Variety (May 1941)

Wednesday, May 21, 19il 55 Hazi-lnspired Roughlipuse jCOBUnued from page 3j RINGUNG CIRCUS HIT / BY LABOR SHORTAGE sidewalk outside and sang the na- tional anthem. Mixed reaction of critics and the fact that the film had been approved by the Municipality caused Univer- sal's manager, Monroe Isen, to re- quest another official viewing before decision Is reached as to what wiir be done. Although Isen insists there is noth- ing offensive about the film, and that it's comedy is generaUy appreciated as such, some papers including the morning Nacion, which is the H?rald- Trib of S.A., and the afternoon Razon gave it a severe going-over. Latter sarcastically commented that it was 'part of a plan of Good Neighbor- hood sponsored by Roosevelt' and adding, 'Really there are kindnesses that kill one.* Betutine Universal Fact that these sheets, which are pro-Democratic, plus the strongly prOrDemocracy tabloid, Mundo, and the aftemooner, Noticias Graflcas, also complained would tend to refute Universal's belief. However, Prensa, morning daily with the greatest pres- tige and authority, simply dismissed the film as an example of 'that par- ticular carelessness with which Hol- lywood presents 'Latin-American at- mosphere,' and explains: 'Naturally one cannot -take very seriously the total lack of Information shown in the picture. It is only a farce, which tries to make one laugh and these same mistakes help—although the producers did not expect It—to make it funnier.' Lending credence to the theory that Nazi-inspired groups were re- sponsible for the row, was the fact that spotters noted the audience at the second day's matinee had a great many non-regulars; young, poorly- dressed 'atorrantes' who customarily can't afford the flrst-run prices of the house. It was these, not the regular 'pa- trons, who caused the row, Univer- sal says. Fact that the disturbers seemed rehearsed in their hymn sing- ing after the film was switched off Is cited as further proof. . Universal insists, despite the news- paper criticisms, most people under- stood the farce nature of the com- edy and that long experience led them to believe that there would be no trouble. The picture had not been released earlier simply because the season does not get under way here until April, it was said. Fox's Experience 20th C?ntury-Fox which held up 'Down Argentine Way' after an ad- ^ance~ print' retithcd herie "awd; fed-- vance stories in local magazines kicked up a row, insists it will open the film for flrst-run release in June. Yanking of Ritz comedy will have no effect on plans, it was added. Press criticism pointed out that fllms such as 'Argentine Nights' brought action by the Rockefeller Committee to prevent repetition of such efforts. Socks were also taken at some of the advance advertising which mixed Brazilian, Cuban and Argentine locales. Other points which drew particular fire were the outfits of the 'gauchos' In toreador and Spanish costumes, clothes which Noticias Graflcas said 'belong in a Paris museum and won't help im- prove Good Neighborhood.' Nacion's final crack was: 'So long as Holly- wood insists on seeing our country in the tropics—a very vexing tropics —and. so long as we have to believe in the tropics of the North American scenarists when they deal with our things, there can be no Pan-Ameri- can understanding via the screen no matter how many goodwill travellers come down here. Britain has gone to extreme lengths to avoid wound- ing our susceptibilities and so have Mexico and Spain. Our people be gan to understand this and felt it would be done by the States. There- fore they took this picture a little more seriously.' divisions at the such supervisory studio. Universal spokesmen claimed the unfavorable reception in Buenos Aires was obviously inspired by un- friendly interests in that city. Same spokesman said the picture was a harmless musical comedy ln~wbich no offense to any iieople or nation was Intended. Philadelphia, May 20, The Ringling circus ran into a flock of headaches before it finally opened here yesterday (Monday). In the first place, the shdw was hours late knocking down at its last stand, Washington,' when a crew of nearly 100 Negro roustabouts walked out the closing night. It seems the boys were homesick for their native Florida, and when they spied a celery train headed southward, they decamped. The new Norman Bel Geddes ef- fects also made it toUgh to knock America, you have all the gold in | down and set up with the usual dis- G. B. Shaw if Contlnned from page V Withdraws 'Areentine Nights' Universal announced last week it had withdrawn 'Argentine Nights,' a featurf produced before the current industry 'Latin-American goodwill' urge, from circulation in Argentina at the request of the Argentine gov- ernment., At.^ttie same tinie the com- pany alsoreyealed that a special studio department had been set up to delete dialog 'and scenes which might be rated as derogatory to feelings and customs of foreign na- tions. ■ Paramount, Metro and 20th-Fox for years have maintained such for- eign censorship departments while other majors recently have- installed the world. We have to barter things for want of that gold, and according- ly, when we see Americans coming along with gold to spend, when we think of our colonies with'American garrisons in them, we are delighted. 'If you had only known, we would have given you those naval bases— Dr. Goebbels calls them colonies, but petcb. Pickup labor to fill in the shortages was found scarce in Philly, with most able-bodied men having jobs in the booming defense indus- tries around these parts. The work crew foremen finally rounded up a squad of a couple of hundred mop- pets who went to work unloading piles, tugging on pulleys, etc., get- let us be correct and call them naval, ting paid off with an Oakley each bases—you could have had those | ' naval bases for nothing but your • • »v k« • ¥> friendship. Absolutely nothing. We Autry S Des Moines Date should have been only too glad to have you. In fact, if you would like a few more, say in the Isle of Wight or the Isle of Man, or on the West Coast of Ireland, well, we shall be only too glad to welcome you. De- lightedly! 'Now, here I am in an English The Des Moines Register and Tri- bune, which stages an annual con- vention of its 5,000 carrier salesmen from over the entire state, is bring- ing Gene Autry to headline this year's festivities, June 9. Autry is scheduled to appear at all three performances of the Barnes- county, one of the counties that we j carruthers circus, which the Regis. nail Vtf^n^A n/MintiAC T otm iiritVim ^11 I . _ ' ^ call home counties. I am within 40 minutes' drive of the center of Lon- don, and at any moment a bomb may crash through this roof and blow me to atoms, because the'German; bomb- ers are in the skies. Now, please understand, I can't absolutely prom- ise you such a delightful finish to this news item. Still, it may happen, so don't give up hope—yet If it does happen, well, it will not matter very/ much to me. As you see, I am in my 85th year.. I have shot my bolt, I have done my work. War or no war, my number is up. But if my fllms are still being shown in America, my soul will go marching on, and that will satisfy me. 'When I was a little boy, a child, just taught to read, I saw in the newspaper every day a coliunn headed, "The Civil War in America.' That is one of my first recollections. When I grew up they told me that war in America had abolished black slavery, so that job having been done, I determined to devote my life as far as I could to the abolition of white slavery. That is just as much in your interest as it is in my in- ter and Tribune also brings annually for the newsboy guests. Bills Next Week sContinned from pace 4S: Tod BlnUo Joe Klein George Orew Bvolyn -NelllB Kay Balfe Oasis Joe VllleUa On John Conte Joe Consolo Stu BraOen Orchard Jimmy Gamble Oro Jay I<orlne Chuck Miller Pines Bill Leroy Ore Tony Rozance Ray Bnglert Bedd's Cafe Curly Stewart Ore Eddie Myers i Gerry Parks Billy Vlller xYactat CiDb Archie Tarshls Ore Lou Holts Jaokle Heller Ryan Sle Whorley Gls Shirley Holler Sky-Vne Bobby Annie Ore Union CrIU Art Yai^ello Frank Natale Alike Randretto Villa Madrid Btisl Cava to pri Mark Lane Peter Higslns Tryon Sis 2 CO'Eda 3 Smart Gls ■ ^ Jerks BOSTON terest or that of England. I hope , on P)\«]£h y6U' 'wiir haVS'a Kattd in" that aboP " " lition as you had a hand in the last abolition. 'And I don't think I need detain you any longer. Look after my plays and look after my. fllms. They are all devoted to the abolition of that sort -of slavery. And I should like to imagine that when my mer^ bodily stuff is gone, I should like to imagine that you are still working with me, with my soul—in your old phrase—at that particular job. 'That is all I have got to say. And so, farewell.'. Beachcomber Nye Mayhcw Ore Sandro D'Arnez Ore Kvalyn Harvey Hotel' Uardnev I Burt Shaw Sally Rand jContinned from page 3s Do've -Pflrmttn ■ Boots McKenna Rev Andrlna Nixon & Andre Dllnstrub's I Karl Rnhde Ore Boyd Heathen Buster Ic B Burnell ' Artlnl Sl Consuoll . 3 Jacksons Ellleen Ford ' CuMa Manana Lou Carter Ore David Dallentlne ' Johnny McAiteer Dob Nelson* : Fap« & Conchlta ' Bill & B Hershey Cosa Manana Ols I Club .Uayfair Ranny Weeks Oro BerDle Uennett O Rome Vincent Barbara. Belmore Anthony, Allyn & 11 Cluli Vanity Fair Kal NIra Ore satisfled with the response. Miss jk'ckte "inson DriscoU then penned a sharp note Ma« Ford to the club, specifying that the fan Cocoanut Grove dancer was barred immediately from 'g«c' °" that show, and henceforth from all I oeorse Rand Rev Bostojn clubs. The board has no ; aj',^"'*p^,^'"'" jurisdiction over theatres. I MRr'[hn"Bu'rke Miss Rand first heard the charges ; Kaye a Kayo of 'nudity' Friday afternoon (16). ' and could, not reach Miss DriscoU Haesan, 2d ' nor Lou Walters, operator of the I (Melody Lonnge) Latin Quarter. Not allowed to go on Marcia Dean Friday night, the dancer had to cool ■ *'7<'",'J" her heels until Saturday, when she I ^^^rawhM went into conference with the chair- ' jdriam Johnson man of the licensing board. Result was that the fanner was reinstated to play anywhere, at anytime, in Boston. Relationships between the Liatin Quarter and the board have been somewhat strained,' of late, it was learned; anJ the Sally Ran4 episode i Franii" Petty brought it to a head. Fanner ex- I llotel Bradford plained that the nudity was an il- i "f™' lusion; that she would have gladly , 5'„»„'S?;««t'i™»^°„, taken Miss DriscoU's technical ad- vice had she been told of her ob- jections. Miss Rand's next date is the Strand, Syracuse, May 23-25. Dur- i|ig June and July, she will play summer stock. She will definitely not repeat on 'Rain,' but is consid- ering 'Tonight at 8:30' and 'They Knew What They Wanted.' Crawfordettes Roslta Royce Buddy du Bols Sweetie Pie rox A Hounds Milton George Ore Hl-Hat Pete Herman Ore Lucille Grey Hotel Copley I'la/a I (Sheraton Room) Stuart Frazlcr Ore I Hotel Esxex Ernest )rurray Ok- Bllly Kelly Jack Manning Al Lewis victor Donato Adele Corcv Rita' Henderson Chester Kaden .,.H«ttl.I.afnicMB,., .Voblemcn Jerry Salisbury Hote*!' Lenox (Hloe Train) Johnny Field Oro Deone Parrlsh I Hotel StaUer (Terrace Room) I Eddie O'Hearn'Orc ' Johnny Turnbull' I (Cafe Houge) Sulvy Cavlcchio Orv Hotel Westminster (Blue. Room) Jimmy McHale Ore Trop'l Sercnaders O Harry Drake Rev Muriel Daniels Eddy & L Roberta' ^ Paul &, Edna I Hotel BlU Carleton I (Kits Roof). Carlos Mollnaa Oro Phil Saltman Ore , Kaye & Naldl Bernlce Parks Copacabana Sirens Ken Billy Mack Oro Ruse Howard FItz & Carroll Johnny•Argo Carol I^ormandle Latin Quarter Tony Bruno Oro Don Dudley Oro Harry Spear Cookie Faye I Lew Walter Rev Tip, Tap & Toe Martel Trio MIgnon I Latin Ballet Radio Herb Lewis Steuben's (Vienna Boom) Lew Cunrad Oro Doris Abbott Artlnl & Consuell Alice O'Leary Nina. Olivette & M Laska Sis Winnie Mae Nick & V Collins The Cave Ralph Porraa Ore J<u:k Fisher Tamara Dorlva Doris Abbott Nick & V -Colllny Laska Sis I Tic Toe Ernie Bell Ore Ben Ford Rev Danny Goodman Tiny Sinclair James Durante Carol Hall Eddie Farrow Tic Toe Gls I Trcniont Plam WHAT THEY THINK Wllstach and Calamity Jr^ne New York, Editor, Variety: I have just read your May-14 is- sue, wherein John Wilstach implies that a fine lady, Mrs. Jean Hickok McCormick, lied when she said over 'We the People' that she is the daughter of Calamity Jane and Wild BUI Hfckok. Mrs. McCormick is a personal friend of mine and it infuriates me . ■ . that ... a man wouldn't even take the .trouble to write her for an explanation ... and, inci- dentally, grabs himself a bit of pub- licity. Is that the procedure of a writer and a historian? I am send- ing her a' copy of his letter, torn from your magazine, and inasmuch as Mrs. McCormick has a temper as strong as her mother's, he will probably hear from her i>ost-haste. If Mr. Wilstach knows so much" about Western history and its. char- acters, why. didn't he know that there were several Hickoks in the West—and that two of- tliem were known as Wild BUI? This is a fact mentioned in several books about the old West. It is also mentioned in Calamity Jane's diary written to her daughter. She says: 'Dear Janey: (she always called her Jianey, even though the foster parents who adopted her christened her Jean) I hope you will hot confuse your father with that other Wild Bill Hickok. Your father was the one who was shot in Deadwood, North Dakota, in 1876.' That other WUd Bill Hickok Uved many years after 1876, and no doubt did all the things John WU- stach said he did, including marry Mrs. Agnes Lake in 1876'. If Mr. Wilstach was a really good historian you woul(^ think he would look into things like this.. I am giv- ing you Mrs. McCormlck's address for you to give to Mr. WUstach— please don't publish it—and if he is really as disturbed as he pretends to be about what he calls history- faking, then let him write to her. Or better still, let him visit her and view for himself Calamity^ Jane's lonely and heart-breaking diary to her daughter. In justice to Mrs. iftcCormick I hope that you print this letter, and that it may in some small measure reijiove the stigma ccst upon her. r Afrs. Elsa Weller. Seeklne Hal Lexler Winnipeg, Man. Editor, Variety: My parents and family are very anxious to get in touch with my brother, Hal Lexier. His last known whereabouts was the Capitol theatre, Melbourne, Australia, 1938, in the employ of a band (name unknown). Rex Lexler. Canadian Entertainment New York. Editor, Variety: I read with great interest your recent item concerning members of the theatrical profession entertain- ing the American soldiers at Camp Dix. Relative to the same subject matter, I have jiist returned to New York from Hollywood for the ex.- press purpose of organizing a group of American radio and stage artists to entertain the British Expedition- ary Forces stationed in Canada. As Canada is not a theatrical center there is a dearth of good talent there. I am encouraged in this direction by Prime Minister Mackenzie King and "Edward Stapleford, Director of National War Services throughout Candda. I am confident there are many American entertainers who would be wiUing to offer their ser- vices in this particular line of en- deavor and join with me in this worthy undertaking to do their bit to aid Great Britain. • Arthur Boron. Jessel Up In the Air - Contlnned from page 2, its hangar, darkness had cloaked the' airport and the reporters were still in the Kitty Hawk bar trying to find out if it's true what they say about Maqhattan cocktails; It is. Margaret SuUavan and her hub, Leland Hayward, TWAed in from L. A. early in the week and SuUa- van made such a hit with the air- port photographers that she won't be able to get her pix in the papers if she. flies .into, the^ateodrome with.^ out an airplane. Miss SuUavan was so tired, and so busy, and so hur- ried, and so. The film-destroyers couldn't figure the chill but decided that if the lady elected to be a tooth- ache in the jaws of the Press that was strictly Sully's setback. Saturday's sentinels saw Charles MacArthur off on a TWA transport to the city of The Front Page to say how-be-you to Mrs. MacA. (Helen Hayes) and some of his Chicago pals; Al Ritz, of the Bros,, grab a night reservation on the same aerial street car line for L. A., and Pan-American Airways' Atlantic Clipper carry off to Lisbon and London Hugh' O'Con- nor, penman for American Maga- zine, and Reggie Leonard, Aus- tralian war correspondent. The .At- lantic was commanded by Capt. WiUiam A. Winston, a casting di- rector's idea of ho\tr' a Clipper cap- tain should look. Bruna Castagna, Met contralto, off Friday (16) on an Eastern Airliner for Miami where, she was to enplane Saturday (17) for the land of good neighbors to keep engagements at the Colon theatre in Buenos Aires, and the Teatro Municipale, Rio. With the singing lady went her fa- vorite maestro, Alberto Baccolini, who said that though they have been wed these six short years the trip would mark their first honey- moon. The same calendar number turned up C. P. Skouras, -who left Fox-West Coast on the Coast for a wee visit to the village north of the Statue of Liberty. Clinks in the cashier's cages of the airliiies were recorded hither and thither as all hands were piped on deck for the seventh annual con- vention of the Variety Clubs of America at Atlantic City. Wayne Morris set the aerial parade in mo- tion, arriving at the airport-on-the- parkjvay Wednesday (14) in time to say 'How-are-you-son' to hig young- ster and proceed on to Bathing- Beautyville-on-the-Atlantic. Dele^ gates from this corner and that paissed through the port all week concludlng..wlth .the.'arrival of Wal- ri'i'^i.no "r •'/lij 'i'li'ui;'.''.i'. ter Wanger and a group of seven headline-makers Friday (18). All traveled on American Airline's roU- ing stock' from the western end ot the line. Thursday (15) toddlers watched PAA's Dixie Clipper take Ronald Tree back home to Lunnon where he wiU report on his survey of Brit- ish news' agencies here and how they can be improved. Tree plans to tell the-'Ministry of- Information -that- 'the American pubUc is entitled to more and fuUer news reports' of what it is all about. The same cargo included -Victor Bicnstock, Overseas News Association hired hand, re- turning to the land of trench hel- mets and torn hearts for to-do some more accounts of the current famUy fracas. This quarter of the moorf also noted Myrna Loy and husband, Ar- thur Hornblow, back home; Olin Downes, the moosicrltic, off to Pittsburgh; Baranova, of the ballet, off to L. A. for a 20th Century-Fox parley; Phyllis Brooks head west- ward; John F. Royal and Lenore Corbell, of the NBC roster, in from the . Pacific climate; Alexander Korda, from L. A'.' to N. Y., and George Murphy into the Town of Tammany from HoUywood. All trav- eled on Transcontinental & Western Air's Stratoliners. The Hotel New Yorker's airport restaurants continue to pack in the clients as though they gave away gold pieces with each meal. The Aviation Terrace waiters this week offered fingerbowls to, among oth- ers, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, John Boles, Charles Butterworth, Mrs. Dick Nash, wife of Pittsburgh' Web- ster Hall's Nash, and Ramon No- varro. The Kitty Hawk CocktaU Loimge, which bars autograph pests from the bar, continues to attract those who attract autograph pests. Fay Thomas, assistant to New. Yorker's prexy Frank Andrews, wlU leave the Eighth Ave. inn and the airport restaurants to other hands June 1 when he departs to take over the pilot's controls at the > Hotel Roosevelt in New Orleans, it was learned Sunday (18). Velva Nally, songstress who pl- anoes for the cocktail hour mob in the Kitty Hawk, changed from her usual rim of costumes Satdee (17) and wore one that looked as Arabian as Mohammed. Sixty-six people, she' swears, asked her where her tent Was pitched wbile' several hun- dred ' waitted to (enow - when she