Variety (Nov 1942)

SeREEN RADIO MUSIC STAGE niETY ' ''"'V'^irT^'liIr at lit Weit 46th Street, Nev Tork. N. T,, by Variety. Inc. Annual aubaerlptlon, 110. Bind* copies 11 cent*. ' BeCobd-olaas matter December It, 1(01, at ttaa Foil Ottlce at New Tork, N. T., under the act ot March I, ll7t. ^ COFTBIOHT, IMt, Bl TABIETX, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED VOL. 148 No. 9 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1942 PRICE 25 CENTS PilUic, Not Publishers^ Pick Song Hits Current crop ot disk releases again points up the old Tin Pan Alley adage that you can't sclentiflcize the production of hits; that they Just "happen,' and no expert can predict which mss. -will prove a hit. The time-honored publishers' axiom that 'there is a $1,000,000 check . per annum awaiting the guy who can tell us what not to publish, and ^..thus insure a constant flow of successful pop songs,' crops up again. Judging by the type ot songs now on the platters. (Ot course that million dollar annual wage was before the 25G wage stabilization act). The Petrillo ban, as of Aug. 1, caused the diskers to wax what the publishers promised would be their plugs songs. That the recorded ditties don't parallel what are the pop faves of the day is answered by the vagaries ot public reaction. The best advance doping, ot course, Is always when the score la from a potentially big fllmusical, such as a Crosby picture, or the current 'Holiday Inn' music which got a big advance, ride. General Motors Vaude Caravan To Bolster War Workers' Morale Cl>icago, Nov. 3. New vaude caravan, designed to entertain and raise the morale ot war workers in their midwest factories, has been originated by General Mo- tors, opening Nov. 16 in Chicago for a six-day run, before leaving on tour. Show will take over an auditorium or theatre in each town, where it Is slated to play. Different days will be set aside for each batch of workers and their families to be ad- mitted, without charge, to the en- tertainment. On the bill will be Inspirational motion pictures to show worker how excellent is his lot in this country, how handicapped are the workers of Europe, how good it is to be part of a free people, to inspire in the workers a desire to flght in order to maintain their freedom—in the factory, it not on the battlefield. Live entertainment part of the show will consist ot Cee Davidsnn atid his 12-piece orchestra, which will be augmented to 20 men in large cities. Preston Lambert will t Continued on page 54) Tough to LafF Off Hollywood, Nov. 3. It cost Abbott & Costello $60,- 000 to get caught between the freeze and the thaw of U. S. rentals in England. That amount was their share of profits, on the Universal deal, which were un- . frozen Oct. 24. Before the comics could get the coin it was frozen again by the wage stabilization directive. 'NO Pliy TODAy Entire Contractual System Convulsed by Radical Reg- ulations — Nobody Caii Foresee Results — Hope D. Gi May Reconsider DEFICIT LIVING Deny Mexican Showgirls Forced hto Prostitution On Panama "Bookings' Mexico City, Nov. 3. General denial of sensational sto- ries published by some local dailies, to the efTect that Panama has be- come a land ot white slavery for Mexican showgirls, was made in a statement to El Nacional, organ of the federal government, by bookers and artists who have had-dealings with Panamanian theatres and ni- teries. Protestors assert that all contracts signed by Mexican showgirls to work in Panama give them ironclad protection and the governments of both republics are warning against any attempt at compulsory prostitu- tion. Furthermore, the deniers aver, all contracts bear certificates ot good conduct pledged to the Panama gov- (Continued on page 54) 1ST N. Y. LEGIT IN YEARS HIT BY COPS In the mid-1920s the cops backed up the wagon m 'Pleasure Man,' and Mae West did 30 days. In 1927 'The Captive' (from the French ot Bourdet}.drew police Are, and the actors were saved from 'time' when the management agreed to stop the show. Several years previous 'The God ot Vengeance' (Rudolph Schild- kraut) was raided in Greenwich Vil- lage after it played 11 weeks. Other shows came under police scrutiny, but there was quite a lapse so tar as legit was concerned until early this week, when four or five attractions were indicated to be within the scope of the penal code's indecent performance provision. Present wave of intimated censor- ship started when summonses were served Monday (2) on persons con- nected with the management of 'Wine, Women and Song,' Ambassa- dor, N. Y.. at the instance of Paul Moss, commi-ssioner of licenses, it being charged that it is an indecent performance. Cases are returnable in court today (Wednesday), but the actors were not interfered with and the performance went on at the thea- (Continued on page 54) Shaken to its foundations by the far-reaching implications of the $25,- 000 income ceiling and wage stab- ilization edicts, the $2,000,000,000 motion picture industry this week looked to Washington tor some relief trom or clarification ot the onerous income levies which jeopardize the existence ot the nation's greatest (Continued on Qage 23) Barbary Coast Days Recalled By Frisco Boom By SHEBMAN MILLEB $an Francisco, Nov. 3. So you think the Barbary Coast died, leaving nothing but legends of lusty gayety behind? Well, you have another guess com- ing, brother! "The devil-may care spirit ot Bar bary Coast days was never com- pletely extinguished. The war set off the spark that brought It back, 1943 version, in spirit and tact. Frisco is again a boom town, a pleasure-seeking town, and, yes, in some respects, a hell-raising town. Barbary Coast, which, strictly speaking, consisted of one short block of dancehalls on Pacific street (Continued on page 52) A Very Vital Statistic Latest twist on screen t .sts, at least those made in the east, has man who is being test' d explain, right on the screen, hov and why he is not -n the Army. Studio execs are not interested in any men who are not draft-proof and since they are busy men, they get this vital info and a gander of the prospect all at tho same time. Willkie's Crostley Wendell Willkie's broadcast Ulk Oct. 26 to the nation on his trip to Russia, China and the Near East got a rating of 48.7% from the Coopera- tive Analysis of Broadcasting. The C.A.B. rating obtained by President Roosevelt's talk of Oct. 12 was 55.8%, or 3% above his fireside chat average. Pubfic Seen Systematically N^p^ To Sympathize With Amtis. Imhistry Bataan to H'wood One major film company prei- Ident, discussing the $25,5o0 in- come ceiling, crackedf 'Those boys on Bataan and in the Solomons didn't complain. Why should we squawk?' SPECIAL DISK SPEED PLAN FORMES American Federation of Musicians has been mulling a plan in reoeilt weeks by which record manufao- turers would m^e separate record- ings for coin machine and home consumption. This would be based on an idea for having disc makers cut and press i line ot platters re- quiring different turntable rotation sreed than the record tor home use, thereby limiting ise ot the former to coin machines. The thought ap- plies only to machines, and the coin operators, according to the plan, would be required tc pay a special sum for the discs, the upped differ- ence going to the AFM. As It Is now, pop records spin 78 times a minute, while transcriptions, another sore point with the AFM, travel at 33 r.p.m. What the AFM's projected plan is isn't too certain, (Continued on page 16) Saroyan Not Only Got GOG From Metro, but Also Wrote Play About Studio William Saroyan Is In the Army, but one of his scripts is likely to be produced this season. It has to do with the prolific writer's experiences while on the Metro lot, principal characters being identified as Louis B. Mayer and Saroyan. Norman Bel Geddes has secured the play, one of those riot mentioned by the author,/ who washed up in Hollywood last season and went back to San Fran- cisco, where he got numerous plays, long and short, out of his system. Saroyan came on to N. Y. and planned to startle Broadway by producing on his own 'Across The Board on Tomorrow Morning' plus 'Talking To You', but the dual bill skidded and he ran out of money. A'^er reading the notices, he blithely said that if his two short plays didn't get across, the new season would flop, in fact there just wouldn't be any season. Around the Metro studio few knew (Continued on page 10) Amidst the present panic and con- tusion of show business In the face of head-swimming economic revo- lution in Washington (see separate stories in this issue), there is a sud- den understanding of the state of public mind that has been built up in the United States so that any- pro- test by 'prosperous people' Is twisted to sound not like a legitimate argu- ment against fiscal practices, but like a selfish preoccupation with personal profit and nothing more. Show business, with fuU knowledge ot the risks, the ups and downs tho' short careers, the staggering neces- sary expenses to maintain, position, discounts the meaning ot' what seems to outsiders as incredible In- comes. Show ,buslnes3, however, has never succeeded In explaining its paradoxical money problems to the public and has seldom found Gov- ernment auditors very sympathetic. At this moment It becomes sun- clear to show business that there_ia-_ ready flippancy rather than under- standing. Those who don't get, and (Continued on page S3) NeviDe MiDer Declares Petrillo Wants Radio to Pay ForPriyateWPAforAFM Atlanta, Nov. 3. A resolution expressing confidence in the way the National Associa- tion of Broadcasters Is handling the musicians union row was adopted by the association's fifth district member.<; after hearing a report trom Neville Miller during two-day meet- ing which concluded here Thursday (29) at the Henry Grady hotel. Miller said: 'We don't /eel that vie can make a bargain with him (PMrillo). There is no uncmplovment today among musicians who make their living b|/ music alone. Radio men do not feel that they can set up a prtvately- /inanced WPA for PetHlIo's AFM members. And that's what he toants UJ to do.' Getting hto Stride Detroit, Nov. 3. Staging their own variety shows, the inmates of the State Prison ot Southern Michigan are buying a mobile canlctn and first-aid unit for the Army with proceeds. First of the series of three shows was staged last wccl: in the prison auditorium with 1,890 inmates paying 50c apiece^ to see the homemade vaudeville. Rou;'l^ly. that represents about three clays' pay each under prison wage.s for each performance.