Variety (Apr 1941)

MISCELLANY Wednesday, April 2, 1941 15 Bejst Sheet Arnap.ola • • • r-........... .. Betavise.: of Yc>u-.. .\ : .;. wise;6id,.o\v'rv. . .^^ Sail Antonio Bdsefv ; . ,■.•.,:. .>>.;,. Nviniber 10 LuUabye;iane ......;,.\ ., There'n' Be' Some Changes Made , ». I Hear a Rhapsody; ..,.. .•;..; Tonight (PeriRdia) • -i-V- , -^^r . Maria; Elena • •'• . . .■• • • • / - v.i •liigii-oh a.Windy; Hill- Oh 'Lopk, .iit.Me:fifow' . .vv/.'. .. ... . Do; i Worry?-.V..vWiV Let's Dreini This One Out- ; . ;.. ;>..V... ..r . I'll Be . With You. in: .Apple; Blossom Tihiis ' Goodbye,Niow-.w .'.v;:.. i vv>,^r'- • • • • i. -., .Marty ■. ' . AwUfiMI..-; EMI .;..;..Beviin ■ ..Warren. Marks': ,:,;;;BMI. , .... i Southern- ; ., , . .-Southern .:,V..BMi. ■ ■ ; Embassy'.; ;... i .Sbutherii ' ;\'BMI- Broad way; .....BMI If Kiiyoes Idea 0^^^ Hollywood, April !• .. Btiil .unseen; by t'he public -eye, •Citizen; Kane* bias been" lamped by «Q many fllin producerf, directors, acr itors arid agents' thit' RKO :has aban;;; d.dned. the idea of :a 1^5.50 Holly wood premiere/ Latest' private showing' at the studio fOr 80 professional peajprte brought .the total rtuniber bf - pre- •preView .fthipokers up to about 1,200, •vtfhich.. included 'practically ivery-: ■ body who would have' laid down $5.50 ior ii ' flrst public sliant at the .picliire."- '■ Releasie is 'tentatively' slated for ♦he end-of April. Hr Hates H«ti-ed Kaufman, Hart to Play ; fo^biiiner' in Strawhats . 'The. Man Who;; Qame to Dinner^ will have' both; its authors in .at least. two-5howings .of the comedy to be presented in siiirnmer.sipck ispots. At N6W; Hoipe,; Bucks.^' Coonty, . Pa., .Vhcre both have homies, ; George S. Kaufman is listed to appear in. the.: part of, Sheridan ;^yhiteside, a char- acter based <3n Aicxander-Wobllcott, whiie. Moss Haft -AvUl .do .the Noel Coward bit; Last ;ycaf, whien Wopll- cott, who was in ih.e Coast company, was.t.aken illj KJ^ufihan jumped into, the part briefly,. At benriis, - Cape bod,; Hart will .play Whitesidei. . Both , think, they can .enact .Wpollcdtt be- cause, they; know the humoristr'actor that, v^'ell. '. ;.-..•."'..>' ,' Kaufman is! writing a! play with Edna! Perber, .their last." collaborative work having been 'St^ge Door.' "Niew; play is .slated fPr prpductioh by Sam• H.; Harris .next seasonv;; Hart, whose ^Lady in the. parjt'. is a! candi.date for prize awards, is writing a book. of theatre anecdotes, 'Everything Happens to .Me'- for. Random House Ijublicatidn, this; summer,; .Wooilcpot is touring in ./Dinner,'; whilei.'the orig- inal show 'is at ..the ■iilusic Box,: N. Into the Kivoll, N. T.? ; General opinion, apparently based on a few fa^ts tind much fancy, is that the RKQ board: of .directors at .Its meeting pri Friday (4) will give the i^een light to release of Orson ^Velles' 'Citizen Kani.| Optimism is. particularly prevalent throughput the stafiE of RKO (althoiigh' it is definitely, based on no word from the top) with the sales department preparing to seek out-ot*town play- (Contiiiued oh page ^0) ' ■ . St, LOiiis,: ApriKl* . ; Repfesentative ; Max Librach ' (bem,)i. St,. LouiSi. :has . irir . tr.bduced a bill, in thP Missouri State. Legislature; making it crime to write, broadcast. . possess ainything designed to 'in- ~ cite hatred, ^defaimation, violence or hostility., against any group'of.! ;persons by- reason. pf ;racie;. n tionailityk cblpr or religiori.'; Violiitionis 6l the: bill,- which also extended to participation in ' parades intended for the same purpose would be' a misdemeanor punishable hy Imprisonment frpm 90 days to . three, years or 'fines ranging from $200 to .$5,000, or both, ; • f ♦♦»♦»♦♦♦ » ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ^ ♦ » < » ♦ > > ♦ > ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ » » > I ♦ » ♦♦♦^ llUE BERLE-ING POINT By Milton Berle TEST AGNES MOORHEAD FOR METRO'S YEARUNG' lady' in Dilemma Due To Gertie Latvrence'S IVoppsed London Jaunt . A bit Of a mental hurdle for Moss Hart in conriectipn with;'Lady In the Dark,* current Broadway hit present- ed by Sam H. Harris, but with Hart's money dominantly in it, involve.s the mental: attitude of Gertrude LaW- rence if she really goes through with - her proposal to visit England. Show Is closing.in June for a sumnier iay- , off regardless, the stpr expressing herself anxious to make a trip to London. That part of It is all right, •but the emotional reaction, due to the blitzing, may become a gr^ve factor, possibly affecting the show's reopening in: the fall; 'Lady' represents around $105,000, and, , despite the $287,000 screen rights sale to Paramount, Hart states It may hot get even, ais a legit pro- ,ductipn, if its run Is curtailed for some reason. Grossing "around $31,- . 000 (absolute capacity, plus standees nightly), -it heeds spnie $20,000 to ■ break, and represents only a $5,000 . net profit weekly.; Miss Lawrence, IncidentBllyi on her i5%-pf-the-.gross contract, has been faveraging almost J$5.000 weekly as her share, ,'Who could : replace Gertie Law- rence?' is a : constant query 6ro\jhd. the: Alviri theatre, where the show's current, the English . comedienne . herself. mentions Irene Dunne or . Gloria Swanson, Actually, Hart, first wi-pte 'Lady''With Katharine Cornell in riiind,- but when its musical scope gained broader semblahce it natural-^ ly . inspired only Miss .Lawrence as the most .likely -titular star.' :;. Agne$ Moorehead, one of the top radio actresses.: and formerly in; le- git,, was . tested Monday (31) by- Metro-for the part of the mother in 'The Yearling.' Location shots'for the picture-are. currently being shot in Florida and will ^o Into produc- tion there soon. Miss Moorehead, one of the highest paid character actresses in radio, has' appeared on virtually aU the leading network dramatic shows In recent years.' ''■■.■ Ziegfeid Club to Hold Ball April 21 HTinore s Radio Click Ups Interest in 'ChildreD' There's renewed Interest in 'My Dear C^hildren,' last year's starring play for. John Barrymore,- as result of his click on the radio with Rudy Vallee. Vehicle has not been sold for pictures. ; He was to have returned'in it, for another road tour, posting a $10,000 bond With the legit producers, Al- drich & .Myers, but. they are now talking relinquishing him from .this obligation If he accepts another vehicle they, have In mind. Hereto- fore they Weren't aiixioUs about a picture; deal for 'Children' because of the expected renewed tour. Grant's 12SC'Dinner' Wages to British ReSef Not for Munitions • Hollywood, April 1. ' War Relief but no munitions is the idea actuating Cary .Grants dohatibh of his $125;000. salary for the top role in the Warners picture, 'The Man Who Came to Dinner,' . Grant actually draws $1 for his work in the fllni. The rest is turned over, to the British War. Relief with two stipiilatiohs. First is that riot one cent will be'spent for combative ma- terial^ Secpnd is that the. money is to be used in the Uiilted States to buy materials for women and chil- dren suffering frpm bomb raids in Britain and for needy wives of Royal Air Force flyers; He made a similar donation of his net salary; in "The Philadelphia Story,' . Earl Gwoll in N. Y. Earl Carroll planed in frPm .Holly- wood Monday (31) for a Week's visit to Broadway, :JIe has isajed a call for: girls at the 44th Street theatre Thursday (3), intending to engage a number for, his next theatre-res- taurant show on the Coast. New editioij: is dated for June, Former revue, producer is one of the most frequent L.A, to N.Y. travelers and vice versa among, .,. showmen, • always using the . aerihl route. . .' •':■'■ The Ziegfeid Club, whose. mem- .bership is hiade up of; former; 'i'ol- lies' girls, is .stepping ; out with ;' annual dinner dance and ' show, called , the 'Lace Ball,' on April 21 in tile grand bnllroprh'of the W:*!- V Berlin to Coast Back from a ; :Floridi ^ vacation,, where he worked on rie'W tunes for his fortbcPming Bing Crosby fllmu- sical at Parcmount, Trying Berlin heads to the Coast this weekend to huddle with Mark Sandrlch,..'Latter dorf-Astoria, N. Y. It's first time In . . . so large an auditorium,- land 25%'6f'.will direct find produce, the net Will go to the: British War 1 ' Mary Martiri :wlll. probably be-in Relief fund; Tickets will down to $5. range frbrii $12.50 it, and; Fred .Astaire is being, dick- ered fpn Berlin .;will be West two Weeks, Olivier Into Air Force; Fenton Into Royal Navy London, March 25. An offer of $80,000 by Warners (London) to Laurence Olivier to riiake one-picture has been turned dpwn by the , actor. Instead, he jpined the Fleet Air Arm. Vivien Leigh (Mrs. Qliyier.X Is in- terested in appearing in a play • in England, but as. yet hasn't found pne to her.liking. Leslie Fenton, Hollywood film di- rector end .actor, who came to Lon- don some months ago for some di- recting chores, has joined th;e Pritish Navy, He's had to turn down two directing offers as a result. His wife, Hollywood film player Ann Dvor'aic, recently arrived here from the United States. ♦ f ft f . f ♦ f ♦ ♦tf » ' ♦ ♦ ♦ >> ♦ ♦ «i ♦ ; ♦ f f » ♦ 4 . # ♦ . ♦ ♦«« 4 ♦ ♦♦■,.; . ^ ^..^z'^- Hollywood,; April 1. ;Spririg fevei^s got riie. Last night I dreamt about the kind of girl.'; . who go "Out with Tony Martin. Went to the' opening baseball game with my boss, J5arryl. P,;:2;auucH. He^ was the guest of honor; and threw out the first associate producer. Almpst bought a'$50,boi0 home here but backed, out at the last minute becaU.se the bathroom scale was two pounds off, - f . Started work On .my new pictiire, '5un Valley,'; with iSonja Henie. It was so cold oh the set director 'Luclcy! Humbefstohe had to break up the dialog with ah icepick, ^ \ ; '^ Broadway Department . ; Since Leo Liridy appef&red on the. Fred Alien shpw his marinated her-- ririg's Grdssley has'jumped^^^ ' ■ .; .• - Paul Sirhali, the taylorrtnaidi m^ is on a strict diet. He eats nothing but food, ; :.j ';■ ■ '.'■:■ •/■■ ■ ■ , '■ ■ ■: .'■.•".■■•. ■'■ •'".'-/' '' •''•■ ;• ■ . , '-' ■'■'- Bill. Gasitbh knoWs a Brpadway character, who never picits up a chfeck— he's got an impediment in his reach. "They have a View policy at the 46th Street TTieatrjcal . Pharmacy.; With every 5Qc check, yOU .get ah Opening, a clo.sing and firi eyebrow, jjencii; ; - This is the tiroe of the year Avhen talent rears its ugly head. Shipping clerks drop their- packing boxes,; pick up makeup boxes find: go. -to the mountains arid produce plays like '"The.. Little :FOices;'v : " v. : Hollywoodii^ha '' John Barrymore has been married so many times he's thinking of buy- ing an adjustable wedding barid, '. Studios are making so rnany draft pictures, anybody with a Boy iScPut suit is a dress extra. ■ - ^ ..•;'' .,;•.''; One film star has the dumbest secretary. She toolc his. typewriter to a. garage to have the carbon rerrioved, Peggy Hopkins Joyce is. cprriirig tp Hollywood .to! m picture of her lif.e called 'I Love a Parade/ ■',■■; '.' .■.:•.■■•:• • The Hollywood Police Dept, is so mbvie-cpnscious:. They ■ iarrie'stied ham actor arid refused to put his. picture iiiltheir rogues'.gallery without; a screen test, : ■■ ■;':■;, ;;'' '' ^■■.;■ .'.-■;'•:■• Took Sorija Henie and .Dan Topping to Giro's last night , "niey-; serve .a. marvelpris dinner for an anriuity ' ;'.'. ■ . Miislo. Department ''.- Do you think i3MI songs will;hring back crystal sets? . Glenn'Miller knows a. ha in tpwn Whose interest In his girl singer,, is-strictly batonic. Radio Department Ever since James Petrillo forced Bob Burns to Join the.^ union for play- ing the bazooka, radio, actors are afraid tci whistle on broadcasts. ^Broadway Rose is going ;oh the air with iter .own program, 'Slobby Hobby.' It's a switch—iristead. of giving, tiioney! away to the audience you have to send her dough, , • ' . Last night turned my two radios on at the s^me tinie. Qiie prograrii wai for Coca-Cola and the Other for Ronrico Rum.. It'i the first time I ever got a hangover just listening. ■'HanEnall Dcicrlptloiui . Jfdrpo; Marx: A Wig-Wag,.. .John Barrymore: Little; Boy. Brew.,.. Anriabfella: Power-hausfrau.,,. Jack Senny: Toupee I Am k Man.., .Eddie Cantor-Clark Gable: Eyes and Ears of the World. Observation Dept. :; In New York when, they slap you on the back, you're a buddy. Out here, when they slap yOii on the back, you're a co-sigrier or a prpducer. Just found out what, a go-getter is-r^he's any guy who runs out of gas two miles fi'bm a filling station. Billy (Gezundheit) Gilbert just wrote a new book. about colds—'How to Win Friends and Inffuenza People.' ; ; ' . Eavesdropped at Dave Chasen's: 'He has a. way with women—the wrong way.' '■,..;■ Eavesdropped at Pirate's Den: . 'She's very sociable, she'll go out ^^liih anything but the;tide,' Eavesdropped at Brown Derby: 'He'd not only take your eye out, he'd take the stare top.' My brother:has been out of work so long, the only thing he ever banked was; the five bali; iri. the. side;pocket; :'Whatever,'Be'came. 'of,;-r^i——T '/ Yip Yip Yaphahk . ' Santos S( Hayes ' . Frank; Ward , and Dojlies Roxy La Rocca Cortez & Peggy Brewster-Pomeroy & Co, Afterpiece It's better to have loved and lost than never to have had any publicity at alL Dr. Watches Mrs. Jjessel Lois Andrews (Mrs. George Jessel) has been.; doing her stage stint at Loew's'State; N. Y;, this week With a doctor iri constant attendarice; ever since, .a mishap, at the, Chicago the tfe. Chi, recently. - It's now; aji operifsecret that the Jesseis expect; a baby .and; as the comedian puts" it, 'I certainly db.n't want to'have anything happen to it; aiEter all, it's: the only thing i.;have to show for my 3(j yiears iri the thea- tre.' •■" ;.;.':-' ;'.-.-; A. io N.Y. M.ary; Astor. ' - ■; ' Mort Blume)i.<!tock. ; Herbert. Drake, . ■; Irving Epsteen. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. •F,: Wolfe Gilbert, Carl Hoff. Herrriaih Hover.;~ ' Carl Leserman. ,\rthur Loew.; : S. Barrett McGormick.. . Ted McGee. Karen Morley... . James Roosevelt. George J. Schaefer,. GradwelJ Sears.. Dpriaid Ogden; Stewart; Normari Taur'og.i Mature Wants Roach To Clarify Fix Spotting - Victor Mature, on leave from Hal Roach In 'Lady in the Dark;' current Broadway legit, is under contract by the • filnr prpducer biit there's a difference of opinion over' his as- signments, • ■ ; . The player; is: concerned whether Roach's plan to make .short featur- ettes (four-reelers) won't retard him professionally through being spotted into 'big short?;' and he Wants that specified as and when hai leaves the; stage.play .for the Coast • • N. Y. to L, A. ;. Irving- Berlin. Charles Cobiirn. :. Nancy. GolemanV/. . Robert Eriiriiett Dolan. Anna Erskine, '; . H; William Fitelsop, . .Harry Horner. Countess; Magaroff. Arch Otioler. ' \/i Frank M, .Thpirias; . .,' ; /■Ray Winters, SAILINGS • March 31 (New York to Lisbon) Noel Coward (Yankee Clipper); : March 28 (New York to, Havana) Mr, and Mrs. ;.Abner J. CJreshler (Kungsholrii), .: ^. March 28 (New York to Nassau) Hurne Crbnyn (Jamaica'), . March 28 (New York to, Panama) A, L. Eindat (Santa Clara). : ' Buenos Aires Bemoans Snub to Carman Amaya Who Became N Y. Cfick Buenos Aires, April 1. ■ Success of dancer Carman Amaya . iri Manhattan (Beachcomber niteiry presently) Is current top conversa- tion item in show world .here; man- agers takirig It as one more indica- tion that U; S. shoWnihrishipi is often needed to convince locali.tes of tal-; ent on hand :biit;uriappii'eciated, •',' Point is riot that dancer 'was over- looked here. She was one of the' Iprigest-term draws, ever to play a ]3.' A.; engagement, but vwas strictly a ^econdratfe! house draw at low prices, unknown to most of the rich Argenr tine and International theatre . and cpncert-going ' crpwd, and getting littlej if any;, of .the Carriage or coin, .: .Now that she's raking in the cash in New-Yorkk number of managers are bemoaning the fact she could have been had for peanuts. ; Arid; furtllermore, .that come ^next :year,: she'll probably be shipped bacjt (as was. Carmen Miranda in Rio), ad- vertised .as thes serisatiori Of -Mari- hattan,.arid sold to the same 'sort . of top-price crowds as the big visiting stars lilte . Heifetz, Rubinstein, the; Monte Carlo, and Jooss Hallets, etc. Amaya is a Spariish, gyp^y from Granada; hot a Brazilian as described in some .IJ.. S. .articles reaching here,