On Stage 17 of its Hollywood lot last week, Paramount Pictures Corp. held a press preview of White Christmas in VistaVision, its new wide-screen process and the newest entry in moviedom's gadgetry sweepstakes. Viewers thought that VistaVision resulted, as advertised, in greater clarity on the screen, but few predicted sensational effects at the box office. Said one producer: "CinemaScope got there first amd VistaVision isn't novel and different enough."
Twentieth-Century Fox not only got there first with CinemaScope, but has virtually captured the field. Its wide screens are already installed in just over 6,000 theaters,...