Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1952)

Heard in By JAY ALLEN The axe is about to fall on a half dozen more contractees at Metro who failed to pay their way during the run of their contracts. Save for Debbie and Fernando, none of the others made the grade as star stuff . . . Jack Warner ordered Gordon MacRae off "The Railroad Hour" when the sponsors switched from radio to TV . . . Maxwell Shane and Ivan Tors yanked their "The Glass Wall" away from United Artists and gave it to Columbia. * * * Ralph Stolkin may be a litt'e groggy from having been RKO'd, but he's dreaming of investing more dough in another Martin and Lewis comedy . . . Glenn Ford inked a two-picture pact with U-l, first to be "Wings of the Vulture," rolling in February . . . Stanley Kramer is tossing "Member of the Wedding" into the Oscar Derby with a Christmas Day opening in Beverly Hills. * T * Ann Blythe bye-byes U-l for a fancy-figured MGM termer . . . Dore Schary says he only wants to break even on "The Hoaxters," and is asking only a nominal rental on the 37-minute anti-Commie short, as a public service . . . Columbia bought "Enchanting Rebel," story about Ada Menken, the first woman to wear black tights, as a Rita Hayworth vehicle . . . Eliot Hyman and Associates will finance the five pictures Alex Gottlieb produces for Warners Juring the next 18 months. Mark Robson has been signed by Cubby BrocI col i and Irving Allen to direct Alan Ladd in a | second Warwick Productions feature, "The • White Mantle," which rolls right after the windlup of "The Red Beret" . . . William Callihan I nas been upped from unit director to producer itatus by Walter Mirisch at Allied Artists . . . THE SPOTLIGHT JOSE FERRER Now that Oscar Derby time is rolling Bund again, the spotlight in Hollywood HOLLYWDDD We have it on good authority that the pending fall-oul between Stanley Kramer and Columbia is due to some personal differences. As of now, almost the entire Kramer staff is off the Columbia payroll. That, of course, accounts for the heavy layoffs Kramers has been making . . . Clyde Beatty signed a deal with Robert L. Lippert for release of his "Perils of the Jungle" . . . John Houseman draws the plum producer assignment on MGM's "Victoria Regina," based on the Laura Housman play, which won Helen Hayti immortality. It rolls in '53 . . . Herman Cohen, former v. p. of both Realart and Jack Broder Productions, has formed his own Abtcon Pictures company, with William L. Abt. They'll produce a quartet of action-exploitation pix in the next 1 5 months. * * * Metro is loaning Fernando Lamas to PineThomas to co-star with Arlene Dahl in "Sangaree" . . . Fox is reported considering a revival of its 50-millimeter system, as a result of th e big Cinerama splash . . . Walt Disney has activated "The Highland Rogue," Daniel DeFoe classic, as a Richard Todd starrer, to be filmed in Scotland . . . Stanley Kramer's going ahead with "The Caine Mutiny" after he finishes "Cyclist's Raid" — and with the approval of Navy brass . . . Paramount wants Jack Palance for the lead in "South Sea Story," which Joe Sistrom expects to roll late this month. * * * They're guessing that the various companies will spend upwards of $175,000 between now and Academy Award time to exploit their entries . . . Edmund Grainger will produce "Gambler's Moon" for RKO, starting in February, with Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan starred . . . Moss Hart is scripting Judy Garland's musical re-make of "A Star Is Born," and she's dreaming of Cary Grant for her leading man. once again is focusing on Jose Ferrer, who appears to be a likely prospect to join that ultra-exclusive group of two-time award winners. Those who have seen some of the footage from "Moulin Rouge;," say that Ferrer's portrayal of the dwarfed French artist, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, ranks with the finest performances in all screen history. They say it surpasses his role of "Cyrano de Bergerac," which won him an Oscar in 1950. Actually, winning awards is nothing new for Ferrer, who is one of the most versatilepersonalities in show' business. As actor, producer or director, he is at home in whatever medium he tackles. Last season on Broadway, for example, he had, at one point, four productions on the boards at the same time. He won the critics award as the best director and actor for his double chore in "The Shrike"; was a runner-up to himself for his direction of "The Fourposter", and won wide, critical acclaim for his direction and production of "Stalag 17" and "The Chase". Perhaps the reason behind all of Ferrer's HcllifMed ttctebeck STAR BRIGHT MARI BLANCHARD The head men at the I'niversal-International studio are perfectly willing to admit that a Marilyn Monroe conies along only once in a long, long while. They know, too, that a starlet creates the kind of sensation Marilyn has only as the result of a shrewd and costly exploitation build-up. But they're willing to bank just that kind of an expensive campaign on 25-year-old Mari Blanchard, who appears to need only such breaks to hit top stardom. Miss Blanchard has been kicking around Hollywood for the past four or five years, having appeared in such pictures as "On the Riviera," "Ten Tall Men," "The Brigand," "Willie and Joe Back at the Front," and "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars". But, like Miss Monroe, she had to wait until a major studio put her under a long-term contract to get her career under full steam. U-I, after parting her, has awarded .her the starring role opposite Victor Mature in "Prince of Bagdad", and has opened up a powerful publicity barrage that will have the public talking. Theatre showmen can help create a new star in Mari I'.lanchard. She looks like she has the goods. critical acclaim is his penchant for perfectionism. As a fencer, dancer, singer, linguist, tennis player and showman, he has allowed few competitors to become his peer. "Moulin Rouge" was produced on location in France, with Colette Marchand, the French dancer, and Zsa Zsa Gabor appearing as two of the women in Lautrec's life. FILM BULLETIN December 15, 1 952 Page 13