Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1944)

13 HIT SONGS FROM SCREEN; ONLY ONE FROM BROADWAY Indicative of Movement of Tin Pan Alley to Coast; Songs Aid Exploitation The song-pluggers have deserted Broadway for Hollywood. The revolution which began with "The Jazz Singer" in 1927 is complete. During the second week of June, 1944, 13 of the 25 songs most frequently played over the radio networks were from the scores of motion pictures and only one was from a Broadway musical show. Eleven were original publications. In sheet music sales during the same week the screen led the stage about four to one, and the leader of the Hit Parade that week was from a picture, not an uncommon honor for screen hits. Analysis of the figures was made by music publishing companies affiliated with Warner Brothers, producers of the Jolson musical which started the march. Music Publisher and Film Relations on Firm Ground For the past several years the relation of the motion picture to the music publishers has ?rown steadily. Today the relationship is established on firm ground. Sometimes a picture popularizes a song, and sometimes vice versa. Exploitation of screen scores is a two-way proposition. The exploitation is largely in the hands of the music publishers. Several of the major companies have either direct or indirect tieups with certain publishers. Some of the companies own publishers outright, others have a financial interest, still others a working agreement. The publishers throw all their resources into what Tin Pan Alley commonly refers to as plugging a number, and, plugged, the number goes from publisher to radio to the screen and on to bathtubs. Under the operating title of Music Publishers Holding Corporation the publishing firms of Remick Music Corporation, M. Witmark and Sons and Harms, Inc., handle the music interests of Warner Brothers. Among Warner tunes listed among the leaders at the time of the survey were: "As Time iGoes By," from the film "Casablanca"; "Time Waits for No One," from "Shine On, Harvest Moon," "Some Day I'll Meet You Again," from "Passage to Marseille"; "They're Either j Too Young or Too Old," "How Sweet You 1 Are" and the title song from "Thank Your Lucky Stars." Twentieth Century-Fox Has No Music Subsidiary Twentieth Century-Fox has no music publishing subsidiary. The firms of Bregman, Vocco and Conn; Robbins, and Mills and Triangle publish most of the company's music. The company's "Coney Island" made popular the musical number "There's Danger in a Dance," "Goin' to the County Fair" and "My Heart Tells Me," were both made popular as result of "Sweet Rosie O'Grady." "The Gang's All Here" made popular two numbers, "No -ove, No Nothin'" and "The Polka Dot Polka." Currently "You're My Little Pin Up Girl" and "Time Alone Will Tell," musical n'ghlights in the film "Pin Up Girl," are get:ine public attention. Not all of the film companies have tieups with publishers. Columbia has none, but has had considerable success of late with song hits, two numbers in particular having scored with top honors on the Hit Parade over periods of weeks. "It's Love, Love, Love" from "Stars on Parade," is the most recent of the Hit Parade leaders. "Long Ago and Far Away" was heard recently in "Cover Girl," in fact still is being heard in the picture, and has never been far away from the top of the Parade, and for a considerable period was on top. Another Columbia hit song was "Shoo Shoo Baby" from "Beautiful But Broke." Three Publishers Handle Music from RKO Films RKO has had most of its musical numbers published and plugged by three publishers, Shappell and Harms, Robbins, Miller Company and Southern Music Company. The company's recent musical "Higher and Higher" was the origin of two numbers that have become familiar titles in the first ten of the Hit Parade, "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" and "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer owns the music publishing company of Leo Feist, Inc. Their exploitation methods are directed almost entirely at radio, including local stations as well as networks. MGM's "I Dood It" made "Star Eyes" popular. With "Milk Man Keep Those Bottles Quiet" from "Broadway Rhythm," the reverse is probably true. Feist is currently at work plugging "In Times Like These" which will be heard in the forthcoming MGM release, "Meet the People." The first two numbers have been among the Parade's first 10, but "In Times Like These" is still in the exploitation stages and has yet to meet its test. It may become popular before the picture is released and help popularize the film, or it may not gain popularity until after the release of "Meet the People." And then again it may never be popular. Time will tell. The number presents a good opportunity to study the exploitation of a song prior to its screen appearance, and the eventual results. Universal Song Numbers Highly Successful Universal is another film company without publishing affiliations or tieups. Numbers from two of their films have gained a wide following, "Are You?" from "Weekend Pass" and "The House I Live In," the song hit of "Follow the Boys." Paramount wholly owns two publishers, Famous Music Corporation and Paramount Music Corporation. The biggest of their most recent musical hits was "Sunday, Monday or Always," heard in the picture "Dixie" and one-time leader of the Hit Parade. "Suddenly It's Spring" was written especially for the screen version of "Lady in the Dark," and has gained a popular following. "Going My Way" has produced two popular numbers, the title song and "Swinging on a Star." A song that has been reported gaining in popularity but is still short of making the Parade list is "It Could Happen to You" from the current release, "And the Angels Sing." Republic, without publisher affiliation, has a policy of harnessing music with a double duty. Popular songs for this company are not there only to entertain but to publicize as well. Republic was the first to make a habit of picking a song hit, planting it in the film, and in some cases building the picture around the music, and giving the picture the song's title, such as "Pistol Packin' Mama." Other Republic examples in this category are "Rosie the Riveter," "Three Little Sisters," "San Fernando Valley." In each case the story was built around a song title already made popular by music publishers. In October, 1942, Republic's "Youth on Parade" produced a Hit Parade number, "I've Heard That Song Before." And last year they released a film called "Hit Parade of 1943" and came up with a song hit, "Change of Heart." Stage Shows Hit New Midwest Low This Summer The Midwest, once one of the most productive markets for stage shows, will see a new low this summer in the number of theatres operating with combination policies. The chief reasons, following a check-up among operators buying stage attractions, include the scarcity of box office bands or vaudeville unit shows and the improved screen product which holds up quite well on its own. The most conspicuous development in the combination field* recently was the decision of Balaban and Katz not to play the top band units in the Chicago theatre this season because of the percentage deals demanded by the booking offices. The Chicago is now playing revues primarily and the grosses have been as good and in some cases better than during the same period last year when the screen bills were augmented by top name bands. This summer, the independent Oriental in Chicago is playing all top name bands, offering them 50 per cent of the gross. Because the Oriental depends almost entirely on the draw of the stage shows, it has found it practical to attract these box office shows with 50-50 terms. Among bands given such deals include Tommy Dorsey, Xavier Cugat, the combination of the Andrews Sisters and Mitch Ayres' band, Guy Lombardo, and Horace Heidt. Warners has eliminated stage shows from the Paramount in Hammond, Ind., which for years played a band or vaudeville unit at least one day a week. Sam Roberts and Nicholas Boila, operators of Keith's, Indianapolis, closed that house last week for the summer. Keith's played stage shows Thursday through Sunday. Both the Standard Theatres Company and the Great States Theatres, operating in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, have had fewer stage shows this year than in recent years. This condition is also true of the Mort H. Singer Theatres which no longer run regular stage bills in the Orpheum theatres in Omaha and Indianapolis. Only houses in the Midwest to continue with stage shows through the summer are the Chicago and Oriental, Chicago; Stratford, Chicago (Saturdays and Sundays) ; Riverside, Milwaukee ; Palace, Rockford, 111. (Fridays through Sundays) ; Bijou, Battle Creek, Mich. ; Englewood, Chicago (Thursdays through Sundays), and the St. Charles, St. Charles, 111. (Sundays). "Snow White" in Final Week At Manhattan Theatre "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" started the thirteenth and final week of its Broadway run at the Manhattan theatre June 27. The Walt Disney cartoon feature will be followed by the same producer's "Fantasia." OTION PICTURE HERALD, JULY I, 1944 17