Variety (May 1941)

PICTURES Wednesday, May 7, 1911 !WB and Korda Dickering WeOes When He Departs RKO Contract LAST SHALL BE FIRST? Gene Towne's' VA to RKO With 'How to Meet Man' Peflnite offers have been made to Orson Welles to join their stalls as a producer by Warner Bros, and Alex- ander Korda, it has been learned. Other studios have made overtures', but less definite ones, while RKO is attempting, to /hold Welles after the one picture to which he is yet com- mitted is completed. Welles is 'listening to all offers' but he declares not only money or terms, but the 'artistic integrity' allowed him will sway him. He interpreted that to mean complete freedom to film the scripts of his choice without consultation with studio heads. As long as the studio has a final okay on screenplays, chances of obtaining 'complete artistic integrity' are gone, Welles asserted. Producer Will not go ahead with his second film for RKO until lawyers have battled out whether or rot it is to be made for free. RKO claims it is, while Welles maintains that the company forfeited its right to get a 'free' picture from him by not allowing him to produce 'Heart of Darkness.' Mixup resulted from Welles' desire to 'do 'Darkness' as his first pic. Studio claimed its $1,100,000 budget too high. ■ Whereupon Welles said he'd make a second picture gratis if they'd let him do 'Darkness.' That vras agreed to and then it was de- cided he should do the second pic- ture first. It was to be 'Smiler With a Knife.' But 'Smiler' couldn't be cast, the studio claimed, and was never made, whereupon 'Citizen Kane' was started. Set to be the second picture, until recently nixed by the Mexican gov- ernment was a pic starring Welles and Dolores Del Rio to be made in Mexico City. Now, Welles says he- has 'some ideas' but nothing definite In mind. Shooting scripts of both •Smiler' and 'Darkness' are ready, but RKO apparently doesn't want either of them. Welles, incidentally, has left Columbia Artists Management and Is now being Jiandled by Al Schneider, who resigned from Columbia Artists ' to agent Welles exclusively. Welles' pact with CA permitted him to break •way whenever Schneider did. GINNY SIMS SIGNED UP FOR RKO ACTING BERTH Some 'Sextet' Hollywood, May 6. Warner Bros, has put out a call for original Floradora girls as a ohaperone stunt Sixteen showed up, claiming to be in the original sextet. Reported to be only three still living. Hollywood, May 6. RKO- signed Ginny Sims, vocalist With the Kay Kyser orchestra, to an acting deal, permitting her to travel with the band and report for film work whenever there is a specific picture commitment. First job; under the new pact will be the next ityser starrer, to be pro- duced by David Butler. Cantor Wonid Rhnmba Eddie Cantor is trying to tie in with Jock Whitney-s Pan-American conference, possibly with Whitney capital, on his first independent fllmusical for United Artists release. Idea is a Latin-American theme, medleying all the aspects from the congarhumba Cuban groove down into the Argentinian samba and tango belt Cantor has been taking lessons in Spanish and Portuguese for the past eight weeks. Says he: 'As and when I go to South America I want to be able to stand up on a platform or dais, and answer questions that will help the cause of democracy in the native language of the country. And I want to have a good enough understanding of words so that I can put some humor into my answers. That's always the most effective way of creating good will.' Coast Preview Crix Jumping the Gnn By Sneaking Into Stix Hollywood, May 6. Hollywood correspondents, miffed at persistent stalling by Jock Law- rence's Studio Publicity Directors Committee on the preview situation, sneaked in on another sneak pre- view Saturday (3) at Long Beach. Group converged on the beach town, dined together and moved in on Paramount's 'Buy Me That Town.* Cricks last week caught a rough cut of Columbia's 'Adventure in Washington' in Huntington Park, and understood gave it going-over in their sheets and mags. Corre- spondents are demanding to see pic- tures here before New York show- ing, but so far. are getting nothing but promises. When the Huntington Park sneak was ended, Harry Cohn, Charles Rogers and other execs who were mingling with the populace to get an earful of comments, discovered a. flock of columnists and syndicate writers who had jumped the barrier. The correspondents refused to dis- close where they got their info about the sneak but declared they were on the job for 'honest reviewing and no cheating^— Writers asserted they had tried to straighten out the difficulty with the Jock Lawrence group but had heard nothing but prortiises which didn't work out. Their idea, they declared, was. to cover all pictures possible, although they would rather work in harmony with the producers. Indies' Beef Indie producers are having a tough time getting their product pre- viewed under the current handling of the situation by the Hays office. Picture makers outside the organi- zation declare they have called up the Hays outfit, asking for an oppor- tunity to show their product to the press in a studio or a theatre, and have been informed that there were no available dates. When they con- tact exhibs directly and get a pre- view date, they assert, they are told that there is an agreement prohibit- ing previews in that area. As a re- sult, they often release their prod- uct without the benefit of a once- over by Hollywood correspondents and thereby lose the advantage of advance publicity. One of the indie organizations is understood to be asking Uncle Sam about it Y. Frank Freeman, president of the Motion Picture Producers Assn., has sided with the correspondents and is petitioning all studios to pre- view pictures here before shipping prints east. Whether 'How to Meet a Man'.will be his first film for United Artists, or his last for RKO, will, depend upon casting problems, Genef Towne said in New York yesterday (Tues- day). Towne came east Saturday (3), made a quick visit to Washing- ton yesterday and is retiring to Con- necticut until next week to work on a couple of scripts. Deal is all set with UA, Towne declared, and he can go over when- ever he Has casting arid directorial lineup in order. He has commit- ment for one more film at RKO, but whether it will be carried out ap- pears vague. Whether Graham Baker, his partner of more. than a dozen years in The Play's the Thing Corp., will continue to be aligned with him as a silent partner at UA is indeterminate. Baker recently took over a staff producership on the RKO lot Cobum Starred Hollywood, May 6. Charles Coburn, thesp for half a century, gets his first star film bill- ing in 'Unexpected Uncle,' in which he is bracketed with Dorothy Com- Ingore and Edmond O'Brien. Erich Pommcr, recovering from a heart attack, returns to RKO to re- sume production of 'Unexpected Uncle.' At the beginning of his ill- ness, it was announced that Pom- iner would turn over the production chore to Tay Garnett, who would have taken over the double job of producer-director. U. S. Lists Part Of Bioff'Income As Trial Nears MacKenna Westing Kenneth MacKenna, Metro's Coast story editor, who has been east for several weeks to help set arrange- ments for Metro's legit production of 'We Fought at Arques,' returns to Hollywood at the end of this week. While in New York MacKenna also confabbed with a number of publishers and editors. Hollywood, May 6. Bill of particulars in the U. S. Gov- ernment's income tax case against Willie Bioff chcrges that the union official received $169,211.38 in 1936- 37 and paid only $634.70 in taxes. Bill was filed by assistant U. S. attorney William F. Hall, preparatory to the trial here June 24. Items in Count I of the indictment, covering 1936, include the sum of $20,000 in currency, 'received from sources unknown' and various arti- cles of valuable rugs, drzperies and furnishings from RKO. Total for the year was $27,853. Count 2, covering 1937, includes: 'Income received from Joseph M. Schenck and other persons or cor- porations unknown to the United States at this time, on or about June 23, 1937, in the amount of $100,000. 'Income from salary and per diem paid by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to Wil liam Bioff during 1937, $3,000. 'Income in the form of Hollywood Turf Club stock in the amount of approximately $10,000. 'Income in the form of Con- solidated Corp. Oil stock in the amount of approximately $5,462.50, 'Income in the form of 500 shares solidated Corp. oil stock in the amount of approximately $24,404.50, 'Income received from Joseph Schenck and other persons and cor porations to the United States un- known, in the form of 1,000 sheres of 20th-century Fox Film stock in the amount of aproximately $22,000. 'Income from dividends paid to William Bioff during 1937 from 500 shares of Continental Oil Corp. stock, 500 shares of Continental Can Co. stock and 1,000 shares of 20th Century Fox Film Corp. stock, $100. Bioff is living on his Valley ranch in Canoga Park, at liberty on bail pending trial. Marshall With Davis In Goldwyn's 'Foxes' Hollywood, May 6. Top male role opposite Bette Davis in 'The Little Foxes' on the Samuel Goldwyn lot goes to Herbert Mar- shall, who reports for work today (Tues.). Marshall has not worked for Gold- wyn since 'The Dark Angel' with Merle Oberon in 1935. Other News Pertaining to Pictures Ealing with United Artists Page W Mex filmgoers Page 13 More un-good neighborly stuff Page 13 FCC radio crackdown Page 29 Television ..Page 32 Radio reviews: William Powell, Maxie Rosenbloom, 'College Humor," Free Co Page 59 ASCAP Page 67 AGVA Page 70 Army '.shows* a mystery Page 71 Jolson's six-month tour Page'73 Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize No. 3 Page 73 BiofTs RKO Rugs, Etc. Irk Labor Hollywood, May 6. Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employ- ees/ are up In arms over the release by the Government here of a bill of particulars in the income tax evasion case of Willie Bioff. The dis-- covery that Bioff received rugs, draperies and other house furnishings from the RKO studio has resulted in group meetings throughout the industry, many of the workers openly charging that they were 'sold down the river.' ' - A number Of the locals have stated they would not trust the lATSE International to handle their negotiations unless committees from the membership ■ were sitting in on the parleys. They claim demands for Improved working conditions have repeatedly been sidetracked by the International in favor of small wage increases, which they claim ac- tually resulted in the employment of fewer men and in a decrease in annual earnings through the elimination of overtime, etc. Proskauer Wins BaO for Schenck, Moskowitz; 'Preview' of Appeal? 'Lucky's' Bad Luck Hollywood, May 6. H. Bruce 'Lucky' Humber- stone, 20th-Fox director, was in- jured in an auto accident, and his job as pilot of 'Sun Valley Serenade' was. taken over tem- porarily by Mai St Clair. numbers tone gained the. 'Lucky' nickname a few years ago when he came up '^ithout harm after an 80-mile-an-hour motor crash. 20tli Toppers West To Hnddle Schenck, Zanuck On Prod, and Sales Plans Hollywood, May 6. Joe Moskowitz and Charlie Mc- Carthy are due in Thursday (8) from New York for huddles at 20th-Fox on production—with—Joseph—Mr Schenck, already here, and Darryl Zanuck, piroduction chieL Both Mc- Carthy and Moskowitz left N. Y. Monday (5). Herman Wobber, gen- eral sales manager, arrived more than 10. days ago, while William Sussman, W. C. Gehring and William Kupper, division heads, came in this week. Sidney R. Kent, president who originally planned to attend these sessions, remained in the east. Un- derstood that he stayed In N. Y. be- cause the annual stockholders meet- ing is there on May 15, and this would have allowed him only a few days here before having to hurry back east No other, explanation has been made regarding his absence. Pians to meet the new selling changeover for the 1941-42 product and, in all probability, discussion concerning a national convention or regionals, whichever is decided, ore on the agenda for Coast meetings by 20th-Fox heads and distribution ex- ecutives. A national convensh may be held in Chicago in June or July. - A preview of the defense to be presented to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Np^York in October or November wa9~tield Wednesday (30) in N. Y. federal court, when former appellate division Judge Joseplfi M. Proskauer, appearing as counsel for Joseph M. Schenck and Joseph H. Moskowitz, won the freedorh of his clients on bail, until the Circuit Court decides whether the decision of the lower court, in sentencing the two men for income tax evasion, was correct or not Proskauer re- placed Harold H. Corbin as defense counsel, although the 70-odd-year- old jurist will work' in conjunction with the trial counsel in preparing the appeal. It was understood prior to the hearing on Wednesday (30) that Mathias F. Correa, U. S. prosecutor, would oppose bail and force the de- fense to go to the Circuit Court of Appeals if Schenck and Moskowitz were to receive it at all. Proskauer's hour and a half argument, splashed with color and caustic wit, ripped Correa over the coals and drew -more attention frnm-presiding Judge Grover Moscowltz than the court had paid to Corbin during the en- tire six weeks of the defense trial. Proskauer launched his counter- blitzkrieg by declaring that it was an impossibility to be heard by the higher court until the fall, and should his clients be jailed, and the Circuit Court reverse the Federal sentence, they would have served time for an offence of which they were not guilty. ■ Proskauer ex- plained that neither Schenck nor Moskowitz were going to"ruh away, and then launched his attack by stating that he was not going to try to convince Judge Moscowitz that he eriedJn the impos.ing of the sentence but that he would present sub.stan- tial proof that would be indicative of a possible reversal in the Circuit Court The attorney said that he based his appeal on six points. These were: 1. If Schenck was owed money by the Government for his 1937 tax, and <Continued on page 27) Joe Schenck Back . Into Prod. Harness While Joseph M. Schenck has re- signed as chairman of the board of 20th-Century-Fox and as a member of the board of directors, he will remain with the company in an un- | stated production capacity at the I studio, presumption being that in that role he will go back or) the payroll. In an official' statement from 20th following a meeting of the board Thursday (1), it was an- nounced that when Schenck returns to Hollywood he will resume his production activities for the com- pany. Balance of the statement read: 'Published reports that Mr. Joseph M. Schenck has entirely severed his connections with 20th-Fox are in error. Mr. Schenck has tendered his resignation to the board of di- rectors of 20th-Fox as a director and as chairman of the board. His res- ignation was accepted by the board al its meeting today (1). Edwin P. Kilroe, who has been associated with the company for many years, was elected a director to succeed Mr. Schenck. No action was taken by the board with regard to a successor to Mr. Schenck as chairman of the board.' Kilroe is legal head of-"the com- pany. JOHN BRAHM MAKES THE 20TH DIRECTOR AT 20TH Hollywood. May 6. John Brahm and Darryl Zanuck got together on a director contract, with Brahm assigned to pilot 'Wild Geese Calling' as his first job under the new pact. Director's latest job was 'Escape to Glory' at Columbia, where he had worked for four years. Signing of Brahm fetches the di- rector contract list at 20th-Fox up to 20, a new record on the We.st- wood lot. Griffis' Luncheon Intro Of DeSylya to N. Y. Execs Stanton Griffis, Paramouni's board chairman, hosted Buddy De Sylvo. new production chief; Arthur Horn- blow, Jr., Par producer,' and home office top executives at his Carlton House apartment last Friday '2) noon at a luncheon. Idea was for principal Paramount officials in New York to become better acquainted with the new producer head. He re- turned to Coast over the weekend. Griffis had returned to N. Y. the day before from nearly a month in Mexico during which he spent mo.^t of the time fishing in the Gulf of Lower California. Hornblow, ac- companied by his wife, Myrna Loy. is in the east to see new legit show.'', taking in one per night