Variety (Sep 1942)

W««iacid«yt September 9, 1942 Took RaiH-in Spades-for Brasshats V - Washington, Sept. 8. Stripping Major Lynn Farnol of his maple leaf shoulder decorntions has not silenced an undercurrent of rpinion that he was sacrificed lo clear the War Department's Bureau of Public Relations. That agency cleared the so-called 'ground marker' hoax story, which brought licavy censure to the two Mitchcl Field <N. Y.) ofliccrs who released it. Farnol is a former film company publicist (United Artists, Sam Gold- wyn, etc.) and much was made of ■movie methods in the Army.' Among West Point eomnii.^sioned. regular army and general staff of- ficers there is a resentment nsain.'t those who come into the service fiom civilian life 'the easy way.' Tho.se %vho have come up through the vari- ous schools of the soldier are irked St those who enter the army for spe- cialized service at comparative rat- ings. Secretary of War Stimson'.s de- cisions may or may not be influenced by those who surround him—men who have spent all of their lives in the uniform and have made it a ca- reer. But a good many think the Secretary weighs these subordinate opinions heavily. They were all against Major Farnol. The Bureau of Public Relations has able officers and skilled civilian workers. They are restricted by army rules, regulajtions and customs that bind them to tradition and poli- cy. That some of these rules strike working newspapermen as silly and inconsequentltd has not operated to change them. Major Amol came into the army from a highly competitive business, where ingenuity and originality must count if one is to stay in the big pa- rade. If he didn't realize that the War De pa rtment was against the ac- cepted promotional methods em- ployed by the motion picture indus- try, he must know it now. The War Department operates upon the theo- ry that the army has been 'sold' to the American public; that it is ready to sustain and support the military, and that "no liigh-pressure promotion is required to fortify patriotism. Teagh Discipline Secretary Stlmson, in his first press conference where the Mitchel Field incident was discussed, made it plain that he expected stem disciplinary action for a release which he felt had brought his department a degree of Ignominy in the public mind. From Ihat moment it was inevitable that heads must fall. Major Farnol got the fvill works, where the guessing was worst possible punishment would be banishment to London or some distant outpost far from pro- motional activity. Col. Dache M. Reeves. Farnol's superior officer at Mitchel Field, was also relieved of duty there, but understood he will be assigned elsewhere. War Department may never admit It. but most efficient units in the army are the civilian-operated Army Motion Picture Service and Camp Shows, Inc., run by civilian show- men, which provide 99'r of camp entertainment. They are not per- mitted to step on the gas with high- pressure promotional stunts, but they ere run by experts with a minimum of interference from bra.-shats. Army £knergency Relief frowns on all sensational ballyhoo. Those pub- licizing 'This Is the Army' have been warned to lay off the sex stuff, no Interview with soldiers about how they like being girls, and no pictures exploiting lacy frills. Major Farnol took the rap for a sad mista!<e. but others share the blame. Some leel that the Bureau of Public Relations could be relieved of some of its dead- wood in the interest of military efficiency. U. S. in Bevhills Hollywood, Sept. 8. The first ofTice building to be taken over here by the U. S. may be the California Bank Building in Beverly Hills. Signal Corps and other military iigencics would be moved there. Most outfits are currently quartered in the Hollywood Taft Building. Pic Biz Stirred by Mag Linking Hngfaes' Kaiser Deal to 'Oadaw' Bafly There's considerable talk in the film industry of how Newsweek mag interpreted the Howard Hughes deal to finance Henry J. Kaiser's cargo plane plant as a stunt for 'The Out- law,' the Hughes film. The mag was the only sheet to figure the deal as a promotion for the picture. Emmanuel Sllverstone, formerly sales manager for Alexander Korda. is sales rep for The Outlaw,' which is to be roadshow'n. GABLE REISSUES BOOM Exhibitors Would Cash In on Metre Star's Army EnlWment Since Clark Gable went Into the Army a couple Df weeks ago Metro has received several hundred re- quests from exhibitors throughout the country for pictures made with Gable prior to 'SDmewhere IH Find You,' now on sale as a 1942-43 re- lease. Exhib interest in getting former Gable pictures is heightened by the fact that the Metro star is in the Army and in all probability will be off the screen for the duration. The tendency in the future to rebook old Gable films will probably in- crease, it's held. While it's understood Metro is willing to accept dates on pictures starring Gable that were released in former years, including 'Honky Tonk.' outstanding money-getter of the last season (1941-42), company policy will be to avoid any book- ings that would conflict with the latest starring Gable and X^na Turner, 'Somewhere Fll Find You.' Stooges Get Feature Hollywood, Sept. 8. Howard, Fine and Howard, the Three Stooges,' are making their first feature-length comedy at Co- lumbia after eight years of shorts. Picture, in preparation for an early October start, is 'Easy Sailing,' a sea- going slapstick story. 6. Farnol the FaH Guy? Arlington, Va.. Sept editor, 'Variety': The rap which Major Lynn Farnol (Continued on page 37) Awali, Awah, Awah Hollywood, Sept. 8. Amos 'n' Andy are going ea.st to tee their employers, Campbell soup, and find out what's on their minds. That the tureen crowd is none too happy with the A.&A. Cro.sslcy they know. It's what else that's worry- ing them. T^.-sy'i rSninin east for two weeks, ■putting up their broadca.st time be- .tween New York and Chicago. BUY UNITED STATES •WAR >MDS SEAMPS It xoiH cost money to defeat Germany, Japan and Italy. Out government calls on you to help now. Buy tuar samngs bonds or stamps today. Buy them every day if you can. But btu/ them on a regular basU. U.S. TAX HUNT IN HOLLYWOOD ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»«t> M I»♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦«» Lefty's }fotebook By Joe Laurie, Jr. Hollywood, Sept 8. Uncle Sum's Internal Revenue commandos made a raid on Holly- wood, armed with liens charging 21 film figures with shortages in the payment of their income taxes. Amounts range from $43,576, listed against Basby Berkeley, producer, down to $488 against Bob Steele, cowboy actor. Others on the roll are Basil Rath- bone, $17,773; Ills wife, Ouida Ber- gere, $18,<H)8; William Dieterlc, $15,- 831; Irene Heryey, $8,429; Allan Jones, $7,069; Ralph H. Blum, $5,- 245; Carmel Myers Blum, ^,245; Jerry Cady, $6,216; Dean Jagger, $1,886; Antoinette Jagger, $1,886; Maria Ouspenskaya, $2,763;. Roger Pryor, $2,262; Seymour Felix, $1,- 2B1; Jeanie MacPherson, $1,596; John Meehan. $2,279: Wolfgang Bein- hardt, $1,926: Eddie Moran. $2,279; Eric Blore. $2,655, and Slim Sum- merville. $1,238. 2 METRO PRODUCERS DIE WITHIN ONE WEEK Hollywood lost two of its promi- nent producers during the past week with the death on the Coast of J. Walter Ruben and Bernard Hyman. Both were Metro producers at the time of their deaths, and both were victims of heart ailments. They died within a few days of each other. Details in the obituary department. if ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«♦♦♦♦«♦« ♦♦♦♦44^ , Coolacres, Cal., Sept. 8. Dear Joe: I was always a great guy for savin' odds and ends, especially things about show business. Aggie always sez 'you saved programs instead of dough.' I get a great kick lookin' through my notebook and .seeing things like that Proctor's 23rd Street theatre was originally a church. Then it was made into Salmi Morse's Temple theatre. It couldnt' get a license. Proc- tor (whose real monicker was Levantine and who did a foot-juggling act) built a new house in 1889. The County Fair was the first show, Dockstader's Minstrels was the next and the last show was by the Theatre of Arts and Letters (sorta Guild idea) and seats sold at five bucks a throw. Jan. 9, 1891, Proctor's opened as a continuous performance va- riety house with an admission scale of 15-25-50. He hired a guy called Camp^ini. who was a big opera star of that day, to Just sing in the lobby. The idea was a promotion stunt for the new house. 'If you hear this in the lobby you can imagine what you'd see inside?' Proctor wa.s a great showman. He started the slogan, "After Breakfast Go to Proctor's.' Nat Haines, the comic, added 'After Proctor's Go to Bed.' This is the house where they first called the 10:30 a.m. show the Milkman's Matinee. Some of the acts would ssty. 'yeh. they applaud with their cans.' Great spot. Did you know that the first Hebrew theatre was the Oriental at 104-106 Bowery above Hester street.. . .that was in 1882. Three years later a swell little soubret by the name of Lottie Gilson was the first singer of songs to have a singing plant in the audience, and she was the first to sing to the bald-headed men in the audience. Great little artist, and lasted as a headliner way up to 1905. HamiDcn4eln'8 Salary List in 1894 Here's a salary list at Hammerstein's Olympic in 1894 that may hand you a laugh. Marguritc Sylvia, $100: Adgie, $250; York and Adams, $100; Irene Franklin, $75; T. Nelson Downs, $75; Belle Hathaway and Monks, $75; Romaldo Bros, $100; Hcer Von Palm, $45; Cogin and Davis, $75; Williamson and Stone, $80. Sixteen years later, in 1910, Marguritc Sylvia was in opera and Irene Franklin was getting $1,000 a week. I'll bet you never knew that the banjo was called the banjar way back in 1784. In early variety days the banjo was the bellybutton of show- business; you couldn't do without one. In 1905 the Supreme court ruled that the actor can not recover on a Sunday contract, having contracted to give an illegal performance, thereby nullifying the entire contract. Pi'octor started making acts come from Albany and Troy, where Sunday shows were not allowed, to play his house in N. Y. Acts were plenty sore, about the whole thing. Years later Philadelphia managers copied the idea and made acts play Atlantic City on Sunday for the Sunday they couldn't play in PhiUy. The actor yelled, but went AUn Dale Quito Heant for 'Variety* In 1905 Sophie Tucker went on the stage. (Am I right, Sophie?) In that same year, Alan Dale had a fight with Hearst, who tried to soft- pedal his reviews on shows Dale left He went on "Variety', with a col- umn just to kinda keep his hand in ('Variety' barred nothin'). He lasted for about a year then returned to Hearst and the American, plenty sub- dued, and he never was the .same critical self again. The actors were ^appy, even if Dale wasn't. Read about Dan Healy being ill. Me and Aggie sure wish him a speedy recovery, a grand guy that Danny boy. He made his debut in 1905 at Keith's Union Square in a messenger boy outfit. Here's one that may give you a giggle. There was a contortionist by the name of Yuma. He couldn't get in to see Murddek about a route, so he dressed up as Mephisto and had himself packed in a box and two guys' delivered him to Murdock. When J. J. opened the box and Yuma jumped out, he got the interview and a route after J. J. got over bis fainting spell. Been reading about Petrillo and the Musicians Union. He would have had no kick coming in 1910. when Loew's changed their prices from 25c. to $1 at the Seventh Ave. and at the National. They had 25 musicians at the Seventh Ave. and 33 at the National That's the time Loew's offered (George M. Cohan $10,000 a week and Georgf no take. That was the year Huber's Museum on 14th street passed on. John C. Anderson was manager there for 22 years and made over $75,000 net a year. It was known as Worth's Museum before Huber took it over. In 1909 Chuck Connors did an act at the Columbia. Brooklyn, and used the expression 'gorilla', meaning a tough guy, for the first time. Damon Runyon, speaking about quartets', reminds me that that Quartette' split in 1908. That was the same year that Ben Hamey, the originator of ragtime, died. Haw to Jnolsh the Japt The Columbia theatre (now the Mayfair) on 47th St. and Broadway opened in January, 1910, and Hurtig tc Seamon's "Follies Of New York and Paris'. Sheldon was treasurer, McCloy was press agent and Bill Hickey was musical director. They had Japanese who were students at colleges in N. Y. as ushers. They oughta make Japs ushers now in some of those houses that run C pictures—that would punish 'em plenty. In 1910, William Morris, at the American, N. Y, was the first to present 23-act bills. Tom SneUbaker's Majestic tried a 22-act bill in 1890. In 1910 the papers raved about a gal named Blossom Seeley in Lew Fields' 'Hen Pecks'—they said he had a find. Years later Benny Fields found her, and held on to her. Who wouldn't? They never had another gal that could syncopate like Blossom did. B*rs. Dr. Munyon was the attraction Xmas week, 1910, at Hammer- stein's. She cured everybody, including herself... .never went back in show business after that one week. Do you remember the time some actor asked Frisco: 'Whot's the quickest way to the Manhatton Opera House? I have a benefit to play there' And Frisco stuttered bocfc, 'It took me eteren yturt to get to the Palace, to fifflire it out for yourself.' Your pal. Lefty. ABBOTT and COSTELLO W-iu/ tn National Release In "PARDON MY SAROISG" A Mayfair Production—Universal Pictures Release Under Personal Management of EDWARD SHERMAN FM. s $25,000 Net Income Ceiiiiig May Pirove a Boon to Film Biz Far from viewing with alarm President Roosevelt's determination ti seek legislation limiting net in- dividual income to $25,000 a year, various film industry executives yesterday expressed the opinion that such a move would likely lead to a far-reaching and healthy re- adjustment in Hollywood production methods. A saner approach to cost ceilings in production, combined with more normal salaries for talent in all phases of production for the duration, are regarded as likely to remain benefits possibly lasting until io~,s after the war. Pointed oul ir> some quarters that there are anywhere from 10 to 20 persons usually employed on 'A' picture production whose salaries are well over $50,000 net annual in- ccme each. It is considered probable that talent deals will be easier to make as a result of any income ceiling or other system of heavy taxation which would have the same effect as a ceiling. Though talent agents are u£ually interested in maintaining high price scales for their clients for 'prestige' purposes, it is now questionable whether agents can reasonably be expected to hold out (Continued on page 45)