Variety (Jul 1943)

ruMish-l w.-.-Mi- »i »>ki Hili Sliest. N«>v» Ynik, 19. N. T.. by Vmlelv. Inc. Annual »ubscilp(lon. $10. Single conic*. 25 ccnm.' Kiili-n-d Ma onui.J i Ian* n.mi.-i JJemnljer 'il. laui, al lh« 1'ual OCnca Rl -N>%» York, N. Y., under Ilia nut o( MuKll !, Ul). lOri'HlGHT, 1UI3, HY YAH1KTV, INC. ALI, HICHT9 HKSEKVED. VOL. 151 No. 4 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 1943 PRICE 25 CENTS CHEESECAKE 'Having a Wonderful Time in Reverse, With Mostly 4Fs Blooming in Catskills By GEORGE ROSEN It - j tar cry from Arthur Kobcr'.- 'Iu Wonderful Time' saga <>f nnl-mi-cts-boy in the Catskills. circa 11)37. in conditions confronting the iiiiiiiiMMi resort belt this summer. Th.u wistful gleam in the eye of H,e .-.icnng as she packed her suit- i-.i-e ami tennis racket and. with l>M"' springing eternal, ventured I■ ■ i: 1 1 (hi her two weeks' vacation in tin- hopes of meeting Ihe right guy. i- nfi-.e —lor tlie duration. h recent weekends arc any in- rl: l ii;.n: and ihe resort operators i:ly use it as a barometer, it'll hi' .'ii*t pickings for the gals this Mi':;:i:ri'. The best they can hope I n ..iy the resort ops. are .sonic 4!-'-. Min-e soldiers on leave or a h iii liul oi v.iiys on a last Hum prior i" li'i.il induction inlo the army. Hu In the most part, the 'nuhl guy' is i:nw ^I:i!11>111-11 in some army camp in' i- ahvad.v in. ci'scas. Whether this will keep the slonos. 'hi- tiookki-eper- and the salesgirls hu.iv. Ihe 11-oi l ops aren't prepared '■i ■ iv. They're hoping il won't. With Ihe regular summer season ciiln i.illv bowing in after the 4th. it's dill mill right now to feel the pul.-c | (.'miIinued on paste 19) Pascal's Mission to U. S. London. July 6. Gabriel Pascal is reported ready to go to U. S. to make final arrange- ments to bring Greta Garbo and Max Heinhardt to England. He would use them in the filming of Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan.' LEON HENDERSON GOES WITH BIOW AD AGENCY Washington. July fi. I.i ini Henderson, who resigned last Dec 17 as administrator of Ihe Office "i Pi iic Administration, and w ho h i- lieen mentioned of late as going "'I the radio as a commentator, n-nvc- closer to that field when he .win- ihe Biow Co.. ad agency, in N V tomorrow (Wed. l. Milidii If. Biow slated that Hen- di t-iiii will be 'economic consultant on post-war problems to the Biow ('•>. and its clients.' Pix Increase Use Of Oldtime Music Hollywood. July 6. A wa\e of nostalgic music is in- creasing lor forthcoming pictures, not only in those labeled mu.-icals but also in dramas, comedies, bio- graphical pieces and even in those dealing immediately with war. Tendency is to hark back to songs notably on the national longue from ihe eailv IDOO's to and through World War I. Look at Ihe list: At 'JUlh-Fox. 'Sweet Music O'Grady.' built around the song: •Greenwich Village' 'Slate Fair." to be treated this tune as a musical: 'Where Do We Go From Here'.'.' a musical com- edy with nostalgic stuff: 'Gone Arc Ihe Dav>.' now refilled to 'Times Have (.'hanged.' built around the old iContinued on page 1C> USO-Camp Shows For Canada's Troops Too For the first time since the incep- tion ol USO-Camp Shows. Inc.. the Special Services Division of the U.S. w '-r Dept. has just completed ar- ! i o .:i'iiicnts whereby American per- : ■""''<'■ • slated for offshore tours w.ll : '"• channelled regularly into the army 1 i-:-p- and navv bases of an Allied I' i' on ■■• the icsiilt of a series of huddles On : the past few months bo' ween f'SI execs and Major Raymond M i m v. ,,| t| u , Canadian Army, hit - ; 'el 'onioning in N. Y. on bcliail ol ; Hi'.:. James Mess, deputy Adjutant \ 'I'-n ial of the Canadian Dept. of [ Jiat i„ al Defense and Col. Edgar A iJear.m. director of the Canadian ■'■'"-> - Auxiliary Services. Yank '■ ' ■il \m!| service all Canadian in- i'-'^.it.i-iis before moving on to en- .'■nam the American troops. ' "i': the expanded Camp Show.- "Il overseas units moving New roundland "will spend tin -''"'icing the Canadian ttrmy, (Continued on page 19) Swimming Pools, Not Dances, Now Pay Big Profits to Ballrooms Harrisbnrg. Pa.. July 6. At least two of the eastern one- pight ballrooms shuttered by the pleasure-driving ban have been do- ing alright for their owners with at- tractions that were only sidelines be- fore bands were forced off single- date trails. In bolh cases the money- makers are swimming pools. Ray Harlenstein. owner of the Suiinybrook Ballroom. Potlstown. Pa., one of the largest and most lucrative pre-war dates ;n the cast, and the fir.-l to f.-el Ihe war's effect, ha- lonnii tile huge denial' pool ■ 1.211(1 rapacity on o.- property al- on-l a* .^tiong an. ca: ncr a* the ' C-»:'.'. i 1 i i'cti i':' page 02 1 FROM AGENT TO PRO GRID PREZ IN 1 JUMP Fiom vaudeville agent to head of a lir.: league prole i.mal tootball l--a:!l I- tl'.e ln'.ik lump l>c,::g made l.y .lark Davie-. X. Y talent rep. who lelt (or the Coa-I S ilurrlay <3 • to tak.- ovei the rem- Iron- Cap: Dan Topinng ol l'".' Marine-. Top- ping hu-banil ol Soma Heme, and ' a\ic- have been lon.g-1 iir.c pals avie- gets Ihe ti'.le n( acting president and general manager of '.he football Dodger^. Grable, Lamour, Lana, Blair, Jinx, Hedy and Donna Drake Rate Tops, in That Sequence —- Vagaries of Preferences DIME TO 50c. PER STILL By TAl'I. SF.CON From lieutenant-colonels to buck privates, and back again, service- men^ preference for screen st-rs are mostly in the 'pin-up' girl cla-s. according to unofficial dala accumu- lated by Irving Klaw. who conducts the largest mail order film still biz in the country. 'li s for cheesecake, more cheesecake, and not from Lindy's.' he notes, enumerating that the letters and orders he receives (Continued on page 55 > Lecture Biz to $8,000,000 in '43-44 StuEnvin as Will Rogers Stuart Er\yin_is Bet to piiyy'Will Rogers in the film biog to be niade at Warner Bros._ Bing Crosbyjwas interested in do : ing the Rogers role but the • deal went cold. Gertie Lawrence Weary Of lady/ Mulls Golden Play After Camp Tour Los Angeles. July 6. Gertrude Lawrence is all through with 'Lady in Ihe Dark' after 102 weeks ami will not fetch it back to Broadway next .-ea.-on. even though it is still a money-maker. After a three-week .sellout in Los Angeles and customers clamoring for fur- ther performances, siar declined to play the fourth week and leaves Sunday iin for a two-month vaca- tion on Cape Cod Legit star is figuring on a late autumn tour of European military posts tor the Entertainment National Services As.-ocialion. a British or- ganization of which she is vice- pre.-idenl. During her Cape Cod j vacation she will read a number, of i scripts, with a likelihood thaU- she . will slai in a John Golden produc-l lion on roadway in November. j LIFE WITH FODDER | : Hotel Koiifs to (irnw Vegetables , [ In-lciU of liltn lines ! In coopci al ion w^h the S. , ' Dept. of AgMCuiiuie. a number of hoivl- arc planning io convert their j roof- into \ :(■:■.r\- gardens :n a move I !o cope with tli'- lonci .-horlagc-. | i Idea. una', h ..- hec-n given Ihe ollicial nod Hon. Washington agri- : culture exci - who w ill adv i-c on ' :ypc- of soil. Ici'tiliz'i. treatment to j insure phmi.fii! nop... etc.. origi- : naled with the Kdi->n and Lincoln . hotel, in New York and the Rouse- ! vcit hotel in Washington. Total of ; six acre- on the three hotel roofs j being converted lor growth of Summer This Yr . With nitcries throughout, the coun- try bulging ufcdhc sides from over/ flow business, indications point to a summer season devoid of ihe acciis-. tomcd 30"i slump that usually ac- companies the' hot months. Many class spot.s ore staying open £or the summer, such as New York's Copa- cabana and the Hotel Plaza's Per- sian Room, and with remaining rooms and roof gardens providing a cool retreat, to people who can't get away from it all because of.the gas ban, talent agencies .generally sec a summer season that will put many nitcry ledgers in the black for the first time. It's a case of top talent figuratively naming its own price in most cases, with many places that ordinarily (Continued on page 53) Berlin's WB Musical To Have United Nations Theme With 'Inn' Format Irving Berlin's Humphrey Bogart- Ann Sheridan film for Warner Bros!; which he will do directly preceding his Bing Crosby-Fred Astrfire assign- ment for Paramount, will be a sort of 'Holiday Inn' with a United Nav lions touch. As with the Crosby- Astaire filmusical, it will have a serni-nilcry locale. lhi<; time an In- ternational cafe iii New York where the refugee talent meets. Thus, will be introduced some eight or 10 nines, all already written by Berliri, and each with an Allied flavor. 1 Philip and Julius Epstein, who aCr compauicd the Berlin-Michael Cuf- ti/ Ilal B. Wallis parly east,, will 'Continued on page 5:)) I are being I vcyelable.- cgelable.- and fruits. TEXAS BANS 'MISSION' AS FDR 'PROPAGANDA' Dallas. July 6;. 'Mission to Moscow' can't .find playing time in Texafs, as' -the: Hoblit/.elle-O'Donncll 'theatre peo- ple tell Warner Bros, that this is due to local antipathy to the Presi- dent. Former vice-president John Nance Garner, a Texas political power, is among the known op- ponents to FDR. Film is deemed to be White House propaganda in the Lone Star Slate. roduct. of trie post-Pearl Harbor era^ coupled .with, the 1 desire, of a V troubled people to learn 'what's the. rerriedyi'. an 'entire new' school 1 of • lupiinariips has sprung up in the lei-, lure business, which emerged dur- .. ing. :the past season as one of the most lucrative offshoots ot show feusiness:. ; As, a result,, the 'chin.ses- sions' of the season just ended rep- . resented a. $6,000,000 biz, with the^ - upswing-boys who 'saw it happ;-it' ; ; on the global fighting and diplomat: , fronts good ' for anywhere from .$20:000 to $50,000, personal gross: .. . the ; top lecture agents, currently , mapping their 1943-44 cfossicoiint::. routes "with a potential audience of.. 10.000 subscription clubs and a total . of SO.pOp organizations, to 'dra'w' froiii. are confident that, the;' season lecing;. pfr immediately after Labor D'a'y wilj see' a record, take of nearly $8.- OdO.OOO - chalked up ' via the war- ; tempoed gabfests and the .'.escapist', bodkin , which,-as in other phasf;! of^'show; biz, have ;been on-:the . - bound in'recent months. : '. . The $8,000,000 gross might even : have been achieved during the sear' son just, ended, it's pointed out,'-ex- ccpt for the fact that a number of .'. (Continued on page 12) FRED ALLEN'S FILM OFF; COMEDIAN'S 6-M0. REST Fred Allen, film for Jack . Skir- ball and Leo. Spitz, which Alfred Hitchcock was to have directed, is o(T. Allen, for one thing, didn't li the switch which Sally Benson, scripted 'Shadow of a Doubt;' the yarn. • For another Allen has been ad- . vised by medicos to take a complete rest from radio, picture or other .■as- signments until Jan. 1 because of overwork, blood pressure, etc. 'Stars and Gripes' Touted As Super All-Soldier Show ; VVhon//Stars and Gripe's,; an orig- inal 'aii-spldicr- musical revue., has its 'world premiere' at the War Dept. - Theatre ^t .Ft. Hamilton, N.' Y . next Ttiesday- night- (13): the N. V. drama - critics will be s'ittirig ih-judgmeni at the performance, • : It's the first time that reviewers' have bcqn;; invited. tii^ a camp-isppn-'. sored ■show, the invitations going out la.-t week from the desk, of Lt. Col. William C. Nicklas, Special Sevyice Ollicei; at the camp. Krorn advance .'rejjoris.- 'Stars', is .probably- the most ambitious all-sol- dier cam -sponsored, show yet at- tempted in this country, and the be.-1 army show, to'come along -since'-.'.' 'This Is the. Army.' '-.-■./-.;:;■'. ;; Words aricPmusIc w.ere written by ;Pfi:'. ■ Harold Rome, the- .composer- lyricist, - with other IJroadw'ay • .finalities-, havihg a hand:.' ping th.e; show together. -Director is Pfc. Glenn Jordan, forrrierly .with; Laurence Schwab anc! assistant to Otto Premiiiger at time' of induction. ; (Continued on page 53)