Variety (Sep 1942)

58 LEGITIMATE Wednesday, September 2, 1942 Literati Tanks Tickled In London A laugh a day. This is what the ever-increasing number of uniformed Americans in London are getting out of howlers in the local dailies. In Crosvenor Square, seat of the American Embassy and center of the U. S. overseas forces, a game has been invented, the winner being the Yank who spots the greatest num- ber of bloomers in any one day's Fleet Street oiitput. Recently, The Sunday Express carried on its front page a story from Hollywood telling of an attempt to blackmail Louis B. Mayer, the Metru chieftain. Both in headline and story the name was spelled Meyer—this in spite of the fact that the name ap- pears (in the advertising columns of the London newspapers) more often than Churchill's. The biggest laugh at the moment is in a feature story in this week's Daily Mail describing a visit to a now assembly plant for U. S. planes. According to this yarn, 'Factories from New England to the Pacific coast are sending $l,000,000-a-week stream of aeroplane parts across the Atlantic' That's fair enough, the doughboys agree, but the laugh comes a minute later when the ob- servant reporter declares, 'I saw castings from Seattle, D. C.!' Another beaut the Ifanks count as being tops waj in a half-column story in The Sunday Dispatch that told of a new battleship being built 'at' (nothing ever happens 'in' a place, according to Fleet Street journalese) South Dakotal Obvi- ously, in this instance, South Dakota was the name of the battleship, but this yarn had the fighting ship launched on a rolling prairies 1,500 miles from the nearest deep water! The colored troops in London have their own pet laugh (this one in The Daily Express). It tells of certain ' goings on in a southern city called 'Maconga.' It was a Georgian trooper who solved that mystery. 'Maconga' is, of course, cable-ese for Macon, Gi.! N. T. 'NewB' Boycott to-De The Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League drive on the N. Y. Daily News, which teed off by distributing leaflets calling for a boycott because of the paper's editorials on the war, and reaping substantial space in PM, N. Y. Post and the N. Y. World Telegram, has apparently petered out. None of the other New York dailies carried the story, the leaflet distribution stopped after the first day and the News capped the splurge with a quote from James W. Gerard, ex-Ambassador to Germany and honorary chairman of the League, that he knew nothing about the call for a boycott until the story hit the papers. Gerard subsequently resigned without notifying the League which learned o^ the move from the dailies. League tried to revitalize the drive by calling pro-democratic or- ganizations and labor' unions to a meeting on Monday last (31) to dis cuss formation of a Council to pool resources and step up the campaign. Reps of the Coordinating Commit- tee, the International Ladies Gar' ment Workers Union, the Postal Employees Union, the National As sociation for the Advancement of Colored People, the Postal Em' ployees Union and the Friends of Democracy were among those preS' ent who were to submit the prO' posal to their organizations. Con- freres were united against Daily News policies, but were divided on whether the boycott was the correct procedure. Some of them preferred the Friends of Democracy modus operandi which aims at educating the News circulation and adver tisers. Technique is to get an early edition of the News, which is on sale about 8 p.m., examine the editorial, select any questionable material point-up and explain same in a leaflet that is distributed the follow- ing morning. Thus the readers and space buyers make up their own minds. Understood that the League hopes to persuade Its conservative mem- bers to permit continuation of the boycott and is meanwhile studying the possibility of appealing to the- atrical and picture companies to pull ads out of the News. piles. For this Is another test of the fight in Chicago between Mar- shall Field's Chicago Sun and Col. Robert R. McCormick's Tribune. It was last year that the Chi. Sun, which had been publishing then only a few weeks, sought an AP charter. Col. McCormick, a mem- ber of its board, was jimong those who voted down the Sun applica- tion. Also refused at that time was the application of Eleanor (Cissie) Patterson, publisher of the Wash- ington Times-Herald. Miss Patter- son is a cousin of Col. 'Bertie' Mc- Cormick and the sister of Capt. Joseph Medill Patterson, publisher of the N. Y. Daily News. Although the Times-Herald is also named in the Government's suit. Miss Pat- terson made no particular issue of the refusal to grant her an AP franchise, but -the Sun, whose pub- lisher. Field, has been referred to by McCormick as 'not a legitimate newspaperman (the Field millions were made in the department store business).' filed a complaint with the Department of Justice. The Government's action states that 'a number of complaints' have formed the basis of the suit. 1930. He is serving his fourth term as an international vice-president of the American Newspaper Guild. Book On British Women In War Oveta Culp Hobby, director of U.j Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), has written the foreword to Russell Blrdwell's 'Women In Bat- t<e Dress,' to be published by The Fine Editions Press late this month. 'Battle Dress' tells what the wo.-'ien in England are doing In the war, and includes the functions of every mili- tary and civilian organization. Bird- well gathered his material on a th.ee-monlhs' trip to England 1 ^ fall. Birdwell also authored 'I Ring Doorbells,' which tells the story of a newspaperman's life. J. B. Powell in Hospital The Japan correspondent and pub- lisher, J. B. Powell, is confined to the Marine hospital, Staten Island, N. Y., as result of his experiences at the hands of the Japs which cut his normal 140 pounds down to 75. He's now about 90 pounds. Powell is the newsman who lost all his toes as result of Jap prison cruelties. Both the Overseas and National Press Clubs are taking care of him since his return on the Gripsholm last week. Canada Bcvlses Ceilings Price ceiling on all Canadian and American periodicals will be imme- diately lifted, according to a new ruling of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board of Canada, and pub- lishers 'will be free to adjust rates and safeguard revenue,' (Example was that, in Canada, such periodi- cals as .Collier's and SEPost con- tinued to sell in Canada at their former price whereas American readers had to pay a dime a copy). Canadian periodicals have also sought to increase their prices be- cause of advertising fall-ofi and m- creased costs but got the red light. Ceiling lift applies not only to newstand sales but to subscriptions. Decision of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board of Canada was based on a survey of the publishing busi- ness which showed that, while larger revenues had offset higher operating costs in 1940 and 1941 revenues had recently suffered a 'serious decline.' The decision brings the Canadian regulations into conformity with those of the U. S. where newspapers, magazines and periodicals were from the outset exempted from the price ceiling. Publishers are asked to try to maintain service to the public at existing prices as far as possible and to conserve materials and laber costs. Ed BeaUle's Book Edward B. Beattie, Jr., now head of United Press bureau in London, is having his 'Freely to Pass' pub- lished by Thomas Y. Crowell in Oc- tober. Title and book are built around his passport which has been visaed scores of times by every European country during his reportorial ex- cursions as an observer and war cor- respondent. N. C. Press Assn. Awards Executives of seven dailies in vari- ous sections of the country have been named judges for annual North Carolina Press Association awards which, prexy W. K. Hoyt announces, will be continued, despite war. Judges are Roy A. Roberts, man- aging editor, Kansas City Star; Basil L. Walters, executive editor, Min- neapolis Star-Journal and Tribune; George Guise, city editor, Mpls. Trib., and Herljert Paul, city editor, Mpls. Star-Journal; Kenneth McDon- ald, managing editor, Des Moines Register and Tribune; and John W, Owens, editor-in-chief, and Newton Aiken, editorial staffer, Baltimore Sunpapers. 'Cash awards of $100 each will be awarded at association's midwinter Institute in January for best edi- torials, features, pix, etc. That AP Anti-Trnst Suit Alleged stifling of the freedom of the American press is the basis for the Government's anti-trust suit against the Associated Press, but the ramiflcatlons of the action, filed last Friday (28) In N. Y. federal court, are held to be much more ominous than the actual suit Ini'- Capt. Bernard A. Bergman Bernard A. Bergman, director of publicity and promotion of the Phila delphia Record and former managing editor of the New Yorker, was sworn in on Thursday (27) as a captain in the Army Air Corps and goes on active duty at Miami base next week Capt. Bergman, a veteran of World War I, has been with the Record since 1935, where he served as fea' ture editor, Sunday editor and exe cutive editor before taking over his promotion and publicity post. He is a brother of Maurice A. Bergman advertising director of Universal Pictures. • Harry Martin, T3C Memphis, Sept. 1. Harry Martin, amusements editor of The Comgiercial Appeal and local 'Variety' mugg, enlisted in the Navy as yeoman, third class, and reported for duty immediately at the Naval Training Station, Millington, Tenn. Robert Gray, radio editor for the paper, will serve as acting amuse- ments editor during Martin's leave of absence for the duration. Martin is 33, has one son, had been with The Appeal since February, Knopfs %tJSM Contest Alfred A. Knopf is offering $2,500 for the best book-length manuscript by a ^working American journalist. Tomes must be originals and sub- mitted before June 1, 1943. Plays, poetry, short stories, novels, essays and collected newspaper or feature yarns, columns or broad- casts taboo. Competition is also closed to radio newscasters and commentators. Excludes Everything for Dieppe The day following the raid on Dieppe the story rated virtually every available inch in the London Daily Express, which announced on it: editorial page: 'Owing to the Importance of the stories published today all the regu- lar features except the radio pro gtams are being held over.' Allan Chase's 'FaUnge* Allan Chase, onetime editor of Click, will have his 'The Menace of the Falange' published by Putnam in December. He has been making a study of the Falangist movement for a num- ber of years. SlrowsmRebeanal Vickie' (new title) — Frank Mandel. The Morning Star'—Guthrie McCUntic. 'Haglc' 'Hello Out There* (curtain raiser)—Eddie Dowllng. 'Franklin Street'—Max Gor- don. 'Eve of St. Mark'—Play- wrights. 'Count Me In'—Shuberts. Ol- sen & Johnson, Harry Kaufman, Horace Schmidlapp, Richard Krakuer. 'Strip For Ac\ion'—Serlin, Lindsay & Crouse. 'The Pirate' — PlaywrlghU, Theatre Guild. . 'Beat the Band'—George Abbott. 'Let Freedom Sing'—Youth ' Theatre, Inc. 'WaUh On the Rhine' (on Coast)—Herman Shumlin. 'Best Foot Forward' (road)— George Abbott. 'Junior Miss' (Chicago Co.)— Max Gordon. 'Angel Street' (road)—Shep- erd Traube. Caracas Papers Cut Down Lack of newsprint and advertising will shortly force Caracas news- papers to cut down to eight pages. The dailies which ran 20 to 24 pages last January have already re- duced to 12 and 16. LITEEATI OBITS Mrs. Horace H. Brown, 47, wife of Horace B. Brown, editor of True magazine, died Aug. 25 in New York. Robert R. Wilkes, 74, retired news- paperman who had been a criminal cjurts reporter for the old N^ Y. World for 40 years, died Aug. 27 in Erie, Pa. James L. Hanley, oldtime San Francisco newspap>erman, who spent 15 years on the Daily Report there, prior to the 1906 fire, died Aug. 23 in Frisco. Eugene O'Conncll, 52, newspaper- man, died Aug. 28, in N. Y. O'Con- nell had been a sports writer and at his death was employed as copy reader on the N. Y. Daily Mirror. Jacob R. Miller, 70, retired news- paperman and former representative of the N. Y. Times at Ossining, N. Y., died Aug. 26 in N. Y. Miss Julia Bandry Moore, for many years society editor of Augusta (Ga.) Herald, and one of South's leading newspaperwomen, died Aug. 24 after extended illness. Frank G. Hcaton, 70, veteran news- paper and publicity man, died In Tampa, Fla., Aug. 21. Formerly on the Indianapolis News and the Wash- ington Star before moving to Florida in 1920, Heaton was formerly editor o( the Fort Myers (Fla.) Press and city editor of the Tampa Tribune, later joining the Tampa Times. J. R. Touatt, 7B, retired Associated Press treasurer, died Aug. 31 in Freeport, L. I. W. P. Bancroft, 25, editor of the Play. Out of Town JANIE Buffalo, Aug. 31. Comftdy In three ncia (four scenes) by Josephine Bcnlhnm and Herschol V. Wll- llonid. adapted from the former's novel. Directed by Antoinette Perry; aettlngs by John Root; cosluntea aupervlsed by Mar- ftaret Pemberion. Prceenled by Bnick Pem- borton, at Erlnnger, ButTalo, Aug. 31, '42; tl top. Janio Owen Anderson Thelma Lawreni^c LIndn Watklns Paula Ralncy Mnrgaret Wallace liernadlne Dodd Dotty Dreckenrldge IJIck WllllamK Herbert Evera Scooper Ni>lnn Frank Amy Elspeth Colburn Clare Foley Charles Colburn Maurice Manson John Van Drunt Howard St. John Mrs. Colburn Nancy Cushmah Rodney John Marriott Tina .\rtlel>elle McOlnty Hortenee Qertruile Beach Curl Loomis J. Franklin Jones Matthew g. Heurdon W. O. McWatters Frank Franklin Kline Deadpan Hackctt Blaine Fillmore Andy Paul E. Wilson NIckoy Kenneth Tobey Soldier Michael St. Angel 'Janie,' with which Brock Pember- ton ushered in the new season here tonight (Monday), and with which he will relight the Henry Miller, New York, Labor Day (7), unfolds as a mild comedy effort, of the 'Ju- nior Miss' genre, making its partic- ular bid for popularity through its timely and topical accenting of the impact of the military upon life an'.ong the nearby villagers. Rather loosely constructed plot concerns a high-school-age femme Henry Aldrich, who, aided by couple of goony girl friends in parent's ab- sence, patriotically undertakes to st?ge a party for a few soldiers, and ends up as hostess for practically the entire army with a free for all fracas and near riot thrown in. Much of the comedy, like the characters, is sophomoric, but the topical treatment In plot and dialog of quirks of con- temporary civilian and military life constitute the play's chief appeal. Youthful Gwen Anderson, latest fugitive from Coa.it little theatres, gives a luminous and pulsating per- formance of the exacting title role, while Frank Amy scores unexpect- edly as her jitteroo civilian bqy friend. Herbert Evers is a hand- some army private with whom Janie carries on an innocent fiirtation, cul- minating in the climactic party, and Linda Watkins returns to the stage after a long absence as his doting mother. Betty Breckenrldge is ad- mirable as one of the heroine's giggly girl friends; Maurice Manson labors valiantly with the father role. Production is angeled by Columbia Pictuies and story indicates good film possibilities. In any event, 'Janie' will establish Miss Anderson as having plenty of what it takes in the theatre and should catapult her into front line position for stage and screen attention. Bjirton. Gallatin Examiner, Tenn., died Aug. 31 in Gallatin. Frank C. Reynolds, 58, newspaper- man, died Aug. 31 in Gennonds, N, Y. On his death he was «n ad- vertising staff . member of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. CHATTER Edgar Price, film and stage critic for the Brooklyn Citizen, gandering Hollywood for the first time. Helen Kirkpatrick, Chicago Dally News foreign correspondent in Britain, due'homc within a fortnight Harold R, Johnson, managing edi- tor and city editor of t)ie Newark (O.) Advocate, Inducted into Army. 'Al Martin, advertising director for Women's Home Companion, in Hol- lywood to look over the film situa- tion. Nate Gross trekking back to his Chicago Herald-American column (Continued on page 62) 'Show BoatV Benefit FoirAriny-NayyNets $9,600 m St. Urn St. Louis, Sept. 1. A benefit performance last week of 'Show Boat' in the Municipal Thea- tre Assn's alfresco playhouse in For- est'Park, with performers, footers, giippers and other employees kick- Inc in with their wages for the night, netted $9,600 for the Army. Navy Relief funds and resulted in the sales of $35,000 worth of war bonds and stamps, with 10,587 pay.. ee.-; laying $7,607 on the line, an- other $2,000 was added by the wages of every employee in the organiza- tion. This was the first time in tha theatre's 24-year-old career that a benefit performance was given. Sammy White was m.c. of an in- formal presentation which was woven in with the bond and stamp sales. Gladys Baxter sold kisses to two men, each of whom purchased a $1,000 bond. When Bob Lawrence, baritone; offered to kiss any woman in the audience who bought a bond there were no takers, but Ed Love, the theatre's cushion concessionaire, settled for a handshake when he bought a $1,000 bond. RAPP'S mOLE' GETS B'WAY OPENING DEC. 31 Hollywood, Sept. 1. Finishing touches are being put to the libretto of 'Needle in the Hay- stack' by Phil Rapp for opening New Year's eve at the Winter Garden by the Shuberts. Rapp, who toiled for the Shuberts and Flo Ziegfeld before he turned to radio, for the past two years has been writing the Fanny Brice and f^ank Morgan radio spots on Maxwell House Time. Rapp may also direct the musical, in which case he would commute be- tween the two coasts. Rehearsals for the musical begin in N. Y, Nov. 1. Tirst Murder' For Zasn Pitts on B'way Hollywood, Sept. 1. Zasu Pitts is deserting Hollywood for a while to appear In a Broadway stage production, 'Our First Murder,' written by Robert PresnelL Marlon Gerlng Is producing. A. H. Woods is also trekking to New York to rehearse a new legit play, "This Little Hand,' authored by WnSfrid Pettitt, of Warners story de- partment. Arrangements have been com- pleted for the staging of The Trick- ster' by O'Bryen, Linnit ti Dunfee in London with Alistair Sim as star. Laura Wilck negotiated the three play deals. Milw. Gets Early Legit Break With Tirate' Milwaukee, Sept. 1. Legit season here opens earlier than in many years past with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontenne in S. N. Behrman's new cbmedy 'The Pirate on Sept. 17-19 at the Pabst theatre (Ind) following the play's preem Sept. 14 in Madison, Wis. Top wiU be $3.30. Davidson (UBO) will get going Sept. 20 with return of 'My Sister Eileen,' which, with Peggy Van Vleet and Effie Afton In the leading roles, will play at $1.50 top. 'Angel Street' and 'Arsenic and Old Lace will follow. 'Fever' SG in Toronto Toronto, Aug. 29. With Michael Whalen of pix in the lead. 'Petticoat Fever' did excellent estimated $5,100 at the Royal Alex- andra here, with 1,561-seater scaled at $1.60 top. Last show of the summer season, Elissa Landl In 'Mary of Scotland, opened yesterday (Mon,). RPTifiTAT, 'BTJIOAR PRINCE' Three special performances The Beggar Wince," Polish operetta, sponsored by the Committee for the Preservation of Austrian Art ana Culture, will be given Sept. 25-27 at the Cosmopolitan Opera HouM (formerly Mecca Temple), New York. Tickets will be at $2,20 top.