Variety (November 1954)

INTERNATIONAL ^XV|VVV) UU) MIUV London, Oct. 26. 4 The unofficial London bus strike iade a- slight dent in boxoffice re- ceipts last session, but overall : re- sults continue .satisfactory. “The Egyptian” opened in boffo style in two pre-release theatres. Second round for pic at the Carlton is solid $7,000 or over, while same session at the Odeon, Marble, Arch shapes fine $9,000 or.close. “King Richard and* Crusaders” looks trim $9,000 in. its initial round at: Warner Theatre. “Black Shield of Falworth, ■■ stout on open* .ihg stanza at the Odeon, Leicester. Square, is holding at neat $8,000 in second; “The Student Prince” is fair in second frame at the Erhipire after okay $13,000 . ooener. “Belles of St. Tri iaris” is still smash $11,000 at the Gaumont in the fourth; session. “Modern. Times" continues big with over $9,000 in • its second week at the London ; Pavilion. “Rear Window” stays in the big money with a sock $9,000 for: third week at the Plaza. “Cinerama” at. the Casino is fated disappointing with $13,000 for third week at the •Casino. IV IF k/uivy«u y w ww Brit Actor Wins Libel Suit Vs. London Paper London,. Nov. 2. An actor won hi^s claim for libel against the Sunday Dispatch in the High Court last week, .although he was not mentioned by name in the paper. The plaintiff, Frank Elliott, claimed that an article in that pa- per on Feb. 7, 1954, referred to a white-haired man who looked a good type and had a small pension which prevented his playing at .-the tables. The article stated further that he was ,a beggar and was in the habit of receiving gifts of money .from women. Elliott, who was ah actor arid writer and has appeared in British and American films, said he had been for many years a frequent visitor to Monte Carlo where he was a wellknown figure. The paper apologized in court and agreed to pay a “substantial sum” by way of damages and costs. Estimates for Last Week Carlton (20th). (1,128; 55-$L70.)— .“The Egyptian” (20th) (2d wk). Sol- id $7,000 or/near after $8,400, for first week. Holds on. . Casino (Indie) (1,337; 70-$2.15V— “Cinerama” (Robin) (3d wk). Below hopes .with.$13,000 this frai , rep- resenting about 50% capacity. Empire. (M-G) (3,099; 55-$1.70)— “Student Prince” (MrG) (2d wk). Fair $.11,000 or near. Previous week was $13,000. Stays on. ' Gaumont (CMA) Cl,500; 50-$1.70) —“Belies of St. Trinians” (BL) (4th wk), Smash $11,000, same as third round. “Down 3 Dark Streets” (UA) open st Oct. 28. Leicester Square Theatre (CMA) (1,753; 50-$ 1.70)—“Lease of Life” (GFD) (3d wk). Moderate $3,600. Last round, $2,900, '.‘Mad About Men” (GFD) preems Get.28. London Pavilion (UA) (.1,217; 50- $1,70)—“Modern /Times” (UA) (re- issue) i3d wk). Great $8,800. Sec- ond week $9,200; Continues. ; Odeon, Leicester. Square (CMA) (2,200; 50-$1.70) f— “Black Shield Falworth” (GFD.) (2d wk), .Neat' $8,000. Opening round was $8,400. “Barefoot Contessa” (UA) opens Nov. 4. Odeon, Marble Arch (20th) (2,- 200; 50 $ 1.70) — “The Egyptian” (20th) (2d wk). Fine $9,500. First week was $11,000. Plaza. (Par) (1,092; 70-$1.70) —• “Rear Window” (Par) (3d wk). Fancy $9,000 after $11,000 in pre- vious flame. “White Christmas” (Par) preems Nov. 4, being first Vista Vision pic for England. Rialto (LFP) (592; 50-$l,30) -*! ‘Coins in Fountain” (20th). Fi $4,3C0. Stays indef. Ritz. lMG) (432; 50-$1.70) — “On Waterfront” (Col) (3d wk). Nice $4,000 or near this round, same as previous-week. Stays on indeL Studio One (APT) (600; 30-$1.20) —“Living Deseirt” (Disney) (23d Wk'. Excellent $2,400. Stays again. Warner (WB) (1,735; 50-$1.75)— “King Richard and Crusaders” (WB). Trim $9,000 seen in opening round.. Tiny Brit, Rep Theatre Asks lax Exemption London, Npv. 2. •Ah appeal, for total ■admission tax 'exemption on behalf of small- .repertory theatres was sent last; week to the Chancellor of' the Ex- chequer by ' Edmund Warwick, lessee of A 290-seatei* in the Mid- lands. He;, argued that the pres- ent- policy of taxing them out of existence on the (me hand and authorizing a Ideal levy on the rates to .revive them on the other was not.good business. The appeal to the /Chancellor, which coincided With.the news that, the . Oxford. Playhouse, one of the oldest', provincial repertory thea- tres, is ■ to close next year, re- quested abolition of. admission duty on ail seats mo to, 70c. in theatres with a b, \city > of. less than 500. According to a state- ment''made in Oxford, the. Play- house had lost more than $14,000 in si months. Mexico City, Oct. 26. Ten top pie producers, are the latest owners-operators of Clasa, Mexico's original modern film studios, which date from 1935. The producers—Jesus Grovas, Mi- guel Zacarias, Raul de Anda,. Al- fonso Rosas Priegd, Antonio Ma-. touk, Pedro Galindo, Guillermo and. JoSe Luis Calderon, Armando Drive Alba, Valentin Gascon and. Juan J; Ortega—bought Clasa for $360,000 from the. trade’s own bank, the semi-official Banco Na- cional Cinematografico. They have a year in which to pay up. This is Clasa’s third change of owners-operators in recent year*. The first, sale was. by the Nacional Financiers, the government's fiscal agency, to the batik. That was a bit of. a bargain for the bank. As the studios owed the bank $200,000, Cinematografico only had to pay $160,000 cash. The bank, apparent ly, made no cash profit on its sale of Clasa to the producers. . Clasa, a 10-stage plant; had been charging the lowest in Mexico for studioing pix. The new owners-op- erators expe.ct to make an annual average of 30 pix at Clasa. | — : ‘WAR IN air; teepix SERIES, PREEMS K0V. 8 London, Nov. 2. “war in- the Air,” a series of 15 half-hour telepix,. made by BBC- TV in conjunction with, the Air Ministry, is to be beamed on the British network starting next Mon- day (8v. The films tell the story of air power and. its impact on the world, during the , last 20 years. First in the series, “The Fated Sky,” covers .the progress of the air situation. in Europe, from the official foundation of the Luftwaffe in 1935 to the fall of France in 1940, Music: was composed by Mal- colm Arnold, .who wrote the score of “Crashing the Sound Barrier;” Philip Dorte, head of Television Filins, supervised the production unit, with Air Chief Marshall Sir Philip Joubert as service advisor. Preparation of the. series began in 1953. ‘Romeo-Jiiliet- Lasts Six Days in Glasgow . Glasgow, Nov.- 2. The British-mde pic “Romeo and Juliet,” originally planned to run for a short season at the Cosmo, city art house, was withdrawn after six days. Film proved a ilopperoo. In contrast to the billing at Rahk cinemas, where th name of author William Shakespeare was carefully eliminated, the Cosmo management gave the playwright his full billing in hopes of appeal- ing to the more discriihinatihg class of customer. RKO’s ‘Melody’ Short On Royal Film Show London, Nov. 2. Two shorts have been selected for the Royal Film Show at which the main feature will be “Beau i Brummel” (M-G). These are “To-J night in Britain,” a 20-minute tinter of Britain's show biz, pro- duced by Associated British-Pathe and RKO’s “Melody,” the first of i a new series of adventures in music; ! These will open the program and precede “Beau,” which, in turn, Will be followed by the stage- show being produced by Peter Ustinov; London; Nov, 2. Another major theatre group has ankled the Cinematograph Exhib- itors Assn. The Essoldo circuit an- nounced last Week that it was pull- ing out of membership its entire chain of:. 170 theatres,; including those recently taken over from S6u than Morris. About three months ago, the J. Arthur Rank group withdrew the Odeon and Gaumont circuits from member- ship; Decision to resign from the CEA was taken by Sol Sheckman, chair- man of the Essoldo group, because of dissatisfaction with the handling of the negotiations on the Eady levy. In. a letter to Walter R. Fuller, the CEA general secretary, he claims that: the officers should hot have made a decision without prior consultation with the Gran- ada circuit and the Essoldo group as the leading independent exhib- itors. ■ The letter of resignation contains a statement that the, Essoldo group will pay the levy at the agreed rate “under protest” but Sheckman com- plains that .he . is unable to obtain any worthwhile British films in his competitive areas because they are automatically booked to. Circuits Management Assn. (Odeon and Gaumont) or Associated British Cinemas. Si these companies benefit from their exhibition as well as getting a large proportion of the levy, Sheckman contends that production and exhibition should be. divorced. Swiss ’54-'55 Film Year Starts Off Very Slow; n> n n< nl 1 Zurich, Oct. 26. An unusually rainy summer all over the country is now being re* fleeted where show biz in general and start of the 1954-55 film season in particular are concerned. Be- cause the public practically never lost the film-going habit during the summer, the launching of big, new product this fall has encountered a definite listlessness, resulting in a relatively poor draw by many big pix. Less-than-usual holdovers and extended-runs also have been the rule, Considerably below hopes, for example, is Sacha Guitry’s. “If Ver- sailles Were Told To Me,” a rec- ordbreaker in France. Opening weeks in Zurich, Basle, Geneva and Lausanne looked fairly promising, but holdovers have fallen off sharp- ly in mostly, all situations. German color pic, "Oh Mein Papa,” a Lilii Palmer starrer considered one of the outstanding b.o. hits of the new season, is doing nicely but not smash- Another German tinter, “The Gypsy Bar.on,” failed here. . The Paula Wessely starrer, ‘‘Light of Love” (Austrian),' teed! off to an excellent start : in . Zurich,: but, did not live up to expectations either in subsequent weeks.. Nice biz was racked up by three U. S. entries, "Knights of Round Table” (M-G) and “Glenn .Miller Story” (U) in Zurich, and “Knock On Wood” (Par) in Basle. However, they do not look like longrunners. Among the better pix so far are two French pix, “The Bed,” with a, cast headed by Martine Carol; and the Daniel Gelin starrer, “The Snow Was Dirty.” The powerful Japanese art-house entry, “The Gate of Hell/’ also is ruled a stout entry. Typical of the general trend is the lukewarm reception, boxoffice- wise, given Metro’s Film Festival late last month in two Zurich, first- runs, the, Corso and Urban. > 11 *■ <■ j «' j «< 'VARIETY'S' LONPON QFPICI 4 St. Martin's Plica, Trafalgar Square Frankfurt Playing Time Frankfurt, Oct. 26., Frankfurt theatres gave 29;8% of September playing time to U. S. films. German , pix led with 45,2%. of the month’s theatre bookings, arid French, Austrian, British, Italian films followed the Yank pixin that order. Second-run houses played a much higher pro- portion of German pictures, but the 11 first-run houses here tied with 22 American films and a, like number of German pix being shown. Most popular German films were “Sauerbruch,” the life of the great physician (Corona-Schorchtr’ and “Grosse Starparade,” a musical (CCC-Gloria). “Columbus Discov- ers Krahwinkel,” starring Charles: Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin (Real-Europa), was No. 11 on the German list. j Fw&nkfurt, Nov. 2. . The major American distribu- tors, whose pictures are shown in Germany as well as the German, French and Italian companies,, have been having difficulties-with the seemingly arbitrary decision Of the Saar Censorship Board. This group, headed by Dr. H. A, Mut- zenhecher, has the final approval for films! shown in the Saar’s 150- theatre region. It has been banning films which have received com- plete approval and general releases in other European areas. And Dr. Mutzenbecher has earned the title ‘Czar of the Saar” for his unwar- ranted restrictions. Recently, “Martin Luther,” based on the life of the religious leader, was banned from exhibition to youths under 18. When the pro- ducer requested a re-approval, the ban was lowered to the age of 16. Finally, in view of the world ap- proval given this film, it was show- ing were permitted to youths from 11 to 16, “but only to closed de- nominational circles." * The U. S. distribs are .consider- ing a mass protest over the harsh censorship, Which has even extend- ed to cowboy films. Due to the nebulous sovereignty of the region, individual protests to the local gov- ernment have had little, affect on the appointive censorship board’s decisions. SCOTTISH VAUDE HYPO VIA TWO INDIE HOUSES Glasgow, Oct. 26. VaUd.e is being hypoed in Scot- land by two small indie houses, the Gaiety Theatre, at Ayr, on the Clyde coast, and the Empire The- atre, Greenock. Both situations afe featuring more vaude bills in place of resident productions and thus opening the market to a big- ger proportion of acts. Acts pacted for the Ayr Gaiety, Operated by Leslie & Eric Popple- Well, include Kenneth McKellar, Margo Henderson - & Sam Kemp, Gloria’s Educated Dogs, Elizabeth & Collins, Chas. Warren & Jean, Stan Steenet, Tei James & Ponies, Sandow Sisters (2), Eric- James, And Les Trois Cinzano. Dave ' & George Woolley* who. operate, the Empire Theatre,- Greehock, have booked, vaude bills for the winter season. These; in- clude Harry Gordon, Tommy Mor- gan, Johnny. Victory, Nicky Kidd and. others. Theatre has been re- seated and a modern drink-bar added. Yank Films Dominate Mex City Firstnms Mexico City, Oct. 26. Hollywood continues to dominate local first-runs, but there is more crowding by Mexican and Euro- pean productions. This is based Upon the breakdown of 31 pix screened here during September. Of these, 14 were American, nine Mexican, and two each were Brit- ish, French and Italian. 1 • f London, Nov. 2; Possibility of co-production be- tween British and Italian film in- dustries was discussed here last week with the delegation attend* ing the Italian film week in Lon- don. Dr. Goffredo Lombardo, head of the union of Italian film pro- ducers, headed the Rome nego- tiating team. Robert Clark, British Film Producers Assn, prexy, led the British, Both groups were impressed with the cultural advantages of co-pro- duction, and it was agreed that, a study, of the practical aspects should be made at an early date. The,meeting also approved renewal , of the Anglo-Italian film agreement which was due to expire at the end of the year. It; will remain in force until new Italian laws are introduced when both sides will decide whether any modification is needed. Italian Film Week Scores The Italian film festival has just ended here. Incidentally it's added to the prestige of the Italian film industry besides collecting . more publicity than the Italians could ever, hope to buy. And, , of course,’ now they ,would like to negotiate a bigger share of the, Biutish mar- ’ ket. Dr. Goffredo Lombardo,: head of Italian film producers and veepee of Unitalia, who sponsored the fes- tival, or Italo week, is planning to return here before the end of De- cember to initiate talks With Brit- ish exhibitors. Lombardo said only about 20 Italian-made films are im- ported to Britain and their earn- ings are “very small.” On the other hand, some 40-50 British pix go to Italy for., bookings'. Only Cost $35,000 The Italian film week represent* esd an investment of less than $35,• 000 for Unitalia. For this they got the biggest possible countrywide news coverage for several days pre- ceding the festival and throughout the entire week; The Italo film industry sent over some of their top and most pho- togenic talent. The femme contin** gent included Gina Lollobrigida, Sofia Loren, Gianna Maria Canale and* Nadia Gray. The male, star* included Vittorio, de Sico and Gia- como ROndinella. There were also six leading directors and producer* plus top executives of Unitalia. Labor Row Forces Rep To Abandon Series Of Lohdon, Nov. 2. Robert Springsteen returned to Hollywood last weekend after a la* bor hassle had stopped production on a series of pix which he was lensing for Republic in Bfitai , His labor permit had originally been approved by the Assn, of Cine Technicians but they stipu- lated that the unit must also in- clude a British director. More recently 1 , according to a Republic executive, the union ob- jected to Springsteen taking an ae* tive part, in direction, In conse- quence, the company decided to abandon its program after making four out of 12 pix planned for the next . 12 months. The, unit; com- prising 25 technicians, is now be- ing disbanded. Last year, under Springsteen's direction, “Republic made ,12 half- hour pix in Britai , based on ;* Scotlanl Yard series. The current series comprised films running more: than 60 minutes on the screen.. No Femme Panto‘Boy’ For Brit. Birmingham ‘Crusoe’ Birmingham, Eng., Oct. 26. „ British pantomime has a long tradition of femme Principal Boys. This tradition will be broken at the Alexandra Theatre here in De- cember, when Derek Salberg pre- sents “Robinson Crusoe.” Believing that juve custopier* would not like to see their desert island hero portrayed by a stylish well-clad distaffer, he has engaged John Sanger, Australian actor-vO* calist, to play Crusoe. Sanger came to Britain a few years ago to understudy the lead in “Annie Get Your Gun,” He stands over six feet tall. \ j 4 ,