Variety (November 1954)

Wednesday, November 10, 1954 PICTURES 7 EXCHANGE UNION SPLINTERING Decency ratings shows that out of 73 films in its Class C. or^ “Con- demned” category, only two are being-handled by American major distribs. They are “The French Line” < RKO) and “The Moon Is Blue” (UAL. Neither of these two releases , have a production code seal. The vast majority of the condemned pi are of foreign rigin. Comparative lack of Hollywood features with theatrical appeal in the Legion ? s “C” class indicates the extent to which the moral standards of the Legion parallels that of the code; It further re- flects the distribs’ reluctance to take on films that lack Legion ap- proval at some level. Legion’s latest ratings put “Crest of the Wave”, into Class AI, Morally Unobjectionable for Gen- eral Patronage. Four others ; — “Black Widow,” “Fire Over Africa,” “Four Ways Out” and “Sign of the Pagan”—rated Class All, Morally Unobjectionable for Adults. Five—“Bowery .to Bagdad,” | “Golden ; Mistress,” “Jesse James’ Women,” “Phffft,” and “This Is My Love”—rated Class B, Morally Ob- jectionable in Part for All. The Italian “Bread, Love and breams” (IFE) was reclassified from Class B to Class All as a re- sult of revisions made on the film. Yanks Retain Jurist In India, Hoping Censoring Of Fix Can Be Eased Increasing severity of Indian cen- sorship was one of the factors con- tributing to the appointment of Sir Clifford Agarawala as the Motion Picture Export Assn.’s permanent rep in India. Agarawala, a promi- nent Indian jurist, was picked at the suggestion of Irving Maas, the MPEA’s Far Eastern supervisor Who headquarters in Tokyo. Naming of anjndiah rep by the MPEA had been in the wind and under discussion for some time. At one point it had been thought that an American might get the post. Choice of Agarawala was dic- tated by the. thought that it would be wise to have an Indian, familiar with the local mentality, speak for the Assn. It so happens, he’s also a former Indian chief censor;. Indian censorship is getting pro- gressively more severe.. Among the films banned there recent months have been “Man in the Attic,” “Flame and the F16sh,’’ “The Wild One,” “Devil's Canyon,’ 1 “Moon Is Blue,” “I, the Jury,” “99 River St.,” “Wicked Woman,” “Dial M for Murder,” “The Big Heat,” “Phantom of. the Rue Morgue,” “The French Line,” “Ride Crooked Road” and “Cease Fire,” the latter for politi- cal reasons; Scissoring of American pix is based primarily on violence and sex. Musicals are cut because the Indian censor maintains the body movements of dancers are inde- cent. Drinking scenes are out. In “The Student Prince,” footage! was Snipped off merely because the words ~“Beer” and “drink” are .mentioned in a song, Metro re- ports. RED NICHOLS TURNS IN 2,500 ARRANGEMENTS Hollywood, Nov 9. In preparation for Paramount’s screen biography of Red Nichols, tentatively titled “Intermission,” the band leader has turned oyer 2.500 musical arrangements and. scores to the. studio’s musical de- partment. . Appropriate numbers will be used in the picture. Included in the scores, for which Nichols' functioned, as musical di- rector, are John Murray Ander- son’s “Almanac,” and George Gershwin’s “Strike Up the Band” and “Gill Crazy.” CAN EXHIBS AGREE? Otherwise Shurlock Doubts Their Help to Code Geoffrey Shurlock, the new pro- duction code administrator, doesn’t think much of the idea of having exhibs and iiidie producers partici- pating in the operation of the code. , “I can’t see what good it would do,” he said in N. Y. last week. ‘•And at any rate, the exhibitors Would first haVe to agree among themselves on what they want. They haven’t done, too well With that in the past!” Target-to-Come.! Of Allied Fire Warner Bros., listed by Allied States Assn, as the “most .unpopu- lar” film company after Columbia, is due for the limelight shortly via a frontal attack by the outspoken exhibitor organization., The. stage for the assault is being set in be- hind-the-scenes . maneuvering and WB’s general release of “A Star Is Born” will serve as the. whistle for the launching of. the barrage. While soundly denounced at the recent Allied convention in Mil- waukee, Warners was a compara- tively secondary target as the brunt of tlrtf firing was levelled at Columbia and its sales manager, Abe Montague. As explained by an Allied leader, “first things, come first." Columbia, he rioted, was singled out because of. its terms for “Caine Mutiny.” The conven- tion report on the film companies blasted WB for being tough on all deals and for its failure to make adjustments. The Alliedites feel, that “Star” server as an ideal target, since it is an extremely expensive produc- tion that will require hard selling by WB to get off the nut? In the past, according to an Al- lied leader,, exhibs have come to the aid of Metro and 20th-Fox, for example, when these companies have been saddled with extremely costly productions. The exhibs, he pointed out, have been willing to give these companies an extra 5% on a percentage deal since they have dealt fairly With the theatre- men in the past. Prints Off ’Scope Neg. For Its 2-D Versions After shooting duplicate 2:D ver- sions' on its first, two CinemaScope pix, Universal is now relying solely on optical reduction prints made from the original squeeze-type neg- atives, according to Alfred E. Daff, U exec v.p. Company is the only one releasing its C’Scope films si- multaneously with their standard versions to.non^quipped houses. . Daff also said in N. Y. this week (8) that the action in U C’Scope productions was being confined to a 2 to 1 screen ratio, even though, the films themselves are being shot in the regular 2.55 to 1 aspect, j U directors and cameramen have [ strict orders to operate within this restriction. There, have been various reports that exhibs are showing Cinema- Scope films composed for 2.55 to 1 in a 2 to 1 ratio, thus lopping off the sides and any action that may be taking place theta. Distribs also knQW What a good jm&riy theatres are failing to mask off the screen (Continued on page 18) San Francisco, Nov. 9. A move threatening the entire, exchange setup of the Interna- tional Alliance of Theatrical Stage- Employees has taken place here with the withdrawal from the IA of Local B-17 and Local F-17; rep- resenting both the backroom and White collar exchange employees.. The two locals, headed by Dave Wilkerson and William J. Lanning, have filed an application with the National Labor Relations Board seeking separation from the IA and affiliation with another AFL union. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30. Action of the two Frisco locals has caused considerable concern at IA national headquarters in New York, and among the film dis- tribution companies; Both the IA and the film companies are re- portedly sending out to S. F. their best legal talent to appear at the NLRB hearing. According to local unionites, a quick settlement on a national basis between ; the IA and the film companies on a hew exchange pact will be made so that it can be argued at the NLRB talks that a contract already exists be- tween the film companies and the union. Film Companies* interest in the outcome of the situation here is based on that fear that it may lead to a deterioration of the exchange setup in the IA, forcing the pic- ture companies to deal separately with unions belonging to. the Teamsters Union, Office Workers Union, etc. The Frisco unions made their decision when it Was decided on a national poll of the exchange unions that negotiations this, year would be handled on a national basis by IA topper Richard F. Walsh; . A simple majority deter- (Continued on page 18) CHARITY SPUR: WIN YOUR TOWN A PREEM . Hollywood, Nov. 9. Town showing greatest mail sales . of Christmas seals in proportion to population, dufing first three days of its. local drive will be gifted with the World premiere of War- ner’s “The Silver Chalice.’’ Art Linkletter, National Tuber-, culosis Assn, and Warner dreamed up plan for a town to “win” a Hollywood-type premiere, tenta- tively skedded for Dec. 17. Film studios are oh a remake binge. On the assumption that a new generation has grown up that never did get to see the old classics, and that the wide screen offers an exciting new canvass for the money-makers of yesteryear, producers are scouring their vaults for likely repeats.. Adding fuel to the fire are the Col. Barney Oldfield hMmoroutly recall* a Safari With Gregory Peck an amusing bylln* pUaa In the 49th Anniversary Number of ; s ——— —-—-——f CAN'T VISIT HONG KONG Role Revised To Avoid Court- Banned Absence of Hayward Kids v .Hollywood, Nov. 9. Darryl F. Zahuck ordered, a re- vision of the script of “Soldier of Fortune” in. order to keep Susan Hayward in the cast. Actress had refused to go to Hong Kong with the troupe because of a court order preventing her from taking her two sons out of Californi . “These revisions,” Zahuck ex- plained,“will make it unnecessary for Miss Hayward to go on loca- tion. Should there be a change in the court order, she will fly to Hong Kong to join the cast.” Clarke Gable, the male star, and direc- tor. Edward Dmytryk wiH lead an advance guard of 15 to China this week! Drive-Ins’ Share Drive-in season in the eastern and midwestern sections of. the country is winding up following one of the. most successful runs in many years. Ozoners this year are figuring more irfipOrtantly in the distribs’ take than ever. Good example of the b.o. potency of the open-airers is 20th-Fox, which started the season with a distinct handicap due to Cinema- Scope and the initial restrictions re stereophonic sound which kept many of the drive-ins from book- ing the 20th' top product until quite late in the spring. According to William C. Gehring, 20th exec assistant sales topper, the company during the first three quarters of 1954 netted $4,400,000 in ozoher! rentals, only a little more than $1,000,000 less than during the comparable period in 1953. Projecting to the entire year, Gehr- ing indicated that 20th’s driVe-in earnings would run to approxi- mately the same as last year— about $8,000,000. reps of foreign producers who’re importing quite a few films from abroad for the specific purpose of rousing American remake interest. Reasoning here is that while the European version may not be suit T able for U; S. audiences, the fill ’ basic theme might be adapted by Hollywood filmmakers. Incentive for the studios to reno- vate their old hits is the fact that some of.the remakes—such as Uni- versal’S “Magnificent Obsession”— have done extremely well at the b.o. Furthermore, if a studio picks its own film to do over again, it automatically saves on the story purchase, even though a new script is prepared. Trend towards musicals also has. a bearing on the picture. Metro, for instance, is planning to reshoot “Waterloo Bridge” as a . musical, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. Warner Bros, shaped the 1938 “Four - Daughters” into “Young in Heart,” a tuner starring Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. And 20th-Fox is planning to refilm “Anna and the King of Siam,” its ; 1946 hit, in musical fashion as “The King and I” (picking It up from the stage /version based. on the (Continued bn page 16) At the start of the ozoner season this year, 20th still insisted that (Continued on page 16) Hollywood on the Re-Make Studio’s Currently Enthralled By Yesteryear’s B.O. Classics For Today’s New Generation in Line—Blaustein Economies, and the resultant re- duction in studio overhead, are instrumental in. putting on the screen more of .each production dollar spent today in Hollywood, producer Julian Blaustein said i N. Y. last week. He reported .that his latest films for; 20th-F6x—"Desiree” arid “The Racers”—had budgets of $2,700,000 and $2,600,000 respectively, with the “Racers” figure possibly going higher. “Thaty reasonable, in line with what appears on the screen,” he opined. Studio overhead at 20th, where Blaustein is under contract for another year, at one. time stood; at 52%., It’s been “vastly de- creased,” he said, adding that, year ago, “Desiree” might have cost around $3,400,000. Stringent economies did the trick, he said. Blaustein, who credited Cinema- scope With jolting nodding audi- ences into a realization of Holly- wood’s re-awakehing, nevertheless didn’t think producers had as yet fully explored the potentials of the new medium; “It hasn’t been used properly so far,” he said. “Its true values have only begun to be ap- plied.” He said he was concerned over reports that theatres are trim- ming the. CinemaScope pix on the . sides. “In picture and sound, we- de- liver to the exhibitors the very best that’s to be had,” he comment- ed, “and look what’ happens. Take the question of sound. We put bn the , film the best sound available anywhere. It’s as perfect as we can get it. And then you go out into some little movie house, and the sound reproduction is terrible. What can you do? No one can force a little fellow to spend a lot of money oh something that he can’t even be sure his audience appr ciates," Blaustein found current Holly- wood casting problems “enormous” and observed that the studios were Caught between the demand for new faces and exhib clamor for marquee names. Casting difficulties (Continued on page 16) Grainger, Raftery Upheld; Shea Family Is Ordered Bronx Surrogate Christppher Mc- Grath has put into formal decree his rulings in the legalistic bout between E. C. Grainger and Ed- ward C. Raftery, as former officers of Shea Theatres apd executors of the Shea estate, and members of the M. A. Shea family. As for the charges that Grainger and Raftery had mismanaged the theatre opera- tion, McGrath decreed their admin- istration “was marked. with care and prudence and' crowned with exceptional success.” Grainger was president and Raftery treasurer of the circuit until the heirs of M. A. Shea brought mismanagement charges, McGrath ordered members of the Shea family to pay $221*000 for commissions, counsel fees and costs and in the 'event of appeal they are to post a surety bond of $250,000. WITH JIM GRAINGER Theatre Owners of America's : new production finance committee “will be pleased to meet” with RKO prexy James R. Grainger and Studio chief C. J. Tevlin on the possibility of financing some of the company’s productions. This was indicated yesterday (Tues.) by E, D. Martin, newly-elected TOA prexy, in reply to Grainger’ quest for such-a meeting; Martin said that TOA’s board of trustees, chairmanhed by Sam Pin- anski,! will soon hold an organiza- ! tional;meeting for the formation of a finance company and “when the plan gets off the ground, the com- mittee will be pleased to meet with you.”