Variety (Jan 1942)

January 7, 1942 Thirty-tixth USKiiL^fv Annltenary 13 NATIONAL DEFENSE AND THE B.O. POST-MORTEMS OF 1941 ^^Tmes Oat of the BVay Nnneiy ^ Fpr Variety's 36th Anniversary. by Albert Stillman 1941 is over; i/Ots of guys are under clover; Lots of gals now^rest in pax; L<)ts of big shoU got the axe; Lots of shows with growing pains, X^ft at an early age for Cain's. TSjS.. left the Post, a rag . That is now without a gag. I switched—thanks to the ASCAP famine— -To lox, from Nova-Scotia salmon. The sword is miohtier than the pen; Censorship is bacfc again; The Times noio sleeps with the Daily Worfcer; Broaduiav Rose went a bit berserfcer. A pretty penny the toar has cost us; Cute little Finland double-crossed us; Ncto yorfc is fall of Counts and Princes ' Stuflinff themselces with Lindy's blintzes. Of 17 shows u)hich could not stand the gaff. The average run toas a tneek and a half. 'Variety' uient somewhat solemn Via the Fifth Freedom (or Ltbertw Column^. The Center Theatre Ice Show was a hit. Though the critics at first didn't care tor it; They also didn't care for 'Hellzapoppin,' Which grossed four million bucks before stoppin'r So it seems lots of shows the boys don't care for Become terrific smashes therefore. Jon Peerce, the music-louers' pet, Moved from the Music Hall to the Met., His debut maki-.ti frxmt-page copy, Due to the death of Gennaro Pa^. A comeback toos not staged i>v vaude IX Again this year, for which some thank Gawd.' Of Toe^work we got an overdose From the Ballet Theatre and the Ballet Joot. No rival band caused either Dorsey To dismount from his high-horsey; In many a burg there was many a buyer Of: 1 don't Want to Set the World on Flyer'; And he never had written a song before, had.he? I mean Bob Troup who authored: 'Daddy." Leonard Sillman produced no show . .S9_lPts.Qt_angels[.saYed.lots..«f.dough, ... Bioff and Browne, two of B'way's 'best,' Were forced to leave town for a much needed rest. There were five forcharoos which lamented, in part: "How preen was my valley, how blue was my heart." In symphonies, ballets, concertos and pops, P. I. Tschaikowsfcy again was the tops. "Citizen Kane"'doins Hearst orcaf chority. Got more publicity than popularity; While cashiers needed extra boxes To pack in receipts ftom 'The Little. Foxes'. . The Tnovies again made the fatal mistake. Of not giving Fields an even break. Mercer-Morris ij minus Mercer; Robbijw panned Link, and •nice-versa. Biz at the Music Hall took a spurt, Thonfca to Van 5chmus and Eyssell. (Advert.) Gypsy Rose Lee of Girlesk glory Is busy writing a mystery story; Fed up with commonplace frivolities. She now reveals her better qualities. Pop wrote: 'Stay 'way from Hollywood, son,' When Budd wrote: 'What Makes Sammy Run.' Senator Nye of the A. F. Committee Conducted a probe of Cinema City; All I can say is: What a pity Wobody probes the A. F. Committee. On Gloomy Sunday, December Seven, Japanese bombs fell out of heaven, aedding blood on American soil, Thanks, no doubt, to American oil; And on Blue Monday, December Eight, We sent Japan our Hymn of Hate; And three days later HiUer got tough And the Japanese war was Very Old Stuff. And when interviewed on the self-same day, l-narles Ai Lindbergh had nothing to say. '""Sister Eileen' had quite a ride, Although a bit on the corny side; ine Beauti/ul People' was fair, albeit "Ot enough B. P. paid to see it; A show by the name of 'Viva O'Brien' vtva d a week, then started in dyin'. IMl is over; Lots, of guys are Under clover; ">« of gals now rest in pax; of big shoU got the axe; aere is the point at which I drive; HOW DID YOD MANAGE TO SURVIVE? Shifting Populations Prove a Bonanza for Some Defense Gties and a Downbeat Elsewhere ' PRIORITIES GROWING ALSO By Roy Chartier A HARD ROAD, BUT THE BEST ROAD By GERTRUDE LAWRENCE New factor affecting both distribution and exhibition-the national defense program—has expanded importantly in significance during 1941 and for 1942 will have additional, more positive, bearing on business of merchandising film. That goes (or the distributor in selling his wares to the ex- hibitor and for the latter in retailing the pictures to his pub- lic, whatever it may ^e in the future. Already the extent of shifting population has been great. At the same time, general business has changed with the tide of the preparedness spending and the allocation of Govern- ment contracts which favors some territories and almost ignores others. The Supply Priorities & Allocation Board in Washington further changes the picture for the theatre operator by im- posing severe restrictions on building and many basic mate- rials required in construction or manufacture so that non- essential projects will not interfere with defense. This, In itself, affects the exhibitor in many ways. At the outset the inability of local non-defense manufacturers and factories to obtain materials automatically throws general business in his locality out of gear. Either manufacture is greatly curtailed or factories are forced to cloise, thrdwing-» lot of people out of work and causing local deflation. Then again, stores, home-owners and others curtail spending on repairs, maintenance, expansion, etc., because of the SPAB limitations. These will grow more severe as the defense program and war progress, it is believed. Where the exhib is operating in a town not im^portanUy capitalizing on defense work, he supers with his' business brethren, including the stores, garages, and otherMocal mer- chants. Meantime, the costs of living are going up and it is still problematical how much of a boxofSce increase the. traffic will bear. There- is hardly qo other alternative for the bard-pressed theatre owner but to try to get more from fewer folks, however, and there is some fear that certain theatres will be forced to close. This would be especially true In situations where overseating conditions prevail. And there are plenty such. OBOWING SPAB BESTBICnOirS Additional fright for the exhibitor is caused by SPAB re- strictions which are expected to grow in intensity during the new year. Inability to get basic materials, notably all metals, stops building or rebuilding of theatres—which can be done without—but more importantly the theatres in operation are facing a number of harrc-wing praspeets. Very important among these is the likelihood that hundreds of houses will not be able to operate their cooling systems this summer. Very little remodeling or redecoration, since defense materials are needed, is expected to be possible. Also, the exhibitors face difficulty in keeping up the proper main- tenance, making repairs and replacements, etc. All <rf this also adds up pessimistically for the theatre operator. In addition to laical business conditions that inter- fere -for him, a non-cooled house in the summer, run-down theatre, squeaky or damaged chairs, etc., lessen, the chances of maintaining satisfactory gross levels. I --FLIGHT OF FOPULATIOir '■ 1 Tht ftinny thing about any freedom, the Fifth Freedom, Included, is that we cannot enjoy any of it without imposing a sort of slavery on ourselves now and then. We either drive ourselves or some cause drives us, and it is particularly (rue of life in the theatre where we find no period so hard on us as when we are free' or 'at liberty.' We work so hard towards our the- atrical Holy Grail that freedom, which most persons regard as a sort of aim- less relaxation, .is almost unknown to us. But one cause in which we cannot go wrong, DO matter what our .nation- ality, is Patriotism. I don't mean by this the conventional _ . . flag-waving patriotism, the pointing. Oertrnd. Lawnace wlth-pride patriotism. I mean- that hard-working, extra benefit-performance, singlng-to-the- polnt-of-collapse sort of patriotism which is inspired by the knowledge that others, less well known than ourselves all over the world, have made supreme and final sacrifices that we might live at.all., And that we ^quld be.prp^d.qf .the -chance-to prove' ourselves worthy' of the cause others " give" their lives for. For us to praise ourselveis because we have given one extra performance and so made a youth laugh once more before he went aloft to die for us, is not a 'sacrifice' on our part. It is an entertainer's proud privilege! It follows that If we are to avoid an imposed slaveiy, we must rally our manpower in all directions and use it to de- stroy the evil forces that-are bent on destroying our vrty of living.' nds means that even entertaiimient manpower must be organized by leaders of the entertaiimient world, and all of it piit at the. disposal of the Government to do the most good where the elected authorities believe it will most help the .morale of all our armed forces. This involves a long-range and rather humble view of a profession not famous for hiding its talent under a bushel. Whether tt is the American Theatre Wing, or Entertahunent National Service Association (ENSA), or the British War Relief Society, or Bundles for Britain, or the British ActOrS" • Orphanage, or USO, Camp Shows, Inc., or the Red Cross, or the Treasury Hour, we entertainers must do the beat we can with what we have and place the best of it at the dis- posal of oor governments so that our efforts may be in- tegrated Into the general plan for a swift and decisive vic- tory. And while so much of this fiendish Nazi, war has beea a war of nerves anyway, our personal nerves are not of na^ tional concern. Toe last Caiit Best! The fiight of population is one of the most important fac- tors resulting from defense spending, leaving hundreds of smaller towns in industrial as well as farming areas to what may become a sad plight However, the larger cities, notably those with much defense work, stand to prosper as never before,' with the increase in the more populous communities, where the grosses are at much higher levels anyway, no doubt more than offsetting the slack in the smaller towns. Nonetheless, in some large cities such . a^ New York, where defense' contracts are not In such great numbers as Pittsburgh, Detroit, etc., the business at the b.o. is away under expectations. Of New York's 35,000 factories, for instance, less than 7% are' in the column of principal industries listed by the Office of Production Management as essential-to-ihe-nation's de- fense. The draft has also drawn away from big as well as small towns many of the film b.o. potentials. -Cities.or towns near to army camps are reaping a harvest, however, but the fans in uniform are pretty much bunched throughout the country. Aside from this, the lure of defense jobs, has drained hun- dreds of communities to the benefit of some states and the detriment of others. Even before defense and drafting got under full steam, many of the midwestern states had suffered. Those In the Great Plains area from North Dakota to Texas, for Instance, lost more than 300,000 population in the decade from 1930 to 1940, according to reliable figures. Most of these took flight from the so-called dust bowl and migrated to greener pastures. The figure has no doubt grown consider- ably during 1941.. ^1 Yes, I thought I would take a vacation from Xady in the Dark* last summer and went up to Cape Cod to rest But the world was cracking up and I found that I couldn't, in all conscience, lie on the beach all day, while my own country- men were fighting time-bombs and living underground. There was too much to dp, and in my small way, I did what I could. I planed to New York to keep up my weekly tran- scriptions to the Empire Services for- E.N.SJV.- I- kept in, touch with the refugee orphans of British actors who had to be looked after over here. I learned that there were American troops burled In the hinterland of Panama with- out radio sets that coiild pick up programs from this coun- try, and that the Marines and Mudders would crack my ribs in gratitude for even so much as a set of transcriptions, If I would make just the additional effort of sending this per- sonal greeting to these defenders ot our outppsts of freedom. They now receive my E.N.S.A. programs which are titled. 'Broadway Calling.' So I came back to work for a rest! _ We actors feel so in- tensely that it often seems as if we are overstating the case. We know, too, that nothing succeeds like excess. A new season brings new pleasures, new griefs. Your name goes up again in-the-lights-if you're lucky; and people groping for an attraction to bolster some patriotic movement close to their hearts, begin gunning for you. To some you say 'yes'; to some, because of previous commitments, you say 'no.' To some you are, therefore, a darling, the mcst un- selfish creature alive; to others-you are Impossible to reach! You have to take the good with the bad in all this, com- . forting yourself with the knowledge that in doing the best you can, you are doing all that even angels are able to do. But you can't afford to get annoyed or small or mean or hurt, for after all, a world—our world—is at stake, and all this darting about and bumping into each other is part of the general plan of saving our world for our way ot living in it Survival of Bbuk Friday FBOBLEU FOB DISTBIBUTOBS ALSO r While shifting population is essentially a problem for the cxhlb who's losing many of his regular customers, it also is ■ of much concern to the distributor whose sales in the smaller communities are dropping. Business for the distributor is higher in the defense centers and army camp towns but, taken on the whole, 10,000 accounts for a distrib this season might run less in revenue than the same number of customers a season back unless the slack is taken up by higher rentals. Obtaining higher prices for film where the exhib is doing a smaller business, however, is something else again. And where pictures are on percentage, a distrib might even walk out of a theatre with less at 35% than he did with a com- parable film a year ago at 30%. The sales managers are giving much thought to the prob- lem at the moment and one company, Metro, is going to great pains and considerable expense in an effort to help the little fellow build up his business, tap fan sources from which he isn't bcneflting, make his advertising more attractive, etc.. One exhibitor forum has been held and others are planned at which smalltown theatre operators may exchange views, help each other, listen to ad-exploitation experts, etc. Thus, what you Anally come to Is that what we are fight- ing to defend is the survival of charity and loving kindness In show business as well as elsewhere in the world. Against these are hate and tyranny. It is an issue of the survival of Christmas as against Black Friday. 'Variety* has chosen to make the freedom ot self-expres- sion in all branches'of show business its editorial theme of this current fight in the seemingly endless fight for freedom. It chooses to call its contribution to this fight "The Fifth Freedom.' Many times in 36 years it has felt the pressure of forces which were Hitler as far as its life as the 'Bible of Show Business' was concerned. But it never gave up. It fought all attempts to enslave It. It never went the way of the ap- peaser, the compromiser. It never had to be told you can't do business with Hitler. It saw many incipient Hitlers try to snuff It out and die from trying. ,^ So 'Variety' will understand what I am driving at 'If you want to be free, work at it every day. A talent neglected is like a muscle not used. It atrophies. More than 500,000,000 people are determined not to let this happen to them. Surely that is too big a public for any smart trouper tm ignore.