Variety (May 1941)

Vednefldaf, Hay 21, 1941 MCniIUES 21 Amidsf tbs Horse-Hay, Variety Clubs Strike a Serious Note in A.C Ailantlo City, May SO. Ther* wer* delegates here thli week to the seventh annual Variety Clubs of 'Amerloa convention vfho never saw the ocean. Or, U they did, they failed to recognize it Showmen ' from every-section of the country assembled for the yearly conclave. In attendance, it was the largest registration in* the seven ^ears of the national meetings. In entertainment, it was unparalleled, with a series of special events that were run oft with the precision of a Itoclcettes finale. And, not with- (tanding all the fun, nonsense and horse-play, the meeting had its seri- ous moments when its 1,500 Variety Club members re-dedicated their respective 'tents' to enlarged chari-- table service, and took back liome a resolve for keener participation in national defense. Tally sheets of the donations of the various clubs revealed that since Jan. 1 the showmen bodies have dis- bursed* more than $800,000 for dif- ferent charitable purposes. In the vear, the sum will exceed $1,000,000. Most of the activities benefited are for under-privileged and incapaci- tated children. With true dramatic effect, such as showmen only can create, the con- .ventlon reached its climax at the annual banquet on Saturday night (17) at the Hotel Tray more when variety ClUbs' annual award to the person most deserving of recognition for distinguished public service was given to 80-odd year old George Washington Carver, Negro scientist of Tuskegee University, whose dis- coveries and researches in agricul- ture have benefited thousands. Pre- vious- awards, which include $1,000 ^ cash, have -gone to Miss Martha fierry, of Mount Berry School, in Alabama, . and Father Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, Omaha. Presentation of the citation and award to Carver was made by Jolm H. Harris, of Pittsburgh, who re- viewed the life and accomplish- ments of the educator. The tradl- flon' of his boyhood, that he was bom In slavery and when a child wa% bartered in exchange for a race- horse, is well known. Hit subse- quent accomplishments in agricul- tural research and his rise to a dis- Jinguished niche among the world's eading benefactors were related as « prelude to a rousing tribute when the aged Negro rose to acknowledge he award. Hollywood Next In the rivalry among the local Clubs for next year's convention site, Hollywood was selected and the new Loi Angeles chapter will be hosts. Arrangements here were in charge Of the Philadelphia tent, of which Dr. Leon Levy is chief barker, and Earle W. Sweigert, chairman of the convention committee. Although the speakers' dais was ftudded with guests from Washing- ton, some of whom made brief (and aome not. so brief) speeches, the ora- torfcal prize, in the opinion of many Who attended the banquet, was won by Walter Wangec Hollywood film producer and president of the' Acad- . emy . of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. H^ spoke effectively of the obligations of the amusement in- dustry to meet the present crisis of national defense. He pleaded for a note of nationalism in American en- tertainment, a frank analysis of the facts in world affairs and their trans- lation into terms of theatre fare. 'What 50,000,000 people hear and see in American theatres weekly through the next year,' he said, 'will greatly affect the future of the Oountry. Of course, they want to laugh. . But unfortunately, at this time laughter alone is not enough, the morale must be hardened so we can face the facts. We have en- Joyed 20 years of escapist life in this country; now our entire way of iifS' la at stake.' All Officers Beelected All'the national officers were re- elected, with John H. Harris, of Pittsburgh, retained for the seventh consecutive year as chief barker. Others in top posts are Robert J. O'Donnell, of' Dallas, first assistant chief barker; Harry Kalmine, Pitts- burgh, second assistant; Eddie Ruben, property nian, and James Balmer, also Pittsburgh, bill boy. Members of the executive committee (canvass- mau) are: C. C. Allenberg, Pltts- . burgh; Virgil Jackson, Columbus; Allah Maritz, Cincinnati; Louis An- oell, St Louis; Charles Perry, De- troit; Bert M. Steam, Cleveland; Robert Murphy, Buffalo; Jerry Zig- mond. Kansas City: Marc Wolff, In- dianapolis; Hardle Meakln, Washing- ton; Benjamin Blocky, Minneapolis; Barla W, Sweigert, Philadelphia; Oscar E. Olsen, Milwaukee; Walter M. Green, Omaha; Paul Short, Dallas; Herb Byrd, Dayton; Louis Rome, Baltimore; M. A. Ughtman, Memphis; William K. Jenlclns, At- lanta; L. C. Griffith, Oklahoma City; Martin J. Mullin, Boston; and H. H. Everett, Charlotte, One of the pleasant special events was the cocktail par^ given by United Artists. Crowd that was variously esti- mated between 50,000 . and 100,000, watehed the boardwalk parade on Saturday afternoon: ■ Delegation of film stars from Hollywood attracted most attention, although a battelion of 600 draftees from Fort Dix got tlie biggest hand. Among the film players who came east for the con- vention were Dorothy Lamour, Jean Hersholt, Fay Wray, Wayne Morris, Helen Parrish, Frank Morgan, Carol Landis, Marjorie Weaver, Chajcles Lang, and rthers. Mllwankce Variety Beorca Milwaukee, May 20. Although the Variety club elected new officers only last December, it failed to get going on any of various activities that were planned,, so this past week'it held a reorganization meeting and cleaned house, electing another and entirely new set of offi- cials, headed by Harry MacDonald, manager of the Warner theatre, as chief barker. Jolm Kent, of Paramount, and John Mednikow, of National Screen Serv- ice, were made assistant chief bark- ers; William Harmon, Saxe Theatres, secretary; John Manskcf, Universal, treasurer. New board: Joe Rosen- field, manager of Modjeska theatre; Eddie Spears, RKO; Harry Perlewitz, business manager of the Independent Theatre Owners' organization; Mar- cel D. Brazee, district manager for Warner Bros.; Howard Gleason, Warner-Saxe Theatres, and Jack Lo- renz, 20th-Fox. Failure of the organization to func- tion satisfactorily under the former regime was said to be due to the fact that it -was made up almost entirely of the top men of various outfits who could not give the time needed to the club. Under the new setup, it is planned to concentrate charlteble activities upon local needs Instead of joining in national campaigns. Just Pals L, A. Variety Tent Hollywood, May 20. Los Angeles tent of variety clubs will b« organized here with the arrival within tha next month of John H. Harris, national president of Variety clubs. Hollywood is next year's conven- tion city. BRANTON'S CIVIC PRIDE KEYNOTING Chicago, May 20. At Tri-Stetes (Paramount) meet- ing In Des Moines, It was voted to drive Immediately for public good- will, general manager Ralph Bran- ton ordering ell theatre managers of the circuit to participate in civic and municipal affairs. Also set up pub- lic relations department under Dor- othy. Day and plans are for display- ing American flag in all theatres. Brcnton also promised that* any employee called to armed services shall be returned to same job or equivalent upon return. Claude Lee, public relations Paramount chief, charged the industry with failing to do a good public relations job and failed to make friends with public, Urged greater particlpatipn of thea- tre managers In public and civic affairs, Detroit, May 20. .As a sample of small town neighborliness, Glenn Wallace, of SeottvlUe, Mich., Is also buying and booking pictures for Don Iverson, owner of the nearby theatre In Lake City, Mich. lyerson was called up in the draft and the operator of the house in the nearby town al- lowed as how It was his patriotic duty to take care of the film handling. Hollywood, May 20. Screen Directors Guild has voted George Stevens into the presidency to succeed Frank Capra, ineligible for re-election after two consecutive years as prexy. Latter given an honorary life - membership in the Guild. Ernst Lubitsch elected first v.p.; Norman Taurog,. second v.p.; William Seiter, secretary; Tay Gar- nett, treasurer; Phil Rosen, assistant treasurer. Alternate board to represent serial westerns and shorts to be polled on at the next board meeting. Producers meet today with di- rectors to discuss Guild demands for minimum wage to directors work- ing on small budget pictures. An- other SDG demand Is '80-10 Guild shop' and guaranteed terms of em- ployment. Up in the Air, Again Hollywood, May 20. Richard Arlen and Jean Parker team up again ,ln 'Flying Blind,' the third of their aviation features to be produced by . the Bill Pine-Bill Thomas outfit for Paramount. Director is Frank McDonald. Soreenot Hollywood, May 20, Cinema theatre's banknlght pool went to a guy without a ticket. He put a gat on the manager, and scrammed with $900. GEO. STEVENS NOW PREZ OF DIRECTORS GIED Metro Buys Par-Financed Broadway Musical of 1936, M Hot and Blue Par Dickers El Caphan As Pic Ontiet m H'wood Hollywood, May 20. Deal for the showing of Paramount pictures in El Capitan theatre, on Hollywood Blvd., day-and-date with the Paramount in downtown Los An- geles, is in the making with Nell Agnew, general sales manager, com- ing from New York next week to make the final decision. It his ver- dict Is okay. Paramount moves In July 1. Company has been considering for some time a Hollywood outlet for its pictures. Fanchon & Marco is ready to sign a lease on the house as soon as Par approves. Meanwhile, C. E. Toberman, owner, and Matt Allen, manager of the El Capiten, are eyeing Holly- wood Playhouse for stage shows in case the Paramount deal is closed. Newsman Sues 20th On 'H'wood Cavalcade' Tag Allan W. Wells, doing business as Wells Feature Syndicate, filed suit Thursday (15) in the N. Y. federal court agcinst 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. charging- plagiarism of the title of his syndicated column 'Cavalcade of Hollywood,' in the film 'Hollywood Cavalcade.' Plaintiff claims to have originated the column and to have used it In newspapers and on the air, and to have made a picture using the title. The picture cannot be released, since 20th-Fox'8 prior use of a similar title has destroyed Its use- fulness, it Is claimed. An injunc- tion, accounting of profits and triple damages are sought. Republic's Chain Deal Los Angeles, May 20. Republic product goes into all the National Theatre and Fox-West Coast hduses, under a deal closed by James R. Grainger, Rep sales chief, with Spyros and Charles Skouras. Grainger and Herbert J. Yates leave here today (Tues.) for the Re- public sales convention in Chicago. Metro has purchased the rights to "Red, Hot and Blue,' a musical comedy produced in tha fall of 1B36 at the Alvin, N. Y., by Vinton Freedley with the backing of Para- moimt. Latter found no use for it as studio material but Metro desired the title and may use part of the score for an untitled feature. Price paid was $15,000, regarded as satisfactory for a show that has been on the shelf for four years. 'Blue' seemingly fared well enough on Broadway with Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman and Bob Hope head- ing the cast However, at the end of the enggagement the books proved the attraction to have about earned back Its production cost but there was no profit, Musical was sent to Chicago, which didn't like it at all and the show was yanked after a three-week date which shoved the show into a fast $20,000 loss. Book for the show was written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, co-authors of the smash,. Ufe With Father,' and co-producers of the hit, 'Arsenic and Old Lace.' Latter has also been bought by pictures. The Big Blow ' Novel to be published soon which has intrigued Hollywood in its film possibilities is "The Storm,' by George R. Stewart. Principal char- acter in the book Is a big blow. It is given a name, 'Maria.' Storm starts as a baby way out In the Pa- cific and moves east tintil it haa crossed the whole of tha United States. As it hits each section it af- fects the lives of various people, th« novel detailing what happens to ^ each person or group of persons as the result of 'Maria.' Yarn, in this aspect, resembles 'Bridge of San Luis Rey' and 'Grand Hotel.' Metro has purchased "Two Women,' European prize winner for Norma Shearer or Joan Crawford. Tran- slated into English as 'Hath Not tha Potter.' Hugh Wedlock and Howard Sny- der, longtime radio gag writers, have sold 'Tomorrow Never Comes' to , Frank Capra. It's a serious yarn. I They may also cop an assignment to work on the screenplay. Other Story Bnys Hollywood, May 20. Universal puKhased "Temporarily Yours,' mag story by Duane Decker and Charles O'Neill. ■ Larry Darmour bought screen rights to the air serial, 'tiapUln Mid- night' Van Fleming, radio scripter, sold two short subjects and one feature- length story to Al Kaufman. Shorts are 'You Can Be a Writer' and 'Tot vs. Titen.' Longer yarn is 'Advice to a Young Woman.' Inside Stuff-Pictures RKO's successful negotiation with Joseph I. Breen was not the first attempt by that studio to gain the services of a Hays office executive. When Hiram S. Brown was RKO president-several years ago, he wanted Charles C. Pettijohn, general counsel of the Producers group, as .his studio chief, but Will Hays intervened on the plea that Pettijohn was needed to handle various stete legislative tax problems, an urgent condition at that time. David O. Selznick was chosen for the RKO post at that time. Even though It hasn't left the groimd, "The 51ying Yorkshireman' la flying high financially. Eric Knight, author, sold it originally for $900, under an arrangement to draw about $3,000 more for writing the screen play. Subsequent owners of the yarn were Columnist Sidney Skolsky, who. paid $5,000; Eddie Cantor, who sold It to Frank Lloyd for $22,000, and Frank Capra and Robert Rlskln, who finally bought the screen (but not the radio) rights for $40,000. New fine grain film Is to be used for all Paramount black and whit* pictures after years of experimenting. Changeover requires complete revamping of studio and laboratory equipment. NeW ribboned celluloid Is said to be a vast improvement in sound and ocular qualities. Cesar Romero's latest starrer, 'Dance Hall,' has been lifted Out of tha program class and given an 'A' advertising schedule and release date by 20th-Fox. This Is the second Romero picture to be elevated from its orig- inal 'B' classification. The other was 'Tall, Dark and Handsome.' VA'b Sales Making separate deals on 'Lady Hamilton,' United Artists has closed circuit 'contracts with Loew's, War- ner Bros., RKO, M. A. Shea chain, WUmer & Vincent, Schlne Bros., Comerford, Skouras, Century, Fa- bian, Prudential, Brandt Bros, and Walter Reade. Lesser deals have been set in the Philadelphia and Wa.fihlngton terri- tories. Briefing the Gridders Hollywood, May 20. Thirteen gridiron brlefies, titled 'Football Newsreel,' will be produced by a company composed of Norm'an Sper, Charles Pldgeon and Alton A Brody. Sper returned from a tour- of 41 colleges with footege and comment for the shorts series. Michael Scotto DiClementi of E Company, 18th Infantry, at Fort Devens, Mass., is the former Mickey Scott of the 'Our Gang' comedies. Will do tep dance during Fort Devens Radio Party next Friday (23) over WAAB- Colonial net. New York Theatres ORSON WELLES •PALACE mstanni PARAMOUNT Flnt Time |it . Popular Frtctn 'I WANTED WINGS' AParanuuntFlctiir* Uldnlto Sonot Id Person Vsiwhii UONBOa Hal SHEBMAN and BanJ( Beatrice KAT MUSIC HALL "PENNY SERENADE" Spectacular Stage Production* PHUBBICK'S AIDE Hollywood, May 20. Antrim Short, one-time meniber of tha Screen Actors Guild negotiating committee, named executive as- slstent to Howard Philbrlck, general manager of Central Casting. He succeeds Harold Melnlker, rt- cently Inducted into the army. OFBN8. FBI., MAT U B'way STRAND AFFECTIONATELYYOURS A Mow -Warnor Broi. Hit Btarrl.Df Hcile Oberon * Dennis Morgan IN PEBSON WAYNE KINGJSlfAlK DON CUMMINQ • THE RANDALL SlSTEflS S?^!,, DENNIS MORGAN BROADWAY S2^1T.-A ■ Uit TIMN W*4. ■ BnERr • acoTf ■ MO T Loy e'" I ■ i^.In ?•"»».. DM aTAIILI C AnMUa LMutU larit Ttur., M«y 221 CROSBV M HOPE Dtrathy LAMOUR "ROAD TO ZANZIBAR" PWKO A OUNN LIBUtC NM RAC M< , Mn. WATERFALL J In 1