Evening star., 1952-01-13
The Passing Show
The Passing Show ~
B. 0. Film Champions
Also Have Quality
Only q Few Intruders Like "QueT
Make Big Money for Studios
By jay Cormody

intend to make pun when he says there is
all kinds OF drama in Varietys annual list Of top money
making pictures of all time
He Is merely stating a fact
While the list itself does change year to
one always seems to be looking at angle
This year. for instance the first questions the mind
what artistic merit Of the profitable produc @
tons? What proportion of big films monkeys
of the critics who denounced them?
Quolty ond Quantity Are Matched
The top OF the list is comforting to those like think of
merit as having some relation to money earned These
With the Wind $26 mon) and BEST ($10A
milon) The first mentioned eight top Academy awards in
the year 1889. the second nine in 1947.
At this point analyst Hollywood is inclined
think that movie makers fools not quality
Then third picture in terms of earnings
Due in the Sum- $40 million outrageous that
it reduced the Nations critics to snarlng gbbersh hev oo
personal man. David O. selznck could make
film that base and run into third place behind supera-
tive production as Gone With the Wind"
The UnboIonce Is But Temporary
However "Due in the Sun" unbaances relationship
between quality and quantity Of boxoe other pictures
the list redress
winners except for two but they all
artistic merit of kind another
The list includes in order Samson Deliah" "Th Is the
Army" Bells of Marys Jolson Story David and Bath
sheba." Going My Way" and For Whom the Bell Tolls"
The quality quantity balance little more wobbly
farther down the list proportion the pictures
audiences and them fagany inferior works
One of these romantic melodrama Her to Heaven
which were unwilling to do with Hedy Lamar in the
heroine role The other Egg IT, which not even
claudette Colbert and Fred Macuray able much
Public and Critics in Agreement ..@
moviegoers and the film reviewers indicate judgments
steadily greater in this group of
which the pair Just mentioned Nos is include
top film of all time Incidentally Skies big Parade"
"Unconquered The Yearling' and Meet Louis"
incidentally, there strong likelihood change the
ranking of the first 20 pictures by the end Of 1882
up Snow White which Walt Disney planning
spring 1t still regarded Dsneys masterwok its earnings
OF $6 million to date should be boosted so
year. The picture trying to
remember the date, and reissued again in 1914
Since then it has been kept Dneys against the release
its last ISSUE w.. . ~
Apart from Duel in the Sun" Heaven"
their producers anticipated Howard Hughes four-year
fight for seal Of approval The Outlaw
investment in the picture back but he
take Of S. million which epued to be
And Then Comes Forever Amber p. s-~ .'
similar production in theme, Forever Amber" rates just
pehlnd The Outlaw" in boxofice earnings
Two rapidly climbing musicals in 1851
nd their way into the first 10 of atme popular films by the
time the list compiled again January
boat and An American in Paris" the latter coming up
tornado as it is shown overwhelming scale.
Still another soaring musical "Te Great Caruso"
This with the others destined higher ranking than
44th, its standing on the list at present.
Regardless OF what changes the figures
one that is deemed impossible This is Wind"
should ever be displaced the a
movie industry at the box office It's earnings lead
the next picture BEST Years. is too much margin