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Report of the President TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES MAY 25, 1948 lv; my of Motion Picture Arts and SCiences library, Beverly Hills. Calif. ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES 1947-1948 OFFICERS President JEAN HERSHOLT Vice- Presiden ts CHARLES BRACKETT FARCIOT EDOUART GEORGE MURPHY WILLIAM WYLER Treasurer DONALD NELSON Assistant Treasurer FREDERICK B. RICHARDS " Chairman Finance Committee N . PETER RA THVON Counsel LOYD WRIGHT Secretory MARY C. McCALL, JR. Assistant Secretory DELMER DAVES Executive Secretory MARGARET HERRICK BOARD OF GOVERNORS CHARLES BRACKETT DONALD NELSON CHARLES G. CLARKE LOUIS NOTARIUS DELMER DAVES FREDERICK C. QUIMBY FARCIOT EDOUART N . PETER RATHVON ROBERT HAAS FREDERICK B. RICHARDS JEAN HERSHOLT GORDON SAWYER WILLIAM W. HORNBECK MORRIS STOLOFF PERRY LIEBER HOWARD STRICKLING MARY C. McCAll, JR. W ALTER WANGER URIE McCLEARY JACK l. WARNER THOMAS T. MOULTON HARRY WARREN GEORGE MURPHY WIL,L1AM WYLER The Academy is an honorary organization of industry craftsmen. Its purposes are to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures and to foster cooperation among the creative leadership of all branches of the industry for cultural, educational and technological progress. In the years of its development the Academy has become the most widely known organization in Hollywood. Its idealistic principles, se­ lective basis of membership and established prestige contribute to the maintenance of a dignified social and educational forum and meeting place of the creative personnel of motion pictures, a function which is not duplicated by any other organization and which compares with the literary and professional Academies, Institutes and Societies in other fields. The Academy is entirely freed of all labor relations responsibilities and has no concern with economic or political matters. GENERAL OFFICES: 9038 Melrose Ave. Hollywood 46, California. Telephone CRestview 5-1146 ~porl...; of the Presidenl...; For the Year Ending April 30, 1948 When the Academy was founded twenty-one years ago, the presenta­ tion of annual Awards for achievement was only one of the organization purposes set forth in our By-Laws .. Through the years this activity has been so widely publicized that not only the public, but many of our members have lost sight of our other objectives. The initial purpose of our founders was "To advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures." To this end, we have been quietly at work in fields of less popular interest, but more substantial in establishing for the Academy a leadership in the industry comparable to that of other academic institutions and foundations. During the past year we have had interested and creative leadership from each of the Branches. For the first time every Branch was repre­ sented on our Board of Governors. We acquired two additional Board members by dividing the Executives and Producers Branch into two sections. We now have a separate classification for Executives. The new group provided for individuals holding key positions in the studios, but not necessarily engaged in the making of pictures. Our present Board consists of twenty-four Governors. Our financial position has been stabilized this year. Pro rata charges for the Players Directory were increased for both studios and actors represented in the book. Academy membership dues were raised from $24 to $36 per year and increased contributions were obtained from the studios for our Awards expense. These financial adjustments have bal­ anced our budget and have given us the assurance of continued operation. -3- THE ACADEMY BUILDING CORPORATION AND THE THEATRE Projection room service for the studios and our members provided by the Academy Building continues to be an important factor in our general program. All of the companies, with the exception of Columbia, cooperated with us by guaranteeing a definite number of press showings during the year. Screenings for studio employees were held twice each week. The income from these sources, in addition to the rental paid to the Corporation by the Academy, was sufficient to operate the building, pay the installments on our bank loan and to pay the five per cent dividend to our stockholders. Eighty per cent of the stockholders are Academy members. We are continuing our Sunday evening showings for Academy mem­ bers. Classic films of the past, including the early pictures honored by Academy Awards, have been enjoyed by the membership. They offered all of us an opportunity to study chronologically the development of tech­ niques in every branch of our industry-acting, directing, Cinematography, "title writing"-then script writing when sound added speech and music to the screen. Academy Award films have been shown in sequence with the exception of the few pictures no longer available. The first series included Award winners for the year 1927-28, and our current program is made up of winners from the Fifth Awards year, 1931-32. The Awards series have been interrupted periodically for showings of unusual foreign product. During the past year such notable films as "Pepita Jiminez," "Die Morder Sind Dnter Dns," "Albeniz," "Day of Wrath," have been shown. This practice will continue as outstanding contemporary pictures can be secured. A specially built console and fader for the auditorium was constructed for the Academy by Twentieth Century-Fox and installed in the theatre through the generosity of that studio. THE LIBRARY The industry has been well served through our library this year. Although no day by day record was kept, an average of 300 patrons each week, including college students, studio personnel and the public, have visited the Library. Approximately 4,000 local telephone calls were re­ ceived asking for motion picture information and additional inquiries have come by mail from all over the world. The task of meeting this large volume of requests was cheerfully and efficiently handled by our staff, though handicapped by lack of equipment and working space. The British Film Academy, organized during the summer of 1947, asked assistance from our Library in securing American publications. An exchange system has been set up through which we ship American im­ print material to England in return for British publications. Valuable donations from private collections have been made to our Library by members and friends of the Academy. The cooperation of the -4- National Variety Clubs has been enormously helpful. Posters, stills and press books Ii'ave come from Variety Tents all over the country. The Academy is indebted to them for filling many gaps in our historical collection. Colonel William Selig gave us a Selig Polyscope and the specially constructed camera used to photograph his early films. He also gave us more than 5,000 still photographs, publicity posters advertising Selig pic­ tures, records of the Selig Polyscope Company and valuable old scripts and screen treatments from which Selig films were made. Wilding Picture Productions presented us with stills, posters and press books for Essanay productions from 1910 to 1917. The growth of our Library has been matched by the increase in our film holdings. Through the Foundation, a Curator for the film collection has bee~ employed 'and under his supervision our old pictures are being reviewed, catalogued and indexed for maximum usefulness to the industry and students of motion pictures. Seventy 28mm prints of films covering the period from 1906 to 1912 were purchased last summer. A few of them are: Mary Pickford in "Ramona"; Charles Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Mack Swain in "His Tryst­ ing Place"; Florence LaBadie, Wilfred Lucas, Jeanie MacPherson in "Enoch Arden"; Blanche Sweet, Henry B, Walthall in "Judith of Bethulia". From the studios and our members we have received 35mm features, short subjects and documentaries. Our hope of establishing an historically important film library is becoming a reality. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM The Academy has continued to serve as a liaison agency between educational institutions and the motion picture industry. This year we have given aid to a larger number of colleges than ever before. The requests for help were as diversified as the sources from which they came. The Schools of Music of Dartmouth and the University of Michigan have made liberal use of our collection of film music scores. From the University of Chicago have come requests from several de­ partments. One of their graduate students was sent to Hollywood twice during the year for special information needed to complete his Ph.D. dissertation on the translation to film of literary classics. Through our office he was directed to the studio sources best equipped to give him the material he needed. An Eastern college professor on sabbatical leave elected to spend the year in Hollywood, and has made the Academy office his headquarters. He has been assisted in his study of the film industry by the Academy Library and by interviews with Academy members. The Academy continues to cooperate with the Cinema Departments of both the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. A motion picture text book sponsored jointly by the Academy and U.C.L.A. is now in preparation and will be published in 1949. -5- Special afternoon showings for students were held in the Academy Theah'e at the request of class instructors. Old films shown were secured from the studios by the Academy. As Academy President, I was invited to serve on the Audio-Visual Advisory Board for Stephens College where so much fine experimental work is being done in the use of audio-visual aids in every deparhnent of instruction. Mrs. Herrick, our Executive , Secretary, attended the annual meeting of this Boal~ d as my representative. She explained the position of the Academy as a service organization within the industry and directed attention to the resources available through the educational deparhnent of the Motion Picture Association of America.
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