1942: Motion Pictures

Well-Known Figures in Armed Services.

A variety of perplexing war problems confronted motion picture producers in 1942, a year in which the screen offerings in key city theatres attracted an unprecedented number of patrons.

Among these problems was that of manpower, the loss of box-office 'names,' a 25 per cent cut in raw stock (film) by the War Production Board, the effect of priorities on material for studio sets, and the ceiling on salaries.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 persons engaged in different ways in the motion picture industry are now in military service, besides hundreds of men and women who have abandoned the studios for war plants. Those close to Hollywood activities assert that more than 3,000 film technicians — camera men, electricians and other skilled workers — have been called into the armed services.

But, according to Jack Alicoate, publisher of Film Daily, the most disturbing feature of the manpower problem concerns the loss of established 'names' — actors, producers, directors and writers — to the armed forces. Some of the topnotch players now in uniform include Robert Montgomery, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Clark Gable, James Stewart, Tyrone Power, Gene Autry, Victor Mature. Producers who are in the services include such men as Maj. Hal Roach, Capt. John Hay Whitney, Maj. Jack Warner, Maj. Sam Briskin, Col. Darryl F. Zanuck. Listed from the writers' ranks are Col. Tristam Tupper, Maj. Robert Pressnell and Capt. Jerome Chodorov.

Camp Entertainment.

In the report of the Victory Committee, it was set forth that 1,141 screen stars were drawn from the free talent pool to help the war effort; the individual appearances during the twelve months totaled 6,828. Four hundred and seventy-four film players took part in 222 live broadcasts; 507 participated in the recording of 111 radio transcriptions, 56 of which were for the War Department.

Mr. Alicoate, in his review of 1942, says that the Victory Committee's plans for 1943 call for even more extensive operations from performers, and announcement has been made that players will be sent to 700 Army camps throughout the nation early in that year. Also more than one hundred 'personalities' are to be sent to fighting areas overseas. Calls from other Federal agencies are expected to be met with the fullest extent of available talent.

Arthur W. Kelly, a vice-president of United Artists Pictures Corporation who has had long experience in the foreign field, pointed out that keeping the populace going at full tilt at war work calls for entertainment for them during their leisure periods. This, he explained, did not mean the deferment of male stars from being put into uniform, but it did mean their temporary return to the studios when they were needed.

Up to the end of 1942, none of the male stars had received furloughs to return to work in the studios, but it is believed these screen favorites will eventually be permitted to have leave to appear in pictures, just as was done in Britain.

Saving of Film Stock.

Great economy has been effected in the use of negative and positive film stock, with the result that millions of feet have been saved; in fact, it has been stated that motion pictures are virtually edited before the turning of the camera.

The 25 per cent cut in raw stock brought about a further economy in the use of film; those in charge of the five newsreels entered into an agreement limiting the length of their issues to 750 feet.

Salary Ceilings.

So far as the $25,000 net salary ceiling, and the gross of $67,200, are concerned, complications and misunderstandings have arisen. It is a question as to whether the star's contract is abrogated under the new order. Producers and actors claim that there should be an understanding or clarification of matters pertaining to salaries between them and the Government. If a star does not wish to work for the salary, which is a saving for the producer, the studios may have to seek new talent. However, players as a rule do not wish to cancel their contracts, but they are opposed to the idea of the producers pocketing the salary money over and above the $67,200. They would prefer to give the surplus to the Government.

Censorship.

Toward the end of 1942, the Federal authorities made it known that they wanted to read all motion picture scenarios before a picture was started. This, it was said, was done to make certain that no military secrets crept into films, and also to prevent the picturing of certain locations and sky views of certain cities and towns, which are sometimes used for established backgrounds. There was no resentment on the part of producers so long as this supervision of scripts was confined to military matters and not designed to start complete censorship.

Government Instruction Films.

Walt Disney devoted a good deal of his studio's time to the production of colored drawings for the Government. Col. Zanuck, at the end of the year, was assembling and editing a motion picture record taken by his film unit, of the United Nations landing operations in North Africa. This record is of sea, air, and land activities. Part of the time Col. Zanuck's men worked with a tommy gun and the rest of the time cranked the camera.

Courses in Motion Picture Work.

Because of the increasing shortage of skilled motion picture technicians, the New York University Washington Square College of Arts and Sciences is to sponsor the first course in film editing and cutting to be offered in the East. The course will include lectures and laboratory work to be given two evenings a week at the workrooms of RKO-Path‚ News under the direction of Harold H. Bonafield.

Awards to Major Films.

Noel Coward took the American public as well as the critics by storm with his brilliant English-made screen production, In Which We Serve, which was presented at New York City's Capitol Theater on Dec. 23. It is doubtful whether any picture has ever received the fanfare of plaudits accorded this one. Less than a week after the opening performance, it was awarded the accolade of the New York Film Critics' Circle. Its chief rival was Paramount's Wake Island, described as a savage and uncompromising tragedy about the group of U. S. Marines that fought so gallantly against overwhelming odds on Wake Island.

The Coward production is the tragic story of a British destroyer and her crew, at home and afloat, in fights and on leave. Bosley Crowther, screen critic of the New York Times, wrote: 'It is a fine and eloquent expression of British courage and unity in this war. As played by Noel Coward, Bernard Miles, John Mills, Joyce Carey, Celia Johnson and an almost flawless cast, it is one of the most stirring and poignant films ever made.'

Howard Barnes, film critic of the New York Herald Tribune, wrote: 'This Noel Coward Saga of a British destroyer, valiantly fighting its way to eventual destruction through those early desperate years of the war, is great in every right sense of a badly misused adjective.'

It is interesting to note that the critics of these two newspapers in naming the Best Ten pictorial productions of 1942, for the full calendar year, agreed on seven. They were: In Which We Serve; Wake Island; Yankee Doodle, a colorful biography of the late George M. Cohan; Mrs. Miniver; Woman of the Year, a bright screen comedy; One of our Aircraft is Missing, a film about British fliers downed in Holland and their efforts to escape, produced in England by Michael Powell who was responsible for an earlier film, The Invaders; Casablanca, a tough and exciting melodrama directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers.

In addition to these, the Times critic liked Journey for Margaret, based on a story by William L. White, author of They Were Expendable; Charles Chaplin's re-issue in sound of the old Gold Rush, and Sullivan's Travels, a satire by Preston Sturges.

The Herald Tribune's other three were Walt Disney's Bambi; Holiday Inn, described as a 'musical melange'; and Moontide, a somber story of outcasts on the Pacific coast waterfront.

Five hundred and fifty-five critics throughout the country, in the Film Daily's poll, voted for Mrs. Miniver as the outstanding picture of the fiscal year — from Nov. 1, 1941, to Oct. 31, 1942. Five hundred votes were given to How Green Was My Valley.

Radio City Music Hall.

The Radio City Music Hall, under the direction of G. S. Eyssell, who succeeded the late W. G. Van Schmus, had its most successful year since its opening ten years ago. Known as the world's largest theater, seating 6,200 persons, this great entertainment center presented only fifteen pictures for the full twelve months. This tops a record of hold-over engagements made in 1941, when the Music Hall played a total of 26 screen offerings.

Beginning in August 1942, Mrs. Miniver won more laurels by staying at the Music Hall for ten weeks and playing to an audience of 1,500,013 persons who paid $1,431,500 in admissions. The previous high mark was held by Philadelphia Story which had a six-week run in 1941, played to 815,470 persons, and grossed $590,472. Other six-week run photoplays at the Music Hall were Rebecca, in April-May 1940, and The Woman of the Year, in March-April 1942.

1941: Motion Pictures

Contribution to the National War Effort.

Among the interesting aspects of the year 1941 in motion pictures was the production of a series of Army training films under the supervision of the Research Council of the Motion Picture Academy, of which Lieutenant Colonel Darryl F. Zanuck, production head of Twentieth Century-Fox, is chairman. George Shaefer and Francis S. Harmon, as heads of a trade national defense organization, established the War Activities Committee Motion Picture Industry immediately after the United States declared war on the Axis powers. Aside from these angles, a number of Hollywood veterans have for several months been assisting Lieutenant-Colonel M. E. Gillette and Major Robert Presnell in the regular army laboratory at Fort Monmouth, N. J. American news reels have also been found useful in the defense program.

Jack Alicoate, publisher of Film Daily, stressed the importance of the motion picture theatre in the war program, for not only will its screen be used for entertainment, but it will also, as usual, serve drives for the Red Cross and other campaigns. The motion picture theatres were mainly responsible, in 1941, for the raising of $1,000,000 for the United Service organizations.

Production of 'Citizen Kane.'

The past year brought forth several excellent productions, although there was in many cases too much pandering to the box-office. When it came to the merits of various productions, there was the expected difference of opinion among critics, but, with the exception of the Hearst papers, there was overwhelming acclaim for Citizen Kane, a film which Orson Welles not only wrote and directed, but in which he played the leading role. This production was chosen by the New York Film Critics and the National Board of Review as the premier contribution of 1941.

Mr. Welles' technique in unfurling his story was somewhat similar to that of the old Lasky production, Power and the Glory. He had various characters recount incidents in the life of a mighty newspaper owner who had just died. However, Mr. Welles undoubtedly improved on the earlier film and introduced a striking psychological twist which kept his audience guessing.

Awards to Major Films and Players.

The picturization of the Richard Llewellyn novel, How Green Was My Valley, done in orthodox style, also aroused praise from all quarters. It was the foremost competitor of Citizen Kane among the New York Film Critics in the balloting for the year's outstanding screen offering. Sergeant York, a picture dealing with the experiences of the A. E. F. hero of heroes in World War I, also was considered in the voting and was mentioned in most of the newspaper writers' Best Ten lists.

Target For Tonight was a remarkable film. It was made in England and all its participants were active members of the Royal Air Force. Unfortunately, this splendid presentation was only half the length of the average feature film and, therefore, most of the film critics, while appreciating its undeniable merits, dismissed it as a documentary production. It is rare that a pictorial story is presented that can be termed actually flawless. Target For Tonight, however, was perfect in every detail; its suspense, its natural humor, the demeanor of the RAF men, and the depiction of their ground activities. This picture dealt with RAF bombers flying to Berlin to bomb strategic centers in the German capital. Naturally, certain aspects of the film were staged, but these incidents, coupled with glimpses of blazing structures, were duplicated amazingly well.

Target For Tonight seemed all too short, but those responsible for it evidently thought that this forthright drama might be spoiled by attempting to stretch it to feature length. It is to the credit of the film critic of the New York Times, Bosley Crowther, that he saw fit to include this production in his list of the year's outstanding pictures.

Mr. Crowther also did not fail to remember the excellence of another picture made in England — the film version of George Bernard Shaw's play, Major Barbara. The presentation of this sterling work was a notable occasion, for it was produced as effectively as that other Shaw film, Pygmalion. And what added to the interest of the evening — and many other evenings and afternoons — was the foreword spoken by the author's shadow. Notwithstanding his advanced age, Shaw revealed by his facial expressions and actions, his relish of his own comments. He began by saying: 'I am sending you my old plays, just as you are sending us your old destroyers. Our Government has very kindly thrown in a few naval bases as well ...'

The other eight productions on the Times critic's Best Ten, were:

The Lady Eve, written and directed by Preston Sturges, from a story by Monckton Hoffe, with Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in the leading roles.

Citizen Kane, in which other noteworthy players, besides the redoubtable Welles, were Dorothy Comingore and Everett Sloane.

Sergeant York, written by Abem Finkel, Harry Chandlee, Howard Koch and John Huston; directed by Howard Hawks, with Gary Cooper in the title role.

The Stars Look Down, based on the novel by A. J. Cronin and produced in England. The principal players were Emlyn Williams, Michael Redgrave and Nancy Price.

Dumbo, a charming Walt Disney feature-length cartoon.

How Green Was My Valley, directed by John Ford, with Donald Crisp, Walter Pidgeon and Roddy McDowall heading the cast.

One Foot in Heaven, adapted from the biography written by Hartzell Spence, directed by Irving Rapper. Fredric March and Martha Scott were the leading performers.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan, based on an unproduced play by Harry Segall and directed by Alexander Hall. The outstanding players were Robert Montgomery, James Gleason and Claude Rains.

As has been their custom, the New York Film Critics also voted on other awards, for acting and direction. The best performance by an actress was won by Joan Fontaine for her portrayal in Suspicion, a picture that held its own on some of the lists of foremost films. Gary Cooper's performance in Sergeant York was voted the best actor's work. Although Orson Welles' Citizen Kane carried off the honors for the outstanding screen offering, the direction award fell to John Ford, for his handling of How Green Was My Valley. This is the fourth time he has won this accolade.

Leading Money Makers and Stars.

In its last issue of the year, Variety, the well-known amusement publication named the biggest money-making pictures, stars and directors, from December 1940, to December 1941. It should be pointed out that quite a number of productions had not been released long enough to be considered on these lists.

The biggest gross money for the year was taken in by Sergeant York. Then came: The Great Dictator, Honky Tonk, A Yank in the RAF, Philadelphia Story, Dive Bomber, Caught in the Draft, Charley's Aunt, Men of Boys Town and Andy Hardy's Private Secretary.

The leading money-making stars were: Gary Cooper, Abbott and Costello, Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, Bob Hope, Charles Chaplin, Dorothy Lamour, Spencer Tracy, Jack Benny and Bing Crosby.

Up to the time this survey was made, Sergeant York was said to have grossed in the domestic market more than $4,000,000; Chaplin's The Great Dictator had taken $2,750,000 in the United States and Canada, and around $1,500,000 in Britain; Honky Tonk had box-office receipts amounting to $2,500,000, and A Yank in the RAF about the same sum.

According to the annual poll of the Motion Picture Herald, the ten most popular screen idols are: Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable, Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope, Spencer Tracy, Gene Autry, Gary Cooper, Bette Davis, James Cagney and Judy Garland. Mickey holds first place for the third consecutive time in this particular survey.

Investments and Prices Paid By Major Film Companies.

Loew's Inc., net profit for the company's fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 1941, was, according to Variety, $11,134,593, which is the best showing since 1937, when the figure was $14,426,062. Twentieth Century-Fox was expected to have a $4,000,000 net profit. Figures on the profits of other major companies were not listed then.

Warner Brothers was the heaviest investor in the 1940-1941 plays, according to Variety. This producing concern paid nearly $500,000 for five theatrical productions and $18,000 for two other shows. Paramount was not far behind, paying $475,000 for three plays, including $285,000 for Lady in the Dark and $150,000 for Louisiana Purchase. Columbia spent $344,000, the largest payment being made for My Sister Eileen, which was $225,000. Twentieth Century-Fox bought the screen rights to Tobacco Road, for $200,000, plus a percentage arrangement, and Charley's Aunt, for a reported $110,000.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired three stage shows for $225,000, two of which were the musical comedies, Du Barry Was a Lady — $80,000, and Panama Hattie — $130,000. Metro also invested $50,000 for Bittersweet, which goes back to 1929, and $15,000 for Red Hot and Blue, a 1936 musical comedy.

Universal bought only one stage production at that time. It was Hellzapoppin, for which $200,000 is said to have been paid, plus 40 per cent of the net receipts. David O. Selznick gave $137,500 for Claudia.

Other Awards and Distinctions.

Film Daily as usual conducted its annual poll of critics throughout the country and owing to its late release after being road showed, Gone With the Wind came out first, with 452 votes. Its nearest competitor was the more recently produced Sergeant York, which received 413 votes. Philadelphia Story was third, with 341. Then came Citizen Kane, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Little Foxes, Kitty Foyle, The Great Dictator, Meet John Doe and Blossoms in the Dust.

According to published figures of receipts, Gone With the Wind, has grossed more than $18,000,000 in the domestic market and around $25,000,000 in the world market. This amazingly successful film venture repeats as the old sentimental plays did, and, it is conjectured, it may be in circulation for another five or six years.

The little Fifth Avenue Playhouse attracted great crowds at the beginning of 1941 with its screening of old Chaplin comedies, the interest in them being increased owing to the release of his production The Great Dictator.

Philadelphia Story may have been third in the national vote of critics, but it was a first for New York's Radio City Music Hall. This worthy film was mentioned in these columns last year, as it happened to be showing just after that first of January. However, it is interesting to note that it rivaled Rebecca in staying at this immense theatre for six weeks. It was witnessed at the Radio City Music Hall by 875,475 persons and the receipts for that period were $594,000.

The second most popular picture at this theatre was That Hamilton Woman, which stayed for four weeks. Then came the film of the play, The Little Foxes.

Just before the close of 1941, RKO decided to make a film of the life of the late Major General William Mitchell, early advocate of military aviation, who was posthumously made a major general by Congress. His outspoken advocacy of air armament led to his reduction in rank in 1926 and subsequent resignation from the Army. He died in 1936. This biographical picture will be produced by William Hawks and it may be titled General Billy Mitchell.

The New York Times having noted its Ten Best selection, also undertook to publish on the same page the major films it considered, or the critic did, the Ten Worst. First came the screen version of Hellzapoppin, referred to as a 'frantic gibberish of stage gags.' On this list also were: The Shanghai Gesture. Sundown, This Woman is Mine, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Shepherd of the Hills, One Night in Lisbon, Pot of Gold, Tobacco Road, and Hudson's Bay.

See also MUSIC.

1940: Motion Pictures

Although the war virtually eliminated Europe and Asia as profitable markets for American screen attractions, motion picture producers, as was predicted in the early days of 1940, turned out their usual average number of productions. By concentrating on the domestic market, which, of course, includes the Dominion of Canada, most of the major companies made handsome profits — some larger than they did for the previous twelve months.

The Production of 'The Great Dictator.'

As Charles Spencer Chaplin permits several years to lapse between his presentations, any year in which he launches one of his inimitable comedies is memorable. So far as his 1940 offering is concerned, it was anticipated with greater enthusiasm than ever before, for in this new film The Great Dictator, he was for the first time articulate on the screen. In his previous picture, he was heard, but only in garbled and intentionally ludicrous sounds, which were indicative of his contempt for talking pictures and his espousal of the silent film as a true art. His mute comedies had the pecuniary advantage of being universally understood and therefore sold in all foreign language countries.

In The Great Dictator, Chaplin ridiculed and derided the totalitarian chieftains of Germany and Italy, he playing a caricature of Hitler and Jack Oakie lampooning Mussolini. The production had several intensely clever incidents, but it was weakened by the comedian at the end of the film, while still arrayed in the uniform of the dictator, making a prolonged and serious talk. In fact, this new offering could hardly match his old films, The Gold Rush or The Circus. Also it seemed to some persons that he was using the war as a ballyhoo for his production.

Although The New York Times screen critic included The Great Dictator among the Ten Best films of 1940, the New York Herald-Tribune's critic referred to it as one of the disappointing enterprises of the twelve-month.

Awards to Major Films and Players.

When the New York film critics gathered to vote upon the outstanding screen offerings of 1940, their award went to the pictorial version of John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, but it was voted that Chaplin had given the outstanding performance of the year. On being invited to appear before the critics to be presented with the accolade, Chaplin wrote declining the honor, asserting that actors aimed to please the public and were not in competition with one another. In certain authoritative quarters, the comedian's action was approved, since, as has been said before, it is scarcely possible for a critic to do justice to performances in 400 pictures, especially as in many instances several months elapse between the reviewing of the portrayal and singling it out for an award toward the end of the year. Selecting of Chaplin's performance as the best of the year was stubbornly contested, for there were critics who favored James Stephenson's impersonation in The Letter and others who thought the award ought to be given to Thomas Mitchell for his able characterization in The Long Voyage Home.

Another significant contribution was Walt Disney's novel experiment heralded as Fantasia, a cartoon feature combined with classical and semi-classical music, the latter played by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. Music critics on the whole wrote harshly about it and while it figured as one of the important productions of the year in The New York Times, the Herald-Tribune put it in the same category with Chaplin's film — disappointing.

Voting on the best female performance, however, was not disputed by the critics. The honor went to Katharine Hepburn for her work in the film version of the play, The Philadelphia Story, which arrived at the Radio City Music Hall just in time to be included in the pictures under consideration by the newspaper and magazine arbiters.

There also seems to have been complete agreement on the merits of the French production, The Baker's Wife, as the best foreign language production. It had an easier time by far than did The Grapes of Wrath, which did not receive the required two-thirds majority of the critics until the seventh ballot. The chief opposition was the pictorial translation of four one-act Eugene O'Neill plays, titled The Long Voyage Home. It happened that both these offerings were directed by John Ford, who carried off the honors for conspicuously fine direction. Further rivals of The Grapes of Wrath in this instance were The Philadelphia Story, and a second last minute film, The Night Train, which hails from England.

Another splendid picture was Pride and Prejudice, which was adapted by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin from Helen Jerome's dramatization of the Jane Austen novel. Robert E. Sherwood, the playwright, and other writers, were partly responsible for the eminently successful production, Rebecca, based on Daphne Du Maurier's widely-read book.

Thornton Wilder's Our Town provided a charming and touching shadow story. A robust affair called The Great McGinty revealed its worth by its box-office appeal.

Besides directing Rebecca, Alfred Hitchcock, whose work aroused much enthusiasm last year through his production, The Lady Vanishes, also directed a film labeled Foreign Correspondent, which the Herald-Tribune critic named among his chosen Ten. The same writer offered as the best ten performances of the year: Chaplin in The Great Dictator, Ginger Rogers in Primrose Path, William C. Fields in The Bank Dick, Bette Davis in The Letter, James Stewart in The Shop Around the Corner, Claudette Colbert in Arise My Love, Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath, Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, Raimu in The Baker's Wife, and Thomas Mitchell in The Long Voyage Home.

The National Board of Review declared that the best picture of 1940 was The Grapes of Wrath. Chaplin's offering was second and the film of Steinbeck's book and play, Of Mice and Men, third.

Cost of Production and Box Office Appeal of Films.

Gone With the Wind, which was considered the previous year by most circles and organizations offering awards, may prove to be the best moneymaker of any film in the history of the industry, according to the oldest trade paper, Variety. The film rentals for this Technicolor production are expected to be in excess of $20,000,000. Its cost is said to have been between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000. Three other financially successful offerings were, Boom Town, the prismatic picture, North West Mounted and The Fighting Sixty-ninth.

New Selling Conditions for Films.

Variety calls attention to the fact that in 1941, producers will not only face loss of revenue resulting from the European War, but also the newly imposed selling conditions of pictures outlined in the consent decree, which is to go into effect Sept. 1. It is agreed in most quarters that the Government was much more lenient with Hollywood than had been anticipated in offering the consent decree virtually as a settlement of the anti-trust action. It means, however, that block-booking must end and that groups of five pictures, finished and trade-shown, are to be offered to the exhibitors.

Anent this consent decree, Douglas W. Churchill, Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times, writes: 'While the suit is popularly believed to be an aid to the exhibitor, there is a strong feeling in Hollywood that it is the producer who will benefit. He will milk the theater man for every possible penny when he has a good picture and he will lump the bad ones into the bargain package deals. Some executives envision conditions in which some films will be virtually boycotted in cities where exhibitors refuse to meet studio terms. This will be fought by selling the films to the customers first (arousing popular interest) and with a demand created to see a certain picture it is believed that the theaters will be compelled to play it.'

Prices Paid for Stories, Books and Plays.

Variety sets forth that Hollywood spent in 1940 more than $3,500,000 for books, and plays and magazine stories. This trade paper also gives a list of plays and books bought for films during the same year, mostly for production in 1941. Some of the top or otherwise interesting figures are — For PLAYS: Ladies in Retirement, $40,000; Bittersweet, $50,000; The Philadelphia Story (already presented), $150,000; Moon over Mulberry Street, $5,000; Too Many Girls, $100,000; Two on an Island, $50,000; Tobacco Road, $200,000 and a certain percentage of receipts; The Little Foxes, $100,000 guarantee against 25 per cent of net receipts; Night Music, $20,000; Long Voyage Home (already produced), percentage basis; Hellzapoppin, $200,000, plus 40 per cent of net receipts, the figure including services of the performers Olsen and Johnson; Jupiter Laughs, $35,000; The Male Animal, $125,000; The Woman Brown, $30,000; The Man Who Came to Dinner, $250,000, which is presumed to be the probable figure now. Agreement was originally for 35 per cent of the gross, with the authors to write the screen play, but they are now changing it to a flat sale. George Washington Slept Here, $83,500.

Certain figures in this list given for Books are: Louis Bromfield's Storm Over Louisiana, $50,000; Susan Glaspell's The Morning is Near Us, $10,000; Major George Fielding Eliot's Spy Murders, $1,000; James Hilton's And Now Goodbye, $35,000; Vanishing Virginian, by Rebecca Yancey Williams, $25,000; Jan Struthers' Mrs. Miniver, $40,000; Bolivar, by T. R. Ybarra, $12,500; Lillian Day's The Youngest Profession, $20,000; James Hilton's Random Harvest, $35,000; Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, $150,000 — probable figure; Bellamy Partridge's The Country Lawyer, $25,000; H. G. Wells' Food of the Gods, $15,000; Captain From Connecticut, by C. S. Forester, $45,000 (purchased before being written); Thelma Strabel's Reap the Wild Winds, $25,000; Constance Rourke's Sunrise in My Pocket, $35,000 — includes unproduced dramatization by Edwin Justis Mayer; Botany Bay, by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, $50,000 — bought before written; Dalton Trumbo's The Remarkable Andrew, $30,000 — bought before written; Sax Rohmer's The Drums of Fu Manchu, $12,000; Irving Stone's False Witness, $20,000; A. P. Herbert's Water Gypsies, $19,500; Grace Perkins' Unbreakable Mrs. Doll, $25,000; Sanda Malla, by Maurice Collins, $15,000; Clarence Budington Kelland's Valley of the Sun, $25,000; Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, $40,000; Wild Geese Calling, by Stewart Edward White, $27,500; James Thurber's My Life and Hard Times, $10,000; Chad Hanna, by Walter D. Edmonds (already produced), $50,000; Richard Llewellyn's How Green Was My Valley, $50,000; Stephen Longstreet's Golden Touch, $20,000; Nevil Shute's Landfall, $25,000; Frank Meloney's Strange Victory, $25,000; Sinclair Lewis's Bethel Merriday, $50,000; Mr. Skeffington, by Elizabeth, $40,000; Henry Bellaman's King's Row, $35,000; Hartzell Spence's One Foot in Heaven, $20,000; Somerset Maugham's Villa on the Hill, $25,000; Bret Harte's Calamity Jane, $4,000; Mrs. Leslie Carter's, Lady with Red Hair, $12,000; Heywood Broun's The Boy Grows Older, $3,500; Cosmo Hamilton's His Majesty the King, $3,000.

In the course of his summary of the year, Jack Alicoate, editor of Film Daily, declares: 'With pictures to be sold in maximum blocks of five, and then only regionally after trade showings upon completion, it should be obvious that the key to the situation is held by Hollywood. The immediate question is, can Hollywood turn the trick? Careful analysis brings assurance that it can and will. Hollywood thus far has an admirable score. The forecast of a year ago has been substantially fulfilled. There has been no dramatic curtailment in production, no shortage of pictures, no mass retrenchment. But there has been a general emphasis on grade A entertainment. . . . The result is reflected in the improved financial position of many of the leading companies, disclosed by their earning reports and accomplished in the very face of the loss of foreign revenue. . . . Hollywood observers believe (for 1941 production) that light comedies and musical comedies, minus too costly sets and production numbers, plus melodrama, will constitute a heavy share of the new year's film menu.'

Popularity of Film Actors.

The Motion Picture Herald conducted its annual survey and discovered that in the poll of theaters throughout the country, Mickey Rooney is the most popular cinema player. He is followed in order by Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Gene Autry, Tyrone Power, James Cagney, Bing Crosby, Wallace Beery, Bette Davis, Judy Garland. It is interesting to note that Gene Autry has hitherto been included on a list of performers in Western picture stories. Now he is fourth on the main list, notwithstanding that, while he is heard over the radio, few of his films get to the heart of Gotham, if perchance they reach the outskirts.

The next fifteen performers in the Herald's poll were: James Stewart, Deanna Durbin, Alice Faye, Errol Flynn, Myrna Loy, Dorothy Lamour, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper, Don Ameche, Jack Benny, Ginger Rogers, Ann Sheridan and William Powell.

Hollywood did not, as in the previous year's beginning, face labor troubles. Wage increases were given in 1940 and all guilds were recognized, and writers report increases in salaries.

After having been in school retirement for more than a year, Shirley Temple, now eleven, through her mother, plans to return to the screen to play opposite Mickey Rooney in the M.G.M. Hardy picture series. According to the first reports she was to receive $100,000 a year from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. Later, it was declared that she and her mother will be paid $3,500 a week. It has been stipulated by the Court that half of all money Shirley Temple is paid must go into savings — a trust fund for her.

Film Daily's Poll.

The No. 1 picture in the Film Daily's poll of the screen critics throughout the country was Rebecca.

This vote covers the pictures actually released from November 1939 to November 1940, and therefore does not include several pictures mentioned in other polls, notably Gone With the Wind, which, while it has been shown at special prices in a relatively few theaters, has not been released generally, although it has been contracted for.

The outstanding ten films in this national vote of critics were: Rebecca, with 391 votes; Grapes of Wrath, 367; Ninotchka, 269; Foreign Correspondent, 247; All This and Heaven Too, 230; Abe Lincoln in Illinois, 221; Boom Town, 215; North West Passage, 198; Our Town, 198; The Mortal Storm, 172.

1939: Motion Pictures

According to surveys made by trade publications, the motion picture industry in 1939 revealed definite signs of recovery from the doldrums of the previous year. But no little uncertainty has been caused by a Federal anti-trust suit and also by the Neely bill to put a stop to block-booking. The war, with its blackouts, curtailed receipts from the British and European markets, but toward the end of the year entertainment conditions in London and elsewhere improved.

Cost of Production and Prices Paid for Films.

The high mark in cost of pictorial production for the year was reached by the picturization in color of Margaret Mitchell's widely-read novel, Gone with the Wind, in which the David Selznick corporation invested close to $4,000,000.

Variety, the oldest of the trade papers, published a list of prices paid by film producers during 1939 for novels and plays. Two stage works, bought by RKO-Radio Corporation, headed the list. They were: The American Way, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, for which $250,000 and royalties was paid, and Robert E. Sherwood's drama, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, which brought $225,000, plus royalties. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer paid $100,000 for the play, The World We Make, and $36,000 for Susan and God. John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize drama, Of Mice and Men went to Hal Roach for $5,000 plus royalties, and Sol Lesser got Our Town for $35,000. Paramount invested $50,000 in the rights to Clare Boothe's comedy, Kiss the Boys Goodbye, and $85,000 in rights to Skylark. Philadelphia Story, in which Katharine Hepburn appeared, was sold for $30,000 and royalties. These and other plays brought Hollywood's investment in this particular material up to a total of $1,011,000.

The major studios paid a total of $728,000 for the rights to novels, the highest price going for John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Ethel Vance's book, Escape, went to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $60,000; Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca brought $50,000; Howard Spring's My Son, My Son, $25,000; Lloyd Douglas' Disputed Passage, $50,000; Rachel Field's All This and Heaven Too, $50,000. The purchase price of Gone with the Wind is not included in the total, for it was purchased two years ago, the figure being $52,000.

Awards.

The New York Film Critics decided that the best picture of the year was Samuel Goldwyn's production of Wuthering Heights. Notwithstanding the high praise given to End of a Day, the picture called Harvest was voted the outstanding foreign language work. Alexander Korda scored with his prismatic film of A. E. W. Mason's novel, Four Feathers, and the screen version of James Hilton's Goodbye, Mr. Chips surprised many theater managers throughout the country by drawing crowds to the box-offices.

Just after the close of 1939, Goodbye, Mr. Chips gave further evidence of its worth and popularity in Film Daily's survey among critics throughout the country. In this, the eighteenth critical canvass, the pictorial version of James Hilton's charming story of an English schoolmaster was the first foreign-made production to win. It received a total of 472 votes out of a possible 542 — this figure representing the number of critics and reviewers participating in the Film Daily's coast-to-coast ballot. The winner received more votes than any picture in any previous poll, which included only those releases from November 1, 1938, to October 31, 1939.

Although Goodbye, Mr. Chips was produced in England, it actually was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is the first time since 1933 that two pictures made in foreign countries have been included on the list of the Ten Best of the nation's critics. This survey lists as 1939's other foreign production, Pygmalion, the first of George Bernard Shaw's plays to reach the screen.

Jack Alicoate, publisher of Film Daily, announces that in his opinion 1940 will bring no drastic curtailment in production. He adds that when the program re-alignment does come, it will probably mean the end of the so-called B class pictures from major studios. Production costs are put at $165,000,000. Approximately an additional $1,500,000 was invested in the construction of new cinemas.

Excellence and Popularity of Other Films and Players.

The French production, Entente Cordiale, with Victor Francen as England's Edward VII, thoroughly deserved the good reports in the newspapers and magazines.

The New York Film Critics also voted that one of the two best performances of the year was James Stewart's portrayal in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the other being Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, John Ford won the accolade for direction with his Stagecoach.

The members of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures picked Confessions of a Nazi Spy as the outstanding film of the year. Their choice was made from productions released prior to December 15. The Board of Review's ten outstanding pictures were: Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach, Ninotchka, Young Mr. Lincoln, Crisis, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Roaring Twenties and U-Boat 29.

The Board gave out another list on the basis of pictures with a popular appeal. These were: Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Pygmalion (released at the end of 1938), The Old Maid, Wuthering Heights, Dark Victory, Juarez, Wizard of Oz and Love Affair.

The Board's five foreign-language films, chosen in order of their preference, were: Port of Shadows, Harvest, Alexander Neusky, The End of a Day, and Robert Koch.

The National Board of Review decided that the following players were entitled to special praise for their performances: James Cagney in The Roaring Twenties, Bette Davis in Dark Victory and The Old Maid, Henry Fonda in Young Mr. Lincoln, Jean Gabin in Port of Shadows, Greta Garbo in Ninotchka, Francis Lederer and Paul Lukas in Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Thomas Mitchell in Stagecoach, Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights, Flora Robson in We Are Not Alone and Michel Simon in Port of Shadows.

'Gone with the Wind.'

Although Gone with the Wind was a sort of second choice with the New York Film Critics, its presentation was accorded more space in newspapers than any motion picture has ever been given. Since buying the rights to the novel, David Selznick had attracted attention by his suggestions for the part of Scarlett O'Hara. The picture was first presented publicly in Atlanta, Ga., and some of the newspapers, including The New York Times, sent staff writers to attend that opening. The accounts were printed on the first pages of some editions of the afternoon newspapers in large cities all over the country. Gone with the Wind was launched in two theaters in New York — the Astor and the Capitol. In The New York Times the review was spread over four columns with a two column cut, and an added account of the celebrities present. The critic referred to it as 'a handsome, scrupulous, unstinting version of the 1,037-page novel, matching it almost scene for scene with a literalness that not even Shakespeare or Dickens were accorded in Hollywood, casting it so brilliantly one would need to know the history of the production not to suspect that Miss Mitchell had written her story just to provide a vehicle for the stars already assembled under Mr. Selznick's roof.'

Gone with the Wind runs for 3 hours and 45 minutes. Among the best performances are Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes, Olivia de Haviland's Melanie, Clark Gable's Rhett Butler and Hattie McDaniel's Mammy.

Other Notable Successes.

A motion picture that took many by surprise and was an excellent entertainment was Ninotchka, directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It is the first time that the actress and the nimble-minded director have been teamed. Miss Garbo goes through the first half of the film as a determined Bolshevik, frowning upon 'capitalistic propaganda,' worshiping a portrait of Lenin. Soon afterward, however, this Moscow emissary to Paris succumbs to laughter, love and the pursuit of happiness. The pictorial comedy well deserved its place among the ten outstanding films and was a much more fluent story, even though a comedy, than some of the other pictures preferred by the New York Critics.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, with James Stewart and Jean Arthur, was well mounted and splendidly acted by the cast. It is not precisely original from a story viewpoint, but it succeeded in generating sympathy for the upright young Senator and proper disdain for the grafting contingent. But, like so many Hollywood tales, it was not especially moving, for it was obvious what would happen in the end.

For some unknown reason, RKO-Radio decided to make another and costly production of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was splendid from the angle of settings, photography and acting; Charles Laughton, who appeared as Quasimodo, assuredly did everything possible, with the aid of the studios' experts, to make himself thoroughly hideous. The narrative was loosely told and, judging by the attendance at the Radio City Music Hall in New York it was not what the public wants. Reading the book is one thing and looking at a more or less haphazard adaptation is quite another.

Rudyard Kipling's novel, The Light That Failed, which has not been neglected by film producers in other years, was brought forth again, this time with Ronald Colman as Dick Heldar. It was a poor treatment of the story and dialogue which seemed to have been written on the run. The whole thing appeared to have been directed and produced by persons who had never wandered very far from a Hollywood studio. As for Mr. Colman, he struggled against tremendous odds, which were too much even for his ability.

Although some of the screen critics included it in their lists of blue-ribbon pictures, the shadow version of Clare Boothe's tartly written play, The Women, did not measure up to the parent work. Some of the players garbled Miss Boothe's clever lines and two of them turned their scenes into farce, which did not suit the proceedings. The picture treatment seemed to have been written with both eyes on the box office, with little thought being given to timing. Then, too, the players behaved as though they were above the parts, evidently hoping that the cutting comments of the characters would not hurt them with their public.

Box-office Angle.

The Motion Picture Herald made its usual annual survey to ascertain how the screen performers stood from a money-making angle. Young Shirley Temple has tumbled from top to fifth place. Mickey Rooney proved to be the outstanding box-office attraction. Tyrone Power was second; Spencer Tracy, third; Clark Gable, fourth. They were followed by Shirley Temple, Bette Davis, Alice Faye, Errol Flynn, James Cagney and Sonja Henie.

In an honorable mention list, Bing Crosby has one vote less than Sonja Henie, who had 219 to Mickey Rooney's 870. Looking over the list discloses that Gary Cooper has only 108 votes and Cary Grant 100. Ginger Rogers has 72 and Henry Fonda 71, the latter being the last on that particular list. Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, Rosalind Russel, Akim Tamiroff, Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, Gracie Allen and Annabella, John Barrymore and his brother Lionel, are far down the list with a number of others in a section known as 'Group 111.'

Walt Disney continued to supply the cinemas with his clever cartoons. Pete Smith distinguished himself by another series of bright short subjects, and now and again there was an excellent example of Robert Benchley's wit.

Strike threats sent up the cost of production for all studios by $5,000,000. The declaration of war between the Allies and Germany at first worried Hollywood, for the main income from their foreign market comes from Britain. Also restrictions were imposed on sending money out of Britain.

1938: Motion Pictures

Advertising Campaign.

Owing to the financial depression, or recession, with its millions of unemployed, the year 1938 caused motion picture producers and theater owners serious concern. In other years, hosts of people attended the cinema regularly; but during the past twelve-month there were increasing signs of patrons attending only those screen offerings which they felt reasonably sure would interest them. Evidently anticipating a banner year, Hollywood lavished even more than the usual millions on a number of productions, and not all of them were even moderately profitable.

Producers and exhibitors thereupon decided that business might be stimulated by an advertising campaign, which was started in September. In connection with this effort, there was a so-called 'Quiz Contest' with $250,000 in prizes. Although this idea undoubtedly spurred interest in the film theaters, it proved to be somewhat disappointing to managers; for, while the attendance rose, the receipts fell far short of expectations.

Survey.

The Quigley trade publication, the Motion Picture Herald, made an interesting survey of film houses in the United States. According to this report, — the figures are, of course, for 1937, — there were in 9,187 cities, towns, and hamlets, a total of 17,541 theaters, with a seating capacity of 10,924,484. These houses have an average of 8 weekly audience turnovers, based on a reported weekly attendance of 88,000,000. The gross receipts were computed to be $19,360,000 weekly, or approximately $1,006,000,000 annually, which, it was estimated, was 22 cents a person.

Box-office Attractions.

In the first week of January, Walt Disney launched his first feature-length cartoon in color; and although the year may have been disappointing to most major studios, this production — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — brought not only ample financial recompense to its imaginative maker, but also unusual distinction. Mr. Disney was honored by degrees from both Harvard and Yale universities.

Again, the Motion Picture Herald conducted its interesting poll to ascertain which of Hollywood's stars is the strongest box-office attraction. For the third consecutive year, Shirley Temple topped all other performers, not only in the United States and Canada, but also in Great Britain. The young actress received 664 votes on this side of the Atlantic, Clark Gable being second with 560. Afterward came Sonja Henie, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Robert Taylor, Myrna Loy, Jane Withers, Alice Faye, and Tyrone Power. Following these ten were Gary Cooper, Wallace Beery, Bing Crosby, Jeanette MacDonald, Deanna Durbin, Don Ameche, Dorothy Lamour, Ginger Rogers, Nelson Eddy, Bob Burns, Errol Flynn, Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy (as a team), Irene Dunne, Paul Muni, and William Powell.

Awards.

Emulating the New York drama critics, the correspondents assigned to the screen again gave an award. The choice, what two thirds of them declared to be the best picture of the year, was the pictorial version of Dr. A. J. Cronin's book, The Citadel. This film was actually made in England, but it was produced there by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by King Vidor, who has also to his credit The Big Parade. Incidentally, the New York Film Critics decided to give a special award to Walt Disney for his production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This was the fourth year the screen critics have chosen the year's outstanding picture. The Informer was the picture of 1935, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town of 1936, and The Life of Emile Zola, of 1937. In considering the best picture of 1938, there were votes for The Lady Vanishes, a British production directed by Alfred Hitchcock, producer also of the film version of John Buchan's story, The Thirty-nine Steps; for To the Victor, a British pictorial adaptation of Sarah Grand's novel, 'Bob, Son of Battle'; for In Old Chicago; Sing You Sinners; Blockade; and Three on a Week-end.

Unlike the drama critics, who obviously considered the idea a mistake, the New York screen critics dared to pick the two best performances of 1938. After nine ballots had been taken, it was agreed to honor James Cagney for his work in a picture called Angels with Dirty Faces. Other players whose names were mentioned were Spencer Tracy, John Garfield, Will Fyffe, John Barrymore, Franchot Tone, Robert Morley, Edward Ellis, Charles Laughton, Gene Lockhart, Robert Montgomery, and Ralph Richardson.

The film writers picked Margaret Sullavan's impersonation in Three Comrades as the shining work of an actress. These writers gave an accolade to Alfred Hitchcock for the best direction; i.e., his work on The Lady Vanishes, which was released in the last fortnight of the year.

The National Board of Review, an organization of women's clubs, selected a French picture called Grand Illusion, as the outstanding one of the year. It was a creditable choice, as this film was on virtually all the lists of the Best Ten.

Artistry of Other Films.

In fact, although Hollywood produced noteworthy productions, some of which, like Marie Antoinette, cost fabulous sums of money, and also a number of popular musical contributions, they were excelled in actual cinematic artistry by offerings from both England and France. One of the conspicuously fine examples of motion pictures was the British-made adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's comedy, Pygmalion. The elaborations on the original were written by Shaw himself, and the leading rôles were acted by Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. Although Miss Hiller was praised even more than Mr. Howard, it was he who actually gave the letter-perfect portrayal; for although Miss Hiller's acting was undoubtedly effective, she lacked the experience of the celebrated Mrs. Patrick Campbell, who, when the play Pygmalion was first presented, gave an astonishingly brilliant and understanding conception of the rôle of the cockney flower girl. Miss Hiller was amusing and attractive, but she was not always convincing.

The first screen adaptation of a play by James Bridie was made in England. It was based on Storm over Patsy, which the Theater Guild presented the previous year. Unfortunately, this definitely intelligent bundle of fun with Bridie's neat caricatures was not expected to do particularly well in the film theaters and more often than not it was offered as a secondary feature.

An attractive melodrama of India, called Drums, was notable for its good prismatic photography and proved of interest to cinema patrons, nearly all of whom had obtained their knowledge of that vast country from motion pictures.

Charles Laughton, of Payment Deferred and The Private Life of Henry VIII, appeared to advantage in a film translation of Somerset Maugham's story, The Beachcomber, which was another noteworthy work. An English picture that was received with marked acclaim was To the Victor, in which Will Fyffe figured as the frequently inebriated owner of the sheepdog Black Wull, who was an unusual worry to the neighborhood. Then there was The Lady Vanishes, a light-hearted but nevertheless exciting melodrama.

Those who understood French admired Jules Duvivier's Un Carnet de Bal, which was the account of an attractive widow of about 35 who, on coming across an old dance card, decides to look up all the partners inscribed thereon. For unadulterated pleasure, there was Sacha Guitry's witty work, Le Roman d'un Tricheur, which, it must be admitted, was not for those who delight to watch a handsome young man. It was, however, an exceptionally clever production, done with a Parisian flair, and one that never for an instant stooped to cater to the box-office. One of the critics characterized M. Guitry's sketch as being 'wise, wicked, and witty.'

Pare Lorentz's documentary film, The River, with its fine prose poem detailing an impressive conception of the Mississippi and its many tributaries, was something to bear in mind.

Although it was shown in certain cities prior to 1938, Moonlight Sonata, with the great pianist Paderewski, continued to attract wide attention in Boston, where it broke all records for the theater where it was presented. The story of this production was quite mediocre; but the manner in which it was directed, so as to show Paderewski's fingers and his every action and expression, proved to be remarkably interesting, particularly to young students of the piano. Paderewski was assisted in this picture by the great English actress, Marie Tempest. Although the narrative was a haphazard concoction, all the scenes in which the pianist-statesman and Miss Tempest appeared were intelligently written, with the result that they compensated for the disappointing episodes.

M. Duvivier, the French director who was responsible for Carnet de Bal, deserves almost as much credit for his Golgotha, a reverent and deeply impressive account of the last days of Christ.

Other Notable Pictures.

With that versatile French actress, Danielle Darrieux, who first appeared in America in the picture Mayerling, a Hollywood production called Rage of Paris was one of the most pleasing comedies of the year.

Norma Shearer graced the film Marie Antoinette, in whose script Stefan Zweig had a hand; but although she gave more than a satisfactory performance, it was the work of Robert Morley as Louis XVI that attracted most attention and won the highest critical favor. John Barrymore left no stone unturned to make the most of his impersonation of Louis XV; but good as was his acting, he did not have enough length of scene to compete with Mr. Morley, whose next assignment was in the title rôle of the stage play Oscar Wilde.

Douglas Fairbanks has always been eager to produce a film about Marco Polo; but another Hollywood mogul undertook the task, engaging Gary Cooper for the Venetian. This screen item, however, was too eager to be funny at the expense of historical accuracy.

Robert Taylor attracted wide attention in the made-in-England film, A Yank at Oxford, which pictorially was a beautiful production, but one which also suffered by the introduction of farcical action. The stage comedy, Tovarich, which has been successful in all countries where it was presented, finally was turned into a picture, with Charles Boyer and Claudette Colbert in the leading parts. It was only a fair adaptation, its weakness being that incidents were constantly over-emphasized and even the script was too extravagant. Nothing Sacred, a frolic in natural colors, with Frederic March and Carole Lombard, was one of those light entertainments in which Hollywood excels. The story was written by Ben Hecht, co-author of Front Page. In Grace Moore's picture, I'll Take Romance, there were excerpts from four operas.

By portraying a Japanese sleuth called Mr. Moto, Peter Lorre has become a rival of Charlie Chan's impersonator, Warner Oland, who gave so many splendid performances in Charlie Chan pictures. Oland's death occurred in 1938, and he was succeeded by another capable player.

The screen is by no means lacking in beautiful femininity; but it was a new actress from Vienna who was a striking success in the film Algiers. She is Hedy Lamarr, an unusually attractive brunette.

After their successful performances in both the drama and the pictorial edition of Dead End, the turbulent 'Dead End Kids' were engaged for several other films, with the consequence that there were far too many screen stories concerned with juvenile delinquents.

In addition to his contribution of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mr. Disney gave the public at least two other excellent short films — Mother Goose Goes Hollywood and Ferdinand the Bull.

No summing-up of the year would be complete without mention of the clever short comedies written and acted by Robert Benchley, the dramatic critic of the New Yorker. His great ability as an actor and his keen wit in writing found favor all over the country. Likewise, Pete Smith's short films were always a welcome part of the programs on thousands of screens. Mr. Smith's Romance of Radium was a minor masterpiece, and his Romance of the Peanut was another worthy offering.

Foreign Films Reviewed.

According to an article in The New York Times, there were 238 non-English-speaking pictures reviewed by that newspaper. Germany led the list with 64, Mexico being second with 34. France sent over 28, Hungary 25, and Russia and Italy each the same number, 14. From Poland came 10, from Sweden 8, from Vienna 11, from Ireland 5, and 2 each from Czechoslovakia and Greece. Australia and Finland were responsible for one each. One of the Russian pictures was Professor Mamlock, an anti-Nazi story that was well applauded in the newspapers.

Toward the end of the year, Samuel Goldwyn, whose motion pictures are among Hollywood's most opulent, engaged as one of the vice-presidents of Samuel Goldwyn Productions, James Roosevelt, son of the President of the United States, who had resigned the post of secretary to his father.