The Film Daily (1948)

<3^ Thursday, March 4, 19 Indie Producers Make Bad Italian Deals (Continued from Page 1) would be willing to pay a minimum guarantee against percentage, the innocents wound up making outright deals to fast talking promoters. Then again, when an American independent comes to Italy to make a picture he is sometimes treated like a pre-war tourist, and taken for all he's got. Cowan told The Film Daily about a well-known Hollywood figure who was so profligate with his backer's funds that costs for the production were tripled through his cavalier disregard for expenses. Such a grandiose attitude has created a disadvantage far other independent producers, Cowan pointed out, since the spendthrift has now established a cockeyed standard that Italian film interests point to as a guide for establishing fees and prices on other productions. Despite inflation, money is short in Italy, Cowan said. There is very little confidence in the Government, he added. Besides, it's a common practice for many business men to keep two sets of books in order to cheat the Government out of taxes, Cowan alleged. The feeling in Italy is prevalent, too, that the Government will fall under Communist control either by ballot or bullet. But Communist it will go, he predicted, by this Summer. Although life is gay, food plentiful, and luxuries available — at the price, the feeling of insecurity is so strongly rooted that many movie men in Italy won't reinvest their profits toward improving the studios. Pictures are still made over there with creaky cameras, foggy sound apparatus, noisily burning lamps, and erratic labs. Though many in the Italian film colony might view the future with trepidation, outsiders continue to flock to Italy, Cowan said. Latest producer to make the hegira is Gabriel Pascal, who is about to take over the Terrania Studio which is between Florence, Pisa and Leghorn, with GBS's "Androcles and the Lion" slated as the initial production. Cowan expects to return to Italy in June to wind up production deals on two, perhaps three pictures. As associate producer of Rod E. Geiger Productions, he went to Italy to arrange for the production of "Christ in Concrete." But the producers decided to make "Christ" in Hollywood after all. "Galileo," however, will be made in Italy, Cowan announced. Send (Birthday | QreetingA Z7, March 4 John Garfield Harry Hornick Dorothy Mackaill David Bader Pierre Gendron Robert Rubin Martha O'Driscoll Charles E. Moyer Eve Siegel Harry O'Connor Robert Rica VhWmWmV THE RIALTO Thursday's Tele-lines • • • THE QUESTION BEFORE THE HOUSE: IS DAVID O. SELZ NICK now interested in acquiring the Atlas Corp. holdings in RKO there are reports — interesting reports. ▼ ▼ ▼ • • • "THE NAKED CITY'S" brilliant world premiere at the New York Capitol last night poured $150,000 into the coffers of the New York Heart Campaign To members of the Entertainment Division. Phil M's own award, the Order of Applause, with Two Palms. ... • Jack (Columbia) Cohn's baseball reminiscences in Jimmy Powers' N. Y. Daily News column yesterday made mighty interesting reading. ... • Adolphe Menjou has joined the Committee to Stop World Communism, initiated by the Polish American Congress. ... • Theater Arts' new critic is Gilbert Gabriel. ... • Adelaide Klein, who makes her film bow in "The Naked City," is cherishing one of those characteristic "bravo" pencil sketches from Si "Metro" Seadler. ... • Prexy Hamilton Hoge of U. S. Television estimates tele set sales currently are at a yearly $400, 000,000 rate That would be the pre-war peak of radio sets Hoge sees a 50 per cent Jump in tele set sales in 1949. ▼ * ▼ • • • FROM THE MAIL BAG: "If the picture producers are trying to reduce the cost of their product, why do they not call back into service some of the old-time directors who not only made good pictures with short bankrolls, but great pictures?" — William F. Haddock. T ▼ ▼ • • • THIS LOOKS like a busy year for film attorneys A rash of stockholders' suits is in prospect. ... • With political tempers running short, the Pacific Coast Conference would appear to be on the right track in protesting stars' appearances in political films. ... © Special train and special plane, too, will take Chicago Variety Club members to the Miami convention. ... • Bond Stores will make advertising time on the Bond Highspot News Motorgraph in Times Square available to the entertainment field Operation starts in early April. ... • Louis B. Mayer is reported investing heavily in real estate these days, with the acquisition of the Rivoli here only one of several purchases And more are said to impend Next buy probably will be in Frisco. ▼ ▼ T • • • TELE IN TAVERNS: "Television receivers in taverns will continue to draw extra trade only so long as this medium of entertahv ment is available to a limited degree in certain communities As soon as every tavern has a television receiver, the value of this selling aid is reduced." — Beer Facts, tavern trade mag. T ▼ ▼ • • • HOLLYWOOD REPORTS of six-figure story purchases and the restoration of pix requiring elaborate sets and costuming to production schedules may be regarded two ways One, as an indication that Hollywood is unregenerate Or, two, as proof that Hollywood, having taken stock, has concluded that all is not lost, and that the domestic market can be developed to the point that lost foreign coin is recouped at home Which sorta recalls that not so long ago Eric A. Johnston was telling a New York audience that Hollywood is "reconverting" and "re-tooling" its production machinery "without much fear and without much pain — none in some quarters." ▼ ▼ ▼ • • • VERY AMUSING, that verbal exchange Down Under between Ralph Doyle of RKO and Bob Kerridge, J. Arthur Rank's partner in the Kerridge N. Z. circuit, over the relative merits of ballyhoo Kerridge thinks ballyhoo is silly and undigniiied Doyle thinks Kerridge is out of step with actualities, not only in Australia, but in the U. S. and Britain as well Which sorta suggests this question: Just how do American pix, sans ballyhoo, do in Kerridge houses? CODING fillti GOIflG SIR PHILIP A. WARTER, chairman and dir tor of Associated British Pictures, Ltd., lea tc morrow for Los Angeles for conferences w Harry M. and Jack L. Warner. BOB HOPE will do next Tuesday's broadc J from the University of Purdue at Lafayette, I I MARGARET LECZER, secretary to William f Rodgers, M-G-M vice-president and g/^~ I sc * manager, leaves tomorrow for a Miar.f" :ati NORMAN TAUROG leaves today forthe Co I after a vacation in the East. BENNETT COMPTON, who arrived yestercl from London, leaves today for the M-G-M stu 1 where he will direct "The Forsythe Saga." HAROLD POSTMAN, assistant to Alan F. Cut mings, in charge of M-G-M exchange operatioi returns Monday from a three-week tour of Sou J ern exchanges. BEN MELNIKER of M-G-M's legal departm.J will return today from Chicago. PETER J. WOOD, secretary of the ITO | Ohio, is vacationing in Florida from Columb'j J. E. CURRIE, manager of National Thea j Supply's Drive-In Theater Deportment, has j j returned from the Coast with stops in Denver cl Chicago. Paramount home office group flying to Hoi J wood Sunday for studio conferences inclu | PAUL RAIBOURN, BEN WASHER, STANL 1 SHUFORD, SID MESIBOV and PAUL ACKERM/T accompanied by RUDY MONTGELAS of | Buchanan Agency. NORMAN ELSON, Trans-Lux vice-president/1 in Washington today. He returns to New Y I tomorrow. BERT GRANET is vacationing in Mexico Cl following his production of RKO Radio's "Bee Express." PAUL N. LAZARUS, JR., UA advertising cJ publicity director, left New York for Hollyw( I yesterday on a three-week business trip. STANLEY KRAMER is en route to the Coc \ accompanied by GEORGE GLASS, Screen Pic Inc. vice-president after three weeks of c ferences in New York. Admiral's "Movie Theatei Over B & K Video Outlet (Continued from Page 1) ing today, station will telecast group of full-length features "wi famous Hollywood stars," one eve Thursday for 13 weeks. Pix acquired for tele include "L tie Men," "Danger on the Air," "O Romantic Night" and "Three Chee" for Miss Bishop." Admiral sponsors a similar "Mo-1 Theater of the Air" over WNB Washington. By Spring, compa expects to have shows in a numt of other television markets, accoi ing to Ross D. Siragusa, preside of Admiral. :; VA Booking Contract Continued for Year Chiefs of motion pictures in Veterans Administration branch offices at a meeting in New York last week decided to continue the present booking arrangements for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Under current motion picture contracts with 21 film distributors, each VA hospital gets a weekly program consisting of three full-length 35 mm. shows; two 16 mm. features; one 16 mm. 30 min. short; and current newsreels in 16 mm. and in 35 mm. Annual attendance at these showings, limited to veteran-patients, "rs estimated at 10,000,000.