The film daily year book of motion pictures (1932)

Sullivan rep. and in various limited revivals, which leaves 33 commercial musical productions for the year. COMMERCIAL PREMIERES— As far as premieres go, the above figures are further reduced by the 13 shows that ran into the 1930-'31 season from the year before. There were 8 dramatic shows and 5 musicals, which leaves the total of dramatic premieres at 135 as against 167 for last year, and the total of commercial musical premieres at 28 as against 54 for last year. The commercial musicals produced were thus cut almost in half. The total of commercial premieres in New York during the year reached just 163, the lowest figure in years. The previous season totaled 221, 58 shows higher. Drop was more than 25%. ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF FAILURES— Figuring on the basis of 100 performances for a hit, 77% of the total number of new shows produced were failures, the actual figures being 125. This, however, was 5% better than the previous season, when 182 shows, or 82%, failed to reach the century mark. The musicals, as usual, fared far better than the dramatic offerings, just 15 of them (54%) being classed as failures. 110 of the 135 dramas fell short of the 100 mark, leaving the percentage of failures at 81. In viewing these figures, however, it must be borne in mind that the 100 performance mark is purely arbitrary. There were probably quite a number of dramatic productions which failed to go into hit classification which none of the less made some money for their producers, and there were certainly a number of musicals playing more than 100 showings that were definite financial failures. AVERAGE LENGTH OF RUNS— The season's productions, exclusive of repertoire and limited engagements, averaged runs of just 60 performances. The dramatic productions averaged 51 showings, and the musicals 107. These figures are greatly bolstered by the long-run shows, a number of which went over 300. SUDDENNESS OF FAILURE— 23 dramatic productions closed during their first week, as against 35 the year before. But, between the end of the first and the end of the fourth week 47 were withdrawn, against 32 for the same period the previous season. Six more dropped during the fifth week, making a total of 76 plays closing before the end of the fifth week. This was 56% of the total of dramatic commercial premieres, but it was far better than the previous year, when 76% of the plays closed with 40 or less performances. Just five musicals closed in the first five weeks, as against 22 the year before. HITS — Although the total number of productions dropped sharply, the number of hits rose a bit last season. There were 38 hits as against 34 the season before. 25 were dramatic as against 22 in 1929-'30, and 13 were musical, a rise of one. NUMBER OF PEOPLE INVOLVED— As was to be expected, the number of people involved dropped markedly, 5,243 against 6,673. During 1930-'31, 4,438 players appeared on New York stages, 2,377 of them in dramatic productions and 2,061 in musicals. There were 217 authors, 33 librettists, 115 composers, 85 lyric writers, 60 sketch writers, 150 directors, 33 dance directors, 60 scene designers and 52 scenic executers. NUMBER OF PRODUCING OFFICES INVOLVED— 120, a drop of just 40. PLAYER IN MOST PRODUCTIONS— As usual, Eva Le Callienne, of the Civic Repertory Company, appeared in the greatest number of productions. 14; but last season she was tied by another member of her troupe, Donald Cameron. Five other Civic Rep. play ers each have 12 shows, and then come the members of Fritz Leiber's company, a number of whom have eight. Among the commercial players five men and a woman are in lead with four plays each: Wallis Clark, Claude H. Cooper, Moffat Johnston, Otto Kruger, Arthur Stenning. Charlotte Wynters. BUSIEST PRODUCERS— Also as usual, the Shuberts produced the greatest number of plays. They had 13 (including three musical revivals) under the firm name, one was presented by Lee and J. J. Shubert, and 15 appeared under the management of Lee Shubert, making a total of 29 shows. In addition, they were financially interested in various other productions under the sponsorship of independent producers. The Civic Repertory Company showed 18 plays, and the Theater Guild presented eight, including the road edition of "The Carrick Gaieties." MOST PROLIFIC PLAYWRIGHT— Strictly speaking, Shakespeare could not be said to have been prolific last year, but he had the greatest number of plays produced, nine. Among the moderns Benn W. Levy led with three new plays, one of them being an adaptation. Elmer Harris had two new plays and a revival and Patrick Kearney had one new play and two revivals. MOST PROLIFIC LIBRETTIST— The late W. S. Gilbert had the most shows presented, seven of his libretti being performed during Milton Aborn's Gilbert and Sullivan season. Among the current writers. Guy Bolton, the late Jack Donahue, Dorothy Donnelly and Herbert Fields had two apiece. MOST PROLIFIC COMPOSERS— Vernon Duke and Arthur Schwartz with four shows apiece. Sir Arthur Sullivan, of course, had his seven revivals. MOST PROLIFIC LYRIC WRITERS— E. Y. Harburg contributed to five musicals and Ira Gershwin to tour. Gilbert again had his seven revivals. MOST PROLIFIC SKETCH WRITERS— Donald Blackwell, lames j. Coghlan, David Freedman, Sir Herzig and William B. Miles had sketches in two shows apiece. Five others contributed to both editions of "The Garrick Gaieties." BUSIEST STAGE DIRECTOR— Eva Le Callienne directed 17 of her Civic Repertory productions. Milton Aborn staged eight musical revivals, seven in the Gilbert and Sullivan series and one for Shuberts. Fritz Leiber directed the eight productions of his Shakespearean troupe. Among the commercial directors Stanley Logan led with six shows. BUSIEST DANCE DIRECTORS— Albertina Rasch staged dances in five productions and Dave Could in four. BUSIEST SCENE DESIGNERS— Rollo Wayne, who designed the sets for 18 shows. Aline Bernstein next with 15 (all Civic Rep): Cleon Throckmorton, 11. BUSIEST SCENIC EXECUTERS— Cleon Throckmorton, Inc., led with 27 productions. R. W. Bergman Studio with 24 was runner-up. THEATER WITH MOST SHOWS— The Ritz changed its lights more often than any other house, nine shows playing there during the season. The Fulton, Longacre, Royale and Shubert each had eight. Exclusive of repertoire. BUSIEST THEATER— The Mansfield, where "The Green Pastures" played throughout the season and overlapped at each end, doing good business all the way. It opened February 26, 1930, and closed August 29, 1931. THE FILM DAILY CIRCULATES IN EVERY COUNTRY 556