford  arrives  and 
protests,  Hinds  commissions  both  of  them  to  do  the 
job,  offering  $15,000  to  the  one  who  returns  with 
his  daughter.  He  gives  each  one  a  photograph  of  Ella 
Raines.  Cameron  succeeds*  in  finding  Ella  in  San 
Francisco,  despite  Crawford's  efforts  to  waylay  him. 
But  realizing  that  Crawford  would  stop  at  nothing 
to  get  Ella  away  from  him,  Cameron  tricks  her  into 
stealing  Crawford's  car,  and  then,  under  threat  of 
arresting  her  for  the  theft,  compels  her  to  accompany 
him  back  home.  Their  trip  across  the  country  is 
marked  by  periodic  appearances  of  Crawford  and  his 
henchmen,  who  use  force  to  get  Ella  away  from  Cam- 
eron, but  Cameron  manages  to  outwit  them  in  each 
instance.  Meanwhile  Cameron  and  Ella  fall  in  love 
but  neither  would  admit  it.  After  several  more  en- 
counters with  Crawford,  Cameron  finally  succeeds  in 
delivering  Ella  to  Hinds,  only  to  learn  that  she  was 
his  secretary,  not  his  daughter.  Hinds  explains  that 
he  had  deliberately  given  him  Ella's  photograph  as 
part  of  a  scheme  to  stop  his  (Hinds')  wife  from 
interfering  with  her  daughter's  marriage.  Ella  had 
been  in  on  the  scheme.  It  all  ends  with  Cameron 
winning  both  Ella  and  the  reward. 

Arthur  T.  Horman  wrote  the  story  and  collab- 
orated on  the  screen  play  with  Sam  Hellman.  Joe 
Gershenson  produced  it,  and  Charles  Lamont  directed 
it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Two  Smart  People"  with  John  Hodiak 
and  Lucille  Ball 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  93  min.) 
Although  the  performances  of  Lucille  Ball  and 
John  Hodiak  are  good,  this  is  just  a  fair  crook  melo- 
drama. The  story  idea  is  not  bad,  but  for  the  most 
part  it  is  developed  in  too  pat  a  manner  and  it  strives 
too  hard  to  be  light  and  gay.  At  times,  the  action  is 
considerably  slow.  It  is  only  towards  the  end,  where 
a  gun  battle  takes  place  in  the  midst  of  a  Mardi  Gras 
carnival,  that  it  really  becomes  exciting.  It  has  ro- 
mantic interest,  but  there  is  no  human  appeal;  and, 
since  the  hero  and  heroine  are  both  crooks,  one  feels 


no  sympathy  for  them.  The  fact  that  they  reform  in 
the  end  is  not  of  much  help: — 

Hodiak,  a  suave  swindler,  meets  Lucille,  a  fashion- 
able confidence  woman,  while  each  tries  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  Lloyd  Corrigan,  a  millionaire.  Each  spoils 
the  other's  scheme.  Hodiak,  who  had  just  concluded 
a  swindle  of  a  half-million  dollars  in  Government 
bonds,  finds  himself  threatened  by  Elisha  Cook,  Jr., 
a  petty  thief,  who  demands  a  share  of  the  loot  as  his 
price  for  silence.  Shortly  afterwards,  Hodiak  finds 
himself  confronted  by  Lloyd  Nolan,  a  New  York 
detective,  who  had  traced  him  to  California.  Hodiak 
refuses  to  reveal  where  he  had  hidden  the  bonds,  but 
agrees  to  accompany  Nolan  back  to  Sing  Sing.  He 
prevails  on  Nolan,  however,  to  travel  back  first-class 
deluxe,  with  a  stopover  in  New  Orleans  for  the  Mardi 
Gras,  so  that  he  could  have  a  final  "fling"  before 
entering  jail.  As  they  start  the  journey  they  discover 
Lucille  on  the  train.  She  joins  their  party  and,  en 
route  to  New  Orleans,  Hodiak  falls  in  love  with  her 
only  to  discover  that  she,  in  league  with  Cook,  was 
after  the  bonds,  which  he  had  hidden  in  a  book.  She 
convinces  him,  however,  that  her  love  was  sincere 
and  that  she  was  no  longer  after  the  bonds.  Arriving 
in  New  Orleans,  they  join  the  Mardi  Gras  carnival 
and,  amid  the  bedlam  and  gaiety,  Cook,  who  had 
trailed  them,  traps  Hodiak  at  the  point  of  a  gun  and 
demands  that  he  turn  over  the  bonds.  Believing  that 
Lucille  had  double-crossed  him,  Hodiak  puts  up  a 
fight.  Nolan  joins  in  and,  in  the  ensuing  excitement, 
shoots  Cook  dead.  Later,  at  the  railroad  station,  Nolan 
reveals  that  he  had  taken  the  bonds  from  the  book 
before  their  arrival  in  New  Orleans.  The  story  closes 
with  both  Lucille  and  Hodiak  agreeing  to  return  to 
each  other  after  paying  their  debt  to  society. 

Ethel  Hill  and  Leslie  Charteris  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  story  by  Ralph  Wheelwright  and  Allan 
Kenward.  Mr.  Wheelwright  produced  it,  and  Jules 
Dassin  directed  it.  Adult  entertainment. 


"Janie  Gets  Married"  with  Joan  Leslie 

(Warner  Bros.,  June  22;  time,  89  min.) 
This  sequel  to  "Janie,"  which  Warner  Bros,  pro- 
duced in  1944  with  Joyce  Reynolds  in  the  lead,  is  a 
moderately  amusing  domestic  comedy  that  does  not 
rise  above  program  fare.  Its  marital  plot,  which  deals 
with  the  usual  bickerings  and  misunderstandings  be- 
tween newlyweds,  is  rather  infantile  and,  since  it  is 
developed  without  any  new  angles,  its  familiarity 
weakens  one's  interest  in  the  outcome.  The  chief 
trouble  with  the  picture  is  that,  in  many  of  the  situa- 
tions, garrulousness  has  been  substituted  for  comedy; 
the  constant  chatter  of  the  characters,  all  talking  at 
the  same  time,  serves  to  distract  rather  than  entertain 
the  spectator.  Here  and  there  it  has  a  bright  comedy 
situation,  sparked  by  the  late  Robert  Benchley's  witty 
remarks,  but  this  is  not  enough  to  overcome  the 
commonplace  story  material.  With  the  exception  of 
Joan  Leslie,  who  plays  the  role  of  "Janie,"  the  same 
players  enact  the  parts  they  did  in  the  previous 
picture. 

The  story  concerns  itself  with  the  marriage  of 
Joan  and  Robert  Hutton,  shortly  after  his  return 
from  service  abroad,  and  with  his  unhappiness  as  a 
reporter  on  her  father's  (Edward  Arnold)  newspaper, 
a  job  that  Arnold  had  manufactured  so  that  Hutton 
could  support  Joan.  The  marriage  hits  a  discordant 
note  when  Dorothy  Malone,  a  pretty  WAC,  whom 
Hutton  had  met  overseas,  comes  to  town  and  spends 
all  her  time  with  him  planning  a  new  column  he 
wanted  to  write.  Joan  misunderstands  their  com- 


June  8,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


91 


panionship  and,  to  retaliate,  encourages  the  attention 
of  Dick  Erdman,  a  former  suitor,  to  make  Hutton 
jealous.  Matters  become  confused  when  Donald  Meek, 
a  priggish,  prospective  buyer  of  Arnold's  newspaper, 
comes  upon  Joan  and  Erdman  in  an  embrace  and 
assumes  that  the  young  man  is  her  husband.  Joan's 
efforts  to  rectify  his  mistaken  belief  makes  matters 
even  worse,  with  the  different  mix-ups  leading  to  a 
family  squabble  and  to  Meek's  decision  not  to  buy 
the  paper.  Eventually,  Dorothy  takes  the  situation  in 
hand  and,  after  making  explanations  to  everyone's 
satisfaction,  it  all  ends  with  the  newlyweds  in  a  fond 
embrace;  with  Meek  buying  the  paper;  and  with  Hut- 
ton  given  a  job  writing  a  column  for  servicemen. 

Agnes  Christine  Johnston  wrote  the  original  screen 
play,  Alex  Gottlieb  produced  it,  and  Vincent  Sher- 
man directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Little  Mr.  Jim"  with  Jackie  "Butch"  Jen- 
kins,  James  Craig  and  Frances  Gifford 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  92  min.) 
Good  entertainment  for  the  family  trade.  Jackie 
"Butch"  Jenkins  is  as  ingratiating  as  ever,  and  in 
general  is  responsible  for  the  picture's  enjoyable  qual- 
ity. It  has  deep  human  appeal  and  excellent  comedy 
situations,  caused  by  "Butch's"  prankishness;  his 
comedy  lines  are  perfectly  timed  and  should  provoke 
many  a  hearty  laughter.  Several  of  the  situations  will 
stir  the  spectator's  emotions,  bringing  tears  to  his  eyes. 
Chingwah  Lee,  as  a  Chinese  house  servant,  portrays 
a  lovable  character, — one  with  whom  the  spectator 
is  in  deep  sympathy,  and  for  whom  he  feels  high  re 
spect.  His  devotion  to  "Butch,"  and  the  boy's  love 
for  him,  are  the  reasons  for  most  of  the  story's  heart 
interest.  It  is  a  simple  story,  somewhat  episodic,  told 
in  a  simple  way,  but  it  is  rich  in  incidents  that  are 
humorous  and  pathetic,  and  on  the  whole  shapes  up 
as  entertainment  that  leaves  one  with  a  pleasant 
glow : — 

"Butch,"  son  of  army  Capt.  James,  Craig,  learns 
from  Chingwah  Lee  that  his  mother  was  about  to 
present  him  with  a  new  brother,  or  perhaps  sister. 
"Butch"  spreads  the  news  among  the  other  children 
at  the  post  and,  through  clever  manipulations,  receives 
from  them  all  sorts  of  gratuities  for  the  privilege  of 
tending  to  the  baby  upon  its  arrival.  The  blessed  event 
does  not  take  place,  however,  because  "Butch's" 
mother  dies  in  childbirth.  Craig  goes  to  pieces  on  his 
wife's  death,  and  takes  to  drink.  Chingwah  mothers 
"Butch"  and  tends  to  his  needs,  but  Craig's  inatten- 
tion to  the  boy's  welfare,  and  his  failure  to  provide 
decent  clothes  for  him,  cause  "Butch"  to  present  a 
shabby  appearance.  This  condition  is  noted  by  a  trio 
of  gossipy  women  on  the  post,  who  take  it  upon  them- 
selves to  convince  Craig  that  he  ought  to  remarry  so 
that  "Butch"  would  receive  a  mother's  care.  The 
interference  of  these  women,  as  well  as  the  other 
children's  disparaging  remarks  about  his  father,  cause 
"Butch"  considerable  unhappiness  and  lead  him  into 
several  fights  with  his  playmates,  for  which  he  is 
censured  by  his  father  when  he  refuses  to  explain  the 
reasons  for  is  behavior.  Chingwah  decides  to  take 
matters  in  hand  and,  through  subtle  psychological 
methods,  succeeds  in  rehabilitating  Craig,  inducing 
him  to  renew  his  interest  in  "Butch."  When  trouble 
begins  to  brew  in  Asia,  Chingwah  is  called  to  Wash- 
ington on  a  mysterious  mission.  He  returns  to  the  post 
in  the  uniform  of  a  Chinese  general,  a  rank  he  had 
formerly  held,  and  Craig  discovers  that  he  was  to 
serve  under  him  in  China  until  the  expected  war  with 
Japan  breaks.  Before  Craig  and  Lee  depart,  "Butch" 


is  enrolled  in  a  military  school  to  prepare  to  follow 
in  his  father's  footsteps. 

George  Bruce  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  the 
novel  "Army  Brat"  by  Tommy  Wadelton.  Orville 
O.  Dull  produced  it,  and  Fred  Zinneman  directed  it. 


"Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam"  with 
Irene  Dunne  and  Rex  Harrison 

(20th  Century-Fox,  August;  time,  128  mm.) 

An  excellent  production,  with  an  unusual  story, 
expertly  directed  and  brilliantly  acted.  The  novelty 
of  the  plot  and  of  its  treatment  is  enough  to  fascinate 
class  audiences,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is  appealing 
enough  to  satisfy  the  rank  and  file.  Set  against  the 
background  of  Siam  in  1860,  the  story  is  a  stirring 
account  of  an  Englishwoman's  efforts  to  westernize 
the  King  and  his  many  wives  and  children,  despite 
their  adherence  to  semi-barbaric  customs  and  super- 
stitions. Irene  Dunne,  as  the  Englishwoman,  is  superb; 
her  patience,  tact,  and  intelligence  in  guiding  the 
King  into  ruling  his  country  under  more  democratic 
and  humane  principles  has  such  warmth  and  under- 
standing that  she  endears  herself  to  the  audience. 
Rex  Harrison,  as  the  King,  gives  a  marvelous  per- 
formance; he  makes  a  role  that  might  have  been  bur- 
lesqued in  the  hands  of  someone  else  seem  believeable. 
The  picture  has  also  moments  of  high  comedy  and 
sly  humor  that  are  brought  about  in  a  natural  and 
delightful  way: — 

Accompanied  by  Richard  Lyons,  her  ten-year-old 
son,  Irene,  a  widow,  arrives  in  Siam  to  teach  English 
to  the  King's  wives  and  children.  Her  refusal  to  rec- 
ognize native  customs,  and  her  unwillingness  to  grovel 
before  the  King,  because  she  was  a  woman,  incurs 
his  wrath,  causing  him  to  refuse  to  give  her  the  private 
home  he  had  promised  to  her;  he  compels  her  to  live 
in  the  palace.  Aware  that  she  was  dealing  with  an 
obstinate  man,  Irene  changes  her  tactics:  she  drives 
him  to  distraction  by  having  her  pupils  sing  "Home, 
Sweet  Home"  constantly,  compelling  him  to  give  her 
a  home  to  stop  the  singing.  Disdouraged,  nevertheless, 
by  his  rudeness  and  by  the  barbaric  ways  of  the  land, 
Irene  plans  to  leave,  but  Lee  J.  Cobb,  the  prime  min- 
ister, persuades  her  to  stay  by  convincing  her  that  the 
King,  who  sought  recognition  for  his  country  from 
the  occidental  nations,  needed  her  badly  to  help  him 
guide  Siam  and  to  make  of  it  a  modern  country.  A 
better  understanding  grows  up  between  the  King 
and  Irene  as  she  toils  to  westernize  him  and  his  family, 
but  a  rift  occurs  when  she  is  unsuccessful  in  her  efforts 
to  stop  him  from  burning  an  unfaithful  wife  (Linda 
Darnell)  at  the  stake.  She  decides  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, but  the  untimely  death  of  her  young  son  so 
affects  her  health  that  she  is  unable  to  travel.  To 
convey  his  sorrow  and  to  admit  that  he  had  been  in 
error,  the  King  proclaims  a  day  of  mourning  for  her 
son.  Touched  by  his  action,  Irene  decides  to  remain 
and  turns  her  attention  to  the  crown  prince  (Mickey 
Roth)  to  prepare  him  to  rule  Siam.  In  the  passing 
years,  Irene  wins  the  King's  complete  admiration  for 
her  aid  in  getting  the  different  occidental  nations  to 
establish  diplomatic  relations  with  Siam.  She  feels  her 
success  complete  when,  upon  the  King's  death,  the 
crown  prince  ascends  the  throne  and  dedicates  him- 
self to  establishing  a  more  democratic  way  of  life  for 
his  subjects. 

Talbot  Jennings  and  Sally  Benson  wrote  the  screen- 
play from  the  biography  by  Margaret  Landon.  Louis 
D.  Lighton  produced  it,  and  John  Cromwell  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Gale  Sondergaard,  Mikhail 
Rasumny  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


92 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  8,  1946 


time,  he  kept  any  mention  of  MGM  out  of  his  paper 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  delete  the  company's  pro- 
duction activities  from  his  production  chart,  which  he 
publishes  every  Friday. 

I  don't  know  what  prompted  that  fight  between 
Wilkerson  and  MGM,  but,  assuming  that  he  had 
some  real  grievance  for  his  stand,  was  there  any  justifi- 
cation for  that  review?  Just  read  the  review  of  "Little 
Mr.  Jim"  printed  in  the  inside  columns  of  this  issue 
and  you  will  see  at  what  variance  is  Wilkerson's  re- 
view from  the  facts. 

But  let  us  assume  that  the  variance  in  the  two  re' 
views  is  a  matter  of  difference  in  each  writer's  opinion : 
what  justification  did  Wilkerson  have  in  going  out  of 
his  way  to  make  mean  remarks  about  lovable  "Butch" 
Jenkins?  What  harm  did  the  child  do  to  him  to  cause 
him  to  take  his  grievance  against  MGM  out  of  the 
little  fellow?  What  did  Fred  Zinneman,  the  director, 
do  to  Wilkerson  to  invite  those  sarcastic  remarks  about 
his  ability?  And  what  did  Orville  O.  Dull,  the  unit 
producer,  do  to  him  to  cause  him,  Wilkerson,  to  say 
that  the  production  was  cheap,  and  to  cast  aspersions 
on  his  integrity? 

To  a  unit  producer,  director,  or  star,  the  injustice  of 
Wilkerson's  remarks  is  much  greater  in  Hollywood 
than  it  would  be  anywhere  else  on  this  globe  for  this 
reason:  Hollywood,  despite  its  width,  breadth  and 
number  of  its  inhabitants,  is  only  a  small  community. 
There  the  picture  people  rub  elbows  with  one  another. 
Whatever  is  said  by  a  paper  against  one  of  them  hurts 
him — hurts  his  chances  of  obtaining  another  job, 
either  for  the  job  itself,  or  for  bettering  his  position. 
No  studio  is  eager  to  hire  a  producer,  director,  or 
player  if  its  executives  know  that  a  local  paper  is 
against  him.  They  fear  that  the  publisher  will  continue 
the  feud.  A  Hollywood  personality  does  not  mind  so 
much  what  is  said  of  him  anywhere  in  the  United 
States,  be  the  critic  a  newspaper  columnist  or  a  trade 
paper  editor;  but  he  does  mind  if  the  critic  is,  either 
a  columnist  on  one  of  the  local  newspapers,  or  an 
editor  of  one  of  the  local  trade  papers,  which  are  read 
chiefly  by  co-workers  and  studio  executives. 

Oh,  yes! — the  injured  person  may  write  a  letter  to 
the  editor,  or  the  columnist,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
his  letter  may  be  published,  but  the  harm  that  is  done 
to  his  reputation  cannot  be  offset  by  the  publication 
of  such  a  letter. 

The  readers  of  this  paper  will,  I  am  sure,  forgive 
me  for  expressing  my  indignation  at,  what  I  consider, 
the  injustices  Billy  Wilkerson  committed  against  inno- 
cent artists  because  of  a  fight  he  had  with  the  MGM 
studio.  I  have  always  revolted  against  injustices  and 
I  could  not  help  treating  on  this  matter  as  I  am  treat- 
ing it.  For  a  publisher  is,  after  all,  honor-bound  to  con- 
sider the  interests  of  his  subscribers  and  readers  first, 
and  his  personal  feelings  last.  And  in  the  case  of 
Wilkerson,  who,  like  myself,  enjoys  a  second-class 
mailing  privilege,  the  responsibility  of  considering  the 
subscribers'  interest  is  an  obligation,  for  the  post  office 
department  grants  such  a  privilege  to  publications 
under  the  express  understanding  that  they  render  to 
the  public  a  service — print  news  and  information  that 
will,  either  enlighten  them,  or  benefit  them.  If  not  for 
the  second-class  mailing  privilege,  neither  I,  nor  Wil- 
kerson, nor  thousands  of  other  publishers,  could  stay 
in  business,  for  the  post  office,  which  distributes  and 
delivers  copies  of  publications  throughout  the  country, 


does  so  at  a  fraction  of  what  it  would  cost  to  the 
ordinary  citizen.  And  since  the  post  office  department 
is  operated  on  public  funds,  it  follows  that  those  of  the 
publishers  who  enjoy  second-class  mailing  privileges 
are,  in  effect,  subsidized  by  the  public.  Consequently, 
no  publisher  has  a  right  to  use  his  paper  to  satisfy  a 
personal  grudge,  particularly  when,  in  so  doing,  he 
renders  a  distinct  disservice  to  the  public  that  is  mak- 
ing his  stay  in  business  possible. 

Personal  feelings  should  not  enter  into  a  reviewer's 
work  and,  in  condemning  either  a  company  or  an  in- 
dividual in  an  effort  to  undo  some  harm  that  either 
that  individual  or  the  company  did,  he  should  base 
his  writings  on  facts.  Mr.  Wilkerson  has  not,  in  my 
opinion,  founded  his  remarks  on  facts,  for  never,  in 
the  opinion  of  Harrison's  Reports,  has  a  reviewer 
been  more  erroneous  or  deliberately  vituperative  than 
was  Wilkerson  when  he  wrote  that  review. 

These  are  pretty  strong  remarks  to  make,  but  when 
you  see  the  picture  you  will  be  able  to  judge  whether 
I  am  right  or  wrong. 


FURNISHING  THE  LEGISLATORS 
WITH  AMMUNITION 

The  campaign  the  Philadelphia  exhibitors  used  re- 
cently in  an  effort  to  defeat  the  imposition  of  a  local 
ten  per  cent  tax  on  theatre  admissions  was  well  or- 
ganized and  was  presented  in  a  powerful  way;  and 
yet  they  failed  in  dissuading  the  city  council  from  im- 
posing the  tax. 

Do  you  know  what  kind  of  arguments  the  council- 
men  used?  They  spread  some  trade  papers  before  the 
exhibitor  representatives  to  show  them  reports  of  the 
millions  of  dollars  the  industry  is  collecting  through 
theatres.  They  thus  were  able  to  kill  the  exhibitor 
arguments. 

I  see  in  the  May  1 5  issue  of  Daily  Variety  the  fol- 
lowing headline  "FILMS  EARN  $204  MILLION." 
And  below  this  a  sub-headline:  "Divvies  in  1945 
Reach  $32Million."  And  under  a  Washington  date- 
line, "Earnings  of  the  film  industry  last  year  before 
taxes,  totalled  $204,000,000  according  to  Department 
of  Commerce  figures  released  today.  This  is  the  second 
highest  profit  for  the  industry  of  all  time.  In  1944, 
the  net  was  $10,000,000  higher  " 

In  addition  to  the  publication  of  overall  industry 
income  figures,  such  as  the  foregoing,  some  of  the  trade 
papers  publish  regularly  reports  of  weekly  grosses  and 
of  daily  receipts,  which,  as  it  has  been  said  in  these 
columns  many  times,  are  never  of  any  value  to  the 
exhibitor  except  to  lure  him  into  paying  big  money  for 
mediocre  productions  and,  as  proved  in  Philadelphia, 
to  instigate  the  introduction  of  tax  bills  in  city,  state, 
and  Federal  legislatures.  In  most  cases,  the  figures  are 
grossly  exaggerated  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  the 
independent  exhibitors.  But  even  though  most  exhibi- 
tors pay  no  heed  to  these  exaggerated  figures,  they 
do  come  to  the  attention  of  tax-hungry  legislators, 
who,  when  they  find  themselves  in  financial  difficul- 
ties, readily  turn  to  the  motion  picture  industry  for 
relief. 

You,  the  exhibitors,  will  have  as  difficult  a  time  in 
defeating  local  tax  legislation  as  was  had  by  the  Phila- 
delphia exhibitors  so  long  as  the  trade  papers  persist 
in  publishing  dollar  figures;  and  the  producers,  too, 
will  have  a  harder  time  in  their  efforts  to  persuade 
the  union  people  to  be  reasonable  in  their  demands. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      v    1,  <>n  M  v  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  Wew  Xork  zu>  w-  *'  p.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Its  Editorial  policy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  .  SATURDAY,  JUNE  15,  1946  No.  24 


A  Momentous  Decision  for  Independent  Exhibitors 


On  Tuesday,  June  11,  the  long-awaited  decision  in  the 
Government's  New  York  anti-trust  suit  against  the  majors 
was  handed  down  by  the  three-judge  statutory  court. 

In  the  7  3 -page  decision,  written  by  Judge  Augustus  N. 
Hand,  the  presiding  jurist,  and  concurred  in  by  Associate 
Judges  Henry  W.  Goddard  and  John  Bright,  the  court  held 
that  the  evidence  submitted  by  the  Government  "established 
various  infractions  of  the  Sherman  Act  on  the  part  of  each 
of  the  defendants,"  and  ordered  that  drastic  changes  be 
made  in  current  trade  practices  so  as  to  establish  free  and 
open  competition. 

A  highlight  of  the  decision  is  the  provision  enjoining  a 
distributor-defendant  from  licensing  a  picture  to  other  than 
its  own  theatres  without  first  offering  the  license  at  a  mini- 
mum rental  for  any  run  desired  by  the  operator  of  each 
theatre  within  the  competitive  area  and,  ordering  that,  when 
so  offered,  the  license  for  the  desired  run  shall  be  granted 
to  the  highest  responsible  bidder,  provided  his  theatre  is 
of  the  sort  that  would  present  the  picture  to  advantage.  "In 
other  words,"  states  the  court,  "if  two  theatres  are  bidding 
and  are  fairly  comparable  the  one  offering  the  best  terms 
shall  receive  the  license."  The  court  deems  the  "auction 
block"  system  of  selling  as  "the  only  way  competition  may 
be  introduced  into  the  present  system  of  fixed  prices,  clear- 
ances, and  runs." 

In  the  matter  of  theatre  divorcement,  the  court  held  that 
complete  divestiture  of  the  defendants'  theatre  holdings 
would  be  unnecessary  in  view  of  the  reforms  in  sales  prac- 
tices it  has  ordered,  but  it  did  order  partial  divorcement  by 
ruling  that  the  theatre-owning  distributors  shall,  in  cases 
where  they  hold  less  than  a  ninety-five  per  cent  interest  in  a 
theatre,  dissolve  the  joint  ownership  either  by  a  sale  to,  or  a 
purchase  from,  the  co-owner,  or  by  a  sale  to  a  party  not  one 
of  the  other  defendant-exhibitors.  In  all  such  cases,  the  re- 
arrangement of  such  joint  ownership  shall  be  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  court,  "for  the  purpose  of  restoring  or  cre- 
ating a  reasonable  competition  in  the  areas  in  question." 
(Editor's  Note:  According  to  the  opinion,  the  dissolution 
of  joint  ownership  will  affect  1,292  of  the  3,137  theatres  in 
which  the  defendants  own  either  a  direct  or  indirect  in- 
terest.) 

The  opinion  held  that  the  various  infractions  of  the 
Sherman  Act  on  the  part  of  the  defendants  included;  (1) 
the  fixing  of  minimum  admission  prices;  (2)  the  formation 
of  formula  deals,  master  agreements,  and  franchises;  (3)  the 
licensing  of  pictures  under  the  block-booking  system,  which 
makes  the  licensing  of  one  picture  conditional  upon  an  agree- 
ment to  accept  a  license  for  one  or  more  other  pictures;  (4) 
the  maintenance  of  a  uniform  system  of  clearance  and  run; 
and  (5)  the  pooling  of  theatres. 

On  the  back  page  of  this  issue,  there  is  reproduced  the 
full  text  of  the  provisions  that  are  set  forth  by  the  court  for 
the  entry  of  the  final  decree.  Briefly  it  provides,  in  addition 
to  partial  divorcement  and  the  bidding  system  of  buying 
product,  that  the  defendant-distributors  shall  be  enjoined 
from  (a)  fixing  minimum  prices  for  admissions;  (b)  con- 
certedly  agreeing  to  maintain  a  system  of  clearances  in  re- 
straint of  trade;  (c)  furthering  the  performances  of  existing 
formula  deals,  master  agreements,  and  franchises,  and  enter- 
ing into  similar  agreements  in  the  future;  and  (d)  entering 
into,  or  continuing  to  perform,  existing  pooling  agreements. 

It  furnishes  also  a  list  of  factors  to  be  used  in  determining 
reasonable  clearance;  eliminates  clearance  between  theatres 
not  in  substantial  competition;  requires  that  exhibitors  shall 
be  enabled  to  compete  for  product  on  a  parity,  and  that  no 
exhibitor  be  discriminated,  against  in  favor  of  a  theatre  with 
greater  buying  power,  or  of  old  customers;  provides  for  the 
arbitration  of  disputes  regarding  bids,  clearances,  and  runs, 
as  well  as  for  an  appeal  board  generally  similar  to  the  one 
created  by  the  consent  decree;  and  makes  provision  for  the 


Department  of  Justice  to  have  reasonable  access  to  the  books 
and  papers  of  the  defendants. 

There  are  many  other  highlights  in  the  fine  opinion  writ- 
ten by  Judge  Hand,  but  lack  of  space  prevents  Harrison's 
Reports  from  giving  to  its  subscribers  at  this  time  a  studied 
analysis  of  the  decision.  In  subsequent  issues,  however,  this 
paper  will  discuss  in  detail  the  different  highlights  that  are 
of  interest  to  all  independent  exhibitors. 

*        *  * 

In  connection  with  this  opinion  and  decree,  this  paper 
has  received  the  following  night  letter  from  Mr.  Abram  F. 
Myers,  counsel  for  National  Allied: 

"I  have  not  yet  received  the  opinion  but  present  advices 
indicate  that  the  court  in  effect  held  distributors'  entire 
method  of  doing  business  illegal.  Among  methods  condemned 
are  block-booking,  blind-selling,  and  preferential  deals  with 
affiliated  circuits  such  as  pooling  agreements,  formula  agree- 
ments, master  contracts,  and  franchises.  Contract  provisions 
fixing  minimum  admissions  were  held  to  constitute  illegal 
price-fixing.  Since  existing  clearances  are  mostly  geared  to 
admission  prices,  effect  was  to  hold  such  clearance  illegal, 
but  court  also  held  (that)  reasonable  clearances  were  neces- 
sary and  retained  arbitration.  This  is  the  first  great  incon- 
sistency. 

"Whilst  condemning  (the)  methods  by  which  the  de- 
fendants acquired  their  theatre  monopoly  the  court  refused 
to  deprive  (the)  defendants  of  the  fruits  of  their  illegal 
practices  and  denied  the  Government's  main  objective, 
which  was  theatre  divorcement.  The  provision  that  the  de- 
fendants may  acquire  no  additional  theatres  without  express 
approval  of  the  court  is  no  adequate  substitute  for  divorce- 
ment. This  is  the  second  great  inconsistency.  Leaving  the 
great  affiliated  chains  intact  in  view  of  the  drastic  orders 
against  Crescent  and  Schine  is  the  third  great  inconsistency 
and  is  calculated  to  make  a  monkey  of  the  law. 

"Defendants  are  allowed  a  free  hand  with  respect  to 
theatres  in  which  they  have  a  ninety-five  per  cent  interest, 
but  must  sell  films  to  all  others  on  a  competitive  basis  which 
would  deprive  Paramount  partners  of  their  special  privileges. 
This  (is)  not  only  of  doubtful  workability  but  constitutes 
the  fourth  glaring  inconsistency. 

"In  view  of  the  Government's  unyielding  insistence  on 
divorcement,  (it)  appears  (a)  foregone  conclusion  (that 
the)  Government  will  appeal  to  Supreme  Court,  and  de- 
fendants probably  will  take  cross  appeal  if  court's  order 
were  put  into  effect  without  modification  or  time  to  prepare 
for  reforms  (on  the  ground  that)  it  would  work  havoc.  But 
if  case  is  appealed,  final  order  will  not  be  entered  for  at  least 
a  year  during  which  time  the  industry  must  prepare  for 
necessary  adjustments. 

"To  sum  up:  The  court  held  that  (the)  defendants  claim 
that  they  have  a  legal  method  of  doing  business  based  on 
their  copyrights  is  untrue  ( — )  that  the  method  is  wholly 
illegal.  The  court  has  frozen  the  defendants'  theatre  holdings 
but  has  held  that  they  do  not  need  to  dispose  of  those  they 
now  own,  offering  the  competitive  selling  of  films  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  divorcement,  a  compromise  the  Government  is 
unlikely  to  accept.  Under  the  ruling,  the  exhibitors  who 
have  treble  damage  suits  will  have  a  bonanza,  and  the  dis- 
tributors may  encounter  difficulty  in  enforcing  their  con- 
tracts, ( — )  at  least  certain  provisions  of  them.  The  prefer- 
ences granted  to  affiliated  theatres  and  discriminations 
against  independents  must  cease.  The  independent  exhibitors 
can  (now)  sleep  nights  without  the  nightmare  of  invasion 
by  producer-owned  theatres.  Protection  by  cancellation  will 
be  afforded  (those)  independents  who  buy  before  pictures 
are  tradeshown.  The  impact  of  other  features  of  the  decision 
on  independent  exhibitors  will  be  studied  by  the  Allied 
executive  committee  as  soon  as  detailed  analysis  of  the 
opinion  can  be  made." 


94 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  15,  1946 


"Till  the  End  of  Time"  with 
Dorothy  McGuire  and  Guy  Madison 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  105  min.) 

The  fact  that  this  drama  has  turned  out  to  be  an  interest- 
ing entertainment  is  owed  more  to  the  fine  acting  than  to 
the  story  itself.  Its  timely  theme  deals  with  the  difficulties 
and  uncertainties  faced  by  returned  war  veterans  seeking 
to  readjust  themselves  to  a  routine,  normal  life,  and  with 
the  importance  of  others  helping  to  bring  about  such  a  re- 
adjustment  through  sympathetic  understanding  of  the  serv 
iceman's  problems.  It  is  a  serious  treatment  of  a  post-war 
condition,  spoiled  somewhat  by  an  episodic  story  that  takes 
too  long  to  be  told,  and  by  characterizations  that  are  not  too 
clearly  delineated.  Although  it  is  not  a  cheerless  film,  it  is 
quite  moody.  All  the  main  characters,  however,  are  sym- 
pathetic, and  a  number  of  the  situations  will  stir  the  emo- 
tions deeply.  The  romance  between  Dorothy  McGuire,  a  war 
widow,  and  Guy  Madison,  a  despondent  veteran,  is  appeal- 
ing. Except  for  a  rousing  barroom  brawl  towards  the  finish, 
the  action  is  slow. 

The  story  concerns  itself  chiefly  with  the  restlessness  of 
Madison  following  his  return  home  after  three  years  in  the 
Marine  Corps.  Although  welcomed  by  his  parents,  he  finds 
it  difficult  to  accustom  himself  to  civilian  life  and  becomes 
irritable  over  their  failure  to  understand  him,  despite  their 
sincere  efforts  to  do  so.  He  meets  and  falls  in  love  with 
Dorothy,  but  his  failure  to  understand  that,  due  to  the  death 
of  her  soldier-husband,  she,  too,  was  going  through  a  phase 
of  adjustment,  keeps  them  apart  for  a  time.  But  he  eventually 
turns  to  her  for  consolation  and,  under  her  sympathetic 
guidance  and  understanding  of  his  problems,  overcomes 
his  discontent  and  prepares  to  make  a  new  life  for  himself. 

Worked  into  the  plot  also  are  the  problems  of  two  dis- 
abled ex-marines,  Robert  Mitchum,  who  comes  out  of  the 
war  with  a  recurring  head  injury,  and  Bill  Williams,  who 
had  lost  his  interest  in  life  after  both  his  legs  had  been 
amputated.  The  manner  in  which  both  are  spurred  into 
finding  the  courage  to  face  life  anew  is  depicted  dramatically. 

Allen  Rivkin  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  the  novel 
"They  Dream  of  Home"  by  Niven  Busch.  Dore  Schary  pro- 
duced it,  and  Edward  Dymtryk  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Tom  Tully,  William  Gargan,  Jean  Porter,  Ruth  Nelson  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Crack-up"  with  Pat  O'Brien,  Claire  Trevor 
and  Herbert  Marshall 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time  93  min.) 
An  exciting  melodrama;  the  action  is  fast  and  thrilling, 
and  it  holds  the  spectator  in  suspense  throughout.  Irving 
Reis,  the  director,  has  taken  an  average  crook  story  and 
made  an  absorbing  picture  of  it  mainly  by  his  skillful 
direction.  And  he  is  helped  considerably  by  the  competent 
performances  of  the  players.  The  plot,  which  revolves  around 
the  efforts  of  art  thieves  to  steal  famous  paintings  and  bilk 
insurance  companies,  possesses  enough  twists  to  keep  the 
spectator  continually  wondering  how  it  will  all  turn  out. 
Pat  O'Brien,  as  an  art  expert  who  is  victimized  by  the 
thieves,  and  who  goes  through  a  series  of  hair-raising  adven- 
tures before  bringing  them  to  justice,  is  given  a  role  that 
suits  his  talents  very  well.  The  love  interest  is  incidental 
but  pleasant. 

The  story  opens  with  O'Brien  losing  consciousness  as  he 
forces  his  way  into  the  Contemporary  Museum,  in  which 
he  lectured.  The  police  and  several  of  the  museum's  direc- 
tors take  him  in  hand,  and,  when  he  comes  to,  he  tells  them 
that  he  had  been  in  a  train  wreck.  Informed  that  there  had 
been  no  train  wreck,  O'Brien,  bewildered,  recalls  the  events 
earlier  that  evening.  Following  his  art  lecture,  during  which 
he  had  promised  his  listeners  that,  at  the  next  lecture,  he 
would  have  on  hand  for  X-raying,  a  famous  Gainsborough 
painting  loaned  by  a  British  museum,  he  had  received  a 
telephone  call  that  his  mother  was  ill  in  a  nearby  town.  En 
route,  the  lights  of  an  oncoming  train  had  held  him  spell- 
bound. He  recalled  a  crash,  but  could  remember  nothing 
until  he  woke  up  in  the  museum.  When  his  condition  is 
diagnosed  as  a  mental  crack-up  due  to  a  war  injury,  O'Brien 
determines  to  prove  that  he  had  been  in  a  train  wreck.  He 
retraces  his  steps  and  uncovers  information  that  he  had 
been  knocked  out  and  carried  off  the  train  as  a  drunkard. 
Subsequent  events  convince  him  that,  in  promising  to  have 
the  Gainsborough  on  hand  for  the  next  lecture,  he  had  un- 
wittingly interferred  with  the  scheme  of  a  gang  of  art  thieves, 
in  league  with  several  of  the  directors,  who  had  stolen  the 
Gainsborough  and  had  replaced  it  with  a  copy;  the  X-raying 
of  the  painting  would  have  uncovered  their  scheme.  His 


efforts  to  track  down  the  thieves  and  recover  the  painting 
involve  him  in  several  murders  and  almost  costs  him  his 
life,  but  he  eventually  succeeds  in  bringing  the  culprits  to 
justice.  In  this,  he  is  aided  by  Herbert  Marshall,  another  art 
expert,  whom  he  suspected  had  been  one  of  the  thieves,  but 
who  was  actually  a  Scotland  Yard  man  assigned  to  recover 
the  Gainsborough. 

John  Paxton,  Ben  Bengal  and  Ray  Spencer  wrote  the 
screen  play,  suggested  by  a  short  story,  "Madman's  Holi- 
day," by  Frederic  Brown.  Jack  J.  Gross  produced  it.  The 
cast  includes  Ray  Collins,  Wallace  Ford,  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Smoky"  with  Fred  MacMurray 
and  Anne  Baxter 

(20th  Century-Fox,  July;  time,  87  min.) 

Produced  once  before  by  Fox  in  1933,  this  second  screen 
version  of  Will  James'  popular  novel  is  a  pleasant  enter- 
tainment. It  is  by  far  superior  to  the  earlier  production  be- 
cause of  its  Technicolor  photography,  which,  for  the  most 
part,  enhances  the  beauty  of  the  outdoor  scenery.  At  times, 
however,  the  photography  is  poor;  the  faces  of  the  players 
appear  too  "coppery."  Some  minor  changes  have  been  made 
in  the  plot,  but  the  story  remains  substantially  the  same — 
that  ot  the  life  and  development  of  a  beautiful  wild  colt, 
and  of  a  ranch  hand's  devotion  to  the  animal.  The  action 
unfolds  in  leisurely  fashion,  with  occasional  bursts  of  ex- 
citement having  to  do  with  the  breaking-in  of  the  tempera- 
mental colt.  Although  the  story  is  told  simply,  one's  interest 
is  sustained  throughout  because  of  the  several  dramatic 
highlights  and  of  its  appeal  to  the  emotions.  The  situation 
in  which  the  horse  drags  his  injured  master  to  safety,  being 
careful  not  to  harm  him,  is  stirring.  Burl  Ives,  a  singer  of 
cowboy  ballads,  adds  much  to  the  entertainment  values: — 

Having  roamed  on  the  range  for  four  years,  Smoky,  a 
wild  stallion,  is  rounded  up  by  Fred  MacMurray,  a  roving 
cowboy,  who  drives  him  to  the  corral  of  the  Rocking  R 
Ranch.  There,  MacMurray  is  hired  by  Anne  Baxter,  the 
owner,  to  break  in  Smoky  and  other  wild  horses.  As  Mac- 
Murray  gently  but  firmly  breaks  Smoky,  a  strong  attachment 
develops  between  him  and  the  animal.  One  day  Bruce  Cabot, 
MacMurray's  wayward  brother,  comes  to  the  ranch  and 
cajoles  MacMurray  into  recommending  him  to  Anne  for  a 
job.  Weeks  later,  MacMurray  discovers  that  Cabot  had 
forged  his  name  to  an  I.O.U.  to  pay  off  a  gambling  debt;  he 
orders  him  to  leave  the  ranch.  Infuriated,  Cabot  steals 
Smoky  and  abuses  him.  The  animal,  enraged,  breaks  loose, 
tramples  Cabot  to  death,  and  escapes  into  the  hills.  Months 
later  Smoky  is  captured  by  cowpunchers  from  a  rodeo  show, 
which  takes  him  on  tour  as  the  world's  wildest  bucking 
bronc'.  Injured  during  one  of  the  performances,  Smoky  is 
sold  to  a  horse  trader.  From  that  time  on  he  has  one  master 
after  the  other,  sinking  lower  and  lower  until  he  is  reduced 
to  pulling  a  junk  wagon.  Meanwhile  MacMurray  had  spent 
his  time  searching  for  Smoky.  He  eventually  traces  the  horse 
to  the  junk  dealer,  buys  him  back,  and  returns  him  to  the 
ranch.  There,  after  proper  care,  Smoky  regains  his  old  spirit. 

Lillie  Hayward,  Dwight  Cummins,  and  Dorothy  Yost  wrote 
the  screen  play,  Robert  Bassler  produced  it,  and  Louis  King 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Esther  Dale,  Roy  Roberts  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"One  Exciting  Week"  with  Al  Pearce 

(Republic,  June  8;  time,  69  min.) 
Just  a  mildly  entertaining  program  comedy.  It  will  try 
the  patience  of  most  audiences,  for  the  story,  which  is  a 
trite  version  of  the  loss-of-memory  theme,  is  pretty  thin  and 
for  the  most  part  silly.  The  comedy  situations  are  forced 
and  the  dialogue  is  stilted.  And  since  the  spectator  knows 
in  advance  just  what  is  going  to  happen  and  how  the  story 
will  culminate,  his  interest  in  the  proceedings  is  diminished. 
Some  music  has  been  worked  into  the  picture;  but  it  has  no 
bearing  on  the  story.  The  players  struggle  to  make  something 
of  their  parts,  but  the  material  puts  them  at  a  distinct  dis- 
advantage : — 

Although  Al  Pearce,  a  war  hero,  had  left  town  when  he 
was  five-years-old,  the  townspeople  of  Midburg  prepare 
to  welcome  him  home  as  a  native  son  and  collect  $10,000 
to  be  presented  to  him  as  a  gift.  Meanwhile,  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, Pearce  bids  goodbye  to  Mary  Treen,  his  sweetheart, 
and  prepares  to  depart  for  Midburg.  En  route  to  the  sta- 
tion he  falls  into  the  hands  of  three  con-men  (Jerome  Cowan, 
Shemp  Howard,  and  Pinky  Lee).  He  sees  through  their 
scheme  to  trick  him  and,  while  in  a  fight  with  them,  suffers 
a  blow  on  the  head  and  loses  his  memory.  Discovering  that 


June  15,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


95 


Pearce  was  a  hero,  and  that  he  had  now  become  an  amnesia 
victim,  Cowan  and  his  pals  convince  Pearce  that  he  was  a 
notorious  hank  robber  and,  because  of  his  resemblance  to 
himself,  talk  him  into  "impersonating"  the  war  hero  as  part 
of  a  scheme  to  steal  the  $10,000  in  Midburg.  The  con-men, 
posing  as  Pearce's  war  buddies,  accompany  him  to  Midburg, 
where  the  townspeople  take  them  to  their  hearts.  But  the 
schemers  soon  find  their  plan  back-firing  when  Pearce,  still 
imagining  himself  to  be  a  bank  robber,  becomes  impatient 
with  the  celebrations  in  his  honor  and  insists  upon  cracking 
the  safe  containing  the  $10,000.  Matters  become  complicated 
still  further  when  Mary  arrives  in  town.  Lest  she  get  to 
Pearce  and  upset  their  plans,  the  con-men  frame  Mary  on  a 
theft  charge  and  see  to  it  that  she  is  jailed.  When  Pearce 
decides  to  wait  no  longer  for  the  $10,000,  the  con-men  tie 
him  up,  blow  the  safe  themselves,  and  make  their  getaway. 
Pearce,  freeing  himself,  traces  them  to  San  Francisco  and 
demands  the  money.  Another  fight  ensues  and  this  time  an- 
other blow  on  the  head  restores  his  memory.  The  police 
arrive  in  time  to  take  the  crooks  into  custody,  and  Pearce, 
without  realizing  that  he  had  been  through  an  adventure, 
collects  the  money  that  rightfully  belonged  to  him. 

Jack  Townley  and  John  K.  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Dennis  Murray,  Donald  H.  Brown  produced 
it,  and  William  Beaudine  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ar- 
lene  Harris,  "The  Teen-Agers"  band  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Lover  Come  Back"  with  George  Brent 
and  Lucille  Ball 

(Universal,  June  21;  time,  90  min.) 

A  fairly  amusing  sophisticated  comedy.  There  is  nothing 
startling  or  original  about  the  story,  and  at  times  one's  in- 
terest lags  because  of  the  repititious  doings.  But  it  will  prob- 
ably draw  fairly  well  because  of  the  popularity  of  Lucille 
Ball  and  George  Brent,  who  display  their  ability  at  light 
comedy  to  good  advantage.  Both  are  capable  enough  to 
make  somewhat  silly  situations  seem  quite  comical.  The 
story  is  the  old  one  about  a  faithful  wife  who  turns  the  tables 
on  her  philandering  husband  to  make  him  jealous.  The  out- 
come is  quite  obvious,  but  it  holds  the  spectator's  attention 
because  of  the  amusing  way  in  which  the  action  is  developed. 
Charles  Winninger,  as  Brent's  father,  a  man  with  similar 
traits,  provokes  considerable  laughter  by  his  antics: — 

Lucille,  a  top  dress  designer,  wards  off  the  many  attempts 
by  different  men  to  date  her,  remaining  faithful  to  her  hus- 
band, Brent,  a  war  correspondent  overseas.  When  Brent 
returns,  Lucille  comes  across  conclusive  evidence  proving 
that  he  had  been  friendly  with  many  women,  particularly 
Vera  Zorina,  a  photographer.  They  quarrel,  and  Lucille 
determines  to  teach  him  a  lesson.  She  deliberately  plants  evi' 
dence  about  their  apartment  indicating  that  she  was  being 
visited  by  different  men,  and  she  encourages  the  attentions 
of  Carl  Esmond,  an  amorous  co-designer.  Her  tactics  drive 
Brent  into  a  jealous  rage  and,  after  several  more  quarrels, 
she  decides  to  go  to  Las  Vegas  for  a  divorce.  By  coincidence, 
Brent  and  Zorina  are  sent  to  Las  Vegas  by  their  publisher 
to  do  a  layout  of  the  town.  Meanwhile  Esmond,  too,  arrives 
in  town  to  continue  his  pursuit  of  Lucille.  All  four  stay  at 
the  same  hotel.  Although  Lucille  and  Brent  think  wistfully 
of  each  other,  both  continue  to  provoke  one  another's 
jealousy.  Their  tactics  result  in  a  number  of  frantic  mix-ups 
before  Brent  finally  comes  to  the  realization  that  Lucille  was 
innocent  of  any  wrongdoing  and  that  he  had  been  playing 
the  fool. 

Michael  Fessier  and  Ernest  Pagano  wrote  the  original 
screen  play  and  produced  it.  William  A.  Seiter  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Raymond  Walburn,  Wallace  Ford,  Louise 
Beavers,  Elisabeth  Risdon,  William  Wright  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Faithful  in  My  Fashion"  with  Tom  Drake 
and  Donna  Reed 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  81  min.) 
A  fair  romantic  comedy-drama,  of  program  grade.  There 
is  nothing  extraordinary  about  either  the  story  or  its  treat- 
ment, but  it  has  enough  sentiment  to  strike  a  responsive 
chord  in  audiences  that  are  not  too  critical  about  their  screen 
entertainment.  The  picture's  shortcomings  are  in  the  dia- 
logue, which  is  cliche-ridden,  and  in  the  direction,  which 
puts  too  much  stress  on  the  sentimentality.  The  comedy  situ- 
ations, though  not  hilarious,  manage  to  be  consistently  amus- 
ing. The  romance  between  Tom  Drake  and  Donna  Reed  is 
pleasant,  and  the  characters  are  all  sympathetic;  but  because 
of  the  slowness  of  the  action  one's  interest  lags: — 


Returning  from  the  war  for  a  two-week  furlough  prior  to 
his  discharge  from  the  army,  Sergeant  Tom  Drake  hurries 
to  the  department  store  in  which  he  had  been  employed  to 
seek  out  Donna  Reed,  whom  he  still  believed  was  a  stock 
clerk  and  in  love  with  him.  Actually,  Donna  had  become 
the  head  buyer  and  was  engaged  to  Warner  Anderson,  a 
store  official.  She  did  not  mean  to  mislead  Drake  by  writing 
him  faithfully  while  he  was  overseas,  and  now  she  did  not 
have  the  heart  to  destroy  the  happiness  of  his  furlough.  She 
summons  up  enough  courage  to  make  a  confession,  but  Ed- 
ward Everett  Horton  and  a  few  other  co-workers  persuade 
her  to  make  Drake  happy  for  two  weeks  by  pretending  to  be 
in  love  with  him  and  by  concealing  her  promotion.  They 
have  a  glorious  time  together  and  in  due  time  Donna  dis- 
covers that  she  truly  loves  him.  She  breaks  her  engagement 
to  Anderson,  but  by  chance  Drake  learns  the  true  facts  and 
refuses  to  believe  her  love.  They  quarrel  and  part,  but  Horton 
and  his  co-conspirators  lure  the  two  together  again  and,  at 
the  finish,  they  fall  back  in  love. 

Lionel  Houser  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced  it,  and 
Sidney  Salkov  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Spring  Bying- 
ton,  Sig  Ruman,  Margaret  Hamilton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Three  Wise  Fools"  with  Margaret  O'Brien, 
Lionel  Barrymore,  Lewis  Stone,  Edward 
Arnold  and  Thomas  Mitchell 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  90  min.) 

If  one  can  put  himself  in  the  mood,  "Three  Wise  Fools" 
should  prove  to  be  a  thoroughly  enjoyable  entertainment. 
It  should  certainly  please  the  family  trade.  Half-fact  and 
half-fantasy,  its  story  about  an  eight-year-old  Irish  colleen, 
whose  faith  in  fairies  brings  about  the  regeneration  of  three 
crafty,  rich  old  bachelors,  is  told  with  considerable  charm 
and  heart  appeal.  The  featured  role,  that  of  the  little  girl,  is 
played  by  Margaret  O'Brien  in  wonderful  fashion;  her  per- 
formance is  so  good  that  she  outshines  the  fine  acting  of  the 
other  distinguished  actors  in  the  cast.  Some  of  the  situations 
are  very  comical,  and  others  are  quite  pathetic.  The  closing 
scenes,  where  the  three  hard-bitten,  scheming  old  men  be- 
come thoroughly  ashamed  of  themselves  for  having  shaken 
Margaret's  belief  in  fairies,  then  make  public  spectacles  of 
themselves  to  restore  her  belief,  offers  laughter  and  tears 
in  plentiful  quantities. 

Opening  as  a  fantasy,  the  story  begins  with  an  ancient 
leprechan  (Harry  Davenport)  relating  a  story  to  the  younger 
ones  to  convince  them  that  human  creatures  existed.  He  tells 
them  of  the  love  three  young  men  had  for  the  same  girl,  and 
of  their  unsuccessful  efforts  to  foil  her  elopement  to  an  Irish 
troubador,  who  had  placed  on  them  an  Irish  curse — that 
their  ambitions  come  true.  Forty  years  later,  the  curse  had 
worked :  Lionel  Barrymore  had  become  a  famous  doctor, 
Lewis  Stone,  a  judge,  and  Edward  Arnold,  a  millionaire 
banker.  All  three,  bachelors,  lived  together,  selfishly  en- 
grossed in  their  own  interests.  To  further  their  popularity 
in  town,  the  trio  had  donated  a  piece  of  property  to  a  local 
college  as  a  site  for  a  Greek  theatre.  Shortly  thereafter,  Mar- 
garet, accompanied  by  Thomas  Mitchell,  her  man-servant, 
had  come  to  their  home  from  Ireland  and  had  introduced 
herself  as  the  granddaughter  of  their  long  lost  love,  whose 
dying  wish  was  that  they  become  her  guardians.  The  old 
men  had  turned  Margaret  away,  but  they  soon  changed 
their  minds  when  they  discovered  that,  through  a  mix-up, 
they  had  made  a  gift  of  property  that  belonged  to  the  child. 
Lest  they  be  ridiculed  for  the  error,  the  trio  had  become 
her  guardians  and  had  resorted  to  all  sorts  of  tricks  to  get 
Margaret  to  hand  over  the  deed.  But  the  child  had  refused 
because  the  building  plans  called  for  the  removal  of  an  oak 
tree,  which  she  believed  was  inhabited  by  leprechans,  who 
would  be  left  without  a  home.  As  a  last  resort,  the  trio  had 
hired  a  troupe  of  midgets  to  act  as  leprechans  and  to  inform 
Margaret  that  they  were  moving  to  a  new  home  because  the 
tree  was  dying.  Convinced,  Margaret  had  turned  over  the 
deed,  only  to  learn  later  that  she  had  been  tricked.  The  dis- 
illusioned child  had  run  away  to  a  convent  to  become  a  nun, 
and  the  sister  superior  (Jane  Darwell)  had  called  on  the  old 
men  to  express  her  opinion  of  them  for  shattering  the  dreams 
and  beliefs  of  the  child.  Ashamed,  and  by  this  time  in  love 
with  Margaret,  the  trio  had  used  their  influence  and  money 
to  buy  back  the  property,  and  had  belittled  themselves  pub- 
licly to  restore  her  faith  in  humans  and  in  fairies. 

John  McDermott  and  James  O'Hanlon  wrote  the  screen 
play  based  upon  the  play  by  Winchell  Smith.  William  H. 
Wright  produced  it,  and  Edward  Buzzell  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Henry  O'Neill,  Charles  Dingle,  Ray  Collins  and 
others. 


96 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  15,  1946 


FULL  TEXT  OF  THE  PROVISIONS 
FOR  A  FINAL  DECREE 

A  decree  is  granted  in  accordance  with  the  views  expressed 
in  the  foregoing  opinion  to  be  settled  on  ten  days'  notice. 
It  should  provide  for  the  dismissal  of  all  claims  asserted  by 
the  plaintiff  against  any  of  the  defendants  which  act  only  as 
producers  of  motion  pictures  and  for  the  dismissal  of  claims 
against  any  other  defendants  based  on  their  acts  as  pro- 
ducers, whether  as  individuals  or  in  conjunction  with  others. 

The  granting  of  licenses  by  any  of  the  defendant-distrib- 
utors which  fix  minimum  prices  for  admission  to  theatres 
either  of  the  defendants  or  of  any  other  exhibitor  should  be 
enjoined  in  which  such  minimum  admission  prices  are  fixed 
by  the  parties  either  in  writing,  or  through  a  committee,  or 
through  arbitration,  or  upon  the  happening  of  any  event,  or 
in  any  other  wise. 

The  defendants  should  be  enjoined  from  concertedly 
agreeing  to  maintain  a  system  of  clearances  as  among  them- 
selves or  with  other  exhibitors,  and  no  clearances  should  be 
granted  against  theatres  in  substantial  competition  with  the 
theatre  receiving  a  license  for  exhibition  in  excess  of  what 
is  reasonably  necessary  to  protect  the  licensee  in  the  run 
granted.  Existing  clearances  in  excess  of  what  is  reasonably 
necessary  to  protect  the  licensees  in  the  runs  awarded  to 
them  shall  be  invalid  pro  tanto.  In  determining  what  is  a 
reasonable  clearance  the  following  factors  should  be  taken 
into  consideration: 

( 1 )  The  admission  prices  of  the  theatres  involved,  as  set 
by  the  exhibitor; 

(2)  The  character  and  location  of  the  theatres  involved, 
including  size,  type  of  entertainment,  appointments,  transit 
facilities,  etc.; 

(3)  The  policy  of  operation  of  the  theatres  involved,  such 
as  the  showing  of  double  features,  gift  nights,  give-aways, 
premiums,  cut-rate  tickets,  lotteries,  etc.; 

(4)  The  rental  terms  and  license  fees  paid  by  the  theatres 
involved  and  the  revenues  derived  by  the  distributor-defend- 
ant from  such  theatres; 

(5)  The  extent  to  which  the  theatres  involved  compete 
with  each  other  for  patronage; 

(6)  The  fact  that  a  theatre  involved  is  affiliated  with  a 
defendant-distributor  or  with  an  independent  circuit  of 
theatres  should  be  disregarded;  and 

(7)  There  should  be  no  clearance  between  theatres  not 
in  substantial  competition. 

The  further  performance  by  any  of  the  defendants  of 
existing  formula  deals,  master  agreements  to  the  extent  that 
we  have  previously  found  them  invalid,  or  franchises  should 
be  enjoined,  and  the  defendants  should  also  be  enjoined 
from  entering  into  or  carrying  out  any  similar  agreements 
in  the  future. 

Defendants  owning  a  legal  or  equitable  interest  in  theatres 
of  ninety-five  per  cent  or  more  either  directly  or  through 
subsidiaries  may  exhibit  pictures  of  their  own  or  of  their 
wholly  owned  subsidiaries  in  such  theatres  upon  such  terms 
as  to  admission  prices  and  clearances  and  on  such  runs  as 
they  see  fit. 

No  defendant  or  its  subsidiaries  shall  exhibit  its  films  other 
than  on  its  own  behalf  or  through  wholly  owned  subsidiaries 
in  which  it  has  an  interest  of  at  least  ninety-five  per  cent, 
without  offering  the  license  at  a  minimum  price  for  any  run 
desired  by  the  operators  of  each  theatre  within  the  competi- 
tive area.  The  license  desired  shall  in  such  case  be  granted 
to  the  highest  responsible  bidder  having  a  theatre  of  a  size 
and  equipment  adequate  to  show  the  picture  upon  the  terms 
offered.  The  license  shall  be  granted  solely  upon  the  merits 
and  without  discrimination  in  favor  of  affiliates,  old  cus- 
tomers, or  any  person  whatever.  Each  license  shall  be  offered 
and  taken  theatre  by  theatre  and  picture  by  picture.  No 
contracts  for  exhibition  shall  be  entered  into,  or  if  already 
outstanding  shall  be  performed,  in  which  the  license  to  ex- 
hibit one  feature  is  conditioned  upon  the  agreement  of  the 
licensee  to  take  a  license  of  one  or  more  other  features,  but 
licenses  to  exhibit  more  than  one  feature  may  be  included 
in  a  single  instrument  provided  the  licensee  shall  have  had 
the  opportunity  to  bid  for  each  feature  separately  and  shall 
have  made  the  best  bid  for  each  picture  so  included.  To  the 
extent  that  any  of  the  pictures  have  not  been  trade-shown 
prior  to  the  granting  of  a  license  for  more  than  a  single  pic- 
ture, the  licensee  shall  be  given  by  the  licensor  the  right  to 
reject  a  percentage  of  such  pictures  not  trade-shown  prior 
to  the  granting  of  the  license  to  be  fixed  by  the  decree.  But 
that  right  to  reject  any  picture  must  be  exercised  within 


ten  days  after  there  has  been  an  opportunity  afforded  to  the 
licensee  to  inspect  it. 

The  defendants  shall  be  enjoined  from  entering  into  or 
continuing  to  perform  existing  pooling  agreements  whereby 
given  theatres  of  two  or  more  exhibitors,  normally  in  com- 
petition, are  operated  as  a  unit  or  whereby  the  business 
policies  of  such  exhibitors  are  collectively  determined  by 
a  joint  committee,  or  by  one  of  the  exhibitors,  or  whereby 
profits  of  the  "pooled"  theatres  are  divided  among  the 
owners  according  to  pre-agreed  percentages.  They  shall  also 
be  enjoined  from  making  or  continuing  to  perform  agree- 
ments that  the  parties  may  not  acquire  other  theatres  in  the 
competitive  area  without  first  offering  them  for  inclusion  in 
the  pool.  The  making  or  continuance  of  leases  of  theatres 
under  which  defendants  lease  any  of  their  theatres  to  an- 
other defendant  or  to  an  independent  operating  a  theatre 
in  the  competitive  area  in  return  for  a  share  of  the  profits 
shall  be  enjoined. 

Each  defendant  shall  cease  and  desist  from  ownership 
of  an  interest  in  any  theatre,  whether  in  fee  or  in  stock  or 
otherwise,  in  conjunction  with  another  defendant-exhibitor. 
Each  defendant  shall  cease  and  desist  from  ownership, 
jointly  with  an  independent,  of  an  interest  in  any  theatre, 
greater  than  five  per  cent,  unless  such  a  defendant's  interest 
is  ninety-five  per  cent  or  more;  and  where  the  interest  of 
such  defendant  is  more  than  five  per  cent  and  less  than 
ninety-five  per  cent,  such  joint  interests  shall  be  dissolved 
either  by  a  sale  to,  or  by  a  purchase  from,  such  co-owner  or 
co-owners.  Rearrangements  of  such  joint  interests  with  an 
independent,  if  by  purchase,  shall,  however,  be  subject  to 
the  discretion  of  this  court  so  that  their  effectuation  may 
promote  competition  in  the  exhibition  of  motion  pictures. 
Where  a  defendant  owns  a  ninety-five  or  greater  per  cent 
interest  in  any  theatre,  such  theatre  may  be  considered  as 
its  own  so  far  as  this  opinion  and  the  decree  to  be  entered 
hereon  are  concerned.  Each  of  the  defendants  shall  be 
enjoined  from  expanding  its  theatre  holdings  except  for  the 
purpose  of  acquiring  a  co-owner's  interest  in  jointly  owned 
theatres,  and  this  only  in  cases  where  the  court  shall  permit 
such  acquisition,  instead  of  requiring  an  outright  sale  of  the 
undivided  interest  of  the  defendant  in  question.  The  fore- 
going provision  as  to  divestiture  of  partial  interests  in 
theatres  shall  apply  both  to  interests  held  in  fee  and  bene- 
ficially and  to  those  represented  by  shares  of  stock.  But  it 
shall  not  prevent  a  defendant  from  acquiring  theatres  or 
interests  therein  in  order  to  protect  its  investments,  or  in 
order  to  enter  a  competitive  field;  if  in  the  latter  case,  this 
court  or  other  competent  authority  shall  approve  the  ac- 
quisition after  due  application  is  made  therefor. 

Each  defendant  shall  be  enjoined  from  operating,  booking 
or  film-buying  through  any  agent  who  is  also  acting  in  such 
matters  for  any  other  exhibitor,  independent  or  affiliated. 

The  decree  shall  also  provide  for  arbitration  of  disputes 
as  to  bids,  clearances,  runs,  and  any  other  subjects  appro- 
priate for  arbitration  in  respect  to  all  parties  who  may  con- 
sent to  the  creation  of  such  tribunals  for  adjustment  of  such 
disputes.  It  shall  also  provide  for  an  appeal  board  generally 
similar  to  the  one  created  by  the  consent  decree  as  to  any 
parties  consenting  thereto.  It  shall  make  such  disposition 
of  the  provisions  of  the  existing  consent  decree  signed 
November  30,  1940,  as  may  be  necessary  in  view  of  the 
foregoing  opinion. 

In  order  to  secure  compliance  with  the  decree  to  be  en- 
tered, duly  authorized  representatives  of  the  Department  of 
Justice  shall  on  the  written  request  of  the  Attorney  General 
or  the  Assistant  Attorney  General  in  charge  of  anti-trust 
matters,  and  on  reasonable  notice  to  the  defendant  or  de- 
fendants affected,  be  permitted  reasonable  access  to  all  books 
and  papers  of  the  defendants  and  reasonable  opportunity  to 
interview  their  officers  or  employees,  as  provided  in  Section 
XVIII  of  the  Consent  Decree. 

Proceedings  under  the  decree  to  be  entered  shall  be  stayed 
pending  appeal  or  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  parties 
to  adjust  their  business  without  an  unfair  burden  or  as  prac- 
tice may  require  upon  such  terms  as  the  decree  shall  provide. 

Jurisdiction  of  this  cause  shall  be  retained  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enabling  any  of  the  parties  to  the  decree  to  apply 
to  the  court  at  any  time  for  such  orders  or  directions  as 
may  be  necessary  or  appropriate  for  the  construction  or 
carrying  out  of  the  same,  for  the  enforcement  of  compliance 
therewith,  and  for  the  punishment  of  violations  thereof,  or 
for  other  or  further  relief. 

Findings  should  be  proposed  by  the  parties  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  court,  but  such  proposed  findings  will  form  no 
part  of  the  record. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JUNE  22,  1946  No.  25 


AL  STEFFES 

A  great  motion  picture  industry  pioneer  has  passed  away. 
He  will  long  be  remembered,  not  only  by  exhibitors,  but 
also  by  every  distributor  he  had  come  in  contact  with,  be 
cause  he  was  a  distinctive  character. 

He  was  rough  in  his  social  relations  with  his  friends,  but 
that  was  only  an  assumed  roughness,  for  under  that  rough 
exterior  he  was  hiding  one  of  the  most  tender  hearts  any 
human  being  ever  possessed. 

Al  Steffes  was  a  man.  His  friends  and  admirers  were 
legion.  No  one  could  be  near  him  without  coming  under 
the  spell  of  his  great  personality. 

To  me,  the  passing  away  of  Al  Steffes  is  a  great  personal 
loss,  for  our  friendship  began  twenty-seven  years  ago,  and 
it  was  destined  to  last  as  long  as  there  was  life  in  either  of 
us. 

Rest  in  peace,  my  friend!  You  may  have  gone  away,  but 
you  will  be  ever  present  in  the  thoughts  of  all  those  of  us 
who  knew  you  and  loved  you. 


AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COURT'S 
OPINION 

Beginning  with  this  issue,  Harrison's  Reports  will 
present  a  layman's  analysis  of  the  court's  opinion  in  the 
New  York  anti-trust  suit,  some  of  the  details  of  which  were 
treated  in  last  week's  issue.  The  purpose  erf  this  analysis 
is  to  give  the  layman  a  clear  understanding  of  such  parts 
of  the  opinion  as  may  seem  ambiguous  to  him  because  of 
the  legalistic  language,  and  to  discuss  such  questions  as  are 
of  interest  to  all  exhibitors.  Where  the  court's  language  is 
clear,  it  will  be  published  verbatim. 

Price-fixing 

After  giving  the  distributors'  point  of  view  as  to  the 
necessity  of  fixing  minimum  admission  prices,  the  court 
states  that,  no  matter  what  the  reasons,  price-fixing  agree- 
ments among  all  the  distributor-defendants,  as  well  as  be- 
tween them  and  individual  exhibitors,  is  forbidden  by  the 
Sherman  Act.  "A  correlation  of  these  agreements  shows 
that  in  many  instances  the  minimum  prices  set  forth  in  the 
license  agreements  by  the  various  defendants  are  in  sub- 
stantial conformity." 

To  the  assertion  of  the  defendants  that  the  minimum 
prices  put  into  the  contract  are  the  prices  that  the  exhibitor 
charges  to  the  public,  the  court  answers:  "It  does  not  seem 
important  whether  the  distributor  was  the  more  controlling 
factor  in  determining  the  minimum  admission  prices. 
Whether  it  was  such  a  factor  or  merely  acceded  to  the 
customary  prices  of  the  exhibitors,  in  either  event  there 
was  a  general  arrangement  of  fixing  prices  in  which  both 
distributors  and  exhibitors  were  involved.  But  it  is  plain 
that  the  distributor  did  more  than  accede  to  existing  price 
schedules.  The  licenses  required  them  to  be  maintained 
under  severe  penalties  for  infraction,  and  the  evidence 
shows  that  the  distributors  in  the  case  of  exceptional 
features,  where  not  satisfied  with  current  prices,  would 
refuse  to  grant  licenses  unless  the  prices  were  raised.  More- 


over, the  distributors,  when  licensing  on  a  percentage  basis, 
were  interested  in  the  prices  charged  and  even  when 
licensing  for  a  flat  rental  were  interested  in  admission  prices 
to  be  charged  for  subsequent  runs  which  they  might  license 
on  a  percentage  basis.  .  .  ."  In  other  words,  the  court  says, 
in  the  opinion  of  this  analyst,  that  the  distributors  were 
interested  in  maintaining  prices  even  when  the  contracts 
were  flat  rental,  because  they  might  want  to  rent  that  same 
picture  to  subsequent-run  exhibitors  in  that  locality  on  a 
percentage  basis,  and  any  lowering  of  admission  prices  in 
those  theatres  might  hurt  their  revenue  from  subsequent 
percentage  runs. 

".  .  .  Likewise  all  of  the  major  defendants  had  a  definite 
interest  in  keeping  up  prices  in  any  given  territory  in 
which  they  owned  theatres,  and  this  interest  they  were 
safeguarding  by  fixing  minimum  admission  prices  in  their 
licenses  when  distributing  their  films  to  independent  exhibi- 
tors in  those  areas.  .  .  . 

.  .  Even  if  the  licenses  were  at  a  flat  rate,  a  failure  to 
require  their  licensees  to  maintain  fixed  prices  would  leave 
them  free  by  lowering  the  current  charge  to  decrease 
through  competition  the  income  in  the  licensors'  own 
theatres  in  the  neighborhood.  .  .  ." 

This,  in  my  opinion,  means  that,  even  in  the  case  of 
flat  rental  contracts,  the  distributors  put  into  them  pro- 
visions  controlling  minimum  admission  prices,  because,  if 
they  did  not,  the  independent  exhibitor  would  be  free  to 
lower  his  admission  prices  to  attract  patrons  to  his  own 
theatre,  thus  hurting  the  income  of  the  distributor's  theatres 
in  the  neighborhood.  With  an  independent  exhibitor's 
admission  prices  controlled,  the  distributor  was  enabled  to 
reduce  the  competition  against  his  own  theatres. 

".  .  .  The  whole  system  presupposed  a  fixing  of  prices  by 
all  parties  concerned  in  all  competitive  areas." 

By  presenting  a  chart,  compiled  from  distributor  answers 
to  questions  put  by  the  Government  lawyers  and  from 
exhibits,  the  court  proves  that  the  specified  admission  prices 
prescribed  in  the  same  theatres  in  the  distributor-defend- 
ants' contracts  for  licenses  were  similar,  and  often  identical. 

".  .  .  Such  uniformity  of  action  spells  a  deliberately  un- 
lawful system,  the  existence  of  which  is  not  dispelled  by 
the  testimony  of  interested  witnesses  that  one  distributor 
does  not  know  what  another  distributor  is  doing;  and  there 
can,  in  our  opinion,  be  no  reasonable  inference  that  the 
defendants  are  not  all  planning  to  fix  minimum  prices  to 
which  their  licensees  must  adhere. 

"In  addition,  several  of  the  exhibits  disclose  operating 
agreements  between  the  five  distributor-defendants  who  are 
also  theatre  owners,  or  between  them  and  independent 
theatre  owners  in  which  joint  operation  of  the  theatres 
covered  by  the  agreements  is  provided  and  minimum  ad- 
mission prices  to  be  charged  are  either  stated  therein,  or  are 
to  be  jointly  determined  by  other  means.  .  .  . 

"As  further  evidence  of  a  conspiracy  among  the  dis- 
tributors to  fix  prices,  we  find  master  agreements  and 
franchises  between  various  of  the  defendants  in  their 
capacities  as  exhibitors.  These  contracts  stipulate  minimum 
admission  prices  often  for  dozens  of  theatres  owned  by 
an  exhibitor-defendant  in  a  particular  area  of  the  United 
States.  .  .  . 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


98 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  22,  1946 


"Deadline  for  Murder"  with  Kent  Taylor 
and  Sheila  Ryan 

( 20th  Century-Fox,  August;  time,  6?  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  program  murder-mystery 
melodrama,  with  enough  excitement  to  satisfy  the  undis- 
criminating  action  fans.  The  plot,  however,  is  so  involved 
and  muddled  that  the  spectator  docs  not  know  what  it  is  all 
about;  and  for  that  reason  it  fails  to  create  the  sort  of  sus- 
pense that  is  generally  associated  with  pictures  of  this  type. 
The  story  is  lacking  in  human  appeal,  and  the  characters, 
by  their  actions,  fail  to  arouse  one's  sympathy.  The  interest 
is  weakened  also  by  the  fact  that,  for  the  sake  of  comedy, 
there  are  injected  into  the  plot  too  many  by-plays.  What- 
ever interest  the  spectator  may  have  in  the  picture  will  be 
owed  to  the  performances  of  the  players,  who  rise  above  the 
poor  material : — 

When  Joan  Blair  discovers  the  disappearance  of  a  valu- 
able document,  which  belonged  to  her  husband,  an  oil  ty- 
coon, and  which  was  sought  by  foreign  interests,  she  com- 
municates with  Kent  Taylor,  a  gambler  and  man-about-town, 
to  request  his  aid.  She  informs  him  that  Leslie  Vincent,  her 
stepson,  had  pocketed  his  father's  gun  and  had  left  the  house 
determined  to  retrieve  the  document.  She  feared  for  his 
safty.  Learning  that  the  young  man  had  been  associating 
with  Marion  Martin,  entertainer  in  a  gambling  club  oper- 
ated by  Jerome  Cowan  and  Andre  Chariot,  and  that  he  had 
been  mixed  up  with  Edward  Marr,  a  petty  thief,  Taylor 
traces  Vincent  to  Marion's  apartment  where  he  finds  him 
drugged.  He  goes  to  the  club,  arriving  just  as  Rcnee  Carson, 
a  mystery  woman,  exits  from  Chariot's  office.  He  goes  in  and 
finds  Chariot  murdered,  clutching  in  one  hand  an  empty 
envelope  that  had  contained  the  missing  document.  Taylor 
trails  Renee  to  the  hotel  but  she  refuses  to  reveal  any  in- 
formation about  herself.  Detective  Paul  Kelly,  investigating 
Chariot's  murder,  interests  himself  in  the  search  for  the 
document.  He  follows  Taylor  through  a  series  of  adventures, 
during  which  both  Marion  and  Marr  are  found  murdered, 
and  at  different  times  finds  reason  to  suspect  Taylor  of  the 
killings  and  at  other  times  finds  it  necessary  to  protect  his 
life.  Meanwhile  Sheila  Ryan,  a  newspaperwoman,  attaches 
herself  to  Taylor  and  Kelly,  and  both  find  it  necessary  to  keep 
her  confined  lest  she  break  the  story  and  hurt  their  chances 
of  solving  the  case.  The  mystery  is  eventually  cleared  up 
when  it  is  discovered  that  Cowan  had  stolen  the  document 
and  had  committed  the  murders;  he  had  intended  to  turn 
the  document  over  to  Renee,  who  represented  foreign  in- 
tersts.  The  case  solved,  Sheila  and  Taylor,  by  this  time  in 
love,  decide  to  marry. 

Irving  Cummings,  Jr.  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Sol 
M.  Wurtzel  produced  it,  and  James  Thimig  directed  it. 
Adult  entertainment. 

"The  Bamboo  Blonde"  with  Frances  Lang- 
ford  and  Russell  Wade 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  68  min.) 
Handicapped  by  a  thin  story  that  has  been  done  countless 
times,  this  romantic  comedy-drama,  with  music,  is  just 
moderately  entertaining  program  fare.  The  plot's  familiarity 
weakens  one's  interest  in  the  outcome.  Frances  Langford 
and  Russell  Wade  strive  to  make  something  out  of  their 
parts,  but  they  are  hindered  by  the  loosely  constructed 
screen  play,  which  has  been  given  a  light  treatment  but 
does  not  quite  succeed  in  being  as  comical  as  intended.  Miss 
Langford's  pleasant  singing  provides  the  film  with  several 
engaging  moments,  and  her  current  popularity  on  the  radio 
may  be  of  help  at  the  box-office.  The  romantic  interest  is 
appealing: — 

Prior  to  his  departure  overseas,  Lt.  Russell  Wade,  an 
army  flier  and  wealthy  socialite,  has  a  chance  meeting  with 
Frances  Langford,  a  night-club  singer,  and  spends  an  eve- 
ning of  innocent  fun  with  her.  His  crew  members  assume 
that  they  were  sweethearts  and,  after  arriving  at  their  base, 
decide  to  please  Wade  by  painting  Frances'  portrait  on  their 
plane  and  christening  it  "The  Bambo  Blonde."  When  the 
crew's  heroic  exploits  make  the  headlines,  Ralph  Edwards, 
owner  of  the  night-club,  is  quick  to  take  advantage  of  the 


headlines  to  bring  fame  to  his  club  and  to  Frances,  and  to 
help  the  publicity  he  encourages  rumors  of  a  romance  be- 
tween Frances  and  Wade.  "The  Blonde  Bomber"  is  ordered 
back  to  the  United  States  for  a  bond  tour,  and  Frances,  un- 
easy about  the  rumors  Edwards  had  spread,  goes  to  the  air- 
port to  meet  "her  hero."  Wade,  understanding  her  reluc- 
tance to  "cash  in"  on  his  bravery,  falls  in  love  with  her.  But 
Jane  Greer,  a  snobbish  socialite,  to  whom  Wade  had  been 
engaged,  determines  to  break  up  the  romance.  Pretending 
friendship,  she  slyly  convinces  Frances  that  her  marriage 
to  Wade  would  not  work  out  because  of  their  different 
social  positions.  Her  efforts  prompt  Frances  into  breaking 
her  engagement  to  Wade.  But  the  young  man,  seeing 
through  Jane's  tricks,  lures  Frances  to  his  home,  where  a 
hearty  welcome  from  his  parents  makes  it  quite  clear  that 
they  wanted  her  for  a  daughter-in-law. 

Olive  Cooper  and  Lawrence  Kimble  wrote  the  screen  play 
based  on  a  story  by  Wayne  Whittaker.  Herman  Schlom 
produced  it,  and  Anthony  Mann  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Iris  Adrian,  Richard  Martin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Crime  of  the  Century"  with  Stephanie 
Bachelor  and  Michael  Browne 

(Republic,  Feb.  28;  time.  56  min.) 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  plot  is  somewhat  illogical  and 
its  development  leaves  too  many  loose  ends,  this  program 
mystery  melodrama  shapes  up  as  a  fairly  interesting  support- 
ing feature,  although  it  is  a  rather  sordid  entertainment. 
Revolving  around  an  ex-convict's  efforts  to  find  his  brother, 
a  newspaperman,  who  had  disappeared  while  on  the  verge 
of  exposing  an  unscrupulous  scheme  to  suppress  news  of  a 
financier's  death,  the  plot  has  a  fair  share  of  suspense  and 
several  exciting  situations.  The  cast  means  little  at  the  box- 
office,  but  the  performances  are  good.  Michael  Browne,  a 
newcomer,  gives  a  good  account  of  himself  as  the  tough 
hero.  One  sequence,  in  which  the  body  of  the  dead  financier 
is  shown  packed  in  ice  in  a  bathtub,  is  gruesome: — 

Just  released  from  prison,  Michael  Browne  telephones  his 
brother,  Ray  Walker,  a  newspaperman,  and  arranges  to 
meet  him  at  a  cafe  for  a  reunion.  When  Walker  fails  to 
show  up,  Browne,  tired  of  waiting,  goes  to  his  apartment. 
There  he  finds  Stephanie  Bachelor,  an  exotic  woman,  who 
claimed  to  be  a  close  friend  of  Walker's.  She  informs  him 
that  Walker  had  been  called  out  of  town  on  an  important 
story.  But  when  his  brother  fails  to  return  the  following 
day  Browne  communicates  with  his  editor,  who  advises  him 
to  inquire  at  the  home  of  Frederick  Howard,  a  business  ty- 
coon, whose  alleged  illness  Walker  had  been  investigating 
for  his  paper.  Browne  goes  to  the  sumptuous  residence  and 
is  told  by  a  nurse  that  Walker  had  not  been  there  for  a  week. 
He  tries  to  see  Howard,  but  is  told  that  he  was  perrmitted 
no  visitors.  He  becomes  suspicious  when  Betty  Shaw,  How- 
ard's daughter,  confides  to  him  that  Walker  had  been  in 
the  house  the  day  previously,  and  that  she,  too,  was  not 
permitted  to  see  her  father.  As  Browne  leaves,  Stephanie 
appears  and  reveals  that  she  was  Howard's  secretary.  She 
takes  an  interest  in  Browne  and  cleverly  leads  him  to  be- 
lieve that  there  was  nothing  unusual  about  his  brother's  ab- 
sence. Actually,  Stephanie,  in  league  with  Paul  Stanton, 
Howard's  partner,  was  holding  Walker  as  their  prisoner  to 
keep  him  from  revealing  that  Howard  was  dead.  They 
sought  to  keep  the  death  a  secret  until  after  a  stockholders' 
meeting  so  that  Stanton  could  gain  control  of  the  business. 
Different  sinister  events  rouse  Browne's  suspicions  once 
again,  and  he  starts  an  investigation  of  his  own.  Despite 
efforts  to  confuse  him  and  an  attempt  to  kill  him,  Browne 
succeeds  in  learning  the  truth  in  time  to  save  his  brother 
from  harm.  Stephanie  decides  to  confess  to  the  police  but 
Stanton  determines  to  stop  her.  She  shoots  Stanton,  who,  in 
turn,  shoots  her  dead  before  he  dies. 

Oleta  Rhinehart  and  William  Hagens  wrote  the  story, 
and  Mr.  Hagens  collaborated  on  the  screen  play  with  Ger- 
trude Walker.  Walter  H.  Goetz  produced  it,  and  Philip 
Ford  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


June  22,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


99 


"Dangerous  Business"  with  Forrest  Tucker 
and  Lynn  Merrick 

(Columbia,  June  20;  time,  59  min.) 

Columbia  has  come  forward  with  another  bore.  It  is  a 
program  crook  melodrama  with  the  accent  on  the  comedy, 
but  it  offers  little  either  to  retain  one's  interest  or  to  provoke 
one's  laughter.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  greater  part  of  the 
story  is  so  silly  that  it  becomes  tiresome.  Some  spots  are  ex- 
ceedingly  draggy.  There  is  no  human  interest,  and  the 
characters  are  not  of  the  type  to  arouse  sympathy.  Modest 
production  values,  and  a  cast  that  means  little  at  the  box- 
office,  relegate  this  to  the  lower  half  of  a  mid-week  double 
bill  in  secondary  theatres: — 

Lynn  Merrick  and  Forrest  Tucker  graduate  from  law 
school  together  and  open  an  office  in  partnership.  They  are 
literally  without  business  until  Gus  Schilling,  an  underworld 
character  who  had  their  interests  at  heart,  informs  them  that 
Thurston  Hall,  president  of  a  utilities  company,  had  been 
framed  by  his  own  lawyer  on  an  embezzlement  charge.  They 
take  on  the  job  of  defending  Hall,  but  find  themselves 
financially  unable  to  bail  him  out  of  jail.  Schilling,  however, 
arranges  with  Cora  Witherspoon,  Lynn's  mother,  to  mort- 
gage her  home  and,  with  additional  money  borrowed  from 
Gerald  Mohr,  another  underworld  character,  bails  out  Hall 
and  takes  him  to  Lynn's  home.  The  crooked  lawyer,  how- 
ever, manages  to  kidnap  Hall.  Lynn  and  Tucker  search  in 
vain  for  him.  Schilling,  to  save  the  bail  money,  steals  a  body 
from  the  morgue,  planning  to  have  it  identified  as  Hall's. 
Tucker  tries  to  stop  him  only  to  find  himself  charged  with 
murder  when  the  police  catch  him  with  the  body.  Mean- 
while Lynn's  mother,  learning  where  Hall  was  being  held, 
goes  there  and  is  kidnapped  herself.  After  a  series  of  events, 
in  which  Tucker  escapes  from  the  police,  every  one  con- 
verges on  the  hideout,  where  they  rescue  Miss  Witherspoon 
and  Hall,  and  capture  the  kidnappers.  It  all  ends  with  Hall 
cleared  of  the  embezzlement  charge,  and  with  Lynn  and 
Tucker  engaged  as  his  lawyers,  enabling  them  to  marry. 

Hal  Smith  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  play  by  Harry 
J.  Essex.  Ted  Richmond  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross  Lederman 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Shemp  Howard,  Frank  Sully, 
Matt  Willis  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Strange  Voyage"  with  Eddie  Albert 

(Monogram,  July  6;  time,  61  min.) 

This  adventure  melodrama,  revolving  around  a  search 
for  hidden  gold,  is  a  fair  program  entertainment  of  its  kind. 
Its  strange  story  about  a  treasure  hunt  in  a  Mexican  desert 
is  a  rambling  affair,  frequently  incredulous,  but  good  per- 
formances by  the  cast  and  the  interesting  backgrounds  hold 
one's  interest  to  a  fair  degree.  It  has  several  moments  of 
suspense,  too.  These  are  brought  about  by  the  hazards  the 
adventurers  encounter  in  the  desert,  and  by  the  machinations 
of  the  villains,  who  attempt  to  make  off  with  the  treasure, 
leaving  the  hero  stranded  without  food  or  water.  Most  of 
the  excitement  is  concentrated  in  the  closing  scenes,  where 
the  hero  outwits  his  villainous  associates  in  the  midst  of  a 
raging  sandstorm: — 

Eddie  Albert,  an  adventurer,  charters  a  sailing  boat  for 
a  trip  down  the  coast  of  Lower  California.  The  crew,  includ- 
ing Ray  Teal,  Matt  Willis,  Daniel  Kerry  and  Martin  Gar- 
ralaga,  sign  aboard  without  knowing  their  destination.  When 
Albert  discovers  Bobby  Cooper,  a  stowaway,  and  permits 
him  to  remain  aboard,  Garralaga,  the  superstitious  cook, 
predicts  three  violent  deaths.  Shortly  afterwards,  a  whale 
sideswipes  the  ship  and  Kerry  is  thrown  overboard  and 
killed  by  sharks.  The  jittery  crew  demands  to  know  their 
mission,  and  Albert  shows  them  an  old  map  indicating  the 
location  of  a  treasure  buried  in  the  Mexican  desert  in  the 
16th  Century.  On  the  eve  of  the  search,  Elena  Verdugo,  a 
Mexican  girl,  warns  them  that  others  who  had  searched  for 
the  gold  had  died  of  thirst  and  madness.  After  three  scorch- 
ing days,  Albert  succeeds  in  locating  the  gold,  but  not  be- 
fore Garragala  goes  mad  and  dies.  Meanwhile  Teal  and 
Willis  hide  the  water  supply  in  a  plot  to  steal  the  gold  and 
to  allow  Albert  and  Bobby  to  die  in  the  desert.  Albert  dis- 
covers their  scheme  and,  in  the  fight  that  ensues,  kills  Willis. 


While  he  struggles  with  Teal,  a  sandstorm  covers  all  traces 
of  the  treasure.  Elena  comes  to  the  rescue  of  Albert  and 
Bobby,  who  return  to  California  to  plan  a  second  expedition 
to  remove  the  gold. 

Andrew  Holt  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Louis  B. 
Appleton,  Jr.  produced  it,  and  Irving  Allen  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Inside  Job"  with  Preston  Foster, 
Alan  Curtis  and  Ann  Rutherford 

(Universal,  June  28;  time,  65  min.) 

Well  produced,  directed  and  acted,  but  the  story  is  some- 
what demoralizing.  It  is  of  the  "cheating  cheaters"  type, 
showing  one  of  the  principals  planning  and  committing  a 
robbery  and  getting  away  with  it.  In  the  last  reel,  of  course, 
the  crook  reforms  and  pays  for  his  crime,  but  showing  him 
to  become  a  good  fellow  in  the  end  does  not  offset  the  harm 
done  in  the  first  five  reels.  The  only  redeeming  feature  is 
the  fact  that  this  time  the  watchman  is  not  murdered,  as  is 
usually  the  case  with  crook  pictures.  The  settings  are  attrac- 
tive, and  the  photography  sharp  and  pleasing  to  the  eye: — 

Alan  Curtis  had  taken  the  "rap"  to  save  Preston  Foster, 
master  mind  of  crooks,  from  arrest.  With  Ann  Rutherford, 
his  wife,  he  obtains  a  job  at  a  department  store,  determined 
to  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  But  Foster  finds  him  and  threatens 
to  expose  his  past  unless  he  agrees  to  rob  the  store.  Em- 
bittered, Alan  commits  the  robbery  but  double-crosses  Foster 
by  retaining  the  loot.  He  then  goes  into  hiding  with  Ann  and 
offers  a  truck  driver  a  large  sum  of  money  to  take  them  out 
of  town  secretly.  The  truck  driver,  however,  double-crosses 
Curtis  by  revealing  his  hiding  place  to  Foster  for  more 
money.  Foster  goes  to  the  hideout  to  take  the  loot  away,  but 
when  Curtis  refuses  to  open  the  door  he  begins  shooting 
at  the  lock.  At  that  moment,  a  policeman,  residing  in  the 
same  house,  comes  upon  Foster  and  starts  a  gun  fight  in 
which  both  are  wounded.  Foster  dies  and  the  policeman  be- 
comes unconscious.  Ann  and  Curtis  pack  to  leave,  but  when 
they  see  the  policeman's  five-year-old  son,  whom  they  had 
befriended,  standing  by  his  father's  body,  they  relent.  They 
administer  first  aid  to  the  wounded  man  and  send  for  a 
doctor.  Meanwhile  both  are  arrested.  At  the  trial,  the  judge 
acknowledges  their  good  deed,  but  sentences  them  just  the 
same  because  the  law  required  that  they  pay  for  their  crime. 

Tod  Browning  and  Garrett  Ford  wrote  the  story,  George 
Bricker  and  Jerry  Warner  the  screenplay.  Jean  Yarbrough 
produced  and  directed  it.  Adult  entertainment. 

ALLIED  REFUTES  ATA'S  CLAIM 

( Continued  from  bac\  page) 

"Modesty  and  a  desire  on  the  part  of  Allied  of  Illinois 
not  to  take  their  due  credit  for  the  important  part  it  played 
in  the  final  outcome  of  the  tax  matter  prompted  us  to 
withhold  trade  paper  comment  so  that  eventually  credit 
would  be  given  where  credit  is  due.  What  this  particular 
trade  paper  has  undoubtedly  overlooked  is  the  fact  that  the 
various  theatre  groups  in  and  around  the  City  of  Chicago 
held  numerous  and  frequent  meetings  outlining  a  program 
in  defeat  of  the  tax  and  the  joint  efforts  of  these  groups 
were  responsible  for  the  successful  outcome. 

"Not  minimizing  the  valuable  assistance  rendered  by  the 
down-state  theatres  in  helping  to  combat  the  tax  it  might 
be  well  to  point  out  the  fact  that  the  major  effort  which 
resulted  in  its  eventual  defeat  stormed  from  Chicago 
through  the  joint  cooperation  between  Allied,  Balaban  & 
Katz,  Warner  Bros.,  Essaness,  Schoenstadt  and  R.K.O. 
theatres. 

"Allied  of  Illinois  has  and  always  will  continue  to  co- 
operate with  other  local  elements  of  the  motion  picture 
industry  in  matters  of  common  concern  to  the  theatres  such 
as  the  recent  tax  problem  but  it  will  not  tolerate  the  implica- 
tion that  A.TA.  alone  represented  the  exhibitors  of  Illinois. 
That  is  farthest  from  the  truth.  Naturally,  we  welcome  the 
assistance  of  any  organized  group  in  matters  of  adverse 
legislation,  etc.,  but  it  is  obvious  that  A.T.A.  used  the 
recent  tax  fight  as  a  means  of  furthering  their  own  interests." 


100 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  22,  1946 


"Licenses  granted  to  one  defendant  by  another  for  ex- 
hibition  in  only  one  theatre,  while  less  striking  evidence  of 
conspiracy  than  the  above  master  agreements  and  franchises, 
disclose  the  same  inter-relationship  among  the  defendants. 
Each  of  the  five  major  defendants  as  a  theatre-owning  ex- 
hibitor has  been  licensed  by  the  other  seven  defendants  to 
exhibit  the  pictures  of  the  latter  at  specified  minimum 
prices.  .  .  . 

"It  is  a  reasonable  inference  from  all  the  foregoing  that 
the  distributor-defendants  have  acquiesced  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  price-fixing  system  and  have  conspired  with  one 
another  to  maintain  prices.  Such  a  conspiracy  is  per  se 
a  violation  of  the  Sherman  Act.  .  .  . 

"Moreover,  irrespective  of  the  conspiracy  among  distrib- 
utors to  which  we  have  referred,  each  distributor-defend- 
ant has  illegally  combined  with  its  licensees,  for  in  agreeing 
to  maintain  a  stipulated  minimum  admission  price,  each 
exhibitor  thereby  consents  to  the  minimum  price  level  at 
which  it  will  compete  against  other  licensees  of  the  same 
distributor  whether  they  exhibit  on  the  same  run  or  not. 
The  total  effect  is  that  through  the  separate  contracts  be- 
tween the  distributor  and  its  licensees  a  price  structure  is 
erected  which  regulates  the  licensees'  ability  to  compete 
against  one  another  in  admission  prices.  Each  licensee  knows 
from  the  general  uniformity  of  admission  price  practices 
that  other  licensees  having  theatres  suitable  for  exhibition  of 
a  distributor's  picture  in  the  particular  area  will  also  be 
restricted  as  to  maintenance  of  minimum  prices,  and  this 
acquiescence  of  the  exhibitors  in  the  distributor's  control  of 
price  competition  renders  the  whole  a  conspiracy  between 
each  distributor  and  its  licensees.  An  effective  system  of 
price  control  in  which  the  distributor  and  its  licensees 
knowingly  take  part  by  entering  into  price-restricting  con- 
tracts is  thereby  created.  That  the  combination  is  made  up 
of  a  sum  of  separate  licensing  contracts,  individually  exe- 
cuted, does  not  affect  its  illegality,  for  tacit  participation  in 
a  general  scheme  to  control  prices  is  as  violative  of  the 
Sherman  Act  as  an  explicit  agreement.  .  .  ." 

In  other  words,  even  an  independent  exhibitor,  by  agree- 
ing to  maintain  a  minimum  admission  price  specified  in  the 
contract,  becomes  a  party  to  a  violation  of  the  Sherman 
Act. 

".  .  .  This  practice  of  stipulating  minimum  admission 
prices  in  the  contracts  of  license  is  illegal  in  another  re- 
spect. The  differentials  in  price  set  by  a  distributor  in 
licensing  a  particular  picture  in  theatres  exhibiting  on 
different  runs  in  the  same  competitive  area  are  calculated 
to  encourage  as  many  patrons  as  possible  to  see  the  picture 
in  the  prior-run  theatres  where  they  will  pay  higher  prices 
than  in  the  subsequent  runs.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  if 
10,000  people  of  a  city's  population  are  ultimately  to  see 
the  picture — no  matter  on  what  run — the  gross  revenue 
to  be  realized  from  their  patronage  is  increased  relatively 
to  the  increase  in  numbers  seeing  it  in  the  higher-priced 
prior-run  theatres.  In  effect,  the  distributor,  by  the  fixing 
of  minimum  prices,  attempts  to  give  the  prior-run  exhibitors 
as  near  a  monopoly  of  the  patronage  as  possible.  This,  we 
believe,  to  be  in  violation  of  §2  of  the  Sherman  Act,  at 
least  when  the  distributor's  own  theatres  are  not  exhibiting 
its  picture  on  a  prior-run  and  it  is  to  theatres  other  than 
its  own  that  it  attempts  to  give  a  monopoly. 

"It  is  argued  that  the  practice  of  minimum  admission 
price-fixing  is  permitted  under  the  Copyright  Act.  But 
that  act  has  never  been  held  to  sanction  a  conspiracy  among 
licensors  and  licensees  artificially  to  maintain  prices.  We 
do  not  question  that  the  Copyright  Act  permits  the  owner 
of  a  copyrighted  picture  to  exhibit  it  in  its  own  theatres 
upon  such  terms  as  it  sees  fit,  nor  need  we  now  decide 
whether  a  copyright  owner  may  lawfully  fix  admission  prices 
to  be  charged  by  a  single  independent  exhibitor  for  the 
exhibition  of  its  film,  if  other  licensors  and  exhibitors  are 
not  in  contemplation.  .  .  . 


"The  foregoing  holding  that  the  defendants  have  all 
engaged  in  unlawful  price-fixing  does  not  prevent  the  dis- 
tributors from  continuing  their  present  methods  of  deter- 
mining film  rentals;  they  may  measure  their  compensation 
by  stated  sums,  by  a  given  percentage  of  a  particular 
theatre's  receipts,  by  a  combination  of  these  two,  or  by  any 
other  appropriate  means.  What  is  held  to  be  violative  of 
the  Sherman  Act  is  not  the  distributors'  devices  for  measur- 
ing rentals,  but  their  fixing  of  minimum  admission  prices 
which  automatically  regulates  the  ability  of  one  licensee  to 
compete  against  another  for  the  patron's  dollar  and  tends 
to  increase  such  prices  as  well  as  profits  from  exhibition. 

"If  the  exhibitors  are  not  restrained  by  the  distributors 
in  the  right  to  fix  their  own  prices,  there  will  be  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  exhibitors,  whether  they  be  affiliates  or 
independents,  to  compete  with  one  another.  This  is  because 
one  exhibitor  by  lowering  admission  prices  will  be  able  to 
compete  with  other  exhibitors  in  obtaining  patrons  for  his 
theatre — a  competition  which  may  well  benefit  both  exhibi- 
tors and  the  public  paying  the  admission  fees." 

In  plain  talk,  the  court  says  that  the  fixing  of  minimum 
admission  prices  in  license  agreements  is  illegal. 


THE  INTELLIGENT  POINT  OF  VIEW 

In  an  interview  given  to  Robert  E.  Welsh,  editor  of  Box 
Office  Digest,  Steve  Broidy,  president  of  Monogram  Pictures, 
is  quoted  as  having  said  regarding  the  foreign  market: 

"If  six  pictures,  properly  chosen  for  the  particular 
market,  and  undoubtedly  of  the  company's  top  quality  as 
entertainment,  will  bring  gross  returns  equalling,  and  prob- 
ably exceeding,  the  gross  earned  by  volume  selling  of  a 
couple  of  dozen  pictures  comprising  a  company's  entire 
output,  then  there  are  many  points  of  advantage  to  the 
outlook.  The  situation  will  demand  more  intelligent  choice 
of  story  material,  increased  efficiency  in  picture-making. 
Those  are  the  factors  that  should  have  a  beneficial  effect 
on  a  company's  domestic  activities." 

For  years  Harrison's  Reports  has  been  advocating  the 
sending  abroad  of  the  best  product  a  company  produces, 
for  it  felt,  just  as  Mr.  Broidy  feels,  that  a  few  good  pictures 
can  bring  in  more  money  than  a  company's  entire  product. 
In  addition,  such  a  procedure  will  keep  away  from  the 
foreign  market  pictures  that  present  a  distorted  view  of 
American  life  and  character. 

Mr.  Broidy,  however,  presents  also  a  new  angle:  he  says 
that,  if  six  choice  pictures  out  of  a  company's  entire  prod- 
uct bring  in  as  much  income  from  the  foreign  market  as 
the  company's  entire  product  used  to  bring,  then  it  is  time 
that  the  producers  realized  that  they  should  improve  their 
product  at  home,  so  that  more  good  pictures  may  bring 
greater  box-office  returns,  not  only  to  themselves,  but  also 
to  the  exhibitors. 

Mr.  Broidy  is  an  alert  young  executive  and  he  seems  to 
have  a  fresh  point  of  view  as  to  production,  distribution 
and  exhibition.  His  recent  successful  trip  abroad  has  in- 
stilled new  enthusiasm  into  him  and  the  industry  will  do 
well  to  watch  him. 


ALLIED  REFUTES  ATA'S  CLAIM 
OF  TAX  VICTORY  IN  ILLINOIS 

Jack  Kirsch,  president  of  National  Allied  and  of  Allied 
Theatres  of  Illinois,  has  sent  this  office  the  following  bulle- 
tin: 

"From  articles  which  appeared  in  recent  issues  of  one 
of  the  trade  papers  one  is  led  to  believe  that  the  A.T.A. 
(American  Theatres  Association)  was  the  sole  champion 
in  the  recent  campaign  to  defeat  the  proposed  10%  theatre 
admission  tax  which  met  its  demise  in  the  Illinois  State 
Legislature.  By  implication,  it  would  seem  that  the  exhibi- 
tors in  the  State  of  Illinois  were  left  helpless  in  the  tax  fight 
and  that  the  United  Theatre  Owners  of  Illinois  had  to 
make  a  call  to  the  A.T.A.  to  help  save  the  exhibitors  from 
disaster.  (Continued  on  inside  page) 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  N      v    L-  r>n  N  V  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  wew  Iork  «•  p.  s.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.60      Ug  Editorlai  p0iicy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JUNE  29,  1946  No.  26 


an  analysis  of  the  court's 
opinion—No.  2 

(From  a  Layman's  point  of  view) 
Clearance  and  Run 

Answering  the  Government's  contention  that  clearance 
practices  "inherently  operate  to  produce  unreasonable  re- 
strictions of  competition  among  theatres  and  are  therefore 
per  se  violative  of  the  Sherman  Act,"  the  court  declares  that 
it  disagrees  with  this  contention  because,  in  its  opinion,  "a 
grant  of  clearance,  when  not  accompanied  by  a  fixing  of 
minimum  prices  or  not  unduly  extended  as  to  area  or  dura- 
tion,  affords  a  fair  protection  to  the  interests  of  the  licensee 
without  unreasonably  interfering  with  the  interests  of  the 
public."  It  considers  reasonable  clearance  provisions  as  "no 
more  than  safeguards  against  concurrent  or  subsequent 
licenses  in  the  same  area  until  the  exhibitor  whose  theatre 
is  involved  has  had  a  chance  to  exhibit  the  pictures  licensed 
without  invasion  by  a  subsequent  exhibitor  at  a  lower  price. 
.  .  .  While  clearance  may  indirectly  affect  admission  prices, 
it  does  not  fix  them  and  is,  we  believe,  a  reasonable  restraint 
permitted  by  the  Sherman  Act." 

In  other  words,  the  court  recognizes  that  clearance,  reason- 
able  as  to  time  and  area,  is  an  essential  and  equitable  practice. 

But  the  court  recognizes  also  the  fact,  that,  in  some  in- 
stances, the  large  circuits,  both  affiliated  and  independent, 
have  used  their  great  film-buying  power  to  negotiate  success- 
fully with  the  defendants  for  unreasonable  clearances  and 
unjustified  runs.  On  the  other  hand  it  points  out  that  it 
could  not  find  sufficient  evidence  to  indicate  that  the  de- 
fendants, in  granting  such  unreasonable  clearances  and  un- 
justified runs,  collectively  or  severally  entered  upon  a  general 
policy  of  discriminating  against  independents.  Yet,  on  the 
basis  of  testimony  by  the  defendant's  witnesses,  including 
general  sales  managers  and  heads  of  the  affiliated  circuits, 
the  court  did  find  that  they  acted  in  concert  in  acquiescing 
in,  and  forwarding,  a  uniformed  system  of  clearances,  which, 
in  numerous  instances,  was  maintained  on  an  unreasonable 
basis  to  the  prejudice  of  independents.  In  this  respect,  the 
court  held  that  the  defendants  had  violated  the  Sherman 
Act. 

After  citing  testimony  to  show  that  the  distributor- 
defendants  acted  in  concert  in  their  grants  of  run  and  clear- 
ance, the  court  states: 

"The  evidence  we  have  referred  to  shows  that  both  in- 
dependent distributors  and  exhibitors  when  attempting  to 
bargain  with  the  defendants  have  been  met  by  a  fixed  scale 
of  clearances,  runs,  and  admission  prices  to  which  they  have 
been  obliged  to  conform  if  they  wished  to  get  their  pictures 
shown  upon  satisfactory  runs  or  were  to  compete  in  ex- 
hibition either  with  the  defendants'  theatres  or  with  theatres 
to  which  the  latter  have  licensed  their  pictures.  Under  the 
circumstances  disclosed  in  the  record  there  has  been  no  fair 
chance  for  either  the  present  or  any  future  licensees  to 
change  a  situation  sanctioned  by  such  effective  control  and 


general  acquiescence  as  have  obtained.  .  .  .  The  only  way 
competition  may  be  introduced  into  the  present  system  of 
fixed  prices,  clearances  and  runs  is  to  require  a  defendant 
when  licensing  its  pictures  to  other  exhibitors  to  make  each 
picture  available  at  a  minimum  fixed  or  percentage  rental 
and  (if  clearance  is  desired)  to  grant  a  reasonable  clearance 
and  run.  When  so  offered,  the  licensor  shall  grant  the 
license  for  the  desired  run  to  the  highest  bidder  if  such 
bidder  is  responsible  and  has  a  theatre  of  a  size,  location, 
and  equipment  to  present  the  picture  to  advantage.  In  other 
words,  if  two  theatres  are  bidding  and  are  fairly  comparable 
the  one  offering  the  best  terms  shall  receive  the  license.  Thus 
price  fixing  among  the  licensors  or  between  a  licensor  and 
its  licensees  as  well  as  the  non-competitive  clearance  system 
may  be  terminated,  and  the  requirements  of  the  Sherman 
Act,  which  the  present  system  violates,  will  be  adequately 
met.  The  administrative  details  involved  in  such  changes 
will  require  further  consideration.  We  are  satisfied  that 
existing  arrangements  are  in  derogation  of  the  rights  of  inde- 
pendent distributors,  exhibitors,  and  the  public,  and  that  the 
proposed  changes  will  tend  to  benefit  them  all." 

As  can  readily  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  statement,  the 
court's  decision  extends  to  an  exhibitor  the  right  to  buy 
under  conditions  that  will  give  him  equal  footing  with  a  com- 
petitive theatre,  whether  that  theatre  is  owned,  either  by  an 
independent  circuit,  by  an  individual,  or  by  an  affiliated 
circuit.  The  only  exception  is  in  the  case  of  a  distributor's 
own  theatres.  There  a  distributor  may  exhibit  his  own 
picture,  under  whatever  terms  he  sees  fit,  without  first  offer- 
ing them  to  other  theatres,  but  in  other  than  his  own  theatres 
such  a  distributor  must  offer  his  picture  to  every  theatre 
within  the  competitive  area,  making  each  picture  available 
to  each  exhibitor  on  conditions  that  are  identical  for  the 
different  runs. 

For  instance,  if  your  theatre  is  comparable  to  a  competitive 
theatre  that  is  now  enjoying  a  prior  run,  not  because  it  is  a 
better  revenue-producer,  or  it  is  in  a  more  desirable  location, 
but  because  its  run  and  clearance  is  "historical"  or  "fixed" 
under  the  present  system,  you  now  have  the  right  to  bid 
against  that  theatre  for  whatever  pictures  you  desire;  and 
if  your  terms  are  more  favorable  to  the  distributor  than  the 
terms  of  the  present  prior-run  competitor  the  license  must 
be  granted  to  you.  In  case  the  prior-run  competitor  is  an 
affiliated  theatre,  owned  let  as  assume  by  Paramount,  you 
could  not,  if  Paramount  so  desired,  compete  with  it  for 
Paramount  pictures.  But  you  will  have  the  right  to  com- 
pete with  it  on  equal  terms  for  the  pictures  of  Warner  Bros., 
Metro,  or  of  any  other  distributor. 

From  talks  I  have  had  with  a  number  of  exhibitors,  some 
of  them  seem  concerned  over,  either  the  practicability  of  the 
bidding  system,  or  the  possibility  that  some  distributors  may 
devise  ways  and  means  to  circumvent  the  system  in  a  man- 
ner that  will  permit  them  still  to  give  preference  to  the 
favored  few,  at  the  same  time  making  it  appear  as  if  they 
had  adhered  to  free  and  open  bidding. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


102 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  29,  1946 


"Freddie  Steps  Out"  with  Freddie  Stewart 
and  June  Preisser 

(Monogram,  June  8;  time,  72  min.) 

A  fair  addition  to  the  new  "Teen  Agers"  series.  Where 
something  light  is  needed  to  round  out  a  double-bill,  it 
should  fit  nicely  in  theatres  that  cater  to  audiences  that 
are  not  too  exacting  in  their  demands  as  long  as  a  picture 
offers  comedy  and  plentiful  music.  Its  appeal  should  be 
directed  mainly  to  the  younger  crowd,  for  the  action  re- 
volves around  high-school  youths  and  most  of  the  music 
is  of  the  6wing  variety.  The  story  is  thin  and  implausible, 
but  the  action  is  breezy  and,  occasionally,  there  are  situa- 
tions that  provoke  laughter.  Freddie  Stewart,  the  hero, 
sings  well;  his  voice  is  pleasant  to  the  ear.  The  music  is 
furnished  by  Charlie  Barnet's  orchestra,  whose  popularity 
should  help  to  put  the  picture  across: — 

Freddie  Stewart  is  delighted  when  June  Preisser  resumes 
her  studies  at  school  after  an  absence  caused  by  illness. 
Jackie  Moran,  who  had  a  "crush"  on  June  himself,  is 
chagrined  when  she  declines  to  go  out  on  a  date  with  him. 
Meanwhile  "Frankie  Troy,"  a  famous  crooner  (also  played 
by  Freddie  Stewart),  becomes  tired  of  his  swooning  "bobby- 
sox"  admirers,  quits  his  radio  show,  and  disappears  for  a 
rest.  Douglas  Fowley,  "Frankie's"  agent,  publicizes  his 
disappearance  and  offers  a  reward  for  information  leading 
to  his  whereabouts.  Jackie,  noting  Freddie's  exact  re- 
semblance to  the  missing  crooner,  plots  to  get  Freddie  in 
trouble  with  June:  He  persuades  Warren  Mills,  Freddie's 
pal,  to  communicate  with  Fowley  and  claim  the  reward  by 
stating  that  the  crooner  was  attending  the  school  under 
the  name  of  Freddie,  and  that  he  had  become  an  amnesia 
victim.  Fowley,  accompanied  by  the  crooner's  wife  and  baby, 
rushes  to  the  school,  and  they  accept  Freddie  as  "Frankie," 
depsite  his  protests.  June  accuses  Freddie  of  being  a  biga- 
mist and  breaks  with  him.  In  the  course  of  events,  the  baby 
turns  up  in  Freddie's  room  and  he  attempts  to  get  rid  of 
the  child.  As  a  result,  the  baby  is  found  in  different  dormi- 
tory rooms  and  a  comedy  of  errors  arises  out  of  the  question 
of  whom  the  child  belonged  to.  Suspicion  falls  on  numerous 
persons  and  causes  them  to  become  estranged  from  their 
sweethearts.  It  is  not  until  the  crooner  himself  makes  an 
appearance  at  the  school  that  the  situation  is  cleared  up 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all. 

Hal  Collins  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Sam  Katzman 
and  Maurice  Duke  produced  it,  and  Arthur  Dreifuss 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Ann  Rooney,  Noel  Neill, 
Frankie  Darro,  Milt  Kibbee,  Chuy  Reyes'  orchestra  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Her  Adventurous  Night"  with  Dennis 
O'Keefe,  Helen  Walker  and  Scotty  Beckett 

(Universal,  July  5;  time,  75  min.) 

An  entertaining  program  comedy.  The  story  is  not  un- 
usual; yet  it  has  so  many  comical  angles,  and  the  direction 
and  acting  are  so  competent,  that  one's  interest  is  held  all 
the  way  through.  Revolving  around  a  young  couple's  tribu- 
lations because  of  their  inability  to  curb  their  young  son's 
fantastic  imagination,  the  story,  part  of  which  is  told  in 
flashback,  moves  along  at  a  fairly  good  pace  and  has  plenti- 
ful comedy  as  well  as  pleasant  romantic  interest.  Dennis 
O'Keefe,  as  the  agitated  father,  is  quite  good;  he  has  the 
knack  of  displaying  exasperation  in  a  highly  amusing  way. 
The  situation  in  which  he  and  his  wife  land  in  jail,  because 
of  a  wierd  tale  spun  by  their  son,  is  quite  comical.  Here 
and  there  the  situations  are  improbable,  but  for  the  most 
part  they  are  laugh-provoking: — 

O'Keefe  and  his  wife  (Helen  Walker)  try  in  vain 
to  curb  the  imagination  of  Scotty  Beckett,  their  twelve- 


year-old  son,  who  had  delusions  of  being  a  master  detective. 
One  day  he  accidentally  finds  a  gun  belonging  to  his  father 
and  takes  it  to  school,  where  it  goes  off  and  starts  a  commo- 
tion. Pressed  by  the  police  for  an  explanation  of  how  he 
got  the  gun,  Scotty's  imagination  runs  wild  as  he  weaves 
a  tale  describing  the  gun  as  the  one  that  killed  a  watchman 
in  an  unsolved  bank  robbery  that  had  taken  place  thirteen 
years  previously,  at  the  time  his  mother  had  first  met  his 
father.  Her  car  had  run  into  a  ditch,  and  O'Keefe,  a  tele- 
phone lineman,  had  given  her  a  lift  in  his  truck.  The  truck 
had  been  stopped  by  an  armed  bank  robber,  who  had  made 
them  his  prisoners  in  an  attempt  to  force  O'Keefe  to  drive 
him  away  from  the  scene  of  the  crime.  O'Keefe  had  tried 
to  outwit  and  capture  the  bandit,  but  the  latter  had  threat- 
ened to  shoot  Helen,  compelling  O'Keefe  to  allow  him  to 
make  his  getaway.  Scotty's  tale  ends  there,  and  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  bandit  bore  a  marked  resemblance  to  his  school 
principal.  The  police  look  upon  his  story  as  fantastic,  but 
when  ballistics  prove  that  O'Keefe's  gun  actually  was  the 
one  used  in  the  murder  and  robbery,  they  throw  O'Keefe, 
Helen,  and  the  principal  in  jail.  All  three,  however,  are 
more  than  willing  to  forgive  Scotty  when,  aided  by  a  school- 
mate, he  uncovers  a  clue  to  the  mystery  and  solves  it  by 
trapping  Fuzzy  Knight,  the  real  criminal,  who  for  many 
years  had  lived  in  town  posing  as  a  necktie  salesman. 

Jerry  Warner  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Marshall 
Grant  produced  it,  and  John  Rawlins  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Tom  Powers,  Charles  Judels,  Milburn  Stone  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

BOX-OFFICE  PERFORMANCES 

(The  previous  box -office  performances  were  printed  in  the 
October  20,  1945  issue.) 

Columbia 

"She  Wouldn't  Say  Yes":  Very  Good-Good 
"Kiss  and  Tell":  Excellent-Very  Good 
"Crime  Doctor's  Warning":  Fair-Poor 
"Girl  of  the  Limberlost":  Fair 
"Voice  of  the  Whistler":  Fair-Poor 
"Prison  Ship":  Poor 
"Snafu":  Fair 

"My  Name  is  Julia  Ross":  Good-Fair 

"Hit  the  Hay":  Poor 

"Life  with  Blondie":  Good-Fair 

"One  Way  to  Love":  Fair-Poor 

"Pardon  My  Past":  Good 

"Out  of  the  Depths":  Poor 

"Meet  Me  on  Broadway" :  Fair 

"Tars  and  Spars":  Good-Fair 

"Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie" :  Fair-Poor 

"Notorious  Lone  Wolf:  Fair-Poor 

"Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest":  Very  Good 

"The  Gentleman  Misbehaves":  Fair-Poor 

"Just  Before  Dawn":  Fair-Poor 

"Perilous  Holiday" :  Fair 

"Talk  About  a  Lady":  Fair-Poor 

"Blondie's  Lucky  Day"  Fair 

"Mysterious  Intruders":  Poor 

"Gilda":  Excellent-Very  Good 

Twenty-five  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results:  Excellent-Very  Good,  2;  Very  Good,  1;  Very 
Good-Good,  1;  Good,  1;  Good-Fair,  3;  Fair,  5;  Fair-Poor  8- 
Poor,  4. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 

"Weekend  at  the  Waldorf':  Very  Good 
"Abbott  &  Costello  in  Hollywood" :  Fair 
"Her  Highness  6s*  the  Bellboy" :  Fair 
"Dangerous  Partners":  Fair 
"What  Next,  Corporal  Hargrove":  Good-Fair 


June  29,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


103 


"She  Went  to  the  Races":  Fair 
"Vacation  from  Marriage":  Fair 
"Yolanda  and  the  Thief" :  Fair-Poor 
"They  Were  Expendable":  Good 
"The  Harvey  Girls" :  Good 
"Portrait  of  Maria":  Poor 
"Up  Goes  Maisie" :  Fair 
"A  Letter  for  Evie":  Fair 
"Sailor  Takes  a  Wife":  Good-Fair 
"Adventure" :  Good 

"Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946":  Very  Good'Good 
Sixteen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good-Good,  L;  Good,  3;  Good- 
Fair,  2;  Fair,  7;  Fair-Poor,  L;  Poor,  1. 

Paramount 

"Duffy's  Tavern":  Very  Good 

"Love  Letters" :  Very  Good 

"The  Lost  Weekend" :  Excellent- Very  Good 

"Follow  that  Woman":  Poor 

"Hold  that  Blonde":  Fair 

"Stork  Club":  Very  Good-Good 

"Kitty":  Very  Good 

"People  are  Funny":  Fair-Poor 

"Tokyo  Rose":  Fair-Poor 

"Masquerade  in  Mexico":  Fair-Poor 

"Miss  Susie  Slagle's":  Good-Fair 

"The  Virginian":  Very  Good 

"The  Blue  Dahlia":  Very  Good 

"They  Made  Me  a  Killer" :  Fair-Poor 

"The  Well-Groomed  Bride":  Good-Fair 

"Road  to  Utopia":  Very  Good 

Sixteen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Excellent- Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good,  6;  Very  Good- 
Good,  1;  Good-Fair,  2;  Fair,  1;  Fair-Poor,  4;  Poor,  1. 

RKO 

"Man  Alive":  Fair 

"First  Yank  in  Tokyo":  Fair 

"Isle  of  the  Dead" :  Fair-Poor 

"Wanderer  of  the  Wasteland":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Spanish  Main":  Very  Good 

"The  Spiral  Staircase":  Excellent-Very  Good 

"Cornered":  Good 

"Dick  Tracy":  Fair 

"Sing  Your  Way  Home" :  Fair 

"Hotel  Reserve":  Fair-Poor 

"From  This  Day  Forward" :  Good 

"Deadline  at  Dawn":  Fair 

"Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman":  Good-Fair 

"A  Game  of  Death" :  Fair-Poor 

"Riverboat  Rhythm":  Fair-Poor 

"Bells  of  St.  Mary's" :  Excellent 

"Tomorrow  is  Forever" :  Very  Good  • 

Seventeen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Excellent,  1;  Excellent-Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good, 
2;  Good,  2;  Good-Fair,  1;  Fair,  5;  Fair-Poor,  5. 

20th  Century-Fox 

"State  Fair":  Very  Good 
"House  on  92nd  Street":  Very  Good 
"The  Dolly  Sisters":  Very  Good 
"The  Spider" :  Fair 

"And  Then  There  Were  None":  Good-Fair 

"Fallen  Angel":  Good 

"Doll  Face":  Good-Fair 

"Col.  Effingham's  Raid":  Fair 

"Behind  Green  Lights":  Fair 

"Shock":  Fair-Poor 

"Jesse  James"  (reissue) :  Good 

"Return  of  Frank  James"  (reissue):  Good 

"A  Walk  in  the  Sun" :  Fair 


"Sentimental  Journey":  Good 
"A  Yank  in  London":  Poor 
"Dragonwyck":  Good 
"Johnny  Comes  Flying  Home":  Fair 

Seventeen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Very  Good,  3;  Good,  5;  Good-Fair,  2;  Fair,  5;  Fair- 
Poor,  1;  Poor,  1. 

United  Artists 

"Paris  Underground" :  Fair 
"Getting  Gertie's  Garter":  Good-Fair 
"Captain  Kidd":  Fair 
"Blithe  Spirit":  Fair 
"Spellbound":  Excellent-Very  Good 
"Abiline  Town":  Good-Fair 
"Whistle  Stop":  Good-Fair 
"Diary  of  a  Chambermaid":  Good-Fair 
"Breakfast  in  Hollywood":  Fair 
"Young  Widow" :  Good-Fair 
"Johnny  in  the  Clouds":  Fair-Poor 
"Rebecca"  (reissue) :  Fair 

Twelve  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following 
results:  Excellent- Very  Good,  1;  Good-Fair,  5;  Fair,  5;  Fair- 
Poor,  1. 

Universal 

"That  Night  With  You":  Fair 

"Strange  Confession" :  Fair-Poor 

"Senorita  from  the  West":  Fair-Poor 

"Pursuit  to  Algiers":  Fair 

"This  Love  of  Ours":  Good-Fair 

"Crimson  Canary" :  Fair-Poor 

"The  Dalton's  Ride  Again" :  Good-Fair 

"House  of  Dracula":  Fair 

"Pillow  of  Death":  Fair-Poor 

"Frontier  Gal" :  Good-Fair 

"Scarlet  Street":  Good 

"Girl  on  the  Spot" :  Fair-Poor 

"Because  of  Him":  Fair 

"Terror  By  Night":  Fair- Poor 

"Idea  Girl":  Fair-Poor 

"The  Seventh  Veil":  Good 

"Little  Giant":  Fair 

"Smooth  as  Silk":  Fair-Poor 

"Tangier":  Fair 

"The  Man  in  Grey" :  Fair 

"Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back":  Fair-Poor 

"House  of  Horrors":  Fair-Poor 

"Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons":  Fair 

"Blonde  Alibi" :  Fair-Poor 

"So  Goes  My  Love":  Fair 

Twenty-five  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  follow- 
ing results:  Good,  2;  Good-Fair,  3;  Fair,  9;  Fair-Poor,  11. 

Warner  Bros. 

"It  All  Came  True"  (reissue)  :  Good-Fair 

"Born  for  Trouble"  (reissue) :  Good-Fair 

"Mildred  Pierce":  Excellent-Very  Good 

"Confidential  Agent":  Good-Fair 

"Too  Young  to  Know":  Fair 

"Danger  Signal":  Fair 

"San  Antonio":  Very  Good-Good 

"My  Reputation":  Very  Good-Good 

"Three  Srangers":  Fair 

"Burma  Victory":  Poor 

"Cinderella  Jones":  Fair-Poor 

"Saratoga  Trunk":  Very  Good 

"City  for  Conquest"  (reissue):  Fair-Poor 

"No  Time  for  Comedy"  (reissue)  :  Fair-Poor 

"Devotion" :  Good-Fair 

Fifteen  pictures  have  been  checked  with  the  following  re- 
sults: Excellent-Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good,  1;  Very  Good- 
Good,  2;  Good-Fair,  4;  Fair,  3;  Fair-Poor,  3;  Poor,  1. 


104 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


June  29,  1946 


As  for  the  practicability  of  the  system,  only  time  will  tell, 
but  on  the  surface  it  does  seem  as  if  the  independent  exhibi- 
tors have  gained  important  concessions.  While  it  is  possible 
that  some  independents,  because  of  their  particular  situ- 
ations, may  find  competition  much  tighter,  I  believe  that  the 
majority  of  the  independents  stand  to  gain. 

As  for  the  possibility  that  the  distributors  will  find  ways 
and  means  to  circumvent  the  system,  enabling  them  to  show 
favoritism  to  certain  customers,  this  will  not,  in  my  opinion, 
be  easy  to  accomplish,  for  under  the  decree  the  Department 
of  Justice  will  at  all  times  have  access  to  the  books  and  papers 
of  the  distributors,  and,  under  their  watchfulness,  you  may 
be  sure  that  any  infractions  of  the  decree  will  subject  the 
violators  to  prosecution. 

For  example,  one  exhibitor  fears  that  a  distributor,  by 
promising  an  adjustment,  may  induce  a  favored  customer 
to  submit  a  higher-than-normal  bid  for  its  pictures,  thus 
giving  such  a  customer  the  run  he  desired.  To  begin  with, 
the  distributor  is  required  to  offer  the  same  terms  of  adjust- 
ment to  every  exhibitor  bidding  for  the  picture,  and  its 
failure  to  do  so  would  be  violative  of  the  decree. 

But  assuming  that  the  offer  of  adjustment  is  a  "private 
deal,"  you  may  be  sure  that  the  Department  of  Justice,  hav- 
ing availability  to  the  distributor's  records,  will  have  little 
difficulty  in  uncovering  its  existence. 

•  Personally,  I  doubt  that  any  distributor  will  attempt  such 
a  circumvention;  it  is  too  risky  an  act. 

Of  great  interest  to  the  exhibitors  should  be  the  details 
under  which  a  system  of  competitive  bidding  will  be  carried 
on.  The  court,  in  its  opinion  and  its  provisions  for  a  final 
decree,  did  not  devise  a  specific  set  of  rules  and  regulations, 
and  at  this  writing  the  attorneys,  neither  for  the  Department 
of  Justice  nor  for  the  defendants,  have  come  forward  with 
a  plan  of  their  own. 

I  have  given  the  matter  careful  thought,  and  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  a  plan,  generally  along  the  following 
lines,  should  provide  a  system  of  bidding  that  will  be  com- 
patible with  fair  play  for  both  distributors  and  exhibitors: 

If  the  bidding  is  to  be  competitive,  the  first  requirement 
should  be  the  establishment,  in  each  exchange  area,  of  a 
sort  of  "clearing  house"  for  the  purpose  of  administering 
the  details  involved  in  such  a  system.  To  insure  impartial 
handling  of  the  business  to  come  before  it,  and  to  instill  con- 
fidence in  those  dealing  with  it,  the  "clearing  house"  should 
be  presided  over  by  persons  who  shall  have  no  connection 
whatever  with  any  branch  of  the  industry.  Administrative 
ability,  not  experience  in  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of 
motion  pictures,  should  be  the  qualification  of  those  ap- 
pointed to  head  each  "clearing  house,"  for  it  can  be  assumed 
that  they  will  have  to  follow  and  administer  the  rules  and 
regulations  laid  down  by  the  proper  authorities  to  insure 
an  equitable  system  of  bidding. 

It  should  be  made  clear  that  the  work  of  the  "clearing 
house"  should  not  include  the  arbitration  of  disputes  as  to 
bids,  clearances,  runs  or  any  other  subject  appropriate  for 
arbitration.  The  adjustment  of  such  disputes  should  be  left 
to  the  Arbitration  tribunals.  In  other  words,  the  function 
of  the  "clearing  house"  should  be  to  administer  the  rulings 
laid  before  it  and  not  to  decide  disputes. 

The  basic  functions  of  the  "clearing  house"  should  in- 
clude: 

I.  To  receive  from  each  distributor  complete  information 
for  each  picture,  such  as  a  synopsis  with  cast  and  credits; 
running  time;  date  of  tradeshow;  the  minimum  flat  or  per- 
centage rental  acceptable  for  each  run  within  each  specified 
competitive  area;  the  preferred  playing  time  required,  if  any; 
a  definite  hour  and  date  for  the  opening  of  all  bids,  and 
whatever  other  specifications  or  conditions  a  distributor  may 


deem  it  necessary  to  include  in  connection  with  the  offering 
of  the  license.  For  instance,  where  a  distributor  desires  alter- 
nate bids  covering  day  and  date  showings  with  other  ex- 
hibitors, the  bidder  shall  be  furnished  with  complete  in- 
formation regarding  the  terms  of  such  alternate  bids.  All 
the  foregoing  information  should  be  furnished  to  the  "clear- 
ing house"  in  advance  to  enable  it  to  notify  every  exhibitor 
within  each  competitive  area  of  a  particular  picture's  availa- 
bility for  bids  at  least  ten  days  prior  to  the  tradeshow,  so 
that  each  exhibitor  may  have  sufficient  time  to  decide  whether 
or  not  he  desires  to  submit  a  bid. 

2.  To  compile  a  complete  list  of  every  exhibitor  within 
each  competitive  area  so  as  to  enable  it  to  notify  each  one  of 
every  picture  offered  for  licensing,  submitting  to  each  ex- 
hibitor identical  information  about  each  picture  and  about 
the  terms  of  bidding. 

3.  To  use  its  facilities  for  the  setting  up  of  the  trade- 
shows  at  such  hours  and  dates  as  will  prevent  a  conflict  be- 
tween tradeshows.  Consideration  should  be  given  to  the 
fact  that,  when  two  or  more  tradeshows  are  scheduled  for 
the  same  day,  sufficient  time  should  be  allowed  between 
tradeshows  to  enable  an  exhibitor  to  go  from  one  place  of 
screening  to  another. 

4.  To  open  publicly,  at  the  hour  and  date  set,  all  sealed 
bids  submitted  for  a  particular  license,  and  to  return,  un- 
opened, any  bids  that  might  arrive  after  the  time  set  for  the 
opening,  except  that,  in  the  case  of  bids  submitted  through 
the  mails  and  delayed  in  transit,  such  bids  shall  be  honored 
if  the  postmark  on  the  envelope  indicates  that  it  was  mailed 
in  sufficient  time  to  reach  the  "clearing  house"  prior  to  the 
opening  of  the  bids. 

The  purpose  of  the  aforementioned  plan  is  to  bring  about 
an  orderly  procedure  in  the  bidding  system,  thus  enabling 
the  exhibitor  to  plan  his  programs  in  advance.  Such  a  pro- 
cedure should  prove  beneficial  also  to  the  distributors,  for 
it  will  enable  them  to  offer  their  licenses  in  a  manner,  and 
under  conditions  that  will  insure  maximum  exhibitor  atten- 
tion. 

The  plan  is,  of  course,  but  a  skeleton,  embodying  the 
basic  principles  for  an  orderly  bidding  system;  under  closer 
study,  its  scope  can  undoubtedly  be  enlarged. 

The  cost  of  maintaining  such  "clearing  houses"  would 
have  to  be  worked  out. 

Offhand  it  seems  as  if  the  cost  of  centralizing  the  work 
of  license  offering  and  bid-receiving  would  be  no  greater, 
and  perhaps  less,  than  the  combined  cost  to  each  of  the  dis- 
tributors if  they  undertook  to  handle  the  bids  through  their 
own  facilities. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  plan  calls  for  sealed  bids.  I  have 
selected  such  a  method  because,  in  my  opinion,  it  represents 
the  most  logical  way  by  which  competitive  bidding  might 
be  carried  on.  It  is  unlikely  that  the  auction  method  of  bid- 
ding, whereby  the  exhibitors  would  verbally  try  to  out-bid 
one  another  for  a  picture,  would  be  practicable. 

The  feasibility  of  the  foregoing  plan  is  predicated  on  the 
assumption  that  a  definite  set  of  rules  and  regulations  will  be 
formulated  for  the  guidance  of  the  clearing  houses. 

The  formulation  of  the  rules  and  regulations  will  un- 
doubtedly be  a  painstaking  task  because  of  the  inherent  com- 
plexities in  the  decision.  But  the  fact  remains  that  an  exhibi- 
tor, in  order  to  prepare  his  bid  intelligently,  must  know  the 
conditions  under  which  he  is  bidding,  and  he  will  require 
clarification  of  many  important  factors  to  enable  him  to  de- 
termine the  rental  he  is  willing  to  pay.  Chief  among  these 
factors  is  clearance  with  respect  to  prior-runs  as  well  as 
subsequent-runs. 

Suggestions  on  the  clarification  of  clearances  will  be 
treated  in  the  next  issue. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVIII  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  JULY  6,  1946  No.  27 

(Semi-Annual  Index— First  Half  of  1946) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Abilene  Town — United  Artists  (88  min.)   6 

Accent  on  Crime — PRC  (see  "Delinquent  Daughters") 

1944   118 

A  Guy  Could  Change — Republic  (65  min.)   15 

Alias  Billy  the  Kid — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Ambush  Trail — PRC  (60  min.)  not  reviewed 

Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam — 20th  Century-Fox 

(128  min.)    91 

Avalanche— PRC  (70  min.)   67 

Bad  Bascomb — MGM  (110  min.)   22 

Badman's  Territory — RKO  (98  min.)   62 

Bamboo  Blonde,  The— RKO  (68  min.)   98 

Bandit  of  Sherwood  Forest,  The — Columbia  (87  min.) .  19 

Because  of  Him — Universal  (87  min.)   6 

Bedlam— RKO  (79  min.)  ,   67 

Behind  Green  Lights — 20th  Century-Fox  (64  min.)  ...  10 

Behind  the  Mask — Monogram  (67  min.)   58 

Black  Market  Babies — Monogram  (71  min.)   54 

Blonde  Alibi — Universal  (62  min.)   46 

Blondie's  Lucky  Day — Columbia  (69  min.)   66 

Blue  Dahlia,  The — Paramount  (96  min.)    19 

Boys'  Ranch— MGM  (97  min.)   70 

Breakfast  in  Hollywood — United  Artists  (93  min.)  ....  10 
Bride  Wasn't  Willing,  The — Universal  (see  "Frontier 

Gal")  1945   194 

Bride  Wore  Boots,  The — Paramount  (82  min.)   46 

California  Gold  Rush — Republic  (56  min.). .  .not reviewed 

Caravan  Trail — PRC  (62  min.)  not  reviewed 

Cat  Creeps,  The — Universal  (58  min.)   59 

Catman  of  Paris,  The — Republic  (65  min.)   ?1 

Centennial  Summer — 20th  Century-Fox  (102  min.) ...  86 

Cinderella  Jones — Warner  Bros.  (88  min.)   27 

Close  Call  for  Boston  Blackie,  A — Columbia  (60  min.)  22 

Cluny  Brown — 20th  Century-Fox  (100  min.)   71 

Colorado  Serenade — PRC  (68  min.)  not  reviewed 

Courage  of  Lassie — MGM  (92  min.)   74 

Crack-Up— RKO   (93  min.)   94 

Crime  of  the  Century — Republic  (56  min.).'   98 

Dangerous  Business — Columbia  (59  min.)   99 

Dark  Alibi — Monogram  (66  min.)   66 

Dark  Corner,  The — 20th  Century-Fox  (99  min.)   55 

Days  of  Buffalo  Bill — Republic  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Deadline  at  Dawn — RKO  (83  min.)   26 

Deadline  for  Murder — 20th  Century-Fox  (65  min.)..  98 

Devil  Bat's  Daughter— PRC  (67  min.)   60 

Devil's  Mask,  The — Columbia  (66  min.)   74 

Devotion — Warner  Bros.  (107  min.)   54 

Diary  of  a  Chambermaid,  The — United  Artists  (86m.)  18 

Ding  Dong  Williams— RKO  (62  min.)   63 

Don't  Gamble  with  Strangers — Monogram  (68  min.).  .  83 

Do  You  Love  Me? — 20th  Century-Fox  (91  min.)   64 

Dragonwyck — 20th  Century-Fox  (103  min.)   31 

Dressed  to  Kill — Universal  (72  min.)   79 

Easy  to  Wed— MGM  (109  min.)   59 

El  Paso  Kid — Republic  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Face  of  Marble,  The — Monogram  (72  m.)   2 

Faithful  in  My  Fashion — MGM  (81  min.)   95 

Falcon's  Alibi,  The— RKO  (62  min.)   63 

Flying  Serpent,  The— PRC  (59  min.)   14 

Freddie  Steps  Out — Monogram  (72  min.)  102 

French  Key,  The — Republic  (67  min.)   84 

From  This  Day  Forward — RKO  (95  min.)   34 

Frontier  Gun  Law — Columbia  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Galloping  Thunder — Columbia  (54  min.) . . .  .not  reviewed 

Gay  Blades — Republic  (67  min.)   50 

Gay  Cavalier — Monogram  (65  min.)  not  reviewed 

Gentleman  Misbehaves,  The — Columbia  (74  min.)  ....  42 
Gentlemen  With  Guns — PRC  (52  min.) ...  .not  reviewed 
Ghost  of  Hidden  Valley — PRC  (56  min.)  ...  not  reviewed 

Gilda — Columbia  ( 1 10  min.)   47 

Glass  Alibi,  The— Republic  (68  min.)   72 

Green  Years,  The— MGM  (127  min.)   43 

Gunning  for  Vengeance — Columbia  (56  m.)  .not  reviewed 


Harvey  Girls,  The— MGM  (101  min.)   3 

Haunted  Mine,  The — Monogram  (52  min.) .  .  .not  reviewed 

Heartbeat— RKO  (102  min.)   66 

Henry  V — United  Artists  (134  min.)   68 

Her  Adventurous  Night — Universal  (75  min.)  102 

Her  Kind  of  Man — Warner  Bros.  (78  min.)   68 

Home  on  the  Range — Republic  not  reviewed 

Hoodlum  Saint,  The— MGM  (91  min.)   23 

Hot  Cargo — Paramount  (55  min.)   44 

House  of  Horrors — Universal  (66  min.)   39 

Idea  Girl — Universal  (60  min.)   20 

I  Live  in  Grosvenor  Square — 20th  Century-Fox  (see 

"A  Yank  in  London")   30 

In  Fast  Company — Monogram  (63  min.)   76 

In  Old  Sacramento — Republic  (89  min.)   71 

Inside  Job — Universal  (65  min.)   99 

I  Ring  Doorbells— PRC  (65  min.)   2 

It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — 20th  Century-Fox 

(70  min.)    82 

Janie  Gets  Married — Warner  Bros.  (89  min.)   90 

Joe  Palooka,  Champ — Monogram  (70  min.)   58 

Johnny  Comes  Flying  Home — 20th  Century-Fox  (65m.)  47 

Junior  Prom — Monogram  (69  min.)   34 

Just  Before  Dawn — Columbia  (65  min.)   51 

Kid  from  Brooklyn,  The— RKO  ( 1 14  min.)   46 

Lady  of  Mystery — Columbia  (see  "A  Close  Call 

for  Boston  Blackie")    22 

Larceny  in  Her  Heart — PRC  (68  min.)   80 

Little  Giant — Universal  (91  min.)   34 

Little  Mr.  Jim— MGM  (92  min.)   91 

Live  Wires — Monogram  (65  min.)   30 

Lover  Come  Back — Universal  (90  min.)   95 

Madame  Pimpernel — United  Artists  (see  "Paris 

Underground")  1945   134 

Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — Universal  (88  min.)..  15 

Madonna's  Secret,  The — Republic  (79  min.)   30 

Make  Mine  Music— RKO  (75  min.)   63 

Man  from  Rainbow  Valley — Republic  (56  m). not  reviewed 

Man  Who  Dared,  The — Columbia  (66  min.)   78 

Mask  of  Dijon,  The— PRC  (70  min.)   39 

Meet  Me  on  Broadway — Columbia  (78  min.)   12 

Memory  for  Two — Columbia  (see  "I  Love  a  Band- 
leader") 1945   130 

Monsieur  Beaucaire — Paramount  (93  min.)   79 

Moon  Over  Montana — Monogram  (54  min.)  .not  reviewed 

Murder  is  My  Business — PRC  (63  min.)   38 

Murder  in  the  Music  Hall — Republic  (84  min.)   26 

My  Pal  Trigger — Republic  (79  min.)  not  reviewed 

My  Reputation — Warner  Bros.  (94  min.)   7 

Mysterious  Intruder — Columbia  (62  min.)   50 

Night  Editor — Columbia  (67  min.)   54 

Night  in  Casablanca,  A — United  Artists  (85  min.)  ....  64 

Night  in  Paradise — Universal  (84  min.)   58 

Notorious  Lone  Wolf,  The — Columbia  (64  min.)  ....  26 

One  Exciting  Week — Republic  (69  min.)   94 

One  More  Tomorrow — Warner  Bros.  (88  min.)   78 

On  the  Carpet — Universal  (see  "Little  Giant")   34 

O.S.S.— Paramount   (107  min.)   79 

Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Paramount  (82  min.)  .  44 

Outlaw,  The — United  Artists  (115  min.)   48 

Partners  in  Time— RKO  (72  min.)   62 

Passkey  to  Danger — Republic  (58  min.)   83 

Perilous  Holiday — Columbia  (89  min.)   51 

Phantom  Thief,  The — Columbia  (65  min.)   75 

Postman  Always  Rings  Twice,  The — MGM  (113  min.)  42 
Rainbow  Over  Texas — Republic  (65  min.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Rendezvous  24 — 20th  Century-Fox  (70  min.)   70 

Renegades — Columbia  (88  min.)   72 

Riverboat  Rhythm — RKO  (65  min.)    22 

Roaring  Rangers — Columbia  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Romance  of  the  West — PRC  (58  min.)  not  reviewed 

Runaround,  The — Universal  (86  min.)   90 

Scarlet  Street — Universal  ( 102  min.)   10 

Searching  Wind,  the — Paramount  (118  min.)   78 

Shadow  Returns,  The — Monogram  (60  min.)   14 


ifcltG  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  - 


-  First  Half  of  1946,  Page  B 


She-Wolf  of  London — Universal  (61  min.)   59 

She  Wrote  the  Book — Universal  (78  min.)   74 

Sheriff  of  Redwood  Valley — Republic  (54  m.)  .not  reviewed 

Shock— 20th  Century-Fox  (70  min.)    11 

Sentimental  Journey — 20th  Century-Fox  (94  min.)   23 

Seventh  Veil,  The — Universal  (92  min.)   2 

Six  Gun  Man — PRC  (59  min.)  not  reviewed 

Smoky— 20th  Century-Fox  (87  min.)   94 

Smooth  As  Silk — Universal  (65  min.)   38 

So  Goes  My  Love — Universal  (87  min.)   50 

Somewhere  in  the  Night — 20th  Century-Fox  (110  min.)  70 

Song  of  Arizona — Republic  (68  min.)  not  reviewed 

Song  of  Mexico — Republic  ( 59  min.)   15 

Specter  of  the  Rose — Republic  (90  min.)   82 

Spider  Woman  Strikes  Back,  The — Universal  (59  min.)  44 

Spiral  Staircase,  The— RKO  (83  min.)   6 

Stolen  Life,  A— Warner  Bros.  (107  min.)   71 

Strange  Conquest — Universal    (63   min.)   62 

Strange  Impersonation — Republic  (68  min.)   34 

Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers,  The — Paramount 

(116  min.)    42 

Strange  Triangle — 20th  Century-Fox  (65  min.)   75 

Stranger,  The— RKO  (94  min.)....   83 

Strange  Voyage — Monogram  (61  min.)   99 

Strangler  of  the  Swamp — PRC  (58  min.)   14 

Suspense — Monogram  (101  min.)   56 

Sun  Valley  Cyclone — Republic  (55  min.).  .  .  .not  reviewed 

Swamp  Fire — Paramount  (69  min.)   80 

Swing  Parade  of  1946 — Monogram  (75  min.)   16 

Talk  About  a  Lady — Columbia  (71  min.)   86 

Tangier — Universal  (76  min.)   38 

Tars  and  Spars — Columbia  (86  min.)   12 

Tarzan  and  the  Leopard  Woman — RKO  (72  min.)  ...  27 

Terror  by  Night — Universal  (60  min.)    16 

Terrors  on  Horseback — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Texas  Panhandle — Columbia  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

That  Texas  Jamboree — Columbia  (67  min.) .  not  reviewed 

They  Made  Me  a  Killer — Paramount  (62  min.)   18 

Three  Strangers — Warner  Bros.  (92  min.)    19 

Three  Wise  Fools— MGM  (90  min.)   95 

Throw  a  Saddle  on  a  Star — Columbia  (65m.)  .not  reviewed 

Thunder  Town — PRC  (57  min.)  not  reviewed 

Till  the  End  of  Time— RKO  (105  min.)   94 

To  Each  His  Own — Paramount  (122  min.)   43 

Tomorrow  is  Forever — RKO  (105  min.)   11 

Truth  About  Murder,  The— RKO  (63  min.)   64 

Two-Fisted  Stranger — Columbia  (51  min.)  ..  .not  reviewed 

Two  Sisters  from  Boston— MGM  (112  min.)   39 

Two  Smart  People— MGM  (93  min.)   90 

Under  Arizona  Skies — Monogram  (67  min.) .  .not  reviewed 

Undercover  Woman,  The — Republic  (56  min.)   67 

Up  Goes  Maisie— MGM  (89  min.)   3 

Up  She  Goes — MGM  (see  "Up  Goes  Maisie")   3 

Valley  of  the  Zombie — Republic  (56  min.)   86 

Virginian,  The — Paramount  (86  min.)   18 

Walls  Came  Tumbling  Down,  The — Columbia  (82  min)  82 
Well-Groomed  Bride,  The — Paramount  (75  min.)  ....  20 
West  of  the  Alamo — Monogram  (57  min.) . .  .not  reviewed 

Whistle  Stop — United  Artists  (85  min.)    6 

Wife  of  Monte  Cristo,  The— PRC  (80  min.)   47 

Without  Reservations — RKO  (107  min.)   75 

Woman  in  the  Case — Monogram  (see  "Allotment 

Wives")  1945    179 

Yank  in  London,  A — 20th  Century-Fox  (106  min.)  ...  30 

Young  Widow — United  Artists  (100  min.)   30 

Ziegfeld  Follies— MGM  (110  min.)   11 

RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Heu>  Tor\  19,  H.  T.) 
7020  Blondie's  Lucky  Day — Singleton-Lake  Apr.  4 

7025  Mysterious  Intruder — Richard  Dix  Apr.  11 

7023  Night  Editor — Gargan-Carter  Apr.  18 

7001  Gilda — Hayworth-Ford   Apr.  25 

7207  Galloping  Thunder— Charles  Starret  (54  m).Apr.  25 

7031  Phanton  Thief — Chester  Morris  May  2 

7222  Texas  Jamboree — Musical  Western  (67m.). May  16 

7026  The  Devil's  Mask — Louise-Bannon  May  23 

7208  Two  Fisted  Stranger — Charles  Starrett  (51m)May  30 
7040  The  Man  Who  Dared — Brooks-Macready . .  .May  30 
7011  The  Walls  Came  Tumbling  Down — Bowman- 
Chapman   June  7 

7003  Renegades — Keyes-Parker   June  13 

7037  Dangerous  Business — Merrick-Tucker   June  20 

The  Return  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Litel  June  27 

The  Unknown — Morley-Bannon   July  4 

The  Desert  Horseman — Charles  Starrett  July  11 


Cowboy  Blues — Western  Musical  July  18 

Sing  While  You  Dance — Drew-Stanton  July  25 

Personality  Kid — Duane-Louise   Aug.  8 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway.  Hew  Jor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  16 

618  The  Hoodlum  Saint— Powell- Williams  Apr. -May 

619  Bad  Bascomb— Beery-O'Brien   Apr  -May 

620  Postman  Always  Rings  Twice — Garfield- 

Turner   Apr-May 

621  The  Last  Chance — Foreign-made  Apr. -May 

622  Two  Sisters  from  Boston — Durante- Allyson.  Apr. -May 

Block  17 

625  Boys'  Ranch — Jenkins-Homeier  July  18 

626  Courage  of  Lassie — Taylor-Morgan  Aug.  8 

627  Faithful  in  My  Fashion — Reed-Drake  Aug.  22 

628  Three  Wise  Fools — O'Brien-Barrymore  Aug.  29 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson  Mar. 

617  Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946— All-star  cast  Mar. 

623  The  Green  Years — Coburn-Drake  July  4 

624  Easy  to  Wed— Johnson-Williams-Ball   July  25 

Monogram  Features 

(630  N«nth  Ave.,  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 
529  Gay  Cavalier— Roland-Ames  (65  m.)  Mar.  30 

561  Under  Arizona  Skies — J.  M.  Brown  (67  m.) .  .Apr.  27 

514  Junior  Prom — Stewart-Preisser  May  1  1 

526  Behind  the  Mask — Richmond-Reed  May  25 

519  Dark  Alibi— Sidney  Toler  May  25 

502  Joe  Palooka,  Champ — Kirkwood-Errol  May  28 

508  Don't  Gamble  with  Strangers — Richmond- 
Hayes   June  1 

515  Freddie  Steps  Out — Stewart  June  8 

562  Gentleman  from  Texas — J.M.Brown  June  8 

510  In  Fast  Company — Bowery  Boys  June  22 

574  Trail  to  Mexico — Jimmy  Wakely  June  29 

521  Strange  Voyage — Eddie  Albert  July  6 

567  Shadows  on  the  Range — J.  M.  Brown  July  20 

Special 

699  Suspense — Belita-Sullivan   June  15 

Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway.  Hew  Yor\  18,  H-  T.) 
Block  4 

4516  The  Virginian — McCrea-Donlevy  Apr.  5 

4517  The  Blue  Dahlia— Ladd-Lake  Apr.  19 

4518  They  Made  Me  a  Killer — Lowery-Britton. . .  .May  3 

4519  The  Well-Groomed  Bride— DeHavilland- 

Milland   May  17 

Block  5 

4521  The  Bride  Wore  Boots — Stanwyck-Cummings.May  31 

4522  Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Russell- 

Lynn   June  14 

4523  Hot  Cargo — Gargan-Reed  June  28 

4524  To  Each  His  Own — Olivia  De  Havilland  July  5 

Block  6 

4526  O.S.S.— Ladd-Fitzgerald  July  26 

4527  The  Searching  Wind — Young-Sidney  Aug.  9 

4528  Swamp  Fire — Weissmuller-Crabbe  Sept.  6 

4529  Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers — Stanwyck- 

Heflin  Sept.  13 

Special 

4531  Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 

4532  Monsieur  Beaucaire — Bob  Hope  Aug.  30 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  22,  H-  Y.) 
Mask  of  Dijon — Von  Stroheim-Bates  (re.). .  .Apr.  9 
Murder  is  My  Business — Beaumont- Walker. .  .Apr.  10 

Thunder  Town — Bob  Steele  (57  m.)  Apr.  10 

Devil  Bat's  Daughter — LaPlanche-James  ....Apr.  15 

Caravan  Trail — Eddie  Dean  (62  m.)  Apr.  20 

Wife  of  Monte  Cristo — Loder-Aubert  Apr.  23 

Terrors  on  Horseback — Buster  Crabbe  (55m.)  .May  1 
Ghost  of  the  Hidden  Valley — Crabbe  (56m.). June  3 

Avalanche — Cabot-Borg   June  20 

Colorado  Serenade — Eddie  Dean  (68  m.) .  .  .  .June  30 
Larceny  in  Her  Heart — Beaumont- Walker.  .  .  .July  10 

Prairie  Bad  Men — Buster  Crabbe  July  17 

Queen  of  Burlesque — Young-Ankers  July  24 

Secrets  of  a  Sorority  Girl — Ware-Vallin  Aug.  1 

Overland  Riders — Buster  Crabbe  Aug.  15 

Down  Missouri  Way — Wright-O'Driscoll. . .  Aug.  15 
Blonde  for  a  Day — Beaumont-Walker  Aug.  22 


7/6/Y6  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  First  Half  of  1946,  Page  C 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 
512  Murder  in  the  Music  Hall — Ralston  Apr.  10 

515  Undercover  Woman — Livingston-Withers  .  .  .Apr.  11 

555  Alias  Billy  the  Kid — Sunset  Carson  (56  m.)  .  .Apr.  17 

5501  Home  on  the  Range — Hale  (Magnacolor) 

(55  m.)   Apr.  18 

514  Catman  of  Paris — Esmond- Aubert  Apr.  20 

516  The  Glass  Alibi — Fowley-Gwynne  Apr.  27 

448  Rainbow  Over  Texas — Roy  Rogers  (65  m.) 

(1944-45)   May  9 

567  Sun  Valley  Cyclone— Bill  Elliott  (55  m.)  May  10 

518  Passkey  to  Danger — Bachelor-Richmond  May  11 

519  The  French  Key — Dekker-Ankers  May  18 

556  El  Paso  Kid— Sunset  Carson  (55  m.)  May  22 

520  Valley  of  the  Zombies — Livingston-Booth.  .  .  .May  24 

517  In  Old  Sacramento — Elliott-Moore  May  31 

521  One  Exciting  Week — Al  Pearce  June  8 

5502  Man  from  Rainbow  Valley — Monte  Hale 

(56m.)   June  15 

522  Traffic  in  Crime — Richmond-Mara  June  28 

5541  My  Pal  Trigger— Roy  Rogers  (79  m.)  July  10 

523  Night  Train  to  Memphis — Acuff-Lane-Mara.  .July  12 
525  Rendezvous  with  Annie — Albert-Patrick  July  22 

568  Conquest  of  Cheyenne — Elliott  July  22 

557  Red  River  Renegades — Sunset  Carson  July  25 

RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  Y.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  5 

621  Without  Reservations — Colbert  Wayne  

622  Badman's  Territory — Scott-Richards  

623  Ding  Dong  Williams — McGuire-Vernon  

624  The  Truth  About  Murder — Granville-Conway  

625  Partners  in  Time — Lum  and  Abner  

Block  6 

626  Till  the  End  of  Time — McGuire-Madison  

627  Crack-Up — O'Brien-Trevor-Marshall   

628  Bedlam— Karloff-Lee   

629  The  Falcon's  Alibi — Conway-Corday  

630  The  Bamboo  Blonde — Langford-Wade  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue)  

661  Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever — Colbert- Welles-Brent  

692  Make  Mine  Music — Disney  

Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

625  The  Dark  Corner — Stevens-Ball  May 

626  Do  You  Love  Me? — O'Hara-Haymes-James  May 

627  Rendezvous  24 — Gargan-Palmer  May 

628  Cluny  Brown — Jones-Boyer  June 

629  Somewhere  in  the  Night — Hodiak-Guild  June 

630  Strange  Triangle — Foster-Hasso  June 

631  Smoky — MacMurray-Baxter   July 

632  It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — Landis-Joslyn. . .  .July 

633  Centennial  Summer — Crain-Wilde  Aug. 

634  Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam — Harrison-Dunne ..  Aug. 

635  Deadline  for  Murder — Taylor-Ryan  Aug. 

Specials 

602  Wilson — Knox-Fitzgerald  Aug. 

614  Leave  Her  to  Heaven — Tierney- Wilde  Jan. 

United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

Young  Widow — Russell-Hayward  Mar.  1 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  Mar.  15 

Rebecca — Olivier-Fontaine  (reissue)   Apr.  26 

A  Night  in  Casablanca — Marx  Bros  May  10 

A  Scandal  in  Paris — Sanders-Hasso  July  19 

Mr.  Ace — Raft-Sidney  Aug.  2 

Caesar  and  Cleopatra — Leigh-Rains  Aug.  16 

The  Bachelor's  Daughters — Dvorak-Trevor  Sept.  6 

Angel  on  My  Shoulder — Muni-Baxter-Rains  Sept.  20 

Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H.  Y.) 

526  Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — English  cast.  Apr.  5 

527  Blonde  Alibi— Neal-O'Driscoll   Apr.  12 

528  So  Goes  My  Love — Loy-Ameche  Apr.  19 

529  Night  in  Paradise — Bey-Oberon  May  3 

530  Strange  Conquest — Wyatt-Gilmore  May  10 

531  She  Wolf  of  London — Haden-Porter  May  17 


532  The  Cat  Creeps— Collier-Brady  May  17 

533  She  Wrote  the  Book— Davis-Oakie  May  31 

534  Dressed  to  Kill — Rathbone-Bruce  June  7 

535  The  Runaround — Raines-Cameron  June  14 

536  Lover  Come  Back — Brent-Ball  June  21 

537  Inside  Job — Foster-Rutherford  June  28 

538  Her  Adventurous  Night — O'Keefe- Walker.  .July  5 

539  Danger  Woman — Joyce-Porter  July  12 

540  The  Dark  Horse — Terry-Savage  July  19 

541  Canyon  Passage — Andrews-Donlevy 

Hayward   July  26 

542  Cuban  Pete— Arnaz-De  Wit  July  26 

543  The  Black  Angel — Duryea-Vincent-Lorre.  . .  Aug.  2 

544  Slightly  Scandalous — Brady-Drew   Aug.  2 

545  Wild  Beauty — Porter-Collier  Aug.  9 

546  The  Time  of  Their  Lives— Abbott  &?  Costello.  Aug.  16 

547  The  Brute  Man — Neal-Hatton  Aug.  23 

548  The  Killers — Lancaster-Gardner  Aug.  30 

Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  York  18,  H-  Y.) 

517  Devotion — Lupino-De  Havilland-Henreid  .  . .  .Apr.  20 

518  Her  Kind  of  Man— Clark-Paige-Scott  May  11 

519  One  More  Tomorrow — Sheridan-Morgan.  ..  .June  1 

520  Janie  Gets  Married — Leslie-Hutton  June  22 

521  A  Stolen  Life— Davis-Ford   July  6 

522  Of  Human  Bondage — Henreid-Parker  July  20 

523  Night  and  Day — Grant-Smith-Martin  Aug.  3 

524  Two  Guys  from  Milwaukee — Morgan-Carson.  Aug.  17 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

7559  Community  Sings  No.  9  (I0y2  m.)  May  9 

7753  Unsure-Runts — Color  Rhapsody  (7J/2  m.) .  .May  16 

7859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  (11m.)  May  23 

7808  Diving  Aces— Sports  (9  m.)  May  23 

7703  Snap  Happy  Traps — Phantasy  (6]/z  m.)  . . .  .June  6 

7860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  (9y2  m.)  June  10 

7660  Community  Sings  No.  10  June  13 

7956  Dick  Stabile  &  Orch.— Film  Vodvil  June  16 

7503  Picnic  Panic— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  June  20 

7809  Flying  Hoofs— Sports   June  27 

7704  The  Schooner  the  Better — Phantasy  July  4 

7661  Community  Sings  No.  11  July  11 

7957  Saxie  Dowell     Orch.— Film  Vodvil  July  18 

7602  Cagey  Bird— Flippy  (6J/2  m.)  July  18 

7810  Deep  Sea  Fishing— Sports  July  25 

Columbia — Two  Reels 

7426  Get  Along  Little  Zombie — Herbert  (17  m.)  .  .May  9 

7410  Ain't  Love  Cuckoo? — Schilling  (19  m.)  June  6 

7407  Monkey  Businessmen — Stooges  ( 18  m.)  .  .  . .  June  20 

7408  Three  Loan  Wolves— Stooges  (16'/2  m.)  July  4 

7411  You  Can't  Fool  a  Fool— Clyde  (17  m.)  July  11 

7180  Chick  Carter,  Detective— Serial  (15  ep.)  July  11 

7412  Hot  Water— Schilling-Lane   July  25 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

M-783  Musical  Masterpieces — Miniature  (  10  m.)  .  Apr.  20 

S-758  Studio  Visit— Pete  Smith  (10m.)  May  11 

K-776  Our  Old  Car— Pass.  Par.  (11  m.)  May  11 

S-759  Equestrian  Quiz — Pete  Smith  (9  m.)  May  18 

W-736  The  Milky  Waif— Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  18 

T-717  Looking  at  London — Traveltalk  (10m.).. June  1 
S-760  Treasures  from  Trash — Pete  Smith  (10m.). June  8 
M-784  Bikini — The  Atom  Island — Pass.  Par. 

(10  m.)   June  15 

W-737  The  Hick  Chick— Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  15 

W-738  Trap  Happy — Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  29 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-702  Purity  Squad— Special  (20  m.)  Nov.  3 

Paramount — One  Reel 

D5-2  Bargain  Counter  Attack — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  .May  3 
Y5-4  In  the  Wilds — Speak,  of  Animals  (9m.)... May  10 

R5-8  Riding  the  Hickories — Sportlight  (9  m.)  May  17 

P5-2  Cheese  Burglar — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  May  17 

L5-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  (10  m.)  (re.).. May  24 
U5-4  Together  in  the  Weather — Puppetoon  (7m.)  .May  24 

E5-3  Klondike  Casanova — Popeye  (8  m.)  May  31 

P5-3  Old  MacDonald  Had  a  Farm— Novel.  (7  m.)  .  June  7 

E5-4  Peep  in  the  Deep — Popeye  (7  m.)  June  7 

Y5-5  The  Lonesome  Stranger — Speak,  of  Animals.  June  14 

J5-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  June  21 

R5-9  Birds  Make  Sport— Sportlight  June  21 

P5-4  Sheep  Shape — Noveltoon  June  28 


7/6/75    HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Index  --  First  Half  of  1946,  Page  D 


LM  Unusual  Occupations  No.  5  July  12 

R5-10  Feminine  Class— Sportlight   July  19 

D5-3  Bored  of  Education— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  July  26 

UJ-y  Jasper's  Derby — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Aug.  9 

E5-5  Rocket  to  Mars — Popeye  Aug.  9 

D5-4  Chick  and  Double  Chick— Little  Lulu  Aug.  16 

E5-6  Rodeo  Romeo — Popeye  Aug.  16 

J5-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  Aug.  16 

P5-5  Spree  for  All— Noveltoon  Aug.  23 

L5-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  Aug.  30 

Paramount — Two  Reels 
FF5-3  College  Queen — Musical  Parade  (19  m.) 

(re.)   May  17 

T5-2  Don't  Be  a  Sucker— Special  July  4 

FF5-4  A  Tale  of  Two  Cafes— Musical  Par.  (18  m.)  .July  5 
FF5-5  Double  Rhythm — Musical  Parade  Aug.  23 

Republic — Two  Reels 

582  King  of  the  Forest  Rangers— Serial  (12  ep.)  .Apr.  27 

RKO-^One  Reel 

64207  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  7  (7  m.)  Apr.  12 

64104  Pluto's  Kid  Brother — Disney  (7  m.)  Apr.  12 

64309  Tenderfoot  Trail — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Apr.  19 

64105  In  Dutch — Disney  (7  m.)  May  10 

64310  Aqua  Queens — Sportscope  (8  m.)  May  17 

64106  Squatter's  Right — Disney  (7  m.)  June  7 

63411  Ben  Hogan — Sportscope  (9  m.)  June  14 

64107  Donald's  Double  Trouble — Disney  (7  m.).  June  28 

RKO — Two  Reels 

63106  Two  Million  Rooms — This  is  America 

(16  m.)  Apr.  5 

63107  No  Place  Like  Home — This  is  Amer.  (16m). May  3 
63704  Twin  Husbands — Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  May  10 

63108  Panama — This  is  Amer.  (17  m.)  May  31 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6514  Gandy  Goose  in  It's  All  in  the  Stars — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Apr.  12 

6259  Cradle  of  Liberty — Adventure  (8  m.)  Apr.  21 

6515  Mighty  Mouse  in  Throwing  the  Bull — Terry. 

(7  m.)  May  3 

6354  Sea  Sirens— Sports  (8  m.)  May  10 

6516  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Trojan  Horse — Terry. 

(6'/2  m.)   May  26 

6517  Dinky  Finds  a  Home — Terrytoon  June  7 

6355  Golden  Horses — Sports  (8  m.)  June  26 

6518  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Johnston  Flood — Terry. 

(7  m.)   June  28 

6260  Across  the  Great  Divide — Adventure  (8m.). July  5 

6519  Gandy  Goose  in  Peacetime  Football — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  19 

6520  Gandy  Goose  in  The  Golden  Hen — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  24 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 
Vol.  12  No.  9 — Wanted — More  Houses — 

March  of  Time  (20  m.)  Apr.  19 

Vol.  12  No.  10 — Tomorrow's  Mexico — 

March  of  Time  (19  m.)  May  17 

Vol.  12  No.  11— Problem  Drinkers — 

March  of  Time  (19  m.)  June  14 

United  Artists — One  Reel 

The  Lady  Said  No— Daffy  Dittys  (8  m.)  Apr.  26 

Universal — One  Reel 

1324  Apple  Andy — Cartune  (7  m.)  May  20 

1382  Merrily  We  Sing— Musical  (10  m.)  May  27 

1369  Scientifically  Stung — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  lune  10 

1370  Lone  Star  Padre— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  17 

1349  Dog  of  the  7  Seas — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  June  17 

1325  Who's  Cooking  Who— Cartune  (7m.)  June  24 

1371  Artist's  Antics — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  24 

1326  Bathing  Buddies — Cartune  (7  m.)  July  1 

1372  Picture  Pioneer— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  July  1 

1350  Magic  Mineral — Var.  Views  (9m.)  July  1 

1351  Mr.  Chimp  at  Home — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  . .  .Aug.  12 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1308  Takin'  the  Breaks — Russ  Morgan — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  22 

1309  Banquet  of  Melody — Matty  Malnick — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  29 

1310  Swinging  Down  the  Scale — Musical  (15m.)  .June  26 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

2308  Katnip  College — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  4 

2608  Dixieland  Jamboree — Mel.  Master  (10  m.) .  .May  11 
2510  Facing  Your  Danger — Sports  (10  m.)  May  11 


2508 
2309 
2721 
2805 
2701 
2310 
2702 
2311 

2722 
2509 
2609 
2312 
2703 
2704 

2804 
2705 
2512 
2610 

2806 

2706 
2313 
2707 
2513 

2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
3101 


Undersea  Spear  Fishing— Sports  (10  m.)  May  18 

Night  Watchman — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  18 

Hair  Raising  Hare — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

Girls     Flowers — Adventure  (10  m.)  May  25 

Kitty  Kornered — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  June  8 

Little  Brother  Rat — Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  8 

Hollywood  Daffy — Merric  Mel.  (7  m.)  June  22 

Johnny  Smith  6f  Poker  Huntas — Cartoon 

(7  m.)  June  22 

Acrobatty  Bunny — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.) .  . .  .  June  29 
The  Riding  Hannefords— Sports  ( 10  m.) . . .  June  29 
Musical  Memories — Mel.  Master  (10  m.) .  . .  .July  6 
Robinhood  Makes  Good — Cartoon  (7m.).. July  6 

Eager  Beaver — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  July  13 

Great  Piggy  Bank  Robbery — Merrie  Mel. 

(7  m.)   July  27 

Let's  Go  Camping — Adventure  ( 10  m.) . . . .  July  27 
Bacall  to  Arms — Merrie  Melody  (7  m.).  ..  .Aug.  3 

Ranch  in  White — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  3 

Enric  Madriguera  if  Orch. — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   Aug.  10 

Adventures  in  South  America — Adventure 

(10  m)  Aug.  10 

Of  Thee  I  Sting— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Aug.  17 

Little  Red  Walking  Hood— Cartoon  (7  m.).Aug.  17 
Walky  Talky  Hawky— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.) .  .Aug.  31 
Dominion  of  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  31 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

South  of  Monterey — Special  (20  m.)  June  1 

Hawaiian  Memories — Special  (20  m.)  June  15 

Down  Singapore  Way — Special  (20  m.) .  .  .  .July  20 

Men  of  Tomorrow — Special  (20  m.)  Aug.  24 

Okay  for  Sound — Featurette  (1946-47  pre- 
release)  Aug.  3 


NEWSWEEKLY  NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

65191  Sat.  (O)  .  .July  6 
65292  Wed.  (E)  .July  10 
65193  Sat.  (O)  .  .July  13 
65294  Wed.  (E)  .July  17 
65195  Sat.  (O)  .  .July  20 
65296  Wed.  (E)  .July  24 
65197  Sat.  (O)  .  .July  27 
65298  Wed.  (E)  .July  31 
65199  Sat.  (O)  .Aug.  3 
652100  Wed.  (E)  .Aug.  7 
651101  Sat.  (O)  .Aug.  10 
652102  Wed.  (E).Aug.  14 
651  103  Sat.  (O)  .Aug.  17 
652104  Wed.  (E).Aug.  21 


Universal 


Paramount 

88  Thurs.  (E) 

89  Sunday  (O) 

90  Thurs.  (E) 

91  Sunday  (O) 

92  Thurs.  (E) 

93  Sunday  (O) 

94  Thurs.  (E) 

95  Sunday  (O) 

96  Thurs.  (E) 

97  Sunday  (O) 

98  Thurs.  (E) 

99  Sunday  (O) 

100  Thurs.  (E) 

101  Sunday  (O) 

102  Thurs.  (E) 


News 

..July  4 
..July  7 
.  .  July  11 
.  .July  14 
.  .July  18 
.  .  July  21 
.  .July  25 
.  .July  28 

..Aug.  1 
.Aug.  4 

..Aug.  8 
.Aug.  11 

.  .  Aug.  15 
.Aug.  18 

.  .Aug.  22 


516 

Thurs. 

(E) 

..July  4 

517 

Tues. 

(O)  . 

..July  9 

518 

Thurs. 

(E)  . 

.  .July  11 

519 

Tues. 

(O)  . 

.  .July  16 

520 

Thurs. 

(E)  . 

.  .July  18 

521 

Tues. 

(O)  . 

.  .July  23 

522 

Thurs. 

(E)  . 

.  .  July  25 

523 

Tues. 

(O)  . 

.  .July  30 

524 

Thurs. 

(E)  . 

•  Aug.  1 

525 

Tues. 

(O)  . 

.Aug.  6 

526 

Thurs. 

(E) 

..Aug.  8 

527 

Tues. 

(O) 

,  .Aug.  13 

528 

Thurs. 

(E) 

.  .Aug.  15 

529 

Tues. 

(O) 

.  .Aug.  20 

530 

Thurs. 

(E) 

.  .Aug.  22 

News  of  the  Day 


Fox  Movietone 

88  Thurs.  (E)  ..July 

89  Tues.  (O) 

90  Thurs.  (E) 

91  Tues.  (O) 

92  Thurs.  (E) 

93  Tues.  (O) 

94  Thurs.  (E) 

95  Tues.  (O) 

96  Thurs.  (E) 

97  Tues.  (O) 

98  Thurs.  (E) 

99  Tues.  (O) 

100  Thurs.  (E) 

101  Tues.  (O) 

102  Thurs.  (E) 


4 

juTy  9 
.  .July  11 
, .  .July  16 
. .  .July  18 
...July  23 
. .  .July  25 
. .  .July  30 
..Aug.  1 
..Aug.  6 
. .  Aug.  8 
.  .Aug.  13 
.  .Au 
.  .Au 


286  Thurs.  (E) 

287  Tues.  (O) 

288  Thurs.  (E) 

289  Tues.  (O) 

290  Thurs.  (E) 

291  Tues.  (O) 

292  Thurs.  (E) 

293  Tues.  (O) 

294  Thurs.  (E) 

295  Tues.  (O) 

296  Thurs.  (E) 

297  Tues.  (O) 

298  Thurs.  (E) 

299  Tues.  (O) 

300  Thurs.  (E) 


..July  4 
..July  9 
.  .July  11 
..July  16 
.  .July  18 
.  .July  23 
.  July  25 
.  .July  30 
..Aug.  1 
..Aug.  6 
..Aug.  8 
..Aug.  13 
.  .Aug.  15 
.  .Aug.  20 
.  .Aug.  22 


15 
_  20 
Aug.  22 


All  American  News 

193  Friday   July  5 

194  Friday  July  12 

195  Friday   July  19 

196  Friday  July  26 

197  Friday   Aug.  2 

198  Friday   Aug.  9 

199  Friday   Aug.  16 

200  Friday   Aug.  23 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      v    l,  <>n  w  v  Publisher 

Canada  16.50  Wew  Tork  <4U«  >*•  «•  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Its  Edltorial  p0iicy:  n0  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JULY  6,  1946  No.  27 


AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COURT'S 
OPINION— No.  3 

(From  a  Layman's  point  of  view) 

Clearance  and  Run  (continued) 

As  said  in  last  week's  issue,  an  exhibitor,  in  order  to  pre 
pare  his  bid  intelligently  under  the  competitive  bidding  sys- 
tem  suggested  by  the  court,  must  know  the  conditions  under 
which  he  is  bidding.  Naturally  this  will  require  the  clarifica- 
tion of  many  factors,  chief  among  wheh  is  clearance,  to 
enable  him  to  determine  the  rental  he  would  be  willing  to 
pay  for  a  particular  picture. 

Regarding  clearance,  the  court,  in  its  opinion,  has  recog- 
nized that  clearance  is  an  essential  and  equitable  practice, 
provided  it  is  reasonable  as  to  time  and  area.  "Indeed,  it  is 
practically  conceded  that  exhibitors  would  find  extremely 
perilous  the  acceptance  of  licenses  for  the  exhibition  of  films 
without  assurance  by  the  distributor  that  a  nearby  com- 
petitor would  not  be  licensed  to  show  the  same  film  either 
at  the  same  time  or  soon  thereafter  that  the  exhibitor's 
expected  income — perhaps  on  the  basis  of  which  he  agreed 
to  the  specified  rental — would  be  greatly  diminished.  More- 
over, we  understand  the  plaintiff  to  concede  that  the  licensor 
may  license  its  pictures  for  different  successive  dates.  A 
reasonable  clearance  is  in  practical  effect  much  the  same. 
Either  a  license  for  successive  dates,  or  one  providing  for 
clearance,  permits  the  public  to  see  the  picture  in  a  later- 
exhibiting  theatre  at  lower  than  prior  rates. 

"Several  courts  have  previously  considered  the  validity 
of  clearances  under  the  Sherman  Act  and  have  concluded 
that  in  the  absence  of  unconscionably  long  time  or  too  ex- 
tensive an  area  embraced  by  the  clearance,  or  a  conspiracy  of 
distributors  to  fix  clearances,  there  was  nothing  of  itself 
illegal  in  their  use.  ..." 

But  in  the  present  case  the  court  found  that  the  de- 
fendants "have  acquiesed  in  and  forwarded  a  uniform  system 
of  clearances  and  in  numerous  instances  have  maintained 
unreasonable  clearances  to  the  prejudice  of  independents 
.  .  ."  This  it  held  to  be  in  violation  of  the  Sherman  Act. 

The  court  then  suggests  that  "the  decision  of  such  con- 
troversies as  may  arise  over  clearances  should  be  left  to  local 
suits  in  the  area  concerned,  or,  even  more  appropriately,  to 
litigation  before  an  Arbitration  Board  composed  of  men 
versed  in  the  complexities  of  this  industry." 

Since  separate  court  actions  for  the  adjudication  of  clear- 
ance disputes  would  be,  not  only  a  time  consumer,  but  also 
costly,  Harrison's  Reports  agrees  with  the  court  that  the 
settlement  of  such  disputes  through  arbitration  is  the  most 
practical  and  expedient  way. 

But  the  set-up  and  functions  of  such  Arbitration  Boards, 
to  be  effective  under  the  system  of  competitive  bidding, 
should  be  generally  along  the  following  lines: 


(a)  There  should  be  an  Arbitration  Board  in  each  ex- 
change area. 

(b)  The  chief  purpose  of  the  Boards,  in  addition  to  act- 
ing as  an  agency  for  the  settlement  of  other  disputes,  shall 
be  to  prevent  unreasonable  clearance  in  length  of  time  and 
in  size  of  area. 

(c)  Each  Board  shall  be  comprised  of  three  members, 
none  of  whom  shall  have  any  financial  interest  in  any  branch 
of  the  industry,  and  each  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
court  or  its  duly  authorized  representative. 

(d)  Immediately  after  their  creation,  each  of  the  Boards 
shall  take  steps  to  formulate  in  its  territory  a  clearance 
schedule  covering  all  threatres  within  each  competitive  area. 
These  schedules  shall  be  formulated  in  a  manner  that  will 
eliminate  unreasonable  clearances  between  competing  thea- 
tres, and  shall  be  based  on  information  furnished  to  the 
Board  by  the  theatres  involved  so  that  each  one  may  be  classi- 
fied in  accordance  with  local  conditions  and  under  such  other 
considerations  as  may  be  ordered  by  the  court. 

The  schedule  should  include  information  as  to  the  eligibil- 
ity of  each  theatre  for  particular  runs  within  its  competitive 
area. 

To  give  competing  theatres  a  basis  on  which  to  bid  against 
one  another  in  open  competition,  the  schedule  should  pro- 
vide also  information  as  to  each  theatre's  clearance  in  length 
of  time  and  size  of  area,  in  accordance  with  the  range  of  ad- 
mission prices  set  by  each  theatre.  For  example,  a  prior-run 
theatre  charging  an  admission  price  that  is  at  least  10#  higher 
than  that  of  a  subsequent-run  theatre  shall  be  entitled  to  a 
specified  length  of  clearance  over  the  subsequent-run  theatre. 
If  the  prior-run  theatre's  admission  price  is  at  least  20^ 
higher  than  that  of  the  subsequent-run  theatre,  the  schedule 
should  provide  for  a  proportionate  extension  of  the  length 
of  clearance.  In  other  words,  the  difference  between  ad- 
mission prices  should  be  a  prime  factor  in  the  determination 
of  reasonable  clearance,  and  the  listing  in  the  schedules  of 
the  allowable  clearances  in  accordance  with  the  range  of  ad- 
mission prices  should  serve  as  a  guide  for  each  exhibitor  in 
the  preparation  of  his  bid,  and  in  the  determination  of  the 
rental  he  would  be  willing  to  pay  for  a  particular  picture, 
on  a  particular  run. 

In  determining  what  is  reasonable  clearance,  the  court  has 
ordered  that  the  following  factors  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion: 

( 1 )  The  admission  prices  of  the  theatres  involved,  as  set 
by  the  exhibitor; 

(2)  The  character  and  location  of  the  theatres  involved, 
including  size,  type  of  entertainment,  appointments,  transit 
facilities,  etc.; 

(3)  The  policy  of  operation  of  the  theatres  involved, 
such  as  the  showing  of  double  features,  gift  nights,  give- 
aways, premiums,  cut-rate  tickets,  lotteries,  etc.; 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


106 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  6,  1946 


"Queen  of  Burlesque"  with  Evelyn  Ankers, 
Carleton  Young  and  Marian  Martin 

(PRC,  July  24;  time,  68  min.) 

A  mildly  interesting  program  murder-mystery 
melodrama.  Without  resorting  to  eerie  effecs  it  man- 
ages to  hold  one's  interest  because  it  is  not  until  the 
end  that  the  mystery  is  solved  and  the  murderer  appre- 
hended. The  story  is  somewhat  confusing  but  the  solu- 
tion is  worked  out  logically  and  the  identity  of  the 
murderer  is  well  concealed  until  the  finish.  Several 
murders  take  place  and,  as  in  most  pictures  of  this 
type,  different  characters  are  suspected  of  the  crimes 
because  each  had  reason  to  commit  them.  The  action, 
which  for  the  most  part  unfolds  backstage  at  a  bur- 
lesque heatre,  is  slow,  but  it  holds  one  in  suspense. 
The  cast  is  short  on  marquee  value,  but  the  attractive 
title  should  be  of  some  help  in  attracting  patrons  to 
the  box-office: — 

Evelyn  Ankers,  star  of  Craig  Reynolds'  burlesque 
show,  is  upset  when  she  learns  that  Jacqueline  Dalya 
was  to  replace  her  as  the  star.  Craig,  who  was  satis- 
fied with  Evelyn's  work,  indicates  to  her  that  Jac- 
queline was  in  a  position  to  blackmail  him  into  giving 
her  the  lead.  Peeved,  too,  at  Jacqueline's  promotion, 
was  Rose  La  Rose,  a  specialty  dancer,  who  had  long 
been  angling  for  the  star  part,  and  who  had  been  put- 
ting pressure  on  her  suitor,  Murray  Leonard,  the 
show's  comedian,  to  further  her  ends.  Jacqueline  had 
earned  also  the  enmity  of  Marian  Martin,  a  chorine, 
who  believed  that  she  had  driven  to  suicide  the  man 
whom  both  had  loved.  On  opening  night,  Alice  Flem- 
ing, the  show's  wardrobe  mistress,  finds  Jacqueline 
strangled  in  a  dressing  trunk.  Inspector  Emory  Par- 
nell  takes  charge  of  the  case  and,  during  his  investiga- 
tion, both  Marian  and  Rose  are  murdered  mysteri- 
ously. Different  clues  cause  suspicion  to  be  centered 
on  Evelyn,  Leonard,  and  Reynolds.  The  wardrobe 
mistress,  who  idolized  Evelyn,  confesses  to  the  crimes 
in  an  effort  to  save  her  from  arrest,  but  the  police 
refuse  to  believe  her  story.  In  the  course  of  events, 
Carleton  Young,  a  reporter  in  love  with  Evelyn,  un- 
covers evidence  that  leads  him  to  suspect  the  ward- 
robe mistress.  Through  adroit  questioning,  he  tricks 
her  into  disclosing  herself  as  the  murderess  and  proves 
that  she  had  committed  the  crimes  as  the  result  of  a 
homicidal  mania  induced  by  her  intense  love  for 
Evelyn,  whom  she  mistakenly  believed  to  be  her 
daughter. 

David  A.  Lang  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Ar- 
thur Alexander  and  Arthur  Stern  produced  it,  and 
Sam  Newfield  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Dead  of  Night"  with  an  all-English  cast 

(Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time,  15  min.) 
To  many  picture-goers,  this  English-made  psycho- 
logical thriller  will  prove  a  treat  because  of  its  un- 
usualness.  Although  it  deals  with  a  weird  assortment 
of  fantastic  psychic  experiences  undergone  by  several 
persons,  the  direction  and  acting  are  so  good,  and  the 
treatment — a  dream  within  a  dream — so  uncommon, 
that  the  action,  unbelievable  as  it  is,  holds  one  fas- 
cinated from  start  to  finish.  The  players,  who  perform 
exceptionally  well,  are  unknown  to  American  audi- 
ences, but  this  box-office  handicap  will  probably  be 


overcome  by  the  word-of -mouth  advertising  the  pic- 
ture is  bound  to  enjoy.  Suspense  and  excitement 
mount  steadily  in  the  unfoldment  of  the  odd  tale, 
which  is  comprised  of  several  episodes. 

It  begins  with  the  arrival  of  Mervyn  Jones  at  Pil- 
grim's Farm,  an  English  country  home,  to  which  he 
had  been  summoned  on  business.  Jones  recognizes  the 
home  and  the  guests  within  it  as  having  been  in  a 
constantly-recurring  nightmare  he  had  been  experi- 
encing, one  that  ended  in  a  violent  way.  He  tells  the 
guests  of  his  nightmare,  and  one  of  them,  a  psychi- 
atrist, scoffs  at  the  story.  The  others,  however,  are 
more  sympathetic,  and  each  tells  of  a  strange  incident 
in  which  he  had  been  involved.  One  recalls  a  presenti- 
ment that  had  saved  him  from  death.  While  con- 
valescing in  a  hospital  a  hearse  and  driver  had  en- 
visaged itself  to  him.  Shortly  thereafter  he  had 
boarded  a  bus  but  had  gotten  off  when  he  noticed 
that  the  conductor  resembled  the  hearse  driver.  A 
block  away,  the  bus  had  crashed  over  a  bridge.  An- 
other guest  (Googic  Withers)  relates  a  tale  about  an 
antique  mirror  she  had  given  to  her  husband.  It  had 
come  from  a  room  in  which  a  murder  had  been  com- 
mitted, and  her  husband  saw  in  it,  not  the  reflection 
of  his  own  room,  but  the  reflection  of  the  scene  of  the 
killing.  The  spell  of  the  murder  scene  so  affected  his 
mind  that  he  had  attempted  to  kill  her,  but  she  had 
saved  herself  by  smashing  the  mirror,  thus  breaking 
the  spell.  The  psychiatrist  then  tells  of  his  experience 
with  a  mad  ventriloquist  (Michael  Redgrave),  who 
lived  a  dual  personality  life  with  his  dummy.  Afraid 
that  the  dummy  wanted  to  go  into  partnership  with  a 
rival  ventriloquist,  Redgrave  had  shot  his  rival  and 
had  "murdered"'  the  dummy. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  stories,  Jones  is  suddenly 
overpowered  by  a  desire  to  murder  the  psychiatrist. 
As  he  strangles  the  man  to  death  and  slips  into  a 
maddening  whirl  of  events,  he  is  awakened  in  his  bed 
by  a  ringing  telephone  and  realizes  that  he  had  been 
through  another  nightmare.  The  telephone  caller  asks 
him  to  come  to  Pilgrim's  Farm  on  business. 

Each  of  the  episodes  is  interesting  and  thrilling,  but 
the  most  fascinating  is  the  one  about  the  ventriloquist; 
its  weirdness  will  send  chills  up  and  down  one's  spine. 

John  Baines  and  Angus  McPhail  wrote  the  screen 
play  based  on  original  stories  by  themselves  and  by 
E.  F.  Benson.  Michael  Balcon  produced  it,  and  Caval- 
canti,  Basil  Deardon  and  Robert  Hamer  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Of  Human  Bondage"  with  Paul  Henreid, 
Eleanor  Parker  and  Alexis  Smith 

(Warner  Bros.,  July  20;  time,  10?  min.) 

Adapted  from  W.  Somerset  Maugham's  novel, 
which  was  first  brought  to  the  screen  by  RKO  in 
1934,  starring  Bette  Davis  and  the  late  Leslie  Howard, 
this  remake  is  a  fairly  good  but  unpleasant  psychologi- 
cal drama.  The  popularity  of  the  novel,  and  the  fame 
of  the  first  picture,  should  be  of  considerable  help  in 
putting  this  version  across.  Some  slight  changes  have 
been  made  in  the  story,  which  revolves  around  a  hy- 
persensitive, clubfooted  medical  student,  whose  un- 
requited love  for  a  vicious,  immoral  cockney  waitress 
almost  wrecks  his  life,  but  on  the  whole  it  remains 
substantially  the  same.  The  performances  are  first- 


July  6,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


107 


rate,  but  one  finds  it  difficult  to  accept  Paul  Henreid's 
characterization  of  the  student,  since  it  is  hard  to  be 
lieve  that  any  man  could  retain  his  infatuation  for  a 
woman  as  bitter  and  as  irresponsible  as  the  waitress 
portrayed  by  Eleanor  Parker,  whose  performance,  in- 
cidentally, is  exceedingly  good.  At  first  some  sym- 
pathy  is  felt  for  Henreid  because  of  his  deformity  and 
of  his  unhappiness,  but  all  this  sympathy  vanishes 
when  he  continually  allows  himself  to  come  under 
the  waitress'  spell,  despite  her  shabby  treatment  of 
him.  A  number  of  the  situations  are  extremely  un- 
pleasant,  particularly  the  one  in  which  Miss  Parker, 
enraged  because  Henreid  expresses  his  disgust  when 
she  offers  herself  to  him,  denounces  him  for  his  de- 
formity with  every  epithet  at  her  command.  There  is 
some  human  interest  in  Henreid's  relationship  with  a 
middle-class  English  family,  with  whom  he  eventually 
finds  happiness,  but  it  is  not  enough  to  offset  the  pic- 
ture's unpleasantness  as  a  whole: — 

While  visiting  a  London  cafe,  Henreid  becomes 
infatuated  with  Eleanor,  despite  her  rudeness  to  him. 
She  goes  out  on  dates  with  him  and  encourages  his 
love,  but  she  soon  discards  him  to  run  off  with  a  mar- 
ried man.  Henreid  finds  solace  in  the  sympathetic  com- 
pany of  Alexis  Smith,  a  novelist  who  loved  him.  Mean- 
while Eleanor's  lover  deserts  her  before  keeping  his 
promise  of  marriage.  She  returns  to  Henreid  for  aid 
and  informs  him  that  she  was  expecting  a  baby.  Al- 
though she  deserved  no  such  consideration,  Henreid 
leaves  Alexis  to  devote  himself  to  Eleanor,  planning  to 
marry  her  after  the  baby  is  born.  He  finances  her  con- 
finement only  to  be  repaid,  following  the  baby's  birth, 
by  her  starting  a  love  affair  with  one  of  his  close 
friends  (Patric  Knowles).  He  plunges  back  into  his 
studies,  determined  to  forget  her.  Many  months  later, 
he  discovers  that  she  had  become  a  streetwalker  and 
that  she  was  ill.  He  brings  her"  and  the  baby  to  his 
modest  quarters  to  help  her  regain  her  health.  She 
treats  him  civilly  for  a  time,  but  on  Christmas  Eve  she 
rifles  his  meagre  savings  to  buy  an  expensive  gown 
with  which  to  entice  him.  He  expresses  his  disgust 
with  her  and  leaves  the  house.  Enraged,  she  destroys 
his  belongings  and  burns  his  savings.  Out  in  the  cold 
without  an  overcoat,  Henreid  is  taken  ill  with  pneu- 
monia and  is  removed  to  a  hospital.  During  his  con- 
valescence, Eleanor,  emaciated  from  tuberculosis,  dies. 
Her  baby  had  died  a  month  earlier.  Let  out  of  the  hos- 
pital, Henreid,  released  from  his  obsession,  starts  life 
anew  with  Janis  Paige,  eldest  daughter  of  a  family 
that  had  befriended  him  during  his  student  days. 

Catherine  Turney  wrote  the  screen  play,  Henry 
Blanke  produced  it,  and  Edmund  Goulding  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Edmund  Gwenn  and  others. 

Strictly  adult  entertainment. 


A  REMEDY  FOR  THE  REMAKES 

This  paper  has  received  many  comments  from  ex- 
hibitors on  the  editorial  about  remakes,  which  was 
published  in  the  May  25  issue. 

Some  of  the  exhibitors  asked:  "What  is  the  rem- 
edy?" 

Harrison's  Reports  suggests  to  every  exhibitor 
organization  to  insist  that  remakes  be  sold  indi- 
vidually, so  that  the  exhibitor  may  use  his  discretion 
as  to  whether  he  should  buy  them  or  refuse  to  buy 


them.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  remakes  are,  for  all 
practical  purposes,  nothing  more  and  nothing  less  than 
re-issues,  even  though  they  may  be  acted  by  a  different 
cast,  selling  them  separately  seems  to  be  the  only  way 
by  which  an  exhibitor  can  avoid  the  accusation  by  his 
patrons  that  he  is  showing  old  pictures.  Such  an 
accusation  is  justified  even  when  the  remake  is  released 
under  the  same  title.  However,  when  it  is  released 
under  another  title,  with  nothing  to  indicate  that  it  is 
a  remake,  the  case  is  nothing  but  an  outrage. 


A  BOLD  STAND  BY  AN  AFFILIATED 
EXHIBITOR  AGAINST 
CONCEALED  ADVERTISING 

All  the  old-timers  and  many  new  recruits  to  Har- 
rison's Reports  subscription  list  remember  that  this 
paper  has  for  years  been  carrying  on  a  campaign 
against  the  inclusion  of  either  sponsored  or  concealed 
advertising  in  either  features  or  shorts,  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  an  unfair  practice  against,  not  only  the 
exhibitors,  who  own  the  screens,  but  also  the  picture- 
patrons  who  pay  an  admission  at  the  box-office  to  be 
entertained  and  who  resent  it  when  such  ads  are 
foisted  upon  them. 

In  1931,  Paramount  and  Warner  Bros,  went  into 
sponsored  screen  advertising  "wholesale,"  disregard- 
ing the  detrimental  effect  their  action  would  have  on 
the  business. 

This  paper  enlisted  the  aid  of  the  daily  press  of  the 
nation  and,  within  three  months,  both  Paramount  and 
Warner  Bros,  were  compelled  to  give  up  their  spon- 
sored screen  advertising  activities. 

You  may  imagine  my  surprise  when  I  read  in  the 
June  1 1  issue  of  the  Film  Daily  that,  at  the  recent 
MPTOA  meeting  at  Columbus,  Mississippi,  R.  B. 
Wilby,  a  Paramount  partner  in  the  operation  of  their 
theatres  in  the  South,  condemned  the  inclusion  of 
commercial  advertising  in  both  features  and  shorts. 
Mr.  Wilby  said  that,  where  possible,  he  removed  all 
footage  from  films  playing  his  theatres  whenever  such 
footage  had  any  indication  of  advertising.  He  men- 
tioned in  particular  Coca  Cola  and  Yellow  Taxis  as 
firms  that  were  using  influence  to  get  their  products 
shown  in  pictures.  And  the  situation,  says  Mr.  Wilby, 
is  getting  worse,  and  he  urges  that  the  practice  be 
policed  and  that  vigorous  action  be  taken  to  halt  it. 

Most  of  the  studio  heads  are  careful  about  con- 
cealed ads  creeping  into  their  pictures,  but  every  now 
and  then  one  of  these  ads  slips  by  their  notice,  usually 
the  result  of  some  subtle  staging  on  the  part  of  an 
"underling,"  connected  with  the  making  of  the  pic- 
ture, who  had  been  "sold"  by  one  of  the  numerous 
advertising  lobbyists  who  make  Hollywood  their  head- 
quarters in  an  effort  to  get  an  ad  break  on  the  screen 
for  the  products  they  represent.  These  lobbyists  resort 
to  many  devices  to  gain  their  purpose,  the  most  com- 
mon being  the  furnishing  of  props  to  the  producer  at 
no  charge,  the  props,  of  course,  serving  to  plug  their 
products. 

While  you  should  voice  your  protest  every  time  a 
company  permits  a  concealed  advertisement  to  sneak 
into  a  picture,  the  most  effective  action  you  can  take 
is  to  follow  the  example  of  Mr.  Wilby — use  your 
scissors! 


108 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  6,  1946 


(4)  The  rental  terms  and  license  fees  paid  by  the  theatres 
involved,  and  the  revenues  derived  by  the  distributor- 
defendant  from  such  theatres; 

(5)  The  extent  to  which  the  theatres  involved  compete 
with  each  other  for  patronage; 

(6)  The  fact  that  a  theatre  involved  is  affiliated  with  a 
defendant-distributor  or  with  an  independent  circuit  of 
theatres  should  be  disregarded;  and 

(7)  There  should  be  no  clearance  between  theatres  not 
in  substantial  competition. 

(e)  The  schedule  of  clearances  set  up  by  the  Board  shall 
be  subject  to  change,  depending  on  the  erection  of  new 
theatres  within  a  competitive  area,  as  well  as  on  the  improve- 
ment of  existing  theatres.  In  other  words,  an  exhibitor,  by 
building  a  new  theatre,  or  by  modernizing  the  theatre  he 
owns,  may  apply  for  a  betterment  of  his  clearance  and  run 
position,  which  must  be  granted  if  the  facts  warrant  a 
change. 

(f)  Each  exhibitor  should  be  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the 
latest  schedule  of  clearances  and  runs  within  his  competitive 
area  for  his  guidance  in  the  preparation  of  his  bids.  In  the 
event  an  exhibitor  feels  that  the  clearance  affecting  his 
theatre  is  unreasonable,  he  shall  have  the  right  to  appeal 
to  the  Board  for  a  review  of  the  facts  involved.  If  the  Board's 
majority  decision  is  not  to  his  satisfaction,  the  aggrieved  ex- 
hibitor shall  have  the  right  to  appeal  to  a  Board  of  Appeals, 
whose  members,  too,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  court,  and 
whose  decision  shall  be  final,  provided,  however,  that  such 
a  decision  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  aggrieved  ex- 
hibitor's rights  in  a  court  of  law. 

Like  the  plan  suggested  last  week  for  the  establishment  of 
"clearing  houses"  to  administer  the  details  involved  in  a 
system  of  competitive  bidding,  the  aforementioned  plan, 
dealing  with  clearance  and  run,  is  but  a  bare  outline  embody- 
ing the  basic  principles  under  which  an  orderly  schedule  of 
clearances  and  runs  may  be  evolved  for  the  guidance  of 
competing  theatres;  under  closer  study,  its  scope  is  subject 
to  enlargement. 

Recognizing  that  disputes  may  arise  over  clearance,  the 
court  has  this  to  say  in  its  opinion: 

"In  determining  the  reasonableness  of  the  specific  clear- 
ances which  may  come  before  these  tribunals,  they  should 
consider  whether  the  clearance  has  been  set  so  as  to  favor 
affiliates  or  control  the  admission  prices  of  the  theatres  in- 
volved. A  distributor  will  naturally  tend  to  grant  a  subse- 
quent run  to  and  clearance  over  a  theatre  for  which  the 
owner  of  his  own  volition  sets  a  low  admission  price,  for  the 
distributor  would  be  inclined  to  seek  out  the  higher  priced 
theatres  first  where  the  revenue  is  likely  to  be  greater  and 
consquently  in  case  of  licenses  on  a  percentage  basis  where 
a  percentage  share  will  be  higher. This,  however,  would  seem 
the  inevitable  result  of  the  competition  for  the  distributor's 
films  from  theatres  which  are  the  larger  or  better  equipped, 
and  for  which  higher  admission  prices  may  therefore  be 
charged  by  their  operators.  Such  competition  the  lower 
priced  theatres  must  be  prepared  to  meet,  or  else  be  content 
with  subsequent  runs  and  grants  of  clearance  over  them. 
The  temptations  to  the  distributor  to  use  clearance  grants  to 
force  a  theatre  to  raise  its  prices  and  thus  to  qualify  for  prior 
runs  having  less  clearance  over  it,  and  more  clearance  over 
competitors  are  nevertheless  obvious  and  the  courts  or  arbi- 
tration board  should  guard  that  this  is  not  done.  Clearance 
should  be  granted  on  the  basis  of  theatre  conditions  which 
the  exhibitor  creates,  not  the  distributor.  The  line  to  be 
drawn  is  indeed  indistinct,  but  its  existence  is  no  less  real." 

In  other  words,  the  court  has  ruled  that  the  exhibitor,  not 
the  distributor  shall  create  the  conditions  under  which  his 
theatre  may  qualify  for  a  particular  run  and  for  length  of 
clearance  over  a  competitor.  If  an  exhibitor  wants  to  set  his 
admission  prices  at  a  low  level,  he  may  do  so  without  inter- 
ference from  the  distributor,  but  in  doing  so  he  must  be  will- 
ing to  accept  a  subsequent-run  to  a  competitor  who  may  want 
to  set  admission  prices  at  a  higher  level,  thus  reasonably 
assuring  the  distributor  of  greater  revenue  from  his  theatre. 


Formula  Deals,  Master  Agreements, 
and  Franchises 

The  control  of  product  through  formula  deals,  master 
agreements,  and  franchises,  has  long 'been  a  bane  to  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  because  such  contracts  gave  to  the  affili- 
ated theatres,  as  well  as  the  theatres  of  large  independent 
circuits,  a  substantial  monopoly  in  preferred  runs  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  independents,  even  in  situations  where  an  inde- 
pendent's theatre  was  of  a  sort  from  which  a  distributor 
could  derive  greater  revenue  if  it  were  given  the  prior-run 
enjoyed  by  the  favored  theatres.  The  court  held  such  con- 
tracts to  be  violative  of  the  Sherman  Act,  and  it  enjoined  the 
defendants  from  further  performance  of  such  existing  con- 
tracts and  from  entering  into  similar  agreements  in  the  future. 

"Formula  deals,  certain  master  agreements,  and  fran- 
chises," states  the  court,  "have  tended  to  restrain  trade  in 
the  distribution  and  exhibition  of  motion  picture  features 
and  in  view  of  the  history  and  relation  to  the  moving  picture 
business  of  the  various  parties  to  this  action  have  exercised 
unreasonable  restraints.  In  our  opinion  these  restraints  will 
be  obviated  or  at  least  sufficiently  mitigated  by  requiring  a 
distributor  wishing  its  pictures  to  be  shown  outside  of  its 
own  theatres  to  offer  to  license  each  picture  to  all  theatres 
desiring  to  show  it  on  a  particular  run  and,  if  the  theatres 
are  responsibly  owned  and  otherwise  adequate,  to  grant  the 
desired  run  to  the  highest  bidder." 

In  a  discussion  of  formula  deals  and  master  agreements, 
the  court  held  that  they  are  violative  of  the  Sherman  Act 
because  "no  opportunity  is  afforded  for  other  theatre  owners 
to  bid  for  the  pictures  in  their  several  areas,"  thus  un- 
reasonably restraining  competition. 

Franchises,  too,  were  held  to  be  objectionable  "because 
they  cover  too  long  periods  (more  than  one  season)  and  also 
because  they  embrace  all  the  pictures  released  by  a  given 
distributor.  They  necessarily  contravene  the  plan  of  licensing 
each  picture,  theatre  by  theatre,  to  the  highest  bidder." 

"It  is  true,"  states  the  court,  "that  a  prohibition  of  for- 
mula deals,  master  agreements  and  franchises  will  interfere 
with  certain  contracts  which  have  been  made  in  the  past  but 
their  formation  was  a  restraint  upon  trade  which  was  unlaw- 
ful at  the  time  they  were  made,  and  therefore  should  not  be 
continued.  .  .  . 

"In  our  opinion  it  follows  from  the  foregoing  that  pro- 
visions in  license  agreements  known  as  moveovers  which  give 
to  a  licensee  the  privilege  of  exhibiting  a  given  picture  in  a 
second  theatre  as  a  continuation  of  a  run  in  a  first  theatre 
are  incompatible  with  the  system  we  have  prescribed  of 
bidding  for  pictures  and  runs  theatre  by  theatre.  The  same 
would  seem  to  be  true  of  so-called  overage-and-underage 
provisions  which  are  often  inserted  in  licenses  to  permit  an 
exhibitor  owning  a  number  of  theatres  to  apply  a  deficit 
in  the  playing  time  in  one  or  more  others.  Under  such  pro- 
visions it  is  not  possible  to  determine  the  amount  payable 
for  the  account  of  one  theatre  until  the  performances  in  the 
others  have  been  completed,  or  practically  to  apply  the  bid- 
ding system  we  are  establishing.  But  provisions  in  licenses 
for  'extended'  or  'repeat'  runs  in  the  same  theatre,  though 
apparently  criticized  by  the  government,  would  not  seem  to 
be  objectionable  if  reasonably  limited  in  time  when  other 
exhibitors  are  given  the  opportunity  to  bid  for  similar 
licenses.  Likewise,  any  other  license  provisions  which  may 
be  called  to  our  attention  that  would  substantially  interfere 
with  the  effectiveness  of  the  bidding  system  would  have  to 
be  revised  and  perhaps  may  have  to  be  specially  dealt  with 
in  the  decree  to  follow  this  opinion." 

The  court's  meaning  is  unequivocably  clear:  It  will  not 
stand  for  any  provision  in  a  license  agreement  the  effect  of 
which  will  be  to  interfere  with  free  and  open  competition.  In 
other  words,  every  exhibitor  will  have  an  opportunity  to 
buy  film  without  being  hampered  by  conditions  that  may 
work  to  his  disadvantage  while  giving  the  advantage  to  a 
competitor.  Moreover,  it  allows  for  revisions  to  be  made  in 
the  decree  in  the  event  unforeseen  conditions  arise  tending  to 
interfere  with  the  spirit  and  intent  of  the  bidding  system  it 
has  proposed. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JULY  13,  1946  No.  28 


AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COURT'S 
OPINION— No.  4 

(From  a  Layman's  point  of  view) 

Block-booking  and  Blind-selling 

Included  in  the  Government's  complaint  against  the  de- 
fendant-distributors was  the  contention  that  the  Sherman 
Act  forbids  block-booking  in  toto,  because  it  is  illegal  to 
condition  the  licensing  of  one  film  to  an  exhibitor  upon  his 
acceptance  of  a  license  of  another  film. 

"In  our  opinion,"  declares  the  court,  "this  contention  is 
sound,  and  any  form  of  block-booking  is  illegal  by  which 
an  exhibitor,  in  order  to  obtain  a  license  for  one  or  more 
films  must  accept  a  license  for  one  or  more  other  films." 

After  citing  recent  Supreme  Court  decisions,  which  it 
used  as  a  basis  in  finding  the  practice  unlawful,  the  court 
states: 

"We,  however,  declare  illegal  only  that  aspect  of  block- 
booking  which  makes  the  licensing  of  one  copyright  condi- 
tional upon  an  agreement  to  accept  a  license  of  one  or  more 
other  copyrights.  A  distributor  may  license  to  an  exhibitor 
at  one  time  as  many  films  as  the  latter  wishes  to  receive,  but 
the  distributor  may  not  constitute  groups  of  pictures  which 
it  refuses  to  license  separately.  The  distributor  may  of  course 
not  license  his  pictures  at  all,  but  if  he  does  license  them, 
he  must  do  so  severally  and,  in  accordance  with  the  bidding 
procedure  previously  indicated,  must  license  them  to  the 
exhibitor  or  exhibitors  who  are  qualified  and  offer  the  best 
terms  for  the  various  runs." 

In  other  words,  the  court  says  that  pictures  may  still  be 
bought  in  groups,  provided  the  licensing  of  any  one  picture 
in  the  group  is  not  conditioned  upon  the  exhibitor's  ac- 
ceptance of  one  or  more  other  pictures  in  that  or  any  other 
group.  It  is  compulsory  block-booking  that  the  law  forbids. 

In  any  event,  no  matter  how  many  pictures  a  distributor 
and  exhibitor  may  desire  to  include  in  a  single  contract,  each 
picture  must  first  be  offered  to  all  qualified  exhibitors  within 
the  competitive  area  in  accordance  with  the  bidding  system. 
This  would  mean  that  a  single  contract  could  include  only 
those  films  for  which  the  exhibitor  had  submitted  the  best 
bid. 

Exhibitors  in  highly  competitive  areas  may  find  it  quite 
difficult  to  buy  pictures  in  groups,  but  to  exhibitors  in  closed 
situations,  as  well  as  to  those  in  areas  where  competition  is 
light,  group  buying  should  be  beneficial  and  convenient. 

The  important  thing  about  the  outlawing  of  compulsory 
block-booking  is  that  the  exhibitor  will  now  become  a  free 
agent  in  the  selection  of  his  films.  He  need  no  longer  be 
concerned  about  being  compelled  to  accept  pictures  that 
are,  either  of  poor  quality,  or  objectionable  on  moral  or 
religious  grounds;  he  merely  need  not  submit  a  bid  for  such 
pictures. 

Moreover,  the  elimination  of  compulsory  block-booking 
(together  with  the  other  restrictions  that  have  been  placed 
on  the  distributors),  should  prove  a  boon  to  independent 
production  and  distribution,  for  the  practice  pre-empted  an 
exhibitor's  playing  time  to  such  an  extent  that  the  Big 
Eight  virtually  monopolized  the  available  playing  time  on  the 
nation's  screens  to  the  exclusion  of  the  independents.  Con- 
sequently, compulsory  block-booking  had  the  effect  of  dis- 
couraging independent  producers,  who  found  themselves 
compelled  to  make  unwilling  alliances  with  one  of  the  Big 


Eight  in  order  to  secure  proper  distribution  of  their  pic- 
tures. With  the  practice  outlawed,  independent  producers 
will  now  have  the  incentive  to  increase  both  the  quality  and 
output  of  their  productions.  This  should,  in  turn,  serve  to 
invigorate  those  producers  who  have  been  coasting  along, 
not  on  the  merits  of  their  pictures,  but  on  a  system  that 
compelled  exhibitors  to  accept  what  they  produced — good, 
bad  and  indifferent. 

Blind-selling  was  defined  by  the  court  as  a  practice  capable 
of  abuse  but  not  as  inherently  restrictive  of  competition  as 
block-booking.  Taking  note  of  the  exhibitors'  poor  attend- 
ance at  tradeshows,  the  court  declared  that  exhibitors  who 
preferred  to  obtain  their  pictures  in  quantity  "need  to  be 
protected  against  burdensome  agreements  by  being  given 
an  option  to  reject  a  certain  percentage  of  their  blind- 
licensed  pictures  within  a  reasonable  time  after  they  shall 
have  become  available  for  inspection.  Such  right  of  rejec- 
tion .  .  .  should  be  afforded  whenever  licenses  of  unproduced 
films  and  films  not  trade-shown  are  secured  by  an  exhibitor 
who  has  made  the  best  competitive  bid  for  them." 

In  other  words,  wherever  an  exhibitor  is  enabled,  under 
the  competitive  bidding  system,  to  buy  pictures  in  groups, 
either  before  they  are  produced,  or,  if  produced,  not  yet 
tradeshown,  he  must  be  given  a  cancellation  privilege,  which 
he  must  exercise  within  a  reasonable  time  after  each  picture 
is  made  available  for  inspection.  In  its  provisions  for  a 
decree,  the  court  provided  that  ten  days  shall  be  reasonable. 
It  did  not  specify  what  percentage  of  a  group  of  blind- 
licensed  pictures  may  be  cancelled.  The  Department  of 
Justice,  however,  has  proposed  that  it  be  twenty-five  per 
cent. 

An  adequate  cancellation  privilege  should  serve  as  a 
means  of  protection  for  exhibitors  who  prefer  to  buy  their 
pictures  blind,  but  in  order  that  the  privilege  be  an  effective 
protection  a  specified  set  of  rules  will  have  to  be  formulated 
regarding,  among  other  conditions,  how  and  when  the 
blind-bought  pictures  shall  be  made  available  for  inspection. 
For  example,  if  an  exhibitor  bought  blindly  a  group  of 
twelve  unproduced  pictures,  and  if  he  had  the  right  to  cancel 
25%  or  three  of  them,  a  distributor  might  make  available 
for  his  inspection  at  first  three  pictures  of  such  inferior 
quality  that  he  would  be  compelled,  out  of  business  pru- 
dence, to  invoke  his  cancellation  privilege  on  all  three.  In 
such  a  case,  the  exhibitor  would  be  at  a  disadvantage,  for  the 
remaining  eight  pictures  of  the  group,  either  unproduced  or 
purposely  withheld  from  tradeshowing,  would  have  to  be 
accepted  by  him  regardless  of  quality. 

As  can  be  seen  from  the  aforementioned  example,  the 
possibilities  of  inequities  in  the  blind-selling  arrangement 
suggested  by  the  court  are  so  rampant  that  the  exhibitor 
organizations  would  do  well  to  give  this  phase  of  the 
opinion  close  study  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  recom- 
mendations to  the  Department  of  Justice  for  incorporation 
in  the  final  decree.  Otherwise,  the  cancellation  privilege  on 
blindly  bought  pictures  may  prove  to  be  no  substitute  for 
selectivity,  the  court's  objective  in  providing  for  such  a  can- 
cellation. 

The  court  closes  its  remarks  on  block-booking  and  blind- 
selling  by  making  it  clear  that  the  only  group-licensing  it 
will  sanction  is  "licensing  by  which  the  group  is  not  offered 
on  condition  that  the  licensee  shall  take  all  the  pictures 
(Continued-  on  last  page) 


110 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  13,  1946 


"A  Scandal  in  Paris"  with  George  Sanders, 
Carole  Landis  and  Signe  Hasso 

(United  Artists.  July  19;  time,  100  min.) 

Although  picturesque  and  well  produced,  this  slow-moving 
costume  melodrama  is  just  mildly  entertaining.  Its  chances  at 
the  hox-office  will  have  to  depend  on  the  popularity  of  the 
stars  and  on  the  exploitable  title.  Set  in  the  early  days  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  the  story  is  based  on  the  life  of 
Eugene-Francois  Vidocq,  a  French  criminal,  who,  despite 
his  crimes,  lived  to  become  prefect  of  police.  George  Sanders, 
as  Vidocq,  is  his  unsual  suave  self,  carrying  on  his  perfidy 
with  grace  and  charm,  but  his  characterization  is  uncon- 
vincing and  loosely  drawn,  as  are  the  other  characters  in  the 
plot.  The  best  that  can  be  said  for  Carole  Landis,  as  a  woman 
of  loose  morales,  is  that  she  shows  off  her  physical  charms  to 
good  advantage.  The  story  is  thin,  episodic  and  talky,  and 
the  characters  are  not  of  the  type  that  arouse  any  sympathy. 
It  has  little  comedy  and  few  thrills,  and  at  times,  despite  the 
period  depicted,  the  dialogue  contains  slang  expressions 
that  came  into  being  in  recent  years.  Its  running  time  is 
much  too  long: — 

Sanders,  who  lived  a  life  of  petty  crime  from  the  day  he 
was  born,  escapes  from  jail  with  Akim  Tamiroff,  his  cell- 
mate. In  Paris,  Tamiroff  s  family,  talented  in  every  phase  of 
crime,  provide  the  pair  with  uniforms  and  forged  credentials 
identifying  them  as  soldiers  in  Napoleon's  army.  They  go 
to  Marseilles,  where  Sanders  starts  a  flirtation  with  Carole,  a 
cafe  entertainer,  which  ends  with  his  stealing  her  bejeweled 
gaiter,  a  gift  from  Gene  Lockhart,  the  Paris  prefect  of 
police,  whom  she  marries  a  short  time  later.  The  two  rogues 
head  for  Paris,  where  Sanders  meets  and  charms  an  aristo- 
cratic dowager  (Alma  Krugcr).  He  wangles  an  invitation  to 
her  castle,  bent  on  stealing  her  jewels.  There  he  meets  her 
son  (Alan  Napier)  and  learns  that  he  was  Minister  of  Police. 
He  meets  also  Siunc  Hasso,  the  minister's  daughter,  who 
becomes  infatuated  with  him.  Sanders  steals  the  jewels,  but 
is  unable  to  make  a  getaway.  The  theft  is  discovered,  and, 
Lockhart,  unable  to  solve  the  crime,  loses  his  position. 
Sanders,  seeing  an  opportunity  to  become  the  new  prefect  of 
police,  "solves"  the  crime  and  "recovers"  the  jewels.  The 
minister,  impressed,  gives  him  the  appointment.  Now  in  an 
impregnable  position,  Sanders  formulates  a  plan  to  rob  the 
Bank  of  Paris,  aided  by  Tamiroff  s  family.  Meanwhile  Carole 
catches  up  with  him  and,  upon  learning  of  his  position,  seeks 
to  blackmail  him.  But  Lockhart,  suspecting  that  she  was 
carrying  on  a  love  affair,  kills  her  and  commits  suicide  him- 
self. On  the  day  set  for  the  robbery,  Signe  comes  to  Paris 
and  confesses  her  love  to  Sanders.  He  decides  to  reform  and 
calls  off  the  robbery.  Tamiroff,  enraged,  attempts  to  kill 
Sanders,  only  to  become  the  victim  himself.  Sanders  makes 
a  clean  breast  of  his  crimes  and  is  forgiven  by  all.  He 
marries  Signe. 

Ellis  St.  John  wrote  the  screen  play,  Arnold  Pressburger 
produced  it,  and  Douglas  Sirk  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Jo  Ann  Marlowe,  Vladmir  Sokoloff  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"The  Unknown"  with  Karen  Morley 
and  Jim  Bannon 

(Columbia,  July  4;  time,  65  min.) 

A  routine  program  murder-mystery  melodrama,  based  on 
a  story  that  makes  little  sense,  but  it  has  enough  excitement 
and  suspense  to  satisfy  the  undiscriminating  followers  of 
this  type  of  pictures.  The  action  takes  place  in  one  of  those 
isolated  mansions,  and  the  usual  props,  such  as  shadows  on 
the  wall,  mysterious  figures  prowling  around,  a  family  crypt, 
and  secret  passageways  are  used  to  create  an  eerie  atmos- 
phere. Since  the  mystery  surrounding  the  murders  is  not 
solved  until  the  end,  one's  interest  is  held  to  a  fair  degree. 
But  it  is  a  cheerless  entertainment;  there  is  no  comedy  to 
relieve  the  tension: — 

On  the  night  that  Helen  Freeman  arranges  a  wedding  for 
Karen  Morley,  her  daughter,  the  young  lady  confesses  her 
secret  marriage  to  Robert  Wilcox.  Karen's  father  scuffles 


with  Wilcox,  and  is  killed  accidentally.  To  avoid  a  6candal, 
Miss  Freeman  compels  Wilcox  to  leave,  then  buries  her  hus- 
band behind  a  fireplace,  swearing  her  daughter  and  her  two 
sons  (Wilton  Graff  and  James  Bell)  to  secrecy.  Years  later, 
Jeff  Donnell,  Karen's  grown-up  daughter,  who  had  been  6ent 
away  from  home  as  a  baby,  learns  of  her  grandmother's  death 
and  returns  home  to  hear  the  reading  of  her  will,  accom- 
panied by  Jim  Bannon  and  Barton  Yarbrough,  private  de- 
tectives. She  finds  that  her  mother  had  become  mentally  un- 
balanced, driven  mad  by  the  mysterious  wailing  of  a  baby; 
that  one  uncle,  Graff,  had  become  a  dipsomaniac;  and  that 
the  other,  Bell,  was  a  deaf  sculptor.  Before  the  will  is  read, 
an  attempt  is  made  on  Jeff's  life,  and  then  Bell  is  murdered 
by  a  mysterious  shadowy  figure,  who  plagues  the  house.  The 
two  detectives  launch  an  investigation,  which  leads  them 
through  a  maze  of  secret  passageways  and  to  a  family  crypt 
in  a  fruitless  attempt  to  catch  the  wily  madman.  In  the 
events  that  follow,  the  grandmother  appears  and  confesses 
that  she  had  pretended  to  be  dead,  but  before  she  can  explain 
the  shadowy  figure  carries  her  off  to  the  crypt  and  kills  her. 
Later  the  madman  lures  Jeff  and  Karen  to  the  crypt,  but  their 
lives  are  saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  detectives,  who 
capture  the  killer  and  unmask  him  as  Graff,  the  half-crazed 
uncle.  He  had  killed  his  mother  and  brother,  and  had  driven 
Karen  mad  by  means  of  a  mechanical  doll,  as  part  of  a  plan 
to  gain  control  of  the  estate.  It  ends  with  the  return  of 
Karen's  husband,  and  the  restoration  of  her  sanity. 

Malcolm  Stuart  Boylan  and  Julian  Harmon  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  a  story  by  Carlton  E.  Morse.  Wallace  Mac- 
Donald  produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Return  of  Rusty"  with 
Ted  Donaldson  and  Mark  Dennis 

(Columbia.  June  27;  time,  65  mm.) 

This  sequel  to  the  "Adventures  of  Rusty"  is  a  moderately 
entertaining  program  melodrama,  but  it  is  primarily  enter- 
tainment for  the  juvenile  trade;  adult  audiences  will  prob- 
ably find  it  tiresome,  for  its  story  about  the  adventures  of 
two  boys  and  a  dog  is  somewhat  immature.  There  is  human 
interest  in  the  tale,  some  comedy,  and  a  fair  share  of  excite- 
ment, but  it  is  of  the  kind  that  will  have  more  effect  on 
youngsters  than  on  their  elders.  Acting  honors  go  to  Mark 
Dennis,  a  newcomer,  whose  portrayal  of  an  orphaned, 
twelve-year-old  Czechoslovakian  refugee  is  quite  good: — 

Mark,  a  stowaway  on  a  returning  troopship,  is  appre- 
hended by  the  authorities,  but  Sergeant  Robert  Stevens,  who 
wanted  to  adopt  the  boy,  helps  him  to  escape.  Mark  goes 
to  Stevens'  home-town  to  rwait  him.  There  he  meets  Ted 
Donaldson  and  some  of  his  young  friends,  and  is  attracted  to 
Rusty,  Ted's  police  dog.  Ted  take6  Mark  home  and  prevails 
upon  his  parents  (John  Litel  and  Barabara  Wooddell)  to 
give  him  temporary  lodging.  Mickey  Kuhn,  one  of  the  boys, 
takes  a  dislike  to  Mark  because  he  was  a  foreigner.  Detec- 
tives come  to  town  searching  for  Mark,  but  Ted  and  his 
buddies  hide  him.  Meanwhile  word  comes  that  Stevens  had 
been  arrested,  suspected  of  complicity  in  Mark's  disappear- 
ance. Mark  decides  to  go  to  Stevens  to  help  him,  and 
Rusty  insists  upon  trailing  behind.  Mickey,  finding  the 
dog,  gives  him  to  a  strange  boy,  then  reports  to  Ted  that 
Mark  had  stolen  the  animal.  Mark  retrieves  Rusty  and  re- 
turns him  to  his  young  master,  but  Ted  believes  him  guilty 
of  stealing  Rusty.  Mark  angered,  seeks  Mickey  out  to  have 
a  showdown.  In  the  excitement,  both  boys  fall  into  a  ravine, 
and  Mickey  is  injured.  Mark  gives  Mickey  first  aid  and  in- 
structs Rusty  to  scale  the  walls  of  the  ravine  to  summon  the 
help  of  Ted  and  his  friends.  Both  boys  are  rescued,  and 
it  all  ends  well  when  Stevens,  absolved  by  the  authorities, 
is  permitted  to  adopt  Mark,  who  by  this  time  had  won  the 
admiration  of  the  townspeople  because  of  his  aid  in  helping 
the  injured  Mickey,  despite  his  grievance. 

Lewis  H.  Herman  and  William  B.  Sackheim  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Leonard  S.  Picker  produced  it,  and  William 
Castle  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


July  13,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


111 


"Danger  Woman"  with  Don  Porter 
and  Brenda  Joyce 

(Universal,  July  12;  time,  60  min.) 

An  ordinary  program  melodrama,  modestly  produced. 
Its  subject  matter — atomic  energy,  is  timely,  but  the  plot  is 
so  commonplace  and  so  obvious  that  one  loses  interest  in 
the  outcome,  since  one  surmises  in  advance  just  what  is 
going  to  happen.  Moreover,  the  picture  lacks  excitement 
and,  since  it  is  given  more  to  talk  than  to  action,  it  moves 
at  a  slow  pace.  Some  of  the  dialogue  is  quite  trite.  The 
players  do  their  best  with  the  mediocre  material  given  them, 
but  they  fail  to  overcome  the  plot's  defects: — 

After  completing  his  part  in  the  creation  of  the  atom 
bomb,  Professor  Don  Porter  continues  his  nuclear  research 
for  the  development  of  atomic  energy  for  peacetime  use.  He 
falls  in  love  with  Brenda  Joyce,  his  secretary,  but  is  unable 
to  further  the  romance  because  of  the  return  of  his  estranged, 
unfaithful  wife  (Patricia  Morison),  who  resumes  her  posi- 
tion as  head  of  the  household  in  a  determination  to  win 
back  his  love.  Porter  evolves  a  theory  whereby  atomic  energy 
could  be  used  to  benefit  mankind,  but  he  refuses  to  make 
his  theory  public  lest  it  be  used  by  sinister  forces  for  de- 
structive  purposes.  Meanwhile  Milburn  Stone,  head  of  an 
international  gang  of  thieves,  which  sought  to  obtain  Porter's 
notes,  fakes  a  traffic  accident  as  a  means  of  getting  into 
Porter's  home.  He  is  kept  there  under  orders  of  a  local  doc- 
tor,  who  had  been  intimidated  by  Stone's  henchmen.  To 
compel  Porter  to  reveal  his  secret,  Stone  starts  a  whispering 
campaign  in  town  about  an  alleged  affair  the  professor  was 
having  with  Brenda,  thus  discrediting  him  in  the  eyes  of  the 
university  officials,  who  suspend  him.  Patricia,  seeing 
through  Stone's  scheme,  makes  a  deal  with  him  to  obtain 
Porter's  notes.  She  tries  to  back  out  of  the  deal  when  Stone 
resorts  to  blackmail  to  compel  her  to  do  his  bidding,  but 
Stone,  after  obtaining  the  document,  murders  her.  In  the 
course  of  events,  an  investigation  brings  Stone  to  justice, 
clearing  Porter's  reputation  and  leaving  him  free  to  marry 
Brenda. 

Josef  Mischel  wrote  the  original  screenplay,  Morgan  B. 
Cox  produced  it,  and  Lewis  D.  Collins  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Samuel  S.  Hinds,  Kathleen  Howard  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Dark  Horse"  with  Phillip  Terry 
and  Ann  Savage 

(Universal,  July  19;  time,  59  min.) 
An  amusing  program  comedy.  It  is  a  travesty  on  American 
political  machines,  revolving  around  the  nomination  and 
election  as  Alderman  of  a  returned  soldier,  who  becomes 
an  unwilling  candidate  for  the  post.  The  manner  in  which 
he  is  thrust  into  the  campaign,  and  the  methods  employed 
by  a  political  boss  to  build  him  up  as  "a  man  of  the  people," 
keep  one  chuckling  throughout.  The  story  has  a  familiar 
ring,  but  it  holds  one's  attention  fairly  well,  for  it  is  fast- 
moving  and  the  performances  are  good.  Donald  MacBride, 
as  the  blustering  political  boss,  whose  trickery  proves  his  own 
undoing,  is  quite  funny.  It  is  not  a  big  picture,  but  it  should 
serve  nicely  to  round  out  a  double  bill  where  something  light 
is  needed: — 

Returning  to  his  home-town  after  serving  in  the  army, 
Phillip  Terry  becomes  innocently  involved  in  a  brawl  between 
political  hoodlums  in  which  he  is  knocked  unconscious.  Allen 
Jenkins,  MacBride's  political  henchman,  advises  MacBride 
to  use  the  incident  to  win  public  sympathy  for  Terry  and 
to  elect  him  as  Alderman.  MacBride  agrees,  but  he  is 
astounded  when  Terry  refuses  the  nomination.  Refusing  to 
take  no  for  an  answer,  MacBride  offers  a  bonus  to  Ann 
Savage,  his  secretary,  if  she  could  induce  Terry  to  enter 
the  race.  Ann  brings  her  womanly  wiles  into  play  and  before 
long  gains  Terry's  consent.  As  the  campaign  progresses, 
Terry  revolts  at  the  different  tricks  MacBride  employs  to 
win  votes,  but  each  time  Ann  persuades  him  to  continue. 
Matters  come  to  a  head  when  Terry  accidentally  learns  that 
Ann  was  being  paid  for  her  interest  in  him;  he  publicly 


denounces  the  political  machine  that  was  backing  him  and 
urges  the  people  to  vote  for  his  opponent.  MacBride, 
angered,  decides  to  resort  to  strong-arm  methods  to  keep 
Terry  quiet,  but  Ann,  to  prove  her  love  for  Terry,  gets 
to  him  first  and  keeps  him  in  hiding.  The  voters,  impressed 
by  Terry's  honesty,  elect  him.  Terry  accepts  the  office  and, 
after  warning  Jenkins  and  MacBride  to  get  out  of  town, 
becomes  reconciled  with  Ann. 

Charles  R.  Marion  and  Leo  Solomon  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  story  by  San  Hellman,  Will  Cowan  produced 
it,  and  Will  Jason  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Jane  Darwell, 
Edward  Gargan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Night  and  Day"  with  Cary  Grant, 
Alexis  Smith  and  Monty  Woolley 

(Warner  Bros.,  Aug.  3;  time,  128  min.) 
Supposedly  biographical  of  the  career  of  Cole  Porter,  one 
of  America's  most  successful  showmen  and  composer  of 
popular  songs,  this  lavishly  produced  Technicolor  musical 
should  prove  to  be  a  top  box-office  attraction,  for  it  has  all 
the  elements  that  endow  it  with  mass  appeal — tender  ro- 
mance, heart  interest,  good  comedy,  expertly  staged  produc- 
tion numbers,  and  a  delightful  musical  score.  The  story  itself 
is  of  the  typical  backstage  variety  and  it  offers  little  that  is 
novel,  but  it  is  well  presented  and  holds  one's  interest 
throughout.  The  tuneful  melodies  that  are  sung  during  the 
unfolding  of  the  story  are  made  up  of  some  of  Porter's  most 
memorable  song  hits,  some  of  which  are  sung  by  Ginny 
Simms,  and  others  by  Jane  Wyman,  Eve  Arden,  Carlos  Ra- 
mirez, and  Mary  Martin,  who  sings  "My  Heart  Belongs  to 
Daddy,"  the  tune  that  made  her  famous.  Sumptuous  pro- 
duction numbers  have  been  built  around  Porter's  "Night  and 
Day"  and  "Begin  the  Beguine."  Cary  Grant,  as  Porter,  is 
very  good,  and  Alexis  Smith,  as  his  wife,  is  appealing.  The 
emotional  conflict  that  arises  between  them  because  of 
his  devotion  to  his  work,  and  the  heartaches  incident  to  his 
becoming  successful,  result  in  situations  that  touch  the  spec- 
tator's emotions.  Monty  Woolley,  as  a  Yale  professor  who 
discards  his  books  to  enter  show  business  with  the  budding 
composer,  provokes  considerable  comedy  by  his  bombastic 
ways: — 

Despite  the  objections  of  his  wealthy  grandfather  (Henry 
Stephenson),  Porter  forsakes  his  law  studies  at  Yale  to 
try  his  hand  in  show  business.  He  is  joined  by  Monty  Wool- 
ley  (played  by  himself),  his  professor,  who  resigns  from  the 
college.  Together  they  succeed  in  raising  funds  to  launch 
Porter's  first  musical  show,  "See  America  First,"  which  has 
the  misfortune  of  opening  on  the  night  the  Lusitania  is 
sunk;  the  show  closes  on  the  same  night.  Porter  enlists  in 
the  French  Army  and  sees  action  in  World  War  T.  A  wound 
in  the  leg  sends  him  to  a  military  hospital,  where  he  meets 
Linda  Lee  (Alexis  Smith),  a  socialite,  with  whom  he  had 
fallen  in  love  on  the  night  his  show  had  closed.  Linda,  work- 
ing as  a  Red  Cross  nurse,  revives  Porter's  interest  in  music 
during  his  convalescence.  Upon  his  recovery,  she  seeks  to 
finance  his  career,  but  he  declines  her  aid  and  returns  to  the 
United  States.  There,  aided  by  Woolley,  he  produces  "Fifty 
Million  Frenchmen,"  a  smash  hit,  and  follows  that  with  a 
number  of  other  hits.  He  goes  to  England  to  produce  a  show 
for  Charles  Cochran.  There  he  again  meets  Linda  and 
marries  her.  Upon  their  return  to  America,  Porter  becomes 
so  deeply  engrossed  in  his  work  that  Linda,  feeling  herself 
completely  in  the  background,  leaves  him.  Shortly  there- 
after, Porter  is  injured  seriously  in  a  fall  from  a  horse.  He 
suffers  countless  operations  to  save  his  leg.  but  the  ordeal 
leaves  him  crippled.  Linda,  learning  of  his  condition,  re- 
turns to  America  from  Europe.  She  meets  Porter  at  a  class 
reunion  at  Yale,  where  both  become  reconciled. 

Charles  Hoffman,  Leo  Townsend,  and  William  Bowers 
wrote  the  screen  play,  Arthur  Schwartz  produced  it,  and 
Michael  Curtiz  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Victor  Francen, 
Alan  Hale,  Dorothy  Malone,  Selena  Royle,  Donald  Woods, 
Paul  Cavanagh,  Sig  Ruman  and  many  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


112 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  13,  1946 


included  in  it,  or  none,  but  in  which  the  pictures  are  sep- 
arately priced,  and  c"ach  picture  is  to  be  sold  to  the  highest 
duly  qualified  bidder.  As  we  have  already  indicated  in  dis- 
cussing formula  deals,  master  agreements  and  franchises, 
the  offering  of  pictures  should  be  theatre  by  theatre,  and  if 
more  than  one  picture  is  included  in  a  license  agreement, 
it  will  be  only  because  of  business  convenience  and  to  the 
extent  that  each  picture  so  included  has  received  the  best 
bid." 

"Pooling"  Agreements 

Every  variety  of  theatre  pools — arrangements  by  which 
the  theatre-owning  defendants  combined  with  each  other 
and  with  independent  theatre-owners  by  pooling  their  the- 
atres through  operating  agreements,  leases,  joint  stock  own- 
ership of  theatre-operating  corporations,  or  through  joint 
ownership  of  theatres  in  fee,  were  held  to  be  violative  of 
the  anti-trust  laws. 

Agreements  by  which  given  theatres  of  two  or  more  ex- 
hibitors, normally  in  competition  with  each  other,  are  oper- 
ated as  a  unit  or  most  of  their  business  policies  collectively 
determined  by  a  joint  committee,  or  by  one  of  the  exhibitors, 
and  by  which  profits  of  the  pooled  theatres  are  divided 
among  the  owners  according  to  pre-agrced  percentages,  were 
held  by  the  court  to  be  in  "clear  conflict  with  the  Sherman 
Act,  for  through  them  a  defendant-exhibitor  reduces  to  a 
minimum  opposition  between  its  own  and  other  theatres  in 
the  'pool.'  Cooperation,  rather  than  competition,  charac- 
terizes their  operation,  and  in  view  of  the  exhibitor-defend- 
ants' financial  strength,  control  of  first-class  film  distribu- 
tion, ownership  of  concentrated  numbers  of  first-run 
theatres,  and  especially  their  combination  to  reduce  com- 
petition in  exhibition  through  systems  of  price-fixing  and 
clearances,  such  restraints  as  these  agreements  impose  upon 
free  commerce  in  motion  pictures  are  far  less  than  reason- 
able. The  result  is  to  eliminate  competition  pro  tanto  [i.e.  "to 
that  extent"]  both  in  exhibition  and  in  distribution  of  films 
which  would  flow  almost  automatically  to  the  theatres  in  the 
earnings  of  which  they  have  a  joint  interest." 

Of  pooling  agreements  between  major  defendants  and 
independent  exhibitors,  the  court  has  this  to  say:  "The 
effect  is  to  ally  two  or  more  theatres  of  different  ownership 
into  a  coalition  for  the  nullification  of  competition  between 
them  and  for  their  more  effective  competition  against  the- 
atres not  members  of  the  'pool.'  Even  if  the  parties  to  such 
combinations  were  not  major  film  producers  and  distributors, 
but  were  all  wholly  independent  exhibitors,  such  agree- 
ments might  often  be  regarded  as  beyond  the  reasonable 
limits  of  restraint  allowance  under  the  Sherman  Act.  This 
result  is  certain  when  some  of  the  parties  are  of  major 
stature  in  the  movie  industry  and  have  in  other  ways  im- 
posed unlawful  restraints  upon  it,  as  we  have  found  to  be 
the  case  upon  the  record  before  us." 

Other  pooling  agreements  by  which  theatres  are  leased 
and  the  rentals  determined  by  a  stipulated  percentage  of 
profits  earned  by  the  pooled  theatres,  we  held  to  be  but 
another  means  of  carrying  out  the  illegal  objection  discussed 
in  the  other  agreements. 

In  its  provisions  for  a  decree,  the  court,  covering  every 
variety  of  theatre  pools  shown  by  the  Government's  exhibits, 
enjoined  the  defendants  from  entering  into  or  continuing  to 
perform  such  agreements. 

Pointing  out  that  many  theatres,  or  the  corporations  own- 
ing them,  are  held  jointly  by  one  or  more  of  the  exhibitor- 
defendants,  and  that  these  joint  interests  enabled  them  to 
operate  theatres  collectively,  rather  than  competitively,  the 
court  ordered  each  defendant  to  terminate  its  joint  owner- 
ship with  another  defendant  in  any  theatre,  regardless  of  the 
size  of  the  interests  involved.  In  theatres  owned  jointly  with 
an  independent  exhibitor,  the  court  ordered  termination  of 
such  joint  ownership  in  all  cases  where  a  defendant  had  an 
interest  of  more  than  5%  and  less  than  95%.  The  court 
deems  an  interest  of  5%  or  less  as  an  "inconsequential  in- 
vestment in  exhibition,"  and  it  considers  an  interest  of  95% 
or  more  as  a  theatre  wholly  owned. 


In  its  provisions  for  a  decree,  the  court  ordered  that  "such 
joint  interests  shall  be  dissolved  either  by  a  sale  to,  or  by  a 
purchase  from,  such  co-owner  or  co-owners,"  and  that  the 
rearrangement  of  joint  interests  with  an  independent  ex- 
hibitor, "if  by  purchase,  shall,  however,  be  subject  to  the 
direction  of  this  court  so  that  their  effectuation  may  promote 
competition  in  the  exhibition  of  motion  pictures." 

As  for  theatres  owned  jointly  by  the  defendants,  the 
court  leaves  them  free  to  purchase  the  interest  of  the  other 
"so  long  as  the  transaction  sought  to  be  achieved  will  not 
result  in  an  unreasonable  restraint  of  competition  in  ex- 
hibition within  the  particular  competitive  area."  In  other 
words,  here,  too,  the  acquisition  will  be  subject  to  the  court's 
approval. 

The  termination  of  the  aforementioned  joint  ownership  is, 
in  effect,  partial  divorcement,  affecting,  according  to  the 
court,  1292  theatres  out  of  a  total  of  3137,  which  the  de- 
fendants either  own  or  have  an  interest  in. 

Although  partial  divestiture  of  theatres  falls  short  of  the 
Government's  objective,  which  is  total  divorcement,  it 
should  prove  beneficial  to  the  independent  exhibitors,  pro- 
vided, of  course,  that  the  court  carries  through  its  dictum 
of  approving  the  rearrangement  of  joint  ownerships  in  a 
manner  that  will  promote  competition. 

Discrimination  Among  Licensees 

The  court  found  that,  in  the  licensing  of  films,  each  of 
the  defendant-distributors  had  discriminated  in  favor  of  the 
large  affiliated  and  unaffiliated  circuits  and  against  small 
independent  exhibitors  by  the  granting  of  certain  privileges 
in  contract  provisions. 

The  privileges  cited  included:  (a)  suspending  the  terms 
of  a  given  contract,  if  a  circuit  theatre  remains  closed  for 
more  than  eight  weeks,  and  reinstating  it  without  liability 
upon  re-opening:  (b)  allowing  wide  privileges  in  the  selec- 
tion and  elimination  of  film;  (c)  allowing  deductions  in 
film  rentals  if  double  bills  are  played;  (d)  granting  move- 
overs  and  extended  runs;  (e)  granting  roadshow  privileges; 
(f)  allowing  overage  and  underage;  (g)  granting  unlimited 
playing  time;  (h)  excluding  foreign  pictures  and  those 
of  independent  producers;  and  (i)  granting  rights  to  ques- 
tion the  classification  of  features  for  rental  purposes. 

The  court  found  that  these  provisions  were  included 
most  frequently  in  franchises  and  agreements  made  with 
the  large  circuits,  and  it  noted  that  they  were  not  included 
in  the  standard  forms  of  contract  under  which  small  inde- 
pendents are  usually  licensed. 

"The  competitive  advantages  of  these  provisions,"  de- 
clared the  court,  "are  so  great  that  their  inclusion  in  con- 
tracts with  the  larger  circuits  constitutes  an  unreasonable  dis- 
crimination against  small  competitors  in  violation  of  the 
anti-trust  laws.  It  seems  unnecessary  to  decide  whether  the 
record  before  us  justifies  a  reasonable  inference  that  the 
distributor-defendants  have  conspired  among  themselves  to 
discriminate  among  their  licensees,  for  each  discriminating 
contract  constitutes  a  conspiracy  between  the  licensee  and 
licensor." 

As  to  the  defendants'  contention  that  these  privileges 
granted  to  the  large  circuits  flowed  from  their  negotiations 
with  the  individual  theatre-owners  rather  than  from  a 
standard  policy  of  discrimination  pursued  by  them,  the  court 
said :  "This  is  perhaps  true,  but  the  result  is  the  same  whether 
the  bargaining  power  of  the  large  exhibitors  forces  upon 
the  distributors  a  discriminatory  policy,  or  whether  the  latter 
voluntarily  carry  such  a  policy  into  effect.  Acquiescence  in 
an  unreasonable  restraint,  as  well  as  the  creation  of  such  a 
restraint,  violates  the  Sherman  Act.  Under  the  bidding  sys- 
tem we  are  requiring  such  discriminations  would  appear  im- 
possible. Those  provisions  which  are  not  compatible  with 
the  operation  of  this  system,  or  which  are  inherently  un- 
reasonable, such  as  a  provision  for  clearance  between  theatres 
where  there  is  no  substantial  competition,  will  no  longer  be 
included  in  licenses,  as  mentioned  elsewhere,  but  otherwise 
the  bidders  will  compete  for  licensing  contracts  on  a  parity, 
in  that  the  same  offer  will  be  made  to  all  prospective  ex- 
hibitors in  a  community." 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JULY  20,  1946  No.  29 


AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COURT'S 
OPINION— No.  5 

(From  a  layman's  point  of  view) 

Divestiture  of  Theatres 

In  denying  the  Government's  plea  for  total  divestiture 
of  theatres,  the  court  stated  its  belief  that  "the  opportunity 
for  independents  to  compete  under  the  bidding  system  for 
pictures  and  runs  renders  such  a  harsh  remedy  as  complete 
divestiture  unnecessary,  at  least  until  the  efficiency  of  that 
system  has  been  tried  and  found  wanting." 

In  giving  its  reasons  for  denying  total  divorcement  the 
court  pointed  out  that,  in  1945,  there  were  18,076  motion 
picture  theatres  in  the  United  States,  of  which  the  five 
major  companies  had  interests  in  3,137  or  17.35  per  cent. 
"It  would  seem  unlikely,"  said  the  court,  "that  theatre 
owners  having  aggregate  interests  of  little  more  than  one- 
sixth  of  all  the  theatres  in  the  United  States  are  exercising 
such  a  monopoly  of  the  motion  picture  business  that  they 
should  be  subjected  to  the  drastic  remedy  of  complete  di- 
vestiture in  order  to  effect  a  proper  degree  of  free  compe- 
tition. It  is  only  in  certain  localities,  and  not  in  general, 
that  an  ownership  even  of  first-run  theatres  approximating 
monopoly  exists.  Under  the  proposed  system,  the  only 
theatres  the  competition  of  which  in  exhibition  even  Para- 
mount— the  largest  owner — would  in  anywise  control,  are 
the  7.72  per  cent  which  it  now  owns.  Each  of  the  other 
four  major  defendants  would  control  a  far  smaller  per- 
centage of  the  theatres.  Even  in  places  like  Philadelphia  or 
Cincinnati,  where  Warner  and  RKO  have  owned  all  the 
first-run  theatres,  their  theatre  interest  cannot  properly  be 
aggregated  to  establish  a  conspiracy  in  restraining  exhibi- 
tion, for  in  such  localities  there  would  seem  to  be  nothing 
to  prevent  other  persons  from  building  theatres  of  a  similar 
type  if  the  market  for  the  distribution  of  films  should  be 
opened  to  the  highest  bidder  and  the  builder  of  a  new 
theatre  could  compete  with  the  other  theatre  owners  in 
obtaining  pictures  for  exhibition  in  the  theatre  he  had  built. 
The  only  pictures  that  the  present  sole  exhibitors  in  such 
localities  could  control  would  be  their  own,  which  they  can 
always  exhibit  freely  in  their  own  theatres." 

The  court  points  out  that  in  about  60  per  cent  of  the  92 
cities  having  populations  of  over  100,000,  "there  are  inde- 
pendent first-run  theatres  in  competition  with  those  of  the 
major  defendants  except  so  far  as  it  may  be  restricted  by  the 
trade  practices  we  have  criticized.  In  about  91  per  cent  of 
these  cities  there  is  competition  in  first  runs  between  inde- 
pendents and  some  of  the  major  defendants  or  among  the 
major  defendants  themselves,  except  so  far  as  it  may  be 
restricted  by  the  above  trade  practices.  If  the  bidding  sys- 
tem we  propose  to  set  up,  minimum  admission  prices  in 
licenses  eliminated,  and  the  other  restrictive  agreements 
which  we  have  discussed  terminated,  it  is  our  opinion  that 
adequate  competition  would  exist.  Indeed  in  all  of  the  92 
cities,  even  where  there  is  no  present  competition  in  first 
runs  there  is  always  competition  in  some  run." 

In  other  words,  the  court  deems  that  the  outlawing  of 
the  certain  trade  practices  it  has  declared  illegal,  together 
with  the  inauguration  of  a  competitive  bidding  system, 
should  result  in  a  free  and  open  market,  thus  making  total 
divestiture  unnecessary. 


In  localities  where  a  single  defendant  owns  all  the  first' 
run  theatres,  the  court  held  that  there  is  no  sufficient  proof 
that  the  ownership  "has  been  for  the  purpose  of  creating 
a  monopoly  and  has  not  rather  arisen  from  the  inertness 
of  competitors,  their  lack  of  financial  ability  to  build 
theatres  comparable  to  those  of  the  defendants,  or  from 
the  preference  of  the  public  for  the  best  equipped  houses 
and  not  from  'inherent  vice'  on  the  part  of  these  defend- 
ants. Each  defendant  had  a  right  to  build  and  to  own 
theatres  and  to  exhibit  pictures  in  them,  and  it  takes  greater 
proof  than  that  each  of  them  possessed  great  financial 
strength,  many  theatres,  and  exhibited  the  greater  number 
of  first-runs  to  deprive  it  of  the  ordinary  rights  of  owner- 
ship. .  .  ." 

Pointing  out  that  the  root  of  the  difficulty  lies,  not  in  the 
ownership  of  theatres,  but  in  the  trade  practices  it  has 
declared  illegal,  the  court  states  that  these  practices,  if 
employed  in  the  future  in  favor  of  powerful  independents, 
"would  effect  all  the  undesirable  results  that  have  existed" 
when  the  five  major  defendants  owned  or  controlled  numer- 
ous theatres.  "If  the  objectionable  trade  practices  are  elimi- 
nated, the  only  difference  between  such  an  assumed  situa- 
tion in  which  the  defendants  owned  no  theatres  and  the 
present  would  be  the  inability  of  the  major  defendants  to 
play  their  own  pictures  in  their  own  theatres.  The  per- 
centage of  pictures  on  the  market  which  any  of  the  five 
major  defendants  could  play  in  its  own  theatres  would  be 
relatively  small  and  in  nowise  approximates  a  monopoly 
of  film  exhibition." 

The  court  found,  however,  that  there  has  been  "restraint 
of  competition  in  exhibition  by  the  five  major  defendants 
through  ownership  of  theatres  jointly  with  one  another  or 
if  there  interests  be  more  than  five  per  cent  even  where 
jointly  held  with  independents.  .  .  ."  In  such  cases,  the 
court  ordered  the  termination  of  the  joint  interests.  The 
manner  in  which  such  joint  interests  are  to  be  either  disposed 
of  or  acquired  was  treated  in  last  week's  issue  under  "Pool- 
ing Agreements." 

As  most  of  you  know,  the  main  objective  of  the  Govern- 
ment's anti-trust  suit  was  total  divestiture  of  theatres  in 
order  that  no  distributor  of  motion  pictures  be  an  exhibitor. 
The  Government  felt  that  total  divorcement  would  be  a 
remedy  for  the  discriminations  in  favor  of  affiliated  theatres, 
and  its  stand  was  backed  up  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
independent  exhibitor  organizations. 

Although  most  independent  exhibitors  feel  that  the  court's 
decision  represents  a  great  victory  in  that  many  oppressive 
practices  have  been  declared  illegal,  many  are  keenly  dis- 
appointed over  the  court's  refusal  to  grant  total  divestiture 
— the  main  issue. 

Some  independent  exhibitor  leaders  feel  that,  in  view  of 
the  court's  many  findings  of  law  violations,  its  denial  of  the 
Government's  plea  for  total  divorcement  was  most  extra- 
ordinary, if  not  illogical.  These  spokesmen  tear  into  the 
reasons  for  denying  divestiture  by  pointing  out,  for  example, 
that  the  court,  in  holding  that  the  defendants  should  not 
be  subjected  to  total  divorcement,  because  their  aggregate 
interests  in  theatres  is  slightly  more  than  one-sixth  of  the 
country]s  total,  based  such  an  opinion  on  the  fact  that  they 
did  not  enjoy  a  numerical  monopoly,  but  it  seemingly 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


114 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  20,  1946 


"The  Cockeyed  Miracle"  with  Frank 
Morgan  and  Keenan  Wynn 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  81  min.) 

Good  mass  entertainment.  Its  unique  plot  is  fantastic, 
but  its  blend  of  novel  comedy  situations  and  dramatic  inci- 
dents  has  the  ingredients  for  popular  appeal.  Although  the 
story  revolves  around  people  who  die  but  who  remain  on 
earth  invisible  to  those  alive,  it  is  not  objectionable  because 
their  actions  are  treated  mostly  in  a  comedy  vein  as  they 
endeavor  to  help  those  they  left  behind.  Most  of  the  comedy 
stems  from  the  fact  that  Frank  Morgan,  upon  his  death  at 
the  age  of  sixty,  finds  himself  under  the  guidance  of  Keenan 
Wynn,  his  father,  who  had  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  and 
whose  youth  had  been  preserved.  The  manner  in  which 
both  straighten  out  the  financial  condition  of  Morgan's 
family  is  extremely  humorous.  The  spectator  is  kept  chuck- 
ling throughout,  but  on  several  occasions  there  are  situa- 
tions that  are  quite  touching.  To  be  appreciated,  the  picture 
should  be  seen  from  the  beginning: — 

Morgan,  a  sick,  aging  shipbuilder,  worries  because  he 
had  rashly  invested  his  family's  fortune,  $1,800,  in  a  real 
estate  venture  without  their  knowledge.  To  keep  the  secret, 
he  carried  the  property  in  the  name  of  Cecil  Kellaway,  his 
old  friend.  Kellaway  had  found  a  buyer,  but  the  man  was 
waiting  for  a  storm  to  learn  if  the  property  faced  a  safe 
anchorage.  While  Gladys  Cooper,  his  wile,  Audrey  Totter, 
his  daughter,  and  Marshall  Thompson,  his  son,  are  at 
dinner,  Morgan  dies  in  his  sleep.  His  spirit  descends  to  the 
living  room,  where  he  finds  the  spirit  of  Keenan  Wynn,  his 
dapper  father,  waiting  to  take  him  to  his  reward.  Morgan 
pleads  with  Wynn  to  delay  their  departure  until  he  can 
straighten  out  the  family's  affairs,  which  were  in  a  mess 
because  of  his  investment.  Wynn,  sympathizing  with  him, 
invokes  his  power  over  the  elements  to  create  a  storm,  thus 
enabling  Kellaway  to  sell  the  property  for  $10,000.  Happy 
that  his  family's  problems  would  now  be  solved,  Morgan 
asks  Wynn  for  one  more  favor:  that  he  be  permitted  to 
watch  the  faces  of  his  family  when  Kellaway  hands  them 
the  check.  When  Kellaway  reaches  Morgan's  home  and 
learns  of  his  death,  avariciousness  gets  the  better  of  him 
and  he  decides  to  keep  the  check  for  himself.  Morgan, 
frantic,  calls  upon  Wynn  for  help.  As  Kellaway  leaves  the 
house,  Wynn  summons  a  bolt  of  lightning,  which  kills  him. 
Knowing  that  the  check  with  its  explanatory  endorsement 
would  be  found  on  Kellaway's  body  and  turned  over  to 
the  family,  Morgan  prepares  to  leave  with  Wynn.  The 
wraith  of  Kellaway  joins  them  as  they  depart. 

Karen  De  Wolf  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  a  play 
by  George  Scaton,  Irving  Starr  produced  it,  and  S.  Sylvan 
Simon  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Richard  Quine,  Leon 
Ames  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Sunset  Pass"  with  James  Warren 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  60  min.) 

A  run-of-the-mill  program  Western.  The  story  is  not 
particularly  novel,  and  it  unfolds  in  a  routine  manner,  but 
it  should  satisfy  the  followers  of  this  type  of  entertainment, 
for  it  has  all  the  familiar  ingredients — horseback  riding, 
shooting,  some  comedy,  and  romantic  interest.  The  first  half 
of  the  picture  is  too  talky,  slowing  up  the  action  consider- 
ably, but  it  manages  to  pick  up  speed  in  the  second  half, 
where  the  criminals  are  brought  to  justice.  On  the  whole, 
however,  there  is  not  one  situation  that  is  outstanding  and, 
as  is  usually  the  case  in  pictures  of  this  type,  one  guesses  in 
advance  just  what  twists  the  plot  will  take: — 

James  Warren,  an  express  company  agent,  accompanied 
by  John  Laurenz,  his  Irish-Mexican  pal,  sets  out  to  stop  a 
series  of  Arizona  train  robberies.  Riding  a  train  along  the 
route  affected,  they  meet  Nan  Leslie,  returning  to  her 
family  ranch  near  Sunset  Pass,  and  Jane  Greer,  an  enter- 
tainer, heading  for  an  engagement  in  Wagon  Tongue.  Just 
as  both  men  become  interested  in  the  girls,  bandits  hold  up 
the  train,  steal  a  cash  shipment  from  the  express  car,  and 
make  their  escape  into  the  hills.  Upon  reaching  Wagon 
Tongue,  both  men  are  discharged  for  inefficiency  but  they 
determine  to  track  down  the  bandits.  They  come  across 
evidence  indicating  that  Robert  Clarke,  Nan's  brother,  was 
one  of  the  bandits.  Through  the  influence  of  his  sister  and 
Warren,  Clarke  decides  to  reform,  but  he  declines  to  expose 
the  other  members  of  the  gang  (Harry  Woods,  Harry 
Harvey,  and  Steve  Brodie)  because  they  had  threatened 
to  frame  him  for  the  killing  of  Robert  Barrat's  son,  a 
murder  actually  committed  by  Woods.  Moreover,  they  in' 
sisted  that  Clarke  join  them  in  robbing  the  local  bank  after 
the  express  company  replaces  the  money  stolen  in  the  train 
holdup.  On  the  day  set  for  the  robbery,  Woods  informs 


Barrat  that  Clarke  had  killed  his  son,  thus  tricking  every 
one  in  town  to  ride  out  to  the  ranch  to  lynch  the  young 
man,  leaving  the  bank  unguarded.  Warren  intervenes  in 
time  to  save  Clarke  and  orders  every  one  back  to  town  to 
thwart  the  robbery.  In  the  battle  that  ensues,  the  desper- 
adoes are  killed.  With  Clarke  in  the  clear,  Warren  makes 
plans  lo  wed  Nan. 

Norman  Houston  wrote  the  original  screen  play  based 
on  the  novel  by  Zane  Grey.  Herman  Schlom  produced  it, 
and  William  Bcrke  directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Step  by  Step"  with  Lawrence  Tierney 
and  Anne  Jeffreys 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 
Just  a  program  espionage  melodrama.  But  it  should  appeal 
to  audiences  who  arc  not  too  discriminating  about  plot 
defects,  since  it  moves  along  at  a  fairly  fast  clip.  It  has  some 
comedy,  sufficient  melodramatic  action,  and  it  holds  the 
spectator  in  fair  suspense.  The  story  is  concentrated  mostly 
on  the  efforts  of  an  ex-marine  and  his  girl-friend  to  clear 
themselves  of  suspicion  and  to  trap  a  trio  of  Nazi  agents, 
who  had  cleverly  involved  them  in  a  plot  to  steal  a  Govern- 
ment list  of  war  criminals.  The  couple's  adventures  keep 
the  action  fairly  exciting,  and  the  situation  in  the  closing 
scenes,  where  the  foreign  agents  arc  trapped,  is  the  most 
thrilling: — 

Investigating  post-war  Nazi  activities,  Senator  Harry 
Harvey,  accompanied  by  Anne  Jeffreys,  his  secretary,  goes 
to  his  beach  home  to  await  the  delivery  of  a  list  of  known 
Nazi  agents  from  Addison  Richards,  a  Federal  operative. 
Anne  goes  for  a  swim  on  the  beach,  where  she  meets 
Lawrence  Tierney,  an  ex-marine  on  vacation.  Meanwhile, 
three  Nazi  agents  (Lowell  Gilmore,  Jason  Robards,  and 
Myrna  Dell)  gain  entrance  to  the  beach  house,  kill  Richards 
and  injure  the  senator,  but  they  are  unable  to  find  the  list, 
which  was  sewed  into  Richards'  jacket.  When  Anne  reurns, 
they  bind  and  gag  her.  Tierney,  locked  out  of  his  car,  goes 
to  the  beach  house  for  Anne's  aid  and  is  puzzled  when 
Myrna  identifies  herself  as  Anne.  Suspicious,  he  asks  a 
motorcycle  policeman  to  investigate,  but  the  Nazis  cleverly 
lead  the  officer  to  believe  that  Tierney  was  a  psychopathic 
case.  When  the  Nazis  leave,  Tierney  breaks  into  the  house 
and  discovers  Anne.  They  phone  the  police  about  the 
murder  and  the  injured  senator,  but  when  the  senator's 
chauffeur,  who  was  in  league  with  the  Nazis,  denounces 
them  as  the  attackers,  both  flee  to  avoid  arrest,  with  Tierney 
wearing  Richards'  jacket.  They  seek  refuge  in  an  auto 
court  owned  by  George  Cleveland,  who  sympathizes  with 
their  predicament  and  offers  to  aid  them.  In  the  course  of 
events,  the  Nazis  discover  the  couple  at  the  court,  find  the 
list,  and  decide  to  kill  them.  Tierney,  crammed  into  the 
rear  trunk  of  the  Nazis'  car,  disconnects  the  tail-light  wire 
and  flashes  an  S.O.S.  as  the  car  roars  along.  The  signal  is 
seen  and  reported,  and  as  Tierney  engages  the  Nazis  in  a 
bitter  fight  on  a  deserted  pier  the  police  arrive  and  capture 
them.  Cleared  of  suspicion,  Anne  and  Tierney  decide  to  wed. 

Stuart  Palmer  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  a  story 
by  George  Callahan.  Sid  Rogell  produced  it,  and  Phil  Rosen 
directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Night  Train  to  Memphis"  with  Roy  Acuff, 
Allan  Lane  and  Adele  Mara 

(Republic,  July  12;  time,  67  min.) 

Wherever  audiences  appreciate  Roy  Acuff  and  his  hillbilly 
music,  this  combination  of  comedy,  melodrama,  and  music 
should  prove  to  be  acceptable  program  fare.  Others,  how- 
ever, may  find  the  proceedings  quite  tiresome,  for  the  story 
is  trite  and  its  development  so  obvious  that  one  knows  from 
the  beginning  just  how  it,will  progress  and  end.  The  plot 
is  the  old  one  about  a  railroad  magnate  who  resorts  to 
devious  tricks  to  deceive  the  villagers  into  selling  their  land. 
There  is  the  usual  battle  between  the  railroad  men  and  the 
villagers,  and  the  expected  complications  that  arise  out  of 
the  romance  between  the  magnate's  daughter  and  the  hero. 
There  is  no  fault  to  find  with  the  individual  performances; 
it's  just  that  the  script  did  not  give  them  half  a  chance: — 

Using  a  fictitious  name,  Joseph  Crehan,  a  railroad  presi- 
dent, accompanied  by  Adele  Mara,  his  daughter,  comes  to 
the  town  of  Tranquility  on  a  "fishing  trip."  Actually,  he 
was  hiding  his  identity  as  part  of  a  plan  to  buy  land  for  a 
railroad  shortcut,  which  would  ruin  the  neighboring  farms. 
Coincident  with  Crehan's  arrival  Allan  Lane  returns  home 
after  serving  a  prison  sentence  on  framed  charges  involving 
a  railroad  holdup.  In  the  course  of  events,  Roy  Acuff,  Lane's 
brother,  saves  Adele  from  drowning  when  she  falls  into 


July  20,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


115 


a  lake,  but  he  allows  Lane  to  take  the  credit  to  further  his 
romance  with  her.  Crehan,  grateful,  gives  a  big  party  in 
Lane's  honor,  and  uses  the  occasion  to  trick  the  farmers 
into  selling  their  lands  to  him,  presumably  for  the  timber. 
When  railroad  construction  begins,  Lane  discovers  Crehan's 
trickery  and  incites  the  farmers  to  wreck  the  work  camp. 
Peeved  also  at  Adele,  Lane  tricks  her  into  believing  that 
she  had  killed  Roy  Barcroft,  a  bully,  and  holds  the  "crime" 
over  her  father's  head  to  force  him  to  return  the  lands  he 
had  bought  under  false  pretenses.  Meanwhile  Adele  becomes 
ill  over  the  thought  of  her  "crime."  Lane  goes  to  Barcroft 
to  ask  him  to  show  himself,  and  accidentally  comes  across 
evidence  proving  that  Barcroft  had  committed  the  railroad 
holdup.  Barcroft  escapes,  but  is  killed  in  a  running  fight. 
Lane,  to  convince  Adele  that  she  was  innocent,  makes  it 
appear  as  if  Barcroft  had  been  killed  in  a  train  crash. 
Crehan  becomes  friends  with  Lane  and  consents  to  his 
marrying  Adele. 

Dorrell  and  Stuart  McGowan  wrote  the  original  screen- 
play  and  produced  it.  Leslie  Selander  directed  it. 

"Lady  Luck"  with  Robert  Young, 
Barbara  Hale  and  Frank  Morgan 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  97  min.) 

Although  hampered  by  a  weak  and  unbelievable  story, 
this  romantic  comedy,  with  a  gambling  background,  offers 
fairly  good  entertainment  mainly  because  of  the  engaging 
performances.  It  revolves  around  a  young  lady  who  marries 
a  gambler  on  his  promise  to  reform,  only  to  become  sus- 
ceptible  to  the  gambling  urge  herself.  The  plot  is  lacking  in 
unusual  twists,  but  it  has  a  liberal  quantity  of  laugh' 
provoking  situations.  A  good  part  of  the  comedy  is  pro' 
voked  by  Frank  Morgan,  as  the  heroine's  incurable  gambling 
grandfather,  and  by  James  Gleason,  another  gambler,  whose 
efforts  to  patch  up  the  romantic  misunderstandings  makes 
matters  worse  and  leaves  him  broke.  The  film's  running 
time,  however,  is  much  too  long  for  the  story  it  has  to  tell: — 

Having  descended  from  a  long  line  of  ill-fated  gamblers, 
Barbara  Hale  grows  up  with  a  deep  hatred  for  gambling  and 
keeps  Morgan,  her  poker-playing  grandfather,  under  control. 
She  meets  and  falls  in  love  with  Robert  Young,  a  successful 
gambler,  and  agrees  to  marry  him  when  he  promises  to 
forsake  his  profession.  They  get  married  in  Las  Vegas  and, 
while  Barbara  is  out  on  a  shopping  tour,  Young  joins  a 
dice  game  to  help  a  friend  recoup  his  losses.  Barbara,  seeing 
Young  at  the  dice  table,  becomes  convinced  that  he  had 
broken  his  pledge  and  engages  an  attorney  to  obtain  a 
divorce.  When  Young  fails  to  patch  up  the  misunder- 
standing, his  gambling  friends,  headed  by  Gleason,  trick 
Barbara  into  getting  the  gambling  fever  in  the  hope  that 
she  would  become  more  tolerant.  Their  scheme  backfires, 
however,  and  all  go  broke  as  Barbara  turns  lucky,  winning 
a  fortune  and  opening  a  gambling  club  of  her  own.  She 
installs  Morgan  as  the  club's  poker-player.  Young,  deter- 
mined to  bring  Barbara  to  her  senses,  finances  Gleason  to 
play  against  Morgan  in  an  effort  to  "clean  her  out."  Morgan, 
understanding  the  situation,  deliberately  throws  away  a 
winning  hand,  losing  the  club.  Barbara,  learning  the  truth, 
reunites  with  Young,  both  vowing  to  renounce  gambling. 

Lynn  Root  and  Frank  Fenton  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
a  story  by  Herbert  Clyde  Lewis.  Warren  Duff  produced  it, 
and  Edwin  L.  Marin  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Don  Rice, 
Harry  Davenport,  Lloyd  Corrigan  and  others. 

The  gambling  sequences  make  it  unsuitable  for  children. 

"Black  Beauty"  with  Mona  Freeman 

(20th  Century-Fox,  September;  time,  74  min.) 

Adapted  from  Anna  Sewell's  well-known  classic  of  the 
same  title,  this  melodrama  is  an  appealing  program  enter- 
tainment, best  suited  for  the  family  trade.  The  story,  which 
has  been  produced  twice  before,  is  wholesome  and  there  are 
situations  that  direct  human  appeal.  Its  charm  lies  in  the 
simplicity  of  the  plot,  which  deals  mostly  with  a  young  girl's 
love  for  a  colt,  and  the  heartaches  she  endures  when  the 
animal  suffers  injury  and  falls  into  the  hands  of  cruel 
owners.  The  manner  in  which  she  finds  the  horse  and  rescues 
it  from  a  blazing  stable  is  somewhat  wildly  melodramatic,  but 
undiscriminating  audiences,  particularly  the  children,  should 
find  it  to  their  liking.  The  action  takes  place  in  England: — 

Charles  Evans  presents  Mona  Freeman,  his  spirited  'teen- 
aged  daughter  with  Black  Beauty,  a  colt,  in  the  hope  that 
by  disciplining  the  horse  she  would  learn  discipline  herself. 
Under  Mona's  loving  care,  Black  Beauty  turns  into  a  prize 
horse.  Meanwhile  Mona  had  become  infatuated  with  Richard 
Denning,  a  young  American,  who  spent  most  of  his  time 
with  Evelyn  Ankers,  an  older  woman.  Denning's  attitude 


brings  Mona  to  the  realization  that  he  considered  her  to  be 
a  child  and,  in  a  jealous  frenzy,  she  mounts  a  high-spirited 
horse  and  puts  on  a  display  of  reckless  horsemanship,  which 
results  in  her  being  injured.  Denning  mounts  Black  Beauty 
on  a  mad  ride  for  a  doctor,  who  in  turn  rides  the  exhausted 
steed  back  to  Mona's  bedside.  Mona  recovers,  but  the  wild 
ride  leaves  Black  Beauty  with  injured  legs.  When  Mona 
enters  finishing  school,  her  father  orders  Black  Beauty  shot 
to  spare  the  horse  further  suffering,  but  J.  M.  Kerrigan, 
the  groom,  takes  the  horse  to  a  neighboring  farm  in  the 
hope  that  it  would  recover.  Upon  Mona's  return,  she  learns 
that  the  neighbor  had  sold  Black  Beauty  as  a  carriage  horse. 
She  begins  a  frantic  search  for  the  animal  eventually  finding 
it  in  a  coal  dealer's  stable,  which  had  caught  fire.  Impulsively, 
she  rushes  in  to  save  the  horse,  but  is  overcome  by  smoke. 
Denning  arrives  on  the  scene  in  time  to  save  both  Mona 
and  Black  Beauty.  It  all  ends  with  the  horse  recuperating 
under  the  watchful  eye  of  Mona,  who  by  this  time  had 
become  Denning's  wife. 

Lillie  Hayward  and  Agnes  Christian  Johnston  wrote  the 
screen  play,  Edward  L.  Alperson  produced  it,  and  Max 
Nosseck  directed  it. 

"Sister  Kenny"  with  Rosalind  Russell 
and  Alexander  Knox 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  116  win.) 
A  very  good  dramatic  entertainment.  Biographical  of 
Elizabeth  Kenny,  the  famed  Australian  nurse,  the  story  is 
a  tender,  sympathetic  account  of  her  discovery  of  an  un- 
orthodox method  for  the  treatment  of  infantile  paralysis, 
and  of  her  efforts  to  have  the  medical  profession  adopt  her 
method.  It  is  the  sort  of  story  that  will  be  understood, 
appreciated,  and  enjoyed  by  the  masses,  although  it  will 
undoubtedly  stir  up  considerable  controversy  because  or- 
ganized medical  authorities  have  refused  to  recognize  her 
method  and  have  even  condemned  it.  There  is  deep  human 
interest  in  many  of  the  situations,  awakened  by  Miss  Kenny's 
sacrifice  of  her  own  personal  happiness  in  order  to  aid 
those  afflicted  with  the  disease.  Her  unbounded  faith  in 
her  work,  despite  the  bigotry  and  selfishness  of  those  who 
opposed  her,  stir  one  emotionally.  Rosalind  Russell,  as 
Miss  Kenny,  is  excellent.  From  the  first  time  she  appears 
at  the  age  of  22  until  she  reaches  her  60th  birthday  she  is 
shown  as  a  humane,  warm  and  courageous  person,  display- 
ing traits  that  endear  her  to  the  audience.  Alexander  Knox, 
as  a  Scottish  doctor,  who  defies  his  colleagues  to  gain 
recognition  for  Miss  Kenny,  is  first-rate: — 

Graduating  as  a  nurse  in  Australia,  in  1909,  Miss  Kenny 
is  offered  a  staff  job  in  a  hospital  by  Dr.  Aeneas  McDonnell 
(Alexander  Knox),  her  friend  and  mentor.  She  declines, 
electing  to  work  in  the  bush  country,  where  doctors  were 
scarce.  In  the  course  of  tending  to  the  sick,  Miss  Kenny  is 
called  upon  to  treat  a  little  girl  stricken  with  infantile 
paralysis.  Unacquainted  with  the  disease,  she  telegraphs 
McDonnell  for  advice.  He  replies  that  there  was  no  known 
treatment  and  suggests  that  she  "treat  the  symptoms." 
Knowing  nothing  of  the  orthodox  treatment,  she  resorts  to 
hot  packs  and  manipulations  of  the  muscles  to  restore 
muscular  activity.  By  this  method  she  cures  the  child  and 
achieves  remarkable  results  on  six  other  stricken  children. 
Meanwhile  Kevin  Connors  (Dean  Jagger),  her  childhood 
sweetheart,  returns  from  duty  with  the  Australian  army. 
Together,  they  go  to  McDonnell  to  tell  him  of  their  plans 
to  marry.  McDonnell,  astounded  by  the  success  she  had  in 
treating  polio  cases,  takes  her  to  Dr.  Charles  Brack  (Philip 
Merivale),  the  hospital's  orthopedic  specialist.  Brack  ridi- 
cules her  theories,  condemns  her  treatment,  and  refuses  to 
let  her  treat  children  in  his  care.  McDonnell,  upset  by 
Brack's  attitude,  urges  her  to  continue  her  work.  She 
postpones  her  wedding  in  order  to'  do  so.  Aided  by  Mc- 
Donnell, she  opens  clinic  after  clinic,  but  despite  her  won- 
derful accomplishments  they  are  closed  down  through  the 
influence  of  organized  medical  authorities.  Her  work  is 
temporarily  halted  by  the  outbreak  of  World  War  I,  in 
which  she  serves  as  an  Army  nurse,  but  she  resumes  her 
fight  against  polio  with  the  end  of  hostilities.  She  accom- 
plishes much  through  the  years,  and  her  fame  grows,  but 
the  opposition  to  her  continues.  A  British  Royal  Commis- 
sion condemns  her  methods,  as  does  an  American  Committee 
later  on.  With  the  outbreak  of  World  War  II,  Miss  Kenny, 
now  nearing  her  60th  birthday,  is  invited  by  the  University 
of  Minnesota  to  establish  a  Kenny  Institute  in  Minneapolis. 
She  goes  there,  happy  that  her  efforts  had  won  for  her 
some  recognition. 

Dudley  Nichols,  Alexander  Knox,  and  Mary  McCarthy 
wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  Miss  Kenny's  book  "And 
They  Shall  Walk."  Mr.  Nichols  produced  and  directed  it. 


116 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  20,  1946 


ignored  the  fact  that  the  monopoly  consists  of  the  defend- 
ants' control  of  important  key  first-runs,  which  in  turn 
regulate  the  flow  of  product  to  the  suhsequent-runs,  thus 
having  a  restrictive  effect  on  their  operations. 

These  spokesmen  disagree  also  with  the  court's  contention 
that  in  certain  cities,  where  a  single  defendant  owns  all 
the  first  runs,  the  monopoly  might  have  arisen  from  "the 
inertness  of  competitors"  or  "their  lack  of  financial  ability 
to  build  theatres  comparable  to  those  of  the  defendants." 
They  refute  this  contention  by  pointing  out  that  elsewhere 
in  the  opinion,  under  "Discrimination  Among  Licensees," 
the  court  found  the  "competitive  advantages"  of  certain 
contract  provisions  "so  great  that  their  inclusion  in  contracts 
with  the  larger  circuits  constitutes  an  unreasonable  dis- 
crimination against  small  competitors  in  violation  of  the 
anti-trust  laws."  And  as  further  evidence  of  the  court's 
inconsistency,  they  point  to  this  statement,  under  "Clear- 
ance and  Run,"  in  which  the  court,  after  citing  testimony 
of  the  defendants'  general  sales  managers,  6ays: 

"The  evidence  we  have  referred  to  shows  that  both  inde- 
pendent distributors  and  exhibitors  when  attempting  to 
bargain  with  the  defendants  have  been  met  by  a  fixed  scale 
of  clearances,  runs,  and  admission  prices  to  which  they 
have  been  obliged  to  conform  if  they  wished  to  get  their 
pictures  shown  upon  satisfactory  runs  or  were  to  compete 
in  exhibition  cither  with  the  defendants'  theatres  or  with 
theatres  to  which  the  latter  have  licensed  their  pictures. 
Under  the  circumstances  disclosed  in  the  record  there  has 
been  no  fair  chance  for  either  the  present  or  any  future 
licensees  to  change  a  situation  sanctioned  by  such  effective 
control  and  general  acquiescence  as  have  obtained." 

The  consensus  of  opinion  in  exhibition  circles  is  that  the 
New  York  Court's  stand  on  theatre  monopolies  is  at  vari- 
ance with  the  Supreme  Court's  decisions  in  the  Crescent 
and  Bigelow  (Jackson  Park  Theatre)  Cases,  as  well  as  with 
the  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  3rd  Circuit, 
in  the  Goldman  Case. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Government  will  appeal  the 
issues  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  final  adjudication. 

"Canyon  Passage"  with  Dana  Andrews, 
Brian  Donlevy  and  Susan  Hayward 

( Universal,  July  26;  time,  90  min.) 

Although  not  exceptional,  "Canyon  Passage"  shapes  up 
as  a  fairly  good  outdoor  melodrama.  The  excellent  Techni- 
color photography,  which  enhances  the  beauty  of  the  im- 
pressive Northwest  scenic  backgrounds,  adds  much  to  the 
entertainment  values.  The  story,  however,  is  not  unusual, 
its  treatment  is  routine,  and  the  performances  are  standard. 
It  has  several  exciting  moments  in  which  the  spectator  is 
held  in  suspense,  but  for  the  main  part  the  action  is  slow- 
paced.  A  highlight  of  the  film  is  a  vicious  brawl  between 
Dana  Andrews  and  Ward  Bond.  The  picture  picks  up  speed 
and  becomes  exciting  in  the  final  reels,  where  the  pioneers 
combat  an  Indian  uprising,  provoked  by  Bond's  killing  of 
an  Indian  girl.  The  romantic  interest  is  pleasant.  Oregon, 
in  1856,  is  the  scene  of  the  action: — 

Dana  Andrews,  proprietor  of  a  general  store  and  operator 
of  a  freight  mule  train  in  Jacksonville,  silently  loves  Susan 
Hayward,  who  was  engaged  to  his  best  friend,  Brian  Don- 
levy,  manager  of  the  local  express  office.  Ward  Bond,  a 
physically  powerful  outlaw,  tries  to  dominate  the  town,  but 
in  a  vicious  fight  Andrews  whips  him  and  compels  him 
to  leave  town.  Andrews  becomes  engaged  to  Patricia  Roc, 
daughter  of  Andy  Devine,  a  settler,  much  to  the  disappoint- 
ment of  Vic  Cutler,  who,  too,  loved  her.  Susan,  who 
preferred  Andrews  to  Donlevy,  becomes  upset  at  the  news. 
Meanwhile  Donlevy  had  been  losing  steadily  at  gambling 
and,  to  cover  up  his  losses,  stole  gold  that  had  been  en- 
trusted to  him  by  the  miners.  He  finally  murders  one  of  the 
miners  to  prevent  discovery  of  the  theft.  Lloyd  Bridges, 
the  murdered  man's  friend,  traces  the  crime  to  Donlevy 
and  forces  him  to  stand  trial  at  a  "kangaroo"  court.  The 
townspeople  demand  that  he  be  hung  immediately,  but 
Andrews  intervenes  and  insists  that  he  be  given  a  legal 


trial.  Donlevy's  fate  is  left  undecided,  however,  when  word 
comes  of  an  Indian  uprising,  caused  by  Bond's  killing  of 
an  Indian  girl.  The  townspeople,  headed  by  Andrews,  band 
together  to  oppose  the  Indians.  The  town  is  invaded  and 
burned,  and  many  of  the  settlers,  including  Bond  and 
Donlevy,  are  massacred  before  the  uprising  comes  to  an 
end.  After  the  battle,  Patricia  realizes  her  love  for  Cutler 
and  informs  Andrews  that  she  cannot  marry  him.  Andrews 
and  Susan  confess  their  love  for  each  other  and  make  plans 
to  start  life  anew. 

Ernest  Pascal  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel  by 
Ernest  Haycox,  Walter  Wanger  produced  it,  and  Jacques 
Tourncur  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Hoagy  Carmichael, 
Rose  Hobart  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Home  Sweet  Homicide"  with  Randolph 
Scott,  Lynn  Bari,  James  Gleason,  Peggy 
Ann  Garner,  Connie  Marshall  and 
Dean  Stockwell 

(20th  CenturyFox,  October;  time.  90  min.) 
This  fast-moving  murder-mystery  melodrama  has  some 
unusually  good  comedy  situations,  a  novel  plot,  expert 
direction,  and  fine  performances.  It  is  good  entertainment 
for  the  entire  family  since  it  stresses  the  comedy  angle  more 
than  the  melodrama,  and  since  it  revolves  mainly  around 
a  woman  novelist's  three  precocious  children,  who  utilize 
the  knowledge  they  had  acquired  from  their  mother's  mys- 
tery novels  to  help  solve  a  murder  and  to  bring  romance 
into  her  life.  The  manner  in  which  the  children  deliberately 
create  false  clues  and  in  other  ways  baffle  the  police  in  order 
to  attain  their  objective  is  extremely  amusing.  The  children, 
Peggy  Ann  Garner,  Connie  Marshall,  and  Dean  Stockwell, 
particularly  the  latter,  give  excellent  performances.  The 
settings  are  not  pretentious,  but  they  are  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  story.  The  romantic  interest  is  incidental  but 
charming.: — 

Lynn  Bari,  a  young  widow,  supports  her  three  children  by 
grinding  out  mystery  novels.  Believing  that  it  would  do 
their  mother  good  to  have  a  companion,  the  children  plan 
to  invite  to  dinner  Stanley  Logan,  a  mystery  writer  who 
lived  two  doors  away.  On  the  way  to  Logan's  home,  they 
pass  the  house  of  John  Shepperd,  whose  wife  was  their 
mother's  agent,  and  hear  two  gunshots.  Intuitively,  because 
of  reading  their  mother's  novels,  the  children  take  note 
of  the  exact  time  the  shots  were  fired,  since  such  a  clue  was 
vital  in  solving  a  murder.  Anabel  Shaw  rushes  out  of  the 
house  sobbing  that  Shepperd's  wife  had  been  murdered, 
and  shortly  afterwards  detectives  James  Gleason  and  Ran- 
dolph Scott  arrive  to  investigate.  They  question  Anabel 
and,  upon  learning  that  Shepperd  wanted  to  divorce  his 
wife  to  marry  her,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had 
committed  the  crime.  The  children,  seeing  an  opportunity 
for  their  mother  to  solve  the  case  and  thus  gain  wide  pub- 
licity, make  known  the  fact  that  they  heard  the  gunshots 
but  deliberately  falsify  the  time  so  as  to  knock  the  police 
off  the  track.  The  time  they  give  Scott  knocks  out  his 
theory  that  Shepperd  committed  the  murder.  When  their 
mother  refuses  to  take  an  interest  in  the  case,  the  children 
decide  to  solve  the  crime  themselves.  They  accidentally 
come  across  Shepperd  hiding  in  a  basement,  afraid  that  the 
police  would  blame  him  for  the  crime.  In  return  for  keeping 
his  hideout  a  secret,  he  informs  them  that  his  wife  was  a 
professional  blackmailer  and  that  a  list  of  her  victims  was 
somewhere  in  the  house.  The  children  manage  to  obtain 
the  list  and  become  convinced  that  blackmail  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  crime.  Their  amateurish  efforts  to  solve  the 
crime  puts  Scott  on  the  trail  of  the  criminal,  who  turns  out 
to  be  Logan,  one  of  the  dead  woman's  blackmail  victims. 
The  case  cracked,  Scott  turns  his  attentions  to  Lynn,  much 
to  the  delight  of  the  children. 

F.  Hugh  Herbert  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  the 
novel  by  Craig  Rice.  Louis  D.  Lighton  produced  it,  and 
Lloyd  Bacon  directed  it. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  JULY  27,  1946  No.  30 


AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COURT'S 
OPINION  —  No.  6 

(From  a  layman's  point  of  view) 
General  Considerations 

For  many  years  the  distributor-defendants  have  contended 
that,  based  on  their  copyrights,  their  method  of  doing  busi' 
ness  was  legal. -The  following  statement  by  the  court  dispels 
that  contention  in  language  that  is  unequivocally  clear: 

"It  may  be  said  that  such  restrictions  in  commercial  deal' 
ings  as  we  would  impose  will  interfere  with  the  right  of  a 
copyright  owner  to  choose  his  customers  or  contract  for  the 
disposition  of  his  own  property.  The  answer  is  that  no  such 
absolute  right  exists  where  its  exercise  will  involve  an  exten- 
sion  of  a  copyright  monopoly  or  an  unreasonable  interfer- 
ence  with  competition  in  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of 
motion  pictures.  A  system  of  fixed  admission  prices,  clear' 
ances  and  block-booking  is  so  restrictive  of  competition  in  its 
tendency  that  it  should  be  modified  to  comply  with  the  terms 
of  the  Sherman  Act.  The  modifications  in  practices  we  have 
indicated  will  relieve  conditions  that  have  grown  up  through 
the  years.  .  .  ." 

Pointing  out  that  the  condemned  practices  are  defended 
"on  the  ground  that  business  convenience  and  long  usage 
ought  to  sanction  them,"  the  court  declares  that,  "in  spite  of 
their  long  continuance,  we  cannot  escape  the  conclusion  that 
in  various  ways  the  system  stifles  competition  and  violates  the 
law  and  that  business  convenience  and  loyalty  to  former  cus' 
tomers  afford  a  lame  excuse  for  depriving  others  of  rights  to 
compete  and  for  perpetuating  unreasonable  restrictions.  .  .  ." 

"It  is  argued,"  continues  the  court,  "that  the  steps  we 
have  proposed  would  involve  an  interference  with  commer- 
cial practices  that  are  generally  acceptable  and  a  hazardous 
attempt  on  the  part  of  judges — unfamiliar  with  the  details  of 
business — to  remodel  its  delicate  adjustments  which  have 
hitherto  provided  the  public  with  what  is  a  new  and  great 
art.  But  we  see  nothing  ruinous  in  the  remedies  proposed. 
Disputes  which  may  arise  under  the  bidding  system  are 
likely  to  relate  to  questions  whether  the  bidder  has  a  theatre 
adequate  for  the  run  for  which  he  bids,  whether  the  clear- 
ance requested  is  reasonable  as  regards  his  own  theatre  and 
those  of  others,  and  similar  matters  generally  involved  in 
comparing  bids.  If  the  defendants  will  consent  to  an  arbitra- 
tion system  for  the  determination  of  such  disputes  of  the 
kind  that  has  worked  so  well  under  the  consent  decree,  they 
will  facilitate  the  adjustment  of  most  of  the  differences  that 
are  likely  to  occur,  with  a  large  saving  of  time  and  money  as 
compared  with  separate  court  actions." 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  court,  in  recognizing  that  dis- 
putes are  bound  to  arise  under  a  competitive  bidding  system, 
is  urging  rather  than  ordering  the  establishment  of  an  arbi- 
tration system.  Elsewhere  in  the  opinion  the  court  has  con- 
ceded that  "we  cannot  bind  any  parties  to  subject  them- 
selves to  the  arbitration  system  or  the  board  of  appeals  set  up 
in  aid  of  it  without  their  consent,  even  though  we  may  re- 
gard it  as  desirable  that  such  a  system,  in  view  of  its  demon- 
strated usefulness,  should  be  continued  in  aid  of  the  de- 
cree. .  .  ."  In  its  provisions  for  a  decree,  the  court  directed 
that  the  decree  shall  provide  also  for  an  arbitration  system 


"in  respect  to  all  parties  who  may  consent  to  the  creation  of 
such  tribunals.  .  .  ."  In  other  words,  the  court's  references  to 
arbitration  are  in  the  nature  of  recommendations  as  a  means 
of  avoiding  costly  law  suits. 

"A  suit  in  the  district  court  for  violation  of  the  Sherman 
Act,"  concludes  the  court,  "is  doubtless  an  awkward  way  to 
cure  such  ills  as  have  arisen,  but  it  is  perhaps  the  best  rem- 
edy now  available  to  the  government.  There  surely  are  evils 
in  the  existing  system,  and  the  Sherman  Act  provides  a  mode 
of  correction  which  is  lawfully  invoked.  At  all  events,  that 
which  is  written  is  written,  and  is  controlling  on  us. 

"It  does  not  follow  from  the  foregoing  that  we  should 
wholly  break  up  the  exhibition  business  of  each  of  the  major 
defendants  even  though  a  'root  and  branch'  decree  might 
be  legally  possible.  Such  total  divestiture  would  be  injurious 
to  the  corporations  concerned,  and,  if  we  are  right  in  our 
analysis  of  the  situation,  we  should  still  have  to  give  relief 
against  price-fixing,  systems  of  clearance,  formula  deals, 
master  agreements  and  franchises,  block-booking,  pooling 
agreements,  and  other  agreements  we  have  held  invalid.  The 
relief  proposed  we  believe  should  suffice,  while  total  divesti- 
ture would  be  damaging  to  the  public  as  well  as  the  de- 
fendants and  not  accomplish  any  useful  purpose  at  the  pres- 
ent time." 

In  other  words,  the  court,  though  admitting  that  total 
divestiture  is  "legally  possible,"  believes  that  such  a  remedy 
is  too  drastic  and  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  discriminatory 
practices  it  has  outlawed  and  the  reforms  it  has  instituted 
will  give  practical  effect  to  the  Sherman  Act,  thus  restoring 
free  and  open  competition  in  the  motion  picture  industry. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  court  looks  upon  its  remedy 
against  the  discriminatory  methods  that  have  been  practiced 
by  the  defendants  as  being  no  more  severe  than  the  remedy 
the  Supreme  Court  imposed  in  the  Crescent  Case.  With  this 
line  of  reasoning  most  independent  exhibitor  leaders  disagree; 
they  feel  that  a  decision  permitting  the  Big  Five  to  retain 
their  vast  theatre  holdings  in  the  key-run  situations  is  by  far 
milder  than  a  decision  that  requires  comparatively  smaller 
circuits  to  be  dissolved,  as  has  been  the  case  in  the  Crescent 
decision  handed  down  by  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  the 
recent  Schine  decision  handed  down  by  the  district  court 
in  Buffalo. 

As  it  has  already  been  said,  the  main  issue  of  total  divorce- 
ment will  undoubtedly  be  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  for 
final  decision. 

*        *  * 

As  of  this  writing,  the  following  is  the  status  of  the  New 
York  anti-trust  suit  since  the  decision  was  handed  down  on 
June  1 1 : 

On  June  20,  in  accordance  with  the  court's  directive,  the 
Department  of  Justice  submitted  its  proposal  for  a  judgment 
and  decree,  which  was  a  literal  translation  of  the  decree  out- 
lined in  the  decision,  except  for  certain  amplifications.  These 
included,  among  others,  suggestions  designed  to  make  effec- 
tive the  injunctive  provisions  of  the  decree  so  as  to  prevent 
evasion;  a  suggestion  that  a  25%  cancellation  right  be 
granted  on  blind-bought  pictures;  a  suggestion  that  the  words 
"of  size  and  equipment"  be  omitted  from  the  qualifications 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


118  HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"Two  Guys  from  Milwaukee"  with 
Dennis  Morgan,  Jack  Carson 
and  Joan  Leslie 

{Warner  Bros.,  Aug.  17;  time,  90  min.) 

Good  entertainment.  It  revolves  around  a  visiting  prince 
from  a  mythical  Balkan  kingdom,  who  leaves  his  official 
duties  to  mix  with  the  man  on  the  street  in  order  to  learn 
what  Americans  are  really  like.  It  is  a  fast-moving  farce 
that  is  frequently  hilarious  and,  although  the  story  has  a 
familiar  ring,  zestful  performances,  clever  dialogue,  and 
snappy  direction  raise  it  to  a  high  level.  Most  of  the  comedy 
is  provoked  by  the  mixups  the  prince  gets  himself  into  when 
he  becomes  chummy  with  a  Brooklyn  cab  driver  and  falls 
in  love  with  his  girl.  The  plot  is  thin  and  improbable  but 
it  is  sprightly,  gay,  and  clever.  Dennis  Morgan,  as  the  prince, 
is  good,  but  it  is  Jack  Carson,  as  the  cab  driver,  who  is 
responsible  for  most  of  the  laughs: — 

Eluding  S.  Z.  Sakall,  his  chamberlain,  Morgan  deter- 
mines  to  learn  something  about  the  American  people.  He 
strikes  up  an  acquaintance  with  Carson  and,  to  conceal  his 
identity,  tells  him  that  he  came  from  Milwaukee.  Carson, 
born  in  Milwaukee,  takes  him  in  hand.  Both  become  glori' 
ously  intoxicated,  and  Morgan  ends  the  evening  by  sleeping 
in  Carson's  apartment.  On  the  following  morning,  Carson 
learns  the  truth  about  Morgan  from  newspapers,  which  pub- 
licized his  disappearance,  but  promises  to  keep  his  identity 
a  secret.  Morgan  decides  to  shave  his  mustache  to  avoid 
being  recognized,  and  Carson  takes  him  to  a  barbershop, 
where  he  introduces  him  to  his  girl-friend,  Joan  Leslie,  a 
manicurist.  At  Carson's  suggestion,  Joan  and  Morgan  spend 
the  day  together.  A  mutual  attraction  grows  up  between 
them,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  Carson.  A  series  of  tussles 
ensue  between  Carson  and  Morgan  for  Joan's  affections, 
with  Morgan  eventually  giving  up  Joan  because  of  his  royal 
duties.  Scheduled  to  make  a  broadcast  to  his  people  on  the 
eve  of  their  plebiscite  to  decide  between  a  monarchy  and 
a  republic,  Morgan  discusses  the  situation  with  Carson, 
who  tells  him  of  the  blessings  of  a  democracy  without  being 
aware  that  his  remarks  were  going  over  the  air.  As  a  result, 
the  people  vote  for  a  republic,  leaving  Morgan  a  free  man 
and  making  of  Carson  a  national  hero.  Morgan  resumes  his 
pursuit  of  Joan,  but  after  a  series  of  further  mixups  she 
chooses  Carson.  Morgan  bows  out  of  their  life  and  heads 
for  Milwaukee  to  accept  a  job  with  a  beer  company. 

Charles  Hoffman  and  I.  A.  L.  Diamond  wrote  the  original 
screen  play,  Alex  Gottlieb  produced  it,  and  David  Butler 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Janis  Paige,  Rosemary  DeCamp 
and  others.    Unobjectionable  morally. 


"They  Were  Sisters"  with  James  Mason  . 
and  Phyllis  Calvert 

(Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time,  108  min.) 

This  English-made  production  is  a  fairly  entertaining 
human  interest  drama,  but  the  enjoyment  of  it  is  spoiled 
by  the  poor  editing  and  by  the  fact  that  most  of  the  char- 
acters speak  with  such  a  thick  English  accent  that  a  good 
part  of  the  dialogue  is  unintelligible.  Moreover,  its  running 
time  is  by  far  too  long.  Another  fault,  probably  due  to  the 
choppy  editing  (according  to  reports,  the  picture's  original 
running  time  was  155  minutes),  is  the  fact  that  the  story 
fails  to  make  clear  the  reasons  for  the  sadistic  actions  of 
James  Mason,  the  central  character,  whose  cruelties  break 
his  wife's  spirit,  drive  her  to  suicide,  and  cause  his  children 
to  hate  him.  Mason's  role  is  most  unsympathetic,  but  he 
plays  it  well.  It  is  a  serious  drama,  with  many  tender  and 
touching  moments,  but  it  lacks  conviction.  No  fault  can 
be  found  with  the  picture  from  a  production  standpoint. 

Covering  a  span  of  seventeen  years,  following  World  War 
I,  the  story  revolves  around  the  marital  problems  of  three 
sisters.  Phyllis  Calvert,  the  eldest,  marries  Peter  Murray  Hill, 
and  their  happiness  is  saddened  only  by  their  lack  of  chil- 
dren. Anne  Crawford,  the  second  sister,  marries  Barrie 
Livesey,  a  substantial  fellow,  but  her  flightiness  and  affairs 
with  other  men  mar  their  happiness  and  that  of  their  little 
daughter.  Dulcie  Gray,  the  youngest  sister,  who  was  a  meek 


July  27,  1946 


person,  marries  James  Mason,  a  gay  young  fellow,  but  with 
the  passing  years  Mason  soon  revealed  his  true  character 
by  his  consistent  cruelties  to  Dulcie  and  their  three  children. 
In  love  with  Mason  but  hurt  by  his  unkindness,  Dulcie  takes 
to  drink  and  becomes  a  miserable  wreck.  Phyllis  tries  to 
aid  her,  but  Mason  compels  her  to  leave  his  home  and  sees 
to  it  that  Dulcie  receives  no  medical  aid.  Matters  reach  a 
crisis  when  Dulcie,  maddened  by  Mason's  cruelties,  rushes 
out  of  the  house  and  is  killed  by  a  passing  car.  Prior  to  the 
inquest,  Mason  asks  Phyllis  to  6ay  nothing  of  Dulcie's 
mental  condition  lest  it  harm  the  family,  but  Phyllis  gives 
evidence  that  proves  him  morally  responsible  for  her  death. 
Mason's  children  shun  him  and  go  to  live  with  Phyllis,  as 
docs  Anne's  child  after  her  parents'  divorce.  It  ends  with 
the  four  children  of  two  unhappy  marriages  finding  content- 
ment in  Phyllis'  childless  home. 

Roland  Pertwee  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel  by 
Dorothy  Whipple.  Harold  Huth  produced  it  and  Arthur 
Crabtrce  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Claudia  and  David"  with  Dorothy  McGuire 
and  Robert  Young 

(20th  Century-Fox.  September;  time,  78  min.) 

Good  mass  entertainment,  particularly  for  women  audi- 
ences because  of  its  emotional  appeal.  It  is  a  throughly 
charming  sequel  to  "Claudia,"  which  20th  Century-Fox 
released  in  194  J,  with  the  same  players  enacting  the  leading 
roles.  As  in  the  first  picture,  this  story  is  an  appealing  mixture 
of  pathos  and  comedy.  Most  women  will  cry  during  some 
of  the  situations,  as  for  instance  the  one  in  which  Dorothy 
McGuire,  unable  to  restrain  her  emotions,  bursts  into  tears 
upon  learning  that  Robert  Young,  her  husband,  would  re- 
cover from  a  serious  injury  he  had  accidentally  suffered.  The 
comedy,  too,  is  very  good.  The  petty  misunderstandings 
between  Miss  McGuire  and  Young,  and  their  subsequent 
reconciliations,  keep  one  chuckling  throughout.  The  atmos- 
phere and  the  type  of  entertainment  this  picture  presents 
comes  as  a  welcome  relief  from  the  present-day  sophisticated 
and  psychological  dramas: — 

As  they  leave  home  to  attend  a  dinner  party,  Young,  an 
architect,  chides  Dorothy  about  acting  like  a  neurotic  be- 
cause of  her  constant  concern  over  the  health  of  their  young 
son  (Anthony  Sydes).  At  the  party,  Young  gets  into  a 
deep  discussion  with  Mary  Astor,  an  attractive  widow,  about 
plans  to  modernize  her  farm,  while  Dorothy  becomes  chummy 
with  John  Sutton,  whose  wife,  Rose  Hobart,  was  a  jealous 
woman.  Jerome  Cowan,  a  spiritualist  entertaining  the  guests, 
upsets  Dorothy  by  warning  her  not  to  permit  Young  to 
take  a  proposed  trip  to  California  for  fear  of  an  accident. 
Worried  about  her  baby,  but  not  wishing  to  disturb  Young's 
conversation  with  Mary,  Dorothy  accepts  Sutton's  offer  to 
drive  her  home.  She  finds  the  child  ill  with  measles.  On  the 
following  day,  when  Young  displays  irritableness  over  the 
fact  that  Sutton  had  driven  her  home,  Dorothy  chides  him 
about  being  jealous  only  to  feel  pangs  of  jealousy  herself 
when  Young  informs  her  that  he  was  to  spend  the  day  with 
Mary,  working  on  plans  for  the  farm.  Their  petty  quarrels 
over  his  professional  relationship  with  Mary  are  climaxed 
by  a  fresh  quarrel  over  Young's  proposed  trip  to  California 
to  attend  an  architects'  convention.  Remembering  Cowan's 
warning  she  tries  to  induce  him  not  to  go,  but  when  he 
insists  she  flatly  refuses  to  accompany  him.  That  evening, 
while  on  his  way  home,  Young  is  injured  critically  when 
a  drunken  driver  crashes  into  his  car.  Dorothy  spends  an 
agonizing  day  waiting  for  news  of  his  condition  and  breaks 
into  a  torrent  of  grateful  tears  when  word  comes  that  he  will 
live.  Upon  Young's  return  from  the  hospital,  Dorothy,  satis- 
fied that  the  accident  Cowan  had  predicted  had  already 
occurred,  changes  her  mind  and  agrees  to  accompany  Young 
to  California. 

Rose  Franken  and  William  Brown  Meloney  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  stories  by  Miss  Franken.  William  Perlberg 
produced  it,  and  Walter  Lang  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Gail  Patrick,  Harry  Davenport,  Florence  Bates  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


July  27,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


119 


"Holiday  in  Mexico"  with  Walter  Pidgeon, 
Jane  Powell  and  Roddy  McDowall 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  127  min.) 

A  first-rate  Technicolor  musical.  It  is  the  type  of  enter' 
tainmcnt  that  should  please  all  sorts  of  audiences,  for  many 
reasons:  The  settings  and  photography  are  splendid;  it  has 
unusually  good  music  that  ranges  from  the  popular  variety 
to  the  classics;  amusing  comedy  situations;  pleasant  romantic 
interludes;  a  thin  but  charming  story;  and  good  performances. 
The  central  character  of  the  story  is  youthful  Jane  Powell, 
whose  ingratiating  personality  and  crystal-clear  singing  voice 
are  a  delight  to  the  eye  and  ear.  As  the  impulsive  daughter 
of  the  American  ambassador  to  Mexico,  Jane  keeps  one 
chuckling  throughout  by  her  efforts  to  run  her  father's  social 
affairs,  her  puppy-love  romance  with  Roddy  McDowall,  and 
her  imagined  love  affair  with  Jose  Iturbi.  Walter  Pidgeon, 
as  the  ambassador,  is  his  usual  suave  self,  making  the  char' 
acter  wholly  likeable  and  believable.  Iturbi's  piano  playing; 
Ilona  assey's  singing;  Xavier  Cugat's  music;  and  an  hilarious 
comedy  bit  by  Mikhail  Rasumny,  are  but  a  few  of  the  high' 
lights  that  will  leave  most  patrons  thoroughly  entertained : — 

Fancying  herself  quite  grown  up  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  Jane 
looks  upon  Roddy,  16-year-old  son  of  the  British  ambassador, 
as  not  quite  a  man  and  quarrels  with  him^when  he  becomes 
"serious."  She  turns  her  attentions  to  arrangements  for  an 
embassy  ball,  and  visits  a  smart  cafe  to  extend  an  invitation 
to  Xavier  Cugat  and  to  Ilona  Massey,  his  singer.  Both  agree 
to  attend.  She  then  visits  Jose  Iturbi,  who  mistakes  her  for 
a  singer  he  had  been  expecting  and  talks  her  into  singing 
before  she  can  explain  her  mission.  Charmed  with  her  voice, 
he  graciously  agrees  to  come  to  her  party.  Meanwhile  Pid' 
geon,  learning  of  Ilona's  presence  in  Mexico,  renews  a 
romance  with  her  that  had  started  years  previously  in  Europe. 
Devoted  to  her  father,  and  piqued  by  his  constant  attentions 
to  Ilona,  Jane  turns  to  Iturbi  for  solace  and  fancies  herself 
to  be  madly  in  love  with  him.  Roddy,  jealous,  discloses  the 
"affair"  to  Pidgeon.  Disturbed,  Pidgeon  visits  Iturbi.  The 
pianist  is  stunned  to  learn  of  Jane's  affection  for  him,  but 
Pidgeon  puts  an  end  to  his  embarrassment  by  diplomatically 
revealing  to  Jane  that  he  (Iturbi)  was  a  grandfather.  But, 
before  accomplishing  Jane's  disillusionment,  Pidgeon  finds 
himself  in  a  similar  predicament  involving  one  of  Jane's 
young  girl'friends,  who  had  mistaken  his  polite  manner  for 
love.  It  all  ends  with  Jane's  acceptance  of  her  father's 
romance  with  Ilona,  her  reconciliation  with  Roddy,  and  her 
singing  debut  at  a  gala  concert  staged  by  Iturbi. 

Isobel  Lennart  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
William  Kozlenko,  Joe  Pasternak  produced  it,  and  George 
Sidney  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Hugo  Haas,  Ann  Codee, 
Ampara  Iturbi  and  many  others. 


"Sing  While  You  Dance"  with 
Ellen  Drew  and  Robert  Stanton 

(Columbia,  ]uly  25>;  time,  72  min.) 
A  moderately  entertaining  program  comedy,  with  some 
music.  The  story  and  treatment  are  routine,  and  it  hasn't 
much  human  interest  since  the  characters  involved  are  not 
the  type  that  arouse  sympathy.  But  it  is  light  entertainment 
and  should  amuse  those  who  are  not  too  particular  about 
story  values.  Some  of  the  situations  are  amusing  enough  to 
provoke  laughs,  but  a  good  part  of  the  comedy  is  too  inane 
to  be  funny.  The  music,  though  not  outstanding,  is  melodious, 
and  is  sung  pleasantly  by  Robert  Stanton  and  Amanda 
Lane : — 

Seeking  a  position  as  a  "song  plugger,"  Ellen  Drew  tricks 
Robert  Stanton,  another  "song  plugger,"  into  giving  her  an 
opportunity  to  have  an  unknown  song  introduced  in  a 
fashionable  night-club.  She  accomplishes  her  aim  with  the 
aid  of  Amanda  Lane,  a  dear  friend,  whose  singing  of  the 
song  establishes  it  as  a  hit.  Andrew  Tombes,  Stanton's  em- 
ployer, is  so  pleased  with  Ellen's  accomplishment  that  he 
ridicules  Stanton.  Angered,  Stanton  quits  his  job  and  joins 
a  rival  -music  publisher.  Discovering  that  the  writer  of  the 
song  was  unknown  and  that  more  of  his  songs  were  in 
demand,  Ellen  and  Stanton,  working  independently,  trace 


him  to  a  small  town,  where  they  learn  that  he  was  a  dead 
millionaire.  Both  land  in  jail  when  they  are  caught  in  the 
dead  man's  mansion  rummaging  through  his  effects  for 
another  song.  The  composer's  widow  arranges  for  their 
release,  however,  when  she  learns  that  they  wanted  to  publish 
her  husband's  works.  Both  Ellen  and  Stanton  resume  their 
race,  with  Ellen  being  the  first  to  find  a  second  song.  But 
her  triumph  is  shortlived  when  she  discovers  that,  though 
the  lyrics  were  good,  the  music  was  sub-standard.  She  calls 
upon  Stanton,  an  amateur  composer,  to  adapt  his  own  music 
to  the  lyrics.  The  story  ends  with  the  song  a  success  and 
with  the  merger  of  the  rival  firms,  which  employ  both  Ellen 
and  Stanton  to  publicize  the  song. 

Robert  Stephen  Brode  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story 
by  Lorraine  Edwards,  Leon  Barsha  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross 
Lederman  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Notorious"  with  Ingrid  Bergman 
and  Cary  Grant 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  101  min.) 
Very  good  adult  entertainment!  Written  by  Ben  Hecht, 
the  story  is  an  intriguing  mixture  of  romance  and  counter' 
espionage,  presented  in  a  manner  that  holds  one's  interest 
undiminished  from  start  to  finish.  It  has  been  given  a  fine 
production  and,  as  can  be  expected,  Alfred  Hitchcock,  who 
produced  and  directed,  skilfully  sustains  the  ever-increasing 
suspense  throughout.  Brazil  is  the  locale  of  the  action,  and 
the  uncovering  of  Nazi  activities  in  connection  with  uranium 
ore  deposits  is  the  basis  of  the  story.  Ingrid  Bergman,  as  the 
daughter  of  a  convicted  Nazi  spy,  but  herself  a  loyal  Amer' 
ican  spy,  is  perfect.  No  matter  what  type  of  role  she  plays, 
there  seems  to  be  no  end  to  her  versatility.  Cary  Grant,  too, 
gives  a  fine  performance,  as  do  the  others  in  the  supporting 
cast.  At  no  time  does  the  action  become  violent,  but  there 
is  an  undercurrent  of  excitement  throughout.  The  closing 
scenes,  in  which  Grant  rescues  Ingrid  from  the  spies  without 
as  much  as  a  scuffle,  offer  the  sort  of  suspense  that  will  keep 
the  spectator  on  the  edge  of  his  seat.  It  is  a  typical  Hitchcock 
ending,  done  masterfully: — 

Following  the  conviction  of  her  father  as  a  Nazi  spy, 
Ingrid,  a  notorious  sophisticate,  plans  to  run  away  from 
Miami  although  she  was  innocent  of  any  wrongdoing.  But 
Cary  Grant,  a  Government  agent,  who  had  proof  that  she 
was  a  loyal  American  citizen,  induces  her  to  accompany 
him  to  Brazil  on  an  important  secret  mission.  While  waiting 
for  their  assignment,  the  pair  fall  in  love,  but  their 
romancing  gives  way  to  business  when  Grant  receives  his 
orders.  These  were  for  Ingrid  to  become  friendly  with  Claude 
Rains,  a  leader  among  wealthy  German  exiles  in  Rio,  who 
were  suspected  of  working  on  a  mysterious  project.  Ingrid's 
task  was  to  learn  their  secret.  She  prefers  to  give  up  the 
assignment  because  of  her  love  for  Grant,  but  accepts  it 
because  of  a  mistaken  notion  that  he  did  not  love  her.  Her 
father's  reputation  smooths  the  way  for  Ingrid,  and  before 
long  Rains  proposes  marriage  to  her,  over  the  objections 
of  Mme.  Konstantin,  his  domineering  mother.  She  marries 
Rains  as  part  of  her  job  and,  aided  by  Grant,  succeeds  in 
learning  that  Rains  and  his  associates  had  found  a  huge 
deposit  of  uranium  ore  and  that  they  planned  the  secret 
manufacture  of  atomic  weapons.  Meanwhile  Rains  discovers 
that  Ingrid  was  a  spy.  He  and  his  mother,  without  revealing 
their  knowledge  to  Ingrid,  decide  to  kill  her,  but  in  a  manner 
that  would  not  lead  their  associates  to  suspect  Rains'  fatal 
mistake;  they  set  about  to  poison  Ingrid.  The  young  woman 
becomes  deathly  ill,  and  Grant,  worried  when  she  fails  to 
keep  an  appointment  with  him,  goes  to  Rains'  home  to 
investigate  and  finds  her  dying.  He  gathers  Ingrid  into  his 
arms  and,  under  threat  of  disclosing  Rains'  secret  to  his  asso- 
ciates, compels  Rains  to  help  him  take  her  out  of  the  house 
and  to  a  hospital.  It  is  indicated  that  Rains'  companions 
learn  the  truth  and  plan  to  "liquidate"  him,  leaving  Grant 
free  to  marry  Ingrid. 

The  cast  includes  Louis  Calhern,  Reinhold  Schunzel, 
Moroni  Olsen,  Alex  Minotis  and  others. 

Unsuitable  for  children. 


120 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


July  27,  1946 


in  determining  whether  a  theatre  is  adequate  to  exhibit  a 
picture  upon  the  terms  offered;  a  suggestion  that  theatre 
pools  be  terminated  within  one  year  after  final  judgment  is 
entered;  a  provision  requiring  that  the  defendants  furnish, 
at  the  earliest  possible  date,  notice  of  contemplated  theatre 
acquisitions  so  that  the  court  and  the  Department  of  Jusice 
may  have  ample  time  to  study  and  determine  the  competitive 
effect  of  such  purchases;  and  a  suggestion  that  no  stay  be 
granted  in  the  elimination  of  existing  franchise  and  formula 
deals. 

The  Department  of  Justice  filed  its  interpretation  of  the 
decree  under  a  procedure  that  would  have  paved  the  way  for 
an  early  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  the  Statutory 
Court,  on  June  25,  granted  the  defendants  an  extension  un- 
til  September  15  to  submit  their  proposals  for  a  decree, 
setting  October  7  as  the  deadline  for  oral  argument  to  settle 
whatever  issues  cannot  be  agreed  upon  between  the  defend' 
ants  and  the  Government. 

Meanwhile  the  defendants,  under  an  informal  agreement 
with  the  Department  of  Justice,  have  agreed  to  put  as  many 
court  recommendations  as  possible  into  effect  prior  to  the 
final  decree.  These  include  putting  an  end  to  fixing  minimum 
admission  prices;  abstaining  from  further  theatre  expansion; 
dissolving  as  many  theatre  pools  as  possible;  and  inaugurat' 
ing  a  system  of  single-picture  selling,  which  was  to  have 
started  on  Thursday  of  this  week. 

(The  policy  of  single-picture  selling  has  been  agreed  to 
only  by  the  five  major  distributors.  The  "Little  Three" — 
Columbia,  Universal,  and  United  Artists,  have  not,  at  this 
writing,  reached  an  agreement  with  the  Department  as  to  the 
policy  they  will  follow.) 

In  the  meantime,  exhibitor  organizations  throughout  the 
country  are  studying  the  decision  closely.  On  July  16  and  17, 
the  Executive  Committee  of  Allied  States  Association  met  in 
Washington  to  consider  the  different  aspects  of  the  decision, 
particularly  in  regard  to  the  auction-selling  provisions,  which 
it  regards  as  the  "Court's  substitute  for  the  traditional  Sher- 
man Act  remedies  of  divestiture  and  dissolution."  The 
committee  met  informally  with  Department  of  Justice  offi- 
cials to  voice  objections  to  certain  features  of  the  proposed 
decree  as  well  as  to  make  recommendations.  Pending  a  re- 
port to  its  Board  of  Directors,  the  committee  has  withheld 
comment  on  its  deliberations.  On  July  18,  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  MPTOA,  too,  conferred  with  the  Department 
of  Justice,  at  which  time  it  submitted  recommendations  for 
the  decree  and  condemned  the  auction-selling  provisions  as 
outlined  in  the  decision. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  decision  will  bring  about 
many  revolutionary  changes  in  the  distribution  and  exhibi- 
tion of  pictures.  It  follows  that  many  exhibitors  will  naturally 
be  in  a  quandary  wondering  how  the  changes  may  affect 
their  particular  situations.  Advice  given  at  this  stage  of  the 
proceedings  can  be  based  only  on  conjecture  and,  as  such, 
may  serve  to  confuse  rather  than  help  the  exhibitor.  Until 
the  different  problems  raised  by  the  decision  have  been  either 
clarified  or  solved,  and  until  a  definite  pattern  takes  shape, 
Harrison's  Reports  suggests  to  the  exhibitors  that  they 
carry  on  their  operations  guided  by  nothing  more  than 
common  sense  in  the  buying  and  booking  of  their  pictures. 
As  developments  take  place,  there  will  be  plenty  of  time 
to  adjust  your  operations  in  orderly  fashion. 


SOUND  ADVICE  FROM  PETE  WOOD 

Pete  Wood,  secretary  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Own- 
ers of  Ohio,  an  Allied  affiliate,  has  this  to  say  in  a  July  23 
bulletin  sent  to  his  members: 

"Once  more  Columbia  distinguishes  itself.  After  two 
months  of  uncertainty  as  to  its  sales  policy  for  1946-47, 
they  come  up  with  a  'humdinger.' 

"Columbia  salesmen  are  out  in  the  territory  offering  ex- 


hibitors 27  'Special  Feature  Attractions'.  No  stars,  casts  or 
directors  are  mentioned,  nor  is  the  story  identified — it  is 
just  a  list  of  titles,  including  the  following:  'Horse  Picture 
No.  2'  —  'Crime  Doctor  No.  2'  —  'The  Whistler  No.  V  — 
'Bulldog  Drummond  No.  2'  —  'Boston  Blackie  No.  2'  .  .  . 

"The  pictures  are  individually  priced,  and  it  is  presumed 
that  the  exhibitor  can  buy  those  he  wants  and  omit  the  rest. 
But  on  what  basis  can  a  selection  be  made?  To  add  insult  to 
injury,  the  pictures  are  offered  at  staggering  increases  repre- 
senting two  to  three  times  former  film  rentals.  Exhibitors  are 
warned  that  these  27  pictures  represent  absolutely  bottom 
brackets  of  this  company's  future  releases. 

"But  here's  the  pay-off.  The  argument  used  to  stampede 
and  frighten  exhibitors  into  those  deals  will  be,  "There  will  be 
a  terrific  shortage  of  pictures  in  August  and  the  exhibitor 
needs  a  backlog  of  product.'  And  what  a  backlog — the  abso- 
lute dregs  of  Columbia's  program,  with  the  best  pictures 
withheld  to  be  sold  in  the  future  at  the  fanciest  figures  that 
Columbia  ever  had  the  nerve  to  quote. 

"Thoughtful  exhibitors  arc  keeping  their  heads  and  are 
not  being  deluded  by  these  reprehensible  sales  practices. 
Suicide  deals  with  Columbia  will  mean  writing  yourself  out 
of  this  business.  Now — more  than  at  any  other  time  in  the 
entire  history  of  motion  pictures — you  must  keep  calm  and 
maintain  your  courage.  Do  not  be  stampeded  into  crazy  film 
deals.  And  above  all  else,  consult  your  organization  for 
accurate,  up-to-the-minute  information." 


"Great  Day"  with  Eric  Portman  and 
Flora  Robson 

(RXO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  68  min.) 

It  is  doubtful  whether  this  British  production  with  an  all- 
English  cast  will  go  over  with  American  audiences.  As  has 
been  the  fault  with  many  other  English  pictures,  it  moves 
slowly,  consisting  of  more  talk  than  action,  although  there 
is  some  human  interest  and  the  main  characters  are  sympa- 
thetic. Moreover,  the  story,  which  deals  with  the  events  in 
a  small  village  twenty-four  hours  prior  to  a  visit  from  Mrs. 
Eleanor  Roosevelt,  during  World  War  II,  is  somewhat 
outdated,  and  it  contains  little  that  will  be  of  interest  to 
American  picture-goers.  The  background, — that  of  rural 
life  in  the  English  countryside, — is  very  good.  At  best,  the 
picture  belongs  on  the  lower-half  of  a  double  bill: — 

All  agog  over  the  forthcoming  visit  of  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  the 
women  of  Denley  work  feverishly  to  put  the  village  hall  in 
order.  Their  work  is  supervised  by  Flora  Robson,  whose 
husband,  Eric  Portman,  lived  in  memories  of  his  past  glory 
in  World  War  I,  and  who  kept  his  family  impoverished  by 
his  efforts  to  keep  up  appearances.  Sheila  Sim,  their  nine- 
teen-year-old daughter,  was  in  love  with  Philip  Friend,  a 
gay  young  officer,  but  having  had  her  fill  of  economic  in- 
security she  had  promised  to  marry  Walter  Fitzgerald,  a 
well-to-do  middle-aged  farmer.  While  all  work  in  the  hall, 
Margaret  Withers,  Fitzgerald's  dour  spinster  sister,  learns 
of  her  brother's  engagement  and  denounces  Sheila  as  a  for- 
tune hunter.  That  night,  at  a  local  inn,  Portman,  without 
funds  to  return  the  hospitality  of  some  visiting  soldiers,  steals 
some  money  from  a  girl's  handbag  only  to  be  caught  and 
arrested.  Miss  Robson,  understanding  his  shame,  tries  to 
comfort  him,  but  Portman,  bis  pride  wounded,  heads  for 
the  river  bent  on  committing  suicide.  Meanwhile  Sheila 
returns  home  from  a  reconciliation  with  Friend  and  finds 
her  mother  in  a  state  of  anxiety.  She  rushes  out  after  her 
father,  overtakes  him  at  the  river  bank,  and  convinces  him 
that  he  must  face  life  with  the  same  courage  that  he  faced 
death  in  the  last  war.  On  the  following  day,  Portman  proudly 
joins  his  family  in  welcoming  Mrs.  Roosevelt  to  Denley. 

John  Davenport,  Lesley  Storm  and  Wolfgang  Wilhelm 
wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  play  by  Mr.  Storm,  Victor 
Hanbury  produced  it,  and  Lance  Comfort  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  3,  1946  No.  31 


FORTHCOMING  LEGAL  ANALYSIS  OF 
THE  ANTI-TRUST  DECISION 

Beginning  with  the  issue  of  April  18,  and  ending  with 
that  of  June  27,  1936,  there  appeared  in  Harrison's 
Reports  a  series  of  articles  entitled,  "Anti-Trust  Litiga- 
tion  in  the  Motion  Picture  Industry";  they  were  written 
by  George  S.  Ryan,  the  famous  attorney  of  Boston. 

In  those  articles,  Mr.  Ryan  discussed  the  different  indus- 
try practices  in  considerable  detail,  and  commented  upon 
substantially  all  the  decisions  in  which  the  legality  of  these 
practices  was  considered.  He  made  clear  predictions  that, 
if  specific  practices,  such  as  admission  price-fixing,  for  ex- 
ample, were  challenged  in  a  competent  court,  they  would 
be  declared  illegal. 

In  the  concluding  article,  Mr.  Ryan  recommended  the 
institution  of  an  action  by  the  Government  and  predicted 
correctly  the  condemnation  of  many  of  these  practices. 

Mr.  Ryan  has  made  a  profound  study  of  the  anti-trust 
laws  and  is  familiar  with  the  practices  prevalent  in  the  motion 
picture  industry  as  thoroughly  as,  I  believe,  any  other 
lawyer  in  the  business.  He  has  conducted  successfully  many 
important  anti-trust  suits  in  behalf  of  independent  exhibi- 
tors. In  such  litigation  he  represented  Morse  and  Rothen- 
berg,  of  Boston,  The  Savannah  Theatre  Company,  of 
Savannah,  Ga.,  and  many  other  exhibitors.  In  Maine  he  was 
counsel  for  the  independent  exhibitors  who  had  brought 
an  action  against  a  competing  circuit,  resulting  in  findings 
of  a  Special  Master,  summarized  in  the  articles  entitled 
"Amazing  Facts  and  Findings,"  published  in  the  issues  of 
Harrison's  Reports  of  November  20  and  27  and  Decem- 
ber 4,  1943. 

It  was  difficult  for  me  to  induce  Mr.  Ryan  to  write  those 
articles,  and  he  consented  to  do  so  only  because  of  our 
friendship,  and  because  of  the  good  that  such  articles 
would  do. 

Since  the  rendering  of  the  decision  of  the  Court  in  the 
New  York  equity  case,  I  have  been  able  to  prevail  on  him 
to  make  another  contribution  to  the  industry  by  analyzing 
and  commenting  upon  the  decision. 

In  the  course  of  the  articles,  the  first  of  which  will  appear 
in  next  week's  issue,  Mr.  Ryan  will,  not  only  point  out 
the  highlights  of  the  opinion  as  they  affect  the  Government 
and  the  industry  in  general,  but  also  explain  in  what 
respects  the  decision  may  concern  independent  exhibitors. 
And,  where  the  occasion  requires,  he  will  comment  upon 
other  recent  decisions  under  the  anti-trust  laws  in  motion 
picture  cases. 

In  the  original  articles  Mr.  Ryan,  after  a  preliminary 
statement  of  the  purpose  and  effect  of  the  Federal  anti-trust 
laws,  and  of  the  history  of  the  industry,  including  the  old 
Motion  Picture  Patents  Company,  the  "Hays  Organiza- 
tion" and  the  Film  Boards  of  Trade,  discussed  litigation  in 
the  industry  under  different  topics. 

In  the  concluding  articles  of  the  series,  Mr.  Ryan,  after 
pointing  out  the  illegality  of  various  industry  practices, 
stated  that,  when  challenged,  these  would  be  declared 
unlawful,  and  he  strongly  recommended  that  the  Govern- 
ment bring  an  all-inclusive  action  for  the  purpose  of  elimi- 
nating the  objectionable  practices. 


Here  are  a  few  examples  of  Mr.  Ryan's  accurate  predic- 
tions and  comments: 

In  the  issues  of  April  25  and  May  2,  1936,  in  connection 
with  admission  prices,  he  pointed  out  that  "Price-fixing  is 
one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  monopoly";  and  that  the  Federal 
Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  in  New  York  had  stated  that  an 
agreement  in  a  sale  or  lease,  either  actual  or  implied,  as 
to  the  maintenance  of  resale  prices,  was  unlawful. 

After  commenting  on  various  decisions  and  stating  his 
own  view  that  the  fixing  of  minimum  admission  prices  was 
illegal,  he  concluded: 

".  .  .  Whether  a  distributor  who  merely  licenses  the 
exhibition  of  films  may,  by  agreement  with  the  exhibitor 
alone,  prescribe  the  minimum  admission  price,  is  still  open 
to  some  question.  If,  however,  there  is  a  combination  of 
distributors,  the  concerted  action  manifestly  constitutes  a 
conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade." 

In  the  issue  of  May  9,  1936,  in  speaking  of  block-booking, 
he  declared  that  the  system  was  "illegal  if  it  results  in 
monopoly  or  suppression  of  competition,  or  if  it  is  itself 
the  result  of  an  agreement  between  competitors,"  and  de- 
clared that  "such  is  the  view  of  the  distributors  themselves." 
He  also  said: 

"The  full  story,  however,  has  never  been  told:  Block- 
booking  is  merely  a  surface  excrescence  of  a  malignant 
growth  that  cannot  be  cured  by  the  application  of  an 
external  salve — by  giving  an  exhibitor  a  theoretical  right 
to  reject  a  few  films  of  a  full  line,  or  to  receive  indefinite 
information  of  the  themes  of  prospective  photoplays.  The 
evil  lies  deeper;  and,  as  will  be  hereinafter  explained,  it 
can  be  eradicated  only  by  a  major  surgical  operation." 

At  the  end  of  the  articles,  after  indicating  that  relief 
from  the  criticized  practices  might  conceivably  come  from 
Congress,  State  Legislatures,  by  action  of  the  independent 
exhibitors  themselves,  he  concluded  that,  since  the  problem 
was  "one  that  intimately  concerns  the  federal  government," 
action  should  be  taken  by  the  Department  of  Justice.  Here 
is  the  conclusion  of  that  series  of  articles: 

"The  great  economic  evil  now  afflicting  the  industry  is 
the  control  of  all  the  essential  elements  of  production,  dis- 
tribution and  exhibition  by  a  group  of  five  large  corpora- 
tions and  three  smaller  companies,  which  are  united  in  a 
formidable  trade  association.  Control  of  production  and 
distribution,  as  already  pointed  out,  is  enough  to  ruin  any 
competing  exhibitor.  Control  of  exhibition  is  sufficient  to 
destroy  any  independent  producer  or  distributor. 

"In  view  of  the  fear  and  unrest  prevalent  in  the  industry, 
it  would  seem  as  if  the  time  had  now  come  for  a  definite 
and  conclusive  test  of  all  challenged  practices,  and  of  the 
legality  of  the  combination  known  as  the  Hays  Organiza- 
tion. If  there  exists  practices  that  are  unlawful  because  of 
agreements  or  united  efforts  of  distributors;  if  the  major 
companies  are  monopolizing  interstate  commerce  in  motion 
picture  films;  if,  as  sometimes  alleged,  the  Hays  Organiza- 
tion is  in  itself  a  combination  in  restraint  of  trade — if  these 
allegations  can  be  established,  then  th\p  evils  should  be 
eradicated.  But,  if,  on  the  other  hand,  no  wrong  is  being 
done,  then  the  distributors  should  be  vindicated. 

(Continued  on  lost  page) 


122 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  3,  1946 


"Slightly  Scandalous"  with  Fred  Brady, 
Sheila  Ryan  and  Paula  Drew 

(Universal,  August  2;  time,  62  min.) 

Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  comedy 
with  music.  The  story,  which  is  a  hodge-podge  of 
farcical  situations  revolving  around  identical  twins 
(both  played  by  Fred  Brady),  is  silly,  and  for  the 
most  part  barely  holds  one's  interest.  At  best,  it  may 
get  by  as  the  second  half  of  a  program  where  a  strong 
first  feature  is  used.  The  interjection  of  a  few  songs 
and  specialty  numbers  help  matters  to  a  degree,  but 
they  are  of  slight  importance  to  the  picture  as  a  whole. 
In  its  favor  is  the  fairly  swift  pace: — 

Fred  Brady,  an  ambitious  band  leader,  seeks  to 
interest  Walter  Catlett,  a  fountain  pen  manufacturer, 
to  advertise  his  product  by  sponsoring  a  television 
show.  Catlett  has  misgivings  about  the  scheme,  but 
Sheila  Ryan,  his  daughter,  persuades  him  to  attend 
an  audition.  To  finance  the  production,  Brady  tricks 
his  straight-laced  twin  brother  (also  played  by  Brady) 
into  loaning  him  some  money.  Complications  arise 
when  Isabelita,  a  Latin  entertainer,  with  whom  Brady 
had  been  friendly  and  to  whom  he  had  promised  the 
lead  in  the  show,  arrives  at  the  studio  and  demands 
that  he  keep  his  promise.  Lest  Isabella's  presence  lead 
Paula  Drew,  his  fiance  and  singing  star,  to  suspect  the 
truth,  Brady  drafts  his  shy  twin  brother  to  imper- 
sonate him  and  to  be  affectionate  to  Paula.  The  twin, 
to  protect  his  investment,  agrees.  Added  to  Brady's 
troubles  with  Isabelita  was  the  fact  that  he  had  to  be 
attentive  to  Sheila  in  order  to  get  her  father's  account. 
Meanwhile  Paula,  unaware  that  she  was  romancing 
with  the  twin  brother,  tries  to  further  a  marriage 
between  Brady  and  Sheila.  In  the  course  of  events, 
Isabelita  discovers  Brady's  duplicity  and  informs  the 
girls  that  they  were  being  hoodwinked.  Sheila,  in 
retaliation,  tricks  Brady  into  believing  that  he  had 
married  her,  only  to  find  her  scheme  backfiring  when 
her  family  arranges  a  quick  formal  wedding  and  the 
twin  brother,  happening  on  the  scene,  is  made  to  stand 
at  the  altar  with  her.  Brady  and  Paula  arrive  in  time 
to  stop  the  wedding,  and  it  all  ends  with  Paula  con- 
senting to  marry  the  twin  brother,  while  Sheila  agrees 
to  take  Brady  for  better  or  worse.  As  both  couples 
embrace,  a  third  brother  (also  played  by  Brady)  pre- 
sents himself  to  offer  congratulations. 

Erna  Lazarus  and  David  Manners  wrote  the  origi- 
nal screen  play,  Stanley  Rubin  produced  it,  and  Will 
Jason  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Jack  Marshall 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Genius  at  Work"  with  Wally  Brown 
and  Alan  Carney 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  61  min.) 
A  mediocre  program  comedy-melodrama.  As  radio 
sleuths  on  the  trail  of  a  sadistic  murderer,  Wally 
Brown  and  Alan  Carney  resort  to  trite  slapstick  tricks 
to  provoke  laughs,  such  as  getting  themselves  caught 
in  a  torture  machine  and  becoming  embroiled  in  a 
chase  on  the  ledge  of  a  high  building  in  the  "Safety 
Last"  manner.  Their  antics  may  amuse  children  but 
adults  will  probably  be  bored  by  the  forced  comedy 
and  by  the  ridiculousness  of  the  story.  The  dialogue 
assigned  to  the  two  comedians  is  painfully  inept;  no 
matter  how  hard  they  try  to  be  funny  it  is  a  hopeless 


task.  The  presence  of  Bcla  Lugosi  and  the  late  Lionel 
Atwill  as  the  sinister  villains  can  be  made  a  subject 
of  exploitation  in  trying  to  put  this  picture  across:- — 

Atwill,  a  sadistic  murderer  who  killed  for  pleasure, 
is  aided  in  his  nefarious  schemes  by  Bela  Lugosi,  his 
butler.  To  add  suspense  to  his  crimes,  Atwill,  posing 
as  an  amateur  detective,  gives  clues  to  the  "Crime-of- 
the-Wcck"  radio  program,  which  was  written  by 
Anne  Jeffreys  and  enacted  by  Carney  and  Brown. 
When  Anne's  predictions  on  the  program  hit  too 
close  to  the  truth,  Atwill  resorts  to  numerous  tricks 
to  scare  Anne  and  the  boys  into  giving  up  their  radio 
show;  he  feared  that  the  predictions  might  lead  to 
his  unmasking.  Carney  and  Brown  favor  quitting,  but 
Anne  insists  that  they  carry  on  and  catch  the  murderer 
themselves.  She  finds  reason  to  suspect  that  Atwill 
was  the  mysterious  killer  but  is  unable  to  obtain  evi- 
dence against  him.  Aware  that  Anne  and  the  boys 
were  closing  in  on  him,  Atwill  decides  to  kill  them 
during  their  next  broadcast.  He  attempts  to  commit 
the  murders  by  shooting  poisoned  darts  at  them 
through  an  air-conditioning  vent,  but  kills  the  an- 
nouncer instead.  Atwill  escapes,  but  the  police  and 
Anne,  despite  their  lack  of  evidence,  become  convinced 
of  his  guilt.  To  trap  Atwill,  Carney  and  Brown  an- 
nounce that  they  would  divulge  the  murderer's  iden- 
tity on  their  next  broadcast.  On  the  night  of  the 
broadcast,  Atwill  and  Lugosi  return  to  the  air-condi- 
tioning room  to  stop  the  boys  from  revealing  their 
secret.  Their  efforts  arc  foiled  and,  after  a  chase  on 
the  ledge  of  a  high  building,  both  are  shot  by  the 
police  and  topple  to  the  street  to  their  deaths.  Carney 
and  Brown  are  acclaimed  as  heroes  for  their  part  in 
ridding  the  community  of  the  criminals. 

Robert  E.  Kent  and  Monte  Brice  wrote  the  original 
screen  play,  Herman  Schlom  produced  it,  and  Leslie 
Goodwins  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Marc  Cramer, 
Ralph  Dunn  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Blonde  for  a  Day"  with  Hugh  Beaumont 
and  Kathryn  Adams 

(PRC,  Aug.  29;  time,  67  min.) 
Although  not  exceptional,  this  third  in  the  "Michael 
Shayne"  series  of  murder-mystery  melodramas  is  an 
improvement  over  the  other  two  pictures;  it  should  get 
by  with  undiscriminating  audiences  as  a  supporting 
feature.  The  story  follows  the  pattern  of  the  other 
pictures,  with  Hugh  Beaumont,  as  the  private  detec- 
tive, at  odds  with  the  police  as  he  goes  about  the 
business  of  solving  the  crime.  It  holds  one's  interest 
to  a  fair  degree  since  several  people  are  under 
suspicion  and  it  is  not  until  the  finish  that  the  identity 
of  the  murderess  is  established.  The  comedy  is  pass- 
able:— 

When  his  friend,  Paul  Bryar,  is  shot  and  wounded 
by  hoodlums  after  writing  a  series  of  articles  condemn- 
ing Cy  Kendall,  chief  of  detectives,  for  his  failure  to 
solve  several  murders  believed  to  have  been  com- 
mitted by  a  gambling  syndicate,  Hugh  Beaumont 
starts  an  investigation  of  his  own.  He  learns  that 
Frank  Ferguson,  Bryar 's  managing  editor,  had  dis- 
approved of  the  articles.  Following  up  a  clue,  Beau- 
mont discovers  the  murder  of  a  young  woman,  who 
had  offered  to  give  Bryar  vital  information  concerning 
the  crimes.  Lest  he  be  accused  of  the  crime  by  Ken- 
dall, who  resented  his  investigation,  Beaumont  per- 


August  3,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


123 


suades  Marjorie  Hoshelle,  the  murdered  woman's 
next-door  neighbor,  to  cover  up  his  movements. 
Through  Marjorie,  Beaumont  comes  across  a  fresh 
set  of  clues  that  lead  him  to  suspect  Richard  Fraser, 
who  claimed  to  be  a  friend  of  Marjorie's  but  who  was 
actually  her  husband.  Beaumont's  investigation  de' 
velops  the  fact  that  Ferguson,  the  managing  editor, 
had  suspected  his  wife  (Sonia  Sorel)  of  having  had  an 
affair  with  Bryar  and  had  found  her  in  Bryar's  apart- 
ment at  the  time  the  reporter  had  been  shot.  He  had 
smuggled  her  out  of  the  apartment  but,  in  their  haste, 
she  had  dropped  a  gun  out  of  her  bag.  Fraser  had 
found  the  gun  and  had  been  using  it  to  blackmail 
Ferguson.  When  ballistics  experts  identify  the  gun 
as  the  murder  weapon,  Kendall  accuses  Sonia  of  the 
crimes.  But  Sonia  is  cleared  when  Beaumont,  aided 
by  Kathryn  Adams,  his  fiance  and  secretary,  proves 
that  Marjorie,  by  substituting  gun  barrels,  had  com- 
mitted all  the  murders,  subsequently  engaging  in 
blackmail,  with  Fraser  as  her  accomplice. 

Fred  Hyton  wrote  the  screen  play  based  upon  a 
story  by  Prett  Halliday.  Sigmund  Neufeld  produced 
it,  and  Sam  Newfield  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally.  . 


"Traffic  in  Crime"  with  Kane  Richmond 
and  Adele  Mara 

(Republic,  June  28;  time,  56  min.) 

A  formula  program  melodrama,  suitable  for  small 
towns  and  for  second  and  third  grade  theatres  in  the 
neighborhoods  of  big  cities.  Although  it  deals  with 
racketeers  who  control  the  police  department  in  a 
town  through  crooked  politics,  the  theme  is  not  de- 
moralizing since  the  racketeers  are  not  glorified — they 
are,  instead,  shown  as  deceitful  and  untrustworthy. 
It  has  a  fair  share  of  suspense  and  excitement  brought 
about  by  the  constant  danger  to  the  hero,  a  private 
investigator,  hired  to  clean  up  the  crime  elements  in 
the  town.  There  is  some  romantic  interest,  but  it  is 
unimportant : — 

Hired  secretly  by  Police  Chief  Arthur  Loft  to  inves- 
tigate and  expose  racketeers  who  were  crippling  his 
efforts  at  law  enforcement,  Kane  Richmond,  accom- 
panied by  Wade  Crosby,  his  pal,  comes  into  town 
posing  as  a  tramp.  Both  men  become  involved  in  a 
barroom  brawl  and  are  arrested  by  Roy  Barcroft,  a 
crooked  detective,  who  takes  away  their  money  and 
runs  them  out  of  town.  Richmond  returns  to  town, 
visits  Wilton  Graff,  head  of  the  racketeers,  and  tricks 
him  into  employing  him  as  an  aide.  Adele  Mara, 
Graff's  wife,  becomes  infatuated  with  Richmond,  and 
he  uses  her  affection  to  further  his  game  with  Graff. 
When  Graff  notices  that  there  was  a  resemblance 
between  Richmond  and  himself,  he  arranges  for 
Richmond  to  impersonate  him  one  evening  as  part 
of  a  scheme  to  doublecross  Dick  Curtis,  a  rival 
racketeer.  Using  this  exploit  as  a  wedge,  Richmond 
shrewdly  sets  about  to  create  open  strife  between 
Graff  and  Curtis,  at  the  same  time  causing  suspicion 
between  Graff  and  Barcroft,  his  key  man  in  the  police 
department.  Meanwhile  Anne  Nagel,  daughter  of  the 
town's  newspaper  publisher,  whom  Graff  dominated 
by  force,  joins  Richmond  in  his  plan  to  expose  the 
racketeers.  Richmond's  clever  trickery  causes  the 
racketeers  to  scheme  against  one  another  and,  after 
a  series  of  incidents,  in  which  his  pal  is  murdered 


and  in  which  Richmond  himself  almost  loses  his  life, 
the  crooks,  including  Adele,  become  victims  of  their 
own  schemes  as  they  wipe  each  other  out  in  a  gun 
battle.  The  rackets  destroyed,  Anne  and  Richmond 
decide  to  marry. 

David  Lang  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story 
by  Leslie  Turner  White,  Donald  H.  Brown  produced 
it,  and  Les  Selander  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Down  Missouri  Way"  with  Martha 
O'Driscoll,  William  Wright  and 
John  Carradine 

(PRC,  August  15;  time,  73  min.) 

From  the  musical  point  of  view,  "Down  Missouri 
Way"  is  a  very  satisfying  program  feature.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  music  is  by  far  better  than  that 
found  in  most  program  musicals  produced  by  the 
larger  companies.  Unfortunately,  however,  neither 
the  story  nor  its  treatment  match  the  quality  of  the 
music;  not  only  is  the  farcical  plot  thin  and  familiar, 
but  it  moves  along  at  a  slow  pace,  a  times  tiring  the 
spectator.  Moreover,  the  comedy  is  forced.  But  since 
the  story  serves  well  enough  as  a  means  of  introducing 
the  melodious  songs,  which  are  the  main  attraction, 
audiences  who  are  not  too  fussy  about  story  values 
should  find  the  picture  to  their  liking: — 

Martha  O'Driscoll,  professor  at  a  college  of  agri- 
culture, becomes  dismayed  when  her  trained  mule 
fails  to  pass  an  examination  before  the  faculty  mem- 
bers. She  decides  that  the  mule  needed  a  change  of 
scene  and  orders  Eddie  Dean,  its  keeper,  to  take  the 
animal  to  her  Missouri  farm.  Meanwhile,  at  the  farm, 
Mabel  Todd,  Dean's  sweetheart,  had  given  permission 
to  a  motion  picture  company  to  shoot  location  scenes 
on  the  property.  Producer  William  Wright,  who  was 
having  his  trouble  with  Renee  Godfrey,  his  tempera- 
mental star,  because  of  her  constant  quarreling  with 
John  Carradine,  the  equally  temperamental  director, 
finds  his  headaches  increased  when  Martha  arrives  and 
orders  him  off  the  property.  Another  of  Wright's 
problems  was  to  find  a  mule  capable  of  acting  and  of 
taking  orders.  Martha,  finding  herself  attracted  to 
Wright,  allows  him  to  remain  and  even  agrees  to  let 
the  mule  take  part  in  the  picture  providing  the  animal 
receives  no  publicity.  Renee,  jealous  over  the  romance 
between  Martha  and  Wright,  does  her  best  to  sab- 
otage the  shooting  schedule.  Through  an  inadvertent 
error,  the  mule  receives  nation-wide  publicity,  and 
Renee  uses  the  incident  to  convince  Martha  that 
Wright  had  tricked  her  and  that  his  love  for  her  was 
false.  Meanwhile  the  faculty  members,  shocked  by 
the  publicity,  come  to  the  farm  to  remove  the  mule 
and  to  take  disciplinary  action  against  Martha. 
Wright,  aided  by  a  scantily-clad  Renee,  manages  to 
obtain  an  incriminating  snapshot  of  the  faculty  and 
uses  it  to  compel  them  to  let  the  mule  finish  the  pic- 
ture. The  animal's  performance  is  so  good  that  the 
faculty  members  commend  Martha  on  the  success  of 
her  training.  It  all  ends  with  a  reconciliation  between 
Martha  and  Wright. 

Sam  Neuman  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  and 
Josef  Berne  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Roscoe  Ates,  Chester  Clute,  The  Tailor  Maids 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


124 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  3,  1946 


"The  Department  of  Justice  has  the  power  and  the 
facilities  to  make  a  final  test  of  all  these  disputed  charges. 
It  has  an  able  and  courageous  Attorney-General,  with 
efficient  and  experienced  assistants.  Instead  of  bringing 
separate  suits  involving  specific  practices  in  widely  separated 
localities,  it  may,  in  one  proceeding,  obtain  an  adjudication 
of  all  the  challenged  practices.  In  that  suit  it  may  join 
the  Hays  Organization  and  the  major  producers  and  their 
affiliates,  just  as  it  has  joined  and  successfully  challenged 
other  aggregations  of  wealth  and  power  which  have  domi- 
nated other  industries. 

"A  proceeding  of  that  nature  would  be  the  acid  test  of 
the  anti-trust  laws.  The  undertaking  may  be  difficult.  It 
may  consume  months  of  trial.  But  at  the  end,  whatever 
the  result,  producers,  distributors  and  exhibitors  alike  would 
know  what  might  be  done  and  what  should  be  avoided. 
Business  could  proceed  along  a  normal  course,  without  agi- 
tation or  suspicion.  Order  would  reign  in  a  chaotic  indus- 
try." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  distributors  did  not  heed 
Mr.  Ryan's  warning  in  those  articles;  much  of  the  present 
confusion  could  have  been  averted. 

In  presenting  Mr.  Ryan's  analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's 
decision,  Harrison's  Reports  again  feels  that  it  is  render- 
ing the  industry  a  great  service. 


COOL  REASONING 

In  a  statement  that  accompanied  his  23-page  analysis  of 
the  New  York  anti-trust  decision,  Abram  F.  Myers,  general 
counsel  of  Allied  States  Association,  has  this  to  say: 

"Having  recovered  from  the  first  stunning  effects  of  the 
District  Court's  decision,  the  trade,  or  certain  segments  of 
it,  now  appear  to  be  entering  upon  the  silly  season.  We  read 
in  the  trade  papers  that  certain  groups  are  adopting  resolu- 
tions of  protest  addressed  to  the  Court,  that  others  propose 
a  nation-wide  poll  to  find  out  if  the  exhibitors  favor  either 
auction-selling  or  divestiture,  while  still  others  advance  the 
idea  that  the  entire  proceeding  should  be  dropped  so  that 
the  trade  can  revert  to  the  status  quo  ante  lawsuit. 

"We  can  dismiss  at  once  the  naive  notion  that  the  Court, 
having  made  findings  of  widespread  law  violation  and  having 
with  great  deliberation  provided  what  it  conceives  to  be  an 
appropriate  remedy,  can  now  be  persuaded  to  change  its 
views  by  resolutions  or  plebiscites.  Representations  to  the 
Court  can  be  made  only  by  way  of  brief  or  oral  argument 
and  by  special  permission  of  the  Court.  At  the  time  of  the 
trial  the  Court  held  firmly  to  the  position  that  the  public 
interest  was  adequately  represented  by  the  Government 
and  that  it  did  not  care  to  hear  from  persons  who  were  not 
parties  to  the  record. 

"Whether  or  not  the  Court  will  grant  leave  to  counsel 
for  the  several  exhibitor  groups  to  appear  as  'friends  of  the 
court'  remains  to  be  seen.  If  it  does,  it  is  safe  to  predict 
that  the  Court  will  not  be  without  'friends.' 

"Equally  naive  and  futile  is  the  notion  that  the  pro- 
ceeding can  now  be  abandoned.  Thus  far  little  attention 
has  been  given  in  the  discussions  to  the  Court's  extraordi- 
nary findings  of  law  violation.  These  are  set  forth  in  the 
Analysis  of  Allied's  General  Counsel  which  is  now  released. 
How  could  the  Attorney  General,  with  due  regard  to  the 
public  interest,  abandon  without  entry  of  an  effective  decree 
a  case  in  which  the  Court  has  found  that  the  defendants' 
entire  method  of  doing  business  is  illegal? 

"Anyone  with  a  trace  of  realism  must  know  that  the 
question  boils  down  to  a  choice  of  remedies:  It  is  either 
auction-selling,  as  prescribed  by  the  District  Court,  or  total 
divestiture  as  the  Supreme  Court  doubtless  will  order  once 
the  case  comes  before  it.  For  a  Court  of  its  own  motion  to 
prescribe  a  drastic  and  revolutionary  method  of  doing  busi- 
ness, which  affects  the  innocent  bystanders  even  more  than 
the  defendants,  is  unprecedented  and  should  be  reversed. 
The  traditional  and  approved  remedies  fo,r  violations  of 
the  kind  found  by  the  Court  are  divestiture  and  dissolution, 
and  these  should  be  substituted  for  auction-selling  as  soon 
as  possible. 


"In  the  meantime,  organizations  and  leaders  whose  ex- 
perience and  ideas  are  needed  in  working  out  an  interim 
solution  which  will  bear  on  the  exhibitors  as  lightly  as 
possible,  should  resist  the  temptation  to  capitalize  on  the 
situation  by  advancing  programs  calculated  to  appeal  to 
the  emotions  and  not  to  the  brains  of  the  exhibitors  and 
settle  down  to  some  good  hard  thinking.  The  distributors 
are  not  wasting  time  on  futile  gestures  but  are  busy  working 
out  solutions  to  their  own  advantage. 

"Why  not  take  the  opinion  and  the  published  version  of 
the  Government's  proposals  and  figure  out  ways  and  means 
for  carrying  out  the  substance  of  the  Court'6  plan  with 
the  least  possible  burden  to  the  exhibitors  and  then  submit 
your  ideas  to  the  Department  of  Justice  and  to  the  dis- 
tributors— the  parties  to  the  record — where  they  will  do 
the  most  good?  The  Court's  plan  came  as  a  surprise  to 
everyone  and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  distribu- 
tors like  it  any  more  than  the  exhibitors,  although  the  Big 
Five  might  prefer  it  to  the  alternative  remedy  of  divorce- 
ment. But  all  interests,  the  Government,  the  distributors 
and  the  exhibitors  want  the  plan  to  be  as  workable  as 
possible  for  such  time  as  it  may  be  in  effect,  and  should 
cooperate  to  that  end. 

"Allied's  Executive  Committee,  while  committed  to 
divorcement  and  opposed  to  auction-selling,  is  working 
along  these  lines.  They  commend  this  course  to  all  who 
have  the  exhibitors'  interests  at  heart  as  the  most  practical 
and  effective  way  of  serving  their  members.  Allied's  efforts 
in  this  direction  will  continue  both  within  the  organization 
and  in  cooperation  with  others  and  will  reach  a  climax  in 
Boston  on  September  16,  17  and  18,  at  the  first  national 
convention  since  the  war,  at  which  time  the  assembled 
delegates  from  all  sections  will  finally  fashion  a  policy  which, 
we  arc  confident,  will  have  the  support  of  a  vast  majority 
of  the  organized  independent  exhibitors  of  the  United 
States." 

In  his  searching  point-by-point  analysis  of  the  decision, 
Mr.  Myers  looks  upon  competitive  bidding  for  films  as  the 
court's  substitute  for  theatre  divorcement,  and  he  likens  it 
to  "treating  a  cancer  with  headache  pills." 

"The  greatest  evil  in  the  industry  today,"  continues  Mr. 
Myers,  "is  the  artificially-created  film  shortage.  Putting 
films  on  the  auction  block  will  not  induce  the  defendants 
to  increase  the  number  of  their  releases  or  to  open  their 
retained  first -run  theatres  to  the  products  of  new  producers 
and  new  distributors  who  might  wish  to  enter  into  compe- 
tion  with  them. 

"The  Court's  major  fallacy  is  in  assuming  a  product 
shortage  to  be  the  normal  state  of  the  business — that  exhibi- 
tors must  always  compete  with  one  another  for  the  available 
pictures.  The  normal  state  of  any  healthy  industry  is  that  the 
supply  is  sufficient  to  the  demand.  The  Sherman  Act  fosters 
competition  among  producers  and  sellers  as  well  as  among 
buyers.  .  .  .  But  so  long  as  the  defendants  together  control 
a  vast  majority  of  the  metropolitan  first-run  theatres,  they 
will  be  able  by  extended  playing  time  and  other  devices 
to  bleed  their  pictures  white  and  at  the  same  time  per- 
petuate the  existing  shortage;  and  new  producers  and  dis- 
tributors, with  no  assurance  of  fair  access  to  the  all-important 
first-run  revenue,  will  have  no  incentive  to  enter  the  field." 

Among  the  highlights  of  the  analysis  are  Mr.  Myers' 
contentions  that:  (1)  partial  divorcement,  as  ordered  by 
the  court,  opens  the  way  for  the  defendants  to  increase 
their  theatre  holdings  and  control  by  buying  out  their 
partners;  (2)  the  court's  finding  and  adjudications  with 
reference  to  trade  practices  afford  an  excellent  basis  for  a 
plea  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  total  divestiture;  (3)  there 
is  not  a  legal  exhibition  contract  in  force  today,  because 
they  involve  block-booking,  price-fixing,  concertedly  estab- 
lished clearances  and  runs  and,  in  some  cases,  unreasonable 
clearance;  and  that  (4)  the  defendants  now  face  treble 
damage  suits  from  exhibitors  who  have  suffered  from  their 
illegal  practices.  Mr.  Myers  adds  that  "this  is  all  the  more 
serious  because  the  Bigelow  [Jackson  Park]  decision  has 
opened  new  ways  for  proving  damages  which  formerly  were 
not  available." 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  10,  1946  No.  32 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  1 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


On  June  11,  1946,  a  decision  of  tremendous  significance 
to  everyone  engaged  in  the  motion  picture  industry  was 
filed  by  the  three-judge  Expediting  Court  sitting  in  the 
United  States  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York  in  a  civil  action  entitled  Untted  States  v.  Para- 
mount Pictures,  Inc.,  et  al.  The  suit  was  brought  by  the 
Government  against  the  prinicipal  producing,  distributing 
and  exhibiting  corporations.  The  importance  of  the  decision 
lies  not  only  in  the  relief  granted  at  the  request  of  the 
Government,  but  also  in  the  explicit  condemnation  of 
many  restraints  of  trade  and  monopolistic  practices,  by 
which,  over  a  period  of  years,  independent  exhibitors,  dis- 
tributors and  producers  have  been  oppressed  and  exploited. 

In  this  paper  an  effort  will  be  made  to  indicate  the  most 
important  phases  of  the  opinion,  as  they  affect  the  business 
practices  of  independent  exhibitors  and  distributors. 

At  times  a  critical  discussion  of  the  issues  involved  may 
be  unavoidable.  At  the  outset,  however,  it  should  be  sug- 
gested that  if  any  practice  is  illegal,  according  to  the  decision 
of  the  Statutory  Court,  and  if  an  independent  has  been 
injured  in  his  business  or  property  by  the  application  of 
that  practice,  he  has  rights  under  the  anti-trust  laws  to 
relief  by  injunction. 

In  some  detail  also,  there  will  be  a  discussion  of  every  act 
or  agreement  in  restraint  of  trade,  and  of  every  monopolistic 
practice  to  the  detriment  of  independent  exhibitors,  con- 
demned by  the  decision  of  the  Statutory  Court.  These  acts 
and  practices  will  be  considered  not  only  in  the  light  of  the 
opinion  of  the  New  York  Court  and  of  the  decisions  men- 
tioned in  the  earlier  articles  by  the  writer  in  this  magazine, 
but  also  in  view  of  the  subsequent  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  Interstate  Circuit  Case,1  the  Crescent  Case' 
and  the  ]ac\son  Par\  Case,3  and  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals  for  the  Third  Circuit  in  the  Goldman  Case*  and  of 
the  United  States  District  Court  for  the  Western  District  of 
New  York  in  the  Schine  Case.6 

To  give  to  the  readers  of  Harrison's  Reports  all  the 
information  they  may  need  in  order  to  interpret  the  decision 
properly,  some  comment  will  be  made  upon  the  law  of 
conspiracy  and  monopoly,  as  applied  to  the  motion  picture 
industry,  upon  the  relief  granted  at  the  request  of  the 
Government  and  upon  the  effect  of  the  decision  in  the  future 
practices  of  independents. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  in  the  industry  that 
the  suit  was  originally  brought  by  the  United  States  in  July, 
1938,  by  a  complaint  in  equity  against  the  five  leading  com- 
panies in  the  industry — (Paramount,  Loew's,  Twentieth 
Century-Fox,  Warner  and  RKO) — and  the  three  so-called 
minor  distributors — (United  Artists,  Universal  and  Colum- 
bia)— and  their  subsidiary  and  affiliated  corporations.  The 
issues  were  strenuously  contested.  Many  interlocutory  steps 
were  taken  by  the  parties  for  the  discovery  of  facts  desired 
as  evidence,  in  the  nature  of  bills  of  particulars,  inter- 
rogatories and  despositions. 

In  1941  the  suit  came  on  for  trial  before  District  Judge 
Goddard.  After  opening  statements  by  representatives  of 
the  Government,  negotiations  were  instituted  for  settlement, 


which,  in  October,  1941,  resulted  in  the  entry  of  a  Consent 
Decree. 

The  obvious  purpose  of  the  decree  was  to  eliminate  prac- 
tices that  for  many  years  had  been  the  subject  of  controversy 
and  complaint.  It  was  binding  upon  the  Government  and 
the  five  major  companies  (the  Big  Five,  so-called)  their 
officers  and  agents,  and  their  subsidiary  and  affiliated  cor- 
porations, but  not  upon  the  non-consenting  defendants, 
United  Artists,  Universal  and  Columbia  (the  Little  Three.) 

According  to  its  terms  it  was  to  be  effective  for  a  trial 
period  of  three  years.  But  the  right  was  expressly  reserved 
for  "any  party  to  this  decree  to  apply  to  the  Court  at  any 
time  more  than  three  years  after  the  entry  of  the  decree  for 
any  modification  thereof." 

Having  become  satisfied  that  the  Consent  Decree  did 
not  give  the  relief  expected,  the  Government  filed  a  new 
petition. 

Shortly  thereafter  the  Attorney  General  made  an  affidavit 
under  the  Expediting  Act,  and,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
a  three-judge  Statutory  Court,  consisting  of  Circuit  Judge 
Augustus  N.  Hand,  and  District  Judges  Goddard  and 
Bright,  was  constituted  to  try  the  case. 

The  Court  declared  that  the  evidence  established  infrac- 
tions of  the  Sherman  Act  in  connection  with  the  following 
agreements  and  practices: 

(1)  Admission  price  fixing. 

(2)  Run  and  clearance. 

(3)  Formula  deals,  master  contracts  and  franchises. 

(4)  Discriminatory  license  provisions. 

(5)  Block-booking. 

(6)  Blind  Selling. 

(7)  "Pooling"  of  theatres. 

(8)  Operating,  buying  and  booking  agencies. 

(9)  Discrimination  against  independent  exhibitors. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  opinion  is  an  order  for  a  decree, 
which  provides  for  an  injunction  and  other  relief  against 
the  condemned  practices,  relating  solely  to  distribution  and 
exhibition,  and  for  the  dismissal  of  the  suit  against  the 
defendants  for  their  acts  as  producers. 

An  important  provision  inaugurates  a  system  for  the 
bidding  on  pictures,  for  both  run  and  clearance,  by  compet- 
ing theatres,  the  license  to  be  granted  to  the  highest  respon- 
sible bidder  having  an  adequate  theatre. 

But  the  Court,  rejecting  the  chief  contention  of  the 
Government,  refused  its  prayer  for  the  divestiture  of 
theatres  by  the  defendants,  except  where  two  defendants 
had  a  joint  interest  in  a  "pooled"  theatre,  and  where  their 
interests  were  pooled  with  houses  of  other  exhibitors.  In 
such  cases,  where  a  defendant  owned  an  interest  of  more 
than  five  per  cent  and  less  than  ninety-five  per  cent,  it  was 
ordered  either  to  divest  itself  of  its  interest  or  to  acquire  the 
outstanding  interest  in  the  theatre.  The  decision  also  pro- 
hibited further  acquisition  of  theatres,  unless  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  complete  control  of  jointly-held  theatres, 
or  with  the  permission  of  the  Court.  It  made  provision  for 
arbitration  of  disputes  as  to  bids,  clearances,  runs  and  other 
subjects  appropriate  for  arbitration. 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


126 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  10,  1946 


"Caesar  and  Cleopatra"  with  Vivien  Leigh 
and  Claude  Rains 

(United  Artists,  Aug.  16;  time.  126  min.) 

From  a  production  point  of  view,  this  screen  version  of 
George  Bernard  Shaw's  famous  play  is  one  of  the  most 
lavish  spectacles  ever  filmed.  Photographed  in  Technicolor, 
the  costumes  of  ancient  Egypt  are  magnificent  and  the 
settings  breathtaking.  As  entertainment,  the  picture  is  best 
suited  for  class  audiences,  who  will  have  a  better  appreci' 
ation  of  the  subtle  Shavian  dialogue,  which  will  undoubt- 
edly go  "over  the  head"  of  the  average  picture-goer.  But, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  seems  more  suited  to  the 
classes,  the  popularity  of  the  leading  players,  coupled  with 
their  good  acting  and  with  the  fact  that  the  production 
is  spectacular  in  the  extreme,  should  put  it  over  also  among 
the  masses,  particularly  in  large  cities.  Its  success  in  small 
towns  will  depend  largely  on  the  type  of  patrons  you 
serve;  the  more  discriminating  they  are  the  better  the 
picture's  chances. 

Briefly,  the  story,  which  takes  place  in  Alexandria,  deals 
with  Caesar's  coming  to  Egypt  in  pursuit  of  his  defeated 
rival,  Pompey,  and  with  his  discovering  that  Cleopatra  was 
a  youthful,  fretful  queen,  kept  off  the  Egyptian  throne  by 
a  court  faction  supporting  her  younger  brother,  Ptolemy. 
Caesar  takes  Cleopatra  in  hand  to  teach  her  how  to  become 
a  ruling  queen  and,  through  power  politics,  deposes  her 
brother  and  places  her  on  the  throne.  Under  Caesar's 
guidance,  Cleopatra  discards  her  fretful  ways  and  learns 
to  rule  with  an  iron  hand.  Meanwhile  Caesar,  in  an  effort 
to  strengthen  his  hold  on  Alexandria,  attempts  to  seize 
the  city's  strategic  points.  His  strategy  is  foiled  by  the 
Egyptian  forces,  and  he,  his  remaining  soldiers,  and  Cleo- 
patra, find  themselves  besieged  in  the  palace,  waiting  for 
a  relief  force  to  come  to  their  aid.  The  seige  is  marked  by 
Cleopatra's  scheming  to  use  Caesar  to  further  her  own 
interests,  only  to  have  him  learn  of  her  treachery  from 
Pothinis,  leader  of  the  Egyptians,  who  was  Caesar's  prisoner. 
Cleopatra,  angered,  has  Pothinis  assasinated,  provoking 
the  enraged  Egyptians  to  attack  the  palace,  but  Caesar's 
reinforcements  arrive  in  time  to  defeat  them.  Victorious, 
Caesar  departs  for  Rome,  leaving  Cleopatra  on  the  throne, 
but  under  the  rule  of  a  Roman  governor. 

Vivien  Leigh,  as  Cleopatra,  gives  an  outstanding  per- 
formance, her  moods  ranging  from  the  innocent  and  petu- 
lant to  the  cunning  and  sadistic.  But  Claude  Rains,  as  the 
affable,  55-year-old  Caesar,  with  an  agreeable  sense  of 
humor,  walks  off  with  the  acting  honors.  The  other  players 
in  the  cast  lend  excellent  support,  but  none  are  known  to 
American  audiences.  The  story  is  lacking  in  human  interest 
values,  offers  little  in  the  way  of  romance,  and  is  short  on 
comedy,  but  it  holds  one's  interest  throughout  and  at  times 
is  quite  amusing. 

Mr.  Shaw  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Gabriel  Pascal 
produced  and  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"G.I.  War  Brides"  with  Anna  Lee 
and  James  Ellison 

(Republic,  Aug.  12;  time,  69  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  thin,  this  program 
comedy-drama  offers  a  pleasant  hour's  entertainment,  for 
it  revolves  around  likeable  characters.  It  is  a  human  interest 
story  about  an  English  girl  who  masquerades  as  a  British 
war  bride  in  order  to  obtain  passage  to  the  United  States 
to  join  her  American  sweetheart.  It  has  a  number  of  touch- 
ing situations,  particularly  the  one  in  which  she  learns  from 
her  sweetheart  that  he  no  longer  loved  her,  a  fact  he  had 
made  known  in  letters  she  had  not  received.  But  her  new- 
found romance  with  the  man  who  befriends  her  and  poses 
as  her  husband  is  charming  and  pleases  one.  Most  of  the 
comedy  is  strained,  but  there  are  a  few  good  laughs  pro- 
voked by  the  presence  of  a  lone  bridegroom  among  several 
hundred  war  brides  sailing  to  the  United  States;  he  had 
married  an  American  WAC: — 

Seeking  to  join  William  Henry,  her  American  sweet- 
heart, Anna  Lee  secures  passage  on  a  ship  bringing  British 


war  brides  to  the  United  States  by  trading  places  with  Carol 
Savage,  who  sought  to  avoid  the  trip  because  she  was  no 
longer  in  love  with  her  husband,  James  Ellison.  Anna's  trip 
from  England  to  Los  Angeles  is  marked  by  a  number  of 
narrow  escapes  in  which  her  identity  is  almost  discovered, 
as  well  as  by  incidents  that  arouse  the  suspicion  of  Robert 
Armstrong,  a  newspaper  reporter  assigned  to  the  ship. 
Upon  reaching  her  destination,  Anna  is  met  by  Ellison,  who, 
despite  his  surprise  to  find  that  another  woman  was  imper- 
sonating his  wife,  cooperates  with  her  lest  her  masquerade 
be  detected  by  army  officials.  Ellison,  after  hearing  her 
explanation,  takes  Anna  home  and  introduces  her  as  his 
wife,  at  the  same  time  arranging  for  her  to  meet  with 
Henry.  Disillusioned  to  learn  that  Henry's  love  for  her  had 
cooled,  Anna  decides  to  give  herself  up  to  the  immigration 
authorities,  who  had  been  put  on  her  trail  by  Armstrong. 
Faced  with  deportation  unless  she  married  an  American 
citizen,  Anna  prepares  to  return  to  England.  But  Ellison, 
learning  of  her  predicament  from  Armstrong,  saves  the 
situation  by  gaining  Anna's  consent  to  marry  him  after 
informing  her  that  his  wife  in  England  was  obtaining  a 
divorce. 

John  K.  Butler  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Armand 
Schaefer  produced  it,  and  George  Blair  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Harry  Davenport,  Stephanie  Bachelor,  Doris 
Lloyd,  Joe  Sawyer  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Black  Angel"  with  Dan  Duryea, 
Peter  Lorre  and  June  Vincent 

(Universal,  Aug.  2;  time,  80  min.) 
A  bcttcr-than-average  program  murder-mystery  melo- 
drama, good  enough  to  top  a  double  bill.  Being  somewhat 
sordid,  the  story  is  rather  unpleasant,  but  it  holds  one's 
interest  well  and  should  please  the  followers  of  mystery 
pictures,  for  suspense  is  sustained  throughout.  The  dis- 
covery that  the  hero  is  the  murderer  comes  as  a  surprise 
since  he  himself  was  unaware  that  he  had  committed  the 
crime  while  in  a  drunken  state.  What  makes  the  ending  all 
the  more  unexpected  is  the  fact  that,  throughout  the  action, 
the  hero  endangers  his  life  to  search  for  the  murderer. 
Some  of  the  situations  are  quite  exciting,  particularly  those 
that  involve  Peter  Lorre,  a  sinister  night-club  operator, 
who  appears  to  be  the  logical  suspect  only  to  be  proved 
innocent: — 

Deserted  by  Constance  Dowling,  his  worldly  wife,  Dan 
Duryea,  a  one-time  vaudeville  headliner,  attempts  a  recon- 
ciliation with  her.  She  bars  him  from  her  apartment,  caus- 
ing him  to  go  on  one  of  his  periodic  drinking  sprees.  Later 
that  evening,  Constance,  who  had  many  men  enmeshed  in 
her  blackmailing  schemes,  is  found  murdered  by  John 
Phillips,  who  had  gone  to  her  apartment  to  retrieve  incrimi- 
nating love  letters  that  Constance  had  threatened  to  show 
his  wife,  June  Vincent.  Phillips  is  arrested  for  the  murder, 
tried  and  sentenced  to  death.  June,  believing  in  his  inno- 
cence, determines  to  save  him.  A  few  meager  clues  lead 
her  to  Duryea,  and  she  induces  him  to  join  her  in  the  search 
for  the  murderer.  Duryea  recognizes  Peter  Lorre  as  a  mys- 
terious man  who  had  visited  Constance  on  the  night  of  the 
murder,  and  he  and  June,  using  assumed  names,  obtain  an 
engagement  to  sing  in  his  night-club.  Their  efforts  to  pin 
the  murder  on  Lorre  end  in  failure  when  they  discover  that 
he,  too,  was  one  of  Constance's  blackmail  victims  and  that 
he  was  innocent  of  the  crime.  Duryea,  by  this  time  in  love 
with  June,  tells  her  that  the  evidence  indicated  that  her 
husband  was  guilty  and  he  asks  her  to  marry  him  to  start 
life  anew.  June  turns  down  his  proposal.  Dejected  over  her 
refusal,  Duryea  takes  to  drink  and,  while  in  a  drunken 
stupor,  recollects  the  events  that  took  place  on  the  night 
of  the  murder  and  comes  to  the  realization  that  he  himself 
had  committed  the  crime  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 
He  notifies  the  police  of  his  guilt  in  time  to  save  Phillips. 

Roy  Chanslor  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on  a  novel  by 
Cornell  Woolrich.  Tom  McKnight  and  Roy  William  Neill 
produced  it,  and  Mr.  Neill  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Broderick  Crawford,  Wallace  Ford,  Freddie  Steele  and 
others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


August  10,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


127 


A  MISLEADING  POLL  QUESTION 

Fred  Wehrenberg,  new  President  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Theatre  Owners  of  America,  has  set  out  to  ascertain  the 
sentiment  of  the  independent  exhibitors  on  four  questions: 
(1)  Competitive  bidding;  (2)  arbitration;  (3)  non-industry 
arbitrators;  and  (4)  theatre  divorcement. 

The  first  question  on  the  form  prepared  by  Fred  is  so 
poorly  worded,  however,  that  the  answers  will  reveal  almost 
nothing  for  it  is  ambiguous.  The  question  reads  as  follows: 

"Do  you  approve  of  the  method  of  competitive  bidding 
proposed  by  the  Court  whereby  pictures  are  to  be  sold 
theatre  by  theatre,  picture  by  picture,  to  the  highest  respon- 
sible bidder  having  a  theatre  of  the  size  and  equipment 
adequate  to  show  the  pictures  upon  the  terms  offered  by  the 
distributor?" 

The  question  does  not  make  clear  whether  it  means  sealed 
bids  or  open  competitive  bidding.  There  is  a  great  difference 
between  the  two.  For  instance,  I  doubt  whether  any  inde- 
pendent exhibitor  will  say  "yes"  if  Fred  means  that  the  sales- 
man will  have  the  right  to  go  to  one  exhibitor  and,  after 
obtaining  his  highest  bid,  go  to  the  exhibitor's  competitor 
and  say  to  him:  "Mr.  Jones!  Your  competitor  offered  me 
such-and-such  a  price  and  so-and-so  terms.  How  much  do 
you  offer?"  Such  a  method  of  obtaining  the  highest  bid 
would  come  under  the  heading  of  "cut-throat  bidding"  and, 
in  the  opinion  of  this  paper,  neither  the  Court  nor  the 
Department  of  Justice  will  stand  for  it. 

If  Fred  meant  sealed  bids,  the  answers  would  be  repre- 
sentative of  the  feeling  of  the  exhibitors  in  regards  to  this 
question. 

For  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  system  whereby  the 
distributors  might  not  be  accused  of  tampering  with  the 
bids,  and  whereby  each  exhibitor  would  be  offered  an  oppor- 
tunity to  bid  for  pictures  free  from  the  pressure  of  "cut- 
throat bidding,"  this  paper  proposed,  in  the  June  29  issue, — 
it  was  the  first  one  to  propose,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
certain  distributors  are  attempting  to  adopt  the  idea  without 
giving  credit  to  the  source — the  establishment  of  "clearing 
house"  boards,  one  in  each  zone,  separate  and  distinct  from 
its  proposed  "clearance  boards,"  the  function  of  which  will 
be  to  establish  fair  clearances,  in  accordance  with  the 
Court's  edict.  The  function  of  the  "clearirig  house"  or 
"bid-receiving"  boards  will  be  to  inform  each  exhibitor  of 
a  distributor's  offering  of  a  picture,  giving  each  bidder 
identical  information,  and  to  accept  the  bids.  Each  board 
would  then  make  a  record  of  the  bids  before  submitting 
them  to  the  distributor.  Through  such  boards,  fair  compe- 
tition can  be  assured. 

As  the  question  now  has  been  put  to  the  exhibitors,  the 
answers  will  reveal  nothing. 


ABE  MONTAGUE'S  INSIDIOUS 
STATEMENT 

In  a  recent  interview  with  the  trade  press,  Abe  Monta- 
gue, Columbia's  general  sales  manager,  outlined  the  change 
in  his  company's  selling  policy  so  as  to  conform  to  the  deci- 
sion handed  down  by  the  Statutory  Court. 

Let  me  quote  from  a  report  of  that  interview,  which 
appeared  in  the  July  23  issue  of  Film  Daily: 

"Montague  said  the  new  form  of  selling  was  bound  to 
increase  distribution  costs.  Sales  forces,  he  asserted,  probably 
would  have  to  be  augmented.  To  send  a  salesman  hundreds 
of  miles  to  negotiate  a  deal  with  an  exhibitor  who  might 
want  to  buy  only  two  pictures  of  a  group  would  not  be 
profitable  and  yet  that  will  be  the  situation  in  some  cases. 
Montague  said  he  didn't  know  how  the  added  costs  would 
be  met,  but  he  indicated  that  they  may  have  to  be  shared  in 
part  by  the  exhibitor  or  passed  on  to  him." 

This  statement  is,  in  the  opinion  of  Harrison's  Reports, 
insidious  propaganda,  designed  to  frighten  the  exhibitors 
and  thus  disarm  them  when  the  Columbia  salesman  de- 
mands,- what  might  be  possible,  "hold  up"  film  rentals. 

What  are  the  facts?  In  the  opinion  of  Harrison's  Re- 
ports, the  sales  forces  of  Columbia,  not  only  will  not  be 
augmented,  but  they  will  in  all  probability  be  decreased, 


for  the  reason  that,  if  the  sentiment  of  those  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice  officials  who  are  prosecuting  the  suit  means 
anything,  an  exhibitor  will  be  permitted  to  submit  bids  for 
pictures  by  mail,  thus  the  necessity  for  sending  salesmen  to 
the  exhibitor  will  not  arise. 

If  Columbia  should,  despite  the  uselessness  of  additional 
salesmen,  see  fit  to  send  their  sales  representatives  to  small 
towns  to  sell  its  films,  it  will  do  so  because  Montague  and 
those  whom  he  represents  may  want  to  take  advantage  of 
the  other  film  companies  in  an  effort  to  sell  the  exhibitors 
before  these  other  companies  have  a  chance  to  do  their  sell- 
ing in  a  fair  and  square  way. 

That  such  is  the  intention  of  Columbia  may  be  evidenced 
by  the  information  Pete  Wood,  business  manager  of  the 
Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio,  printed  in  the  organi- 
zation's July  23  bulletin.  Mr.  Wood  said  that  the  Columbia 
salesmen  were  already  out  in  the  Cleveland  territory  and  the 
entire  state  of  Ohio  offering  to  the  exhibitors  27  "Special 
Feature  Attractions,"  with  no  stars,  no  casts,  no  directors, 
not  even  an  identification  of  the  story.  They  are  offering 
just  a  number  of  titles,  such  as  "Horse  Picture  No.  2," 
"Crime  Doctor  No.  2,"  "The  Whistler  No.  2,"  and  the  like. 

Montague  is  resorting  to  another  piece  of  planned  psy- 
chology: He  is  trying  to  make  the  exhibitors  believe  that 
there  will  be  a  great  shortage  of  pictures,  his  intention 
being  to  induce  them  to  rush  to  buy  the  Columbia  product 
before  their  competitors  buy  it  so  as  to  insure  themselves  a 
constant  flow  of  pictures.  It  is  manifest  that  Columbia,  hav- 
ing lost  the  opportunity  of  continuing  to  sell  choice  pictures 
to  the  exhibitors  and  then  not  deliver  them  so  that  they 
might  be  used  as  bait  to  induce  the  same  exhibitor  to  buy 
the  following  season's  program,  has  decided  to  employ  this 
new  method — the  method  of  fright.  With  Columbia,  such  a 
method  is  understandable,  for,  other  than  one  or  two  decent 
pictures  a  year,  its  product  has  been  so  consistently  poor  that 
it  doesn't  dare  to  take  the  chance  of  offering  its  pictures  in 
a  straightforward  manner. 

Harrison's  Reports  can  make  no  criticism  when  a  dis- 
tributor says :  "I  want  for  my  pictures  so  much  and  no  less." 
It  is  the  distributor's  product,  and  he  has  the  right,  within 
reason,  to  set  the  price  for  his  goods.  But  when  such  a  dis- 
tributor resorts  to  all  kinds  of  artifices  to  frighten  an  exhibi- 
tor into  buying  pictures  at  a  price  that  he  will  regret  when 
he  counts  the  box-office  receipts,  then  it  is  time  for  one  to 
stand  up  and  shout  a  warning. 

Let  me  again  say  that,  in  the  opinion  of  Harrison's  Re- 
ports, Columbia  has  the  right  to  set  its  own  prices  on  its 
own  pictures,  no  matter  whether  such  prices  are  out  of 
reason  or  not,  for  it  believes  that,  if  the  prices  are  out  of 
reason,  the  exhibitor  will  not  buy  them.  What  this  paper 
wishes  to  convey  to  the  exhibitor  is  a  warning,  lest  they 
"fall"  for  Columbia's  studied  psychological  devices. 

There  may  be  a  few  exhibitors  who  do  not  understand 
what  these  psychological  devices  are.  To  these  exhibitors  I 
wish  to  say  that  a  salesman,  by  studying  certain  traits  of  his 
buyer,  so  maneuvers  his  talk  and  actions  that  the  buyer  is 
led  to  believe  that  the  product  offered  him  is  the  best,  even 
though  the  salesman  himself  believes  to  the  contrary,  and 
that  it  will  be  grabbed  by  his  competitor.  The  idea  being 
that  the  exhibitor  will  lose  the  opportunity  of  earning  high 
profits,  unless  he  "beats"  his  competitor  in  buying  the  pic- 
tures. The  salesmen  in  the  picture  industry  have  received 
lessons  in  human  psychology  as  much  as  the  salesmen  in 
other  industries.  Psychology  is  an  art,  and  I  am  sure  that 
the  Columbia  salesmen  have  studied  it  and  will  try  to  practice 
it  on  you. 

Be  smart— beware  of  this  art! 


(Continued  from  bac\  page) 

combination  in  which  the  distributors  participated,  by  the 
"Optional  License  Agreement,"  and,  during  the  days  of  the 
N.R.A.,  by  a  provision  in  the  contract  approved  by  the  so-called 
"Code  of  Fair  Competition  in  the  Motion  Picture  Industry." 
In  the  Jackson  Park  Case  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  under  the 
instructions  of  the  District  Court,  was  based  upon  the  existence 
of  a  conspiracy  to  establish  and  maintain  admission  prices  and 
a  system  of  runs  and  clearance.  In  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
and  in  the  Supreme  Court  the  defendants  conceded  the  suffi- 
ciency of  the  evidence  to  warrant  the  finding.  Bigelow  v.  RKO 
Radio  Pictures,  Inc.,  (CCA.  7)  ISO  F.  2d  877;  326  U.S. 


128 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  10,  1946 


( 1 )  Admission  Price  Fixing 

Over  a  period  of  years,  in  a  substantially  unbroken  line 
of  authority,  beginning  with  the  very  first  case  decided 
under  the  anti-trust  laws  and  the  first  civil  action  to  reach 
the  Supreme  Court,"  that  tribunal  and  the  lower  Federal 
courts  have  invariably  condemned  as  illegal  every  price- 
fixing  combination.  In  the  motion  picture  industry  such  a 
combination  was  declared  illegal  in  the  well-known  Inter- 
state Circuit  Case.1  At  the  time  of  the  trial,  no  principle  of 
the  anti-trust  laws  was  more  firmly  established."  The  issue, 
therefore,  was  not  whether  a  price-fixing  arrangement  was 
illegal,  but  whether  the  acts  and  practices  shown  by  the 
evidence  and  exhibits  proved  such  a  combination. 

In  a  very  penetrating  analysis  of  distributing  practices 
the  Statutory  Court  found  the  existence  of  two  types  of 
conspiracy  to  fix  and  maintain  minimum  admission  prices, 
condemning  them  as  illegal.  The  first  was  a  conspiracy  of 
distributors  among  themselves  and  with  various  affiliated 
and  independent  exhibitors;  the  second  a  separate  con- 
spiracy of  each  distributor  with  the  exhibitors  located  in  an 
area  or  community.  They  also  ruled  that  the  admission  price 
structure  was  an  attempt  to  give  prior-run  theatres  a  mon- 
opoly of  the  potential  patronage.  But  they  did  not  pass  upon 
the  legality  of  separate  license  agreements  establishing  ad- 
mission prices  between  a  distributor  and  an  exhibitor,  in 
which  other  distributors  and  exhibitors  were  not  concerned, 
(a)  Conspiracy  of  Distributors 

In  analyzing  the  evidence  the  Court  pointed  out  that,  in 
their  licenses,  the  defendant  distributors  had  fixed  the  mini- 
mum admission  prices  to  be  charged  in  all  theatres  where 
their  pictures  were  exhibited;  and  that,  as  they  distributed 
about  77.6%  of  all  features  distributed  nationally,  except 
westerns  and  low-cost  productions,  or  approximately  65.5% 
of  all  features  of  all  kinds,  they  controlled  the  prices  to  be 
charged  for  all  pictures  exhibited  by  their  theatres  or  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  in  the  United  States.  The  Court  sum- 
marily dismissed  the  contention,  among  others,  that  the 
prices  stipulated  were  those  currently  charged  by  the  ex- 
hibitors, and  stated  that  the  "severe  penalties"  in  the  license 
agreements  for  violation  of  the  minimum  price  stipulations 
indicated  that  the  defendants  had  "more  than  merely  a 
passing  interest"  in  the  maintenance  of  admission  prices." 

The  minimum  admission  prices  stipulated  in  various  li- 
cense agreements,  declared  the  Court,  not  only  between  the 
defendants  and  affiliated  theatres,  but  also  between  them 
and  independent  houses,  "are  in  substantial  conformity." 
In  effect,  the  distributors  conceded  that  the  admission  prices 
"are  in  general  uniform,"  asserting  that  they  were  "the 
usual  admission  prices  currently  charged  by  the  exhibitors," 
and  that  they  were  not  dictated  by  the  distributors.  In  reply 
to  this  contention  the  Court  said: 

"It  does  not  seem  important  whether  the  distributor  was 
the  more  controlling  factor  in  determining  the  minimum  ad- 
mission prices.  Whether  it  was  such  a  factor  or  merely  acceded 
to  the  customary  prices  of  the  exhibitors,  in  either  event 
there  was  a  general  arrangement  of  fixing  prices  in  which 
both  distributors  and  exhibitors  were  involved.  But  it  is 
plain  that  the  distributor  did  more  than  accede  to  existing 
price  schedules.  The  licenses  required  them  to  be  main- 
tained under  severe  penalties  for  infraction,  and  the  evi- 
dence shows  that  the  distributors  in  the  case  of  exceptional 
features,  where  not  satisfied  with  current  prices,  would  re- 
fuse to  grant  licenses  unless  the  prices  were  raised.  More- 
over, the  distributors,  when  licensing  on  a  percentage  basis, 
were  interested  in  the  prices  charged  and  even  when  li- 
censing for  a  flat  rental  were  interested  in  admission  prices 
to  be  charged  for  subsequent  runs  which  they  might  license 
on  a  percentage  basis.  Likewise  all  of  the  five  major  defend- 
ants had  a  definite  interest  in  keeping  up  prices  in  any 
territory  in  which  they  owned  theatres,  and  this  interest 
they  were  safeguarding  by  fixing  minimum  prices  in  their 
licenses  when  distributing  their  films  to  independent  exhibi- 
tors in  those  areas.  Even  if  the  licenses  were  at  a  flat  rate, 
a  failure  to  require  their  licensees  to  maintain  fixed  prices 
would  leave  them  free  by  lowering  the  current  charge  to 
decrease  through  competition  the  income  in  the  licensors' 
own  theatres  in  the  neighborhood.  The  whole  system  pre- 


supposed a  fixing  of  prices  by  all  the  parties  concerned  in 
all  competitive  areas." 

By  a  table  that  was  collated  from  the  exhibits,  the  Court 
showed  specifically  the  similarity  or  identity  of  admission 
prices;  artd  they  quoted  at  some  length  from  the  testimony  of 
three  witnesses — two  from  distributors  and  one  from  a 
Paramount  affiliated  exhibiting  corporation.  Joint  operating 
agreements  between  defendants  and  also  between  them  and 
independent  theatre  owners  prescribed  admission  prices  or 
methods  by  which  they  were  to  be  determined.  Franchises 
and  master  agreements  "stipulate  minimum  admission  prices 
often  for  dozens  of  theatres.  .  .  ."  Licenses  for  separate 
theatres  of  the  defendants  "disclose  the  same  inter-relation- 
ship." 

"Such  uniformity  of  action  spells  a  deliberately  unlawful 
system,  the  existence  of  which  is  not  dispelled  by  the  testi- 
mony of  interested  witnesses  that  one  distributor  does  not 
know  what  another  distributor  is  doing;  and  there  can,  in 
our  opinion,  be  no  reasonable  inference  that  the  defend- 
ants are  not  all  planning  to  fix  minimum  prices  to  which 
their  licensees  must  adhere.  .  .  ." 

From  this  language  and  from  similar  statements  in  other 
parts  of  the  opinion,  it  will  be  observed  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  testimony  of  defendants'  witnesses,  the  Court  in- 
ferred the  existence  of  a  "deliberately  unlawful  system" 
from  "uniformity  of  action." 

".  .  .  We  think  that  RKO,  Loew's,  Warner,  Paramount 
and  Fox,  in  granting  and  accepting  licenses  with  minimum 
prices  specified,  have  among  themselves  engaged  in  a  national 
system  to  fix  prices,  and  that  Columbia,  Universal  and 
United  Artists,  in  requiring  the  maintenance  of  minimum 
prices  in  their  licenses  granted  to  these  exhibitor-defend- 
ants, have  participated  in  that  system." 

"It  is  a  reasonable  inference  from  all  the  foregoing  that 
the  distributor-defendants  have  acquiesced  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  price-fixing  system  and  have  conspired  with  one 
another  to  maintain  prices.  Such  a  conspiracy  is  per  se  a 
violation  of  the  Sherman  Act.  .  .  ." 

Here,  it  will  be  noted,  the  Expediting  Court  found  the 
existence  of  a  "national  system  to  fix  prices,"  and  that 
the  distributor  defendants  had  "conspired  with  one  another 
to  maintain  prices."  These  findings  are  inevitable,  even 
though  the  representatives  of  the  distributors  denied  that 
they  knew  or  cared  about  what  other  distributors  were 
doing.  The  conspiracies  were  established  by  proof  of  concert 
of  action  among  the  distributors,  and  in  at  least  one  respect 
by  joint  action  by  a  distributor  and  exhibitors;  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  distributors  and  others  in  the  industry  of  existing 
trade  practices;  by  the  existence  of  a  uniform  system  of 
doing  business;  and  by  simultaneous  action  to  the  same  end. 

The  effect  of  rulings  of  this  nature,  not  only  in  connection 
with  admission  prices,  but  also  in  relation  to  other  practices, 
will  be  discussed  later  in  a  section  of  this  article  to  be  de- 
voted to  "Conspiracy."  At  this  point,  however,  it  may  be 
reiterated  that  the  findings  as  to  conspiracy  were  not  based 
upon  any  direct  admissions  by  any  distributor  that  any 
conspiracy  existed.10 


^Interstate  Circuit,  Inc.  v.  United  States,  306  U.S.  208. 
'United  States  v.  Crescent  Amusement  Company,  323  U.S.  173. 
'Bigelow  v.  RKO  Radio  Pictures,  Inc.,  326  U.S. 
*Goldman  Theatres,  Inc.  v.  Loew's,  Inc.,  (CCA.  3)  ISO  F.  2d  738: 
6  United  States  v.  Schine  Chain  Theatres,  Inc.,  (D.C  W.D.  N.Y.) 
63  F.  Supp.  229. 

^United  States  v.  Jellico  Mountain  Coal  and  Coke  Co.,  (C.C. 
N.D.  Tenn.)  46  Fed.  432.  Montague  v.  Lowry.  193  U.S.  38. 

''Interstate  Circuit,  Inc.  v.  United  States,  306  U.S.  208.  The 
principle  was  also  applied  in  the  Schine  Case  and  the  so-called 
Jackson  Park  Case. 

8 The  law  on  this  subject  is  elaborated  in  an  article  by  the  writer 
appearing  in  Harrison's  Reports  on  April  25  and  May  2, 
1936.  The  article  concluded  with  the  assertion  that  if  there  were 
a  combination  of  distributors  to  prescribe  minimum  admission 
prices  "the  concerted  action  manifestly  constitutes  a  conspiracy 
in  restraint  of  trade." 

"In  the  article  just  mentioned,  which  was  a  part  of  a  series  on 
"Anti-Trust  Litigation  in  the  Motion  Picture  Industry,"  the 
writer  pointed  out  several  combinations  in  which  the  distrib- 
utors participated  to  establish  minimum  admission  prices. 
"From  the  first  days  of  the  feature  film,"  it  was  said,  "there 
has  been  a  uniform  trend  toward  higher  admission  prices  to 
the  public,  and,  as  a  necessary  corollary,  toward  higher  film 
'rentals'  to  exhibitors."  It  was  also  stated  that  minimum  ad- 
mission prices  were  established  by  the  Standard  Exhibition 
Contract,  which  has  been  adjudicated  to  be  the  result  of  a 
(Continued  on  inside  page) 


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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  17,  1946  No.  33 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  2 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(1)  Admission  Price  Fixing  (cont'd) 
(b)  Separate  Conspiracy  of  Distributor 
and  Exhibitors 

A  second  reason  advanced  by  the  Statutory  Court  for 
condemning  the  defendants  as  conspirators  was  that,  in 
granting  licenses  containing  minimum  admission  price  stipu' 
lations,  each  distributor  had  combined  with  its  licensees  to 
maintain  the  specified  minimum  admission  prices.  Because 
of  such  licenses,  each  exhibitor  had  consented  to  the  mini- 
mum price  level  at  which  he  would  compete  against  other 
licensees.  The  Court  went  on  to  say: 

".  .  .  The  total  effect  is  that  through  the  separate  con- 
tracts  between  the  distributor  and  its  licensees  a  price  struc- 
ture is  erected  which  regulates  the  licensees'  ability  to  com- 
pete against  one  another  in  admission  prices.  Each  licensee 
knows  from  the  general  uniformity  of  admission  price  prac- 
tices that  other  licensees  having  theatres  suitable  for  exhibi- 
tion of  a  distributor's  picture  in  the  particular  competitive 
area  will  also  be  restricted  as  to  maintenance  of  minimum 
prices,  and  this  acquiescence  of  the  exhibitors  in  the  dis- 
tributor's control  of  price  competition  renders  the  whole 
a  conspiracy  between  each  distributor  and  its  licensees.  An 
effective  system  of  price  control  in  which  the  distributor 
and  its  licensees  knowingly  take  part  by  entering  into  price- 
restricting  contracts  is  thereby  created.  That  the  combina- 
tion is  made  up  of  a  sum  of  separate  licensing  contracts, 
individually  executed,  does  not  affect  its  illegality,  for  tacit 
participation  in  a  general  scheme  to  control  prices  is  as 
violative  of  the  Sherman  Act  as  an  explicit  agreement.  .  .  ." 

Independent  exhibitors  especially  should  note  that  the 
Court  has,  not  only  condemned  the  practices  of  the  distribu- 
tors, but  also  indicated  that  exhibitors,  affiliated  or  inde- 
pendent, who  have  consented  to  the  minimum  price  level, 
at  which  they  will  compete  against  other  licensees,  have 
entered  into  an  illegal  price-fixing  combination. 

In  a  subsequent  section,  relating  to  the  rights  and  remedies 
of  independents  under  the  decree  to  be  entered,  the  writer 
will  advance  some  suggestions  in  regard  to  price-fixing  li- 
cense agreements.  It  may  now  be  said,  however,  that  the 
opinion  is  a  clear  warning  to  independent  exhibitors  of  the 
illegality  of  contracts  that  stipulate  admission  prices, 
(c)  Attempt  to  Give  Monopoly  of  Patronage 
to  Prior-Run  Theatres 

For  still  another  reason  the  Court  condemned  as  illegal 
the  system  of  fixing  admission  prices.  It  constituted  an  at- 
tempt to  attract  to  the  prior-run  houses,  operating  at  higher 
admission  prices  than  subsequent  runs,  all  the  potential  pat- 
ronage of  an  area,  and  thereby  "to  give  the  prior-run  exhibi- 
tors as  near  a  monopoly  of  the  patronage  as  possible."  Con- 
sequently it  was  in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws  "at  least 
when  the  distributor's  own  theatres  are  not  exhibiting  its 
pictures  on  a  prior-run  and  it  is  to  theatres  other  than  its 
own  that  it  attempts  to  give  a  monopoly." 

In  a  subsequent  paragraph,  relating  to  the  effect  of  the 
Copyright  Act  on  price-fixing,  the  Court  said: 

"We  do  not  question  that  the  Copyright  Act  permits  the 
owner  of  a  copyrighted  picture  to  exhibit  it  in  its  own 
theatres  upon  such  terms  as  it  sees  fit.  .  .  ." 


Apparently  it  is  the  view  of  the  Statutory  Court  that  a 
distributor,  as  the  owner  of  copyrights  of  films,  may  attempt 
to  give  its  own  theatres  a  monopoly  of  the  potential  patron- 
age of  a  community  when  its  own  films  are  being  shown. 
Assuming  that  the  conclusion  is  an  accurate  generalization 
of  the  law,  it  may  be  suggested  that  the  defendants  can 
reap  little  benefit  from  it.  Few  producer-controlled  theatres 
confine  themselves  to  the  exhibition  of  product  of  companies 
with  which  they  are  affiliated.  The  established  price  struc- 
ture affects  all  distributors  supplying  product  to  those 
theatres. 

It  may  also  be  suggested  that  producers  or  distributors 
owning  the  copyrights  of  pictures  seldom,  if  ever,  operate 
theatres  directly."  Usually  the  theatres  are  operated  by  sep- 
arate corporations  which  have  no  copyright  of  the  films. 
For  most  purposes,  and  except  where  a  gross  injustice  may 
be  done,  the  courts  recognize  the  separate  identities  of  cor- 
porations, irrespective  of  how  closely  they  may  be  affiliated1* 
— a  principle  of  law  which  the  producers  and  distributors 
have  not  infrequently  taken  advantage.1*  For  a  long  time 
it  has  been  established  law  that  a  corporation  has  no  more 
right  to  combine  with  its  own  subsidiaries  or  officers  to 
violate  the  anti-trust  act  than  with  other  persons  or  cor- 
porations." 

If,  however,  because  of  the  Copyright  Law,  a  distinction 
may  be  made  between  the  exhibition  of  a  film  in  a  theatre 
in  which  a  distributor  has  a  financial  interest,  directly  or 
indirectly,  and  a  theatre  operated  by  a  separate  exhibitor; 
and  if,  also,  the  Court  may  disregard  the  separate  corporate 
identities — then  these  conclusions  give  rise  to  an  additional 
argument  for  the  "divorcement,"  as  it  is  called,  of  production 
and  distribution  from  exhibition.  With  the  view  of  the  law 
announced  by  the  Court,  if  producers  or  distributors  are 
allowed  to  retain  their  control  of  theatres,  then  it  is  obvious 
that  such  control  will  be  exerted  in  order  to  create  and 
extend  the  monopolies  in  prior-run  houses  of  the  patronage 
and  profit  to  be  derived  from  the  exhibition  of  the  defend- 
ants' product.  This  result,  the  writer  believes,  is  not  con- 
sonant with  the  principles  underlying  the  anti-trust  laws. 

(d)  Separate  Agreement  Between  a  Distributor 
and  an  Exhibitor 

The  Court  further  stated  that  it  was  not  necessary  to — 

".  .  .  decide  whether  a  copyright  owner  may  lawfully  fix 
admission  prices  to  be  charged  by  a  single  independent 
exhibitor  for  the  exhibition  of  its  film,  if  other  licensors  and 
exhibitors  are  not  in  competition.  .  .  As  other  licensors  and 
exhibitors  are  always  in  competition,  so  far  as  we  can  see, 
the  question  would  appear  academic."15  As  a  practical  matter, 
therefore,  it  would  seem  that  any  admission  price  stipulation 
must  necessarily  be  illegal. 

After  a  technical  discussion  of  the  General  Electric  Case" 
and  of  the  Miller-Tydings  amendment  to  the  first  section 
of  the  Sherman  Act,  in  which  the  Court  pointed  out  that 
they  were  not  applicable  to  the  facts  under  consideration, 
they  stated  that  "The  foregoing  holding  that  the  defend- 
ants have  all  engaged  in  unlawful  price-fixing"  did  not 
prevent  them  from  determining  film  rentals  by  flat  rentals, 
by  percentage  of  the  gross  receipts,  by  a  combination  of  these 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


130 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  17,  1946 


"The  Show-Off"  with  Red  Skelton 
and  Marilyn  Maxwell 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  83  min.) 

Although  this  is  the  third  screen  version  of  George  Kelly's 
play  it  is  still  as  comical  as  ever.  At  a  sneak  preview,  where 
the  picture  was  reviewed,  the  audience  was  kept  laughing 
constantly  and  their  howls  frequently  drowned  out  the  dia- 
logue. The  story,  which  was  produced  by  Paramount  in  1926 
and  in  1930,  revolves  around  an  ingratiating  braggart  whose 
incompetence  and  interfering  ways  bring  nothing  but  grief 
to  his  bride  and  her  family,  despite  his  good  intentions.  Red 
Skelton,  as  the  bungling,  egotistical  hero,  is  very  comical;  his 
reckless  expenditures,  without  regard  for  his  limited  salary, 
and  his  uninvited  efforts  in  behalf  of  others,  lead  him  into 
all  sorts  of  scrapes  and  hilarious  mix-ups.  It  is  a  fast  moving 
farce,  with  hardly  a  dull  moment,  and  it  should  do  well  at 
the  box-office,  for  it  is  the  sort  of  picture  one  recommends 
to  his  friends: — 

Marilyn  Maxwell  falls  in  love  with  Red  Skelton,  a  ne'er- 
do-well  clerk,  whose  constant  bragging  and  tall  talcs  grate  on 
the  nerves  of  her  parents,  Marjorie  Main  and  George  Cleve- 
land; her  brother,  Marshall  Thompson;  her  sister,  Jacque- 
line White;  and  Jacqueline's  husband,  Leon  Ames.  Aware 
that  his  grandiose  stories  were  not  true,  but  realizing  that 
he  was  devoted  to  her,  Marilyn  marries  Skelton  against  the 
advice  of  her  family.  Skclton's  reckless  expenditures  soon 
put  them  in  debt  and  they  find  themselves  compelled  to  move 
in  with  Marilyn's  parents.  Skelton's  troubles  multiply  when 
he  wrecks  the  car  of  a  friend  in  a  traffic  accident,  in  which 
he  injures  a  policeman.  At  the  trial,  the  judge  becomes  so 
angered  at  his  braggardy  that  he  fines  him  $1000.  Ames 
comes  to  his  rescue  by  paying  the  fine.  Although  every  effort 
to  straighten  out  his  own  financial  affairs  only  involve  him 
deeper,  Skelton  takes  it  upon  himself  to  handle  a  $30,000 
offer  Marilyn's  brother  had  received  from  a  paint  firm  for  the 
sale  of  an  invention.  He  visits  the  firm's  president,  high- 
handedly rejects  the  $30,000  offer,  and  demands  instead 
$100,000  and  one-half  of  the  profits.  Incensed  by  his  impu- 
dence, the  president  calls  off  the  entire  deal.  Marilyn  finally 
becomes  disconsolate  over  Skelton's  interference,  but  every- 
thing turns  out  for  the  best  when  the  paint  firm  counters 
with  an  offer  of  $75,000  and  one-fourth  of  the  profits.  Her 
brother  accepts  the  offer  and  insists  that  Skelton  take  part  of 
the  money  for  his  share.  Skelton  swells  with  pride  as  the 
family  forgives  him  for  his  past  offenses,  but  Marilyn's 
mother  echoes  everyone's  sentiments  as  she  cries:  "Heaven 
help  us  from  now  on!" 

George  Wells  wrote  the  screen  play,  Albert  Lewis  pro- 
duced it,  and  Harry  Beaumont  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Virginia  O'Brien,  Eddie  "Rochester"  Anderson  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Criminal  Court"  with  Tom  Conway 
and  Martha  O'Driscoll 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 
A  fairly  good  program  melodrama.  The  story,  which  re- 
volves around  a  clever  criminal  lawyer,  who  seeks  election  as 
district  attorney  despite  opposition  by  underworld  interests, 
is  not  particularly  novel,  but  it  has  been  presented  in  an  in- 
teresting way  and  holds  one's  attention  throughout.  The  sus- 
pense and  excitement  is  brought  about  by  the  fact  that  the 
lawyer  becomes  involved  in  the  accidental  death  of  a  gang- 
ster under  circumstances  in  which  his  sweetheart  is  unjustly 
accused  and  tried  for  the  crime.  Since  the  audience  is  aware 
of  the  facts  surrounding  the  accidental  death,  one's  interest 
lies  in  the  method  the  lawyer  employs  to  clear  both  himself 
and  his  sweetheart.  Tom  Conway  enacts  the  role  of  the  law- 
yer convincingly,  and  is  particularly  good  in  the  courtroom 
scenes: — 

Conway,  a  brilliant  young  lawyer  noted  for  his  courtroom 
histrionics,  seeks  election  as  district  attorney  on  the  basis  of 
his  campaign  to  clean  up  a  vice  gang  headed  by  Robert  Arm- 
strong, a  night-club  owner.  Martha  O'Driscoll,  Conway's 
fiancee, obtains  a  singing  engagement  in  Armstrong's  club 
against  the  advice  of  Conway.  To  aid  his  election  campaign, 


Conway  manages  to  obtain  incriminating  motion  pictures  of 
Armstrong's  henchmen  bribing  several  officials  and,  despite 
Armstrong's  threats,  arranges  to  exhibit  them.  During  the 
showing,  Conway  visits  Armstrong  for  a  showdown.  A 
quarrel  between  them  is  climaxed  by  the  accidental  shooting 
of  Armstrong  when  his  gun  hits  the  side  of  a  desk.  Conway 
docs  not  report  the  accident,  unaware  that  it  was  witnessed 
by  June  Clayworth,  his  secretary,  who  was  secretly  in  the  em- 
ploy of  Armstrong.  Later,  the  body  is  found  by  Martha  un- 
der circumstances  that  lead  the  police  to  suspect  her  of  the 
crime.  Conway  admits  to  the  killing  to  save  Martha,  but  his 
story  is  not  believed.  Armstrong's  henchmen  offer  to  produce 
a  witness  if  Conway  would  drop  out  of  the  race  for  district 
attorney,  but  the  young  lawyer  turns  them  down.  During  the 
course  of  the  trial,  Conway's  secretary  inadvertantly  drops 
a  clue  indicating  that  she  was  the  missing  witness  and,  in  a 
spectacular  courtroom  scene,  he  puts  her  on  the  stand  and 
obtains  from  her  testimony  that  exonerates  Martha.  The 
gangster  element  wiped  out,  Conway  looks  forward  to  his 
election  as  district  attorney. 

Lawrence  Kimble  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Earl  Fenton.  Martin  Mooney  produced  it,  and  Robert  Wise 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Addison  Richards,  Steve 
Brodie  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Earl  Carroll  Sketchbook"  with 
Constance  Moore  and  William  Marshall 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  90  min.) 

This  is  an  acceptable  musical  comedy,  which,  despite  its 
conventional  plot  and  formula  treatment,  should  please  gen- 
erally. It  has  a  fair  share  of  lavish  song  and  dance  numbers, 
melodious  music,  and  pleasant  singing  by  Constance  Moore. 
The  comedy,  too,  is  fairly  good,  with  Vera  Vague  and  Ed- 
ward Everett  Horton  provoking  many  laughs  with  their 
bright  dialogue  each  time  they  appear  on  the  scene.  The 
dance  routines  by  Johnny  Coy  are  partticularly  good.  Not 
much  can  be  said  for  the  story,  which  is  thin  and  lacking  in 
human  interest,  but  the  action  is  breezy.  Although  the  ro- 
mance is  developed  in  the  customary  manner,  with  misun- 
derstandings and  final  reconciliation,  it  is  done  with  con- 
siderable humor: — 

William  Marshall,  a  talented  young  songwriter,  devotes 
his  time  to  writing  commercial  jingles  for  radio,  despite  the 
efforts  of  Constance  Moore,  his  secretary,  to  shame  him  into 
doing  better  things.  Constance  decides  to  take  matters  into 
her  own  hands  and,  with  the  aid  of  Vera  Vague,  her  room- 
mate, obtains  an  opportunity  to  sing  one  of  Marshall's  ro- 
mantic ballads  to  Bill  Goodwin,  producer  of  a  forthcoming 
Broadway  musical.  Goodwin  is  so  captivated  by  her  beauty 
and  singing  that  he  signs  her  as  the  star  of  his  show  with- 
out giving  her  a  chance  to  explain  that  she  was  only  plugging 
Marshall's  song.  Jealous  over  Marshall's  attentions  to  Hill- 
ary Brooke,  a  glamorous  advertising  executive,  Constance, 
injured  slightly  in  a  car  accident,  decides  to  feign  amnesia 
in  an  effort  to  win  him  away.  Constance's  "failure"  to  re- 
member him,  and  her  attentiveness  to  Goodwin,  have  the 
desired  effect  on  Marshall,  and  he  soon  begins  to  pursue  her. 
Constance  induces  Goodwin  to  use  Marshall's  song  in  the 
finale  of  the  show,  but  tells  him  that  she  wrote  it  herself  lest 
he  refuse  to  use  it.  Meanwhile  Marshall,  unaware  that  Con- 
stance had  taken  the  song  from  his  files,  decides  to  use  the 
melody  in  a  singing  commercial.  Goodwin,  hearing  it  on  the 
air,  accuses  Marshall  of  plagiarism.  Marshall,  now  aware 
that  Constance's  amnesia  was  a  fake,  counters  Goodwin's 
accusation  by  threatening  him  with  a  law  suit  on  opening 
night  if  he  used  the  song  in  the  finale.  The  situation  is  saved 
when  Vera  explains  to  Marshall  that  Constance  wanted  suc- 
cess for  the  song  for  his  sake.  He  rushes  to  the  theatre  in  time 
to  tear  up  the  summons  and  to  effect  a  reconciliation  after 
permitting  Constance  to  introduce  the  song. 

Frank  Gill,  Jr.  and  Parke  Levy  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
Mr.  Gill's  original  story,  Robert  North  produced  it.  and 
Albert  S.  Rogell  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


August  17,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


131 


"The  Time  of  Their  Lives"  with  Abbott 
and  Costello 

( Universal,  Aug.  16;  time,  82  min.) 

A  typical  Abbott  and  Costello  comedy,  neither  better  nor 
worse  than  their  previous  pictures  in  recent  years.  As  usual, 
it  is  entertainment  strictly  for  their  fans;  others  may  find 
their  brand  of  comedy  tiresome.  This  time  the  comedy  pair's 
routine  slapstick  gags  are  supplemented  by  trick  photogra- 
phy in  the  "Topper"  and  "Invisible  Man"  fashion,  with  Cos' 
tello  enacting  the  role  of  an  earthbound  ghost,  invisible  to 
those  around  him.  It  has  some  bright  moments  when  the 
comedy  runs  high,  provoking  hearty  laughs,  but  on  the  whole 
the  gags  are  familiar  and,  at  times  too  long  drawn  out. 

The  story  opens  in  1780,  during  the  Revolutionary  War, 
with  Lou  Costello,  a  tinker,  arriving  at  the  King's  Point, 
N.  Y.  mansion  of  Jess  Barker,  a  tory,  to  mend  some  pots.  The 
butler  (Bud  Abbott)  dislikes  Costello  intensely  because  of 
their  mutual  admiration  for  the  same  housemaid  (Anne 
Gillis),  who  is  thrilled  when  Costello  shows  her  a  letter  from 
George  Washington  attesting  to  his  patriotism.  When  Mar' 
jorie  Reynolds,  Barker's  fiancee,  learns  of  his  involvement 
in  Benedict  Arnold's  plan  to  betray  the  Continental  cause, 
she  enlists  the  aid  of  Costello  to  foil  the  plot.  Both,  however, 
are  mistaken  for  traitors  and  shot  dead  by  American  troops, 
whose  commander  throws  their  bodies  into  a  well  on  the  es- 
tate,  invoking  a  curse  that  their  souls  remain  earthbound 
until  such  time  as  they  can  prove  their  innocence.  One  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  years  later,  in  1946,  the  ghosts  of  Mar- 
jorie and  Costello,  still  bound  to  the  well,  are  disturbed  by 
the  restoration  of  the  mansion  by  John  Shelton,  a  young 
millionaire,  who  invites  as  house  guests  his  fiancee,  Lynn 
Baggett,  her  aunt,  Binnie  Barnes,  and  his  physician,  Bud 
Abbott,  a  direct  descendant  of  the  mansion's  butler  in  1780. 
Attracted  by  signs  of  life  in  the  mansion,  Marjorie  and  Cos- 
tello decide  to  enter  it  to  search  for  Washington's  letter  to 
prove  their  patriotism  and  thus  lift  the  curse  on  their  souls. 
They  keep  the  household  in  a  frenzy  as  they  glide  about  in- 
visibly, ransacking  the  mansion  for  the  letter.  Meanwhile 
Costello,  remembering  his  troubles  with  Abbott's  ancestor, 
makes  his  life  miserable  with  numerous  ghost  stunts.  Even- 
tually, Marjorie  and  Costello,  aided  by  Gale  Sondergaard, 
a  psychic  servant,  make  their  problem  known  to  the  house 
guests,  who  locate  the  missing  letter  in  an  ancient  clock. 
With  the  letter  brought  to  light,  the  curse  is  lifted  and  the 
ghosts  are  permitted  to  depart  from  the  earth. 

Val  Burton,  Walter  DeLeon  and  Bradford  Ropes  wrote 
the  original  screen  play,  Mr.  Burton  produced  it,  and  Char- 
les Barton  directed  it.  Unojectionable  morally. 


"Shadow  of  a  Woman"  with  Andrea  King 
and  Helmut  Dantine 

(Warner  Bros.,  Sept.  14;  time,  78  min.) 

Despite  a  better  than  average  production,  this  mystery 
melodrama  does  not  rise  above  program  level.  It  offers  fairly 
exciting  but  not  particularly  pleasurable  entertainment,  for  it 
revolves  around  the  sadistic  actions  of  a  murderous  "quack" 
doctor.  Moreover,  it  lacks  a  convincing  story.  But  it  should 
give  fair  satisfaction  to  patrons  who  do  not  pay  too  much 
attention  to  story  detail.  Most  of  the  suspense  and  excitement 
occurs  in  the  second  half,  where  the  doctor's  bride  learns  of 
his  inhumanity  and  endangers  her  life  to  expose  him.  The 
unpleasantness  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  doctor  tries  to 
murder  his  own  child,  by  a  previous  marriage,  to  collect  an 
inheritance.  There  is  no  comedy  to  relieve  the  tension: — 

After  a  whirlwind,  five-day  courtship,  Andrea  King  mar- 
ries Dr.  Helmut  Dantine,  knowing  little  about  him  except 
that  he  was  a  practitioner  who  believed  that  proper  diets 
would  cure  most  human  ailments.  Their  honeymoon  is 
marked  by  several  mysterious  attempts  on  Dantine's  life  be- 
fore he  reveals  to  Andrea  that  many  persons  disagreed  with 
his  theories,  and  that  he  had  just  been  divorced  from  Peggy 
Knudsen,  who  was  seeking  to  gain  custody  of  their  five-year- 
old  son  (Don  McGuire).  Dantine  takes  Andrea  to  his  San 
Francisco  home,  where  he  supported  his  sister  (Lisa  Golm) 
and  crippled  nephew  (John  Alvin).  She  finds  the  household 
most  depressing  and  is  soon  initiated  into  the  peculiar  diet 


served  to  all  members  of  the  family.  She  learns  also  that  Dan- 
tine's  son  was  to  inherit  a  fortune  when  he  becomes  of  age. 
When  two  of  her  husband's  patients  die  under  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, Andrea  becomes  suspicious  of  his  mysterious 
movements  and  launches  an  investigation  of  her  own.  She 
wins  the  confidence  of  Dantine's  sister  and  nephew,  and  dis- 
covers that  Dantine  was  trying  to  starve  his  little  son  to 
death  as  part  of  a  scheme  to  gain  control  of  his  inheritance. 
Andrea  visits  Dantine's  former  wife  and  her  lawyer  (Will- 
iam Prince)  and  offers  to  help  them  take  the  boy  away  from 
Dantine  to  save  his  life.  Dantine,  by  this  time  aware  that 
Andrea  had  found  him  out,  attempts  to  kill  her.  He  is  pre- 
vented from  doing  so  by  the  timely  arrival  of  his  crippled 
nephew  and,  in  the  ensuing  struggle  between  the  two  men, 
Dantine  falls  from  a  balcony  to  his  death. 

Whitman  Chambers  and  C.  Graham  Baker  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  a  novel  by  Virginia  Perdue.  William  Ja' 
cobs  produced  it,  and  Joseph  Santley  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Big  Sleep"  with  Humphrey  Bogart 
and  Lauren  Bacall 

(Warner  Bros.,  Aug.  31;  time  114  min.) 
Those  who  enjoy  tough,  hard-hitting  melodramas  should 
be  more  than  satisfied  with  this  one,  for  it  is  a  first-rate 
thriller  of  its  kind.  It  is  strictly  adult  fare,  however,  for  the 
story  is  sordid  and  unpleasant,  and  its  characters  are  not  sym- 
pathetic. Moreover,  there  are  several  coarse  suggestive  sit- 
uations and  dialogue  that  has  double  meanings.  From  the 
opening  to  the  closing  scenes,  its  tale  of  blackmail,  multiple 
murders,  gambling  and  romance  maintains  a  high  degree  of 
suspense  and  excitement  as  Humphrey  Bogart,  in  the  role  of 
a  wordly-wise  private  detective,  takes  on  a  case  involving 
two  irresponsible,  wealthy  sisters.  His  investigation  brings 
him  in  contact  with  a  group  of  unsavory  characters  and 
leads  him  into  a  series  of  adventures  that  result  in  situation 
after  situation  building  up  to  a  tense  climax  as  he  relent- 
lessly follows  up  his  clues  without  regard  for  unmerciful 
beatings  and  threats  upon  his  life.  Bogart's  performance  is 
excellent.  It  is  not  a  pleasurable  entertainment,  but  it  will 
undoubtedly  be  an  outstanding  box-office  attraction: — 

Learning  that  Martha  Vickers,  his  mentally  unbalanced 
daughter,  was  being  blackmailed  by  an  unscrupulous  dealer 
in  sex  literature.Charles  Waldron,  an  elderly  millionaire, 
hires  Bogart  to  investigate  the  matter.  Lauren  Bacall,  an- 
other daughter,  tries  to  induce  Bogart  to  drop  the  investi- 
gation, but  he  refuses.  Bogart  traces  the  bookdealer  to  his 
home,  arriving  there  just  as  the  man  is  murdered  mysteri- 
ously. He  finds  Martha  there  in  a  doped  condition  and  dis- 
covers evidence  that  the  slain  man  had  taken  some  photos  of 
her  but  that  the  negatives  were  missing.  The  search  for  the 
missing  photos  brings  Bogart  in  contact  with  Louis  Jean 
Heydt,  who  had  taken  over  the  bookdealer's  business,  and 
who  was  making  additional  blackmail  demands  on  Martha. 
Bogart  outwits  Heydt  and  gains  possession  of  the  photos  just 
as  the  crook  is  shot  dead  by  a  henchman  he  had  double- 
crossed.  When  Bogart  succeeds  in  solving  the  bookdealer's 
murder  and  in  capturing  Heydt's  killer,  Lauren  gives  him  a 
check  and  tells  him  to  consider  the  case  closed.  But  Bogart, 
who  all  through  his  investigation  had  been  tangling  with 
John  Ridgely,  a  gambler,  suspects  that  Ridgely  had  some 
mysterious  control  over  Lauren  and  determines  to  continue 
the  investigation.  Ridgely,  aware  that  Bogart  was  on  his 
trail,  sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  stop  him.  Bogart  experiences 
a  number  of  beatings  before  he  discovers  that  Ridgely  had 
murdered  a  friend  of  the  family  and  had  led  Lauren  to  be- 
lieve that  her  sister  was  his  accomplice.  He  learns  also  that 
Lauren  wanted  him  to  drop  the  case  to  keep  her  sister  out  of 
further  trouble.  Bogart  eventually  falls  into  the  clutches  of 
Ridgely  and  his  henchmen  but  escapes  with  Lauren's  aid. 
In  a  final  showdown,  he  tricks  Ridgely  into  meeting  him 
and  forces  the  latter  into  a  death  trap  meant  for  himself.  It 
ends  with  Lauren  and  Bogart  in  a  fond  embrace. 

William  Faulkner,  Leigh  Brack ett  and  Jules  Furthman 
wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  novel  by  Raymond  Chandler, 
and  Howard  Hawks  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Soma  Darrin,  Elisha  Cook,  Jr.  and  others. 


132 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  17,  1946 


methods,  "or  by  any  other  appropriate  means."  They  con- 
eluded : 

".  .  .  What  is  held  to  be  violative  of  the  Sherman  Act  is 
not  the  distributors'  devices  for  measuring  rentals,  but  their 
fixing  of  minimum  admission  prices  which  automatically 
regulates  the  ability  of  one  licensee  to  compete  against  an- 
other for  the  patron's  dollar  and  tends  to  increase  6uch 
prices  as  well  as  profits  from  exhibition." 


11  Where  one  company  is  not  both  a  producer  and  distributor,  it  is 
believed  that  the  usual  practice  ha9  been  for  a  producer  to 
secure  copyrights  of  the  films  produced  by  it,  and  either  to 
assign  the  copyrights  or  to  grant  rights  of  distribution  to  its 
affiliated  distributor.  Complicated  corporate  structures  make 
it  difficult  for  the  copyright  owner  to  be  the  direct  owner  of 
all  theatres  controlled  by  it. 

"Cannon  Mfg.  Co.  v.  Cudahy  Packing  Co.,  267  U.S.  33 
Taylor  v.  Standard  Gas  &  Electric  Co.  306  U.S.  307,  322. 

"Mebco  Realty  Holding  Co.  v.  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.  (D.C. 
N.J.)  45  F.  Supp.  340; 
Wcstor  Theatres  v.  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.,  (D.C.  N.J.) 
41  F.  Supp.  757. 

"United  States  v.  MacAndrews  &  Forbes  Co.,  (C.C.  S.D.  N;Y.) 
149  Fed.  823,  832. 
United  States  v.  General  Motors  Corpn.,   (D.C.  Ind.)   26  F. 
Supp.  353.  See  United  States  v.  Schine  Chain  Theatres,  Inc., 
63.  F.  Supp.  229. 

"In  the  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports  of  May  2,  1936,  in  discussing 
this  question,  the  writer,  after  expressing  his  own  views  that 
such  price-fixing  stipulations  were  illegal,  indicated  that  the 
question  had  never  been  definitely  decided.  He  said:  "Whether 
a  distributor  who  merely  licenses  the  exhibition  of  films  may, 
by  agreement  with  the  exhibitor  alone,  prescribe  the  minimum 
admission  price,  is  still  open  to  some  question." 

M  United  States  v.  General  Electric  Co.,  272  U.S.  476. 


"Rendezvous  with  Annie"  with  Eddie  Albert 
and  Faye  Marlowe 

(Republic,  July  22;  time,  89  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  would  benefit  considerably  from 
some  judicious  cutting,  this  comedy  offers  fairly  good  en- 
tertainment. The  story,  which  revolves  around  the  predic- 
aments a  soldier  gets  himself  into  when  he  goes  AWOL  and 
visits  his  wife  secretly,  is  lightweight,  but  it  has  many  novel 
twists  and  keeps  one  chuckling  throughout.  The  manner  in 
which  the  hero  manages  to  leave  his  base  in  England,  visit 
his  wife  in  New  Jersey  for  a  few  hours,  and  return  to 
his  base — all  on  a  three-day  pass — is  somewhat  implausible 
but  quite  humorous.  Considerable  comedy  is  provoked  by  the 
fact  that  the  hero's  wife  gives  birth  to  a  son,  and  the  hero, 
aware  that  his  friends  and  neighbors  believed  that  he  had 
been  overseas  for  more  than  two  years,  finds  himself  faced 
with  the  problem  of  establishing  that  he  was  the  child's 
father.  The  action  is  lively  all  the  way  through: — 

Learning  that  their  friend,  Corporal  Eddie  Albert,  had 
been  granted  a  three-day  pass  in  London,  ATC  pilots  Philip 
Reed  and  James  Millican  talk  him  into  stowing  away  on 
their  New  York-bound  plane,  a  trip  that  would  permit 
Albert  to  spend  a  few  hours  with  his  wife  before  the  return 
trip  to  England  in  time  to  report  for  duty.  Except  for  a 
chance  meeting  with  Raymond  Walburn,  his  home-town 
banker,  who  was  out  on  a  date  with  a  woman  other  than  his 
wife,  Albert  manages  to  get  to  his  home  without  being 
noticed  by  anyone.  Meanwhile  he  and  Walburn  had  agreed 
to  forget  their  meeting.  Less  than  a  year  later,  Albert  re- 
turns home  from  the  army  and  finds  his  wife  in  the  hospital 
with  a  new-born  baby.  No  one  in  the  town  believes  that  the 
child  is  his  son,  and,  to  complicate  matters  still  further, 
Albert  learns  that,  under  the  terms  of  his  grand-uncle's  will, 
his  son  was  to  inherit  a  fortune.  The  attorney,  however, 
because  of  the  "odd"  circumstances  surrounding  the  child's 
birth,  demands  proof  that  Albert  was  the  child's  father. 
Albert  risks  being  court-martialed  by  revealing  his  predic- 
ament to  army  officials,  but  they  consider  his  story  fantastic 
and  refuse  to  help  him.  Eventually,  Albert  recalls  his  chance 
meeting  with  Walburn  and,  under  threat  of  exposing  his 
tryst,  compels  the  banker  to  testify  that  he  had  returned 
home  AWOL,  thus  convincing  all  concerned  that  he  was 
the  baby's  father. 

Mary  Loos  and  Richard  Sale  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
their  own  story,  and  Allan  Dawn  produced  and  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Gail  Patrick,  C.  Aubrey  Smith,  William 
Frawley  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Last  Crooked  Mile"  with 
Donald  Barry  and  Ann  Savage 

(Republic,  Aug.  9;  time,  67  min.) 

An  average  program  mystery  melodrama.  The  story  is 
rather  routine  and  its  treatment  follows  a  formula,  but  it 
manages  to  hold  one's  interest  fairly  undiminished  up  to  the 
last  scenes,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  identity  of  the 
criminals  is  kept  in  the  dark  up  to  that  time.  But  the  un- 
masking of  the  guilty  parties  will  not  come  as  a  surprise  to 
most  of  the  spectators.  Donald  Barry,  as  a  smart-alecky 
private  detective,  at  odds  with  the  police,  gives  a  standard 
characterization.  There  is  nothing  unusual  about  the  pic- 
ture on  the  whole,  but  it  has  enough  suspense,  action  and 
comedy  to  satisfy  undiscriminating  picture-goers: — 

His  bank  robbed  of  $300,000,  Tom  Powers,  the  manager, 
turns  the  case  over  to  Detective  John  Miljan.  Meanwhile  the 
crooks  hide  the  money  in  the  running-board  of  their  get- 
away car  and  prepare  to  leave  the  state.  The  police  try  to 
stop  the  car  and,  in  the  ensuing  confusion,  it  topples  over 
a  cliff  and  kills  the  thieves.  As  Miljan  admits  his  inability  to 
find  the  money,  Donald  Barry,  a  private  detective,  angles  his 
way  into  the  case  and  is  offered  a  huge  reward  to  recover 
the  money.  Barry  goes  to  an  oceanside  carnival,  where  the 
getaway  car  was  being  exhibited  as  a  sideshow  attraction, 
and  offers  to  buy  the  car  from  Nestor  Paiva,  the  owner. 
Paiva  informs  him  that  Sheldon  Leonard,  a  notorious  crim- 
inal, had  already  made  an  offer  for  the  car.  Later,  Barry 
makes  the  aquaintance  of  Ann  Savage,  a  night-club  singer, 
former  sweetheart  of  one  of  the  dead  crooks,  and  makes  a 
"play"  for  her.  Barry  finds  reason  to  suspect  her  of  impli- 
cation in  the  robbery,  but  he  believes  her  protestations 
when  several  mysterious  attempts  are  made  on  her  life.  He 
takes  her  under  his  protection.  In  the  course  of  events,  Barry 
locates  the  missing  money,  but  before  he  can  turn  it  over  to 
the  bank  manager  he  is  slugged  from  behind  and  the  money 
is  taken  from  him.  He  regains  consciousness  on  the  following 
morning  and  learns  that  Leonard  was  murdered  during  the 
night.  The  police  suspect  him  of  the  crime,  but  Ann  prevents 
his  arrest  by  stating  that  she  had  been  with  him  all  night. 
Suspicious  of  her  motive,  Barry  tricks  Ann  into  revealing 
that  she,  working  with  the  bank  manager,  had  stolen  the 
recovered  funds  and  had  murdered  Leonard,  who,  too,  was 
after  the  money. 

Jerry  Sackheim  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  radio  play 
by  Robert  L.  Richards.  Rudolph  E.  Abel  produced  it,  and 
Philip  Ford  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Adele  Mara 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


131  Anthony  Street 

Ascot,  Brisbane  N2 

Australia 

12th.  June  1946 

Dear  Mr.  Harrison: 

I  am  writing  this  on  one  of  my  old  letterheads,  but  as  I 
have  disposed  of  the  theatre  and  have  now  practically 
ended  my  career  as  an  exhibitor,  I  desire  you  to  cancel  my 
subscribing  association  with  your  Journal. 

It  must  be  nearer  25  than  20  years  since  I  first  paid  you 
a  subscription,  and  ever  since  that  time  I  have  been  an 
assiduous  reader  and  deep  student  of  the  fund  of  informa- 
tion and  guidance  for  the  welfare  of  exhibitors,  that  it 
has  so  consistently  provided. 

I  look  upon  every  penny  that  I  have  passed  over  to  you 
during  these  many  past  years  as  being  among  my  soundest 
investments  and  the  reading  of  your  weekly  issues  as  being 
some  of  my  best  spent  time. 

The  single-mindedness  of  purpose  and  the  staunch  spirit 
of  fairness  that  you  have  always  displayed  in  all  your 
discussions  of  trade  problems  has  often  roused  my  admira- 
tion, and  so,  I  feel  that  I  cannot  close  the  chapter  of  our 
acquaintance  without  these  few  words  of  commendation  and 
an  expression  of  thanks  for  all  the  usefulness  that  I  was 
able  to  gather  in  to  myself  from  your  capable  work. 

With  all  possible  good  wishes, 

Yours  faithfully 
(signed)  Osborn  J.  Fenwick 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  Tork,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  24,  1946  No.  34 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  3 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(2)  Run  and  Clearance 

In  considering  the  legality  of  clearance  the  Court  defined 
it  as  "The  period  of  time,  usually  stipulated  in  license  con- 
tracts, which  must  elapse  between  runs  of  the  same  picture 
within  a  particular  area  or  in  specified  theatres."  They  also 
spoke  of  "clearance"  or  "protection"  as  an  agreement  by 
the  distributor  "not  to  exhibit  or  grant  a  license  to  exhibit 
a  certain  motion  picture  before  a  specified  number  of  days 
after  the  last  date  of  the  exhibition  therein  licensed."  The 
period,  they  stated,  was  specified  in  various  ways:  "in  terms 
of  a  given  period  between  designated  runs";  according  to 
admission  prices  charged  by  competing  theatres;  periods  of 
time  over  specified  theatres  or  areas;  and  "in  terms  of 
clearances  as  fixed  by  other  distributors." 

The  practices  of  run  and  clearance,  declared  the  Court, 
were  so  closely  allied  that  comment  on  one  was  applicable 
to  the  other.  The  run  remains  static,  and  is  not  necessarily 
determined  by  the  size  of  the  theatre.  And  then  they  pointed 
out,  in  a  paragraph  hereinafter  quoted,  that,  because  of  the 
fixed  scale  of  clearances,  runs  and  admission  prices,  compe- 
tition was  practically  non-existent. 

The  legality  of  clearance  was  considered  by  the  Court  in 
three  aspects:  First,  the  clearance  in  separate  license  agree- 
ments; secondly,  clearance  resulting  from  the  coercive  power 
of  circuit  buying;  and,  third,  clearance  established  by  agree- 
ment among  distributors  or  through  uniformity  of  action 
by  them. 

For  convenience  these  topics  will  be  discussed  in  inverse 
order. 

(a)  Clearance  Established  by  Conspiracy 
Ever  since  the  decision  in  1932  in  the  Toungclaus  Case" 
which  has  been  recognized  in  subsequent  decisions  of  other 
courts,  it  has  been  settled  law  in  the  motion  picture  industry 
that  protection  resulting  from  agreement  among  distribu- 
tors and  exhibitors,  or  from  joint  action  by  them,  is  illegal. 
Even  prior  to  that  time,  the  practice  of  establishing  protec- 
tion by  agreement  between  distributors  and  producer- 
controlled  theatres  had  been  successfully  challenged  by  the 
Government.18 

The  chief  issue  before  the  Court,  therefore,  was  whether 
the  evidence  showed  such  joint  action  as  to  constitute  a 
combination  or  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade.  They  held 
that  it  did,  saying: 

".  .  .  It  is  here  claimed  by  plaintiff,  however,  that  the 
distributor-defendants  have  acted  in  concert  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  uniform  system  of  clearances  for  the  theatres  to 
which  they  license  their  films  and  that  the  exhibitor-defend- 
ants have  assisted  in  creating  and  have  acquiesced  in  this 
system.  This  we  find  to  be  the  case  and  hold  to  be  in  viola- 
tion of  the  Sherman  Act." 

The  Statutory  Court  then  proceeded  to  point  out  that  its 
inference  of  concert  of  action  was  warranted  by  the  testi- 
mony of  various  witnesses  of  the  defendants;  and  by  the 
exhibits,  such  as  franchises,  master  contracts  and  formula 
deals,  which  had  been  introduced  in  evidence." 


The  witnesses  included  many  leaders  in  the  distribution 
and  exhibition  branches  of  the  industry.  The  substance  of 
their  testimony  was  that,  once  it  is  agreed  upon,  clearance 
remains  the  same  unless  the  exhibitor  or  distributor  wants 
to  change  it,  and  is  carried  along  from  year  to  year,  becom- 
ing more  or  less  "historical";  that  an  exhibitor  generally  got 
the  same  clearance  from  the  various  distributors;  that  nego- 
tiations for  clearance  do  not  take  place  each  time  product  is 
bought;  that  clearances  have  been  set  throughout  the  coun- 
try for  a  great  many  years,  "until  there  has  grown  up  a  kind 
of  a  system  of  clearance";  that  a  distributor  "usually  knows 
what  clearances  other  distributors  are  granting";  and  that 
the  clearance  granted  by  one  distributor  is  the  same  as  that 
granted  by  other  distributors. 

The  exhibits  included  franchises,  master  contracts  and 
"formula  deals,"  many  of  which  provided  that  the  clearance 
should  be  the  same  as  that  in  effect  at  the  date  of  the  agree- 
ment. Some  established  clearance  for  more  than  one  season. 
Others  provided  that  it  should  be  no  less  favorable  to  the 
exhibitor  than  that  previously  granted.  In  some  others  it 
extended  to  subsequently  acquired  theatres.  The  Court  said: 

"It  is  clear  that  the  purpose  of  these  two  types  of  clear- 
ance agreements  was  to  fix  the  run  and  clearance  status  of 
any  theatre  thereafter  opened,  not  on  the  basis  of  its  appoint- 
ments, size,  location,  and  other  competitive  factors  normally 
entering  into  such  a  determination,  but  rather  upon  the 
sole  basis  of  whether  it  were  operated  by  the  exhibitor-party 
to  the  agreement." 

"Clearances  are  given  to  protect  a  particular  run  against 
a  subsequent  run.  .  .  ." 

Obviously  clearance  having  such  a  purpose  and  effect  is 
illegal,  when  resulting  from  agreement  or  concert  of  action 
by  distributors  and  exhibitors. 

(b)  Coercive  Power  of  Circuit  Buying 
The  Statutory  Court  stated  that,  by  the  use  of  film-buying 
power,  large  circuits  had  been  able  to  secure  from  the  de- 
fendants unreasonable  clearance  or  unjustified  prior  runs, 
and  cited  as  authority  the  decisions  in  the  Crescent,10  the 
]ac\son  Par^21  the  Goldman,*2  and  the  Schine  Cases."  These 
cases,  particularly  the  Crescent  and  Schine  decisions,  demon- 
strated the  use  of  such  power  in  a  very  brutal  and  oppressive 
manner,  with  the  acquiescence  of  the  distributors.  The  Statu- 
tory Court,  although  stating  that,  by  their  control  of  theatre 
circuits,  the  defendants  possessed  "potential  weapons  of 
great  strength,"  were  unable  to  find  from  the  evidence  that 
the  defendants  "entered  upon  a  general  policy  of  dis- 
criminating against  independents  in  their  grants  of  clear- 
ance." But  "they  have  acquiesced  in  and  forwarded  a  uni- 
form system  of  clearances,  and  in  numerous  instances  have 
maintained  unreasonable  clearance  to  the  prejudice  of  inde- 
pendents and  perhaps  even  of  affiliates." 

Although  recognizing  the  existence  of  a  uniform  system 
of  clearance  and  the  granting  of  unreasonable  clearance,  the 
Court  did  not  undertake  to  give  any  relief.  They  said: 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


134 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  24,  1946 


"Secrets  of  a  Sorority  Girl"  with  Rick  Vallin 
and  Mary  Ware 

(PRC,  Aug.  15;  time,  58  min.) 

This  program  melodrama  has  an  exploitahlc  title,  but  as 
entertainment  it  is  just  moderately  interesting.  The  story, 
which  unfolds  in  a  series  of  flashbacks,  is  exceedingly  thin 
and  "choppy."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  its  tale  about  the  mis- 
adventures of  a  district  attorney's  daughter,  who  becomes 
friendly  with  a  racketeer,  reminds  one  of  the  stories  heard 
on  daytime  radio  serial  programs,  or  published  in  the  "True 
Confessions"  type  of  magazine.  At  no  time  does  the  action 
strike  a  realistic  note  in  its  telling  of  the  girl's  escapades  in 
gambling  raids,  and  of  her  being  tried  in  court  on  a  framed 
murder  charge.  Not  much  can  be  said  for  either  the  direction 
or  the  acting;  both  arc  lacking  in  subtlety: — 

In  the  belief  that  she  was  seriously  ill  and  did  not  have 
long  to  live,  Mary  Ware,  a  college  girl,  becomes  friendly 
with  Rick  Vallin,  a  former  reporter,  and  urges  him  to  take 
her  to  different  gambling  clubs  for  excitement.  The  club 
owners,  aware  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Addison 
Richards,  the  district  attorney  conducting  a  drive  against 
illegal  gambling,  secretly  take  her  photos  at  the  gambling 
tables.  One  night  she  visits  Ray  Walker's  gambling  club 
alone  and  is  caught  in  a  raid.  She  faints  during  the  excitement 
but  is  spirited  out  of  the  building  by  Vallin,  who  had  fol- 
lowed her  there.  Their  car,  containing  Vallin,  Walker,  and 
Mary,  speeds  from  the  scene  with  a  motorcycle  policeman 
in  pursuit.  Unable  to  shake  the  policeman  off,  Vallin  stops 
the  car  abruptly,  causing  the  officer  to  lose  his  life  when 
he  crashes  into  the  rear.  Vallin,  instructing  Walker  to 
leave  the  scene,  shifts  the  unconscious  Mary  into  the  driver's 
seat  and,  after  reviving  her,  informs  her  that  she  had 
caused  the  accident.  Mary  decides  to  confess  to  her  father, 
but  before  she  can  do  so  the  secret  head  of  the  gambling 
ring  sends  him  the  incriminating  photos  of  his  daughter 
with  a  demand  that  he  resign  from  office  lest  they  be  made 
public.  Richards,  learning  of  Mary's  presence  in  the  death 
car,  orders  her  arrested  for  the  officer's  death.  At  the  trial, 
the  testimony  offered  by  Vallin  proves  damaging  to  Mary 
until  Walker  is  called  to  the  stand.  The  club  owner,  inluri- 
ated  by  Vallm's  heartlessness  in  framing  Mary  on  the 
murder  charge,  reveals  the  truth  about  the  accident  and 
exposes  Vallin  as  the  secret  racket  chief.  Vallin  is  shot  dead 
as  he  attempts  to  escape  from  the  courtroom,  and  Mary 
wins  an  acquittal. 

George  Wallace  Sayre  wrote  the  original  screen  play, 
Max  Alexander  and  Alfred  Stern  produced  it,  and  Lew 
Landers  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Inner  Circle"  with  Warren  Douglas 
and  Adele  Mara 

(Republic,  August  7;  time,  57  min.) 

A  passable  program  murder  melodrama.  The  story  lacks 
credibility  and  it  is  somewhat  involved,  but  it  should  serve 
its  purpose  as  a  supporting  feature.  Like  any  number  of 
similar  melodramas  produced  in  recent  months,  this  one,  too, 
has  a  private  detective  for  a  hero  and,  as  is  usual,  he  has 
his  troubles  with  the  police  before  solving  the  crime.  The 
only  difference  is  that,  this  time,  the  police  are  depicted 
as  being  fairly  intelligent  instead  of  stupid  for  the  sake  of 
comedy.  The  story  is  developed  in  a  formula  manner,  with 
suspicion  thrown  on  several  characters  to  mystify  the  spec- 
tator, but  since  the  murderer's  identity  is  not  disclosed  until 
the  end,  and  since  there  is  something  doing  all  the  time,  it 
should  please  those  who  enjoy  this  type  of  picture: — 

Shortly  after  Adele  Mara  obtains  a  job  as  his  secretary, 
private  detective  Warren  Douglas  is  tricked  by  her  into 
meeting  a  mysterious  woman  for  some  special  work.  Un- 
aware that  the  woman,  heavily  veiled,  was  Adele  herself, 
Douglas  accompanies  her  to  the  home  of  a  scandal-peddling 
radio  commentator.  There  they  find  him  murdered.  Claim- 
ing to  be  the  dead  man's  wife,  Adele  offers  Douglas  money 
to  dispose  of  the  body.  When  he  refuses,  she  knocks  him 


unconscious,  calls  the  police,  and  runs  from  the  house. 
Detective  William  Frawlcy  arrives  on  the  scene  and  scoffs 
at  Douglas'  story  until  Adele,  her  disguise  discarded,  bursts 
into  the  room  claiming  that,  through  the  window,  she  had 
seen  everything  occur  just  as  Douglas  described  it.  Released 
under  suspicion,  Douglas  determines  to  get  to  the  bottom 
of  the  crime.  His  investigation  discloses  that  Virginia  Chris- 
tine, a  cafe  singer,  and  Ricardo  Cortez,  her  gangster  boy- 
friend, had  some  mysterious  dealings  with  the  dead  man 
and,  to  add  to  his  confusion,  he  discovers  that  Adele,  under 
the  guise  of  aiding  him,  was  actually  destroying  possible 
evidence.  He  soon  learns  that  Adele  was  trying  to  protect 
her  younger  sister,  whom  she  mistakenly  believed  had  mur- 
dered the  commentator  to  stop  him  from  revealing  that  a 
notorious  dead  gangster  had  been  her  boy-friend.  Quickly 
running  down  several  clues,  Douglas,  with  the  cooperation 
of  Frawlcy,  assembles  the  different  suspects  in  the  commen- 
tator's home  and,  in  a  dramatic  radio  broadcast,  proves  that 
Virginia  was  the  dead  man's  partner  in  blackmailing  schemes 
and  that  she  had  killed  him  when  he  refused  to  pay  her  off. 

Dorreli  and  Stuart  E.  McGowan  wrote  the  screen  play, 
William  J.  O'Sullivan  produced  it,  and  Phil  Ford  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

  « 

"The  Invisible  Informer" 
with  Linda  Sterling  and  William  Henry 

(Republic,  Aug.  19;  time,  57  min.) 

Ordinary  program  fare.  It  is  a  murder  melodrama,  in- 
volving a  search  for  a  missing  necklace,  in  which  everyone 
in  the  cast  struggles  against  an  unconvincing  story.  There  is 
nothing  in  it  that  has  not  been  put  on  the  screen  many 
times,  nor  is  there  anything  about  the  treatment  that  is 
unusual.  It  will,  however,  do  as  entertainment  for  those 
who  are  not  too  concerned  about  story  values,  for  there  are 
certain  situations  that  are  eerie  and  several  others  that  are 
exciting.  There  is  some  romantic  interest,  but  it  is  unbeliev- 
able. The  title,  incidentally,  has  no  relation  to  the  story. 
The  comedy  relief  is  negligible: — 

Charles  Lane,  head  of  a  private  detective  agency,  assigns 
Linda  Sterling  and  William  Henry  to  investigate  the  loss  of 
a  heavily  insured  necklace,  which  was  owned  by  a  promi- 
nent but  bankrupt  Southern  family,  headed  by  Gerald 
Mohr,  a  suave  but  sinister  fellow.  A  previous  investigator 
had  disappeared  in  the  swamp  lands  adjoining  the  family 
mansion.  Henry  and  Linda,  who  were  in  love  but  who 
disagreed  over  her  ability  as  an  investigator,  decide  to  work 
separately — she  from  within  the  mansion,  and  he  from  a 
town  nearby.  Through  a  ruse,  Linda  succeeds  in  establish- 
ing herself  in  the  mansion  and  finds  the  different  members 
of  the  family  to  be  a  hate-ridden  lot,  left  destitute  by 
Mohr's  unwise  investments,  and  all  waiting  for  payment  of 
the  insurance  money.  She  learns  that  Tristram  Coffin,  Mohr's 
brother,  had  committed  suicide  in  the  swamp  and  that  his 
body  had  disappeared.  Meanwhile  in  town,  Henry  becomes 
friendly  with  Adele  Mara,  with  whom  both  brothers  had 
been  in  love,  and  accepts  her  offer  to  help  him  investigate 
the  case.  Mohr,  learning  that  Adele  was  aiding  Henry, 
strangles  her  to  death.  In  the  course  of  events,  Linda  learns 
that  Mohr  knew  her  identity  and  she  discovers  that  the 
supposedly  dead  brother  was  alive  and  hiding  in  the  swamps; 
his  disappearance  was  part  of  a  conspiracy  with  Mohr  to 
collect  the  insurance  money  and  still  keep  the  necklace. 
Fascinated  by  Mohr's  charming  manner,  Linda  attempts  to 
induce  him  to  return  the  necklace.  Mohr  feigns  infatuation 
for  Linda  and,  after  murdering  his  brother  and  stealing  the 
necklace,  lures  her  to  a  cabin  with  intent  to  kill  her  lest 
she  betray  him.  Henry  arrives  on  the  scene  in  the  nick  of 
time  and,  in  the  ensuing  struggle,  Mohr  is  killed  and  the 
necklace  recovered.  Linda,  admitting  that  sleuthing  was 
not  a  woman's  business,  decides  to  retire  as  Henry's  wife. 

Sherman  L.  Lowe  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Gerald  D.  Adams.  William  J.  O'Sullivan  produced  it,  and 
Philip  Ford  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


August  24,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


135 


"Personality  Kid"  with  Ted  Donaldson, 
Michael  Duane  and  Anita  Louise 

(Columbia,  Aug.  8;  time,  68  min.) 

Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  comedy,  with  an 
appeal  most  for  the  juvenile  trade;  adults  will  probably  find 
it  quite  tedious.  Most  of  the  action  revolves  around  a 
youngster's  love  for  pets  and  the  scrapes  he  gets  himself 
into  by  his  habit  of  bringing  home  assorted  animals  against 
his  mother's  wishes.  A  few  of  the  situations  are  pleasantly 
amusing,  but  for  the  most  part  the  comedy  is  ineffective 
because  it  is  repititious.  Worked  into  the  plot  are  the 
romantic  troubles  of  the  youngster's  older  brother,  a  veteran, 
as  well  as  his  efforts  to  start  a  post-war  career,  but  the  story 
is  so  thin  and  its  presentation  so  amateurish  that  it  barely 
holds  one's  interest.  Moreover,  the  action  is  quite  slow: — 

Eleven-year-old  Ted  Donaldson  forgets  about  his  love  for 
pet  animals  when  his  older  brother,  Michael  Duane,  returns 
home  from  the  army,  enthused  with  the  idea  of  becoming 
a  photographer.  Anita  Louise,  Duane's  sweetheart,  urges 
him  to  go  back  to  his  former  job  in  a  soap  factory  so  that 
they  could  marry,  but  Duane  refuses.  They  quarrel  and 
break  their  engagement.  Duane's  efforts  to  sell  his  photo- 
graphic work  meets  with  no  success,  and  the  low  point  in 
his  fortunes  comes  when  Ted's  new  pet,  a  burro,  enters  his 
darkroom  and  wrecks  the  equipment.  Enraged,  Duane 
upbraids  the  youngster.  Ted,  dejected,  decides  to  make  up 
for  the  accident  by  submitting  to  a  national  photo  contest 
a  photograph  that  Duane  had  made  of  his  burro.  He  sells 
the  animal  to  secure  money  for  postage,  later  learning  that 
the  man  who  bought  him  was  a  dealer  in  horse  meat.  Ted 
manages  to  retrieve  the  burro  but,  lest  he  be  arrested  as  a 
horse  thief,  does  not  return  home.  He  remains  a  fugitive 
for  four  days  until  found  by  the  police.  Everyone's  joy  at 
his  homecoming  is  increased  when  news  comes  that  Duane's 
photograph  had  won  a  $5,000  prize,  enabling  the  es- 
tranged couple  to  reconcile  and  plan  an  immediate  wedding. 

Lewis  H.  Herman  and  William  B.  Sackheim  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  a  story  by  Cromwell  MacKechnie,  Wallace 
MacDonald  produced  it,  and  George  Sherman  directed  it. 

"Below  the  Deadline"  with  Warren  Douglas 
and  Ramsay  Ames 

(Monogram,  Aug.  3;  time,  65  min.) 

A  routine  program  racketeer  melodrama,  suitable  for  the 
lower  half  of  a  double  bill  wherever  pictures  of  this  type 
are  acceptable.  The  story  offers  little  that  is  novel  and  is, 
in  a  way,  demoralizing  in  that  the  hero,  a  veteran,  is  shown 
resorting  to  gangster  activities  and  making  his  living  from 
a  gambling  racket.  The  excuse  given  for  the  hero's  activities 
is  that  he  was  determined  to  avenge  himself  against  civilians 
who  reaped  huge  profits  while  he  was  fighting  overseas,  but 
his  ruthless  actions  and  his  lack  of  decent  traits  fails  to 
arouse  one's  sympathy  for  him.  There  are  a  few  exciting 
sequences  brought  about  by  the  usual  warfare  between 
rival  gangs: — 

George  Meeker,  head  of  a  gambling  ring,  is  murdered  by 
Phil  Van  Zandt's  gunmen  when  he  fails  to  stop  "muscling 
in"  on  Zandt's  rackets.  Meeker's  gambling  enterprises  are 
inherited  by  his  younger  brother,  James  Warren,  a  returned 
war  veteran,  who  takes  over  the  racket  as  a  sort  of  revenge 
against  civilians  who  prospered  in  the  blacket  markets  while 
he  was  fighting.  Zandt's  attempts  to  interfere  with  Warren's 
operations  are  met  with  force.  Meanwhile  Warren  falls  in 
love  with  Ramsay  Ames,  an  operator  of  one  of  his  gambling 
games,  but  resists  her  attempts  to  reform  him.  To  protect 
their  lucrative  rackets,  Warren  and  Zandt  declare  a  truce 
to  back  the  election  of  a  crooked  politician  for  mayor. 
George  Eldredge,  the  reform  candidate,  seeks  Warren's 
support,  but  is  refused  a  campaign  donation.  Bruce  Ed- 
wards, Warren's  war  buddy,  who  disapproved  of  his  gamb- 
ling career,  secures  a  loan  from  him  and  uses  it  to  assure 
the  election  of  the  reform  candidate,  whose  platform  prom- 
ised the  elimination  of  the  gambling  clement  in  town.  Zandt, 
learning  that  Warren's  money  had  put  over  the  reform 
ticket,  believes  that  he  had  been  doublecrosscd  and  sets  out 


to  kill  Warren.  A  gun  battle  between  the  two  underworld 
factions  ends  with  Zandt's  death,  and  Warren,  wounded, 
sees  the  error  of  his  ways.  He  gives  up  the  rackets  to  lead 
an  honest  life  with  Ramsay. 

Harvest  Glass  and  Forrest  Judd  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Ivan  Toris,  Lindsley  Parsons  produced  it, 
and  William  Beaudine  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Jan 
Wiley  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Killers"  with  Edmund  O'Brien, 
Burt  Lancaster,  Ava  Gardner, 
and  Albert  Dekker 

( Universal,  Aug.  30;  time,  103  min.) 

Very  Good!  It  is  an  intensely  gripping  melodrama,  strictly 
for  adults.  The  fact  that  it  is  an  absorbing  picture  from 
start  to  finish  is  due,  not  only  to  the  interesting  story,  but 
also  to  the  realistic  settings,  the  expert  performances,  and 
the  intelligent  direction.  Although  it  cannot  boast  of  much 
in  the  way  of  star  value,  it  is  the  sort  of  picture  that  is 
bound  to  enjoy  considerable  word-of-mouth  advertising, 
and  it  will  undoubtedly  prove  to  be  an  outstanding  box- 
office  attraction.  Revolving  around  an  insurance  investi- 
gator's efforts  to  learn  the  facts  about  a  murdered  man's 
past  in  order  to  shed  some  light  on  his  killing,  the  story  is 
a  grim  but  fascinating  tale  of  murder,  robbery  and  deceit, 
in  which  situation  after  situation  is  crammed  full  of  excite- 
ment and  suspense  as  the  investigator  pieces  together  the 
maze  of  clues  he  uncovers.  The  flashback  method  of  pre- 
senting the  story  has  been  used  to  very  good  advantage. 

The  story  opens  with  the  arrival  in  a  small  town  of  two 
professional  killers  searching  for  Burt  Lancaster,  a  gas 
station  attendant,  who,  despite  a  warning  from  a  friend 
to  flee  for  his  life,  makes  no  effort  to  stop  his  own  murder. 
Curious  to  learn  why  the  man  did  not  defend  himself, 
Edmund  O'Brien,  a  claim  adjuster,  with  whose  company 
Lancaster  carried  a  small  life  insurance  policy,  becomes 
interested  in  the  case.  He  interviews  the  beneficiary  of  the 
policy,  an  elderly  hotel  maid,  who  informs  him  that  she  had 
once  stopped  Lancaster  from  leaping  out  of  a  window.  A 
clue  leads  O'Brien  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  learns  from 
detective  Sam  Levene,  a  boyhood  friend  of  the  deceased, 
that  Lancaster  had  been  a  prizefighter,  had  become  involved 
with  gamblers,  and  had  fallen  in  love  with  Ava  Gardner, 
sweetheart  of  racketeer  Albert  Dekker,  who  was  serving 
a  jail  term  at  the  time.  Levene  had  caught  Ava  with  stolen 
jewelry,  but  Lancaster  had  saved  her  by  assuming  the  guilt 
and  serving  a  jail  sentence.  O'Brien  next  communicates 
with  Vince  Barnett,  an  elderly  thief,  who  had  been  Lan- 
caster's cellmate,  and  learns  that  Lancaster,  upon  his  release 
from  prison,  had  joined  Dekker  and  two  other  crooks  in 
a  huge  payroll  robbery  that  had  never  been  solved,  and 
which  O'Brien's  company  had  made  good.  Ava  had  re- 
turned to  Dekker  but  still  flirted  with  Lancaster.  Through 
newspaper  stories  of  the  holdup  O'Brien  gathers  additional 
clues  and  delves  into  the  activity  of  the  robbers  after  the 
crime.  He  learns  that  Dekker  planned  to  cheat  Lancaster 
out  of  his  share  of  the  money,  but  that  the  latter,  tipped 
off  by  Ava,  had  foiled  the  plan  by  making  off  with  the 
entire  loot  himsell.  Shortly  afterwards,  Lancaster  had  been 
murdered.  Aided  by  Levene,  O'Brien  traces  Dekker  to 
Pittsburgh,  where  he  operated  a  respectable  contracting  busi- 
ness. He  locates  Ava  in  the  same  city  and,  through  clever 
detective  work,  uncovers  the  fact  that  Dekker  and  Ava 
had  been  in  league  from  the  start  in  a  plan  to  doublecross 
the  other  participants  in  the  holdup,  including  Lancaster, 
from  whom  Ava  had  stolen  the  holdup  money  in  Atlantic 
City.  Dekker  and  his  gunmen  try  to  kill  O'Brien  to  keep 
their  secret  intact,  but  timely  interference  on  the  part  of 
Levene  and  the  police  save  the  investigator's  life. 

Anthony  Veillcr  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Ernest  Hemingway,  Mark  Hcllingcr  produced  it,  and  Robert 
Siodmak  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Donald  McBridc, 
Phil  Brown,  John  Miljan,  Virginia  Christine,  Jack  Lambert, 
Jeff  Cory  and  many  others. 


136 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  24,  1946 


",  .  .  The  decision  of  such  controversies  as  may  arise  over 
clearances  should  be  left  to  local  suits  in  the  area  concerned, 
or,  even  more  appropriately,  to  litigation  before  an  Arbitra- 
tion  Board  composed  of  men  versed  in  the  complexities  of 
this  industry." 

The  violations  of  the  anti-trust  laws,  specified  by  the 
Court,  arc  of  a  very  flagrant  nature.  Clearance  is  merely  a 
method  of  granting  protection  against  competition  to  a 
favored  theatre.  It  can  be  and  frequently  has  been,  used  to 
stifle  a  competitor  to  death." 

The  remedy  should  therefore  be  correspondingly  direct 
and  complete,  by  injunction  or  otherwise.  Here  the  remedy 
prescribed  by  the  Court  is  ineffective;  it  does  nothing  to 
prohibit  the  ouliawed  practices;  it  merely  states,  what  every 
lawyer  knows,  that  an  independent  or  other  person  injured 
may  have  a  remedy  by  local  action  at  law,21  with  a  possi- 
bility of  arbitration.  In  another  part  of  the  opinion  the 
Court  again  mentioned  the  arbitration  of  clearance,  and  also 
of  other  controversies.  Subsequently  the  question  of  arbi- 
tration will  be  commented  upon  in  this  paper  separately. 


"  Younyclaus  v.  Onvalia  Film  Board  of  Trade  (D.C.  Neb.)  60  F. 
(2d)  538. 

"In  an  article  in  Harrison's  Reports  of  May  30,  1936,  the  present 
writer  narrated  criminal  and  equitable  proceedings  by  the  Gov- 
ernment in  1930  and  1932  in  Los  Angeles  and  Chicago,  result- 
ing in  the  entry  of  Consent  Decrees,  which,  among  other  things, 
enjoined  the  defendants  from  enforcing  unreasonable  and  dis- 
criminatory clearances,  and  from  adopting  or  attempting  to 
enforce  any  uniform  plan,  system  or  schedule  of  zoning,  clear- 
ance or  protection,  whereby  theatres  of  the  defendants  should 
receive  unreasonably  long  periods  of  protection  or  unreason- 
able zoning  privileges  over  competing  independent  exhibitors. 

"The  Government  need  not  have  relied  entirely  upon  such  evidence. 
In  a  continuation  of  the  article  just  mentioned,  in  the  issue  of 
Harrison's  Reports  of  June  6,  1936,  the  writer  quoted  at  length 
from  resolutions  of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  tand  Dis- 
tributors of  America,  Inc.  [then  the  "Hays  Office"],  corre- 
spondence of  its  counsel,  and  the  iindings  of  an  auditor  ap- 
pointed by  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts,  all  showing 
clearly  that  the  activities  of  the  defendant  distributors  consti- 
tuted a  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  trade.  The  article  then  declared 
that  the  provisions  in  regard  to  Clearance  and  Zoning  Boards 
in  the  so-called  Code  of  Fair  Competition  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Industry,  adopted  under  the  NRA,  "obviously  constituted  a 
conspiracy."  It  also  stated: 

"In  other  parts  of  the  code  there  were  provisions  for  the 
compulsory  use  of  the  Optional  Standard  License  Agreement 
and  for  the  maintenance  of  minimum  admission  prices  specified 
in  these  agreements,  and  a  stringent  prohibition  against  lower- 
ing the  announced  admission  prices  by  rebates  in  any  form. 
A  violation  by  an  exhibitor  of  these  provisions  would  result  in 
the  shutting  off  of  his  film  supply. 

"These  provisions  not  only  placed  the  stamp  of  legality  upon 
forbidden  practices,  but  they  also  required  the  very  men  injured 
by  them  to  participate  in  the  violation  of  the  law." 

In  the  action  of  A.  B.  Momand  v.  Griffith  Amusement  Com- 
pany, et  al.  (D.C.  W.D.  Okla.  No.  6517,  Law)  in  which  the 
writer  was  counsel  for  the  plaintiff,  the  Court  found  and 
concluded : 

"The  Association  [the  Hays  Office]  fostered  adoption  in  the 
exchange  centers  of  the  practice  of  clearance  or  protection,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1930  the  general  counsel  of  the  Associa- 
tion supervised  and  advised  the  conferences  of  the  exchanges 
on  the  subject.  Conferences  were  held  in  the  exchanges  and 
so  reported  at  a  meeting  of  the  Association  in  September,  1930." 

"The  promotion  and  adoption  by  the  Association  and  its 
memLers  in  May,  1930,  of  a  plan  for  local  uniform  clearance 
and  zoning  was  an  unreasonable  restraint  of  trade,  whenever 
and  wherever  said  plan  was  put  into  effect." 

20  United  States  v.  Crescent  Amusement  Co.,  323  U.S.  173. 

"Bigelozv  v.  RKO  Radio  Pictures,  Inc.,  (CCA.  7)  150  F.  2d  877; 
326  U.S. 

"Goldman  v.  Loew's,  Inc.,  (CCA.  3)  150  F.  2d  738. 

23  United  States  v.  Schine  Chain  Theatres,  Inc.  (W.D.  N.Y.)  63  F. 

Supp.  229. 

24  In  an  article  on  "Monopoly  of  Product"  in  Harrison  s  Reports. 

May  23,  1936,  after  showing  how  a  competing  exhibitor  might 
be  put  out  of  business  by  being  deprived  of  product,  the  writer 
stated  that  it  had  not  been  "necessary  for  a  producer-controlled 
circuit  to  prevent  independent  exhibitors  from  showing  major 
films,"  and  added:  "Because  the  value  of  a  picture  depends  in 
a  large  measure  upon  its  novelty,  the  same  result  may  be  ac- 
complished by  delaying  the  delivery  of  films  until  their  value 
has  substantially  disappeared.  It  is  merely  the  difference  be- 
tween sudden  death  ancf  slow  torture.  To  this  ingenious  practice 
has  been  given  the  name  'Protection'." 
25 The  identical  remedy  (excluding  arbitration)  was  granted  fifty-six 
vears  ago  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  when,  on 
July  2,  1890,  they  enacted  "AN  ACT  to  protect  trade  and 
commerce  against  unlawful  restraints  and  monopolies" — popu- 
larly referred  to  as  the  "Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law." 

A  WAY  TO  COMBAT  THE  THREAT 
OF  INVASION 

Among  the  numerous  reasons  for  the  exhibitors'  alarm 
over  the  proposed  system  of  buying  and  selling  pictures 
through  competitive  bids  is  the  possibility  that  the  system 
would,  not  only  leave  the  established  exhibitor  open  to 
invasion  by  a  new  comer,  but  also  create  a  rash  of  indis- 


criminate theatre  building  that  may  result  in  many  com- 
munities being  dangerously  overseated. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  threat  of  invasion,  which  has 
always  existed  to  some  degree,  has  been  heightened  by  the 
court's  ruling  that  any  qualified  person  will  have  the  right 
to  bid  for  pictures. 

It  is  unpredictable  as  to  whether  or  not  the  court,  in 
handing  down  a  final  decree,  will  heed  the  exhibitors'  oppo- 
sition to  auction-selling,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  modi- 
fications the  court  might  make  in  the  decree  will  in  any  way 
restrain  a  newcomer,  or  even  an  experienced  exhibitor,  from 
building  a  competitive  theatre,  except,  of  course,  in  the  case 
ol  the  theatre-owning  distributors,  whose  expansion  in  any 
area  will  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  court. 

Those  of  you  who  might  be  concerned  over  the  possi- 
bility of  your  community's  becoming  overseated,  because  of 
a  rash  of  indiscriminate  theatre  building,  should  read  again 
the  warning  and  advice  given  in  these  columns  in  the  May 
19,  1945  issue,  which  dealt  with  the  control  of  theatre 
building.  The  editorial,  which  is  as  timely  today  as  it  was 
then,  tollows  in  part: 

"...  The  prosperity  that  the  people  of  this  country 
have  enjoyed  during  the  last  few  years  has  enabled  many 
of  them  to  accumulate  sizeable  bank  accounts  and,  now  that 
the  trend  is  back  to  normalcy,  many  individuals  are  shop- 
ping around  for  enterprises  that  will  give  them  post-war 
security. 

"The  motion  picture  theatre,  to  those  who  are  un- 
acquainted with  show  business  operations,  seems  to  be  a 
lucrative  business.  And  one  can  hardly  blame  them  for 
being  impressed,  because  the  fantastic  salaries  paid  to  picture 
people  in  Hollywood,  and  the  tremendous  dollar  grosses 
that  arc  publicized  in  both  the  daily  and  trade  papers,  are 
enough  to  make  one's  head  swim.  If  one  could  only  con- 
vince these  people  of  the  pitfalls  in  our  business  .  .  .  they 
might  think  twice  before  investing  their  money.  But  in 
most  cases  such  an  approach  by  an  exhibitor  to  a  pros- 
pective exhibitor  would  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion;  he 
might  leel  that  he  was  being  talked  out  of  a  'good  thing.' 

"Yet  the  fact  remains  that  a  surge  of  indiscriminate 
theatre  building  on  the  part  of,  not  only  newcomers,  but 
also  those  in  the  business,  without  regard  for  a  community's 
ability  to  support  more  than  a  given  number  of  theatres, 
threatens  to  undermine  the  orderly  conduct  of  the  exhibi- 
tion business.  Competition  can  often  be  beneficial,  but 
'over-seating'  is  usually  disastrous  to  all  concerned. 

"Established  exhibitors  seeking  some  measure  of  protec- 
tion can  do  something  about  this  impending  condition 
before  it  is  too  late. 

"In  the  .  .  .  November  11  [1944]  issue,  I  reproduced 
an  ordinance  adopted  by  the  City  Council  of  Winchester, 
Kentucky,  on  February  19,  1937,  regulating  the  operation 
of  motion  picture  theatres  and  other  similar  places  of  public 
entertainment  within  the  city  limits.  This  ordinance  was 
modeled  alter  a  proposed  ordinance  drafted  by  my  attorney 
a  number  of  years  ago,  prescribing  the  conditions  under 
which  new  theatres  might  be  built,  and  it  is  designed  to 
protect  the  established  exhibitor.  It  is  an  effective  ordinance 
because,  unlike  others,  which  limit  the  number  of  theatres 
in  accordance  with  the  number  of  inhabitants,  thus  leaving 
their  constitutionality  doubtful,  this  one  is  predicated  on 
the  police  powers  of  the  local  governing  body,  and  would 
thus  have  a  better  chance  of  being  upheld  if  challenged  in 
the  courts. 

"Those  who  have  copies  of  the  November  11,  1944  issue 
of  Harrison's  Reports  may  extract  that  ordinance  and 
present  it  to  the  city  councils  for  action;  those  who  have 
misplaced  their  copies  may  apply  to  this  office  for  another 
copy. 

"Now  is  the  time  lor  action,  before  the  reckless  surge  of 
theatre  building  gets  under  way.  You  must  not  permit 
yourself  to  become  complacent  merely  because  building 
operations  are  still  under  strict  control.  The  restrictions 
may  be  lifted  momentarily.  Then  it  will  be  too  late  for 
preventative  measures.  Remember  that  you  cannot  build 
a  dam  while  the  flood  waters  are  rushing  in." 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 

VOL.  XXVIII       NEW  YORK,  N.  Y„  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  24,  1946  No.  34 

(Partial  Index  No.  4 — Pages  106  to  132  inclusive) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Big  Sleep,  The — Warner  Bros.  (114  min.)  131 

Black  Angel,  The — Universal  (80  min.)  126 

Black  Beauty — 20th  Century-Fox  (74  min.)  115 

Blonde  for  a  Day— PRC  (67  min.)  122 

Caesar  and  Cleopatra — United  Artists  (126  min.)  126 

Canyon  Passage — Universal  (90  min.)  116 

Claudia  and  David — 20th  Century-Fox  (78  min.)  118 

Cockeyed  Miracle,  The— MGM  (81  min.)  114 

Conquest  of  Cheyenne — Republic  (56  min.) .  .not  reviewed 

Cowboy  Blues — Columbia  (66  min.)  not  reviewed 

Criminal  Court— RKO  (62  min.)  130 

Danger  Woman — Universal  (60  min.)  Ill 

Dark  Horse,  The — Universal  (59  min.)  Ill 

Dead  of  Night — Universal  (75  min.)  106 

Desert  Horseman,  The — Columbia  (60  min.)  .not  reviewed 

Down  Missouri  Way— PRC  (73  min.)  123 

Earl  Carroll  Sketchbook— Republic  (90  min.)  130 

Genius  at  Work— RKO  (61  min.)  .122 

Gentleman  from  Texas — Monogram  (60  min.). not  reviewed 

G.  I.  War  Brides— Republic  (69  min.)  126 

Great  Day— RKO  (68  min.)  120 

Holiday  in  Mexico— MGM  (127  min.)  119 

Home  Sweet  Homicide — 20th  Century-Fox  (90  min.).  116 

Lady  Luck— RKO  (97  min.)  115 

Last  Crooked  Mile,  The — Republic  (67  min.)  132 

Man  of  the  Hour — 20th  Century-Fox  (see  "Col. 

Effingham's  Raid")  1945  154 

Night  and  Day — Warner  Bros.  (128  min.)  I  Ill 

Night  Train  to  Memphis — Republic  (67  min.)  114 

Notorious— RKO   (101  min.)  119 

Of  Human  Bondage — Warner  Bros.  (105  min.)  106 

Prairie  Bad  Men — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Queen  of  Burlesque— PRC  (68  min.)  106 

Red  River  Renegades — Republic  (55  min.) .. not  reviewed 

Rendezvous  with  Annie — Republic  (89  min.)  132 

Return  of  Rusty,  The — Columbia  (65  min.)  110 

Roll  on  Texas  Moon — Republic  (68  min.)  ..  not  reviewed 

Scandal  in  Paris,  A — United  Artists  (100  min.)  110 

Shadow  of  a  Woman — Warner  Bros.  (78  min.)  131 

Shadows  on  the  Range — Monogram  (57  min.)  .not  reviewed 

Show-Off,  The— MGM  (83  mm.)  130 

Sing  While  You  Dance — Columbia  (72  min.)  119 

Sister  Kenny— RKO  (116  min.)  115 

Slightly  Scandalous — Universal  (62  min.)  122 

South  of  Monterey — Monogram  (63  min.)  . .  .not  reviewed 

Step  by  Step— RKO  (62  min.)  114 

Sunset  Pass— RKO  (60  min.)  114 

They  Were  Sisters — Universal  (108  min.)  118 

Time  of  Their  Lives,  The — Universal  (82  min.)  131 

Traffic  in  Crime — Republic  (56  min.)  123 

Trail  to  Mexico — Monogram  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Trespasser,  The — Columbia  (see  "Night  Editor")....  54 
Two  Guys  from  Milwaukee — Warner  Bros.  (90  min.) .  118 

Unknown,  The — Columbia  (65  min.)  110 

Under  Nevada  Skies — Republic  (69  min.) .  .  .not  reviewed 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  >{etv  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
7020  Blondie's  Lucky  Day — Singleton-Lake  Apr.  4 

7025  Mysterious  Intruder — Richard  Dix  Apr.  11 

7023  Night  Editor — Gargan-Carter  Apr.  18 

7001  Gilda — Hayworth-Ford   Apr.  25 

7207  Galloping  Thunder — Charles  Starret  (54  m).Apr.  25 

7031  Phanton  Thief — Chester  Morris  May  2 

7222  Texas  Jamboree — Musical  Western  (67m.). May  16 

7026  The  Devil's  Mask — Louise-Bannon  May  23 

7208  Two  Fisted  Stranger — Charles  Starrett  (51m)May  30 
7040  The  Man  Who  Dared — Brooks-Macready . .  .May  30 


7011 

7003 
7037 
7032 
7027 
7209 

7223 
7033 
7039 


The  Walls  Came  Tumbling  Down — Bowman- 
Chapman   June  7 

Renegades — Keyes-Parker  June  13 

Dangerous  Business — Merrick -Tucker   June  20 

The  Return  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Litel  June  27 

The  Unknown — Morley-Bannon  July  4 

The  Desert  Horseman — Charles  Starrett 

(60  m.)   July  11 

Cowboy  Blues — Western  Musical  (66  m.)  . .  .July  18 

Sing  While  You  Dance — Drew-Stanton  July  25 

Personality  Kid — Duane-Louise  Aug.  8 

Heading  West — Charles  Starrett  Aug.  15 

It's  Great  To  Be  Young — Brooks-Lord  Sept.  12 

Gallant  Journey — Ford-Blair  Sept.  17 

Shadowed — Louise-Duane  Sept.  26 

The  Thrill  of  Brazil — Keyes-Wynn  Sept.  30 


Metro-Goldv/yn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway.  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
Block  16 

618  The  Hoodlum  Saint — Powell- Williams  Apr.-May 

619  Bad  Bascomb — Beery-O'Brien  Apr.-May 

620  Postman  Always  Rings  Twice — Garfield- 

Turner   Apr.-May 

621  The  Last  Chance — Foreign-made  Apr.-May 

622  Two  Sisters  from  Boston — Durante- Allyson.  Apr.-May 

Block  17 

625  Boys'  Ranch — Jenkins-Homeier  July  18 

626  Courage  of  Lassie — Taylor-Morgan  Aug.  8 

627  Faithful  in  My  Fashion — Reed-Drake  Aug.  22 

628  Three  Wise  Fools — O'Brien-Barrymore  Aug.  29 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson  Mar. 

617  Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946 — All-star  cast  Mar. 

623  The  Green  Years — Coburn-Drake  July  4 

624  Easy  to  Wed — Johnson-Williams-Ball   July  25 


Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave..  Hew  Yor\  19,  M[.  T.) 

529  Gay  Cavalier — Roland-Ames  (65  m.)  Mar.  30 

561  Under  Arizona  Skies — J.  M.  Brown  (67  m.)  .  .Apr.  27 

514  Junior  Prom — Stewart-Preisser  May  11 

526  Behind  the  Mask — Richmond-Reed  May  25 

519  Dark  Alibi — Sidney  Toler  May  25 

502  Joe  Palooka,  Champ — Kirkwood-Errol  May  28 

562  Gentleman  from  Texas — J.  M.  Brown  (60  m.)  .June  8 
508  Don't  Gamble  with  Strangers— Richmond- 
Hayes   June  22 

510  In  Fast  Company — Bowery  Boys  June  22 

515  Freddie  Steps  Out — Stewart  (re.)  June  29 

574  Trail  to  Mexico — Jimmy  Wakely  (56  m.) .  .  .  .June  29 
521  Strange  Voyage — Eddie  Albert  July  6 

530  South  of  Monterey — Cisco  Kid  (63  m.)  July  13 

511  Bowery  Bombshell — Bowery  Boys  July  20 

518  Shadows  Over  Chinatown — Toler  July  27 

520  Below  the  Deadline — Douglas- Ames  Aug.  3 

567  Shadows  on  the  Range — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.) 

(re.)   Aug.  10 

525  Missing  Lady — Richmond-Reed  Aug.  17 

512  Spook  Busters — Bowery  Boys  Aug.  24 

517  High  School  Hero — Stewart-Preisser  Sept.  7 

Special 

699  Suspense — Belita-Sullivan   June  15 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Decoy — Norris-Gillie  Sept.  14 

Trigger  Fingers — J.  M.  Brown  Sept.  21 

Gentleman  Joe  Palooka — Kirkwood-Knox.  .  .  .Sept.  28 

Dangerous  Money — Sidney  Toler  Oct.  5 

Wife  Wanted — Kay  Francis  Oct.  12 

Bringing  Up  Father — Joe  Yule  Oct.  26 


August  24,  194G 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Paramount  Feature* 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  18,  K  T.) 
Block  4 

4516  The  Virginian — McCrea-Donlevy  Apr.  1 

4517  The  Blue  Dahlia— Ladd-Lake  Apr.  19 

4518  They  Made  Mc  a  Killer — Lowery-Britton  May  3 

4519  The  Weil-Groomed  Bride— DeHavilland- 

Milland   May  17 

Block  5 

4521  The  Bride  Wore  Boots — Stanwyck-Cummings.May  31 

4522  Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Russell' 

Lynn  June  14 

4523  Hot  Cargo — Gargan-Reed  June  28 

4524  To  Each  His  Own — Olivia  De  Havilland  July  f 

Block  6 

4526  O.S.S.— Ladd-Fitzgerald  July  26 

4527  The  Searching  Wind — Young-Sidney  Aug.  9 

4528  Swamp  Fire — Weissmuller-Crabbe  Sept.  6 

4529  Strange  Love  of  Martha  Iver6 — Stanwyck- 

Heflin  Sept.  13 

Special 

4531  Road  to  Utopia — Crostjy-Hope  Mar.  22 

4532  Monsieur  Beaucaire — Bob  Hope  Aug.  30 

PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  22,  H-  T.) 
Mask  of  Dijon — Von  Stroheim-Batcs  (re.) . .  .Apr.  9 
Murder  is  My  Business — Beaumont-Walker. .  .Apr.  10 

Thunder  Town — Bob  Steele  (57  m.)  Apr.  10 

Devil  Bat's  Daughter — LaPlanche-James  ....Apr.  15 

Caravan  Trail— Eddie  Dean  (62  m.)  Apr.  20 

Wife  of  Monte  Cristo — Loder-Aubert  Apr.  23 

Ghost  of  the  Hidden  Valley — Crabbe  (56m.). June  3 

Avalanche — Cabot-Bore   June  20 

Colorado  Serenade — Eddie  Dean  (68  m.)  June  30 

Larceny  in  Her  Heart — Beaumont- Walker. .  .  .July  10 

Prairie  Bad  Men — Buster  Crabbe  (55  m.)  July  17 

Queen  of  Burlesque — Young-Ankers  July  24 

Terrors  on  Horseback — Buster  Crabbe  (55m.).  Aug.  14 
Down  Missouri  Way — Wright-O'Driscoll.  . .  Aug.  15 

Secrets  of  a  Sorority  Girl — Ware-Vallin  Aug.  15 

Overland  Riders — Buster  Crabbe  Aug.  21 

Blonde  for  a  Day — Beaumont-Walker  Aug.  29 

Strange  Holiday — Claude  Rains  Sept.  2 

Outlaw  of  the  Plains — Crabbe  Sept.  22 

Accomplice — Richard  Arlen  Sept.  29 

Gas  House  Kids  Oct.  7 

Lady  Killers — Lowery-Savage  Oct.  14 

(More  to  Come) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Her  Sister's  Secret — Lindsay-Reed  Sept.  23 

Driftin'  River — Eddie  Dean  Oct.  1 

Melody  Roundup — Eddie  Dean  Nov.  1 

Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 
512  Murder  in  the  Music  Hall — Ralston  Apr.  10 

515  Undercover  Woman — Livingston-Withers  ...Apr.  11 

555  Alias  Billy  the  Kid — Sunset  Carson  (56  m.) .  .Apr.  17 
5501  Home  on  the  Range — Hale  (Magnacolor) 

(55  m.)   Apr.  18 

514  Catman  of  Paris — Esmond-Aubert  Apr.  20 

516  The  Glass  Alibi — Fowley-Gwynne  Apr.  27 

448  Rainbow  Over  Texas — Roy  Rogers  (65  m.) 

(1944-45)   May  9 

567  Sun  Valley  Cyclone— Bill  Elliott  (55  m.)  May  10 

518  Passkey  to  Danger — Bachelor-Richmond  May  11 

519  The  French  Key — Dekker-Ankers  May  18 

556  El  Paso  Kid — Sunset  Carson  (55  m.)  May  22 

520  Valley  of  the  Zombies — Livingston-Booth. . .  .May  24 

517  In  Old  Sacramento — Elliott-Moore  May  31 

521  One  Exciting  Week — Al  Pearce  June  8 

5  502  Man  from  Rainbow  Valley — Monte  Hale 

(56  m.)  June  15 

522  Traffic  in  Crime — Richmond-Mara  June  28 

524  Specter  of  the  Rose — Kurov-Essen  July  5 

5541  My  Pal  Trigger— Roy  Rogers  (79  m.)  July  10 

523  Night  Train  to  Memphis — Acuff-Lane-Mara. .  July  12 

525  Rendezvous  with  Annie — Albert-Patrick  July  22 

568  Conquest  of  Cheyenne — Elliott  (56  m.)  July  22 

557  Red  River  Renegades — Sunset  Carson  (55  m.)  .July  25 

526  The  Inner  Circle — Douglas-Roberts  Aug.  7 

527  The  Last  Crooked  Mile — Barry-Savage  Aug.  9 

528  G.  I.  War  Brides — Ellison-Lee  Aug.  12 

529  Invisible  Informer — Stirling-Henry  Aug.  19 

541  Under  Nevada  Skies — Roy  Rogers  (69  m.) .  Aug.  26 
531  Mysterious  Mr.  Valentine — Stirling-Henry ..  Sept.  3 

558  Rio  Grande  Raiders — Carson  Sept.  9 

542  Roll  on  Texas  Moon— Roy  Rogers  (68  m.) .  .Sept.  12 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  York  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 
Block  1 

621  Without  Reservations — Colbert  Wayne  

622  Badman's  Territory — Scott-Richards  

623  Ding  Dong  Williams — McGuire-Vernon  

624  The  Truth  About  Murder — Granville-Conway  

625  Partners  in  Time — Lum  and  Abner  

Block  6 

626  Till  the  End  of  Time — McGuire-Madison  

627  Crack-Up — O'Bncn-Trevor-Marshall   

628  Bedlam— Karloff-Lce   

629  The  Falcon's  Alibi — Conwav-Corday  

630  The  Bamboo  Blonde — Langford-Wade  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper-Young  

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue)  

661  Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever — Colbert-Wclles-Brent  

692  Make  Mine  Music — Disney  

683  The  Stranger — Robinson-Welles-Young  

<  (End  oj  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Block  1 

701  Sister  Kenny — Russcll-Knox  

702  Lady  Luck — Hale-Young-Morgan  

703  Step  by  Step — Tierney-Jeffries  

704  Sunset  Pass — James  Warren  

705  Great  Day — English  cast  

Specials 

761  Notorious — Bergman-Grant  

Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

625  The  Dark  Corner — Stevens-Ball  May 

626  Do  You  Love  Me? — O'Hara-Haymes-James  May 

627  Rendezvous  24 — Gargan-Palmer  May 

628  Cluny  Brown — Jones-Boyer  June 

629  Somewhere  in  the  Night — Hodiak-Guild  June 

630  Strange  Triangle — Foster-Hasso  June 

631  Smoky — MacMurray-Baxter   July 

632  It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — Landis-Joslyn .  .  .  .July 

633  Centennial  Summer — Crain-Wilde  Aug. 

634  Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam — Harrison-Dunne.  .Aug. 

635  Deadline  for  Murder — Taylor-Ryan  Aug. 

636  Black  Beauty — Freeman-Denning  Sept. 

637  Claudia  and  David — Young-McGuire  Sept. 

638  If  I'm  Lucky — Blaine-James  Sept. 

Sun  Valley  Serenade — Reissue  Sept. 

The  Bowery — Reissue  Oct. 

639  Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue — Haver-Blaine  Oct. 

Strange  Journey — Kelly-Massen  Oct. 

640  Home  Sweet  Homicide — Garner-Scott  Oct. 


United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 

Young  Widow — Russell -Hayward  Mar.  1 

Johnny  in  the  Clouds — English  Cast  Mar.  15 

Rebecca — Olivier-Fontaine  (reissue)   Apr.  26 

A  Night  in  Casablanca — Marx  Bros  May  10 

A  Scandal  in  Paris — Sanders-Hasso  July  19 

Mr.  Ace — Raft-Sidney  Aug.  2 

Caesar  and  Cleopatra — Leigh-Rains  Aug.  16 

The  Bachelor's  Daughters — Dvorak-Trevor  Sept.  6 

Angel  on  My  Shoulder — Muni-Baxter-Rains  Sept.  20 

Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  Y.) 

526  Madonna  of  the  Seven  Moons — English  cast.  Apr.  5 

527  Blonde  Alibi— Neal-O'DriscoIl  Apr.  12 

528  So  Goes  My  Love — Loy-Ameche  Apr.  19 

529  Night  in  Paradise — Bey-Oberon  May  3 

530  Strange  Conquest — Wyatt-Gilmore  May  10 

531  She  Wolf  of  London— Haden-Porter  May  17 

532  The  Cat  Creeps— Collier-Brady  May  17 

533  She  Wrote  the  Book — Davis-Oakie  May  31 

534  Dressed  to  Kill — Rathbone-Bruce  June  7 

535  The  Runaround — Raines-Cameron  June  14 

536  Lover  Come  Back — Brent-Ball  June  21 

537  Inside  Job — Foster-Rutherford  June  28 

538  Her  Adventurous  Night — O'Keefe-Walker.  .July  5 

539  Danger  Woman — Joyce-Porter  July  12 

540  The  Dark  Horse — Terry-Savage  July  19 

541  Canyon  Passage — Andrews-Donlevy- 

Hayward   July  26 

542  Cuban  Pete— Arnaz-De  Wit  July  26 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index       August  24,  1946 


543  The  Black  Angel — Duryea-Vincent'Lorre. . .  Aug.  2 

544  Slightly  Scandalous — Brady-Drew   Aug.  2 

1105  Rustler's  Roundup — Kirby  Grant  Aug.  9 

545  Wild  Beauty — Porter-Collier  Aug.  9 

546  The  Time  of  Their  Lives — Abbott    Costello.  Aug.  16 

547  Dead  of  Night — English  cast  Aug.  23 

1107  Gunman's  Code — Kirby  Grant  Aug.  30 

548  The  Killers — Lancaster-Gardner  Aug.  30 

(Ed.  Hote:  "The  Brute  Man,"  listed  in  the  last  release 
schedule  as  Ho.  547,  has  been  replaced  by  "Dead  of  Hight.") 

Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Yor^  18,  H-  T.) 

517  Devotion — Lupino-De  Havilland-Henreid  .  . .  .Apr.  20 

518  Her  Kind  of  Man — Clark-Paige-Scott  May  11 

519  One  More  Tomorrow — Sheridan-Morgan. ..  .June  1 

520  Janie  Gets  Married — Leslie-Hutton  June  22 

521  A  Stolen  Life — Davis-Ford   July  6 

522  Of  Human  Bondage — Henreid-Parker  July  20 

523  Night  and  Day — Grant-Smith-Martin  Aug.  3 

524  Two  Guys  from  Milwaukee — Morgan-Carson. Aug.  17 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

601  The  Big  Sleep— Bogart-Bacall  Aug.  31 

602  Shadow  of  a  Woman — King-Dantine  Sept.  14 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 

7559  Community  Sings  No.  9  (10l/2  m.)  May  9 

7753  Unsure-Runts — Color  Rhapsody  (lYi  m.)  .  .May  16 

7859  Screen  Snapshots  No.  9  (11m.)  May  23 

7808  Diving  Aces — Sports  (9  m.)  May  23 

7703  Snap  Happy  Traps — Phantasy  (6]/z  m.)  . . .  .June  6 

7860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  (9l/2  m.)  June  10 

7660  Community  Sings  No.  10  (10  m.)  June  13 

7956  Dick  Stabile     Orch.— Film  Vodvil  June  16 

7503  Picnic  Panic— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  June  20 

7809  Flying  Hoofs— Sports  (9  m.)  June  27 

7704  The  Schooner  the  Better — Phantasy  (61/^  m.)  .July  4 

7661  Community  Sings  No.  11  (9m.)  July  11 

7957  Saxie  Dowell  &  Orch.— Film  Vodvil  (10  m.)  .July  18 

7602  Cagey  Bird— Flippy  (6Y2  m.)  July  18 

7662  Community  Sings  No.  12  (10!/2m.)  Aug.  1 

7958  Bobby  Byrnes     Orch.— Film  Vodvil 

(10  m.)   Aug.  15 

7810  Deep  Sea  Fishing — Sports  (9  m.)  Aug.  15 

7754  Mysto  Fox— Fox  &  Crow  (7  m.)  '.  Aug.  29 

7603  Silent  Treatment— Flippy  (6]/2  m.)  Sept.  19 

m  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

8851  Screen  Snapshots  No.  1  Sept.  5 

8651  Community  Sings  No.  1  Sept.  12 

8951  Jerry  Wald  fc?  Orch.— Thrills  of  Music  Sept.  12 

8801  Army  Football  Champions — Sports  Sept.  19 

8120  Son  of  the  Guardsman — Serial  (15  ep.)  . . .  .Oct.  24 
Columbia — Two  Reels 

7426  Get  Along  Little  Zombie — Herbert  (17  m.)  .  .May  9 

7410  Ain't  Love  Cuckoo? — Schilling  (19  m.)  June  6 

7407  Monkey  Businessmen — Stooges  ( 18  m.)  . . . .  June  20 

7408  Three  Loan  Wolves — Stooges  (I6K2  m.)  July  4 

7411  You  Can't  Fool  a  Fool— Clyde  (17  m.)  July  11 

7180  Chick  Carter,  Detective— Serial  (15  ep.)  July  11 

7412  Hot  Water— Schilling-Lane  (181/2m.)  July  25 

7427  Mr.  Wright  Goes  Wrong — Holloway  (19m). Aug.  1 

7428  Headin'  for  a  Weddin' — Vera  Vague  Aug.  15 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 
8401  G.  I.  Wanna  Go  Home— Stooges  (15J/2m.).  Sept.  5 

8421  Pardon  My  Terror — Schilling-Lane  Sept.  12 

8431  Society  Mugs — Howard  (16  m.)  Sept.  19 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 

M-783  Musical  Masterpieces — Miniature  (10  m.)  .Apr.  20 

S-758  Studio  Visit— Pete  Smith  (10  m.)  May  11 

K-776  Our  Old  Car— Pass.  Par.  (11  m.)  May  11 

S-759  Equestrian  Quiz— Pete  Smith  (9m.).'  May  18 

W-736  The  Milky  Waif— Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  18 

T-717  Looking  at  London — Traveltalk  (10m.).. June  1 
S-760  Treasures  from  Trash — Pete  Smith  (10m.). June  8 
M-784  Bikini — The  Atom  Island — Miniature 

(10  m.)   June  15 

W-737  The  Hick  Chick— Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  15 

W-738  Trap  Happy— Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  29 

W-739  Northwest  Hounded  Police — Cartoon 

(8  m.)  Aug.  3 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-702  Purity  Squad— Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3 


Paramount — One  Reel 

D5-2  Bargain  Counter  Attack — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  .May  3 
Y5-4  In  the  Wilds— Speak,  of  Animals  (9m.)... May  10 

R5-8  Riding  the  Hickories — Sportlight  (9  m.)  May  17 

P5-2  Cheese  Burglar — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  May  17 

L5-4  Unusual  Occupations  No.  4  (10  m.)  (re.).. May  24 
U5-4  Together  in  the  Weather — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  .May  24 

E5-3  Klondike  Casanova — Popeye  (8m.)  May  31 

P5-3  Old  MacDonald  Had  a  Farm— Novel.  (7  m.).  June  7 

E5-4  Peep  in  the  Deep — Popeye  (7  m.)  June  7 

Y5-5  The  Lonesome  Stranger — Speak,  of  Animals 

(10  m.)   June  14 

J5-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  (10  m.)  June  21 

R5-9  Birds  Make  Sport — Sportlight  (9  m.)  June  21 

P5-4  Sheep  Shape — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  June  28 

L5-5  Unusual  Occupations  No.  5  (10  m.)  July  12 

R5-10  Feminine  Class— Sportlight  (10  m.)  July  19 

D5-3  Bored  of  Education — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  July  26 

E5-5  Rocket  to  Mars — Popeye  (6  m.)  Aug.  9 

D5-4  Chick  and  Double  Chick— Little  Lulu  (6m.)  .Aug.  16 

E5-6  Rodeo  Romeo — Popeye  (6  m.)  Aug.  16 

J5-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  16 

L5-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  30 

Y5-6  Be  Kind  to  Animals — Speak,  of  Animals 

(10  m.)  Aug.  30 

U5-6  Don  Henry  6?  Inky  Poo — Puppetoon  (6  m.) .  Sept.  6 

U5-5  Jasper's  Derby — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Sept.  20 

P5-5  Goal  Rush— Noveltoon  (6  m.)  Sept.  27 

P5-6  Sudden  Fried  Chicken — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  . .  .Oct.  4 

U5-7  Jasper  in  a  Jam — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Oct.  11 

D5-5  Musica  Lulu— Little  Lulu  (7m.)   .Oct.  25 

E5-7  Fistic  Mystic — Popeye  (6  m.)  Nov.  1 

D5-6  A  Scout  with  a  Gout — Little  Lulu  Nov.  8 

U5-8  Shoe  Shine  Jasper — Puppetoon  Nov.  15 

E5-8  Island  Fling— Popeye  Nov.  29 

Paramount — Two  Reels 
FF5-3  College  Queens— Musical  Parade  ( 19  m.)  .  .May  17 

T5-2  Don't  Be  a  Sucker— Special  (18  m.)  July  4 

FF5-4  A  Tale  of  Two  Cafes— Musical  Par.  ( 18  m.)  .  July  5 
FF5-5  Double  Rhythm— Musical  Parade  (20  m.) .  .Aug.  23 
FF5-6  Golden  Slippers— Musical  Par.  (16m.)  Oct.  25 

Republic — Two  Reels 

582  King  of  the  Forest  Rangers — Serial  (12  ep.)  .Apr.  27 

583  Daughter  of  Don  Q— Serial  (12  ep.)  July  27 

584  Crimson  Ghost — Serial  (12  ep.)  Oct.  26 

RKO — One  Reel 

64207  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  7  (7  m.)  Apr.  12 

64104  Pluto's  Kid  Brother — Disney  (7  m.)  Apr.  12 

64309  Tenderfoot  Trail — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Apr.  19 

64105  In  Dutch — Disney  (7  m.)  May  10 

64310  Aqua  Queens — Sportscope  (8  m.)  May  17 

64106  Squatter's  Right — Disney  (7  m.)  June  7 

63411  Ben  Hogan — Sportscope  (9  m.)  June  14 

64107  Donald's  Double  Trouble— Disney  (7  m.). June  28 

64108  The  Purloined  Pup— Disney  (7  m.)  July  19 

64312  Palmetto  Quail — Sportscope  (8  m.)  July  19 

RKO — Two  Reels 

63106  Two  Million  Rooms — This  is  America 

(16  m.)  Apr.  5 

63107  No  Place  Like  Home— This  is  Amer.  (16m). May  3 

63704  Twin  Husbands— Leon  Errol  (18m.)  May  10 

63108  Panama— This  is  Amer.  (17  m.)  May  31 

63109  Port  of  New  York— This  Is  America 

(16  m.)   June  28 

63404  Wall  Street  Blues— Ed.  Kennedy  (17m.).. July  12 

63705  I'll  Take  Milk— Errol  (18  m.)  July  12 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 

6514  Gandy  Goose  in  It's  All  in  the  Stars — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Apr.  12 

6259  Cradle  of  Liberty — Adventure  (8  m.)  Apr.  21 

6515  Mighty  Mouse  in  Throwing  the  Bull — Terry. 

(7  m.)  May  3 

6354  Sea  Sirens — Sports  (8  m.)  May  10 

6516  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Trojan  Horse — Terry. 

(6'/2m.)   May  26 

6902  Muscle  Maulers — Lew  Lehr  (8  m.)  May  31 

6517  Dinky  Finds  a  Home — Terrytoon  June  7 

6355  Golden  Horses — Sports  (8  m.)  June  26 

6518  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Johnston  Flood — Terry. 

(7  m.)   June  28 

6260  Across  the  Great  Divide — Adventure  (8m.). July  5 

6519  Gandy  Goose  in  Peacetime  Football — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  19 

6520  Gandy  Goose  in  The  Golden  Hen — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  24 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 


August  24,  1946       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

7251  Sons  of  Courage — Adventure  (8  m.)  Aug.  2 

7501  Winning  the  West  (Mighty  Mouse) — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Aug.  16 

7301  Football  Fanfare— Sports  (9m.)  Aug.  23 

7502  The  Tortoise  Wins  Again — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Aug.  30 

7503  The  Electronic  Mouse  Trap  (Mighty  Mouse) — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)   Sept.  6 

7252  Jamaica — Adventure   Sept.  13 

7504  The  Jail  Break  (Mighty  Mouse) — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Sept.  20 

7351  Winter  Holiday— Sports  (8m.)  Sept.  27 

7505  The  Snow  Man — Terrytoon  (7m.)  Oct.  11 

7253  Historic  Capetown — Adventure  Oct.  18 

7506  The  Housing  Problem — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  .  .  .Oct.  25 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

Vol.  12  No.  9 — Wanted — More  Houses — 

March  of  Time  (20  m.)  Apr.  19 

Vol.  12  No.  10 — Tomorrow's  Mexico — 

March  of  Time  (19  m.)  May  17 

Vol.  12  No.  11— Problem  Drinkers- 
March  of  Time  (19  m.)  June  14 

Vol.  12  No.  12— The  New  France- 
March  of  Time  (20  m.)  July  12 

Vol.  12  No.  13 — Atomic  Power — 

March  of  Time  (19  m.)  Aug.  9 

United  Artists — One  Reel 

The  Lady  Said  No— Daffy  Dittys  (8  m.)  Apr.  26 

The  Flying  Jeep— Daffy  Dittys  (7  m.)  Aug.  20 

Universal — One  Reel 

1324  Apple  Andy — Cartune  (7  m.)  May  20 

1382  Merrily  We  Sing — Musical  (10  m.)  May  27 

1369  Scientifically  Stung — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  10 

1370  Lone  Star  Padre— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  17 

1349  Dog  of  the  7  Seas — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  June  17 

1325  Who's  Cooking  Who — Cartune  (7  m.)  June  24 

1371  Artist's  Antics — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  24 

1326  Bathing  Buddies — Cartune  (7  m.)  July  1 

1372  Picture  Pioneer— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  July  1 

1350  Magic  Mineral — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  July  1 

1351  Mr.  Chimp  at  Home — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  . . .  Aug.  12 

1373  Hobo  Hound— Per.  Odd  (9  m.)  Aug.  19 

1374  Samson  Jr.— Per.  Odd  (9  m.)  Aug.  19 

1327  Reckless  Driver — Cartune  (7  m.)  Aug.  26 

1352  Operation  Holiday — Var.  Views  (9m.)...  .Aug.  26 

1353  Mr.  Chimp  Goes  to  the  Rescue — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)   Aug.  26 

1354  Mr.  Chimp  on  Vacation — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)   Aug.  26 

1375  Rural  Rhapsody— Per.  Odd.  (7  m.)  Aug.  26 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1308  Takin'  the  Breaks — Russ  Morgan — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  22 

1309  Banquet  of  Melody — Matty  Malnick — Musical 

(15  m.)  May  29 

1310  Swinging  Down  the  Scale — Musical  ( 1 5m.)  .June  26 

1311  Breakin'  It  Down — Musical  (15  m.)  Aug.  28 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

2308  Katnip  College — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  4 

2608  Dixieland  Jamboree — Mel.  Master  (10  m.)..May  11 
2510  Facing  Your  Danger — Sports  (10  m.)  May  11 

2508  Undersea  Spear  Fishing — Sports  (10  m.) . . .  .May  18 

2309  Night  Watchman — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  18 

2721  Hair  Raising  Hare — Cartoon  (7  m.)  May  25 

2805  Girls  6f  Flowers — Adventure  (10  m.)  May  25 

2701  Kitty  Kornered — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  June  8 

2310  Little  Brother  Rat — Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  8 

2702  Hollywood  Daffy — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  June  22 

2311  Johnny  Smith  &  Poker  Huntas — Cartoon 

(7  m.)  June  22 

2722  Acrobatty  Bunny — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  . . . .  June  29 

2509  The  Riding  Hannefords — Sports  ( 10  m.)  . . .  June  29 

2609  Musical  Memories — Mel.  Master  (10  m.)  . . .  .July  6 

2312  Robinhood  Makes  Good — Cartoon  (7m.).. July  6 

2703  Eager  Beaver — Merrie  Mel.  (7m.)  July  13 

2704  Great  Piggy  Bank  Robbery — Merrie  Mel. 

(7  m.)   July  20 

2804  Let's  Go  Camping — Adventure  (10  m.)  July  27 

2705  Bacall  to  Arms — Merrie  Melody  (7  m.)  . . . .  Aug.  3 
2512  Ranch  in  White — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  3 

2610  Enric  Madriguera  ii  Orch. — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   Aug.  10 


2806  Adventures  in  South  America — Adventure 

(10  m)  Aug.  10 

2706  Of  Thee  I  Sting— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Aug.  17 

2313  Little  Red  Walking  Hood — Cartoon  (7m.). Aug.  17 

2707  Walky  Talky  Hawky— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.) .  .Aug.  31 
2513  Dominion  of  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  31 

2723  Rackatecr  Rabbit— Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Sept.  14 

2708  Fair  and  Wormcr — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Sept.  28 

2724  Big  Snooze — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Oct.  1 

2709  Mouscmerized  Cat — Merrie  Melody  (7  m.)..Oct.  19 

_  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

3501  King  of  the  Everglades — Sports  (10  m.)  Sept.  14 

3301  Fox  Pop — Blue  Ribbon  Cartoon  (7  m.)  Sept.  28 

3401  So  You  Want  to  Save  Your  Hair— Joe 

McDoakes   (10  m.)  Oct.  1 

3601  Dezi  Arna;  &  Band— Melody  Master  (10  m.)  .Oct.  12 

3302  Wackic  Worm — Blue  Ribbon  Cartoon  (7m.)  .Oct.  12 
3801  Star  Spangled  City — Adventure  (  10  m.)  .  .  . Oct.  19 

3502  Lazy  Hunter— Sports  (10m.)  Oct.  26 

3303  You're  an  Education — B.  R.  Cartoon  (7m  ). Oct.  26 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

2005  South  of  Monterey — Special  (20  m.)  June  1 

2006  Hawaiian  Memories — Special  (20  m.)  June  15 

2007  Down  Singapore  Way — Special  (20  m.) . . . .  July  20 

2008  Men  of  Tomorrow — Special  (20  m.)  Aug.  24 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

3101  O.  K.  For  Sound— Featurette  (20  m.)  Sept.  7 

3001  Cinderella's  Feller'— Special  (20  m.)  Sept.  21 

NEWSWEEKLY  NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 
Beginning  of 
1946-47  Season 


75101 
75202 
75103 
75204 
75105 
75206 
75107 
75208 
75109 
75210 
75111 
75212 
75113 
75214 


Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E).. 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E).. 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E).. 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E).. 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E).. 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E).. 
Wed.  (O). 
Sat.  (E).. 


.Aug.  21 
.Aug.  24 
.Aug.  28 
.Aug.  31 
.Sept.  4 
.Sept.  7 
.Sept.  11 
.Sept.  14 
.Sept.  18 
.Sept.  21 
.Sept.  25 
.Sept.  28 
.Oct.  2 
.Oct.  5 


Fox  Movietone 

102  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  22 

103  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Aug.  27 

104  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  29 
(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of 
1946-47  Season 


Paramount  News 

102  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  22 

103  Sunday  (O)  .Aug.  25 

104  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  29 
(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of 
1946-47  Season 


Tues. 
Thurs. 
Tues. 
Thurs, 
Tues. 
Thurs. 
Tues. 

8  Thurs. 

9  Tues. 

10  Thurs. 

1 1  Tues. 


(O) 

(O)  . 

(E) 
(O) 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O) 

(E) 
(O) 


.Sept.  3 
.Sept.  5 
.Sept.  10 
.Sept.  12 
.Sept.  17 
.Sept.  19 
.Sept.  24 
.Sept.  26 
..Oct.  1 
..Oct.  3 
. .  Oct.  8 


Sunday  (O) 
Thurs.  (E)  . 
Sunday  (0) 
Thurs.  (E)  . 
Sunday  (0) 
Thurs.  (E)  . 
Sunday  (0) 

8  Thurs.  (E)  . 

9  Sunday  (O) 

10  Thurs.  (E)  . 

11  Sunday  (O) 


.  Sept.  1 
.  Sept.  5 
.Sept.  8 
.Sept.  12 
.Sept.  15 
.Sept.  19 
.Sept.  22 
.  Sept.  26 
.Sept.  29 
.Oct.  3 
.Oct.  6 


News  of  the  Day 

300  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  22 

301  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Aug.  27 

302  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Aug.  29 

303  Tues.  (O)    ..Sept.  3 

Beginning  of 
1946-47  Season 


Universal 


530  Thurs. 

531  Tues. 

532  Thurs. 

533  Tues. 

534  Thurs 

535  Tues. 

536  Thurs. 

537  Tues. 

538  Thurs 

539  Tues. 

540  Thurs 

541  Tues. 

542  Thurs, 

543  Tues. 


(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O)  . 

(E) 
(O) 
■(E) 
(O) 


.Aug.  22 
.Aug.  27 
.Aug.  29 
.  Sept.  3 
.  Sept.  5 
.Sept.  10 
.Sept.  12 
.Sept.  17 
.Sept.  19 
.Sept.  24 
.Sept.  26 
..Oct.  1 
..Oct.  3 
..Oct.  8 


200  Thurs.  (E) 

201  Tues.  (O) 

202  Thurs.  (E) 

203  Tues.  (O)  . 

204  Thurs.  (E) 

205  Tues.  (O)  . 

206  Thurs.  (E) 

207  Tues.  (O) 

208  Thurs.  (E) 

209  Tues.  (O)  . 


..Sept.  5 
.  .Sept.  10 
.  .  Sept.  12 
.  .  Sept.  17 
.  .Sept.  19 
.  .Sept.  24 
.  .Sept.  26 
..Oct.  1 
.  .  Oct.  3 
..Oct.  8 


All  American  News 

200  Friday   Aug.  23 

201  Friday   Aug.  30 

202  Friday   Sept.  6 

203  Friday   Sept.  13 

204  Friday   Sept.  20 

205  Friday   Sept.  27 

206  Friday  Oct.  4 

207  Friday  Oct.  11 


.Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  IS  .  3. 


Harrison's  Reports 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  AUGUST  31,  1946  No.  35 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  4 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(2)  Run  and  Clearance  (cont'd) 
(c)  Separate  Grants  of  Clearance  by 
Individual  Distributors 

The  Government's  contention  was  that  clearance  pre 
duced  unreasonable  restriction  of  competition  and  was  there 
fore  violative  of  the  Sherman  Act.  With  that  contention  the 
Court  did  not  agree.  They  ruled: 

".  .  .  it  seems  to  us  that  a  grant  of  clearance,  when  not 
accompanied  by  a  fixing  of  minimum  prices  or  not  unduly 
extended  as  to  area  or  duration,  affords  a  fair  protection  to 
the  interests  of  the  licensee  without  unreasonably  inter- 
fering with  the  interests  of  the  public." 

In  reaching  that  conclusion  the  Court  declared  that,  at 
common  law,  a  covenant  of  a  seller  of  property  not  to  com' 
pete  with  his  purchaser  within  a  given  area  or  for  a  specific 
time  was  not  illegal.  They  asserted  that,  because  of  the  cost 
of  prints,  the  showing  of  films  "would  be  confined  to  the 
larger  high-priced  theatres  unless  a  system  of  successive 
runs  with  a  reasonable  protection  for  the  earlier  runs  is 
adopted  in  the  way  of  clearance."  In  the  Consent  Decree 
"there  is  an  explicit  recognition  that  'clearance,  reasonable 
as  to  time  and  area,  is  essential  in  the  distribution  of  motion 
pictures'."  Clearance  provisions,  they  declared — ".  .  .  are 
no  more  than  safeguards  against  concurrent  or  subsequent 
licenses  in  the  same  area  until  the  exhibitor  whose  theatre 
is  involved  has  had  a  chance  to  exhibit  the  pictures  licensed 
without  invasion  by  a  subsequent  exhibitor  at  a  lower 
price.  .  .  ." 

".  .  .  while  clearance  may  indirectly  affect  admission 
prices,  it  does  not  fix  them  and  is,  we  believe,  a  reasonable 
restraint  permitted  by  the  Sherman  Act.  .  .  ." 

".  .  .  The  exhibitors  need  assurances  that  a  competitor 
would  not  be  licensed  to  show  the  same  film  at  the  same 
time  or  so  soon  thereafter  that  the  exhibitors'  income  would 
be  greatly  diminished.  .  .  ." 

The  Government,  according  to  the  opinion,  had  con- 
ceded "that  the  licensor  may  license  its  pictures  for  different 
successive  dates."  To  the  Court  it  seemed  that  clearance 
was  in  effect  the  same  thing,  and  that  it  permitted  the  public 
to  see  the  picture  in  a  subsequent  run  theatre  at  lower  than 
prior-run  rates.  They  declared: 

"Several  courts  have  previously  considered  the  validity  of 
clearances  under  the  Sherman  Act  and  have  concluded  that 
in  the  absence  of  an  unconscionably  long  time  or  too  ex- 
tensive an  area  embraced  by  the  clearance,  or  a  conspiracy 
of  distributors  to  fix  clearances,  there  was  nothing  of  itself 
illegal  in  their  use.  .  .  .  We  find  the  reasoning  of  these  cases 
persuasive."28 

From  the  opinion  it  is  obvious  that  in  the  view  of  the 
Court  an  agreement  for  clearance  is  not  illegal  (a)  when 
not  the  result  of  a  conspiracy  by  distributors;  (b)  when  not 
accompanied  by  an  understanding  to  fix  minimum  admission 
prices;  and  (c)  when  not  unreasonable  as  to  time  or  area. 

In  view  of  the  contentions  of  the  Government  and  the 
decision  of  the  Expediting  Court,  two  important  issues 
affecting  clearance  remain  to  be  decided  by  the  Supreme 
Court: 


1.  Whether,  under  the  present  system,  any  agreement 
for  clearance  between  a  distributor  and  an  exhibitor,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  a  voluntary  grant  by  a  distributor,  can 
legally  be  made. 

2.  Whether,  in  the  absence  of  conspiracy  or  an  intent 
to  maintain  a  monopoly,  a  grant  of  clearance  by  a  distribu- 
tor is  legal  only  if  reasonable  as  to  time  and  area. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  express  an  opinion 
on  these  questions  in  advance  of  a  decision  by  our  highest 
tribunal.  It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  the  decisions 
cited  by  the  Statutory  Court  are  not  too  convincing  in  their 
reasoning,  although  made  by  courts  of  very  respectable 
authority.  And  it  may  be  seriously  doubted  whether  any 
clearance  resulting  from  the  demand  of  a  dominant  exhibi- 
tor, whether  reasonable  or  unreasonable,  will  meet  with  the 
approval  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

In  connection  with  the  first  proposition,  whether  any 
agreement  for  clearance  can  be  legally  made,  it  will  be  re- 
called that  in  the  section  of  the  opinion  relating  to  admis- 
sion price  fixing  the  Statutory  Court  pointed  out  that  it 
was  unnecessary  to  decide  whether  a  copyright  owner  might 
lawfully  fix  admission  prices  to  be  charged  by  an  exhibitor, 
if  other  licensors  (distributors)  and  exhibitors  were  not  in 
contemplation,  because  other  licensors  and  exhibitors  were, 
as  a  practical  matter,  always  in  contemplation.  The  same 
reasoning  might  be  applied  to  a  clearance  restriction;  be- 
cause, as  a  practical  matter,  it  can  seldom  be  made  unless 
other  distributors  and  exhibitors  are  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  parties. 

In  regard  to  the  second  proposition,  whether  a  grant  of 
clearance  is  legal  only  if  reasonable  as  to  time  and  area,  it 
may  be  observed  that  clearance,  originating  with  the  distribu- 
tor, for  its  own  legitimate  business  purpose,  stands  upon  a 
footing  different  from  a  restriction  that  is  a  part  of  a  system 
or  which  originates  with  the  demand  of  a  dominant  exhibitor. 
The  distributor  is  the  copyright  owner  of  the  films.  It  has  the 
undisputed  and  indisputable  right  to  do  what  it  pleases  with 
them.  It  may  decline  to  release  them  and  place  them  on  a 
shelf,  or  it  may  release  them  for  a  single  exhibition  in  one 
city,  and  then  burn  them.  The  Statutory  Court,  in  its  dis- 
cussion of  "Block  Booking,"  expressly  recognized  this  right 
of  a  distributor  when  they  said:  "The  distributor  may  of 
course  not  license  his  pictures  at  all.  .  .  ."  And  the  Govern- 
ment has  conceded  that  a  distributor  may  lawfully  "stagger" 
runs  and  specify  the  dates  of  exhibition  of  its  films.  In  the 
absence  of  conspiracy,  therefore,  or  of  participation  in  a 
uniform  system,  the  question  of  the  right  of  a  distributor 
to  grant  clearance,  irrespective  of  its  reasonableness,  may 
not  be  of  too  great  significance. 

Clearance,  Runs,  Admission  Prices 

The  Statutory  Court  said : 

"The  evidence  we  have  referred  to  shows  that  both  inde- 
pendent distributors  and  exhibitors  when  attempting  to 
bargain  with  the  defendants  have  been  met  by  a  fixed  scale 
of  clearances,  runs,  and  admission  prices  to  which  they  have 
been  obligated  to  conform  if  they  wished  to  get  their  pictures 
shown  upon  satistactory  runs  or  were  to  compete  in  exhi- 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


138 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  31,  1946 


"Two  Years  Before  the  Mast"  with 
Alan  Ladd,  Brian  Donlevy  and 
William  Bendix 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  98  min.) 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  falls  down  as  far  as  the  story 
is  concerned,  this  sea  melodrama  should  prove  fairly  thrill' 
ing  to  men  who  do  not  mind  grim  entertainment.  Women, 
however,  will  probably  find  the  picture  too  harrowing  for 
their  tastes  since  part  of  the  action  is  quite  brutal.  Adapted 
from  the  novel  by  Richard  Henry  Dana,  Jr.,  the  story  is  a 
strong  account  of  the  hardships  and  cruelties  suffered  by 
merchant  seamen  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
depicting  with  grim  realism  the  methods  employed  to  shang- 
hai unwilling  seamen  and  the  brutalities  inflicted  to  keep 
them  subjugated.  The  sufferings  of  the  men  at  the  hands  of 
a  sadistic  captain  makes  one  feel  pity  for  them.  Several  of 
the  situations,  such  as  the  one  in  which  the  men  mutiny 
against  the  injustices  of  the  tyrannical  captain,  arc  exciting. 
The  story  is  weakened  by  a  slight  romantic  interest,  which 
is  dragged  in  by  the  ear: — 

Ready  to  sail  from  Boston  to  California,  Howard  Da 
Silva,  captain  of  the  brig,  Pilgrim,  finds  that  most  of  his 
crew  had  deserted  him.  He  orders  William  Bendix,  his 
first  mate,  to  shanghai  a  crew.  Through  error,  Alan  Ladd, 
foppish  son  of  Ray  Collins,  the  ship's  owner,  is  among 
those  forced  on  board.  Included  in  the  crew  was  Brian 
Donlevy  (as  Richard  Henry  Dana),  who  had  signed  aboard 
voluntarily  to  learn  about  seamen's  lives.  Da  Silva,  a  strict 
disciplinarian,  bent  on  making  a  record  voyage  from  Boston 
to  California,  backs  up  his  demands  for  obedience  to  orders 
by  floggings  and  starvation  rations.  Even  Ladd  is  treated  as 
a  common  seaman  and  dealt  with  severely.  Because  of  his 
determination  to  make  the  voyage  in  record  time,  Da  Silva 
disregards  the  welfare  of  his  crew  and  refuses  to  put  in  at 
a  port  for  fresh  food  stocks.  The  bad  food  and  short  rations 
result  in  an  outbreak  of  scurvy,  and  this  disease,  coupled 
with  the  brutal  discipline,  causes  the  death  of  two  crew 
members.  Ladd,  enraged,  stages  an  unsuccessful  one-man 
mutiny  in  an  effort  to  force  the  captain  to  put  ashore  for 
fresh  supplies.  Da  Silva  puts  Ladd  in  irons,  but  the  crew, 
by  this  time  rebellious,  sets  Ladd  free  and,  in  a  fight  to  the 
finish,  slay  the  captain  and  take  control  of  the  ship.  The 
seamen  decide  upon  a  life  of  piracy  rather  than  face  charges 
of  mutiny,  but  Ladd,  supported  by  Donlevy,  induces  them 
to  return  to  Boston  to  wage  a  fight  for  better  conditions 
and  to  make  possible  publication  of  Donlevy's  notes  reveal- 
ing the  injustices  and  inhumanities  they  had  suffered.  At  a 
hearing  before  a  U.  S.  Senate  committee,  the  men  are  vindi- 
cated and  plans  are  formulated  for  more  equitable  laws 
governing  American  seamen. 

Scton  I.  Miller  and  George  Bruce  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Mr.  Miller  produced  it,  and  John  Farrow  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Barry  Fitzgerald,  Albert  Dekker,  Roman 
Bohnen,  Esther  Fernandez  and  many  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Brief  Encounter"  with  Celia  Johnson 
and  Trevor  Howard 

(Prestige-Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time,  85  min.) 

This  British-made  picture  is  a  fine  adult  love  drama. 
Handled  with  care  and  intelligence,  it  is  the  type  of  picture 
that  discerning  audiences  in  particular  should  find  absorbing, 
for  it  avoids  that  which  smacks  of  routine  picture-making. 

Briefly,  the  story  tells  of  the  desperate  but  frustrated 
romance  that  springs  up  between  two  middle-aged  people, 
Celia  Johnson,  a  happily  married  woman  and  mother  of 
two  children,  and  Trevor  Howard,  a  contented  married 
doctor,  as  a  result  of  a  chance  meeting  when  he  takes  a 
cinder  out  of  her  eye  at  a  railway  station.  Each  travelled 
to  a  small  English  town  on  Thursdays,  she  on  a  weekly 
shopping  trip,  and  he  to  attend  patients  at  a  local  hospital. 
Mutually  attracted,  they  keep  a  rendezvous  on  a  few  suc- 
cessive Thursdays  and  their  innocent  acquaintance  soon 
ripens  into  a  love  so  deep  that  it  tortures  their  consciences. 
They  experience  so  much  unhappiness  because  of  the 
futility  of  their  love  that  Howard,  in  order  not  to  break  up 
both  their  happy  homes,  brings  the  romance  to  an  end  by 
accepting  a  post  offered  him  in  South  Africa. 

It  is  a  simple  story,  but  it  has  been  presented  in  a  way 
that  stirs  one's  emotions  strongly;  it  should  have  a  powerful 
appeal  for  women.  Even  men  should  find  it  extremely  inter- 
esting, because  of  its  honesty  in  the  portrayal  of  the  two 
leading  characters,  and  of  the  natural  way  in  which  the 
action  unfolds.  The  all-English  cast  is  unknown  to  Ameri- 
can audiences,  but  their  performances  are  first-rate.  Al- 
though the  story  is  told  in  flashback  it  does  not  diminish 


one's  interest  in  the  outcome.  The  background  music  is 
exceptionally  good. 

Noel  Coward  wrote  the  screen  play  based  on  his  own 
one-act  play,  "Still  Life."  Mr.  Coward  produced  it,  and 
David  Lean  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Stanley  Hollo- 
way,  Joyce  Carey,  Cyril  Raymond  and  others. 

"Mr.  Ace"  with  Sylvia  Sidney 
and  George  Raft 

(United  Artists,  Aug.  2;  time,  82  min.) 
The  combination  of  Sylvia  Sidney  and  George  Raft 
should  result  in  pretty  good  box-office  returns,  but  judged 
solely  on  its  merits  this  political  drama  is  only  fair  entertain- 
ment. The  story,  which  revolves  around  the  conflict  between 
an  ambitious  woman,  who  seeks  to  become  Governor,  and 
a  crooked  political  boss,  who  opposes  her,  is  not  very  edify- 
ing, for  the  characters  involved  resort  to  questionable  means 
to  gain  their  ends.  Even  though  both  the  main  characters 
become  regenerated  in  the  end,  their  earlier  actions  deprive 
them  of  audience  sympathy.  The  fact  that  one's  interest  is 
held  fairly  well  throughout  is  due  more  to  the  good  per- 
formances than  to  the  story  itself.  The  romantic  interest 
is  strong: — 

Seeking  the  nomination  for  governor  of  her  state,  Con- 
grcsswoman  Sylvia  Sidney  rejects  the  request  of  her  hus- 
band, Alan  Edwards,  for  a  divorce;  Edwards,  a  millionaire, 
had  deserted  her  shortly  after  their  marriage,  and  she 
planned  to  use  his  distinguished  family  name  to  further  her 
political  career.  To  assure  herself  of  the  nomination,  Sylvia 
seeks  the  support  of  George  Raft,  head  of  a  powerful 
political  organization.  She  resorts  to  womanly  wiles  to  win 
his  backing,  but  Raft,  though  attracted  to  her,  refuses  to 
support  her  candidacy.  Unable  to  make  any  headway  with 
Raft,  Sylvia  bribes  one  of  his  political  henchmen  to  create  a 
split  in  the  organization  and  to  support  her  for  governor. 
Her  scheme  wins  her  the  nomination,  and  Raft,  angered 
by  her  methods,  visits  her  husband  and  offers  to  testify  that 
he  had  spent  the  night  with  her.  His  move  compels  her  to 
withdraw  from  the  election  and  to  grant  her  husband  a 
divorce.  Shortly  thereafter,  Raft  learns  from  Roman 
Bohnen,  a  college  professor  and  mutual  friend,  that  Sylvia's 
experience  with  machine  politics  had  taught  her  the  need 
for  public  servants  who  would  serve  the  people  and  not  the 
politicians.  Convinced  that  her  interest  in  politics  was  now 
sincere,  Raft,  aided  by  the  professor,  secretly  arranges  for 
Sylvia  to  re-enter  the  race  as  candidate  for  an  independent 
political  party.  She  wins  the  election  by  her  expose  of  the 
corrupt  dealings  of  Raft's  organization,  and  by  indicting 
Raft  and  his  henchmen  for  fraud.  It  is  not  until  after  her 
victory  that  she  learns  of  Raft's  secret  support.  She  con- 
fesses her  love  for  him  and  offers  to  withdraw  her  charges, 
but  Raft  declines,  content  in  the  thought  that  she  would 
be  waiting  for  him  upon  his  release  from  jail. 

Fred  Finklehoffe  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Benedit 
Bogeaus  produced  it,  and  Edwin  L.  Marin  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Stanley  Ridges,  Jerome  Cowan,  Sara  Haden, 
Sid  Silvers  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Shadows  Over  Chinatown"  with 
Sidney  Toler 

(Monogram, July  27;  time,  64  min.) 

A  tiresome  program  offering.  It  is  the  latest  in  the  "Charlie 
Chan"  mystery  series  and,  although  the  picture  runs  only 
64  minutes,  considerable  padding  had  to  be  done  to  give  it 
that  footage,  which  is  an  indication  of  how  thin  is  the  story. 
Even  those  who  are  not  too  discriminating  in  their  choice 
of  entertainment  may  find  it  boresome,  for  the  action  is 
slow  and  lacking  in  excitement.  Moreover,  the  story  is  so 
difficult  to  follow  that  one  loses  interest  in  the  outcome 
long  before  the  finish.  It  has  some  comedy,  but  most  of  it 
is  so  inane  that  it  falls  flat: — 

En  route  to  San  Francisco  to  investigate  an  insurance- 
racket  murder  case,  Charlie  Chan  (Sidney  Toler)  finds 
himself  stranded  in  a  small  bus  station  when  the  bus  breaks 
down.  Among  the  other  passengers  on  the  bus  were  Bruce 
Kellogg,  a  marine  searching  for  his  missing  fiancee;  Mary 
Gordon,  an  elderly  woman,  who  was  on  her  way  to  San 
Francisco  to  search  for  her  missing  daughter;  John  Gallau- 
det,  a  private  detective;  Victor  Sen  Young,  Chan's  son;  and 
Manton  Moreland,  his  chauffeur.  An  unsuccessful  attempt 
is  made  on  Chan's  life  by  a  mysterious  person  shortly  before 
the  trip  is  resumed.  In  San  Francisco,  while  working  on  the 
murder  case,  Chan  discovers  that  Miss  Gordon's  missing 
daughter  and  KeUogg's  missing  fiancee  were  the  same  per- 
son (Tanis  Chandler),  who  in  some  way  was  connected 


August  31,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


139 


with  the  crime.  Chan,  enlisting  the  aid  of  Gallaudct,  follows 
up  a  series  of  clues  and  learns  that  Tanis  had  been  working 
for  an  escort  bureau,  whose  secret  head  had  tried  to  involve 
her  in  the  racket-murder  case  he  was  investigating.  Tanis 
had  changed  her  name  and  had  disappeared  to  get  away 
from  her  mysterious  employer.  Chan  succeeds  in  locating 
Tanis  and  induces  her  to  serve  as  bait  in  an  effort  to  trap 
the  secret  head.  Several  more  murders  occur  before  Chan, 
endangering  the  lives  ol  both  Tanis  and  himself,  discovers 
that  Gallaudet,  the  private  detective,  was  the  head  of  the 
racket.  He  brings  him  to  justice  with  the  aid  of  the  San 
Francisco  police. 

Raymond  Schrock  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  James 
S.  Burkett  produced  it,  and  Terry  Morse  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Jack  Norton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"High  School  Hero"  with  Freddie  Stewart 
and  June  Preisser 

(Monogram,  Sept.  7;  time,  69  min.) 

This  latest  of  the  "Teen  Agers"  comedies  with  music 
should  get  by  as  a  program  filler  wherever  something  light 
can  be  used  to  round  out  a  double  bill.  Like  the  first  two 
pictures  in  the  series,  this  one,  too,  has  a  story  that  is  ex- 
tremely  thin,  but  it  serves  well  enough  as  a  framework  for 
several  pleasant  though  undistinguished  musical  numbers, 
and  for  some  amusing  comedy  situations  provoked  by  the 
high  school  "jinks"  of  a  lively  group  of  youngsters.  As  in 
the  previous  pictures,  Freddie  Stewart's  pleasant  singing 
is  a  highlight.  Popular  type  music  by  the  orchestras  of  Jan 
Savitt  and  Freddie  Slack,  and  a  specialty  number  by  Isa- 
belita,  a  Latin  singer,  help  carry  the  picture: — 

Several  vexing  problems  face  Whitney  High  School :  The 
football  team,  led  by  Freddie  Stewart  and  Warren  Mills, 
is  so  poor  that  Douglas  Fowley,  the  coach,  demands  that 
his  resignation  be  accepted;  the  school  paper,  edited  by 
Noel  Neill,  is  so  low  on  circulation  that  she  finds  herself 
on  the  verge  of  suspending  publication;  and  the  principal 
(Milt  Kibbee),  under  pressure  from  the  Mayor  because  of 
a  pending  visit  by  the  Governor,  finds  himself  compelled 
to  replace  student  talent  with  professional  performers  for 
the  forthcoming  school  bazaar.  In  the  course  of  events  it 
is  discovered  that  June  Preisser,  Freddie's  girl-friend,  is  an 
excellent  football  player,  and  she  agrees  to  masquerade  as 
Mills  and  to  play  his  position  if  Freddie  would  make  an 
effort  to  get  the  student  talent  back  into  the  show.  To 
carry  out  a  plan,  Freddie  visits  orchestra  leader  Jan  Savitt 
at  a  local  dance  hall,  only  to  become  involved  with  Isabelita, 
Savitt's  singer,  who  takes  a  romantic  interest  in  him  and 
ruins  his  romance  with  June.  On  the  day  of  the  Governor's 
visit,  a  series  of  complicated  events  ensue  in  which  Noel, 
seeking  to  boost  the  circulation  of  her  paper,  obtains  and 
publishes  sensational  photographs  of  June  being  caught  by 
the  Governor  in  the  football  team's  locker  room;  of  Freddie 
in  an  amorous  embrace  with  Isabelita;  and  of  the  principal 
in  a  compromising  position  with  one  of  the  female  teachers. 
Despite  these  complications,  however,  the  school's  problems 
are  solved  satisfactorily  when  the  team  wins  the  big  game, 
the  students  combine  with  the  professionals  to  put  on  the 
show,  and  the  increase  in  circulation  enables  Noel  to  carry 
on  with  the  school  paper. 

Hal  Collins  and  Arthur  Dreifuss  wrote  the  original  screen 
play,  Sam  Katzman  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Dreifuss  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Jackie  Moran,  Ann  Rooney,  Frankie 
Darro,  Pierre  Watkin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"If  I'm  Lucky"  with  Vivian  Blaine, 
Perry  Como,  Harry  James  and 
Carmen  Miranda 

(20th  Century -Fox;  Sept.;  time,  79  min.) 
Although  not  much  can  be  said  for  the  story,  this  mix- 
ture of  politics  and  music  shapes  up  as  fairly  good  entertain- 
ment for  those  who  enjoy  musical  pictures.  It  may  do  better 
than  average  business  because  of  the  popularity  of  the 
players.  Musically,  the  picture  is  satisfying,  for  the  pro- 
duction numbers  are  tuneful  and  lavish,  and  the  dance  rou- 
tines are  well  executed.  But  the  picture  bogs  down  con- 
siderably when  it  sticks  to  the  story,  which  is  a  thin,  far- 
fetched tale  about  a  "crooner"  who  becomes  an  unwilling 
candidate  for  governor  and  wins  the  election.  Aside  from 
the  story's  defects,  however,  it  serves  well  enough  as  a  frame- 
work for  the  musical  talents  of  the  different  players.  Phil 
Silvers  and  Carmen  Miranda  provide  the  comedy,  but  the 
ordinary  material  they  have  to  work  with  does  not  give 
them  much  of  a  chance.  The  romantic  interest  is  routine; — 


Stranded  in  a  small  town  when  a  deal  arranged  by  Phil 
Silvers,  their  manager,  falls  through,  Harry  James  and  his 
band,  including  singers  Vivian  Blaine,  Carmen  Miranda, 
and  Perry  Como,  accept  an  engagement  to  play  music  at 
campaign  rallies  for  Edgar  Buchanan,  a  gubernatorial  can- 
didate. Buchanan,  tool  of  a  corrupt  political  machine  headed 
by  Frank  Fenton,  finds  himself  becoming  popular  with  the 
people,  as  the  result  of  James'  successful  shows,  and  decides 
to  become  serious  about  his  election.  Fenton,  interested 
only  in  the  reelection  of  the  corrupt  incumbent  governor, 
becomes  disturbed  lest  Buchanan  win  the  election  and  get 
out  of  control.  He  resorts  to  blackmail  to  force  Buchanan 
out  of  the  race,  and  he  persuades  Como  to  take  his  place 
as  a  means  of  keeping  the  troupe  employed.  Much  to  Fen- 
ton's  surprise,  however,  Como  becomes  highly  popular  with 
the  public.  The  political  leader  decides  to  back  Como  fully, 
but  through  trickery  makes  him  sign  papers  that  would 
keep  him  under  control  in  the  event  he  won  the  election. 
In  the  course  of  events,  Como  learns  of  Fenton's  trickery 
and,  on  election  eve,  reveals  to  the  people  the  whole  story 
of  the  political  machine's  plan  to  use  him  as  a  "tool"  for 
their  dishonest  intentions.  He  withdraws  from  the  race 
and  urges  the  people  to  vote  for  his  opponent.  But  the 
voters,  captivated  by  his  honesty,  elect  him  to  office. 

Snag  Werris,  Robert  Ellis,  Helen  Logan  and  George 
Bricker  wrote  the  screen  play,  Bryan  Foy  produced  it,  and 
Lewis  Seller  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"No  Leave,  No  Love"  with  Van  Johnson, 
Keenan  Wynn  and  Pat  Kirkwood 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  119  min.) 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  lags  occasionally,  this  comedy 
with  music  should  go  over  with  the  masses  pretty  well,  for 
it  is  fast,  breezy,  and  funny.  Its  farcical  story  about  the 
misadventures  of  two  discharged  marines  offers  little  that 
is  novel,  but  it  has  been  presented  in  a  highly  amusing  way 
and  is  filled  with  situations  that  should  provoke  hilarious 
laughter.  Keenan  Wynn  carries  the  burden  of  the  comedy 
in  his  usual  capable  fashion,  but  the  surprise  of  the  picture 
is  the  gay  performance  of  Marina  Koshetz,  a  newcomer,  who 
enacts  the  role  of  a  singing  Russian  countess;  she  has  an 
excellent  flair  for  comedy,  and  her  singing  voice  is  extremely 
good.  Worked  into  the  plot  are  some  entertaining  musical 
numbers  featuring  the  orchestras  of  Xavier  Cugat  and  Guy 
Lombardo,  and  the  pleasant  singing  of  Pat  Kirkwood,  who 
plays  the  romantic  lead.  An  outstanding  specialty  number 
is  provided  by  Frank  "Sugarchile"  Robinson,  a  cute  colored 
child  about  five  years  old,  whose  "boogie-woogie"  piano 
playing  and  singing  is  nothing  short  of  sensational.  Edward 
Arnold,  cast  in  a  comedy  role,  handles  his  part  very  well. 
Like  most  MGM  musicals,  the  production  mountings  are 
on  a  lavish  scale. 

In  the  development  of  the  plot,  Van  Johnson,  a  Marine 
hero  eager  to  return  home  to  his  girl,  is  tricked  by  Keenan 
Wynn,  his  buddy,  into  appearing  on  Pat  Kirkwood's  radio 
show,  which  arranged  for  returned  servicemen  to  telephone 
their  families.  Peeved  because  Wynn's  trickery  had  delayed 
his  homecoming,  Johnson  compels  Wynn  to  impersonate 
him  on  the  program.  Arrangements  are  completed  for  a 
telephone  call  to  Johnson's  mother,  Selena  Royle,  who 
informs  Pat  confidentially  that  Johnson's  sweetheart  had 
married  another  man  and  requests  that  he  be  detained  in 
Hollywood  until  she  could  arrive  and  break  the  news  to 
him  herself.  Pat  agrees  to  cooperate.  She  manages  to  detain 
Johnson  by  demanding  that  he  remain  in  town  until  her 
next  broadcast  to  clear  up  the  hoax  he  had  perpetrated  on 
the  listening  public  by  having  Wynn  pose  as  him.  She 
installs  both  Johnson  and  Wynn  in  a  swanky  hotel  suite,  and 
instructs  the  management  to  cater  to  their  slightest  wish. 
Wynn,  seeking  to  earn  an  easy  dollar,  takes  advantage  of 
his  good  fortune  and  of  the  room  shortage  by  renting  parts 
of  the  suite  to  Marina  Koshetz,  a  Russian  countess,  and 
Edward  Arnold,  Pat's  radio  sponsor,  entertaining  both  of 
them  royally.  Arnold,  unaware  that  Wynn  was  actually 
his  guest  and  that  he  himself  was  footing  the  bills,  gleefully 
accepts  the  lavish  hospitality.  Wynn's  machinations  lead 
him  and  Johnson  into  one  scrape  after  another,  the  climax 
being  reached  by  Arnold's  discovery  that  he  had  been 
urging  them  to  squander  his  own  money.  Eventually,  it  all 
ends  with  Johnson  learning  the  true  reason  for  his  detention 
and  with  his  i ailing  in  love  with  Pat. 

Charles  Martin  and  Leslie  Kardos  wrote  the  original 
screen  play,  Joe  Pasternak  produced  it.  and  Mr.  Martin 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Marie  Wilson,  Leon  Ames, 
and  many  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


140 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


August  31,  1946 


bition  either  with  the  defendants'  theatres  or  with  theatres 
to  which  the  latter  have  licensed  their  pictures.  Under  the 
circumstances  disclosed  in  the  record  there  has  been  no  fair 
chance  for  either  the  present  or  any  future  licensees  to 
change  a  situation  sanctioned  by  such  effective  control  and 
general  acquiescence  as  have  obtained." 

The  Court  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  only  way  com- 
petition might  be  introduced  into  the  present  system  was 
to  require  the  defendants,  when  licensing  pictures  to  theatres 
not  their  own,  to  offer  each  picture  to  other  exhibitors  on 
the  run  and  with  the  clearance  desired,  and  to  license  to  the 
highest  responsible  bidder  having  an  adequate  theatre.  This 
remedy  of  competitive  bidding  will  be  discussed  in  a  later 
section  of  this  article,  relating  to  the  rights  and  responsi' 
bilities  of  independents. 

(3)  Formula  Deals,  Franchises,  Master 
Agreements 

By  formula  deals,  which,  according  to  the  Court's  findings, 
had  been  entered  into  by  Paramount  and  RKO  with  inde- 
pendent and  affiliated  circuits,  features  are  licensed,  sepa- 
rately or  collectively,  for  exhibition  in  all  the  theatres  of  a 
circuit  at  a  specified  percentage  of  the  gross  receipts  realized 
from  all  the  theatres  in  the  United  States.  The  circuit  may 
allocate  playing  time  and  film  rentals  among  its  various 
theatres  as  it  sees  fit.  The  deals  have  been  negotiated  with- 
out competition  by  independent  theatre  owners,  who  would 
be  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  attempting  to  match  or  out-bid 
the  circuit.  Such  deals,  the  Court  held,  are  illegal. 

".  .  .  Arrangements  whereby  all  the  theatres  of  a  circuit 
are  included  in  a  single  agreement,  and  no  opportunity  is 
afforded  for  other  theatre  owners  to  bid  for  the  picture  in 
their  several  areas,  seriously  and  as  we  hold  unreasonably 
restrain  competition." 

Master  agreements  cover  exhibition  in  two  or  more 
theatres  of  a  circuit.  They  are  of  two  kinds:  Certain  agree- 
ments allow  the  circuit  to  allocate  the  film  rental  among  its 
theatres  and  to  exhibit  the  features  upon  such  playing  time 
as  it  deems  best,  and  leaves  other  terms  to  its  discretion. 
These  are  illegal.  But  master  agreements  in  which  there  are 
separate  provisions  for  the  licensing  of  individual  pictures 
in  each  theatre,  and  which  in  effect  only  combine  in  one 
document  a  number  of  theatres,  with  proper  licenses,  are 
legal  "if  there  is  an  opportunity  for  exhibitors  to  bid  for  the 
same  runs  at  an  offered  price." 

Franchises  are  objectionable  because  they  cover  too  long 
periods  of  time — more  than  one  season — and  frequently 
embrace  all  the  pictures  released  by  a  distributor. 

These  formula  deals,  master  agreements  and  franchises, 
the  Court  ruled,  have  tended  to  restrain  trade  in  the  distri- 
bution and  exhibition  of  motion  pictures,  and  have  exerted 
unreasonable  restraints.  But  the  restraints  would  be  obviated 
or  mitigated  by  subjecting  each  picture  to  the  bidding  system. 

Answering  the  objection  that  the  prohibition  of  these 
agreements  would  interfere  with  existing  contracts,  be 
cause  only  one  party  to  the  contract  was  enjoined  from 
carrying  it  out,  while  the  other  person  was  not  a  party  to 
the  litigation,  the  Court  declared  that  the  formation  of  these 
agreements  was  in  restraint  of  trade  and  the  decision  would 
be  a  judicial  precedent  on  the  questions  of  law  involved. 
The  implication  is  that,  as  the  contracts  were  illegal  in  their 
inception,  no  other  court  would  require  the  parties  to  per- 
form them. 


23 The  decisions  relied  upon  were  Westway  Theatre,  Inc.  v.  Twen- 
tieth Century-Fox  Film  Corporation,  (D.C.  Md.)  30  F.  Supp. 
830;  affirmed  (CCA.  4)  113  F.  2d  932;  and  Gary  Theatre 
Company  v.  Columbia  Pictures  Corporation,  (CCA.  7)  120  F. 
2d  891. 


"Bowery  Bombshell"  with  the  Bowery  Boys 

(Monogram;  July  20;  time,  65  min.) 
Continuing  in  the  slapstick  vein  similar  to  the  other  pic- 
tures in  the  "Bowery  Boys"  series,  this  comedy-melodrama  is 
no  better  and  no  worse  than  its  predecessors.  The  story  is 
far-fetched  and  extremely  silly,  depending  for  its  entertain- 


ment on  the  rowdy  antics  of  the  characters.  But  in  theatres 
where  other  pictures  of  this  series  have  gone  over,  this,  too, 
should  prove  acceptable,  for  the  action  is  fast  and  at  times 
comical  enough  to  provoke  hearty  laughter.  One  sequence 
in  particular,  where  Leo  Gorcey  and  his  chums  masquerade 
as  gangsters  and  frighten  a  real  gang,  is  extremely  funny: — 

Leo  Gorcey  and  his  pals  (Huntz  Hall,  Bobby  Jordan, 
Billy  Benedict,  and  David  Gorcey)  decide  to  visit  a  bank 
to  raise  money  for  a  financially  embarrassed  friend.  The 
boys  reach  the  bank  just  as  three  robbers  run  from  the 
building,  with  one  of  them  dropping  a  bag  full  of  money. 
Hall,  unaware  that  a  robbery  had  been  committed,  picks  up 
the  bag  and  returns  it  to  the  thieves  just  as  Teala  Loring, 
a  sidewalk  photographer,  snaps  his  picture.  When  the  news- 
papers publish  the  picture,  the  boys  find  it  necessary  to  hide 
Hall  from  the  police  lest  he  be  picked  up  for  the  crime. 
Meanwhile  Sheldon  Leonard,  head  of  the  crooks  who 
committed  the  holdup,  takes  advantage  of  the  photograph 
by  giving  out  information  that  Hall  was  a  member  of  a 
dangerous  rival  gang,  which  for  sonic  time  had  managed 
to  keep  the  identities  of  its  members  secret.  Gorcey,  discov- 
ering evidence  that  Sheldon's  gang  had  committed  the 
crime,  determines  to  recover  the  money  in  order  to  clear 
Hall.  Impersonating  the  rival  gangsters,  Gorcey  and  his 
pals  visit  Sheldon's  night-club  and  by  sheer  bluff  force 
him  and  his  gang  to  admit  to  the  holdup  and  to  return  the 
stolen  money.  But,  before  the  boys  can  reach  the  police, 
Sheldon  learns  of  their  masquerade  and  sends  his  hoodlums 
after  them.  A  free-for-all  fight  ensues,  with  the  police 
arriving  in  the  nick  of  time  to  help  capture  the  bandits. 

Edmond  Seward  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Lindsley 
Parsons  and  Jan  Grippo  produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlson 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  James  Burke,  Vince  Barnett, 
Bernard  Gorcey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Spook  Busters"  with  the  Bowery  Boys 

(Monogram,  August  24;  time,  68  min.) 

Like  "Bowery  Bombshell,"  the  review  of  which  appears 
above,  this  is  another  in  the  "Bowery  Boys"  series  of  pro- 
gram comedies,  with  an  appeal  strictly  for  the  series'  fans. 
This  time  Leo  Gorcey  and  his  juvenile  gang  become  in- 
volved with  a  demented  scientist,  who  used  as  his  head- 
quarters a  supposedly  haunted  house.  The  story,  of  course, 
is  a  hodge-podge  of  nonsense,  but  it  manages  to  be  fairly 
amusing  in  spots  and  should  have  no  trouble  provoking 
laughter  from  those  who  are  not  too  discriminating  about 
their  screen  fare: — 

Upon  graduation  from  Extermination  College,  Leo  Gorcey 
and  his  pals  set  up  a  bug-killing  business.  Their  first  job 
takes  them  to  a  haunted  house,  which  was  being  used 
secretly  by  Douglas  Dumbrille,  a  mad  scientist,  who  was 
carrying  on  a  series  of  weird  experiments.  Dumbrille,  dis- 
turbed by  the  boys'  presence,  orders  his  henchmen  (Richard 
Alexander  and  Charles  Middleton)  to  resort  to  numerous 
ghost  tricks  to  scare  them  away  so  that  he  could  continue 
his  experiments.  Meanwhile  Gabriel  Dell,  returning  from 
overseas  with  his  French  bride  (Tanis  Chandler),  follows 
the  boys  to  the  house  to  greet  them.  Dumbrille's  henchmen 
kidnap  Tanis  and  hold  her  prisoner  together  with  Dr. 
Maurice  Cass,  a  timid  scientist,  who  was  being  compelled 
to  assist  Dumbrille.  Failing  to  frighten  the  boys  away  from 
the  house,  Dumbrille  captures  Huntz  Hall  and  plans  to 
transplant  his  brain  into  a  gorilla.  Gorcey,  to  save  Hall,  man- 
ages to  disguise  himself  as  Dr.  Cass  and  helps  to  prepare 
his  pal  for  the  operation.  Dumbrille,  however,  sees  through 
his  masquerade.  A  free-for-all  fight  ensues,  in  which  the 
gorilla  takes  a  part,  before  all  are  rescued  by  the  police 
and  the  mad  doctor  and  his  aides  taken  into  custody. 

Edmond  Seward  and  Tim  Ryan  wrote  the  original  screen 
play,  Jan  Grippo  produced  it,  and  William  Beaudine  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Bobby  Jordan,  Billy  Bendict, 
Bernard  Gorcey,  David  Gorcey  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


.Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  7,  1946  No.  36 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  5 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(4)  Discriminatory  License  Provisions 

As  a  result  of  its  previous  rulings,  the  Court  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  provisions  for  "moveover  runs"  and  the 
system  of  "overage  and  underage,"  which  permitted  a  cir- 
cuit owner  to  supply  a  deficit  in  playing  time  of  one  house 
by  a  surplus  in  another  theatre,  were  illegal  because  they 
are  incompatible  with  the  bidding  system  prescribed.  But 
extended  or  repeat  runs  are  not  objectionable  "if  reasonably 
limited  in  time  when  other  exhibitors  are  given  the  oppor- 
tunity  to  bid  for  similar  licenses." 

The  Court  stated  that  any  other  license  provisions  which 
would  substantially  interfere  with  the  effectiveness  of  the 
bidding  system  would  have  to  be  revised  and  specifically 
dealt  with  in  the  decree. 

(5)  Block  Booking  and  (6)  Blind  Selling 

The  trade  practices  known  as  "block  booking"  and 
"blind  selling"  are  defined  and  described  by  the  Statutory 
Court  in  the  following  language: 

"Block-booking — the  practice  of  licensing  or  offering  for 
license,  one  feature,  or  a  group  of  features,  upon  condition 
that  the  exhibitor  shall  also  license  another  feature  or  group 
of  features  released  by  the  distributor  during  a  given  period." 

"For  many  years  the  distributor-defendants  licensed  their 
film  in  'blocks,'  or  indivisible  groups,  before  they  had  been 
actually  produced.  In  such  cases  the  only  knowledge  pros- 
pective exhibitors  had  of  the  films  which  they  had  con- 
tracted for  was  from  a  description  of  each  picture  by  title, 
plot  and  players.  In  many  cases  licenses  for  all  the  films  had 
to  be  accepted  in  order  to  obtain  any,  though  sometimes  the 
exhibitor  was  given  a  right  of  subsequent  cancellation  for  a 
certain  number  of  pictures.  .  .  ." 

In  an  article  of  Harrison's  Reports  of  May  9,  1936,  the 
present  writer  traced  the  history  and  outlined  the  economic 
effects  of  block  booking  and  blind  buying.27  As  early  as  1927 
the  practice  was  challenged  by  the  Federal  Trade  Commis- 
sion in  a  proceeding  against  Paramount  and  others,  which 
culminated  in  1932  by  a  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals  for  the  Second  Circuit  in  New  York  that  the 
practice  was  not  illegal.28  In  that  action  no  other  distributor 
was  involved.  The  decision  apparently  was  on  the  ground 
that  in  the  absence  of  monopoly  or  danger  of  monopoly  by 
Paramount,  it  had  a  right  to  choose  its  own  sales  methods. 
But  the  opinion  clearly  indicated  that  the  practice  would  be 
illegal  if  it  resulted  in  monopoly  or  the  suppression  of 
competition. 

Apparently,  too,  the  Federal  Trade  Commission,  with  its 
limited  powers,  did  not  attack  the  practice  on  the  precise 
grounds  urged  by  the  Government  before  the  Statutory 
Court. 

An  attempt  to  correct  the  evils  inherent  in  this  practice 
was  made  in  the  Consent  Decree,  which  required  the  con- 
senting defendants  to  trade-show  their  films  and  which  limi- 
ted the  number  in  a  contract  to  five,  although  permitting 
more  than  one  block  to  be  licensed  after  the  pictures  had 
been  trade-shown.  The  restriction  expired  by  limitation  of 
time,  but  the  consenting  defendants  continued  to  observe  it. 
The  non-assenting  distributors  retained  their  methods  of 


licensing  in  blocks,  but  had  allowed  their  customers  con- 
siderable freedom  in  cancelling  a  percentage  of  the  pictures. 

"The  plaintiff  argues  that  the  Sherman  Act  forbids  block- 
booking  in  toto.  This  is  said  to  be  because  it  is  illegal  to  con- 
dition the  licensing  of  one  film  upon  the  acceptance  of  an- 
other, and  it  therefore  can  make  no  difference  whether  the 
group  of  films  involved  in  a  license  be  two  or  forty.  In  our 
opinion  this  contention  is  sound,  and  any  form  of  block- 
booking  is  illegal  by  which  an  exhibitor,  in  order  to  obtain 
a  license  for  one  or  more  films,  must  accept  a  license  for 
one  or  more  other  films." 

Having  declared  the  practice  illegal,  the  Court  launched 
into  an  extensive  and  analytical  discussion  of  the  anti-trust 
laws  and  the  copyright  laws  in  explanation  of  their  decision. 
In  substance  they  pointed  out  that  a  tying  provision  in  a 
contract,  by  which  a  patentee  had  granted  a  license  with  a 
stipulation  that  the  patented  invention  should  be  used  only 
with  unpatented  material  furnished  by  the  licensor,  had 
been  adjudicated  to  be  unenforceable.  The  same  rule,  when 
applied  to  copyrights,  would  prevent  a  copyrighted  owner, 
who,  for  example,  had  licensed  the  printing  of  this  book, 
from  enforcing  a  restriction  that  it  might  be  done  only  with 
paper  supplied  by  him.  The  reasons  for  prohibiting  the  tying 
of  a  patent  or  copyright  to  unpatented  or  uncopyrighted 
material  also  prohibited  the  tying  of  one  copyrighted  feature 
to  one  or  more  other  copyrighted  features.  Otherwise  the 
result  would  be  to  extend  the  lawful  monopoly  of  a 
copyrighted  film  given  by  the  copyright  laws  to  other  films, 
and  to  require  the  licensee  to  pay  royalties  for  their  use. 
"In  either  case,"  the  Court  declared,  "the  copyright  owner 
is  obtaining  something  which  the  decisions  have  forbidden 
as  beyond  the  grant  of  his  limited  monopoly."  They  added : 

"Block-booking,  when  the  license  of  any  film  is  condi- 
tioned upon  taking  of  other  films,  is  a  system  which  pre- 
vents competitors  from  bidding  for  single  pictures  on  their 
individual  merits  and  adds  to  the  monopoly  of  a  single  copy- 
righted picture  that  of  another  copyrighted  picture  which 
must  be  taken  and  exhibited  in  order  to  secure  the  first  .  .  ." 

Thereupon,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  and  "particu- 
larly because  of  recent  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,"  the 
Statutory  Court  declined  to  follow  the  decision  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  in  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  block-booking 
decision  already  mentioned.29 

On  this  topic,  the  Court  concluded  as  follows: 

"We,  however,  declare  illegal  only  that  aspect  of  block- 
booking  which  makes  the  licensing  of  one  copyright  condi- 
tional upon  an  agreement  to  accept  a  license  of  one  or  more 
other  copyrights.  A  distributor  may  license  to  an  exhibitor 
at  one  time  as  many  films  as  the  latter  wishes  to  receive,  but 
the  distributor  may  not  constitute  groups  of  pictures  which 
it  refuses  to  license  separately.  .  .  ." 

Recognizing  the  right  of  a  distributor  to  refuse  to  license 
its  films  on  any  terms,  the  Court,  in  language  just  quoted, 
declared  in  effect  that  it  had  no  right  to  compel  an  exhibitor, 
who  desired  to  secure  one  specific  film,  to  license  additional 
films  he  did  not  want  to  exhibit.  And  it  ruled  that  the 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


142 


September  7,  1946 


"I've  Always  Loved  You" 
with  Catherine  McLeod  and  Philip  Dorn 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  117  min.) 

From  a  production  point  of  view,  this  Technicolor  musical 
drama  is  excellent,  for  it  is  exceedingly  fine  in  every  detail; 
it  is  obvious  that  great  care  and  expense  went  into  produc- 
ing the  lavish  and  tasteful  backgrounds.  And  the  photog- 
raphy, too,  is  superb.  But  it  is  in  the  story  that  producer- 
director  Frank  Borzage  has  fallen  down — it  is  slow  moving, 
commonplace,  repetitious  and  unconvincing.  Moreover,  it 
lacks  dramatic  power.  As  it  stands,  it  is  a  picture  that  will 
probably  be  enjoyed  mostly  by  cultured  audiences,  mainly 
because  a  considerable  part  of  the  footage  is  devoted  to 
brilliantly  played  classical  music,  both  orchestral  and  piano 
pieces,  with  the  dubbed  in  piano  playing  the  work  of  Artur 
Rubinstein,  famed  pianist.  The  acting,  with  one  exception, 
is  uniformly  good.  Philip  Dorn,  as  an  overbearing,  tempera- 
mental pianist  and  conductor,  and  Catherine  McLeod,  as 
his  talented  protege,  play  their  respective  roles  adequately. 
But  not  much  can  be  said  for  William  Carter,  a  newcomer, 
as  the  man  Miss  McLeod  marries;  his  acting  is  awkward: — 

Impressed  by  the  talent  of  Catherine,  daughter  of  an 
old  frienxl  (Felix  Brass* rt).  Dkih,  .1  l.tmed  pianist  and 
conductor,  makes  her  his  protege.  She  studies  tirelessly 
under  his  relentless  direction,  braving  his  temperamental 
outbursts  and  concealing  her  love  for  him,  despite  his 
casual  affairs  with  other  women.  She  eventually  makes  her 
debut  in  Carnegie  Hall,  with  Dorn  conducting  the  orches- 
tra, but  she  plays  so  well  that  Dorn,  jealous  of  his  own 
pupil,  deliberately  ruins  her  performance  and  breaks  his 
association  with  her.  Heartbroken,  Catherine  returns  to  her 
father's  farm,  where  she  marries  William  Carter,  a  child- 
hood sweetheart.  They  have  a  daughter  and,  with  the 
passing  years,  the  young  lady  (Vanessa  Brown)  shows 
promise  of  being  as  great  a  pianist  as  her  mother.  Carter, 
haunted  through  the  years  by  a  desire  to  know  for  sure 
that  Catherine  loved  him  and  not  Dorn,  grasps  the  opportu- 
nity to  find  out  on  the  night  of  their  daughter's  debut  at 
Carnegie  Hall;  he  insists  that  Catherine  take  Vanessa  to 
Dorn  for  an  opinion  of  her  playing  before  she  appears  in 
public.  Dorn  diplomatically  informs  the  girl  that  she  lacked 
great  talent,  then  asks  to  be  left  alone  with  her  mother. 
He  confesses  to  Catherine  that  he  had  longed  for  her 
through  the  years,  and  demands  an  opportunity  to  prove 
to  her  that  he  still  dominated  her  life.  He  insists  that  she 
take  Vanessa's  place  at  Carnegie  Hall  that  night,  while  he 
conducts  the  orchestra.  Catherine  accepts  the  challenge 
and,  under  the  baton  of  her  former  teacher,  scores  a  per- 
sonal triumph  and  proves  that  he  no  longer  dominated  her 
and  that  she  loved  Carter,  thus  removing  all  doubt  from 
her  husband's  mind. 

Borden  Chase  wrote  the  screen  play  from  his  own  story, 
"Concerto."  The  cast  includes  Fritz  Feld,  Maria  Ouspen- 
skaya,  Adele  Mara  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Gallant  Journey"  with  Glenn  Ford 
and  Janet  Blair 

(Columbia,  Sept.  17;  time,  86  min.) 
Ordinary!  It  deals  with  the  highlights  in  the  career  of 
John  J.  Montgomery,  said  to  be  the  first  to  fly-  a  heavier- 
than-air  machine  in  controlled  flight.  Dramatically,  the 
story  falls  flat,  for  it  is  developed  in  a  weak  manner  and 
fails  to  make  any  impression.  Glenn  Ford,  as  Montgomery, 
is  a  gloomy,  moody  hero,  lacking  the  spark  one  enjoys 
seeing  in  a  man  who  struggles  to  realize  a  dream.  The 
picture's  best  part  concerns  itself  with  the  launching  of  a 
crude  glider-plane  from  a  balloon.  There  is  considerable 
excitement  and  suspense  in  this  sequence,  but  it  is  not 
enough  to  carry  the  picture  as  a  whole.  For  comedy,  there 
is  the  antics  of  a  Catholic  priest,  who  acts  like  a  clown;  it 
is  in  bad  taste,  and  many  people  will  undoubtedly  resent  it. 
Considerable  footage  is  given  over  to  a  routine  romance, 
with  a  number  of  the  love  scenes  too  long  drawn  out.  The 
picture  has  been  produced  on  a  limited  budget,  most  of  the 
action  being  confined  to  outdoor  scenes. 


The  story  opens  in  1879  with  Montgomery,  as  a  nineteen- 
year-old  farm  boy,  obsessed  with  a  desire  to  fly.  His  family 
and  friends  think  him  crazy,  but  Regina  Cleary  (Janet 
Blair),  who  idolized  him,  has  complete  faith  in  his  dream. 
Four  years  later,  Montgomery  succeeds  in  flying  a  home- 
made glider  more  than  600  feet,  and  with  the  aid  of  two 
Catholic  priests  from  a  school  nearby  he  is  enabled  to  con- 
tinue his  experiments.  Meanwhile  Regina  continues  to  be 
one  of  his  staunch  supporters,  patiently  hoping  that  he 
would  one  day  reciprocate  her  love.  Montgomery  finishes 
his  new  plane  but  is  not  permitted  to  fly  it  because  of  an 
attack  of  vertigo.  Regina  enlists  the  aid  of  Dan  Mahoney 
(Jimmy  Lloyd),  a  daredevil  parachutist,  who  attaches  the 
glider  to  a  balloon,  cuts  it  loose  at  4000  feet,  and  flys  it 
successfully  for  22  minutes.  The  newspapers  hail  the  accom- 
plishment, and  Montgomery,  to  finance  additional  experi- 
ments, sets  out  on  an  exhibition  tour  that  ends  tragically 
when  Mahoney  is  killed  in  a  crash.  Montgomery's  fortunes 
rise  when  he  sells  the  rights  to  a  gold-separating  invention 
for  $25,000  and  marries  Regina.  But  he  soon  finds  himself 
broke  again  after  defending  a  lawsuit  involving  his  inven- 
tion. Spurred  on  by  Regina,  he  returns  to  his  cxperimcntts, 
builds  a  new  aeroplane,  and  decides  to  fly  it  himself.  He 
suffers  a  vertigo  attack  in  mid-air,  and  crashes.  A  few  hours 
later,  he  dies. 

William  A.  Wellman  produced  and  directed  from  an 
original  screen  play  by  himself  and  Bryon  Morgan.  The 
cast  includes  Charles  Ruggles,  Henry  Travers  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Gallant  Bess"  with  Marshall  Thompson 
and  George  Tobias 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set,  time,  101  mm.) 

A  fairly  appealing  melodrama.  It  belongs  to  the  current 
cycle  of  pictures  centering  around  a  youngster's  love  for  a 
horse  and,  other  than  the  fact  that  part  of  the  action  has  a 
war  background,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  it  has  been  photo- 
graphed in  natural  colors  by  the  Cinecolor  process,  there 
is  nothing  unusual  about  either  the  story  or  its  treatment. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  its  running  time  is  by  far  too  long 
for  the  simple,  and  at  times  maudlin,  story  it  has  to  tell. 
Moreover,  since  there  are  no  women  in  the  cast  and  it  lacks 
romantic  interest,  the  picture  will  have  an  appeal  mostly 
to  male  audiences  and  to  youngsters.  The  photography  in 
the  outdoor  scenes  is  beautiful,  but  the  color  is  detrimental 
to  the  actors  rather  than  helpful;  it  gives  a  greenish  cast  to 
their  faces,  making  the  skin  appear  blemished: — 

Marshall  Thompson,  a  sixteen-year-old  orphan,  trying 
to  make  a  success  of  his  parents'  ranch,  lavishes  all  his 
affection  on  "Bess,"  an  intelligent  mare.  One  day  the  young- 
ster is  accosted  by  a  fast-talking  Navy  recruiting  officer, 
who  signs  him  up  as  a  Seabee,  although  he  was  underage. 
Leaving  his  ranch  in  charge  of  Clem  Bevens,  an  old  friend, 
Thompson  completes  his  training  course  and,  just  before 
he  heads  overseas,  he  visits  his  horse  and  watches  her  die 
in  foal.  Heartbroken,  he  embarks  for  a  South  Pacific  base, 
where  he  works  laboriously  with  his  outfit  but  is  unable 
to  shake  off  his  sorrow.  One  night  he  discovers  a  horse 
pinned  under  a  tree  in  the  jungle  and,  with  the  aid  of  his 
buddies,  including  George  Tobias,  frees  the  animal  and 
nurses  it  back  to  health.  Thompson  renames  the  horse 
"Bess,"  and  their  mutual  attachment  helps  him  to  forget 
the  loss  of  his  ranch  mare.  "Bess"  becomes  the  mascot  of 
the  outfit,  and  one  day,  when  Thompson  is  shot  by  a  Jap 
sniper  in  the  jungle,  the  animal  goes  to  his  aid  and  brings 
him  back  to  camp  safely.  Ordered  back  to  the  States  because 
of  his  injury,  Thompson  is  despondent  over  leaving  "Bess" 
behind.  The  horse,  however,  swims  after  the  LST  carrying 
Thompson  home,  and  the  kindly  commander  orders  the 
lift  lowered  so  that  the  animal  could  be  brought  aboard 
and  transported  to  America  with  her  master. 

Jeanne  Bartlett  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Harry 
Rapf  produced  it,  and  Andrew  Marton  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Murray  Alper,  Chill  Wills  and  others. 

Suitable  for  the  entire  family. 


September  7,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


143 


"Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue"  with 
June  Haver,  Vivian  Blaine,  Vera-Ellen 
and  George  Montgomery 

( 20th.  Century-Fox;  October;  time,  90  mm.) 

"Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue"  shapes  up  as  a  pleasant 
Technicolor  musical,  the  sort  that  should  satisfy  most  audi- 
ences. It  has  a  generous  supply  of  melodious  songs,  sung 
competently  by  the  different  players,  and  one  lavish  produc- 
tion  number — a  dream  sequence,  which  is  well  staged.  The 
story,  which  takes  place  in  1905  and  features  the  costumes 
and  manners  of  that  period,  is  lightweight,  but  it  is  well 
balanced  in  its  proportion  of  romance,  comedy,  music  and 
dancing,  and  the  action  is  gay  and  sprightly  all  the  way 
through.  The  film  marks  the  screen  debut  of  Celeste  Holm, 
who  gained  fame  as  a  comedienne  in  the  successful  Broad- 
way musical,  "Oklahoma."  She  is  a  refreshing  personality, 
adept  at  handling  comedy  lines,  and  sings  well,  too.  Like 
most  Fox  musicals,  the  elaborate  backgrounds  in  this  one 
are  eye-filling:- — • 

Disappointed  when  an  expected  heritance  proves  to  be 
a  meager  one,  three  pretty  sisters  (June  Haver,  Vivian 
Blaine,  and  Vera-Ellen)  leave  their  farm  and,  with  $3000, 
head  for  Atlantic  City  in  the  hope  of  finding  three  million- 
aire husbands.  Seeking  to  make  an  impression,  despite  their 
limited  finances,  they  rent  a  suite  in  a  swank  hotel,  with 
June  posing  as  a  wealthy  heiress,  Vivian,  as  her  secretary, 
and  Vera-Ellen,  as  her  maid.  June  soon  finds  herself  pur- 
sued by  two  wealthy  bachelors,  George  Montgomery  and 
Frank  Latimore,  who  vie  with  one  another  for  her  favors. 
Meanwhile  Vivian  keeps  tabs  on  their  diminishing  finances 
while  Vera-Ellen  starts  a  romance  with  Charles  Smith,  a 
bellboy.  Learning  that  their  money  had  run  out,  June 
decides  to  select  Montgomery  for  a  husband.  She  confesses 
her  love  for  him,  informs  him  that  she  was  a  penniless  farm 
girl,  and  tells  him  the  truth  about  why  she  and  her  sisters 
came  to  Atlantic  City.  She  is  shocked  when  he  confesses 
that  he,  too,  was  penniless  and  that  he  was  seeking  a 
wealthy  wife.  June  offers  to  marry  him  anyhow,  but  Mont- 
gomery, despite  his  love  for  her,  declines.  Shortly  there- 
after, she  accepts  Latimore's  offer  of  marriage,  and  all  go 
to  his  Maryland  estate  for  a  visit.  There,  Celeste  Holm, 
Latimore's  sister,  senses  that  June  was  still  in  love  with 
Montgomery.  She  invites  him  to  the  estate  and,  through 
clever  scheming,  soon  has  June  in  his  arms.  Latimore,  who 
by  this  time  had  fallen  in  love  with  Vivian,  is  pleased  with 
the  turn  of  events.  But  all  are  surprised  no  end  when  Vera- 
Ellen  proudly  announces  that  she  had  beat  her  sisters  to 
snaring  a  husband  by  marrying  the  bellboy  earlier  in  the  day. 

Valentine  Davies  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  play  by 
Stephen  Powys,  Mack  Gordon  produced  it,  and  Bruce 
Humberstone  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Charles  Halton 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Little  Miss  Big"  with  Fay  Holden 
and  Beverly  Simmons 

(Universal,  Aug.  30;  time,  60  min.) 

A  charming  little  picture,  full  of  human  interest.  There 
is  villainy,  of  course,  but  this  is  more  than  offset  by  the 
heroics  and  kindness  of  most  of  the  characters.  It  is  the 
story  of  a  wealthy  woman,  who  is  saved  from  her  scheming 
relatives  by  a  poor  family.  As  the  wealthy  woman,  Fay 
Holden  is  natural.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  the  sympathetic 
characters  act  as  genuine  human  beings,  with  the  exception 
of  Frank  McHugh,  who,  for  purposes  of  comedy,  behaves 
in  an  exaggerated  way.  Little  Beverly  Simmons  is  lovable. 
The  picture  has  been  produced  well  and  the  directorial 
work  is  faultless: — 

John  Eldredge,  a  scheming  young  man,  succeeds  in  having 
Miss  Holden,  his  wealthy  aunt,  committed  to  an  insane 
asylum.  The  court  appoints  him  as  trustee  of  her  holdings. 
Fay  manages  to  escape  from  the  asylum  and,  tired,  she 
faints  at  the  door  of  Frank  McHugh's  barber  shop.  Dorothy 
Morris,  McHugh's  daughter,  and  Fred  Brady,  her  fiance, 


take  Miss  Holden  into  McHugh's  home,  revive  her,  and 
feed  her.  She  refuses  to  answer  their  questions  about  her 
identity.  The  newspapers  play  up  Miss  Holden's  escape, 
causing  a  turmoil  in  the  police  department.  Eventually 
McHugh,  his  daughters,  and  Fred,  discover  her  identity. 
But  instead  of  turning  her  over  to  the  police  and  claiming 
the  reward,  they  try  to  hide  her  until  such  time  as  Fred 
has  a  chance  to  study  lawbooks  to  find  out  it  there  is  a 
loophole  in  the  procedure  by  which  Miss  Holden's  relatives 
had  her  committed  to  the  asylum.  He  does  come  upon  a 
detail  by  means  of  which  he  enlists  the  aid  of  Miss  Holden's 
lawyer  and  succeeds  in  proving  that  the  sanity  hearing  was 
illegal.  Freed  from  the  threat  of  the  asylum,  Miss  Holden 
makes  the  McHugh  family  happy. 

Erna  Lazurus  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Harry  H.  Poppe.  Marshall  Grant  produced  it,  and  Erie 
C.  Kenton  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Milburn  Stone, 
Samuel  S.  Hinds  and  others. 

Suitable  for  the  entire  family. 


(Continued  from  bac\  page) 

(8)  Operating,  Buying  and  Booking 
Agencies 

In  their  opinion  the  Statutory  Court  refer  to  the  question 
of  the  legality  of  operating,  buying  and  booking  agencies 
in  the  following  language: 

"It  should  be  added  that  in  our  opinion  there  can  be  no 
objection  to  operating,  booking,  or  film  buying  through 
agents,  provided  the  agent  is  not  also  acting  in  respect  to 
theatres  owned  by  other  exhibitors,  independent  or  affili- 
ated, and  provided  that  in  case  the  agent  is  buying  films  for 
its  principal  he  does  this  through  the  bidding  system,  thea- 
tre by  theatre." 

From  this  pronouncement  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
Court  assumed  the  legality  of  such  agencies  only  if — 

(1)  the  agent  is  not  acting  for  other  exhibitors; 

(2)  the  agent  buys  through  the  bidding  system,  theatre 
by  theatre. 

In  their  directions  for  the  entry  of  a  decree  the  Court 
prescribed : 

"Each  defendant  shall  be  enjoined  from  operating,  book- 
ing or  film-buying  through  any  agent  who  is  also  acting  in 
such  matters  for  any  other  exhibitor,  independent  or  affili- 
ated." 

Obviously,  therefore,  it  is  the  considered  opinion  of  the 
Court  that  it  is  unlawful  for  any  defendant  to  operate,  buy 
or  book  through  an  agency  acting  for  another  exhibitor;  and, 
further,  that  it  is  illegal  for  such  an  agent  to  act  in  such 
matters  for  a  defendant  and  another  exhibitor. 

The  difficult  question  arises,  therefore,  whether  a  buying 
and  booking  agency  acting  for  isolated  independent  exhibi- 
tors, or  for  groups  of  independent  exhibitors,  is  also  unlaw- 
ful. This  question  will  be  discussed  later  when  considering 
the  impact  of  the  proposed  decree  upon  independent  exhibi- 
tors. At  this  time,  however,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the 
Statutory  Court  did  not  refer  to  the  decision  in  1941  of 
Federal  Judge  Pickard  in  the  District  Court  of  Michigan,31 
holding  that  a  buying  and  booking  combination  known  as 
Co-Operative  Theatres  of  Michigan  was  legal,  but  con- 
demning some  of  its  actions  and  agreements  as  monopolistic 
practices. 


"In  the  article  by  the  writer  just  mentioned  it  is  suggested  that 
"blind  buying"  is  a  more  appropriate  term,  "because  the 
seller  is  not  blind;  he  knows  in  advance  the  revenue  he  will 
receive.  It  is  the  buyer  who  deals  with  his  eyes  shut." 

a  Federal  Trade  Commission  v.  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corpo- 
ration, 51  F.  (2d)  152. 

29  Federal  Trade  Commission  v.  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corpo- 
ration, 57  F.  2d  152. 

In  effect,  although  not  technically,  they  overruled  the  deci- 
sion of  a  higher  authority.  The  Statutory  Court  was  sitting  in 
the  District  Court,  which  is  inferior  to  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals,  a  court  of  appellate  jurisdiction. 

""For  decisions  of  State  Courts  where  leases  of  theatres  were  de- 
clared illegal  because  they  resulted  in  local  monopolies  of  the 
motion  picture  business,  see  Love  v.  Kosy  Theatre,  193  Ky.  336, 
236  S.W.  243,  26  A.L.R.  354,  369;  Crandall  v.  Scott  (Tex.) 
161  S.W.  925. 

81  Mid-West  Theatres  Co.  v.  Co-Operative  Theatres  of  Michigan, 
(D.C.  E.D.  Mich.  S.D.)  43  F.  Supp.  216. 


September  7,  1946 


pictures,  if  sold  in  groups  for  convenience,  had  to  be  sepa- 
rately priced  and  sold  to  the  highest  qualified  bidder. 

In  the  opinion  the  Statutory  Court  expressed  the  view 
that  blind-selling  "docs  not  appear  to  be  as  inherently  re- 
strictive of  competition  as  block-booking,  although  it  is 
capable  of  some  abuse,"  they  apparently  condemn  it  for  only 
the  following  reasons: 

"By  this  practice  a  distributor  could  promise  a  picture  of 
good  quality  or  of  a  certain  type  which  when  produced  might 
prove  to  be  of  poor  quality  or  of  another  type — a  competing 
distributor  meanwhile  being  unable  to  market  its  product 
and  in  the  end  losing  its  outlets  for  future  pictures  .  .  .  " 

Unless  the  opinion  is  based  upon  actual  or  potential  fraud 
inherent  in  the  method  of  the  sale,  which  ordinarily  is  not 
a  ground  for  relief  under  the  antitrust  laws,  it  is  not  clear 
upon  what  ground  the  practice  is  condemned.  Any  license, 
whether  the  parties  deal  with  eyes  open  or  closed,  has  a  ten- 
dency to  exclude  a  competitor  from  the  market.  Whether 
in  any  circumstances  a  single  "blind"  sale  or  purchase,  not 
linked  to  block-booking,  is  censurable,  is  open  to  consid- 
erable doubt.  The  ruling,  however,  is  to  be  commended  as 
setting  up  a  high  standard  of  business  morality. 

Because  trade-shows  have  been  so  poorly  attended,  in  the 
view  of  the  Court,  exhibitors  who  choose  to  purchase  in 
quantities  should  be  given  "an  option  to  reject  a  certain 
percentage  of  their  blind-licensed  pictures  within  a  reason- 
able time  after  they  shall  have  become  available  for  inspec- 
tion." 

(7)  Pooling  Agreements 

In  their  opinion  the  Statutory  Court  succinctly  stated  the 
Government's  contention  that  the  theatre-owning  defend- 
ants had  combined  with  each  other  and  with  independents 
"by  'pooling'  their  theatres  through  operating  agreements, 
leases,  joint  stock  ownership  of  theatre-operating  corpora- 
tions, or  through  joint  ownership  of  theatres  in  fee."  The 
most  numerous  type  of  agreement  was  that  by  which  thea- 
tres, normally  competitive,  were  operated  as  a  unit,  or  their 
business  policies  determined  by  a  joint  committee  or  by  one 
of  the  exhibitors  and  the  profits  divided  according  to  the 
agreed  percentages.  Some  of  the  agreements  provided  that 
the  parties  should  not  acquire  competing  theatres  without 
firse  offering  them  for  inclusion  in  the  pool. 

In  no  uncertain  language  these  agreements  were  con- 
demned : 

"These  operating  agreements  we  hold  to  be  in  clear  con- 
flict with  the  Sherman  Act,  for  through  them  a  defendant- 
exhibitor  reduces  to  a  minimum  opposition  between  its  own 
and  other  theatres  in  the  'pool.'  Cooperation,  rather  than 
competition,  characterizes  their  operation,  and  in  view  of 
the  exhibitor-defendants'  financial  strength,  control  of  first- 
class  film  distribution,  ownership  of  concentrated  numbers 
of  first-run  theatres,  and  especially  their  combination  to 
reduce  competition  in  exhibition  through  systems  of  price- 
fixing  and  clearances,  such  restraints  as  these  agreements 
impose  upon  free  commerce  in  motion  pictures  are  far  less 
than  reasonable.  The  result  is  to  eliminate  competition  pro 
tanto  both  in  exhibition  and  in  distribution  of  films  which 
would  flow  almost  automatically  to  the  theatres  in  the  earn- 
ings of  which  they  have  a  joint  interest." 

Operating  agreements  between  major  defendants  (pro- 
ducer-owned theatres)  and  independent  exhibitors  are  ille- 
gal, in  view  of  the  Court,  because  they  are  beyond  the 
reasonable  limitation  of  restraint  allowed  by  the  Sherman 
Act. 

".  .  .  The  effect  is  to  ally  two  or  more  theatres  of  different 
ownership  into  a  coalition  tor  the  nullification  of  competition 
between  them  and  for  their  more  effective  competition 
against  theatres  not  members  of  the  'pool'  ..." 

Operating  agreements  resulting  from  leases  of  theatres, 
the  rentals  being  determined  by  a  stipulated  percentage  of 
profits  earned  by  the  pooled  theatres,  are  also  within  the 
condemnation  of  the  law.80 

The  purpose  of  the  anti-trust  laws  to  encourage  competi- 
tion and  to  eliminate  restraints  upon  it  being  so  clear,  it 


seems  inconceivable  that  the  defendants  should  require  a 
decision  of  the  Court  to  notify  them  of  their  obligations. 

In  prescribing  the  remedy  for  these  violations  of  the  law, 
the  Court  declared  that  appropriate  steps  should  be  taken 
to  dissolve  the  pools.  The  remedy  thus  prescribed  will  be 
discussed  hereinafter  in  connection  with  the  rulings  of  the 
Court  relating  to  the  Government's  prayer  for  divestiture 
of  theatres. 

(Continued  on  inside  page) 


NEEDED— A  COURSE  IN  GOOD  TASTE 

If  Jack  Cohn,  executive  vice-president  of  Columbia  Pic- 
tures Corporation,  knew  what  is  good  for  his  company,  he 
would  "junk"  "Gallant  Journey,"  then  call  up  on  the 
telephone  his  brother  Harry,  who  supervises  production,  to 
give  him  a  good  lecture  for  having  allowed  characters 
representing  Catholic  priests  to  appear  in  this  picture.  The 
inclusion  of  such  characters  requires  tact  as  well  as  good 
taste,  virtues  that  Harry  Cohn  does  not  seem  to  possess, 
if  one  is  to  judge  by  his  supervision  in  this  instance. 

The  picture  shows  these  priests  in  a  monastery,  taking 
an  interest  in  a  young  inventor,  supposedly  a  genius  who 
had  built  a  flying  machine  long  before  the  Wright  Brothers 
had  built  theirs.  One  of  the  priests  is  presented  as  a  buffoon. 
He  resorts  to  comedy  that  is  low  and  vulgar — he  employs 
his  projecting  big  stomach  to  push  the  young  inventor  and 
other  young  men  when  he  finds  them  in  a  stooping  position 
— a  position  that  lends  itself  to  such  pushing.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  no  vulgar  thoughts  in  the  priest's  mind,  but 
his  antics  are,  nevertheless,  in  bad  taste.  Their  vulgarity 
stands  out  much  more  because  at  no  time  docs  the  story 
move  one. 

Another  situation  that,  not  only  Catholics,  but  also  others 
will  find  in  bad  taste  is  the  sight  of  the  comical  priest, 
immediately  after  an  earthquake  in  which  buildings  col- 
lapsed  and  men  were  either  killed  or  injured,  rushing  to 
ascertain  whether  the  young  inventor's  plane  had  been 
destroyed  when  his  thoughts  should  have  been  turned 
towards  succoring  the  maimed  and  the  dying — a  time  when 
his  spiritual  ministrations  were  needed  more  than  anything 
else. 

I  fear  that  Harry  Cohn's  tactless  presentation  of  the 
priest  will  offend  the  religious  sensibilities  of  every  Catholic, 
and  for  this  reason  you  should  not  show  this  picture. 

If  you  have  a  contract  for  it,  Columbia  might  try  to 
induce  you  to  "live  up  to  it."  But  remember  that  that  con- 
tract is  not  worth  the  paper  it  is  written  on,  for  the  reason 
that,  on  June  11,  the  Statutory  Court  declared  block-book- 
ing as  well  as  the  insertion  of  minimum  admission  prices 
in  the  contracts  as  violative  of  the  Sherman  Act,  and  as  a 
result  of  that  decision  the  contract  became  illegal. 

But  even  if  the  Court  had  not  found  block-booking 
illegal,  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  Columbia  to  enforce 
the  contract  regarding  this  picture  would  cause  so  many 
protests  that  it  would  be  compelled  to  withdraw  the  picture. 


AN  IMPORTANT  EXHIBITOR  EVENT 

The  forthcoming  national  convention  of  Allied  States 
Association  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors,  which  will  be 
held  at  the  Copley  Plaza  Hotel,  in  Boston,  on  September 
16,  17  and  18,  promises  to  be  the  most  outstanding  exhibitor 
event  of  the  year  in  point,  not  only  of  attendance,  but  also 
in  the  importance  of  the  subjects  to  be  discussed  and  the 
policies  to  be  formulated. 

On  Wednesday,  September  18,  an  open  forum  will  be 
conducted  all  day  for  the  discussion  of  the  new  method  of 
picture-selling  as  is  provided  by  the  recent  decision  in  the 
New  York  anti-trust  case.  All  exhibitors,  regardless  of 
what  association  they  are  affiliated  with,  are  invited  to 
attend. 

Those  of  you  who  want  to  hear  the  opinions  of  fellow- 
exhibitors,  or  to  voice  opinions  of  your  own,  should  make 
every  effort  to  attend  this  convention.  For  reservations  and 
other  details,  write  to  Nathin  Yamins,  General  Chairman, 
Allied  Convention,  20  Shawmut  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921.  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States  $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  ^^v^XT' 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      v    ,  on  N  V 

Canada                               16.50  Wew  1  ork  1  •  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,  ___   

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Ug  Editorial  p0iicy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  14,  1946  No.  37 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  — No.  6 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(9)  Discrimination  in  Favor  of  Large 
Circuits 

After  reciting  the  contention  of  the  Government  "that  in 
licensing  films  each  of  the  distributor-defendants  has  dis- 
criminated  against  small  independent  exhibitors  and  in 
favor  of  the  large  affiliated  and  unaffiliated  circuits,"  the 
discriminatory  provisions  being  found  most  frequently  in 
franchises  or  master  agreements,  while  small  independents 
are  usually  licensed  upon  the  standard  forms  of  contract, 
the  Court  specified  in  detail  a  large  number  of  such  pro' 
visions  and  unhesitatingly  condemned  them  as  illegal.  They 
said: 

".  .  .  The  competitive  advantages  of  these  provisions  are 
so  great  that  their  inclusion  in  contracts  with  the  larger 
circuits  constitutes  an  unreasonable  discrimination  against 
small  competitors  in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws.  It  seems 
unnecessary  to  decide  whether  the  record  before  us  justifies 
a  reasonable  inference  that  the  distributor-defendants  have 
conspired  among  themselves  to  discriminate  among  their 
licensees,  for  each  discriminating  contract  constitutes  a 
conspiracy  between  the  licensee  and  the  licensor.  .  .  . 

Because  of  the  importance  of  this  adjudication,  and  also 
because  many  independent  exhibitors  are  obliged  to  operate 
in  competition  with  large  circuits,  independent  or  affiliated, 
to  which  these  discriminatory  privileges  and  preferences  have 
been  granted,  the  condemned  provisions  are  herewith  spe- 
cified in  detail,  as  a  preliminary  to  a  subsequent  discussion 
of  their  effect  upon  independent  exhibitors.  The  numbers 
prefixed  in  parentheses  are  supplied  by  the  writer. 

(1)  Suspending  the  terms  of  a  given  contract,  if  a  circuit 
theatre  remains  closed  for  more  than  eight  weeks,  and  rein- 
stating it  without  liability  upon  reopening. 

(2)  Allowing  large  privileges  in  the  selection  and  elimi- 
nation of  films. 

(3)  Allowing  deductions  in  film  rentals  if  double  bills 
are  played. 

(4)  Granting  moveovers  and  extended  runs. 

(5)  Granting  road-show  privileges. 

(6)  Allowing  overage  and  underage. 

(7)  Granting  unlimited  playing  time. 

(8)  Excluding  foreign  pictures  and  those  of  independent 
producers. 

(9)  Granting  rights  to  question  the  classification  of  fea- 
tures for  rental  purposes. 

The  Government  charged  especially  that  the  distributors 
discriminated  in  film  rentals,  clearances  and  minimum  ad- 
mission prices.  The  Court,  however,  stated: 

".  .  .  They  have  perhaps  done  so,  but  we  are  without 
sufficient  knowledge  of  the  many  factors  entering  into  the 
determination  of  these  provisions  such  as  the  character  of 
specific  communities,  the  nature  of  the  different  theatre 
appointments,  of  the  patrons,  operating  policies,  locations, 
and  responsibility  of  operators.  In  the  absence  of  such  facts, 
we  are  unable  to  infer  that  the  distributor-defendants  have 
violated  the  Sherman  Act  in  this  particular  regard.  .  .  ." 

In  these  respects,  therefore,  the  Court  recognized  the 
possibility,  if  not  the  probability,  that  the  defendants  had 
violated  the  law,  but  in  the  absence  of  evidence  were  unable 
to  make  such  a  determination.  They  indicated,  however, 
that,  under  the  bidding  system,  no  discrimination  in  regard 


to  film  rentals,  clearance  and  admission  prices  could  exist. 

At  this  time  it  may  be  suggested  that,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  industry  in  general,  and  of  independent  exhibi- 
tors in  particular,  the  decision  of  the  Statutory  Court  is  an 
adjudication  that  such  discriminations  are  unlawful.  The 
decision,  therefore,  is  almost  as  beneficial  to  independent 
exhibitors  against  whom  such  discriminations  have  been 
practiced  as  if  the  Court  had  specifically  found  the  existence 
of  the  practices  which  they  condemned. 

Conspiracy  and  Monopolizing 

In  a  number  of  decisions  prior  to  the  opinion  of  the 
Statutory  Court  the  major  companies  had  been  adjudicated 
participants  in  various  combinations  and  conspiracies  to 
restrain  interstate  commerce  or  to  create  and  maintain 
monopolies  in  the  distribution  or  exhibition  of  motion  picture 
films.  These  combinations  were  in  connection  with  the 
arbitration  clause  in  the  Standard  Exhibition  Contract," 
the  creation  and  activities  of  Film  Boards  of  Trade,33  the 
prohibition  of  double  features,34  protection,  or  zoning  and 
clearance,35  boycott  of  independent  competitors38  and  con- 
spiring with  large  circuits  to  restrict  or  eliminate  independ- 
ent competition  and  to  establish  and  maintain  a  monopoly 
of  exhibition.37  In  their  decision  the  Statutory  Court  con- 
demned additional  trade  practices.  The  peculiar  significance 
of  the  opinion  lies,  not  in  the  announcement  of  any  novel 
doctrine  of  law,  but  because  of  the  application  of  established 
principles  of  law  to  practices  in  the  motion  picture  industry. 

In  this  paper  it  will  be  necessary  to  discuss  the  law  of 
conspiracy  in  some  detail  as  a  preliminary  to  the  proposed 
suggestions  to  independent  operators.  The  law  of  monopoly 
will  require  comment  as  a  basis  for  consideration  of  the 
remedies  prescribed  by  the  Court  for  the  defendants'  viola- 
tions of  law,  particularly  in  connection  with  the  issue  of 
divestiture  of  theatres. 

(a)  Conspiracy 

In  its  practical  aspects  a  very  important  phase  of  the 
decision  of  the  Statutory  Court  related  to  the  evidence 
necessary  to  prove  conspiracy.  In  some  prior  decisions  of 
other  courts  the  plaintiff  had  been  unsuccessful  because  of 
lack  of  proof  of  the  essential  elements  of  this  offence,  or, 
perhaps,  because  of  an  erroneous  interpretation  of  the  law 
of  evidence  by  the  trial  court.38  In  other  decisions,  such  as 
the  standard  contract  arbitration,  credit  committee  and 
Youngclaus  cases  already  mentioned,  the  facts  were  agreed 
upon  by  the  parties.  The  Binderup  Case,30  an  extremely 
important  decision,  was  presented  to  the  Supreme  Court  in 
such  a  way  that  it  was  assumed,  for  the  purposes  of  the 
decision,  that  the  facts  alleged  by  the  plantiff  were  true.  In 
some  other  decisions  the  plaintiff  was  compelled  to  rely, 
without  success,  chiefly  upon  inference  from  established  or 
controverted  facts.40  Because  of  the  decision  of  the  Statutory 
Court  it  is  doubtful  if  such  difficulties  of  proof  will  again 
arise  to  plague  a  plaintiff  in  an  anti-trust  action  affecting  the 
motion  picture  industry. 

For  many  years  it  has  been  settled  law  that  a  conspiracy  is 
usually  hatched  in  the  dark;  that  ordinary  conspirators  do 
not  put  their  agreements  in  writing;  that  a  conspiracy  may 
be  the  result  of  tacit  understanding,  or  of  a  simultaneous 
course  of  conduct  by  several  persons  directed  to  a  common 
end;  that  a  conspiracy  may  be  proved  by  circumstantial 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


146 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  14,  1946 


"Strange  Journey"  with  Paul  Kelly, 
Osa  Massen  and  Hillary  Brooke 

(20th  Century-Fox,  October;  time.  65  min.) 

Just  a  program  melodrama.  The  production  is  ordinary, 
and  the  story,  which  revolves  around  a  group  of  assorted 
characters  stranded  on  a  desert  island,  and  around  a  fight 
for  possession  of  a  map  revealing  the  site  of  unknown 
uranium  deposits,  is  so  involved  and  far-fetched  that  it 
cannot  be  taken  seriously;  for  that  reason  it  fails  to  keep 
a  tight  hold  on  the  spectator's  interest.  But,  since  it  offers 
a  fair  share  of  melodramatic  actions  and  excitement,  it 
should  give  ample  satisfaction  to  the  action  fans,  despite  the 
story's  ineptness.  None  of  the  characters  involved  are  of 
much  importance,  nor  do  they  awaken  one's  sympathy: — 

Believing  that  the  police  were  about  to  accuse  him  of  a 
crime  he  did  not  commit,  Paul  Kelly,  a  former  racketeer, 
flees  with  his  wife  (Hillary  Brooke)  to  his  privately  owned 
island  in  the  Caribbean.  A  crash  landing  on  the  island  de- 
stroys their  plane,  cutting  off  their  only  means  of  trans- 
portation. Several  weeks  later,  Kelly,  weakened  by  hunger 
and  angered  at  Hillary,  who  had  turned  against  him  be- 
cause of  the  inconveniences  she  had  to  suffer,  stumbles 
onto  a  shipwrecked  party,  including  Fritz  Lieber,  a  pro- 
fessor; Osa  Massen,  his  daughter;  Lee  Patrick,  a  wealthy 
widow;  Kurt  Katch,  a  Nazi  spy;  and  Gene  Stutenroth,  a 
ruthless  sailor,  who  bullied  the  others  into  doing  his  bidding. 
When  the  professor,  who  had  in  his  possession  the  map 
revealing  uranium  deposits,  dies  from  a  heart  attack,  Osa 
entrusts  the  map  to  Kelly  for  safekeeping.  But  when  Hil- 
liary  reveals  that  Kelly  was  running  away  from  a  murder 
charge,  Osa  distrusts  him  and  asks  him  to  return  the  map. 
Kelly  refuses,  hurt  that  his  honor  had  been  questioned. 
Kelly  soon  establishes  himself  as  "boss"  of  the  island  when 
he  subdues  Stutenroth  in  a  fist  fight.  Shortly  thereafter, 
Katch  offers  him  a  fabulous  sum  to  turn  over  the  map. 
Pretending  to  fall  in  with  the  scheme,  Kelly  waits  for 
Katch's  accomplices  to  arrive  on  the  island  by  plane.  Upon 
their  arrival,  Kelly  engages  them  in  a  furious  gun  fight, 
in  which  Hillary's  love  for  him  is  proven  when  she  saves 
his  life  by  wiping  out  the  Nazis  with  a  machine  gun.  All 
return  to  the  mainland  in  the  Nazi  plane,  gratified  that  they 
had  prevented  the  uranium  from  falling  into  enemy  hands. 

Charles  Kcnyon  and  Irving  Elman  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Sol  M.  Wurtzcl  produced  it,  and  James  Tinling 
directed  it.    Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Little  Iodine"  with  Jo  Ann  Marlowe 

(Comet-United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time.  56  min.) 

Based  on  the  comic  strip  of  the  same  name,  this  comedy 
of  domestic  troubles  is  a  mildly  amusing  program  entertain- 
ment, best  suited  for  the  family  trade  in  small  towns  and 
neighborhood  theatres.  The  central  figure  is  a  precocious 
ten-year-old  girl,  whose  efforts  to  break  up  an  imaginary 
affair  her  mother  was  having  with*  a  strange  man  scandal- 
izes the  entire  town  and  causes  a  separation  between  her 
parents.  The  story  is  quite  thin,  being  more  or  less  a  collec- 
tion of  situations  that  have  proved  laughable  in  similar 
comedies,  but  for  those  who  are  entertained  easily  it  offers 
some  laughs: — 

Jo  Ann  Marlowe  is  constantly  censured  by  her  parents 
(Irene  Ryan  and  Hobart  Cavanaugh)  because  of  her  un- 
predictable pranks.  Returning  home  from  school  one  day, 
she  sees  her  mother  with  a  Frenchman  and  overhears  him 
speaking  to  her  in  French,  using  endearing  terms.  Actually, 
the  man  was  trying  to  sell  Miss  Ryan  a  set  of  foreign  lan- 
guage records,  but  Jo  Ann  imagines  that  she  was  carrying 
on  a  secret  romance  with  him.  To  solve  the  situation,  Jo 
Ann  decides  to  make  her  mother  jealous  of  her  father. 
She  "plants"  evidence  to  make  it  appear  as  if  there  was 
another  woman  in  his  life.  Her  innocent  prank  involves  Eve 
Whitney,  a  pretty  dancing  school  teacher,  to  whom  Cav- 
anaugh had  been  attentive  in  a  purely  business  way,  and 
breaks  up  Eve's  romance  with  Marc  Cramer,  a  newspaper- 
man. Moreover,  her  parents  quarrel  and  separate.  The 
whole  town  becomes  scandalized  by  Cavanaugh's  "romanc- 
ing" with  Eve,  as  built  up  by  Jo  Ann,  and  the  meddling 
women  in  town  organize  a  committee  and  compel  his  em- 
ployer to  discharge  him  because  he  was  a  disgrace  to  all 
the  fathers  in  town.  It  is  not  until  Jo  Ann  accidentally  dis- 
covers the  truth  about  the  Frenchman  that  she  finally  con- 
fesses to  her  prank,  thus  clearing  up  the  confusion  and 
effecting  a  reconciliation  between  her  parents,  as  well  as 
between  Eve  and  Cramer. 

Richard  Landau  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Buddy 
Rogers  and  Ralph  Cohn  produced  it,  and  Reginald  LeBorg 
directed  it. 


"So  Dark  the  Night"  with  Steven  Geray 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  70  min.) 

This  is  a  sombre  program  murder-mystery  melodrama,  one 
that  can  boast  of  good  directorial  touches  with  regard  to 
atmospheric  effects,  and  of  competent  performances.  But 
all  this  is  wasted  on  an  unconvincing  story,  which  resorts 
to  a  time-worn  device — schizophrenia  (split  personality)  to 
bring  about  a  solution  to  the  crimes.  The  idea  of  the  hero 
discovering  that  he  himself  is  the  murderer  was,  no  doubt, 
intended  as  a  surprise  ending,  but  most  spectators  will  prob- 
ably feel  disappointed  over  this  arbitrary  solution,  for 
throughout  the  mystifying  doings  there  is  nothing  to  indicate 
that  he  had  "Jekyll  and  Hyde"  tendencies.  At  best,  the 
picture  is  suited  for  second  place  on  a  double-bill: — 

On  the  verge  of  a  nervous  breakdown,  Steven  Gcray,  a 
famous,  middle-aged  French  detective,  goes  to  a  small  village 
for  a  rest.  There  he  falls  in  love  with  Micheline  Chierel, 
daughter  of  the  inkeepcr,  and  becomes  engaged  to  her, 
despite  the  threats  made  by  Paul  Marion,  her  childhood 
sweetheart,  who  swore  that  he  would  not  let  another  man 
have  her.  Ann  Codee,  Michclinc's  mercenary  mother,  ap- 
proved of  her  engagement  to  the  rich  detective,  but  Eugene 
Borden,  her  father,  disapproved,  because  of  the  difference 
in  their  ages.  On  the  night  of  the  engagement  party,  Miche- 
line and  Paul  disappear,  and  are  afterwards  found  strangled 
to  death.  Gcray  takes  charge  of  the  invcsfigatfoii  and  dis- 
covers a  single  clue— a  footprint,  of  which  he  makes  a 
plaster  cast,  but  he  cannot  find  one  shoe  in  the  village 
to  fit  it.  Shortly  afterwards,  Micheline's  mother,  too,  is 
strangled  to  death.  Baffled  over  his  inability  to  solve  the 
murders,  Geray  returns  to  Paris  to  make  use  of  the  police 
department  laboratory.  He  deduces  from  his  calculations 
that  his  own  shoe  fitted  the  footprint  and  comes  to  the 
realization  that  he  himself  was  the  murderer.  He  requests 
an  examination  by  a  psychiatrist  and  is  found  to  be  a 
schizophrenic,  sane  by  day  but  a  mad  killer  at  night.  He  is 
put  under  guard  at  his  own  request  but  later  escapes  back 
to  the  village.  The  police  follow  him  and  shoot  him  dead 
when  they  catch  him  in  the  act  of  strangling  Borden. 

Martin  Berkely  and  Dwight  Babcock  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Ted  Richmond  produced  it,  and  Joseph  H.  Lewis 
directed  it.  Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Thrill  of  Brazil"  with  Evelyn  Keyes, 
Keenan  Wynn  and  Ann  Miller 

(Columbia,  Sept.  30;  time,  91  min.) 

A  fair  musical,  but  it  barely  rises  above  program  grade. 
There  is  nothing  outstanding  about  it  either  in  story  or 
production  values,  yet  it  may  get  by  with  audiences  who 
enjoy  Latin-American  music  and  dance  numbers.  The  story, 
which  takes  place  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  has  a  few  good  comedy 
situations,  with  most  of  the  laughs  povoked  by  the  methods 
Keenan  Wynn  employs  to  win  Evelyn  Keyes  back  as  his 
wife.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  plot  is  quite  thin,  and 
the  producers  efforts  to  keep  the  action  gay  and  breezy 
do  not  seem  to  click.  There  are  no  novel  twists  in  the  plot; 
it  unfolds  in  a  manner  expected  by  the  audiences.  It  has 
the  usual  quota  of  production  numbers,  featuring  Ann 
Miller's  tap  dancing,  Tito  Guizar's  singing,  and  a  specialty 
dance  number  by  Veloz  and  Yolanda.  Enric  Madriguera's 
orchestra  furnishes  the  music: — 

Wynn,  producer  of  a  musical  revue  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  is 
still  in  love  with  Evelyn  Keyes,  his  wife,  a  famous  dance 
directress.  When  Evelyn  arrives  in  town  with  Allyn  Joslyn, 
her  straight-laced  prospective  husband,  to  get  Wynn's  sig- 
nature on  her  final  divorce  papers,  he  resorts  to  all  sorts 
of  tricks  to  win  her  back.  But  she  refuses  to  fall  for  any  of 
his  schemes  and  eventually  obtains  his  signature.  Deter- 
mined to  keep  her  in  town,  Wynn  arranges  with  Sid  To- 
mack,  a  taxi  driver  with  a  flair  for  picking  pockets,  to  steal 
Joslyn's  wallet,  which  contained  the  divorce  papers.  The 
scheme  works,  causing  Evelyn  and  Joslyn  to  delay  their 
departure,  but  complications  set  in  when  Tomack,  paid 
off  for  the  theft  with  one  of  Wynn's  checks,  discovers  that 
it  was  signed  with  disappearing  ink.  Peeved,  he  decides 
to  retrieve  the  wallet.  Wynn's  attempt  to  stop  him  causes 
a  fight  in  a  night-club  and  lands  every  one  concerned  in 
jail.  Wynn  gains  their  release  but  continues  his  efforts  to 
keep  Evelyn  in  town.  Meanwhile  Joslyn  becomes  upset  over 
the  notoriety  he  had  received  after  spending  a  night  in  jail. 
Wynn  eventually  gives  up  trying  to  win  Evelyn's  love,  but 
by  this  time  Evelyn  discovers  that  she  prefers  his  brashness 
to  Joslyn's  conservativeness  and  decides  to  remarry  him. 

Allen  Rivkin,  Harry  Clark,  and  Devery  Freeman  wrote 
/he  screen  play,  Sidney  Biddell  produced  it,  and  S.  Sylvan 
Simon  directed  it.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


September  14,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


147 


"The  Bachelor's  Daughters"  with  Gail 
Russell,  Ann  Dvorak,  Claire  Trevor 
and  Adolphe  Menjou 

(United  Artists,  Sept.  6;  time,  89  mm.) 
A  good  comedydrama;  it  should  be  enjoyed  by  all  types 
of  audiences.  Revolving  around  four  salesgirls,  who  put  up 
a  rich  front  in  order  to  attract  wealthy  husbands,  the  story 
is  a  delightful  and  frequently  charming  mixture  of  romance, 
comedy,  and  pathos,  which,  despite  the  implausibilities  of 
the  novel  plot,  manages  to  be  consistently  appealing  and 
entertaining.  All  the  players  perform  well,  but  a  choice 
characterization  is  contributed  by  Adolphe  Menjou,  as  a 
penny-pinching,  irritable  store  floorwalker,  who  reluctantly 
agrees  to  pose  as  the  girls'  father;  his  shrewd,  tight-fisted 
methods  provoke  many  laughs,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
endears  himself  to  the  audience  by  his  display  of  genuine 
affection  for  the  girls.  Billie  Burke,  who  poses  as  their 
mother,  has  a  charming  part.  There  is  also  some  pleasant 
music,  which  is  worked  into  the  plot  without  retarding  the 
action: — 

Disturbed  over  the  prospect  of  spending  their  old  age 
in  poverty  and  loneliness,  such  as  Miss  Burke,  who  had 
been  pensioned  off  by  the  department  store  where  they 
worked,  Gail  Russell,  Ann  Dvorak,  Claire  Trevor  and  Jane 
Wyatt  decide  to  pool  their  resources  and  to  move  into  a 
swanky  Long  Island  home  as  a  means  of  meeting  prospective 
rich  husbands.  They  induce  Miss  Burke  to  pose  as  their 
mother,  and  bribe  Menjou  into  acting  as  their  father  to 
lend  authenticity  to  their  "family."  Through  clever  schem' 
ing,  and  with  Menjou's  unexpected  aid,  Ann,  who  wanted 
to  be  a  singer,  obtains  a  contract  from  a  wealthy  producer; 
Gail  starts  a  romance  with  wealthy  John  Whitney;  and  Jane 
marries  Eugene  List,  son  of  the  store  owner,  who  forswears 
his  father's  millions  in  the  hope  of  becoming  a  concert 
pianist.  Only  Claire  does  not  tare  so  well;  she  takes  an 
interest  in  a  playboy  (Damian  O'Flynn),  who  believed  in 
"friendship"  not  marriage.  All  continue  to  work  at  the 
store  but  manage  to  avoid  detection  by  their  wealthy  friends. 
Complications  arise  when  Gail,  needing  clothes  to  impress 
Whitney,  whom  she  truly  loved,  borrows  a  mink  coat  from 
the  store.  Claire,  jealous  of  Gail's  romance,  assumes  that  she 
was  carrying  on  with  a  strange  man,  who  had  bought  her 
the  coat,  and  indicates  as  much  to  Whitney,  causing  him 
to  break  the  engagement.  Meanwhile  Gail  finds  herself  sus- 
pected  of  stealing  the  coat.  Crushed  by  her  troubles,  she 
attempts  suicide  but  is  saved  by  Menjou  and  the  now 
remorseful  Claire.  Menjou's  clever  manipulations  square 
Gail's  debt  to  the  store  and  bring  her  together  again  with 
Whitney.  It  all  ends  with  the  "family"  having  a  joyful 
reunion  at  Ann's  Broadway  debut,  at  which  time  Menjou 
announces  that  he  had  bought  the  swanky  home  and  had 
married  Miss  Burke. 

Andrew  Stone  produced  and  directed  from  his  own  origi- 
nal screenplay.  The  cast  includes  Russell  Hicks  and  others. 


"Her  Sister's  Secret"  with  Nancy  Coleman, 
Margaret  Lindsay  and  Philip  Reed 

(PRC,  Sept.  23;  time,  83  min.) 

An  emotional  drama,  with  a  strong  appeal  for  women, 
because  it  is  founded  on  mother  love.  The  story's  theme — 
that  of  an  unwed  mother  who,  after  relinquishing  her  baby 
to  another  woman,  makes  a  desperate  attempt  to  recover  the 
child,  is  not  novel,  but  it  has  been  handled  with  care  and 
directed  with  intelligence.  All  the  characters  involved  are 
pleasant,  sympathetic  people,  and  the  entire  cast  performs 
creditably.  Some  of  the  situations  are  quite  moving,  and  a 
number  of  them  tear  at  one's  heartstrings.  It  is  the  type 
of  story  that,  despite  its  lack  of  action,  keeps  one  interested 
throughout.  The  production  values  are  above  average: — 

Nancy  Coleman  and  Philip  Reed,  a  soldier  on  leave, 
meet  and  fall  in  love  on  Mardi  Gras  night  in  New  Orleans 
and,  after  spending  the  night  together,  arrange  to  meet 
again  on  his  next  furlough  to  be  married.  On  the  day  of  the 
meeting,  Reed  is  shipped  overseas  and  his  special  delivery 
letter  to  Nancy,  informing  her  of  his  inability  to  meet  her, 
goes  astray.  Believing  that  Reed  had  forsaken  her,  Nancy 
visits  Margaret  Lindsay,  her  sister,  and  informs  her  that 
she  was  expecting  a  child.  Margaret,  a  childless  matron, 
whose  husband  (Regis  Toomey)  was  a  naval  officer  at  sea, 
pleads  with  her  to  have  the  baby  under  circumstances  that 
would  lead  even  her  husband  to  believe  that  the  child  was 
hers.  They  carry  through  the  plan  by  going  to  a  secluded 
ranch,  where  both  were  unknown.  After  Nancy's  son  is 
born,  Margaret  takes  the  baby  to  New  York  with  the 
understanding  that  Nancy  would  not  attempt  to  see  the 


child  for  three  years.  She  keeps  Nancy  informed  of  the 
baby's  progress  but  her  letters  serve  only  to  increase  Nancy's 
desire  for  the  return  of  her  son.  No  longer  able  to  contain 
herself,  Nancy,  after  two  years,  goes  to  New  York  secretly 
to  watch  her  child  while  he  plays  in  the  park.  Meanwhile 
Reed,  back  from  overseas,  traces  Nancy  to  New  York  and 
visits  Margaret  to  learn  of  her  whereabouts.  Margaret,  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  Nancy  was  in  town,  promises  to  com- 
municate with  him.  Nancy  finally  shows  up  at  Margaret's 
apartment  and  makes  a  desperate  attempt  to  recover  the 
child,  despite  Margaret's  tearful  protestations.  When  she 
learns  that  Reed  was  searching  for  her,  she  concludes  that 
the  baby  would  be  happier  with  Margaret.  She  leaves  him 
with  his  foster  parents  and  looks  forward  to  a  new  life 
with  Reed. 

Anne  Green  wrote  the  screen  play,  based  on  the  novel 
"Dark  Angel,"  by  Gina  Kaus.  Henry  Brash  produced  it, 
and  Edgar  G.  Ulmer  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Henry 
Stephenson,  Fritz  Feld,  Felix  Bressart,  George  Meeker  and 
others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Cloak  and  Dagger"  with  Gary  Cooper 
and  Lilli  Palmer 

(Warner  Bros.,  Sept.  28;  time,  106  min.) 

A  well  produced,  intelligently  directed  espionage  melo- 
drama. Its  story,  which  deals  with  the  adventures  of  an 
OSS  operative  in  Europe  during  the  war  is  not  particularly 
novel;  but  this  fact  will,  no  doubt,  be  overlooked  by  the 
audience,  for  the  excitement  is  kept  at  a  high  pitch.  It  holds 
one  in  suspense  throughout  because  of  the  constant  danger 
to  the  hero  and  heroine.  In  addition  to  the  thrilling  action, 
there  is  also  an  appealing  romance  between  Gary  Cooper, 
as  the  American  agent,  and  Lilli  Palmer,  as  an  Italian 
partisan.  Miss  Palmer,  who  makes  her  American  debut  in 
this  film,  is  a  fine  actress.  Cooper  turns  in  a  first-rate  per- 
formance; his  encounters  with  the  enemy  and  the  daring 
chances  he  takes  result  in  situations  that  are  outstanding 
in  their  exciting  nature.  One  such  hair-raising  situation 
is  where  he  tangles  silently  in  a  fight  to  death  with  an 
enemy  agent.  Cooper's  popularity,  as  well  as  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  powerful  melodrama,  should  make  this  picture  an 
outstanding  box-office  attraction: — 

Cooper,  a  Midwestern  protessor  of  physics  and  an  expert 
in  nuclear  fission,  is  drafted  by  the  Office  of  Strategic 
Services  to  go  to  Europe  to  learn  of  the  progress  the  Nazis 
were  making  in  the  development  of  an  atomic  weapon.  He 
is  sent  to  Switzerland  to  contact  Helene  Thimig,  an  eminent 
woman  scientist  recently  escaped  from  Germany,  where  she 
had  been  working  against  her  will  in  atomic  research.  He 
learns  from  her  that  Vladimir  Sokoloff,  a  famous  Italian 
scientist,  was  being  forced  to  do  similar  work  in  Italy. 
Before  Cooper  can  obtain  complete  information  from  Miss 
Thimig  about  her  experiments,  Nazi  agents  kidnap  and 
kill  her.  Realizing  that  his  only  hope  of  obtaining  the 
Nazis'  atomic  secrets  was  through  Sokoloff,  Cooper,  aided 
by  a  trio  of  Italian  partisans,  including  Dan  Seymour, 
Robert  Alda,  and  Lilli  Palmer,  makes  his  way  into  Nazi- 
occupied  Italy,  determined  to  rescue  the  aged  scientist.  He 
manages  to  see  Sokoloff  by  masquerading  as  a  German 
professor,  and  finds  the  scientist  bound  to  his  work  by  a 
fear  that  his  daughter,  whom  the  Germans  held  captive, 
would  be  harmed.  Cooper  devises  a  daring  plan  whereby 
Alda  and  Seymour  would  rescue  Sokoloff's  daughter,  while 
he  and  Lilli  spirit  the  scientist  away  from  the  Nazis.  All 
arrange  to  meet  at  a  farmhouse  adjoining  a  partisan  airfield, 
where  a  plane  would  take  them  out  of  the  country.  In  the 
next  few  days,  Lilli  and  Cooper  live  through  a  series  of 
dangers  involving  the  secret  police  before  they  succeed  in 
freeing  Sokoloff.  Meanwhile  they  fall  in  love.  When  all 
meet  at  the  farmhouse,  they  discover  that  the  girl  they  had 
rescued  was  not  Sokoloff's  daughter  but  a  Nazi  agent  who 
had  led  them  into  a  trap.  Nazi  soldiers  surround  the  house 
and  a  fierce  gunfight  ensues.  Alda,  aware  that  they  were 
outnumbered,  orders  Cooper  to  make  his  escape  with  Lilli 
and  Sokoloff  while  he  held  the  attackers  at  bay.  All  three 
make  their  way  to  the  airfield  through  a  secret  passage. 
Cooper  pleads  with  Lilli  to  join  him  on  the  trip  to  England, 
but  she  declines  because  of  her  important  work.  He  leaves 
her  with  a  promise  to  return  alter  the  war. 

Albert  Matz  and  Ring  Lardncr,  Jr.  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  an  original  story  by  Boris  Ingstcr  and  John  Larkin. 
Milton  Sperling  produced  it,  and  Fritz  Lang  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  J.  Edward  Bromberg,  Marc  Lawrence 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


148 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  14,  1946 


evidence  or  by  inferences  from  established  facts;  and  that 
conspiracies  are  seldom  capable  of  proof  by  direct  testi' 
mony  and  may  be  inferred  from  the  things  actually  done.*4 
In  some  instances  a  plaintiff  claimed  that  the  distributors 
acted  uniformly,  cither  by  agreement  or  understanding 
among  themselves,  and  that,  having  full  knowledge  of  the 
facts,  by  their  concert  of  action  they  participated  in  a  plan 
leading  to  restraint  of  trade  or  monopoly.  In  denying  con- 
spiracy the  distributors  frequently  asserted  that  even  though 
they  may  have  acted  in  a  substantially  identical  manner, 
each  distributor  reached  its  own  decision  independently, 
with  no  knowledge  of  what  other  distributors  were  doing 
or  of  any  scheme  or  design  to  restrain  or  monopolise  inter- 
state commerce.41 

In  the  Interstate  Case,  where,  however,  the  facts  were 
not  in  dispute,  the  United  States  District  Court  in  Texas 
and  the  Supreme  Court  clarified  the  law  of  conspiracy  as 
it  related  to  the  motion  picture  industry.  In  no  uncertain 
language  the  nation's  highest  tribunal  declared  that  it  was 
not  necessary  to  prove  a  formal  agreement,  and  that  "accept- 
ance by  competitors,  without  previous  agreement,  of  an  in- 
vitation to  participate  in  a  plan,  the  necessary  consequence 
of  which,  if  carried  out,  is  restraint  of  interstate  commerce, 
is  sufficient  to  establish  an  unlawful  conspiracy  under  the 
Sherman  Act." 

Another  forward  step  was  taken  in  the  Goldman  Case." 
There,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  plaintiff  claimed  that 
Warner  had  a  monopoly  of  first  run  exhibition  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  that  the  major  distributors  had  conspired  with 
it  to  refuse  to  sell  the  plaintiff  any  first-run  films.  In  holding 
that  Warner  maintained  its  monopolistic  position  not  alone 
from  ownership  of  theatres  but  also  as  a  result  of  "concert 
of  action  of  the  distributors,"  each  of  which  knew  that 
every  other  distributor  was  licensing  its  product  first  run  to 
the  Warner  subsidiary,  the  Court  declared: 

".  .  .  We  think  there  must  have  been  some  form  of  in- 
formal understanding.  The  axiom  is  ancient  that  the  deed 
speaks  for  itself  and  that  man  intends  the  probable  conse- 
quences of  his  act.  Here,  the  conclusion  is  justified  that  de- 
fendants acted  in  concert  in  excluding  plaintiff.  .  . 

"  'The  picture  of  conspiracy  as  a  meeting  by  twilight  of 
a  trio  of  sinister  persons  with  pointed  hats  close  together 
belongs  to  a  darker  age'." 

".  .  .  Uniform  participation  by  competitors  in  a  particular 
system  of  doing  business  where  each  is  aware  of  the  other's 
activities,  the  effect  of  which  is  restraint  of  interstate  com- 
merce, is  sufficient  to  establish  an  unlawful  conspiracy  under 
the  statutes  before  us.  In  the  case  at  bar  it  is  necessary  to 
conclude  that  plaintiff  has  sustained  its  charges,  as  each  of 
the  distributor  defendants  knew  that  its  refusal  to  lease 
pictures  to  plaintiff,  together  with  the  refusal  of  all,  would 
result  in  the  creation  of  an  illegal  monopoly  in  the  business 
of  exhibiting  first-run  pictures  in  Philadelphia  by  Warner 
Brothers.  .  .  ." 

The  Statutory  Court  carried  the  doctrine  expressed  in 
these  decisions  to  its  logical  conclusion.  Disregarding  the 
denials  of  conspiracy  by  representatives  of  the  defendants 
and  the  "testimony  of  interested  witnesses  that  one  distrib- 
utor does  not  know  what  another  distributor  is  doing,"  the 
Court  had  little  difficulty  in  finding  the  existence  of  a  con- 
spiracy relating  to  admission  prices,  run  and  clearance.  In 
language  already  quoted  or  referred  to  in  these  articles  the 
Court  pointed  to  the  contents  of  franchises  and  other  docu- 
ments and  the  testimony  of  leading  representatives  of  the 
defendants.  In  emphatic  words  they  declared  that  there 
could  be  "no  reasonable  inference  that  the  defendants  are 
not  planning  to  fix  minimum  prices  .  .  .;"  that  "The  whole 
system  presupposed  a  fixing  of  prices  by  all  concerned  in 
all  competitive  areas";  that  there  was  "a  national  system 
to  fix  prices";  and  that  an  effective  system  of  price  control 
had  been  created  in  which  the  parties  knowingly  partici- 
pated. 

After  summarizing  at  length  the  testimony  of  various 
representatives  of  the  defendants  in  regard  to  clearance, 
the  Court  determined  that  the  distributor-defendants  had 
acted  in  concert  in  the  formation  of  a  uniform  system  of 
clearance,  and  that  the  exhibitor-defendants  had  assisted 
in  creating  and  maintaining  the  system,  in  violation  of  the 
anti-trust  laws. 


From  the  decision  it  is  clear  that  in  actions  against  the 
major  companies  conspiracy  to  violate  the  anti-trust  laws 
will  be  inferred,  notwithstanding  the  denials  of  representa- 
tives of  these  defendants,  by  proof  of  simultaneous  action 
with  a  common  purpose;  by  knowledge  of  existing  trade 
practices;  by  the  existence  of  a  uniform  trade  structure;  and 
by  tacit  participation  in  a  6ystem  of  doing  business  in 
violation  of  law.  Any  doubt  in  this  respect  has  been  laid 
at  rest  by  the  decision  of  the  Statutory  Court. 

The  decision  is  therefore  a  precedent  of  incalculable 
value  to  person*  asserting  claims  of  conspiracy  against  the 
major  companies. 


"United  States  v.  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corporation,  (D.C. 
S.D.  N.Y.)  34  F.  (2d)  984;  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corpora- 
tion v.  United  States,  282  U.S.  30. 

"United  States  v.  First  Motional  Pictures,  inc.,  282  U.S.  44. 

"i'crelman  v.  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.,  (D.C  Pa.)  9  P.  Supp. 
72V;  Vitagraph,  Inc.  v.  Ferelmon,  (CC  A.  3)  S*5  F.  (2d)  72*; 
United  States  v.  interstate  Circuit,  Inc.,  {D.C.  N.D.  Tex.) 
20  P.  Supp.  868;  Interstate  Circuit,  Inc.  v.  United  States,  3U6 
U.S.  208. 

,  ./»M./  *  v.  Omaha  Film  Board  of  Trade,  (D.  C.  Neb.)  60  P. 

(2d)  538.  See  also  i-irst  National  Pictures,  inc.  v.  Jiobison 
(CCA.  9)  72  P.  (2d)  37. 

-"See  Peckskill  Theatre,  inc.  v.  Advance  Theatrical  Co.,  206  App. 
Div.  138,  20U  N.Y.S.  726;  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corpora- 
tion v.  Stinnett  (Tex.)  17  S.W.  (2d)  125.  The  decisions  on 
these  topics  prior  to  1036  are  discussed  by  the  writer  in  the 
articles  already  mentioned  in  Harrison's  Reports  of  April  18 
to  June  27,  1936,  under  the  title  "Anti-Trust  Litigation  in  the 
Motion  Picture  Industry."  Some  of  the  findings  ot  District 
Courts  were  in  favor  of  the  detcudants;  many  ot  the  decisions 
are  not  officially  reported  and  are  mentioned  only  in  trade  publi- 
cations; and  many  of  the  suits  alleging  violations  of  the  anti- 
trust laws  never  went  to  trial. 

» inter slate  Circuit,  inc.  v.  United  States,  306  U.S.  208.  United 
States  v.  Crescent  Amusement  Company,  323  U.S.  173.  Gold- 
man Theatres,  inc.  v.  Locu/s,  Inc.  150  P.  2d  738.  United  States 
v.  Schme  Chain  Theatres,  inc.  (D.C. W.D.N. Y.)  63  P.  Supp. 
229. 

**  See,  for  example,  Schubert  Theatre  Players  Co.  v.  M  etro-Goldwyn- 
Mayer  Distributing  Corporation,  (D.C.Minn.)  January  30,  1936, 
unreported  Colonial  Theatrical  Enterprises,  inc.  v.  Cooperative 
Theatres  of  Michigan,  Inc.  (D.C.E.D. Mich. S.D. ),  opinion  and 
decree  of  Moinet,  D.J.,  reported  in  Motion  Picture  Herald, 
April  18,  1936;  Rolsky  v.  Fox  Mid-Wist  Theatres,  inc. 
(D.C  W.D.Mo.  W.D.)  Eq.  No.  2814. 

*>Binderup  v.  Pathe  Exchange,  Inc.,  263  U.S.  291. 

"Westway  Theatre,  Inc.  v.  Twentieth  Century-Fox  Film  Corpora- 
tion, (D.C.  Md.)  30  F.  Supp.  830;  (CCA.  4)  113  F.  Supp.  932. 
Gary  Theatre  Co.  v.  Columbia  Pictures  Corporation,  (D.C.  N.D. 
111.  E.D.);  (CCA.  7),  120  F.  (2d)  891. 

"See  the  decisions  cited  and  quoted  in  Harrison's  Reports,  June 
13,  1936,  particularly  the  quotation  from  the  charge  of  Judge 
Moore  to  the  jury  in  the  so-called  .St.  Louts  Case,  United  States 
v.  Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.,  et  al.,  (D.C.  E.D.  Mo.)  1936. 
(Ed.  note.  This  charge  was  printed  in  full  in  pamphlet  form 
by  Harrison's  Reports  in  1936,  with  a  preface  by  the  editor 
of  this  magazine  and  a  foreword  by  the  present  writer.) 

"Reliance  was  placed  upon  these  assertions  by  the  courts  in  the 
Westway  Theatre  Case  and  the  Gary  Theatre  Case,  already 
cited. 

"William  Goldman  Theatres,  Inc.  v.  Loan's,  Inc.,  (CCA.  3)  150 
F.  (2d)  738.  The  findings  of  conspiracy  in  the  Crescent,  S chine 
and  Jackson  Park  Cases,  already  cited  in  this  article,  are  not 
overlooked;  but  in  those  cases  the  findings  were  made  by  the 
trial  court  or  jury  without  any  important  discussion  of  the 
law  of  conspiracy. 

"Blondie  Knows  Best"  with  Arthur  Lake 
and  Penny  Singleton 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  70  min.) 

A  fair  program  domestic  comedy.  It  is  more  or  le6s  a 
carbon  copy  of  the  previous  pictures  in  the  "Blondie" 
series,  but  if  those  pictures  have  proved  acceptable  to  your 
patrons,  this  one,  too,  should  amuse  them.  The  story  is  a 
rehash  of  the  familiar  doings  of  the  "Bumsteads,"  with 
Arthur  Lake,  as  "Dagwood,"  getting  himself  into  all  sorts 
of  complications  with  both  his  wife  and  his  boss,  because 
of  his  sappiness.  For  comedy,  the  usual  slapstick  antics  are 
resorted  to,  such  as  Lake  dashing  out  of  his  house  and 
colliding  with  some  one.  Considerable  laughter  is  provoked 
by  Shemp  Howard,  as  a  near-sighted  process  server. 

This  time  Lake's  troubles  begin  when  he  damages  the 
car  of  a  next-door  neighbor  and  is  sued  for  $500.  His  wife 
goads  him  into  asking  his  boss  (Jonathan  Hale)  for  a  bonus 
to  pay  the  suit.  Hale  agrees,  provided  Lake  impersonates 
him  in  an  important  business  deal,  but  Lake  makes  such  a 
mess  of  the  impersonation  that  he  ruins  the  deal  and  loses 
his  job.  His  troubles  are  resolved,  however,  when  two  scien- 
tists, experimenting  with  a  truth  serum,  select  him  as  a 
subject  because  of  his  simple-mindedness  and  pay  him  $500 
to  submit  to  an  injection  of  the  serum.  His  inability  to  tell 
a  lie  causes  him  to  reveal  the  truth  about  the  impersonation 
and  results  in  his  company  being  granted  a  profitable  con- 
tract. Hale,  delighted,  reemploys  Lake  and  grants  him 
the  bonus. 

Edward  Bernds  and  Al  Martin  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Burt  Kelly  produced  it,  and  Abby  Berlin  directed  it.  Un- 
objectionable morally. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  21,  1946  No.  38 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  7 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


Conspiracy  and  Monopolizing  (cont'd) 
(b)  Monopolizing 

In  view  of  the  Government's  demand  for  divestiture  of 
interests  in  theatres  by  the  defendant  producers  and  distrib' 
utors — what  has  been  generally  referred  to  as  "divorce- 
ment" of  theatre  operation  from  production  and  distribu' 
tion — the  most  important  single  issue  before  the  Expediting 
Court  was  whether  the  five  principal  defendants,  or  any 
of  them,  had  monopolized  or  attempted  to  monopolize,  or 
had  conspired  to  monopolize,  any  part  of  interstate  trade 
or  commerce.  A  parallel  question  was  whether  any  produc- 
tion-distribution-exhibition unit  was  in  itself  a  combination 
in  restraint  of  trade.  If  it  were,  then  a  proper  remedy 
was,  according  to  precedents  long  established  in  the  anti- 
trust laws,  dissolution  of  the  combination. 

Significantly,  however,  the  Statutory  Court  made  few 
explicit  findings  on  the  issue  of  monopolizing;  and  they 
gave  no  specific  indication  whether  or  not  they  considered 
any  defendant  a  combination  in  restraint  of  trade.  They 
found  that  "It  is  only  in  certain  localities,  and  not  in  general, 
that  an  ownership  even  of  first  run  theatres  approximating 
monopoly  exists,"  and  pointed  out  that  the  aggregate  inter- 
ests of  the  defendants  constituted  little  more  than  one-sixth 
of  all  the  theatres  in  the  country.  The  obvious  inference, 
therefore,  is  that  neither  an  individual  defendant  nor  all 
the  defendants  combined  have  attained  a  national  monopoly 
of  exhibition. 

In  support  of  their  refusal  to  order  divestiture  of  theatres 
the  Statutory  Court  reasoned: 

"Moreover,  there  is  no  substantial  proof  that  any  of  the 
corporate  defendants  was  organized  or  has  been  maintained 
for  the  purpose  of  achieving  a  national  monopoly. . . ." 

"If  in  certain  localities  there  is  ownership  by  a  single 
defendant  of  all  the  first-run  theatres,  there  is  no  sufficient 
proof  that  it  has  been  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  monopoly 
and  has  not  rather  arisen  from  the  inertness  of  competitors, 
their  lack  of  financial  ability  to  build  theatres  comparable 
to  those  of  the  defendants,  or  from  the  preference  of  the 
public  for  the  best  equipped  houses  and  not  from  'inherent 
vice'  on  the  part  of  these  defendants.  Each  defendant  had  a 
right  to  build  and  to  own  theatres  and  to  exhibit  pictures  in 
them,  and  it  takes  greater  proof  than  that  each  of  them  pos- 
sessed great  financial  strength,  many  theatres,  and  exhibited 
the  greater  number  of  first-runs  to  deprive  it  of  the  ordinary 
rights  of  ownership.  .  .  ." 

"There  is  no  evidence  that  in  a  city  such  as  Cincinnati, 
in  which  a  major  defendant  owns  all  of  the  first-run  theatres, 
other  exhibitors,  affiliated  or  unaffiliated,  have  been  pre- 
vented from  also  owning  theatres  for  exhibition  on  first-run 
and  there  consequently  is  no  monopoly  in  the  legal  sense. . . ." 

An  analysis  of  these  views  requires  a  consideration  of  the 
constituent  elements  of  monopolizing,  as  the  word  is  used 
in  the  anti-trust  laws.  In  Harrison's  Reports  of  May  23, 
1936,  in  discussing  this  subject  under  the  subtitle  "Mon- 
opoly of  Product,"  the  writer  said:44 

"Monopoly  is  control.4*  It  is  defined  as  'the  suppression 
of  competition  by  unification  of  interest  or  management,  or 


it  may  be  through  agreement  and  concert  of  action.'4"  'It 
is  the  exclusion  of  others  from  the  opportunity  of  doing 
business  that  is  regarded  as  monopolizing.'4' 

"To  violate  the  statute  it  is  not  necessary  that  a  complete 
monopoly  should  be  established.  'It  is  sufficient  if  it  really 
tends  to  that  end  and  to  deprive  the  public  of  the  advantages 
which  flow  from  free  competition'."" 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  statute  applies,  not  only  to 
nation-wide,  but  to  restricted,  monopolies — it  prohibits  the 
monopolizing  or  attempting  to  monopolize  "any  part"  of 
interstate  commerce.  This  "includes  any  portion  of  the 
United  States  and  any  one  of  the  classes  of  things  forming 
a  part  of  interstate  or  foreign  commerce."48  Consequently 
it  has  been  held  that  the  statute  is  violated  by  a  monopoly 
"limited  to  a  narrow  territory,"80  such  as  the  New  England 
States,"  a  number  of  ports  on  the  Great  Lakes,"  a  section  of 
a  state,"  or  even  a  single  city.54 

Usually  the  crime  of  monopolizing  has  been  established  by 
proof  of  oppression  of  customers  or  of  predatory  acts  di- 
rected against  competitors,  generally  with  the  intention  of 
eliminating  their  competition.  These  acts,  and  agreements 
having  the  same  purpose,  may  be  referred  to  as  "monopolistic 
practices."  They  indicate  an  intention  to  monopolize  by 
excluding  competitors  and  securing  absolute  control  of  the 
field. 

In  the  motion  picture  industry  the  principle  that  a  mon- 
opoly may  be  inferred  from  acts  of  aggression  constituting 
monopolistic  practices  has  been  applied  in  several  cases." 

In  the  Crescent  Case  the  Supreme  Court  stated  that  "The 
crux  of  the  Government's  case  was  the  use  of  the  buying 
power  of  the  combination  for  the  purpose  of  eliminating 
competition  with  the  exhibitors  and  acquiring  a  monopoly 
in  the  areas  in  question";  that  there  was  "ample  evidence" 
that  the  combination  used  its  power  for  the  purpose  of 
restricting  or  eliminating  competition;  that  "The  same  type 
of  warfare  was  waged  with  franchise  contracts,"  which 
generally  gave  the  defendant  exhibitors  first  run  with  clear- 
ance; that  the  business  of  subsequent  run  exhibitors  was 
curtailed  by  repeat  provisions  giving  the  defendant  exhibi- 
tors the  option  of  showing  the  pictures  a  second  time;  that 
the  plan  was  to  crush  competition  and  build  a  circuit.  They 
also  said: 

.  .  The  showing  of  motion  pictures  is  of  course  a  local 
affair.  But  action  by  a  combination  of  exhibitors  to  obtain 
an  agreement  with  a  distributor  whereby  commerce  with  a 
competing  exhibitor  is  suppressed  or  restrained  is  a  conspir- 
acy in  restraint  of  trade  and  a  conspiracy  to  monopolize  a 
part  of  the  trade  or  commerce  among  the  states,  each  of 
which  is  prohibited  by  the  Sherman  Act.  .  .  ." 

".  .  .  The  growth  of  this  combine  has  been  the  result  of 
predatory  practices  condemned  by  the  Sherman  Act.  The 
object  of  the  conspiracy  was  the  destruction  or  absorption  of 
competitors.  .  ." 

In  sustaining  the  order  of  the  District  Court  for  the 
divestiture  of  interests  in  theatres,  the  Supreme  Court  said 
in  part: 

".  .  .  Dissolution  of  the  combination  will  be  ordered  where 
the  creation  of  the  combination  is  itself  the  violation.  .  .  . 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


150  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  September  21,  1946 


"The  Missing  Lady"  with  Kane  Richmond 
and  Barbara  Reed 

(Monogram.  Aug.  17;  time,  60  mm.) 

Like  the  previous  pictures  in  the  "Shadow"  series,  this 
one  is  just  a  minor  program  mystery  melodrama,  handi- 
capped by  a  story  that  is  so  far-fetched  and  confusing  that 
one  loses  interest  in  the  proceedings  long  before  the  out- 
come. Considerable  stress  is  placed  on  the  comedy,  but 
most  of  this  is  so  forced  and  so  inane  that  it  is  more  boring 
than  amusing.  The  best  thing  that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that 
on  occasion  the  action  is  exciting,  but  it  is  not  enough  to 
sustain  one's  interest.  The  players  do  their  best,  but  they 
are  up  against  such  poor  material  that  their  struggle  is  a 
hopeless  one: — 

Investigating  the  murder  of  an  art  dealer  and  the  theft 
of  a  $250,000  jade  statuette,  Kane  Richmond,  an  amateur 
detective,  known  to  the  police  only  as  the  Shadow,  visits 
a  "flophouse."  There  he  is  attacked  by  Jack  Overman,  a 
hoodlum,  but  overpowers  him,  at  the  same  time  rescuing 
from  one  of  Overman's  henchmen,  James  Cardwcll,  who, 
too,  had  a  mysterious  interest  in  locating  the  missing 
statuette.  In  the  course  of  events,  a  crooked  art  dealer 
seeking  the  statuette  is  murdered  under  circumstances  that 
cast  suspicion  on  Richmond.  James  Flavin,  the  detective 
chief,  who  resented  Richmond's  interference  in  the  case, 
puts  him  behind  bars,  but  Police  Commissioner  Pierre  Wat- 
kin,  Richmond's  uncle,  frees  him  for  lack  of  evidence. 
Another  murder  occurs  before  Richmond  finds  a  clue  that 
leads  him  to  the  studio  of  George  Lewis,  an  artist,  whose 
apartment  had  been  searched  by  a  number  of  suspects  in- 
volved in  the  crime.  There,  after  arranging  for  the  different 
suspects  to  be  assembled  together,  Richmond  succeeds  in 
finding  the  missing  statuette,  which  contained  a  fortune  in 
jewels,  and  in  capturing  those  responsible  for  the  three 
murders.  When  Richmond  turns  the  murderers  and  the 
statuette  over  to  the  police,  Cardwell,  who  reveals  himself 
as  an  insurance  investigator,  gives  him  a  reward,  which  he 
turns  over  to  the  police  fund. 

George  Callahan  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Joe 
Kaufman  produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlson  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  George  Chandler,  Dorothea  Kent  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Crime  Doctor's  Man  Hunt"  with  Warner 
Baxter  and  Ellen  Drew 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  61  min.) 

This  program  murder-mystery  melodrama  should  prove 
acceptable  fare  for  non-discriminating  followers  of  this  type 
of  entertainment,  but  those  who  demand  some  finesse  in 
picture-making  will  probably  find  it  quite  ordinary.  Al- 
though the  audience  is  led  to  believe  that  the  heroine's 
sister  had  committed  the  murders,  movie-wise  patrons  will 
have  little  trouble  guessing  early  in  the  proceedings  that 
the  heroine  herself  is  the  murderess,  because  her  disgusc 
(blonde  wig  and  glasses)  is  not  very  deceiving.  The  story 
itself  is  far-fetched,  developed  in  a  routine  manner,  and 
never  leads  up  to  any  real  excitement.  Warner  Baxter,  who 
reenacts  his  role  as  "Dr.  Ordway,"  the  detective-psychia- 
trist, gives  his  usual  competent  performance,  as  does  William 
Frawley,  as  the  police  chief.  The  comedy  relief  is  slight,  and 
there  is  no  romantic  interest: — 

Myron  Healy,  a  returned  veteran,  visits  Baxter  and  in- 
forms him  that  he  was  in  fear  of  his  life  because  of  a  strange 
desire  to  frequent  places  inhabited  by  underworld  characters. 
In  an  effort  to  understand  Healy's  strange  fear,  Baxter 
visits  the  slums  and  comes  upon  two  men  carrying  Healy's 
corpse  between  them.  Both  men  succeed  in  making  their 
getaway  with  the  body  and,  when  Baxter  reports  the  inci- 
dent to  police  chief  Frawley,  his  story  is  scoffed  at.  Baxter 
decides  to  investigate  the  crime  alone.  He  reconstructs 
Healy's  background  and  learns  that  he  was  engaged  to 
Ellen  Drew,  member  of  a  wealthy  family.  He  discovers 


also  circumstantial  evidence  indicating  that  Ellen'6  long- 
missing  sister  was  an  accomplice  of  the  two  men  seen  with 
Healy's  body,  and  that  she  was  the  murderess.  Ellen  agrees 
to  help  Baxter  track  down  her  suspected  sister  and  accom- 
panies her  to  a  deserted  house,  where  Healy's  body  had 
been  found.  There  Baxter  finds  a  woman's  glove  and  asks 
Ellen  to  telephone  the  police.  While  Ellen  is  gone,  her 
missing  sister  appears,  revolver  in  hand,  and  threatens  to 
shoot  Baxter,  but  police  chief  Frawley,  hiding  in  the  shadows, 
disarms  her.  Baxter  steps  up  to  the  woman,  removes  her 
blonde  wig,  and  unmasks  her  as  Ellen.  He  explains  that  he 
had  suspected  her  disguise  and  had  tricked  her  into  coming 
to  the  deserted  house  to  give  her  an  opportunity  to  kill  him 
and  thus  incriminate  herself.  He  explains  also  that  a  form 
of  insanity  had  prompted  her  to  take  on  the  personality  of 
her  missing  sister  and  to  kill  Healy,  because  she  feared  that 
his  insistence  that  she  consult  a  psychiatrist  would  cause 
her  to  be  confined  to  an  asylum. 

Leigh  Brackctt  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Eric  Taylor,  Rudolph  C.  Flothow  produced  it,  and  William 
Castle  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Frank  Sully,  Claire 
Carleton  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"It's  Great  To  Be  Young"  with  Leslie 
Brooks  and  Jimmy  Lloyd 

(Columbia,  Sept.  12;  time,  68  min.) 
A  minor  program  comedy,  with  music,  produced  on  a 
shoestring.  It  might  get  by  with  those  who  are  satisfied 
easily  by  a  few  "jive"  tunes,  none  ol  which  they  will  remem- 
ber after  leaving  the  theatre,  but  most  patrons  will  prob- 
ably find  it  pretty  tiresome,  for  its  story  about  youngsters 
who  try  to  break  into  show  business  is  extremely  trite,  and 
it  drags  during  most  of  its  unfolding.  There  is  little  about 
it  that  one  can  recommend.  For  one  thing,  not  one  of  the 
players  means  anything  at  the  box-office.  For  another,  what 
is  supposed  to  pass  as  comedy  is  just  plain  silliness.  The 
picture's  one  bright  spot  is  Jack  Fina's  piano  playing  but 
it  is  not  enough  to  save  it  from  being  the  dull  entertainment 
that  it  is: — 

Shortly  after  their  return  from  overseas,  Bob  Stanton 
and  Jack  Williams  accompany  their  buddy,  Jimmy  Lloyd, 
to  a  mountain  resort,  where  Lloyd  claimed  to  have  secured 
an  engagement  for  them  as  entertainers.  En  route  in  their 
car,  they  give  a  lift  to  Leslie  Brooks,  who,  too,  sought  a 
career  in  show  business.  'I  hey  are  greeted  at  the  resort  by 
Frank  Orth,  the  hotel  owner,  henpecked  husband  oi  Ann 
Codee,  who  had  little  use  tor  show  folks.  Because  Miss 
Codee  would  not  permit  her  husband  to  employ  more  than 
one  entertainer,  Lloyd's  friends  are  compelled  to  take  jobs 
in  the  hotel  to  pay  for  their  keep.  The  newcomers  begin 
rehearsals  of  their  show,  aided  by  Jetf  Donnell  and  Pat 
Yankee,  Miss  Codee's  daughters.  Meanwhile  a  romance 
started  between  Leslie  and  Lloyd  travels  a  rocky  road  because 
of  her  refusal  to  disclose  her  identity  and  background. 
This  situation  becomes  further  complicated  when  Leslie, 
in  an  effort  to  please  Miss  Codee,  is  compelled  to  be  nice  to 
Grady  Sutton,  her  pompous  cousin.  When  Lloyd  meets 
Frank  Sully,  a  private  detective,  searching  for  a  girl  answer- 
ing Leslie's  description,  he  gets  him  drunk  to  learn  why 
he  is  searching  for  her.  Sully  intimates  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Pierre  Watkin,  a  famous  Broadway  producer, 
who  was  against  her  having  a  stage  career.  Lloyd,  jealous  of 
Leslie's  romancing  with  Sutton,  wires  Watkin  of  her  where- 
abouts. The  producer  arrives  at  the  resort  on  the  night  the 
youngsters  put  on  their  gala  show,  and  it  all  ends  with 
his  agreeing  to  a  stage  career  for  Leslie,  while  she  and 
Lloyd  fall  into  each  other's  arms. 

Jack  Henley  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by  Karen 
De  Wolf,  Ted  Richmond  produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Milton  Delugg  and  his  band. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


September  21,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


151 


"Decoy"  with  Jean  Gillie 
and  Edward  Norris 

(Monogram,  Sept.  14;  time,  76  min.) 
For  a  melodrama  of  its  type  it  is  interesting,  but  it  is 
certainly  not  for  the  family  circle  or  for  squeamish  adults. 
All  the  leading  characters  are  unsympathetic,  particularly 
the  heroine,  or  rather  the  murderess,  who  is  presented  as  a 
cruel,  ruthless  woman,  one  who  would  stop  at  nothing, 
including  cold-blooded  murders,  to  satisfy  her  lust  for 
money.  It  is  an  unpleasant  entertainment,  filled  with  ugly 
situations,  for  there  is  one  killing  after  another.  And  the 
audience  is  not  made  aware  of  these  killings  by  suggestion; 
it  is  shown  clearly  how  the  heartless  leading  lady  commits 
each  one.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  picture  stands  in  a  class 
by  itself  as  a  lesson  in  varied  types  of  murders.  Suspense  is 
well  sustained  throughout  because  of  the  murderous  nature 
of  the  heroine,  and  because  one  does  not  know  which  of 
her  accomplices  will  meet  with  his  death  next.  Jean  Gillie, 
an  English  actress  and  newcomer  to  the  American  screen, 
does  well  with  her  unsympathetic  role: — 

Suffering  from  a  fatal  gunshot  wound,  Dr.  Herbert 
Rudley  goes  to  Jean's  apartment  and  kills  her  before  dying 
himself.  Detective  Sheldon  Leonard  arrives  on  the  scene 
and,  as  Jean  lays  dying,  she  recounts  the  events  that  led  to 
her  shooting,  after  she  had  ensnared  three  men  and  had 
caused  their  deaths.  Robert  Armstrong,  her  boy-friend,  had 
hidden  $400,000  taken  in  a  bank  robbery,  but  had  been 
caught  and  sentenced  to  the  gas  chamber  for  killing  a 
guard.  Pretending  love  for  gangster  Edward  Norris,  Jean, 
promising  to  share  the  hidden  loot  with  him,  had  induced 
him  to  engineer  the  removal  of  Armstrong's  body  from 
prison  immediately  after  he  had  been  put  to  death.  Mean- 
while she  had  used  her  womanly  wiles  on  Rudley,  the 
prison  doctor,  to  get  him  to  administer  to  Armstrong  an 
antidote  for  gas  poisoning  to  bring  him  back  to  life.  When 
Armstrong  had  been  revived,  he  had  given  Jean  half  of  a 
map  showing  the  location  of  the  hidden  money,  but  Norris 
had  shot  him  down  and  had  obtained  the  other  half.  Both 
she  and  Norris  had  forced  Rudley  to  drive  them  to  the 
hiding  place  because  the  doctor's  license  plates  on  his 
car  had  enabled  them  to  get  through  police  road  blockades. 
Before  Norris  could  carry  through  a  plan  to  murder  Rudley, 
Jean,  who  wanted  all  the  money  for  herself,  had  tricked 
him  (Norris)  into  fixing  a  flat  tire  and  had  run  him  down 
with  the  car,  killing  him.  She  then  had  forced  Rudley  to 
dig  up  the  treasure,  after  which  she  had  shot  him.  As  Jean 
finishes  her  story,  she  dies.  Leonard  breaks  open  the  treas- 
ure box  and  finds  in  it  a  single  dollar  bill,  with  a  bitter 
note  from  Armstrong,  stating  that  he  would  leave  no  money 
to  a  double-crosser. 

Ned  Young  wrote  the  screen  play  from  an  original  story 
by  Stanley  Rubin,  Jack  Bernhard  and  Bernard  Brandt  pro- 
duced it,  and  Mr.  Bernhard  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Marjorie  Woodworth,  Phil  Van  Zandt  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Angel  On  My  Shoulder"  with  Paul  Muni, 
Anne  Baxter  and  Claude  Rains 

(United  Artists,  Sept.  20;  time,  101  min.) 
Very  Good.  In  substance  and  in  entertainment  values, 
"Angel  On  My  Shoulder"  draws  comparison  with  "Here 
Comes  Mr.  Jordan."  And  it  is  easy  to  understand  why,  for 
both  stories  have  been  written  by  the  same  author — Harry 
Segall.  Yet,  despite  the  similarity  of  the  plot's  construction, 
its  developments  are  as  fresh  and  ingenious  as  the  other 
picture,  and  its  combination  of  fantasy,  comedy,  drama  and 
romance  is  consistently  entertaining.  As  in  the  "Jordan" 
picture,  the  hero  meets  sudden  death  and  his  soul  is  brought 
back  to  Earth  and  joined  with  the  body  of  another  man, 
but  this  time  the  hero,  instead  of  descending  from  Heaven 
under  the  guidance  of  an  Angel,  ascends  from  Hell,  guided 
and  controlled  by  the  Devil.  The  comedy  stems  from  the 


fact  that  the  hero,  a  vicious  gangster,  has  his  soul  merged 
with  the  body  of  a  respected  jurist,  a  candidate  for  governor. 
Paul  Muni,  as  the  gangster,  is  excellent,  and  Claude  Rains, 
as  the  Devil,  does  a  fine  bit  of  acting.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
every  one  of  the  players  does  well.  To  enjoy  the  picture 
fully,  one  should  see  it  from  the  beginning: — 

Upon  his  release  from  prison,  Muni  is  shot  down  by 
Hardie  Albright,  his  chief  lieutenant,  and  the  next  minute 
he  finds  himself  walking  through  Hell.  He  resists  the  guards 
in  an  effort  to  break  out  of  the  place,  and  his  bad  behavior 
comes  to  the  attention  of  the  Devil,  who  notices  that  Muni 
had  an  exact  resemblance  to  a  Judge  on  Earth  (also  played 
by  Muni),  whose  reformation  of  many  criminals  kept  their 
souls  out  of  his  (the  Devil's)  domain.  Concealing  his  iden- 
tity, the  Devil  offers  to  help  Muni  break  out  of  Hell  and 
"to  get"  Albright  if  he  would  do  a  little  "job"  for  him  on 
Earth.  Muni  agrees.  They  rise  in  the  midst  of  New  York, 
invisible  to  those  around  them,  and  go  to  the  Judge's 
apartment,  where  they  find  the  good  man  sick  in  bed.  The 
Devil  fuses  Muni's  soul  into  the  Judge's  body.  When  he 
awakens,  Muni,  to  all  outward  appearances,  resembles  the 
Judge,  but  his  soul  and  brain  remain  that  of  the  gangster's. 
Anne  Baxter,  the  Judge's  sweetheart  and  secretary,  is  con- 
fused and  frightened  by  his  rough  mannerisms,  as  is  George 
Cleveland,  his  life-long  butler,  but  both  tolerate  him  in  the 
belief  that  he  was  having  a  breakdown  from  overwork.  As 
part  of  his  plan  to  discredit  the  Judge,  the  Devil  arranges 
for  Muni  to  make  an  incriminating  speech  at  a  political 
rally,  but  the  scheme  fails  when  hoodlums,  hired  by  the 
opposition,  started  throwing  vegetables  as  Muni  begins 
to  speak.  Enraged,  Muni  puts  the  thugs  to  rout  himself, 
thus  making  of  himself  a  hero.  Additional  attempts  by  the 
Devil  to  discredit  the  Judge  through  Muni  are  foiled  at 
the  last  moment  by  circumstances  that  add  to  his  popularity. 
Meanwhile  Muni  finds  himself  deeply  in  love  with  Anne, 
who,  still  believing  that  he  was  the  Judge,  urges  him  to 
marry  her  at  once.  They  enter  a  church  just  as  the  minister 
is  rehearsing  a  sermon,  the  text  of  which  makes  Muni 
realize  that  his  partner  from  Hell  was  the  Devil  himself, 
who  would  have  no  power  over  him  as  long  as  he  (Muni) 
kept  on  doing  good  instead  of  evil.  Completely  regenerated, 
Muni  cancels  the  wedding  and  mocks  the  Devil.  A  battle 
of  wits  ensues  between  them,  with  the  Devil  bringing  Muni 
face  to  face  with  Albright  in  the  hope  that  he  would  kill 
his  murderer  and  thus  come  under  his  control  once  again. 
Muni,  however,  restrains  his  impulses,  and  Albright, 
frightened  by  the  sight  of  Muni,  is  accidentally  killed.  The 
Devil  finds  it  embarrassing  to  return  to  Hell  without  Muni, 
lest  his  organization  learn  that  he  had  been  defeated.  Real- 
izing the  Devil's  predicament,  Muni  makes  a  deal  to  return 
with  him  by  compelling  him  to  promise  that  he  would  never 
again  molest  Anne  and  the  Judge.  As  Muni's  soul  leaves  the 
Judge's  body,  the  good  man  and  Anne  are  joyfully  reunited. 
Muni's  soul  joins  the  devil  on  the  trip  back  to  Hell,  threat- 
ening to  blackmail  him  unless  granted  special  privileges. 

Mr.  Segall  and  Roland  Kibbee  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Charles  R.  Rogers  produced  it,  and  Archie  Mayo  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Onslow  Stevens,  Jonathan  Hale  and  many 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


(Continued  from  bac\  page) 

control,  they  have  the  power  to  exclude,  they  have  exercised 
the  power  and  they  have  by  all  this  violated  the  provisions  of 
the  Sherman  Act." 

In  the  Aluminum  Company  Case  it  appeared  that  early  in 
its  career  the  defendant  had  a  lawful  patent  monopoly  for  the 
production  of  ingot.  Upon  the  expiration  of  its  patent  rights, 
however,  it  embraced  opportunities  offered  to  it  to  fortify 
itself  against  competition  and  to  exclude  potential  competition, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  trial  had  control  of  approximately  90 
per  cent  of  the  ingot  market.  Reversing  the  judgment  of  the 
District  Court,  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  ruled  that  it  had 
both  the  power  and  the  intent  to  monopolize,  and  that,  even 
in  the  absence  of  unlawful  trade  practices,  it  had  violated 
the  law. 

American  Tobacco  Company  v.  United  States,  Supreme  Court, 
June  10,  1946;  affirming  (CCA.  6)  147  F.  (2d)  93  (1944). 


152 


Those  who  violate  the  Act  may  not  reap  the  benefits  of  their 
violations  and  avoid  an  undoing  of  their  unlawful  project  on 
the  plea  of  hardship  or  inconvenience.  That  principle  is 
adequate  here  to  justify  divestiture  of  all  interests  in  some  of 
the  affiliates  since  their  acquisition  was  part  of  the  fruits  of 
the  conspiracy.  .  .  ." 

In  the  Schine  Case,  after  pointing  out  the  unusually 
rapid  growth  and  the  great  power  of  the  defendants,  Judge 
Knight  stated  the  contention  of  the  Government  that  the 
defendants  had  violated  the  Sherman  Act  by  the  use  of  their 
"great  buying  power  to  suppress  competition  by  bringing 
about  various  restrictions  on  the  competitors'  ability  to 
compete,"  resulting  in  the  elimination  of  competition;  "that 
this  suppression  has  been  brought  about  in  various  ways," 
such  as  depriving  a  competitor  of  product,  acquiring  theatres 
by  threats  to  buy  or  build  or  by  agreements  to  employ  the 
competing  exhibitors,  and  by  unreasonable  clearance. 

The  Court  concluded  that  the  defendants  had  violated 
the  law.  They  have  maintained  an  unlawful  combination 
by  which  they  have  unreasonably  restrained  interstate  com' 
mercc.  They  have  monopolized  "the  business  of  operating 
theatres  and  the  supplying  of  major  films  in  various  cities 
and  towns;"  and  each  major  distributor  has  aided  and 
abetted  them  in  restraining  trade  and  monopolizing  theatre 
operations.  The  defendants,  by  their  great  film  buying 
power,  have  exerted  pressure  on  the  distributors  to  obtain 
privileges.  And,  in  the  language  of  the  District  Court: 

"The  means  and  methods  employed  by  the  different  dc 
fendant  corporations  through  their  officers  and  authorized 
representatives  to  obtain  a  'monopolistic'  control  were  nu- 
merous. Principally  among  these  were  arbitrarily  depriving 
independents  of  first  and  second  run  pictures,  securing  un- 
reasonable clearances,  making  threats  to  build  or  open  closed 
theatres  to  prevent  construction  or  operation  by  independ- 
ents, lowering  admission  prices,  obtaining  rental  concessions, 
restricting  independents  who  sold  to  Schine  as  to  periods 
and  places  of  operation,  making  long  time  franchise  agree- 
ments covering  the  'Circuit.' " 

In  some  situations  Schine  "was  arbitrarily  able  to  keep 
independents  from  opening  a  theatre  in  the  town  with 
suitable  run  of  the  product."  In  several  towns  Schine  cut 
admission  prices  and  in  others  gave  out  cut-rate  tickets. 
In  agreements  for  the  purchase  of  theatres  the  covenants 
preventing  competition  by  the  independents  were  unreason- 
ably restrictive  as  to  time  and  area.  Franchises  gave  Schine 
unusual  benefits  and  were  utilized  as  means  of  restraint.  Its 
great  buying  power  enabled  it  to  obtain  special  privileges 
or  concessions  not  obtainable  by  independents.  It  secured 
contracts  providing  for  lower  admission  prices  than  those 
of  independent  subsequent  runs. 

In  ordering  a  far-reaching  injunction  and  in  decreeing 
the  dissolution  of  the  combination  the  Court  reasoned: 

"The  motion  picture  business  in  production,  distribution 
and  exhibition  has  come  to  be  a  leading  industry  in  this 
country.  The  producer-distributors  and  chains  of  exhibitors 
occupy  positions  from  which  'monopolization'  is  easily  brought 
about.  .  .  .  Fair  competition  should  benefit  the  public,  but 
'monopolization'  when  exercised  by  a  strong  wide-reaching 
organization  or  group  of  affiliated  organizations  crushes  or 
weakens  opposition,  eliminates  fair  competition  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  public  and  the  individual  competitor." 

In  the  White  Bear  Case,  which  was  an  action  for  damages 
against  a  theatre  operating  corporation  and  some  of  its 
officers,  the  Court  held  that  overbuying  first  run  films,  not 
to  secure  a  sufficient  supply  for  the  legitimate  conduct  of  the 
defendant's  business,  but  to  prevent  them  from  being  avail- 
able to  the  plaintiff,  with  the  intention  of  driving  it  out 
of  business,  constituted  a  conspiracy  and  an  attempt  to 
monopolize,  in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws. 

The  essential  similarity  of  many  of  the  facts  cited  in 
these  important  opinions  to  many  of  the  facts  found  by  the 
Expediting  Court  are  obvious.  Later,  in  considering  the 
remedy  ordered  by  that  Court,  there  will  be  further  com- 
ment upon  this  similarity  and  also  upon  an  important  differ- 
ence in  the  findings. 


But  evidence  of  monopolistic  practices  is  not  invariably 
an  essential  to  the  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  monopoly. 
For  a  long  time  it  has  been  the  law  that  a  monopoly  may 
be  created  by  the  acquisition  of  great  wealth  and  power  for 
deliberately  calculated  purposes  of  control,  resulting  in  the 
elimination  of  competition.*4 

In  recent  years  it  has  been  decided  by  courts  of  eminent 
authority  that  the  intentional  acquisition  and  exercise  of 
monopolistic  power  to  eliminate  competition,  even  without 
predatory  practices  directed  toward  the  destruction  of  com- 
petitors, constitutes  a  monopoly  within  the  scope  of  the 
anti-trust  laws."  And  the  Supreme  Court  ruled  the  day 
before  the  decision  of  the  Statutory  Court,  that  a  combi- 
nation or  conspiracy  to  acquire  or  maintain  the  power  to 
exclude  competitors  was  illegal,  and  that,  neither  the  actual 
exercise  of  the  power,  nor  the  actual  exclusion  of  competi- 
tors, was  necessary  to  the  crime  of  monopolization." 

In  considering  the  remedy  granted  by  the  Expediting 
Court,  which  is  the  next  subject  of  discussion  in  this  paper, 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  these  principles  of  the  law  of  monopo- 
lizing firmly  in  mind. 


"At  the  commencement  of  tbc  discussion  of  this  topic  ii  the 

following: 

"What  has  been  the  effect  upon  competition  in  the  industry  of 
the  consolidation  of  corporations  producing  and  distributing 
films  and  operating  theatres?  The  possession  of  strength  is  a 
temptation  to  use  it;  power  may  be  dangerous,  when  directed 
by  ignorance,  ambition  or  greed.  Generally  the  result  has  been 
to  give  producer  owned  theatres  a  substantial  monopoly  of  major 
films,  to  the  exclusion  of  independent  exhibitors.  Almost  in- 
variably they  have  secured  the  films  first  run,  with  long 
periods  of  protection.  In  some  instances,  however,  they  have 
insisted  upon  the  exclusive  right  to  exhibit  the  films  in  their 
respective  localities,  and,  less  frequently,  they  have  bought 
or  reserved,  or  engrossed,  a  number  of  films  they  were  unable 
to  use." 

"Hood  Rubber  Co.  v.  United  States  Rubber  Co.,  229  Fed.  S8S. 

-National  Cotton  Oil  Co.  v.  Texas,  197,  U.S.  115. 

41  National  Biscuit  Co.  v.  Federal  Trade  Commission,  229  Fed.  733, 

738. 

"United  States  v.  E.  C.  Knight  Co.,  156  U.S.  1,  16.  Northern 
Securities  Co.  v.  United  States,  193  U.S.  197. 

"Standard  Oil  Co.  v.  United  States,  221  U.S.  I,  61. 

MBigelow  v.  Calumet  &  Hecla  Co.,  167  F.  704,  716. 

"Ballard  Oil  Terminal  Corpn.  v.  Mexican  Petroleum  Corpn.  (CCA. 
I)  28  F.  (2d)  91,  99. 

"United  States  v.  Great  Lakes  Towing  Company,  208  F.  733,  743. 

"Montague  v.  Lowry,  193  U.S.  38. 

"United  States  v.  Brims.  272  U.S.  549;  White  Bear  Theatre  Cor- 
poration v.  State  Theatre  Corp.  (CCA.  8)  129  F.  (2d)  COO; 
Mid-West  Theatre  Co.  v.  Co-operative  Theatres  (D.C.,  E.D. 
Mich.,  S.D.)  43  F.  Supp.  216;  Goldman  Theatres,  Inc.  v. 
Loev/s,  Inc.  (CCA.  3)  150  F.  2d  738. 

«  United  States  v.  Schine  Chain  Theatres,  Inc.,  (W.D.N.Y.)  63  F. 
Supp.  229;  United  States  v.  Crescent  Amusement  Co.,  323  U.S. 
173;  White  Bear  Theatre  Corpn.  v.  State  Theatre  Corpn. 
(CCA.  8)  129  F.  (2d)  600;  Mid-West  Theatres  Co.  v.  Co- 
operative Theatres,  (D.C,  E.D.,  Mich.,  S.D.)  43  F.  Supp.  216. 

The  existence  of  monopolistic  practices  was  the  basis  of 
findings  of  monopolizing  in  the  two  Maine  actions  summarized 
in  Harbison's  Reports  of  November  20,  27  and  December  4, 
1943,  under  the  title  "Amazing  Facts  and  Findings." 

"Northern  Securities  Co.  v.  United  States,  193  U.S.  197.  United 
States  v.  Reading  Co.,  253  U.S.  26.  United  States  v.  Lehigh 
Valley  R.R.  Co.,  254  U.S.  255. 

"United  States  v.  Pullman  Co.,  (D.C,  E.D.,  Pa.)  50  F.  Supp. 
123;  (1943);  United  States  v.  Aluminum  Co.  (C.C.A.  2)  148 
F.  (2d)  416;  (1945). 

In  the  Pullman  Case,  for  example,  a  three-judge  Expediting 
Court  found  that  the  defendant  had  obtained  an  almost  com- 
plete monopoly  of  the  manufacture  of  sleeping  cars  and  the 
furnishing  of  sleeping  car  service  to  the  railroads  throughout 
the  country.  From  an  early  date  in  its  history  the  defendant 
had  the  intention  of  eliminating  what  a  stockholders'  record 
called  ''useless  competition."  Before  1900  it  bad  acquired 
every  other  sleeping  car  company  in  the  country  which  had  not 
gone  out  of  business  or  been  absorbed  by  companies  subse- 
quently acquired  by  it.  In  no  instance,  however,  was  the 
acquisition  the  result  of  predatory  practices,  and  in  many 
instances  the  negotiations  were  initiated  by  the  seller.  But  it 
maintained  its  monopolistic  position  by  devices  which  made 
successful  competition  practically  impossible,  such  as  exclusive 
dealing  contracts  with  the  railroads,  the  refusal  to  furnish 
sleeping  car  service  except  with  cars  owned  by  it,  and  the 
making  of  long-term  contracts  with  staggered  expiration  dates. 
"As  a  competition  killer,"  the  Court  said,  the  long-term 
contract  is  an  effective  weapon."  From  its  monopolistic  position 
the  defendant  was  able  to  dictate  terms  to  its  customers.  It 
made  a  practice  of  securing  sleeping  cars  only  through  its  own 
manufacturing  company.  It  had  been  able  to  prevent  anyone 
else  from  entering  the  field.  The  Court  concluded  that,  even 
though  many  of  the  acts  and  contracts  were  ordinarily  within 
the  defendant's  rights,  disassociated  from  any  plan,  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  Court  to  look  at  the  whole  picture.  "The  sum 
total,  it  is  clear,  constitutes  a  complete  domination  by  the  de- 
fendants of  a  limited  but  important  market.  They  have  full 

(Continued  on  inside  page) 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  28,  1946  No.  39 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  8 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


The  Remedy 

The  remedy  for  the  violations  of  law  by  the  defendants 
is  specified  in  the  order  for  a  decree  subsequently  to  be 
made  by  the  Court  when  final  judgment  is  entered.  After 
providing  for  the  dismissal  of  all  claims  against  any  defend' 
ant  as  a  producer,  the  order  grants  relief  in  several  ways: 
(1)  an  injunction  against  the  condemned  practices;  (2)  the 
inauguration  of  a  competitive  bidding  system  for  runs  and 
clearance;  (3)  divestiture  of  interests  in  pooled  theatres; 
and  (4),  so  far  as  the  parties  consent,  the  arbitration  of 
disputes. 

"In  order  to  secure  compliance  with  the  decree"  the 
order  also  grants  reasonable  access  by  the  Government  to 
all  books  and  papers  of  the  defendants  and  a  reasonable 
opportunity  to  interview  their  officers  and  employees.  It 
specifies  that  proceedings  under  the  decree  shall  be  stayed 
pending  appeal  or  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  parties 
to  adjust  their  business  without  an  unfair  burden.  It  pro' 
vides  also  for  retention  of  jurisdiction  in  the  Court  for  the 
construction  and  enforcement  of  the  decree  and  for  the 
punishment  of  any  violations  of  it. 

The  last-mentioned  provisions  of  the  order  are  self' 
explanatory.  Only  the  four  numbered  sections  require  com- 
ment here. 

(1)  Injunctive  Relief 

In  a  court  of  equity  the  time-honored  remedy  for  a  viola- 
tion of  property  rights  is  an  injunction  to  prohibit  the  con' 
tinuance  of  the  violation.  In  an  action  under  the  anti-trust 
laws  by  the  Government  the  right  to  an  injunction  is  sped- 
fied  in  the  Sherman  Act  itself.69 

The  injunction  to  be  contained  in  the  decree  runs  against 
all  the  violations  of  the  law  by  the  defendants.  These  are 
enumerated  in  the  first  section  of  this  paper,60  and  have 
already  been  commented  upon  in  some  detail. 

The  total  extent  of  the  prohibition  will  not  be  known 
until  the  final  decree  is  actually  entered.  From  the  outline 
given  in  the  order  for  the  decree,  however,  it  is  clear  that 
the  injunction  will  effectually  prevent  a  continuance  of  all 
the  condemned  practices. 

In  view  of  the  findings  of  the  Court,  it  is  reasonably 
certain  that  in  the  event  of  an  appeal  by  any  defendant 
this  section  of  the  decree  will  be  sustained  by  the  Supreme 
Court. 

(2)  Competitive  Bidding 

The  provision  to  be  made  in  the  decree  for  the  inaugura- 
tion  and  maintenance  of  a  competitive  bidding  system  for 
run  and  clearance  constitutes  positive  and  affirmative  relief, 
in  contrast  with  the  prohibitions  of  an  injunction.  In  the 
motion  picture  industry,  such  a  provision  is  at  least  novel, 
and,  if  not  altered  by  the  Supreme  Court,  will  constitute  a 
drastic  change  in  the  licensing  practices  of  the  industry. 

The  new  bidding  system  was  first  proposed  by  the  Court 
in  the  section  of  the  decision  relating  to  clearance  and  run. 
Thereafter  it  is  mentioned  in  several  ways  and  in  varying 
language.  Because  of  the  extreme  importance  of  this  system 


to  all  persons  engaged  in  the  industry,  and  because  it  is 
advisable,  before  arriving  at  any  conclusions,  to  have  clearly 
in  mind  all  the  views  expressed  by  the  Expediting  Court 
and  the  factors  that  influenced  their  judgment,  the  language 
of  the  decision  will  be  quoted  or  summarized  at  some  length. 

After  mentioning  the  fixed  system  of  clearances,  runs 
and  admission  prices  confronting  both  independent  distribu- 
tors and  exhibitors,  the  Court  said: 

".  .  .  The  only  way  competition  may  be  introduced  into 
the  present  system  of  fixed  prices,  clearances,  and  runs  is  to 
require  a  defendant  when  licensing  its  pictures  to  other 
exhibitors  to  make  each  picture  available  at  a  minimum  fixed 
or  percentage  rental  and  (if  clearance  is  desired)  to  grant 
a  reasonable  clearance  and  run.  When  so  offered,  the  licen- 
sor shall  grant  the  license  for  the  desired  run  to  the  highest 
bidder  if  such  bidder  is  responsible  and  has  a  theatre  of  a 
size,  location,  and  equipment  to  present  the  picture  to  ad- 
vantage. In  other  words,  if  two  theatres  are  bidding  and 
are  fairly  comparable  the  one  offering  the  best  terms  shall 
receive  the  license.  Thus  price  fixing  among  the  licensors 
or  between  a  licensor  and  its  licensees  as  well  as  the  non- 
competitive clearance  system  may  be  terminated,  and  the 
requirements  of  the  Sherman  Act,  which  the  present  system 
violates,  will  be  adequately  met.  The  administrative  details 
involved  in  such  changes  require  further  consideration.  We 
are  satisfied  that  existing  arrangements  are  in  derogation  of 
the  rights  of  independent  distributors,  exhibitors  and  the 
public,  and  that  the  proposed  changes  will  tend  to  benefit 
them  all." 

In  considering  the  restraints  caused  by  formula  deals, 
master  agreements  and  franchises,  the  Court  declared : 

".  .  .  In  our  opinion  these  restraints  will  be  obviated  or  at 
least  sufficiently  mitigated  by  requiring  a  distributor  wishing 
its  pictures  to  be  shown  outside  of  its  own  theatres  to  offer 
to  license  each  picture  to  all  theatres  desiring  to  show  it  on 
a  particular  run  and,  if  the  theatres  are  responsibly  owned 
and  otherwise  adequate,  to  grant  the  desired  run  to  the 
higher  bidder." 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Court  moveover  runs  and  provisions 
for  "overage  and  underage,"  to  permit  a  circuit  to  apply  a 
deficit  in  the  playing  time  of  one  theatre  to  one  or  more  other 
houses,  are  incompatible  with  the  bidding  system.  But 
"extended"  or  "repeat"  runs  are  not  objectionable  "if  rea- 
sonably  limited  in  time  when  other  exhibitors  are  given  the 
opportunity  to  bid  for  similar  licenses."  The  Court  also  left 
the  door  open  to  revise  any  other  practices  that  might  inter' 
fere  with  the  "effectiveness  of  the  bidding  system." 

In  the  section  of  the  decision  relating  to  block  booking 
the  Court  stated: 

".  .  .  The  distributor  may  of  course  not  license  his  pictures 
at  all,  but  if  he  does  license  them,  he  must  do  so  severally 
and,  in  accordance  with  the  bidding  procedure  previously 
indicated,  must  license  them  to  the  exhibitor  or  exhibitors 
who  are  qualified  and  offer  the  best  terms  for  the  various 
runs." 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


154 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


September  28,  1946 


"Nobody  Lives  Forever"  with  John  Garfield 
and  Geraldine  Fitzgerald 

(Warner  Bros..  Oct.  12;  time,  100  min.) 

A  fairly  good  melodrama.  Combining  gangsterism  with 
strong  romantic  appeal,  it  has  an  interesting  story  centering 
around  a  young  racketeer,  whose  regeneration  is  brought 
about  when  he  falls  in  love  with  his  intended  victim  of  a 
swindle  scheme,  a  wealthy,  attractive  widow.  Most  of  the 
drama  and  excitement  is  concentrated  in  the  second  half, 
where  the  hero  realizes  his  love  for  the  widow  and  is  com- 
pelled to  rescue  her  from  his  confederates,  who  had  kid- 
napped her.  The  fact  that  the  hero  is  a  crook  makes  one  feel 
unsympathetic  towards  him  at  first;  but  his  eventual  regen- 
eration, as  well  as  the  fact  that  he  risks  his  life  to  save  the 
woman  he  loves,  changes  the  spectator's  feelings.  The  story 
is  not  particularly  novel,  nor  are  the  characters,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  heroine,  appealing.  Yet  it  has  been  given  a 
good  production,  and  the  acting  by  the  leading  players  is  so 
competent  that  one's  attention  is  held  well: — 

Honorably  discharged  from  the  army,  John  Garfield,  an 
ex-racketeer,  aided  by  George  Tobias,  a  former  henchman, 
recovers  $50,000  from  Faye  Emerson,  his  unfaithful  girl- 
friend. Both  Garfield  and  Tobias  head  for  the  West  Coast, 
where  they  meet  Walter  Brennan,  an  elderly  confidence  man, 
who  informs  them  of  a  perfect  "touch"  involving  Geraldine 
Fitzgerald,  a  wealthy  widow.  A  scheme  to  swindle  Geraldine 
had  been  hatched  by  George  Coulouris,  a  broken-down 
"sharper,"  who  was  unable  to  carry  out  the  scheme  because 
of  his  financial  inability  to  put  up  a  front.  Garfield  agrees  to 
handle  the  swindle  personally,  and  to  share  the  proceeds 
with  Coulouris  and  his  henchmen.  Assuming  the  guise  of  an 
executive  in  a  deep-sea  salvage  company,  Garfield  moves  into 
an  exclusive  hotel  where  Geraldine  lived.  He  manages  to  en- 
gineer a  meeting  with  her  and  soon  impresses  Richard 
Gaines,  her  business  manager,  with  the  soundness  of  his 
company;  Gaines  expresses  a  desire  to  invest  Geraldine's 
money  in  it.  But  Garfield,  by  this  time  in  love  with  Geraldine, 
refuses  to  accept  the  investment  and  decides  to  get  out  of  her 
life.  He  drops  the  swindle  scheme  and  offers  to  pay  Coulouris 
out  of  his  own  funds  so  that  Geraldine  would  not  be  molested 
by  him.  Coulouris,  however,  suspecting  that  Garfield  planned 
to  pay  him  off  as  part  of  a  scheme  to  gain  Geraldine's  great 
wealth  for  himself,  rejects  the  payment.  With  the  aid  of  his 
henchmen,  he  kidnaps  Geraldine  and  holds  her  for  a  huge 
ransom.  Brennan,  unwilling  to  play  a  part  in  the  kidnapping, 
helps  Garfield  to  locate  the  hideout.  He  aids  Garfield  and 
Tobias  as  they  storm  the  hideout  and  rescue  Geraldine,  but 
pays  with  his  life  in  the  ensuing  battle.  Geraldine,  although 
fully  aware  of  Garfield's  background,  looks  forward  to  a  new 
life  with  him. 

W.  R.  Burnett  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Robert 
Buckner  produced  it,  and  Jean  Negulesco  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Accomplice"  with  Richard  Arlen 
and  Veda  Ann  Borg 

(PRC,  Sept.  28;  time,  66  min.) 

Minor  program  fare,  suitable  for  the  lower  half  of  a 
double  bill.  It  is  a  murder-mystery  melodrama,  which,  for 
the  first  few  reels,  holds  one's  attention  very  well,  but  in  the 
second  half  so  many  complicating  circumstances  occur  that 
the  story  becomes  a  hopeless  muddle  and  causes  the  spec- 
tator to  lose  interest  in  the  outcome.  At  best,  the  picture  may 
appeal  to  such  mystery-melodrama  followers  as  are  not  too 
particular  about  story  details.  Discerning  patrons,  however, 
will  probably  find  the  melodramatic  angle,  particularly  in  the 
closing  scenes,  so  poorly  handled  that  the  action  will  strike 
them  as  being  more  silly  than  exciting: — 

Richard  Arlen,  a  private  detective,  is  engaged  by  Veda 
Ann  Borg,  his  former  sweetheart,  to  locate  her  missing  hus- 
band (Edward  Earle),  a  bank  employee.  Arlen  soon  dis- 
covers that  Earle  was  a  man  of  many  extra-marital  affairs 
and,  during  the  investigation,  a  man  answering  Earle's  de- 
scription is  found  murdered  on  an  isolated  mink  ranch.  Veda 
accompanies  Arlen  to  the  scene  of  the  crime  and  identifies 
the  body  as  that  of  her  missing  husband.  In  the  course  of 
events,  Arlen,  because  of  his  former  association  with  Veda, 


is  suspected  by  the  police  of  complicity  in  her  hrsband's 
murder.  Other  events  put  Arlen  on  the  trail  of  a  mysterious 
brunette,  one  of  the  murdered  man's  numerous  girl-friends. 
He  learns  that  the  woman  was  last  seen  heading  towards  the 
Mojave  Desert  in  her  car.  Arlen  follows  her,  and  the  chase 
finally  brings  him  to  a  castle  in  the  desert,  where  a  crooked 
town  marshall  detains  him  by  force.  He  manages  to  break 
out  of  his  quarters  and,  in  doing  so,  runs  into  Veda.  Both 
barricade  themselves  on  the  roof  of  the  castle  to  escape  their 
attackers,  one  of  whom  turns  out  to  be  Veda's  supposedly 
dead  husband.  Piecing  together  the  different  bits  of  infor- 
mation he  had  gathered,  Arlen  comes  to  the  realization  that 
Veda  herself  was  the  mysterious  woman  he  had  been  trailing, 
and  he  discovers  that  she  had  conspired  with  her  husband 
to  have  him  declared  dead  as  part  of  a  scheme  involving  mis- 
appropriation of  his  bank's  funds.  In  the  ensuing  gun  battle, 
Veda  is  killed  by  one  of  her  husband's  badly  aimed  bullets 
before  he  is  shot  down  by  Arlen. 

Irving  Elman  and  Frank  Grubcr  wrote  the  screen  play, 
from  Mr.  Grubcr's  novel,  "Simon  Lash,  Private  Detective." 
John  K.  Teaford  produced  it,  and  Walter  Colmes  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Tom  Dugan.  Herbert  Rawlinson  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

(Continued  from  bac\  page) 
governs  the  exhibition  of  all  films  licensed  by  a  defendant 
distributor. 

The  foregoing  rulings  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

(1)  Each  distributor  shall  offer  each  picture  to  all 
prospective  exhibitors  in  a  community. 

(2)  The  same  offer  shall  be  made  for  any  run  desired 
by  the  operators  of  each  theatre  in  the  competitive  area. 

(3)  The  offer  shall  be  at  a  minimum  rental,  either  fixed 
(flat)  or  percentage. 

(4)  Each  picture  shall  be  priced  separately. 

(5)  The  offer  shall  include  reasonable  clearance,  if 
desired.  But  there  shall  be  no  clearance  where  there  is  no 
substantial  competition. 

(6)  There  shall  be  no  "moveover"  runs,  or  provisions 
for  "overage  and  underage." 

(7)  "Extended"  and  "repeat"  runs  are  permissible,  "if 
reasonably  limited  in  time"  and  if  other  exhibitors  arc  given 
the  opportunity  to  bid  for  them. 

(8)  The  license  shall  be  granted  for  the  desired  run  to 
the  highest  responsible  bidder  having  a  theatre  of  size, 
location  and  equipment  adequate  to  present  the  picture  to 
advantage  upon  the  terms  offered. 

(9)  Minimum  admission  prices  in  license  agreements 
shall  be  eliminated. 

(10)  The  license  shall  be  granted  upon  the  merits,  with- 
out discrimination  in  favor  of  the  affiliates,  old  customers 
or  any  other  persons.  The  bidders  shall  compete  on  a  parity. 

(11)  Each  license  shall  be  offered  and  taken  theatre  by 
theatre  and  picture  by  picture. 

(12)  More  than  one  feature  may  be  included  in  a  license, 
but  only  if  the  licensee  shall  have  had  the  opportunity  to 
bid  for  each  feature  separately  and  shall  have  made  the  best 
bid  for  it. 

(13)  Disputes  arising  under  the  bidding  system,  such  as 
whether  the  bidder  has  an  adequate  theatre  for  the  run, 
and  whether  the  clearance  is  reasonable,  may,  if  the  de- 
fendants consent,  be  resolved  by  arbitration. 

(14)  "The  administrative  details  involved"  are  reserved 
by  the  Court  for  further  consideration. 

Since  the  decision  was  rendered,  the  proposed  order  for 
competitive  bidding  has  become  a  center  of  controversy  and 
a  target  for  criticism.  Notwithstanding  the  obvious  merits 
of  the  proposed  system,  claims  have  been  widely  circulated 
that  by  the  decree  the  Government  and  the  Court  will 
"police"  the  industry  and  regulate  the  business  practices, 
not  only  of  the  parties  to  the  suit,  but  also  of  innocent 
independent  distributors  and  exhibitors,  who  have  been 
guilty  of  no  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws.  Assertions  have 
also  been  made  that  because  of  the  decree  there  will  be  a 
shortage  of  product;  that  film  rentals  will  be  increased; 
and  that  a  wave  of  building  of  new  theatres  will  bring  with 
it  destructive  competition. 


September  28,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


155 


During  a  period  of  uncertainty,  such  as  must  necessarily 
elapse  before  the  order  of  the  Court  shall  become  effective, 
it  is  not  strange  that  rumors  and  speculations  of  all  kinds 
should  be  circulated.  Dire  predictions  of  chaos  and  prophe- 
cies  of  calamity  may  be  voiced  by  congenital  pessimists,  or 
they  may  emanate  from  inspired  sources,  desirous  of  pre' 
senting  a  picture  of  resentment  and  confusion  in  the  indus- 
try,  in  the  forlorn  hope  of  securing  some  favorable  modifi' 
cation  of  the  proposed  decree. 

A  short  answer  to  many  of  these  criticisms  is  that  the 
industry  is  sadly  in  need  of  "policing."  The  findings  of  the 
Expediting  Court  paint  a  scene  of  a  young  and  great  indus- 
try,  capable  of  bringing  happiness  to  millions  and  prosperity 
to  all  persons  engaged  in  it,  permeated  to  the  core  with 
corrupt  and  lawless  practices,  designed  to  strangle  and 
annihilate  competition  and  to  drain  into  the  pockets  of 
a  few  great  organizations  substantially  all  the  profits  to  be 
derived  from  the  distribution  and  exhibition  of  films.  If  the 
unlawful  practices  can  be  corrected  only  by  a  stringent 
decree,  then  the  correction  is  very  cheap  at  the  price. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  order  for  a  decree  to  cause  a 
shortage  of  product;  and  no  reason  has  been  advanced  by 
any  responsible  person  why  such  a  shortage  will  result.  It 
is  true  that  in  any  industry  an  artificial  scarcity  of  merchan- 
dise  may  be  intentionally  created  by  consolidations  of  capital 
and  property  controlling  the  sources  of  supply.  But  here 
the  operation  of  normal  economic  laws  requires  no  such 
result.  On  the  contrary,  if  any  forecast  may  now  be  made, 
it  is  that  the  application  of  the  competitive  bidding  features 
of  the  decree  should  cause  an  increase,  rather  than  a 
scarcity,  of  product. 

If  in  a  community  where  affiliated  theatres  are  now 
operating  on  a  first  run  basis,  using  substantially  all  the 
available  features  of  good  quality,  a  competitor  under  the 
new  bidding  system  is  able  to  secure  a  fair  proportion  of 
the  available  product,  then  the  affiliated  theatres,  in  order 
to  continue  full-time  operation  on  the  same  run,  may  find 
it  necessary  to  secure  additional  pictures.  Independent 
distributors,  therefore,  would  have  a  chance  to  enter  the 
field  to  supply  the  need.  The  affiliated  distributors,  also, 
would  have  an  interest  in  increasing  the  supply  so  that  their 
own  theatres  would  not  suffer  from  lack  of  adequate  prod' 
uct. 

No  satisfactory  evidence  has  been  adduced  by  any  re 
sponsible  official  of  any  distributor  or  by  any  other  person 
of  authority  in  the  industry  to  indicate  that  the  decree  will 
tend  to  increase  film  rentals.  Frequently  in  the  past,  because 
the  large  circuits  monopolized  the  prior  right  to  contract 
for  and  exhibit  motion  picture  films,  independent  exhibitors 
in  competitive  situations  did  not  have  a  chance  to  bid  for 
product  on  a  prior-run  basis.  They  were  not  able  to  get 
pictures  on  the  run  desired  at  any  price.  If  the  exhibitors 
in  such  localities  are  still  content  to  operate  on  their  present 
availabilities,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  see  how  their  film 
rentals  can  be  affected.  If,  however,  they  desire  to  improve 
their  playing  positions,  they  may  have  to  pay  more  money 
for  a  prior-run;  but  on  such  a  run  the  pictures  will  be  more 
valuable  and  the  consequent  increase  in  their  box-office 
receipts  more  than  adequate  to  compensate  for  the  enhanced 
film  rentals. 

Large  circuits,  whether  affiliated  or  independent,  which 
have  closed  towns,  or  which  use  major  films  on  a  prior-run 
basis  in  competitive  situations,  naturally  would  prefer  to 
have  the  present  situation  remain  unchanged,  so  that  they 
may  continue  to  profit  by  a  distributor's  "loyalty  to  estab- 
lished customers"  and  not  have  to  face  competition.  But 
the  system  of  competitive  bidding  takes  away  from  them 
nothing  to  which  they  are  justly  entitled.  They  have  no 
prescriptive  right  to  perpetual  protection  from  competition. 
And  in  some  situations  where  independent  circuits  have 
been  obliged  to  play  subsequent-run  to  affiliated  theatres, 
they  will  have  the  opportunity  to  improve  their  playing 
positions.  They  will  be  able  to  operate  in  a  fair  field,  with 
no  favors. 

Irrespective  of  the  decree,  it  is  not  unlikely  that,  when 
materials  can  be  readily  secured,  there  will  be  a  great  in- 
crease in  construction,  not  only  of  theatres  but  also  of  other 


buildings.  To  what  extent,  if  at  all,  the  construction  of  new 
theatres  may  be  promoted  by  the  decree  is  only  a  matter  of 
conjecture.  Affiliated  exhibitors  will  not  be  permitted  to  build 
without  the  permission  of  the  Court.  Independent  exhibitors, 
experienced  in  the  operation  of  theatres,  and  with  knowledge 
of  practices  in  the  industry,  should  be  in  a  position  to  profit 
more  from  theatre  expansion  than  strangers  to  the  industry." 

From  the  point  of  view  of  fairness  and  impartiality,  it  is 
clear  that  no  just  criticism  can  be  leveled  at  the  competitive 
bidding  system.  Under  the  Federal  laws  Government 
agencies  frequently,  if  not  generally,  require  sealed  bids 
from  prospective  purchasers  of  material  or  property;  and 
under  the  laws  of  some  States,  at  least,  a  sale  at  public 
auction  is  recognized  as  an  adequate  measure  of  the  value 
of  the  property  sold. 

In  contrast  with  the  various  claims  and  assertions  that 
have  been  propagated  in  regard  to  the  practical  aspects  of 
competitive  bidding,  which  have  just  been  discussed,  it  is 
to  be  noted  that  little  criticism  of  the  proposed  decree  has 
come  from  independent  distributors  or  from  the  thousands 
of  small  independent  exhibitors  who  for  years  have  suffered 
under  the  iron  heel  of  monopoly.  For  almost  two  decades, 
at  least  as  far  back  as  the  Trade  Practice  Conference  of 
1927,03  they  have  clamored  in  vain  for  the  "right  to  buy." 
The  competitive  bidding  feature  of  the  decree  at  last  gives 
them  this  right.  Through  it  they  have  attained  their  main 
objective.  Obviously  the  advantages  of  the  system  will 
outweigh  any  detriment  that  may  result  in  isolated  cases 
by  the  advent  of  competition.  With  all  illegal  practices 
definitely  outlawed,  and  with  the  right  to  buy  an  established 
fact,  a  new  era  of  progress  will  be  opened  up  for  independent 
exhibitors,  and  the  industry  as  a  whole  should  benefit. 

The  advantages  of  the  competitive  bidding  system  to 
independent  distributors  are  obvious.  With  the  exception 
of  pictures  of  a  defendant  shown  in  its  own  theatres,  the 
independent  distributors  will  have  an  equal  opportunity 
to  compete  with  the  major  distributors  for  the  screen  time 
of  all  theatres,  on  the  merits  of  their  product. 

Obviously,  the  Court  was  right  in  prescribing  a  remedy 
like  competitive  bidding.  It  may  not  be  the  only  prac- 
ticable remedy,  and,  conceivably,  when  the  details  are 
worked  out  and  put  into  practice,  some  modifications  or 
improvements  may  be  necessary;  but  up  to  the  present  time 
no  one  else  has  suggested  a  better  cure  for  the  evils  afflicting 
the  industry.  The  Government's  suggestion  for  complete 
divestiture  of  interests  in  theatres  is  not,  strictly  speaking, 
an  alternative  or  substitute,  but  a  supplementary  remedy. 
As  the  Court  themselves  have  announced,  even  if  divestiture 
were  ordered  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  other  steps  to 
prevent  a  continuance  of  the  illegal  practices. 

The  machinery  for  the  system  of  competitive  bidding  has 
not  yet  been  determined.  The  "administrative  details"  were 
reserved  by  the  Court  for  further  consideration.  In  the 
"Analysis  of  the  Court's  Opinion"  from  a  layman's  point 
of  view  in  Harrison's  Reports  of  June  29,  1946,  the 
editor  suggests  the  establishment  of  a  "clearing  house"  in 
each  exchange  area  for  the  purpose  of  administering  impar- 
tially the  details  of  the  system,  the  clearing  houses  to  be 
presided  over  by  persons  having  no  connection  whatever 
with  the  industry.  No  useful  purpose  will  be  served  by 
recapitulating  here  the  details  of  the  plan  suggested.  It 
may  be  stated,  however,  that  on  its  face  the  method  outlined 
seems  reasonably  complete,  and  that  the  suggestions  made 
obviously  have  considerable  merit  and  are  well  worth  careful 
consideration  by  the  parties  and  the  Court. 


60  Section  4  of  the  Act  (15  U.S.C.A.  25)  provides  in  part  that  "it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  several  district  attorneys  of  the  United 
States,  in  their  respective  districts,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Attorney  General,  to  institute  proceedings  in  equity  to  prevent 
and  restrain  such  violations  [of  the  Act].  Such  proceedings  may 
be  by  way  of  petition  setting  forth  the  case  and  praying  that 
such  violation  shall  be  enjoined  or  otherwise  prohibited." 

"Harrison's  Reports,  August  10,  1946. 

81  The  text  of  the  order  for  a  decree  is  printed  in  full  in  Harrison's 

Reports,  June  15,  1946. 
"The  subject  is  discussed  by  the  editor  of  Harrison's  Reports  under 

the  title  "A  Way  to  Combat  the  Threat  of  Invasion"  in  the  issue 

of  August  24,  1946. 
MThe  conference  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Federal  Trade 

Commission.  The  presiding  officer  was  Commissioner  Abram  F. 

Myers,  now  general  counsel  of  Allied  States  Association  of 

Motion  Picture  Exhibitors. 


156 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"The  only  group  licensing  we  arc  prepared  to  sanction 
is  licensing  by  which  the  group  is  not  offered  on  condition 
that  the  licensee  shall  take  all  the  pictures  included  in  it, 
or  none,  but  in  which  the  pictures  are  separately  priced, 
and  each  picture  is  to  be  sold  to  the  highest  duly  qualified 
bidder.  As  we  have  already  indicated  in  discussing  formula 
deals,  master  agreements,  and  franchises,  the  offering  of 
pictures  should  be  theatre  by  theatre,  and  if  more  than  one 
picture  is  included  in  a  license  agreement,  it  will  be  only 
because  of  business  convenience  and  to  the  extent  that  each 
picture  so  included  has  received  the  best  bid." 

When  discussing  the  illegality  of  license  agreements  dis- 
criminating against  small  independent  exhibitors  in  favor 
of  large  circuits,  the  Court  announced: 

".  .  .  Under  the  bidding  system  we  are  requiring  such 
discriminations  would  appear  impossible.  Those  provisions 
which  are  not  compatible  with  the  operation  of  this  system, 
or  which  are  inherently  unreasonable,  such  as  a  provision 
for  clearance  between  theatres  where  there  is  no  substantial 
competition,  will  no  longer  be  included  in  licenses,  as  men- 
tioned elsewhere,  but  otherwise  the  bidders  will  compete 
for  licensing  contracts  on  a  parity,  in  that  the  same  offer 
will  be  made  to  all  prospective  exhibitors  in  a  community." 

The  discriminations  "in  favor  of  affiliated  licensee  or 
licensees  connected  with  independent  circuits  as  against 
individual  independents,"  according  to  the  decision  of  the 
Court,  "must  be  enjoined,  and  we  believe  will  not  exist  in 
future  licenses  under  the  bidding  system  for  which  we  are 
providing." 

In  speaking  of  cities  like  Philadelphia  and  Cincinnati, 
where  Warner  and  RKO  have  owned  all  the  first-run 
theatres,  the  Court  explained  that — 

".  .  .  in  such  localities  there  would  seem  to  be  nothing  to 
prevent  other  persons  from  building  theatres  of  a  similar 
type  if  the  market  for  the  distribution  of  films  should  be 
opened  to  the  highest  bidder  and  the  builder  of  a  new 
theatre  could  compete  with  the  other  theatre  owners  in 
obtaining  pictures  for  exhibition  in  the  theatre  he  had  built. 
The  only  pictures  that  the  present  sole  exhibitors  in  such 
localities  could  control  would  be  their  own,  which  they 
can  always  exhibit  freely  in  their  own  theatres." 

".  .  .  If  the  bidding  system  we  propose  be  set  up,  minimum 
prices  in  licenses  eliminated,  and  the  other  restrictive  agree- 
ments which  we  have  discussed  terminated,  it  is  our  opinion 
that  adequate  competition  would  exist.  .  .  ." 

Under  the  topic  "General  Considerations,"  after  ruling 
that  by  virtue  of  their  copyrights  the  defendants  had  no 
absolute  right  to  contract  in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws, 
the  Court  indicated  that  "business  convenience  and  loyalty 
to  former  customers  afford  a  lame  excuse  for  depriving 
others  of  rights  to  compete  and  for  perpetuating  unreason- 
able restrictions."  They  negatived  the  argument  that  the 
steps  proposed  would  interfere  with  acceptable  business 
practices,  and  said: 

".  .  .  But  we  see  nothing  ruinous  in  the  remedies  pro- 
posed. Disputes  which  may  arise  under  the  bidding  system 
are  likely  to  relate  to  questions  whether  the  bidder  has  a 
theatre  adequate  for  the  run  for  which  he  bids,  whether 
the  clearance  requested  is  reasonable  as  regards  his  own 
theatre  and  those  of  others,  and  similar  matters  generally 
involved  in  comparing  bids.  .  .  ." 

Then  they  suggested  that  such  disputes  might  be  ad- 
justed, with  the  consent  of  the  defendants,  by  arbitration. 
This  recommendation  will  be  the  subject  of  subsequent 
discussion  in  this  paper. 

In  their  order  for  a  decree  the  Expediting  Court  de- 
clared:61 

"Defendants  owning  a  legal  or  equitable  interest  in 
theatres  of  ninety-five  per  cent  or  more  either  directly  or 
through  subsidiaries  may  exhibit  pictures  of  their  own  or  of 
their  wholly  owned  subsidiaries  in  such  theatres  upon  such 
terms  as  tu  admission  prices  and  clearances  and  on  such 
runs  as  they  see  fit. 

"No  defendant  or  its  subsidiaries  shall  exhibit  its  films 
other  than  on  its  own  behalf  or  through  wholly  owned  sub- 
sidiaries, or  subsidiaries  in  which  it  has  an  interest  of  at 
least  ninety-five  per  cent,  without  offering  the  license  at  a 


minimum  price  for  any  run  desired  by  the  oper-tors  of 
each  theatre  within  the  competitive  area.  The  licei.se  de- 
sired shall  in  such  case  be  granted  to  the  highest  n  spon- 
sible bidder  having  a  theatre  of  a  size  and  equipment  ade- 
quate to  show  the  picture  upon  the  terms  offered.  The 
license  shall  be  granted  6olely  upon  the  merits  and  without 
discrimination  in  favor  of  affiliates,  old  customers,  or  any 
person  whatever.  Each  license  shall  be  offered  and  taken 
theatre  by  theatre  and  picture  by  picture.  No  contracts  for 
exhibition  shall  be  entered  into,  or  if  already  outstanding 
shall  be  performed,  in  which  the  license  to  exhibit  one  fea- 
ture is  conditioned  upon  an  agreement  of  the  licensee  to 
take  a  license  of  or  e  or  more  other  features,  but  licenses  to 
exhibit  more  than  one  feature  may  be  included  in  a  single 
instrument  provided  the  licensee  shall  have  had  the  opportu- 
nity to  bid  for  each  feature  separately  and  shall  have  made 
the  best  bid  for  each  picture  so  included.  To  the  extent  that 
any  of  the  pictures  have  not  been  tradeshown  prior  to  the 
granting  of  a  license  for  more  than  a  6ingle  picture,  the 
licensee  shall  be  given  by  the  licensor  the  right  to  reject 
a  percentage  of  such  pictures  not  tradeshown  prior  to  the 
granting  of  the  license  to  be  fixed  by  the  decree.  But  that 
right  to  reject  any  picture  must  be  exercised  within  ten 
days  after  there  has  been  an  opportunity  afforded  to  the 
licensee  to  inspect  it." 

The  bidding  system  does  not  apply  to  films  of  a  defend- 
ant exhibitor  in  its  own  theatres,  whether  such  theatres  are 
directly  owned  or  are  controlled  by  wholly-owned  subsidi- 
aries or  by  subsidiaries  in  which  it  has  an  interest  of  at  least 
ninety-five  per  cent.  With  that  sole  exception  the  decision 
(Continued  on  inside  page) 


THE  ALLIED  CONVENTION  IN  BOSTON 

From  the  point  of  attendance  as  well  as  enthusiasm,  the 
Allied  States  convention  held  at  the  Copley-Plaza  Hotel,  in 
Boston,  last  week,  was  an  outstanding  success;  it  ranks  with 
the  greatest  of  any  national  exhibitor  convention  in  the  en- 
tire history  of  the  motion  picture  industry.  All  the  Allied 
leaders  did  fine  work  in  putting  the  convention  over. 

The  keynote  of  the  three-day  meeting  was  sounded  by 
Nathan  Yamins,  who  stated  that  the  purpose  of  the  gather- 
ing was  to  restore  order  out  of  the  chaotic  conditions  now 
existing  within  the  industry.  He  emphasized,  however,  that 
not  one  of  Allied's  objectives  were  to  be  either  sacrificed  or 
compromised  to  bring  such  order  about. 

A  militant  attitude  prevailed  throughout  the  meetings, 
with  the  numerous  speakers  strongly  attacking  the  different 
trade  abuses  and  suggesting  various  remedial  steps  that 
should  be  taken  as  a  solution  to  the  exhibitors'  problems. 

The  highlight  of  the  convention  was  the  final  day's  meet- 
ing, which  was  devoted  to  an  open  forum  at  which  all  ex- 
hibitors, regardless  of  their  affiliation,  were  privileged  to 
voice  their  views  on  existing  problems.  The  forum  session 
opened  with  a  talk  by  Mr.  Abram  F.  Myers,  Allied's  able 
general  counsel,  in  which  he  gave  a  comprehensive  analysis 
of  the  Statutory  Court's  decision  and  answered  numerous 
questions  directed  to  him  from  the  floor. 

Harry  Brandt,  who  attended  the  open  forum  at  the  head 
of  a  large  ITOA  delegation,  urged  the  formation  of  one 
national  independent  exhibitor  organization  and,  as  an  in- 
dication of  his  sincerity,  accepted  from  Jack  Kirsch,  Allied's 
president,  an  invitation  to  meet  with  Allied's  board  of  direc- 
tors on  the  following  day  to  discuss  ways  and  means  of 
bringing  such  an  organization  into  being.  Mr.  Brandt  indi- 
cated also  that  he  was  prepared  to  consider  recommending 
that  his  organization  become  affiliated  with  Allied.  (Ed. 
Note:  As  a  result  of  this  meeting,  the  ITOA,  at  its  next 
meeting  early  in  October,  will  vote  upon  coming  into  Allied 
as  a  unit.) 

Under  the  able  guidance  of  Jack  Kirsch,  who  brought  all 
his  resourcefulness  and  ingenuity  into  play,  the  meetings 
were  at  all  times  under  control.  Mr.  Kirsch  is  a  first-class 
leader,  aggressive  yet  impartial. 

The  Boston  exhibitors,  headed  by  Nathan  Yamins,  who 
acted  as  convention  chairman,  deserve  great  credit  for  the 
smooth  way  in  which  the  convention  arrangements  were 
handled. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO  Page  156 A 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  28,  1946  '  No.  39 

JOE  BREEN'S  TEMPER 


Late  in  June,  this  year,  I  received  from  Joe  Breen,  Pre 
duction  Code  Administrator,  at  Hollywood,  a  letter  denying 
certain  statements  that  I  made  regarding  him  in  the  edi' 
torial,  "Howard  Hughes  versus  Eric  Johnston,"  which  was 
printed  in  the  May  11  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports. 

Because  the  letter  is  abusive,  I  did  not  want  to  take 
advantage  of  Breen  by  printing  it  and,  on  July  1,  I  wrote 
him  partly  as  follows: 

"You  wrote  your  June  27  letter  to  me  in  anger,  and 
mailed  it  before  giving  yourself  a  chance  to  cool  off  and 
reconsider.  For  this  reason  I  am  not  going  to  take  advantage 
of  you  and  I  have  decided  to  give  you  a  chance  to  withdraw 
your  request  that  I  publish  it  in  Harrison's  Reports.  .  .  ." 

I  informed  Mr.  Breen  that  I  would,  of  course,  publish  it 
if  he  insisted,  but  that  I  could  not  do  so  immediately  because 
of  the  fact  that  the  interpretation  of  the  Federal  Statutory 
Court's  decision  in  the  New  York  Anti-Trust  case  held 
priority.  I  told  him,  however,  that  I  considered  this  circum- 
stance fortunate  in  that  he  was  going  to  England  and  it 
would  give  him  time  to  reconsider  the  matter.  Besides,  I 
said  that  I  would  want  him  to  be  back  in  the  United  States 
when  I  printed  his  letter  and  gave  him  my  reply,  because  I 
wanted  him  to  know  what  I  had  written. 

I  emphasized  the  fact  that,  in  giving  him  a  chance  to 
reconsider  his  demand,  I  was  doing  a  favor,  not  to  myself, 
but  to  him,  for  I  felt  that  he  was  doing  himself  no  honor 
by  resorting  to  abuse. 

Several  weeks  have  passed  since  the  day  he  returned  from 
England  to  the  United  States  and,  since  he  has  not  yet 
answered  my  letter  telling  me  whether  he  desires  to  with- 
draw his  demand  that  I  publish  his  letter  or  not,  I  am 
proceeding  to  publish  it,  for  I  don't  want  to  let  this  matter 
be  closed  by  default. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Breen  saw  fit  to  resort  to 
personal  abuse,  I  assure  you  that  I  shall  not  reply  in  kind, 
not  only  because  I  feel  that  abuse  settles  no  problems,  but 
also  because  I  respect  the  feelings  of  those  who  read  Har- 
rison's Reports.  Just  because  Joe  Breen  has  seen  fit  to 
resort  to  personal  abuse  and  insult  is  no  reason  why  I 
should  stoop  to  his  tactics.  I  shall  present  my  facts  to  you 
in  a  dignified  manner  and  let  you,  as  jurors,  determine 
whether  my  facts  are  unassailable  or  not.  All  I  want  you  to 
do  is  to  criticize  me  severely  if  you  find  my  facts  inadequate, 
but  if  you  find  them  adequate  and  justified  I  hope  you  will 
be  lenient  toward  Mr.  Breen.  Had  he  had  less  false  pride 
and  more  courage,  he  would  have  acknowledged  his  error 
and  the  matter  would  have  been  forgotten. 

Because  of  the  fact  that  Breen's  letter  is  very  long,  I  shall 
publish  it  piecemeal,  printing  each  topic  and  discussing  it 
separately,  so  that  my  facts  may  not  appear  a  mile  away 
from  the  topic  discussed. 

THE  LETTER 

Dear  Pete : 

I  have  just  finished  reading  your  editorial  blast  in  the 
May  11th  issue  of  Harrison's  Reports,  and  I  am  sending 
this  to  tell  you  that  I  think  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
yourself. 

How  in  the  name  of  heaven,  anyone  making  the  slightest 
pretense  to  editorial  integrity  could  launch  upon  such  an 
attack  without  first  getting  the  facts,  is  simply  beyond  my 
comprehension. 

For  example:  Most  of  your  editorial  has  to  do  with  film 
advertising.  You  go  to  great  lengths  to  set  forth  your  critical 
viewpoint  on  the  subject  and  then  proceed  to  charge  me 
with  some  kind  of  responsibility  for  such  advertising. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  I  have  no  more  responsibility 
for  film  advertising  than  you  have.  It  is  the  Advertising 
Advisory  Council,  with  headquarters  in  New  York,  which, 


for  the  organized  industry,  has  the  responsibility  for  film 
advertising,  and  a  gentleman  named  Gordon  White  is  the 
Administrator  of  the  Advertising  Code. 

In  my  work,  I  have  not  now,  and  I  never  had,  any  respon- 
sibility, directly  or  indirectly,  for  film  advertising,  of  any 
kind.  I  have  had  nothing  whatever  to  do,  in  any  way,  with 
the  advertising  of  "THE  OUTLAW,"  or  "GILD A,"  which 
you  specifically  refer  to  in  your  editorial.  And,  I  have  never 
laid  eyes  on  the  press  book  for  "STRANGE  AFFAIR  OF 
UNCLE  HARRY,"  for  which  you  seek  to  castigate  me. 

What  kind  of  journalistic  ethics  is  it  that  presumes  to 
lecture  anybody  on  the  grounds  of  honesty  and  fair  dealing, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  makes  not  the  slightest  effort  to  first 
establish  the  facts?  In  your  case  this  kind  of  loose  writing 
is  even  more  reprehensible,  because  you  ought  to  know 
better. 

As  further  evidence  of  your  type  of  editorializing,  you 
publish  a  quote  from  an  article  in  the  April  2nd  issue  of 
DAILY  VARIETY.  I  direct  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
nowhere  in  your  editorial  is  there  to  be  found  any  qualify- 
ing reference  to  this  quote  from  VARIETY.  You  do  not 
say,  for  example,  as  would  most  editorial  writers,  that  "if 
the  VARIETY  story  is  correct,"  or,  "if  the  VARIETY 
story  accurately  represents  the  situation,"  etc.  You  just 
accept  the  story  as  correct,  and  proceed  on  this  basis,  again 
to  attack  me. 

Now,  the  fact  of  the  matter  is  that,  so  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, the  VARIETY  story  is  false  and,  consequently,  all 
your  flip  talk  about  me  and  what  I  am  supposed  to  have 
said  to  the  producers,  is  just  the  cheapest  kind  of  twaddle. 
You  cannot  escape  your  responsibility  for  this  kind  of 
writing  by  arguing  that  VARIETY  published  the  story  and 
that  you  thus  felt  justified  in  using  it  as  a  basis  for  your 
attack  on  me. 

Any  editor  worth  his  salt  would  have  first  checked  on 
the  story  in  order  to  make  certain  that  it  was  correct  and 
accurate — but  not  you!  You  did  not  hesitate  to  accept  the 
false  story  and  use  it  to  impugn  my  honesty,  and  character- 
ize me  as  a  crook. 

Again,  I  say,  what  kind  of  responsible  journalism  is  this? 
MY  REPLY 

(1)  The  April  2  Daily  Variety  news  item,  which  I  took 
as  a  "springboard"  for  that  part  of  my  editorial  that  dealt 
with  Mr.  Breen,  was  headed  by  the  following  headline: 
"Clean  Ads,  Pix  Demanded — Breen  Tells  Prods  to  Keep 
Code  Spirit,"  and  the  first  paragraph  read,  "Sharp  warning 
that  they'll  have  to  watch  their  step  in  the  matter  of  ob- 
servance of  the  Johnston  office  code  has  been  given  pro- 
ducers and  studio  publicists  by  Joe  Breen." 

(2)  Boxoffice,  in  a  Hollywood  dispatch,  published  in  the 
April  6  issue,  had  this  to  say  on  the  same  subject: 

"Continuing  the  series  of  studio  meetings  which  are 
aimed  toward  bringing  a  more  complete  understanding  of 
the  industry's  self-regulation  program  to  all  Hollywood 
picture-makers,  Joseph  I.  Breen,  production  code  adminis- 
trator, has  held  sessions  with  producers  on  all  major  lots 
except  Warners  and  RKO  Radio.  Spokesmen  said  Breen 
would  hold  discussions  at  those  studios  within  the  next 
few  days. 

"Breen,  who  refers  to  his  discussions  as  'refresher  courses,' 
has  been  emphasizing  the  industry's  tendency  to  observe 
the  strict  letter  of  the  code,  but  not  the  spirit,  and  has — in 
certain  instances — been  'cutting  corners'  in  the  matter  of 
advertising  and  poster  arts. 

"The  code  administrator  pointed  out  'the  need  in  these 
changing  times  of  the  greatest  possible  care  in  order  that 
pictures  may  not  be  seized  upon  by  critical  censorship 
boards  ...  as  an  excuse  for  curtailing  the  freedom  of  the 
screen.'  " 


156B 


HARRISON  S  REPORTS 


September  28,  1946 


(J)  On  April  4,  Eric  Johnston,  head  of  the  producers' 

association,  gave  an  interview  to  the  trade  press  and  talked 
about  the  method  that  will  be  used  by  the  Motion  Picture 
Export  Corporation  to  divide  the  profits  from  foreign  sales. 
Giving  an  account  of  that  interview  in  the  April  5  issue  of 
Motion  Picture  Daily,  Gene  Arnecl,  that  paper's  reporter, 
said  also  the  following: 

"Veering  to  censorship,  Johnston  stated  that  the  Motion 
Picture  Association  has  made  it  known  to  all  producers, 
directors  and  writers  that  'rigid  adherence  to  the  Production 
Code  is  necessary  in  order  to  earn  Code  approval." 

(Editor's  Note:  Though  this  item  has  no  direct  bearing 
on  Breen,  it  has  an  indirect  bearing;  it  establishes  the  general 
atmosphere  of  those  days  to  lecture  the  producers  on  the 
Code  violations.) 

(4)  Upon  his  return  from  England,  Joe  Breen  was  inter- 
viewed by  a  motion  picture  writer  of  one  of  the  New  York 
newspapers.  This  writer  told  me  that  he  asked  Breen 
whether  the  statement  that  he  had  been  lecturing  the  Holly- 
wood producers  on  Code  violations  is  true  or  not,  and 
Breen  was  compelled  to  make  the  following  admission:  "I 
have  been  doing  that  every  year."  (I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot 
divulge  my  friend's  name;  Breen  understands  the  reasons 
fully,  for  at  one  time  he  was  a  newspaper  man  himself.) 

(5)  Mr.  William  H.  Mooring,  writing  in  the  August 
issue  of  Extension,  a  Catholic  paper  published  in  Chicago, 
said  partly  the  following: 

"Following  some  brisk  Catholic  action,  in  which  I  was 
privileged  to  play  a  part,  correspondence  passed  between 
headquarters  of  the  National  Legion  of  Decency  and  the 
Motion  Picture  Producers'  Association. 

"The  Legion  vigorously  directed  attention  to  postwar 
deterioration  of  moral  standards  in  motion  pictures,  and 
Eric  Johnston,  for  the  industry,  admitted  that  this  trend 
was  the  cause  of  grave  concern  among  the  more  alert  film 
producers. 

"Joseph  I.  Breen,  head  of  the  Production  Code  Adminis- 
tration, but  for  whose  diplomatic  handling  of  most  difficult 
problems  films  would  be  much  worse  than  they  are,  paid 
personal  visits  to  all  the  leading  Hollywood  producers.  He 
warned  them  that  unless  they  halted  postwar  laxity  toward 
the  provisions  of  the  Code,  vigilance  in  many  influential 
quarters,  not  least  of  all  the  Catholic  Church,  might  quickly 
embroil  the  film  industry  in  the  meshes  of  a  federal  system 
of  censorship.  .  .  ." 

Notice  what  Mr.  Mooring  says:  He  has  read  corre- 
spondence and  knows  that  Breen  paid  personal  visits  to  all 
the  leading  Hollywood  producers,  warning  them  against 
the  violations  of  the  code.  Can  we  blame  Will  H.  Hays  for 
these  violations?  Of  course  not;  Eric  Johnston  has  taken 
over  his  post.  Can  we  blame  Eric  Johnston  for  them?  Of 
course  not — he  has  been  head  of  the  producers'  association 
for  only  a  short  time,  and  naturally  is  not  acquainted  with 
the  details  thoroughly.  Besides,  he  has  kept  Breen  on  the 
job  without  interruption,  and  without  any  diminution  of 
his  (Breen's)  powers. 

But  suppose,  after  all  this  proof,  we  decide  to  declare 
Breen  right.  Does  that  make  him  a  hero?  No— of  course 
not,  for  he,  as  an  old  newspaperman,  knows  that  a  story 
that  appears  in  a  publication  is  considered  true  unless  it  is 
denied.  More  than  a  month  elapsed  between  the  time  Daily 
Variety  and  Boxoffice  printed  that  story  and  the  time  that 
I  used  it  in  Harrison's  Reports,  but  Breen  had  not  denied 
it.  Had  he  spent  one-twentieth  as  much  time  denying  the 
story  as  he  spent  in  writing  his  abusive  letter  to  me,  he 
would  have  escaped  criticism  as  to  the  "refresher  courses." 
(On  the  other  accusations  and  his  denials  you  will  have 
my  reply.)  But  evidently  Breen  enjoyed  having  the  trade 
papers  say  that  he  was  giving  the  producers  lectures — it 
seems  to  have  pleased  his  vanity;  but  just  because  the  story 
snapped  back  and  hit  him  in  the  face,  he  squeals. 

Joe  Breen  says  that,  not  he,  but  Gordon  White,  head  of 
the  Advertising  Advisory  Council,  is  responsible  for  the 
approval  of  film  advertising.  This  reminds  me  of  the  sinking 
of  the  S.  S.  Burgundie  off  the  coast  of  France  about  fifty 
years  ago  after  a  collision  during  a  fog.  When  the  crew 
realized  that  the  ship  was  sinking,  they  trampled  on  women 
and  children  to  get  into  the  life  boats  so  as  to  save  their 
own  skins. 


This  incident,  however,  had  its  counterpart  just  about 
that  time;  during  maneuvers  of  the  British  Fleet  in  the 
Agean  Sea  off  the  Island  of  Cyprus,  one  of  the  battleships 
rammed  the  H.M.S.  Victoria  (or  Queen  Victoria — I  don't 
remember  the  exact  name),  and  when  the  crew  saw  that 
the  ship  was  sinking  they,  from  the  highest  naval  officer  to 
the  lowest  oiler,  stood  at  attention  at  their  posts,  and  went 
down  with  their  ship.  But  this  doe6  not  remind  me  of  Joe 
Breen. 

Why  should  Breen  have  mentioned  Gordon  White  when 
he  knows  that  White  cannot  defend  himself?  If  he  tried  to, 
his  job  would  not  be  worth  a  doughnut.  Wouldn't  the 
mention  of  only  the  Advertising  Advisory  Council  have 
sufficed? 

Joe  Breen  asks  if  I  don't  know  that  he  has  nothing  to  do 
with  advertising,  and  for  that  reason  I  should  not  have 
criticized  him!  Of  course  I  know  that  advertising  is  not 
under  his  jurisdiction,  but  when  he  undertakes  to  lecture  the 
producers  on  violations  of  the  Advertising  Code,  then  he 
should  be  big  enough  to  take,  not  only  the  glory,  but  also 
the  blame.  After  all,  he  holds  a  political  job  and  must  learn 
to  take  criticism  like  a  good  politician,  without  whimpering 
like  a  baby.  But  it  seems  to  me  as  if  he  can't  take  it.  He  is 
your  friend  as  long  as  you  tell  him  what  a  great  man  he  is, 
but  he  resents  criticism  of  his  work. 

Joe  Breen  says  that  I  should  have  at  least  stated,  "if  the 
Variety  story  is  correct,"  or,  "If  the  Variety  story  accurately 
represents  the  situation."  This  is  a  slick  journalistic  method, 
implying  that  the  editor  does  not  have  the  courage  to  take 
the  responsibility  for  his  statement.  With  me,  a  story  is, 
either  accurate,  or  inaccurate.  If  it  is  accurate,  I  print  it, 
and  if  I  find  later  that  I  had  been  misled,  I  make  amends. 
For  this  reason  I  cannot  accept  Breen's  journalistic  advice. 
Besides,  aside  from  the  matter  of  ethics,  I  was  not  obligated 
either  to  employ  the  journalistic  method  he  suggests,  or  to 
investigate  the  Variety  story,  for,  as  I  have  already  stated, 
a  story  that  appears  in  print  is  considered  true  unless  de- 
nied. And  Mr.  Breen  did  not  deny  it,  even  though  nearly 
five  weeks  elapsed  between  the  time  the  story  appeared  in 
Daily  Variety  and  Boxoffice  and  the  time  1  used  it  in  Har- 
rison's Reports. 

THE  LETTER 

You  ask  the  question:  "Where  was  Breen  when  Walter 
Wangcr's  script  on  'SCARLET  STREET'  was  submitted  to 
his  office?  And  where  was  he  when  the  picture,  after  being 
finished,  was  sent  to  his  office  for  reviewing?" 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  that  I  was  here  in  Holly- 
wood, tending  to  my  business. 

In  your  editorial,  you  quote  an  observation  made  by  a 
lady,  employed  by  the  Board  of  Motion  Picture  Censors  in 
Atlanta.  You  make  note  of  the  fact  that  "the  picture  was 
codemned"  and  then  proceed  to  set  forth  your  views  about 
the  matter. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  while  you  have 
seen  fit  to  quote  from  Miss  Smith  and  her  condemnation 
of  the  picture,  you  do  not  tell  your  readers  that  four  mem- 
bers ot  the  Board  of  Censors  at  Atlanta  completely  dis- 
agreed with  her  viewpoint. 

You  make  not  the  slightest  reference  to  the  opinion  of 
the  Court  in  this  case,  handed  down  by  Judge  Bond  ALmand, 
which  set  aside  the  decision  of  the  Atlanta  Board,  and 
characterized  the  action  as  thoroughly  illegal.  As  against 
your  estimate  of  the  picture,  as  well  as  that  of  Miss  Smith, 
Judge  Almand  stated  that  "there  is  overwhelming  evidence 
that  the  picture  is  not  lewd,  licentious,  immoral,  or  detri- 
mental to  the  health,  morals,  or  good  order  of  the  City." 

What  kind  of  journalism  is  it  that  tells  only  a  part  of 
the  truth? 

I  note  your  quotation  from  Terry  Ramsaye's  editorial,  in 
which  he  refers  to  the  picture,  "SCARLET  STREET,"  as 
"a  morbid,  seamy  story  dealing  with  the  dregs  of  humanity." 
I  agree  with  Mr.  Ramsaye  in  his  characterization  of  this 
particular  picture. 

Here,  again,  however,  I  wonder  at  the  kind  of  journalistic 
ethics  which  motivates  your  editorial.  You  select  from  Mr. 
Ramsaye's  editorial  one  line,  and  let  it  go  at  that.  You  pass 
over  the  point  of  Mr.  Ramsaye's  editorial,  which  concerned 
itself  with  "the  inutility  of  political  censorship"  and  you 
make  no  mention  of  Mr.  Ramsaye's  observation  concerning 
"SCARLET  STREET,"  and  its  handling  by  the  New  York 
Board  of  Censors,  about  which  Mr.  Ramsaye  observed, 
"Much  of  a  pother  has  been  had,  and  to  no  consequence, 
save  some  unwarranted  disparagement  of  the  picture.  .  .  ." 


September  28,  1946         HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


156C 


Neither  do  you  report  that  Mr.  Ramsaye  stated  in  his 
editorial  that  "The  story  contains  what  may  be  called  strong 
material  pertaining  to  hard  aspects  of  life,  but  the  original 
action  of  the  New  York  State  Board  in  condemning  the 
picture  was  not  to  he  justified  by  any  real  understanding  of 
the  moral  issues  or  the  representation  of  them." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Mr.  Ramsaye,  who  is,  as 
you  say,  "An  everyday  decent  person"  is,  also,  a  gentleman 
who  knows  very  much  about  the  provisions  of  the  Production 
Code,  but,  who,  in  his  editorial  comment  on  "SCARLET 
STREET,"  makes  not  even  the  slightest  suggestion  that  he 
believes,  with  you,  that  the  picture  "flouts  openly  the  prin' 
ciples  of  morality  and  the  boundaries  of  good  taste  as 
established  by  the  Production  Code." 

MY  REPLY 

It  seems  to  me  as  if  the  Georgia  Supreme  Court  has  made 
a  sucker  out  of  Joe  Breen  on  "Scarlet  Street,"  for  as  I  am 
writing  this  reply  I  am  reading  a  news  item  in  the  September 
10  issue  of  Motion  Picture  Daily,  reading  as  follows: 

"Atlanta,  Sept.  9 — The  Supreme  Court  of  Georgia  has 
ruled  that  Judge  Bond  Almand  of  Fulton  County  Superior 
Court  erred  in  allowing  'Scarlet  Street'  to  be  shown  in 
Atlanta  over  the  protest  of  the  city  board  of  censorship.  .  .  ." 

Not  that  "Scarlet  Street"  would  have  been  purified  by 
Breen's  protesting  arguments  without  this  decision  of  the 
Georgia  Supreme  Court,  but  it  just  makes  it  possible  for  me 
to  eliminate  the  use  of  a  great  deal  of  valuable  space. 

So  far  as  his  attempt  to  use  other  parts  of  Terry  Ram- 
saye's  article  to  prove  his  code  conduct  correct,  let  me  say 
that,  at  a  luncheon  table  the  other  day,  Mr.  Ramsaye  told 
me  that,  if  I  should  want  him  to  repeat  that  "Scarlet  Street" 
is  "a  morbid,  seamy  story  dealing  with  the  dregs  of  human- 
ity," he  will  be  very  glad  to  accommodate  me.  So,  before 
Joe  Breen  again  invokes  Mr.  Ramsaye's  writings  to  prove 
his  case,  he  had  better  communicate  with  him. 

THE  LETTER 

You  ask  the  question,  "Where  was  Joe  Breen  when  'THE 
CORN  WAS  GREEN'  was  submitted  to  his  office? 

Again,  I  answer  that  Joe  Breen  was  here  in  Hollywood, 
working  away  at  his  task  as  Administrator  of  the  Production 
Code. 

You  ask  the  further  question :  "Does  he  know  that  in  this 
picture  there  is  implied  a  seduction?"  The  answer  is,  yes, 
I  do  know  that  there  is  in  the  picture  an  implied  seduction, 
but  I  hardly  know  just  what  you  mean  by  "an  unadulterated 
sordid  seduction."  I  take  it  that  your  purpose  is  seeking  to 
establish  that  I  have  been  derelict  in  my  duty.  It  must  be 
that  you  are  of  the  opinion  that  because  of  this  "unadulter- 
ated  sordid  seduction,"  we  should  not  have  approved  "THE 
CORN  IS  GREEN."  Maybe  so.  But,  let  us  see  what  some 
others — aside  and  apart  from  you  or  me — think  about  this 
picture.  I  have  before  me  as  I  write,  a  copy  of  a  publication, 
titled,  "UNBIASED  OPINIONS  OF  CURRENT 
MOTION  PICTURES."  It  is  a  four-page  document,  issued 
by  the  Fox  West  Coast  Theatres,  under  date  of  April  14, 
1945.  In  this  bulletin,  there  is  set  forth  in  some  detail  the 
estimates  of  a  group  of  trained  film  reviewers  representing 
eleven  national  organizations,  concerning  this  picture,  "THE 
CORN  IS  GREEN."  These  groups  are  the  following: 

American  Legion  Auxiliary. 

General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  (Western  Com- 
mittee.) 
National  Film  Music  Council. 
National  Legion  of  Decency. 

Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  (Western  Co- 

mittee.) 
Zeta  Phi  Eta. 

American  Ass'n  of  University  Women  (Los  Angeles 
County  Branches). 

California  Congress  of  Parents  and  Teachers. 

Business  and  Professional  Women's  Clubs. 

California  Council  of  Church  Women. 

L.  A.  Sec.  National  Council  of  Jewish  Women. 

Attached  hereto  is  a  copy  of  this  issue  of  "UNBIASED 
OPINIONS."  I  direct  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  not 
a  single  one  of  these  comments  concerning  "THE  CORN 
IS  GREEN"  is  there  any  reference  whatever  to  any  "sordid 
seduction" — "unadulterated"  or  otherwise.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Legion  of  Decency,  all  these  groups,  com' 
mended  the  picture  most  highly.  Six  of  these  groups  recom- 
mended the  picture  as  acceptable  for  mature  family  audi- 
ences; three,  recommended  it  as  acceptable  for  adults;  and 
one  classifies  the  picture  as  acceptable  for  mature  audiences. 


The  Legion  of  Decency,  which  classified  the  picture  as 
"Objectionable  in  Part"  states  that  this  partial  objection  is 
due  to  the  "false  moral  philosophy"  which  "motivates  major 
sympathetic  characters," — with  no  reference  whatever  to 
any  "sordid  seduction." 

It  may  be  that  those  who  represented  these  various  groups 
in  the  examination  and  classification  of  "THE  CORN  IS 
GREEN"  did  not  know  that  in  this  picture  there  is  "an 
implied  seduction,"  and  to  quote  your  viewpoint,  "a  seduc- 
tion, not  out  of  love — you  may  forgive  two  young  people, 
madly  in  love  with  each  other,  for  forgetting  themselves." 

It  may  be  that  none  of  these  representatives  who  examined 
this  picture  critically,  noted  this  "shocking"  suggestion  of  a 
"sordid  seduction,"  or,  maybe  they  noted  it  but  agreed  that 
such  an  implication  was,  not  only  not  offensive,  but  accept- 
able as  valid  dramatic  material.  But,  in  any  event,  none  of 
them  seems  to  agree  with  your  estimate  of  the  picture. 
Except  for  the  Legion  of  Decency — which  found  no  objec- 
tion to  the  picture  on  the  basis  on  which  you  condemn  it — 
all  these  responsible  groups  recommended  the  picture  to 
their  members,  and  several  of  them  praise  it  fulsomely. 

MY  REPLY 

It  is  no  surprise  to  me  that  Joe  Breen  does  not  understand 
the  moral  degradation  from  permitting  the  implication  of 
loveless  seduction.  I  have  had  experience  with  him  once 
before;  on  a  worse  situation — rape.  If  you  are  an  old  sub- 
scriber, look  into  the  editorial,  "An  Approved  Artistic 
Rape,"  published  in  the  March  28,  1936,  issue  of  Harri- 
son's Reports,  referring  to  the  picture,  "Robinhood  of 
Eldorado."  But  I  am  going  to  save  you  the  trouble.  I  said 
in  the  beginning  of  the  editorial: 

"The  hero's  beautiful  wife  is  raped  by  four  ruffians.  .  .  . 
The  next  scene  shows  the  victim  on  her  bed,  face  up,  [and 
legs  stretched  wide]  and  with  a  pathetic  expression  on  her 
face;  she  dies." 

Shortly  afterwards  I  had  a  discussion  with  Breen  on  this 
matter  and  he  told  me  that  he  could  see  nothing  wrong 
with  that  scene. 

In  connection  with  "The  Corn  Is  Green,"  Mr.  Breen 
forgot  one  thing:  not  only  is  there  an  implied  seduction, 
but  also  an  illegitimate  child,  resulting  from  it.  Let  Mr.  Breen 
show  me  an  independent  picture  where  he  permitted  such 
a  license. 

In  order  to  prove  his  case,  Joe  Breen  brings  forward  the 
testimony  of  a  group  of  outsiders,  most  of  them  amateurs. 
What  is  the  matter  with  his  own  judgment?  Why  doesn't 
he  use  that? 

I  selected  "The  Corn  Is  Green"  at  random.  There  is  a 
large  number  of  other  pictures,  just  as  bad  and  even  worse. 
But  I  don't  want  to  tire  you  out,  so  I  shall  pick  for  dis- 
cussion just  a  few  of  them — from  the  late  crop: 

"GILD A" :  The  heroine,  a  married  woman  of  loose 
morals,  picks  up  a  strange  man  at  a  night  club.  When  he 
asks  her  what  they  should  do  that  evening,  she  replies: 
"Well,  if  I  were  a  ranch,  you  could  call  me  'bar  nothing'." 

Discussing  this  picture  in  his  column,  Robert  Ruark, 
whose  writings  appear  in  the  J^ew  Yor\  World-Telegram 
and  other  newspapers  in  the  nation,  said  the  following: 
"Burlesque  in  New  York  may  be  too  rich  for  the  average 
working  stiff's  blood,  but  a  movie  called  'Gilda'  slipped  in 
some  business  that  would  have  pinkened  the  cheeks  of  the 
Freres  Minsky." 

"TO  HAVE  AND  HAVE  NOT":  Humphrey  Bogart, 
while  holding  Lauren  Bacall  tight,  says  to  her:  "I've  got  to 
have  you,  Baby." 

Perhaps  this  remark  is  too  subtle  for  Mr.  Breen,  but  not 
for  the  audience — they  howled. 

"KITTY":  Reginald  Owen,  an  elderly  English  nobleman, 
keeps  walking  around  Paulette  Goddard  admiring  her  shape, 
and  says:  "A  mighty  pretty  piece,  I  should  say!" 

Is  this  too  obscure  for  Mr.  Breen?  It  was  not  for  the 
audience — they  howled  at  this  one,  too. 

But  here  is  one  that  tops  them  all — "THE  BIG  SLEEP": 

The  scene  is  in  a  restaurant,  and  the  characters  Bogart 
and  Bacall.  The  two,  discussing  the  type  of  persons  each 
prefers  to  have  a  date  with,  talk  in  race  track  lingo,  which 
lends  itself  highly  to  double  meaning: 

Bacall:  "I  like  to  see  if  they  are  front  runners,  or  work 
from  behind." 


1M)L> 


HAKKISUIN  5  KbPUKIS 


September  28,  1940 


In  answer  to  something  that  Bogart  says,  Bacall  asks: 
"Which  am  I?" 

Bogart  replies:  "I  can't  tell  until  I  see  you  over  a  distance 
of  ground." 

Continuing  the  race  track  parlance,  Bogart  remarks:  "I 
can't  tell  until  I  try  you  in  the  saddle."  The  audience  roared. 

The  scene  is  in  a  taxicab,  while  Bogart  is  trailing  a  car. 

Female  cab  driver:  "If  you  need  mc  again,  here's  my 
number." 

Bogart:  "Do  you  work  days  or  nights?" 

Female  cab  driver:  "Call  me  at  night;  I  work  days." 

The  scene  is  in  a  book  shop.  Humphrey  remarks  to  the 
sales  girl  that  he  has  a  bottle  of  liquor  in  his  hip  pocket. 
The  girl  says:  "What  are  we  waiting  for?"  She  tells  him 
that  business  for  the  day  is  over,  goes  to  the  door,  locks  it, 
pulls  the  window  shade  down,  and  there  is  a  fade-out. 

Perhaps  I  have  not  given  the  exact  words  of  the  dialogue 
— you  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  remember  dialogue.  But 
the  sense  is  correct. 

Remarking  on  this  picture,  Mr.  Ruark  said  in  the  same 
column  heretofore  mentioned: 

"I  love  Mr.  Chandler,  because  his  dialogue  is  so  warm,  but 
I  don't  know  how  he  gets  away  with  some  of  the  stuff  that 
is  served  up  for  childish  amusement  in  a  gangster  thing 
called  'The  Big  Sleep.'  They  held  this  one  for  a  couple  of 
years,  and  I  think  I  know  what  delayed  it.  Some  of  Mr. 
Humphrey  Bogart's  fast  chatter  with  one  of  his  many  round- 
heeled  admirers  would  have  shocked  a  stevedore." 

Yet  Mr.  Brcen  has  the  audacity  to  become  indignant! 

Let  me  make  my  position  clear:  I  am,  neither  a  censor, 
nor  a  prude,  nor  am  I  trying  to  reform  the  world.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  I  admire  Mr.  Brecn's  liberalism.  What  I  want 
to  know  is  only  this:  Why  is  he  not  as  liberal  with  the 
independent  producers  as  he  is  with  the  major  producers? 
Why  doesn't  he  use  the  same  yardstick? 

THE  LETTER 

Here  is  another  sample,  from  your  editorial,  of  your  ignor- 
ance and  irresponsibility.  You  state  that  "if  a  producer 
disagrees  with  Brcen's  decision,  he  can  appeal  to  the  New 
York  office.  In  such  an  event,  the  New  York  office  has  the 
final  word.  But  in  all  these  years  I  do  not  recall  a  single 
instance  in  which  the  N.eu>  Yor\  ofice  reversed  Mr.  Brcen's 
decisions." 

Again,  I  wish  to  observe  that  you  are  talking  through 
your  hat.  To  suggest  that  there  has  been  "no  single  instance 
in  which  the  decision  of  the  Production  Code  was  reversed" 
is  not  true.  On  several  occasions  the  Directors  of  this  Asso- 
ciation have  "reversed  Mr.  Breen's  decisions."  A  case  in 
point,  is  the  picture,  "THE  OUTLAW,"  which  was  rejected 
by  the  Production  Code  Administration  in  1941,  and  later 
approved  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  this  Association  in 
New  York  City. 

MY  REPLY 

In  the  editorial  under  discussion  ("Howard  Hughes  vs. 
Eric  Johnston"),  I  accused  Joseph  Breen  as  favoring  the 
majors  but  never  letting  the  independents  get  away  with 
anything.  I  based  that  statement  on  information  given  me 
by  trustworthy  independent  producers  as  well  as  writers. 
Unfortunately  I  cannot  disclose  their  names,  for  no  news- 
paperman will  divulge  the  source  of  his  information.  The 
reasons  are  too  obvious. 

Among  the  accusations  that  I  made  against  Breen  is  the 
fact  that,  to  my  knowledge,  the  New  York  office  of  the  pro- 
ducers' association  never  reversed  Mr.  Breen's  decision  in 
rejecting  a  picture,  thus  implying  that  Mr.  Breen  alone  is 
responsible  for  the  moral  tone  of  the  pictures.  As  a  proof, 
he  cites  "The  Outlaw,"  and  says  that,  although  he  rejected 
it,  the  New  York  office  reversed  him  and  approved  it. 

It  is  evident  that  Mr.  Breen  has  forgotten  the  fact  that 
"The  Outlaw"  is  an  independent  picture.  And  that  is  what 
I  have  been  saying  all  along — that  he  is  hard  on  the  inde- 
pendents, but  will  swallow  major  camels,  no  matter  how  big. 

I  thank  Mr.  Breen  for  his  admission. 

Mr.  Breen,  in  denying  that  the  New  York  offce  had 
"never  reversed  him,"  says:  "On  several  occasions  the 
Directors  of  this  Association  have  'reversed  Mr.  Breen's 
decisions'."  What  are  those  occasions,  Mr.  Breen?  Why 
don't  you  name  them?  Are  you  afraid?  What  are  you  hiding? 


Did  the  reversals  concern  major  pictures  or  independent? 
I  challenge  you  to  name  them! 

THE  LETTER 

In  writing  about  the  Universal  press  book  for  "UNCLE 
HARRY,"  and  after  setting  forth  some  extracts  which  you 
say  are  part  of  the  press  book,  you  ask  the  question:  "Would 
Mr.  Brcen  have  approved  the  wording  in  this  press  book  if 
it  had  been  submitted  by  an  independent  producer?  Let  me 
have  an  independent  producer  answer  this  question."  (All 
of  this,  of  course,  despite  the  fact  that  I  have  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  press  books  of  any  kind.)  You  then  quote 
what  you  say  is  a  statement  made  to  you  recently  in  Holly- 
wood by  an  independent  producer,  who  told  you  "that  Breen 
objected  to  certain  situations  in  some  stories  he  contem- 
plated producing,  although,  he  said,  Breen  approved  similar 
situations  in  stories  submitted  by  the  major  producers." 

You  then  go  on  to  state,  "I  asked  him  why  he  did  not 
call  Breen's  attention  to  this  inconsistency,  and  he  replied 
that  he  did,  and  that  Breen's  answer  was:  'Well,  the  major 
companies  have  the  means  of  treating  such  situations  artis- 
tically'." 

I  never  made  any  such  statement  in  my  life.  The  statement 
is  utterly  and  unqualifiedly  false. 

In  another  part  of  your  editorial  you  make  the  charge 
that  "the  Production  Code  Administrator  does  not  give  the 
same  consideration  to  the  major  producers  that  he  gives  to 
the  independents.  I  deny  this  statement  also.  There  is  not  one 
scintilla  of  truth  in  it. 

I  count  on  you  to  give  this  letter  the  same  editorial  con- 
sideration you  gave  to  your  attack  upon  me. 

Yours  truly, 
(Signed)    JOSEPH  I.  BREEN 
MY  REPLY 

Brcen's  denial  as  to  the  producer's  statement  is  not  worth 
the  paper  that  it  is  written  on,  because  I  know  the  producer  in 
question  to  be  truthful.  Moreover,  I  have  submitted  suffi- 
cient proof  to  make  further  assurances  unnecessary. 

When  I  was  in  Hollywood  recently,  I  asked  a  story  editor, 
a  trustworthy  and  cultured  person,  to  tell  me  what  takes 
place  in  Brcen's  office,  for  he  has  had  many  dealings  with 
that  office  and  knows.  He  said  to  me:  "Breen  gives  the 
independents'  scripts  to  his  subordinates,  who  use  micro- 
scopes in  going  over  them,  and  keeps  the  major  scripts  for 
himself.  How  many  scripts  can  he  read?  Besides,  the  major 
studios  send  their  slickest  salesmen  to  him  to  convince  him 
that  everything  in  a  script  is  as  it  should  be."  And  judging 
by  the  sample  pictures  that  I  have  already  discussed,  no 
further  proof  as  to  the  accuracy  of  this  writer's  statement 
is  necessary. 

*    *  * 

No  doubt  Mr.  Breen,  when  a  child,  received  advice,  like 
the  child  of  every  other  family  in  the  land,  to  be  tolerant, 
kindly,  generous  and  charitable. 

Where  is  his  tolerance,  his  kindliness  to  an  old  friend, 
his  charitableness  and  his  generosity?  Didn't  those  teachings 
leave  any  impression  on  Mr.  Breen?  His  letter  seems  to 
indicate  that  they  did  not. 

Even  without  an  answer  to  my  request  that  he  reconsider 
the  matter  of  publishing  his  letter,  I  would  have  possibly 
decided  not  to  publish  it  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Breen  wrote  his  letter  on  June  27,  and  starts,  "I  have  just 
finished  reading  your  editorial  blast  of  May  11th.  .  ."  Now, 
Mr.  Breen  receives  my  paper  at  his  home.  Ordinarily,  he 
should  have  received  his  copy  of  Harrison's  Reports  not 
later  than  May  16.  And  yet  he  states  that  he  had  just 
finished  reading  it.  Even  if,  by  some  chance,  his  copy  was 
either  lost  or  delayed,  Mr.  Breen  must  have  received  several 
telephone  calls  directing  his  attention  to  my  May  1 1 
editorial.  What  pressure  was  brought  on  him  to  send  me 
an  abusive  reply?  And  this  is  the  reason  why  I  was  not 
willing  to  forget  the  matter.  If  I  had  forgotten  it,  Mr.  Breen 
might  have  said  that  my  declarations  that  I  make  amends 
in  Harrison's  Reports  when  I  unwittingly  make  an  errone- 
ous statement  are  false,  pointing  out  to  the  fact  that  I  failed 
to  print  his  letter,  and  I  would  have  had  no  way  of  making 
a  defense. 

In  case  Mr.  Breen  wants  to  make  a  further  reply  to  these 
statements,  he  should  employ  dignified  language  and  not 
allow  his  momentary  feelings  to  overrule  his  judgment.  After 
all.  a  person  can  never  be  considered  civilized  until  he  learns 
how  to  control  his  temper. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States  $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      v    ,  _n  M  v  Publisher 

Canada                             16.50  Wew  1  orK  1  •  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain          16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                     15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Itg  Editorial  Poiicy:  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 
Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  5,  1946  No.  40 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  9 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(3)  Divestiture  of  Theatres 
The  chief  objective  of  the  Government  was  that  "the 
major  defendants  should  be  divested  of  their  theatres  in 
order  that  no  distributor  of  motion  pictures  be  an  exhibitor." 
Except  in  connection  with  theatre  "pools,"  the  Court  denied 
the  Government's  prayer  for  this  relief. 

In  the  section  of  this  article  relating  to  "pooling  agree- 
ments"84  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  Statutory  Court  had 
unequivocally  branded  as  illegal  the  pooling  of  interests  in 
theatres  by  exhibitor  defendants,  whether  such  arrangements 
were  made  between  exhibitor  defendants  or  between  the 
exhibitor  defendant  and  an  independent  exhibitor,  and 
whether  the  arrangement  took  the  form  of  an  operating 
agreement,  a  lease,  a  joint  stock  ownership  of  theatre- 
operating  corporations,  or  the  joint  ownership  of  theatres 
in  fee. 

In  prescribing  a  remedy  for  these  violations  of  law  the 
Court  ordered  that  each  defendant  should  cease  and  desist 
from  ownership  of  any  interest  in  a  theatre  in  conjunction 
with  another  defendant-exhibitor;  and  that  each  defendant 
should  cease  and  desist  from  joint  ownership  with  an  inde- 
pendent of  an  interest  in  any  theatre  greater  than  five  per 
cent,  unless  its  interest  was  ninety-five  per  cent  or  more. 
Where  such  interest  is  more  than  five  per  cent  and  less  than 
ninety-five  per  cent,  the  joint  interest  should  be  dissolved 
either  by  a  sale  to  or  a  purchase  from  the  co-owner.  Each  of 
the  defendants  was  enjoined  from  expanding  its  theatre 
holdings,  except  with  the  permission  of  the  Court  for  the 
purpose  of  acquiring  a  co-owner's  interest  in  jointly  owned 
theatres.  A  defendant,  however,  might  acquire  theatres  or 
interests  in  them  in  order  to  protect  its  investments  or  to 
enter  a  competitive  field,  if,  upon  application  to  the  Court 
or  other  competent  authority,  such  acquisition  should  be 
approved. 

The  language  is  comprehensive  in  its  prohibition.  It  in- 
cludes substantially  every  conceivable  way  in  which  joint 
interests  in  theatres  may  be  held.  It  leaves  open  no  avenue 
of  evasion. 

About  361  theatres  in  which  the  defendants  had  joint 
interests  are  affected.  But  this  number  does  not  include 
theatres  in  which  a  defendant  has  a  joint  interest  with  an 
independent,  or  theatres  connected  with  a  defendant 
through  film-buying  or  management  contracts  or  through 
corporations  in  which  a  defendant  owns  an  indirect  minor 
stock  interest.  The  number  of  such  theatres  is  not  stated  in 
the  decision. 

The  reasons  given  by  the  Expediting  Court  for  its  refusal 
to  require  divestiture  by  the  defendant  producers-distribu- 
tors of  their  interests  in  other  theatres  may  be  summarized 
as  follows: 

(1)  Only  in  certain  localities  does  the  ownership  by 
the  defendants  even  of  first  run  theatres  approximate  a 
monopoly. 


(2)  In  localities  where  there  is  ownership  by  a  single 
defendant  of  all  the  first  run  theatres,  there  is  no  sufficient 
proof  that  the  ownership  has  been  acquired  for  the  purpose 
of  creating  a  monopoly  and  has  not  arisen  from  the  inertness 
and  lack  of  financial  ability  of  competitors  or  from  the 
preference  of  the  public  for  the  best  equipped  houses. 

(3)  There  is  no  evidence  that  in  such  localities  other 
exhibitors  have  been  prevented  from  owning  first  run 
theatres,  and  consequently  there  is  no  monopoly. 

(4)  There  is  no  substantial  proof  that  any  of  the  cor- 
porate defendants  was  organized  or  has  been  maintained  for 
the  purpose  of  achieving  a  national  monoply. 

(5)  The  major  defendants  have  interests  in  3,137 
theatres,  or  only  17.3?  per  cent  of  the  total  number  in  the 
United  States. 

(6)  In  about  60  per  cent  of  the  92  cities  having  popu- 
lations of  over  100,000  there  are  independent  theatres  in 
competition  with  those  of  the  major  defendants,  and  in 
about  91  per  cent  of  these  cities  there  is  first  run  competition 
between  independents  and  some  of  the  major  defendants 
or  among  the  major  defendants  themselves — except  so  far 
as  it  may  be  restricted  by  unlawful  trade  practices. 

(7)  In  all  the  92  cities  there  is  competition  in  some 

run. 

(8)  If  divestiture  were  ordered  the  Court  would  still 
have  to  give  relief  against  the  unlawful  trade  practices. 

(9)  If  the  unlawful  practices  were  employed  in  the 
future  in  favor  of  powerful  independents  they  would  effect 
the  same  undesirable  results  now  existing. 

(10)  Total  divestiture  would  be  unjust  to  the  defendant 
corporations  and  the  public  would  not  accomplish  any  use- 
ful purpose. 

(11)  "...  The  opportunity  of  independents  to  compete 
under  the  bidding  system  for  pictures  and  runs  renders 
such  a  harsh  remedy  as  complete  divestiture  unnecessary,  at 
least  until  the  efficiency  of  that  system  has  been  tried  and 
found  wanting." 

The  Statutory  Court  explained  that  each  defendant  had 
a  right  to  own  and  operate  theatres,  "and  it  takes  greater 
proof  than  that  each  of  them  possessed  great  financial 
strength,  many  theatres,  and  exhibited  the  greater  number 
of  first-runs  to  deprive  it  of  the  ordinary  rights  of  owner- 
ship." Except  for  the  unlawful  trade  practices,  which  will 
be  abolished,  "there  is  general  competition  among  all  the 
defendants  as  well  as  between  them  and  independent 
distributors  for  the  exhibition  of  their  various  pictures." 

The  Court  then  proceeded  to  quote  from  the  Pullman 
Case,  which  has  already  been  commented  upon  at  some 
length  in  this  article,05  as  follows: 

"If  there  is  only  one  store  in  a  town  at  which  every  one 
trades,  that  fact  docs  not  itself  constitute  a  monopoly  in  the 
legal  sense.  It  is  only  when  the  merchant  maintains  his 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


158 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  5,  1946 


"Blue  Skies"  with  Bing  Crosby,  Fred  Astaire 
and  Joan  Caulfield 

(Paramount,  Dec.  27;  time,  104  min.) 

Combining  Bing  Crosby's  singing,  Fred  Astaire's  dancing, 
and  Irving  Berlin's  music,  "Blue  Skies"  emerges  as  a  highly 
entertaining  Tcchnciolor  musical  with  definite  mass  appeal, 
for  it  is  gay  and  romantic.  Even  though  the  story  is  extremely 
thin,  it  serves  as  a  means  of  introducing  a  succession  of  Ber- 
lin's melodious  song  hits,  most  of  which  are  old  time  favor- 
ites.  The  picture  follows  the  "Holiday  Inn"  formula,  with 
Crosby,  as  a  singer  and  night-club  owner,  and  Astaire,  as  a 
dancer,  vying  for  the  affections  of  the  same  girl.  It  has  a 
good  share  of  romance  and  comedy,  and  all  the  leading 
characters  are  sympathetic.  Of  the  many  musical  highlights, 
the  outstanding  one  is  the  "Puttin"  On  the  Ritz"  production 
number,  in  which  Astaire,  aided  by  trick  photography,  does  a 
breath-taking  dance  routine  in  his  matchless  style.  Joan  Caul- 
field,  as  the  girl  whose  charms  provide  the  love  interest,  is 
appealing.  Olga  San  Juan,  a  newcomer,  has  a  pleasant  sing- 
ing style,  and  Billy  De  Wolfe,  as  Crosby's  assistant,  adds 
much  to  the  gaiety  by  his  antics.  One  sequence,  in  which  he 
impersonates  a  timid,  middle-aged  woman,  who  stops  at  a 
cocktail  bar  to  celebrate  her  wedding  anniversary,  is  hilari- 
ous. The  production  end  is  superb. 

The  story,  which  unfolds  in  flashback  fashion,  opens  with 
Astaire,  a  radio  commentator,  broadcasting  a  true  story  to 
his  audience  and  expressing  the  hope  that  it  would  have  a 
happy  ending  that  evening.  He  relates  that,  following  World 
War  1,  at  which  time  he  had  been  a  Broadway  dancing  star, 
he  had  fallen  in  love  with  Joan  Caulfield,  a  chorus  girl.  He 
had  introduced  Joan  to  Crosby,  his  friend,  who  had  capti- 
vated her  with  his  charming  personality.  Both  had  fallen 
in  love  but  because  of  Crosby's  restlessness,  his  desire  to 
acquire  night-clubs  and  to  sell  them  as  soon  as  he  tired  of 
them,  he  had  declined  to  marry  her  lest  he  make  her  a  poor 
husband.  He  and  Joan  had  parted,  but  their  love  for  each 
other  had  been  so  strong  that  they  decided  to  get  married. 
Crosby  had  promised  to  settle  down,  but  he  soon  succumbed 
to  his  restlessness  and,  together  with  Joan,  moved  from  city 
to  city  opening  and  selling  night-clubs.  Shortly  after  their 
baby  had  been  born,  Joan  had  insisted  that  Crosby  settle 
down  for  good  with  his  newest  and  most  successful  cafe, 
but  his  refusal  had  led  to  a  quarrel,  ending  in  their  divorce. 
Joan  had  returned  to  her  stage  career  and,  after  five 
years,  had  decided  to  marry  Astaire,  who  was  still  in  love 
with  her.  On  the  eve  of  their  marriage,  however,  Joan  had 
confessed  her  inability  to  go  through  with  the  wedding  be- 
cause of  her  love  for  Crosby.  Astaire,  dejected,  had  taken  to 
drink  and,  during  a  sensational  dance  routine  on  a  high 
platform,  had  fallen  to  the  stage,  putting  an  end  to  his  dan- 
cing career.  As  Astaire  finishes  his  broadcast,  and  as  Crosby 
sings  on  the  program  as  a  guest  star,  Joan  enters  the  studio 
and  becomes  reconciled  with  her  former  husband. 

Arthur  Sheekman  wrote  the  screen  play,  Sol  C.  Siegel 
produced  it,  and  Stuart  Heisler  directed  it. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Dark  Mirror"  with  Olivia  de  Havil- 
land,  Lew  Ayres  and  Thomas  Mitchell 

( Universal-International;  no  release  date  set;  time  85  min.) 

A  pretty  good  psychological  murder-mystery  melodrama, 
which,  despite  the  incredibility  of  the  plot,  should  please  the 
followers  of  this  type  of  pictures.  The  story,  however,  is 
somewhat  unpleasant,  for  it  deals  with  insanity  and  pits 
one  sister  against  another,  in  this  case  identical  twins.  The 
mystery  stems  from  the  fact  that  the  police  establish  that  one 
of  the  sisters  was  involved  in  a  murder  but  are  compelled  to 
release  both  of  them  because  of  their  inability  to  prove  which 
one  was  guilty.  The  manner  in  which  the  police,  aided  by  a 
psychiatrist,  unmask  the  guilty  sister,  makes  up  the  rest  of 
the  plot.  Olivia  de  Havilland,  who  plays  both  sisters,  does 
fairly  well,  but  not  good  enough  to  make  one  feel  that  each 
character  was  a  separate  and  distinct  personality.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  is  only  through  the  use  of  initialed  costume  jewelry, 
which  each  sister  wears,  that  the  spectator  is  able  to  distin- 
guish one  from  the  other.  It  has  some  romantic  interest,  and 
a  fair  share  of  suspense  and  excitement.  Thomas  Mitchell, 
as  a  baffled  detective,  is  very  good.  Much  credit  for  the 
picture's  quality  is  owed  to  the  deft  direction  of  Robert 
Siodmak : — 

When  a  prominent  physician  is  found  stabbed  to  death, 
suspicion  centers  on  Ruth  Collins  (Olivia  de  Havilland), 
who  was  seen  leaving  the  dead  man's  apartment  on  the  night 
of  the  slaying.  The  police,  however,  encounter  an  impasse 
when  they  learn  that  Ruth  had  an  identical  twin  sister,  Terry 
(also  Miss  de  Havilland).  Because  one  sister  refused  to  in- 
criminate the  other,  the  police  find  it  impossible  to  declare 
one  of  them  guilty;  both  are  set  free.  Determined  to  solve 


the  mystery,  Detective  Stevenson  (Thomas  Mitchell)  en- 
lists the  aid  of  Dr.  Scott  Elliott  (Lew  Ayres),  a  psychia- 
trist who  had  made  a  life  study  of  identical  twins.  Elliott,  who 
knew  the  girls,  persuades  them  to  submit  to  a  series  of  per- 
sonality te6ts  to  aid  him  in  his  research  work.  As  a  result  of 
the  tests,  Elliott  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Terry  was 
suffering  from  paranoia,  a  dangerous  form  of  criminal  in- 
sanity, and  that  she  was  extremely  jealous  of  Ruth.  Mean- 
while Terry  had  been  carrying  on  a  subtle  campaign  to  lead 
Ruth  to  believe  that  she  was  going  out  of  her  mind.  Elliott, 
in  love  with  Ruth,  begins  to  fear  for  her  safety.  He  decides 
to  ask  her  to  come  to  his  office  to  tell  her  the  truth  about 
Terry.  But  his  phone  call  is  intercepted  by  Terry,  who, 
impersonating  Ruth,  agrees  to  come  to  his  office  immediately. 
Aware  that  he  had  been  speaking  to  Terry,  Elliott,  aided  by 
Stevenson,  sets  a  trap:  They  lead  Terry  to  believe  that  Ruth 
had  committed  suicide.  Confident  that  her  scheme  to  drive 
Ruth  out  of  her  mind  had  succeeded,  Terry,  to  clear  herself 
of  all  suspicion,  recounts  the  details  of  how  Ruth  had  "mur- 
dered" the  physician.  But,  when  Ruth  makes  a  sudden  ap- 
pearance, Terry  realizes  that  she  had  been  tricked  into  be- 
traying herself.  She  becomes  stark  mad. 

Based  on  an  original  story  by  Vladimir  Pozner,  the  screen 
play  was  written  and  produced  by  Nunnally  Johnson. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Undercurrent"  with  Katharine  Hepburn, 
and  Robert  Taylor 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  114  min.) 
An  interesting  psychological  drama,  well  produced  and 
superbly  acted,  but  it  is  handicapped  by  a  story  that  is  not 
very  convincing,  and  by  direction  that  is  somewhat  spotty. 
Moreover,  the  picture  is  overlong.  It  may,  however,  do  pretty 
good  business  on  the  strength  of  the  leading  players'  popu- 
larity. Revolving  around  a  young  bride  who  finds  reason  to 
suspect  her  husband  of  dire  doings  in  connection  with  his 
brother's  mysterious  disappearance,  an  undercurrent  of  sus- 
pense prevails  throughout  as  she  undertakes  to  learn  the 
facts  about  her  husband's  past  in  order  to  clear  up  the  mys- 
tery. Several  of  the  situations  are  quite  tense,  and  the  action 
builds  up  to  a  violent  climax,  in  which  the  husband  tries  to 
kill  his  wife,  first  by  forcing  her  over  a  cliff,  and,  failing 
that,  by  attempting  to  bash  her  skull  with  a  rock.  She  is 
saved  when  a  horse  stomps  him  to  death.  All  this  is  wildly 
melodramatic  and  is  more  harrowing  than  exciting.  Kath- 
arine Hepburn  portrays  the  heroine  with  deep  feeling  and 
understanding;  one  respects  her  for  her  courage.  Part  of  the 
story  idea  is  unpleasant,  for  it  pits  a  brother  against  a 
brother: — 

Katharine,  daughter  of  a  scientist,  marries  Robert  Taylor, 
a  handsome,  young  industrialist,  after  a  whirlwind  court- 
ship. Shortly  after  their  marriage,  she  learns  that  Taylor  had 
a  brother  (Robert  Mitchum),  who  had  disappeared  mysteri- 
ously, and  discovers  that  the  mere  mention  of  his  name  in- 
furiated him.  Taylor  explains  that  his  brother  was  a  wastrel, 
one  who  had  always  taken  advantage  of  him,  and  who  had 
stolen  his  company's  funds  prior  to  his  disappearance.  In 
the  course  of  events,  Taylor's  tantrums  over  matters  con- 
cerning his  brother,  together  with  the  reluctance  of  his 
associates  to  give  her  any  information  about  the  missing 
man,  heightens  Katharine's  curiosity.  In  due  time,  different 
incidents  lead  her  to  suspect  that  Taylor  might  have  mur- 
dered his  brother  and  she  becomes  obsessed  with  a  desire  to 
get  to  the  bottom  of  the  mystery  in  order  to  disprove  her 
suspicions  and  save  her  marriage.  She  eventually  discovers 
evidence  indicating  that  Mitchum  was  alive,  leaving  her 
happy  in  the  thought  that  Taylor  was  in  the  clear.  Mean- 
while Mitchum,  having  learned  of  Katharine's  unhappiness 
over  his  unexplained  disappearance,  visits  Taylor  secretly, 
charges  him  with  the  murder  of  an  obscure  scientist,  whose 
invention  he  had  stolen  to  gain  fame  and  fortune,  and  in- 
sists that  he  tell  Katharine  the  truth  lest  he  do  so  himself. 
Taylor  agrees,  but  maddened  by  the  thought  that  Katharine 
would  leave  him  if  she  knew  the  truth,  and  imagining  that 
her  search  for  Mitchum  had  caused  her  to  fall  in  love  with 
him,  although  she  had  never  met  him,  he  decides  to  kill  her. 
His  diabolical  attempt  to  murder  her  is  foiled  by  his  own 
horse,  a  mistreated  animal,  who  stomps  him  to  death.  It  all 
ends  with  a  meeting  between  Katharine  and  Mitchum,  in 
which  she  arranges  for  Taylor's  ill-gotten  fortune  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  murdered  scientist's  family,  and  in  which  it 
is  indicated  that  the  romance  she  failed  to  find  with  Taylor 
would  be  found  with  Mitchum. 

Edward  Chodorov  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Thelma  Strabel,  Pandro  S.  Berman  produced  it,  and  Vin- 
punuipg  sapnpui  jsbd  aqj^  -ji  pajrojip  i[]3uuija{  sjusd 
Gwenn,  Marjorie  Main,  Jayne  Meadows  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


October  5,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


159 


"Strange  Holiday"  with  Claude  Rains 

(PRC,  Sept.  2;  time,  56  min.) 

This  dramatic  fantasy  is  a  documentary-like  program 
feature  with  a  message — that  the  American  people  must  not 
take  tor  granted  the  freedom  they  enjoy  lest  they  one  day 
awaken  and  find  themselves  under  the  stranglehold  of  a 
Nazi-type  dictatorship.  The  first  part  of  the  picture  is  ex- 
tremely interesting,  but  as  the  action  progresses  one's  inter- 
est in  the  subject  wanes  and  it  becomes  somewhat  tedious 
because  much  of  what  transpires  is  repetitive.  At  times,  it 
strives  too  hard  to  hammer  home  its  message.  The  picture 
has  something  important  to  say  in  view  of  present  world 
conditions,  but  since  it  is  a  grim  entertainment  from  start  to 
finish  it  would  best  fit  on  the  lower  half  of  a  double-bill  in 
support  of  a  light-hearted  main  feature: — 

Returning  home  alter  a  two  weeks'  vacation  in  the  North 
Woods,  during  which  time  he  was  out  of  touch  with  civiliza- 
tion, Claude  Rains  finds  the  streets  of  his  town  deserted. 
The  few  persons  that  he  encounters  appear  strangely  terri- 
fied and  refuse  to  answer  his  questions.  Alarmed  and  per- 
turbed, he  rushes  home  only  to  find  his  house  empty  and  his 
wife  and  children  gone.  As  he  frantically  calls  for  them, 
two  strangers  enter,  beat  him  mercilessly,  and  place  him 
under  arrest.  He  is  taken  before  Martin  Kosleck,  who  beats 
him  severely  when  he  demands  the  right  to  get  in  touch  with 
a  lawyer.  Kosleck  informs  him  that,  during  his  vacation, 
most  of  America  had  been  taken  over  by  Nazi  cohorts,  who 
were  imposing  the  same  brand  of  totalitarian  government 
that  had  been  imposed  on  Germany.  Bruised  and  battered, 
Rains  is  dragged  back  to  his  cell  and  left  for  dead.  In  retro- 
spect, his  mind  carries  him  back  to  the  happy  days  when  he 
and  his  family  were  free  citizens  living  under  the  protection 
of  a  democracy,  and  he  realizes  that  liberty  is  not  a  gift  but 
something  precious,  which  must  be  fought  for  throughout 
one's  life.  He  awakens  and  realizes  that  he  had  been  having 
a  bad  dream,  but  he  determines  that  a  Nazi  form  of  govern- 
ment must  never  happen  here. 

The  screen  play  was  written,  produced,  and  directed  by 
Arch  Oboler.  The  cast  includes  Gloria  Holden,  Milton 
Kibbee  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Wild  Beauty"  with  Don  Porter 
and  Lois  Collier 

(Universal,  Aug.  9;  time,  61  min.) 
Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  melodrama,  best 
suited  for  the  juvenile  trade  in  small-town  and  neighbor- 
hood theatres.  Although  its  story  about  an  Indian  boy's  love 
for  a  horse  presents  some  human  interest  situations,  it  is 
most  unimaginative  and  is  developed  in  so  obvious  a  fashion 
that  one  knows  in  advance  just  what  will  happen  and  be- 
comes bored  by  the  time  the  picture  is  half  finished.  At  no 
time  does  it  impress  one  with  either  its  drama  or  its  comedy. 
The  best  that  can  be  said  for  it  is  that  stock  shots  of  wild 
horse  scenes  have  been  used  to  good  advantage.  The  per- 
formances are  barely  adequate,  but  considering  the  fact  that 
the  story  is  too  weak  to  stand  up,  the  players  are  not  to 
blame : — 

Arriving  at  an  Indian  reservation  in  Arizona  to  teach 
school,  Lois  Collier  is  welcomed  by  Don  Porter,  the  local 
white  doctor.  She  begins  her  duties  and  takes  exception 
when  she  discovers  that  Buzz  Henry,  an  Indian  orphan,  who 
was  Porter's  protege,  was  permitted  to  stay  away  from 
school  in  order  to  raise  and  train  "Wild  Beauty,"  a  colt, 
whose  life  he  and  Porter  had  saved.  Lois  compels  the  boy  to 
forget  the  colt  and  to  attend  classes.  Heartbroken,  Buzz 
runs  away  from  home  to  join  his  colt  in  the  hills.  Porter 
institutes  a  search  and,  after  several  days,  finds  the  boy  ex- 
hausted  and  ill.  Infuriated,  Porter  asks  Lois  to  resign. 
Realizing  that  she  had  been  inconsiderate,  she  submits  her 
resignation  and  goes  to  Buzz  to  beg  his  forgiveness.  Porter, 
in  love  with  her,  tears  up  the  resignation  and  asks  her  to 
remain.  Complications  arise  when  Robert  Wilcox,  Lois'  East- 
ern boy-friend,  arrives  in  town  and  learns  that  she  had 
shifted  her  attentions  to  Porter.  So  that  his  trip  West  would 
not  be  a  total  loss,  Wilcox  cooks  up  a  scheme  to  round  up 
the  wild  horses  in  the  territory,  slaughter  them,  and  ship 
their  hides  to  his  shoe  factory.  His  henchmen  drive  hun- 
dreds of  horses  into  a  huge  corral,  but  the  scheme  backfires 
when  "Wild  Beauty,"  sensing  the  danger,  smashes  down  the 
gate  and  permits  the  animals  to  escape  back  into  the  hills. 
It  all  ends  with  Porter  giving  Wilcox  a  sound  thrashing 
before  he  returns  East  and  with  Buzz  and  "Wild  Beauty" 
reuniting  in  the  hills,  while  Porter  gathers  Lois  into  his  arms. 

Adclc  Buffington  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  and 
Wallace  Fox  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Jacqueline  De  Wit,  George  Cleveland  and  others. 


"Cuban  Pete"  with  Desi  Arnaz 
and  Joan  Fulton 

(Universal,  July  26;  time,  61  min.) 

From  the  musical  point  of  view,  this  program  comedy  is 
fairly  entertaining.  Aside  from  the  music,  however,  there  is 
nothing  much  that  the  picture  offers.  The  story  is  silly,  slow- 
moving,  and  tires  one;  and  the  comedy  is  forced.  Whatever 
entertainment  value  the  picture  has  is  owed  mainly  to  the 
talents  of  Desi  Arnaz,  who,  together  with  his  band,  puts 
over  the  Latin- American  musical  numbers  in  an  entertaining 
way.  The  King  Sisters,  too,  contribute  several  song  numbers. 
One  sequence,  which  seems  to  have  been  dragged  in  to 
give  the  picture  additional  marquee  value,  features  Ethel 
Smith  at  the  organ: — 

Jacqueline  De  Wit,  a  scatter-brained  perfume  manufac- 
turer, orders  Don  Porter,  her  advertising  agent,  to  sign 
Arnaz  and  his  obscure  Cuban  band  for  her  forthcoming 
radio  show.  Unable  to  persuade  Arnaz  to  come  to  New  York, 
Porter  sends  his  assistant,  Joan  Fulton,  to  Havana  to  try  her 
feminine  allure  on  the  bandleader.  Arnaz  finds  himself  smit- 
ten with  Joan,  but  he  reluses  to  make  the  trip.  Joan,  however, 
ingratiates  herself  with  little  Beverly  Simmons,  his  neice, 
and  induces  the  child  to  persuade  her  uncle  to  change  his 
mind.  In  New  York,  complications  arise  when  Arnaz  learns 
that  Jacqueline,  who  had  a  raucous  voice,  had  made  up  her 
mind  to  sing  with  his  band.  He  insists  that  she  withdraw 
trom  the  program,  threatening  to  go  back  to  Havana.  Mean- 
while Jacqueline,  learning  oi  Beverly's  iniluence  with  her 
uncle,  decides  to  be  nice  to  the  child  in  the  hope  that  she 
would  induce  him  to  allow  her  to  sing  with  the  band.  Jac- 
queline's scheme  hits  a  snag,  however,  when  she  unwittingly 
gets  herself  involved  on  a  ialse  charge  of  kidnapping  Bev- 
erly and  finds  herself  jailed.  Taking  advantage  ot  the  situa- 
tion, Joan  offers  to  use  her  influence  to  free  Jacqueline  in 
return  for  her  promise  not  to  insist  upon  singing  with  the 
band.  Jacqueline  willingly  agrees,  and  it  all  ends  with  Arnaz 
scoring  a  huge  success  on  the  radio,  thus  paving  the  way  for 
a  romance  between  Joan  and  himself. 

Robert  Pressnell,  Sr.  and  M.  Coates  Webster  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  an  original  story  by  Bernard  Feins.  How- 
ard Welsch  produced  it,  and  Jean  Yarbrough  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


STATEMENT  OF  THE  OWNERSHIP,  MANAGEMENT,  CIR- 
CULATION, ETC.,  REQUIRED  BY  THE  ACT  OF  CON- 
GRESS OF  AUGUST  24.  1912,  AND  MARCH  3,  1933,  OF 
HARRISON'S  REPORTS,  published  Weekly  at  New  York, 
N.  Y.,  for  Oct.  1,  1946. 

State  of  New  York. 

County  of  New  York. 

Before  me,  a  Notary  Public,  in  and  for  the  State  and  County 
aforesaid,  personally  appeared  Al  Picoult,  who,  having  been  duly 
sworn  according  to  law,  deposes  and  says  that  he  is  the  Managing 
Editor  of  the  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  and  that  the  following  is, 
to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  belief,  a  true  statement  of  the 
ownership,  management,  etc.,  of  the  aforesaid  publication  for  the 
date  shown  in  the  above  caption,  required  by  the  Act  of  August  24, 
1912,  as  amended  by  the  Act  of  March  3,  1933,  embodied  in  section 
537,  Postal  Laws  and  Regulations,  printed  on  the  reverse  of  this 
form,  to  wit: 

1.  That  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  publisher,  editor,  managing 
editor,  and  business  manager,  are: 

Publisher,  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc.,  1270  6th  Ave.,  New  York  20. 
N.  Y. 

Editor,  P.  S.  Harrison,  1270  6th  Ave.,  New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
Managing  Editor,  Al  Picoult,  1270  6t/i  Ave.,  New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
Business  Manager,  None. 

2.  That  the  owner  is:  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc.,  1270  6th  Ave., 
New  York  20,  N.  Y. 

P.  S.  Harrison,  1270  6th  Ave.,  New  York  20,  JV.  Y. 

3.  That  the  known  bondholders,  mortgagees  and  other  security 
holders  owning  or  holding  1  per  cent,  or  more  of  total  amount  of 
bonds,  mortgages,  or  other  securities  are:  None. 

4.  That  the  two  paragraphs  next  above,  giving  the  names  of  the 
owners,  stockholders,  and  security  holders,  if  any,  contain  not  only 
the  list  of  stockholders  and  security  holders  as  they  appear  upon  the 
books  of  the  company  but  also,  in  cases  where  the  stockholder  or 
security  holder  appears  upon  the  books  of  the  company  as  trustee  or 
in  any  other  liduciary  relation,  the  name  of  the  person  or  corporation 
for  whom  such  trustee  is  acting,  is  given;  also  that  the  said  two 
paragraphs  contain  statements  embracing  affiant's  full  knowledge 
and  belief  as  to  the  circumstances  and  conditions  under  which  stock- 
holders and  security  holders  who  do  not  appear  upon  the  books  of  the 
company  as  trustees,  hold  stock  and  securities  in  a  capacity  other 
than  that  of  a  bona  tide  owner;  and  this  affiant  has  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  any  other  person,  association,  or  corporation,  has  any  inter- 
est direct  or  indirect  in  the  said  stock,  bonds,  or  other  securities  than 
as  so  stated  by  him. 

5.  That  the  average  number  of  copies  of  each  issue  of  this  publica- 
tion sold  or  distributed,  through  the  mails  or  otherwise,  to  paid  sub- 
scribers during  the  twelve  months  preceding  the  date  show  above  is 
2283 

(Signed)  AL  PICOULT, 

(Managing  Editor). 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  this  30th  day  of  September. 
1946. 

MICHAEL  M.  THALER, 
(My  commission  expires  March  30,  1948.) 


160 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  5,  1946 


position  by  devices  which  compel  everyone  to  trade  with 
him  exclusively  that  the  situation  becomes  legally  objection- 
able." 

Other  quotations  from  the  opinion  of  the  Court  on  this 
subject  are  given  in  the  section  of  this  article  devoted  to 
"Monopolizing."  There  it  was  pointed  out,  with  the  citation 
of  authorities,  that  monopolizing  may  consist,  not  only  of 
"monopolistic  practices"  for  the  purpose  of  eliminating 
competition,  but  also  of  the  intentional  acquisition  and 
exercise  of  monopolistic  power,  even  without  predatory 
practices  directed  toward  the  destruction  of  competitors.  A 
summary  was  also  given  of  the  violations  of  law  which  led 
to  the  orders  requiring  divestiture  of  theatres  by  the  Crescent 
and  Schine  circuits. 

At  this  time  it  might  seem  that  no  useful  purpose  would 
be  served  by  engaging  in  an  extensive  analysis  of  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  Statutory  Court's  denying  complete  divestiture. 
The  opinion  discloses  considerable  knowledge  of  the  in- 
tricacies of  the  motion  picture  industry  and  a  desire  to  mete 
out  exact  and  impartial  justice.  Moreover,  an  appeal  will 
undoubtedly  be  taken  and  all  controverted  issues  ultimately 
adjudicated  by  the  Supreme  Court. 

But,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  chief  purpose  of  the 
Government  in  instituting  the  litigation  was  to  6ccure  an 
order  for  complete  divestiture,  and  because  of  the  over- 
whelming interest  manifested  in  this  issue  by  all  persons 
engaged  in  the  motion  picture  industry,  it  may  be  not 
inadvisable  to  consider  if,  under  the  standards  already 
established,  the  findings  of  the  Court  indicate  that  the 
defendant  exhibitors  and  their  distributing  alfiliates  have 
monopolized  or  attempted  to  monopolize  any  part  of  inter- 
state trade,  and  whether  any  one  or  more  of  the  defendants, 
separately  considered,  constituted  a  combination  in  restraint 
ot  trade. 

From  the  findings  of  the  Court  it  is  obvious  that  no  single 
defendant  or  any  combination  of  defendants  has  attained 
a  complete  national  monopoly  in  the  exhibition  field.  But 
it  is  equally  clear  that,  irrespective  of  the  methods  employed, 
one  or  more  of  the  defendants  has,  in  many  cities,  obtained 
what  is  the  equivalent  of  monopolistic  control  of  prior-run 
exhibition. 


"Harrison's  Reports,  September  7,  1946. 
Harrison's  Reports,  September  21,  1946. 

(Continued  next  week.) 


MARY  PICKFORD  COMES  TO  THIS 
PAPER'S  SUPPORT  ON  BREEN 

In  my  reply  to  the  abusive  and  irrascible  letter  of  Joe 
Breen,  which  I  published  in  the  second  section  of  last  week's 
issue,  I  insisted  that  Mr.  Breen  is  showing  decided  partiality 
towards  the  major  companies  in  his  approval  of  what  may 
be  shown  in  pictures,  but  that  he  is  very  strict  with  the  in- 
dependent producers.  Mary  Pickford  now  comes  forward 
with  a  similar  accusation;  it  was  printed  in  the  September  25 
issue  of  weekly  Variety. 

I  am  reproducing  the  entire  interview  with  the  permission 
of  Variety. 

"Administration  of  the  Motion  Picture  Association's  Pro- 
duction Code  is  loaded  in  favor  of  the  Big  Five  and  is  hurt- 
ing the  indies,  Mary  Pickford  charged  in  New  York  yester- 
day (Tuesday).  She  said  she  was  planning  to  canvass  inde- 
pendent producers  on  her  return  to  the  Coast  next  week 
with  a  view  toward  getting  changes  made  which  would  give 
indies  equal  voice  with  the  majors  in  judgment  on  PCA- 
ordered  deletions  and  alterations. 

'*  'As  things  stand  now,'  Miss  Pickford  told  Variety,  'the 
Big  Five  are  both  Congress  and  the  Supreme  Court.  They 
not  only  make  the  rules,  but  they  sit  in  judgment  on  the 
operation  of  them,  so  that  an  independent  has  no  recourse. 
Inasmuch  as  we  must  live  under  the  Code,  we  want  some 
say  in  its  content  and  administration." 


"Miss  Pickford,  a  one-third  owner  of  United  Artists, 
made  clear  that  'The  Outlaw,'  which  UA  is  distributing,  had 
nothing  to  do  with  her  resentment.  She  said  she  felt  qualified 
to  talk  on  the  subject  of  the  Code  since  her  name  had  always 
been  associated  with  nothing  but  the  cleanest  of  pictures. 

"The  Code  is  administered  one  way  for  the  Big  Five  mem- 
bers, who  control  its  administration,  and  another  way  for 
indies,  Miss  Pickford  declared. 

"This  echoes  a  charge  made  by  British  producers  recently 
that  American  pictures  were  treated  more  leniently  by  Joe 
Breen,  PCA  administrator,  than  were  English  productions. 

"Miss  Pickford  said  she  knew  of  a  number  of  specific 
instances  of  unjust  treatment  of  indie  films  by  the  PCA, 
which  she  is  certain  would  not  have  occurred  had  they  come 
from  the  majors.  She  mentioned  difficulties  by  David  O. 
Selznick  on  'Gone  With  the  Wind'  and,  more  recently, 
Lester  Cowan  on  'Story  of  G.I.  Joe."  Miss  Pickford,  inci- 
dentally, this  week  announced  a  producing  partnership  with 
Cowan. 

"She  indicated  that  the  leniency  which  Big  Five  members 
showed  to  each  other  was  conscious  or  unconscious  logroll- 
ing. 'They're  big  boys,  you  know,'  she  said. 

"Former  star  pointed  out  that  she  was  not  quarreling  with 
the  Code  itself,  but  felt  that  everyone  who  must  live  and 
abide  by  it — including  writers,  directors  and  producers — 
should  have  a  hand  in  determining  its  contents  and  adminis- 
tration. She  pointed  out,  for  instance,  that  a  writer's  reputa- 
tion might  be  seriously  injured  by  a  deletion  or  change 
ordered  by  the  PCA,  and  yet  he  had  no  representation  in 
the  Code  Administration. 

"Should  her  ideas  on  broadening  the  PCA  be  in  line 
with  those  of  other  indies  they  will  ask  Donald  Nelson,  head 
of  the  Society  of  Independent  Producers,  to  take  action, 
Miss  Pickford  said.  'The  Code  belongs  as  much  to  the 
SIMPP  as  to  the  MP  A,'  she  asserted." 

Is  Mr.  Breen  going  to  send  Miss  Pickford  an  abusive 
letter  because  of  her  statement? 


COOPERATION 

At  the  Allied  Convention  in  Boston,  George  Jessel  was  to 
be  the  toastmaster  at  the  banquet.  But  certain  production 
matters  in  Hollywood  made  it  impossible  for  Mr.  Jessel  to 
leave  and  he  so  notified  Nathin  Yamins,  Chairman  of  the 
convention. 

When  Mr.  Yamins  received  the  news,  he  called  up  Mr. 
Spyros  Skouras,  president  of  Twentieth  Century-Fox  Film 
Corporation,  and  told  him  of  his  predicament.  Mr.  Skouras 
then  said  to  Mr.  Yamins  to  let  him  think  the  matter  over  for 
a  few  minutes  to  see  what  he  could  do  and  that  he  would 
call  him  back  in  a  short  time. 

Mr.  Skouras  then  got  busy:  he  communicated  with  Monte 
Proser,  owner  of  the  famous  Copacabana,  of  New  York  City, 
asking  him  if  he  would  not  do  him  the  favor  of  letting  Phil 
Silvers  cancel  the  early  evening's  engagement  to  act  as  a 
toastmaster  at  the  exhibitors  banquet.  Mr.  Proser  said  he 
would  gladly  do  so  if  Mr.  Silvers  would  go. 

Mr.  Proser  spoke  to  Silvers,  and  Mr.  Silvers  expressed  his 
gladness  to  go. 

Mr.  Skouras  arranged  for  Mr.  Silvers  to  take  an  early 
plane  for  Boston. 

When  Mr.  Silvers  arrived  in  Boston,  Sam  Shain,  public 
relations  man  for  20th,  had  ten  exhibitor  leaders  at  the  air- 
port to  receive  Mr.  Silvers,  and  flowers  and  refreshments 
were  placed  at  his  disposal  by  Mr.  Yamins.  When  Mr. 
Silvers  appeared  at  the  banquet  he  was  surprised  by  the 
reception  that  was  given  him  by  the  exhibitors.  This  put 
him  into  a  fine  mood,  and  his  work  as  master  of  ceremonies 
made  a  hit. 

All  this  cost  the  exhibitors  nothing,  but  Mr.  Skouras  will 
be  remembered  by  the  exhibitors  for  the  promptness  with 
which  he  came  to  their  rescue. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVIII        NEW  YORK,  N.  Y„  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  5,  1946   No.  40 

(Partial  Index  No.  5 — Pages  134  to  156  inclusive) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Page 

Accomplice— PRC  (66  min.)   154 

Angel  On  My  Shoulder— United  Artists  (101  min.).  .151 
Bachelor's  Daughters,  The — United  Artists  (89  min.).  147 

Below  the  Deadline — Monogram  (65  min.)   135 

Blondie  Knows  Best — Columbia  (70  min.)  148 

Brief  Encounter — Universal  (85  min.)   138 

Cloak  and  Dagger — Warner  Bros.  (106  min.)  .......  147 

Concerto — Republic  (see  "I've  Always  Loved  You").  .142 

Crime  Doctor's  Man  Hunt — Columbia  (61  min.)  150 

Decoy — Monogram  (76  min.)  151 

Gallant  Bess— MGM  (101  min.)   142 

Gallant  Journey — Columbia  (86  min.)   142 

Gunman's  Code — Universal  (54  min.)  not  reviewed 

Heading  West — Columbia  (54  min.)   not  reviewed 

Her  Sister's  Secret— PRC  (83  min.)  _  147 

High  School  Hero — Monogram  (69  min.)   139 

If  I'm  Lucky— 20th  Century-Fox  (79  min.)   139 

Inner  Circle,  The— Republic  (57  min.)   134 

Invisible  Informer,  The — Republic  (57  min.)   134 

It's  Great  To  Be  Young — Columbia  (68  min.)  150 

I've  Always  Loved  You — Republic  (117  min.)  142 

Killers,  The— Universal  (103  min.)   135 

Landrush — Columbia  (54  min.)   not  reviewed 

Lawless  Breed — Universal  (56  min.)   not  reviewed 

Little  Iodine — United  Artists  (56  min.)   146 

Little  Miss  Big — Universal  (60  min.)   143 

Missing  Lady,  The — Monogram  (60  min.)  150 

Mr.  Ace — United  Artists  (82  min.)  .  138 

Mr.  Griggs  Returns — MGM  (see  "Cockeyed  Miracle" ).  1 1 4 
Nobody  Lives  Forever — Warner  Bros.  (100  min.)  ....  154 

No  Leave,  No  Love— MGM  (119  min.)   139 

Outlaw  of  the  Plains — PRC  (56  min.)   not  reviewed 

Overland  Riders — PRC  (54  min.)  not  reviewed 

Personality  Kid— Columbia  (68  min.)   135 

Rio  Grande  Raiders — Republic  (56  min.)  .  .  .not  reviewed 
Rustler's  Roundup — Universal  (56  min.)  . . .  .not  reviewed 

Secrets  of  a  Sorority  Girl— PRC  (58  min.)   134 

Shadows  Over  Chinatown — Monogram  (64  min.)  ....  138 

So  Dark  the  Night— Columbia  (70  min.)  146 

Spook  Busters — Monogram  (68  min.)   140 

Strange  Journey — 20th  Century-Fox  (65  min.)  146 

Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue— 20th  Cen.-Fox  (90  min.)  . .  143 

Thrill  of  Brazil,  The— Columbia  (91  min.)   146 

Two  Years  Before  the  Mast — Paramount  (98  min.)  . .  138 

RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Tor^  19,  H-  T.) 

1945-46 

7011  The  Walls  Came  Tumbling  Down — Bowman- 

Chapman  June  7 

7003  Renegades — Keyes-Parker   June  13 

7037  Dangerous  Business — Merrick-Tucker  June  20 

7032  The  Return  of  Rusty — Donaldson-Litel  June  27 

7027  The  Unknown — Morley-Bannon   July  4 

7209  The  Desert  Horseman — Charles  Starrett 

(60  m.)   July  11 

7223  Cowboy  Blues — Western  Musical  (66  m.)  . .  .July  18 

7033  Sing  While  You  Dance — Drew-Stanton  July  25 

7039  Personality  Kid — Duane-Louise  Aug.  8 

7210  Heading  West — Charles  Starrett  (54  m.)  .  .Aug.  15 

7038  It's  Great  To  Be  Young— Brooks-Lord  Sept.  12 

7002  Gallant  Journey— Ford-Blair  Sept.  17 

Shadowed — Louise-Duane  Sept.  26 

7006  The  Thrill  of  Brazil— Keyes-Wynn  Sept.  30 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

805  So  Dark  the  Night — Geray-Cheiral  Oct.  10 

806  Blondie  Knows  Best — Lake-Singleton  Oct.  17 


861  Landrush — Chas.  Starrett  (54  min.)   Oct.  17 

816  Crime  Doctor's  Man  Hunt — Baxter-Drew  .  . .  .Oct.  24 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  T.) 

1945-46 

Block  16 

618  The  Hoodlum  Saint — Powell- Williams  Apr. -May 

619  Bad  Bascomb — Beery-O'Brien  Apr. -May 

620  Postman  Always  Rings  Twice — Garfield- 

Turner   Apr.-May 

621  The  Last  Chance — Foreign-made  Apr.-May 

622  Two  Sisters  from  Boston — Durante-Allyson. Apr.-May 

Block  17 

625  Boys'  Ranch — Jenkins-Homeier  July  18 

626  Courage  of  Lassie — Taylor-Morgan  Aug.  8 

627  Faithful  in  My  Fashion — Reed-Drake  Aug.  22 

628  Three  Wise  Fools — O'Brien-Barrymore  Aug.  29 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson  Mar. 

617  Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946 — All-star  cast  Mar. 

623  The  Green  Years — Coburn-Drake  July  4 

624  Easy  to  Wed — Johnson-Williams-Ball   July  25 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

The  Cockeyed  Miracle — Morgan-Wynn   Oct. 

No  Leave,  No  Love — Johnson-Wynn  Oct. 

Rage  in  Heaven — Montgomery-Bergman  (reissue)  .  .  .Oct. 

Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Jor\  19,  H-  T.) 

1945-46 

562  Gentleman  from  Texas — J.  M.  Brown  (60  m.)  .June  8 
508  Don't  Gamble  with  Strangers — Richmond- 
Hayes   June  22 

510  In  Fast  Company — Bowery  Boys  June  22 

515  Freddie  Steps  Out — Stewart  (re.)  June  29 

574  Trail  to  Mexico — Jimmy  Wakely  (56  m.) . . .  .June  29 
521  Strange  Voyage — Eddie  Albert  July  6 

530  South  of  Monterey — Cisco  Kid  (63  m.)  July  13 

511  Bowery  Bombshell — Bowery  Boys.  July  20 

518  Shadows  Over  Chinatown — Toler  July  27 

520  Below  the  Deadline — Douglas- Ames  Aug.  3 

567  Shadows  on  the  Range — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.) 

(re.)   Aug.  10 

525  Missing  Lady — Richmond-Reed  Aug.  17 

512  Spook  Busters — Bowery  Boys  Aug.  24 

517  High  School  Hero — Stewart-Preisser  Sept.  7 

531  Beauty  &  the  Bandit — Roland-Ames  Oct.  19 

563  Silver  Range — J.M.Brown.  Nov.  2 

(More  to  Come) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

601  Decoy — Norris-Gillie  Sept.  14 

603  Dangerous  Money — Sidney  Toler  Oct.  5 

Wife  Wanted — Kay  Francis  Oct.  12 

607  Gentleman  Joe  Palooka — Kirkwood-Knox  .  .  .  .Oct.  19 

Bringing  Up  Father — Joe  Yule  Nov.  2 

Mr.  Hex — Bowery  Boys  _  Nov.  9 

Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi — Regan-Knox  Nov.  16 

Song  of  the  Sierras — Jimmy  Wakely  Nov.  23 

Special 

699  Suspense— Belita-Sullivan   June  15 

Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  Hew  Tor\  18,  H-  T.) 

1945-46 

Block  5 

4521  The  Bride  Wore  Boots — Stanwyck-Cummings.May  31 

4522  Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Russell- 

Lynn   June  14 

4523  Hot  Cargo — Gargan-Reed  June  28 

4524  To  Each  His  Own— Olivia  De  Havilland  July  5 


October  5,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  B 


Block  6 

4526  O  S.S.— Ladd-Fitzgerald  July  26 

4527  The  Searching  Wind — Young-Sidney  Aug.  9 

4  528  Swamp  Fire — Weissmuller-Crabbe  Sept.  6 

4529  Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers — Stanwyck- 
He  flin   Sept.  13 

Special 

4531  Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 

45  32  Monsieur  Beaucaire — Bob  Hope  Aug.  30 

(End  of  1945-46  Sea.von) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

R5-3620  Jungle  Princess — Reissue   Sept.  1 

R5-3624  The  Plainsman — Reissue  Sept.  1 

4601  Two  Years  Before  the  Mast — Ladd-Bendix  .Nov.  22 

4602  Blue  Skies— Crosby-Astaire  Dec.  27 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  York  22,  H-  T.) 

,  1945-46 

Avalanche — Cabot-Borg   June  20 

Colorado  Serenade — Eddie  Dean  (68  m.) .  .  .  .June  30 
Larceny  in  Her  Heart — Beaumont-Walker.  .  .  .July  10 
Prairie  Bad  Men — Buster  Crabbe  (55  m.).  .  .  .July  17 

Queen  of  Burlesque — Young-Ankers  July  24 

Terrors  on  Horseback — Buster  Crabbe  (5  5m.).  Aug.  14 
Down  Missouri  Way — Wright-O'Driscoll.  . .  Aug.  1 5 

Secrets  of  a  Sorority  Girl — Ware-Vallin  Aug.  15 

Overland  Riders — Buster  Crabbe  (54  m.)  .  .  .Aug.  21 

Blonde  for  a  Day — Beaumont- Walker  Aug.  29 

Strange  Holiday — Claude  Rains  Sept.  2 

Outlaw  of  the  Plains — Crabbe  (56  m.)  Sept.  22 

Accomplice — Richard  Arlen  Sept.  29 

Gas  House  Kids — Lowery-Loring   Oct.  7 

Lady  Chaser — Lowery-Savage  (formerly 

"Lady  Killer")  Oct.  21 

Don  Ricardo  Returns — Coby-Isabelita  Oct.  21 

Lighthouse — Litel-Lang  Nov.  1 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Her  Sister's  Secret — Lindsay-Reed  Sept.  23 

Driftin"  River — Eddie  Dean  Oct.  1 

The  Brute  Man— Neal-Adams  Oct.  1 

Tumblewecd  Trails — Eddie  Dean   Oct.  28 

Wild  West — Eddie  Dean  (formerly  "Melody 

Roundup")   Nov.  1 

Stars  Over  Texas — Eddie  Dean  Nov.  18 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Yor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

1945-46 

521  One  Exciting  Week — Al  Pearce  June  8 

5502  Man  from  Rainbow  Valley — Monte  Hale 

(56  m.)   June  15 

522  Traffic  in  Crime — Richmond-Mara  June  28 

524  Specter  of  the  Rose — Kurov-Essen  July  5 

5541  My  Pal  Trigger— Roy  Rogers  (79  m.)  July  10 

523  Night  Train  to  Memphis — Acuff-Lane-Mara.  .July  12 

525  Rendezvous  with  Annie — Albert-Patrick  July  22 

568  Conquest  of  Cheyenne — Elliott  (56  m.)  July  22 

557  Red  River  Renegades — Sunset  Carson  (55  m.)  .July  25 

526  The  Inner  Circle — Douglas-Roberts  Aug.  7 

527  The  Last  Crooked  Mile — Barry-Savage.  ....  .Aug.  9 

528  G.  I.  War  Brides— Ellison-Lee  Aug.  12 

529  Invisible  Informer — Stirling-Henry  Aug.  19 

530  Earl  Carroll  Sketchbook — Moore-Marshall  . .  .Aug.  22 
541  Under  Nevada  Skies — Roy  Rogers  (69  m.) .  Aug.  26 

531  Mysterious  Mr.  Valentine — Stirling-Henry ..  Sept.  3 

558  Rio  Grande  Raiders — Carson  (56  m.)  Sept.  9 

Roll  on  Texas  Moon — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.).  .Sept.  12 

Last  Frontier  Uprising — Monty  Hale  Oct.  22 

Home  in  Oklahoma — Roy  Rogers  Nov.  8 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Special 

I've  Always  Loved  You — Dorn-McLeod  Not  set 


542 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  T.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 

1945-46 

Block  5 

621  Without  Reservations — Colbert  Wayne  

622  Badman's  Territory — Scott-Richards  

623  Ding  Dong  Williams — McGuire-Vernon  

624  The  Truth  About  Murder — Granville-Conway. 

625  Partners  in  Time: — Lum  and  Abner  


Block  6 

626  Till  the  End  of  Time — McGuire-Madison  

627  Crack-Up — O'Brien-Trevor-Marshall   

628  Bedlam— Karloff  Lee   

629  The  Falcon's  Alibi — Conway-Corday  

630  The  Bamboo  Blonde — Langlord-Wade  

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones— Cooper-Young  

651   Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  

691  Wond<-rlul  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue) 
661   Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever — Colbert- Welles-Brent  .  .  . 

692  Make  Mine  Music — Disney  

683  The  Stranger— Robinson-Welles-Young  

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 
Block  1 

701  Sister  Kenny — Russell-Knox  

702  Lady  Luck — Hale-Young-Morgan  

703  Step  by  Step — Ticmcy-Jeffnes  

704  Sunset  Pass — James  Warren  

705  Great  Day — English  cast  

Block  2 

Child  of  Divorce — MofJett-Toomey  

Nocturne — Raft-Ban   

Criminal  Court— Conway-O'Driscoll   

Genius  at  Work— Carney-Brown  ....   

Deadlier  Than  the  Male — Slczak-Trevor  

Specials 

761  Notorious — Bergman-Grant   


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  Tor^  19,  H-  T.) 

628  Cluny  Brown — Jones-Boyer  June 

629  Somewhere  in  the  Night — Hodiak-Guild  June 

630  Strange  Triangle — Foster-Hasso  June 

631  Smoky — MacMurray-Baxter   July 

632  It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — Landis-Joslyn. . .  .July 

633  Centennial  Summer — Cram- Wilde  Aug. 

634  Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam — Harrison-Dunne. .  Aug. 

635  Deadline  for  Murder — Taylor-Ryan  Aug. 

636  Black  Beauty — Freeman-Denning  Sept. 

637  Claudia  and  David — Young-McGuire  Sept. 

638  II  I'm  Lucky — Blaine-James  Sept. 

641  Sun  Valley  Serenade — Reissue  Sept. 

642  The  Bowery — Reissue  Oct. 

639  Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue — Haver-Blaine  Oct. 

643  Strange  Journey — Kelly-Massen   _  Oct. 

640  Home  Sweet  Homicide — Garner-Scott  Oct. 

644  Wanted  for  Murder — English-made  Nov. 

645  My  Darling  Clementine — Fonda-Darnell   Nov. 

646  Margie — Crain- Young   Nov. 

United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  York  19,  H-  T.) 

1945-46 

A  Night  in  Casablanca — Marx  Bros  May  10 

A  Scandal  in  Paris — Sanders-Hasso  July  19 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Mr.  Ace — Ralt-Sidney  Aug.  2 

Caesar  and  Cleopatra — Leigh-Rains  Aug.  16 

The  Bachelor's  Daughters — Dvorak-Trevor  Sept.  6 

Angel  on  My  Shoulder — Muni-Baxter-Rains  Sept.  20 

Little  Iodine — Jo  Ann  Marlowe  Oct.  11 

Strange  Woman — Lamarr-Sanders  Oct.  25 


536 
537 
538 
539 
540 
541 

542 
543 
544 

1105 
545 
546 

1106 
547 

1107 
548 
549 
550 


Universal  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave..  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  T.) 

Lover  Come  Back — Brent-Ball  June  21 

Inside  Job — Foster-Rutherford  June  28 

Her  Adventurous  Night — O'Keefe- Walker.  .July  5 

Danger  Woman — Joyce-Porter  July  12 

The  Dark  Horse — Terry-Savage  July  19 

Canyon  Passage — Andrews-Donlevy 

Hay  ward   July  26 

Cuban  Pete — Arnaz-De  Wit  July  26 

The  Black  Angel — Duryea-Vincent-Lorre. . .  Aug.  2 

Slightly  Scandalous — Brady-Drew   Aug.  2 

Rustler's  Roundup — Kirby  Grant  (56  m.)  .  .Aug.  9 

Wild  Beauty — Porter-Collier  Aug.  9 

The  Time  of  Their  Lives — Abbott  6#  Costello .  Aug.  16 

Lawless  Breed — Kirby  Grant  (56  m.)  _  Aug.  16 

Dead  of  Night — English  cast  Aug.  23 

Gunman's  Code — Kirby  Grant  (54  m.)  . .  .  .Aug.  30 

The  Killers — Lancaster-Gardner  Aug.  30 

Little  Miss  Big — Simmons-Holden  Aug.  30 

White  Tie  and  Tails — Duryea-Raines  Aug.  30 


Page  C 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index  October  5,  1946 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  York  18,  H.  Y.) 

1945-46 

519  One  More  Tomorrow — Sheridan-Morgan ...  .June  1 

520  Janie  Gets  Married — Leslie-Hutton  June  22 

521  A  Stolen  Life — Davis-Ford   July  6 

522  Of  Human  Bondage — Henreid-Parker  July  20 

523  Night  and  Day — Grant- Smith-Martin  Aug.  3 

524  Two  Guys  from  Milwaukee — Morgan-Carson.  Aug.  17 

t  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

601  The  Big  Sleep — Bogart-Bacall  Aug.  31 

602  Shadow  of  a  Woman — King-Dantine  Sept.  14 

603  Cloak  and  Dagger — Cooper-Palmer  Sept.  28 

604  Nobody  Lives  Forever — Garfield-Fitzgerald  ..Oct.  12 

605  Deception — Davis-Henried-Rains   Oct.  26 

SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 
Columbia — One  Reel 
1945-46 

7703  Snap  Happy  Traps — Phantasy  (6'/2  m.)  . . .  .June  6 
7860  Screen  Snapshots  No.  10  (9'/2  m.)  June  10 

7660  Community  Sings  No.  10  (10  m.)  June  13 

7956  Dick  Stabile     Orch.— Film  Vodvil  June  16 

7503  Picnic  Panic— Col.  Rhap.  (6  m.)  June  20 

7809  Flying  Hoofs — Sports  (9  m.)  June  27 

7704  The  Schooner  the  Better — Phantasy  (6J/2  m.)  .July  4 

7661  Community  Sings  No.  11  (9  m.)  July  11 

7957  Saxie  Dowell  &  Orch.— Film  Vodvil  (10  m.)  .July  18 

7602  Cagey  Bird— Flippy  (6J/2  m.)  July  18 

7662  Community  Sings  No.  12  (lOj/^m.)  Aug.  1 

7958  Bobby  Byrnes  &  Orch.— Film  Vodvil 

(10  m.)   Aug.  15 

7810  Deep  Sea  Fishing — Sports  (9  m.)  Aug.  15 

7754  Mysto  Fox— Fox  6f  Crow  (7m.)  Aug.  29 

7603  Silent  Treatment — Flippy  (6|/2m.)  Sept.  19 

<  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

8851  Screen  Snapshots  No.  1  Sept.  5 

8651  Community  Sings  No.  1  Sept.  12 

8951  Jerry  Wald  6?  Orch.— Thrills  of  Music  Sept.  12 

8801  Army  Football  Champions — Sports  (11  m.).Sept.  19 

8852  Screen  Snapshots  No.  2  .-  Oct.  3 

8652  Community  Sings  No.  2  Oct.  10 

8952  Machito  &  Orchestra— Thrills  of  Music  Oct.  17 

8120  Son  of  the  Guardsman — Serial  (15  ep.)  Oct.  24 

8802  Tenpin  Magic — Sports   Oct.  24 

8501  Loco  Lobo — Color  Rhapsody  Oct.  31 

Columbia — Two  Reels 
1945-46 

7410  Ain't  Love  Cuckoo? — Schilling  (19  m.)  June  6 

7407  Monkey  Businessmen — Stooges  ( 18  m.) . . . .  June  20 

7408  Three  Loan  Wolves — Stooges  (l6]/z  m.)  July  4 

7411  You  Can't  Fool  a  Fool— Clyde  (17  m.)  July  11 

7180  Chick  Carter,  Detective— Serial  (15  ep.)  July  11 

7412  Hot  Water— Schilling-Lane  (18l/2m.)  July  25 

7427  Mr.  Wright  Goes  Wrong — Holloway  (19m). Aug.  1 

7428  Headin'  for  a  Weddin' — Vera  Vague  Aug.  15 

m  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

8401  G.  I.  Wanna  Go  Home— Stooges  ( 1 5J/2  m.) .  Sept.  5 

8421  Pardon  My  Terror — Schilling-Lane  161/^m.  Sept.  12 

8431  Society  Mugs — Howard  (16  m.)  Sept.  19 

8402  Rhythm  and  Weep — Stooges  (17l/2  m.)  Oct.  3 

8432  So's  Your  Antenna — Von  Zell  Oct.  10 

8422  Honeymoon  Blues — Hugh  Herbert  (16  m.) .  .Oct.  17 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 
1945-46 

T-717  Looking  at  London — Traveltalk  (10m.).. June  1 
S-760  Treasures  from  Trash — Pete  Smith  (10m.). June  8 
M-784  Bikini — The  Atom  Island — Miniature 

(10  m.)   June  15 

W-737  The  Hick  Chick— Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  15 

W-738  Trap  Happy— Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  29 

W-739  Northwest  Hounded  Police — Cartoon 

(8  m.)  Aug.  3 

T-718  Over  the  Seas  to  Belfast — Traveltalk  (9m.)  Aug.  31 

W-740  Solid  Serenade — Cartoon  (7  m.)   Aug.  31 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

S-851  Football  Thrills  No.  9— Pete  Smith  Sept.  7 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-702  Purity  Squad — Special  (20  m.)   Nov.  3,'45 

A-703  Traffic  with  the  Devil — Special   Aug.  31 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 


Paramount — One  Reel 
1945-46 

P5-3  Old  MacDonald  Had  a  Farm— Novel.  (7  m.)  .June  7 

E5-4  Peep  in  the  Deep — Popeye  (7  m.)  June  7 

Y5-5  The  Lonesome  Stranger — Speak,  of  Animals 

(10  m.)   June  14 

J5-5  Popular  Science  No.  5  (10  m.)  June  21 

R5-9  Birds  Make  Sport — Sportlight  (9  m.)  June  21 

P5-4  Sheep  Shape — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  June  28 

L5-5  Unusual  Occupations  No.  5  (10  m.)  July  12 

R5-10  Feminine  Class — Sportlight  (10  m.)  July  19 

D5-3  Bored  of  Education — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  July  26 

E5-5  Rocket  to  Mars — Popeye  (6m.)  Aug.  9 

D5-4  Chick  and  Double  Chick — Little  Lulu  (6m.)  .Aug.  16 

E5-6  Rodeo  Romeo — Popeye  (6  m.)  Aug.  16 

J  5-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  16 

L5-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  30 

Y5-6  Be  Kind  to  Animals — Speak,  of  Animals 

(10  m.)   Aug.  30 

U5-6  Don  Henry  &  Inky  Poo — Puppetoon  (6  m.) .  Sept.  6 

U5-5  Jasper's  Derby — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Sept.  20 

P5-5  Goal  Rush— Noveltoon  (6  m.)  Sept.  27 

P5-6  Sudden  Fried  Chicken — Noveltoon  (7  m.)  . .  .Oct.  18 

U5-7  Jasper  in  a  Jam — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Oct.  18 

D5-5  Musica  Lulu— Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Nov.  15 

E5-7  Fistic  Mystic — Popeye  (6  m.)   Nov.  29 

D5-6  A  Scout  with  a  Gout — Little  Lulu  Dec.  13 

U5-8  Shoe  Shine  Jasper — Puppetoon  Dec.  20 

E5-8  Island  Fling — Popeye  Dec.  27 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

R6-1  Race  Horses  are  Born — Sportlight  (9  m.).  .  .Oct.  4 

P6-1  Spree  for  All — Noveltoon  (7  m.)   Oct.  4 

Paramount — Two  Reels 

T5-2  Don't  Be  a  Sucker — Special  (18  m.)  July  4 

FF5-4  A  Tale  of  Two  Cafes— Musical  Par.  ( 18  m.)  .July  5 
FF5-5  Double  Rhythm — Musical  Parade  (20m.).. Aug.  23 
FF5-6  Golden  Slippers — Musical  Par.  (16  m.) . . .  .Nov.  15 
(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Republic — Two  Reels 

583  Daughter  of  Don  Q— Serial  (12  ep.)  July  27 

584  Crimson  Ghost — Serial  (12  ep.)  Oct.  26 

RKO — One  Reel 

64106  Squatter's  Right — Disney  (7  m.)  June  7 

63411  Ben  Hogan — Sportscope  (9  m.)  June  14 

64107  Donald's  Double  Trouble — Disney  (7  m.)  . June  28 

64108  The  Purloined  Pup— Disney  (7  m.)  July  19 

64312  Palmetto  Quail — Sportscope  (8  m.)  July  19 

64109  Wet  Paint — Disney  (7  m.)   Aug.  9 

64110  Dumb-bell  of  the  Yukon — Disney  (7  m.)  .Aug.  30 

64111  Lighthouse  Keeping — Disney  (7  m.)  Sept.  20 

RKO — Two  Reels 

63109  Port  of  New  York— This  Is  America 

(16  m.)   June  28 

63404  Wall  Street  Blues— Ed.  Kennedy  (17m.).. July  12 

63705  I'll  Take  Milk— Errol  (18  m.)  July  19 

63405  Motor  Maniacs — Ed.  Kennedy  (18  m.)  ...July  26 

63110  Courtship  to  Courthouse — This  Is  America 

(18  mm.)   July  26 

63111  Highway  Mania — This  Is  America  (17  m.)..Aug.  31 

63406  Noisy  Neighbors — Ed.  Kennedy  (17  m.)  .  .Sept.  20 

63706  Follow  that  Blonde— Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  .  .Sept.  27 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 
1945-46 

6517  Dinky  Finds  a  Home — Terrytoon  June  7 

6355  Golden  Horses — Sports  (8  m.)  June  26 

6518  Mighty  Mouse  in  The  Johnston  Flood — Terry. 

(7  m.)   June  28 

6260  Across  the  Great  Divide — Adventure  (8m.). July  5 

6519  Gandy  Goose  in  Peacetime  Football — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  19 

6520  Gandy  Goose  in  The  Golden  Hen — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  24 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

7251  Sons  of  Courage — Adventure  (8  m.)  Aug.  2 

7501  Winning  the  West  (Mighty  Mouse) — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Aug.  16 

7301  Football  Fanfare — Sports  (9  m.)  Aug.  23 

7502  The  Tortoise  Wins  Again — Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Aug.  30 

7503  The  Electronic  Mouse  Trap  (Mighty  Mouse) — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)   Sept.  6 

7252  Jamaica — Adventure  (8  m.)   Sept.  13 


October  5,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


7504  The  Jail  Break  (Mighty  Mouse) — Terry. 

(7m.)   Sept.  20 

7351  Winter  Holiday— Sports  (8m.)  Sept.  27 

7505  The  Snow  Man — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Oct.  11 

7253  Historic  Capetown — Adventure  (8  m.)  Oct.  18 

7506  'lhe  Housing  Problem — Terrytoon  (7  in.).  .  .Oct.  25 

7352  Summer 'i rails— rSports  (8  m.)  Nov.  8 

7507  Crackpot  King  (Mighty  Mouse — Terrytoon 

(7  min.)  Nov.  15 

7254  Culs  and  Gags — Adventure  (8  m.)  Nov.  22 

7508  Uninvited  Pests  (Talking  Magpies) — 

Terrytoon  (7  min.)  Nov.  28 

7509  The  Hep  Cat  (Mighty  Mouse— Terry.  (7m.)  Dec.  6 

7353  Playtimes  Journey — Sports  (8m.)   Dec.  13 

7510  Beanstalk  Jack — Terrytoon  (7m.)  Dec.  20 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

1945-46 

Vol.  12  No.  11— Problem  Drinkers- 
March  of  Time  (19  m.)  June  14 

Vol.  12  No.  12 — The  New  France — 

March  ol  Time  (20  m.)  July  12 

Vol.  12  No.  13 — Atomic  Power — 

March  of  Time  (19  m.)  Aug.  9 

(End  oj  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Vol.  13  No.  1— Is  Jtvcrybody  Happy? — 

March  of  Time  (18  m.)  Sept.  6 

United  Artists — One  Reel 

The  Flying  Jeep — Daffy  Dittys  (7m.)  Aug.  20,  '45 

lhe  LaOy  baiU  No — Datly  Dittys  (8  m.)  Apr.  26 

Choo  Choo  Amigo — Daffy  Dittys  (8  m.)  July  5 

Pepito  s  Serenade — Daffy  Dittys  (7J/2  m.)  Aug.  16 

Universal — One  Reel 

1369  Scientifically  Stung — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  10 

1370  Lone  Star  Padre— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  17 

1349  Dog  of  the  7  Seas — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  June  17 

1325  Who's  Cooking  Who — Cartune  (7  m.)  June  24 

1371  Artist's  Antics — Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  June  24 

1326  Bathing  Buddies — Cartune  (7  m.)  July  1 

1372  Picture  Pioneer— Per.  Odd.  (9  m.)  July  1 

1350  Magic  Mineral — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  July  1 

1351  Mr.  Chimp  at  Home — Var.  Views  (9m.)... Aug.  12 

1373  Hobo  Hound— Per.  Odd  (9  m.)  Aug.  19 

1374  Samson  Jr.— Per.  Odd  (9  m.)  Aug.  19 

1327  Reckless  Driver — Cartune  (7  m.)  Aug.  26 

1352  Operation  Holiday — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Aug.  26 

1353  Mr.  Chimp  to  the  Rescue— Var.  Views 

(9  m.)   Aug.  26 

1354  Mr.  Chimp  on  Vacation — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)   Aug.  26 

1375  Rural  Rhapsody— Per.  Odd.  (7  m.)  Aug.  26 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1310  Swinging  Down  the  Scale — Musical  ( 1 5m.)  .June  26 

1311  Breakin'  It  Down — Musical  (15  m.)  Aug.  28 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

2701  Kitty  Kornered — Looney  Tune  (7  m.)  June  8 

2310  Little  Brother  Rat — Cartoon  (7  m.)  June  8 

2702  Hollywood  Daffy — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  June  22 

2311  Johnny  Smith  &  Poker  Huntas — Cartoon 

(7  m.)  June  22 

2722  Acrobatty  Bunny — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.) . . . .  June  29 
2509  The  Riding  Hannefords— Sports  (10  m.)  . .  .June  29 

2609  Musical  Memories — Mel.  Master  (10  m.) .  .  .  .July  6 

2312  Robinhood  Makes  Good — Cartoon  (7m.).. July  6 

2703  Eager  Beaver — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  July  13 

2704  Great  Piggy  Bank  Robbery — Merrie  Mel. 

(7  m.)   July  20 

2804  Let's  Go  Camping — Adventure  (10  m.)  July  27 

2705  Bacall  to  Arms — Merrie  Melody  (7  m.)  Aug.  3 

2512  Ranch  in  White — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  3 

2610  Enric  Madriguera  &  Orch. — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   Aug.  10 

2806  Adventures  in  South  America — Adventure 

(10  m)  Aug.  10 

2706  Of  Thee  I  Sting— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Aug.  17 

2313  Little  Red  Walking  Hood— Cartoon  (7  m.J.Aug.  17 

2707  Walky  Talky  Hawky— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  .  .Aug.  31 

2513  Dominion  ot  Sports — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  31 

2723  Rackateer  Rabbit — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Sept.  14 

2708  Fair  and  Wormer — Merrie  Mel.  (7m.)  Sept.  28 

2724  Big  Snooze — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Oct.  5 

2709  Mousemenzed  Cat— Merrie  Melody  (7  m.)..Oct.  19 

2710  Mouse  Menace — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Nov.  2 

2725  Rhapsody  Rabbit — Bugs  Bunny  (7m.)  ...  .Nov.  9 

2711  Roughly  Speaking — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  ...Nov.  16 


2712 
2713 
2714 
2715 


3501 
3301 
3402 

3601 
3302 
3801 
3502 
3303 
3503 
3401 

3802 
3  304 

3602 
3403 

3  504 


2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 


3101 
3001 

3002 
3102 
3003 


One  Meat  Brawl — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  ...  .Nov.  30 

Goofy  Gophers — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Dec.  7 

Gay  Antics — Merrie  Mel.  (7m.)   Dec.  21 

Scent-Imental  Over  You — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.).Dec.  28 
(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

King  ol  the  Everglades — Sports  (10  m.).  .  .  .Sept.  14 
Fox  Pop — Blue  Ribbon  Cartoon  (7  m.) .  .  .  .Sept.  28 
So  You  Want  to  Play  the  Horses — 

Joe  McDoakes  Oct.  5 

Dezi  Arnaz  fy  Band — Melody  Master  (10  m.)  .Oct.  12 
Wackie  Worm — Blue  Ribbon  Cartoon  (7rn.).Oct.  12 
Star  Spangled  City — Adventure  ( 10  m.)  . .  .Oct.  19 

Lazy  Hunter — Sports  (10  m.)  Oct.  26 

You're  an  Education — B.  R.  Cartoon  (7m.). Oct.  26 

Battle  of  Champs— Sports  (10  m.)  Nov.  9 

So  You  Want  to  Save  Your  Hair — Joe 

McDoakes  (10  min.)  Nov.  16 

Rubber  River — Adventure  (10  m.)   Nov.  30 

Have  You  Got  Any  Castles — Blue  Ribbon 

Cartoon  (7  min.)   Dec.  7 

Melody  of  Youth — Melody  Master  ( 10  m.) .  .  Dec.  14 
So  You  Think  You're  a  Nervous  Wreck — 

Joe  McDoakes  (10  min.)   Dec.  14 

American  Sports  Album — Sports  (10  m.)  ..Dec.  21 

Vitaphone — Two  Reels 

South  of  Monterey — Special  (20  m.)  June  1 

Hawaiian  Memories — Special  (20m.)  June  15 

Down  Singapore  Way — Special  (20  m.)  .  . . .  July  20 

Men  of  Tomorrow — Special  (20  m.)  Aug.  24 

(End  oj  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

O.  K.  For  Sound — Featurette  (20  m.)  Sept.  7 

Cinderella's  Feller' — Special  (20  m.)  Sept.  21 

The  Last  Bomb — Special  (20  m.)  _Nov.  2 

Minstrel  Days — Featurette  (20  m.)   Nov.  23 

A  Boy  and  His  Dog — Special  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 


NEWSWEEKLY  NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 


Pathe  News 

75214  Sat.  (E)...Oct.  5 
75115  Wed.  (O)  .Oct.  9 
75216  Sat.  (E)  .  .  .Oct.  12 
75117  Wed.  (O)  .Oct.  16 
75218  Sat.  (E)  .  .  .Oct.  19 
75119  Wed.  (O)  .Oct.  23 
75220  Sat.  (E)  . .  .Oct.  26 
75121  Wed.  (O)  .Oct.  30 
75222  Sat.  (E)  .  .Nov.  2 
75123  Wed.  (O)  .Nov.  6 
75224  Sat.  (E)  .  .Nov.  9 
75125  Wed  (O)  .Nov.  13 
75226  Sat.  (E)   .  .Nov.  16 


Fox  Movietone 

10  Thurs.  (E)   .  .Oct.  3 

11  Tues.  (O) 

12  Thurs.  (E) 

13  Tues.  (O) 

14  Thurs.  (E) 

15  Tues.  (O) 

16  Thurs.  (E) 

17  Tues.  (O) 

18  Thurs.  (E) 

19  Tues.  (O)  , 

20  Thurs.  (E) 

21  Tues.  (O)  , 

22  Thurs.  (E) 

23  Tues.  (O)  . 


.Oct.  8 
.Oct.  10 
.Oct.  15 
.Oct.  17 
.Oct.  22 
.Oct.  24 
.Oct.  29 
.Oct.  31 
Nov.  5 
Nov.  7 
Nov.  12 
Nov.  14 
Nov.  19 


Universal 

542  Thurs.  (E)   .  .Oct.  3 

543  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Oct.  8 

544  Thurs.  (E)   .  .Oct.  10 

545  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Oct.  15 

546  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Oct.  17 

547  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Oct.  22 

548  Thurs.  (E)   ..Oct.  24 

549  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Oct.  29 

550  Thurs.  (E)   .  .Oct.  31 

551  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Nov.  5 

552  Thurs.  (E)  ..Nov.  7 

553  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Nov.  12 

554  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Nov.  14 

555  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Nov.  19 


Paramount 

10  Thurs.  (E)  . 

11  Sunday  (O) 

12  Thurs.  (E) 

13  Sunday  (O) 

14  Thurs.  (E) 

15  Sunday  (O) 

16  Thurs.  (E) 

17  Sunday  (O) 

18  Thurs.  (E) 

19  Sunday  (O) 

20  Thurs.  (E)  . 

21  Sunday  (O) 

22  Thurs.  (E)  . 

23  Sunday  (O) 


News 

..Oct.  3 
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.Oct.  20 
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News  of  the 

208  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

209  Tues.  (O) 

210  Thurs.  (E)  .. 

211  Tues.  (O)  .. 

212  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

213  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

214  Thurs.  (E)  . . 

215  Tues.  (O)  .  . 

216  Thurs.  (E)  _. 

217  Tues.  (O) 

218  Thurs.  (E)  .  . , 

219  Tues.  (O) 

220  Thurs.  (E)  .. 

221  Tues.  (O)  ... 


Day 

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All  American  News 

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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  12,  1946  No.  41 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  — No.  10 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(3)  Divestiture  of  Theatres  (Continued) 

It  is  settled  law,  as  indicated  by  the  quotation  of  the 
Court  from  the  Pullman  Case,  that  the  mere  fact  that  there 
is  only  one  store  in  a  town— or,  it  might  be  added,  one 
first-run  exhibitor  in  a  city — does  not  constitute  a  monopoly 
in  the  legal  sense.  Conversely,  it  is  "legally  objectionable" 
if  the  merchant — or  defendant  exhibitor — "maintains  his 
position  by  devices  which  compel  every  one  to  trade  with 
him  exclusively.  .  .  ."  And,  as  pointed  out,  an  exhibitor  is 
guilty  of  monopolizing  or  attempting  to  monopolize  if  he 
engages  in  practices  designed  to  eliminate  competition  and 
thereby  establish  a  monopoly. 

With  these  undisputed  principles  of  the  anti-trust  laws 
in  mind,  let  us  analyze  the  facts  found  by  the  Expediting 
Court.  The  unlawful  practices  of  the  defendants  are: 
admission  price  fixing;  run  and  clearance  established  by 
conspiracy;  formula  deals,  master  contracts  and  franchises; 
discriminatory  license  provisions;  block  booking;  blind 
selling;  pooling  of  theatres;  operating,  buying  and  booking 
agencies;  and  discrimination  against  independent  exhibitors 
by  a  great  number  of  devices. 

For  the  most  part  these  practices  were  considered  by  the 
Statutory  Court  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  defendants  as 
distributors,  although  in  some  instances  the  violations  were 
charged  against  the  distributor-exhibitor  defendants.  In  any 
event,  it  is  clear  that,  with  the  possible  exception  of  block 
booking  and  blind  selling,  the  condemned  practices  could 
not  have  been  put  into  effect  without  the  demand  or  the 
acquiescence  of  the  defendants  as  exhibitors.  Even  in  con- 
nection with  block  booking  and  blind  selling,  which  it  may 
be  assumed  were  adopted  by  the  defendants  as  distributors, 
it  is  obvious  that  the  employment  of  these  practices  against 
independent  exhibitors  and  not  against  defendant  exhibitors 
constitutes  unlawful  discrimination. 

If  the  practices  condemned  by  the  Court  were  employed 
for  the  purpose  and  with  the  effect  of  injuring  independent 
exhibitors  and  restricting  or  eliminating  their  competition, 
then  obviously  they  constitute  monopolistic  practices.  On 
this  issue  what  does  the  Statutory  Court  find? 

In  the  "Analysis  of  the  Court's  Opinion"  from  a  lay- 
man's point  of  view  in  Harrison's  Reports  of  July  20, 
1946,  in  connection  with  a  discussion  of  this  issue,  it  was 
stated  that  some  independent  exhibitor  leaders  argued  that 
in  the  portion  of  the  opinion  relating  to  "Discrimination 
among  Licensees"  the  Court  found  the  "competitive  advan- 
tages" of  certain  contract  provisions  "so  great  that  their 
inclusion  in  contracts  with  the  larger  circuits  constitutes 
an  unreasonable  discrimination  against  small  competitors 
in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws."  In  the  analysis,  there  is 
also  an  excerpt  from  the  opinion  of  the  Court  on  the  subject 
of  "Clearance  and  Run"  to  the  general  effect  that  independ- 
ent distributors  and  exhibitors  have  been  met  by  a  fixed 
scale  of  clearances,  runs  and  admission  prices  to  which  they 
have  been  obliged  to  conform,  and  which  they  had  no  fair 
chance  to  change. 

In  amplification  of  these  views,  it  may  be  pointed  out 


that  the  opinion  of  the  Court  contains  statements  along 
the  following  lines: 

"If  the  exhibitors  are  not  restrained  by  the  distributors 
in  the  right  to  fix  their  own  prices,  there  will  be  an  opportu- 
nity for  the  exhibitors,  whether  they  be  affiliates  or  inde- 
pendents, to  compete  with  one  another.  This  is  because  one 
exhibitor  by  lowering  admission  prices  will  be  able  to  com- 
pete with  other  exhibitors  in  obtaining  patrons  for  his 
theatre — a  competition  which  may  well  benefit  both  exhibi- 
tors and  the  public  paying  the  admission  fees." 

After  stating  that  large  circuits,  by  use  of  their  great 
film-buying  power,  had  been  able  to  negotiate  for  grants 
of  unreasonable  clearance  or  unjustified  prior  runs,  and  that 
the  defendants  may  not  have  entered  upon  a  general  policy 
of  discriminating  against  independents  in  their  grants  of 
clearance,  the  Court  said  that  the  major  defendants — 

".  .  .  have  acquiesced  in  and  forwarded  a  uniform  system 
of  clearance  and  in  numerous  instances  have  maintained 
unreasonable  clearances  to  the  prejudice  of  independents 
and  perhaps  even  of  affiliates.  .  .  ." 

"It  is  clear  that  the  purpose  of  these  two  types  of  clear- 
ance agreements  was  to  fix  the  run  and  clearance  status 
of  any  theatre  thereafter  opened,  not  on  the  basis  of  its 
appointments,  size,  location,  and  other  competitive  factors 
normally  entering  into  such  a  determination,  but  rather 
upon  the  sole  basis  of  whether  it  were  operated  by  the 
exhibitor-party  to  the  agreement." 

"Clearances  are  given  to  protect  a  particular  run  against 
a  subsequent  run.  .  .  ." 

".  .  .  These  formula  deals  have  been  negotiated  without, 
so  far  as  we  are  informed,  any  competition  on  the  part  of 
independent  theatre  owners  who  would  labor  under  a  great 
disadvantage  in  attempting  severally  to  match  or  outbid 
the  offers  of  a  circuit  that  was  making  offers  for  all  of  its 
theatres." 

In  speaking  of  illegal  "pooling"  of  theatres  the  Court 
declared  there  had  been  "restraint  of  competition  in  exhibi- 
tion by  the  five  major  defendants  through  ownership  of 
theatres  jointly  with  one  another  or  if  their  interest  be 
more  than  five  per  cent  even  where  jointly  held  with  inde- 
pendents. .  .  ." 

After  enumerating  and  commenting  upon  discrimina- 
tions against  independent  exhibitors  in  favor  of  large  affili- 
ated and  unaffiliated  circuits,  the  Court  declared: 

".  .  .  The  competitive  advantages  of  these  provisions  are 
so  great  that  their  inclusion  in  contracts  with  the  larger 
circuits  constitutes  an  unreasonable  discrimination  against 
small  competitors  in  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws  " 

The  Court  stated  that  "The  only  way  competition  may  be 
introduced  into  the  present  system  of  fixed  prices,  clear- 
ances and  runs"  is  to  install  a  system  of  competitive  bidding. 

"A  system  of  fixed  admission  prices,  clearances  and  block 
booking  is  so  restrictive  of  competition  in  its  tendency  that 
it  should  be  modified  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  Sher- 
man Act.  ...  In  various  ways  the  system  stifles  competition 
and  violates  the  law.  .  .  ." 

(Continued  on  inside  page) 


162 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  12,  1946 


"The  Jolson  Story"  with  Larry  Parks 
and  Evelyn  Keyes 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  126  min.) 

Excellent!  Endowed  with  ingredients  that  give  it  definite 
mass  appeal,  this  musical  biography  of  Al  Jolson's  career 
should  prove  to  be  an  outstanding  box-office  attraction,  for 
it  is  the  sort  of  picture  one  urges  his  friends  to  see.  Photo- 
graphed in  Technicolor,  produced  on  a  lavish  scale,  and 
featuring  the  songs  made  famous  by  Jolson,  the  picture  is 
chuck-full  of  entertainment  from  the  start  to  finish  in  its 
unfoldmcnt  of  the  singer-entertainer's  fabulous  career.  The 
surprise  of  the  picture  is  the  remarkable  performance  of 
Larry  Parks,  as  Jolson.  His  impersonation  of  the  singer  is  so 
perfect  that,  after  awhile,  one  feels  as  if  Jolson  himself  was 
on  the  screen,  particularly  since,  when  he  sings,  one  hears 
Jolson's  dubbed  in  voice.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  synchro- 
nization of  Jolson's  voice  and  Parks'  gestures  and  lip  move- 
ments is  flawless.  Musically,  the  picture  is  thoroughly  satis- 
fying; each  of  the  songs  is  presented  so  effectively  that  one 
wants  to  hear  more.  And  the  story,  though  simple,  is  at  all 
times  heart-warming  and  pleasantly  romantic.  Some  of  the 
situations  will  tug  at  one's  heartstrings.  One  such  situation, 
a  particularly  tender  one,  is  where  Jolson  fetes  his  parents  on 
their  wedding  anniversary.  Evelyn  Keyes,  as  Jolson's  wife; 
Scotty  Beckett,  as  Jolson  as  a  boy;  William  Demarest,  as  his 
mentor  and,  in  later  years,  business  manager;  and  Ludwig 
Donath  and  Tamara  Shayne,  as  his  parents,  are  excellent 
in  supporting  roles.  The  picture  marks  the  debut  of  Sidney 
Skolsky,  the  Hollywood  columnist,  as  a  producer,  and,  judg- 
ing from  the  results,  he  deserves  much  credit  for  an  inspired 
job  of  picture-making.  Alfred  E.  Green's  direction  is 
faultless. 

The  story  opens  at  the  turn  of  the  century  with  Jolson,  the 
stage-struck  12-year-old  son  of  a  Jewish  cantor  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  running  away  from  home  to  join  Steve  Martin 
(William  Demarest)  in  a  vaudeville  act.  A  full  fledged  singer 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  Jolson  joins  Dockstader's  minstrels. 
His  success  with  the  minstrel  show  earns  him  a  chance  in  a 
Broadway  musical  and  he  becomes  a  sensation  on  opening 
night.  He  rises  to  stardom  quickly  and,  with  the  passing  years, 
scores  many  triumphs  on  Broadway.  Martin  rejoins  him  as 
his  manager  and,  shortly  before  he  leaves  for  Hollywood  to 
appear  in  a  talking  picture,  Jolson  falls  madly  in  love  with 
Julie  Benson  (Evelyn  Keyes),  a  musical  comedy  star.  He 
persuades  Julie  to  marry  him  and  launches  her  on  a  motion 
picture  career.  Eventually,  Julie  tires  of  both  their  successful 
careers  and,  longing  for  a  home  and  retirement,  induces  Jol- 
son to  forsake  show  business.  His  retirement,  however,  makes 
him  unhappy,  and  Julie,  realizing  that  he  was  a  trouper  at 
heart,  dissolves  the  marriage,  leaving  him  free  to  pursue  the 
life  he  loved. 

Stephen  Longstreet  wrote  the  screen  play.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Bill  Goodwin,  Jo-Carroll  Dennison,  John  Alexander 
and  others. 

Suitable  for  the  entire  family. 


"Gas  House  Kids"  with  Robert  Lowery, 
Billy  Halop  and  Teala  Loring 

(PRC,  Oct,  7;  time,  68  min.) 

A  passable  program  feature.  As  indicated  by  the  title,  the 
the  picture  belongs  to  the  species  of  comedy-melodramas 
that  revolve  around  a  group  of  'teen-aged  youngsters  living 
in  New  York's  lower  east  side  slum  district.  The  story  and 
its  developement  follow  a  pattern  that  is  quite  familiar;  never- 
theless, it  should  give  satisfaction  wherever  this  type  of  pic- 
ture is  liked,  for  human  appeal,  romance  and  comedy  touches 
are  combined  with  the  melodrama.  Human  interest  is  awak- 
ened by  the  efforts  of  the  youngsters  to  help  rehabilitate  a  dis- 
abled veteran.  The  action  towards  the  end  is  fairly  exciting :- 

Returning  home  from  the  war  permanently  disabled, 
Robert  Lowery,  a  former  policeman,  seeks  to  break  his  en- 
gagement to  Teala  Loring  lest  he  become  a  burden  to  her. 
Teala  assures  him  that  his  physical  handicap  had  not  dim- 
inished her  love  for  him  and  insists  that  they  proceed  with 


their  pre-war  plans  to  buy  a  chicken  farm.  Lowery,  however, 
is  unable  to  raise  enough  money  for  the  down  payment.  Their 
problem  comes  to  the  attention  of  a  group  of  neighborhood 
boys  headed  by  Billy  Halop,  who  determine  to  help  the 
lovers.  In  the  course  of  events,  a  trio  of  notorious  bank 
robbers,  hiding  out  in  a  tenement  apartment,  waylay  a  rent 
collector  in  an  attempt  to  rob  him.  The  collector,  trapped, 
tosses  his  briefcase,  containing  several  thousands  of  dollars, 
out  of  a  window  before  he  is  slugged  to  death.  Halop,  passing 
below,  picks  up  the  briefcase  and  runs  away.  He  takes  the 
money  to  his  pals  and,  together,  they  deposit  it  in  a  bank 
and  make  a  down  payment  on  a  farm  that  Teala  and  Lowery 
wanted.  That  night,  Halop  is  picked  up  by  the  bank  robbers 
and  taken  for  a  "ride"  because  of  his  inability  to  give  them 
the  money.  Two  of  the  crooks  stop  at  a  hideout  and  order 
the  third  to  dispose  of  Halop.  The  youngster,  however,  man- 
ages to  attack  his  kidnaper,  sending  the  car  over  an  embank- 
ment. Halop  wakes  up  in  a  hospital  and  learns  that  he  and 
his  pals  were  suspected  by  the  police  of  having  robbed  and 
murdered  the  rent  collector.  He  proves  their  innocence  by 
giving  the  police  information  that  leads  to  the  capture  of 
the  crooks.  The  boys  receive  a  $10,000  reward,  which  they 
turn  over  to  Teala  and  Lowery  to  purchase  the  farm. 

Elsie  and  George  Bricker  wrote  the  story  and  collaborated 
with  Raymond  L.  Schrock  on  the  screen  play.  Sigmund  New- 
feld  produced  it,  and  Sam  Newfield  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Carl  Switzer,  David  Reed,  Paul  Bryar  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Gentleman,  Joe  Palooka"  with 
Joe  Kirkwood  and  Leon  Errol 

(Monogram,  Oct.  19;  time,  72  min.) 

Although  the  story  is  familiar  in  theme  and  development, 
this  second  in  Monogram's  "Joe  Palooka"  series  of  comedy- 
melodramas  is  fairly  interesting  and  maintains  the  quality 
that  made  the  first  picture  a  better-than-average  program 
entertainment.  Its  chief  shortcoming  is  that  it  is  given  over 
more  to  talk  than  to  action;  it  is  not  until  the  closing  reel, 
where  a  free-for-all  fight  takes  place,  that  any  excitement 
occurs.  Despite  this  lack  of  action,  however,  the  picture 
manages  to  be  consistently  entertaining  because  of  the  good 
direction  and  the  capable  performances.  The  same  players 
enact  the  principal  roles,  heading  a  supporting  cast  that  in- 
cludes a  surprising  number  of  well  known  character  actors :- 

After  Joe  Palooka  (Joe  Kirkwood)  wins  his  first  cham- 
pionship fight,  his  trainer,  Knobby  Walsh  (Leon  Errol), 
fears  that  he  will  lose  "color"  because  the  newspapers  played 
him  up  as  a  good  boy  who  drank  milk.  Palooka,  however, 
becomes  an  important  public  figure  when  publisher  Charles 
Aslop  (Guy  Kibbee),  a  friend  of  Palooka's  girl-friend  (Elyse 
Knox),  assigns  sportswnter  Harry  Mitchell  (Lionel  Stander) 
to  publicize  him.  The  public  begins  to  idolize  Palooka  and, 
in  due  time,  Aslop  induces  him  to  head  a  campaign  to  have 
certain  federal  lands  transferred  to  the  state  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  public  park.  Actually,  Aslop  was  using  the  cam- 
paign as  a  cover-up  for  an  oil  land  grab  that  was  being  man- 
euvered through  the  state  legislature  by  several  crooked  pol- 
iticians. Knobby  Walsh,  suspicious  of  Aslop's  motives  in  pub- 
licizing Palooka,  investigates  and  learns  of  the  land  grab. 
Aided  by  Mitchell,  he  obtains  evidence  of  the  plot  and  ex- 
poses the  scheme  to  his  champion.  Disillusioned,  Palooka 
withdraws  his  support,  but  Aslop,  using  bis  powerful  influ- 
ence, keeps  the  story  out  of  the  newspapers.  Lest  Palooka 
become  involved  in  an  unpleasant  situation,  his  girl-friend 
induces  an  honest  senator  to  sponsor  a  statement  by  Palooka 
on  the  Senate  floor.  Aslop,  learning  of  the  plan,  engages  a 
gang  of  hoodlums  to  keep  Palooka  and  the  Senator  away 
from  the  Senate  until  the  bill  is  passed.  But  Palooka  and  his 
sparring  partners  give  the  hoodlums  a  sound  thrashing,  en- 
abling the  Senator  to  expose  the  crooked  scheme. 

Cyril  Endfield  wrote  the  original  screen  play  and  directed 
it,  and  Hal  E.  Chester  produced  it.  The  cast  includes  H.  B. 
Warner,  Stanley  Prager,  Warren  Hymer,  Richard  Lane, 
Cliff  Nazarro,  Fritz  Feld,  Ian  Wolfe,  Louis  Jean  Heydt, 
Sarah  Padden,  Freddie  Steele,  Roy  Atwell  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


October  12,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


163 


"My  Darling  Clementine"  with 
Henry  Fonda,  Victor  Mature 
and  Linda  Darnell 

(20th  Century-Fox,  T^ovember;  time  97  min.) 

This  has  all  the  color  and  excitement  of  a  good  Western. 
The  story  was  produced  once  before  by  20th  Century-Fox, 
in  1939,  under  the  title,  "Frontier  Marshal."  Some  slight 
changes  have  been  made  in  this  version,  which,  incidentally, 
has  been  produced  on  a  bigger  scale,  but  the  story  remains 
substantially  the  same.  It  is  not  an  unusual  story  and,  for 
the  most  part,  the  action  is  somewhat  liesurely;  but  that  is 
of  secondary  importance,  for  it  has  been  handled  so  expertly 
that  one's  interest  in  the  proceedings  never  lags.  The  closing 
scenes,  where  the  hero  shoots  it  out  with  the  bad  men,  is 
thrilling.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  considerable  suspense 
throughout.  Henry  Fonda,  as  the  Marshal,  is  convincing,  and 
Victor  Mature,  as  an  aristocratic  doctor  turned  bad  man, 
impresses  one  with  his  dramatic  ability.  The  love  interest  is 
fairly  appealing,  and  the  photography  is  exceptionally  good:' 

Heading  for  California  with  a  herd  of  cattle,  Henry  Fonda 
and  his  three  brothers  (Ward  Bond,  Tim  Holt,  and  O.  Z. 
Whitehead)  make  camp  for  the  night  on  the  outskirts  of 
Tombstone.  Fonda  visits  the  town,  arriving  just  as  a  drunk' 
en  outlaw  was  terrorizing  the  citizens.  He  wins  everyone's 
admiration  by  subduing  the  outlaw,  but  declines  an  invitation 
to  remain  in  town  as  Marshal.  Returning  to  camp,  he  dis- 
covers  his  youngest  brother  (Whitehead)  murdered  by  cattle 
rustlers.  He  decides  to  accept  the  office  of  Marshal  in  order 
to  track  down  the  killers.  He  crosses  paths  with  Victor 
Mature,  a  doctor,  feared  by  everyone  because  of  his  quick' 
ness  with  a  gun.  Mature  admires  Fonda's  courage  and  be- 
comes friendly  with  him.  When  Cathy  Downs,  an  Eastern 
girl  to  whom  he  had  once  been  engaged,  arrives  in  town, 
Mature  orders  her  to  go  back  home;  he  felt  that  she  was  too 
good  for  him,  particularly  since  he  was  ill  with  consumption. 
Fonda  induces  her  to  remain  in  the  hope  that  she  and  Mature 
would  come  together  again.  Cathy's  presence,  however,  in- 
furiates Linda  Darnell,  an  entertainer,  who  loved  Mature. 
Meanwhile  Fonda  finds  himself  falling  in  love  with  Cathy. 
In  the  course  of  events,  Fonda,  through  an  incident  involv- 
ing Linda,  discovers  evidence  proving  that  Walter  Brennan 
and  his  four  sons  had  killed  his  brother  and  had  stolen  the 
cattle.  In  the  feud  that  follows,  Tim  Holt  kills  one  of  Bren- 
nan's  sons  and  is  in  turn  shot  to  death  by  Brennan.  It  all 
culminates  in  a  gun  battle  in  which  Brennan  and  his  re- 
maining sons  die,  as  does  Mature,  who  had  come  to  Fonda's 
aid.  His  brothers  avenged,  Fonda  and  his  remaining  brother 
leave  town,  with  Fonda  implying  to  Cathy  that  he  will  re 
turn  for  her  soon. 

Samuel  G.  Engel  and  Winston  Miller  wrote  the  screen 
play,  based  on  a  story  by  Sam  Hellman,  from  a  book  by 
Stuart  N.  Lake.  Mr.  Engle  produced  it,  and  John  Ford  di' 
rected  it.  The  cast  includes  Alan  Mowbray,  J.  Farrell  Mac- 
Donald  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Vacation  in  Reno"  with  Jack  Haley 
and  Anne  Jeffreys 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  60  min.) 

A  mildly  amusing  program  farce,  suitable  for  small-town 
and  neighborhood  theatres.  A  good  deal  of  the  comedy 
borders  on  slapstick,  and  many  of  the  situations  are  of  the 
familiar  farcical  bedroom  variety.  A  few  of  the  situations 
provoke  hearty  laughter,  but  for  the  most  part  the  comedy 
is  forced,  becoming  tiresome  at  times.  The  story,  of  course, 
is  pretty  silly,  but  it  should  entertain  those  who  are  made 
to  laugh  easily.  All  in  all,  it  may  do  as  the  second  half  of 
a  program  where  a  strong  first  feature  is  used: — 

Disgusted  by  the  continual  bickering  of  their  friends 
(Wally  Brown  and  Claire  Carleton),  Jack  Haley  and  his 
wife,  Anne  Jeffreys,  decide  to  put  on  a  quarrelling  act  of 
their  own  to  shame  their  friends  into  behaving  themselves. 
The  act  works  too  well,  however,  and  Anne,  angered  at 
Haley's  unflattering  remarks  about  her  mother,  leaves  him. 
Haley  decides  to  spend  a  two-week  vacation  at  a  dude  ranch 
near  Rcn«(,  pursuing  his  hobby  of  searching  for  hidden 
treasure  with  a  mine  detector.  Meanwhile,  a  trio  of  bandits 


(Morgan  Conway,  Alan  Carney,  and  Iris  Adrian),  fellow 
guests  at  the  hotel,  had  just  held  up  a  Reno  bank  and  had 
buried  a  suitcase  of  money  near  the  ranch.  Haley  discovers 
the  suitcase  and  believes  that  it  had  been  buried  by  an  old- 
time  outlaw.  He  boasts  of  his  discovery  to  Iris,  who,  realiz- 
ing  that  it  was  the  bank  loot,  makes  a  "play"  for  him  to 
get  the  money  back.  Complications  ensue  when  an  attrac- 
tive blonde  accidentally  switches  suitcases  with  Haley,  and 
when  Anne,  arriving  to  start  divorce  proceedings,  finds 
Iris  pretending  to  be  his  wife.  Haley  tries  to  explain  to 
Anne  that  the  had  discovered  a  treasure  and  opens  the  suit- 
case to  prove  his  story,  but  the  sight  of  the  blonde's  lingerie 
only  confirms  Anne's  worst  suspicions.  From  that  point  on 
matters  become  even  more  complicated  as  Haley  attempts 
to  recover  the  suitcase  and  gets  into  a  row  with  her  husband 
and  the  law.  Eventually,  Iris  and  her  confederates  succeed 
in  retrieving  the  suitcase  and  make  a  getaway.  But  Haley, 
aided  by  Anne,  gives  chase  and  captures  them.  A  reward 
from  the  bank  for  recovering  the  loot  brings  about  a  recon- 
ciliation between  Anne  and  Haley. 

Charles  E.  Roberts  and  Arthur  Ross  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  story  by  Charles  Kerr,  and  Leslie  Goodwins 
produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Matt  McHugh, 
Matt  Willis  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


(Continued  from  front  page) 

In  denying  the  prayer  of  the  Government  for  complete 
divestiture  by  the  defendant  distributors  of  their  interests 
in  theatres,  the  Court  by  inference  again  indicated  that  in 
the  past  the  independent  exhibitors  had  been  unable  to 
compete  for  run  and  clearance.  They  said : 

.  .  We  think  that  the  opportunity  of  independents  to 
compete  under  the  bidding  system  for  pictures  and  runs 
renders  such  a  harsh  remedy  as  complete  divestiture  of 
theatres  unnecessary.  .  .  ." 

When  mentioning  that  in  60  per  cent  of  the  92  cities 
having  populations  of  over  100,000  there  were  independent 
first-run  theatres  in  competition  with  those  of  the  major 
defendants,  the  Court  added  this  qualification  as  to  compe- 
tition: 

".  .  .  except  so  far  as  it  may  be  restricted  by  the  trade 
practices  we  have  criticized.  .  ." 

They  also  said  that  if  the  bidding  system  were  set  up  and 
the  unlawful  practices  eliminated — 

".  .  .  it  is  our  opinion  that  adequate  competition  would 
exist." 

These  excerpts  from  the  decision  of  the  Expediting  Court 
indicate  that  the  effect  of  the  condemned  practices  has  been 
to  restrict  or  eliminate  competition  against  the  defendants 
in  the  exhibition  of  motion  picture  films.  Obviously,  too, 
they  were  put  into  effect  for  that  purpose.  It  is  an  ancient 
axiom  of  the  law  that  a  person  is  presumed  to  intend  the 
natural  and  probable  consequences  of  his  acts.  In  the 
Aluminum  Case  the  Court  declared,  in  language  which  was 
subsequently  approved  by  the  Supreme  Court,  that  "no 
monopolist  monopolizes  unconscious  of  what  he  is  doing."6" 

These  agreements,  systems  and  practices  of  the  defend- 
ants, which  have  restricted  or  eliminated  competition,  are 
clearly  restraints  of  trade,  and,  under  the  doctrine  of  the 
celebrated  Standard  Oil  Case'1  and  other  authorities,  they 
constitute  monopolistic  practices.  The  logical  inference, 
therefore,  in  view  of  the  subsidiary  findings  of  the  Court, 
is  that  the  defendant  exhibitors  have  monopolized  and  at- 
tempted to  monopolize  and  have  conspired  to  monopolize  a 
part  of  the  interstate  business  of  contracting  for  and  ex- 
hibiting motion  picture  films. 

This  conclusion  is  reinforced  by  a  comparison  of  the 
condemned  practices  with  those  found  to  exist  in  the  Cres- 
cent and  Schine  Cases."  In  all  three  cases  the  practices  re- 
sulted in  the  restriction  or  elimination  of  independent  com- 
petition. 

"United  States  v.  Aluminum  Company  (C.C.A.2)  148  F.  (2d)  416, 
432,  quoted  in  American  Tobacco  Company  v.  United  States, 
Supreme  Court,  June  20,  1946. 

"Standard  Oil  Company  v.  United  States,  221  U.S.  1,57,62. 

"United  States  v.  Crescent  Amusement  Co.  323  U.S.  173;  United 
States  v.  Schine  Chain  Theatres,  Inc.  (W.D.N.Y.)  63  F.Supp. 
229.  These  decisions  are  reviewed  at  some  length  under  the 
topic  "Monopolizing,"  Harrison's  Reports,  Sept.  21,  1946. 
(Continued  next  wee\) 


164 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  12,  1946 


THE  ALLIED  BOSTON  CONVENTION 
AND  COLUMBIA 

In  the  past  few  years,  on  the  rare  occasions  that  Columbia 
has  screened  one  of  its  pictures  for  the  trade  press,  the  Col- 
umbia executives  have  seen  to  it  that  Harrison's  Reports 
should  not  be  invited  to  attend. 

The  following  is  a  transcript  of  a  portion  of  the  minutes 
of  the  Wednesday  afternoon  (third  day)  session  of  the 
Allied  convention  held  recently  in  Boston,  which  was  made 
into  an  open  forum  so  that  all  exhibitors,  regardless  of  affil- 
iation, could  be  present  to  discuss  exhibitor  problems: 

Mr.  SIDNEY  SAMUELSON:  "This  is  a  statement  to 
the  convention.  I  am  authorized  to  inform  the  convention 
of  the  following  resolution,  adopted  by  the  Allied  Board  of 
Directors  on  September  14,  1946,  in  order  that  the  conven- 
tion may  take  such  further  action  concerning  it  as  it  may 
see  fit : 

"  'WHEREAS,  it  has  come  to  the  attention  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  Allied  States  Association  that  Columbia  Pic- 
tures Corporation  has  barred  P.  S.  Harrison,  publisher  of 
Harrison's  Reports,  from  press  showings  of  its  pictures;  and 

"  'WHEREAS,  this  action  by  Columbia  denies  to  the  in- 
dependent exhibitors  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Harrison's  unbiased 
reviews  which  are  a  valuable  part  of  the  service  for  which 
they  subscribe  to  Harrison's  Reports;  now,  therefore, 

"  'BE  IT  RESOLVED  by  the  directors  of  Allied  States 
Association  that  they  protest  this  seemingly  arbitrary  action 
by  Columbia  Pictures  and  request  that  the  company  here- 
after invite  Mr.  Harrison  to  all  trade  showings  of  its  pictures. 

"  'BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED  that  this  action  by  the 
board  be  reported  to  the  convention.'  " 

MR.  HARRY  BRANDT:  "Mr.  Samuelson's  remarks 
were  addressed  to  the  convention.  As  President  of  the  ITOA, 
I  would  like  to  enter  into  this  protest  with  Allied.  If  the  word- 
ing of  Mr.  Samuelson's  presentation  to  the  convention  could 
be  changed  so  as  to  include  the  individual  exhibitor  groups, 
then  the  ITOA  would  like  to  make  its  wishes  known  in  that 
way.  I  doubt  very  much  if  any  other  reviewer  of  pictures 
representing  a  newspaper  or  trade  publisher  would  be  barred 
by  Columbia  Pictures.  Pete  Harrison  has  truly  been  the  in- 
dependent exhibitor's  friend,  and  I  choose  to  believe  that 
this  is  the  reason  he  has  been  so  barred." 

MR.  COHEN:  "On  a  point  of  information.  Was  any 
reason  assigned  by  Columbia  for  this  action?" 

MR.  SAMUELSON :  "There  was  no  reason  assigned  for 
this  action,  so  far  as  we  know,  but  there  is  plenty  of  infer- 
ence. But,  the  technical  position  on  the  floor  is  this.  The 
Board  of  Allied,  having  had  this  called  to  its  attention,  passed 
a  resolution,  and  the  last  sentence  says: 

"  'And  be  it  further  resolved  that  this  action  by  the  Board 
be  reported  to  the  convention.' 

"Now,  the  convention  can  endorse  the  resolution  and  you 
can  move  the  adoption." 

MR.  HARRY  BRANDT:  "Today  it  is  the  Forum.  We 
are  not  part  of  the  convention  yet.  We  don't  want  to  leave 
any  doubts.  If  you  will  address  your  remarks  to  the  Forum, 
I  would  be  pleased  to  present  [move]  the  motion." 

MR.  SAMUELSON:  "AND  BE  IT  FURTHER  RE- 
SOLVED, that  this  action  by  the  Board  be  reported  to  the 
Forum." 

MR.  HARRY  BRANDT:  "I  move  the  adoption  of  the 
resolution  as  read." 

[The  motion  was  duly  seconded  by  Bennie  Berger,  of 
Minneapolis,  and  others,  and  was  unanimously  carried. 
(Applause.)  ] 

PRESIDENT  JACK  KIRSH:  "On  the  subject  of  Pete 
Harrison,  I  would  like  to  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  Pete 
Harrison.  I  know  that  he  would  welcome  more  subscribers 
to  his  paper.  If  you  are  not  a  suscriber,— I  wish  I  had  the 
application  blanks  with  me  to  have  you  men  give  me  $  1 5  for 
it,  because  it  is  a  very  small  amount,  and  I  know  that  Pete 


Harrison  would  be  very  happy.  Now  I  have  no  applications 
with  me,  but  if  any  exhibitor  in  this  room  wants  to  give  me 
$15  with  his  name  and  address,  I  will  see  that  Pete  gets  it." 

MR.  HARRY  BRANDT:  "The  members  of  ITOA  want 
twenty  additional  subscriptions,  and  will  give  you  the  name6 
of  the  men  later.  I  have  to  catch  a  train  now.  So  long!" 

[Mr.  Brandt  then  left  the  room.] 

PRESIDENT  KIRSCH:  "That's  a  deal.  1  very  seldom 
make  a  plea  on  behalf  of  any  trade  paper.  Again,  this  is 
unique.  But  I  do  say  to  you  men  this:  That  if  you  will  be 
good  enough  to  give  me  $15  with  your  name  and  your  the- 
atre, I  personally  will  be  very  grateful  for  that.  (Applause.)" 

[Ed.  Note:  Since  the  meeting  this  office  has  received  the 
twenty  subscriptions  pledged  by  Mr.  Brandt.] 

Although  Mr.  Brandt,  by  his  remarks  to  the  Forum,  in- 
dicated his  indignation  that  Columbia  should  have  barred 
this  paper  from  its  screenings,  he  really  voiced  the  senti- 
ments of  every  exhibitor  in  the  room,  and  no  doubt  of  most 
exhibitors  throughout  the  land,  as  well  as  of  many  indepen- 
dent exhibitors  in  Australia,  who  are  now  carrying  on  a 
fight  against,  what  they  consider,  the  unfair  sales  tactics 
of  this  company. 

Lest  any  Columbia  salesman  tell  you  that  I  am  biased 
against  Columbia  Pictures,  or  any  one  of  its  executives,  let 
me  take  this  opportunity  of  challenging  him  to  point  out  a 
single  misstatement  in  any  of  my  editorials  exposing  those 
of  the  home  office's  sales  tactics  that  I  consider  unfair  to  the 
independent  exhibitors.  The  columns  of  this  paper  have  al- 
ways been  open  to  the  Columbia  executives,  as  they  are  to 
any  other  person  in  the  industry,  but  not  once  has  any 
Columbia  executive  seen  fit  to  controvert  my  facts. 

There  is  no  justification  for  Columbia's  attitude  towards 
this  paper.  If  its  executives  dislike  adverse  editorial  criticism, 
let  them  change  their  sales  tactics.  Selling  a  picture  in  one 
season  and  holding  it  back  from  the  exhibitors  to  sell  it  in 
the  next  season  either  to  the  same  or  to  other  exhibitors  for 
more  money  is  not  considered  fair  business  methods.  There 
have  been  times  when  Columbia  sold  the  same  picture  in 
three  different  seasons. 

As  long  as  Columbia  persists  in  pursuing  a  policy  that 
takes  advantage  of  the  exhibitors,  Harrison's  Reports 
will  continue  to  expose  every  instance  of  unfairness. 

Harrison's  Reports  has  not  been  unfair  to  Columbia;  it 
is  Columbia  that  has  been  unfair  to  the  exhibitors. 


SIDNEY  SKOLSKY  A  FIRST-RATE 
PRODUCER 

Sidney  Skolsky,  the  Hollywood  columnist  whose  column 
is  syndicated  throughout  the  country,  has  made  his  first 
picture — "The  Jolson  Story,"  for  Columbia,  and  no  one  who 
has  seen  it  has  found  any  flaws  in  it.  The  picture  looks  as  if 
it  had  been  produced  by  a  veteran  producer.  The  script  is 
flawless,  and  the  direction  faultless. 

As  to  the  acting,  it  certainly  stands  out — no  other  actor 
could  have  done  any  better  than  Larry  Parks.  When  one 
bears  in  mind  that  the  singing  voice  is  that  of  Al  Jolson,  one 
may  rightly  say  that  Larry  Parks'  acting  is  remarkable.  He 
was  able  to  acquire  the  mannerisms  of  Mr.  Jolson  so  per- 
fectly that,  when  made  up  in  blackface,  he  looks  and  acts 
like  Mr.  Jolson. 

The  synchronization,  too,  is  perfect.  I  watched  the  move- 
ments of  Mr.  Parks'  lips  closely  but  at  no  time  did  I  find 
even  one  motion  out  of  synchronism.  This  is,  no  doubt,  the 
result  of  wholehearted  cooperation  by  the  Columbia  studio. 

Columbia  had  better  hang  on  to  Sidney  Skolsky,  for  it 
has  an  asset  in  him.  Many  a  studio  should  like,  I  am  sure, 
to  have  him. 

Harrison's  Reports  wishes  Mr.  Skolsky  continued  suc- 
cess in  his  new  venture.  The  industry  does  need  persons 
with  artistic  ability  such  as  he  possesses. 


.Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  A  Motion  picture  Reviewing  Service   

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d&C  a  copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  19,  1946  No.  42 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  — No.  11 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(3)  Divestiture  of  Theatres  (Continued) 
In  at  least  one  very  important  respect,  however,  the  facts 
found  by  the  Statutory  Court  are  at  variance  with  the  find' 
ings  in  the  other  two  cases.  In  both  the  Crescent  and  the 
Schine  decisions  it  was  stated  without  qualification  that 
the  acts  were  committed  for  the  purpose  of  eliminating  com- 
petition  and  acquiring  monopolistic  control.  The  conclu- 
sions  of  the  Statutory  Court  are  to  the  contrary.  In  language 
already  quoted  they  said  that  there  was  "no  substantial 
proof  that  any  of  the  corporate  defendants  was  organized 
or  has  been  maintained  for  the  purpose  of  achieving  a 
national  monopoly.  .  .  .";  and  that  there  was  no  sufficient 
proof  that  ownership  by  a  single  defendant  of  all  first-run 
theatres  in  a  locality  had  been  "for  the  purpose  of  creating 
a  monopoly.  .  . ." 

But  on  several  occasions  the  Expediting  Court  mentioned 
the  great  power  of  the  defendants,  with  the  obvious,  if  not 
openly-expressed,  intimation  that  the  possession  of  such 
power  constitutes  a  temptation  to  use  it  in  disregard  of  the 
rights  of  competitors.  In  connection  with  the  pooling  and 
joint  ownership  of  theatres,  they  suggested  that  such  arrange 
ments  between  independent  exhibitors  might  be  regarded  as 
unreasonable  restraints;  but  that  "This  result  is  certain 
when  some  of  the  parties  are  of  major  stature  in  the  movie 
industry  and  have  in  other  ways  imposed  unlawful  re 
straints  upon  it.  .  .  ."  They  also  declared  that  the  resulting 
elimination  of  competition  between  a  major  defendant  and 
another  joint  owner  "is  unreasonable  in  view  of  the  defend- 
ants being  a  powerful  factor  in  the  industry  capable  of 
exerting  vast  influence  to  its  ends,  and  of  the  methods  it  has 
employed  to  restrain  and  control  normal  competition  in 
distributing  and  exhibiting  motion  pictures.  .  .  ." 

This  reasoning  coincides  with  the  view  expressed  by 
Judge  Knight  in  the  Schine  Case  that  ".  .  .  the  producer- 
distributors  and  chains  of  exhibitors  occupy  positions  from 
which  'monopolization'  is  easily  brought  about.  .  .  ." 

In  the  absence  of  accurate  knowledge  of  the  evidence 
before  the  Court  any  comment  upon  the  findings  in  regard 
to  "national  monopoly"  would  be  of  comparatively  Little 
value.  At  the  trial  the  Government  relied  largely  upon 
documentary  evidence.  In  the  early  stages  of  the  litigation 
it  took  depositions  of  many  of  the  leading  representatives  of 
the  defendants,  but  to  what  extent  these  witnesses  were 
examined  in  regard  to  the  purpose  and  effect  of  theatre 
acquisition  and  ownership  is  merely  a  matter  of  conjecture.68 
It  should  be  noted  also  that,  in  the  Crescent  Case,  the 
Supreme  Court  specifically  mentioned  that  the  combination 
had  used  its  power  for  the  purpose  of  restricting  or  eliminat- 
ing competition;  and  that  in  the  Schine  Case  the  trial  judge 
found  that  the  defendants  had  maintained  an  unlawful 
combination  by  which  they  had  unreasonably  restrained 
interstate  commerce.  No  explicit  findings  of  a  similar  nature 
were  made  by  the  Statutory  Court.  But  it  is  obvious  that 
each  defendant  exhibitor,  controlling  a  large  circuit  of 
theatres,  was  in  itself  a  combination,  in  the  legal  sense  of 
the  word,  and  that,  so  far  as  it  employed  the  practices  con- 


demned by  the  Statutory  Court,  it  was  restricting  competi- 
tion and  restraining  trade. 

Assuming  that,  in  view  of  the  findings  of  the  Statutory 
Court,  the  defendants  were  guilty  of  unlawful  restraints  of 
trade,  in  the  nature  of  monopolistic  practices,  notwith- 
standing the  ultimate  conclusions  that  no  national  or  local 
monopoly  of  exhibition  resulted,  the  question  remains 
whether  the  employment  of  such  practices  makes  any  of 
the  defendant  exhibitors  such  a  monopoly  or  a  combination 
in  restraint  of  trade  that  its  dissolution  should  be  decreed. 

In  language  already  quoted  the  Court  indicated  that  they 
had  the  right  to  require  "complete  divestiture,"  if  such  a 
"harsh  remedy"  were  necessary.  They  suggested  that  a 
"  'root  and  branch'  decree  might  be  legally  possible."  The 
inference  is  that,  in  denying  the  relief  requested  by  the 
Government,  they  were  exercising  the  judicial  discretion 
inherent  in  a  trial  court,  particularly  when  sitting  in  equity. 
The  law  is  clear  that  their  findings  of  fact  should  not  be 
revised  on  appeal,  unless  clearly  erroneous.™  And  in  the 
Crescent  Case  the  Supreme  Court  said  they  had  freely 
modified  decrees  in  Sherman  Act  cases,  but  that,  because 
of  the  wide  range  of  discretion  in  the  District  Court,  they 
"will  not  direct  a  recasting  of  the  decree  except  on  a 
showing  of  abuse  of  discretion." 

Obviously,  in  exercising  their  judicial  discretion  to  deny 
the  Government's  prayer  for  divestiture,  the  Expediting 
Court  were  greatly  influenced  by  their  belief  that  complete 
divestiture  would  withdraw  the  defendants  from  the  exhibi- 
tion field  and  "create  a  new  set  of  theatre  owners  which 
would  be  quite  unlikely  for  some  years  to  give  the  public 
as  good  service  as  the  exhibitors  they  would  have  supplanted. 
.  .  ."  This  view  accords  with  another  pronouncement  to  the 
effect  that  there  was  no  proof  that  ownership  by  a  single 
defendant  of  all  the  first  run  theatres  had  been  for  the 
purpose  of  creating  a  monopoly  and  had  not  "rather  arisen 
from  the  inertness  of  competitors,  their  lack  of  financial 
ability  to  build  theatres  comparable  to  those  of  the  defend- 
ants, or  from  the  preference  of  the  public  for  the  best 
equipped  houses.  .  .  ." 

These  views  are  emphasized  by  the  Court,  notwithstand- 
ing other  findings  of  unlawful  trade  practices  and  of  dis- 
criminations in  favor  of  producer-owned  theatres  that  ob- 
viously resulted  in  a  tremendous  advantage  over  any  actual 
or  potential  independent  competitor.  They  vary  from  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Judge  Knight  in  a  clearly-reasoned 
decision  in  the  Schine  Case,  in  which  he  gave  little  weight 
to  the  contention  of  the  defendant  that  the  record  did  not 
disclose  that  Schine  "has  not  furnished  sufficiently  attractive 
entertainment."  And  they  appear  to  conflict  with  the  opinion 
of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  Crescent  Case,  which  set  aside 
as  of  little  consequence  the  contention  of  the  defendants 
"that  the  independents  were  eliminated  by  the  normal 
processes  ol  competition;  that  their  theatres  were  less  attrac- 
tive; that  their  service  was  inferior;  that  they  were  not  as 
efficient  business  men  as  the  defendants." 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


166 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


October  19,  1946 


"Deception"  with  Bette  Davis,  Paul  Henreid 
and  Claude  Rains 

(Warner  Bros.,  Oct.  26;  time,  112  min.) 

A  fairly  good  adult  drama.  The  fact  that  one's  attention 
is  held  well  from  beginning  to  end  is  owed  more  to  the  good 
performances  than  to  the  story.  Although  the  drawing  power 
of  the  stars  should  insure  good  box-office  returns,  as  enter- 
tainment, the  picture  is  more  suited  to  the  classes  than  to  the 
masses,  for  it  is  too  wordy,  has  little  action,  the  characters 
are  not  very  sympathetic,  and  the  story  is  unpleasant.  It  re- 
volves around  a  woman's  efforts  to  conceal  from  her  husband 
the  fact  that,  prior  to  their  marriage,  she  had  improper  rela- 
tions with  a  wealthy  man.  The  story  is  comprised  of  un- 
pleasant incidents  throughout,  with  the  wife  constantly  de- 
ceiving her  husband  to  conceal  her  secret;  the  husband  in- 
termittently having  fits  of  jealousy  because  of  his  suspicions 
about  her  past;  and  with  the  wealthy  man,  displeased  over 
losing  her,  cunningly  harrassing  both  of  them  until  the  her- 
oine, aroused,  murders  him.  The  production  is  excellent.  The 
story  is  based  on  Louis  Verneuil's  play,  "Jealousy,"  which 
was  first  made  into  a  picture  by  Paramount,  in  1929,  starring 
Jeanne  Eagles : — 

Arriving  in  America  to  seek  fame  and  fortune,  Paul  Hen- 
reid, a  European  cellist,  is  reunited  with  Bette  Davis  in  New 
York  after  both  had  been  separated  in  Europe  by  the  war. 
Bette's  mode  of  living  leads  Henreid  to  suspect  that  she  had 
been  leading  the  life  of  a  "loose"  woman,  but  she  assures 
him  that  her  riches  were  the  result  of  teaching  wealthy  music 
students.  Sure  of  their  deep  love,  they  decide  to  marry.  Their 
wedding  celebration  is  marred  by  the  arrival  of  Claude 
Rains,  a  famous  composer,  who  makes  it  apparent  that  he 
was  displeased  with  the  marriage.  Later,  to  conceal  from 
Henreid  her  former  relationship  with  Rains,  Bette  explains 
that  the  composer  considered  her  as  his  protege  and  that  he 
felt  marriage  would  interfere  with  her  musical  career.  De- 
termined to  pay  Bette  back  for  her  ingratitude  to  him.  Rains 
ingratiates  himself  with  Henreid  and  offers  to  let  him  intro- 
duce his  new  concerto  at  its  premiere  performance.  Bette's 
joy  at  her  husband's  opportunity  to  establish  himself  in  the 
musical  world  is  tempered  by  her  unwillingness  to  accept 
Rains'  gesture  as  a  sincere  one.  Her  doubts  prove  justified 
when  Rains,  in  his  cunningly,  cruel  manner,  keeps  both 
Henreid  and  herself  on  edge  by  indicating  that  he  might 
assign  another  cellist  to  take  Henrcid's  place  on  the  night  of 
the  concert.  Rains'  petty  persecution  of  Bette  becomes  un- 
bearable when  he  taunts  her  with  the  threat  of  exposing  their 
former  relationship.  Enraged,  she  shoots  him  dead.  Later, 
after  Henreid's  successful  debut,  she  confesses  the  slaying  to 
him,  discloses  the  truth  about  her  past,  and  tells  him  that  she 
must  give  herself  up  to  the  police. 

John  Collier  and  Joseph  Than  wrote  the  screen  play, 
Henry  Blanke  produced  it,  and  Irving  Rapper  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  John  Abbott,  Benson  Fong  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Child  of  Divorce"  with  Sharyn  Moffett 
and  Regis  Toomey 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 

A  mildly  interesting  program  drama,  dealing  with  the  un- 
happiness  caused  to  a  child  by  the  divorce  of  her  parents.  It 
it  a  remake  of  "Wednesday's  Child,"  produced  by  RKO  in 
1934,  and,  except  for  the  fact  that  the  child  is  now  a  girl 
instead  of  a  boy,  the  story  is  pretty  much  the  same.  A  few 
of  the  situations  are  moving,  and  one  feels  deep  sympathy  for 
the  child  because  of  the  misery  that  comes  into  her  life.  The 
slow-moving  action,  however,  will  probably  limit  the  pic- 
ture's appeal.  As  in  the  original  version,  the  story  is  weak- 
ened by  the  fact  that  no  sound  reason  is  given  for  the  child's 
mother  falling  in  love  with  another  man;  she  had  a  good 
home  and  a  devoted  husband.  Another  flaw  is  the  depressing 
ending,  in  which  the  child  is  shown  dejectedly  accepting  the 
fact  that  she  must  grow  up  as  the  child  of  divorced  parents. 
Although  such  an  ending  may  be  realistic,  it  leaves  the  spec- 
tator in  an  unhappy  mood: — 

Devoted  to  Regis  Toomey,  her  father,  Sharyn  Moffett  be- 
comes upset  when  she  accidentally  comes  upon  her  mother, 
Madge  Meredith,  kissing  another  man  (Walter  Reed). 
When  Toomey  returns  from  a  business  trip,  he  notices  his 
wife's  lack  of  affection  and  learns  of  her  affair  with  Reed. 
They  argue  bitterly  and  become  divorced.  The  court  decrees 
that  Sharyn  should  live  with  her  mother  fox  eight  months 
during  the  year,  and  with  her  father  for  four.  Madge  and 
Reed  marry  and  do  their  best  to  make  Sharyn  happy  during 
her  stay  with  them,  but  the  child,  unable  to  become  accus- 
tomed to  her  mother  living  with  another  man,  remains  un- 


happy. At  the  end  of  eight  months  she  joyfully  rejoins  her 
father  only  to  be  crushed  when  she  learns  that  he  planned  to 
marry  Doris  Merrick.  Aware  that  the  child  could  not  be 
happy  living  with  either  of  them,  Madge  and  Toomey  decide 
to  send  her  to  a  boarding  school.  There,  Sharyn  comes  to  the 
realization  that  her  parents  would  never  become  reconciled 
and  that  she  would  remain  a  child  of  divorce.  Brushing  back 
her  tears,  she  resigns  herself  to  a  lonely  way  of  life. 

Lillie  Hayward  wrote  the  screen  play  and  produced  it 
from  a  play  by  Leopold  L.  Atlas.  Richard  O.  Fleischer  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  Una  O'Connor  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Nocturne"  with  George  Raft  and  Lynn  Bari 

(RKO.  no  release  date  set;  time.  87  min.) 

Fairly  good.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a  detective's 
determination  to  prove  a  case  of  murder,  despite  the  coron- 
er's verdict  of  suicide,  is  somewhat  confusing  and  is  not 
greatly  different  from  the  usual  stories  used  in  murder- 
mystery  melodramas,  but  good  performances  and  competent 
direction  raise  it  above  the  average  picture  of  this  type.  The 
action  is  slow-moving,  but  it  holds  one  in  suspense.  Several 
of  the  situations  are  quite  exciting,  particularly  those  in 
which  George  Raft  battles  a  bully  twice  his  size.  Like  most 
mystery  pictures,  the  murderer's  identity  is  not  made  known 
until  the  end,  but  most  spectators  should  be  able  to  figure 
it  out  long  before  the  finish: — 

Edward  Ashley,  a  well-known  composer,  is  shot  dead  just 
as  he  informs  an  unidentified  girl  that  he  no  longer  loved 
her.  The  police  authorities  declare  him  to  be  a  suicide  be- 
cause of  powder  burns  on  his  hands  and  face,  but  Raft,  a 
hard-boiled  detective,  obstinately  clings  to  the  theory  of 
murder.  He  investigates  several  women  in  whom  the  dead 
man  had  shown  an  interest  but  each  is  able  to  furnish  an 
air-tight  alibi,  except  Lynn  Bari,  an  actress,  on  whom  he 
fastens  his  suspicions  when  she  refuses  to  answer  his  ques- 
tions. In  the  course  of  events,  Raft  comes  in  contact  with 
Virginia  Huston,  Lynn's  sister,  a  singing  star  in  a  night- 
club; Joseph  Pevney,  her  pianist;  and  Bernard  Hoffman,  a 
burly,  half-witted  hoodlum,  who  moved  Pevney's  piano 
around  the  night-club  floor — all  three  excite  his  suspicions. 
Raft's  inability  to  prove  his  murder  theory,  and  his  refusal 
to  halt  the  investigation,  bring  about  his  dismissal  from  the 
police  force,  but  he  doggedly  continues  to  follow  up  differ- 
ent clues.  It  is  not  until  an  attempt  is  made  on  Lynn's  life 
that  he  is  able  to  trap  the  murderer,  who  turns  out  to  be 
Pevney.  The  pianist  explains  that  he  and  Virginia  had  been 
secretly  married  and  that  she  had  fallen  in  love  with  Ashley, 
whom  he  had  killed  because  he  was  about  to  discard  her.  He 
explains  also  that  the  powder  marks  on  Ashley's  body  were 
accomplished  by  the  use  of  a  blank  cartridge  fired  at  close 
range  after  the  fatal  bullet.  He  had  tried  to  murder  Lynn 
because  she  knew  of  her  sister's  affair  with  Ashley  and  he 
feared  that  she  might  talk  to  Raft.  The  mystery  solved,  Raft 
again  turns  his  attentions  to  Lynn,  but  this  time  with  ro- 
mance in  mind. 

Jonathan  Latimer  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Frank  Fenton  and  Rowland  Brown.  Joan  Harrison  produced 
it,  and  Edwin  L.  Marin  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Walter 
Sande,  Mabel  Paige,  Queenie  Smith  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Dangerous  Money"  with  Sidney  Toler 

(Monogram,  Oct.  12;  time,  66  min.) 
This  is  another  one  in  the  "Charlie  Chan"  detective 
series,  and  is  almost  about  on  the  same  level  as  the  other 
pictures;  that  is,  a  mildly  interesting  program  murder-mys- 
tery melodrama,  suitable  mostly  for  undiscriminating  audi- 
ences. Following  the  formula  employed  in  the  previous  pic- 
tures, the  muddled  plot  has  Sidney  Toler,  as  "Chan," 
investigating  a  series  of  murders  in  his  quiet  way,  while 
suspicion  is  cast  on  several  characters  to  keep  the  spectator 
mystified.  The  comedy,  as  usual,  is  provoked  by  "Chan's" 
young  son,  who  imagines  himself  to  be  a  good  detective,  and 
by  the  antics  of  his  frightened  chauffeur,  but  most  of  this  is 
ineffective: — 

Hot  on  the  trail  of  a  gang  that  had  secretly  carried  out 
currency  and  art  treasures  from  the  Philippines  during  the 
Japanese  invasion,  Tristram  Coffin,  a  Federal  agent,  enlists 
the  aid  of  Chan,  who,  too,  was  aboard  a  ship  bound  for 
Samoa.  Shortly  after,  while  both  watch  a  vaudeville  show  in 
the  ship's  salon,  Coffin  is  stabbed  to  death.  Chan  assumes 
charge  of  the  investigation  and  among  those  suspected  of  the 
crime  are  Gloria  Warren,  an  English  girl;  Rick  Vallin,  a 
Polynesian  half-caste  trader;  Emmett  Vogan,  a  natural  his- 
tory researcher;  and  Leslie  Dennison  and  Alan  Douglas,  a 


October  19,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


167 


married  couple,  who  identify  themselves  as  missionaries. 
Following  up  different  clues,  Chan  finds  evidence  linking 
each  of  the  suspects  either  to  the  murder  or  to  the  theft  of 
the  valuables.  Several  attempts  are  made  on  Chan's  life  and 
a  few  other  murders  are  committed  before  he  brings  his  in' 
vestigation  to  a  successful  conclusion  in  Pago-Pago,  where, 
with  the  aid  of  his  son  and  colored  chauffeur,  he  locates  the 
missing  treasure,  unmasks  the  wife  of  the  missionary  as  a  man 
in  disguise,  and  proves  that  both  headed  a  gang  of  five  per' 
sons  who  stole  the  valuables  and  committed  the  murders. 

Miriam  Kissinger  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  James  S. 
Burkett  produced  it,  and  Terry  Morse  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Joseph  Crehan,  Willie  Best,  Selmer  Jackson  and 
others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Mysterious  Mr.  Valentine" 
with  William  Henry  and  Linda  Sterling 

(Republic,  Sept.  3;  time,  56  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  murder-mystery  melodrama,  of 
program  grade.  At  times  the  plot  becomes  so  involved  that  it 
is  difficult  to  follow  the  story,  but  this  will  probably  be  over' 
looked  by  audiences  that  are  not  too  concerned  about  a  plot's 
logic  as  long  as  the  action  is  fast  and  the  doings  mysterious. 
The  usual  tricks  are  used  to  obtain  eerie  effects,  and  to  throw 
suspicion  on  different  characters.  Since  several  of  the  situa- 
tions  are  suspenseful,  and  since  the  murderer's  identity  is  not 
disclosed  until  the  end,  one's  interest  in  the  proceedings  is 
maintained  fairly  well: — 

Experiencing  a  tire  blowout  late  at  night,  Linda  Sterling 
walks  into  a  small  chemical  factory  and  asks  Tristram  Coffin 
for  help.  She  suddenly  finds  herself  confronted  by  Barbara 
Woodell,  Coffin's  jealous  wife,  from  whom  she  flees.  She 
races  away  in  Barbara's  car,  almost  collides  with  another 
car,  and,  when  she  comes  to  a  stop,  discovers  that  she  had  hit 
and  killed  a  man.  When  two  strangers  offer  to  take  the  body 
to  a  hospital,  Linda  gladly  accepts,  unaware  that  they  had 
framed  her  into  believing  that  she  had  hit  the  man.  On  the 
following  day,  she  learns  that  the  man's  body  had  been  found 
on  the  highway;  that  he  was  Coffin's  partner;  and  that  the 
police  were  looking  for  the  hit-and-run  driver.  To  add  to  her 
troubles,  her  car  is  stolen  and  she  receives  blackmail  notes 
from  a  mysterious  "Mr.  Valentine"  demanding  large  sums 
of  money  to  keep  her  identity  concealed  from  the  police. 
Linda  enlists  the  aid  of  William  Henry,  a  private  detective, 
who  soon  learns  that  the  dead  man's  insurance  had  been 
paid  to  his  partner.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  partner,  too,  is 
murdered,  and  his  wife,  Barbara,  is  held  for  the  crime. 
Through  clever  detective  work,  however,  Henry  solves  the 
crimes  by  proving  that  Coffin,  in  cahoots  with  Keene  Dun- 
can, an  insurance  agent,  as  well  as  with  the  two  strangers 
who  had  helped  Linda,  had  killed  his  partner  for  the  insur- 
ance money  and  was  in  turn  killed  by  his  confederates  when 
he  tried  to  make  off  with  the  money  himself.  He  proves  also 
that  Duncan  was  the  mysterious  "Mr.  Valentine."  Her 
troubles  over,  Linda  looks  forward  to  a  romantic  association 
with  Henry. 

Milton  Raison  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Donald  H. 
Brown  produced  it,  and  Philip  Ford  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Virginia  Christine,  Thomas  Jackson  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Chase"  with  Robert  Cummings, 
Michele  Morgan,  Peter  Lorre  and 
Steve  Cochran 

(United  Artists,  no  release  date  set;  time,  85  win.) 
This  psychological  murder  thriller  is  a  grim  entertain- 
ment, well  produced,  finely  acted,  and  expertly  directed.  It 
is  a  curious  picture,  however,  in  that  it  is  thoroughly  satis- 
fying from  the  point  of  excitement  and  suspense  but  dis- 
appointing because  of  its  vagueness  both  in  story  and  in 
characterizations.  For  three-quarters  of  the  picture  the  spec- 
tator is  kept  intrigued  by  the  different  happenings,  which 
give  promise  of  building  up  to  a  tense  climax,  but  it  all  ends 
with  a  dull  thud  when  it  turns  out  that  what  had  occurred 
had  been  a  dream — a  device  resorted  to  when  a  producer 
tries  to  cover  up  an  inept  script.  Considerable  footage  is 
given  over  to  building  up  the  villain  as  a  ruthless,  sadistic 
killer,  a  sort  of  racketeer,  yet  the  spectator  never  learns  just 
what  his  racket  is,  nor  does  most  of  the  footage  consumed  in 
building  him  up  as  vicious  have  much  bearing  on  the  plot. 
If  the  same  care  given  to  the  rest  of  the  picture  had  been 
given  to  the  story,  "The  Chase"  might  have  been  a  superior 
melodrama. 


The  story  opens  with  Robert  Cummings,  a  penniless 
hungry  veteran,  finding  a  wallet  belonging  to  Steve  Cochran, 
a  mysterious  character,  who  lived  in  a  magnificent  home  in 
Miami.  Cummings  returns  the  wallet  to  him,  and  Cochran, 
impressed  with  his  honesty,  employs  him  as  a  chauffeur. 
Cummings  soon  discovers  that  Cochran  was  a  ruthless  per- 
son, and  that  Michele  Morgan,  his  wife,  was  unhappy  with 
him.  Michele  and  Cummings  find  themselves  drawn  toward 
each  other  and  he  agrees  to  help  her  escape  from  Cochran. 
He  purchases  two  tickets  for  Havana  and  lays  plans  to  sneak 
away  with  her  that  night.  Their  trip  to  Havana  is  fraught 
with  fear  that  Cochran  would  somehow  find  them.  Arriving 
there,  they  go  to  a  night-club  and,  as  both  toast  their  love  for 
each  other,  Michele  is  mysteriously  stabbed  to  death.  Cum- 
mings, charged  with  the  crime,  finds  that  Cochran  had  in 
some  way  stacked  the  evidence  against  him.  Unable  to  prove 
his  innocence,  he  escapes  from  the  police  and  starts  a  search 
for  the  real  murderer  in  order  to  clear  himself.  His  search 
brings  him  in  contact  with  Peter  Lorre,  Cochran's  sinister 
aide,  who  shoots  him  down  in  a  savage  fight.  At  that  point 
Cummings  awakens  in  his  room  in  Cochran's  mansion  and 
realizes  that  he  had  been  having  a  nightmare — the  result  of 
shell-shock  suffered  in  the  war.  From  then  on  the  story  con- 
cerns itself  with  Cummings  coming  to  the  realization  that 
Michele  was  still  alive  and  that  her  life  was  in  danger.  He 
manages  to  make  off  with  her,  while  Cochran  and  Lorre  set 
out  after  them  in  a  high-powered  car.  Both  men  are  killed 
when  their  car  is  smashed  at  a  railroad  intersection,  leaving 
Michele  and  Cummings  free  to  start  life  anew. 

Philip  Yordan  wrote  the  screen  play  from  Cornell  Wool- 
rich's  novel,  "The  Black  Path  of  Fear."  Seymour  Nebenzal 
produced  it,  and  Arthur  Ripley  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Lloyd  Corrigan,  Jack  Holt,  Alexis  Minotis  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Margie"  with  Jeanne  Crain,  Lynn  Bari 
and  Glenn  Langan 

(20th  Century-Fox,  T{ovember;  time,  93  min.) 
Very  good  mass  entertainment;  it  is  clean  and  wholesome, 
has  good  comedy  situations  and  human  interest.  Expensively 
mounted  and  photographed  in  Technicolor,  it  is  a  pleasant, 
sentimental  tale  about  a  high  school  girl's  "crush"  on  her 
French  teacher,  with  the  story  set  in  the  late  1920's,  during 
the  flapper  age,  when  girls  rolled  their  stockings  and  rouged 
their  knees,  and  when  the  well-dressed  high  school  boy 
sported  a  coonskin  coat.  Henry  King,  the  director,  has  done 
a  masterful  job  in  capturing  the  spirit  of  that  decade.  The 
background  music,  which  is  made  up  of  the  popular  tunes 
of  that  day,  imparts  to  the  film  a  pleasant  nostalgic  quality. 
Jeanne  Crain,  as  the  heroine,  is  completely  charming.  Much 
of  the  comedy  is  brought  about  by  a  running  gag  that  in- 
volves the  breaking  of  the  elastic  band  holding  up  her 
bloomers;  her  embarrassment  results  in  a  number  of  hilarious 
situations,  which,  through  delicate  handling,  never  become 
offensive.  It  is  a  delightful  entertainment  from  start  to  finish, 
and  word-of-mouth  advertising  should  enhance  its  box-office 
possibilities. 

Briefly,  the  story,  which  is  told  in  flashback,  revolves 
around  Jeanne's  trials  and  tribulations  as  a  high  school  girl 
in  1928.  Being  a  home  girl,  who  lived  with  her  grandmother, 
she  wore  plain  clothes  and  braided  her  hair.  Boys  paid  little 
attention  to  her,  and  she  was  envious  of  her  flapper  school- 
mates and  their  handsome  boy-friends.  She  soon  becomes  the 
envy  of  the  other  girls,  however,  when  Glenn  Langan,  the 
handsome  young  French  teacher,  takes  an  interest  in  her. 
How  she  wins  his  heart  and  eventually  marries  him  makes  up 
the  rest  of  the  story.  Although  it  is  a  simple  tale,  it  is  rich  in 
humorous  incidents,  too  numerous  to  mention,  and  filled 
with  situations  that  have  strong  sentimental  appeal.  Par- 
ticularly appealing,  as  well  as  humorous,  are  the  situations 
that  result  when  Jeanne  finds  herself  without  an  escort  to 
take  her  to  the  senior  prom.  The  manner  in  which  her 
grandmother,  her  father,  and  Langan  come  to  her  rescue  is 
warm  and  natural.  Esther  Dale,  as  her  outspoken  grand- 
mother; Hobart  Cavanaugh,  as  her  father;  Lynn  Bari,  as  the 
school  librarian;  Barbara  Lawrence,  as  a  typical  flapper,  who 
spends  most  of  her  spare  time  cither  dancing  or  necking  with 
Conrad  Jam's,  a  bored,  conceited  football  hero;  Alan  Young, 
as  Jeanne's  forlorn  boy-friend;  and  Hattie  McDaniel,  as  the 
maid  in  Jeanne's  home,  give  excellent  portrayals,  adding 
much  to  the  entertainment  values. 

F.  Hugh  Herbert  wrote  the  screen  play  from  stories  by 
Ruth  McKenncy  and  Richard  Branstcn.  Walter  Morosco  is 
the  producer. 


168 


Notwithstanding  the  deference  due  to  a  pronouncement 
by  an  impartial  and  intelligent  tribunal,  such  as  the  three 
judge  Court,  this  portion  of  the  opinion  is  not  likely  to  be 
greeted  with  enthusiasm  by  exhibitors  who  are  familiar 
with  the  conduct  of  theatres  by  the  defendant  exhibitors, 
particularly  during  the  years  of  the  depression,  when  a 
high  grade  of  ability  to  operate  theatres  was  a  prerequisite 
to  financial  survival;  who  have  observed  the  operation  and 
ultimate  closing  or  abandonment  of  theatres  acquired  by 
large  circuits  from  independent  exhibitors;  who  are  aware 
of  the  absolute  failure  of  Universal  to  operate  theatres  effi- 
ciently, so  that  within  a  period  of  about  five  years  it  was 
forced  to  sell  or  abandon  them;  and  who  have  not  forgotten 
the  receivership  or  reorganization  or  bankruptcy  proceedings 
of  large  affiliated  theatre  circuits,  such  as  Publix  Theatres 
Corporation,  Fox  West  Coast  Theatres,  Fox  Metropolitan 
Circuit,  and  Universal  Chain  Theatrical  Enterprises,  Inc., 
and  of  such  great  theatre-owning  organizations  as  Para- 
mount and  RK.O.  Many  exhibitors  undoubtedly  hold  the 
view  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  a  circuit  to  avoid  operating 
successfully  if  it  had  the  advantage  of  a  discriminatory 
system  and  regular  access  to  the  best  product  in  the  market, 
and  if  it  was,  in  addition,  protected  and  aided  by  unlawful 
trade  practices.  And,  in  cities  where  independent  compe- 
tition still  exists,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  an  adequate 
showing  could  be  made  that,  having  regard  to  the  quality 
of  product  used,  the  major  companies  were  operating  more 
efficiently  than  independent  exhibitors. 

In  negativing  the  existence  of  inonophstic  control  of 
exhibition,  the  Statutory  Court  placed  some  reliance  upon 
the  figures  already  mentioned,  showing  that  the  defendant 
exhibitors  owned  or  operated  only  17.35  per  cent  of  the 
total  number  of  theatres  in  the  United  States.  Spokesmen 
for  independent  exhibitors,  according  to  the  "Analysis  of 
the  Court's  Opinion"  from  a  layman's  point  of  view  in 
Harrison's  Reports  of  July  20,  1946,  have  criticised  this 
reason  for  denying  complete  divestiture.  They  have  pointed 
out  that  the  Court  gave  weight  to  the  fact  that  the  defend- 
ants "did  not  enjoy  a  numerical  monopoly"  and  that  they 
seemingly  "ignored  the  fact  that  the  monopoly  consists  of 
the  defendants'  control  of  important  key  first-runs,  which 
in  turn  regulate  the  flow  of  product  to  the  subsequent-runs, 
thus  having  a  restrictive  effect  on  their  operation." 

The  Government  has  argued  along  the  same  lines.  In  its 
brief  it  called  attention  to  statistics  showing  that  in  various 
cities  the  revenue  derived  by  distributors  from  first-run 
exhibition  of  films  in  affiliated  theatres  was  very  large.  It 
pointed  out,  for  example,  that  in  all  but  five  of  the  forty- 
nine  cities  from  one  hundred  thousand  to  two  hundred 
thousand  population,  the  first-run  rentals  alone  ranged  as 
high  as  seventy  to  ninety-four  per  cent  of  the  total  rental 
of  the  city." 

It  may  also  be  suggested  that,  in  their  decision,  the  Court 
made  no  attempt  to  compare  the  seating  capacities  or  loca- 
tions of  the  theatres  mentioned,  their  annual  gross  receipts 
and  profits,  or  the  film  rental  paid  by  them  to  distributors. 
In  their  computation  a  theatre  such  as  the  Rado  City  Music 
Hall  or  the  Roxy  or  Paramount  in  New  York  City,  with 
tremendous  seating  capacity,  continuous  daily  performances, 
and  extended  runs,  counts  as  one  unit,  the  same  as  any 
little  upstairs  house  in  a  rural  community  in  Maine  or 
Mississippi,  running  three  or  four  shows  a  week.  It  might 
not  be  inappropriate,  therefore,  to  ask  how  many  hundreds 
of  small  independent  theatres  of  this  nature  would  be 
required  to  produce  the  revenue  of  one  of  the  large  metro- 
politan theatres. 

On  the  basis  of  statistics  compiled  and  estimates  made  by 
competent  authorities,"  it  is  conservative  to  compute  that 
the  leading  one  thousand  theatres  in  the  United  States  pay 
to  each  of  the  five  chief  distributors  not  less  than  sixty  to 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  total  film  rental  derived  from 
all  its  domestic  customers. 


In  an  action  of  this  nature  it  may  be  difficult  to  get  exact 
figures  to  show  the  extent  of  the  defendants'  power  and 
control  in  the  field  of  exhibition.  Logically,  however,  it  would 
seem  that  an  opinion  based  merely  upon  the  numerical 
proportion  of  theatres  controlled  by  the  defendants  to  the 
total  number  of  theatres  in  the  United  States  cannot  be  in 
any  sense  conclusive. 

The  task  before  the  Government,  therefore,  is  to  satisfy 
the  Supreme  Court  that,  in  some  respects,  the  findings  of 
the  Expediting  Court  are  "clearly  erroneous,"  or  that,  in 
the  denial  of  the  relief  of  complete  divestiture,  there  was 
an  abuse  of  judicial  discretion.  The  general  opinion  is  that 
upon  an  appeal  the  Government  will  prevail.  From  his 
knowledge  ot  conditions  in  the  industry  the  writer  inclines 
to  the  same  view.  But  he  has  only  a  sketchy  knowledge  of 
the  evidence,  and  in  the  absence  of  complete  information 
on  complicated  issues  he  considers  it  inadvisable  to  advance 
a  definite  opinion. 


~This  subject  was  discussed  by  the  writer  under  the  titles  "Theatre 
Acquisition"  and  "Monopoly  of  Product"  in  Hakbison's 
Klfokis,  May  16  to  2i,  1936.  There  it  was  pointed  out  that  in 
an  early  case  a  tortner  chairman  ol  the  Finance  Committee  of 
1'aramount  bad  tcstiiied  to  the  ettect  that  the  control  of  the 
majority  of  hrst-run  theatres  in  an  area  would  effectively  handi- 
cap other  distributors;  that  the  policy  of  theatre  operation  was 
in  itself  a  threat  to  the  existence  of  a  competing  exhibitor;  that 
in  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  case  which  resulted  in  the 
decision  on  block  booking,  federal  Trade  Commission  v. 
Paramount  hamous-Lasky  Corp.,  (CCA. 2),  57  F.2d.  152,  an 
order  bad  been  originally  issued  by  the  Commission  requiring 
Paiamount  to  desist  from  acquiring  theatres  with  the  intent 
or  ettect  of  coercing  exhibitors  into  leasing  and  booking  films 
distributed  by  it;  and  that  in  a  Massachusetts  suit  an  Auditor 
had  found  that  in  some  instances  there  had  been  the  expressed 
or  implied  suggestion  that  if  the  exhibitor  refused  to  take  the 
product  of  Paramount  at  the  prices  offered  the  defendant  would 
acquire  a  competing  theatre  in  the  locality,  where  its  pictures 
might  be  shown.  A  similar  finding  subsequently  was  made  in 
Momand  v.  Griffith  Amusement  Co.,  et  al,  in  the  District  Court 
for  the  Western  District  of  Oklahoma,  No.  6517. 
In  the  issue  of  May  23,  19.36,  it  was  stated: 

"In  considering  the  question  of  monopolizing,  it  is  worth 
while  to  bear  in  mind  the  methods,  purposes  and  results  of 
theatre  acquisition,  and  the  means  by  which  control  of  product 
has  been  secured.  Producer-controlled  theatres  have  been 
strung  together  across  the  continent  in  large  chains,  with 
enormous  buying  power.  The  visible  means  or  instrumentalities 
by  which  they  have  secured  product  have  been  franchises,  or 
long  term  contracts,  with  major  distributors;  annual  master 
contracts  covering  a  large  number  of  houses  throughout  the 
entire  country;  selective  contracts,  so-called;  and  requests  for 
reservation  of  product,  usually  made  in  advance  of  the  selling 
season.  Obviously  these  have  given  the  producer-controlled 
theatres  a  tremendous  competitive  advantage  over  independent 
exhibitors." 

"See  United  States  v.  Aluminum  Company  (C.C.A.2)  148  F.(2d.) 
416,  433,  where  the  Court  said  that  an  appellate  court  would 
reverse  the  findings  of  a  trial  judge  "most  reluctantly  and  only 
when  well  persuaded." 

"Plaintiff's  Brief,  p.  38. 

"Sidney  R.  Kent,  formerly  general  sales  manager  of  Paramount 
and  president  of  Fox,  testified  in  1932  that  approximately  sixty- 
five  per  cent  of  the  revenue  of  Paramount  was  derived  from  the 
first  rive  hundred  houses  in  this  country.  His  estimate  was  ap- 
proved by  Mr.  Adolph  Zukor.  (Depositions  of  Kent,  p.  211, 
and  Zukor,  p.  127,  Dorchester  Theatre  Company  v.  Paramount 
Publir  Corporation,  D.C.  Mass.)  Subsequently  George  J. 
Schaefer,  former  general  sales  manager  of  Paramount  and 
president  of  RKO,  testified  that  sixty-five  to  seventy  per  cent 
of  the  Paramount  domestic  revenue  came  from  the  first-run 
theatres  in  the  first  four  hundred  cities  in  this  country.  (De- 
position of  Schaefer,  p.  26,  Aetna  Amusement  Enterprises,  Inc. 
v.  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  Theatres  Co.,  et  al.,  D.C.  Mass.) 
C.  C.  Pettijohn,  formerly  general  counsel  of  the  Film  Boards 
of  Trade,  as  well  as  of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Dis- 
tributors of  America,  Inc.,  wrote  to  the  Secretaries  of  all  Film 
Boards  of  Trade,  July  18,  1930,  that  "Probably  seventy-five 
per  cent  of  the  money  derived  by  distributors  from  exhibitors 
comes  from  the  first-run  accounts."  In  other  actions  it  appeared 
that  the  revenue  derived  by  a  distributor  from  four  or  five 
first-run  theatres,  two  of  which  were  in  Boston,  was  greater 
than  the  revenue  obtained  from  any  other  account  in  New 
England,  including  a  large  affiliated  circuit  which  used  the 
product  in  most  of  its  theatres. 


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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  OCTOBER  26,  1946  No.  43 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  — No.  12 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(4)  Arbitration 

In  its  amended  supplemental  complaint,  the  Government 
requested,  according  to  the  decision  of  the  Court — 

".  .  .  That  a  nationwide  system  of  impartial  arbitration 
tribunals,  or  such  other  means  of  enforcement  as  the  court 
may  deem  proper,  be  established  in  order  to  secure  adequate 
enforcement  of  whatever  general  and  nationwide  prohibi- 
tions of  illegal  practices  may  be  contained  in  the  decree." 

Such  a  prayer  is  unusual.  Ordinarily  a  court  cannot  de- 
prive  a  person,  without  his  consent,  of  his  constitutional 
right  to  trial  by  jury  of  controverted  issues  in  a  court  of 
competent  jurisdiction.  The  Expediting  Court  recognized 
this  established  principle  of  law,  when,  after  commenting 
upon  the  right  of  the  parties  to  apply  for  modification  of 
the  Consent  Decree,  they  said : 

.  .  It  would  seem  to  follow  that  we  cannot  bind  any 
parties  to  subject  themselves  to  the  arbitration  system  or  the 
board  of  appeals  set  up  in  aid  of  it  without  their  consent, 
even  though  we  may  regard  it  as  desirable  that  such  a 
system,  in  view  of  its  demonstrated  usefulness,  should  be 
continued  in  aid  of  the  decree  which  we  propose  to  direct." 

Subsequently  in  the  opinion  and  in  the  order  for  decree 
regarding  arbitration,  the  court  again  recognized  the  neces- 
sity of  consent  by  the  parties. 

The  order  contained  in  the  decision  provides  for  arbitra- 
tion in  the  following  language: 

.  .  The  decree  shall  also  provide  for  arbitration  of  dis- 
putes as  to  bids,  clearances,  runs,  and  any  other  subjects 
appropriate  for  arbitration  in  respect  to  all  parties  who  may 
consent  to  the  creation  of  such  tribunals  for  adjustment  of 
such  disputes.  It  shall  also  provide  for  an  appeal  board 
generally  similar  to  the  one  created  by  the  consent  decree  as 
to  any  parties  consenting  thereto.  It  shall  make  such  dis- 
position of  the  provisions  of  the  existing  consent  decree 
signed  November  30,  1940,  as  may  be  necessary  in  view  of 
the  foregoing  opinion." 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  observed  that  arbitration 
tribunals  may  be  established  only  as  a  result  of  negotiation 
and  agreement  between  the  Government  and  the  defendants, 
under  the  supervision  and  with  the  approval  of  the  court. 

The  order  for  a  decree  and  the  other  language  in  the  de- 
cision relating  to  arbitration  give  only  a  general  outline  of 
its  scope  and  of  the  procedure  by  which  it  may  be  put  into 
effect.  These  subjects  are  worthy  of  the  most  serious  con- 
sideration, not  only  by  the  parties  directly  affected  by  the 
decree,  but  also  by  everyone  connected  with  the  industry. 
Before  discussing  them,  however,  the  writer  proposes  to 
give  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  other  arbitration  tri- 
bunals in  the  industry. 

The  subject  will  therefore  be  considered  under  the  follow- 
ing general  headings: 

(a)  History  of  Arbitration. 

(b)  Administration  of  Arbitration  Tribunals. 

(c)  Scope  of  Arbitration. 

(a)  History  of  Arbitration 

In  the  motion  picture  industry  there  have  been  three 
kinds  of  tribunals  by  which  disputes  have  been  arbitrated  or 
otherwise  determined  without  resort  to  litigation. 

The  first  of  these  tribunals  was  established  in  or  about 
1928  in  the  various  exchange  centers  of  the  United  States, 


in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Standard  Exhibition 
Contract.  In  paragraph  18  of  that  contract  the  distributor 
and  exhibitor  agreed  to  submit  to  a  board  of  arbitration  all 
claims  arising  under  the  contract,  and  to  abide  by  and  com- 
ply with  any  award  rendered.  They  stipulated  that  any  such 
award  should  be  enforcible  in  any  court  of  competent  juris- 
diction. They  waived  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  of  any  issue 
arising  under  the  contract.  They  also  agreed  that,  if  the 
exhibitor  failed  to  consent  to  submit  any  claim  or  controversy 
to  arbitration  under  the  contract,  or  under  any  other  con- 
tract with  the  distributor  or  any  other  distributor,  or  to  abide 
by  and  comply  with  the  award,  the  distributor  might  de- 
mand for  its  protection,  and  as  security  for  the  performance 
of  all  existing  contracts,  payment  of  five  hundred  dollars  by 
the  exhibitor  under  each  existing  contract,  to  be  applied  on 
its  contracts  and  on  any  sums  due  by  the  exhibitor.  In  the 
event  the  exhibitor  failed  to  pay  this  sum  within  seven  days, 
the  distributor  might  suspend  service  under  its  contract. 

Under  the  rules  of  arbitration  specified  in  this  form  of 
contract,  the  board  of  arbitration  consisted  of  six  persons, 
three  of  whom  were  members  of  the  local  Film  Board  of 
Trade — in  other  words,  the  distributors'  representatives — 
and  three  of  whom  were  owners  or  managers  of  theatres  and 
were  appointed  by  the  local  exhibitors'  association. 

In  a  number  of  districts,  at  least,  exhibitors  filed  com' 
paratively  few  complaints  under  this  compulsory  arbitration 
procedure,  and,  not  infrequently,  they  refused  even  to  put 
in  an  appearance  to  answer  the  demands  of  the  distributors. 
Apparently  one  of  the  chief  functions  of  the  board  was  to 
secure  payment  for  films  under  contract,  whether  or  not  they 
had  actually  been  delivered,  and  to  force  exhibitors  to  give 
dates  for  undesirable  pictures. 

Perhaps  the  most  objectionable  feature,  however,  was  the 
enforcement  of  the  rules  that,  upon  the  refusal  of  an  exhibi- 
tor to  submit  a  controversy  to  arbitration  or  to  comply  with 
an  award,  he  should  make  an  excessive  deposit  with  each 
distributor  for  each  contract,  and  that,  upon  his  failure  to 
do  so,  he  should  be  denied  product  by  all  the  distributor 
members  of  the  Film  Boards  of  Trade.  Obviously,  when  con- 
fronted by  such  a  boycott,  the  exhibitor  either  complied  with 
the  distributors'  demands  or  went  out  of  business. 

By  means  of  these  "kangaroo  courts,"  as  they  were  called 
by  exhibitors,  the  Constitutional  guaranty  of  jury  trial  was 
effectively  nullified. 

The  Government  challenged  the  arbitration  provision  in 
the  Standard  Exhibition  Contract,  as  well  as  the  rules  of 
arbitration  and  the  boards  constituted  in  accordance  there- 
with; and  in  1929  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York  decreed  that  the  adoption 
and  use  of  the  arbitration  provision  constituted  a  combina- 
tion and  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  interstate  trade  and  com- 
merce." The  Supreme  Court  subsequently  affirmed  the 
decree.74 

The  next  important  effort  to  secure  the  adjudication  of 
controversies  without  resort  to  litigation  in  the  established 
courts  of  the  land  was  by  means  of  the  Code  of  Fair  Compe- 
tition of  the  Motion  Picture  Industry,  under  the  National 
Industrial  Recovery  Act."  The  Code  provided  for  the  estab- 
lishment and  maintenance  of  "Grievance  Boards"  for  the 
(Continued  on  lust  page) 


170  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  October  26,  1946 


"Never  Say  Goodbye"  with  Errol  Flynn 
and  Eleanor  Parker 

(Warmer  Bros.,  N.ov.  9;  time,  97  win.) 

A  fairly  good  comedy  of  marital  difficulties,  revolving 
around  a  divorced  couple  who  love  each  other  but  who  are 
kept  apart  by  misunderstandings  and  by  an  interfering 
mother-in-law.  The  story  has  little  substance,  depending 
entirely  on  comedy,  but  the  action  is  fast  and  one  is  kept 
amused  throughout  because  of  the  many  complications  the 
hero  gets  himself  into.  The  characters  are  not  of  the  type 
to  arouse  human  interest  or  much  sympathy,  but  they  are 
entertaining  because  of  their  peculiarities.  Several  of  the 
comedy  situations  are  incredulous,  yet  they  manage  to 
arouse  hearty  laughter.  All  the  action,  however,  could  have 
been  shown  in  fewer  reels: — 

Although  divorced,  Errol  Flynn,  a  gay  artist,  and  Eleanor 
Parker,  his  ex-wife,  still  love  each  other.  Their  seven-year- 
old  daughter,  Patti  Brady,  divides  her  time  between  them 
and  tries  hard  to  effect  a  reconciliation,  but  Lucile  Watson, 
Eleanor's  mother,  who  disapproved  of  her  former  son-in-law, 
keeps  them  apart.  Disregarding  her  mother's  wishes,  Eleanor 
finally  consents  to  spend  a  gay  evening  with  Flynn  in  the 
hope  that  it  would  lead  to  a  reconciliation.  They  go  to  S.  Z. 
Sakall's  restaurant,  where  Flynn,  forgetting  that  he  had 
made  another  appointment  for  dinner  that  evening  with 
Peggy  Knudson,  his  model,  gets  himself  into  all  sorts  of 
complications  trying  to  keep  both  women  from  knowing  of 
the  other's  presence.  Eleanor,  however,  sees  through  his 
trickery  and  leaves  in  a  huff.  Flynn  makes  several  other  at- 
tempts to  reconcile  with  Eleanor,  but  each  time  his  good 
intentions  are  ruined  by  unforseen  complications.  Mean- 
while Patti  had  been  conducting  a  passionate  correspond- 
ence with  a  handsome  marine  overseas,  and  had  been  sign- 
ing her  mother's  name  to  the  letters.  Eleanor  is  bewildered 
when  the  marine  (Forrest  Tucker)  pays  her  a  visit,  but, 
upon  learning  the  truth  from  Patti,  she  decides  to  use  the 
situation  to  her  advantage.  She  becomes  friendly  with 
Tucker  and  invites  him  to  remain  as  her  house  guest.  Flynn, 
seeing  her  having  a  gay  time  with  Tucker,  suffers  pangs  of 
jealousy.  He  poses  as  Eleanor's  brother-in-law  and  tries  all 
sorts  of  tricks  to  get  rid  of  Tucker,  but  his  failing  efforts 
only  serve  to  add  to  his  aggravation.  Tucker  eventually 
learns  the  truth  and,  with  the  aid  of  Patti  and  Sakall, 
concocts  a  kidnapping  scare  involving  the  child,  whose  dis- 
appearance serves  to  bring  her  estranged  parents  together 
again. 

I.  A.  L.  Diamond  and  James  V.  Kern  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  story  by  Ben  and  Norma  Barzman.  William 
Jacobs  produced  it,  and  Mr.  Kern  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Donald  Woods,  Hattic  McDaniel  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Brute  Man"  with  Rondo  Hatton, 
Tom  Neal  and  Jane  Adams 

(PRC,  October  1;  time,  58  min.) 

Ordinary  program  fare.  It  belongs  in  the  horror  class  of 
entertainment,  and  it  has  moments  to  recommend  it  to  un- 
discriminating  patrons  who  go  in  for  this  type  of  pictures. 
Others,  however,  will  probably  find  it  tiresome,  for  it  suffers 
from  triteness  in  plot  and  in  treatment.  For  exploitation  pur- 
poses, the  picture's  main  attraction  is  the  late  Rondo  Hatton, 
known  to  most  movie  patrons  as  "The  Creeper,"  who  enacts 
the  role  of  a  psychopathic  killer.  It  has  a  suspensive  situa- 
tion here  and  there,  caused  by  Hatton's  uncontrollable  urge 
to  kill,  but  the  whole  effect  is  artificial  and  "stagey";  in 
fact,  some  of  the  action  and  dialogue  may  provoke  laughs, 
instead  of  serious  response.  The  picture,  incidentally,  was 
originally  produced  by  Universal  and  turned  over  to  PRC 
for  distribution  :■ — 

Hideously  disfigured  by  acid,  Rondo  Hatton,  a  former 
football  hero,  becomes  a  psychopathic  killer.  Hiding  from 
the  police,  Hatton  seeks  refuge  in  the  apartment  of  Jane 


Adams,  a  blind  piano  teacher,  who,  unaware  that  he  was  a 
ruthless  murderer,  befriends  him.  Hatton  determines  to 
repay  her  kindness  by  raising  enough  money  to  pay  for  an 
operation  on  her  eyes.  He  visits  Tom  Neal,  a  former  college 
friend,  and  Jan  Wiley,  Ncal's  wife,  and  blames  them  for 
his  plight.  Years  previously,  in  college,  Neal  had  won 
Jan's  love,  and  Hatton,  angered,  had  smashed  a  bottle  of 
chemicals  that  had  caused  his  disfigurement.  He  strangles 
Neal  and  steals  Jan's  jewels,  which  he  gives  to  the  blind  girl. 
Jane  unwittingly  accepts  the  jewels  and  takes  them  to  a 
jeweler  for  appraisal.  Suspicious,  the  jeweler  notifies  the 
authorities,  and  the  horrified  girl  soon  finds  herself  sus- 
pected of  being  Hatton's  accomplice.  Meanwhile  Hatton, 
believing  that  Jane  had  betrayed  him,  determines  to  make 
her  his  next  victim.  The  police,  however,  anticipate  his 
moves  and  trap  him  in  the  girl's  apartment  before  she  can 
be  harmed.  Absolved  of  complicity  in  the  crimes  committed 
by  Hatton,  the  blind  girl  is  befriended  by  Jan,  who  promises 
to  finance  an  operation  on  her  eyes. 

George  Brickcr  and  M.  Coates  Webster  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  an  original  story  by  Dwight  V.  Babcock,  Ben 
Pivar  produced  it,  and  Jean  Yarbrough  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Peter  Whitney,  Donald  MacBride  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 

"Wife  Wanted"  with  Kay  Francis, 
Paul  Cavanagh  and  Robert  Shayne 

(Monogram.  Oct.  19,  time,  70  min.) 

This  is  a  fair  program  drama,  the  sort  that  lends  itself  to 
exploitation,  for  it  revolves  around  the  expose  of  a  racket, 
in  this  case  crooked  matrimonial  bureaus.  The  story,  which 
is  not  unusual,  is  too  long  drawn  out,  and  the  connection  of 
some  of  the  characters  to  the  main  plot  is  somewhat  vague 
and  confusing.  Despite  the  story's  flaws,  however,  it  holds 
one's  interest  fairly  well  because  of  the  constant  danger  to 
the  heroine,  a  victim  of  the  bureau,  who  determines  to 
obtain  evidence  that  would  expose  the  blackmail  and  mur- 
der practices  of  the  racket.  There  is  some  suspense,  too,  in 
the  closing  scenes,  where  the  racket  head  is  foiled  in  his 
attempt  to  murder  the  heroine.  The  production  values  are 
pretty  good,  and  the  acting  adequate: — 

Kay  Francis,  a  fading  motion  picture  star,  invests  her 
savings  with  Paul  Cavanagh  as  a  partner  in  his  real  estate 
firm.  Unknown  to  Kay,  Cavanagh,  aided  by  Veda  Ann 
Borg,  his  secretary,  and  by  John  Gallaudet,  an  associate 
partner,  operated  a  crooked  matrimonial  bureau,  which  de- 
frauded and  blackmailed  many  lonely  persons.  Kay  is  un- 
knowingly used  as  bait  for  one  of  Cavanagh's  victims 
(Barton  Yarborough),  who  dies  in  a  fall  from  a  balcony,  in 
what  appears  to  be  suicide,  after  trying  to  make  love  to  Kay. 
Suspecting  that  Cavanagh  operated  a  fake  marriage  bureau, 
and  that  it  was  in  some  way  connected  with  Yarborough's 
death,  Robert  Shayne,  a  newspaperman,  poses  as  a  wealthy 
rancher  and  visits  the  bureau  in  search  of  a  companion. 
Under  threat  of  revealing  that  she  was  with  Yarborough  on 
the  night  of  his  death,  Cavanagh  compels  Kay  to  start  a 
romance  with  Shayne,  and  to  persuade  him  to  invest  money 
in  a  fraudulent  oil  deal.  Kay  accepts  his  orders  out  of  a 
desire  to  obtain  evidence  that  would  expose  his  racket. 
Without  realizing  that  each  was  trying  to  trap  Cavanagh, 
Kay  and  Shayne  lead  each  other  around  for  their  own  pur- 
poses, and  in  doing  so  fall  in  love.  Meanwhile  Cavanagh 
finds  reason  to  suspect  Kay;  he  tricks  her  into  meeting  him 
so  that  he  could  kill  her  in  the  same  way  that  he  had  mur- 
dered Yarborough.  By  this  time,  however,  Shayne  learns 
that  Kay,  too,  was  seeking  to  trap  Cavanagh.  He  rushes  to 
the  meeting  place,  arriving  in  time  to  rescue  Kay  and  to 
bring  Cavanagh  to  justice. 

Caryl  Coleman  and  Sidney  Sutherland  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  the  novel  by  Robert  Callahan.  Jeffrey  Bernard 
and  Miss  Francis  produced  it,  and  Phil  Karlson  directed  it. 
The  cast  includes  Teala  Loring,  Anthony  Warde  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


October  26,  1946  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  171 


"Bringing  Up  Father"  with  Joe  Yule 
and  Renie  Riano 

(Monogram,  7\[oi;.  2;  time,  68  min.) 
Based  on  the  popular  comic  strip  of  the  same  name,  this 
program  comedy  should  prove  generally  amusing  to  most 
audiences,  for  it  is  well  cast  and  the  actors  get  the  most  out 
of  their  roles.  The  plot  is  very  thin,  but  it  has  many  funny 
situations  brought  about  by  "Jiggs' "  mixups  with  his 
friends  in  Dinty  Moore's  saloon,  and  by  "Maggie's"  social- 
climbing  activities.  The  humor  is  of  the  slapstick  variety, 
but  it  should  provoke  many  laughs.  Joe  Yule,  as  "Jiggs," 
and  Renie  Riano,  as  "Maggie,"  play  their  parts  effectively, 
and  both  look  amazingly  like  their  cartoon  counterparts. 
The  picture  should  fit  very  well  as  a  supporting  feature 
wherever  something  light  is  needed  to  round  out  a  double 
bill: — 

When  Wallace  Chadwell,  a  young  architect  and  nephew 
of  Tim  Ryan  (Dinty  Moore),  designs  a  modern  building  to 
replace  the  one  that  housed  Ryan's  corner  saloon,  Joe  Yule 
(Jiggs),  a  Park  Avenue  contractor,  takes  an  interest  in  the 
young  man's  ideas.  Meanwhile  Ferris  Taylor,  a  millionaire 
business  man,  seeks  to  get  control  of  the  property  involved. 
He  enlists  the  aid  of  his  wife,  Laura  Treadwell,  who  uses 
her  social  position  to  influence  Renie  Riano  (Maggie)  to 
support  a  petition  to  condemn  the  property.  At  Renie's 
request,  Yule  signs  the  petition  without  bothering  to  read 
it  and  then  takes  it  to  Ryan's  saloon  where  he  induces  the 
other  habitues  to  do  likewise.  When  they  learn  what  the 
petition  is,  and  that  it  included  a  pledge  to  stop  drinking, 
Yule's  friends  disown  him.  Disconsolate  at  being  an  outcast, 
Yule,  to  correct  his  mistake,  draws  up  another  petition  to 
cancel  the  original  petition  and  succeeds  in  opening  the 
saloon  once  again.  Taylor,  however,  determines  to  close  the 
place  and  he  hires  a  group  of  hoodlums  to  start  a  riot.  But 
the  scheme  backfires  when  the  hired  thugs  prove  to  be  old 
acquaintances  of  Yule's.  By  this  time,  Renie  becomes  aware 
of  Taylor's  plot  and  realizes  that  his  wife  had  tricked  her. 
She  joins  Yule  and  his  friends  in  giving  the  luckless  social' 
ites  a  sound  thrashing,  after  which  all  get  ready  for  a  big 
celebration. 

Jerry  Warner  wrote  the  screen  play  from  an  original 
story  by  Barney  Gerard  and  Eddie  Cline.  Mr.  Gerard  pro- 
duced  it,  and  Mr.  Kline  directed  it.  The  ■cast  includes 
George  McManus,  the  cartoonist,  who  wanders  in  and  out 
of  the  plot  as  a  gag,  June  Harrison,  Jack  Norton,  Pat  Goldin, 
Tom  Dugan,  Joe  Devlin  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Shadowed"  with  Lloyd  Corrigan 
and  Anita  Louise 

(Columbia,  Sept.  26;  time,  69  min.) 

A  fair  program  murder  melodrama.  Although  there  is  no 
mystery  to  the  plot,  one  is  kept  in  suspense  throughout  be- 
cause of  the  danger  to  the  leading  character,  a  middle-aged 
business  man,  who  had  witnessed  a  killing  but  who  feared 
to  go  to  the  police  with  his  information  lest  the  murderer 
carry  out  a  threat  to  harm  his  motherless  daughters.  The 
story  is  rather  contrived,  and  some  of  the  situations  are  a 
bit  too  pat,  but  it  manages  to  hold  one's  interest  fairly  well 
because  of  the  plot's  developments.  Lloyd  Corrigan,  as  the 
law-abiding  citizen  who  tries  desperately  to  extricate  him- 
self from  the  crime  in  which  he  had  accidentally  become  in- 
volved, gives  a  good  performance.  Some  attempt  is  made  at 
comedy  to  relieve  the  tension,  but  it  is  ineffective: — 

While  playing  golf,  Corrigan  makes  a  hole-in-one  and 
inscribes  his  initials  on  the  lucky  ball.  On  his  next  drive, 
he  knocks  the  ball  out  of  bounds  and,  while  searching  for 
it,  sees  Wilton  Graff  and  his  wife  (Doris  Houck)  dumping 
a  man's  body.  Corrigan  examines  the  scene  and  discovers 
a  set  of  counterfeit  plates,  dropped  by  the  criminals  in  their 
haste.  Returning  for  the  plates,  Graff  finds  Corrigan's  ini- 
tialed golf  ball  and  through  it  traces  his  identity.  He  warns 
Corrigan  to  say  nothing  to  the  police  and  keeps  him  silent 
by  threatening  to  harm  his  two  daughters,  Anita  Louise  and 


Helen  Koford.  Determined  to  find  a  way  out  of  his  dilemma, 
Corrigan  conceals  the  plates  and  informs  Graff's  henchmen 
that  he  did  not  have  them.  In  the  course  of  events,  the 
police  find  evidence  linking  Corrigan  with  the  crime  but 
do  not  arrest  him.  Meanwhile  Graff,  losing  patience,  kidnaps 
Helen  as  a  means  of  forcing  Corrigan  to  hand  over  the 
plates.  Corrigan,  by  this  time  willing  to  acede  to  his  de- 
mands, learns  to  his  dismay  that  Anita  had  discovered  the 
plates  and  had  mailed  them  to  the  police.  He  stalls  for  time, 
however,  and  promises  to  give  Graff  the  plates  if  he  would 
bring  his  kidnapped  daughter  to  his  office.  When  Graff  and 
his  henchmen  arrive  at  the  office,  they  threaten  to  kill  Cor- 
rigan because  of  his  inability  to  produce  the  plates.  But 
through  fast  thinking,  Corrigan,  aided  by  Anita,  manages 
to  subdue  his  attackers  and  to  turn  them  over  to  the  police. 

Brenda  Weisberg  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
Julian  Harmon.  John  Haggott  produced  it,  and  John  Sturges 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Michael  Duane,  Robert  Scott 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Notorious  Gentleman"  with  Rex  Harrison 
and  Lilii  Palmer 

(Universal,  l^ovember;  time,  108  min.) 

An  interesting  British-made  picture.  It  has  been  given  a 
good  production  and  is  well  acted  and  directed,  but  as  enter- 
tainment it  is  strictly  for  adult  audiences,  for  the  story  is 
unappealing  and  somewhat  immoral.  Moreover,  the  actions 
of  the  hero  are  far  from  edifying.  It  is  a  character  study  of 
an  easy-going,  irresponsible  and  immoral  person,  who,  de- 
spite his  unscrupulous  ways,  manages  to  be  likeable  because 
of  his  charming  manner.  Among  other  things,  he  brings 
misery  to  his  friend  by  having  an  affair  with  his  wife; 
marries  a  girl  to  save  himself  from  his  creditors,  then  drives 
her  to  attempt  suicide  because  of  his  infidelities;  and  causes 
his  father's  death  by  drunken  driving.  Rex  Harrison,  as  the 
wastrel,  is  extremely  good;  in  fact,  his  performance,  aided 
by  some  brilliant  dialogue,  gives  the  picture  a  fascinating 
quality,  despite  its  lack  of  moral.  Much  sympathy  is  felt 
for  Lilli  Palmer,  as  his  wife,  because  of  the  unhappiness  he 
brings  into  her  life: — 

Expelled  from  Oxford  because  of  his  irresponsible  ways, 
Harrison  returns  home  to  his  disappointed  father  (Godfrey 
Tearle),  who  secures  a  position  for  him  on  a  South  American 
coffee  plantation.  There  he  becomes  intoxicated,  speaks  his 
mind  about  the  management,  and  is  immediately  dismissed. 
Returning  to  England,  he  goes  on  a  prolonged  spree,  lands 
in  jail,  and  is  bailed  out  by  Griffith  Jones,  an  old  school 
chum.  When  he  discovers  that  Jones'  wife  was  a  girl  he  had 
romanced  with  in  Oxford,  Harrison  starts  an  affair  with 
her  and  soon  finds  himself  cited  in  his  best  friend's  divorce 
suit.  He  next  takes  up  motor  racing  and  before  long  finds 
himself  stranded  in  Vienna,  penniless,  at  the  time  of  the 
Anschluss.  There,  Lilli  Palmer,  an  Austrian  Jewess,  pleads 
with  him  to  marry  her  to  save  her  from  the  Nazis.  He  agrees 
on  condition  that  her  father  would  pay  all  his  debts.  They 
return  to  London,  where,  despite  Harrison's  trickery  in 
mulcting  her  father,  she  falls  in  love  with  him.  He  returns 
her  affection  but  soon  finds  himself  in  love  with  Margaret 
Johnston,  his  father's  secretary.  Lilli,  distraught,  attempts 
to  drown  herself,  but  Harrison  rescues  her.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  he  smashes  his  car  through  drunken  driving, 
injuring  Lilli  and  killing  his  father.  Disconsolate,  he  dis- 
appears and  months  later  is  found  by  Margaret  working 
as  a  gigolo  is  a  cheap  dance  hall.  Meanwhile,  Lilli  had  di- 
vorced him.  Margaret  takes  him  in  hand  and  helps  him  to 
regain  his  self-respect.  He  asks  her  to  marry  him  but  dis- 
appears on  their  wedding  day.  She  hears  nothing  more  from 
him  until  newspapers  proclaim  the  fact  that  he  had  met  a 
hero's  death  in  the  war,  dying  with  the  same  recklessness 
that  had  characterized  his  way  of  life. 

Sidney  Gilliat  and  Frank  Launder  wrote  the  screen  play 
and  produced  it  from  a  story  by  Val  Valentine.  Mr.  Gilliat 
directed  it.  The  supporting  cast  is  all-British. 


172 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


decision  of  complaints  of  the  commission  of  unfair  trade 
practices.  It  also  established  "Clearance  and  Zoning  Boards" 
to  "formulate,  prescribe  and  publish  .  .  .  schedules  of  clear' 
ance"  each  year  for  their  respective  territories,  and  declared 
that  the  schedules  so  published  and  the  decisions  of  the 
boards  should  be  binding  upon  all  distributors  and  exhibitors 
in  the  territory."  It  gave  to  any  person  aggrieved  by  the 
schedules  a  right  to  a  hearing  before  the  board  and  to  any 
person  aggrieved  by  a  decision  the  right  of  appeal  to  the 
Code  Authority. 

During  the  operation  of  the  Code  the  anti-trust  laws  were 
suspended  in  many  important  respects,"  and,  as  a  practical 
matter,  the  only  avenue  of  relief  against  unfair  trade  prac 
tices  open  to  an  exhibitor  was  through  the  grievance  and 
clearance  boards.  On  each  of  these  boards  there  was  an  im- 
partial member,  appointed  by  the  Code  Authority,  but  there 
were  also  representatives  of  distributors  and  affiliated  ex- 
hibitors. Independent  exhibitors,  therefore,  were  under  a 
tremendous  handicap  when  seeking  to  establish  claims 
against  affiliated  interests.  The  boards  operated  for  a  limited 
period  with  very  doubtful  success;  in  193  5  the  N.R.A.  was 
declared  unconstitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court;"  and  the 
code,  with  its  boards  and  regulations,  passed  into  peaceful 
oblivion. 

Another  important  step  in  the  principle  of  arbitration  in 
the  motion  picture  industry  resulted  from  the  entry  of  the 
Consent  Decree  of  November  20,  1940.  Under  it  many 
controversies  between  exhibitors  and  the  consenting  defend- 
ants— the  "Big  Five,"  but  not  the  "Little  Three" — are 
arbitrable,  but  many  disputes  of  greater  significance  are  not 
within  its  scope,  and  other  subjects  of  controversy  are 
hedged  in  and  restricted  by  such  technical  language  that 
arbitrators  and  the  Appeal  Board  alike  have  found  it  im- 
possible to  eliminate  the  causes  of  many  just  grievances. 
Under  this  decree,  consequently,  substantial  relief  has  been 
granted  exhibitors,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions,  only 
against  patently  unreasonable  clearance." 

(b)  Administration  of  Arbitration  Tribunals 

In  the  event  a  system  of  arbitration  is  contained  in  the 
final  decree,  what  provisions  may  it  reasonably  be  expected 
to  contain  in  regard  to  the  formation  and  administration  of 
the  arbitration  tribunals?  The  language  of  the  Court  gives 
at  least  a  partial  answer. 

In  their  opinion  the  Court  have  unqualifiedly  approved  the 
present  arbitration  system,  with  one  important  exception. 
They  said : 

".  .  .  If  the  defendants  will  consent  to  an  arbitration  sys- 
tem for  the  determination  of  such  disputes  of  the  kind  that 
has  worked  so  well  under  the  consent  decree,  they  will  facili- 
tate the  adjustment  of  most  of  the  differences  that  are  likely 
to  occur,  with  a  large  saving  of  time  and  money  as  compared 
with  separate  court  actions." 

In  the  portion  of  the  order  just  quoted  they  declared  that 
the  decree  should  also  provide  for  "an  appeal  board  generally 
similar  to  the  one  created  by  the  consent  decree.  .  .  ." 

But  in  effect  they  disapproved  of  the  present  practice  of 
having  arbitrations  with  no  financial  interest  in  and  not 
connected  with  any  branch  of  the  industry.80  They  said, 
among  other  things: 

".  .  .  The  decision  of  such  controversies  as  may  arise  over 
clearances  should  be  left  to  local  suits  in  the  area  concerned, 
or,  even  more  appropriately,  to  litigation  before  an  Arbitra- 
tion Board  composed  of  men  versed  in  the  complexities  of 
this  industry." 

Logically  it  would  seem  that  the  conclusion  reached  by  the 
Court  to  have  as  arbitrators  "men  versed  in  the  complexities 
of  this  industry"  is  correct.  Knowledge  is  a  prime  requisite 
to  sound  judgment;  and  the  motion  picture  business  is 
indeed  complex,  with  many  strange  and  unusual  practices. 

But  in  this  industry,  unfortunately,  experience  has  not 
always  been  consonant  with  abstruse  logic.  The  arbitration 
boards  under  the  old  standard  exhibition  contract  and  the 
grievance  boards  and  the  zoning  and  clearance  boards 
under  the  N.R.A.  were  composed  largely  of  men  actually 
engaged  in  the  industry  as  affiliated  or  independent  dis- 
tributors or  exhibitors.  Frequently  they  regarded  themselves 
as  representatives  of  the  branches  by  which  they  were  se- 


lected, rather  than  as  members  of  an  impartial  tribunal.  It 
was  not  wholly  improbable,  either,  that  an  independent  dis- 
tributor might  have  his  judgment  warped  by  the  realization 
that  he  was  negotiating  a  deal  with  a  large  circuit  which  was 
a  party  to  a  case  pending  before  the  board,  or  that  an  inde- 
pendent exhibitor  could  not  banish  from  his  mind  the 
recollection  that  he  was  then  negotiating  for  the  product 
of  a  major  distributor.  Affiliated  representatives,  however, 
could  be  relied  upon  to  remember  the  source  of  their  salary 
checks.  With  such  arbitrators  a  motive  for  personal  advan- 
tage could  never  be  wholly  absent. 

Under  the  Consent  Decree,  however,  the  arbitrators  were 
men  who  had  no  financial  interest  in  the  industry  and  were 
not  connected  in  any  way  with  any  branch  of  it.  They  re- 
ceived only  nominal  compensation,  and,  in  performing  their 
arduous  duties,  they  were  apparently  actuated  by  a  desire  to 
render  a  public  service  as  public-spirited  citizens.  The  experi- 
ence of  the  writer  in  more  than  one  arbitration  tribunal,  in 
conjunction  with  information  gained  from  other  sources, 
leads  him  to  the  belief  that  on  the  whole  these  arbitrators, 
whether  judges,  lawyers,  architects,  accountants  or  other 
business  or  professional  men,  performed  their  duties,  to  the 
best  of  their  ability,  in  a  conscientious  manner. 

Obviously,  according  to  the  American  standard  of  juris- 
prudence, the  ideal  arbitrator  would  be  a  man  "versed  in 
the  complexities  of  this  industry,"  as  prescribed  in  the  deci- 
sion of  the  Statutory  Court,  but  also,  in  the  language  of  the 
Consent  Decree,  a  person  who  has  no  "financial  interest  in," 
and  no  "connection  with,  the  production,  distribution  or 
exhibition  of  motion  pictures,"  and  who  has  no  "interest  in 
any  motion  picture  theatre  as  landlord,  lessor,  or  otherwise."" 
The  most  important  qualifications  are  intelligence  and  im- 
partiality. Arbitrators  should  be,  like  judges  of  courts  of 
record,  and,  like  Caesar's  wife,  above  suspicion.** 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Appeal  Board,  particularly  in 
the  first  year  of  its  existence,  many  of  its  decisions  mani- 
fested a  lack  of  appreciation  of  conditions  in  the  industry 
and  a  want  of  sympathy  with  the  problems  of  independent 
exhibitors.  During  that  time  the  Board  was  inclined  to  con- 
strue the  Consent  Decree,  especially  the  provisions  in  re- 
gard to  "some  run"  and  the  "taking  away  of  a  run"  from 
an  independent  exhibitor  by  a  circuit,  in  a  strict  and  techni- 
cal manner,  and  in  other  cases  to  override,  for  no  apparent 
reason,  the  awards  of  arbitrators  who  had  based  their  find- 
ings upon  their  knowledge  of  the  local  problems  involved 
and  upon  oral  testimony  that  was  not  susceptible  of  repro- 
duction in  a  typewritten  record.  In  recent  years,  however, 
the  Board  has  shown  a  tendency  to  adopt  the  awards  of 
arbitrators,  unless  in  its  opinion  clearly  wrong,  and  to 
interpret  the  decree  in  a  less  technical  manner,  in  order  to 
give  the  relief  for  which  it  was  intended;  and,  in  some 
decisions,  particularly  in  clearance  cases,  it  has  in  effect 
overruled  or  modified  its  early  decisions  in  substantially 
parallel  cases. 

The  work  of  the  American  Arbitration  Association  as 
administrator  has  been  exemplary.  It  would  be  extremely 
difficult,  if  it  were  possible,  to  find  a  more  impartial  and 
efficient  agency  for  the  administration  of  a  motion  picture 
arbitration  system. 


73  United  States  v.  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corp.,  34  F.  (2d)  984. 

'^Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corp.  v.  United  States,  282  U.S.  30. 
At  the  same  time  the  Court  condemned  as  illegal  the  activities 
of  the  Film  Boards  of  Trade  established  by  the  distributors. 
United  States  v.  First  National  Pictures,  Inc.,  280  U.S.  44,  re- 
versing (D.C.,  S.D.,  N.Y.)  34  F.  (2d)  815.  These  decisions  are 
discussed  by  the  writer  in  his  article  in  Harrison's  Reports, 
April  25,  1936,  under  the  sub-title  "Standard  Contract:  Arbi- 
tration and  Credit." 

55  N.R.A.  so-called.  The  Code  was  approved  by  the  President  Novem- 
ber 27,  1933. 

76 Code  of  Fair  Competition  for  the  Motion  Picture  Industry,  Art.  VI. 

"See  the  article  by  the  writer  on  "Industrial  Recovery  and  the 
Anti-Trust  Laws,"  Boston  University  Law  Review,  November, 
1933,  Vol.  XIII,  No.  4,  p.  577. 

™Schechter  Poultry  Corp.  v.  United  States,  295  U.S.  495. 

"In  the  S chine  Case  Judge  Knight  remarked:  "Just  what  was  ac- 
complished by  the  Decree,  other  than  some  arbitration  of  clear- 
ances, does  not  appear."  United  States  v.  S chine  Chain  Theatres, 
Inc.  (D.C.,  W.D.,  N.Y.)  63  F.Supp.  229. 

80 Consent  Decree  in  United  States  v.  Paramount  Pictures,  Inc.,  et  al. 
entered  November  20,  1940,  Article  XXII,  Paragraph  3. 

"Consent  Decree  entered  November  20,  1940,  Art.  XXII,  Para- 
graph 3. 

82  Plutarch,  Life  of  Caesar,  Ch.  X. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII                      SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  2,  1946  No.  44 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  — No.  13 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


(c)  Scope  of  Arbitration 
In  their  opinion  the  Expediting  Court  have  suggested  that 
the  following  matters  may  well  be  the  subject  of  arbitration: 

(1)  Bids. 

(2)  Run. 

(3)  Clearance. 

(4)  Other  subjects  appropriate  for  arbitration. 

In  considering  arbitration  it  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  creation  of  arbitration  tribunals  can  result 
only  from  agreement  of  the  parties.  And  it  should  be  noted 
that,  with  the  exception  of  clearance,  the  Court  have  given 
no  indication  of  the  extent  of  relief  which  may  be  granted 
under  the  proposed  arbitration  procedure. 

In  language  already  quoted  the  Court  indicated  that  arbi' 
tration  would  "facilitate  the  adjustment  of  most  difficulties 
that  are  likely  to  occur,  with  a  large  saving  of  time  and 
money";  but  they  warned  that,  if  the  disputes  were  not 
arbitrated,  the  only  relief  from  violation  of  the  anti'trust 
laws  would  be  by  local  action.  They  said : 

"A  suit  in  the  district  court  for  violation  of  the  Sherman 
Act  is  doubtless  an  awkward  way  to  cure  such  ills  as  have 
arisen,  but  it  is  perhaps  the  best  remedy  now  available  to 
the  government.  There  surely  are  evils  in  the  existing  system, 
and  the  Sherman  Act  provides  a  mode  of  correction  which 
is  lawfully  invoked.  At  all  events,  that  which  is  written  is 
written,  and  is  controlling  on  us." 

In  the  trade  papers  Abram  F.  Myers,  general  counsel  of 
Allied,  is  quoted  as  saying:83 

".  .  .  Defendants'  greatest  danger  is  that  they  now  face 
treble  damage  by  all  exhibitors  who  have  suffered  injury  as 
a  result  of  defendants'  illegal  practices.  This  is  all  the  more 
serious  because  the  Bigelow  decision  has  opened  new  ways 
for  proving  damages  which  formerly  were  not  available." 

The  defendants,  therefore,  are  faced  with  the  alternative 
of  consenting  to  the  creation  of  an  extensive  system  of  arbi- 
tration that  will  eliminate  sore  spots  in  the  industry  and 
provide  a  more  efficient  remedy  than  actions  under  the 
anti-trust  laws,  or  of  (1)  defending  local  suits  brought  by 
the  Government  for  the  correction  of  the  evils  existing  in  the 
industry,  (2)  protecting  themselves  from  prosecution  for 
contempt  under  the  decree,  and  (3)  defending  anti-trust 
actions  for  treble  damages  and  injunction  brought  by  inde- 
pendent exhibitors,  and  possibly  by  independent  distribu- 
tors, in  various  sections  of  the  country. 

(1)  Bids 

Obviously  a  dispute  between  competing  exhibitors  as  to 
the  propriety  of  the  grant  of  a  license  may  well  be  a  subject 
of  arbitration,  unless,  as  already  suggested  by  the  editor 
of  this  magazine,"  boards  are  set  up  in  advance  in  the  vari- 
ous exchange  centers  to  supervise  the  bidding  procedure. 
Conceivably  the  creation  of  such  boards  might  eliminate  the 
necessity  for  arbitration. 

The  factors  entering  into  competitive  bidding,  as  outlined 
by  the  Court,  have  already  been  mentioned.86  Whether,  in 
the  event  of  a  dispute  between  competitors,  any  of  such 
elements  are  present  or  absent  is  obviously  a  question  of 
fact  which  may  properly  be  submitted  to  the  determination 
of  an  impartial  arbitration  tribunal. 

(2)  Run 

In  their  opinion  the  Court  placed  no  specific  emphasis 


upon  the  arbitration  of  disputes  as  to  run.  Clearly,  however, 
the  desirability  of  an  exhibitor  for  a  particular  run  raises  a 
question  within  the  scope  of  the  competitive  bidding  features 
of  the  proposed  decree,  as  outlined  by  the  Court. 

Here  it  may  be  suggested,  for  example,  that  if  a  feature 
for  which  two  exhibitors  have  bid  has  been  awarded  to  one 
of  them  by  the  distributor,  and  the  other  exhibitor  has  sub' 
sequently  prevailed  in  an  arbitration  proceeding,  after  his 
competitor  has  shown  the  feature,  some  award  should  be 
made  to  the  prevailing  exhibitor  as  compensation  for  the 
damage  he  has  sustained  by  the  loss  of  the  feature  on  the 
run  desired.  If  not,  why  should  he  arbitrate,  instead  of 
asserting  his  rights  under  the  anti-trust  laws? 

(3)  Clearance 

To  a  considerable  extent  the  decision  of  the  Expediting 
Court  in  regard  to  clearance  has  already  been  analyzed  in 
this  paper.88  There  remain  for  consideration,  however,  ques- 
tions in  regard  to  the  rules  under  which  clearance  may  be 
arbitrated,  and,  consequently,  the  desirability  to  exhibitors 
of  submitting  disputes  to  arbitration. 

After  finding  that  the  defendants  had  created  a  uniform 
system  of  clearance  and  had  maintained  unreasonable 
clearances,  and  suggesting  that  the  decision  of  controversies 
on  this  subject  should  be  left  to  local  suits,  or,  "even  more 
appropriately,  to  litigation  before  an  Arbitration  Board," 
the  Court  proceeded  to  establish  criteria  of  reasonableness 
in  the  following  language: 

"In  determining  the  reasonableness  of  the  specific  clear- 
ances which  may  come  before  these  tribunals,  they  should 
consider  whether  the  clearance  has  been  set  so  as  to  favor 
affiliates  or  control  the  admission  prices  of  the  theatres 
involved.  A  distributor  will  naturally  tend  to  grant  a  subse- 
quent run  to  and  clearance  over  a  theatre  for  which  the 
owner  of  his  own  volition  sets  a  low  admission  price,  for  the 
distributor  will  be  inclined  to  seek  out  the  higher  priced 
theatres  first  where  the  revenue  is  likely  to  be  greater  and 
consequently  in  case  of  licenses  on  a  percentage  basis  where 
a  percentage  share  will  be  higher.  This,  however,  would  seem 
the  inevitable  result  of  the  competition  for  the  distributor's 
films  from  theatres  which  are  the  larger  or  better  equipped, 
and  for  which  higher  admission  prices  may  therefore  be 
charged  by  their  operators.  Such  competition  the  lower 
priced  theatres  must  be  prepared  to  meet,  or  else  be  content 
with  subsequent  runs  and  grants  of  clearance  over  them. 
The  temptations  to  the  distributor  to  use  clearance  grants  to 
force  a  theatre  to  raise  its  prices  and  thus  to  qualify  for 
prior  runs  having  less  clearance  over  it,  and  more  clearance 
over  competitors  are  nevertheless  obvious,  and  the  courts 
or  arbitration  board  should  guard  that  this  is  not  done. 
Clearance  should  be  granted  on  the  basis  of  theatre  condi- 
tions which  the  exhibitor  creates,  not  the  distributor.  The 
line  to  be  drawn  is  indeed  indistinct,  but  its  existence  is  no 
less  real." 

Thereupon  the  Court  specified  the  factors  that  should  be 
taken  into  consideration  in  determining  the  reasonableness 
of  clearance.  Generally  these  factors  are  the  same  as  those 
prescribed  in  the  Consent  Decree.  Summarised,  they  are 
us  follows: 

(Continued  on  last  page) 


174 


"The  Strange  Woman"  with  Hedy  Lamarr, 
George  Sanders  and  Louis  Hayward 

(United  Artists,  Oct.  25;  time.  100  min.) 

A  fairly  good  melodrama  of  its  kind,  but  it  is  strictly  adult 
entertainment,  and  at  that  best  suited  for  large  downtown 
theatres.  Its  story  of  lust  and  greed  is  extremely  unpleasant, 
and  the  leading  character,  a  beautiful  but  conscienceless 
woman,  stops  at  nothing  to  gain  what  she  wants.  The  whole 
story  centers  around  her  nefarious  activities,  which  she 
cloaks  with  acts  of  kindness,  and  it  shows  how  she  progresses 
through  unsavory  methods  such  as  marrying  an  old  man  for 
his  money,  vamping  her  step-son  and  luring  him  into  com- 
mitting patricide,  then  discarding  the  young  man  so  that  she 
could  devote  herself  to  stealing  her  best  friend's  fiance.  There 
is  no  human  interest  and  not  one  of  the  characters  is  sympa- 
thetic. Not  even  the  good  acting  of  the  cast  is  able  to  lift 
the  picture  out  of  its  unwholesome  state.  It  may,  however, 
draw  fairly  well  at  the  box-office  because  of  Miss  Lamarr's 
popularity,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  story  is  based  on  the 
best-selling  novel  of  the  same  name  by  Ben  Ames  Williams. 
The  action  takes  place  in  Bangor,  Me.,  in  1820: — 

Hedy,  an  inherently  cruel  young  woman,  rebels  against 
her  drunken  father  (Dennis  Hoey)  and  runs  for  protection 
to  the  home  of  Gene  Lockhart,  an  aged,  wealthy  shop- 
keeper, who  coveted  her.  Lockhart  tricks  several  leading 
citizens  into  suggesting  that  he  marry  Hedy  to  protect  her. 
Hedy,  considering  his  wealth,  is  not  averse  to  the  idea.  Clev- 
erly covering  up  her  cruel  nature  with  a  display  of  charity 
and  kindness,  Hedy,  as  Lockhart's  wife,  becomes  the  central 
figure  in  town.  She  induces  Lockhart's  son,  Louis  Hayward, 
her  childhood  sweetheart,  to  return  home  from  college  and, 
in  her  cruel,  designing  way,  taunts  him  into  loving  and 
desiring  her.  When  Lockhart  takes  ill,  Hedy  cares  for  him 
devotedly  but  confides  to  Hayward  her  wish  that  the  old 
man  would  die.  Meanwhile  she  finds  herself  attracted  to 
George  Sanders,  supervisor  of  one  of  her  husband's  lum- 
ber camps  and  fiance  of  Hillary  Brooke,  her  best  friend.  To 
clear  the  way  for  her  conquest  of  Sanders,  Hedy  promises 
herself  to  Hayward  if  he  would  kill  his  father.  Hayward 
achieves  the  old  man's  death  through  accident,  but  Hedy, 
now  mistress  of  a  fortune,  refuses  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  him.  She  then  sets  out  on  a  campaign  to  win  Sanders 
away  from  Hillary,  and  eventually  succeeds  in  marrying 
him.  Meanwhile  Hayward  degenerates  into  a  drunkard  and 
kills  himself.  In  the  course  of  events,  Sanders  begins  to  notice 
Hedy's  sadistic  tendencies  and,  during  a  quarrel,  learns  her 
true  nature  when  she  incautiously  reveals  that  she  had 
prompted  Hayward  to  kill  his  father.  He  leaves  her,  and 
Hillary,  learning  of  his  unhappiness,  goes  to  console  him. 
Seeing  him  together,  Hedy  becomes  infuriated  with  jealousy 
and  deliberately  tries  to  run  them  down  with  her  team  of 
horses.  But  the  wheels  of  her  carriage  hit  a  rock,  and  Hedy, 
thrown  from  the  vehicle,  dies. 

Herb  Meadow  wrote  the  screen  play,  Jack  Chertok  pro- 
duced it,  and  Edgar  Ulmer  directed  it.  It  is  a  Hunt  Strom- 
berg  production.  The  cast  includes  Olive  Blakeney,  June 
Storey  and  others. 


"Secret  of  the  Whistler"  with  Richard  Dix 
and  Leslie  Brooks 

(Columbia,  N.ou.  7;  time,  64  min.) 

This  program  murder  melodrama  is  routine  program  fare. 
There  is  little  about  the  story  that  is  novel,  and  it  is  held 
together  by  a  string  of  improbable  circumstances.  Moreover, 
it  is  unpleasant,  and  there  is  not  even  the  element  of  human 
interest  in  it  because  the  central  characters  are  vicious  per- 
sons and  their  actions  are  obnoxious.  The  hero,  an  artist, 
is  a  philandering  married  man,  who  resorts  to  murdering 
his  wife  in  order  to  be  free  to  marry  his  model,  a  scheming 
gold-digger,  who  in  turn  tries  to  hand  him  over  to  the  police 
only  to  be  strangled  to  death  herself.  Nothing  worthwhile 
is  shown  in  the  story  and,  except  for  the  avid  followers  of 
this  type  of  pictures,  it  can  hardly  be  classed  as  entertain- 
ment:— 

Richard  Dix,  an  artist  married  to  a  wealthy  but  ailing 
woman  (Mary  Currier),  on  whom  he  depended  for  support, 
becomes  infatuated  with  Leslie  Brooks,  his  model.  Unaware 
of  her  husband's  infidelity,  Mary  pays  a  surprise  visit  to 
his  studio  and  overhears  him  making  love  to  Leslie.  Shocked 
by  her  discovery,  she  orders  Dix  to  leave  her  home  and 
informs  him  of  her  intention  to  strike  his  name  from  her 


November  2,  1946 


will.  Dix  plans  to  kill  her  before  she  can  make  good  her 
threat.  He  sneaks  into  her  bedroom  and,  thinking  her  asleep, 
pours  a  few  drops  of  poison  into  one  of  her  medicine 
bottles.  Mary,  aware  of  what  he  had  done,  makes  a  note  of 
the  incident  in  her  diary.  She  subsequently  dies  of  a  heart 
attack,  but  Dix,  because  he  had  murdered  her,  cremates 
her  body  to  destroy  all  evidence  of  poison.  Three  months 
later,  he  marries  Leslie.  Newspaper  stories  about  a  murder 
that  had  been  committed  under  circumstances  that  paral- 
leled his  own  case  cause  Dix  to  become  concerned  lest  it  be 
discovered  that  he  had  poisoned  his  wife.  Meanwhile  Leslie, 
seeking  to  gain  control  of  the  fortune  that  had  been  left  to 
Dix,  suspects  him  of  foul  play  in  connection  with  Mary's 
death  and  searches  for  evidence  against  him.  She  succeeds 
in  locating  his  dead  wife's  diary  containing  the  incriminating 
notation.  Dix  learns  of  her  discovery  and  of  her  intention 
to  turn  him  over  to  the  police.  Pretending  to  embrace  her, 
he  strangles  her  to  death  just  as  the  police  arrive  at  his 
home.  Ironically  enough,  he  finds  himself  held  for  a  murder 
he  need  not  have  committed  since  the  police  had  proved  that 
he  was  not  responsible  for  his  first  wife's  death. 

Raymond  L.  Schrock  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story 
by  Richard  H.  Landau.  Rudolph  C.  Flothow  produced  it, 
and  George  Sherman  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Michael 
Duanc,  Mona  Barne,  Ray  Walker  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Song  of  the  South"  with  Bobby  Driscoil, 
Ruth  Warrick  and  James  Baskett 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set-  time,  94  min.) 

This  latest  of  Walt  Disney's  feature  productions  is  fine 
entertainment  for  children,  and  even  for  adults  who  do  not 
insist  that  their  motion  picture  fare  be  served  with  an  abun- 
dance of  sex,  for  there  is  none  in  this  picture.  Photographed 
in  Technicolor,  combining  live  and  animated  action,  and 
using  as  its  theme  the  tales  of  Uncle  Remus,  the  story  is  a 
completely  charming  account  of  a  little  boy's  adventures  on 
a  plantation,  sympathetically  told,  and  with  marvelous  per- 
formances by  Bobby  Driscoil,  as  the  boy,  and  by  James 
Baskett,  a  colored  actor,  as  Uncle  Remus,  whose  tender  un- 
derstanding of  the  child's  problems  gives  the  picture  many 
appealing  moments.  It  is  a  simple  but  sensitive  and  pa- 
thetic story,  filled  with  deep  human  interest  and  fine,  clean 
comedy  situations,  and  it  has  an  air  of  wholesomeness  that 
comes  as  a  pleasant  relief  from  the  general  run  of  pictures 
nowadays. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  picture  is  live  action,  and  about 
one-third  animated  action,  with  certain  parts  of  it  being  a 
combination  of  both,  executed  in  Disney's  most  imaginative 
manner. 

The  live  action  part  of  the  story  concerns  itself  with 
Bobby's  childish  adventures  on  his  grandmother's  plantation, 
to  which  he  had  come  to  live  with  his  mother,  and  with  his 
loneliness  over  the  fact  that  his  father,  because  of  business 
reasons,  could  not  be  with  him.  The  cartoon  sequences  are 
the  tales  told  to  Bobby  by  Uncle  Remus  every  time  the  child 
finds  himself  faced  with  a  problem.  From  each  of  these 
tales,  which  revolve  around  the  adventures  of  Brer  Rabbit, 
Brer  Fox  and  Brer  Bear,  Bobby  draws  a  moral  lesson  that 
helps  him  to  overcome  his  particular  problem  at  the  time. 
For  instance,  when  Bobby  decides  to  run  away  from  home 
to  join  his  father  in  Atlanta,  Uncle  Remus  tells  him  of  how 
Brer  Rabbit  tried  to  run  away  from  his  troubles  only  to  run 
into  new  ones  that  sent  him  straight  back  to  his  Briar  Patch. 
From  another  one  of  the  tales,  in  which  Brer  Rabbit  saves 
himself  from  being  roasted  alive  by  Brer  Fox  and  Brer  Bear, 
Bobby  learns  the  lesson  of  how  to  use  his  head  to  get  out  of 
a  predicament. 

The  pathetic  part  of  the  story  is  brought  about  by  the 
fact  that  Bobby's  mother  (Ruth  Warrick),  believing  that 
Uncle  Remus'  stories  were  confusing  the  child,  orders  the 
aged  negro  to  stay  completely  away  from  him.  Stunned,  the 
old  man  decides  to  leave  the  plantation.  Bobby,  to  stop  him, 
cuts  across  a  pasture  and  is  injured  seriously  by  a  charging 
bull.  How  he  regains  his  health  after  being  rejoined  by  both 
his  father  and  Uncle  Remus  brings  the  story  to  a  happy 
conclusion. 

Dalton  Reymond,  Morton  Grant,  and  Maurice  Rapf  wrote 
the  screen  play  from  Mr.  Reymond's  original  story.  Perce 
Pearce  is  the  associate  producer,  and  Harve  Foster  directed 
the  players.  The  cast  includes  Luana  Patten,  Lucille  Watson, 
Hattie  McDaniel,  Eric  Rolf  and  others. 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  2,  1946 


175 


(Continued  from  bac\  page) 
grant  or  refusal  of  clearance  is  the  prerogative  of  the  dis- 
tributor,  as  the  copyright  owner,  and  that  normally,  in  the 
absence  of  conspiracy  or  circuit  affiliation,  a  distributor  will 
grant  clearance  only  for  the  protection  of  its  own  revenue. 

If,  contrary  to  its  own  business  judgment  and  its  own 
financial  interests,  a  distributor  is  forced  to  grant  substan- 
tial  clearance  for  the  protection  of  the  revenue  of  a  domi- 
nant circuit,  with  large,  well-appointed  prior-run  theatres, 
to  the  detriment  of  subsequent  run  exhibitors,  then  the 
beneficial  purposes  underlying  the  system  of  arbitration 
may  be  perverted  to  unjust  ends. 

Generally  the  elements  enumerated  by  the  Court,  with 
the  exception  of  the  fourth,  relating  to  rental  terms  and 
license  fees,  undoubtedly  will  have  the  effect  of  protecting 
the  revenue  of  the  first-run  exhibitor.  To  what  extent  they 
may  affect  the  revenue  of  the  distributor  is  problematical. 
In  arbitration  proceedings  under  the  Consent  Decree  in 
which  the  writer  has  participated,  and  in  many  other  pro- 
ceedings  of  which  he  has  knowledge,  either  from  the  deci- 
sions  of  the  Appeal  Board  or  from  other  sources,  consider- 
able stress  was  laid  by  the  first-run  exhibitors,  and  by  the 
arbitrators  and  the  Appeal  Board,  upon  the  operation  and 
requirements  of  the  prior-run  exhibitor,  the  cost  of  con- 
struction of  his  theatre  and  its  expenses  of  operation.  Because 
of  the  specific  terms  of  the  Consent  Decree,  such  emphasis 
may  have  been  warranted.  But  these  elements,  it  is  believed, 
are  irrelevant  and  superfluous.  Under  the  copyright  laws, 
so  far  as  modified  by  the  anti-trust  laws,  the  chief  element 
should  be  the  effect  upon  the  business  and  revenue  of  the 
distributor  in  granting  or  refusing  to  grant  clearance. 

The  decision  and  the  order  for  a  decree  adopt  the  theory 
enunciated  in  the  Consent  Decree.  This  decree,  however, 
like  most  agreements  in  legal  proceedings,  was  the  result  of 
temporary  compromise  between  the  conflicting  contentions 
of  the  Government  and  the  defendants;  and  it  is  obvious  that 
in  negotiating  the  clearance  provisions  therein  the  defend- 
ants were  endeavoring  to  protect  their  interests  in  theatres, 
as  well  as  their  rights  as  distributors.  Perhaps  in  the  final 
decree  some  changes  beneficial  to  subsequent-run  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  will  be  made. 

(4)  Other  Appropriate  Subjects  for  Arbitration 

In  this  paper  it  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the 
Court  has  suggested  that  provision  be  made  in  the  decree 
for  the  arbitration,  not  only  of  bids,  runs  and  clearance,  but 
also  of  other  appropriate  subjects.  These  subjects  are  not 
specified  in  the  decision,  but,  in  view  of  the  expressed  de- 
sire of  the  Court  to  substitute  arbitration,  wherever  feasible, 
for  anti-trust  litigation  and  contempt  proceedings  to  enforce 
the  decree,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  parties  will  agree,  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Court,  for  the  arbitration  of  other 
matters  that  for  years  have  been  in  controversy,  as  well  as 
questions  involving  the  interpretation  and  application  of 
the  decree. 

Among  the  subjects  appropriate  for  arbitration  are  con- 
troversies in  regard  to  the  scope  and  effect  of  the  decree, 
and  charges  that  a  defendant  has  violated  its  provisions. 
Obviously  a  violation  may  consist  of  the  neglect  or  refusal 
of  a  defendant  to  perform  some  part  of  the  decree;  but  it  is 
most  likely  to  occur  in  connection  with  the  selection  of  the 
customer  under  the  competitive  bidding  system,  or  the  block 
booking  of  features,  shorts  or  news,  or  the  cancellation 
provisions  of  the  decree,  or  because  a  defendant  is  charged 
with  discrimination  in  favor  of  affiliated  theatres  or  large 
circuits  against  small  independent  competitors.  Other  appro- 
priate subjects  are  whether  a  distributor  has  improperly 
refused  to  license  an  independent  on  "some  run"  or  has 
"sold  away"  from  him  to  a  circuit,  and  whether  a  defendant 
exhibitor  has  overbought  product  or  has  attempted  to  mon- 
opolize by  eliminating  competition  through  local  price 
cutting,  unfair  competition,  or  other  predatory  practices. 

Clearly  it  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  defendants  to 
have  all  such  disputes  submitted  to  the  jurisdiction  of  arbi- 
tration tribunals.  Under  the  anti-trust  laws,  as  interpreted 
by  the  Statutory  Court,  the  field  of  litigation  may  be  exten- 
sive. Eliminating  for  the  moment  any  probability  of  inter- 
vention by  the  Government  through  punitive  contempt  pro- 


ceedings, through  civil  action  in  various  localities,  or  even 
through  indictment  in  criminal  proceedings,  it  is  clear  that 
under  the  decision  both  independent  distributors  and  ex- 
hibitors are  in  a  position  to  assert  a  wide  variety  of  claims  in 
various  districts  of  the  country.  The  decision  is  of  value  to 
such  independents,  not  only  because  of  its  adjudication  of 
the  illegality  of  many  practices,  but  also  because,  under  the 
anti-trust  laws,  proof  of  the  final  decree  in  an  anti-trust 
action  against  one  or  more  of  the  defendants  may  dispense 
with  evidence  to  establish  the  illegality  of  the  condemned 
practices  in  subsequent  litigation.89 

Many  of  these  disputes  may  be  eliminated  and  considerable 
litigation  avoided  if  the  distributors,  abandoning  the  policies 
which  they  have  formerly  pursued,  will  present  to  the 
Court  a  fair  and  comprehensive  plan  for  arbitration.  Such 
a  system  should  cover  a  wide  range  of  practices  that  in  the 
past  have  been  the  subect  of  controversy.  It  should  have 
safeguards  to  insure,  so  far  as  human  limitations  permit, 
that  it  will  mete  out  exact  and  equal  justice  and  provide 
speedy  and  effective  relief. 

To  be  attractive  to  independent  operators,  the  arbitration 
system  should  create  suitable  substitutes  for  the  other  reme- 
dies available  to  them  under  existing  law.  Certainly  it  should 
provide  that  a  complainant  who  prevails  in  a  proceeding 
should  be  fully  reimbursed  for  all  costs  and  expenses  in- 
curred. And  if  a  complainant  foregoes  his  right  to  sue  for 
treble  damages  under  the  anti-trust  laws,  should  he  not  be 
awarded  at  least  his  actual  damages  or  other  compensation 
for  the  injury  he  has  sustained? 

In  any  event,  the  arbitration  system  should  eliminate  any 
expense  to  an  independent  complainant  because  of  the 
institution  of  a  meritorious  proceeding.  Under  the  present 
inadequate  system  a  complainant  is  obliged  to  pay  not  only 
his  own  expenses,  such  as  travel  and  attorneys'  fees,  but  also 
a  portion  of  the  total  costs,  including  filing  fees,  arbitrators' 
compensation,  and  the  charges  for  the  transcript  of  the  testi- 
mony. The  defendants  should  be  willing  to  assume  all  this 
expense.  Through  arbitration  they  will  save  substantial 
sums  of  money  by  avoiding  protracted,  expensive  litigation, 
with  the  danger  of  substantial  judgments  for  damages. 

Right  now  the  intelligence,  fairness  and  business  states- 
manship of  the  defendants  are  facing  a  crucial  test.  If  they 
present  to  the  Government  and  the  Court  an  adequate  plan 
for  the  peaceful  settlement  of  disputes,  it  is  not  unlikely  to 
prove  the  high  road  to  industrial  harmony.  But  if,  pursuing 
their  time-worn  and  unhallowed  practices,  they  seek,  not 
only  to  retain  the  fruits  of  their  illegal  activities,  but  also 
to  perpetuate  those  practices  and  continue  their  policy  of 
discriminating  against  independent  operators,  then  they 
alone  will  be  responsible  for  the  result.  The  Government  has 
been  extremely  patient  with  the  defendants;  every  act  and 
agreement  condemned  by  the  Court  is  a  misdemeanor  under 
the  anti-trust  laws;  and,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  conclusion 
of  this  series  of  articles,  an  unwise  policy  of  antagonism  to 
the  Court  and  the  Government  may  be  a  constant  source  of 
danger,  not  only  to  the  distributing  corporations,  but  also 
to  the  executives  of  those  companies  in  an  even  greater 
degree. 


"Boxoffice,  August  3,  1946,  p.  9.  The  accuracy  of  this  prediction 
is  demonstrated  by  the  reports  of  anti-trust  actions  recently 
filed  by  independent  exhibitors  in  various  sections  of  the  coun- 
try. Parenthetically,  however,  it  might  be  noted  that  the  method 
of  proving  damages  employed  in  the  Biyelmv  Case  is  no  inno- 
vation. This  method  has  been  used  many  times  previously  in 
anti-trust  actions.  The  theory  was  lirst  successfully  applied  to 
the  motion  picture  industry,  it  is  believed,  in  1919,  in  Orbach  v. 
Paramount  Pictures  Corporation,  233  Mass.  281. 

81  Harrison's  Reports,  July  6,  1946. 

85 Harrison's  Reports,  September  28,  1946. 

M Harrison's  Reports,  August  24,  31,  1946.  The  subject  is  also  dis- 
cussed by  the  editor  in  the  Layman's  Analysis,  Harrison's 
Reports,  June  29  and  July  6,  1946. 

"Consent  Decree,  Section  VIII,  par.  numbered  (1). 

k8In  the  Interstate  Circuit  Case  the  Supreme  Court  reiterated  their 
view  that  clearance  resulting  from  the  demand  of  a  dominant 
circuit,  which  had  no  copyright,  was  illegal.  The  subject  might 
be  elaborated  in  some  detail.  Where,  for  example,  is  there  any- 
thing in  the  anti-trust  laws  to  penalize  a  subsequent  run  exhibi- 
tor, who,  because  of  lack  of  product,  has  been  compelled  to  use 
cash  give  aways  or  premiums?  Yet  in  the  order  of  a  decree 
there  is  an  explicit  provision  by  which  the  presence  or  absence 
of  such  an  operating  policy  may  increase  or  decrease  the  clear- 
ance against  him. 

""'These  provisions  of  the  anti-trust  laws  will  be  specified  in  the 
next  section  of  this  article,  "Suggestions  to  Independents." 


176  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  November  2,  1946 


(Continued  from  front  page) 

(1)  Admission  prices,  "as  set  by  the  exhibitor." 

(2)  The  character  and  location  of  the  theatres  involved. 

(3)  The  policy  of  operation  of  the  theatres. 

(4)  The  rental  terms  and  license  fees. 

(5)  The  extent  oi  competition. 

"(6)  The  fact  that  a  theatre  involved  is  affiliated  with  a 
defendant-distributor  or  with  an  independent  circuit  of 
theatres  should  be  disregarded.  .  .  . 

"(7)  There  should  be  no  clearance  between  theatres  not 
in  substantial  competition." 

Initially  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Court  have  disregarded 
the  first  factor  specified  in  the  Consent  Decree :  "The  histori' 
cal  development  of  clearance  in  the  particular  area  wherein 
the  theatres  involved  are  located.""  The  obvious  inference 
is  that,  because  the  clearance  system  in  all  localities  was 
developed  as  a  result  of  conspiracy,  it  is  worthy  of  no  respect, 
either  before  the  Court,  or  before  an  arbitration  board. 

The  Court  also  disregarded  the  portion  of  the  seventh  ele- 
ment  specified  in  the  Consent  Decree:  "All  other  business 
considerations."  Obviously  such  a  provision  is  entirely  too 
broad.  An  inexperienced  arbitrator  might  let  irrelevant  evi- 
dence outweigh  the  important  elements  already  specified. 

In  the  order  for  a  decree,  after  outlawing  clearance  by 
conspiracy,  the  Court  declared: 

".  .  .  no  clearance  should  be  granted  against  theatres  in 
substantial  competition  with  the  theatre  receiving  a  license 
for  exhibition  in  excess  of  what  is  reasonably  necessary  to 
protect  the  licensee  in  the  run  granted.  Existing  clearances 
in  excess  of  what  is  reasonably  necessary  to  protect  the  licen- 
sees in  the  runs  awarded  to  them  shall  be  invalid  pro 
tanto.  .  .  ." 

After  repeating  the  factors  already  specified  that  should 
be  taken  into  consideration  in  determining  the  reasonable- 
ness of  clearance,  the  Court  reiterated  their  view  that  "There 
should  be  no  clearance  between  theatres  not  in  substantial 
competition." 

In  one  respect,  at  least,  it  seems  that  the  remarks  of  the 
Court  on  this  subject  are  inconsistent.  In  the  paragraph 
already  quoted  they  said  in  effect  that  the  arbitrators  "should 
consider  whether  the  clearance  has  been  set  so  as  to  favor 
affiliates.  .  .  ."  Yet  the  sixth  of  the  factors  specifically  men- 
tioned is  that  the  affiliation  of  a  theatre  with  a  distributor  or 
an  independent  circuit  should  be  disregarded. 

To  a  person  familiar  with  existing  practices,  however, 
particularly  in  regard  to  the  origin  and  development  of 
clearance,  it  would  seem  that  the  fact  of  affiliation  with  a 
circuit  should  not  only  be  taken  into  consideration  by  an 
arbitor,  but  that  it  should  also  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  important  single  elements.  The  unfair  exercise  of  buy- 
ing power  by  circuits  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  evils 
afflicting  the  industry.  Without  buying  power  an  exhibitor 
would  find  it  difficult  to  secure  unreasonable  clearance  by 
conspiracy  over  a  competing  theatre.  In  many  situations, 
also,  affiliated  theatres  obtain  very  substantial  clearance  over 
independent  competitors;  yet  they  frequently  permit  their 
own  subsequent  run  houses  to  operate  on  a  moveover-run 
basis  or  on  a  very  favorable  availability.  In  setting  up  clear- 
ance the  distributors  make  a  distinction  between  producer- 
controlled  and  independent  exhibitors. 

From  language  already  quoted  it  appears  that  the  Expe- 
diting Court  is  of  the  view  that  "Clearance  should  be  granted 
on  the  basis  of  theatre  conditions  which  the  exhibitor  creates, 
not  the  distributor."  They  explained  that  "The  line  to  be 
drawn  is  indeed  indistinct,  but  its  existence  is  no  less  real." 
Apparently,  in  conformity  with  this  view,  many  of  the  con- 
ditions specified  as  of  value  in  the  determination  of  clear- 
ance are  those  created  by  the  exhibitor. 

Technically  this  view  is  beyond  criticism,  in  the  sense  that 
the  distributor  has  no  right  to  impose  conditions  of  opera- 
tion upon  the  owner  of  a  theatre.  But  it  appears  to  assert  a 
supposed  right  of  an  exhibitor  to  secure  clearance — which 
is  in  its  last  analysis  protection  from  competition — in  accord- 
ance with  the  character  of  the  theatres  involved  and  their 
policies.  It  gives  little  weight  to  the  rule  of  law8*  that  the 
(Continued  on  inside  page) 


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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  9,  1946  No.  45 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  14 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


Suggestions  to  Independents 

Previously  in  this  paper,  during  the  discussion  of  various 
acts,  agreements  and  practices  condemned  by  the  Expediting 
Court,  some  views  have  been  expressed  in  regard  to  the  im- 
pact of  the  decision  upon  the  business  of  independent  opera- 
tors.  In  this  section  it  is  the  intention  to  supplement  these 
opinions  by  further  comments  which,  to  be  of  value,  should 
be  read  in  the  light  of  the  views  already  expressed. 

In  a  complicated  situation,  such  as  is  presented  by  the 
opinion  of  the  Statutory  Court,  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  reconcile  all  divergent  views  or  to  make  suggestions 
applicable  to  all  operators.  Because,  after  all,  there  are  sev- 
eral classes  of  independent  exhibitors  and  distributors,  with 
conflicting  interests.  There  are  "independent"  circuit  opera- 
tors controlling  theatres  in  closed  towns,  as  well  as  inde- 
pendents owning  subsequent-run  houses  in  competition  with 
large  circuits.  There  are  independent  producers  who  release 
their  product  through  major  companies,  as  well  as  inde- 
pendents who  have  their  own  distributing  organizations  and 
those  who  distribute  through  States  rights  agencies.  Un- 
doubtedly each  class  desires  to  interpret  the  decision  in  the 
light  of  its  own  peculiar  interests. 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind  also  that  no  generalization  is 
applicable  to  all  situations.  In  the  law  there  is  an  axiom  that 
every  case  depends  upon  its  own  facts.  No  decisive  action 
should  be  taken  on  any  important  issue,  therefore,  without 
competent  advice  based  upon  a  full  disclosure  of  all  material 
facts. 

In  making  these  suggestions  it  is  assumed  that  a  decree 
will  be  entered  substantially  in  accordance  with  the  order 
of  the  Statutory  Court;  that,  upon  appeal  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  findings  of  fact  relating  to  violations  of  law  by 
the  defendants  will  be  sustained;  and  that  the  remedies  for 
these  violations  of  law,  with  the  probable  exception  of  the 
portions  of  the  decree  denying  the  prayer  for  complete 
divestiture  of  theatres,  will  be  substantially  affirmed.  But 
again  it  must  be  emphasized  that  the  order  for  the  decree 
is  only  tentative,  and  that,  until  the  decree  is  entered  and 
approved  by  the  Supreme  Court,  it  cannot  be  considered 
final  and  binding  upon  any  persons  engaged  in  the  motion 
picture  industry. 

With  these  words  of  caution  it  is  now  proposed  to  com- 
ment upon  the  value  of  the  decision  as  a  whole. 

Value  of  the  Decision 

First,  be  grateful  to  the  Government  and  the  Court  for 
this  decision.  In  all  probability  it  is  the  most  significant 
document  in  the  legal  history  of  the  industry.  Even  though 
in  all  details  it  may  not  be  beyond  criticism,  fundamentally 
it  is  sound  and  wholesome.  The  findings  of  fact  have  met 
with  wide  approbation;  the  remedy  alone  has  been  a  target 
of  criticism.  When,  however,  the  decision  has  been  tested 
in  the  fire  of  justice  glowing  in  the  Supreme  Court,  where 
any  imperfections  will  be  purged  away,  it  may  prove  a  charter 
of  economic  liberty  to  the  entire  industry. 

Secondly,  study  the  decision  thoroughly  and  ascertain 
your  rights  and  obligations  under  it.  Comply  with  it  fully, 
in  letter  and  in  spirit.  Do  not  be  deluded  by  misleading 
propaganda,  irrespective  of  the  source  from  which  it  origi- 
nates; entirely  too  many  people  with  personal  axes  to  grind 


are  able  to  get  the  ear  of  the  public.  Before  reaching  any 
conclusion,  decide  for  yourself  what  it  means  for  a  "spokes- 
man" for  major  distributors,  or  for  M.P.T.O.A.,  or  for  some 
other  organization,  to  approve  or  condemn  portions  of  the 
decision.  If  in  doubt,  ascertain  for  yourself  who  compose 
these  organizations  and  determine  to  what  extent  their  finan- 
cial interests  are  compatible  with  a  state  of  fair  competition 
in  the  various  branches  of  the  industry.  Always  have  in 
mind,  too,  that  this  is  a  government  of  laws,  not  of  men,  of 
organizations  or  of  resolutions. 

Enforcibility  of  Exhibition  Contracts 

From  the  decision  of  the  Expediting  Court  it  is  clear  that 
the  provisions  in  existing  exhibition  contracts  fixing  mini- 
mum admission  prices,  prescribing  unreasonable  clearance 
by  conspiracy  or  establishing  clearance  as  a  part  of  a  uni- 
form system  or  structure,  are  outside  the  pale  of  the  law. 
It  is  equally  obvious  that  the  Court  has  stamped  with  the 
brand  of  illegality  block-booking  contracts  and  such  arrange- 
ments between  the  major  defendants  as  franchises,  master 
contracts  and  formula  deals,  and  contracts  discriminating 
in  favor  of  large  circuits. 

But,  as  already  suggested,  the  condemnation  is  only 
tentative  until  a  final  decree  has  been  recorded.  In  the 
meantime,  therefore,  the  defendants  are  not  obliged  to  treat 
these  agreements  and  practices  as  unlawful;  and  they  may,  at 
their  peril,  attempt  to  enforce  them.  Current  reports  are  to 
the  effect  that  the  distributors  are  no  longer  attempting  to 
prescribe  admission  prices,  although  there  is  nothing  to 
indicate  that  they  have  broken  down  any  clearance  struc- 
tures resulting  from  their  joint  arrangements. 

Occasionally  the  statement  has  been  made  that  there  is 
not  a  legal  exhibition  contract  in  existence  in  this  country 
today.  The  assertion  is  somewhat  broad,  for  reasons  here- 
inafter mentioned,  but  in  general  it  expresses  a  truism. 
Undoubtedly  there  are  in  existence  few,  if  any,  license  agree- 
ments devoid  of  unlawful  provisions. 

In  the  law  it  is  an  established  doctrine  that  a  contract  con- 
taining an  illegal  stipulation  may  be  otherwise  unobjec- 
tionable, and  that  if,  when  the  unlawful  provision  is  elimi- 
nated, the  remainder  of  the  contract  gives  effect  to  the  as- 
sumed intention  of  the  parties,  the  remaining  portions  may 
be  binding  and  enforcible.  The  question  may  arise,  there- 
fore, whether  any  of  these  invalid  provisions  in  the  exhibi- 
tion contracts  taint  the  entire  contract  so  that  no  action  to 
enforce  it  may  be  maintained. 

A  similar  question  arose  after  the  condemnation  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  arbitration  provision  in  the  Standard 
Exhibition  Contract.00  In  some  jurisdictions  the  distributors 
were  able  to  convince  the  courts  that  this  clause  was  sever- 
able from  the  remainder  of  the  contract,  and  that,  with  the 
illegal  provision  eliminated,  the  contract  should  be  enforced. 
In  other  courts  it  was  held  that  the  entire  contract  was 
invalid  and  unenforcible." 

No  general  rule  can  be  announced,  therefore,  which  is 
applicable  to  all  contracts  in  all  States.  Indisputably  the 
illegal  provisions  are  unenforcible  against  the  licensee; 
whether  the  contract  is  illegal  in  its  entirety  is  dependent 
not  only  upon  the  nature  of  the  stipulations  in  it  but  also 
upon  the  rule  in  regard  to  severability  recognized  in  the 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


178 


November  9,  1946 


"The  Verdict"  with  Sidney  Greenstreet, 
Peter  Lorre  and  Joan  Lorring 

(Warner  Bros.,  T^ov.  23;  time,  86  mm.) 

A  well  produced,  expertly  directed,  murder  mys- 
tery melodrama.  It  grips  the  spectator  and  holds  his 
attention  throughout  because  of  the  complexities  of 
the  plot.  It  is  so  cleverly  contrived,  and  so  many  per- 
sons  are  under  suspicion,  that  one  cannot  be  certain 
at  any  time  as  to  the  identity  of  the  murderer.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  ending  comes  as  a  surprise,  for  the 
one  who  had  committed  the  murder  is  the  one  least 
suspected.  And  the  motive  of  the  crime  is  somewhat 
novel — that  of  proving  the  fallibility  of  circumstan- 
tial evidence.  An  interesting  twist  is  that  the  mur- 
derer succeeds  in  committing  the  perfect  crime,  con- 
fessing only  because  an  innocent  man  was  about  to 
die  for  it.  The  story  is  set  in  the  London  of  1890,  dur- 
ing the  gaslight  era,  and  the  gloomy  backgrounds  lend 
themselves  perfectly  to  a  story  of  this  type : — 

Sidney  Greenstreet,  superintendent  of  Scotland 
Yard,  is  dismissed  by  his  superior  when  it  is  discovered 
that  he  had  caused  an  innocent  man  to  be  hanged  on 
circumstantial  evidence.  George  Coulouris,  Green- 
streets  scheming  subordinate,  replaces  him,  vowing 
that  he  would  not  make  such  a  tragic  mistake.  Green- 
street's  best  friend,  Peter  Lorre,  gives  a  party  to 
cheer  up  the  deposed  official,  but  it  is  spoiled  by  a 
political  argument  between  Paul  Cavanagh,  a  mem- 
ber of  Parliament,  and  Morton  Lowry,  wealthy 
nephew  of  the  woman  for  whose  death  the  innocent 
man  had  been  hanged.  Outside,  Cavanagh  threatens 
Lowry,  and  their  quarrel  is  overheard  by  Joan  Lor- 
ring, a  music  hall  entertainer  of  questionable  morals, 
who  berates  Lowry  for  failing  to  keep  an  appointment 
with  her  and  threatens  him  just  as  Greenstreet  and 
Lorre  emerge  from  the  house.  On  the  following  morn- 
ing, Lowry  is  found  murdered  in  bed.  Coulouris  sus- 
pects that  either  Joan  or  Cavanagh  had  committed  the 
crime  but  releases  them  when  they  satisfactorily  estab- 
lish alibis.  Still  doubting  Cavanagh's  story,  however, 
Coulouris  searches  his  room  and  finds  evidence  that 
contradicts  his  alibi.  He  uses  this  circumstantial  evi- 
dence to  bring  Cavanagh  to  trial  and  succeeds  in  hav- 
ing him  sentenced  to  death.  Actually,  Cavanagh  had 
spent  the  night  of  the  murder  with  a  titled  married 
woman,  but  he  preferred  to  offer  no  defense  rather 
than  speak  the  truth  and  ruin  her  reputation.  Green- 
street, aware  of  Cavanagh's  dilemma,  tries  to  locate 
the  woman  to  save  Cavanagh's  life  only  to  learn  that 
she  had  died,  thus  ending  Cavanagh's  last  hope.  On 
the  night  of  the  execution,  however,  Greenstreet 
storms  into  the  prison,  demands  a  stay  of  the  sentence, 
and  reveals  that  he  had  murdered  Lowry,  for  two 
reasons — to  make  a  fool  of  Coulouris  on  circumstan- 
tial evidence,  and  to  bring  Lowry  to  book,  because  the 
young  man  had  committed  his  aunt's  murder  and  had 
permitted  an  innocent  man  to  hang  for  it. 

Peter  Milne  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  novel  by 
Israel  Zangwill,  William  Jacobs  produced  it,  and 
Don  Siegel  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Rosalind 
Ivan  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Wanted  for  Murder"  with  Eric  Portman 
and  Dulcie  Gray 

(20th  Century-Fox,  J^ovember;  time,  91  min.) 

This  British-made  picture  is  another  in  the  category 
of  psychological  murder  melodramas  and,  as  such, 
should  give  ample  satisfaction  to  the  followers  of  this 
type  of  pictures,  for  there  are  several  murders  and 
the  suspense  is  sustained  fairly  well.  There  is  no 


mystery  involved  since  the  audience  is  aware  from 
the  start  of  the  killer's  identity.  One's  interest,  there- 
fore, lies  in  the  methods  pursued  by  Scotland  Yard  to 
track  him  down.  It  is  a  well  produced  picture  and  the 
performances  are  competent,  but  its  mass  appeal  in 
America  is  doubtful  for  several  reasons — there  is 
nothing  unusual  about  either  the  story  or  its  presen- 
tation, the  action  is  somewhat  slow  in  spots,  the 
theme  is  unpleasant,  and  the  players  are  not  well 
known  in  this  country.  At  best,  it  belongs  on  a  double 
feature  program: — 

Eric  Portman,  a  successful  and  respected  London 
business  man,  lives  with  his  mother,  Barbara  Everest, 
and  is  in  love  with  Dulcie  Gray,  a  shop  girl,  who  finds 
his  occasional  fits  of  temper  disconcerting.  Unknown 
to  Dulcie,  Portman  was  obsessed  with  an  urge  to  mur- 
der young  girls,  a  homicidal  tendency  he  traced  to 
his  grandfather,  who  had  been  Queen  Victoria's 
public  hangman.  A  handkerchief  found  near  one  of 
Portman's  latest  victims  is  traced  to  Portman  by  In- 
spector Roland  Culver,  who  becomes  suspicious  of 
him,  despite  his  seemingly  air-tight  alibi.  Aware  that 
Culver  suspected  him,  Portman  gets  a  sadistic  delight 
out  of  feigning  cooperation  with  Scotland  Yard  and 
at  the  same  time  plotting  and  committing  additional 
murders  to  further  embarrass  and  baffle  Culver.  A 
battle  of  wits  develops  between  the  two  men,  and 
Culver,  although  confident  that  Portman  was  the 
slayer,  does  not  arrest  him  because  of  lack  of  sufficient 
evidence.  Meanwhile  Dulcie,  discouraged  by  Port- 
man's  strange  moods,  falls  in  love  with  another  man 
(Derek  Farr).  When  Portman  proposes  marriage  to 
her,  Dulcie  refuses  but  promises  to  meet  him  once 
again.  Bitter  over  her  refusal,  he  determines  to  kill 
her  and  sends  an  anonymous  postcard  to  Culver  boast- 
ing that  he  would  commit  another  slaying  that  night. 
The  postcard  proves  his  undoing,  for  Culver,  learn- 
ing from  Farr  that  Portman  was  to  meet  Dulcie  in 
Hyde  Park,  throws  a  cordon  of  police  around  the 
park.  In  the  course  of  events,  Farr  rescues  Dulcie  just 
as  Portman  is  about  to  strangle  her,  but  fails  to  pre- 
vent his  escape  into  a  lake  within  the  park.  There, 
rather  than  be  captured  by  Culver's  men,  Portman 
drowns  himself. 

Emeric  Pressburger  and  Rodney  Ackland  wrote 
the  screen  play  from  a  stage  play  by  Percy  Robinson 
and  Terence  De  Marney.  Marcel  Hellman  produced 
it,  and  Lawrence  Huntington  directed  it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Plainsman  and  the  Lady"  with 
Vera  Ralston  and  William  Elliott 

(Republic,  no  release  date  set;  time,  87  min.) 

Just  a  routine  Western;  its  appeal  will  be  directed 
mainly  to  those  who  enjoy  action  pictures  regardless 
of  story  values.  Others  will  probably  find  it  tiresome, 
for  aside  from  good  production  values  and  a  few  excit- 
ing situations  there  is  little  else  about  the  picture  that 
is  praiseworthy.  Its  story  of  how  the  Pony  Express 
was  founded  is  ordinary,  and  any  typical  movie-goer 
will  be  able  to  guess  in  advance  just  how  the  action 
will  progress.  Nor  can  much  be  said  for  the  acting, 
but  the  players  can  hardly  be  blamed  for  failing  to 
make  an  impression,  for  they  are  hampered  by  trite 
material  and  stilted  direction: — 

When  Reinhold  Schunzel,  a  wealthy  Missourian, 
and  Senator  Russell  Hicks  announce  the  formation  of 
the  Pony  Express,  William  Elliott,  an  adventurous 
cowboy,  who  was  attracted  to  Vera  Ralston,  Schun- 
zel's  daughter,  goes  into  partnership  with  them. 
Joseph  Schildkraut,  operator  of  a  Southern  stage 


November  9,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


179 


coach  line,  resolves  to  ruin  the  new  company  lest  it 
interfere  with  his  mail  subsidies.  In  this  he  is  joined 
by  Gail  Patrick,  Schunsel's  second  wife,  with  whom 
he  had  been  carrying  on  a  secret  love  affair.  Despite 
attacks  by  Schildkraut's  agents,  particularly  Donald 
Barry,  his  triggerman,  Elliott  hires  riders  and  organ' 
izes  relay  stations  from  Missouri  to  California. 
Meanwhile  Schunzel  becomes  very  ill,  and  Gail,  at 
Schildkraut's  urging,  hastens  the  old  man's  death  by 
revealing  that  she  had  been  unfaithful  to  him.  Now 
in  control  of  her  dead  husband's  affairs,  Gail  tries  to 
dissolve  the  Pony  Express,  but  Elliott  foils  her  plan 
and  determines  to  carry  through  the  venture  to  suc- 
cess.  Schildkraut,  equally  determined  to  sabotage  the 
venture,  sets  out  on  a  campaign  of  killing  riders  and 
burning  relay  stations,  making  it  appear  as  if  hostile 
Indians  were  responsible.  Elliott  reveals  Schildkraut's 
trickery  to  the  Indians  and,  with  their  help,  hunts 
down  the  criminals.  In  a  pitched  battle,  Schildkraut 
and  his  henchmen,  including  Gail,  are  killed.  Satis- 
fied that  the  Pony  Express  could  now  operate  unhin- 
dered,  Elliott  turns  his  undivided  attention  to  Vera. 

Richard  Wormscr  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a 
story  by  Michael  Uris  and  Ralph  Spence,  and  Joseph 
Kane  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Andy  Clyde,  Raymond  Walburn  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Dick  Tracy  vs.  Cueball"  with 
Morgan  Conway  and  Anne  Jeffreys 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  62  min.) 

This  second  in  the  "Dick  Tracy"  series  is  a  fair 
program  melodrama.  Although  too  many  liberties 
have  been  taken  with  the  piot  construction,  those 
who  enjoyed  the  first  picture  in  which  Morgan  Con- 
way  appeared  as  the  famed  comic-strip  detective 
should  find  this  one  acceptable,  too,  for  the  action  is 
fast-moving  throughout  and  at  times  exciting.  Dis- 
criminating audiences,  however,  will  find  little  in  it 
to  interest  them,  for  the  story  is  far-fetched  in  the 
extreme.  Considering  the  popularity  of  the  comic  strip 
on  which  the  characters  are  based,  the  picture  stands 
a  fair  chance  at  the  box-office: — - 

A  jewelry  company  messenger  carrying  $300,000 
worth  of  diamonds  is  robbed  and  murdered  by  Dick 
Wessel,  a  bald-headed  strangler,  who  had  been  prom- 
ised $10,000  for  the  job  by  a  trio  of  crooks  (Rita  Cor- 
day,  Byron  Foulger,  and  Douglas  Walton).  Sum- 
moned to  investigate  the  case,  Conway  believes  it  to 
be  an  inside  job  and  keeps  an  eye  on  Rita  and  Foul- 
ger, who  were  employed  by  the  same  jewelry  firm. 
Meanwhile  the  messenger's  murder  frightens  the 
crooked  trio  and  they  stall  on  paying  off  Wessel.  With 
the  "hot"  diamonds  in  his  possession,  Wessel  seeks 
refuge  in  a  cheap  rooming  house  operated  by  Esther 
Howard,  a  gin-loving  old  woman,  whom  he  strangles 
when  she  tries  to  steal  his  loot.  Later,  when  Walton 
offers  Wessel  only  $5,000  to  turn  over  the  jewels,  he, 
too,  is  strangled.  Through  clever  detective  work, 
Conway  learns  of  Wessel's  identity  and  concocts  a 
scheme  to  trap,  not  only  Wessel,  but  also  Rita  and 
Foulger:  He  enlists  the  aid  of  Anne  Jeffreys,  his 
sweetheart,  who  poses  as  a  wealthy  socialite  seeking 
to  purchase  an  expensive  necklace.  As  Conway  hoped, 
Rita  and  Foulger  learn  of  Anne's  desire  and  communi- 
cate with  her  to  make  a  deal  for  the  jewels.  Wessel, 
learning  of  his  confederate's  plan,  intercepts  Anne 
and  offers  to  sell  her  the  stones  himself.  When  Anne 
stalls  for  time,  she  arouses  Wessel's  suspicions  and  he 
discovers  that  she  was  Conway's  girl-friend.  Conway 
arrives  on  the  scene  just  as  Wessel  is  about  to  strangle 


her.  He  rescues  Anne,  recovers  the  diamonds,  and 
pursues  Wessel  to  a  railroad  yard,  where  the  mur- 
derer loses  his  life  beneath  the  wheels  of  a  freight 
train. 

Dane  Lussier  and  Robert  E.  Kent  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  story  by  Luci  Ward,  Herman  Schlom  pro- 
duced it,  and  Gordon  M.  Douglas  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Ian  Keith,  Joseph  Crehan,  Lyle  Latell 
and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"White  Tie  and  Tails"  with  Dan  Duryea, 
Ella  Raines  and  William  Bendix 

(Universal,  Aug.  30;  time,  75  min.) 

A  fairly  good  farce.  Despite  the  familiarity  of  the 
plot,  which  revolves  around  a  talented  butler  who 
decides  to  masquerade  as  a  rich  man  while  his  em- 
ployer is  away,  it  is  for  the  most  part  amusing,  and 
the  situations,  though  not  hilarious,  do  keep  one 
chuckling  throughout.  Moreover,  it  has  a  pleasant 
quality,  for  the  central  character  is  a  likeable,  sym- 
pathetic fellow,  who  gets  himself  into  trouble  trying 
to  help  others.  It  has  a  pleasing  romance,  too,  which 
is  developed  in  a  charming  and  at  the  same  time  comi- 
cal manner.  As  the  kindly  butler,  Dan  Duryea  does 
very  well  in  a  role  that  is  a  complete  opposite  of  the 
ruthless  villain  he  usually  portrays.  On  the  whole 
the  picture  does  not  rise  above  program  grade,  but  it 
has  sufficient  marquee  strength  to  top  a  double  bill  :• — ■ 

When  the  family  for  whom  he  works  leaves  for  a 
Florida  vacation,  Duryea  decides  to  masquerade  as  a 
millionaire  and  induces  Frank  Jenks,  the  family 
chauffeur,  to  drive  him  about  town.  He  goes  to  a 
swank  night  club,  where  he  manages  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  Ella  Raines,  a  society  girl.  Through 
clever  manipulations  he  gets  himself  invited  to  a  party 
in  Ella's  home,  and  during  the  course  of  the  evening 
learns  that  she  was  concerned  over  her  younger  sister's 
mix-up  with  a  gambling  establishment  operated  by 
William  Bendix.  Duryea  offers  to  straighten  out  the 
situation,  and  Ella  accepts.  At  Bendix's  place  they 
learn  that  the  sister  owed  a  $100,000  gambling  debt, 
and  Duryea,  still  posing  as  a  millionaire,  finds  him- 
self maneuvered  into  writing  a  check  for  that  amount, 
with  Ella  assuring  him  that  her  father  would  reim- 
burse him  in  the  morning.  Bendix  follows  Duryea 
home  and,  believing  that  he  owned  the  mansion,  walks 
out  with  three  priceless  paintings  as  security  pend- 
ing payment  of  the  check.  On  the  following  morning, 
Ella  informs  Duryea  that  her  father  needed  a  month's 
time  to  repay  the  $100,000.  Finding  himself  in  a  hope- 
less mess,  Duryea  tells  Ella  the  truth  about  his 
masquerade.  Shocked,  but  in  love  with  him,  Ella  aids 
him  in  his  efforts  to  regain  the  paintings,  but  to  no 
avail.  When  Duryea's  employer  returns  and  finds  the 
paintings  gone  he  threatens  to  have  Duryea  arrested. 
But  Bendix,  by  this  time  aware  of  the  truth,  straight- 
ens out  the  situation  by  offering  to  return  the  paint- 
ing if  Duryea  could  work  for  him.  The  employer 
agrees,  but  Duryea  refuses  because  of  his  desire  to 
become  an  artist  instead  of  remaining  a  butler.  Im- 
pressed, Bendix  decides  to  become  Duryea's  patron 
providing  Duryea  agrees  to  select  his  clothes  and  his 
wines. 

Bertram  Millhauser  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the 
story  "The  Victoria  Docks  at  8"  by  Rufus  King  and 
Charles  Bcahan.  Howard  Benedict  produced  it,  and 
Charles  T.  Barton  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Richard  Gaines,  Barbara  Brown,  Clarence  Kolb, 
Samuel  S.  Hinds,  John  Miljan  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  9,  1946 


jurisdiction  where  the  contract  is  made  or  where  it  is 
attempted  to  be  enforced.  Should  the  question  become  of 
consequence,  therefore,  an  independent  should  secure 
counsel  familiar  with  the  local  law. 

It  may  be  suggested,  however,  that  if  an  exhibition  con- 
tract contains  a  number  of  illegal  provisions,  such  as  price- 
fixing  stipulations  and  unreasonable  clearance  resulting  from 
conspiracy,  and  particularly  if,  in  making  the  deal,  the 
exhibitor  was  forced  to  take  undesirable  pictures  in  order 
to  get  the  films  he  wanted  to  exhibit,  such  a  contract  is 
probably  illegal  in  its  entirety  and  incapable  of  enforcement 
in  any  court  in  the  country. 

Independent  exhibitors,  consequently,  may  refuse  to 
comply  with  any  provisions  in  their  contracts  that  have 
been  condemned  by  the  Expediting  Court.  Not  only  do  they 
have  this  privilege,  at  their  election,  but  they  also  have  the 
obligation,  as  law-abiding  citizens,  to  vitiate  all  illegal  stipu- 
lations. When  an  exhibitor  takes  such  a  position  it  is  ex- 
tremely unlikely  that  any  defendant  distributor  will  seek 
to  compel  compliance  with  these  stipulations. 

Independent  distributors  undoubtedly  realize  that  none 
of  the  provisions  condemned  by  the  Court  should  be  inserted 
in  their  future  contracts.  Exhibitors  cannot  lawfully  agree 
to  maintain  specific  admission  prices,  for  example,  or  to 
negotiate  on  the  basis  of  an  illegally  established  clearance 
structure.  True,  the  prohibitions  of  the  Statutory  Court  do 
not  run  directly  against  them;  but  the  findings  and  conclu- 
sions are  persuasive,  and,  if  affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
will  be  binding  upon  all  Federal  courts  and  of  authoritative 
effect  in  other  jurisdictions. 

Here  a  note  of  warning.  Major  distributors  may  face 
severe  penalties  if  they  continue  in  effect  the  condemned 
practices.  Independent  distributors  or  exhibitors,  with  knowl- 
edge of  the  contents  of  the  decision,  who  carelessly  enter 
into  such  agreements  or  engage  in  such  practices,  merely 
because  they  have  not  been  named  as  parties  and  are  not 
formally  bound  by  the  decree,  may  do  so  only  at  their  own 
peril. 

By  this  statement  it  is  not  intended  to  imply  that  the 
Government  will  engage  in  a  campaign  of  prosecution 
against  all  persons  who  shall  in  the  future  enter  into  illegal 
exhibition  contracts,  either  through  carelessness,  ignorance 
or  coercion.  But  it  should  be  clearly  understood  that  the  pro- 
hibitions and  penalties  of  the  anti-trust  laws  run  against 
"every  person"  who  shall  make  a  contract  in  restraint  of 
trade." 

Franchises 

In  the  opinion  of  the  three-judge  Court  the  legality  of 
franchises  was  considered  chiefly,  but  not  exclusively,  as  an 
issue  affecting  the  defendants.03  Because  of  the  broad  lan- 
guage used,  and  particularly  because  some  distributors,  as  a 
result  of  the  decision,  may  decline  to  perform  existing 
franchises  with  independent  exhibitors,  it  may  be  of  conse- 
quence to  consider  whether  the  condemnation  of  such  agree- 
ments extends  only  to  those  made  by  the  defendants  as 
exhibitors,  or  whether  it  also  embraces  all  franchises  made 
by  them  as  distributors,  either  with  affiliated  or  independent 
exhibitors. 

The  language  of  the  Court  appears  to  indicate  that  fran- 
chises of  all  kinds  are  objectionable  ( 1 )  "because  they  cover 
too  long  periods  (more  than  one  season),"  (2)  "because 
they  embrace  all  the  pictures  released  by  a  given  distribu- 
tor," and  (3)  because  they  "necessarily  contravene"  the 
competitive  bidding  system.  Referring  to  persons  who  en- 
tered into  such  contracts  with  the  defendants  the  Court 
indicated  that  the  formation  of  the  contracts  constituted  a 
restraint  of  trade  and  that  "the  parties  are  necessarily  and 
properly  bound,  and  indeed  the  decision  is  a  judicial  prece- 
dent against  the  others  on  the  question  of  law  involved  in 
those  situations  we  have  referred  to  where  they  have  un- 
reasonably restrained  trade  and  commerce."  They  ordered 
that  in  the  decree  to  be  entered  "The  further  performance 
by  any  of  the  defendants  of  existing  .  .  .  franchises  should 
be  enjoined." 

Except  for  the  clause  referring  to  the  "situations"  where 
the  defendants  "have  unreasonably  restrained  trade  and 
commerce" — which  situations,  incidentally,  are  not  speci- 
fied with  any  greater  particularity — the  decision  appears  to 


condemn  all  franchises  with  all  exhibitors,  irrespective  of 
their  effect  upon  competition.  But  such  an  all-embracing 
generalization  should  not  be  lightly  inferred  from  the 
language  used.  Usually  a  franchise  or  any  other  form  of 
contract  is  illegal  under  the  anti-trust  laws  only  when  it 
unreasonably  restrains  or  tends  to  monopolize  interstate 
commerce.  Conversely,  it  is  not  invalid  if  it  tends  to  promote 
fair  competition  and  prevent  monopolizing."  What  may  be 
a  wrong  when  done  by  a  defendant,  possessing  and  exercis- 
ing monopolistic  power,  may  be  entirely  proper  when  done 
by  an  exhibitor  struggling  for  survival  against  powerful 
competitors. 

If,  for  example,  an  independent  exhibitor  has  a  fran- 
chise, or  a  two-year  deal,  for  all  the  features  of  one  of  the 
"Little  Three,"  with  substantially  no  other  product  avail- 
able on  a  prior-run  basis,  and  if  the  franchise  has  been 
entered  into  by  him  willingly,  with  none  of  the  obnoxious 
practices  characterizing  block-booking,  it  is  hard  to  6ee  how 
a  distributor  can  successfully  avail  himself  of  the  claim  that 
the  franchise  is  illegal  merely  because  it  covers  all  features 
for  more  than  a  season.  On  its  face  such  a  contract,  which 
does  not  tend  to  "freeze"  a  monopolistic  condition,  is  not 
necessarily  invalid.  The  important  question  is  whether  it 
has  the  effect  of  suppressing  or  of  stimulating  competition. 

Where,  however,  the  franchise  contains  illegal  provisions 
such  as  those  mentioned  in  the  sub-section  entitled  "En- 
forcibility  of  Contracts,"  then  clearly  it  is  governed  by  the 
same  rules  of  law  as  other  contracts  therein  discussed. 

If  and  when  the  distributors  commence  to  operate  under 
the  competitive  bidding  system  by  virtue  of  a  final  decree, 
then  obviously  they  cannot  perform  existing  franchises.  It 
may  become  important,  consequently,  to  determine  whether, 
upon  such  refusal,  the  exhibitor  has  a  cause  of  action  for 
breach  of  contract;  or,  to  put  it  another  way,  whether  the 
distributor  is  excused  from  performance  of  its  obligations 
by  the  decree  of  the  Expediting  Court.  The  question  is 
close.  In  some  circumstances  and  in  some  jurisdictions  the 
licensee  may  have  such  a  right  of  action.  But  the  ultimate 
decision  must  necessarily  depend  upon  the  laws  of  the  State 
where  the  question  arises,  as  interpreted  by  its  courts,  and 
no  opinion  can  be  advanced  that  would  be  applicable  to  all 
franchises  in  all  States. 

"Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corp.  v.  United  States,  282  U.S.  30. 
affirming  34  F.  (2d)  984. 

"The  subject  is  discussed  by  the  writer,  with  the  citation  of  various 
decisions,  in  Harrison's  Reports,  April  25,  1936,  under  the 
sub-title  "Standard  Contract;  Arbitration  and  Credit."  See, 
particularly.  Fox  Film  Corporation  v.  Muller,  192  Minn.  212, 
255  N.N.  845,  cert.  den.  296  U.S.  207,  where  the  authorities 
are  reviewed. 

"The  first  section  of  the  Sherman  Act,  15  U.S.C.A.l,  prohibits 
"every  contract  ...  in  restraint  of  trade."  and  provides  that 
"every  person"  who  shall  make  any  such  contract  "shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,"  and  subject  to  a  punishment 
of  fine  or  imprisonment. 

MSee  the  comment  upon  this  portion  of  the  decision  in  Harrison's 
Reports,  August  31.  1946,  under  the  sub-title  "(3)  Formula 
Deals,  Franchises,  Master  Agreements." 

"From  the  incomplete  information  in  the  possession  of  the  writer 
it  would  seem  that  in  arguing  the  illegality  of  franchises  the 
Government  relied  principally,  if  not  exclusively,  upon  fran- 
chises among  the  defendants.  Whether  any  franchise  of  de- 
fendants with  small  independent  exhibitors  were  under  con- 
sideration is  very  doubtful.  In  view  of  the  rule  that  ordinarily 
expressions  in  an  opinion  are  confined  to  the  facts  proved,  it  is 
hoped  that  in  the  final  decree  the  Court  will  clarify  their  views 
on  this  subject. 


HAS  REPUBLIC  JOINED  THE 
COLUMBIA  CLASS? 

Pete  Wood,  secretary  of  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners 
of  Ohio,  has  sent  the  following  night  letter,  dated  October 
31,  to  James  R.  Grainger,  executive  vice-president  of 
Republic  Pictures: 

"Many  thousands  of  exhibitors  who  in  good  faith  signed 
nineteen  forty-five  forty-six  contract  with  you  upon  your 
promise  to  deliver  eight  Roy  Rogers  only  two  of  which  were 
delivered  are  being  deprived  of  their  rights  through  your 
utter  disregard  of  decent  business  ethics  by  your  action  in 
camouflaging  'Home  in  Oklahoma'  as  a  special.  You  pulled 
the  same  trick  with  'Trigger.'  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  courts 
and  the  government  are  about  to  operate  our  business." 

This  paper  asked  Mr.  Grainger's  office  for  a  statement  on 
this  wire  and  the  following  message  came  back  from  Mr. 
Grainger:  "No  comment." 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  ONE 


.Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 

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Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 


Vol.  XXVIII 


SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  16,  1946 


No.  46 


A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  — No.  15 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


Buying  and  Booking  Agencies 
From  the  opinion  of  the  Expediting  Court  it  is  apparent 
that  no  defendant  may  lawfully  operate  theatres  or  buy  and 
book  films  through  an  agency  acting  for  any  other  exhibitor, 
affiliated  or  independent."5  But,  as  the  prohibition  is  binding 
only  upon  parties  before  the  Court,  there  may  be  doubt 
whether  also  a  buying  or  booking  agency,  acting  for  inde- 
pendent  exhibitors  or  groups  of  independent  exhibitors,  is 
illegal.  The  question  deserves  consideration,  not  only  be- 
cause some  distributors  may  interpret  the  decision  as  out- 
lawing all  such  combinations,  but  also  because  other  exhibi- 
tors may  be  injuriously  affected  by  the  activities  of  such 
organizations. 

On  this  point  there  is  no  clear  current  of  judicial  author- 
ity. At  first  glance  the  decision  of  the  Court  seems  to  con- 
demn all  such  organizations;  but  their  language  was  pri- 
marily directed  at  agencies  in  which  the  defendants  had  an 
interest;  and,  as  already  stated,  a  judge  of  a  United  States 
District  Court  has  ruled  that  a  Michigan  buying  and  booking 
combination  was  lawfully  in  existence,  even  though  some  of 
its  activities  were  illegal."6 

A  booking  agency  which  docs  not  engage  in  the  business 
of  buying  films,  except  by  spot-booking  in  isolated  instances 
for  individual  members,  is  well  within  the  law.  No  restraint 
of  trade  or  tendency  to  monopoly  can  result  from  its  normal 
operations. 

The  legality  of  a  buying  agency,  as  well  as  of  any  similar 
combination,  depends  in  large  measure  upon  the  nature  and 
extent  of  its  power,  the  method  in  which  the  power  is  exer- 
cised, and  the  relations  of  its  members,  not  only  to  each 
other,  but  also  to  competitors.  In  a  paper  of  this  kind  no  rule 
can  be  stated  that  would  be  applicable  to  all  such  organiza- 
tions. With  hesitation,  however,  some  general  ideas  may  be 
advanced. 

The  use  of  buying  power,  either  by  a  circuit  of  theatres 
or  a  buying  organization,  to  monopolize  product,  or  to  secure 
unreasonable  preferences,  or  to  injure  competing  exhibitors, 
or  to  minimize  or  eliminate  competition,  is  clearly  unlawful. 
In  some  circumstances,  also  an  organization  purchasing  films 
for  a  number  of  exhibitors  in  competitive  localities  may  come 
within  the  condemnation  of  the  law,  because  of  its  tendency 
to  eliminate  competition  between  its  members  for  the  product 
of  the  various  distributors.  If,  however,  its  activities  are 
confined  to  purchasing  pictures  in  a  normal  manner,  without 
any  element  of  coercion,  for  exhibitors  operating  in  separate 
communities,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  any  legal  objection  to 
such  an  agency. 

Under  the  competitive  bidding  features  of  the  proposed 
decree,  in  any  event,  the  buying  power  of  all  such  organiza- 
tions will  be  rendered  innocuous.  In  the  future  each  defend- 
ant will  license  its  product  separately  to  each  theatre,  and 
will  be  unable  to  comply  with  any  unwarranted  demands. 
Under  such  a  system,  fairly  administered,  no  improper  opera- 
tions will  be  practicable. 

Pooling  Agreements 

The  law  condemns  an  agreement  for  the  pooling  or  joint 
operation  of  theatres  by  the  defendants  because  it  tends  to 
suppress  or  eliminate  competition."'  Inevitably  such  an  ar- 
rangement restricts  competition  between  the  contracting 


parties.  Because  of  the  buying  power  of  the  combined 
theatres,  particularly  when  controlled  by  powerful  circuits, 
it  may  also  tend  to  eliminate  the  competition  of  other  exhibi- 
tors in  the  same  area,  and  to  create  a  local  monopoly. 

Conversely,  however,  there  may  be  situations  where  two 
independents  are  operating  theatres  in  competition  with 
affiliated  houses  and  where,  consequently,  a  joint  operating 
arrangement  is  essential  to  their  economic  salvation.  In  such 
circumstances  is  a  pooling  arrangement  illegal?  Such  an 
agreement,  although  affecting  competition,  apparently  would 
have  no  tendency  to  create  a  monopoly.  It  might  even  tend 
in  some  degree  to  equalize  the  struggle  between  the  inde- 
pendent exhibitors  and  the  circuit,  and  in  many  situations 
to  be  what  is  regarded  by  the  law  as  a  reasonable  arrange-  . 
ment  to  promote  competition  for  the  ultimate  benefit  of  the 
public. 

Competitive  Bidding 
In  the  section  of  this  article  relating  to  "The  Remedy," 
a  fairly  comprehensive  outline  was  drawn  of  the  competitive 
bidding  features  of  the  proposed  decree  and  of  their  prob- 
able effect  upon  the  business  of  independent  operators.08 
Until  the  administrative  details  are  finally  determined  no 
further  suggestions  can  be  advanced  in  regard  to  future 
procedure.  It  appears  reasonably  certain,  however,  that  an 
independent  exhibitor  will  have  an  opportunity  to  improve 
his  playing  position  by  bidding  for  a  run  that  formerly  has 
been  unavailable.  When  the  decree  is  entered,  therefore,  all 
independents  should  analyze  it  carefully  to  ascertain  its 
effect  upon  their  operations. 

Clearance 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  Statutory  Court 
have  declared  clearance  unlawful  because  of  the  defendants' 
"concert  of  action  in  the  formation  of  a  uniform  system," 
which  constituted  a  conspiracy,  and  have  condemned  un- 
reasonable clearance  resulting  from  the  exercise  of  film- 
buying  power."9  They  indicated,  however,  that  a  grant  of 
clearance  was  valid  when  not  the  result  of  conspiracy,  when 
not  accompanied  by  price-fixing  stipulations,  and  when  not 
unreasonable  as  to  time  or  area. 

The  ban  of  the  Court  is  broad,  relating  generally  to  "the 
theatres  to  which  they  [the  defendant  distributors]  license 
their  films.  .  .  ."  Even  in  the  light  of  this  comprehensive 
condemnation  the  defendants  have  apparently  made  little,  if 
any,  change  in  existing  clearance  structures.  What  they  in- 
tend to  do  after  the  entry  of  a  final  decree  remains  to  be 
demonstrated.  In  the  event  they  insist  upon  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  present  structure,  an  exhibitor  may  have  to  decide 
whether  or  not  to  take  positive  action  for  the  preservation  of 
his  rights. 

Undoubtedly  some  form  of  arbitration  tribunal  will  be 
established  for  the  determination  of  the  reasonableness  of 
clearance.  Obviously,  too,  in  some  situations  the  only  com- 
plete remedy  may  be  by  virtue  of  the  anti-trust  laws.100  In 
the  meantime,  however,  it  may  be  desirable  for  an  exhibitor 
who  is  oppressed  by  the  existing  clearance  structure  to  make 
forcible  protest,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  distributors 
themselves.  He  should  put  himself  definitely  on  record  as 
being  unwilling  to  tolerate  it.  Undoubtedly  the  distributors 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


182 


"The  Perfect  Marriage" 
with  Loretta  Young  and  David  Niven 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  87  min.) 

Fairly  good.  Revolving  around  the  marital  bicker' 
ings  of  a  young  couple,  it  is  one  of  those  smart  com- 
edies that  is  primarily  entertainment  for  sophisticated 
audiences,  who  can  enjoy  a  picture  for  the  quality  of 
the  performances  alone  without  paying  too  much  at' 
tendon  to  the  story.  It  is  the  type  of  story  that  has 
been  done  many  times,  and  there  it  little  about  this 
version  that  is  novel,  but  its  thinness  is  overcome  to 
a  considerable  degree  by  the  clever  dialogue  and  the 
lush  production  values.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  women 
will  be  fascinated  by  the  exquisite  clothes  worn  by  the 
female  players.  Despite  its  air  of  sophistication,  the 
picture  has  moments  that  are  sentimentally  appealing, 
but  those  who  like  excitement  in  their  screen  fare  may 
find  it  a  bit  tedious,  for  it  is  all  talk  and  no  action: — 

Looked  upon  by  their  friends  as  a  model  married 
couple,  Loretta  Young  and  David  Niven  decide  to 
celebrate  their  tenth  wedding  anniversary  quietly  at 
home  with  their  little  daughter  (Nona  Griffith).  The 
peaceful  setting  is  interrupted  by  the  unexpected  ar- 
rival of  Jerome  Cowan,  Niven's  lawyer,  Rita  John- 
son, his  gossipy  wife,  and  Virginia  Field,  a  gay  di- 
vorcee. Niven,  desiring  privacy,  gets  rid  of  his  un- 
wanted guests,  but  his  abrupt  manner  precipitates  a 
quarrel  between  Loretta  and  himself,  culminating  in 
their  decision  that  the  happiness  had  gone  out  of  their 
married  life.  They  start  to  bicker  over  many  petty 
differences,  including  one  another's  relatives,  as  well 
as  the  subject  of  Loretta  placing  her  career  as  a  fashion 
editor  before  that  of  a  wife.  Loretta  finally  decides  to 
obtain  a  divorce.  Word  of  their  pending  divorce 
spreads  quickly,  and  Niven  tries  to  ease  his  unhappi- 
ness  by  going  out  with  Virginia,  while  Loretta,  in  re- 
taliation, takes  up  with  Eddie  Albert,  her  former 
sweetheart.  Their  efforts  to  arouse  each  other's  jeal- 
ousy brings  together  their  respective  fathers-in-law, 
who  do  their  best  to  effect  a  reconciliation.  In  the  end, 
however,  both  are  reunited,  not  only  because  of  their 
mutual  concern  over  the  future  happiness  of  their 
daughter,  but  also  because  each  could  not  get  along 
without  the  things  they  did  not  like  about  one  another. 

Leonard  Spigelglass  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a 
play  by  Samson  Raphaelson,  Hal  Wallis  produced  it, 
and  Lewis  Allen  directed  t.  The  cast  includes  Charles 
Ruggles,  Zazu  Pitts,  Nana  Bryant,  Louella  Gear, 
and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Till  the  Clouds  Roll  By" 
with  an  all-star  cast 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  120  min.) 
Supposedly  biographical  of  the  late  Jerome  Kern's 
career,  and  featuring  his  well-known  melodies  and 
ballads,  this  Technicolor  musical  shapes  up  as  a  sat- 
isfying mass  entertainment,  one  that  will  undoubtedly 
do  outstanding  business  mainly  because  of  the  mar- 
quee value  of  the  many  stars  who  appear  in  it.  The 
story  itself  is  ordinary,  and  its  unfoldment  offers  little 
that  is  new,  but  warm  and  sympathetic  performances 
by  Robert  Walker,  as  Kern,  and  by  Van  Heflin,  as  his 
arranger  and  dear  friend,  overcome  its  familiarity. 
Kern's  music  is,  of  course,  the  film's  most  delightful 
asset,  and  in  the  production  numbers  built  around  his 
songs  there  appear  such  personalities  as  June  Allyson, 
Lucille  Bremer,  Judy  Garland,  Kathryn  Grayson, 
Lena  Home,  Angela  Lansbury,  Van  Johnson,  Tony 
Martin,  Virginia  O'Brien,  Dinah  Shore,  and  Frank 
Sinatra,  each  singing  or  dancing.  All  please  with  their 
particular  specialties,  but  outstanding  among  them  is 


a  song-and-dance  number  by  Van  Johnson  and  Lu- 
cille Bremer,  executed  in  an  hilarious  tongue-in-cheek 
manner.  In  keeping  with  MGM  standards,  the  pro- 
duction values  are  extremely  lavish,  yet  one  cannot 
but  feel  that,  despite  its  cost  and  its  roster  of  stars,  the 
picture  somehow  fails  to  reach  any  unusual  heights 
either  in  dramatic  values  or  in  the  presentation  of  the 
production  numbers: — 

Kern,  an  aspiring  young  song  writer,  visits  James 
Hcsslcr,  (Van  Heflin),  an  expert  music  arranger,  to 
seek  his  help  on  one  of  his  compositions.  Hessler  rec- 
ognizes the  young  man's  ability  and  a  close  friendship 
develops  between  the  two.  Kern  becomes  convinced 
that  the  Broadway  producers  believed  that  musical 
number  and  productions,  to  be  hits,  must  be  imported 
from  England.  Determined  to  succeed,  he  goes  to 
England,  where  he  sells  one  of  his  songs  to  an  English 
producer  who  turns  it  into  a  huge  success.  This  hit  is 
followed  by  others,  and  Kern  soon  finds  himself  com- 
missioned by  Charles  Frohman  (Harry  Haydcn)  to 
write  the  music  for  one  of  his  Broadway  shows.  Mean- 
while Kern  had  fallen  in  love  with  Eva  Lcale  (Doro- 
thy Patrick),  an  English  girl.  Their  romance  is  inter- 
rupted by  Kern's  trip  to  New  York,  but  in  due  time 
he  becomes  even  more  successful  and  returns  to  Eng- 
land to  make  her  his  wife.  With  the  passing  years, 
Kern's  successes  continue  and  his  happiness  is  marred 
only  by  the  ill  health  of  Hessler,  his  dear  friend.  A 
crisis  develops  when  Kern,  after  promising  Hessler's 
daughter,  Sally  (Lucille  Bremer),  that  he  would  put 
her  in  a  show  and  allow  her  to  introduce  one  of  his 
songs,  is  compelled  by  the  producer  to  give  the  song 
to  Marilyn  Miller  (Judy  Garland),  the  star.  Heart- 
broken, Sally  runs  away  from  home.  Hessler  sick  with 
worry  over  her  disappearance,  dies.  Interested  in 
nothing  but  finding  Sally,  Kern  loses  interest  in  his 
music.  He  eventually  locates  her  in  a  Mcmphs  cafe, 
where  she  convinces  him  of  her  determination  to  make 
her  own  way  in  the  entertainment  world.  His  mind 
eased  over  Sally's  welfare,  Kern  returns  to  his  music 
and  begins  to  write  the  score  for  "Showboat." 

Myles  Connolly  and  Jean  Holloway  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  the  story  by  Guy  Bolton,  Arthur 
Freed  produced  it,  and  Richard  Whorf  directed  it. 

"Singin'  in  the  Corn"  with  Judy  Canova 
and  Allen  Jenkins 

(Columbia,  Dec.  26;  time,  66  min.) 

Just  a  mildly  amusing  program  comedy.  The  hu- 
mor is  of  the  slapstick  variety,  and  the  action  provides 
several  laughs,  but  the  story  is  so  childish  and  silly 
that  it  cannot  possibly  hold  the  interest  of  mature- 
minded  audiences.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  two  reel 
material  stretched  to  feature  length,  and  after  a  while 
it  becomes  boresome.  Most  of  the  characters  are  made 
to  behave  like  imbeciles,  and  the  situations  they  find 
themselves  in  are  so  inane  that  none  but  children  will 
find  them  humorous.  On  the  whole,  the  picture  shapes 
up  as  material  of  little  value,  but  it  may  get  by  in  situ- 
ations where  Judy  Canova's  popularity  is  a  telling 
factor  at  the  box-office: — 

Judy,  a  carnival  fortune-teller,  inherits  her  grand- 
father's estate  under  a  will  that  contained  a  provision 
requiring  her  to  first  redeem  the  old  man's  reputation 
by  returning  to  a  tribe  of  Indians  the  ghost  town  of 
McCoy's  Gulch,  which  he  had  stolen  from  them  years 
previously.  Under  the  will,  Judy  had  twenty-four 
hours  in  which  to  return  the  property,  otherwise  Alan 
Bridge,  her  grandfather's  former  partner,  would  be- 
come the  beneficiary  of  the  estate.  Judy,  aided  by 
Allen  Jenkins,  her  one-time  carnival-spieler,  prepares 


November  16,  1946 


183 


to  effect  the  return  of  the  property  to  the  Indians,  but 
Bridge  and  his  henchmen,  using  ingenious  devices,  sue' 
ceed  in  convincing  the  Indians  that  the  town  was 
haunted  and  cause  them  to  refuse  to  accept  the  prop- 
erty. Aware  of  Bridge's  trickery,  Judy  and  Jenkins 
masquerade  as  a  wealthy  Mexican  couple  interested 
in  investing  a  million  dollars  in  the  town,  and,  while 
some  of  the  Indian  leaders  eavesdrop,  they  try  to  make 
Bridge  admit  that  the  stories  about  the  town  being 
haunted  were  untrue.  Bridge,  however,  discovers  the 
masquerade  and  brings  the  negotiations  to  an  abrupt 
end,  thus  leaving  the  Indians  still  unconvinced.  Even- 
tually Judy  corners  Bridge  and  his  henchmen  and,  mv 
der  threat  of  drowning  them,  forces  them  to  tell  the 
truth.  Thus  Judy  manages  to  fulfill  the  terms  of  the 
will,  while  Bridge  and  his  followers  get  their  just 
deserts. 

Isabel  Dawn  and  Monte  Brice  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  the  story  by  Richard  Weil,  Ted  Richmond 
produced  it,  and  Del  Lord  directed  it.  The  cast  in' 
eludes  Guinn  Williams,  Charles  Halton  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Boston  Blackie  and  the  Law" 
with  Chester  Morris  and  Trudy  Marshall 

(Columbia,  Dec.  12;  time,  69  mm.) 

This  comedy-melodrama  is  on  a  par  with  most  of 
the  other  pictures  in  the  series;  that  is,  just  moderately 
entertaining.  Once  again  the  players  have  been  bur- 
dened with  a  thin  and  highly  improbable  story,  and 
they  are  made  to  behave  in  so  ridiculous  a  manner 
that  the  spectator  loses  patience  with  them.  Although 
the  film  runs  for  a  little  more  than  an  hour,  it  has 
been  padedd  considerably  to  give  it  that  length.  Most 
of  this  padding  occurs  in  the  sequences  dealing  with 
the  dumb-detective  type  of  comedy,  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  being  dragged  out  to  the  point  of  boredom,  is 
too  stupid  to  be  funny.  In  general,  the  situations  are  a 
rehash  of  those  used  in  the  other  pictures,  and  unless 
some  originality  is  injected  into  these  pictures  to  get 
them  out  of  their  unimaginative  rut  Columbia  might 
do  well  to  drop  the  series : — 

While  treating  the  inmates  of  a  woman's  prison  to 
a  magic  show,  Chester  Morris  becomes  indirectly  re 
sponsible  for  the  escape  of  Constance  Dowling,  who 
uses  one  of  his  magic  devices  to  good  advantage.  Mor- 
ris finds  himself  accused  of  being  Constance's  accom- 
plice, and  is  arrested  by  Inspector  Richard  Lane.  To 
prove  his  innocence,  he  escapes  from  Lane  and, 
through  newspaper  files,  learns  that  Constance  was 
once  the  wife  of  Warren  Ashe,  a  magician.  He  learns 
also  that  the  two  had  been  involved  in  a  $100,000 
robbery;  that  Ashe  had  been  acquitted  but  Constance 
had  been  sent  to  prison  for  three  years;  and  that  the 
money  had  not  yet  been  recovered.  Morris  visits  Ashe 
at  a  local  theatre,  meets  Trudy  Marshall,  his  assistant, 
and  learns  that  the  two  planned  to  marry.  He  ar- 
ranges to  impersonate  Ashe,  not  only  to  trap  Con- 
stance, but  also  to  protect  him  from  her.  Shortly  after- 
wards, despite  Ashe's  claim  that  he  did  not  know  the 
whereabouts  of  the  $100,000,  Morris  locates  the 
money  in  a  safe  deposit  box  and  decides  to  use  it  as 
bait  in  an  effort  to  trap  Constance.  In  the  course  of 
events,  both  Ashe  and  Constance  are  found  murdered 
under  circumstances  that  point  to  Morris  as  the  killer 
— an  arrangement  engineered  cleverly  by  Trudy,  who 
wanted  the  $100,000  for  herself.  Trudy  manages  to 
trap  Morris  and  summons  the  police.  While  waiting 
for  their  arrival,  she  smugly  admits  to  Morris  that  she 
had  committed  both  murders  but  that  he  would  pay 
for  her  crimes.  When  the  police  arrive  to  arrest  him, 


Morris  claims  to  have  secured  Trudy's  confession  as 
the  murderess.  Lane  scoffs  at  him,  but  to  prove  it 
Morris  turns  on  a  phonograph  and,  through  ventrilo- 
quism, tricks  Trudy  into  giving  herself  away. 

Harry  J.  Essex  wrote  the  orignal  screen  play,  Ted 
Richmond  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross  Ledcrman  di- 
rected it.  The  cast  includes  George  E.  Stone,  Frank 
Sully  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"That  Brennan  Girl"  with  Mona  Freeman 
and  James  Dunn 

(Republic,  Dec.  23;  time,  95  min.) 

Although  the  story  has  its  shortcomings,  this  drama, 
by  virtue  of  good  directing  and  acting,  should  appeal 
to  adult  audiences  pretty  well.  The  picture  presents 
another  version  of  the  mother  love  theme,  and  be- 
cause  of  several  powerfully  emotionally  scenes, 
women  in  particular  should  enjoy  it.  The  sympathy 
of  the  spectator  is  centered  mainly  around  Mona 
Freeman,  a  sensitive  girl,  who  is  launched  on  a  "gold- 
digging"  career  by  her  mother,  a  woman  of  question- 
able morals.  How  the  girl  marries  a  service  man  out 
of  true  love,  bears  his  child  shortly  after  he  is  killed  in 
action,  then  has  the  baby  taken  away  from  her  on  the 
grounds  that  she  is  an  unfit  mother,  is  told  in  an  emo- 
tionally stirring  way.  The  situations  that  will  touch 
one  are  those  in  which  Mona  is  forced  to  part  from 
her  child.  Miss  Freeman  enacts  her  role  in  a  believable 
way,  and  the  part  should  do  much  to  establish  her  as 
a  first-rate  actress : — 

Tutored  by  her  fun-loving  mother  (June  Dupres) , 
Mona  progresses  from  a  sweet  14-year-old  girl  to  a 
hardened,  worldly-wise  17-year-old  young  lady.  She 
enters  the  employ  of  James  Dunn,  a  racketeer  special- 
ising in  stolen  furniture,  and  one  evening,  in  a  night- 
club, flirts  with  William  Marshall,  a  naive  naval  offi- 
cer, whose  watch  she  steals.  She  repents  later  when 
she  discovers  that  the  watch  was  a  gift  from  his 
mother,  and  returns  it  to  him.  Marshall  refuses  to  be 
disillusioned  and  asks  her  to  marry  him.  Very  much 
in  love  with  him,  Mona  consents.  Shortly  thereafter, 
Marshall  is  killed  and  Mona  bears  his  child.  She  moves 
away  from  the  sordid  atmosphere  of  her  mother's 
apartment  and  discovers  satisfaction  in  motherhood, 
but  before  long  she  becomes  dispirited  and  forlorn. 
She  finds  a  "baby-sitter" — an  irresponsible  young  girl 
— and  starts  going  out  evenings.  Meanwhile  Dunn, 
with  whom  the  police  had  caught  up,  returns  from  a 
prison  term  determined  to  reform.  He  takes  a  great 
interest  in  Mona  and  the  baby,  and  disapproves  of  her 
leaving  the  child  with  a  "sitter."  One  night  the  child 
almost  strangles  to  death  when  the  "sitter"  leaves  it 
unattended  and,  as  a  result,  the  authorities  place  the 
baby  in  a  children's  home.  Heartbroken  over  the  loss 
of  her  baby,  as  well  as  over  Dunn's  refusal  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  her,  Mona  goes  into  hiding.  Her 
pain  is  eased,  however,  when  she  finds  another  child 
abandoned  in  a  church  and  cares  for  it  devotedly.  In 
the  meantime,  Dunn,  prompted  by  his  mother  (Doro- 
thy Vaughan)  finds  Mona  after  a  long  search  and 
learns  of  what  she  had  done  for  the  motherless  child. 
He  induces  her  to  go  to  the  authorities,  who,  im- 
pressed by  the  conscientious  care  she  had  given  the 
baby,  permit  her  to  adopt  it  and  return  her  own  child 
to  her.  With  Dunn's  proposal  of  marriage,  Mona's 
happiness  is  complete. 

Doris  Anderson  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the 
story  by  Adcla  Rogers  St.  John.  Alfred  Santcll  pro- 
duced it.  The  cast  includes  Frank  Jcnks,  Charles  Arnt, 
Rosalind  Ivan  and  others.  Adult  entertainment, 
tainment. 


184 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  16,  1946 


have  learned  something  from  the  decision;  and  not  incon- 
ceivably, when  confronted  with  a  strong  protest,  they  will 
grant  some  relief.  As  a  last  resort  he  may  appeal  to  the 
Department  of  Justice,  and  ultimately  elect  whether  or  not 
to  take  advantage  of  the  remedies  now  to  be  considered. 
Arbitration  or  Litigation 

Many  of  the  practices  of  the  defendants  that  have  been 
declared  illegal  by  the  Statutory  Court  have  been  in  force 
for  many  years  over  substantially  the  entire  nation,  with  the 
result  that  few,  if  any,  independent  operators  are  unaffected 
by  them.  In  some  situations  the  effect  may  be  slight;  in  other 
cases  the  injuries  sustained  may  be  of  such  consequence  as 
to  warrant  affirmative  action  of  some  nature. 

At  the  time  of  this  writing,  the  scope  of  the  proposed 
arbitration  tribunals,  and  the  nature  of  the  controversies 
that  may  be  arbitrated,  have  not  been  finally  determined. 
Nor  is  it  definitely  known  that  redress  will  be  granted  a 
complainant  who  prevails  in  an  arbitration  proceeding.  Until 
these  questions  are  settled  it  is  impossible  to  form  an  opinion 
in  regard  to  the  desirability  of  arbitrating  any  particular 
controversy. 

If,  however,  the  decisions  under  the  existing  arbitration 
system  may  be  taken  as  a  guide- — and  the  chances  are  that 
the  new  system  will  be  more  effective — then  in  most  cases 
an  exhibitor  having  a  just  grievance  will  be  awarded  some 
relief.  It  may  not  be  complete  relief,  because,  after  all,  arbi- 
tration frequently  results  in  a  compromise  between  con- 
flicting contentions,  but  it  is  not  unlikely  to  be  of  substan- 
tial benefit.  The  proceeding  before  the  arbitration  tribunal 
may  be  comparatively  brief,  the  decision  prompt.  The  cost 
may  be  small,  even  nominal,  in  comparison  with  the  expense 
of  an  action  at  law;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  pro- 
vision will  be  made  to  reimburse  a  successful  complainant 
for  his  costs  and  expenses,  and  even  to  award  him  some 
compensation  for  the  wrong  he  has  sustained. 

The  alternative  to  arbitration  is  litigation,  possibly  an 
action  under  the  anti-trust  laws.  Such  an  action  may  be 
protracted  and  expensive,  and  should  not  be  lightly  under- 
taken by  a  person  of  limited  resources.  In  a  disputed  case  a 
lawyer  frequently  advises  his  client  to  accept  a  fair  com' 
promise,  rather  than  to  engage  in  costly  and  uncertain  liti- 
gation. If,  therefore,  the  controversy  is  arbitrable,  and  if  the 
remedy  provided  by  the  decree  is  unreasonably  adequate,  it 
may  be  good  judgment  to  have  it  decided  by  an  arbitration 
tribunal. 

Instances  may  occur,  however,  where  the  controversy  is 
not  arbitrable,  or  where,  under  the  rules  of  arbitration,  no 
adequate  compensation  can  be  secured  for  the  injury  sus- 
tained, or  where  litigation  is  the  only  alternative  to  finan- 
cial destruction.  In  that  event  the  independent  may  be 
forced  to  seek  relief  under  the  laws  of  his  country. 

Actions  under  the  anti-trust  laws  of  the  United  States  are 
not  of  rare  occurrence  in  the  motion  picture  industry.  Inde- 
pendent exhibitors  and  distributors,  as  well  as  other  persons 
engaged  in  it,  are  generally  familiar  with  the  sections  of  the 
Sherman  Act  which  prohibit  every  contract,  combination 
and  conspiracy  in  restraint  of  interstate  trade  or  commerce, 
and  declare  that  no  person  shall  monopolize,  or  attempt  to 
monopolize,  or  combine  or  conspire  with  any  other  person 
to  monopolize,  any  part  of  such  commerce.101  By  other  pro- 
visions of  those  laws  other  specified  acts  and  practices  are 
condemned,102  but  these  are  the  sections  relied  upon  by  the 
Government,  and  are,  for  all  practical  purposes,  the  sections 
upon  which  independents  must  also  depend. 

Generally  speaking,  the  anti-trust  laws  condemn  restraints 
of  trade  and  monopoly.  Their  purpose  is  to  prohibit  inter- 
ferences with  competition  and  the  unnatural  obstruction  of 
the  channels  of  interstate  trade.103  "The  interest  of  the 
public  in  the  preservation  of  competition  is  the  primary 
consideration."104  For  that  reason  the  Statutory  Court 
weighed  with  considerable  care  the  effect  upon  competition, 
and  consequently  upon  the  public,  of  the  challenged  prac- 
tices. 

In  the  anti-trust  laws  there  are  comprehensive  provisions 
to  discourage  violation.  Not  only  are  penalties  of  fine  and 
imprisonment  prescribed,  but  the  laws  also  impose  upon 
the  Attorney  General  the  duty  of  instituting  proceedings  in 
equity  to  prevent  and  restrain  such  violations.105  They  give 


a  civil  remedy  to  "Any  person  who  shall  be  injured  in  his 
business  or  property  by  reason  of  anything  forbidden  in  the 
anti-trust  laws"  in  "three-fold  the  damages  by  him  sustained, 
and  the  cost  of  suit,  including  a  reasonable  attorneys'  fee." 
They  also  provide  that  any  person  "shall  be  entitled  to  6ue 
for  and  have  injunctive  relief  .  .  .  against  threatened  loss 
or  damage  by  a  violation  of  the  anti-trust  laws.  .  .  ."u>* 

Apparently  with  the  intention  of  placing  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment, rather  than  upon  individuals,  the  primary  burden 
of  preventing  violations  of  the  anti-trust  laws,  the  Congress 
provided  that  when  any  proceeding  has  been  instituted  by 
the  Government  "to  restrain  or  punish  violations  of  any  of 
the  anti-trust  laws,  the  running  of  the  statute  of  limitations 
in  respect  of  each  and  every  private  right  of  action  arising 
under  said  laws  and  based  in  whole  or  in  part  on  any  matter 
complained  of  in  said  suit  or  proceeding  shall  be  suspended 
during  the  pendency  thereof." m  In  popular  language,  the 
statute  prevents  any  private  right  of  action  from  being  "out- 
lawed" whde  a  Government  suit  involving  the  same  issues 
is  pending. 

The  same  section  of  the  Clayton  Act  provides  :m 
"A  final  judgment  or  decree  rendered  in  any  criminal 
prosecution  or  in  any  suit  or  proceeding  in  equity  brought 
by  or  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  under  the  anti-trust 
laws  to  the  effect  that  a  defendant  has  violated  6aid  laws 
shall  be  prima  facie  evidence  against  such  defendant  in  any 
suit  or  proceeding  brought  by  any  other  party  against  such 
defendant  under  said  laws  as  to  all  matters  respecting  which 
said  judgment  or  decree  would  be  an  estoppel  as  between  the 
parties  thereto.  .  .  ." 

Merely  to  give  an  example  of  the  effect  of  a  final  decree 
by  the  Statutory  Court,  and  at  the  same  time  to  interpret  the 
language  of  the  statute,  it  may  be  suggested  that  if  an 
independent  exhibitor  operating  in  direct  competition  with 
affiliated  theatres  should  bring  suit  claiming  not  only  that 
he  was  compelled  to  charge  admission  prices  prescribed  by 
the  defendants  but  also  that  he  was  subjected  to  unreason- 
able clearance  as  a  result  of  their  conspiracy,  he  would  not 
be  required  in  the  first  instance  to  prove  that  the  admission 
price  stipulations  were  illegal  or  that  the  clearance  was  the 
result  of  conspiracy.  The  Government  has  already  estab- 
lished those  facts;  and,  because  of  this  section  of  the  statute, 
it  would  only  be  necessary  for  the  plaintiff  to  prove  the 
final  decree  by  presentation  of  a  certified  copy.  The  decree, 
however,  would  not  be  conclusive;  and  thereafter  both  the 
defendants  and  the  plaintiff  might  introduce  other  evidence 
on  the  issue  of  conspiracy  for  the  ultimate  decision  of  the 
Court  or  jury. 

In  at  least  two  respects,  therefore,  the  final  decree  of  the 
Expediting  Court  will  be  of  inestimable  benefit  to  independ- 
ents asserting  claims  under  the  anti-trust  laws:  (1)  it  will 
prevent  the  running  of  the  statute  of  limitations;  and  (2)  it 
will  provide  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  defendants'  viola- 
tions of  law.  Of  even  greater  consequence,  the  principles  of 
law  to  be  enunciated  by  the  Supreme  Court  upon  appeal 
will  be  binding  on  all  Federal  courts  in  anti-trust  actions. 


"See  the  previous  discussion  in  Harrison's  Reports,  September  7, 
1946,  p.  143.  A  theatre  operating  combination  comes  within  the 
category  of  pooling  agreements  and  is  generally  governed  by  the 
same  legal  principles. 

mMid-West  Theatres  Co.  v.  Co-Operative  Theatres  of  Michigan 
(D.C.  E.D.  Mich.,  S.D.)  43  F.  Supp.  216.  This  decision,  it  has 
been  noted,  was  not  cited  in  the  opinion  of  the  Statutory  Court. 

"See  Harrison's  Reports,  September  7,  1946. 

98Harrison's  Reports,  September  28,  1946. 

■^Hakrison's  Reports,  August  24,  31,  1946,  "(2)  Run  and 
Clearance." 

100  See  the  next  sub-section  of  this  article,  entitled  "Arbitration  or 

Litigation." 
101 15  U.S.C.A.,  1,2. 

102Id.,  sec.  18,  which  originated  in  1914  with  the  Clayton  Act,  for 
example,  prohibits  the  acquisition  of  the  capital  stock  of  com- 
peting corporations  engaged  in  interstate  commerce,  where  the 
effect  may  be  to  lessen  competition  between  the  corporations, 
"or  to  restrain  such  commerce  in  any  section  or  community,  or 
tend  to  create  a  monopoly  of  any  line  of  commerce." 

103  See  the  discussion  of  this  subject  by  the  writer  in  Harrison's 
Reporis,  April  18,  1936. 

104 Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corf.  v.  United  States,  29,2  U.S.  30,  44. 

105This  section  is  quoted  more  fully  in  Harrison's  Reports,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1946,  footnote  59. 

10815  U.S.C.A.,  sees.  15,  26. 

107U.S.C.A.  16.  This  section  of  the  statute  was  first  applied  in  an 
action  affecting  the  motion  picture  industry  in  Momand  V.  Uni- 
versal Film  Exchanges,  Inc.,  et  al,  (D.C.  Mass.)  43  F.  Supp. 
996. 

108 15  U.S.C.A.  16. 


IN  TWO  SECTIONS— SECTION  TWO 

HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


Vol.  XXVIII     NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.,  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  16,  1946  No.  46 

(Partial  Index  No.  6 — Pages  158  to  180  Inclusive) 


Titles  of  Pictures  Reviewed  on  Page 

Beauty  and  the  Bandit — Monogram  (71  m.)  .  .not  reviewed 

Blue  Skies — Paramount  (104  min.)  158 

Bringing  Up  Father — Monogram  (68  min.)  171 

Brute  Man,  The— PRC  (58  min.)  170 

Chase,  The — United  Artists  (85  min.)  167 

Child  of  Divorce— RKO  (62  min.)  166 

Cuban  Pete — Universal  (61  min.)  159 

Dangerous  Money — Monogram  (66  min.)  166 

Dark  Mirror,  The — Universal  (85  min.)  158 

Deception — Warner  Bros.  (112  min.)  166 

Devils  Playground,  The — United  Artists  not  reviewed 

Dick  Tracy  vs.  Cueball— RKO  (62  min.)  179 

Driftin'  River — PRC  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Fool's  Gold — United  Artists  (63  min.)  not  reviewed 

Gas  House  Kids— PRC  (68  min.)  162 

Gentleman,  Joe  Palooka — Monogram  (72  min.)  162 

Jolson  Story,  The — Columbia  (126  min.)  162 

Margie — 20th  Century-Fox  (93  min.)  167 

My  Darling  Clementine — 20th  Century-Fox  (97  min.).  163 
Mysterious  Mr.  Valentine,  The — Republic  (56  min.) . .  167 

Never  Say  Goodbye — Warner  Bros.  (97  min.)  170 

Nocturne— RKO  (87  min.)  166 

Notorious  Gentleman — Universal  (108  min.)  171 

Plainsman  and  the  Lady — Republic  (87  min.)  178 

Santa  Fe  Uprising — Republic  (56  min.)  . . ; .  .not  reviewed 

Secret  of  the  Whistler — Columbia  (64  min.)  174 

Shadowed — Columbia  (69  min.)  171 

Silver  Range — Monogram  (55  min.)  not  reviewed 

Song  of  the  South— RKO  (94  min.)  174 

Strange  Holiday— PRC  (56  min.)  159 

Strange  Woman,  The — United  Artists  (100  min.)  174 

Terror  Trail — Columbia  (56  min.)  not  reviewed 

Tumbleweed  Trail — PRC  (57  min.)  not  reviewed 

Undercurrent— MGM  (114  min.)  158 

Vacation  in  Reno — RKO  (60  min.)  163 

Verdict,  The— Warner  Bros.  (86  min.)  178 

Wanted  for  Murder — 20th  Century-Fox  (91  min.)...  178 

White  Tie  and  Tails — Universal  (75  min.)  179 

Wife  Wanted — Monogram  (70  min.)  170 

Wild  Beauty — Universal  (61  min.)  159 


RELEASE  SCHEDULE  FOR  FEATURES 
Columbia  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave.,  Hew  Yor^  19,  H-  T.) 

1945-46 

7223  Cowboy  Blues — Western  Musical  (66  m.)  . . .  July  18 

7033  Sing  While  You  Dance — Drew-Stanton  July  25 

7039  Personality  Kid — Duane-Louise  Aug.  8 

7210  Heading  West — Charles  Starrett  (54  m.)  ..Aug.  15 

7038  It's  Great  To  Be  Young — Brooks-Lord  Sept.  12 

7002  Gallant  Journey — Ford-Blair  Sept.  17 

7041  Shadowed — Louise-Duane  Sept.  26 

7006  The  Thrill  of  Brazil— Keyes-Wynn  Sept.  30 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

805  So  Dark  the  Night— Geray-Cheiral  Oct.  10 

806  Blondie  Knows  Beat — Lake-Singleton  Oct.  17 

861  Landrush — Chas.  Starrett  (54  min.)   Oct.  17 

816  Crime  Doctor's  Man  Hunt — Baxter-Drew  . .  .  .Oct.  24 
818  Secret  of  the  Whistler — Dix-Brooks  Nov.  7 

862  Terror  Trail— Charles  Starrett  (56  m.)  Nov.  21 

854  Lone  Star  Moonlight — Musical  Western  Nov.  28 

824  Betty  Co-ed — Porter-Mills   Nov.  28 

822  Boston  Blackie  &  the  Law — Morris  Dec.  12 

Alias  Mr.  Twilight — Duane-Marshall  Dec.  19 

863  The  Fighting  Frontiersman — Starrett  Dec.  19 

804  Singin'  in  the  Corn — Judy  Canova  Dec.  26 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Features 

(1540  Broadway,  Hew  Yor\  19,  7v[.  T.) 

1945-46 

Block  17 

625  Boys'  Ranch — Jenkins-Homeier  July  18 

626  Courage  of  Lassie — Taylor-Morgan  Aug.  8 

627  Faithful  in  My  Fashion — Reed-Drake  Aug.  22 

628  Three  Wise  Fools — O'Brien-Barrymore  Aug.  29 

Specials 

605  Weekend  at  the  Waldorf — All  star  Oct. 

616  Adventure — Gable-Garson  Mar. 

617  Ziegfeld  Follies  of  1946 — All-star  cast  Mar. 

623  The  Green  Years — Coburn-Drake  July  4 

624  Easy  to  Wed — Johnson-Williams-Ball   July  25 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 
701  Holiday  in  Mexico — Pidgeon-Powell  Sept. 

703  The  Cockeyed  Miracle — Morgan- Wynn  Oct. 

704  No  Leave,  No  Love — Johnson-Wynn  Oct. 

705  Rage  in  Heaven — Montgomery-Bergman  (reissue)  Oct. 

Two  Smart  People — Hodiak-Ball   Nov. 

Undercurrent — Hepburn-Taylor   Nov. 

Monogram  Features 

(630  Hinth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  19,  N..  Y.) 

1945-46 

511  Bowery  Bombshell — Bowery  Boys  July  20 

518  Shadows  Over  Chinatown — Toler  July  27 

520  Below  the  Deadline — Douglas-Ames  Aug.  3 

567  Shadows  on  the  Range — J.  M.  Brown  (57  m.) 

(re.)   Aug.  10 

525  Missing  Lady — Richmond-Reed  Aug.  17 

512  Spook  Busters — Bowery  Boys  Aug.  24 

517  High  School  Hero — Stewart-Preisser  Sept.  7 

531  Beauty  &  the  Bandit — Roland-Ames  (71  m.)  .Nov.  9 
563  Silver  Range — J.  M.  Brown  (55  m.)  Nov.  16 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

601  Decoy — Norris-Gillie  Sept.  14 

603  Dangerous  Money — Sidney  Toler  Oct.  12 

607  Gentleman  Joe  Palooka — Kirkwood-Knox  . . .  .Oct.  19 

605  Wife  Wanted— Kay  Francis  Nov.  2 

604  Bringing  Up  Father — Joe  Yule  Nov.  23 

607  The  Trap— Sidney  Toler  Nov.  30 

Mr.  Hex — Bowery  Boys   Dec.  7 

606  Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi — Regan-Knox  Dec.  21 

681  Song  of  the  Sierras — Jimmy  Wakely  Dec.  28 

Silver  Stallion — Reissue  Dec.  14 

Special 

699  Suspense — Belita-Sullivan   June  15 

Paramount  Features 

(1501  Broadway,  New  Yor^  18,  H-  Y.) 

1945-46 

Block  5 

4521  The  Bride  Wore  Boots — Stanwyck-Cummings.May  31 

4522  Our  Hearts  Were  Growing  Up — Russell- 

Lynn   June  14 

4523  Hot  Cargo — Gargan-Reed  June  28 

4524  To  Each  His  Own— Olivia  De  Havilland  July  5 

Block  6 

4526  O.S.S.— Ladd-Fitzgerald  July  26 

4527  The  Searching  Wind — Young-Sidney  Aug.  9 

4528  Swamp  Fire — Weissmuller-Crabbe  Sept.  6 

4529  Strange  Love  of  Martha  Ivers — Stanwyck- 

Heflin  Sept.  13 

Special 

4531  Road  to  Utopia — Crosby-Hope  Mar.  22 

4532  Monsieur  Bcaucaire — Bob  Hope  Aug.  30 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

R5-3620  Jungle  Princess — Reissue   Sept.  1 

R5-3624  The  Plainsman — Reissue  Sept.  1 

4601  Two  Years  Before  the  Mast — Ladd  Bcndix  .Nov.  22 

4602  Blue  Skies— Crosby-Astairc  Dec.  27 


November  16,  1946 


PRC  Pictures,  Inc.  Features 

(625  Madison  Ave..  Hew  for\  22,  H-  Y.) 

1945-46 

Larceny  in  Her  Heart — Beaumont-Walker.  .  .  .July  10 

Prairie  Bad  Men — Buster  Crabbe  (J?  m.)  July  17 

Queen  of  Burlesque — Young-Ankers  July  24 

Terrors  on  Horseback — Buster  Crabbe  (55m.).  Aug.  14 
Down  Missouri  Way — Wright-O'Driscoll.  . .  Aug.  15 

Secrets  of  a  Sorority  Girl — Ware-Vallin  Aug.  15 

Overland  Riders — Buster  Crabbe  (54  m.)  . .  .Aug.  21 

Blonde  for  a  Day — Beaumont-Walker  Aug.  29 

Strange  Holiday — Claude  Rains  Sept.  2 

Outlaw  of  the  Plains — Crabbe  (56  m.)  Sept.  22 

Accomplice — Richard  Arlen  Sept.  29 

Gas  House  Kids — Lowery-Loring  Oct.  28 

Don  Ricardo  Returns — Coby-Isabelita  Nov.  5 

Lady  Chaser — Lowcry-Savagc  Nov.  25 

Lighthouse — Litel-Lang   Dec.  10 

#  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Her  Sister's  Secret — Lindsay-Reed  Sept.  23 

Driftin'  River — Eddie  Dean  (55  m.)  Oct.  1 

The  Brute  Man— Neal-Adams  Oct.  1 

Tumblcwced  Trail — Eddie  Dean  (57  min.)  .  .  .Oct.  28 

Stars  Over  Texas — Eddie  Dean  Nov.  18 

Wild  West — Eddie  Dean  (formerly  "Melody 

Roundup")  Dec.  1 


Republic  Features 

(1790  Broadway.  Hew  Tor\  19,  H-  Y.) 

1945-46 

523  Night  Train  to  Memphis — Acuff-Lane-Mara.  .July  12 

525  Rendezvous  with  Annie — Albert-Patrick  July  22 

568  Conquest  of  Cheyenne — Elliott  (56m.)  July  22 

557  Red  River  Renegades — Sunset  Carson  (55  m.)  .July  25 

526  The  Inner  Circle — Douglas-Roberts  Aug.  7 

527  The  Last  Crooked  Mile — Barry-Savage  Aug.  9 

528  G.  I.  War  Brides— Ellison-Lee  Aug.  12 

529  Invisible  Informer — Stirling-Henry  Aug.  19 

530  Earl  Carroll  Sketchbook — Moore-Marshall  . .  .Aug.  22 

541  Under  Nevada  Skies — Roy  Rogers  (69  m.) .  Aug.  26 

531  Mysterious  Mr.  Valentine — Stirling-Henry ..  Sept.  3 

558  Rio  Grande  Raiders — Carson  (56  m.)  Sept.  9 

542  Roll  on  Texas  Moon — Roy  Rogers  (68  m.) .  .Sept.  12 
5542  Home  in  Oklahoma — Roy  Rogers  Nov.  8 

532  Plainsman  6?  the  Lady — Elliott-Ralston  Nov.  15 

That  Brennan  Girl — Freeman-Dunn  Dec.  23 


(Ed.  J^ote:  "Last  Frontier  Uprising,"  listed  in  the  previous 
index  as  an  Oct.  22  release,  has  been  withdrawn.) 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 


Santa  Fe  Uprising — Allan  Lane  (56  min.) .  .  .Nov.  15 

603  Affairs  of  Geraldine — Withers-Lydon  Nov.  18 

Sioux  City  Sue — Gene  Autry  Nov.  21 

604  The  Fabulous  Suzanne — Britton-Vallee  Dec.  15 

The  Pilgrim  Lady — Douglas-Roberts   Dec.  22 

Stage  Coach  to  Denver — Allan  Lane  Dec.  23 

Angel  and  the  Badman — Wayne-Russell  Jan.  5 

Calendar  Girl — Frazee-Marshall  Jan.  29 

Special 

601  I've  Always  Loved  You — Dorn-McLeod  Aug.  27 


RKO  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Tor\  20,  H-  Y.) 
(No  national  release  dates) 

1945-46 

Block  6 

626  Till  the  End  of  Time — McGuire-Madison. 

627  Crack-Up — O'Brien-Trevor-Marshall   , 

628  Bedlam— Karloff-Lee  

629  The  Falcon's  Alibi — Conway-Corday  , 

630  The  Bamboo  Blonde — Langford-Wade  , 

Specials 

681  Along  Came  Jones — Cooper- Young  , 

651  Wonder  Man — Danny  Kaye  , 

691  Wonderful  Adventures  of  Pinocchio — (reissue) 
661  Bells  of  St.  Mary's — Crosby-Bergman  , 

682  Tomorrow  is  Forever — Colbert-Welles-Brent  . . , 

692  Make  Mine  Music — Disney  , 

683  The  Stranger — Robinson-Welles-Young  

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 
Block  1 

701  Sister  Kenny — Russell-Knox  „  

702  Lady  Luck — Hale-Young-Morgan  

703  Step  by  Step — Tierney- Jeffries  

704  Sunset  Pass — James  Warren  

705  Great  Day — English  cast  


Page  B 
Block  2 

708  Child  of  Divorce— Moffett-Toomey  

706  Nocturne — Raft-Bari   

709  Criminal  Court — Conway-O'Driscoll  

710  Genius  at  Work — Carney-Brown  

707  Deadlier  Than  the  Male — Slezak-Trevor  

Block  3 

Dick  Tracy  vs.  Cueball — Morgan  Conway  

Vacation  in  Reno — Haley-Jeffreys  

The  Falcon's  Adventure — Tom  Conway  

The  Locket — Aherne-Day  

Sinbad  the  Sailor — Fairbanks,  Jr.-O'Hara  

Specials 

761  Notorious — Bergman-Grant  

Fantasia — Reissue  


Twentieth  Century-Fox  Features 

(444  W.  56th  St..  Hew  r0r\  19,  H-  Y.) 

631  Smoky — MacMurray-Baxter   July 

632  It  Shouldn't  Happen  to  a  Dog — Landis-Joslyn. . .  .July 

633  Centennial  Summer — Cram-Wilde  Aug. 

634  Anna  and  the  King  of  Siam — Harrison-Dunne. .  Aug. 

635  Deadline  for  Murder — Taylor-Ryan  Aug. 

636  Black  Beauty — Freeman-Denning  Sept. 

637  Claudia  and  David — Young-McGuire  Sept. 

638  If  I'm  Lucky — Blaine-James  Sept. 

641  Sun  Valley  Serenade — Reissue  Sept. 

642  The  Bowery — Reissue  Oct. 

639  Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue — Haver-Blaine  Oct. 

643  Strange  Journey — Kelly-Massen   Oct. 

640  Home  Sweet  Homicide — Garner-Scott  Oct. 

644  Wanted  for  Murder — English-made  Nov. 

645  My  Darling  Clementine — Fonda-Darnell   Nov. 

646  Margie — Crain-Young   Nov. 

The  Shocking  Miss  Pilgrim — Grable-Haymes.  .  .  .Dec. 
The  Brasher  Doubloon — Montgomery-Guild  ....  Dec. 
The  Razor's  Edge — Power-Tierney  Dec. 

United  Artists  Features 

(729  Seventh  Ave..  Hew  York  19,  H-  Y.) 

1945-46 

A  Scandal  in  Paris — Sanders-Hasso  July  19 

Mr.  Ace — Raft-Sidney  Aug.  2 

Caesar  and  Cleopatra — Leigh-Rains  Aug.  16 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

The  Bachelor's  Daughters — Dvorak-Trevor  Sept.  6 

Angel  on  My  Shoulder — Muni-Baxter-Rains  Sept.  20 

Little  Iodine — Jo  Ann  Marlowe  Oct.  11 

Strange  Woman — Lamarr-Sanders  Oct.  25 

The  Devil's  Playground — Wm.  Boyd  (65  m.) .  .  .  .Nov.  15 

The  Chase — Cummings-Morgan  Nov.  22 

Susie  Steps  Out — Bruce-Caldwell  Dec.  13 

Abie's  Irish  Rose — Dru-Norris  Dec.  27 

The  Sin  of  Harold  Diddlebock — Harold  Lloyd  Jan.  10 

The  Private  Affairs  of  Bel  Ami — Sanders-Lansbury .  Jan.  24 
Fool's  Gold— Wm.  Boyd  (63  m.)  Jan.  31 

Universal-International  Features 

(1270  Sixth  Ave.,  Hew  Yor\  20,  H-  Y.) 

541  Canyon  Passage — Andrews-Donlevy- 

Hayward   July  26 

542  Cuban  Pete— Arnaz-De  Wit  July  26 

543  The  Black  Angel — Duryea-Vincent-Lorre. . .  Aug.  2 

544  Slightly  Scandalous — Brady-Drew   Aug.  2 

1105  Rustler's  Roundup — Kirby  Grant  (56  m.)  ..Aug.  9 

545  Wild  Beauty — Porter-Collier  Aug.  9 

546  The  Time  of  Their  Lives — Abbott  H  Costello .  Aug.  16 

1106  Lawless  Breed — Kirby  Grant  (56  m.)  _  Aug.  16 

547  Dead  of  Night — English  cast  Aug.  23 

1107  Gunman's  Code — Kirby  Grant  (54  m.)  Aug.  30 

548  The  Killers — Lancaster-Gardner  Aug.  30 

549  Little  Miss  Big — Simmons-Holden  Aug.  30 

550  White  Tie  and  Tails — Duryea-Raines  Aug.  30 

Reissues 

1096  If  I  Had  My  Way — Bing  Crosby.  .  .No  nat'l  rel.  date 


1097  Shadow  of  a  Doubt — Cotton-Wright 

No  nat'l  rel.  date 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

1065  They  Were  Sisters — Calvert-Mason  Sept.  20 

The  Dark  Mirror — De  Havvilland-Ayres  Oct. 

Michigan  Kid — Hall-McLaglen   Nov. 

The  Magnificent  Doll — Rogers-Meredith  Nov. 

The  Notorious  Gentleman — Harrison-Palmer.  .Nov. 

Swell  Guy — Tufts-Blyth   Nov. 

Song  of  Scheherazade — De  Carlo-Donlevy  Dec. 

Temptation— Oberon-Brent   Dec. 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  C 


Warner  Bros.  Features 

(321  W.  44th  St.,  Hew  Tor\  18,  M.  T.) 
1945-46 

521  A  Stolen  Life — Davis-Ford   July  6 

522  Of  Human  Bondage — Henreid'Parker  July  20 

523  Night  and  Day — Grant-Smith-Martin  Aug.  3 

524  Two  Guys  from  Milwaukee — Morgan-Carson.  Aug.  17 

(find  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

601  The  Big  Sleep — Bogart-Bacall  Aug.  31 

602  Shadow  of  a  Woman — King-Dantine  Sept.  14 

603  Cloak  and  Dagger — Cooper-Palmer  Sept.  28 

604  Nobody  Lives  Forever — Garfield-Fitzgerald  ..Oct.  12 

605  Deception — Davis-Henried-Rains   Oct.  26 

606  Never  Say  Goodbye — Flynn-Parker  Nov.  9 

607  The  Verdict — Greenstreet-Lorre  Nov.  23 

608  King's  Row- — Reissue  Dec.  7 

609  Wild  Bill  Hickock  Rides— Reissue  Dec.  7 


SHORT  SUBJECT  RELEASE  SCHEDULE 

Columbia — One  Reel 
1945-46 

7662  Community  Sings  No.  12  (lOJ/jm.)  Aug.  1 

7958  Bobby  Byrnes  &  Orch.— Film  Vodvil 

(10  m.)   Aug.  15 

7810  Deep  Sea  Fishing — Sports  (9  m.)  Aug.  15 

7754  Mysto  Fox — Fox  6?  Crow  (7m.)  Aug.  29 

7603  Silent  Treatment— Flippy  (6]/2  m.)  Sept.  19 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

8851  Screen  Snapshots  No.  1  (10  m.)  Sept.  5 

8651  Community  Sings  No.  1  (91/2  m.)  Sept.  12 

895 1  Jerry  Wald  &  Orch.— Thrills  of  Mus.  ( 10m) .  Sept.  12 

8801  Army  Football  Champions — Sports  (11  m.).Sept.  19 

8852  Screen  Snapshots  No.  2  (10  m.)  Oct.  3 

8652  Community  Sings  No.  2  (10  m.)  Oct.  10 

8952  Machito  &  Orch.— Thrills  of  Music  (10m).. Oct.  17 
8120  Son  of  the  Guardsman — Serial  (15  ep.) . . .  .Oct.  24 

8802  Tenpin  Magic — Sports  (10  m.)  Oct.  24 

8853  Screen  Snapshots  No.  3  Nov.  7 

8653  Community  Sings  No.  3  Nov.  14 

8803  Hi-Li— Sports   ,  Nov.  21 

8953  Les  Elgart  &  Orch.— Thrills  of  Music  Nov.  28 

8501  Loco  Lobo — Color  Rhapsody  (6  m.)  Not  set 

Columbia — Two  Reels 
1945-46 

7180  Chick  Carter,  Detective — Serial  (15  ep.) . . .  .July  11 
7412  Hot  Water— Schilling-Lane  (W/2m.)  July  25 

7427  Mr.  Wright  Goes  Wrong — Holloway  (19m). Aug.  1 

7428  Headin'  for  a  Weddin' — Vera  Vague  Aug.  15 

^  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

8401  G.  I.  Wanna  Go  Home— Stooges  (l5]/2  m.).Sept.  5 

8421  Pardon  My  Terror — Schilling-Lane  l6]/2m.  Sept.  12 

8431  Society  Mugs — Howard  (16  m.)  Sept.  19 

8402  Rhythm  and  Weep— Stooges  (17|/2  m.)  Oct.  3 

8432  So's  Your  Antenna— Von  Zell  (17  m.)  Oct.  10 

8422  Honeymoon  Blues — Hugh  Herbert  (16  m.)  .  .Oct.  17 

8433  Slappily  Married — J.  DeRita  Nov.  7 

8423  Reno-Vated — Vera  Vague   Nov.  21 

8434  Moron  Than  Off— S.  Holloway  Nov.  28 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — One  Reel 
1945-46 

W-739  Northwest  Hounded  Police — Cartoon 

(8  m.)  Aug.  3 

T-718  Over  the  Seas  to  Belfast — Traveltalk  (9m.)  Aug.  31 

W-740  Solid  Serenade — Cartoon  (7  m.)   Aug.  31 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

S-851  Football  Thrills  No.  9— Pete  Smith  Sept.  7 

T-811  Glimpses  of  California — Travel.  (10  m.). .  .Oct.  26 

W-831  Henpecked  Hoboes — Cartoon  Oct.  26 

S-852  Sure  Cure— Pete  Smith  (11  m.)  Nov.  2 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — Two  Reels 

A-702  Purity  Squad— Special  (20  m.)  Nov.  3, '45 

A-703  Traffic  with  the  Devil — Special  Aug.  31 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Paramount — One  Reel 
1945-46 

D5-3  Bored  of  Education — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  July  26 

E5-5  Rocket  to  Mars — Popeye  (6  m.)  Aug.  9 

D5-4  Chick  and  Double  Chick— Little  Lulu  (6m.)  .Aug.  16 


E5-6  Rodeo  Romeo — Popeye  (6  m.)  Aug.  16 

J5-6  Popular  Science  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  16 

L5-6  Unusual  Occupations  No.  6  (10  m.)  Aug.  30 

Y5-6  Be  Kind  to  Animals — Speak,  of  Animals 

(10  m.)   Aug.  30 

U5-6  Don  Henry  8?  Inky  Poo — Puppetoon  (6  m.)  .Sept.  6 

U5-5  Jasper's  Derby — Puppetoon  (8  m.)  Sept.  20 

P5-5  Goal  Rush— Noveltoon  (6  m.)  Sept.  27 

P5-6  Sudden  Fried  Chicken— Noveltoon  (7  m.) .  .  .Oct.  18 

U5-7  Jasper  in  a  Jam — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Oct.  18 

D5-5  Musica  Lulu — Little  Lulu  (7  m.)  Nov.  15 

E5-7  Fistic  Mystic — Popeye  (6m.)   Nov.  29 

D5-6  A  Scout  with  a  Gout — Little  Lulu  (7  m.) .  .  .Dec.  13 

U5-8  Shoe  Shine  Jasper — Puppetoon  (7  m.)  Dec.  20 

E5-8  Island  Fling— Popeye  (7  m.)  Dec.  27 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

R6-1  Race  Horses  are  Born- — Sportlight  (9  m.).  ..Oct.  4 

P6-1  Spree  for  All — Noveltoon  (7  m.)   Oct.  4 

K6-1  Brooklyn,  I  Love  You — Pacemaker  (10  m.)  .  .Oct.  4 

J6-1  Popular  Science  No.  1  (11  m.)  Oct.  11 

L6-1  Unusual  Occupations  No.  1  (10  m.)  Oct.  11 

Y6-1  Stork  Crazy — Speak  of  Animals  (10  m.)  Oct.  25 

R6-2  Dive  Hi  Champs — Sportlight  (10  m.)  Nov.  1 

K6-2  Love  in  Tune — Pacemaker  (9]/2  m-)  Nov.  4 

Paramount — Two  Reels 
FF5-4  A  Tale  of  Two  Cafes— Musical  Par.  (18  m.)  .July  5 
FF5-5  Double  Rhythm— Musical  Parade  (20  m.) .  .Aug.  23 

FF5-6  Golden  Slippers— Musical  Par.  (16  m.)  Nov.  15 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 


Republic — Two  Reels 

583  Daughter  of  Don  Q— Serial  (12  ep.)  July  27 

584  Crimson  Ghost — Serial  (12  ep.)  Oct.  26 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Son  of  Zorro — Serial  (13  ep.)  Not  set 

RKO — One  Reel 

64311  Ben  Hogan — Sportscope  (9  m.)  June  14 

64107  Donald's  Double  Trouble — Disney  (7  m.)  .June  28 

64312  Palmetto  Quail — Sportscope  (8  m.)  July  12 

64108  The  Purloined  Pup — Disney  (7  m.)  July  19 

64109  Wet  Paint — Disney  (7  m.)   Aug.  9 

64313  Steeplechasers — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Aug.  9 

64110  Dumb-bell  of  the  Yukon — Disney  (7  m.)  .Aug.  30 

64111  Lighthouse  Keeping — Disney  (7m.)  Sept.  20 

64112  Bath  Day— Disney  (7  m.)  Oct.  11 

(More  to  Come) 

Beginning  of  1 946-47  Season 

74201  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  1  (9  m.)  Sept.  13 

74301  Skating  Lady — Sportscope  (9  m.)  Sept.  20 

74302  Hail  Notre  Dame — Sportscope  (8  m.)  Oct.  18 

74202  Flicker  Flashbacks  No.  2  (9  m.)  Oct.  25 

RKO — Two  Reel* 

63405  Motor  Maniacs — Ed.  Kennedy  (18  m.)  .  .  July  26 

63110  Courtship  to  Courthouse — This  Is  America 

(18  min.)   July  26 

63111  Highway  Mania — This  Is  America  (17  m.)  .Aug.  31 

63406  Noisy  Neighbors — Ed.  Kennedy  (17  m.)  .  .Sept.  20 

63112  White  House — This  Is  America  (19  m.) . .  Sept.  20 
63706  Follow  that  Blonde — Leon  Errol  (18  m.)  .  .Sept.  27 

63113  Northern  Rampart — This  Is  America  (18m).Oct.  18 

>  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

73501  Bar  Buckaroo — Western  Musical  (reissue) 

(16  m.)   Sept.  6 

73  502  Cupid  Rides  the  Range — Western  Musical 

(reissue)  (18  m.)   Oct.  11 

73401  I'll  Build  it  Myself— Ed.  Kennedy  (15  m.).. Oct.  18 


6520 


7251 
7501 

7301 
7502 

7503 

7252 


Twentieth  Century-Fox — One  Reel 
1945-46 

Gandy  Goose  in  The  Golden  Hen — Terry. 

(7  m.)   July  24 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Sons  of  Courage — Adventure  (8  m.)  Aug.  2 

Winning  the  West  (Mighty  Mouse) — Terry. 

(7  m.)   Aug.  16 

Football  Fanfare — Sports  (9  m.)  Aug.  23 

The  Tortoise  Wins  Again— Terrytoon 

(7  m.)   Aug.  30 

The  Electronic  Mouse  Trap  (Mighty  Mouse) — 

Terrytoon  (7  m.)   Sept.  6 

Jamaica — Adventure  (8  m.)  Sept.  13 


November  16,  1946       HARRISON'S  REPORTS  Partial  Index 


Page  D 


7504  The  Jail  Break  ( Mighty  Mouse)— Terry. 

(7m.)   Sept.  20 

73 5T1  Winter  Holiday— Sports  (8  m.)  Sept.  27 

7505  The  Snow  Man— Terrytoon  (7  m.)  Oct.  11 

7253  Historic  Capetown — Adventure  (8  m.)  Oct.  18 

7506  The  Housing  Problem — Terrytoon  (7  m.)  .  .  .Oct.  25 

7352  Summer  Trails — Sports  (8  m.)  Nov.  8 

7507  Crackpot  King  (Mighty  Mouse — Terrytoon 

(7  min.)  Nov.  15 

7254  Girls  and  Gags — Adventure  (8  m.)  Nov.  22 

7508  Uninvited  Pests  (Talking  Magpies) — 

Terrytoon  (7  min.)   Nov.  28 

7509  The  Hep  Cat  (Mighty  Mouse— Terry.  (7m.)  Dec.  6 

7353  Playtimes  Journey — Sports  (8  m.)   Dec.  13 

7510  Beanstalk  Jack— Terrytoon  (7  m.)   Dec.  20 

Twentieth  Century-Fox — Two  Reels 

1945-46 

Vol.  12  No.  13 — Atomic  Power — 

March  of  Time  ( 19  m.)  Aug.  9 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Vol.  13  No.  1 — Is  Everybody  Happy? — 

March  of  Time  (18  m.)  Sept.  6 

Vol.  13  No.  2— World  Food  Problem— March  of 

Time  (17  m.)   Oct.  4 

Vol.  13  No.  3 — The  Soviet's  Neighbors — March  of 

Time  (  18  m.)  Nov.  1 

United  Artists — One  Reel 

Choo  Choo  Amigo — Daffy  Dittys  (8  m.)  July  5 

Pepito's  Serenade — Daffy  Dittys  (7J/2  m.)  Aug.  16 

>  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

Toccata  and  Fugue — Musicolors  (10  m.)  Oct.  15 

Universal — One  Reel 

1351  Mr.  Chimp  at  Home — Var.  Views  (9  m.)..  .Aug.  12 

1373  Hobo  Hound— Per.  Odd  (9  m.)  Aug.  19 

1374  Samson  Jr.— Per.  Odd  (9  m.)  Aug.  19 

1327  Reckless  Driver — Cartune  (7  m.)  Aug.  26 

1352  Operation  Holiday — Var.  Views  (9  m.)  Aug.  26 

1353  Mr.  Chimp  to  the  Rescue — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)   Aug.  26 

1354  Mr.  Chimp  on  Vacation — Var.  Views 

(9  m.)   Aug.  26 

1375  Rural  Rhapsody— Per.  Odd.  (7  m.)  Aug.  26 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

2381  A  Bit  of  Blarney— Sing  ii  Be  Happy  ( 10m.) . Sept.  30 

2391  Answer  Man  No.  1  (no  title)  (10  m.)  Oct.  21 

2321  Fair  Weather  Fiends — Cartoon  (7  m.)  Nov.  18 

2322  Wacky  Weed— Cartoon  (7  m.)  Dec.  16 

2392  Nature's  Atom  Bomb — Answer  Man  No.  2 

(10  m.)  ;  Dec.  30 

Universal — Two  Reels 

1310  Swinging  Down  the  Scale — Musical  (15m.)  .June  26 

1311  Breakin'  It  Down — Musical  (15  m.)  Aug.  28 

^  (End  of  1945-46  Season) 

Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

2581  Mysterious  Mr.  M — Serial  (13  ep.)  July  23 

2301  Frontier  Frolic — Musical  (15  m.)  Oct.  9 

2302  Champagne  Music — Musical  (15  m.)  Nov.  20 

2303  Tumbleweed  Tempos — Musical  (15  m.)....Dec.  4 

2304  Moonlight  Melodies — Musical  (15  m.)  Dec.  18 

Vitaphone — One  Reel 

2705  Bacall  to  Arms — Merrie  Melody  (7m.)  Aug.  3 

2512  Ranch  in  White — Sports  (10  m.)  Aug.  3 

2610  Enric  Madriguera  ii  Orch. — Mel.  Mas. 

(10  m.)   Aug.  10 

2806  Adventures  in  South  America — Adventure 

(10  m)  Aug.  10 

2706  Of  Thee  I  Sting— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Aug.  17 

2313  Little  Red  Walking  Hood — Cartoon  (7  m.).Aug.  17 

2707  Walky  Talky  Hawky— Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  .  .Aug.  31 

2513  Dominion  of  Sports — Sports  (10m.)  Aug.  31 

2723  Rackateer  Rabbit — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Sept.  14 

2708  Fair  and  Wormer — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Sept.  28 

2724  Big  Snooze — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Oct.  5 

2709  Mousemerized  Cat — Merrie  Melody  (7m.).. Oct.  19 

2710  Mouse  Menace — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Nov.  2 

2725  Rhapsody  Rabbit — Bugs  Bunny  (7  m.)  Nov.  9 

2711  Roughly  Speaking — Merrie  MA.  (7m.)  . .  .Nov.  16 

2712  One  Meat  Brawl — Merrie  Mel.  (7m.)  Nov.  30 

2713  Goofy  Gophers — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)  Dec.  7 

2714  Gay  Anties — Merrie  Mel.  (7  m.)   Dec.  21 

2715  Scent-Imental  Over  You — Mer.  Mel.  (7  m.).Dec.  28 

(More  to  Come) 


3501 
3301 
3402 

3601 
3302 
3801 
3502 
3303 
3503 
3401 

3802 
3304 

3602 
3403 

3504 


2007 
2008 


3101 
3001 
3002 
3102 
3003 


Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

King  of  the  Everglade* — Sports  (10  m.)  . . .  .Sept.  14 

Fox  Pop — Blue  Ribbon  Cartoon  (7  m.)  Sept.  28 

So  You  Want  to  Play  the  Horses — 

Joe  McDoakes  (10  m.)  Oct.  5 

Dezi  Arnaz  ii  Band — Melody  Master  (10m.).  Oct.  12 
Wackie  Worm — Blue  Ribbon  Cartoon  (7m.).  Oct.  12 
Star  Spangled  City — Adventure  (10  m.)  . .  .Oct.  19 

Lazy  Hunter — Sports  (10  m  J  Oct.  26 

You're  an  Education — B.  R.  Cartoon  (7m.). Oct.  26 

Battle  of  Champs — Sports  (10  m.)  Nov.  9 

So  You  Want  to  Save  Your  Hair — Joe 

McDcakes  (10  min.)  Nov.  16 

Rubber  River — Adventure  (10  m.)  Nov.  16 

Have  You  Got  Any  Castles — Blue  Ribbon 

Cartoon  (7  min.)   Dec.  7 

Melody  of  Youth — Melody  Master  (10  m.).  .Dec.  14 
So  You  Think  You're  a  Nervous  Wreck — 

Joe  McDoakes  (10  min.)   Dec.  14 

American  Sports  Album — Sports  (10  m.)  ..Dec.  21 

Vitaphone— Two  Reels 

Down  Singapore  Way — Special  (20  m.) . . . .  July  20 

Men  of  Tomorrow — Special  (20  m.)  Aug.  24 

(End  of  1945-46  Season) 
Beginning  of  1946-47  Season 

O.  K.  For  Sound — Fcaturette  (20  m.)  Sept.  7 

Cinderella's  Feller' — Special  (20  m.)  Sept.  21 

The  Last  Bomb — Special  (20  m.)  .Nov.  2 

Minstrel  Days — Fcaturette  (20  m.)  Nov.  30 

A  Boy  and  His  Dog — Special  (20  m.)  Dec.  28 


NEWS  WEEKLY  NEW  YORK 
RELEASE  DATES 
Pathe  News 


75226 
75127 
75228 
75129 
75230 
75131 
75232 
75133 
75234 
75135 
75236 
75137 
75238 
75139 
75240 


Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O) 
Sat.  (E)  . 
Wed.  (O). 
Sat.  (E)  .. 


.Nov.  16 
,Nov.  20 
Nov.  23 
Nov.  27 
Nov.  30 
.Dec.  4 
.Dec.  7 
.Dec.  11 
.Dec.  14 
.Dec.  18 
.Dec.  21 
.Dec.  25 
.Dec.  28 
.Jan.  1 
.Jan.  4 


Fox  Movietone 


23  Tues.  (O)  . 

24  Thurs.  (E)  . 

25  Tues.  (O)  . 

26  Thurs.  (E)  . 

27  Tues.   (O)  . 

28  Thurs.  (E)  . 

29  Tues.   (O)  . 

30  Thurs.  (E)  . 

31  Tues.   (O)  . 

32  Thurs.  (E)  . 

33  Tues.   (O)  . 

34  Thurs.  (E)  . 

35  Tues.   (O)  . 

36  Thurs.  (E)  . 

37  Tues.  (O)  . 


,  .Nov.  19 
.  .Nov.  21 
.  .Nov.  26 
.  .Nov.  28 
..Dec.  3 
..Dec.  5 
.  .Dec.  10 
.  .Dec.  12 
.  .Dec.  17 
.  .Dec.  19 
.  .Dec.  24 
.  .Dec.  26 
.  .Dec.  31 
. .  .Jan.  2 
...Jan.  7 


Universal 

555  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Nov.  19 

556  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Nov.  21 

557  Tues.  (O)  ...Nov.  26 

558  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Nov.  28 

559  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Dec.  3 

560  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Dec.  5 

561  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Dec.  10 

562  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Dec.  12 

563  Tues.  (O)  . .  .Dec.  17 

564  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Dec.  19 

565  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Dec.  24 

566  Thurs.  (E)  .  .Dec.  26 

567  Tues.  (O)  .  .  .Dec.  31 

568  Thurs.  (E)  . .  .Jan.  2 

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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  23,  1946  No.  47 

A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision  —  No.  16 

By  George  S.  Ryan 


CONCLUSION 

For  decades  the  trade  practices  in  the  motion  picture 
industry  have  been  a  public  reproach  and  a  cause  of  great 
agitation  and  unrest.  Apparently  few  opportunities  to  profit 
or  to  gain  a  business  advantage  have  been  ignored  by  the 
men  directing  the  destinies  of  the  great  corporations  that 
have  dominated  the  industry. 

Independent  exhibitors,  through  trade  associations  and  in 
conventions,  beginning  as  early  as  1919,  have  protested 
against  various  practices,  loudly  but  invariably  in  vain. 
Groups  of  publicspirited  citizens,  recognizing  the  value  of 
the  motion  picture  in  the  fields  of  entertainment  and  educa- 
tion, have  intervened  in  an  effort  to  improve  conditions, 
but  with  little  success.  Approximately  twenty-four  years  ago 
the  Federal  Trade  Commission  instituted  proceedings  for  the 
purpose  of  eliminating  block  booking  and  the  acquisition  of 
theatres  by  producers-distributors  with  the  intention  of 
monopolizing  and  restraining  trade.  Its  efforts  were  equally 
ineffectual.109  In  1927  a  trade  practice  conference  was  held, 
in  which  producers-distributors  and  exhibitors  participated, 
with  the  ostensible  purpose  of  eliminating  objectionable 
practices.  Once  more  nothing  of  lasting  benefit  was  accom- 
plished. 

In  the  course  of  the  clamor,  bills  and  resolutions  were 
introduced  in  the  Congress  for  the  investigation  or  regula- 
tion of  prevalent  trade  practices,  such  as  the  Brookhart 
BilP0  and  the  Neely-Pettingill  Bill,111  so-called,  relating 
chiefly  to  block-booking  and  blind  buying. 

For  almost  a  score  of  years  the  Government  has  sought 
to  eradicate  specific  evils  resulting  from  conspiracy  of  the 
dominant  companies,  usually  by  means  of  suits  in  equity  or 
criminal  prosecutions  in  widely-separated  sections  of  the 
country,  such  as  New  York,  Chicago,  California  and  Mis- 
souri.1" The  industry  itself  has  been  a  hot-bed  of  anti-trust 
litigation. 

But  none  of  these  proceedings  has  been  effective  to  curb 
the  abnormal  business  methods  of  the  dominant  corpora- 
tions. Ten  years  ago,  at  the  conclusion  of  an  article  in  this 
magazine,  which  is  quoted  in  the  introduction  to  this 
paper,"3  the  writer  recommended  an  all-embracing  action 
by  the  Government  to  determine  the  legality  of  all  disputed 
practices. 

Some  of  the  results  of  this  action  by  the  Government  are 
shown  in  the  decision  of  the  Expediting  Court.  The  ultimate 
lines  will  be  drawn  by  the  Supreme  Court.  Independent  ex- 
hibitors and  distributors  alike,  who  for  decades  have  dwelt 
within  the  shadow  of  dynastic  monopoly,  need  have  no  fur- 
ther apprehension.  Inexorably,  point  by  point,  the  processes 
of  justice  have  triumphed.  Inevitably  the  Supreme  Court 
will  place  the  seal  of  doom  upon  all  unlawful  practices  and 
combinations. 

When  the  ultimate  word  in  this  litigation  has  been  written 
a  new  era  of  progress  will  begin,  under  clearly-defined  law. 
Independent  exhibitors  will  have  an  opportunity  to  conduct 
their  business  in  a  legitimate  way,  in  a  fairly  competitive 
field.  Independent  producers  and  distributors  will  have  a 


wide  market  in  which  they  may  offer  their  wares,  upon  a 
footing  of  equality  with  the  most  strongly  intrenched  or- 
ganizations. No  one  can  predict  the  heights  which  may  be 
reached. 

For  a  while  there  will  be  a  period  of  uncertainty,  which 
may  be  awaited  by  some  independents,  as  well  as  by  the 
major  companies,  with  dark  misgivings.  In  all  probability 
there  will  be  changes  not  only  in  the  challenged  practices  but 
also  in  the  structure  and  position  of  many  defendants.  The 
ultimate  event  should  be  expected,  however,  not  with  appre- 
hension, but  with  courage  and  confidence.  The  basic  law  of 
progress  is  change.  Without  it  there  can  be  no  permanent 
improvement  in  human  relations. 

The  thanks  of  all  independent  operators  should  be  given 
to  the  Statutory  Court  for  their  decision.  In  even  greater 
measure,  however,  their  whole-hearted  thanks  should  be 
extended  to  the  Attorney  General,  to  the  anti-trust  division 
of  the  Department  of  Justice,  under  the  direction  of  Hon. 
Wendell  Berge,  and  particularly  to  the  capable  and  courage- 
ous Special  Assistant  to  the  Attorney  General,  Hon.  Robert 
L.  Wright,  who,  with  his  corps  of  associate  attorneys,  has 
represented  the  Government  in  the  conduct  of  the  suit. 
For  years  they  have  borne  the  brunt  of  the  struggle  for  law 
and  justice,  and  have  thereby  performed  a  notable  public 
service. 

The  major  distributors  stand  on  slippery  ground  under 
dark  skies.  Wisdom  should  urge  them  to  hasten  to  shelter 
and  secure  footing  before  the  storm  breaks  upon  them.  If  the 
decision  of  the  Expediting  Court  is  correct,  they  have 
entered  into  many  thousands  of  illegal  contracts;  they  have 
granted  unlawful  privileges;  and  they  have  in  many  other 
ways  flouted  the  law.  Every  one  of  these  violations  is  a 
"misdemeanor"  under  the  anti-trust  laws,  punishable  by  a 
"fine  not  exceeding  $5,000,  or  by  imprisonment  not  exceed- 
ing one  year,  or  by  both  said  punishments,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  Court."114  In  the  eyes  of  the  law  the  executive  officers 
of  the  defendants  who  directed  or  participated  in  these  vio- 
lations are  not  entirely  without  liability."6 

Conceivably,  after  so  many  years  of  apparent  immunity, 
the  defendants  do  not  now  appreciate  their  peril.  In  the  pro- 
ceedings before  the  Statutory  Court  they  have  fought  vigor- 
ously to  retain  their  advantages.  They  have  adopted  an  at- 
titude that  seems  to  betray  a  blindness  to  reality  and  a 
complete  lack  of  cooperation  with  the  Government.  As 
already  suggested,  the  Department  of  Justice  has  been  ex- 
tremely tolerant,"6  but  by  the  time  the  decision  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  is  rendered  its  patience  may  be  exhausted. 
Before  that  time  it  is  hoped  that  corrective  measures  of  a 
comprehensive  nature  will  be  voluntarily  undertaken  by 
the  defendants,  so  that  the  Government  may  not  find  it 
necessary  to  invoke  the  sterner  sanctions  of  the  anti-trust 
laws. 

Meanwhile,  the  remainder  of  the  industry  may  await  the 
final  judgment  with  confidence  and  security.  The  anti-trust 
laws,  as  applied  to  the  motion  picture  industry,  have  been 
given  the  acid  test,  and  have  demonstrated  that  they  actually 
(Continued  on  last  page) 


186 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


November  23,  1946 


"Cross  My  Heart"  with  Betty  Hutton 
and  Sonny  Tufts 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  83  min.) 

This  mixture  of  murder-mystery,  comedy,  and  music  has 
some  entertaining  moments,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  in  ques- 
tionablc  taste.  The  idea  behind  the  story  is  amusing;  it 
revolves  around  a  well-meaning  chorus  girl,  a  chronic  liar, 
who  confesses  to  a  murder  she  did  not  commit  in  order  to 
have  her  sweetheart,  a  struggling  lawyer,  defend  her  and 
win  a  reputation.  But  as  presented  it  is  frequently  more 
vulgar  than  funny.  The  height  of  vulgarity  is  reached  in  the 
sequence  in  which  the  heroine  is  forced  to  fight  off  the  lust' 
ful  advances  of  a  fat,  sex-crazed,  middle-aged  producer.  The 
total  effect  of  this  and  other  sequences  involving  the  pro- 
ducer and  the  heroine,  is  that  of  disgust  and  a  feeling  of 
having  witnessed  something  that  leaves  one  with  a  bad  taste. 
A  considerable  part  of  the  comedy  takes  place  in  the  court 
room  during  the  trial,  which  is  burlesqued  to  the  hilt.  The 
trial  procedure  will  undoubtedly  give  American  audiences 
many  laughs,  but  foreign  audiences  might  not  grasp  the 
satirical  humor  intended  and,  consequently,  the  dignity  of 
the  American  courts  may  suffer  in  their  estimation: — 

Betty  Hutton,  a  showgirl,  accepts  a  position  as  private 
secretary  to  Howard  Freeman,  a  Broadway  producer,  on  his 
promise  to  give  some  business  to  Sonny  Tufts,  her  lawyer- 
fiance.  She  leaves  Freeman  in  a  huff  after  he  makes  im- 
proper advances,  and  later,  when  she  returns  for  her  hat 
and  gloves,  discovers  that  he  had  been  murdered  and  that 
she  was  suspected  of  the  crime.  Seeing  an  opportunity  to 
benefit  Tufts,  she  "confesses"  to  the  murder.  Tufts,  a  stickler 
for  the  truth,  accepts  Betty's  story  and  assures  her  that  he 
would  gain  an  acquittal.  Evidence  of  her  "guilt"  piles  up 
against  her,  and  Betty,  frightened,  admits  to  Tufts  that  her 
confession  was  a  hoax.  Although  angered  at  the  deception, 
Tufts  basis  his  case  on  the  fact  that  she  had  defended  her 
virtue  and,  after  a  hectic  trial,  wins  her  freedom.  He  re- 
fuses, however,  to  have  anything  to  do  with  her  for  having 
committed  perjury.  Unhappy  over  the  separation,  Betty  goes 
to  the  prosecuting  attorney  and  confesses  to  him  that  she  did 
not  kill  Freeman,  despite  her  confession  and  acquittal,  and 
asks  him  to  help  trap  the  real  killer,  whom  she  suspected  was 
Michael  Chekhov,  an  eccentric  actor,  who  had  tried  unsuc- 
cessfully to  get  the  role  of  Hamlet  in  the  victim's  new  pro- 
duction. Tufts,  learning  that  Betty  had  lied  to  help  his 
career,  and  that  she  had  finally  told  the  truth  to  the  authori- 
ties, forgives  her,  and,  aided  by  the  police,  he  manages  to 
trap  Chekhov. 

Harry  Tugend  and  Claude  Binyon  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  play  by  Louis  Verneuil  and  Georges  Berr.  Mr. 
Tugend  produced  it,  and  John  Berry  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Rhys  Williams,  Ruth  Donnelly,  Iris  Adrian  and 
others.  Adult  entertainment. 


"Susie  Steps  Out"  with  David  Bruce, 
Cleatus  Caldwell  and  Ann  Hunter 

(United  Artists,  Dec.  13;  time,  65  min.) 

This  is  one  of  those  harmless  program  comedies  with 
music,  the  sort  that  will  serve  its  purpose  as  the  lower  half 
of  a  double-bill.  It  offers  little  that  is  novel,  but  undiscrimi- 
nating  audiences  will  probably  find  it  fairly  amusing  for, 
even  though  the  story  is  lightweight,  the  performances  are 
engaging  and  the  situations  comical.  Most  of  the  action  re- 
volves  around  the  adolescent  pranks  of  an  imaginative  fif- 
teen-year-old girl,  whose  efforts  to  become  the  family  bread- 
winner result  in  mixups  that  raise  havoc  with  her  older 
sister's  romance.  Ann  Hunter,  a  newcomer,  is  outstanding 
in  the  role  of  the  adolescent  heroine,  and  she  has  a  good 
singing  voice,  too.  The  picture's  box-office  values  are  pretty 
weak,  however,  considering  the  lack  of  star  names: — 

When  her  father  is  stricken  with  a  heart  attack  and  is  or- 
dered to  take  a  long  rest,  Ann  decides  to  get  a  job  to  help 
her  sister.  Cleatus  Caldwell,  support  their  home.  Cleatus, 
who  worked  for  a  television  advertising  agency  owned  by 
Howard  Freeman,  was  constantly  pursued  by  David  Bruce, 
the  agency's  singing  star,  to  whom  she  would  not  admit  her 
love.  Dressed  in  her  sister's  clothes  in  order  to  appear  older, 


Ann  manages  to  obtain  employment  as  a  singer  in  a  night- 
club. Bruce  and  Freeman  happen  to  drop  into  the  club  for  a 
drink,  and  Freeman,  fascinated  by  Ann's  beauty,  makes  a 
date  with  her.  Realizing  that  she  was  young,  and  that  Free- 
man's intentions  were  not  honorable,  but  unaware  that  she 
was  Cleatus'  sister,  Bruce  takes  Ann  to  his  own  apartment 
to  protect  her  from  the  older  man.  Meanwhile  Cleatus,  learn- 
ing of  Ann's  job,  rushes  to  the  night-club  to  take  her  home. 
There  she  learns  that  Ann  had  left  with  Bruce.  She  rushes 
to  his  apartment  and,  without  giving  him  a  chance  to  ex- 
plain, warns  him  to  keep  away  from  her  sister.  Matters  be- 
come complicated  on  the  following  day  when  Freeman, 
whose  wife  suspected  that  he  had  been  having  dates  with 
Cleatus,  is  compelled  by  her  to  discharge  the  girl.  Cleatus 
believes  that  Bruce  had  brought  about  her  dismissal,  thus 
straining  their  relations  even  further.  In  the  course  of  events, 
Ann  takes  matters  in  hand  and,  through  her  strategy,  the 
lovers  become  reconciled,  Cleatus  gets  her  job  back,  and  Ann 
herself  is  employed  by  Freeman  as  a  singer. 

Elwood  Ullman  wrote  the  screen  play  from  an  original 
story  by  Kurt  Neumann  and  Reginald  LeBorg.  Buddy  Rogers 
and  Ralph  Cohn  produced  it,  and  Mr.  LeBorg  directed  it. 

"The  Return  of  Monte  Cristo"  with 
Louis  Hayward  and  Barbara  Britton 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  91  min.) 

The  best  that  can  be  said  for  this  period  melodrama  is  that 
it  has  an  attractive  title  and  that  it  may  dr  .w  to  the  box-office 
patrons  who  will  remember  the  good  entertainment  values 
of  "The  Count  of  Monte  Cristo."  But  those  who  expect  to 
see  a  rousing,  swashbuckling  melodrama,  filled  with  sword- 
play  and  thrilling  escapades,  will  undoubtedly  be  disap- 
pointed, for  the  action  is  unexciting,  given  more  to  talk  than 
to  movement.  Although  the  performances  are  fair,  the  story 
is  weak;  it  lacks  dramatic  power  and  credibility.  Whatever 
excitement  the  material  offered  has  been  left  to  indirection. 
For  instance,  the  hero  is  shown  embarking  on  his  escape  from 
Devil's  Island,  and  in  the  very  next  scene  we  find  him  in 
France,  the  events  of  his  escape  being  glossed  over  quickly 
by  means  of  dialogue.  On  the  whole,  the  picture  does  not 
rise  above  the  level  of  program  grade: — 

Upon  his  graduation  from  medical  school,  Louis  Hayward 
learns  from  his  guardian  that  he  was  a  grand-nephew  of  the 
Count  of  Monte  Cristo,  whose  fortune  had  been  kept  in 
trust  until  he  (Hayward)  was  old  enough  to  use  it  wisely. 
Hayward  travels  to  Marseille  to  present  the  will  in  court  and, 
en  route,  he  becomes  acquainted  with  Barbara  Britton,  ward 
of  Ray  Collins,  whose  bank  was  trustee  of  the  Monte  Cristo 
estate.  On  the  following  day,  when  Hayward  presents  the 
will  to  Judge  Ludwig  Donath,  Collins  presents  another  will 
naming  Barbara  as  the  only  heir,  and  declares  that  Hayward's 
will  was  a  forgery.  The  judge  concurs  and  orders  George 
Macready,  the  Minister  of  Police,  to  imprison  Hayward.  Ac- 
tually, Donath,  Collins,  and  Macready  had  banded  together 
to  swindle  Hayward  out  of  his  fortune,  at  the  same  time 
leading  Barbara  to  believe  that  she  was  the  rightful  heir. 
Convicted  of  fraud  and  sent  to  Devil's  Island  to  die,  Hay- 
ward manages  to  escape  with  Steven  Geray,  an  ex-actor, 
with  whom  he  makes  his  way  to  France.  They  hide  out  in  a 
Parisian  theatre,  and  Hayward,  taught  how  to  wear  dis- 
guises, sets  out  on  a  campaign  of  revenge.  He  makes  his 
presence  known  to  the  swindlers  but  evades  capture  by  his 
clever  disguises.  Through  his  impersonation  of  several  char- 
acters, he  tricks  the  judge  into  confessing  his  part  in  the 
crime,  frightening  him  to  such  an  extent  that  he  dies  from 
a  heart  attack;  starts  a  run  on  Collins'  bank  and  by  exposing 
his  frauds,  causes  the  banker  to  be  killed  by  angry  deposi- 
tors; and  traps  Macready  into  betraying  himself  to  an  unseen 
group  of  citizens,  who  drag  him  to  the  guillotine.  His  fortune 
regained,  Hayward,  convinced  of  Barbara's  innocence  in  the 
plot,  asks  her  to  marry  him. 

George  Bruce  and  Alfred  Neumann  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Curt  Siodmak  and  Arnold  Phillips.  Grant 
Whytock  produced  it,  and  Henry  Levin  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Una  O'Connor,  Henry  Stephenson  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS  187 


November  23,  1946 


"The  Mighty  McGurk"  with  Wallace  Beery, 
Dean  Stockwell  and  Edward  Arnold 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  85  min.) 

In  some  respects,  this  comedy-melodrama  is  similar  to 
"The  Champ,"  in  which  Wallace  Beery  was  co-starred  with 
Jackie  Cooper  in  1931,  but  it  does  not  attain  the  strong  emo- 
tional quality  of  that  picture.  It  is,  however,  a  fairly  good 
entertainment,  with  enough  comedy  and  human  interest  to 
satisfy  most  audiences,  particularly  Beery's  fans,  who  will 
enjoy  seeing  him  in  the  role  of  a  bragging,  ex-champion 
pugilist,  a  "trouble-shooter"  in  a  Bowery  saloon  of  the 
early  1900's.  Typical  of  the  stories  in  which  Beery  appears, 
he  is  shown  to  have  a  kind  heart  beneath  his  gruff  exterior, 
a  trait  that  eventually  brings  about  his  regeneration.  Dean 
Stockwell,  as  an  English  orphan  in  whom  Beery  takes  a 
mercenary  interest  that  eventually  turns  to  genuine  affection, 
is  very  good;  he  acts  with  ease,  arousing  laughs  or  tears  as 
the  occasion  requires.  The  closing  scenes,  in  which  Beery 
joins  forces  with  the  Salvation  Army  to  fight  off  a  gang  of 
thugs,  are  quite  exciting : — 

Beery,  the  main  attraction  in  Edward  Arnold's  saloon,  is 
sent  by  Arnold  to  meet  his  daughter,  who  was  returning  from 
England.  A  mix-up  at  the  dock  finds  Beery  in  charge  of 
Dean  Stockwell,  an  English  orphan,  whom  he  promises  to 
deliver  to  his  wealthy  uncle.  Unaware  that  the  uncle  was  a 
shady  investment  broker  hiding  from  the  police,  Beery  takes 
the  youngster  to  his  office,  where  two  cohorts,  advising  him 
that  the  uncle  was  "out  of  town,"  induce  him  to  keep  the  boy 
for  several  weeks,  promising  him  a  handsome  reward.  Dean 
becomes  attached  to  Beery  and  spends  considerable  time  with 
him  in  the  saloon,  but,  when  the  Children's  Society  threaten 
to  take  the  boy  away  from  him,  Beery,  to  protect  his  antici- 
pated reward,  joins  the  Salvation  Army  to  make  an  impres- 
sion. He  is  permitted  to  keep  Dean,  but  several  days  later, 
when  the  uncle  returns  and  refuses  to  accept  custody  of  the 
boy,  he  becomes  bitterly  disappointed  over  the  loss  of  the 
expected  reward.  His  attitude  compels  Dean  to  leave  him 
and  to  seek  refuge  with  the  Salvation  Army.  Beery's  friends, 
learning  that  his  interest  in  Dean  had  been  mercenary,  shun 
him.  Meanwhile  Arnold,  seeking  possession  of  the  building 
occupied  by  the  Salvation  Army  in  order  to  build  a  new 
saloon,  orders  Beery  to  start  a  riot  that  would  force  the 
Army  out.  When  Beery  refuses,  Arnold  threatens  to  reveal 
that  he  had  won  his  championship  in  a  fixed  fight.  Despond- 
ent over  his  treatment  of  Dean,  and  seeking  to  redeem 
himself  with  his  friends,  Beery  joins  forces  with  the  Army 
to  beat  off  Arnold's  thugs.  He  makes  a  hero  of  himself,  and 
Aline  MacMahon,  a  pawnshop  proprietor  who  had  loved 
him  for  many  years,  induces  him  to  propose  marriage  to  her 
so  that  both  could  give  Dean  a  decent  home  life. 

William  R.  Lipman,  Grant  Garrett  and  Harry  Clork 
wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Nat  Perrin  produced  it,  and 
John  Waters  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Dorothy  Patrick, 
Cameron  Mitchell  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Betty  Co-Ed"  with  Jean  Porter 

{Columbia.,  J^pvember  28;  time,  72  min.) 

Minor  program  fare.  It  is  a  college  story,  with  some  musi- 
cal accompaniment,  and  the  plot  is  the  worn-out  theme  about 
a  girl  of  humble  family  background  who  finds  herself  exposed 
to  the  snobbery  of  an  exclusive  college  sorority.  Some  sym- 
pathy is  felt  for  the  heroine  because  of  her  fortitude  in  com- 
batting the  insults  aimed  at  her  background,  but  this  is  not 
enough  to  hold  one's  interest,  for  the  story  is  thin  and  its 
presentation  is  amateurish.  Moreover,  the  audience  is  never 
held  in  suspense,  for  the  outcome  is  obvious.  Jan  Savitt  and 
his  orchestra  appear  in  one  short  sequence: — 

Jean  Porter,  member  of  a  family  vaudeville  troupe,  inter- 
rupts her  singing  career  to  enter  exclusive  Upton  College. 
She  gains  admittance  by  falsifying  her  family  background. 
When  William  Mason,  the  school's  most  popular  male,  takes 
an  interest  in  her,  Jean  incurs  the  enmity  of  Shirley  Mills, 
president  of  the  school's  only  sorority,  who  does  her  best  to 
make  the  girl  miserable.  Learning  of  Jean's  true  family  back- 
ground, Shirley  arranges  for  her  to  become  a  pledge  and, 


after  inviting  her  to  a  sorority  party,  insultingly  exposes  her 
humble  antecedents.  Many  students  sympathize  with  Jean 
and  nominate  her  to  run  against  Shirley  as  a  candidate  for 
the  title  of  "Betty  Co-Ed,"  the  most  popular  girl  on  the 
campus.  Aware  that  Jean  would  win,  Shirley  deliberately 
stuffs  the  ballot  box  with  votes  for  her  rival,  making  it  ap- 
pear as  if  she  had  won  by  fraud.  The  school  board  takes  action 
to  expel  Jean,  and  the  girl,  fed  up  with  injustices,  quits  the 
school  and  denounces  its  undemocratic  ways.  Her  tirade  is 
overheard  by  the  chairman  of  the  college  board,  who  prevails 
on  her  to  remain.  As  a  result,  reforms  are  instituted  in  the 
school,  the  sorority  is  democratized,  and  Shirley,  seeing  the 
error  of  her  ways,  begs  Jean's  forgiveness. 

Arthur  Dreifuss  and  George  H.  Plympton  wrote  the 
original  screen  play,  Sam  Katzman  produced  it,  and  Mr. 
Dreifuss  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Rosemary  La  Planche, 
Jackie  Moran  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Magnificent  Doll"  with  Ginger  Rogers, 
David  Niven  and  Burgess  Meredith 

( Universal,  no  release  date  set;  time,  94  min.) 
Acted  with  skill,  and  produced  and  directed  with  care, 
this  story  about  the  life  of  Dolly  Madison,  although  highly 
fictional,  shapes  up  as  a  good  period  drama,  with  better  than 
average  box-office  possibilities  because  of  the  stars'  popu- 
larity. Set  in  the  early  Colonial  days,  the  story  blends  ro- 
mance,  drama  and  some  comedy  in  such  a  fashion  as  to  ap- 
peal to  most  types  of  audiences.  Moreover,  it  contains  a 
significant  message  on  democracy  and  good  government,  put 
over  in  a  manner  that  enhances  the  entertainment  values. 
Ginger  Rogers,  as  "Dolly,"  handles  her  role  expertly.  Her 
courage  in  quieting  an  unruly  mob  intent  on  lynching  Aaron 
Burr,  after  his  acquittal  as  a  traitor,  makes  for  a  thrilling 
sequence.  And  her  romance  with  James  Madison  is  worked 
into  the  plot  in  an  intelligent  and  appealing  way.  Burgess 
Meredith,  as  "Madison,"  is  just  right  in  a  subdued  char- 
acterization, while  David  Niven,  as  "Burr,"  is  properly 
dashing  and  deceitful. 

The  story  opens  with  Dolly,  against  her  will,  entering  into 
a  marriage  to  please  her  father  (Robert  Barrat).  She  weds 
John  Todd  (Horace  McNally),  a  Quaker,  and,  though  she 
lives  happily  with  him,  she  canot  bring  herself  to  love  him. 
By  the  time  her  love  has  awakened,  both  her  husband  and 
baby  are  struck  down  by  a  yellow  fever  plague.  She  opens  a 
dignified  boarding  house  in  order  to  make  a  living,  and  in- 
cluded among  her  guests  are  Senator  Aaron  Burr  and  Con- 
gressman James  Madison.  Both  men  pay  court  to  Dolly,  but 
she  is  swept  off  her  feet  by  Burr's  dashing  personality.  Her 
interest  in  him  grows  cold,  however,  when  she  learns  of  his 
ambition  to  overthrow  the  Government  and  become  Em- 
peror of  America.  Madison's  democratic  ideals  make  her 
realize  that  it  was  he  whom  she  loved,  and  in  due  time  both 
are  married.  Dolly  takes  a  deep  interest  in  her  husband's 
political  affairs  and,  several  years  later,  when  Burr,  through 
political  trickery,  claims  the  presidency  over  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son (Grandon  Rhodes),  she  prevails  on  him  to  withdraw 
his  claim  for  the  good  of  the  country.  In  due  time  Jefferson 
makes  Madison  his  Secretary  of  State  and  relegates  to  Dolly 
the  duties  of  mistress  of  the  White  House.  Later,  Burr,  after 
slaying  Alexander  Hamilton  in  a  duel,  finds  himself  im- 
prisoned for  high  treason  when  his  plans  for  conquest  are 
uncovered.  The  Court,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the 
land,  is  compelled  to  acquit  him,  but  the  decision  proves  un- 
popular with  the  pople  and  a  mob  gathers  to  lynch  him.  Con- 
demning Burr's  actions  but  demanding  that  the  laws  of  the 
land  be  respected,  Dolly  makes  an  impassioned  plea  to  the 
infuriated  mob  and  succeeds  in  saving  Burr's  life.  Burr  is 
banished  in  shame  to  Europe,  and  years  later,  when  Madison 
is  elected  to  the  presidency,  Dolly  assumes  her  position  as  the 
First  Lady  of  the  Land. 

Irving  Stone  wrote  the  original  story  and  screen  play,  Jack 
H.  Skirball  produced  it,  and  Frank  Borzage  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  Peggy  Wood  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


188  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  November  23,  1946 


constitute  a  charter  of  economic  liberty.'"  In  the  future, 
business  will  be  able  to  proceed  in  a  normal  course,  without 
agitation  and  suspicion.  Order  will  reign  in  this  chaotic 
industry. 

lou-j'he  proceedings  resulted  in  the  opinion  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals  for  the  Second  Circuit  already  cited,  Federal  Trade 
Commission  v.  Paramount  I-'amousLasky  Corp.,  (CCA.  2) 
57  F.  2d.  152. 

1,0  S.  1667.  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Brookhart  of  Iowa, 
on  which  there  were  extensive  hearings  in  1928  before  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Interstate  Commerce. 

111 S.  280,  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Nccly  of  West  Vir- 
ginia. U.K.  4757,  74th  Cong.,  1st  Scss.,  introduced  by  Reprc 
sentative  Pettingill,  on  which  there  were  lengthy  hearings  in 
1936  before  a  Sub-Committee  of  the  Committee  on  Interstate 
and  Foreign  Commerce. 

"'These  proceedings  are  narrated  in  the  article  on  "Anti-Trust  Liti- 
gation in  the  Motion  Picture  Industry"  in  Harrison's  Repobts, 
1936.  Subsequently  suits  were  instituted  in  Texas,  Tennessee, 
Western  New  York  and  Oklahoma. 

'"Harrison's  Reports,  June  27,  1936,  August  3,  1946. 

'"U.S.C.A.,  1,2. 

116  Executives  of  other  corporations  convicted  of  violating  the  anti- 
trust laws  have  recently  been  subjected  to  substantial  punish- 
ment. In  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  Dis- 
trict of  Kentucky  three  leading  tobacco  companies  and  some  of 
their  officials  were  lined  a  total  of  $255,000  on  only  three 
charges.  The  judgments  were  affirmed  by  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Appeals,  American  Tobacco  Company  v.  United  States,  (CCA. 
6)  147  F.  (2d)  93,  and  the  Supreme  Court,  Id.,  June  10,  1946 
Recently  the  press  has  reported  the  imposition  of  substantial 
fines  upon  the  Great  Atlantic  &  Pacific  Tea  Company. 

""Harrison's  Reports,  Nov.  2,  1946. 

"■•Appalachian  Coals,  Inc.  v.  United  States,  228  U.S.  334,  359,  360. 
THE  END 


"My  Brother  Talks  to  Horses"  with 
"Butch"  Jenkins,  Peter  Lawford 
and  Edward  Arnold 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time.  92  min.) 

A  delightful,  heart-warming  comedy-drama;  it  keeps  one 
chuckling  from  beginning  to  end.  Its  tale  about  a  youngster's 
love  for  animals  and  his  amazing  ability  to  talk  with  them 
serves  as  the  basis  for  a  charming  family  story,  which  to  some 
extent  is  a  variation  on  the  "daffy"  family  theme.  It  has  plen- 
tiful comedy  brought  about  by  the  eccentricities  of  the  boy's 
mother,  by  an  inventor  who  lived  with  the  family,  and  by 
gamblers  who  take  a  sudden  interest  in  the  boy  in  the  hope 
that  he  could  tell  them  in  advance  the  name  of  the  horse 
that  would  win  a  particular  race.  The  central  character  is 
the  remarkable  child-actor,  "Butch"  Jenkins,  who  endears 
himself  to  the  audience  by  his  natural  manner.  The  action 
includes  two  horse  races,  both  of  which  are  executed  in  a 
highly  exciting  and  realistic  fashion.  Charles  Ruggles,  as  one 
of  the  gamblers,  contributes  an  amusing  characterization. 
Understanding  direction  and  competent  performances  make 
it  the  type  of  entertainment  that  puts  one  in  a  good  mood : — 

"Butch,"  whom  animals  instinctively  adored,  spends  his 
spare  time  with  "The  Bart,"  a  gallant  but  aging  race  horse 
owned  by  Edward  Arnold.  One  day  Arnold  asks  "Butch" 
to  accompany  him  to  the  race  track  and  invites  Peter  Law- 
ford,  "Butch's"  older  brother,  and  Beverly  Tyler,  Lawford's 
sweetheart,  to  join  them.  At  the  track,  "Butch"  proves  his 
ability  to  talk  to  horses  by  reporting  to  the  group  just  which 
horse  would  win  a  particular  race,  in  accordance  with  the 
information  given  him  by  the  animals.  Three  amazed  gamb- 
lers overhear  his  statements  and  see  them  come  true.  When 
"Butch"  learns  that  "The  Bart"  had  been  entered  in  a  claim- 
ing race,  he  becomes  concerned  lest  the  new  owner  be 
someone  who  might  mistreat  the  animal.  To  ease  the  lad's 
mind,  Ernest  Whitman,  Arnold's  colored  groom,  put  up  his 
savings  of  $1800,  and  Lawford  adds  to  it  the  $400  he  had 
saved  to  marry  Beverly.  "The  Bart"  breaks  his  leg  in  the  race 
and  is  destroyed.  The  loss  of  his  savings  delays  Lawford's 
marriage  plans  and  creates  a  rift  between  Beverly  and  him- 
self. Meanwhile  "Butch,"  recovered  from  the  shock,  finds 
the  gamblers  taking  a  sudden  interest  in  his  welfare.  On  the 
day  of  the  Preakness,  "Butch"  discovers  that  the  death  of 
"The  Bart"  had  in  some  way  affected  his  ability  to  speak 
with  horses.  One  of  the  gamblers,  infuriated  because  the 
boy  could  not  give  him  any  information,  strikes  him.  Law- 


ford, enraged,  licks  the  gamblers  in  a  terrific  fight.  He  then 
pools  his  money  with  that  of  Beverly  and  his  mother  (Spring 
Byington)  and  bets  it  all  on  a  horse  in  whom  "Butch"  be- 
lieved. The  horse  wins,  and  though  Lawford,  a  bank  em- 
ployee, is  discharged  for  gambling,  he  finds  himself  finan- 
cially able  to  marry  Beverly. 

Morton  Thompson  wrote  the  story  and  screen  play,  Sam- 
uel Marx  produced  it,  and  Fred  Zinncmann  directed  it.  The 
cast  includes  O.  Z.  Whitehead,  Irving  Bacon,  Howard 
Freeman  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"The  Razor's  Edge"  with  Tyrone  Power, 
Gene  Tierney,  Herbert  Marshall, 
Anne  Baxter  and  Clifton  Webb 

(20th  Century-Fox.  December;  time.  146  min.) 
Technically,  this  screen  version  of  W.  Somerset  Maugh- 
am's widely-read  novel  is  an  impressive  production,  and  the 
popularity  of  the  stars,  coupled  with  the  extensive  publicity 
campaign  behind  the  picture,  will  undoubtedly  attract  many 
patrons  to  the  box-office.  As  entertainment,  however,  it  is 
somewhat  disappointing,  despite  fairly  good  performances 
by  the  players,  particularly  the  excellent  work  of  Anne 
Baxter,  as  "Sophie,"  a  fallen  woman  addicted  to  drink.  The 
chief  trouble  is  with  the  story  itself,  for,  like  the  book,  its 
tale  about  a  young  man's  quest  for  spiritir!  peace,  his  finding 
of  it,  and  his  efforts  to  bring  goodness  into  the  lives  of  his 
friends,  is  so  vague  that  few  will  be  able  to  grasp  the  mes- 
sage of  faith  it  intends  to  convey.  When  the  picture  gets 
away  from  its  obscure  excursions  into  things  spiritual,  the 
story  is  essentially  a  tale  about  the  frustrated  love  of  a  beau- 
tiful but  deceitful  woman,  who  marries  a  wealthy  man  be- 
cause he  could  keep  her  in  the  style  she  was  accustomed  to 
rather  than  chance  marriage  to  the  man  she  loved,  whose 
search  for  a  better  way  of  life  and  whose  limited  earnings 
would  deny  her  the  luxuries  she  desired.  How  she  tries  to 
hold  his  love,  despite  her  marital  status,  and  how,  after  he 
spurns  her  overtures,  she  deliberately  breaks  up  his  pending 
marriage  to  "Sophie,"  whom  he  was  trying  to  rehabilitate, 
make  up  the  rest  of  the  story.  All  this  is  told  against  back- 
grounds that  range  from  the  fashionable  districts  in  Chicago 
and  Paris  to  the  Parisian  Apache  quarter  and  the  Himalayas 
in  the  Far  East,  where  the  teachings  of  a  Hindu  mystic  help 
the  hero  to  find  the  spiritual  peace  he  sought.  It  is  not  a 
pretty  story,  and  several  of  the  incidents  are  quite  unpleas- 
ant. Moreover,  the  continuity  is  choppy,  for  the  action  shifts 
from  one  episode  to  another  with  rapidity. 

The  picture's  emotional  appeal  revolves  mainly  around  the 
tragic  life  of  Miss  Baxter.  One  feels  deeply  her  grief  when,  as 
a  happily  married  woman,  both  her  husband  and  baby  are 
killed  in  an  auto  crash,  a  tragedy  that  eventually  leads  to  her 
degradation  as  a  habitue  of  Apache  bistros,  where  she  tries 
to  drown  her  sorrow  in  drink.  Tyrone  Power,  as  the  emo- 
tionally upset  young  aviator  who  returns  from  World  War  I 
determined  to  learn  the  reason  why  his  life  was  spared 
while  others  died,  and  Gene  Tierney,  as  the  woman  who 
pursues  him,  do  well  with  the  requirements  of  their  roles. 
Others  who  contribute  impressive  performances  include 
Clifton  Webb,  as  Gene's  uncle,  an  arrogant  but  good-hearted 
snob;  Herbert  Marshall,  as  Maugham,  the  author;  and  John 
Payne,  as  Gene's  husband. 

All  in  all,  the  picture  represents  an  earnest  effort  on  the 
part  of  all  concerned  in  its  making,  but  the  story  material 
lacks  the  necessary  qualities  that  would  make  it  the  signifi- 
cant drama  it  was  intended  to  be.  As  it  stands,  it  is  the  sort 
of  picture  that  is  more  suited  to  the  classes  than  to  the  masses, 
who,  aside  from  the  inconclusiveness  of  the  story,  may  find 
the  dialogue,  not  only  too  abundant,  but  also  a  bit  too  lofty. 

Lamar  Trotti  wrote  the  screen  play,  Darryl  F.  Zanuck 
produced  it,  and  Edmund  Goulding  directed  it.  The  cast  in- 
cludes Lucile  Watson,  Frank  Latimore,  Elsa  Lanchester, 
Fritz  Kortner  and  others. 
Adult  entertainment. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  18T9. 

Harrison's  Reports 

Yearly  Subscription  Rates:  1270  AVENUE  OF  THE  AMERICAS  Published    Weekly  by 

United  States   $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc.. 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      v    ,  _»  M  v  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  wew  1  orK  1  •  P.  S.  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain          16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain                      15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1,  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,     

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Ug  Editorial  p0iicy :  No  Problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  Circle  7-4622 

35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  30,  1946  No~48 

A  Thoughtless  Degradation  of  Racial  Minorities 

According  to  a  report  in  the  November  6  issue  of  whose  minds  racial  prejudices  do  not  exist,  may  see 
weekly  Variety,  a  reviewing  committee,  made  up  of  this  picture  and  be  left  with  the  erroneous  impression 
members  of  different  religious  and  public  groups,  that  the  feelings  and  thoughts  of  all  Jews  are  con- 
voiced  vehement  objections  against  Bing  Crosby's  pro-  trolled  by  the  almighty  dollar,  and  that  all  Irishmen 
duction  of  ''Abie's  Irish  Rose,"  which  they  described  are  aggressive,  thick-headed  individuals,  ready  to  fight 
as  "the  worst  sort  of  caricature  of  both  Jews  and  Cath-  at  the  drop  of  a  hat — in  other  words,  "shanty"  Irish, 
olics— much  worse  than  the  1928  original— and  a  Harrison's  Reports  does  not  believe  that  Bing 
film  that  sets  us  back  twenty  years  in  the  work  we  have  Crosby's  producing  company  intended  to  either  ma- 
been  trying  to  do  in  bringing  the  people  of  America  lign  or  cast  an  odious  reflection  upon  the  integrity  of 
closer  together."  the  Irish  and  the  Jews.  It  is  just  that  those  connected 

u        r  ^.u  •  ^  with  the  picture's  making  were  thoughtless.  They  did 

The  members  of  this  reviewing  committee  were  v        .  ,     ,     5     .       •  i      ■  '  \ 

_.  •    i   i    •         j         .  i     i        .  •  not  stop  to  consider  that  comic  racial  caricatures,  such 

particularly  incensed  over  the  derogatory  manner  in         ,    y ,         ,  .     ,  ,        „  .        tt*t  , 

which  the  film,  for  comedy  purposes?  depicts  the  main  as  the^  def)lc,teld'  15  °f  ^  stuff  that  adds  {uf  t(\the 

Jewish  and  Irish  characters.  For  instance,  throughout  fires  of  racial  hatred  wherever  it  exists— and  it  does 

the  action  the  "economy"  trait,  which  is  supposedly  a  ex*st  to  an  aPPalllkng  degree;  ™ey  failed  to  realize  that 

Jewish  characteristic,  is  stressed.  The  Jewish  father  is  what,may  have  been  comical  *>  the  public  m  years 

shown  "feeling  the  goods"  as  he  helps  the  heroine  ZonehV  15  no  longfr  funny  in  these  critical  days.  Hav- 

with  her  coat,  remarking  on  whether  or  not  she  re-  in§  J"*  emerged  from  a  world  conflict  that  was 

ceived  value  for  what  she  paid;  refusing  to  alter  a  sPark^d  h?  racial  tolerance,  the  public  is  in  no  mood 

i            . i           .     i       r    i  •    i           *.       ii  to  nnd  comedy  in  situations  or  characterizations  that 

dress  suit  that  was  too  large  for  him  because  it  would  .      ,      /  , 

.  r "  i       i                    r  tend  to  degrade  peoples, 

mean  cutting  away  part  of  the  value;  arranging  for  6  f 

his  future  daughter-in-law's  wedding  gown  to  be  In  producing  "Abie's  Irish  Rose,"  Bing  Crosby  did 

bought  "wholesale";  using  oranges  instead  of  orange  not  exercise  much  discretion,  and  his  unwitting  but 

blossoms  as  wedding  decorations  because  they  can  be  unpardonable  blunder  should  serve  as  a  warning  to 

eaten;  and  ever  so  many  other  stereotyped  gags  im-  other  producers  that  they  and  every  one  connected 

plying  that  "what-it-costs"  is  a  motivating  factor  of  Wlth  their  organizations  must  be  discerning  in  their 

major  importance  in  a  Jew's  life,  and  that  he  is  in-  selection  of  what  goes  into  a  picture,  particularly  in 

herently  stingy  and  calculating.  The  Irish  father  is  these  tlmes'  when  we  are  g°mg  through  difficult  days, 

caricatured  in  a  way  that  is  just  as  bad  as  the  Jewish  and  when  the  United  States,  as  the  leading  nation  of 

father.  He  is  depicted  as  argumentative,  bull-headed  the  worlcJ5  is  looked  to  by  suffering  minority  groups  in 

and  thick,  holding  his  head  in  his  hands  and  moaning  war-torn  nations  as  the  one  country  that  is  in  a  posi- 

"Wurra!  Wurra!"  to  denote  that  he  is  a  grieved  man  tion  to  promote  universal  peace.  It  can  readily  be  un- 

with  unbearable  troubles.  The  Jewish  father,  too,  holds  derstood  how  an  American  film,  which  exaggeratedly 

his  head  in  his  hands  when  faced  with  troubles,  but  he,  ridicules  minority  groups,  even  though  such  ridicule 

swaying  from  side  to  side  with  ludicrous  gesticula-  is  meant  to  be  no  more  than  good-natured  spoofing, 

tions,  moans  "Oy!  Oy!  Oy!"  can  damage  the  prestige  the  country  now  enjoys. 

.  .  .  .  Another  important  fact  the  producer  has  to  con- 
Having  seen  the  picture,  the  writer  of  this  article  sider  is  thatj  in  selecting  his  material,  he  has  a  definite 
agrees  wholeheartedly  with  the  protestations  made  by  obligaton  insofar  as  the  exnibitor  is  concerned,  for,  in 
the  reviewing  committee  of  these  organizations.  And  the  final  anaiysiS)  he  is  the  one  who  has  to  bear  the 
he  is  of  the  opinion  that  many  others  who  will  see  the  wrath  of>  not  only  the  powerfui  organizations  opposed 
picture  will  feel  likewise,  for  there  is  no  question  that  to  the  picturCj  but  also  the  trons  who  wlU  resent  that 
the  film  s  depiction  of  these  racial  characterizations  is  which  it  portrays 

in  the  worst  possible  taste,  even  though  no  harm  may  TT  r         .  ,                    .f ,  , 

■ ,     i   •  .r  j  ii              ,         °                   '  Unfortunately,  it  seems  as  it  little  can  be  done  to 

have  been  intended  by  the  producer.  .        .     '  .       c  ■>      .  .       „  f      ,    ,  . 

r  stop  the  distribution  oi  the  picture,  oerore  booking 

Handled  delicately,  "Abie's  Irish  Rose"  could  have  it,  however,  the  exhibitor  would  do  well  to  consider 
been,  in  terms  of  entertainment,  a  fine  propaganda  carefully  just  what  effect  its  exhibition  may  have  in 
picture  for  the  teaching  of  religious  tolerance  between  their  particular  situations  lest  they  suddenly  find 
Christians  and  Jews,  for  it  has  an  emotional  content  themselves  pressured  from  all  sides.  And  in  gauging 
that  would  appeal  to  most  people.  But  as  it  now  shapes  the  public's  temperament,  the  exhibitor  should  take 
up  it  will  do  more  harm  than  good  because  of  the  into  consideration  also  that,  about  a  year  ago,  an  or- 
disparaging  racial  caricatures,  which,  though  meant  ganized  protest  by  radio  listeners  compelled  Procter 
to  be  comical,  will  serve  only  to  delight  bigots  at  the  6?  Gamble,  soap  manufacturers,  to  drop  their  sponsor- 
expense  of  minority  racial  groups.  What  is  even  more  ship  of  the  "Abie's  Irish  Rose"  radio  program,  which 
catastrophic  is  the  fact  that  millions  of  people,  in  was  then  taken  off  the  air. 


190 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


"The  Best  Years  of  Our  Lives"  with 
Fredric  March,  Dana  Andrews, 
Myrna  Loy  and  Teresa  Wright 

(Goldwyn-RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  172  mm.) 
Samuel  Goldwyn  has  come  forth  with  an  extremely  fine 
drama  in  "The  Best  Years  of  Our  Lives,"  which,  in  terms 
that  will  be  understood  by  all  classes  of  moviegoers,  realis- 
tically and  honestly  depicts  the  problems  faced  by  veterans 
in  their  reconversion  to  a  peacetime  way  of  life.  William 
Wyler's  sensitive  direction,  Robert  E.  Sherwood's  superla- 
tive screen  play,  and  great  performances  by  the  entire  cast 
combine  to  make  this  picture  go  down  in  the  industry's  his- 
tory as  one  of  its  finest  achievements.  The  characters  are  so 
real,  and  the  parts  are  enacted  so  understandingly,  that  one 
thinks  he  is  looking  at  real-life  occurrences.  One  feels  the 
joys  and  the  sorrows  of  the  characters  as  if  they  were  one's 
own  joys  and  sorrows.  Although  the  picture's  running  time  is 
just  eight  minutes  under  three  hours,  one  takes  little  notice 
of  this  length  because  what  it  has  to  offer  is  warm,  sincere, 
impressive  and  satisfying.  Its  emotional  appeal  will  move  one 
so  deeply  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  suppress  tears.  Moreover, 
its  romantic  interest  is  intelligent  and  appealing,  and  its  com- 
edy is  delightful. 

The  story's  three  central  characters  are  Fredric  March,  as 
a  middle-aged  infantry  sergeant  and  bank  executive  in  private 
life;  Dana  Andrews,  as  an  Air  Force  captain  and  former 
"soda-jerk";  and  Harold  Russell,  as  a  youthful  seaman,  who 
had  lost  both  his  hands  in  action,  and  who  wore  articulated 
hooks  in  their  place.  Russell,  a  newcomer,  wears  these  hooks 
in  real  life,  and  his  first  try  at  acting  is  remarkably  good.  The 
story  opens  with  the  three  veterans,  all  living  in  the  same 
mid-Western  town,  meeting  for  the  first  time  and  becoming 
fast  friends  as  they  hitch  an  airplane  ride  back  home.  Their 
homecomings  are  as  different  as  their  houses.  At  a  smart 
apartment  house,  March  is  greeted  warmly  by  his  wife 
(Myrna  Loy)  and  two  grown  children  (Teresa  Wright  and 
Michael  Hall),  but  not  having  seen  them  for  three  years  he 
feels  awkward  and  self-conscious.  At  an  old-fashioned  frame 
house,  Russell  is  greeted  by  his  family  and  by  his  sweetheart 
(Cathy  O'Donnell),  whose  shocked  silence  and  embarrassing 
pity  make  him  uneasy.  Andrews  comes  home  to  a  dreary, 
rundown  shack  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  tracks,  where  he 
learns  from  his  gin-soaked  father  that  Virginia  Mayo,  the 
girl  he  had  married  twenty  days  before  he  had  gone  over- 
seas, had  moved  away  and  had  taken  empolyment  in  a  night 
club.  The  story  then  centers  around  March's  gradual  resump- 
tion of  his  domestic  ties,  and  of  his  work  at  the  bank,  where 
he  is  made  vice-president  in  charge  of  small  loans  to  veterans; 
Russell's  seeking  escape  from  his  overly-considerate  family, 
and  his  efforts  to  discourage  the  deep  love  his  sweetheart  felt 
for  him,  despite  his  disability,  until  she  convinces  him  that 
their  love  was  powerful  enough  to  overcome  his  misfortune; 
and  Andrews  discouragement  over  financial  difficulties  that 
compelled  him  to  resume  his  work  as  a  "soda-jerk,"  his  even- 
tual discovery  that  his  flashy  wife  was  unfaithful,  and  his 
falling  in  love  with  March's  daughter,  a  romance  that  is  real- 
ized only  after  Andrews  breaks  with  his  wife. 

Lack  of  space  does  not  permit  the  recounting  of  the  many 
details  that  make  this  picture  the  poignant  drama  that  it  is. 
The  uncontrollable  wail  of  Russell's  mother  when  she  first 
sees  his  mechanical  hands;  his  demonstrating  to  his  sweet- 
heart the  fact  that  he  was  helpless  without  his  harness;  and 
his  skill  as  he  uses  his  hook-like  prosthetic  devices  to  place 
the  wedding  ring  on  her  finger  are  but  a  few  of  the  memor- 
able dramatic  highlights.  The  picture's  lighter  moments  are 
concerned  chiefly  with  March's  awkwardness  as  he  adjusts 
himself  to  living  with  his  family.  The  sequences  in  which  he 
gets  drunk  and  suffers  a  hangover,  after  celebrating  his  home- 
coming, are  extremely  funny.  Among  others,  the  cast  includes 
Hoagy  Carmichael,  Gladys  George,  Roman  Bohnen  and 
Ray  Collins — all  are  excellent. 


''Lady  in  the  Lake"  with 
Robert  Montgomery  and  Audrey  Totter 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  103  min.) 
Very  Good!  What  might  have  been  a  fairly  interesting 
murder-mystery  picture  has  been  turned  into  a  superior 
melodrama  by  reason  of  the  novel  and  highly  successful 
technique  used  to  present  the  story.  This  technique  gives 
the  camera  itself  the  leading  role;  that  is,  the  camera  becomes 
the  eyes  of  the  hero  and  one  sees  only  what  the  hero  him- 
self can  see  as  he  goes  about  the  business  of  investigating 
the  mystery.  The  result  is  that  the  hero,  a  private  detective, 


played  by  Robert  Montgomery,  is  never  seen  during  the 
action  except  at  such  times  as  his  image  is  reflected  in  a 
mirror.  Yet  one  hears  his  voice  and  sees  his  hands  reach 
out  for  objects.  The  other  characters,  while  conversing  with 
him,  look  directly  into  the  camera,  and  even  when  he  is 
beaten  by  the  villain  the  blows  are  aimed  at  the  camera. 
The  total  effect  on  the  spectator  is  to  make  him  feel  that 
he  himself  is  the  detective,  thus  heightening  the  suspense 
and  intensifying  the  interest.  Montgomery,  who  also  directed 
the  picture,  deserves  unstinting  praise  for  his  magnificent 
handling  of  this  imaginative  technique,  which  will  un- 
doubtedly create  considerable  word-of-mouth  advertising, 
thus  insuring  the  picture's  box-office  success.  How  Mont- 
gomery carries  on  a  romance  by  this  new  method,  with  the 
heroine  puckering  up  her  lips  and  aiming  her  kisses  directly 
at  the  camera,  is  really  something  to  see. 

The  picture  opens  up  with  Montgomery  at  his  desk,  tell- 
ing the  audience  about  his  adventures  in  a  recent  murder 
case.  The  action  then  dissolves  into  a  flashback  with  the 
camera  becoming  Montgomery's  eyes,  seeing  only  what  he 
can  see.  There  are  so  many  twists  to  the  plot,  which  is  based 
on  a  Raymond  Chandler  novel,  that  it  defies  one's  attempt 
to  synopsize.  Briefly,  however,  it  concerns  his  being  retained 
by  Audrey  Totter,  a  pulp  magazine  editor,  to  locate  the 
missing  wife  of  her  publisher,  Leon  Ames,  whom  she  hoped 
to  marry  herself.  Montgomery's  investigation  leads  him  to 
believe  that  the  woman  had  been  murdered,  a  theory  he 
eventually  proves,  but  before  he  solves  the  case  he  goes 
through  a  series  of  hair-raising  adventures,  in  which  he 
becomes  involved  in  a  second  murder  and  is  framed  by  a 
crooked  detective.  In  the  interim  he  finds  romance  with 
Audrey,  a  "gold-digger,"  who  in  time  sees  the  error  of  her 
ways.  It  is  a  well-knit  screen  play,  written  by  Steve  Fisher, 
and  the  plot  developments  are  worked  out  logically.  Miss 
Totter,  incidentally,  turns  in  a  very  good  performance,  as 
does  Lloyd  Nolan,  as  the  wayward  detective. 

George  Haight  is  the  producer.  The  cast  includes  Tom 
Tully,  Dick  Simmons,  Jayne  Meadows  and  others. 

Although  suggestive  in  spots,  nothing  objectionable  is 
shown. 

"Abie's  Irish  Rose"  with  Joanne  Dru 
and  Richard  Norris 

(United  Artists,  December  27;  time,  96  min.) 
Whatever  entertainment  values  there  are  in  this  remake  of 
"Abie's  Irish  Rose,"  which  was  first  produced  by  Paramount 
in  1928,  are  offset  by  questionable  comedy,  the  sort  that 
tends  to  degrade  and  slander  both  the  Jewish  and  Irish  races. 
Although  this  type  of  comedy,  the  details  of  which  are  out- 
lined in  the  front  page  editorial  of  this  issue,  may  have  passed 
as  entertainment  several  generations  ago,  its  effect  today  is 
that  of  leaving  one  with  a  bad  taste  in  his  mouth.  Conse- 
quently, the  picture  can  hardly  be  classified  as  popular  enter- 
tainment. 

Except  for  some  minor  changes  to  bring  it  up  to  date,  the 
story  remains  substantially  the  same.  The  plot,  which  is  based 
on  the  play  by  Anne  Nichols,  who  wrote  also  the  screen  play, 
deals  with  the  marriage  of  a  Jewish  boy  to  an  Irish  girl,  much 
to  the  consternation  of  both  their  fathers.  In  the  course  of 
events  the  youngsters  are  married  by  a  rabbi  and  by  a 
Catholic  priest,  but  the  fathers,  objecting  on  racial  grounds, 
remain  unreconciled;  both  disown  their  children.  The  birth 
of  twins,  and  the  efforts  of  the  rabbi  and  the  priest,  eventually 
make  for  a  happy  ending  in  which  the  battling  fathers  be- 
come reconciled  with  themselves  and  their  children,  giving 
their  blessings  to  the  mixed  marriage. 

There  is  no  question  that,  towards  the  finish,  the  film  has 
several  appealing  moments,  but  they  are  not  enough  to  over- 
come the  distastefulness  of  the  preceding  action,  in  which  the 
fathers  constantly  fly  at  each  other's  throats,  making  offensive 
remarks  about  one  another's  race.  Michael  Chekhov,  as  the 
Jewish  father,  is  more  repelling  than  amusing,  as  is  George 
E.  Stone,  whose  characterization  of  a  Jewish  lawyer  and 
friend  of  the  family  is  painfully  ludicrous.  J.  M.  Kerrigan 
plays  the  Irish  father  in  the  comic  tradition  of  "shanty"  Irish, 
and  his  pugnaciousness  and  constant  derogatory  remarks 
about  things  Jewish  merely  serves  to  imply  that  nothing 
gentle,  refined,  or  cultured  exists  in  the  Irish  character.  The 
only  principal  roles  in  which  the  players  show  some  semb- 
lance of  dignity  are  that  of  "Abie"  and  "Rosie,"  played  by 
Richard  Norris  and  Joanna  Dru,  and  the  rabbi  and  the 
priest,  played  by  Emory  Parnell  and  Art  Baker,  respectively. 

Edward  A.  Sutherland  produced  and  directed  for  Bing 
Crosby  Producers,  Inc.  The  cast  includes  Vera  Gordon,  Eric 
Blore  and  others. 


November  30,  1946 


191 


"The  Yearling"  with  Gregory  Peck, 
Jane  Wyman  and  Claude  Jarman,  Jr. 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  134  min.) 
Excellent  mass  entertainment;  it  is  a  great  picture,  both 
as  to  production  and  entertainment  values.  Based  on  M..r- 
jorie  Kinnan  Rawlings'  Pulitzer  prize  novel,  its  simple  but 
heart-warming  story  about  a  pioneer  family's  struggle  for 
existence,  and  about  the  love  of  an  eleven-year-old  boy  for 
a  fawn,  emerges  as  a  powerful  human-interest  drama,  one 
that  constantly  plays  on  the  emotions.  Its  emotional  appeal 
is  so  intense  that  even  the  most  hardened  picture-goer  will 
be  moved.  The  readers  of  the  novel  should  be  thrilled,  for 
the  casting  is  expert  and  the  characters  appear  just  as  one 
imagined  them.  The  beauty  and  charm  of  the  picture  lies 
not  only  in  the  story  but  also  in  the  characters,  whose  sim- 
plicity and  courage  are  a  source  of  inspiration.  The  family, 
consisting  of  father  (Gregory  Peck),  mother  (Jane  Wy- 
man), and  son  (Claude  Jarman,  Jr.),  has  been  directed  by 
Clarence  Brown  with  such  keen  understanding  and  sympathy 
that  the  audience  feels  affection  for  them  and  shares  in 
their  joys,  as  well  as  in  the  heart-breaking  set-backs  they 
suffer.  The  performances  are  uniformly  flawless.  Peck,  as 
the  father,  is  inspiringly  courageous  in  his  struggle  against 
storms  that  ruin  his  crops,  and  against  wild  animals  that  kill 
his  livestock.  And  the  tenderness  of  the  comradeship  and 
understanding  between  his  son  and  himself  is  something  fine 
to  see.  Jane  Wyman,  as  the  mother,  turns  in  a  performance 
that  will  undoubtedly  place  her  among  the  Academy  Award 
contenders.  Despite  her  stoical  forbearance,  she  conveys  to 
the  spectator,  by  finely  shaded  facial  expressions,  the  suffer- 
ings of  a  woman  who  had  lived  a  life  of  drudgery  and  self- 
denial  but  who  was  extremely  proud.  Special  mention  must 
be  made  of  Claude  Jarman,  Jr.,  a  newcomer,  who  plays  the 
son;  his  naturalness  and  charm,  and  his  amazing  ability  to 
convey  all  types  of  boyish  emotions,  should  win  him  praise 
from  all.  Superbly  photographed  in  Technicolor  against  a 
background  of  wildly  beautiful  Florida  scrub  country, 
where  the  family  lived  in  a  wilderness  clearing,  the  picture 
is  unsurpassed  in  its  pictorial  beauty.  One  sequence,  in 
which  father  and  son,  accompanied  by  hunting  dogs,  track 
down  a  vicious  bear,  is  extremely  exciting.  The  fight  between 
the  bear  and  the  dogs  is  so  savage  that  those  with  weak 
stomachs  will  turn  their  eyes  away  from  the  screen.  Con- 
versely, they  will  get  keen  pleasure  out  of  the  poetically 
beautiful  sequences  in  which  the  youngster  runs  and  romps 
with  the  deer. 

The  story,  which  takes  place  shortly  after  the  Civil  War, 
tells  of  the  family's  hand-to-mouth  existence  on  their  meagre 
earnings  from  the  soil,  and  of  Pack's  hope  to  raise  a 
"money  crop"  that  would  enable  him  to  build  a  well  out- 
side his  door,  thus  lightening  his  wife's  burden.  Their  son, 
the  only  one  of  four  children  to  have  survived  the  rigors 
of  pioneer  life,  begs  for  a  pet  to  relieve  the  loneliness  of  his 
solitary  boyhood,  but  the  mother  denies  the  request  lest  the 
pet  put  a  further  drain  on  the  family's  limited  resources. 
When  Peck,  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake,  hurriedly  kills  a  doe 
and  uses  its  heart  and  liver  to  draw  out  the  poison,  the  boy, 
on  whom  the  care  of  the  crops  now  depended,  is  permitted 
to  adopt  the  doe's  orphaned  fawn  as  his  pet.  Claude  is 
completely  happy  with  the  fawn,  but  as  it  grows  into  year- 
ling the  animal  becomes  a  great  liability  because  of  the 
damage  he  does  to  the  crops.  The  yearling's  destructiveness 
eventually  threatens  the  family's  very  existence,  compelling 
Peck  to  order  the  boy  to  shoot  the  animal.  Unable  to  kill  his 
pet,  Claude  turns  the  yearling  loose  in  the  scrub,  but  the 
animal  soon  returns  to  the  farm,  and  the  mother,  of  neces- 
sity, shoots  and  wounds  him.  Claude,  heartbroken,  is  com- 
pelled to  put  the  yearling  out  of  its  misery.  Embittered,  he 
runs  away  from  home,  but  he  returns  after  three  days  of 
starvation  and  hardships,  more  matured  and  fully  cognizant 
that  necessity,  not  viciousness,  motivated  his  parents  in  de- 
manding that  he  dispose  of  the  yearling. 

Paul  Osborn  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  Sidney  Franklin 
produced  it.  The  cast  includes  Chill  Wills,  Clem  Bevans, 
Henry  Travers,  Forrest  Tucker  and  many  others. 

"The  Secret  Heart"  with  Walter  Pidgeon, 
Claudette  Colbert  and  June  Allyson 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  97  mm.) 
Just  a  fair  drama,  which,  by  virtue  of  its  star  values,  may 
do  better  than  average  business.  It  is  chiefly  a  woman's 
picture,  for  the  story  revolves  around  a  young  widow  who 
sacrifices  her  own  love  and  happiness  to  devote  herself  to 
the  upbringing  of  her  two  step-children,  keeping  from  them 
the  knowledge  that  their  father,  a  suicide,  was  a  thief. 
Worked  into  the  plot  is  the  adolescent  love  felt  by  the 
neurotic  stepdaughter  for  the  suitor  of  her  widowed  step- 


mother. The  basic  ingredients  of  the  story  are  good,  but  as 
presented  the  picture  fails  to  strike  a  note  of  realism  and 
the  action  is  stagey.  Moreover,  the  motivating  factor  behind 
the  heroine's  self-sacrifices  is  not  clearly  delineated.  Clau- 
dette Colbert,  as  the  widow,  is  sympathetic,  but  it  is  not 
enough  to  overcome  the  artificiality  of  the  plot.  Lionel 
Barrymore,  as  a  psychiatrist,  plays  a  very  small  part. 

Told  partly  in  flashback,  the  story  reveals  how  Claudette, 
prior  to  her  marriage  to  Richard  Derr,  became  attached  to 
Walter  Pidgeon,  a  close  friend  of  Derr's,  but  her  infatua- 
tion for  Derr  had  been  too  strong  to  break.  Her  marriage  to 
Derr,  an  accomplished  pianist,  had  been  unhappy  because 
of  his  bitterness  over  being  compelled  to  follow  a  banking 
career,  and  he  had  committed  suidice  after  becoming  in- 
volved in  a  bank  swindle,  leaving  Claudette  and  his  two 
children  (June  Allyson  and  Richard  Sterling)  under  a 
stigma  of  disgrace.  Claudette  had  declined  Pidgeon's  offer 
of  marriage  and,  for  ten  years,  had  devoted  herself  to  the 
children  and  to  becoming  a  success  in  business  in  order  to 
pay  off  Derr's  debts.  Sterling,  grown  to  manhood,  adored 
and  respected  Claudette,  but  June,  who  had  inherited  her 
father's  neurotic  nature,  could  not  bring  herself  to  love 
her  stepmother  because  of  a  belief  that  she  had  in  some  way 
been  responsible  for  her  father's  death.  (She  had  never 
learned  about  his  suicide  or  the  scandal.)  In  the  course  of 
events,  Sterling  obtains  employment  in  Pidgeon's  shipyard, 
thus  renewing  Pidgeon's  acquaintance  with  the  family  and 
awakening  his  love  for  Claudette.  June  develops  an  adoles- 
cent "crush"  on  Pidgeon  and  misunderstands  his  fatherly 
interest  in  her.  Meanwhile  Sterling,  in  an  effort  to  shock 
June  out  of  her  psycopathic  state,  tells  her  the  truth  about 
their  father.  This  information,  coupled  with  the  realization 
that  Pidgeon  loved  Claudette,  drives  June  to  attempt  suicide 
like  her  father.  Claudette  saves  the  girl  as  she  is  about  to 
fling  herself  off  a  cliff,  and,  through  warm  understanding  and 
sympathy,  brings  her  back  to  normalcy.  It  all  ends  with 
June  finding  romance  with  a  boy  her  own  age,  and  with 
Claudette  finally  yielding  to  Pidgeon's  proposals. 

Whitfield  Cook  and  Anne  Morrison  Chapin  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  a  story  by  Rose  Franken  and  William  B. 
Meloney.  Edwin  H.  Knopf  produced  it,  and  Robert  Z. 
Leonard  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Marshall  Thompson, 
Elizabeth  Patterson,  Patricia  Medina  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Wake  Up  and  Dream"  with  June  Haver 
and  John  Payne 

(20th  Century-Fox,  no  release  date  set;  time,  92  min.) 

Based  on  the  novel  "Enchanted  Voyage,"  which  was  a 
delightful,  whimsical  tale  about  an  old  man  who  dreamt 
of  the  sea  and  built  a  sailboat  on  wheels,  this  screen  version 
emerges  as  a  curious  admixture  of  fantasy,  whimsy,  re 
mance  and  music,  which  is  so  slow-moving  and  so  confus- 
ingly jumbled  that  one  loses  interest  in  it  long  before  the 
final  reel;  it  all  adds  up  to  a  dull  hodge-podge  of  nonsense, 
photographed  in  Technicolor.  Considerable  changes  have 
been  made  in  the  story,  which  now  has  as  its  theme  a  little 
girl's  faith  that  she  would  find  her  brother,  reported  missing 
in  action.  But  an  inept  script  , uninspired  direction,  and  dia- 
logue that  is  over-abundant  and  insipid,  prove  too  much  of 
a  handicap  for  every  one  of  the  players. 

The  story's  central  characters  are  Connie  Marshall,  a  little 
girl,  whose  farmer-brother  (John  Payne)  had  joined  the 
navy,  leaving  her  in  charge  of  a  relative;  June  Haver,  a 
waitress,  who  was  Payne's  sweetheart;  and  Clem  Bevans, 
an  old  carpenter,  who  had  built  a  sailboat  in  his  backyard, 
300  miles  from  the  sea.  Connie  runs  away  from  her  rela- 
tives and  seeks  refuge  aboard  Bevan's  boat,  where  she  is 
cared  for  by  June.  A  fierce  storm  knocks  the  boat  loose  from 
its  land  moorings,  causing  it  to  sail  down  a  highway  road 
with  all  three  aboard.  Believing  Bevan's  tall  tales  about  his 
conquests  of  the  sea,  Connie  persuades  him  to  set  out  in  the 
home-made  boat  to  find  a  mythical  island  on  which  she 
believed  her  missing  brother  would  be  found.  The  rest  of  the 
story  concerns  itself  with  how  the  trio  make  their  way  from 
Maine  to  the  Louisiana  bayous  via  inland  waterways,  be- 
coming grounded  in  a  swamp,  where  they  are  eventually 
found  and  rescued  by  Payne,  who  allows  Connie  to  think 
that  she  had  found  him.  Obviously,  this  "strange"  voyage 
was  meant  to  give  the  picture  its  appeal,  but  the  trio's 
adventures  en  route,  during  which  they  pick  up  a  roving 
dentist  and  become  chummy  with  a  daffy  hermit,  are  too 
ludicrous  to  be  funny  and  too  dull  to  be  interesting. 

Elick  Moll  wrote  the  screen  play,  Walter  Morosco  pro- 
duced it,  and  Lloyd  Bacon  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Charlotte  Greenwood,  John  Ireland,  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


192 


November  30,  1946 


REPUBLIC'S  SILENCE  WIDENING 
BREACH  OF  FAITH  WITH 
ITS  CUSTOMERS 

In  its  November  9  issue,  this  paper  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  its  readers  a  telegram  sent  by  Pete  Wood,  secretary 
of  the  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Ohio,  to  James  R. 
Grainger,  Republic's  general  sales  manager,  protesting 
against  his  company's  treatment  of  the  exhibitors  in  con- 
nection with  the  delivery  of  eight  "Roy  Rogers"  westerns 
promised  to  the  1945-46  contract-holders. 

Having  received  no  response  from  Grainger,  Wood,  in  a 
recent  bulletin  to  the  members  of  his  organization,  had  this 
to  say : 

"A  BOUQUET  OF  JIMSON  (STINKWEED) 
TO  REPUBLIC 

"Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  had  not  delivered  any 
of  the  eight  Roy  Rogers  promised  on  their  regular  1945-46 
contract.  Republic  pictures  in  July  of  this  year  started  sell- 
ing 'My  Pal  Trigger'  as  a  'special.'  As  this  production  has 
identically  the  same  cast  as  all  the  'regular'  Rogers  pictures 
— Rogers,  Gabby  Hayes,  Dale  Evans  and  Trigger — the  only 
reason  for  committing  this  breach  of  contract  was  to  obtain 
more  rental  for  an  ordinary  Rogers  production. 

"The  1945-46  Rogers  contract  started  to  function  with 
the  delivery,  in  August,  of  'Under  Nevada  Skies,"  followed 
by  'Roll  on  Texas  Moon'  in  September.  Then,  still  owing 
SIX  Rogers  to  their  1945-46  contract-holders,  this  month 
Republic  pulls  another  'Capone,'  (without  benefit  of  tommy- 
gun),  by  designating  'Home  in  Oklahoma'  as  a  'special.'  This, 
too,  is  cast  with  the  same  old  stand-bys — Rogers,  Hayes, 
Evans  and  Trigger. 

"Last  week  we  wired  Republic's  General  Sales  Manager 
Grainger  as  follows,  and  to  which  we  have  had  no  response: 

"  'Many  thousands  of  exhibitors  who  in  good  faith  signed 
forty-five  forty-six  contracts  upon  your  promise  to  deliver 
eight  Roy  Rogers,  only  two  of  which  were  delivered,  are 
being  deprived  of  their  rights  through  your  utter  disregard 
of  decent  business  ethics  by  your  action  in  camouflaging 
"Home  in  Oklahoma"  as  a  special.  You  pulled  the  same  trick 
with  "My  Pal  Trigger."  It's  no  wonder  that  the  courts  and  the 
Government  are  about  to  operate  our  business.' 

"We  hope  exhibitors  will  register  an  emphatic  NO  when 
they  are  asked  to  buy  these  'regular'  Rogers  at  special  in- 
creased prices,  thus  condemning  this  shyster  method  of  doing 
business.  And  remember — even  when  it's  in  writing  you 
can't  believe  a  Republic  contract. 

"EXHIBITORS  SHOULD  ALSO  WATCH  FOR  THIS 

"For  1946-47  Republic  is  trying  to  put  itself  in  the  'qual- 
ity' (quality  rental,  that  is)  class  with  the  following: 

"2  Borzage  Productions;  8  Roy  Rogers  Trucolor  (See  * 
below);  8  Special  DeLuxe;  8  Red  Rider;  4  Major  Trucolor; 
4  Gene  Autry;  16  Variety;  6  Hale  Trucolor. 

"*As  of  today  Republic  is  indebted  to  their  1945-46  con- 
tract-holders to  the  extent  of  SIX  Rogers,  so  a  vast  number 
of  exhibitors  are  going  to  be  deprived  of  several  of  these 
productions,  no  matter  what  contract  they  have  signed  in 
the  past  or  will  sign  from  now  on.  Therefore,  in  placing  a 
value  upon  a  Republic  1946-47  contract,  exhibitors  can  for- 
get these  8  Rogers. 

"As  a  stockholder  in  Confidential  Reports,  Inc.,  Republic 
has  learned  something  about  the  exorbitant  rentals  which 
exhibitors  are  paying  Paramount,  Fox,  United  Artists,  etc., 
and  they  will  now  find  Republic  demanding  similar  terms 
for  their  1946-47  product.  Of  course  they  have  no  legitimate 
reason  for  doing  so  when  we  review  the  ten  pictures  Re- 
public designated  as  'specials'  during  1945-46,  most  of  which 
were  usable  only  as  'seconds'  on  double  bills. 

"If  you  must  pay  Metro  prices,  buy  Metro — not  Republic." 

Although  several  weeks  have  elapsed  since  Wood  charged 
Republic  with  a  "chiseling"  sales  policy,  Grainger  has 


elected  to  remain  silent.  By  his  silence,  however,  his  com- 
pany stands  condemned,  for  his  failure  to  come  forth  with  a 
reasonable  explanation  of  his  company's  action  denotes  to 
the  exhibitors  that  Republic's  position  is  indefensible  and 
that  it  intends  to  squeeze  its  customers  to  the  limit.  Hence, 
on  the  face  of  the  record,  no  exhibitor  could  be  blamed  for 
exercising  extra  caution  in  his  future  dealings  with  Republic. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  Republic,  in  following  a  policy  of 
worthless  promises,  is  taking  advantage  of  a  contract  clause 
that  puts  a  stamp  of  legality  on  its  actions.  If  such  is  the  case, 
the  company  would  do  well  to  reconsider  its  sales  methods 
lest  exhibitor  opinion  prove  so  intensely  adverse  that  it  will 
require  no  further  argument  to  bring  it  to  a  policy  of  fair 
dealing. 


GOLDWYN  RIGHT  THIS  TIME 

As  sure  as  day  follows  night,  Samuel  Goldwyn  can  always 
be  depended  on,  at  least  once  a  year,  to  come  forth  with  a 
statement  about  what  is  wrong  with  the  motion  picture  in- 
dustry in  general. 

True  to  form,  Goldwyn  arrived  in  New  York  last  week, 
prior  to  the  opening  of  his  latest  picture,  and,  at  a  press 
interview,  in  which  he  accused  Hollywood  of  being  "rich 
and  lazy,"  he  found  time  to  toss  off  a  few  remarks  about  how 
the  exhibitors  have  ben  having  the  time  of  their  lives  during 
the  past  five  years,  making  money  hand  over  fist  and  never 
giving  a  picture  the  run  it  ought  to  get.  "Their  main  job," 
said  Goldwyn,  "is  to  buy  a  picture  as  cheap  as  possible  and 
then  go  fishing." 

Mr.  Goldwyn's  criticism  of  the  exhibitors  comes  under  the 
heading  of  a  repeat  performance.  He  has  expressed  similar 
remarks  in  prior  years,  and  this  paper  has  taken  him  to  task 
each  time.  To  say  any  more  would  merely  be  to  rehash  what 
has  already  been  said  in  these  columns. 

But,  discounting  his  annual  "beef"  about  the  exhibitors, 
Harrison's  Reports  is  of  the  opinion  that  he  made  a  sound 
statement  when  he  said  that  Hollywood  is  "rich  and  lazy" 
and  that  it  is  living  on  "borrowed  time." 

"Times  have  changed,"  Mr.  Goldwyn  said,  "but  Holly- 
wood hasn't.  Hollywood  has  run  dry  of  ideas.  It  is  living  on 
borrowed  time  and  borrowed  ideas  from  the  past,  and  that's 
why,  with  few  exceptions,  every  picture  reminds  you  of  a 
hundred  other  pictures.  .  .  ," 

Mr.  Goldwyn  is  right  when  he  says  that,  with  few  excep- 
tions, one  picture  reminds  one  of  many  other  pictures.  Take 
for  instance  the  musicals.  The  producers  spend  millions  to 
make  them  the  last  word  in  production  and  color,  but  the 
stories  follow  almost  the  same  formula:  The  hero  becomes 
successful,  marries  for  love,  and  then  the  glamour  makes  him 
neglect  his  wife  and  there  is  separation  for  the  eventual  re- 
union. Have  they  tried  once  to  have  the  hero  and  heroine 
stick  it  out  to  the  end,  regardless  of  temptations?  No!  That 
would  be  contrary  to  the  formula  and  few  want  to  risk  the 
innovation.  Yet  it  would  be  a  novelty,  the  kind  that  should 
make  at  least  one  producer  risk  getting  away  from  the 
formula. 

The  shelves  of  the  editorial  department  of  every  studio 
are  stacked  with  novels,  stage  plays,  magazine  stories  and 
originals,  and  yet  the  producers  take  the  most  inane  old  pic- 
tures, most  of  which  meant  nothing  to  the  box-office,  and 
remake  them.  Why?  Because,  as  Mr.  Goldwyn  says,  they 
have  grown  fat  with  prosperity  and  have  become  lazy. 

They  may  get  by  with  this  fat-cat  complacency  as  long  as 
the  lush  times  last,  but  the  inevitable  will  happen:  when 
money  does  not  come  in  so  easy  and  the  cost  of  living  keeps 
on  mounting  until  it  reaches  a  mountain  top,  the  public  will 
once  again  become  fussy  about  their  amusement  desires  and 
will  shop  around  to  see  where  and  when  they  can  get  the 
best  entertainment  at  the  lowest  cost.  The  producers  then 
will  become  frantic  and  will  try  to  recapture  the  business. 
But  it  will  not  be  so  easy  then. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


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Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain  16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

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35c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  7,  1946  No.  49 


THE  CASE  OF  THE  REISSUES 
—AND  THE  REMEDY 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  effect 
the  reissuing  of  pictures  is  having  on  the  business. 
Some  exhibitor  leaders  contend  that  too  many  re' 
issues  will  cause  the  public  to  rebel.  On  the  other 
hand,  some  of  them  believe  that  the  reissues  serve  to 
relieve  the  shortage  of  product.  But  the  opponents 
of  the  reissues  assert  that  the  shortage  of  product  is 
the  result  of  the  producers'  holding  back  a  large 
number  of  pictures,  not  only  to  create  a  market  for 
reissues,  but  also  to  release  them  at  a  later  date  on 
higher  rental  terms,  as  well  as  to  compel  the  exhibi- 
tors to  give  current  pictures  longer  playing  time. 

Harrison's  Reports  does  not  wish  to  enter  into 
this  controversy  by  espousing  either  point  of  view, 
but  it  does  wish  to  make  a  few  observations  for  the 
benefit  of  both  these  opposed  schools  of  thought.  The 
release  of  reissues  is  a  matter  of  economics:  As  long 
as  these  bring  the  distributors  great  returns,  in  some 
cases  even  greater  than  those  from  the  same  pictures 
when  they  were  released  the  first  time,  the  distribu- 
tors will  continue  releasing  them,  regardless  of  ex- 
hibitor complaints. 

Are  reissues  harmful  to  exhibition?  Unless  reissues 
are  advertised  clearly  as  either  "return  engagements" 
or  "revivals,"  and  unless  they  are  founded  on 
very  well  known  either  novels  or  stage  plays,  they 
cannot  help  doing  considerable  harm,  for  most  people 
do  not  remember  the  titles  of  pictures  they  had  seen 
years  previously  and,  years  afterwards,  when  they  go 
to  see  a  reissue  and  find  that  they  had  already  seen 
that  picture,  they  become  chagrined.  They  could,  of 
course,  ask  for  the  return  of  their  money,  and  no 
exhibitor  could  refuse  to  refund  the  price  of  the 
ticket  to  a  complainer  if  he  values  the  public's  good 
will,  but  most  such  persons  feel  too  embarrassed  to 
demand  a  refund,  and  they  leave  the  theatre  holding 
a  grievance  against  the  exhibitor. 

As  to  the  contention  of  some  exhibitors  that  the 
distributors  are  holding  back  new  pictures  to  release 
them  at  a  later  date  for  greater  profits,  I  believe  that 
such  a  contention  is  debatable  as  being  wholly  true. 
In  the  opinion  of  this  paper,  the  reason  the  distribu- 
tors are  holding  back  pictures  from  early  release  is 
owed  in  a  large  measure  to  the  fact  that  production  in 
Hollywood  is,  at  the  present  time,  uncertain,  and 
they  wish  to  have  a  backlog  to  fall  back  on  in  the 
event  conditions  compel  them  to  call  a  complete  stop 
to  their  production  activities  for  an  indefinite  period. 
The  strikes  due  to  jurisdictional  labor  disputes  have 
not  only  slowed  up  production,  but  also  increased 
the  cost  greatly,  as  well  as  doubled  and  even  tripled 
the  number  of  days  formerly  required  to  complete 
a  picture.  As  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Darryl  F.  Zanuck 
in  a  recent  trade  press  interview,  pictures  that  were 
once  produced  in  forty-five  days  now  require  one 
hundred  and  even  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  days, 


thus  not  only  adding  to  the  cost,  but  also  creating  a 
shortage  of  technicians  and  of  studio  space.  Studio 
space  is,  today,  at  a  premium,  and  the  remedy  does 
not  alone  lie  in  the  building  of  new  studios.  Old 
studios  have  a  great  store  of  old  sets,  which,  when 
used,  serve  to  cut  down  the  production  cost  of  a 
picture  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  new  studios  lack 
such  an  advantage. 

The  exhibitors  might  just  as  well  reconcile  them- 
selves to  the  fact  that  the  studios  are  no  longer  in  a 
position  to  produce  the  number  of  pictures  they 
formerly  produced,  chiefly  because  of  the  lack  of 
man  power,  both  of  technicians  and  of  artists.  When 
a  picture  takes  twice  and  even  three  times  the  number 
of  days  formerly  required  to  produce,  such  a  picture 
ties  up  the  technicians  that  much  longer,  with  the 
result  that  a  shortage  of  technicians  is  automatically 
created. 

The  doubling  and  tripling  of  the  length  of  time 
required  to  produce  top  pictures  has  brought  on 
another  evil:  Since  the  production  costs  have  gone 
higher,  a  producer,  in  order  to  recover  the  cost  with 
a  profit,  finds  it  necessary  to  include  in  the  cast  a 
greater  number  of  well-known  players,  whose 
marquee  value  serves  as  some  measure  of  insurance 
on  the  box-office  returns.  This  situation  has  in  turn 
created  a  shortage  of  stars,  and  with  such  a  shortage 
the  cost  of  star  names  has  gone  up  tremendously. 
For  instance,  a  second-rate  artist,  who  three  years 
ago  was  getting,  say,  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  a 
picture,  now  demands  one  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  even  more.  And  even  if  a  producer  should  be 
willing  to  offer  such  an  amount,  he  finds  that  the 
artists  are  unavailable :  The  top  pictures  absorb  them 
all. 

A  partial  remedy  lies  in  the  elimination  of  the 
double  feature. 

Harrison's  Reports  has  never  taken  a  stand  either 
for  or  against  double  features,  for  it  felt  that  this  was 
a  problem  that  each  exhibitor  had  to  determine  for 
himself.  Many  exhibitors  feel  that,  with  the  top 
pictures  milked  dry  by  extended  playing  time  in  the 
first- runs,  they  are  dependent  on  double  features  as 
a  means  of  drawing  patronage.  On  the  other  hand, 
many  exhibitors  believe  that,  without  the  double 
feature,  Hollywood  would  be  compelled  to  stop  pro- 
ducing sixty-minute  "turkeys,"  and  there  would  then 
be  enough  money-making  pictures  to  take  care  of 
all  the  exhibitors. 

Whether  you  are  or  are  not  in  favor  of  the  double 
feature's  elimination,  sooner  or  later  the  reduced 
number  of  pictures  will  compel  you  to  give  it  up. 
For  this  reason  you  will,  if  you  are  wise,  begin  now 
to  educate  your  patrons  to  accept  single  features, 
gradually  at  first,  but  speedily  afterwards.  Don't 
wait  until  the  gun  is  pointed  at  your  stomach  before 
you  begin  a  single-feature  policy.  By  that  time  you 
may  be  compelled  to  darken  your  house  frequently. 


194 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  7,  1946 


"Dangerous  Millions"  with  Kent  Taylor 
and  Dona  Drake 

(20th  Century-Fox,  December;  time,  69  min.) 

A  fairly  good  program  murder-mystery  melodrama.  The 
story  is  far-fetched  and  familiar,  but  it  has  enough  excite- 
ment, suspense  and  intrigue  to  satisfy  audiences  who  enjoy 
action  more  than  story  material.  Set  in  China,  which  serves 
as  an  appropriate  background  for  the  sinister  doings,  the 
story  revolves  around  an  eccentric  shipping  magnate  who 
feigns  death  and  assembles  his  prospective  heirs  under  one 
roof  to  claim  their  share  of  his  fortune.  The  excitement  is 
brought  about  by  the  methods  he  employs  to  test  their 
worthiness,  causing  all  but  two  to  reveal  their  greed  and 
murderous  instincts.  Several  murders  arc  committed,  and 
the  fact  that  the  killer's  identity  is  not  disclosed  until  the 
finish  helps  to  retain  one's  interest.  The  story  has  little 
human  appeal,  and  the  romantic  interest  is  mild: — 

A  premonition  of  death  causes  Robert  H.  Barrat,  a 
shipping  tycoon,  to  make  out  his  will.  He  entrusts  Tao  Ling 
(Leonard  Strong),  a  close  Chinese  friend,  with  eight  dis- 
tinctive gold  coins  to  be  sent  to  his  heirs,  who  were  to  use 
them  as  identification  when  they  came  to  Ling's  home  to 
claim  their  legacies.  Ten  years  later,  the  heirs,  including 
Kent  Taylor,  an  American  aviator;  Dona  Drake,  a  South 
American  beauty;  Tala  Birell  and  Rudolph  Anders, 
Russians;  Konstantin  Shayne,  a  Dutchman;  Rex  Evans,  an 
Englishman;  Otto  Reichow,  a  German;  and  Franco  Corsaro, 
a  Mexican,  arrive  in  Shanghai.  Unknown  to  one  another, 
each  keeps  secret  the  purpose  of  his  trip.  All  depart  by 
bus  for  Ling's  home  and  arc  held  up  on  the  road  by  Chinese 
bandits  just  as  Corsaro  is  found  murdered.  Escorted  to  a 
beautiful  mansion,  the  captives  are  forced  to  give  up  their 
coins  to  the  bandit  chieftain,  who  indentifics  himself  as  a 
former  partner  of  Barrat's  and  lays  claim  to  half  the  in' 
heritance — a  treasure  chest  containing  $20,000,000  in 
jewels.  He  orders  them  to  appoint  one  from  among  them- 
selves to  go  to  Ling's  home  for  the  treasure,  but  when  they 
fail  to  agree  he  selects  Taylor.  While  Taylor  is  gone,  the 
different  heirs  scheme  to  gain  control  of  the  chest  at  the 
expense  of  the  others,  but  each  scheme  is  discovered  and 
foiled  by  the  wary  chieftain.  Taylor  returns  with  the  chest 
and,  that  evening,  Reichow  tries  to  rifle  it  only  to  be  stabbed 
to  death  by  Shayne,  who  wanted  the  fabulous  jewels  for 
himself.  Taylor  subdues  Shayne  just  as  Barrat  enters  the 
room  and  reveals  that  he  was  still  alive.  He  discloses  that  the 
bandit  chieftain  was  none  other  than  his  good  friend  Ling, 
and  that  he  had  devised  the  scheme  to  learn  if  any  of  his 
heirs  were  worthy  of  his  fortune.  He  concludes  that  all  were 
unworthy,  except  Taylor  and  Dona,  who  had  shown  some 
semblance  of  spunk  and  fairness.  As  both  embrace,  Barrat 
makes  plans  for  their  financial  future. 

Irving  Cummings,  Jr.  and  Robert  North  wrote  the  original 
screen  play,  Sol  M.  Wurtzel  produced  it,  and  James  Tinling 
directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Affairs  of  Geraldine"  with 
Jane  Withers  and  James  Lydon 

(Republic,  Jvfou.  18;  time,  68  min.) 
Just  a  moderately  entertaining  program  comedy-drama, 
revolving  around  a  wealthy  small-town  girl's  search  for  a 
husband.  The  story  unfolds  at  a  leisurely  pace,  and  since  the 
plot  hasn't  much  substance  the  action  is  padded  by  an 
over-abundance  of  dialogue,  and  by  numerous  stock  shots 
of  moving  trains.  As  the  heroine,  Jane  Withers  strives  to 
make  something  of  her  part,  but  she  is  handicapped  by  the 
weak  story.  The  chief  trouble  with  the  picture  is  that  the 
comedy  is  forced  to  the  point  of  silliness.  Unsophisticated 
audiences  may  find  it  amusing,  but  others  will  probably  be 
bored : — 

To  carry  out  their  mother's  dying  request,  Grant  Withers 
and  William  Haade  set  out  on  a  campaign  to  find  a  husband 
for  their  younger  sister,  Jane.  Their  crude  methods,  however, 
serve  only  to  embarrass  Jane  with  her  friends  and  cause  her 
to  run  away  from  home  to  do  her  own  husband-searching. 


She  visits  Raymond  Walburn's  matrimonial  agency  and 
soon  finds  herself  working  as  his  assistant.  Her  astute 
business  sense  helps  the  agency  to  prosper,  and  in  the 
course  of  events  Jane  becomes  famous  as  "Madame 
L'Amour,"  broacasting  advice  to  the  lovelorn,  despite  her 
inability  to  find  a  husband  for  herself.  Her  luck  changes 
when  she  meets  Charles  Quigley,  who  had  come  to  the 
agency  posing  as  a  wealthy  man  in  search  of  romance. 
Quigley,  having  learned  of  Jane's  wealth,  sets  out  to  win 
her  heart.  Completely  flustered,  Jane  agrees  to  marry  him. 
She  returns  to  her  hometown  to  gloat  over  her  catty  friends, 
and  to  make  arrangements  for  the  wedding  ceremony.  James 
Lydon,  a  local  boy  who  had  long  been  in  love  with  Jane, 
helps  her  with  the  arrangements  and  prepares  to  act  as  best 
man.  Meanwhile,  at  the  matrimonial  agency,  Walburn 
finds  himself  confronted  by  two  women  claiming  Quigley 
as  their  husband.  Realizing  that  Jane  was  about  to  marry  a 
bigamist,  he  rushes  to  her  home  and  arrives  in  time  to 
expose  Quigley  and  turn  him  over  to  the  police.  Jane  finds 
herself  stranded  at  the  altar,  but  Lydon  saves  the  situation  by 
taking  Quigley's  place  as  the  groom  and  making  Jane  like  it. 

John  K.  Butler  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by  Lee 
Loeb  and  Arthur  Strawn.  Armand  Schaefer  produced  it, 
and  George  Blair  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Donald 
Meek  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"San  Quentin"  with  Lawrence  Tierney 
and  Barton  MacLane 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  66  min.) 

A  fairly  good  program  entertainment,  with  a  special 
appeal  to  the  followers  of  action  melodramas;  the  title  offers 
unusual  exploitation  possibilities.  Although  it  is  not  different 
in  story  content  and  in  plot  development  from  most  "cops- 
and-robbers"  stories,  it  is  novel  in  that  the  hero  is  a  re- 
formed convict,  who,  to  save  a  prisoners'  rehabilitation 
league  and  to  make  life  easier  for  the  convicts,  risks  his  own 
life  to  track  down  a  murderous  criminal,  who  had  used  the 
league  to  make  good  his  escape.  It  has  plentiful  exciting 
action  and  holds  one  in  suspense  throughout.  The  closing 
scenes,  where  the  hero  subdues  the  villain  in  an  isolated  gun' 
club,  are  thrilling.  There  is  some  romantic  interest,  but  it 
is  of  no  importance: — 

Perturbed  over  the  adverse  press  criticism  aimed  at  the 
Inmate's  Welfare  League,  an  organization  composed  of 
convicts  within  the  prison,  and  designed  to  preserve  dis- 
cipline amongst  themselves,  Warden  Harry  Shannon  accepts 
an  invitation  to  address  the  local  press  club  in  order  to 
squelch  charges  that  he  was  mollycoddling  the  prisoners.  He 
arranges  to  take  along  Lawrence  Tierney,  a  former  inmate, 
who  had  founded  the  League,  and  Barton  MacLane,  a 
notorious  criminal,  who  had  become  one  of  the  League's 
most  trusted  members.  On  the  way  to  the  club,  MacLane, 
aided  by  an  outside  friend  (Tony  Barrett),  makes  his  escape 
after  shooting  and  wounding  the  warden.  MacLane's  escape 
brings  pressure  on  the  warden  for  abolishment  of  the  League. 
With  the  League's  existence  at  stake,  Tierney  offers  to 
track  down  MacLane.  He  learns  from  underworld  characters 
that  MacLane  had  headed  for  Fresno,  where  he  had  em- 
barked on  a  series  of  vicious  crimes.  Tierney  follows  him 
there  and  is  in  turn  followed  by  Richard  Powers,  a  detective, 
who  believed  that  he  was  trying  to  join  MacLane  in  a  life 
of  crime.  Powers  locates  MacLane  and  Barrett  but  they 
shoot  him  and  make  a  getaway.  The  police  suspect  Tierney 
of  the  crime,  thus  compelling  him  to  hide  out  and  making 
his  task  all  the  more  difficult.  Tierney  eventually  learns  that 
the  two  desperadoes  were  hiding  out  in  a  deserted  gun' 
club.  He  goes  there  and,  after  killing  Barrett  in  self-defense, 
subdues  MacLane  and  hands  him  over  to  the  police,  thus 
vindicating  the  League. 

Lawrence  Kimble,  Arthur  A.  Ross,  and  Howard  J.  Green 
wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Martin  Mooney  produced  it, 
and  Gordon  M.  Douglas  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Marian 
Carr,  Joe  Devlin  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


December  7,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


195 


"Love  Laughs  at  Andy  Hardy"  with 
Mickey  Rooney  and  Bonita  Granville 

(MGM,  no  release  date  set;  time,  93  win.) 

Typical  of  the  other  pictures  in  the  Hardy  family  series, 
with  the  same  players  portraying  the  different  characters, 
this  latest  one  is  a  good  family  entertainment  and  should 
give  satisfaction  where  the  previous  ones  have  gone  over. 
The  story  is  lightweight,  but  it  has  human  appeal  and  pro- 
vides situations  that  are  quite  comical.  A  bit  older  but 
buoyant  as  ever,  Mickey  Rooney  romps  through  his  part 
as  Andy  Hardy  in  a  manner  that  will  cause  audiences  to 
chuckle  with  delight.  An  extremely  funny  sequence  is  the 
one  in  which  he  unwittingly  finds  himself  escorting  a  girl 
over  six  feet  tall  to  a  college  dance,  then  teaming  up  with 
her  in  an  hilarious  jitterbug  dance  routine.  Although  the 
plot  is  concerned  primarily  with  Mickey's  romantic  pur- 
suits,  there  is  considerable  appeal  in  the  relationship  between 
his  parents  and  himself.  Two  songs  by  Lina  Romay  are 
worked  into  the  plot  without  retarding  the  action: — 

Honorably  discharged  from  the  Army,  Rooney  returns 
home  eager  to  resume  his  studies  at  college,  but  even  more 
eager  to  take  up  again  his  pre-war  romance  with  Bonita 
Granville,  a  co-ed.  He  informs  his  parents  (Lewis  Stone  and 
Fay  Holden)  of  his  plans  to  become  a  lawyer  and  to  wed 
Bonita,  whom  they  had  never  met.  At  college,  Rooney  soon 
gets  into  the  swing  of  campus  life  and  looks  forward  to  a  class 
reunion  dance,  which  his  parents  planned  to  attend,  in  order 
that  he  might  present  Bonita  to  them.  On  the  night  of  the 
dance,  however,  Bonita  finds  it  necessary  to  return  home, 
and  Rooney,  through  a  series  of  odd  circumstances,  finds 
himself  escorting  to  the  dance  Dorothy  Ford,  a  girl  twice 
his  height.  His  parents  become  flabbergasted  at  his  choice  of 
a  future  wife,  but  Rooney  soon  assures  them  that  she  was 
not  Bonita.  When  Bonita  returns,  she  informs  Rooney 
that  she  was  about  to  marry  Dick  Simmons, .her  guardian. 
Heartbroken  but  gallant,  Rooney  acts  as  best  man  at  her 
wedding.  Her  marriage,  however,  is  such  a  blow  that  he 
gives  up  his  studies,  returns  home,  and  lays  plans  to  go  to 
South  America  to  forget.  Stone,  aware  that  his  son  was 
under  an  emotional  strain,  reasons  with  him  and  soon  makes 
him  see  the  folly  of  giving  up  his  college  education.  When 
Rooney  begins  to  console  himself  with  Lina  Romay,  a  pretty 
singer  and  close  friend  of  the  family,  his  parents  assure 
themselves  that  he  had  returned  to  a  normal  way  of  life. 

Harry  Ruskin  and  William  Ludwig  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Howard  Dimsdale.  Robert  Sisk  produced  it, 
and  Willis  Goldbeck  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Sara 
Haden,  Hal  Hackett,  Addison  Richards  and  others. 

Morally  suitable  for  all. 


ZANUCK  COMES  TO  THE  DEFENSE 
OF  THE  INDUSTRY 

Sam  Goldwyn's  recent  statement  about  what  is  wrong 
with  Hollywood  has  created  a  furore  within  and  without  our 
industry.  Newspaper  editors  and  columnists  have  pounced 
on  Goldwyn's  critical  pronouncements  and  have  used  them 
as  a  springboard  to  leap  on  Hollywood  in  a  denouncement 
that  included  charges  of  domination  by  communistic  in' 
fluences,  and  generalizations  to  the  effect  that  Hollywood's 
name  "has  become  symbolic  in  American  life  for  social 
evil." 

Taking  issue  with  Goldwyn  without  naming  him,  Darryl 
F.  Zanuck,  20th  Century-Fox  production  head,  had  this  to 
say  in  a  letter  to  the  Los  Angeles  Times,  which  was  published 
in  the  December  2  issue  of  that  paper: 

"Last  week  The  Times  in  concert  with  the  press  of  the 
United  States  and  the  world,  broadcast  the  tirade  of  a 
Hollywood  producer  against  our  country's  film  production, 
and  a  few  days  later  the  cables  from  Britain  flashed  back  the 
utterances  of  a  couple  of  English  members  of  Parliament 
denouncing  those  'cheap  and  nasty  Hollywood  pictures.' 

"Once  again  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  has  been 
demonstrated. 


"That  the  motive  of  the  Hollywood  producer  may  have 
been  insincere  and  based  on  a  desire  for  personal  publicity 
is  of  secondary  importance. 

"The  real  injustice  and  danger  of  such  statements  are 
the  harm  they  do  not  only  to  the  prestige  of  the  American 
motion  picture  industry  but  to  the  prestige  of  our  entire 
nation  abroad. 

"Whenever  the  enemies  of  the  American  way  of  life  and 
our  system  of  free  enterprise  want  to  poison  the  foreign 
public  against  us  they  seize  most  avidly  upon  the  statements 
made  by  critics  within  our  own  borders.  And  when  our  own 
critics  make  their  statements  irresponsibly  and,  in  this  case 
in  the  face  of  facts  which  establish  that  Hollywood  in  the 
last  year  has  made  more  good  pictures  than  ever  before,  their 
criticism  is  nothing  less  than  betrayal. 

"When  our  own  people  condemn  us  our  enemies  have 
only  to  quote  them  and  the  people  in  foreign  lands  have 
little  reason  to  doubt  that  our  products,  and  inferentially 
therefore  our  system  and  way  of  life,  are  inferior.  When  a 
Hollywood  producer  tells  the  world  that  our  pictures  are 
inferior  the  exhibitors  and  the  public  in  other  countries 
must  be  inclined  to  believe  him  and  their  desire  to  see  our 
pictures  must  suffer.  Their  confidence  in  American  leader- 
ship also  must  decline. 

"Hollywood  producers  were  the  first  to  welcome,  herald 
and  encourage  the  progress  made  recently  by  British  film 
producers.  Our  companies  distribute  their  products  in  our 
theatres,  place  the  full  force  of  our  publicity  organizations 
behind  the  effort  to  popularize  their  pictures  with  the 
American  public.  We  gladly  send  our  stars  across  to  further 
enhance  the  popularity  of  British  pictures.  We  welcome  the 
competition  which  improvement  of  British  product  gives  us. 

"We  do  not  'knock'  British  pictures.  Similarly  the  British 
should  not  'knock'  us.  But  above  all,  our  own  Hollywood 
producers  should  not  belittle  us  to  the  public  even  if, 
contrary  to  the  fact,  there  were  validity  to  their  criticism. 
We  have  a  producers'  association  to  which  our  producer- 
critics  themselves  belong,  and  if  there  are  changes  to  be 
made  or  constructive  criticism  to  be  offered,  the  associa- 
tion meetings  provide  a  forum  for  frank  and  honest  dis- 
cussion of  these  views. 

"I  have  never  heard  U.S.  Steel  officials  giving  prepared 
statements  to  the  press  in  disparagement  of  Bethlehem  Steel, 
nor  the  leaders  in  any  other  industry  attacking  their  com- 
petitors in  such  a  manner. 

"Hollywood  can  well  be  proud  of  its  record,  on  the 
whole,  as  a  self-regulating  industry.  It  can  exult  in  its 
many  war  contributions.  It  can  be  proud  of  its  progressive- 
ness.  It  can  take  equal  pride  in  its  fine  accomplishments  in 
entertainment  and  enlightenment.  And,  of  no  less  impor- 
tance, it  can  be  proud  of  its  world  leadership  in  motion 
picture  production." 

Although  this  paper  agrees  with  Goldwyn  that  Hollywood 
is  badly  in  need  of  fresh  ideas  because,  with  few  exceptions, 
most  pictures  remind  you  of  a  hundred  other  pictures,  there 
is  no  question  that  Zanuck  is  right  in  maintaining  that 
such  criticism  should  have  been  confined  within  the  borders 
of  the  industry.  A  man  oi  Goldwyn's  experience  and  stand- 
ing should  know  th.it  any  public  statement  he  may  make  re- 
garding the  quality  of  motion  pictures,  especially  when  it 
tends  to  disparage  the  rest  of  the  industry,  will  receive 
instant  and  wide  attention,  and  is  bound  to  prove  detrimen- 
tal to  the  picture  business  in  general,  and  to  the  exhibitors' 
box-offices  in  particular.  When  the  newspapers  comment 
editorially  on  the  poor  quality  of  pictures,  and  give  as 
their  source  of  information  no  less  than  one  of  Hollywood's 
outstanding  producers,  no  one  can  blame  the  public  for 
staying  away  from  the  theatres.  The  exhibitor,  of  course, 
is  the  ultimate  sufferer. 

It  is  high  time  that  Goldwyn  learned  to  keep  his  criticisms 
of  the  picture  business  within  the  confines  of  the  industry, 
where  all  who  know  him  may  accept  his  remarks  for  what 
they  are  worth. 


196 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  7,  1946 


WISE  WORDS  AND  INTERESTING 
INFORMATION 

The  following  excerpts  are  from  a  lengthy  but  interesting 
bulletin  issued  recently  by  Leo  F.  Wolcott,  Chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Allied  Independent  Theatre  Owners  of  Iowa 
6?  Nebraska: 

"This  is  a  real  sucker  territory.  Ample  proof  of  this 
is  the  number  of  prizes  won  by  exchanges  in  this  area  in 
practically  every  film  company  drive.  Certainly,  there  is 
no  justification  for  the  higher  and  even  higher  terms  de- 
manded by  the  distributors.  Their  costs  are  up,  true;  but 
so  are  their  profits — Paramount  made  $52  million,  one 
million  a  week!  in  the  last  fiscal  year — the  excess  profits 
taxes  have  been  repealed  and  huge  sums  refunded  to  them, 
no  doubt.  But  still  they  demand  higher  prices,  stiffer  terms, 
extra  days,  preferred  dates,  local  checkers  and  all  the 
other  unfair  advantages  their  monopoly  has  accustomed 
them  to.  Why?  Well,  largely  because  there  are  still  exhibi- 
tors who  will  go  for  their  cockeyed  deals.  Recent  letters  lrom 
Iowa  and  Nebraska  exhibitors  complain  bitterly  of  neighbor- 
ing exhibitors  still  going  for  40%  and  50%  deals.  And  who 
can  blame  them  for  complaining;  such  deals  work  a  hard- 
ship on  all  exhibitors.  Sure,  you  are  promised  an  "adjust- 
ment," promised  the  print  ahead  of  your  neighboring  ex- 
hibitor, and  you  go  for  the  deal,  play  the  picture — and — 
where  are  you?  Did  everyone  come  from  the  neighboring 
towns?  They  did  not!  Did  you  make  a  net  profit  equal  to 
the  film  rental,  or  even  one-half  the  film  rental?  Not  if  you 
are  the  average  small-town  exhibitor  and  you  honestly 
figure  your  overhead.  And  then  did  you  get  the  adjustment? 
Sure,  you  did;  you  got  all  of  $2.50  or  $5.00,  maybe  even 
$10.00,  but  only  when  you  had  bought  more  pictures  at 
the  same  screwy  deal,  thereby  continuing  the  vicious  circle. 
When  will  you  get  wise?  When  will  you  quit  being  a  sucker? 
When  will  you  realize  that  it  is  the  net  profit  you  have 
left,  and  nothing  else,  that  really  counts  ?  .  .  . 

"Resist  all  percentage  deals,  but  if  you  must  go  for 
one  now  and  then,  never  go  for  less  than  a  4,  4'/2  or  5  times 
split.  No  picture  is  worth  more  than  you  pay  MGM;  did  you 
ever  think  of  that?  To  quote  Jack  Kirsch,  'Take  your  time, 
know  your  pictures,  then  take  it  easy!"  .  .  . 

".  .  .  From  Allied  Caravan  and  other  sources  we  learn  that 
Warner's  'Night  and  Day'  and  'Stolen  Life'  are  definitely 
big-city,  first-run  pictures  .  .  .  Paramount's  'Monsieur  Beau- 
caire'  is  losing  the  battle  to  justify  the  terms  it  was  sold 
at  .  .  .  20th  Century-Fox  oversold  'Anna  and  the  King  of 
Siam,'  'Centennial  Summer,'  and  'Three  Little  Girls  in  Blue' 
.  .  .  United  Artists'  'Caesar  and  Cleopatra'  is  a  prime  box- 
office  bust  that  smaller  towns  would  do  well  to  stay  away 
from  .  .  .  RKO  is  getting  50%  for  'Notorious'  in  some 
theatres  in  the  Minneapolis  territory!  But  on  the  brighter 
side  .  .  .  20th  Century-Fox  has  sold  all  current  releases  since 
"Smoky"  at  flat  rentals  in  this  territory  .  .  .  Paramount  has 
sold  all  their  pictures  including  'Monsieur  Beaucaire'  at  flat 
rentals;  the  same  being  true  of  RKO,  United  Artists  and 
Universal,  and  recently  of  Warners,  notably  'Cloak  and 
Dagger'  .  .  .  MGM  has  prohibited  moveovers  and  dual  runs 
of  their  pictures.  Fine  .  .  .  We  are  advised  by  the  local  branch 
that  Republic  is  delivering  the  Roy  Rogers  on  last  year's 
contracts  as  they  are  completed  and  released.  But  it  appears 
to  me  Republic  has  held  up  'I've  Always  Loved  You'  and 
perhaps  others,  'Plainsman  and  the  Lady,'  'That  Brennan 
Girl'  and  a  colored  Western  or  two,  which  they  sold  last 
year,  beyond  the  contract  expiration  date  (Clause  Fifteenth, 
Republic  Pictures  contract)  and  we  hear  they  are  now  out 
re-selling  'I've  Always  Loved  You,'  demanding  40%,  or  twice 
the  former  top  flat  rental.  I  wouldn't  know  what  most  of  our 
small  towns  would  want  with  this  strictly  'class'  musical 
with  little  star  value,  but  if  they  do,  they  should  not  re-buy 
it  at  such  terms,  but  should  collectively  and  individually 
demand  it,  and  the  others,  be  delivered  as  sold  on  last 
year's  contracts  .  .  . 

"Watch  out  for  Universal's  new  deal  .  .  .  Paramount's 
new  deal,  a  3  times  split  instead  of  40%;  it's  some  better,  but 
never  give  better  than  a  4  to  5  times  split  .  .  .  Guard  care- 
fully against  initial  high  deals  with  new  producing  units; 


they  set  precedents  you'll  be  years  getting  away  from. 
Examples,  Liberty  Pictures  through  RKO,  Universal's  'Dark 
Mirror,"  Borzages  'I've  Always  Loved  You'  through 
Republic  .... 

"Are  we  following  a  pattern  which  led  to  a  depression 
after  World  I?  Certainly,  we  hope  not,  and  we  definitely 
are  not  trying  to  hang  crepe;  but  let's  look  at  the  facts  and 
see  what  we  can  learn  from  them.  War's  end  was  immedi- 
ately followed  by  a  labor  tie-up  of  production,  with  in- 
creased wages,  prices,  shortages.  Talk  of  more  war — a 
gradual  slowing  down  of  business — resistance  to  OPA  on 
the  one  side,  resistance  to  higher  prices  on  the  other.  Stock 
market  break — cotton  market  break — butter  and  meat  prices 
shoot  upward,  then  downward.  Elections  give  opposition 
party  control  of  Congress  with  possible  tie-up  of  necessary 
legislation,  politics  and  economy  being  so  tightly  interwoven; 
could  be  another  two  years  of  'do-nothing'  in  Washington 
like  1930-32.  Sounds  familiar,  doesn't  it?  But  I  feel  we 
should  have  learned  from  the  1929-33  debacle,  and  if  the 
public  will  use  good  sense  and  not  plunge  and  buy  every- 
thing at  exorbitant  prices;  if  exhibitors  will  watch  their  box- 
offiicc  receipts  and  their  film  rentals  carefully,  keep  them  in 
line,  and  create  a  reserve  to  sec  them  thru'  any  tough  days 
which  may  come,  we  will  come  through  thrn  transition  period 
OK  and  not  again  have  to  face  the  tough  days  like  32-33; 
remember  how  fast  box-office  receipts  fell  off — when  we 
couldn't  get  half  a  house  even  for  a  dime  to  everyone? 
Watch  it  carefully — create  that  surplus  and  you'll  be  OK." 


MR.  RYAN'S  ANALYSIS  OF  DECISION 
ACCLAIMED  BY  INDUSTRYITES 

Many  letters  have  reached  this  paper  congratulating  it 
on  its  presentation  of  the  series  of  articles  entitled,  "A 
Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory  Court's  Decision,"  written 
by  Mr.  George  S.  Ryan,  the  eminent  attorney  of  Boston. 
Typical  of  these  letters  is  the  following  one  from  Mr. 
Milton  C.  Weisman,  prominent  film  attorney,  of  New 
York  City: 

Law  Offices  of 
Weisman,  Celler,  Quinn,  Allan  6?  Spett 
1450  Broadway 
New  York  18,  N.  Y. 

November  25,  1946 

Harrison's  Reports 
1270  Avenue  of  the  Americans 
New  York  20,  N.  Y. 
Attention:  P.  S.  Harrison,  Esq. 
My  Dear  Pete: 

I  have  been  reading  with  the  greatest  of  interest  the 
articles  appearing  in  your  Reports  written  by  George  S. 
Ryan  under  the  title  "A  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Statutory 
Court's  Decision." 

Frankly  I  want  to  congratulate  you  on  the  clarity  of  this 
analysis,  on  its  interesting  and  informative  presentation  and 
on  the  background  that  it  gives  to  the  entire  decision,  thus 
highlighting  the  decision  itself. 

The  thought  struck  me  that  this  article  is  so  worthy  that  it 
ought  to  be  made  up  into  a  small  monograph  by  itself. 
Congratulations  again. 

Sincerely  yours, 

(signed)  Milton  C.  Weisman 

In  presenting  Mr.  Ryan's  articles,  Harrison's  Reports 
felt  that  it  was  rendering  the  industry  an  invaluable  service, 
and  it  is  indeed  gratified  by  the  many  fine  comments  that 
have  been  received. 

Mr.  Ryan's  clear-cut  legal  analysis  of  this  all-important 
decision,  in  which  is  reflected  his  profound  knowledge  of 
the  anti-trust  laws  in  relation  to  the  motion  picture  industry, 
should  prove  of  inestimable  value  to  every  reader  of  this 
paper.  Congratulatory  letters,  therefore,  should  be  directed, 
not  to  this  paper,  but  to  Mr.  Ryan  (6  Beacon  St.,  Boston, 
Mass.)  in  appreciation  of  his  gracious  consent  to  write  the 
articles  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  their  preparation  required 
a  great  amount  of  work  and  took  up  much  of  his  valuable 
time. 


Entered  as  second-class  matter  January  4,  1921,  at  the  post  office  at  New  York,  New  York,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1879. 


son's  Reports 

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United  States  $15.00  (Formerly  Sixth  Avenue)  Harrison's  Reports,  Inc., 

U.  S.  Insular  Possessions.  16.50  M      „    .        M  Publisher 

Canada                               16.50  Ne™  York  20,  N.  Y.  p  g  HARRISON,  Editor 

Mexico,  Cuba,  Spain           16.50  A  Motion  Picture  Reviewing  Service   

Great  Britain  ............  15.75  Devoted  Chiefly  to  the  Interests  of  the  Exhibitors  Established  July  1.  1919 

Australia,  New  Zealand,    J 

India,  Europe,  Asia  ....  17.50      Jtg  Editorial  Poiicy.  No  problem  Too  Big  for  Its  Editorial  circle  7-4622 

S5c  a  Copy  Columns,  if  It  is  to  Benefit  the  Exhibitor. 

A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  14,  1946  No.  50 


BOOKING  PICTURES  INTELLIGENTLY 

Have  you  ever  booked  a  high-priced  picture  only  to 
find  that,  on  the  days  you  showed  it,  adverse  weather 
conditions  ruined  your  box-office  take?  Of  course  you 
have! — There  is  hardly  a  single  exhibitor  but  has  had 
such  an  experience.  Either  it  rained  heavily,  or  snowed, 
or  there  was  a  blizzard,  or  the  weather  was  so  warm 
that  people  preferred  to  stay  where  they  were  rather 
than  move. 

Suppose  you  had  some  one  to  warn  you  in  advance 
of  the  fact  that  there  would  be  a  storm  on  those  days. 
Naturally,  you  would  have  changed  the  bookings  and 
would  have  shown  some  weak  pictures  instead,  re- 
serving  the  money-making  pictures  for  days  when 
there  would  be  no  danger  of  weather  conditions  that 
would  keep  patrons  away  from  your  theatre.  Would 
that  benefit  you?  Of  course  it  would! 

Well,  there  is  such  a  service,  and  strange  to  say  it 
is  offered  to  the  exhibitors  free  of  charge.  It  is  fur- 
nished by  Hal  Roach,  the  veteran  producer. 

When  I  first  heard  of  Mr.  Roach's  offer  I  wondered 
whether  there  was  any  "catch"  or  "gimmick"  in  it, 
and  in  order  for  me  to  find  out  I  called  on  Mr.  Roach 
and  asked  him  to  explain  his  motives.  Mr.  Roach  as- 
sured me  that  his  offer  is  prompted  by  no  motive  other 
than  to  build  good  will  between  the  exhibitors  and 
his  company.  He  feels  that  the  cost  to  him  will  be 
worth  the  good  will  he  will  gain. 

Mr.  Roach  has  arranged  for  this  service  to  be  fur- 
nished by  the  Krick  Weather  Service,  which  is  headed 
by  Prof.  Irving  P.  Krick. 

Most  of  you  know  who  Prof.  Krick  is.  He  is  the 
one  whose  knowledge  was  put  into  use  by  the  Allied 
armies  during  the  war,  the  man  who  told  General 
Eisenhower  on  what  day  it  would  be  best  to  land  his 
armies  in  France.  Hence  the  successful  invasion. 

According  to  Prof.  Krick,  long-range  weather  tech- 
niques have  been  perfected  to  sufficient  scientific  ex- 
actness to  make  weather  forecasting  practical  and 
within  87%  accuracy. 

The  benefit  an  exhibitor  will  get  from  asking  Mr. 
Roach  to  put  his  name  on  the  list  of  free  subscribers 
is  not  alone  in  being  enabled  to  know  when  the 
weather  conditions  will  be  unfavorable  for  booking  a 
top  picture,  but  also  in  being  able  to  regulate  the  at- 
mospheric conditions  in  his  theatre.  This  is  accom- 
plished by  the  Degree-Day  Chart,  which  predicts  the 
number  of  heating  units  required  to  heat  theatres  as 
compared  to  the  same  month  in  previous  years.  Sup- 
pose, for  example,  the  weather  is  fair  and  the  exhibitor 
regulates  his  heating  equipment  in  accordance  with 
the  prevailing  temperature.  But  suppose  that  very 
night  the  temperature  drops  by  so  many  degrees  that 


some  of  his  pipes  freeze.  You  may  imagine  the  cost  re- 
quired for  repairs.  Suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
temperature  is  freezing,  but  during  the  night  it  rises 
by  several  degrees  and  reaches  above  the  freezing 
point.  If  the  exhibitor  had  known  about  it  in  advance 
he  could  have  saved  considerable  fuel.  The  Degree- 
Chart  furnishes  this  type  of  information,  enabling  one 
to  regulate  his  heating  apparatus  accordingly. 

The  Krick  Weather  Service  furnishes  weather  fore- 
casts to  farmers,  banks,  roofers,  contractors,  airlines, 
railroads,  public  utilities  and  sports  enterprises. 

For  years  the  motion  picture  studios  have  been  regu- 
lating their  production  schedules  and  sending  out  com- 
panies on  location  based  on  information  furnished  by 
Prof.  Krick  s  weather  service. 

I  have  estimated  that  if  Mr.  Roach  were  to  charge 
a  fee  to  every  exhibitor  in  the  country  for  the  service, 
it  would  have  cost  the  exhibitors  approximately 
$750,000. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  every  exhibitor  can  benefit 
greatly  if  he  were  to  ask  Mr.  Roach  to  send  him  the 
monthly  bulletin  put  out  by  Krick  Weather  Service. 
The  information  in  it  will  enable  him  to  book  pictures 
on  days  that  would  bring  him  the  greatest  returns 
possible.  Write  to  Mr.  Roach  at  the  Hal  Roach  Stu- 
dios, 8822  Washington  Blvd.,  Culver  City,  Calif. 

A  DUTY  YOU  OWE  TO  THE  PUBLIC— 
AND  TO  YOURSELF 

The  December  1  issue  of  This  *Wee\  Magazine  has 
an  article  entitled,  "We  Can  Kill  the  Common  Cold 
Now!,"  written  by  J.  D.  Ratcliff,  who  is  well  known 
for  his  books  and  articles  on  scientific  subjects. 

Though  the  article  has  been  written  mainly  for  the 
education  of  the  general  public,  owners  of  motion 
picture  theatres  will  do  well  to  study  it  carefully  and 
to  apply  its  suggestions  to  their  theatres  to  their  even- 
tual benefit. 

"Colds  spread  from  person  to  person,"  Mr.  Ratcliff 
says,  "via  the  air  we  breathe.  A  sneeze  launches 
20,000  moisture  droplets  which  evaporate,  and  leave 
cold  microbes  floating  in  the  atmosphere.  The  point  of 
attack  is  the  air.  Clean  it  up  and  colds  disappear.  .  .  ." 

After  revealing  the  three  different  methods  by 
which  air  may  be  made  germ  free,  Mr.  Ratcliff  says: 

"An  important  thing  to  remember  is  that  we  won't 
have  to  have  these  elaborate  protections  in  our  homes 
— for  the  reason  that  colds  don't  start  in  homes.  They 
are  always  brought  in  from  somewhere  else.  This  has 
been  demonstrated  time  and  again.  Spitzbergen,  the 
world's  northernmost  permanent  settlement,  has  no 
colds  while  it  is  ice-locked  in  the  winter.  But  an  epi- 
(ConUnued  on  last  page) 


198 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  14,  1946 


"The  Time,  the  Place,  and  the  Girl" 
with  Dennis  Morgan,  Jack  Carson, 
Janis  Paige  and  Martha  Vickers 

(Warner  Bros.,  Dec.  28;  time,  105  min.) 

A  routine  Technicolor  musical,  produced  on  a  lavish  scale. 
It  has  a  thin  backstage  plot,  but  it  should  give  satisfaction 
to  those  who  do  not  pay  too  much  attention  to  story  detail. 
Although  the  song  and  dance  sequences  are  pleasing,  they 
are  not  extraordinary.  A  good  part  of  the  credit  for  its  en- 
tertaining quality  must  go  to  Jack  Carson  and  S.  Z.  Sakall, 
for  it  is  their  clowning  that  gives  the  picture  a  needed  lift. 
The  action  is  pretty  sexy  in  spots;  but  since  these  situations 
have  been  handled  from  a  comedy  angle  they  are  not  offen- 
sive. On  the  whole,  the  story  lacks  human  appeal  and  the 
actions  of  the  characters  do  not  awaken  one's  sympathy: — 

Dennis  Morgan,  a  singer,  and  Jack  Carson,  an  orchestra 
leader,  prepare  to  open  a  night-club  in  a  fashionable  neigh- 
borhood only  to  find  themselves  opposed  by  Donald  Woods, 
manager  of  an  operatic  family,  whose  members  included 
Maestro  S.  Z.  Sakall,  his  wife,  Florence  Bates,  and  their 
granddaughter,  Martha  Vickers,  an  opera  singer;  Woods 
objected  to  swing  music  near  where  the  family  lived  and 
threatened  to  invoke  an  injunction  forbidding  cabarets  in 
the  neighborhood.  With  Carson's  help,  Morgan  succeeds  in 
making  Martha's  acquaintance  and  talks  her  into  attending 
the  opening  with  her  grandfather.  They  enjoy  themselves 
immensely,  but  Sakall's  wife  learns  of  their  attendance  and 
proceeds  to  close  the  club.  Sakall,  feeling  responsible,  offers 
to  finance  a  musical  show  for  the  boys  providing  Martha  is 
starred.  He  arranges  for  his  wife  to  make  a  concert  tour  of 
Mexico  in  order  to  get  her  out  of  the  way.  Sakall  soon  finds 
himself  snowed  under  by  bills  and  is  compelled  to  withdraw 
his  support.  Angela  Greene,  a  "gold-digger"  and  old  sweet- 
heart of  Morgan's,  offers  to  finance  the  show  provided  she  is 
given  Martha's  part.  Not  wishing  to  ruin  Morgan's  big 
chance  for  success,  Martha  graciously  steps  out,  thus  break- 
ing up  the  romance  that  had  started  between  Morgan  and 
herself.  Aided  by  Janis  Paige,  Carson's  girl-friend,  the  boys 
try  numerous  tricks  to  get  Martha  back  into  the  show.  But 
Angela,  learning  of  their  trickery,  withdraws  her  support  and 
quits  the  show.  When  the  boys  threaten  to  sue  her  for  breach 
of  contract,  Alan  Hale,  a  wealthy  oil  man  in  love  with  An- 
gela, settles  her  contract  by  writing  a  check  to  cover  the 
show's  expenses.  It  all  ends  with  Martha  scoring  a  success 
in  the  leading  role,  while  her  grandfather  conducts  the  or- 
chestra, and  with  the  grandmother  giving  her  approval  of 
the  family's  changeover  from  opera  to  swing. 

Francis  Swann,  Agnes  Christine  Johnston,  and  Lynn  Star- 
ling wrote  the  screen  play  from  an  original  story  by  Leonard 
Lee.  Alex  Gottlieb  produced  it,  and  David  Butler  directed 
it.  The  cast  includes  Carmen  Cavallero  and  his  orchestra, 
the  Condos  Brothers  and  others. 
Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Falcon's  Adventure" 
with  Tom  Conway 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  61  min.) 

This  should  get  by  as  the  second  half  of  a  double-feature 
bill  wherever  the  "Falcon"  melodramas  are  liked.  The  story 
is  far-fetched  and  its  treatment  follows  the  formula  used  in 
the  other  pictures  of  the  series;  that  is,  Tom  Conway,  as  the 
private  detective,  comes  to  the  defense  of  a  pretty  woman 
and  soon  finds  himself  involved  in  a  murder  case  in  which 
he  himself  becomes  the  chief  suspect  before  bringing  the 
criminals  to  justice.  Despite  the  plot's  incongruities,  it  has 
enough  excitement  and  suspense  to  please  those  who  are  sat- 
isfied easily.  It  has  comedy,  too,  but  most  of  it  falls  flat  be- 
cause it  is  forced : — 

About  to  leave  New  York  on  their  vacation,  Conway  and 
his  assistant,  Edward  S.  Brophy,  prevent  an  attempted  kid- 
napping of  Madge  Meredith  and  restore  her  to  her  uncle,  an 
inventor.  Conway  learns  that  the  man  had  invented  a  new 
method  for  the  making  of  industrial  diamonds  and  that  a 
mysterious  gang  was  trying  to  steal  the  formula.  Before 
Conway  can  resume  his  vacation  trip,  the  inventor  is  found 


murdered.  Circumstantial  evidence  points  to  Conway  as  the 
killer,  and,  while  the  police  hunt  for  him,  Madge  entrusts 
him  with  the  formula  and  begs  him  to  deliver  it  to  the  dead 
man's  partner  (Ian  Wolfe)  in  Miami.  En  route  to  the 
Florida  city,  Conway  outwits  an  attempt  by  two  of  the  gang 
(Myrna  Dell  and  Steve  Brodie)  to  steal  the  formula.  But  in 
Miami,  he  finds  them  in  possession  of  Wolfe's  apartment. 
They  kill  Wolfe  and  frame  Conway  for  the  murder  after 
failing  to  get  the  formula  from  him,  but  Conway  manages 
to  get  away  before  the  police  arrive.  Madge  comes  to  Miami 
and  arranges  to  sell  the  formula  to  Robert  Warwick,  a 
wealthy  manufacturer  of  industrial  diamonds.  Suspicious  of 
Warwick,  Conway  investigates  and  tricks  Myrna  and  Brodie 
into  confessing  that  Warwick  had  hired  them  to  obtain  the 
formula,  which  threatened  to  ruin  his  business.  He  learns 
also  that  Warwick  had  induced  Madge  to  take  a  trip  on  his 
yacht,  and  that  he  planned  to  murder  her  at  sea  after  destroy- 
ing the  formula.  Notifying  the  police,  Conway,  accompanied 
by  Brophy,  hurries  to  the  yacht  and  arrives  in  time  to  rescue 
Madge  from  Warwick  after  subduing  the  crew  in  a  hectic 
battle.  Satisfied  that  the  killings  had  been  cleared  up,  the 
police  absolve  Conway. 

Aubrey  Wisbcry  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Herman 
Schlom  produced  it,  and  William  Berke  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Joseph  Crehan,  Jason  Robards  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"Blondie's  Big  Moment"  with  Arthur  Lake 
and  Penny  Singleton 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set,  time,  69  min.) 

Where  the  "Blondie"  comedies  are  still  popular,  this  one 
should  be  considered  a  fair  program  entertainment.  The 
story,  of  course,  is  on  the  silly  side,  and,  as  in  the  other  pic- 
tures, the  comedy  is  based  on  the  hero's  simple-mindedness 
and  on  his  difficulties  with  his  boss.  The  gags  and  situations 
are  more  or  less  carbon  copies  of  those  used  in  the  previous 
pictures,  but  even  though  they  are  repetitious  the  players 
manage  to  make  them  amusing.  The  same  players  enact  the 
different  roles  with  the  exception  of  Jerome  Cowan,  who  has 
replaced  Jonathan  Hale  as  the  boss.  All  in  all,  it  will  appeal 
mainly  to  the  avid  followers  of  the  series: — 

Just  home  from  a  vacation  and  late  for  work.  Arthur  Lake 
swings  onto  a  crowded  bus  munching  a  jelly  doughnut.  He 
smears  jelly  all  over  the  coat  of  Jerome  Cowan,  a  crochety 
gentleman,  and  later,  at  the  office,  discovers  that  he  was  his 
new  boss.  Cowan  loses  no  time  in  demoting  Lake  and  taking 
away  his  private  office,  and  his  wrath  increases  when  Lake 
bungles  the  handling  of  an  important  client,  who  was  pre- 
pared to  hand  the  firm  a  huge  construction  contract  pro- 
vided a  suitable  building  site  could  be  found.  Cowan  has 
Lake  drive  him  around  town  to  find  a  lot,  finally  locating  one 
that  suited  the  client.  A  baseball  batted  by  John  Granath,  a 
youngster  playing  on  the  lot,  hits  Cowan  on  the  head  and 
gives  him  a  violent  headache  along  with  a  desire  to  beat  the 
child.  Meanwhile  Lake's  wife,  Penny  Singleton,  seeking  to 
soften  Cowan's  feelings  towards  her  husband,  invites  him  to 
dinner,  to  which  she  had  invited  also  Anita  Louise,  a  pretty 
schoolteacher.  Cowan's  evening  is  aggravated  by  his  discov- 
ery that  little  John,  a  friend  of  Lake's  son,  was  a  visitor  at  the 
house,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  mysterious  owner  of  the  ac- 
ceptable building  lot  did  not  want  to  sell.  In  the  course  of 
events,  Lake,  seeking  to  impress  his  son's  schoolmates,  gets 
Cowan  out  of  the  office  by  a  ruse  so  that  he  could  pose  as  an 
important  member  of  the  firm.  Cowan  returns  unexpectedly 
and  discharges  Lake.  Despondent,  Lake  returns  home,  where 
he  learns  that  little  John  was  the  owner  of  the  coveted  lot 
and  that  he  was  willing  to  sell,  but  only  to  Lake.  Cowan 
leai  ns  of  this  development  and  pleads  with  Lake  to  buy  the 
property  for  the  firm.  Penny  steps  in  and  demands  that 
Cowan  first  reemploy  Lake  at  a  substantial  raise.  Cowan 
hastily  agrees. 

Connie  Lee  wrote  the  original  screen  play,  Burt  Kelly  pro- 
duced it,  and  Abby  Berlin  directed  it.  The  cast  include.-. 
Larry  Simms  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


December  14,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


199 


"Swell  Guy"  with  Sonny  Tufts,  Ann  Blyth 
and  Ruth  Warrick 

(Universal-International,  December;  time,  87  min.) 

This  is  an  engrossing  drama,  but  what  it  depicts  is  so 
uncompromisingly  unpleasant  that  it  cannot  be  classified  as 
popular  entertainment,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  well 
made  picture,  with  good  direction  and  expert  performances. 
It  is  strictly  adult  entertainment,  with  a  particular  appeal  to 
those  who  seek  something  different  in  screen  fare.  The  story 
revolves  around  a  war  correspondent  who  comes  to  a  small 
town  acclaimed  as  a  hero,  but  who  is  actually  such  a  deceit' 
ful,  moral  rotter  that  he  bankrupts  the  local  tradesmen 
gambling,  seduces  the  flighty  daughter  of  his  brother's  em' 
ployer,  leaving  her  pregnant,  and  almost  wrecks  his  broth' 
er's  marriage  by  encouraging  his  sister-in-law's  infatuation 
for  him.  Abandoning  his  wife  in  France,  and  attempting  to 
steal  a  charity  fund,  are  among  his  other  perfidious  acts.  His 
only  decent  act  is  where  he  sacrifices  his  life  to  save  his 
little  nephew,  trapped  in  a  tunnel.  Several  of  the  characters 
are  appealing,  but  the  main  characters  are  unsympathetic 
and  no  attempt  is  made  to  justify  their  actions.  In  this  re 
spect  the  story  is  realistic,  for  their  actions,  particularly  the 
hero's,  are  not  justifiable: — 

Sonny  Tufts,  a  war  correspondent,  comes  to  a  little  town 
to  live  with  his  brother  William  Gargan,  Ruth  Warrick, 
Gargan's  wife,  and  Donald  Delvin,  their  young  son.  He 
captivates  the  townspeople  completely,  but  his  mother,  Mary 
Nash,  who  knew  that  he  was  morally  unscrupulous,  tries 
unsuccessfully  to  make  him  leave  town.  Covering  his  lack 
of  scruples  with  a  charming  personality,  Tufts  seduces  Ann 
Blyth,  sweetheart  of  a  legitimate  war  hero;  operates  a 
gambling  game  in  which  he  gradually  bankrupts  the  local 
business  men;  and  fascinates  Ruth,  making  her  restless  and 
unhappy.  When  Ann  learns  of  her  pregnancy,  she  pleads 
with  Tufts  to  marry  her.  He  tells  her  not  to  worry  and  re- 
veals that  he  had  an  abandoned  wife  in  Paris.  He  decides  to 
leave  town  when  Ann  bitterly  declares  that  she  would  not 
marry  him  under  any  circumstances.  Desperate  for  money, 
he  goes  home  and  tries  to  talk  Ruth  into  running  away  with 
him  from  Gargan,  taking  with  them  money  that  Gargan  had 
collected  at  a  charity  bazaar.  His  mother  interferes  just  as 
word  comes  that  Ruth's  son  was  trapped  in  a  railroad  tunnel. 
The  boy's  danger  ignites  the  only  spark  of  decency  left  in 
Tufts,  and  he  goes  to  his  death  bravely  saving  the  youngster. 
Back  in  Gargan's  home,  his  mother  and  Ruth  keep  their 
silence  as  Gargan  eulogizes  his  brother  as  a  real  hero. 

Richard  Brooks  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  play  by 
Gilbert  Emery.  Mark  Hellinger  produced  it,  and  Frank 
Tuttle  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  John  Litel,  Thomas 
Gomez,  Howard  Freeman,  John  Craven  and  others. 


"The  Wicked  Lady"  with  James  Mason, 
Margaret  Lockwood  and  Patricia  Roc 

(Universal-International,  release  date  not  set;  time,  98  min.) 

This  British-made  picture  is  a  robust  costume  melodrama, 
produced  on  a  lavish  scale.  As  entertainment,  it  should  ap- 
peal to  sophisticated  but  undiscriminating  audiences  who 
do  not  object  to  a  grossly  exaggerated  story,  and  to  an 
utter  lack  of  subtlety  in  both  direction  and  acting.  Discrimi- 
nating patrons  will  probably  find  it  quite  unconvincing  as 
well  as  ludicrous.  The  story,  which  revolves  around  a 
married  adventuress  who  turns  "highwayman"  to  relieve 
her  boredom,  is  loaded  with  sex,  and  the  dialogue  and  action 
leave  little  to  one's  imagination.  To  say  that  the  heroine  is 
wicked  is  putting  it  mildly,  for  the  manner  in  which  she 
murders  and  betrays  all  who  get  in  the  way  ol  her  quest  for 
adventure,  riches,  and  sex  diversion,  is  as  vicious  a  piece  of 
villainy  as  has  ever  been  seen  on  the  screen.  The  producers 
apparently  sought  to  have  the  story  border  on  the  risque 
and  sensational,  but  it  is  so  artless  that  it  serves  only  to 
handicap  the  players.  It  is  definitely  not  a  picture  for  either 
children  or  squeamish  adults. 

Set  in  England  m  the  seventeenth  century,  the  story 
opens  with  the  arrival  of  Margaret  Lockwood  at  the  estate 
of  Griffith  Jones,  a  nobleman,  on  the  eve  of  his  marriage  to 
Patricia  Roc,  her  cousin.  Margaret,  an  ambitious,  ruthless 


woman,  sets  out  to  capture  Jones  for  herself  and  finally 
marries  him.  Although  heartbroken,  Patricia  graciously  steps 
aside.  Married  life  soon  becomes  boresome  for  Margaret, 
and  she  turns  to  highway  robbery  for  excitement.  In  the 
course  of  her  exploits,  she  meets  and  falls  in  love  with 
James  Mason,  a  notorious  highwayman.  They  have  an  ex- 
citing, passionate  affair,  during  which  she  doubles  as  noble' 
woman  by  day  and  partacr-in-crime  with  her  lover  by  night. 
Margaret  breaks  her  relationship  with  Mason  when  she 
discovers  him  with  another  woman;  she  betrays  him  to  the 
authorities,  who  sentence  him  to  the  gallows.  Mason  escapes, 
only  to  be  shot  to  death  by  Margaret  when  he  attempts  to 
avenge  himself.  Meanwhile  an  old  servant  discovers  her 
double  life  and  she  poisons  him  to  keep  him  silent.  Margaret 
next  turns  her  attentions  to  Michael  Rennie,  Patricia's  new 
fiance.  She  falls  madly  in  love  with  him  and,  in  order  to 
marry  him,  plots  to  kill  her  husband.  Disguised  as  a  high' 
wayman,  she  waylays  her  husband's  coach,  but,  before  she 
can  harm  him,  Rennie,  failing  to  recognize  her,  comes  to 
her  husband's  defense  and  shoots  her  down.  The  wound 
proves  fatal,  bringing  her  infamous  career  to  an  end.  With 
Margaret  gone,  Patricia  and  Jones  resume  their  romance. 

Leslie  Arliss  wrote  and  directed  the  screen  play  from  a 
novel  by  Magdalen  Hall-King,  and  Maurice  Ostrer  pro- 
duced it.  The  supporting  cast  is  all-English. 

"Temptation"  with  Merle  Oberon, 
George  Brent  and  Charles  Korvin 

(Universal-International,  December;  time,  98  min.) 
Based  on  the  novel  "Bella  Donna,"  which  has  been 
brought  to  the  screen  several  times,  "Temptation"  shapes 
up  as  a  slow-moving,  overlong  drama,  one  that  will  have  to 
depend  on  the  players'  popularity  for  its  box-office  draw.  It 
is  an  adult  entertainment,  but  most  picture-goers  will  find 
little  in  it  to  entertain  them,  for  the  sory  is  archaic  and  un- 
appealing, and  it  has  been  developed  in  a  ponderous  way. 
Moreover,  the  main  characters  are  disagreeable;  one  feels 
no  sympathy  for  them.  The  heroine  is  an  unprincipled 
woman  who  attempts  to  poison  her  husband  in  order  that 
she  might  be  left  free  to  marry  her  lover,  whom  she  knew 
to  be  a  blackmailing,  murderous  scoundrel.  What  makes  her 
actions  even  more  distasteful  is  the  fact  that  her  husband 
had  given  her  no  cause  to  cheat.  The  ending,  in  which  she 
becomes  regenerated  and  loses  her  life  in  an  accident  is 
tragic,  but  it  has  no  effect  on  one's  emotions  because  of  her 
heartlessness.  The  picture  is  good  from  a  production  point 
of  view,  but  the  direction  and  performances  are  just  pass' 
able : — 

Merle  Oberon,  a  beautiful  but  unscrupulous  divorcee,  sets 
her  cap  for  George  Brent,  a  wealthy  English  archaeologist, 
and  marries  him.  He  takes  her  to  Egypt,  where  he  was  ex- 
ploring the  tomb  of  Ramses  V,  but  he  becomes  so  engrossed 
in  his  work  that  Merle  soon  finds  life  dull.  In  her  boredom, 
she  seeks  out  the  company  of  Charles  Korvin,  an  Egyptian 
nobleman,  who  supported  himself  through  blackmail  schemes. 
Each  is  fascinated  with  the  heartless  avariciousness  of  the 
other,  and  before  long  they  find  themselves  deeply  in  love. 
Merle  becomes  violently  jealous  when  she  finds  Korvin 
paying  court  to  an  American  heiress,  and  she  loses  no  time 
in  upsetting  his  scheme  to  bilk  the  girl  of  her  money.  Des- 
perately in  need  of  funds,  Korvin  induces  Merle  to  poison 
her  husband  so  that  they  might  take  his  fortune  and  run 
away  together.  Merle  carries  out  the  scheme,  but  as  Brent 
lies  dying  she  becomes  remorseful  and  realizes  that  she 
loved  him  truly.  Paul  Lukas,  an  English  doctor,  saves  Brent's 
life,  and  Merle,  recognizing  that  Korvin  would  be  a  constant 
threat  to  her  future  happiness,  kills  him  with  the  poison 
intended  for  her  husband.  Later,  she  herself  perishes  in  a 
rock  slide  near  the  tomb  of  Ramses.  Meanwhile  the  Egyp- 
tian police  chief  had  found  conclusive  evidence  of  Merle's 
responsibility  for  Korvin's  death,  but  he  drops  the  investi- 
gation in  order  to  preserve  Brent's  illusions  of  his  late  wife. 

Robert  Thoeren  wrote  the  screen  play  from  the  novel  by 
Robert  Hichcns.  Edwards  Small  produced  it,  and  Irving 
Pichel  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Lenore  Ulric,  Arnold 
Moss,  Ludwig  Stossel  and  others. 


200 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


demic  arrives  with  the  first  trading  ships  of  spring. 
The  same  is  true  of  isolated  tropical  islands.  .  .  . 

"In  the  near  future  it  is  possible  to  foresee  people 
avoiding  stores,  movies,  hotels  that  fail  to  provide  pro- 
tective atmospheres — just  as  motorists  shun  drinking 
water  in  towns  where  roadside  signs  announce  that 
the  water  is  unsafe.  .  . 

In  view  of  the  fact  that,  among  the  public  places 
that  are  mentioned  as  requiring  the  protection  of  the 
atmosphere  within  is  also  motion  picture  theatres, 
exhibitors  should  proceed  to  study  the  problem  with  a 
view  to  offering  the  protection  needed.  Exhibitor  or- 
ganizations  would  do  well  to  study  the  problem,  ob- 
taining their  information,  either  from  the  United 
States  Public  Health  Bureau,  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
or  from  the  army  command,  or  from  whatever  other 
source  such  information  may  be  obtained. 

Mr.  Ratcliff  states  that  Glycol  vapor  is  most  effi- 
cacious. A  few  droplets  sprayed  through  the  air-con- 
ditioning system  may  render  the  atmosphere  free  of 
all  germs.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  article  states  that 
the  discovery  of  Glycol  may  be  considered  one  of  the 
ten  most  important  discoveries  of  the  war. 

A  theatre  that  will  apply  the  Glycol  method  can 
induce  many  patrons  to  allow  their  children  to  attend 
the  performances.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  will  attract 
many  adults  who  now  stay  away  from  picture  theatres 
because  of  their  fear  that  they  will  breathe  cold  germs. 

"Ginger"  with  Frank  Albertson, 
Barbara  Reed  and  Johny  Calkins 

(Monogram,  Jan.  4;  time,  64  min.) 

A  harmless  program  drama.  As  entertainment,  it  is 
suitable  mostly  for  the  juvenile  trade  on  Saturday  af- 
ternoons. It  is  doubtful  if  adults  will  be  entertained 
by  it,  for  the  story  is  thin  and  hackneyed,  and  it  deals 
mainly  with  children.  The  youngsters,  however, 
should  enjoy  it  fairly  well,  for  the  action  revolves 
around  a  young  boy's  love  for  a  stray  dog,  and  around 
his  efforts  to  prevent  a  crooked  politician  from  de- 
stroying the  animal.  Children  should  find  the  young 
hero's  adventures  exciting.  The  individual  perform- 
ances are  satisfactory,  but  the  players  are  handicapped 
by  the  ordinary  material  and  the  trite  dialogue: — 

Compelled  to  give  up  prizefighting  because  of  bad 
eyes,  Frank  Albertson  decides  to  settle  down  in  a  small 
town  with  Johny  Calkins,  his  ten-year-old  nephew. 
Albertson  meets  Barbara  Reed,  secretary  to  Mayor 
Dick  Elliott,  who,  in  the  mayor's  absence,  offers  him  a 
job  as  master  of  the  town  dog  pound.  Albertson  ac- 
cepts the  appointment  and,  together  with  Johny,  goes 
to  live  at  Barbara's  home,  which  was  operated  by  her 
mother  (Edythe  Elliott)  as  a  boarding  house.  A  stray 
dog  picked  up  by  the  dog-catcher  is  adopted  by 
Johny,  who,  together  with  Janet  Burston,  Barbara's 
younger  sister,  keeps  the  animal  in  a  playhouse  behind 
the  boarding  house.  Their  young  friends  join  them  in 
a  plan  to  put  on  a  dog  show  with  the  animals  from  the 
pound.  The  mayor,  who  had  long  sought  to  get  hold 
of  Miss  Elliott's  property  as  a  site  for  a  public  park — 
a  monument  to  himself,  uses  the  children's  dog  show 
in  an  attempt  to  condemn  the  property  as  a  public 
nuisance.  His  scheme  fails  and,  in  a  rage,  he  strikes 
Johny.  The  boy's  pet  comes  to  his  rescue  and  bites 
the  mayor.  Enraged,  the  mayor  discharges  Albertson 


and  Barbara  as  city  employees  and  orders  the  dog  de- 
stroyed. Johny  engineers  the  dog's  escape  and  goes 
into  hiding.  The  police  look  for  the  pair  in  vain,  but 
Gene  Collins,  the  mayor's  snivelling  son,  seeking  to 
get  into  the  good  graces  of  Johny  and  his  friends, 
finds  them  and  offers  to  intercede  with  his  father  in 
their  behalf.  As  the  two  boys  and  the  dog  make  their 
way  back  to  town,  Gene  is  injured  in  a  fall.  The  dog 
summons  help  from  town,  and  the  mayor,  grateful, 
pardons  the  animal,  reinstates  Barbara  and  Albertson, 
and  orders  the  park  to  be  built  around  Miss  Elliott's 
property. 

Oliver  Drake  and  Donald  McKean  wrote  the  origi- 
nal screen  play,  Lindsley  Parsons  produced  it,  and 
Mr.  Drake  directed  it. 

"Mr.  Hex"  with  the  Bowery  Boys 

(Monogram,  Dec.  7;  time,  63  min.) 

The  "zany"  antics  of  the  Bowery  Boys  are  used  to 
good  advantage  in  this  latest  of  their  series  of  com- 
edies; it  should  serve  as  a  suitable  supporting  feature 
wherever  something  light  is  needed  to  round  out  a 
double-bill.  This  time  the  comedy  is  based  on  the  hyp- 
notic powers  Leo  Gorccy  exerts  on  Huntz  Hall,  mak- 
ing of  him  an  unbeatable  pugilist  so  long  as  he  remains 
under  an  hypnotic  spell.  The  action  is  mostly  slap- 
stick, but  it  is  highly  amusing  in  spots  and  should  pro- 
voke loud  laughter,  particularly  in  crowded  houses. 
The  situation  in  which  Hall  comes  out  of  his  hypnotic 
state  in  the  midst  of  a  crucial  fight  and  tries  to  put 
distance  between  himself  and  his  opponent  is  ex- 
tremely comical: — 

When  Gorcey  and  his  pals  (Huntz  Hall,  Bobby 
Jordan,  Billy  Bendict,  David  Gorcey,  and  Gabriel 
Dell)  learn  that  Gale  Robbins,  their  favorite  juke- 
box singer,  had  quit  her  job  to  take  care  of  her  sick 
mother  because  she  could  not  afford  a  nurse,  the  boys 
decide  to  enter  Hall  as  a  candidate  in  a  boxing  tourna- 
ment, the  purse  to  sponsor  Gale's  career  as  a  singer. 
Hall  fails  miserably  in  his  first  fight,  and  Gorcey, 
anxious  to  help  Gale,  induces  Ian  Keith,  a  profes- 
sional hypnotist,  to  teach  him  how  to  put  Hall  under 
an  hypnotic  spell  in  order  to  make  him  believe  that  he 
was  a  first-rate  fighter.  In  his  hypnotic  trance,  Hall 
wins  many  fights,  and  the  publicity  given  to  the  hyp- 
notist-boxer team  attracts  the  attention  of  Ben  Wel- 
don,  a  gangster,  who  arranges  for  a  professional  boxer 
to  enter  the  tournament  under  the  guise  of  an  ama- 
teur. Meanwhile  Weldon's  henchmen  induce  Dell  to 
solicit  bets  against  his  friends,  offering  him  a  percent- 
age of  the  winnings,  and  on  the  night  of  the  fight  they 
force  him  to  reveal  that  Gorcey  hypnotized  Hall  by 
means  of  a  shiny  coin.  Weldon  arranges  for  a  pick- 
pocket to  steal  the  coin  from  Gorcey,  and  at  the  same 
time  employs  a  hypnotist  to  counter-hypnotize  Hall 
during  the  bout.  Gorcey  manages  to  retrieve  the  coin 
in  time  to  help  Hall  win  the  fight.  Meanwhile  Gale, 
learning  of  Dell's  connection  with  the  gangsters,  talks 
him  into  exposing  them  to  the  judges.  It  all  ends  with 
the  gangsters  jailed  and  with  Gloria's  career  as  a  singer 
assured. 

Jan  Grippo  wrote  the  original  story  and  produced 
it,  Cyril  Endfield  wrote  the  screen  play,  and  William 
Beaudine  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Bernard  Gor- 
cey, Sammy  Cohen,  Rita  Lynn  and  others. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


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Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  21,  1946  No.  51 


ADOLPH  ZUKOR'S  SOUND  ADVICE 
TO  THE  BRITISH 

Speaking  at  an  industry  press  luncheon  this  week,  which 
marked  his  return  from  a  recent  European  trip,  Adolph 
Zukor,  Paramount's  founder  and  chairman  of  the  board, 
lashed  out  at  the  British  critics  of  the  American  motion  pic 
ture  industry. 

In  a  forthright  statement  in  which  he  pulled  no  punches, 
Mr.  Zukor  fired  verbal  barbs  at,  what  he  termed,  "parasites" 
who,  to  cover  up  their  own  inefficiency,  seek  to  impose 
import  restrictions  on  American  films  and  attack  Hollywood 
with  charges  of  "draining  the  British  Treasury."  He  pointed 
out  that  the  revenue  American  pictures  receive  from  the 
British  market  is  but  "small  change"  in  comparison  to  the 
revenue  Great  Britain  realizes  from  this  country's  im' 
portation  of  broadcloth  and  woolens  alone. 

Mr.  Zukor  charged  that  American  films  have  not  only 
kept  British  theatres  operating  but  they  have  also  been  in' 
strumental  in  the  building  of  more  theatres,  thus  giving  the 
British  producers  a  greater  number  of  outlets  for  their 
products.  As  to  complaints  that  the  American  exhibitors  are 
not  giving  British  pictures  playing  time  in  accordance  with  a 
picture's  merits,  Mr.  Zukor  countered  with  the  charge  that 
the  British  producers  have  not  yet  learned  to  make  pictures 
with  world-wide  appeal,  such  as  is  made  by  the  American 
producers,  who  have  made  a  close  study  of  the  wants  of 
foreign  markets.  "So  long  as  the  British  producers  continue 
to  conceive  their  pictures  for  local  consumption,"  said  Mr. 
Zukor,  "they  cannot  expect  world-wide  reception  of  their 
products." 

"To  the  American  exhibitor,"  added  Mr.  Zukor,  "whether 
affiliated  or  independent,  it  does  not  matter  if  a  picture  is 
produced  in  Turkey  or  Yugoslavia.  We  have  no  restrictive 
laws  here,  and  if  a  picture  is  good  and  has  popular  appeal, 
the  American  exhibitor  will  play  it."  Mr.  Zukor  pointed  out 
also  that  the  American  exhibitor  is  glad  to  encourage  British 
production,  for  it  is  to  his  interest  to  create  an  additional 
source  of  product  in  order  to  better  his  trading  position. 

It  has  been  stated  frequently  in  these  columns  that,  despite 
the  feeling  that  exists  among  many  British  film  people  that 
the  American  film  industry  is  trying  to  stifle  competition,  the 
American  exhibitors  have  no  prejudices  against  the  pictures 
of  any  nation.  Their  one  aim  is  to  exhibit  pictures  that  will 
entertain  and  draw  at  the  box-office.  Any  British  picture 
that  will  meet  this  test  will  be  welcomed  by  the  American 
exhibitor.  He  cannot,  however,  be  expected  to  give  playing 
time  to  a  picture  he  cannot  sell  to  his  patrons. 

Mr.  Zukor  is  right  when  he  says  that  the  British  producers 
do  not  conceive  their  pictures  with  an  eye  towards  satisfying 
the  entertainment  desires  of  people  outside  their  own  coun- 
try.  Instead  of  being  envious  of  the  progress  the  American 
pictures  have  made  through  the  ingenuity  of  the  American 
producers,  and  instead  of  trying  to  shackle  American  pic- 
tures by  means  of  quotas  and  other  restrictions,  the  British 
film  people  would  do  well  to  concentrate  their  efforts  on 
ways  and  means  to  meet  American  competition  effectively, 


not  only  in  this  country,  but  also  in  their  own  country.  And 
the  most  effective  way  to  meet  competition,  either  at  home 
or  abroad,  is  to  make  better  pictures,  the  sort  that  will  appeal 
to  the  many  instead  of  the  few.  The  trouble  with  most  British 
pictures  sent  to  this  country  is  that  they  have  an  "arty"  ap- 
proach to  the  subject  matter,  with  the  result  that  their  appeal 
is  generally  limited  to  high  class  audiences.  The  British  pro- 
ducers fail  to  realize  that,  to  the  average  picture-goer,  at 
least  in  this  country,  that  which  is  difficult  to  grasp  is,  by 
its  very  nature,  not  entertaining.  To  the  American  exhibi- 
tors, as  a  matter  of  fact  exhibitors  all  over  the  world,  motion 
pictures  are  not  an  art  but  a  business.  They  are  interested  in 
an  adequate  supply  of  salable  popular  entertainment,  the 
sort  that  will  be  readily  understood  by  the  lowest  as  well  as 
the  highest  intelligence  in  the  audience.  In  other  words,  the 
vast  majority  of  exhibitors  are  not  interested  in  catering  to 
the  esthetes  and  intellectuals. 

Neither  restrictive  measures  against  American  films,  nor 
constant  attacks  on  Hollywood,  will  help  the  British  film 
industry  to  improve  its  position  in  the  world's  markets.  The 
solution,  pure  and  simple,  lies  in  their  solving  the  secret  of 
how  to  make  pictures  with  world-wide  appeal. 


MORE  ON  "ABIE'S  IRISH  ROSE" 

According  to  a  news  report  in  a  recent  issue  of  the  N.eu> 
Yor\  Times,  Bennie  Berger,  president  of  North  Central 
Allied  Independent  Theatre  Owners,  issued  a  statement  to 
the  effect  that  Bing  Crosby's  "Abie's  Irish  Rose"  may  result 
in  Minnesota  legislation  establishing  film  censorship  unless 
the  picture  is  revised  to  eliminate  material  construed  as 
offensive  to  racial  and  religious  groups. 

In  a  letter  to  Gradwell  L.  Sears,  vice-president  in  charge 
of  distribution  for  United  Artists,  which  is  distributing  the 
film,  Berger  stated  that  "there  is  a  great  deal  of  hostility  and 
dissatisfaction  in  this  territory  concerning  your  forth- 
coming release  of  'Abie's  Irish  Rose.'  ...  A  number  of 
exhibitors  have  even  suggested  that  we  put  through  a  censor- 
ship bill  in  this  state  which  could  easily  be  done  and  to 
which  I  am  opposed.  .  .  ." 

Answering  the  Minneapolis  theatre  group  headed  by 
Berger,  Sears  had  this  to  say: 

"While  I  have  not  had  the  opportunity  to  read  Mr. 
Berger's  complaints  except  in  the  public  press  they  strike 
me  in  general  as  being  unfounded,  reckless  and  ill  advised. 

"In  the  first  place,  such  minor  objections  as  have  been 
made  by  competent  authorities  have  been  rectified  by  the 
producer,  A.  Edward  Sutherland.  Certain  lines  have  been 
eliminated;  certain  scenes  changed,  but  the  picture,  its 
entertainment,  and  its  message  of  tolerance  remain  basically 
unchanged. 

"More  important  and  more  dangerous  in  my  opinion  is 
Mr.  Berger's  threat  of  seeking  local  censorship  in  behalf 
of  any  group,  or  organization.  Wilful  talk  of  this  type  is 
completely  contrary  to  the  American  principle  and,  in  the 
hands  of  irresponsible  people,  can  constitute  a  threat  to  free 
speech  and  a  free  screen." 


Harrison's  Reports  extends  to  its  subscribers  and  readers  Greetings  of  the  Season 


202  HARRISON'S  REPORTS  December  21,  1946 


"Stairway  to  Heaven"  with  David  Niven 
and  Kim  Hunter 

(Universal-International,  nu  release  date  set,  time,  100  min.) 

For  something  different  in  screen  entertainment,  this 
British-made  fantasy  fills  the  bill.  Magnificently  produced, 
and  photographed  in  Technicolor,  the  picture  should  prove 
a  delight  to  high  class  audiences  because  of  its  unusualness 
both  in  theme  and  in  presentation.  Its  odd,  fanciful  story 
revolves  around  an  RAF  flyer  who  escapes  death  miracul' 
ously,  causing  considerable  consternation  in  Heaven  because 
of  his  failure  to  arrive  there  as  scheduled.  How  he  battles 
with  the  administration  in  Heaven  for  the  right  to  con- 
tinue living  is  told  in  a  brilliantly  conceived  manner  as  the 
action  shifts  between  Heaven  and  Earth.  From  a  technical 
point  of  view,  the  picture  introduces  many  innovations  in 
the  art  of  making  pictures.  For  example,  the  scenes  on  Earth 
are  in  Technicolor,  changing  to  dyemonochrome  when  the 
action  shifts  to  Heaven.  The  story  itself  is  rich  in  humor, 
tender  in  romance,  and  often  emotionally  stirring.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  it  will  appeal  to  the  ultra-discriminating,  but 
its  reception  by  average  picture-goers  is  questionable  because 
of  the  story's  intellectual  approach.  The  dialogue,  which  is 
generally  on  a  lofty  plane,  will  probably  go  over  the  heads 
of  many  people,  particularly  in  the  closing  reels,  where  the 
trial  of  the  hero  in  Heaven  turns  into  a  lengthy  debate  be- 
tween opposing  counsel  on  the  relative  merits  of  the  British 
and  American  ways  of  life. 

The  story  opens  with  David  Niven  jumping  out  of  his 
burning  bomber  without  a  parachute,  resigned  to  his  death. 
He  lands  in  the  ocean,  injured  but  miraculously  alive.  In  the 
course  of  events  he  falls  in  love  with  Kim  Hunter,  an  Amer- 
ican WAC,  but  he  suffers  frequent  hallucinations  due  to 
concussion  and  imagines  that  he  should  be  dead,  and  that 
the  administration  in  Heaven  was  demanding  his  surrender 
in  order  to  balance  the  Heavenly  books.  A  Heavenly  messen- 
ger tries  to  induce  him  to  take  his  rightful  place  in  Heaven, 
but  Niven,  claiming  that  the  mistake  was  not  his  and  that  he 
was  now  in  love  with  Kim,  refuses  to  accompany  him.  See- 
ing merit  in  the  young  man's  claim,  the  administration 
grants  him  the  right  to  appeal.  A  trial  is  held  in  the  Supreme 
Heavenly  Court,  where  Niven's  attorney,  basing  his  case  on 
his  client's  love  for  Kim,  wins  him  the  right  to  live. 

The  action  on  Earth  centers  around  Niven's  romance  with 
Miss  Hunter,  and  around  the  efforts  of  Roger  Livesey,  a 
doctor,  to  cure  him.  Both  disbelieve  his  stories  about  his 
conflict  with  Heaven,  but  sympathize  with  his  condition. 
While  Niven  is  rushed  to  a  hospital  for  a  brain  operation, 
Livesey  meets  accidental  death  and  becomes  his  attorney  in 
Heaven.  Niven  comes  out  of  the  operation  successfully  just 
as  he  wins  his  case  in  Heaven.  In  the  sequences  where  the 
Heavenly  characters  visit  the  Earth,  time  stops,  and  the 
earthly  characters  remain  "frozen,"  unable  to  see,  hear,  or 
move.  It  is  a  fascinating  and  novel  technique.  All  the 
players,  including  Raymond  Massey,  as  the  prosecuting  at- 
torney, give  expert  performances.  It  is  a  J.  Arthur  Rank 
production,  written,  produced,  and  directed  by  Michael 
Powell  and  Emeric  Pressburger.  Adult  entertainment. 


"The  Beast  with  Five  Fingers"  with 
Robert  Alda,  Andrea  King  and  Peter  Lorre 

(Warner  Bros.,  no  release  date  set;  time,  88  min.) 
The  fantastic  doings  in  this  melodrama  should  give  the 
undiscriminating  horror  picture  fans  a  treat.  The  story, 
which  has  psychological  and  mystical  overtones,  is  confusing 
and  leaves  one  bewildered  in  the  end,  but  those  who  are 
willing  to  overlook  story  detail  should  find  the  proceedings 
weird,  different,  and  spine-chilling,  for  it  has  as  its  villain 
none  other  than  a  hand,  severed  at  the  wrist,  which,  through 
trick  photography,  crawls  around  and  even  comes  to  grips 
with  one  of  the  characters,  a  crazed  astrologist.  Discrimi- 
nating patrons  will  probably  find  it  all  quite  ridiculous,  while 
some  others  will  find  it  too  repulsive  to  be  entertaining,  for 
the  sequences  involving  the  hand  are  not  pleasant  to 
behold : — 

Victor  Francen,  a  retired  concert  pianist,  who  could  play 
only  with  his  left  hand  because  his  right  side  was  paralyzed, 
lives  in  an  Italian  villa  attended  by  Andrea  King,  his  nurse; 
Peter  Lorre,  his  neurotic  secretary;  and  Robert  Alda,  a  com- 


poser. Emotionally  upset  over  Andrea's  plan  to  leave  him, 
Francen  dies  in  an  accident  and  is  buried  on  his  estate. 
Charles  Dingle,  Francen's  brother,  and  John  Alvin,  his 
nephew,  come  to  the  villa,  confident  that  they  will  inherit 
the  estate,  and  infuriate  Dorre  by  threatening  to  sell  the 
books  on  which  he  depended  for  his  study  of  astrology.  All 
are  surprised  to  learn  that  Francen's  entire  fortune  had  been 
left  to  Andrea.  Dingle,  angered,  conspires  with  Francen's 
attorney  to  contest  the  will,  and  even  accuses  Andrea  of  mur- 
dering his  brother.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  attorney  is  found 
strangled  to  death,  and  J.  Carrol  Naish,  the  police  commis- 
sioner, discovers  that  the  fingerprints  matched  Francen's.  An 
inspection  of  the  mausoleum  discloses  that  Francen's  left 
hand  had  been  severed  from  his  body.  For  several  nights 
afterwards  the  entire  household  is  subjected  to  a  reign  of 
terror  involving  the  hand.  Eventually,  Andrea  pieces  the 
mystery  together  and  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  Lorre,  in 
whose  imagination  the  hand  lived,  had  used  it  to  commit  the 
murder  and  to  terrify  the  others.  She  confronts  him  with  her 
suspicions  and,  after  confessing  his  guilt,  he  becomes  stark 
mad  and  is  captured  by  Naish. 

Curt  Siodmak  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by  Wil- 
liam F.  Harvey,  William  Jacobs  produced  it,  and  Robert 
Florey  directed  it.   Adult  entertainment. 

"California"  with  Ray  Milland 
and  Barbara  Stanwyck 

(Paramount,  no  release  date  set;  time,  97  min.) 
A  fairly  good  Western,  photographed  in  Technicolor.  Pro- 
duced with  lavishness  and  acted  by  a  capable  cast,  it  offers 
entertainment  that  should  go  over  pretty  well  with  most 
picture-goers,  for  the  story  revolves  around  an  interesting 
era  in  American  history — the  gold  rush  days  of  California, 
at  which  time  political  scheemers  sought  to  set  up  the  terri- 
tory as  an  independent  empire.  Although  there  is  nothing 
startling  about  either  the  story  or  its  unfoldment,  it  is  fast 
and  exciting  and  has  a  full  measure  of  lawlessness,  thrilling 
fist  fights,  and  gunplay.  Ray  Milland,  as  a  crusading  ad- 
venturer opposing  the  forces  of  evil,  plays  the  part  with 
conviction,  and  his  romance  with  Barbara  Stanwyck,  a 
hardened  gambling  queen,  is  of  importance,  being  a  moti- 
vating force  in  her  regeneration.  There  is  some  human  ap- 
peal in  Barry  Fitzgerald's  characterization  of  a  kindly 
farmer: — 

Milland,  a  cynical  soldier  of  fortune,  is  hired  by  Fitz- 
gerald to  guide  a  wagon  train  to  California.  Despite  Mil- 
land's  objections,  Fitzgerald  permits  Barbara  to  joint  the  train 
for  the  trip  West.  An  instantaneous  dislike  spring  up  be- 
tween the  two,  although  each  was  attracted  to  the  other.  The 
train  becomes  completely  demoralized  when  word  comes 
that  gold  had  been  discovered  in  California;  wagon  after 
wagon  deserts  in  an  effort  to  cash  in  on  the  gold  fever,  and 
Milland,  injured  when  he  tries  to  stop  the  rush,  remains 
behind  with  Fitzgerald.  By  the  time  both  men  reach  Cali- 
fornia, they  find  that  Barbara  had  become  a  reigning  saloon 
queen,  in  league  with  George  Coulouris,  a  former  slave 
trader,  who  subjugated  the  pioneers  and  headed  a  political 
group  plotting  to  keep  California  from  accepting  statehood 
in  the  Union.  Milland  challenges  Barbara  to  a  game  of 
Faro  and  wins  her  saloon,  but  Coulouris  takes  it  away  from 
him  at  the  point  of  a  gun  and  runs  him  out  of  town,  after 
beating  him  up.  Barbara  moves  into  Coulouris'  hacienda  and 
promises  to  marry  him.  Milland  recovers  from  his  injuries 
and  returns  to  oppose  Coulouris'  political  trickery.  He 
rallies  the  pioneers  and  gets  them  to  elect  Fitzgerald  over 
Coulouris  as  a  delegate  to  the  Monterey  Convention.  Fitz- 
gerald's impassioned  plea  to  the  delegates  brings  California 
into  the  Union.  Angered,  Coulouris'  followers  resort  to 
armed  force,  killing  Fitzgerald.  Milland  and  the  pioneers 
quell  the  rebellion,  and  during  a  showdown  fight  between 
Coulouris  and  Milland,  Barbara,  realizing  her  love  for  Mil- 
land,  and  seeking  to  avenge  Fitzgerald's  murder,  shoots 
Coulouris  to  death. 

Frank  Butler  and  Theodore  Strauss  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Boris  Ingster,  Seton  I.  Miller  produced  it, 
and  John  Farrow  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Albert  Dek- 
ker,  Anthony  Quinn,  Gavin  Muir  and  others.  Unobection- 
able  morally. 


December  21,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


203 


"The  Fabulous  Suzanne"  with 
Barbara  Britton  and  Rudy  Vallee 

(Republic,  December  15;  time,  71  win.) 

An  entertaining  program  farce.  Like  most  farcical  come 
dies,  this  one  has  a  far-fetched  story,  as  well  as  its  share  of 
foolishness,  but  one  is  kept  amused  because  of  the  spirited 
performances  by  the  players.  It  centers  around  the  romantic 
involvements  of  a  small-town  girl  who  strikes  it  rich,  and 
it  keeps  one  chuckling  throughout  because  of  the  comical 
situations  and  wisecracks;  in  addition,  the  action  is  fast  and 
the  heroine  is  appealing.  The  misunderstandings  in  the 
closing  scenes,  where  the  heroine,  after  a  reconciliation  with 
her  childhood  sweetheart,  takes  him  to  her  apartment  only 
to  find  it  invaded  by  several  former  suitors,  results  in  ex- 
citing and  comical  action: — 

Barbara  Britton,  a  waitress  in  Bill  Henry's  luncheonette, 
loves  Henry,  but  he  refuses  to  marry  her  because  of  his 
inability  to  support  her  properly.  When  one  of  her  custom- 
ers dies  and  leaves  her  $7,000,  Barbara  asks  Bill  to  marry 
her  immediately,  but  he  stubbornly  refuses,  insisting  that  he 
must  first  be  able  to  support  her  with  his  own  money. 
Discouraged,  she  goes  to  New  York  to  try  her  luck  in  the 
stock  market.  She  visits  a  brokerage  firm  owned  by  Otto 
Kruger  and  his  sons  (Rudy  Vallee  and  Richard  Denning), 
and  by  sticking  a  pin  into  a  list  of  stocks  selects  one  that 
makes  her  a  fortune.  Vallee,  a  reserved  fellow,  and  Den- 
ning, a  woman-chaser,  fall  in  love  with  Barbara,  and  their 
rivalry  for  her  favor  waxes  so  hot  that  their  father,  a  dapper 
man,  visits  her  to  learn  what  the  excitement  was  about.  He, 
too,  is  attracted  to  her,  and  the  rivalry  for  her  hand  becomes 
a  family  affair.  Meanwhile  Barbara  had  arranged  secretly  for 
Bill  to  "inherit"  some  money  from  a  dead  relative,  enabling 
him  to  open  a  large  restaurant  and  encouraging  him  to  pro- 
pose to  her.  Both  return  to  Barbara's  apartment  after  an 
evening  of  romancing  and  find  her  three  suitors  waiting  for 
her.  They  reveal  to  Bill  the  secret  of  his  "inheritance,"  caus- 
ing him  to  leave  her.  Furious,  Barbara  agrees  to  marry 
Vallee.  But  Kruger,  aware  that  she  was  not  in  love  with  his 
son,  prevents  the  marriage  and  brings  her  together  with  Bill. 

Tedwell  Chapman  and  Randall  Faye  wrote  the  screen 
play  from  a  story  by  William  Bowers  and  Mr.  Chapman. 
Steve  Sekely  produced  and  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Veda  Ann  Borg,  Grady  Sutton  and  others.  Unobjectionable 
morally. 

"Sweetheart  of  Sigma  Chi"  with  Elyse  Knox, 
Phil  Regan  and  Ross  Hunter 

(Monogram,  December  21;  time,  76  min.) 

A  fairly  good  program  musical,  with  a  particular  appeal 
for  the  younger  set.  The  story,  which  has  a  collegiate  back- 
ground and  which  was  produced  once  before  by  Monogram 
in  1933,  is  the  usual  one  about  misunderstandings  between 
campus  sweethearts,  with  their  difficulties  being  resolved  in 
the  final  reel  when  the  hero  leads  the  varsity  crew  to  victory. 
The  story  is  thin;  but  it  serves  well  enough  as  a  means  of 
putting  the  peppy  musical  numbers  across.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  several  of  the  songs  are  current  popular  hits.  Elyse 
Knox  and  Ross  Hunter  are  engaging  in  the  romantic  leads, 
and  Phil  Regan,  Phil  Brito,  and  Frankie  Carle's  orchestra 
handle  the  musical  burden  in  pleasant  style.  Two  specialty 
numbers  by  the  Slim  Gaillard  Trio  should  have  the  "hepcats" 
stomping  their  feet: — 

Elyse  Knox,  a  pretty  co-ed,  unsuccessfully  tries  to  attract 
Ross  Hunter,  who  is  protected  from  involvement  with  her 
by  Fred  Colby,  whose  brother,  Phil  Regan,  owned  a  road- 
house  near  the  campus.  After  many  good-natured  hi-jinks, 
Elyse  and  Ross  fall  in  love.  Ross,  as  key  man  on  the  varsity 
crew,  hoped  to  lead  his  men  to  victory  over  a  rival  college. 
On  the  eve  of  the  big  race,  two  professional  gamblers  (Paul 
Guilfoyle  and  Edward  Brophy)  approach  Regan  and, 
threatening  to  bare  his  past  involvement  in  a  criminal  case, 
try  to  force  him  to  blackmail  Elyse  into  using  her  influence 
to  make  Ross  throw  the  race.  Regan,  worried  lest  his  past 
become  known  and  hurt  his  student  brother,  humors  the 
gamblers  and  tells  Elyse  of  their  scheme.  Ross  gets  wind  of 
the  plot  and,  through  a  series  of  misunderstandings,  mis- 
takenly believes  that  Regan  and  Elyse  planned  to  carry  it 


through;  he  and  Elyse  become  estranged.  On  the  day  of  the 
race,  the  gamblers,  failing  with  Regan,  attempt  to  sabotage 
the  racing  shell.  The  culprits  are  caught,  the  crew  wins,  and 
Ross,  realizing  that  he  had  misjudged  Elyse,  reconciles  with 
her. 

Frank  L.  Moss  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
George  Waggner.  Jeffrey  Bernerd  produced  it,  and  Jack 
Bernhard  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 


"It's  a  Wonderful  Life"  with  James  Stewart 
and  Donna  Reed 

(RKO-Liberty,  no  release  date  set;  time,  129  min.) 

Excellent  mass  entertainment!  It  is  a  powerful,  deeply  ap- 
pealing human-interest  drama,  with  many  situations  that  will 
stir  the  emotions  deeply.  Every  one  who  will  see  the  picture 
will  love  it,  for  its  story  about  a  young  man  who  sacrifices 
his  personal  ambitions  in  order  to  protect  the  people  of  his 
community  from  a  greedy  old  banker,  whose  vast  holdings 
enabled  him  to  virtually  control  the  town,  is  filled  with  hu- 
manity, as  well  as  with  much  comedy,  of  the  wholesome, 
penetrating  kind.  Produced  and  directed  by  Frank  Capra, 
the  picture  is  indeed  a  tribute  to  his  reputation  as  one  of 
Hollywood's  finest  picture-makers.  Under  Capra's  sensitive 
direction,  James  Stewart,  as  the  hero  comes  through  with  a 
superb  performance,  undoubtedly  his  best.  His  acting  in  both 
the  dramatic  and  comedy  scenes  is  so  good  that  one's  heart 
goes  out  to  him. 

Briefly,  the  story  depicts  how  Stewart,  whose  father  was 
head  of  a  small-town  building  and  loan  association,  grows 
up  with  a  burning  desire  to  get  away  and  see  the  world,  but 
each  time  he  prepares  to  leave  home  something  turns  up  to 
thwart  him.  The  first  time  is  when  his  father  dies  just  as  he 
was  about  to  enter  college.  The  crochety  town  banker  tries 
to  bring  about  a  liquidation  of  the  company,  which  was  hurt- 
ing his  real  estate  interests,  but  Stewart,  rather  than  see  the 
townspeople  lose  the  only  means  by  which  they  could  build 
a  home  on  reasonable  terms,  assumes  charge  of  the  business 
and  relinquishes  his  chance  of  going  to  college  to  his  younger 
brother,  with  the  understanding  that  the  young  man  will 
take  over  as  company  head  upon  his  graduation.  His  brother, 
however,  finds  a  greater  opportunity  elsewhere  ,and  Stewart 
refuses  to  stand  in  his  way.  He  resigns  himself  to  a  small- 
town life  and  marries  Donna  Reed,  a  childhood  sweetheart. 
On  his  wedding  day,  the  1932  depression  causes  a  run  on 
the  company  s  funds,  but  Stewart  saves  the  situation  by 
placating  the  jittery  investors  with  his  honeymoon  funds.  He 
devotes  himself  to  the  betterment  of  the  community,  con- 
stantly fighting  the  banker's  efforts  to  break  his  company, 
and  in  due  time  he  and  Donna  are  blessed  with  four  children. 
Disaster  strikes  when  the  banker,  through  thievery,  causes 
an  $8,000  shortage  in  the  loan  company's  funds  and  ac- 
cuses Stewart  of  embezzlement.  At  his  wits  end,  Stewart 
thinks  of  committing  suicide,  but  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity come  to  his  aid,  bringing  him  to  the  realization  that 
a  man's  wealth  is  measured,  not  by  his  bank  account,  but  by 
the  people  he  can  call  his  friends. 

The  second  half  of  the  picture  is  highly  dramatic,  and 
part  of  it  is  fantasy,  which  occurs  when  Stewart,  snapping 
under  the  strain  of  his  difficulties,  wishes  that  he  had  never 
been  born.  Thereupon  he  is  visited  by  a  messenger  from 
Heaven,  who  grants  his  wish  and  takes  him  on  a  tour  of  the 
town  to  show  him  how  his  friends  and  family  would  have 
suffered  if  he  hadn't  been  born  and  had  not  made  the  sacri- 
fices that  enabled  them  to  lead  a  better  way  of  life.  The  only 
displeasing  note  in  the  picture  is  that  the  banker  is  not  made 
to  suffer  for  his  crime. 

Donna  Reed,  as  Stewart's  wife  is  winsome  and  sympa- 
thetic, and  there  is  great  appeal  in  their  romance  and  family 
life.  Lionel  Barrymore,  as  the  banker;  Thomas  Mitchell,  as 
Stewart's  absent-minded  uncle;  Henry  Travers,  as  the 
Heavenly  messenger;  and  all  the  others  in  the  huge  support- 
ing cast,  contribute  memorable  performances.  Frances  Good- 
rich, Albert  Hackett  and  Mr.  Capra  wrote  the  excellent 
screen  play.  The  cast  includes  Beulah  Bondi,  Ward  Bond, 
Frank  Faylen,  Gloria  Grahamc,  H.  B.  Warner.  Samuel  S. 
Hinds,  Frank  Albertson,  Virginia  Patton,  Todd  Karns  and 
many  others. 


204 


"13  Rue  Madeleine"  with  James  Cagney, 
Richard  Conte  and  Annabella 

(20th  Century-Fox,  January;  time.  95  min.) 

A  gripping  spy  melodrama,  revolving  around  a  hand- 
picked  group  of  American  agents,  specially  trained  to  handle 
espionage  activities  in  connection  with  the  D-Day  invasion 
of  Europe.  The  fact  that  James  Cagney  heads  the  cast  should 
help  considerably  to  overcome  whatever  opposition  the 
public  may  still  have  towards  pictures  of  this  type.  Once  in 
the  theatre,  however,  there  is  no  doubt  that  those  who  will 
see  it  will  enjoy  it,  for  it  is  a  hard-hitting,  fast-moving  and 
intriguing  story,  filled  with  suspense  and  thrills  from  start 
to  finish.  The  first  part  of  the  picture  is  somewhat  similar  to 
"The  House  on  92nd  Street"  in  that  it  utilizes  the  "March 
of  Time"  documentary  technique  in  its  introduction  of  the 
characters  and  of  the  theme,  as  well  as  in  its  depiction  of  the 
rigid  training  methods  undergone  by  the  agents;  it  is  most 
effective.  As  leader  of  the  agents,  Cagney  is  cast  in  a  two- 
fisted,  daring  role,  the  sort  that  is  sure  to  please  his  many 
fans.  Richard  Conte,  as  a  Nazi  spy  and  Cagncy's  adversary, 
is  extremely  good.  It  is  a  serious  melodramatic  tale,  void  of 
romantic  interest  and  with  but  slight  touches  of  comedy: — 

Included  in  a  group  of  men  and  women  recruited  as  secret 
agents  are  Annabella,  a  Frenchwoman,  widowed  by  the  war; 
Richard  Conte,  an  American  who  spoke  fluent  French;  and 
Frank  Latimore,  a  high  school  French  teacher.  Cagney,  as- 
signed to  train  the  group,  is  informed  by  Walter  Abel,  his 
superior  officer,  that  one  of  them  was  a  Nazi  spy,  whose 
identity  was  unknown.  During  the  course  of  intensive  train- 
ing, Cagney  spots  Conte  as  the  Nazi,  and  when  the  group 
goes  to  England  he  misleads  him  into  believing  that  the 
Allied  invasion  would  go  through  Holland.  To  make  the 
story  more  convincing,  Cagney  orders  Conte  to  Holland,  ob- 
stensibly  to  pave  the  way  for  the  invasion,  and  instructs 
Annabella  and  Latimore  to  accompany  him  but  to  proceed 
from  Holland  to  France  without  him  to  locate  and  bring 
back  to  England  a  collaborator  who  had  designed  the  Nazi 
rocket-launching  sites.  Cante,  aware  that  he  had  been  found 
out,  manages  to  kill  Latimore  as  he  bails  out  over  Holland. 
Annabella,  however,  gets  away  and  radios  the  news  of 
Latimore's  death  to  Cagney.  The  latter  decides  to  meet  her 
in  Fiance  himself.  There,  after  many  narrow  brushes  with 
the  Gestapo,  they  manage,  with  the  help  of  the  underground, 
to  locate  the  collaborator  and  return  him  to  England.  Cag- 
ney, however,  is  captured  by  Conte,  and  Annabella  is  shot 
down  just  as  she  radios  this  news  to  Abel.  At  13  rue 
Madelaine,  Gestapo  headquarters,  Cagney,  despite  tortur- 
ous treatment,  refuses  to  reveal  where  the  invasion  will  take 
place.  Meanwhile  Abel,  acting  on  Annabella's  final  message, 
arranges  for  the  precision  bombing  of  Gestapo  Headquarters 
to  make  sure  that  Cagney  would  not  weaken  and  reveal  the 
secret.  As  the  Allied  planes  start  dropping  their  bombs, 
Cagney,  by  this  time  a  physical  wreck,  laughs  derisively  in 
Conte's  face  even  though  he,  too,  was  about  to  die. 

John  Monks,  Jr.,  and  Sy  Bartlett  wrote  the  original  screen 
play,  Louis  de  Rochemont  produced  it,  and  Henry  Hath- 
away directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Melville  Cooper,  Sam 
Jaffe  and  others.  Unobjectionable  morally. 

"Don  Ricardo  Returns"  with 
Fred  Coby  and  Isabelita 

(PRC,  November  5;  time,  63  min.) 

Produced  on  a  modest  budget,  this  is  a  mildly  entertaining 
melodrama,  the  sort  that  may  get  by  on  the  lower  half  of  a 
mid-week  double-bill  in  secondary  theatres.  The  story,  which 
is  set  in  the  old  Spanish  settlement  days  in  California,  is  very 
ordinary,  and  since  one  guesses  in  advance  just  what  twist 
the  plot  will  take  it  becomes  tiresome.  Moreover,  the  dia- 
logue is  trite  and  the  acting  uninspired.  Another  draw- 
back is  the  fact  that  the  players  mean  nothing  at  the  box- 
office.  Most  of  the  excitement  occurs  in  the  closing  scenes 
during  a  sword  duel,  but  it  is  not  enough  to  lift  the  picture 
out  of  its  unimaginative  rut: — 

Having  been  shanghaied  two  years  previously,  Fred  Coby, 
a  young  Spanish  nobleman,  returns  secretly  to  his  lands  and 
discovers  that  his  kidnapping  had  been  arranged  by  Anthony 
Warde,  his  cousin,  who  sought  to  have  him  declared  legally 


dead  so  that  he  could  assume  possession  of  his  vast  ranch. 
Coby  learns  also  that  Warde  wanted  to  marry  Isabelita,  his 
faithful  sweetheart,  but  that  she  declined  his  proposals  be- 
cause of  her  firm  belief  that  he  (Coby)  was  still  alive. 
Realizing  that  Warde  and  his  henchmen  would  kill  him  if 
they  knew  of  his  presence,  Coby  disguises  himself  as  a  peon 
and  secures  employment  on  the  estate  to  await  an  oppor- 
tunity for  revenge.  He  makes  known  his  presence  to  Isa- 
belita, and  with  her  aid  practices  swordsmanship  to  improve 
his  skill;  he  planned  to  challenge  his  cousin  to  a  duel  as 
60on  as  he  secured  documentary  evidence  of  his  perfidy.  He 
secures  this  proof  in  due  time  and,  revealing  himself  to 
Warde,  challenges  him  to  a  duel  to  the  death.  Warde  ac- 
cepts, and  after  a  close  contest  Coby  gains  the  upper  hand. 
Just  as  he  is  about  to  administer  the  coup  de  grace,  the 
village  priest  stays  his  hand.  Warde  is  imprisoned  for  his 
crimes,  and  Coby  and  Isabelita  prepare  to  enjoy  the  future 
they  had  so  long  awaited. 

Jack  De  Witt  and  Renault  Duncan  wrote  the  screen  play 
from  a  story  by  Johnston  McCulley.  J.  S.  Burkctt  produced 
it,  and  T.  O.  Morse  directed  it. 

Unobjectionable  morally. 

"The  Locket"  with  Larraine  Day, 
Brian  Aherne  and  Robert  Mitchum 

(RKO,  no  release  date  set;  time,  86  mm.) 

A  well-made,  expertly  acted  melodrama,  one  that  can  be 
classified  as  the  psychological  type.  Employing  the  flashback 
technique,  which  includes  flashbacks  within  flashbacks,  it 
emerges  as  an  interesting  character  study  of  a  beautiful 
young  woman,  who,  because  of  an  unfortunate  incident  in 
childhood,  goes  through  life  obsessed  with  a  desire  to  steal. 
How  this  fixation  affects  her  life,  as  well  as  the  lives  of  four 
men  who  fall  in  love  with  her,  unfolds  in  a  manner  that 
holds  one's  interest  tightly.  Larraine  Day,  as  the  heroine, 
turns  in  a  fascinating  characterization;  she  cloaks  her  wrong- 
doings with  such  sweetness  and  innocence  that  those  who 
love  her  find  it  difficult  to  accept  her  strange  acts.  The  end- 
ing, in  which  she  loses  her  complete  sanity,  is  tragic: — 

On  the  day  of  his  marriage  to  Larraine  Day,  Gene  Ray- 
mond is  visited  by  Brian  Aherne,  a  psychiatrist,  who  aston- 
ishes the  young  man  by  stating  that  he  had  been  married  to 
Larraine  for  five  years,  that  she  was  a  hopeless  thief  and 
liar,  and  that  she  had  already  ruined  the  lives  of  three  men. 
Aherne  explains  that,  shortly  after  his  marriage  to  Lar- 
raine, he  had  been  visited  by  Robert  Mitchum,  an  artist, 
who  had  been  engaged  to  her.  Mitchum  had  caught  her  with 
a  stolen  bracelet,  and  Larraine  had  explained  that,  as  a 
child,  she  had  been  accused  falsely  of  stealing  a  locket  and 
that  the  episode  had  left  her  with  an  uncontrollable  urge  to 
steal.  She  had  promised  never  to  steal  again,  but  shortly 
afterwards  she  had  murdered  her  wealthy  employer  (Ricardo 
Cortez)  and  had  stolen  a  valuable  diamond.  Ricardo's  valet 
had  been  convicted  of  the  crime,  and  Mitchum  had  pleaded 
with  Aherne  to  induce  Larraine  to  clear  the  innocent  man. 
Larraine  had  denied  Mitchum's  accusations,  and  Aherne 
had  believed  her.  The  innocent  man  had  been  executed,  and 
Mitchum,  distraught,  had  committed  suicide  by  leaping  from 
Aherne's  office  window.  Several  years  later,  Aherne  him- 
self had  caught  Larraine  with  a  hoard  of  jewels  stolen  from 
their  friends.  He  had  divorced  her,  and  his  only  thought 
now  was  to  prevent  Raymond  from  making  the  same  mistake 
he  did.  Dubious,  Raymond  summons  Larraine.  She  greets 
Aherne  cordially,  but  convinces  Raymond  that  the  man 
was  suffering  from  delusions.  Raymond  decides  to  proceed 
with  the  wedding.  As  Larraine  starts  the  march  to  the  altar, 
she  receives  as  a  gift  from  Raymond's  mother  a  locket.  Lar- 
raine recognizes  it  as  the  one  she  had  been  accused  of  steal- 
ing as  a  child,  and  realizes  that  his  mother  had  been  her 
childhood  oppressor.  The  shock  causes  her  complete  mental 
collapse,  and  the  story  closes  with  her  confinement  in  an 
institution. 

Sheridan  Gibney  wrote  the  screenplay,  Bert  Granet  pro- 
duced it,  and  John  Brahm  directed  it.  The  cast  includes 
Sharyn  Moffett.  Fay  Helm,  Katherine  Emry,  Reginald 
Denny,  Helene  Thimig  and  others. 

Adult  entertainment. 


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A  REVIEWING  SERVICE  FREE  FROM  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  FILM  ADVERTISING 

Vol.  XXVIII  SATURDAY,  DECEMBER  28,  1946  No.  52 


WALTER  WANGER  MISSED  THE  POINT 

Speaking  at  the  anniversary  dinner  of  Survey 
Associates  in  New  York  on  the  evening  of  December 
3,  Walter  Wanger  condemned  the  proposal  of  the 
United  States  Government  to  allow  the  export  of  only 
such  films  as  will  show  the  best  way  of  life  in  America. 
He  said  partly : 

"What  about  all  these  films  that  should  not  be 
shown  abroad?  The  films,  like  'Grapes  of  Wrath/  that 
expose  the  defects  of  our  social  system,  or  'Mr.  Smith 
Goes  to  Washington/  that  pokes  fun  at  our  Congress, 
or  the  gangster  films  or  any  other  that  belittles  this 
great  country?  It  should  be  obvious  to  anyone  who 
has  had  experience  in  mass  media,  who  really  wants 
the  people  to  know  and  does  not  believe  in  totalitarian' 
ism,  that  the  effect  of  showing  this  type  of  product 
must  be  to  lead  the  people  of  the  world  to  the  conclu' 
sion  that  democracy  does  work,  and  that  only  a  strong 
democracy  can  afford  to  make  this  sort  of  self -critical 
product  for  entertainment  under  a  capitalistic  system. 

"Would  it  be  better  to  show  ourselves  to  our  allies 
and  enemies  as  perfect  men  and  women  with  none  of 
the  human  weaknesses  of  other  people;  to  show  us  as 
a  nation  of  supermen  where  true  equality  exists;  .to 
show  the  United  States  as  a  Utopia?  .  .  ." 

In  reasoning  thus,  Mr.  Wanger  fails,  to  take  into 
consideration  many  factors:  That  those  who  go  to 
see  motion  pictures  believe  as  true  that  which  they 
see  on  the  screen;  that  they  have  no  way  of  finding  out 
that  conditions  in  the  United  States,  as  depicted  in  the 
film,  are  not  general — that  they  prevail  only  in  small 
sections  of  the  country;  that  the  producers,  in  produc- 
ing  a  social  film,  are  inspired  by  motives,  not  of  spread' 
ing  democracy  through  the  world,  but  of  making 
money,  exaggerating  conditions  so  as  to  attract  larger 
crowds  to  the  theatres;  and  that  our  producers  do  not 
show  sufficient  self -control  to  avoid  treating  on  such 
subject  matter  as  would  harm  the  reputation  of  the 
entire  nation. 

When  the  gangster  films  were  prevalent,  the  out- 
side world  thought  that  the  entire  nation  was  in  the 
grip  of  gangsters,  and  that  neither  the  national  govern' 
ment,  nor  the  state  governments,  could  resist  them.  In 
the  case  of  "Mr.  Smith  Goes  to  Washington,"  the 
injustice  done  to  the  members  of  Congress  was  that 
it  made  no  distinction  between  honest  and  dishonest 
members,  and  that  those  abroad  who  saw  the  film 
received  the  impression  that  every  Congressman  was 
venal.  What  about  those  who  were  and  are  perform- 
ing their  duties  honestly  and  conscientiously  and  to 
the  best  of  their  ability?  That  the  film  was  injurious 
to  the  interests  of  the  nation  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  Nazis  aided  and  abetted  its  exhibition  abroad 
before  and  during  the  war.  The  Japanese,  too,  used 
this  picture  for  anti-US.  propaganda  purposes.  In  the 
September  21,  1942  issue  of  Life  magazine,  Phylis 


Argoll,  former  correspondent  on  the  Japanese  T^eivs' 
wee\,  who  returned  to  this  country  on  a  diplomatic 
exchange  ship,  had  this  to  say  with  regard  to  film 
entertainment  in  Tokyo,  where  she  had  been  interned : 
"I  found  no  real  amusement  in  Tokyo.  .  .  .  Most  of 
the  pictures  shown  are  flagrant  propaganda  films,  but 
they  are  showing  some  American  films,  which  they  use 
as  an  anti-U.  S.  weapon.  In  June,  they  were  showing 
'Mr.  Smith  Goes  to  Washington'  as  an  example  of 
the  degeneration  of  American  democracy.  .  . 

Mr.  Wanger  would  have  been  more  convincing  had 
he  not  made  "Scarlet  Street." 


WASHING  DIRTY  LINEN  IN  PUBLIC 

It  seems  as  if  Harry  Cohn,  production  head  of 
Columbia,  and  Charles  Vidor,  one  of  his  directors,  are 
biting  the  hand  that  has  been  feeding  them  all  along. 
The  dirty  linen  that  is  being  washed  by  them  in  a  Los 
Angeles  court,  as  a  result  of  Vidor  s  suit  to  void  his 
contract  with  Columbia,  is  bringing  disgrace  upon  the 
entire  motion  picture  industry  because  of  the  vile 
charges  both  parties  are  hurling  at  one  another,  includ- 
ing their  families.  Some  of  the  testimony  is  so  full  of 
smut  and  vulgarity  that  it  is  unprintable. 

Both  parties  are  making  ridiculous  spectacles  of 
themselves.  Charles  Vidor  seems,  to  this  writer,  to 
have  taken  a  foolish  stand,  and  it  has  come  out  in  court 
that  Harry  Cohn,  when  it  comes  to  using  billingsgate, 
is  a  master. 

Both  these  men  owe  something  to  the  motion  picture 
industry,  which  has  enabled  them  to  enjoy  a  fruitful 
life,  the  kind  they  may  not  have  been  able  to  find  in 
any  other  industry.  The  slime  they  are  now  dragging 
through  the  courts  can  do  neither  themselves  nor  the 
industry  any  good.  It  will,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  feed 
ammunition  to  those  who  seek  to  smear  Hollywood. 


AN  OPPORTUNITY  LOST 

There  is  no  question  that  an  effort  will  be  made  to 
remove  or  reduce  the  twenty  per  cent  tax  on  admis' 
sions  when  the  next  Congress  convenes,  but  whether 
it  will  succeed  or  not,  that  is  another  question.  While 
many  members  of  the  new  Congress  pledged  that  they 
would  bring  about  a  reduction  in  income  taxes,  they 
pledged  also  to  balance  the  budget.  But  balancing  the 
budget  cannot  be  effected  if  taxes  are  to  be  reduced 
everywhere. 

The  time  when  a  reduction  in  amusement  taxes 
could  have  been  effected  has,  in  the  opinion  of  Harri- 
son's Reports,  gone  by.  It  was  when  the  motion 
picture  industry  was  selling  bonds  and  carrying  on 
Government  propaganda.  At  that  time,  both  Congress 
and  the  administration  would  have  heeded  pleas  for 
a  reduction  in  amusement  taxes  from  industry  leaders. 

It  will  take  ten  times  the  effort  to  have  the  ticket 
tax  reduced  now,  and  such  effort  may  still  be  in  vain. 


206 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  28,  1946 


"Dead  Reckoning"  with  Humphrey  Bogart 
and  Lizabeth  Scott 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  100  min.) 
Action  fans  who  can  overlook  a  far-fetched  story, 
in  which  the  long  arm  of  coincidence  plays  a  major 
part,  should  find  this  tough,  fast-moving  melodrama 
highly  satisfying.  Humphrey  Bogart 's  admirers  in 
particular  should  find  it  a  delight,  for  he  is  cast  as  a 
hard-boiled,  fearless  hero,  a  role  that  is  well  suited  to 
his  talents.  One's  interest  is  held  throughout  because 
because  of  the  complexity  of  the  plot;  there  is  some- 
thing exciting  happening  every  minute,  and  several 
of  the  situations  are  thrilling.  It  is  not  a  suitable  en- 
tertainment for  children,  for  the  story  is  somewhat 
sordid  as  to  incident,  and  the  action  is  frequently 
brutal : — 

On  their  way  to  Washington  to  receive  Congres- 
sional medals  for  distinguished  war  service,  Captain 
Humphrey  Bogart,  and  his  pal,  Sergeant  William 
Prince,  are  approached  by  photographers.  Prince 
astounds  Bogart  by  running  away  and  disappearing. 
Bogart  goes  AWOL  in  an  effort  to  find  Prince,  and 
the  trail  leads  him  to  his  buddy's  home  town,  where 
he  learns  that  the  young  man  had  enlisted  under  an 
assumed  name  because  he  was  suspected  of  murder- 
ing the  husband  of  Lizabeth  Scott,  a  cabaret  singer, 
with  whom  he  was  in  love.  That  same  day,  Prince  is 
found  murdered.  Believing  Prince  innocent,  and  de- 
termining to  clear  his  name,  Bogart  sets  out  to  find 
the  killer.  His  investigation  leads  him  to  a  night-club, 
where  he  meets  Lizabeth  and  enlists  her  aid  to  help 
him  solve  the  murders.  In  his  search  for  clues  Bogart 
crosses  paths  with  Morris  Carnovsky,  the  night-club 
owner,  and  Marvin  Miller,  his  sadistic  bodyguard, 
whose  efforts  to  hamper  his  investigation  convinces 
him  of  their  implication  in  the  crimes.  Meanwhile 
Bogart  falls  in  love  with  Lizabeth  but  eyes  her  with 
suspicion.  He  eventually  learns  from  her  that  she  had 
killed  her  husband  in  self-defense  but  that  Prince  had 
insisted  on  taking  the  blame.  She  informs  him  that 
Carnovsky  had  gained  possession  of  the  murder  gun 
and  had  been  blackmailing  her  since.  To  prove  her 
love,  she  agrees  to  help  him  regain  the  gun  in  order  to 
clear  Prince's  name.  Bogart  manages  to  secure  the 
weapon  after  a  terrific  struggle  only  to  find  himself 
looking  into  the  muzzle  of  Lizabeth 's  gun  as  they  drive 
away  from  the  scene;  she  demands  that  he  turn  over 
the  murder  gun  and  shoots  him  when  he  refuses.  Their 
car  crashes.  Lizabeth  dies,  but  Bogart  survives  his 
injuries,  and  clears  his  dead  buddy's  name. 

Oliver  H.  P.  Garrett  and  Steve  Fisher  wrote  the 
screen  play  from  a  story  by  Gerald  Adams  and  Sidney 
Bidell.  Mr.  Bidell  produced  it,  and  John  Cromwell 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Charles  Cane,  Wallace 
Ford  and  others. 


"Mr.  District  Attorney" 
with  Dennis  O'Keefe,  Adolphe  Menjou 
and  Marguerite  Chapman 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  81  min.) 
Although  this  melodrama  features  a  better- than- 
average  cast,  it  does  not  rise  above  the  level  of  ordi- 
nary program  fare.  The  well  known  players,  however, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  story  is  based  on  the 
popular  radio  show  of  the  same  name,  give  the  pic- 
ture added  exploitation  values.  Not  only  is  the  story 
thin,  but  it  lacks  the  element  of  surprise;  it  telegraphs 
each  twist  of  the  plot,  thus  letting  one  know  in  ad- 
vance just  what  will  happen.  Moreover,  it  lacks  real 
excitement,  as  well  as  human  interest  values.  No 


fault  can  be  found  with  the  players,  who  do  their 
best  within  the  limitations  of  the  script,  but  one  can- 
not help  feeling  sorry  for  Michael  O  Shea,  who,  as  a 
wise-cracking  detective,  is  completely  wasted  in  a 
dragged-in  comedy  role: — 

When  Adolphe  Menjou,  a  tough  but  square-shoot- 
ing district  attorney,  overhears  Dennis  O'Keefe,  a 
lawyer,  refuse  to  handle  the  case  of  a  dishonest  client, 
he  persuades  the  young  man  to  accept  a  post  as  assist- 
ant district  attorney  and  assigns  him  to  investigate 
the  alleged  fraudulent  manipulations  of  a  string  of 
organizations  headed  by  George  Coulouris.  Learning 
of  her  employer's  predicament,  Marguerite  Chap- 
man, Coulouris'  secretary,  offers  to  use  her  womanly 
wiles  to  keep  O'Keefe  from  ascertaining  the  true  facts 
about  Coulouris'  enterprises.  Her  charms  have  a  de- 
cided effect  on  O'Keefe,  whose  work  on  several  cases 
involving  Coulouris  suffers.  Menjou,  alarmed,  checks 
into  Marguerite's  background  and  discovers  that  she 
had  been  acquitted  of  a  murder  charge  several  years 
previously.  When  O'Keefe  refuses  to  break  with  her, 
Menjou  sends  him  on  an  extensive  trip.  He  returns  to 
find  her  married  to  Coulouris.  Blaming  Menjou  for 
turning  Marguerite  against  him,  he  quits  his  post  and 
accepts  a  position  as  Coulouris'  lawyer.  In  the  course 
of  events,  Marguerite,  who  wanted  O'Kcefe's  love 
without  giving  up  Coulouris'  wealth,  kills  her  hus- 
band and  several  others  who  stood  in  the  way  of  her 
ambition.  O'Keefe,  by  this  time  suspicious  of  her, 
finds  conclusive  evidence  marking  her  as  a  cold- 
blooded murderess.  She  offers  him  her  love  and  ill- 
gotton  wealth  to  run  away  with  her,  but  he  spurns  her 
offer  and  makes  it  clear  that  he  intended  to  turn  her 
over  to  Menjou.  Infuriated,  she  tries  to  kill  him,  only 
to  fall  to  her  death  during  a  brief  scuffle. 

Ian  McClellan  Hunter  wrote  the  screen  play  from 
a  story  by  Sidney  Marshall,  Samuel  Bischoff  pro- 
duced it,  and  Robert  B.  Sinclair  directed  it.  The  cast 
includes  Jeff  Donnell,  Steve  Geray,  Ralph  Morgan 
and  others.  Adult  entertainment. 


"Lady  Chaser"  with  Robert  Lowery 
and  Ann  Savage 

(PRC,  November  25;  time,  58  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  program  melodrama,  re- 
volving around  a  young  man's  efforts  to  solve  a  mur- 
der in  order  to  clear  his  sweetheart.  It  is  suitable 
mostly  for  the  action  fans  in  secondary  theatres  who 
should  find  enough  excitement  in  it  to  satisfy  them. 
The  story  is,  however,  so  confusing  and  illogical  that 
discriminating  patrons  may  find  it  tiresome.  The  ac- 
tion moves  at  a  brisk  pace,  and  the  suspense  is  main- 
tained to  a  fair  degree  since  the  murderer  is  not  un- 
masked until  the  end.  His  identity,  however,  does  not 
come  as  a  surprise : — 

Feeling  a  slight  headache,  Inez  Cooper,  while  in  a 
department  store,  accepts  an  aspirin  tablet  from  Ann 
Savage,  a  total  stranger.  She  does  not  use  the  pill  and, 
several  days  later,  gives  it  to  her  uncle,  who  dies.  An 
autopsy  discloses  that  the  pill  had  been  poisoned,  and 
Inez,  unable  to  prove  where  she  got  it,  is  convicted  of 
murder.  Robert  Lowery,  her  fiance,  sets  out  to  prove 
her  innocence  and  is  promised  full  aid  by  Frank 
Ferguson,  Inez's  attorney.  Meanwhile  Ann,  reading 
about  the  murder  case,  realizes  that  the  poisoned  pill 
had  been  meant  for  her,  and  that  it  had  been  placed 
in  her  bag  by  a  person  she  was  blackmailing.  Panic 
stricken,  she  goes  into  hiding.  In  the  meantime 
Lowery  checks  Inez's  story  about  how  she  got  the  pill, 
and  through  Marie  Martino,  a  maid  in  the  department 
store,  gets  a  description  of  Ann.  Aided  by  Ferguson, 


December  28,  1946 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


207 


Lowery  begins  an  intensive  search  for  Ann,  meeting 
with  failure  until  he  receives  a  telegram  from  her 
informing  him  of  her  address.  He  finds  her,  but  she 
denies  sending  the  wire.  Just  then  Ferguson  arrives 
and,  at  the  point  of  a  gun,  demands  that  Ann  turn 
over  to  him  the  documents  with  which  she  had  been 
blackmailing  him.  Aware  now  that  Ferguson  had 
given  Ann  the  pill  that  had  caused  the  death  of  Inez's 
uncle,  Lowery  subdues  him  in  a  hectic  struggle.  Both 
Ann  and  Ferguson  are  arrested,  and  Inez,  released 
from  prison,  starts  life  anew  with  Lowery. 

Fred  Myton  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story  by 
G.  T.  Fleming-Roberts,  Sigmund  Neufeld  produced 
it,  and  Sam  Newfield  directed  it.  Unobjectionable 
morally. 

"The  Man  I  Love"  with  Ida  Lupino,  Robert 
Alda,  Andrea  King  and  Bruce  Bennett 

(Warner  Bros.,  January  1 1;  time,  96  min.) 

A  fairly  good  romantic  melodrama,  the  sort  that  is 
best  suited  for  adult  audiences  because  of  its  sexy 
overtones,  as  well  as  of  the  fact  that  certain  parts  of 
it  are  quite  sordid.  Revolving  around  a  hardened  but 
kind-hearted  night-club  singer,  whose  efforts  to  ad' 
just  her  family's  problems  involve  her  with  a  con' 
scienceless  racketeer,  the  story,  which  is  interwoven 
with  several  sub-plots,  "wanders  all  over  the  lot"  and 
ends  up  with  several  loose  ends;  yet  it  holds  one's 
interest  fairly  well,  mainly  because  of  the  competent 
performances.  The  action  is  slow-moving,  but  it  has 
good  dialogue  and  on  occasion  is  quite  emotional  be- 
cause of  the  heroine's  unrequited  love  for  a  once' 
famus  jazz  pianist.  Ida  Lupino,  as  the  heroine,  gives  a 
versatile  performance,  and  she  is  extremely  good  in 
her  rendition  of  several  popular  "torch"  songs,  which 
she  sings  in  a  throaty,  sobbing  voice.  The  story's 
romantic  sentiment  gives  it  definite  feminine  appeal. 
It  is  not,  however,  a  cheerful  entertainment,  for  the 
doings  of  the  characters  give  the  picture  a  morbid  tone. 

Arriving  in  Los  Angeles  to  spend  the  Christmas 
holidays  with  her  family,  Ida  finds  them  beset  with 
problems.  Andrea  King,  her  sister,  whose  husband 
was  confined  to  an  army  hospital  with  shellshock, 
and  who  worked  as  a  waitress  to  support  herself  and 
her  little  boy,  was  being  pursued  by  Robert  Alda,  a 
cocky  night-club  operator,  who  had  intimated  that, 
not  only  she,  but  also  her  wayward  brother  (Warren 
Dougles) ,  who,  too,  worked  for  him,  would  lose  their 
jobs  unless  she  was  nice  to  him.  Determined  to  put 
Alda  in  his  place,  Ida  flirts  with  him  and  secures  a 
job  as  a  singer  in  his  club.  His  infatuation  for  her 
keeps  him  in  line  until  Ida  falls  in  love  with  Bruce 
Bennett,  a  once-famous  pianist,  whose  inability  to 
forget  his  former  wife  had  ruined  his  career.  Unable 
to  break  up  Ida's  romance  with  Bennett,  Alda  amuses 
himself  with  Dolores  Moran,  "two-timing"  wife  of 
Don  McGuire,  a  close  friend  of  Ida's  family.  He  soon 
tires  of  Dolores  and  orders  Ida's  brother  to  take  her 
home.  Intoxicated,  Dolores  jumps  from  the  young 
man's  car  and  is  killed.  Alda  blames  the  brother  for 
her  death  and  threatens  to  inform  the  police  unless 
Ida  becomes  his  mistress.  He  changes  his  mind,  how- 
ever, when  Ida  saves  him  from  being  shot  by  McGuire, 
who  had  learned  of  his  affair  with  his  wife.  Having 
saved  her  brother  from  being  falsely  accused  of  mur- 
der, and  having  prevented  McGuire  from  committing 
murder,  Ida  completes  Andrea's  happiness  by  seeing 
to  it  that  she  is  reunited  with  her  husband,  whose  ail' 
ment  had  been  cured.  Her  family's  problems  solved, 
Ida  turns  to  her  romance  with  Bennett. 

Catherine  Turney  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a 


novel  by  Maritta  Wolf,  Arnold  Albert  produced  it, 
and  Raoul  Walsh  directed  it.  The  cast  includes  John 
Ridgely,  Alan  Hale,  Martha  Vickers  and  others. 


"Humoresque"  with  Joan  Crawford 
and  John  Garfield 

(Warner  Bros.,  January  25;  time,  125  min.) 

A  strong  romantic  tragedy.  It  is  strictly  adult  fare, 
but  it  should  prove  to  be  an  outstanding  box-office  at' 
traction  because  of  the  popularity  of  the  two  stars. 
First  produced  by  Paramount  in  1920,  Fanny  Hurst's 
familiar  story  about  the  rise  of  an  East  Side  concert 
violinist  has  been  changed  considerably.  The  earlier 
version  was  deeply  appealing  because  it  stressed  a 
mother's  self-sacrifice  to  develop  her  son's  musical 
talents.  This  version,  too,  has  its  appealing  moments 
along  those  lines,  but  for  the  most  part  it  is  depressing 
because  it  concentrates  mainly  on  the  young  man's 
romantic  relationship  with  an  unhappily  maried  sc 
ciety  woman,  whose  protege  he  had  become,  and  on 
the  emotional  conflict  both  go  through  because  of  his 
mother's  objections  to  their  love  affair.  Although  the 
story  is  powerfully  dramatic  in  spots,  it  is  not  as  good 
as  it  should  have  been  for  such  a  capable  pair  of  play- 
ers as  Joan  Crawford  and  John  Garfield.  Their  artis' 
tic  acting,  however,  compensates  for  the  story's  short' 
comings,  and  women  in  particular  should  find  it  to 
their  liking.  As  a  frustrated  woman  addicted  to  drink, 
Miss  Crawford's  role  is  unsympathetic,  but  her  in' 
ability  to  find  happiness  in  her  genuine  love  for  the 
hero  rouses  one's  compassion.  Garfield,  as  the  restless 
violinist  torn  between  devotion  to  his  mother  and  love 
for  Miss  Crawford,  is  very  effective.  But  the  one  who 
practically  walks  away  with  the  picture  is  Oscar 
Levant,  as  Garfield's  close  friend  and  counselor,  whose 
witty  gags  and  remarks  frequently  give  the  slow' 
moving  proceedings  a  badly-needed  lift.  The  picture 
should  have  a  particular  appeal  to  the  lovers  of  good 
music,  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  footage  is  inter' 
polated  with  violin  solo  and  concerto  renditions  of 
classical  favorites,  splendidly  played: — 

Garfield,  a  gifted  violinist  educated  by  the  self' 
sacrifice  of  his  mother  (Ruth  Nelson) ,  continues  his 
musical  training  throughout  the  depression,  oblivious 
to  the  struggles  of  his  father  (J.  Carrol  Naish)  to 
provide  a  livelihood  for  the  family.  A  family  discus- 
sion about  his  idleness  stings  Garfield  into  action  and 
he  induces  his  friend,  Oscar  Levant,  a  radio  pianist, 
to  get  him  a  job  with  a  broadcasting  orchestra.  Gar' 
field,  a  perfectionist,  quarrels  with  the  conductor  and 
loses  his  job.  To  help  Garfield  forget  his  troubles, 
Levant  takes  him  to  a  swank  party  given  by  Joan,  a 
beautiful  woman,  who  sought  to  forget  her  unhappy 
marriage  to  Paul  Cavanagh  by  sponsoring  unrecog- 
nized talent,  and  by  drinking  to  excess.  She  takes  an 
interest  in  Garfield  and  finances  his  debut  in  the  musi' 
cal  world.  He  gains  recognition  and  both  fall  in  love, 
but  his  relations  with  her  causes  his  family  to  break 
with  him.  Meanwhile  Cavanagh  offers  to  divorce  her. 
Garfield,  delighted,  asks  her  to  marry  him  and  per- 
suades her  to  stop  drinking.  Garfield's  mother,  how- 
ever, still  disapproves  of  the  marriage  on  moral 
grounds.  Dejected,  Joan  resumes  her  drinking  and,  as 
the  radio  blares  forth  the  strains  of  Garfield's  violin 
as  he  performs  at  his  greatest  concert,  she  drunkenly 
walks  into  the  sea  and  commits  suicide.  Garfield, 
heartbroken,  turns  to  his  music  for  solace. 

Clifford  Odets  and  Zachary  Gold  wrote  the  screen 
play,  Jerry  Wald  produced  it,  and  Jean  Negulesco 
directed  it.  The  cast  includes  Joan  Chandler,  Tom 
D'Andrea,  Bobby  Blake,  Richard  Gaines  and  others. 


208 


HARRISON'S  REPORTS 


December  28,  1946 


ARE  EXHIBITORS  AS  EXHIBITORS 
QUALIFIED  TO  GIVE  ADVICE 
TO  PRODUCERS? 

According  to  a  recent  issue  of  Film  Daily,  a  Detroit 
exhibitor  suggested  that  a  practical  exhibitor  be  sta' 
tioncd  at  each  studio  as  a  production  consultant,  be- 
cause  such  an  exhibitor  has  felt  the  pulse  of  the  public 
and  his  opinions  would  help  the  producers. 

Such  an  idea  has  been  proposed  at  different  times, 
but  it  is  apparent  that  the  studio  heads  have  paid  no 
attention  to  it,  and  properly  so,  for  an  exhibitor  is  just 
as  qualified  to  advise  the  producers  how  to  make  pic- 
tures as  a  layman  is  to  perform  a  surgery  operation. 
Production  is  a  specialised  business,  and,  before  any 
person  can  be  placed  into  a  position  that  will  enable 
him  to  render  competent  advice,  that  person  would 
require  special  training.  The  fact  that  such  a  person 
is  an  exhibitor  docs  not  qualify  him  for  the  task,  unless, 
of  course,  he  has  had  dramatic  training. 

How  much  fitted  arc  exhibitors  to  advise  producers 
on  what  stories  to  adopt  and  what  to  reject  may  be 
determined  by  the  following  incident:  Several  years 
ago,  Motion  Picture  Herald  sent  an  inquiry  to  many 
exhibitors  as  to  what  stories,  books  or  plays  they 
thought  should  be  made  into  pictures  and  the  answers 
proved  conclusively  that  they  are  not,  as  exhibitors, 
qualified  to  make  selections,  for  the  recommendations 
made,  if  they  had  been  adopted  by  the  producers, 
would  have  bankrupted  every  company. 


"The  Lone  Wolf  in  Mexico"  with 
Gerald  Mohr  and  Eric  Blore 

(Columbia,  no  release  date  set;  time,  69  mm.) 

Second  of  the  new  "Lone  Wolf"  series  starring 
Gerald  Mohr,  this  murder-mystery  melodrama,  like 
its  predecessor,  is  only  mildly  entertaining  program 
fare.  It  has  little  to  recommend  it,  for  the  story  is  thin, 
boresome,  and  long-drawn  out,  is  given  more  to  talk 
than  to  action,  and  the  spectator  is  never  really  in 
doubt  as  to  the  murderer's  identity.  Even  the  perform- 
ances are  barely  passable,  but  this  is  probably  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  players  were  unable  to  cope  with  the 
material  on  hand.  All  in  all,  it  has  the  earmarks  of  a 
picture  that  was  made  in  a  hurry,  with  little  or  no 
regard  paid  to  the  story's  implausibilities. 

Visiting  Mexico  City  with  Eric  Blore,  his  valet, 
Gerald  Mohr,  a  reformed  international  jewel  thief, 
runs  into  Jacqueline  De  Wit  and  Bernard  Nedell,  a 
pair  of  crooks  he  had  met  in  Paris.  Nedell,  a  croupier 
at  a  gambling  casino  operated  by  John  Gallaudet,  asks 
Mohr  to  meet  him  there  to  discuss  an  important  propo- 
sition. At  the  club,  Mohr  makes  the  acquaintance  of 
Sheila  Ryan,  whose  husband  was  a  wealthy  jewelry 
merchant.  Sheila  had  been  losing  heavily,  and  she  had 
left  her  jewels  with  Gallaudet  as  security  for  her  losses. 
Later,  when  Mohr  keeps  his  appointment  with  Nedell, 
the  croupier  is  shot  dead  mysteriously.  On  the  follow- 
ing day,  Sheila,  through  trickery,  blackmails  Mohr 
into  agreeing  to  steal  her  jewels  from  Gallaudet 's  safe. 
Mohr  discovers  that  her  diamonds  had  been  replaced 
with  imitation  stones.  Sheila,  however,  gives  the  jewels 
to  her  husband  then  arranges  for  Mohr  to  re-steal  them 
and  return  them  to  Gallaudet 's  safe.  On  the  following 
day  Sheila,  after  attempting  to  blackmail  Gallaudet 
because  of  the  stolen  jewels,  is  killed  under  circum- 


stances that  make  it  appear  as  if  Mohr  was  the  mur- 
derer. Compelled  to  clear  himself  of  the  murder 
charge,  Mohr,  aided  by  Nestor  Paiva,  the  police  chief, 
investigates  Gallaudct's  gambling  operations  and  dis- 
covers that  he  fleeced  rich  women  in  order  to  gain 
custody  of  their  jewels,  which  he  smuggled  into  the 
United  States  after  matching  them  with  imitation 
stones.  He  tricks  the  gambler  into  admitting  the  thefts 
and  discovers  that  Jacqueline,  who  was  in  league  with 
him,  had  murdered  Sheila  and  Nedell  to  stop  them 
from  exposing  both  Gallaudet  and  herself. 

Maurice  Tombragel  and  Martin  Goldsmith  wrote 
the  screen  play  from  a  story  by  Phil  Magee,  Sanford 
Cummings  produced  it,  and  D.  Ross  Ledcrman  di- 
rected it. 

Adult  entertainment. 


"Alias  Mr.  Twilight"  with  Lloyd  Corrigan 
Michael  Duane  and  Trudy  Marshall 

(Columbia,  Dec.  24;  time,  69  min.) 

A  moderately  entertaining  program  melodrama.  It 
is  demoralizing,  however,  in  that  it  glorifies  a  criminal 
— a  confidence  man.  The  producers  have  attempted  to 
build  up  sympathy  for  him  by  showing  him  to  be  an 
affable  man,  whose  chief  concern  was  the  welfare  of 
his  six -year-old  granddaughter,  whose  parents  had 
died.  Whatever  sympathy  one  feels  for  him,  however, 
is  neutralized  by  the  criminal  acts  he  commits.  A  par- 
ticularly demoralizing  feature  of  the  picture  is  that  it 
goes  into  minute  detail  in  its  depiction  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  carries  out  his  different  swindle  schemes. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  picture  serves  to  make  crime 
attractive  because  of  the  ease  with  which  the  swindler 
carries  through  his  nefarious  deeds: — 

Lloyd  Corrigan,  an  affable  confidence  man,  leaves 
his  granddaughter  (Gi-Gi  Perreau)  in  the  care  of 
Trudy  Marshall,  her  nurse,  while  he  makes  frequent 
"business"  trips.  Michael  Duane,  Trudy's  boy  friend, 
who  was  a  detective  assigned  to  the  Bunco  squad,  be- 
comes suspicious  of  Corrigan's  business  trips  when  he 
discovers  that  Corrigan,  who  claimed  to  have  been  in 
San  Francisco,  had  visited  instead  San  Diego,  where 
several  swindles  had  been  committed  during  his  ab- 
sence. Duane  secures  conclusive  evidence  of  Corrigan's 
connection  with  the  crimes  and  advises  Trudy  to  leave 
his  employ.  But  Trudy,  concerned  over  the  grand- 
daughter's welfare,  informs  Corrigan  of  Duane's  plan 
to  arrest  him.  Meanwhile  Rosalind  Ivan,  Corrigan's 
unscrupulous  cousin,  was  attempting  to  blackmail  him 
by  threatening  to  expose  his  activities  and  thus  cause 
him  to  lose  custody  of  his  granddaughter.  Corrigan 
decides  to  commit  one  more  crime,  the  smuggling  into 
to  the  country  of  counterfeit  money,  as  a  means  of 
solving  his  problems.  Aware  that  Duane  was  watching 
his  every  move,  Corrigan  smuggles  in  the  money  and 
gives  part  of  it  to  Rosalind  as  blackmail  money.  As 
planned  by  Corrigan,  Rosalind  is  caught  with  the 
money  and  is  accused  by  Duane  of  being  Corrigan's 
confederate.  Corrigan  "admits"  her  complicity  in  the 
crime,  and  it  all  ends  with  Rosalind  joining  him  on  the 
trip  to  jail,  and  with  Trudy  and  Duane  gaining  cus- 
tody of  the  granddaughter,  with  Corrigan's  blessing. 

Brenda  Weisberg  wrote  the  screen  play  from  a  story 
by  Arthur  E.  Orloff,  John  Haggott  produced  it,  and 
John  Sturges  directed  it. 

Definitely  not  for  children. 


Scanned  from  the  collection  of  the 

Karl  Thiede 


Coordinated  by  the 
Media  History  Digital  Library 
www.mediahistoryproject.org 


Funded  by  a  donation  from 
Matthew  Bernstein