Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-03
Film Titles
Are Problem
To Producers
.Whims Decide Most
Picture Names
By DAMON RITNYON

IoM j. GERAGt1l L, ofic Vi
- the good old timers Of the
motion picture business, ru-
inmates entertainingly on his
own experiences with titles for
pictures, a theme to which 1
gave some attention recently.
My readers may recall that /
disclosed considerable opposition
among motion picture exhibitors
to the word love" in title,
their claim being that il was
box office poison, a situation
that panied me no little, as l
think IL is a real nice word.
Tom Geraghty. who has been
associated with some of the
greatest figures in the cinema
industry, says he went through
all that years ago. what with
being present at the birth of
more than 200 titles Of pictures
that he either wrote or pro-
duced. He says he often wres-
tied with that word love" in a
title. but got nowhere with il.
Then, he discusses titles gen.
orally.
"Any ono you ask, anywhere,
anytime, can give you a better
title than the one you have
sweated over for days." he re-
marks. even II you catch them
of their guard, they'll have an
answer In . fash. 1 could write,
cast and supervise a picture
clear down into the cutting room
but the moment 1 presumed to
suggest, from mature thought,
= whale of . title, everything
went black"
Tom admits that, while he
did manage TO put over a dozen
or SO of his favorite titles, il
was usually through chicanery
and diplomatic subterfuge. He
did not dare admit fatherhood.
The matter of a main title was
a matter for profound debate
among the executives and Tom
thinks ii came under the head
of unfinished business. because,
no matter how definite the de-
cision. the selected title might
be kicked out the next day.
He recalls that Jesse Lasky,
who produced Sergeant York,
once had a pet title, like nearly
all executives. 1t was "Sacri-
fee" and Tom says Lasky Of
fered it year in and year out
but il never clicked though il
was often a perfect fit for
some story. Tom thinks il was
finally used by a quickie pro-
Queer on Poverty Row"
before the Moons came
- along, main titles of pic
lures had to be spelled out
with light globes on the theater
marques and Tom says a long
title like THE Man Who Came
to Dinner" was taboo. He re-
members the heated powwows
among the executives when
The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse came up. the big
wigs finally settling for The
Four Horsemen," which was a
tremendous success. Tom OBJ
serves that some said it was
because John w. Public thought
it was a western.
Titles such as "Humoresque"
and "Cytheria" were headaches
10 the producers, as they
thought the fans not only
would not know what the titles
meant, but would be unable TO
pronounce them, which would
automatically destroy word-of-
mouth exploitation. Yet both
were big hits. Tom Geraghty
says il has all been most confus-
ing TO him until recently when
il has suddenly struck him that
the elements, geography and ma
ture are the best sources for
titles whether they fit the story
or not.
LIE POINTS TO Gone with
IL the Wind" Good Earth"
How Green Was My Valley"
Lost Horizon" Reap the Wild
Wind" Hold Back the Dawn"
Swamp Water" Blossoms in
the Dust" High Sierra" "Hud-
sons Bay" "Tropic Nights"
Wings of the Morning" "Wuth-
ering Heights" South of Suez."
Iceland" Nov, Voyage
Deep in the Heart Of Texas
and "Moontide."
Tom says his guess for sure
fire title at the moment would
be nothing less than Creation. -
which would sort o. take in the
whole works.
Copyright. 1912. by King Features
Distributed by International News Service