Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-11-09

The extraordinary thing abe
its success. is that the film is a
sample.
Il It is quite possible that the
millions the picture has earned
at the boxoff1ce will leave it the
first sample In this history of
human inyentiveness that out
sold the subsequent product. It is
also possible. Of course, that this
will not be the case. This, how
ever, spoils the drama of Gin
erama's first birthday and Is bet
ter left unconSidered.
y 4 " X
The absolute maximum Of en-
thusiasm for Cinerama concen-
trated in one person at today's
festivities is that represented by
Lowell Thomas. Of the several
founding fathers of the process,
he is the one most rhapsodic
about its future.
He does not give a hang, or
stronger, that the makers of fic-
tional films have SHE'D away
from the size and awesome real
lsn1of Cinerama. Let them invent,
develop and promote their own
enlarged packages for their
wares. It is possible that they
are right in their fear that the
realism Of the Cinerama process
would overwhelm the most pow
erful fiction Hollywood can
imagine.
Mr.. Thomas is not alone in
his feeling that Cinerama is a
medium for majesty the majesty
OF a continent unfolding under
the pilots seat of a low-f1ying
airplane. Or, to reach for a
hitler majesty, that of the primal
terror of a small human plunging
down a roller coaster. Or the old
majesty of the romantic atmos-
phere that fingers in the moon
light on the canals of Venice. Or
that of the reaching spire of an
ancient cathedral.
It is perhaps true that the
facts Of life. it's mightiest and
most minute realities, are Gin
erama's logical materials.
In the light of it's great and
lasting popularity, it has to be
that the basically fascinating
thing about Cinerama is the
process itself.
Actually-and this is only the
more to its credit-"This Is
Cinerarna" is a two and one
half year old newsreel. Every
single item of its contents has
been filmed before, but with a
life expectancy of a few days
or few weeks, at the most. In
Cinerama, it is preserved. APP
parently forever, as reality itself
seems to be, but actually Is not.
In the beginning, those
charged with the promotion of
Cinerama found themselves with
what will go down in history as
one Of the classic dilemmas of
advertising. These were the
proud pros. heirs to the "colos-
sal" tradition, of film promotion.
There was no achievement they
could not reduce to words.
So, 1t was amusing to hear
them admit that they found
Cinerama indescribable. They
did not quit. This is a type
that never does. If the language
falls short of their requirements,
they revise it upward.
Not this time. Uncounted
hours of agony went into the
simple, unadorned slogan, "It
puts you in the picture" Six
words adding up to a grand total
Of seven syllables. However, it
worked: or if it didn't, the
magic of the indescribable Gin
erama did. Every week of the
year This Is Cinerama" turned
up In the top ten money making
films which, by the industry's
yardstick, is Paradise.
Logic would also seem to die
tate that the second Cinerama
product, "Cinerama Holiday" is
misnamed. This Is Cinerama,
Too" perhaps to the end of time,
If any, seems to be the title die
tated by all the evidence.
X y y Il
The second production, now
being processed for release at a
date no one in the company
seems to find pressing, is the
work of Producer Louis de Roche
mont. 1t has story line. too
thin to foul up the miracle works
of the triple headed camera It