Variety (December 1954)

STAGE RADIO FILMS MUSIC VIDEO Published Weekly at 134 West 46th Street. New York 36. N. Y.. by Variety. Ine. Annual subscription S10. Single copies. 35 cents. Entered as second class matter December 22. 1905. at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the act el March 3. 1373. COPYRIGHT. 1954. BY VARIETY. INC.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED VOL. 197 No. 1 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1954 PRICE 25 CENTS Quebec’s AO-Powerful Censors Put |||J[ [)(HIB PUCK Charge Mob Influence in Nevada’s Their Stamp on Actresses Bosoms $100,000,000 Gambling Resort Biz Montreal, Dec. 7. The Quebec Board of Censors, which snips everything from films to lobby display material, is un- intentionally displaying a sense of humor. Much to the public’s amusement, the stamp of approval on 24-sheets and billboard signs is always inked on the bosom of the better-endowed femme fea- tured in the display. Marilyn Mon- roe et al. means a field day for the stampers. Scissor-happy for many years, the QBC has been taking great chunks out of films without any thought of continuity. The board’s decision is final, although organi- zations can make suggestions and petition on the advisability of showing certain pix. Both exhibi- tors and the public accept the board’s decision in a matter-of-fact manner, and rarely are there or- ganized protests. Censoring, how- ever, has had little or no effect on general b.o. grosses since the Que- becites are faithful film fans. The QBC is a 25-man board headed by Alex Gagnon. A special sub-committee of nine, all French Canadian, passes on every film whether 35m or 16m. Another sub-group handles the display ma- terial. The board also does its own policing. Several members are constantly making spot checks In theatres to see if the official tag . (Continued on page 63) U.S. TV Respects Family Aud, Sez Jesuit Priest; Raps BBC ’Coarseness’ Omaha, Dec. 7. “American television has, in general respected its family audi- ence,’’ Rev. R. C. Williams, S.J., director of communication arts and coordinator of tv at Creighton C. here, last week told a local meeting of Te Deum. He said he gained that impression while at- tending a 12-nation program study course in London. However, Father Williams was critical of liberties taken by the BBC in its operation. The priest cited the telecast of a drama which lie witnessed in England. The fact that it was a classic, he said, did Lot justify leaving in “coarse and obscene language.” The U. S. sponsor often may 'mly be trying to avoid offending his customers, Father Williams commented. “But our commer- cial system nonetheless usually safeguards the family from direct assaults on fundamental decen- cies." tie quoted Pope Pius XII as stating: “Television can be a con- siderable influence for good in the postering of a wholesome family h*e." The Pope, he added, be- lieves tv can be valuable in enter- taining the family “far from the dangers of unhealthy companions mid places.” ^ Revives Best Seller Can a film make a best- seller? In the case of “The Egyp- tian,” it was certainly proven that a b.o. success can return a novel to the best-seller lists, Darryl F. Zanuck, 20th-Fox production topper, held last week. “It was put back there by the movie-goers,” he declared. “Of course, you never know. They may be going back to the book to see what I left out of it.” G’wich Village Jumps With Java Espresso Spots New York’s Greenwich Village is switching from daquiris to demi- tasse. Long noted for its switches of all kinds, the latest changeover seems to be a last-ditch fight to maintain the picturesqueness and respectability of that famed hang- out for the artistically inclined. Aside from one thoroughfare (W. 3d Street), where the stripperies have become an important indus- try, a latterday development in the area is the upbeat of the coffee- houses. These spots, selling demi- tasses of cafe espresso at 15c up, seem to have taken over as the rendezvous for those who still have hopes that the Village will rise to its former preeminence as a centre of the arts. The oldsters and" the serious kids bemoan the fact that the Whitney Museum has moved uptown. New York University has torn down buildings along Wash- ington Square that were a pictur- esque and colorful part of this seg- ment of the city. The students, who (Continued on page 50) JOAN WEBER DlSCLICK LEADS TO CAFE DATES Joan Weber, who hit the bigtime via the “Studio One” (CBS-TV) plug of her Columbia waxing, “Let Me Go, Lover,” is being groomed for the “live” circuit via nitery date's in five key cities. Already lined up for her are Boston, Pitts- burgh, Washington, Cleveland and Philadelphia. She’ll hit the nitery circuit in mid-January. Thrush also is set for the Ed Sullivan show (CBS-TV) Dec. 26 and the Perry Como show (CBS- TV) Dec. 29. An 18-year-old un- known—she had first baby last week—the smash disk has cata- pulted her into quasi-’n^me” value. j j r f ,. For an industry that has grown alternately fat and thin on crises, crossroads and economic revolu- tions, Hollywood is now showing a fascination for the status quo. The major producers have come as close as they think possible to a success formula, i.e, a payoff via fewer negatives with more accent on posi- tive production values. They like it fine this way and appear de- termined to resist steadily mount- ing exhibitor pressure for more films. The new approach to film biz economics, which was evolved by the studios with the advent of the wide screen and particularly of Cinemascope, is being maintained in the face of exhib outcries against a product shortage and, in the instance of at least one com- pany. despite the protestations of its distribution execs in the east. Producer reply to critics who point to the studios’ responsibility for keeping the theatres open and running is two-fold: Nothing but quality films stand a real chance at the b.o. these days. There is no real shortage and, anyway, the key situations are enjoying much longer runs than before. Position of the filmmakers was stated succinctly in N. Y. last week by 20th-Fox production topper, Darryl F. Zanuck. “I don’t be- lieve,” he said, “that we serve either the exhibitors or the public by making pictures by number.” 20th, he maintained, would try to turn out in 1955 his goal of 20 CinemaScopers. If this couldn’t (Continued on page 63) Even Railroads Pick B’way Hits New Haven, Dec. 7. Now even the railroads are be- coming Broadway show dopesters. The New Haven, at least, in laying out a show train schedule through next summer, is going in for long- range prognosticating of the stay- ing power of New York amuse- ments. The company has been running show trains for several years, but has previously confined its excursion announcements to one or two shows, a couple of months in advance. However, a lineup juSt offered to itinerant en- tertainment seekers runs through next summer. Schedule of amusements and dates for the railroad’s show train patrons includes Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas show, Dec 17 (sold out); "Caine Mutiny Court Martial,” Jan. 21; Victor Borge s one-man “Comedy in Music," Feb. 25; “Boy Friend,” March 25; Radio City Music Hall’s Easter show, April 15; “Kismet,” May 20; “Silk Stockings,” June 24, and the Aquashow, July 29. By MARK CURTIS Pathe for History Warner Pathe News is com- bining its film library, thought to be the most complete in the world, for a series of shorts which it hopes will develop into a history of the United States from 1895 to the pres- ent as seen via the motion picture medium. First of these shorts, "I Re- member When,” consisted of a 10-minute reel covern\g the American scene from 1895 to 1915. Longterm Vegas Deals for Names Creating Famine Growing practice of Las Vegas spots of tiej.ij up performers for several years i a time is threat- ening the talent supply of many spots in the country. With many acts assured of a term in Las Vegas, a week in Reno, several in New York, and perhaps Miami Beach and the Coast, many names in the top financial brackets are getting to the point where they will not work other cities. In longterm contract sweep- stakes, the Las Vegas Desert Inn grabbed off a double. Hostelry, which previously set Johnnie Ray to a three-year deal, has now signed Frankie Laine for four weeks annually for three years, and Patti Page for four weeks for two years. Laine is getting $17,500 per frame. General Artists Corp., which booked, also set a two-year pact at the El Rancho Vegas for Morty Gunty, who never played Vegas before. Basic reason for the curtailment (Continued on page 51) TOO MUCH PUBLICITY SO PEELER LOSES JOB Los Angeles, Dec. 7. In probably the first such case in show biz history, stripper Loretta Miller got her name all over the front pages and wound up losing her job. She and the New Follies Theatre, local hurley house, had a disagreement over her ap- pearance on a television news show and she departed. Miss Miller is the peeler over whom ex-GI Roger Wing Whittier committed suicide in a weird gun duel with cops on the stage of the Follies. In a final message, Whit- tier said he hoped the publicity t from his flamboyant suicide would , aid Miss Miller’s career. 1 Reno, Dec. 7. Charges that gangster elements are fighting for control of Nevada's $100,000,000 gambling and enter- tainment business have been made by a Chicago crime expert, Virgil Peterson. The director of the Chi- cago Crime Commission made his charges in Berkeley, Cal. He said that the Capone mob of Chicago had taken over several clubs in Las Vegas. Local businessmen and the di- rectors of the Reno and Sparks Chambers of Commerce said an im- mediate investigation was in order. The Nevada Tax Commission, which licenses and polices the state’s legalized gambling, pointed out that it has long been aware of the efforts of the underworld syn- dicates to control Nevada gam- bling. At a meeting of the Tax Com- mission which heard the Peterson charges, the group had already asked the Thunderbird Hotel, one of the Las Vegas strip’s most lux- urious, to show cause why its li- cense should not be revoked or suspended. The hotel’s operators had been accused by the Las Vegas Sun, shortly before the general election, of permitting underworld figures Jake and Meyer Lansky to be secret partners. The Tax Commission wai al- (Continued on page 51) Drama Critics ‘Hostile’ To Hollywood Locale; Play Picks Detroit Hollywood, Dec. 7. Stephen Longstreet’s novel, ‘‘The Beach House,” is undergoing a tremendous house-moving job—all the way from Hollywood to Detroit —in the course of its transforma- tion into a legit play. Reason for the change of locale, according to playwright Ralph Rose, is the “ha- bitual hostility” of N. Y. critics to- ward plays with Hollywood back- grounds. Along with the change of scen- ery, the chief character in the play will be an indie auto manufacturer competing with big motor compa- nies instead of an indie film pro- ducer bucking the majors. Yates Bros. Monopolize Ex-GIs-Torned-Femmes Hollywood, Dec. 7. Irving Yates is now repping Tamara Rees, who wa» “christ- ined” in an operation/performed in Holland somo time ago. Former paratrooper-turned-femme is oe- ing submitted by Yates for thea- tre and nitery dates. Oddly enough, Christine Jorgen- sen is represented by Irving’s brother, Charles V. Yates.