The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-10-22

HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 22.-Deciding to play Pollyanna today and be glad about something" I didn't have far to look for cause of re- Joicing. I'm glad I'm not member Of the Film Technicians Union.
 The other day the members of that union, an affiliate of the 1ATSE, decided, by majority vote. to respect the picket lines current Iy thrown around the studios by the striking Conference of Studio unions. Once the ballot shad been counted - and understand that 1t was nip-and-tuck most of the way -the local heads of the Film Tech nicians Union promptly announced that any member who dared to cross the picket lines would be summar- lily busted from the union. Then came the pay-off. The national bosses of the IATSE, denying the principal of local autonomy, quick ly retaliated by ruling the ballot ing illegal" and threatening to oust any film technician from his union membership if he refused to cross picket lines and report for work! In short, the individual lnem- Der of the union is threatened with, loss of his card if he works, or if he doesn't-and since since the union has closed shop contract, loss of membership means loss of employment!
 Now don't je6np tot he conclu- sion that I'm trying to defend the CSU at the expense of the working IATSE. It hasn't been many months since the National heads of the CSU also overrode local auton- omy in just as fragrant fashion. From where I sit, the pot has no ethical right to call the kettle black
 Too obviously for any unpreju- diced onlooker to doubt, this costly Hollywood strike is purely and sim- ply a battle for personal power be- tween rival union bosses-the kind of battle that too often results when closed shop conditions are tolerated. And the sad fact is that the weaposn employed in the com- bat are the thousands of little people" who, If they haven't al- ready lost, are rapidly losing, any freedom to determine their own deStinieS as American workmen.
 The organization of new inde- pendent companies, headed by big name stars, still continues (Rita Hayworth is the latest top-notcher to decide on rolling her own)- but they're no longer very exciting news Few of the stellar producers actually have made pictures; those who have, have turned out pro- duct decidedly inferior to the run of-the-mill offerings of the major studios It seems to me that there's tcod to- thought ". that fact. Ever since I can remember, screen stars have been prone to ridicule the abilities of studio heads while con- tending that they, themselves, if given a chance, could accomplish production miracles. Well, thanks to boom conditions which have made financing easy, they've f1- nally had their great opportunity and muffed it. Almost without ex- ception, the pictures produced by stars would have been box-off1ce disasters in more normal times. Looks like its still a good idea even in Hollywood, for the tailor to stick to his own trade.
 Speaking of pictures, I previewed Seymour NebenZal's latest "indepen- dent" 'The Chase" the other evening. Never was film made under a more unsuitable title. ''The Chase" despite plot that could have been exciting, moves at a snairs pace from start to finish be- cause of the directors insistence on employing what Hollywood calls a European technique" Instead of getting on with the story, he de- votes his attention to camera angles" which, in themselves, tell exactly nothing. Too many Holly wood movies, of late, are being spoiled by that phony brand of "artyness" which presumably is a direct result of the great wartime influx of European directors, pro- ducers. writers and stars. They brought with the ma conception of picture-making entirely foreign to American tastes. The movies they make don't ''move".
 Reading the local gossip columns the other day was interested by