Canyon Passage Completes Trio for Films in 1945 and Shows U , Beyond Any Doubt, That We're in a Thriving Bu Iness

22 with a magic wand of creativeness who e contribu tion to the industry wa incomprehen ible to the bread-and-butter business of selling. Not all production people, luckily, had this idea. Some were willing to work cooperatively with the others \\·ho had tasks of equal importance in the final situation - namely, selling the pictures. The result of this long-term vie\,·point as oppo ed to the individualistic approach is that most of the geniuse are no longer associated with the industry, while tho e who appreciated the fact that production is but half the job, still are. Of course the geniuses got ulcers too, proving that there' nothing as indi crimi nate as an ulcer. We Look Ahead To 1946-47 Every motion picture company is looking forward to the 1946-47 sea on with enthu ia m and optimism. Every company has elaborate production plans ancl nearly every company is contemplating some large. scale physical expansion. You already know of the association of niversal Picture \Yith International Pictures and Britain's J. Arthur Rank (one of the mo t important amalga mations in film history) and you and I know that niversal i on it way to becoming one of the great motion picture companies of 1946 and the years to follow. I am proud to be a part of this organization. In my four years with Universal, I've made nine films which, the sale department tell me, have established the top box office record of any producer during this period on the Universal lot. That i a nice melody for me to linger on, but I'm sure you're more intere ted in the future than the past. I am producing three 1·1=2 BILLION$ top-flight picture for niversal this year. Heading the list is Scar let Street, co-starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett, with Dan Duryea, produced and directed by Fritz Lang, written by Academy A\Yard winner, Dudley Nichols. ight in Paradise, co-starring Merle Oberon and s long as it's in your favor, there's something very Turhan Bey, is the second of the completed produc Acomforting about an entry of two billion dollar , tions, lavish Technicolor presentation. especially when you're in the motion picture indus try. That two billion dollars i the estimated gros Canyon Passage Completes Trio for films in 1945 and shows u , beyond any doubt, that we're in a thriving bu iness. The Technicolor Canyon Passage, starring Dana In terms of people, that two billion figure means Andrews and Brian Donlevy with Susan Hayward, that last year nearly one hundred million people Patricia Roe, Hoagy Carmichael, Ward Bond and went to a movie each week. And that, in one sentence, Andy Devine is the third of the trio. It marks the is the challenge we face in 1946 - to get that one first creen appearance of Andy Devine's two young hundred million to repeat last year's performance. sters, Tad and Denny, as well as the initial perform There's only one way we can do this. The studios ance under Hollywood's aegi of Miss Roe, first of must turn out box office products and the distribu the British stars to come to America under the ex tion departments must sell them. Their ta ks are change-of-stars between Rank and niversal. interdependent. Ernest Hay cox, who wrote the Academy A ward Only recently, I think, has there come about a winning Stagecoach, is responsible for the story fuller understanding of the interdependence of pro which was first erialized in The Saturday E vening duction and distribution. It was the unfortunate im Post and later publi hed by Little, Brown & Co. pres ion for too long among ome of the people in And these three examples are just the appetizer production that they were geniuses, humans touched to the 1946 fea t niversal is planning to dish up. .

Load more