Variety (Sep 1941)

Wednesday, Seplemlier 24, 1941 LEGITIMATE 49 Shnberts Want to Make Their Shows Safe From the Bad Bad Critics Hudson Falls, N. T., Sept. 23. The first court test of a new law designed to make the theatre 'safe for critics' drew defense testimony Friday (19) here that unfavorable reviews cause large losses to thea- tres. In arguments before supreme court Justice Leon M. Layden, de- fense council William Klein, of New York, contended 95% of readers of critical" reviews are Influenced by criticisms. The action was brought by localite Bobert W. Christie against the 46th St. Theatre Corp. and the Select Operating Co., both Shubert subslds In N. Y. He claims he was refused admit- tance to a performance of 'Panama Hattie' May 27, although he had a Ucket. He seeks to recover a $500 penalty for breach of contract. The law, passed by the 1941 Legis- lature, prohibits refusal of admis- sion to anyone purchasing a ticket. Sponsors contended the- statute would protect professional re- viewers. The theatre maintains the law is tmconstitutional because it permits 'undue, unwarranted and unreason- able influence with the defendant's property.' No evidence was offered to show that Christie was disorderly or abusive in conduct or why he was denied admittance. Lcfal Battery Justice Layden directed filing of briefs not later than Oct. IS. Solicitor General Henry Epstein of Albany appeared for the State of New York and Attorney Charles Hughes of Schenectady represented the plaintiff, while Attorneys Milton Weinberger, George B. Smith and Klein represented the defendant. The plaintiff was not called to the witness stand. Attorney Hughes states that an' agent of the corjwration without Just cause refused admission to the plaintiff. Ben MaUon, general traveUng manager for the corporation, the first witness, testified that the com- pany operated 25 theatres. He said that one person was excluded from one of the theatres about 25 years ago for a reason other than dis- orderly conduct. He testified that he had never denied anyone admis- sion to any of the company's thea- tres. Dborderly Condact Only Ray Whitaker, general manager of the corporation, testified that to his knowledge there had never been de- nials of any persons to the play- house except for - disorderly con- duct. James F. Riley, of Freeport, fol- lowed Whitaker to the stand. He is an executive for the Theatre. Oper- ators' & Producers' Association. He said he had been associated with the theatrical business for 37 years and that no exclusions of would-be patrons had taken place except in the cases of two critics, James Met- calfe and Alexander Woollcott, and two newspaper columnists, other than for disorderly conduct, to his knowledge. [The columnists referred to are Walter Winchell and Leonard Lyons of the N. Y. Post, latter still persona non grata.} Attorney Klein told the court that no persons were denied admission to the theatres unless for disorderly conduct. He, however, later said there might have been a few isolated cases. Qocatleit New Law Attorney Weiiiberger told the court that the police power of the state cannot be operated by the legislative branch of the govern- ment and that a need must be shown why such a law should be in force Solicitor General Epstein contend- ed that the moving picture exhibit- on bad sought to keep dramatic critics and columnists from writing adversely concerning the pictures offered. Attorney Klein stated that 95% of the people rely on the' writings of critics as to whether pictures are good and bad, and that sometimes the criticisms cost the theatres real money due to a Iqck of patronage. He said that the bfll was rushed through the assembly and senate through the efforts of Leonard Lyons, columnist of the N, Y. Post, who writes under the name of The Lyons Pen,* who had the support of a legislator, and what was known as the Davidson Bill became a law. Shows in Rehearsal 'Sons o' Fun' ('Crazy House') —Lee Shubert, Harry Kaufman. 'Aa Ton Like tt*—Ben Boyar, Eugene S. Bryden. 'Clash by Night'—BUIy Rose. The Good Neighbor' — Sam Byrd. The Free Cnnpany' ('Murder, Inc, 'Brooklyn, U A A.') —Bern Bernard, Lionel Slander. 'Father's bay' ("Western Union Please') —Aldrich & Myers. •BUthe Splrh'—John C. Wilson, Noel Coward, Lunts. 'High Kickers'—George JesseL 'Let's Face It'—Vinton Freed- ley. 'Anne of England' — GUbert Miller. 'AU Hen Are Alike' — Lee Ephriam. 'Ah WUdernesa' (revival) — Theatre Guild. 'Ghost For Sa'le' (alternating stock)—^Alex Cohen. LEGITERGETS FREE AIR PLUGS 'Cuckoos on the Hearth,' which opened at the Morosco, N. Y., last week, drew a doubtful press, as an- ticipated by tile management, but got two radio breaks on the same date, two days after the premeire. Air plugs appear to be a fresh aid to legiters, especially when gratui- tous, as In this instance. Kate Smith iCBS) went to town In praise of the show, and Allen Prescott (WJZ) de- voted most of his commentary late Thursday (18) afternoon to tell about 'Cuckoos' and why he liked it Prescott's personal reaction to the play was that 'it's com, but good corn, and I like corn.' Because of the weak start, books of "tickets at 50c each are reported being offered to organizations. Man- agement claimed an Increase of 60% in business the third night over the second performance. Last season other shows which used similar bar- gain ticket arrangements to prolong their engagements were 'Johnny Be- linda' and 'Separate Rooms.' Former climbed to a level where It made some operating profit, but was so far in the red It never climbed out 'Rooms' was a money-maker after being on the wrong side of the ledg- er more than $30,000. 'Neighbor' Coining From Strawhats .to B'way 'Crood Neighbor,' a sort of added starter In the lummer stocks, has lolned the list of regular production possibilities, having been placed Into rehearsal by Sam Byrd, actor-man- ager. It was tried out at Stoney Brook, L. I., early this month, and Is due on Broadway Oct 21, »tttx a week or more out of towtt. Dialect play by Jack Levin will have the same two leads as appeared In the stock presentation, smaller parts having been recast Play wUl Introduce Sinclair Lewis as a stager. It will be the third of the summer shows to be presented so far, those already open being 'Village Green' (Miller) and 'Cookoos on the Hearth' (Morosco), which was tried out under the title of 'Two Story House/ Fourth play from the sticks slated for fall production Is 'Walk Into My Parlor,' which provoked some controversy when shown at Long Island and New Jersey rural spots. Dante'» Coast Date Los Angeles, Sept 23. Magic will follow Ethel Waters into the Biltmore theatre, with Dante, illusionist and a troupe of 20, playing at $1.50 top. Dante moves in after "Mamba's Daughters' moves out in two weeks. Efiz. Frazer m "Night' Hollywood, Sept. 23. Elizabeth Fraser, legit and screen actress, has left for New York, to loin the cast of There Shall Be No Night,' revival of the Robert Sher- wood play. Miss Fraser had featured roles in the Warner productions 'Man Who Came to Dinner* and 'One Foot In Heaven.' ANTMSM ROLE WORRYING EQUITY Anticipating that the proposed anti-ism resolution may crop up at Equity's quarterly meeting Friday (26), council made the matter of the committee's report a special order of business at yesterday's weekly ses- sion. Council failed to take affirma- tive action. It has gone on record against Reds and other subversives and awaits an investigation. It has the power to act if proof is sub- mitted at any time. . Understood thai the new commit- tee recently appointed to consider the proposal reported that it was tmable to phrase a resolution that would be feir to the whole member- ship. Philip Loeb, one of those named by Congressman William P. Lambertson as a Communist last year, but who has been Insistent that the charges arc untrue, attended the council session last week. He is appearing in Chicago with 'My Sis- ter Eileen' and it Is the- seccmd time he came to New Yoilt for such a reason. Expected fireworks from Loeb were absent and he calmly dis- cussed the proposal with other coun- cillors. He was of the opinion that an anti-ism rule might not catch the ones intended to be snared, and that some Reds might slip throu^ the net while others innocent of parti- cipation or leanings towards Com- munism might be enmeshed. Principal diffictdty is to devise a way to identify Commimists or sym- pathizers. It Is the custom of such persons to screen their activities In such a way that positive proof of their participation Is not often ob- tained. Around Equity there is no indication that the topic is a hot Is- sue, but it Is felt that a number of disaffected well-knowns in the Or- ganization are adamant over getting a contrcdling- nde adopted. A council resolution, however, would not dispose of the matter. It will be necessary to make an amend- ment to the conatitutloa Any such change is generally dated during an- nual meetings, but there la provision for special meeticas to consider amendments and a' session ot the sort may be railed upon 30 days' notice to the membership. Equity leaders have their fingers crossed Uiat such a move will not be made, ptefening to aee the Issue tabled until such time that the international situation Is more clear to the average cltizoi. Equity, MgrSe h'on Out Issues In New Basic Agreement; Chisel On Conmiish Nixed Can. Pay Ruling Dubious Honor Colored folks of New York's Harlem conducted a horse show recently and Bill Robinson was invited to be an honorary judge. He accepted and thereby made a mistake. 1>ut didn't find that out until later. The people who ran the show didn't pay off and a lawyer planned to sue 'every- body on the paper,' meaning those who were billed as of- ficials. Robinson burned 'when he heard that from the lawyer over the telephone. . He even dared the guy to sue him, told him where he was appearing in 'Hot Mikado' last week and this week (Flatbush, Broklyn) and promised a real hot time for anyone who '. attempted to slap on a summons. AUG.'ARSENIC MELON $32,000 The August melon for the 21 backers of 'Arsenic and Old Lace,' Ftilton, N. Y, was $32,000. That sum was considerably in excess of the easy money they got for July, even though there was not much differ- ence, in the show's weekly grosses, and the angels are smacking their Ups in anticipation of bigger and bet- ter checks from now on, as the road show got off to a flying start last week. . Nothing seems to distnzb tbe com- placency of the 'Arsenic* Backers ex- cept when some envious friend men- tions the bite the Government will take by means of the Income tax, not to mention the New York State nick. It was Buck Crouse's turn to write 'em the note accompanying the coin. He said he didn't get any real plea-sure out ot cutting up the prof- its, having a more artistic soul than his partner,. Howard Lindsay, the man with the 'titian mustache. 1 am trying to fix things so that Lindsay's next check will not make him look like such a heel,' Crouse wrote, explaining that the road show was opened and cost of production was earned during the Chicago en- gagement Crouse said that the com- pany win play towns 'that even Hit- ler's secret agents have not yet dis- covered, and we hope it keeps its feet In black Ink. We have sold the Argentinian rights. Do you know anybody down' there? Ftee list suspended.' Mgrs. Ask Agreement With Scenic Union; Demand for Stagehands Out First joint conference between representatives of the managers' League of New York Theatres and Equity, held last week, saw most of the issues in the revised minimum basic, agreement for the season vir- tually ironed out The point not dis- cussed concerns the exclusive service regulation which Equity already placed in the books. Managers think they can secure a modification by arguing it out at Equity's general meeting Friday (26), but it Is doubt- ful that the rule will be entirely re- scinded. Hereafter, when actors agree with producers on salarj^afte^ direct con- tact and are sent to a casting agent for their contracts, no commissioh is to be paid the agent by the actors. If there is any fee, the manager shall be responsible. "There was no argu- ment over the provision and it was claimed that only shoe-stringers in- dulged in that practice, inference be- ing that they participated In the agency commish, which Equity nixed sometime ago. Faitly Canadian DoUan - When shows play Canada, payment of salaries must be in American dol- lars with certain stipulations. Play- ers getting up to ^50 are to get their money in American, managers to pay the 11% rate of exchange. Be- tween $250 and $500, manager and player split the difference in ex- change, and above $500 the actor must take care of the exchange. However, there is some leeway. If the actor asks for an advance on bis salary for current expenses he is to be given Canadian dollars as here- tofore and such amounts will be de- ducted from the pay without refer- ence to the exchange. The fourth point at issue was the practice of some managers in issuing run of the play contracts to players for mMe than one season. Rule will be that the manager will be given three weeks on the road and two on Broadway, during which time he is to make up his mind whether he wishes to tie up the actor for the following season or seasons. Show- man may notify the actor one way or another. Should the manager advise the player in the aSrmative and the show does not reach the boards, two weeks pay must be paid tbe player. Number of points at issue between the managers and scenic artists union, which seeks changes In con- tract provisions, remain to be Ironed out, but the managers have asked for a basic agreement, rather tiian the past practice of deals betVeen the designers and -producers individ- ually. One of the demands said to have been dropped was the require- ment that the stage crew be placed on the job one week before prem- iere or preview. Why the scenic people injected the deckhand union into its list of re- vised regulations is not known, but it is reported they dropped the idea after Brock Pemberton signed his contract for 'Cuckoos on The Hearth' (Two Story House*) scen- ery under protest and reserved the right to sue for damages if forced to put stagehands on the job before needed. Manager said he believed that action reflected the opinion In Washington, which has nixed the action of unions forcing the hiring of unnecessary labor. Thereafter Pemberton alleges he was annoyed by a business agent of the stagehands' union, who de- manded that an operator be put on when a photographer took pictures ot the set and players at the Mor- osco, N. Y., before the show opened. He also claimed attempted interfer- ence when transfer men hauled a couch needed in the show from his office, also arguing over who should handle • costume trunk sent to the theatre. Manager claims that here- tofore an operator tor a photogra- pher was not required and that pic- tures of other shows were recehtly taken without like interference. Latest demand comes from ' the photo-engravers union, which lists photographers who may take thea- trical pictures. In addition to placing costtmie ad- visers with all productions, another new rule will probably change the rate for scene painting. Price will now be 12c per square foot Union says that is not a boost in rate, ex- plaining it's based on the cost of such work on shows during the past 10 years. HAother/ Tather! Both HaTe Their 'Day' in Legit Just after Richard Aldrich and Richard Myers changed the title of 'Western Union Please' to' 'Father's Day,' wMch will bring Charles But- management announced that their management announced that another new play would have a similar title —'Mother's Day.' Latter is a drama previously known as The Fugue,' which concerns a woman supposed to have amnesia, and is to be produced by Allen Boretz. William Schorr and Al Bloomingdale. Ada May (Weeks) has been re- placed in the first-named cast by Ruth Weston. Soon after rehearsals it was decided that Miss Weeks ap- peared to be too young. She ^ad been placed by the Music Corp. ot America's legit casting department which placed her under a season's contract after auditioning. Under tlie arrangement Miss Weeks Is guar- anteed arotmd 20 weeks, play or pay, Mabel Paige ot "Father's' cast did not start rehearsing until late last week because her 20-year-old daugh- ter was killed in a motor car crash. Philip Faversham was a late addition to the show. Young actor was with the ambulance drivers corps aboard the Zamzam. which was torpedoed several months ago, and was interned in France tor a time. Readying New Musical Musical, 'Caleb Catlem's America,' will be produced by Jerome Mayer. Casting win start shortly with the intention of getting It on Broadway by early December. Jose Ferrer may play the lead. Book is by Valentine Davies aitd Vince McHugh and the music and lyrics by . Harold Rome.