Variety (Feb 1943)

•aSCBLLANY Wedaeaday, February .'(, |t>i:t Rickenbacker Donating His Film Coin From Biog; Many Fancy Bids for Saga ANDREWS SIS. STANDOFF Oanclnr Vs. Sln(lii|r Andrews In Cuiirt Stalrmiilr BinK nf Capl. EcUlic Rickcnbackri-.*' hn:li-^t literary properly of the year. ' viiirh Winfli-ld R. Shrchnn i.- |4» lilm, brii;i;:hl offers far cxccc(lin« S'lOO.- •'(!() from major producers. All ma- jor companies except I'ara'iioiint wtTo liiddini!. incliidini! ic.->c La~ky, David O. Sil/iiick. Wariu-;-:. 2()tli- Fox and Metro. With relon.-ie not dellnitrly -fi . thrnii(.'l,i 20th. allhuufth Shcchaii >^: tiiidorstood makinii the piiriurc ai i that .slvidio, other distributor.* wore ; l:!.«t week reported still inleroled in ."iottint' up a relea.sinK de.nl. Il re- mains likelv tli.it 2(lth will di.-lrihute., threw out a couoterclaim by the llio siiiKUiK (>'■<>■ I'ally. LaVornc an<l Ma.sine. eon- spired with their a;;enls. General Amus. Co. and Ij<iu Levy, to force the (.laiicer.s fronv u.sinn the billing, which, the dancers claimed, hin- dered thf-m in their work. .Mfidavit.s and birth eertilieales were presented ti> the court by dancer Viviiin. and Maxine. of the sin;:inK trio, as proof that Andrews was uelual and not 'an assumed name. Motion lit the snifjinK Andrews .Sisli-rs to restrain Vivian ai\d Lillian .\n(lre\vs, dancer.s. rri>n'i olso billinR themselves as the Andrews Si.slers was denied by Jud««; Bernard L. Shienlac in N. V. lederal district court Monday il>. .\l the .-Jame time the court also Anionc ofl'cr.s turned down fur llie | <laneers charcinK ferein richl."! to tlie RirkcMbackcr .•iory was one of a S.idli.tMHI ;:uaran- lee with percentage which it is esti- mated would net $750,011(1 i.r bi't'.er li'r the ftor.v riRht.s. (ieurin.;; on a lop production budcol. Jvs.se Lasky iictted around $1,000,000 f»r Sor- Keant York" on u .somewhat .slhiil:ir deal whereby he received 2()'. of the gross over SI.600.01)0. Par Started a Year \t;a Paramount wa.s negotiating with Rickenbacker and Chri.-ty Walsh about a year ago for the picture lights. Even at that time yarn would have brought $100,000 or bel- ter. .Studio was still interested when Rickenbacker was lo.st. but later lost interest in the dcr.l. Threc'd;i.v.- after Ihe news nl hi.s disiippearanec Ave studios registered titles for pictin-cs based on the life of the aviation ace. Capt. Rickenbacker ended all spec- tilntion concerning his story with an ofTicial statement: 'Following a year of consideration ba.i^ed on frequent requests from my friends in the War Department and el.sewhere, I have decided to i>ermit the production of a motion picture featuring episodes in my life—a life which has embraced all of the op- portunities and many of the rewards in the reach of every citizen of these United Sutes. For this reason I have placed all arrangements in the hands- of WinfleUl R. Sheehan. who will produce the picture, and Christy Walsh, my friend for many years.' Understood Howard Hawks will direct the picture if his summer commitments do not intervene. Rickenbacker has often expressed a liking for his aviation lllms. Rickenbacker story, from accounts, supersedes and knocks out other yarn.'; about men lost on a raft, sev- eral of which have been making ftory department rounds during the past year. One of the first stories of this type in recent seasons was 'To Survive.' Another was The Raft.' while 'Lifeboat.' which Alfred Hitchcock is to diijct for ^Oth. is a yarn about a group adrift in a boat, though purely fictional in motivation r.i.d eoncerning men of various na- lionalitic;. Under.stood that Christy Walsh is handling the Rickenbac!;cr .sale on n |0'; fee basis with most of balance likely to be donated by Ricken- backer 10 wartime charities. Rights to the biog would, it is under.stood. include acce.«s to matt rial in Seven Came Through.' book to be pub- lished by Doubleday. Doran and "Pacific Mi.ssion.' which has been running in Life mag. Rickenbacker. in granting permLs- IContinued on page 18) it xctU cost money io dejeat Gennany, Japan and Italy. Our government calls on you to help now. Buy war savings bonds or stamps today. Buy them every day it you can. But buv thetn on a regular basU. Famous First Nights ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 'Watch Your Step' (Empire, Syraeuaa, N. Y, Dec. 8, 1914) Irving Berlin's first cfTurt at writing a complete niu.->lcal an.i i,. | the Initial Instancs of orehestrnilng a musical comedy >"'>'ie ,i, modern sense. 'Event wan emi>haHl/.ed by practically all the i\>'ii i^n- of Urundway'ahow business inakiUK the trip upstate fer the glvlni; Syracuse Its most gala thealrlcul event. Town had s> >n nm like It before, or »lnce. and they still talk aboi It up there, sii.iw a spontaneous hit. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ III* <» 08 ling Lisbon Chooses 95% Da S. Films, Best Goodwill Force in Seething Capital HAROLD LLOYD'S I PIC DEAL AT COLUMBIA Hollywood. Feb. 2. Harold Lloyd i.s returning to lilm production on a niie-p;cture deal with Columbia, slated for an early summer .start. Story, still untitled, will be on Ihc comic side, with a liiiyi' of romance. Mary Morris Kesumes Career in 'Harriet* Mary Morris, who abandoned Broadway several seasons ago to teach acting at the dramatic work- shop of Carnegie Tech, has resumed her career as a member of the cast of 'Harriet' currently playing a tr.vout engagement at the Forrest, Philadelphia, with Helen Haye.'i st.trred. Besides appearing in New York in such hits as 'Desire Under the Elms' and 'Double Door." vet actress was in Alms for a time. Schnoz'is Yaade, Radio Jimmy Durante shoves east from Hollywood, Friday <5), for five weeks of vaudeville, opening at Loew's Stale. Al.so committed to Camel air.show for three guest shots. Nazi Sheets b B. A. Rap 'Perversions' of Nat'l Customs in Yank Films Buenos Aires. Jan. 20. I.iki- the old-time Manhattan tabs, which Kloated in detail over unsav- ory doin-.-s. N'; r.i sheets here have recently begun a blitz on alleged nudity and perversion of national customs in U. S. picts for- the ptn-- pose. suppo.<edl.v. of ;)ointing out i iieee.s.sily for correction. Pampero, leading .N'azi sheet, for example, has been i>icking out the juciest collection of .stills in its moruue and hearil'.iiinK fact thai such sinir rcpre.-eiils an attempt by Holly- wood moyols to corrupt local .school children. One such, showing Car- men Mi.-anda. described as the 'Ser- pent of the Amazon.' declares that U. S. audiences arc given the im- pression that that's the way most latino.s get aroimd. Other typical attacks compare au- thentic national folklore with Hol- lywood version, with Na/.i editors especially aiming, to show how picts are affecting school kids here. JESSEL'S GUEST SHOTS 3 Next Week, but Turns Down Radio Serleii to Continue with Vaudery Todd's 'Garter' Dicker Hollywood. Feb. 2. Studio bids for 'Star and Garter' are being wciithcd by Mike Todd, with latter expected to clo.se deal with one of majors before training back to New York Friday i5l. Uypsy Ro.se Lee goes with pack- oge. Gillfflore in Hospital Frank Gillmore. former president of Equity and expcutive director of the As.sOciated Actors and Artistes of America, has been in Roosevelt hospital, N. Y., for the pa.st two weeks. It's his .second hospitaliza- tion this whiter. He is not confined to bed, but is undergoing a series of .stomach X-rays. Understood that Gillmore has a kidney disorder which causes occa- sional swelling of the legs. Improve- ment is expecteo by dietary meth* tids. and he will probably be dis- charged at the end of the week. WHL ROGERS' BOY IN PIZ Hollywood, Feb. 2. Harry Sherman has siuned Jimmy Rogers, .son of the late Will Rogers, to a seven-year deal. Gets featured role in Hopalong | Cassidy picture after tw'o years .in Roach comedies. George Jessel. frequently guest of late on network .shows, has turned down two com.nereial pi'ograms .starting March 4 and 15. due to prior plans to uo on tour with •Showtime' next month. Meantime, he is slated for the Jack Benny pro- gram Feb. 7. Duffy's Tavern Feb. 9 and Old Gold Feb. 10. I 'Showtime." in which Jessel is co- I starred, and now in il.^ 2Ist week, is scheduled to stay on Broadway at least 28 weeks. lopi>ing the 25-week record set by Clillortl C. Fisher's 'Priorities.' He then goes touring. Je.<>sel has meantime written two skits for Arthur Treacher for the new 'Ziegfeld Follies.' By BOB MUSEL {Unitrd Prent correspondent reoenl- ly arrired in London) Lisbon. Jan. IS. From a di.staiiee il looked like a mob scene out of a De Milic epic so I (|Uiekened my step along the Av- enide de la Liberdede and found the eau.se of the gathering. It was an .^siaire-H<iyworth picture i'You'll Xecer Get Rich") and. as my com- panion remarked, the United States doesn't have to worry much about lo.^ing the friend.ship of a nation whose choice in lllms is more than Q.l'; .Amcric.m. \everthele.s.< we ;:ren't re.siing on lilms alone for gou<l will in this aniaxinu capital of a nation balanc- i:ig itself on the needlepoint of ne\i- tralily in a world ;il war. .Amer- icans comport themselves like the well-behaved tourists they usually aie - j>ropaganda to the conlrary— aiid the American diplomatic corps is con.sciou.s of the delicate nature of it.s task. Elspecially .since the huge Axis representation would .flying- wedge anything malaprop. Best .shock fur an .American in Portugal is Portela Airport, where big transports bearing the .Nazi swastika and the Italian Ala Lit- torio designation, land. To must of us in the Slates the swiLsiika Is only a photograph or a symbol of .some- thing 'unpleasant, but the sight of i! actually smeared on a plane is nin- meat.' One of I he milde.sl ^enis in Jour- nalism. Jack Alexander of the SEP. beuan to ;irnwl like a lion at feed- ing lime when he lirst ulininu'<l the setup. He got even wililer when he found lhat the plane was a Doug- las DC3. sold by us to the Dutch and ■lolen from them by the .Vazis. Brazenly the Nazis land the .stolen plane riuht alongside the Douglases still operated by I he Dutch KLM | line. i Quick-witted Yank Eve;y now and then an .American j nghter plane will drop down, out of I t.tnt ....,1 I.A ; ....1 fi '. Mrs. Hondini Critical HollywoofI, Fob. 2. Hnrry Iloudini's widow is in a rritical condition following a heart dttack. She's been conilncd (o a rest home here for the past few weeks. ABBOTT and COSTELLO "A pair of good-lock charmi that (hi'na like gold al tha box office."— " KaU Cameron, N. V. Daily Nawa. Universal Picture* Camel Cigarettea, NBC Under Personal Management of: EDWARD SHERMAN fuel. ;u)d be inlerncd. They are now closely guarded becau.se. it develops, one of the .American pilois dropped n at the field and a few days later found the local constabulary as- toni.shcd at the complicated dash- board. 'I'll show you how il works." he .said, and hopped into the cock- pit. Before the police really knew what he was up to he was in the air and heading for his nrigina! <lesti- nation. About a year ago. when the ref- ugee problem w.ns hot—all the Nazi quarry of Europe headed for sanc- tuary here—Lisbon was a.ssumed to be the center of more inlernatinnal .skulldudggery than Riga in the days before the war. A ^ear is a long time and most of the refugees have gone, also most of the spie.s. How- ever, one prominent American In our parly complained that he was being shadowed and a native told us with an expressive shrug, 'in Lisbon everybody makes espion- age." Certainly the opportunities exi.st as nowhere else. The Germans re- cently opened a huge tourist bu- reau, well-stafTed. Also the Ger- man DNB news bureau has about 20 employees against two or three for most of the Allied outfits. Natives get a kick out of harrying the Ger- man tourist clerks with queries .such as: 'Can I get a ticket for Stalin- grad?' In Its window display the bureau had a photo of happy throngs at a hor.se race in Vienna. "They came." flipped a local Lisboitcr. 'to see the last meal in Vienna.' For some time nbw the Axis ha.s been- withdrawing ' from the .-iociol life of the city. I found no trace of them aroimd the beautiful Aviz Hotel, best in Portugal and formerly a private home oa Hear^tian propor- tions. But there were a few play- ing a dice game called 'Parade' and* roulette at the Casino Rsloril. 12 miles outside of Lisbd)i and Germans were betiinn inii f.i. eudo markers iroughly aiioui !;5), Natives play mostlx with .-mailer chips. Actually the Casino ami the coif cuurM>s are about the only nnorn- cial spots where Axis represent^, lives can l)c seen in any nunibers. Frequently an American loursonte will be .<!nndwtched between a .l;ip and (ierman foursome. One oi' the rurreiil yarns oround the ;;oif clubs concerns the Jap who beat up his caddy. Since he was a memte.- of the diplomatic corps the club could lake no action. But the next time ho showed up he was assi::ned as caddy u hulking. Iwo-iisiiil. lough boy from the provinces. Thais the only caddy ho can get. .And there ha.s been no trouble since. .Show Bix Show biz hasn't .-utfcred nutcli timn the war in Lisbon. alihou;:h ihe refugee trade from sliowwise i en- ters in Germany and. France i.s ;;one. There are a dozen or so nmvie houses and four flesh spots, all of which are loaded with native or Spanish talent. If there are any flesh stars in Portugal outside of the Iberians, they got no billing. As- laire-Hayworth seemed to be getting the mo.st play among the locals with a native prixluct. 'Aniki-Bobo.' pro- duced by Manuel de Oliveira. rim- ing a good second. Deanna Durbin and a Lone Wolf fllm also spotted. Mtcrles Few really top restaurants in Lis- bon, but forrigi. conlin;;ent prefers NcKresco's. .Night clubs : el a fair trade with better than average K<>- ing only to Ca.<:ino Estoril. Nina's and the Caluo iGreyhoundi. . l.asi iwn arc run by Ru.ssian.s. and nm-t of the plush piles up there at supper. Ermine crowd has charcoal-run aulo- motiiles on trailer-like atl.;chnioi)ls to reuular little ears .And iherp is probably the only black maikcl in laxis in the world—but ih<- piiccs are prohibitive. Moorish Bluex For nn American the best bet is one of those almo.spheric lilile bars and comidas icatericsi in ihe hide- out .sli-eets. If you're luekv about 1 a.m. OI thereabouts you in i;lil calch some of the 'Fado' singers, the Moor- ish ve.sioii of the blues. Whereas Americans usually lament the loss of a girl or boy friend, the Kados are occupied with depressing ari\«ice i>n the brevity of life, liie lul.lii.v ot happiness, the endless aiigui-h of it all. Usually they come in trio.s—• two men with guitars and a woman singer. High cheekbones and night club pallor emphasize world-weari- ncss of their themes—but drop a coin and they out.strike the cobra. Lisbon rates as one of the worUls handsomest cities, so it s surprismg to .sec barefooted peasant women with loads balanced on heids .strid- ing past ultramodern archiicelure Carrying things this way is suppo.scd to be the secret of the Balmate Goona Goona, but It doesn't se em lo work here. In fact, its effect is rather large and lowdown. Among other usual i!em.« '.voii have to have a license for cigarel lighters). Li.sbon has a 'uoise tax. payment of which permits .voii to make noise al a party after 11 )> in- Incidentally, on a slop at Hayai. capital of the Island of Hortj in ine Azores. I saw a bjllboard of a libn which appeared to be propaganda again.st bull flghling. The Portuguese consider the bullflghl a s|)..rtint event, rather than a straight killing- as in the Spanish vcrsimi. and inc picture was designed to uphtild ilu ir view that the bull .should have i.^a horns blunted, and face poweiml. young horses rather than the K' '?" factory fugitives used by the Spar.- iards. Ritses' Own Unit H011.VW ood. 'r>-\> 2 Rilz Brothers may laun< 1 ihe ■ The times; own pro<luction unit after el;:ii!ii'.- are .such that high Makes no longer'up commitment al Universal, wimn obtain at the Casino and the Japs calls for One more picture.