Variety (Jan 1939)

Wednesday, January 4, 1939 Third of a Century VARIETY Anniversary Issue LEGIT 187 THE LECIT IN 1938 By Jack Pulaski The road was subject to much contemplation during the past year, but no solution was reached on its problems. The varied ideas sub- mitted to revive touring were largely experimental. Showmen agreed that some type of subscrip- tion would be necessary if shows •were to operate in stands other than key cities. Managers' forecast of years ago that increasing 'costs v/ould force shows from the road proved accurate, not merely a com- plaint. Hollywood and its affiliates were beseeched to Open up houses for occasional legit bookings but the picture industry was more engrossed in its own problems. Film mag- nates were also asked to organize stock companies for their own use as talent sources, arid for exploita-^ tion of screen names but there was no individual or concerted compli- ance. More important perhaps is that Hollywood end its feud with Broad- way so that legit would be properly financed. There was talk in author- ship circles that, huddles to achieve that were in the offing. However, nothing seemed to come off in that direction. There was no doubt that the stage had too few shows; Broadway's menu early in December fell to a new low. Thus, it was evident, there would not be enough material for touring, even if the road were made more feasible. Only practical solu- tion is considered to be road-show- ing duplicate companies. The sticks complained they had not been getting the genuine attrac- tions, but, properly cast and pre- sented, such shows should serve. Budgeting for the road is regarded as mandatory but if some of the proposed plans go through there should be more road shows next season than in recent years. Broadway looks forward to the New York World's Fair. Ballyhoo for the expo has already been started on the stem. Show busi- ness looks for material sustenance from the Fair's visitors, but whether such business will support all plays through next summer is proble- matical. Musicals Lead Pack Unless the winter production crop develops new successes, a goodly part of stage fare during the Fair will be musicals. Trend towards that type of production was in- dicated early in the 1938-39 season when several musical clicks almost overshadowed the field. At the Fair will be a theatre or music hall, which is, curiously, not expected to compete with Broadway. What type of attraction is to be presented there has not been definitely decided. Broadway is better equipped to house summer shows because a ma- jority of legits have air cooling systems, which the showmen pre pared a year in advance. The ticket situation drew the at tention of show business more than ever before. The theory was that reasonable prices would entice larger audiences to shows and therefore encourage more produc- tion. The League of New York Theatres consequently drew up a code of fair practices,, which is now in operation. The effectiveness is disputed, though it's claimed that the majority of sales by agencies are .made at the regulated limit of 75c premium. Equity backed the League in the code in a deal between the two. The purpose of ticket control is still to be achieved. The meagre num- ber of clicks, too, militates against the efficiency of the code. One of the code features is the rule against ticket buys. Brokers have an edge in their argument that buys would have saved, or at least kept going, a number of shows that proved costly fiops. So far as the agencies are concerned they are burned up over iiie fact that they are required to pay 3i/4c per ticket to the League so that the latter can enforce the code which they oppose. The wave of unionization spread further in 1938. The front of the house is now a factor in theatre op- eration. Theatrical Managers, Agents and Treasurers union en- livened the winter by suddenly com- ing to life and taking in all boxoflioe staffs, house and company managers and publicity people. Press agents had gotten together as a non-union only to submit to TMAT, forming a chapter with the right to have their ovm rules. Similar idea was followed by other groups. TMAT Gets Managrer Pact TMAT demanded and eventually obtained a basic agreement with the managers. The union was aided by the teamsters union which threat- ened a strike, and after some pick- eting, the managers conceded the contract. Result was better salaries for the front of the house. In fact, the scales are believed to be the high- est of any union in the country. Agreement covered the final three months of last season and extended until the end of the current season. The union, however, had expanded so rapidly it ran into financial diffi- culties, with changes in the per- sonnel and cut in expenditures be- ing required. Equity's Ranks, Too, Were Ruffled Burgess Meredith was temporary head of the union until the end of the last season, having replaced Frank Gillmore when the latter re- signed to become head of the Asso- ciated Actors and Artistes of Amer- ica. During this period there was a riotous sesuon of independent pro- motion during which it.was charged a subversive "group was' running Equity. The conservatives thereupon turned out in force at a meeting and named their own nominating commit- tee, with none of the so-called radi- cal group even figuring. It was the best attended Equity meeting in years. Arthur Byron was nominated for the presidency and accepted. The job is non-salaried. Upon taking oflEice Byron began settling the affairs of the association. One of the changes made in actor contracts was the elimination of jimior rating so far as salaries are concerned. All players must receive at least $40 weekly and the same re- hearsal pay, $20 weekly. That had been one of the changes sought by the younger group and which doubtlessly impelled the managers to seek a basic agreement. For months there ' have been little disturbance within Equity excepting on WPA theatre matters.. Dissenters within the relief theatre outfit have hammered Equity for action, with much of the time at meetings devoted to the reliefers. Transfers to other divisions of WPA and dismissals provoked many com- plaints. Pink slips handed out at New Year's promise many fresh complaint^f. During."the late fall an order to re- duce the' complement in the theatre project/was rescinded and then re- issued."' This started another cam- paign .to forestall such action. WPA has developed into Equity's major problem, replacing the group opposi- tion. At least, those on the relief payrolls are managing to eke a liv- ing and with the newly.ordered let- outs Equity is certainly in for more travail. ful theatre ventures, both In N. Y., notably the Mercury Theatre and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. ^.Latter took over the empty Princess theatre and eSta'bltSh'ed^it *6s "Labor "Stage with the Revue, 'Pins and Needles.' An amateur cast started the show as a weekend affair then performed it regularly and it's still going. Mer- cury Theatre leased the Comedy, another almost forgotten house, and the critics raved over 'Julius Cae- sar' and 'Shoemaker's Holiday.' Mercury particularly was hailed as an uplifting force in the theatre but got off on the wrong foot this season. It was suddenly stopped, but may re- sume when its finances are straight- ened out. Critics The critics, as always, attracted their share of attention. John Ma- son Brown of the N. Y. Post, won Variety's boxsdore for the fifth tim.e with a percentage of .935. John Anderson of the N. Y. Journal- American, was next with .918, with Brooks Atkinson, of the Times, third with .903 and Dick Watts Of the Her- ald Tribune, coming under the wire with .878? More pertinent wias the low pro- duction mark, 78 new shows being produced during the 1937-38 period, as against 90 for the previous sea- son, which showed a decline in man- agerical •-activity—-for—the—third straight year. Seventeen shows were in the money, of which 11 were big hits and six moderate successes. The N. Y. Critics Circle gave its annual prize to 'Mice and Men,' which was about to fold when named. It then ralUed and played four weeks longer, 'Our Town' copped the Pulitzer award and is now doing well on the road. George M. Cohan's starrer, 'I'd Rather Be Right,' is currently the road's biggest grosser. Italy's Type of WPA Shows If I Were A Roosevelt • Strawhats' Poor Results T?he summer stock and try out season saw little change from the past several seasons. Talent and material scouts only emphasized the results of the past several summers; the actual result was- out of propoi*- tion to the effort. There were 140 new plays tried out and 12 were re- garded as Broadway possibilities. None have scored to date. Another phase of the summer sea- son was the outdoor musical re- vivals, especially at Jones Beach, L. I., and Randall's Island, N. Y. Ac- tivities of both stopped abruptly after rain forced cancellation of six consecutive evening performances. Complaint was made by manage- ments that it was Equity's fault the troupes folded. It was pointed out that if Sunday shows were permitted without extra pay, the revivals would have attracted enough busi- ness to keep the actors working. Equity was suspicious of a squeeze play, with the Shuberts the main complainants. It was decided that concessions be made for next sum- mer. The season up to the end of May was the lightest for buys on film rights since that factor entered the show field. Only one play had been sold up to March 1. There was some idea that Hollywood was re- taliating because of the quarrel with the Dramatists Guild on minimum basic agreement, but that proved to be somewhat fallacious. The quality of the plays was at fault, so-called intellectual shows which got across on Broadway not being considered proper picture material. In light of how some of those plays have been fraing out of town substantiates Hollywood's viewpoint. There were two suprise success- Rome, Dec. 20. Performances al fresco have be- come a vogue in Italy and are among the chief inducements held out by Italian authorities to bring the poor closer to the theatre. In all major Italian cities, outdoor shows oil a big scale are organized diiring the sum mer months. In Rome and Milan these shows are able to accommodate 20,000 spectators. Ancient Roman ampitheatres or arches of majestic Roman ruins make spectacular back' drops for the outdoor stages. Cos. tume and stage designs are first class, and during part of the summer sea son Italy's best operatic singers tour the various cities where summer opera is being staged. All this the public can enjoy for the top price of $1; lowest price 10c. During the- spring there are sev' eral outdoor. performances, too—one in Italian Tripoli, one in an old Greek theatre in Sicily; but these are more highbrow events, and are aimed less at the Italian people than at tourist trade. From the early spring performances of Greek drama in Tripoli and Sicily, through staging of classic dances at Paestum, through the outdoor numbers on the Floren- tine May program, the tourist sea- son is well sprinkled with outdoor dramatic events. In the small villages the summer months bring the appearance of the 'Thespian carts.' These are road companies organized by the govern- ment recreation agencies.. They travel in well-equipped trucks and bring along everything from their own stage and lighting effects to seats that can be set up in the vil- lage square. One of these companies puts on plays, and one gives light operas. In winter all theatres in Italy are required to reserve certain Saturday afternoons for performances for workers, peasants and small-salaried employees. Prices at these 'Theatri- cal Saturdays' are even lower than those at the summer operas. *St. Louis Woman' For Coast FTP Negrro Unit Los Angeles, Jan. 1. Langston Hughes signed with Fed- eral Theatre Project to rewrite 'St. Louis Woman,' next play for the local Negro unit now doing 'Run Lil' Chillun.' Show is based on 'Arna Bontemps,' novel of the early '90's. James R. Ullman, Southern Cali- fornia director of the FTP, sent out a call for writers, gag men and lyric- ists to develop a musical revu6 to be produced shortly. By SIR OSWALD STOLL London, Dec. 20. Variety's abstract and brief chronicles of the time constantly reveal a state of anxiety and confusion in every aspect of entertainment—the Stage, the Screen, Radio, Television and Finance. A new spirit will have to be invoked to bring order out of chaos; a creative spirit with the powers of a benevolent despot. If I were a Roosevelt, with lightning speed I would stop an entertain- ment duty or tax which discriminates against the stage of the living per- former, in favor of actors presented as pieces of celluloid. The cheapness with which prints can be made from negatives would render it obvious to me that a tax may be borne by them without hardship, but not by liv- ing artists who cannot be moved about in tin boxes. I would realize that although the running expenses of a theatrical production may be re- covered from theatre revenue, despite the tax, it is hopeless to expect to recover the costs of the production also. Somebody must lose that unless it is a sum so slight as to be almost negligible. It would be clear to me that such a tax is a fine upon the employment of the living actor; a fine upon the public for encouragement of the living stage; a tax on turnover which, if made general, would break the back of national business from • the bakehouse to the bank. I would denounce completely that type of tax. I would know that a destructive tajc which destroys the actor, theatrical property, the arts of the theatre and keen public interest in the theatre, destroys real life for the sake of a machine that means nothing in itself, if it is bereft of the vital support of a vigorous living theatre. My view would be that if the screen is a desirable form of entertain- ment, the tax on the living stage, because it reacts injuriously on the necessary life of the stage, must injure the screen both artistically and commercially by persistently reducing the number and the quality of ,??.*.is*?,.P.^-?Xl'^y-'^nA-narticularly those that should be available for the studios which supply the living patterns for the celluloid pictures. Also I should realize that If radio Is. a dejsirable form of entertainment, the tax on the living stage injures radio by reducing the number and standard of trained artists available for broadcasting. I would not allow broadcasting to become nauseating through lack of fitting material and the enforcement of vain repetition.. As to television, I should feel no doubt whatever that If television is a welcome form of scientific expression, the tax upon the living stage is strangling television at its birth, by reducing the number of artists avail- able for the major part of its service. As a reasonable man I should know that , the screen, the radio and television do not require a sufficient number of artists to make a nu- merous and comprehensive profession, but that such a profession is neces-. sary .p order to maintain their limited and temporary needs. Preserve Life of Artists They use artists in person once, and these artists are heard or seen by millions of people in no time. The life of these artists by only occa- sional use, is made so short that if there is no stage to which they can repair, they or many of them vanish into oblivion over night. The limited use of artists niade by mechanical devices I would preserve as a sideline of the stage, not as a substitute for it. . The public must be fully and truly entertained, and the art and instru- ments of entertainment caused not to fall back, but to advance. I would know that nothing but exemption of the stage from a destructive tax could achieve this end and I should wipe out this tax as if it were , a plague. It is not yet realized in the film industry that a prosperous lining stage is absolutely essential to the film industry's survival. The absence of the living stage, the absence of great public interest in a living stage, causes an excessive supply of cinemas and consequent reduction .in prices of ad- mission to fatal competitive figures.. Moreover, its absence reduces the number and increases the cost of films. It amazes me that the film people for their own sakes do not oppose, with might and main, the retention of entertainments duty on the living stage—whatever the needs of govern- ment for taxation for armaments with which to protect life and property. Nor is it yet realized that to multiply theatres of the living, whilst the tax on the living remains, merely induces the over-valuation of a few artists and weakens still further the general structure of the entertainment world. The public appearance of the living artist is the school of personal experience in the application of knowledge of all the arts, crafts and sci- ences relevant to the stage. Knowledge is one thing, but its adaptation to experience is another and greater thing. This should not be hampered by special taxation any more than education shoxild be so hampered. To tax specifically applied education is to subsidize'savagery. - The types of artists left to be exploited in pictures sometimes remind one of this truth. No Subsidy Necessary Had I the power I should decide that the stage needs no subsidies be- yond exemption from this iniquitous tax* except definite recognition by government by means of ^ Ministry of Arts, Crafts and Sciences which would have a propaganda department designed to interest the public in the stage and all its works. • .The ministry would, however, provide awards for the various forms of perfection which individual artists might achieve in expression of personality, skill and powers to carry conviction in char- acter, action and atmosphere, in their work. To the Ministry of Arts, Crafts and Sciences I would give power to confer upon supreme ability in an artist exemption from income tax in any years of supreme achievement. This would follow the principle of exemption from taxation of a great institution like the Bank of England. It would raise the standard of artistry to the highest power and encourage the stars to make a full complement of pictures in a year. Owners of theatres have suffered from gaps in their normal finances made by excisions entirely due to destructive entertainments duty. To fill these gaps they have been forced to' borrow at interest and to endure the effects of compound interest on these and further borrowings. As compensation for these effects of entertainnient duty on theatre buildings during the past 20 years, I should reciuire my ministry to pur- chase all existing theatres at their full values. In the hands of a letting department of the ministry, the theatres would be let direct to producers and managers at rentiils not exceeding 2Vz% on the purchase price. All efforts to 'corner' theatres would be prohibited and a right of aopeitl by managers to a proper authority a.^ainst preferential treatment in the selec- tion of tenants would be established. A successful window cleaner or plumber ought not to be qualified by such success for the post of Minister of the Arts, Crafts and Sciences, nor should inspectors be merely clock watchers and spies. No officials would be apDoihted to supervise the stage who have inadequate knowledge and experience of the application of the relevant arts, crafts and sciences. To rouse the oublic interest in a great performance and cause the public to wish to witness it, requires the knowledge and experience of the kind of work being criticized. The theatre is the world in little. It must be allowed to become a world of Conspicuous human prowess in the cultivation of a superior type of human bein.e. taking pride of place amon.ftst people in general. All the world's a sta<?e, and we shquld feel more proud of the stage world than we can feel today. The stage is perhaps the most efficient vehicle for the building of a more admirable world, if it be allowed to cultivate itself by a government keeping the ring for it in its struggle. That ring imolies the ricrht to retain its natural sources of revenue in economic conditions in which little oi* nothing can be done without money. In brief I should make the British profession of the stage one of the great national and imperial professions—capable of ^^rcising profound influence on our relations with all the peoples of the vMd.