Variety (Dec 1937)

RADIO SCJREE STAGib 'BENEFITS' $300,000 Sunk in 12 B'way Flops Last Month; Total Cost $500,000 Muri than $300,000, represented in new productions on Broadway dur- ing the last month, has been written off in red. That approximation is made on 12 definite failures, all of v.'hich have closed or will have exited by the end of the week. Other shows which came in durin» the four-week period are rated amoni? the successes, but some were so costly there is no as.surance of re- capturing tlie investments. Esti- nidted total invested in both failures • nd successes during the month is •bout $500,000. Fortune tossed away on worthless ■cripts was partly outside money, but the most costly of the ill-fated presentations were by producers of recognised standing. Revival of •Antony and Cleopatra' cost close to $100,000 and 'Merely Murder,' pre- sented by the .same office, represented another $40,000. Ljst week's 'Siege' cost $30,000 and the previous week 'Love in My Fash- Ion' represented a surprising $25,000 outlay. "Brown Sugar,' one of the quick-folding a amas, is said to have «o>c more than the average .straight (.Conlinueo on page 62) Beneath Dignity Seattle. Dee. 14. University of Washington's School of Drama and Radio asked students to interpret, in straight Englisli. running stories clipped from Variety, submit- ting them to teacher for credits. One student said this was 'beneath the dignity of the drama.' U. S. CURIOUS ON INSIDE STOCK TRADINGS Bbok Envelope In Lieu of Prize Money, Am Exposes Theatre ! J )-;c*[)!i Potla. sound imita'or. who i won 3r> "aMiateur contest' at a Jersey ric be vaude house recently tore open the pi i/.e envelope onstage revealing t ) the nudience it was phoney, caus- ln.» 3 lju?li the management didn't expect Squawked so hard that he was niT with the five spot which was suppose;! lo be inside, but states he recoivo;i a letter from nis 'agent' cincellitiL; all his Tuture dates. Potla stales ho was nl.-^o threatened with a beating u|) by the m.c. and stagc- han-li. His professional luime is Ci.M" H \' !dns. I'' • . .(MS that in one Prooklyn I n)'J..v I mil o, a bot-i,, of j^cf J L' >iuiiiiiod on pa.;;c (iL') \mh\ N. Y. Stagehands Slow Up Special Show ' ■>:> '■ ' il nialinci- ■>;' '.M kI.t-!,- ' B)V JI > jt t'l^ nr-.).i.-|l;;]: .\. y e irlv 1.1 ,! U(>ok. iho si -cli,,.. u ! s; >-:j fi • I'ci f )r:ii;MM c ,1 lyp I as J .■.liiiii for studcnis of tiu> ^'.lui- . a'lJ );in.':-; intcroslcd 1:1 what ori V.')Ori the cui'lnin is diMDpcd. Ciu - tiiii 1- ; )t hu\cic.-l an;l thi> >pecial andivMuv V ;L"A ed scrmc nnH co.s uitto ■ cli.-in;;>'^. j Thcah-.? OiiiM people famili:ir with | " ;'' >.'. •ii.iled l.'i.ii it took the ci-cw ■ 1 ""i ": ' 1 c 'riM •<.> s;Tnos than oi-- 1 dHi:ii ': .,, „!)-. >j.!y boin:: ! -1, ,f )rn- •. • • I () ';.-k'',-in.U ho-,v(>\ er | Bruit<.»d abijut is the fact that cer- tain Government bodies are seriously interested in learning about the activities of certain downtown direc- tors and officials of film companies, who, allegedly, have been manipu- lating film company stocks via private holding companies and in- dividuals. It is held that certain of tiiese gentry have establi.shed Swiss ronip^nios and other foreign firms lhrou.;h which their stock manipula- tion.s are handled. Tile Govcrnnionl b'idie<; are under- stood interested for tin; twofold rea- son of ta.'^es, additional to protecting stockholders. One of the men un- der scrutiny is one who has been criiici/.ed by company stockholders for tradini; in Ins firm's securities. Rome Can't See U. S. Pix Glorifying British , Army, but Bankers OK Rome, Doc. 14. 'Bmi;iI I, irii-or.' announced some lime a.;o J^ UKVI for Italian release, had only a voiy .sliort iiin in Italy iM.-n uas a.;ain withdrawn. Thi-, i of An.i^lo-Italian fricnd- '"'P i' ■ " ! in nn-.T.;nin-ofT-,n;^ain af- ' "I • >■' ' "I llir Italian aulluiritics' '"'I'l 'I lubt ;i!)oiit thi> wisdom • It.iliaii i)iiblic Minis Biili li .■irni>-. At t: > iir; t:) ^^,•{ [-,(>| . 1 .•'i-r llu; lil:n. .■ "' "liar-c of the l.i.L^ht <'d I ho .-lanio fatr f,ii CLIPE Fear Vox Pop Indigo Laifs; Double Meanings Often Pop Innocently Public Staying Away from Theatres for Bargain En- tertainments in Name of Charity—Cost Only Few Cents More Than Four or Five - Act Vaudfilm Lay- outs, Plus Comfort of Re- served Seats and Head- liners COFFEE-CAKE PAYOFFS By ABEL GREEV In the name of charity, vaudeville actors' last gasp is fast being gasped. Their benefit - ihow appearances, strictly cufTo. just about kayo the variety talent's chances for any paid dates. On all sides you hear laymen say, 'Why go to an ordinary vaudeville tfieatrir~artfy" more and see just four or five ac'.s? For a few cents more, once a week, we go in style to some Saturday or Sunday night big char- ity show, see the cream of the crop of acts from all branches of show business, and that takes care of our desire for that good old Palace feel- ing. It even beats the old two-a- day.' There's plenty of grim truth in this, the acts and agents have sud- denly discovered. The seats are reserved, being staged usually in a big auditorium or legit theatre. When held in the grand ballrooms of the major hotels, as many of them are, the same thing true, as there's no scramble for scats and the environment is ultra, somewhat exclusive and always with an air of bigtime charity. The Theatre Authority may think it's benefiting the actors and their various charitable organ zations— after the T.A. gets its administrat ve lice—but the 15';,-of-ihe-[;ross that the Au'uiorily collects is only con- ' Continued on pi-^p 59) Santa's Agent Hollywood. Dec. 14. In this town no one is safe from the clutches of an agent. Ben Medford last week climbed on the Christmas tloat that makes the boulevard every night and signed William Mac- Ginnis, Hollywood's Santa Claus for the past 17 years, to a contract. Next day he landed him on the Chase & Sauiborn show. ONLY FUN IN TOWN COMES FROM AIR Hamilton, Ont.. Dec. r4. There being a Sunday blue-law efTective in Ontario which prohibits admish charge to theatres, CHML each Sabbath afternoon puts on a visual free show, sponsored over the ozone by Wingham Jewelry firm. Entertainment is the only thing of its sort in Wingham on Sundays and it is consequently tough to get tickets, j which sponsor distributes only to those calling at his store. BankroUer hires the Delta theatre for the broad- casts, which are community songfests in character. Incidentally, same sponsor is on weekdays over CHML with a oro- gram titled 'Credit,' which the CBC slightly frowns on but has not as yet interfered with. N.Y;S 1939 FAIR OPEN ALL NITE '1 r.v ■ i I ) \i v' ,-1 •if ih.i: :;:.i.;ry lb'.? in.iMUMll I 111! ■ i:; I ) ; I' W un •; V,r lii 1 .;:wK- ^iiili th-' . u.ii. r<vi;i)n. M.-anwhile 'Lloyds '.(■ l,oiul,.ii' IS iK'm;^ released here; Miliar.•iill\ the Italian.s see no harm :n !■!.); Il v.M-; Fliiii.h Innkers, even if thin rl . n ,1 li ■ • , .. ti,,, Bi i1i.li V.ii k W.irl i'.; F.iir in 19.39 I'lDiii^ as ,111 all-iii>.4ht e\f)osition. i"h()u-.;ii Mil iK'iiiii;.: dec:.lion has been lu.utc s') far, .s(v<m; lit(|p question ! ..■s Will be open but that the fjii '^1 hours ,T day Unqucslinnably tfi,* v.-.irld's big- qo^t night-lifo city, th' N. Y. expo will bo nut 1.1 gr.il) ih it extra coin that comes in after 2 .ii- .{ a.rn. Mer- chants l<o>>pin;,' npvn d loi-.s nfter midnight arc cuuntoi on l:iking ad- U' intiiii.i'.'rl om i)j 'JD Chicago, Dec. 14; Policy of several interview-the- public sessions to dish dirt via the double entendre stufT has grown to such proportions that radio execu- tives are frankly worried as to how such programs- can be kept under control. They realize that slips are bound to be made and are cutting them down asjrnuch as possible by select- ing questions more carefully. For example, there won't be any queries such as the one on WMAQ-SulatfiOi*' Megowen Question-Air, 'What is a female fox called?' The intervewedi. spoke up, 'It wouldn't be a ^itch, would it?' And Donald McGibetbic. the narrator, assured him it wa^h ? that a female fox was a vixen. Tfi'^ii, to everybody's embarrassment, soifl* 2.200 letters came in saying that JTO Gibeny was wrong, and that a f' male fox is a bitch. There've been a number of eri^ on this order during tlie pist '^^-i —the kind about which little worry" is expressed other than using a more (Continued on page 6*2 > Radio Comics in Actional Part of Tllarch of Timl^ Screen Essay on 'Hum^ 'March of Time' monthly lu is shooting big commercial-pi comics for a forthcoming r' titled 'American Humor' likely be released in '1'. ruary release ana will , humor figured lo be nativ U. S. Jack Benny, Fred Allen. Eddie Cantor, Burns and Alton and other funnymen on the ozone will be shot in action on their programs in iti^^ stances where the ad agencies sponsors will permit and the per<| formers o.k. the le nsing.s. ..^V THE HOUR OF CHARM MUSIC THAT LINGERS ON PHIL SPITALNY PARK CENTRAL HOTEL, NEW