Variety (Nov 1942)

Wednesday, Noviber 4» 1942 inSCELLAHT CONFISCATION OF INCOME Show business, including radio, is peculiarly upset by the 'excess salary confiscation' ruling that has been put through in Washington. There- was but little articulate protest when the original $25,000 net maximum income proposal was mentioned. This was due probably to an incomplete realization of its mean- ing. Last week the reality struck everybody in the financial solar plexus and produced something very close to panic. Reaction quickly classified naturally under two headings; one, the political and social-economic significance, and two, the immediate bread-and-butter eflfect. In general, the realiza- tion grew over the weekend that the ruling was not, as first supposed, taxation in the usual sense at all but a 'levy.' The exact probable effect on individuals seemed to vary erratically according to circumstances in particular individual cases or professions. For example the concert trade has a special kind of danger in that the high-salaried few (perhaps 25 or 30 virtuosi) are the sales bait that sell subscription blocks of tickets. The rank and file of rccitalists cannot attract large patronage on their own. They are inchided in packages tied witli the fancy ribbons of a few big names. The livelihood of tiie small fry depends in a very acute sense upon the prosperity of the big ones. Picture business, greatest yet most vulnerable of all branches of entertainment, stands to suffer more than any other phase. Because on the ability of the gifted few who can write, direct, produce and act, depends the livelihood of the many who work not only in the studios but in exchanges and theatres through- out the country. Put a star and a producer out of business and a flock of people right down to the girl who guards the ticket window will be hurt, because tlicre won't be as many people buying tickets. As for those i)ersonages who appear in many media (as a columnist may write for syndicates, broadcast for a sponsor, ftU dates for a lecture bureau, turn out books for a pul)lisher) it seemed cli-nr that drastic curtailment of income (and hence of taxes in the end) is quite possible. This is not to suggest that there will be any widespread sulking or unpatriotic retire- ment for the duration, but that in the nature of incentive there will be conservation of time and energy. H'WOQD FORCED F ReckleM Disregard of Moola in Film-Making Just a Happy Memory — War- time Regulations Put Stu- dios on Short Coin FLOOD OF CAN'TS By DENIS MOBRISON Hollywood, Nov. 3. Government setups of all the United Nations, principally our own war-operated clamper-downers and armed service brasshats, have the fllm studios under wraps as never before, and conforming all the way down the line. Peculiar aspect Is that the Hollywoodians, never slow to get their backs up before, are go- ing for the new restrictions in a big, enthusiastic way. Not enough to say they're cooperating 100%. That would not be quite fair. Film outfits are hampering them- selves with every imaginable sort of crimp, all with the idea of winning the war now, 'everything else is chores.' And it's costing them. In one way It's costing them, but in another the exigencies of war will prove a godsend in the long run, for the studios for the first time in their profiigate, spendthrift career are learning the meaning of frugality. In years to come many a common dividend will be paid to stockholders eked out of the habit of saving en- forced by wartime necessity. Any studio nowadays is a library of information on what the biz is (Continued on page 20) Lawyers, tax experts, auditors, Washington representatives are studying the proposal intently for answers. The experts, it became clear, knew little more than the non-experts. The whole stunning blow and the extremely complicated, technically involved arithmetic had everybody groggy. This grogginess may go on for the next several weeks with nobody at this moment in a ])osition to assert just how disastrous and revolu- tionary the ruling will be when finally shaken down, codilied, modified and clarified. 'Variety' jiresents in this issue several reports of trade reac- tion. The film roundup appears on pages 1,2, 3; Radio on pages 28-29; Concert guessing on page 38. Orchestra reaction on page 39. These reports are necessarily tentative. They represent the first - impressions, the first interpretations, the first shudders. Whether the nightmare proves as shatter- ing to the patient as present temperature suggests can only be decided hereafter. Meantime it is the first ton of bricks to really be unloaded on show business. D.C. Thinb H wood Should Keep Mum On Income Ceflh^; Congress May Act •fi- Washington, Nov. 3. Economic czar James F. Byrnes is going to have a tough time with that $29,000 ceiling on earned Income. When Congress comes back after the elections, the movement will be rtarted to curb his powers on a Mlary roof, with legislation. Hollywood, which is tremendously affected by the $25,000 limit, can sit back and let more influential forces do the spade work on Capitol Hill. Senator Walter F. George of Georgia uttered the first warning last week that a fight is coming, and his speech reflects what many members of the Senate and House feel. Some Sen- ators have already endorsed kicking Senator George upstairs to the Supreme Court, thus permitting the New Deal to name a Finance Com- niittee chairman more in sympathy With the Administration goals. Clipping Mr. Byrnes' wings will not be an easy task, for he has the solid support of President Hoosevelt. Any legislation would have to carry (Continued on page 16) Not to Be Caught, 20th Has 80 Players Pacted Hollywood, Nov. 3. New high in contract players, 50 hommes and 30 femmes, is registered by 20th-Fox as a precaution against future military drafts and enlist- ments. In addition, the studio has a roster of 42 stock players, many of whom are being trained to move up into the varsity contract division when occasion demands. Ru88 Holman in Hosp Russell Holman, Paramount's east- ern production chief, sent to hospi- tal suffering from stomach ulcers. X-ray showed the ailment, and his medico ordered him hospitalized. While not in critical condition, Holman likely will be in the hospital for the next five or six week3. ARMY CENSURES FIX STUDIOS ON DIMOUT Hollywood, Nov. 3. Studios are being censured by tlie War Department for disregarding the Coast dimout regulations dn night shooting. One plant had obtained permis- sion to light up outdoors providing a canvas was stretched over the set to keep light beams down, but the night was warm and the canvas cov- ering was lost in the shuffle. Around 3 a.m. army photographers flew over the i>tuJio and filled their plates with .evidence^. Next day the Western Defense Command told the studios off. but good, and warned that under no circumstances was light to be vis- ible from outside the lots. The or- der calls also for a blackout of all outside lighting on studio streets leading to stages and elsewhere on the lot. Yesterday all studios went into ac- tion to conform to the regulations as the Western Defense Command which made it plain that the next violation would be prosecuted and there was to be no more gentle wrist-slapping. HoDywood Starts the Machinery To Administer the $25,000 Order And Quickly Fmds Its Stalled Up to SAG Now Hollywood, Nov. 3. The producers met for 3Vi hours Monday (2) among them- selves and it wound up with the decision that the Screen Actors Guild must make up its mind on what to do under the new Governmental edict. SAG con- fabs Wednesday (4). Meantime Eddie Mannix, Y. Frank Freeman, Mendel Silber- berg and Walter Freston, latter two attorneys, will also pow- wow with the Guilds. MIAMI BEACH 100% TO ARMY THIS YEAR? Miami Beach, Nov. 3. Sources (;lose to army officials here believe that the Army Air Corps personnel now quartered on the beach will be doubled before Christ- mas, and that with few possible ex- ceptions, every ocean front hotel and apartments of over four units will be taken over by the army. With the acquisition of the huge Hollywood Beach hotel as a training station for the U. S. Navy this week, indications are that the army is taking speedy steps to accelerate its training program in keeping with the rapid naval expansion in this area. Beach front hotel owners are un- able to state with any degree of certainty whether they will be per- mitted to operate or not, but the majority are of opinion that it's just a matter of few weeks before the army takes over entirely. It this ;s done there is a possibility that Collins avenue will be closed to civilians, and ocean bathing will be restricted to sections of the beach outside of the military zone. Rosh Grant Pic So He Can Get hto the Scrap Hollywood, Nov. 3. Cary Grant is making his last pic- ture for the duration in 'From Here to Victory.' now under way at RKO with David Hempstead producing and H. C. Potter directing. Filming was started without a f«mmeJead and will be ..riiStlRSi^to gompletion in time for Grant's call to the armed forces.' Working in the earlv scenes with the star are Charles Bickford, Florence Bates and Henry Stephenson. COMPOSERS ON TOUR Oscar Straus May Follow Romberg WUh Wm. Morris Agency BOB CROSBY TO FILMS His Men May Stick Together But Draft Looms Big Bob Crosby's band will make an effort to continue as a unit after Crosby drops out as leader Dec. 17 to devote all his time to films. He ha.s been signed by MGM. Whether the group remains to- gether hinges on conscription. Per- haps half the band is draft fodder and if they're called no effort will be made to replace them. On the strength of Sigmund Rom- berg's click concert tour, Oscar Straus, another name cohiposer, has contacted Harry D. Squires, of the William Morris agency, for a similar lour such a.? laid out for Romberg. Straus already has been in concert, but booking himself. Squires figures this opens a new avenue for other prominent song- smiths such a.'i Kern, Friml, et al. Hollywood. Nov. 3. Administrative difficulties of han> dling the salary setup under th« freezing law is illustrated by ths fact that studios are already asking every high-salaried actor to sign an affidavit before getting any salary checks, showing income he received last year and the amount he ha« already been paid in 1942. It is reported that the bookkeep- ing charges alone for both em- ployee and employer will probably cost more in waste paper and effort than 10 times the amount saved by the Government. Admittedly, a serious situation ex- ists for some who earned compara- tively little in 1941 and are earn- ing much more in 1042. With ref- erence to these people, some studioj have taken the position that they won't pay any more, money to them despite the fact that a particular em- ployee has not yet received the maximum of $25,000 net permitted in 1942. It is believed, however, that this situation will be ironed out shortly so that funds could be advanced to those needing cash and who have not been paid as much as they earned last year. Meantime, attorneys were ia Washington seeking an interpreta- tion of the 1942 situation as well as that for 1942. Actors, agents and other film biz artists and exec- utives are clamoring for some in- terpretation that would permit them to continue operations on a normal basis without running afoul of the law. Many actors were calling on agents and business managers to deliver their regular checks and the latter in turn were knocking at studio doors for coin. The general opinion was that the situation would not be entirely cleared up until the Economic Stabilization Board opens a Los Angeles office with a re- gional director in charge to pass on various questions as they arise. Considerable relief, however, wai (Continued on page 55) Another H'wood Play j Hot item amfjni! IcRit prouuccrs j is 'The Sweet Memory.' a satirical comedy about Hollywood by Dale Euii.son. who co-authored 'Guest in the House.' legit produced last sea- son. Richard Madden has the .script: de'CVrbC'i it as a 'Royal Family About Hollywood.' Trade Mnrk ReelBK-rcil FOUNDKD BY 8IME RILVBRMAN PoblUhcd Wnklj hy VARIKTY. In>. Sid Silverman, ProaUlant. 194 Weal 4Gth STTret. Now Tork. N. T. BUnSf-niPTION Annual 110 Korelgn Ill SInffle Coplea. ... r 2C Centa Vol 148 No. 9 INDEX ■Bills .45.. Chatter 53 Concert-Opera 38 Film Production Chart 18 Film Reviews 8 Gridcast 53 House Reviews 46 Inside—Legit 48 Legitimate 48 Literati 52 Music 39 Night Ciub Reviews 44 Obituai lOs " 54 Orchestras 39 Pictures 5 Radio 28 Radio Reviews 36 Vaudeville 43 War Activities ..'. 4 n.Xll.l VAIIIKTV (Pul,:isli'.|J In lli.lK vvi.nH br I)ail.v Vlirli>l^. I.111.I 110 a ye^r 112 foreicn