Variety (Oct 1938)

RADIO Publlahed Weekly at 164 West 46th Street. New York, N Y„ by Variety. Inc. Annual subscription. t6 filnela copies, IB cents. Entered «i aecond-olasa matter December 22, 190S. at tba Post OfTlce at N«w Tork. N. Y., under the act of March 3. 18T9. COPYU'lflUl. 1938, BT VAKIRTY. INC. At.L RIGHTS RRSEKVED. Vol 132 No. 4 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1938 64 PAGES Radio as Peace-Maker Broadcasting is credited with playing an outstanding part In pre- venting the outbreak of a European war last week. By keeping the ■people of the world closely apprised of every move that was being made in the diplom&tic shuffle and by having the spokesmen for each 'country present its case direct to the people of the world, radio was able to mobilize international opinion with a quickness and moimting vigor that could not help but exert a firm impression on even Hitler. In turning in what rates as its most momentous job to date, radio had, it is also pointed out, proved itself the world's No. 1 potent iorce for peace. Through its ability to disseminate information'to millions instantaneously and penetrate censorship, broadcasting .gave a glasshouse aspect if only fleetingly to the most secretive acts of the world's rulers. Recognition of radio's superior role during the 21 days that kept the world on the jitterseat was contained in last Friday's (30) col- umns of two Scripps-Howard writers, Heywood Broun and Raymond Clapper. Under the subhead 'Radio Conquers Isolation' Broun wrote, 'It seems to me that only now have we begun to appreciate the value of new methods of communication. Radio has been an enormous factor, in conquering the dead and deadly weight of isola- tion. Indeed, it seems to me that whether this be a peace or a lull, it has been won by radio and Roosevelt. Hitler's speech, as broadcast from" Berlin, did more to consolidate opposition to Fascism than any other single factor in our time.' Clapper further commented, . . behind all of this was the mas- sive world-wide opinion against war, more thoroughly informed this time; swelling up through every channel of communication . . . and providing the motive power that drove the statesmen to the last ounce 'of their power,* Stuff Dominant At the '39 Fair Despite continued official state- ments from Grover A. Whalen, leav- ing the implication that there will be no overemphasis on any particular branch of entertainment in the New York World's. Fair amusement sec- tor, survey this week revealed that the exposition opening next year will have a full consignment of flesh and girly shows. Present indica- tions, as a matter of fact, are that there will be as many if not more femme shows and revues than all other important concessions com- bined. Approximately seven such revues are definitely set, with three or four others nearly pacted or under con- sideration. In addition, there will be four or more other outfits using live talent of one sort or another, without stressing feminine pulchri- I tude. Morris Green will present a con- densed version of his 'Greenwich Village Follies' in a cafe spot. Cuban Village show is planning to spot- light the rhumba and other native dances. Group of Insurance men are reported backing this enterprise. 'Living' Magazine Covers' . show : which Jack Sheridan has set for the fair will include show -girl models as title indicates. Harlem hilery laea will be carried out in the Savoy ^''room, Moe Gale's venture. Hula (Continued on page 46) LEARNING ABOUT RADIO Leg^it Player Grows Husky as He Eats Bread Ed Andrews, legit player, last week auditioned for a CBS radio show. Did a Bond Bread commer- cial. Program is a new idea being readied for trial. It will be a visual audience show. Andrews played a college football player who grew big and husky by eating lots of bread. It was his mike debut. HOWB HUGHES TO 'PRESENT' HEPBURN Reported that Howard Hughes will present Katherine Hepburn in a stage play this fall, plans calling for the unusual in presentation. Idea is to open in Dallas and it is proposed to remain there two weeks, show then to tour but not to play New York. Their names were romantically linked several times, particularly after his world-girdling accomplish- ment, but there were denials. Miss Hepburn has a verbal con- tract with the Theatre Guild, made after she refused to open on Broad- way in 'Jane Eyre' in which she toured last season. Agreement calls for the star to appear under Guild management, should either secure an acceptable play. Guild has not yet dug up such a script. fioD OH purs Part of a Move to Bring Hollywood Financing Back Into the Broadway Legit Field^Would Cre- ate a Sliding Scale for Film Rights—Will Be Put Before Dramatists Guild Council Shortly Cost American Webs $195,000 To Cover Sudeten War Situation SELL JOINT RIGHTS Plan to bring about the reentry of Hollywood coin into the legit produc- tion field will be submitted in the next couple of weeks to the Drama- tists Guild council. No date has been set for the move, but it will take place at the next council meet- ing. Plan is not complete, but if the Guild- council approves it wUl be studied further. In general, the scheme calls for a standard yardstick to set the price for picture rights to Broadway plays. In theory, it would resemble the method in use for the legit produc- tion rights.. That is. the author (Continued on page 60) HAS ARM BROKEN FOR $750 (NET) INSURANCE Los Angeles,. Oct. 4. Vaude being what it is and the law of nature still demanding that a guy must eat, Bert Howard went for a new act that sounded to him like a $2,500 booking. John Law heard about his new turn, and gave him the longest stand he ever made in orie spot—180 days in jail. Seems that Howard got mixed up with a fake insurance gang and of- fered his right arm to see them through. They took the flipper, laid it across a couple of blocks and gave it three hard whacks with a crow- bar. Result was that Howard had a broken arm and the insurance com- pany paid oft $2,500, of which his share was $750, When he was sentenced by the court, Howard moaned: 'Judge, I wouldn't go through that torture again for $100,000,' Cine-Roma, BVay House, Named in Fascistic Quiz Washington, Oct. 4, The Broadway picture house. Cine Roma, was scored today (Tues- day) before the House Committee on un-American Activities by Girolamo Valenti, chairman of the Italian anti- Fascist Committee. Charging that Italy is 'shipping into the U. S. a steady stream of motion picture films of a propaganda character.' Valenti declared that most of the films are projected at the 'no- toriously Fascist Cine-Roma.* Durante'^ Burden PittsbUrgh,>Oct. .4. Shavo Sherman, appearing here at Nixon cafe, told friends his chief stock , in trade is his mimicry of .Jimmy Durante. Added that unless Durante gets more consistent picture work shortly, he's going to sue the Schnozzola for non-support. HEY-HEY DAYS FOR NAME BANDS Jitterbug craze, plus the lack of straight vaude headliners, Is prov- ing a bonanza for name and near- name bands in the picture houses. Currently, there are more than 20 top-coin weeks available for orches- tras of and above the $5,000-a-week class, with most of this time avail- able consecutively. Situation is quite different from one which had existed in recent years, when high-salaried bands had little more than 10 weeks of play- able time. Now, on the impetus of swing and their b.o. lure through radio buildups, they are the most sought after theatre attractions. "Another major angle to the cur- rent situation is fact that there are as many large indie theatres bidding for the high-salaried crews as there are circuit houses. - Some of these spots include the State, Hartford; Fox, Detroit; Hippodrome, Balti- more; Lyric, Indianapolis; Tower, Kansas C^ity; Riverside, Milwaukee; Orpheum, Omaha, and Denver, Denver. Buildup of the band bookings, naturally, has been the success of the New York houses with name crews, notably the Paramount, Loew's State and Warners' Strand, on Broadway. With competition getting keen in the booking of bands and other tal- ent for Broadway picture houses, the Paramount, New York, is lining up attractions months in advance and covering likely attractions, especially orchestras, in all parts of the coun- try. The theatre, set on bands until Jan. 1, is also taking options on bands which it is playing so that it can bring them back six months or a year from now. One such option has been taken on Tommy Dorsey, cur- rent at the house, this option being for his band next year, if desired for a repeat. The competition on bands has be- come sharper with the Strand emu- lating the Par pit policy and the State going in more for orchestras of late. NBC and Columbia between them spent over $16Qj000 out pf pocket, ia covering the fecent Eiilropean crisis. In addition, $35,000 to $40,000 in re- bate billings must be ta'cked on.. It's the biggest bill by far they've had to meet for any single sequence of events since the existence of the in- dustry. NBC estimates that its actual out-of-pocket costs will figure around $85,000, while it expects to make about $15,000 in rebates to accounts whose programs it either cancelled or cut. into.. CBS' .toUgh estimate allows $60,000 for shortwave trans- mission and foreign correspondent fees, $15,000 for cables and trans- atlantic phone calls and rebates to advertisers of between $20,000 and $25,000. From Sept. 10 to Sept. 29 Columbia made 151 shortwave pickups from Europe, while the NBC total was 147. CBS spent on the average of $500 for these shortwave transmissions. Mutual, which depended largely on Press-Wireless for its pickups, re- broadcast over 130 programs and spent $3,000. The discrepancy in costs is ascribed to NBC's extra elab- orate instructions via cable. Inoreased Audience Both NBC and CBS expect to keep the rebate claims down as the result of the networks' device during the last few days of tlie crisis of induc- ing clients to open their programs with the statement that if any im- (Continued on page 61) Taxes Trim Thalberg Estate to $2,000,000; Originally, $4,500,000 Los Angeles, Oct. 4. Tax claims since his death re- duced the estate of Irving G. Thal- berg from $4,500,000 to about $2,- 000,000, it was revealed in probate court, where. Norma Shearer ob- tained approval of the payment of U-. S. taxes amounting to $754,239 for the years frort 1932-1936. Miss Shearer was granted permis- sion to negotiate for a compromise of state income tax claims on the es- tate for 1935 and 1936. NOEL COWARD SHOW FOR BEATRICE LILUE London, Oct. 4. Beatrice Lillie, originally booked three weeks at the Cafe de Paris, has been held over for two more. Miss Lillie is repotted by Noel Coward as having been signed for his forthcoming new revue to be presented on Broadway by John C. Wilson, Show opens provincially in England, going to Gotham in January. ' Opening at the Cafe de Paris last night (Monday), Paul Draper, the American dancer, clicked strongly.