Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1962)

FILM MUSICALS MAKE COMEBACK BID Largest Number of Tunefilms Since Late 1940s and Early '50s Scheduled for 1962 By FRANK LEYENDECKER NEW YORK — Following the musical lull of the past few yeai-s, during which Hollywood’s song-and-dance pictures were few and far between, the big-scale film musical made its comeback late m 1961 and the year 1962 will see more than a dozen musicals either in release, in production or being planned for the following year. The lilting 1930s and 1940s had every major company releasing several lavish musicals, crowded with spectacular production numbers and top-flight singing stars, each season. The decline started in the post-war years, when the foreign market started to play a larger part in a picture’s total gross and distributors complained that European patrons didn’t understand American musicals and the songs were difficult to translate into foreign tongues. ‘WEST SIDE’ STARTS UPSURGE The resurgence of the fUm musical, after the decline during the late 1950s, started with “West Side Story,” which opened late in October at New York’s Rivoli Theatre and won imanimous acclaim, climaxed by the United Artists release winning the New York Film Critics’ award and no less than 11 Academy Awards. To date, “West Side Story” has opened in only 45 other U.S. and Canadian key cities, all on a reserved-seat basis, and the picture will not get general showings until much later. Following this, opening in December to play through the Christmas-New Year’s holiday period, were Universal-International’s picturization of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Dnim Song” and “Walt Disney’s “Babes in Toyland,” based on the famous Victor Herbert operetta. Each of these musicals in color contained production numbers, dances and a dozen times and played the majority of their U.S. dates in January 1962. Paramount’s Elvis Presley song-fest, “Blue Hawaii,” also in color, had a few 1961 bookings but was out to a much greater extent in theatres in 1962. BALLET FIRST SINCE 1948 In February, Magna Pictures opened “Black Tights,” a four-episode ballet film in Technirama and Technicolor, in New York preparatory to other key city engagements. This is the first major ballet film since “The Red Shoes,” also British-made, which won acclaim and tremendous art house patronage in 1948. For Easter release, 20th Century-Fox has Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “State Fair,” a remake of the 1945 musical, which has five new songs with music and lyrics by Rodgers, and is in De Luxe Color and Cinemascope with Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Pamela Tiffin, Ann-Margret, Tom Ewell and Alice Faye starred. Also completed but not to be shown until after June 30, 1962 (because the Kermit Bloomgarten stage musical is still touring) Nine Companies Slate 13 for Current Year Musicals now in release or scheduled for release dmdng 1962: • “Babes in Toyland” (BV) — Ray Bol ger. Tommy Sands, Annette. •“Billy Rose’s Jumbo” (MGM) — Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Martha Raye. • “Black Tights” (Magna) — Cyd Charisse, Jeanmaii'e. •“Blue Hawaii” (Para) — EMs Presley, Joan Blackman. • “Bye Bye Birdie” (Col) — Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh. •“Flower Drum Song” (U-I) — Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta. • “Gay PuiT-ee” (WB) — Voices of Judy Garland, Robert Goulet. • “Girls! Girls! Girls!” (Para) — Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens. • “Gypsy” (WB) — Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood. • “Music Man, The” (WB) — Robert Preston, Shirley Jones. • “State Fair” (20th-Fox) — ^Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Pamela Tiffin. •“Ten Gu'ls Ago” (U-I) — Dion, Buster Keaton. • “West Side Story” (UA) — Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tam blyn. Among others to be made: • “Oamelot” and “My Fair Lady” (WB). • “Carnival” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (MGM). •“Ii-ma la Douce” (UA). • “Sound of Music” (20th-Fox). SCENES FROM COMING MUSICALS Elvis Presley stars in “Girls! Girls! Girls!” now filming in Hawaii for Paramount Thanksgiving release. (1) Doris Day and Jimmy Durante with the elephant who plays the title role in “Billy Rose’s Jumbo” for MGM. (2j Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood in Warners’ filmization of the Broadway stage musical, “Gypsy.” (3) 1. is Warner Bros.’ picturization of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” in color and Cinemascope, starring Robert Preston, the original stage star, and Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett and Hermione Gingold, as well as Paul Ford and Pert Kelton of the stage musical. ’The picture is set to play New York’s Radio City Music Hall in July and may be roadshown in other cities. Still in production, but scheduled for release late in 1962, is “Gypsy,” also being made by Warner Bros., in which Rosalind Russell is recreating the role played on Broadway by Ethel Merman and Natalie Wood is playing the title role of Gypsy Rose Lee under Mervyn LeRoy’s direction. The picture, being made in Technicolor, will have 14 songs from the Jule StyneStephen Sondheim score. Also for release by Warner Bros, before the end of 1962 is UPA’s animated musical picture, “Gay Purr-ee,” featuring the singing and speaking voices of Judy Garland, Robert Goulet of “Camelot,” Red Buttons and Hermione Gingold. FAMOUS BROADWAY HIT At MGM, producer Joseph Pasternak and director Charles Walters are filming “Billy Rose’s Jumbo,” which played on Broadway in the late 1930s with Rodgers and Hart songs (before the Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborations) . Starred in this are Doris Day, playing in her first musical in five years, and Stephen Boyd, Martha Raye, Jimmy Durante and Dean Jagger. This, too, may be released before the end of 1962. Also currently in production in Canada is “Ten Girls Ago,” a musical in Eastman Color, which Universal has acquired for re 14 BOXOFFICE :: May 21, 1962