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Story
November 4, 1936
The Daily Independent
Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina
What is this article about?
Satirical piece on Hollywood's feigned shock at Soviets imprisoning film producers for wasting money on a poor scenario, highlighting contrasts with U.S. industry's tolerance for extravagance and poor returns.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
Hollywood, Beware!
The Soviets sent three men to prison camp for from one to four years the other day for paying too much for a movie scenario and wasting money in its production.
Well, you could have knocked Hollywood and Broadway over with a stockholder!
What's the moving picture business coming to when they start taking the attitude that it should be conducted like a business?
Sending movie men to prison camps at hard labor for wasting money! Why, it's a direct slap at everything the movie industry has stood for through thick and thicker. It is a blow below the belt at the very things that have made the cinema industry what it is.
What would Stalin do to the producers of most of the super-pictures produced in Hollywood during the last six months? Nobody's safe any more. The first thing you know a country like Russia may go so far as to demand that a picture be worth half the money.
There are no standards over there. They don't appreciate extravagance.
They don't understand what it means to devote months of time and a half million dollars to something that could better have been overlooked entirely.
The producer got four years, the director got two years and the bookkeeper got one year. (Over there it seems they keep books in the movie business.—Ed.)
The director pleaded extenuating circumstances. He said he knew from the beginning that it was a terrible scenario, but that the company wouldn't believe it on account of the big money they were paying him.
They send you to prison camps in Russia for not showing a good return on the investment, but in this country they cut you in on 50 per cent of the gross, make you a vice president of the company and see that the publicity department sells you to America as the genius of the industry.
Hollywood is really worried. And for good reason. Who can tell when even America may demand that somebody read the script carefully before passing over the $50,000?
The Soviets sent three men to prison camp for from one to four years the other day for paying too much for a movie scenario and wasting money in its production.
Well, you could have knocked Hollywood and Broadway over with a stockholder!
What's the moving picture business coming to when they start taking the attitude that it should be conducted like a business?
Sending movie men to prison camps at hard labor for wasting money! Why, it's a direct slap at everything the movie industry has stood for through thick and thicker. It is a blow below the belt at the very things that have made the cinema industry what it is.
What would Stalin do to the producers of most of the super-pictures produced in Hollywood during the last six months? Nobody's safe any more. The first thing you know a country like Russia may go so far as to demand that a picture be worth half the money.
There are no standards over there. They don't appreciate extravagance.
They don't understand what it means to devote months of time and a half million dollars to something that could better have been overlooked entirely.
The producer got four years, the director got two years and the bookkeeper got one year. (Over there it seems they keep books in the movie business.—Ed.)
The director pleaded extenuating circumstances. He said he knew from the beginning that it was a terrible scenario, but that the company wouldn't believe it on account of the big money they were paying him.
They send you to prison camps in Russia for not showing a good return on the investment, but in this country they cut you in on 50 per cent of the gross, make you a vice president of the company and see that the publicity department sells you to America as the genius of the industry.
Hollywood is really worried. And for good reason. Who can tell when even America may demand that somebody read the script carefully before passing over the $50,000?
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
Misfortune
What keywords are associated?
Soviet Film Punishment
Hollywood Satire
Movie Waste
Prison Camp
Extravagance
What entities or persons were involved?
Stalin
Where did it happen?
Hollywood, Broadway, Russia
Story Details
Key Persons
Stalin
Location
Hollywood, Broadway, Russia
Story Details
Satirical commentary on Soviets sentencing three men to prison for wasting money on a bad movie scenario, contrasting with Hollywood's extravagant practices where waste is rewarded.