Variety (Apr 1949)

♦TARIETT'S' LONDON OPPMJK 15 ^ Continued Iront page 2 the Andes" balance on a short board laid across a rolling cyclm- Spr Turn itself is overlong and Sionotonous, Hut the costume on C Jeinroe is deflmtely not. One w leaf and she'd be wortang J^er blue lights at Leon & Ed- * Inasmuch as It long siijce^seems ia have been conceded that s. ie here to stay, producer John Singling North is showing nothing hut a showman's acumen in the new emphasis on s.a. Little Willie is still going to keep focused on the. horses the elephants and the fly- ing trapeze, but Pop has^ all that cheesecake, too. It should be a. profitable parlay. Excellent Costnmlhg: It is impossible to speak of the beauties of the new top without re- peated emphasis on the costuming. White has designed and Brooks has created dressings throughout that are as superb in cut, color and charm as any adjectives p.a. Koland Butler can think up. The bill on them allegedly ran to $285,000, which, even allowing for the cir- cus man's hypo, is still a lot of green sawdust. Dressing of the „animals. floats,, etc., is said to have run the total'up 16 '^mXifiW. ' Total number of turns Is about itbe same as last year. Likewise the number of flrst-time-in-Amer- ica acts, which were inked by North during his tour of Europe last summer. Top among these Is undoubtedly the routine of The Geraldos—husband and wife, Rene and Madeleine—on a pair of sta- tionei-y trapeae bars. They work at the top centre of the arena and, as befits the-turn, there are no other acts peirforming while they are on. ■■ - Pair works barefooted iahd does all ktjids of drops and swaps in what's really a hair-raiser. Many of the holds are only by each other's toes. Their only real com- petition in thrill acts is the Alzanas on the high wire, who are in next to closing. Harold Alanza and the three femmes with him, includ- ing his wife and sister, are back for the third year. They have a really sensational turn from the time London, April 12. \ Lone legit opening of week saw | "Maiden's Prayer,'' a jumbled | farcical mixture, bow at Playhouse;, April 6. Piece is set in British ^J^. '"'"^'^'- "iSid Caesar Rebuttals Comedian Arthur Riscoe is! starred in a supposedly serious j pretty sad opening night, the ani- mals Showing little in the way of precision, obedience or general training. Mroczkowski's wife, Gena Lipkowska puts another group through their paces in an end ring, while Andre Fox operates in the other. ai StrS^rf ^h-^S^, fto^li^SSSSS^^ ^^^^ By Naming Raw Film Stock Essential In 2 Suits Against Him F^lfn'linrfiff'' somersaultsv etc. i er" an unsatisfactory show. ^lAstt^ m Flanking them are The Riding ! ception was mixed and press poor. | Caesar with teaching a 1945 con- i tract was brushed off by the ting foreign pix on a quota list, ( comic last week who filed his an- decreasing their imports in pro- Zoppes, with Cucciola, the midget and The Riding Bostocks with Marion Seiferl, They're all playing return dates with RBB&B. Rudolph Mathies* tigers and Daraoo Dhotre's leopards, pumas and jaguar.s are the curtain- raiser. Slated for the Centre ring are Claussen's Bears, which have not ,yet arrived here from Denmark. Spotted later in the show is an- other animal mixture in all five rings — Bcstock's Mules, Miss Dante's chimp.s, Nana Woolford's dachshunds^ Patterson's Libertv ponies and Hugo Schmidt and Charlotte With elephants. Jun^bos were-a last-minule sub for Charles Pfeterson's Jockey Dogs, which haven't arrived yet. Mrs. Wool- jHX)vlde they best ca-^ing electricians returned , to work nme-turn~iB-yeai.s^ --ha'f^-yiaew-o-oar-SHgtaown o f both ♦ Buenos Aires, April 2. r At the insistence of local pro- ducers, the Argentine government i,s reported mulling the possibility of declaring tlie film industr;^ an essential one, thus putting raw stock on the list of goods essential to import. This may result in put- 3-Day Strike At 2 Rank Sludias Partially &ided swer in N. Y. federal court. De- portion to the amount of exchange fendant made a general denial of required to cover the film stock, all allegations and also counter- Work is proceeding rapidly on Claims for $75,000 damages. - He '"Tije AVerigerS,''^^w^^ Republic is, claims that under the ticket he' produclhg locally with Englisli- was supposed to get a buildup and ■ Spanish va-sions. Jolin Carroll, starring roles in films; Instead.. Mbna Maris and Adele Mara are London, April 12. Three-day production halt at J.' Comedy the papers state, he was farmed out to Columbia and also was grooved into vaude and nitery stints. , Caesar contends he inked the , „ _ ^ „ „ Arthur Rank's Denham an4 Pine-, contract upon representations from Spanish versions of Britislv pix in wood studios was partially endediM. H. Bren while th^ latter was Argentina. yesterday (Mon.) when lOO strik- his ¥. S. Coast Guard comntiand- ^ production ' outfit has inAl?ffiee^__Char^^^ capitaL , Cosnios Film,. a lonner in leads. Unit is On location at Mar del Plata summer resort and also at the new Mapol studios. Meanwhile, British producers are mulling a plan to; make jEnglisli- lots came last Friday (8) when associate of the plaintiffs, had no right to engage in outside aclivi- I'*.,^'!^'^'''"f^'ly f'*Pa'"'''T>ent, Guti's , some 47 electricians walked out at | ties while a member of the Armed Gorilla Parody is new to this coun try. It comprises six people, one a kid and one a woman, who run through a knockabout session ift which two of the number are in gorilla garb. It's too diffuse now, but may be funnier when tight- ened.. Clowns are on hand, as usual," with a goodly assortment of props, including the midget auto into which Lou Jacobs by some legerdemain squeezes himself. Em- mett Kelly again wanders through tile arena in which his heartbreak makeup has become a standard. There are four specs, all won- derfully. dres.sed. and highly imag- inative. Only one that falls short at all is " Fourth," wliieh builds up to a cur- tain dropping away to reveal a giant portrait of President Truman. Why Truman brings giggles in- stead of a burst of patriotic fervor distribute unit, is prime movei^ iii the deal. Gosmcis Will have of- fices in Rorae, with Bruno Brunet- tini in charge. Mexican, director Roberto Gaval- Denham to protest a proposed | Forces, Caesar maintains the transfer of an Electrical Trades! agreement is null and void and Union official to Shepherds' Bush.i asks dismissal of the action. : An- This was followed by a sympathy; swers also assert the comic wasn't i , . ... . ,. , , move at Pinewood. i given an opportunity to- read the is putting finishmg touches on ,v T.- A 1 ■ acenrd I Mi Vida por la Tuya," which he Despito the Pinewood normalcy,, accorO. _ , ^^^.^^^^^^ j^^j.^ f„j, Argentina Sono ae-Denham.-situation rei«iauis to-, ^lu wotjier N.- Y.jwieral court-; ^qj^- Mecha Ortiz, Italian changed with the . original 47 i battle, Caesar answered a $150,000 i inpi„ripri p-ct juicers still out. Complicating -^o—Krr„„,»,t =.»=i«<:t him acuess, mciuaea m casi matters was the fnanagemerit's earlier co inter-action of dismiss- ing 2,000 workers at both plants and insisting it couldn't keep them damage suit brought against him , , .. . by Coast writer D'every Freeman Argentina film personalities are With a general denial. Plaintiff skedded. to transfer to Spain this scribe charges Caesar used his year under^ the aegis of Spanish ...»..v...6 - -v.^.v...v .vv-v-i- ........ "Penny Gum Machine" comedy i prodflcer Cesareo Gonzalez. Luw „hen the studios were -inopera-^ skit without premission, Comedian, | Cosar Amadori will direct Zully tive, However, tlie Rank Organi-^ according to the answers, admits Moreno and Fernando Rey there. ,n,v nnP rn.r t»i,« nation later withdrew notices to; use of the routine in the Broad-,while Hugo del CarrU is to make th^'finafe.'''Thf GlorS ! entire Pinewood staff ipliowing, way '^^^"tC^/^^^ M»f ^^^^^^^^^^ Harold and one of the :gai| gets from the audience is something to the top of the arena by walking else again. up a 45-degree cable until the ; Other specs include the "Girl in finale, when Harold rides a bike : the Moon" number in which the across the wire with the gals sus-I 40 femmes in the ballet on the pended from a bar across his; ropes are set off by Kay Clarke, Roberts, , ing. shoulders. ; Alma piaia and Jean Sleeter doing usual attendance of electricians, i But, the papers state, this material .wi., T\ 1 J 1.- was written by Caesar and Allen Meanwhile, Denliam production with M:.v r.iehman edit- is restricted to outdoor scenes not requiring use of lights. Rank Or- ganization's refusal to discuss the Pinewood and Denham notices with union officials resulted in Assn. of Cine & Allied Techni- cians protesting to Labor Ministry ; and also the Board of Trader i yoicing extreme concern with the' Among the new thrill acts is the more spectacular areial work above J situatioii, AGAT general .secretary, Great Swan.son, who proves some- thing of a disappointment. He does a plunge of about 25 feet from the top of the arena with a hangman's noose around his neck. It prob jQuota Crackdown the Stages. Number has a theme , George .Elyin declared if British song, "I'm in Love With the Girl | pictures wer6 to survive the "gov- , London, April 12. in the Moon," with music by Henry ,j ernmerit \.'ili have to step in." British ftlrii Producers Assn.'s S!Andemtt.*S%h-°has'5ro: ! 23^?}^ Il^L ^^fi^.. "^f^ much heralded fact-finding gestapo, wi(^'Art;^^ a picture called, "The Darkie With the White Soul." Nini Mar- shall is also slated to make a film in Spain after her U. S. tour, Be- nito Perojo will direct, with Span- ish comedian Miguel Ligero co- starredi^; Something is holding up comple- I tion of the historical picture (with I political bias) which SINCC.'V ! Films is making under the direc- tion of Julio Saracerii. Director lias : been give a deadline in which to ■ wind up or else, i There was a ding-dong struggle ' between Sono Film's "Dios se lo Pague" (which has Zully Moreno ably looks a lot less spectacular j iided the theme for "The Glorious i ,'!f,lf^.*'lni^^!*'hL„of-'^"'^TtL ^tl brought in With ..the introduction' and EihelcQ^s "Tlerra del Fuego" than it actually is because of the' Fourth,'' and the oto^^^^^ fhe film crisL was an "act' of the 45% quota and operating , at the voting on best picture of rope . Francisco" and "B i-thdays." i *'^'J^°.,, ® , ^^^^ " • u k,- ^\v, . year by the Association of Movie ol God and urged the government, quietly behind the scenes, IS to be commentators. Sono Film's apparent padding of the around his neck. He shares the fe! another new act the show la,. o-:-^ ...u.. uh.=.....6 , . Mh^^X.^ci^*'**'*^o?"^ *"''' ^'*^ ^''^ night, but will be tightened to | jn^'^stry. ran^'sL^'^Curs opening i ^'j °':,P='''' t^e brought into action against .. I'. .6 i But ACAT prexy An- j^g^^ exhibitor defaulters ' ww,®*?^t«^»] three' hours' by the time it winds I thony Asquith laid the blame in. «ticular care the BFP.A is draw- a naSnfJ^v ^^^T f^l**^L''''»r' "P 33-day run at the Garden i the lap of management. , } ^asis of information col- a particularly good turn on an i\/r„„ o T+m t>.i.-nrr,<>^^,ii-fi-,ai-! — — i, r ■ _.. ■ ..i...... f , - -- Pic- ai- ture won first place, which caused With Emelco to beef. - particularly good turn on an anchor-like prop. ^ A first-time perch a ct, Del Mor- als, shares the spotlight with" an- other percher, Les Deux Jacques, May 8. It'll be trimmed further to \ two hours and 45 minutes on the road.. -T onr this year will ski p the Coast, which was hit la.st year Which North aims to schedule for and Los Onas, a balancing Ifidder alternate seasons Troupe will play . ^1?*=^ hoWs the center; Chicago for nine days in mid-sea-! iun ^}^yr ^" ' son and wind up in Te^as. i Th» ^"^t^afe all holdovers— Garden's getting a $6 top again. CcnJul'%J^'^''y^' ,J'^'"! i Added this year have been 600 SSf*"; Pe Flying Htarolds and pj-oinenatje geats directly in front St Comets. Because of ; the loges on the floor, giving a lack of space m the Garden, last - ^ - ° _ , , I lated by the bureau, a short list i nv|l .Daifli CalAiif^^ Argent. Prod ucer Makes oi the most t-^e a ches of .™ .^7."^" RKO Switch" Title" OnT^^T^-^^^^^ RAU DWlltll line Un , Action win be delayed unm the, u„r. I ■- "V- ""L u i 1 capacity now of 14,800. B.o. opened fiX'n »n K ''"ernating shows, but i g^lJ ^.^^^^j^ j,^^^^^ tj,e circus, 1 !*rn,/i 'l^tu" simultaneously on i ^ut is expected to pick up on the ■a Mfwf.°T''^''A?^"^^'^^^^ of advance sale, wiiich is in A^fi^"^: ^^^^J™,^ (first time , gUghtly ahead of last year, in America I. and The Great Trisco.: Pat Valdo again bandies the The One-Finger' UTondcr i ringmaster chore, aided by Harry Back again, too, is Unus, who j Thomas. Richard Barstow did the has a nifty number in balaricing 'Choreography, Thomas Farrar was on a globe on one finger. He pieces art director, Herman Rosse pro- It. out with considerable spectcular ; vided the decor, Merle Evans is i 'Haiica' at I act MnmAnt return of J. Arthur Rank, with fel-1 nUUdt: dl Ldal-HlUIllCUl; ]ov^ delegates to the Washington; Buenos Aires, April 2. i conference here early next month,' RKO ran into trouble on--4;he ' but understood the fuH details will ,. : , „. ■ ^ ... I be sent to the government depart- eve ol its preem at Gran Rex with | ^^^^^^ j^fg j^^y i "Mr. Blandings Builds Dream; 1 ; House," which launched the new; London Preem of 'Joan' : exploitation system at that house. ■ j Picture had been translated into, I Spanish as "Hogar, Dulce Hogar". ("Home Sweet Home"), and the. ' - Draws liarge Crowd London, April 12. Royal preem of "Joan of Arc" campaign had been running with! «t London Pavilion, aided by re- that title for about a month. On' f»oval of lightmg restnctm^^ the preem date, however, Argen- : thousands to Piccadilly Circ, iiaKchig'a^^^ ^^d"^An;S;^tteitina Sono Film (lo^l producersl ; ^i^^lSie really superior showmln who gets Concello aerial director. ' suddenly ■■discovered that-it pos- fi m and d^loniati n^^ the absolute maximum from his :, : I '——- sessed the copyright to the title eluding Prime Minister and ^Ifpra^l^ ^ ^nSS: Caudldight "Sfcepherd' edly the smoothest, fastest and all- n n i* « i n I around juggler since Rastelli. He's , r Of EdmOUr&h f eStlVal flanked by the Asia Boys (3), and . *««"««»«»S" * v-oinui the Franklin Astrid Duo (new-' Edinburgh, April 5. lighting thousands to Piccadilly Circus. Unveiling was attended by many es in- Mi-s. and forbade its use. RKO had to Clement Attlee as well as the switch to "Hogar de Ensueno" Archbishop of Canterbury. It set ("Dream House") to avoid a suit, a radio precedent since the first ; This involved changing airpostersi time a film preem ever was aired j bills and other publicity material by the JBBC. at the last moment. Sono. Film's S??^'***"**'^*-*^*^*''^^v-V»*«"®, ,p»«8fgt«tion at;■ "cu$«j*ery^''.«»t.'.-.Bitd--ihupfi?''' Irmdnii Film Notes «n«ng. Edinburgh Festival of 1949 will be, ^^^„^ h«art9ehi.s. liOlUIUil I Hill ilOlCS ancing. Edinburgh Festival of 1949 will be , ^HrfpH "^^*^^^^ „,There are also acrobatics from revival of old Scottish pastoral ''"^^^^ - London Aprin2 UvitfL^^U^^'^ here, comedy, "The Gentle .^epj,«»W-.;.. - ?ffi'oo2^irffi David Henley "us? our of J'^. iv imBf* . set for midnight performances by all lecw^^^ Organization although »ecause oi unwiiimgness, on ine L\ - impressive springboard act, 1 candlelight. . $130,000^ m seven week.s^ at 53c^^ part of top film ^or government Producer Tyrone Guthrie says ooe. scale. Thib is all the moie i ^j^^y ^^^^j^^jj^ ^^^^^^^^ impressive ^^--b-"-"" —■ they're flanked by the aero work ; Chief; Indies Pleased London, April 12. Long awaited appointment of a chairman for Film Finance Corp. became a reality yesterday (Mon.) when Lord Rcith, former governor of British Broadcasting Corp., was named by the Board of Trade, His selection was hailed by independ- ent producers inasmuch as the film bank will now open an avenue of direct financial aid to the indies. Other bank directors remain the same as on the inlerirri flnatiiCe ; corporation's board while James H. Lawrie continues as manajging di- rector. Film hi.en are expected, to. receive a further break in the Board of Trade regulations which provide that until production costs are recovered the bank may seek deferment of remuneration from producers. Naming of the chairman, its un- derstood, was stalled for some time because of unwillingness, on the BoSio<,^^J^f'1?h'"*%5"'^'^t "p i ths'Anas' Ramsay^^^S considering that the film: agenQr;'to tijeJ'^S «ogmos and The Three Acros. ^,25, mu.st have drawing-room! was released in the hottest part tion - " " - • ■ of the summer period. Jeffrey Bcrnerd due here early September to produce a pic- ture at Elstree for Associated Brit- bi 1 The^^Jgo^'^^^^^^^^ for successful pres- Board over back of five e'le&s ' entation. It is slaled for .staging in "Life With Father ' (WBV day . . ^ ^. ^ ^ ^. ^ Eq„ost^L'*"&*te topped We o^^te Upper Hall of Edinburgh's dating at Premier and mrcfa'n",e^r'^f" of Lilian Vlt- Signet Library. i ^sUiough nIgV M ar^lTdemo'^ r^^^^^^^^ Republic Piclures International ' wufdel^y S o ''e ste 'p^- to costar with Richard Greene With advances to six companies, Film Finance Corp. made Its first direct loans to independent pro- ducers. Those benefiting include a co-op outfit recently established by Nicholas Davenport. Anthony Havelock-Allan's Valiant Films, and Nat "Bronsten's Plantagenet ^ , —^ ifiiiamjiiai wm ueiay leiease ui i^ooici ra- Prpmipre " whifh Ana- anO JNat JtSronsien 3 rianiageuei flanked by a pair of femme hold-, Corp. last week inked an agree- rade''because set to go into these ivvoria t^^^ ' ^'L /n,. Films. It aiw ovens, Cilly Feindt and Claude ment with Menachem Kolan of Tel two houses. . : ! AlexMider Korda with English loan to Sir'Alexattiftr. t:Wi»'t »rl^: halS^wKr^s.^'^'^^''*'''"^"^ T^J.'^Ki^l^ ''S^^-l My Love';-*an^ ish Lion and an advance to Renown Applications from three Cwslan M^Azkowski i,' hack ' ha^t^eiTbXa distribute'and e^ : ran- six weeks at Ambassador, aK ier; currently in Europe, to take i Pictures Applications from mm- ^■iOi t^li^Arho^^^^ hlbiU^sin^W2f ■ ' Iready is on reissue at the Iguazu. her place. Imore indie producers are pend.ni.