A TRIBUTE TO ZUKOR

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21974, 24 December 1936, Page 9

A TRIBUTE TO ZUKOR

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF PARAMOUNT JJMULTANEOUS PRESENTATION OF "CHAMPAGNE WALTZ" A man of whom one seldom hears is Mr Adolph Zukor. Yet he is one of the most powerful men in the production of motion pictures to-day. If you look carefully when a Paramount Picture flashes to the screen, you will see the line "Adolph Zukor presents." This quiet, unassuming man founded the Paramount Company some 25 years ago, and to-day theatres throughout the world pay tribute to him. ' In the early days, the productions of Famous Players, Jesse L. Lasky, Featuie Plays, Boswbrth and Oliver Morosco Photoplays were grouped together. The heads of these various companies, grouped by Adolph Zukor, ■wanted a common bond or trademark ■whereby they would be known. Seated round a table one day, they were trying to find a name suitable. Paramount -was a word that indicated that the pictures were supreme, and so a rough sketch of a mountain was put forward, but it did not seem enough, and so a rough circlet of stars was added, and this eventually developed into the Paramount Trademark as we know it on pictures to-day. The stars around the trademark to-day represent the 24 stars that originally were on the roster at the time of the meeting. In honour of Mr Adolph Zukor, Paramount has planned one of the greatest feats of distribution known in pictures to-day. One of the finest musical productions yet made, "Champagne Waltz," which stars Gladys Swarthout and Fred Mac Murray, has been chosen as the picture that will mark the anniversary. This fine musical romance will be released in no fewer than 300 principal cities throughout the world on January 22. Just a pause will be long enough to impress the magnitude of this feat of distribution and the careful planning necessary, so that patrons of the most important theatres in the world will .see this picture on that date. In Australia and New Zealand this picture will make its debut, along with the other world centres. Instead of the customary premiere in one or perhaps two theatres in the Commonwealth, no fewer than 16 in Australia and four in New Zealand will, on the one day, flash the musical masterpiece of ""Champagne Waltz" on their screens. The chosen theatre in Christchurch Is the State Theatre.