Paramount News is the name on the

newsreels A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

produced by Paramount Pictures from 1927 to 1957.

History

The Paramount newsreel operation began in 1927 with

Emanuel Cohen Emanuel Cohen (1892 - 1977) was an American film producer. He was vice president in charge of production at Paramount Pictures from 1932 to 1935. From 1935 he had his own production company, Major Films, making films starring Mae West and Bing C ...

as an editor. It typically distributed two issues per week to theaters across the country until its closing in 1957. In the early days, Paramount News footage was silent and filmed with Debrie Parvo cameras branded with the unique Paramount logo and slogan "The Eyes of the World". It is estimated that about 15 of those cameras were bought by Paramount, but only a few survive today; one can be seen at Paramount Studios. Paramount newsreels typically ran from seven to nine minutes, with the average story running from 40 to 90 seconds. At first, when the newsreels were silent, narration was presented via title cards. By 1930, sound had been introduced and voiceover talent (see below) had been hired to provide the narration. When the news warranted, the entire issue was devoted to one major story, such as the bombing of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

(1941), the historic inauguration of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's third term as President (1941), the presentation of a Mid-Century Sports Poll (1950) in which sports figures such as

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

, Jesse Owens,

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

, and Babe Didrikson (among others) were highlighted, or a recap of the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n college football team of the previous year. A typical issue began with a "hard" news item and wound its way down to "softer" news items as it progressed, usually ending with a recap of recent sports events. Paramount cameramen shot some rare exclusive footage, putting Paramount News near the forefront of the competition with other newsreel operations such as

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its col ...

(1910-1956),

Fox Movietone News Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Australia and New Zealand until 1970 ...

(1928-1963),

Hearst Metrotone News ''Hearst Metrotone News'' (renamed ''News of the Day'' in 1936) was a newsreel series (1914–1967) produced by the Hearst Corporation, founded by William Randolph Hearst. History Hearst produced silent newsreels under the titles of ''Hear ...

(1914-1967),

Universal Newsreel Universal Newsreel (sometimes known as Universal-International Newsreel or just U-I Newsreel) was a series of 7- to 10-minute newsreels that were released twice a week between 1929 and 1967 by Universal Studios. A Universal publicity official, S ...

(1929-1967), and

The March of Time ''The March of Time'' is an American newsreel series sponsored by Time Inc. and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was based on a radio news series broadcast from 1931 to 1945. The "voice" of both series was Westbrook Van Voorhis. ...

(1935-1951). One Paramount News exclusive was the 1937 Republic Steel strike in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. On

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, May 26, 1937, the strike escalated into a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

,Memorial Day Massacre of 1937
at th
Illinois Labor History Society
documented by the 1937 film ''

Republic Steel Strike Riot Newsreel Footage ''Republic Steel Strike Riot Newsreel Footage'' is a 1937 newsreel of the strike at Republic Steel on Memorial Day, May 30, 1937, which escalated into a massacre when Chicago police fired on protestors (1937 Memorial Day massacre). Ten protesters w ...

''. Highlights of Paramount News include basketball player

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

being introduced to the sports world at the age of seventeen, playing high school basketball, and countless special coverage pieces about Paramount movie premieres and stars, including

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, Bing Crosby, Martin and Lewis, Jerry Lewis solo, and Frank Sinatra at New York's Paramount Theater in 1944 with throngs of bobby soxers swooning. However, footage of W. C. Fields on a Paramount set filming '' International House'' when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck was later revealed to have been faked by that film's crew for publicity purposes. Paramount mogul Adolph Zukor "presented" (produced) Paramount News and appeared in many of its newsreels throughout the years. The Paramount News slogan was "The Eyes and Ears of the World" ("The Eyes of the World" in its early silent days) and was included in its well-known closing, which featured a cameraman turning a large 35 mm movie camera toward the audience. This was accompanied by a music theme titled "

Paramount On Parade ''Paramount on Parade'' is a 1930 all-star American pre-Code revue released by Paramount Pictures, directed by several directors including Edmund Goulding, Dorothy Arzner, Ernst Lubitsch, Rowland V. Lee, A. Edward Sutherland, Lothar Mendes, O ...

", composed by Elsie Janis.

Voiceover talent

Voiceover talent included Gregory Abbott (1900–1981), lead voice for the presentation of news and the only narrator to stay until the series ended in 1957. Bill Slater was a narrator for many years. Other narrators included

Gabriel Heatter Gabriel Heatter (September 17, 1890 – March 30, 1972) was an American radio commentator whose World War II-era sign-on, "There's good news tonight," became both his catchphrase and his caricature. Early life The son of Jewish immigrants from ...

(who introduced the voiceover talent in a special issue release of Paramount News in the early 1930s, Gregory Abbott being among those introduced), Vincent Connoly, Maurice Joyce, Dennis James (later a TV

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

and variety show host), Gilbert Martyn, and

Frank Gallop Frank Gallop (June 30, 1900 in Boston, Massachusetts – May 17, 1988 in Palm Beach, Florida) was an American radio and television personality. Radio Early days Frank Gallop went into broadcasting by chance. Born and raised in Boston's Back ...

among others. The sports segments were narrated by Bill Slater in the early years and from 1948 to the end of the Paramount News run in 1957 by ex-athlete and football player Marty Glickman, who later became known as the voice of New York sports and was renowned in sports broadcasting. Other broadcasters such as

Johnny Most John M. Most (June 15, 1923 – January 3, 1993) was an American sports announcer, known primarily as the raspy radio voice of the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1953 to 1990. Most's radio call during the final moment ...

Don Dunphy Don Dunphy (July 5, 1908 – July 22, 1998) was an American television and radio sports announcer specializing in boxing broadcasts. Dunphy was noted for his fast-paced delivery and enthusiasm for the sport. It is estimated that he did "blow-by ...

and Jackson Beck lent a hand doing sports voiceovers for a few Paramount News releases; Beck also did a few "hard news" stories as well. Gregory Abbott, Gilbert Martyn, and Maurice Joyce also handled some sports stories.

Awards

''Paramount News Issue #37'' (1946) was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Documentary Short.

References

{{reflist Newsreels 1927 establishments in the United States 1957 disestablishments in the United States