Variety (Jul 1943)

PICTURES P&RtEff Wednesday, July 7, 1943 Shermans Loyalty to Oldti Rewarded In His Prairie Pic Sagas By JACK JUNGMEYER Hollywood, July' 6v ' Least fickle^ of film, audiences are the western pic'ure fans.' Harry Shermap, producer of the Hopalong Cassidy tales which have set a stand-, errf for prairie melodramas, says it's a fact. • Emphasizing his observation as a veteran showman, Sherman contin- ues, as he. has .for years;, to cast many old favorites of the chase-and-gim- fight sagas in his 'Hoppies' a; well as his more elaborate recent western specials.- These old time celcbs^-a few women, as well as men-now play only' modest roles,, sometimes only bits, where they sed. to domi- nate as stars. But .Sherman spots as many as he can -in every' picture he makes, and call's their presence a good bargain, for himself aj^ well as themselves. ■■ It isn't to be credited to a pro- ducer's generosity, or loyalty to fel- low oldtimers in the business,, this casting one-time top favorites who can still dp a competent job in the saddle, in a brawl, as henchmen of hero or heavy,' Sherman tells you. They still contribute more than they get, in the exchange which spells boxofficc for an entertaining picture —give more by their very names and •presence. ■■:..■ To the- legions of aging: fans who. sat .oh tbe .edge of the seat when they and these former-day heroes were . young and full of -vinegar and watched '' the hell-'for-leath.er rides, the battles, the decorous, romancing —to these elder audiences the stars of .yesterday are imperishable on the screen, still cheered; and constantly introduced lb. younger members of the family. A volume of such .testi- mony keeps flowing in from exhi- bitors all oyer, the country to Sher- man and to some other producers who ; more or less consistently use the oldtimers. Cavalcade'lit- 'Buffalo Bill' Among the one-time top names, generally but hot always associated with westerns and violent, melo- drama of their heyday, now fre- quently cast in the Harry Sherman productions, including.'the forthcom- ing $2,000,00 special, 'Buffalo Bill,' he is making for- 20th'-Fox, are Wil- liam Farnum, Herbert Rawlinson Francis X. Bushman, -Elmo Lincoln Clara Kimball Young, Snub Pollard ! Chester Conklin, James Farley, •Ger- trude . Astor, • and' a. score of character men who never rated stardom but warmed their share of saddle leather and gun. barrels in the elder west- erns and through many, of the 51 'Hopalongs' Sherman has produced since he translated the first Clarence E. Mulford Bar-20 tale in 1935. So, while wartime shifts of popu- lation and. economy are 'shuffling motion picture audiences into new patterns^putting new type of pa- tronage into old houses and vice versa—and compelling exhibitors to alter some of their fixed ideas about what 'folks like and don't like," the fans who were responsible for the stardom of many of the elder names, still are strong partisans .for them and continue to pay to see them. Nothing fickle about these patrons, who are reported going as far as gas rations will permit to catch a glimpse of the vets who have never lost their heroic character or name value for the western steadies, as Sherman has discovered. Final Details Okayed In DeL on U Merger - Wilmington, July 6. ■ Merger of Universal Corp. anci Universal Pictures! Co; into Univer- sal Pictures Company was upheld in court of chancery here . and a writ of error granted by the Supreme Court. Merger had been : contested by Dorette A. Wise and Bailey, Dwyer & Co., both minority stock- holders in Universal Corp., on the grounds it was : unfair and illegal:' Adolph Schimel, assistant secretary of the surviving corporation, testi- fied to all details of the merger here last Wednesday (30). Now that the. agreement of merger was filed with the Delaware secre- tary of state, Schimel explained that notice of' this merger appeared on financial tickers and in numerous publications, it'was pointed'out that the Nr Y. Stock and Curb Exchanges had been notified of the changes and that-the only future trading is in the common of the new Universal Pic- tures^., listed on the Curb. Par's Quiet Weekend .Hollywood, July 6. Fourth of July weekend was the quietest of 1943 on the Paramount lot, without one: picture in . work within the gates from Friday to Tuesday. Only troupe on the job was on location north of . Sah Fran- cisco,' filming 'Frenchman's Creek:'. Two features; 'Hail the Conquering Hero' and 'The Story, of Dr. Wassel'l,' started today (T«es.), and four more face the cameras in the nertt 10 days. RKO All Set For N.Y. Sales Meet RKO contingent from the'..; : CL.ast' scheduled to arrive in N. Y.< next Sunday (11) for the RKO sales meet- ing at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, July 12-14', to join other delegates, is booked for a double-header baw ball game (Dodgers .vis: Pirates) in Brooklyn in the afternoon:' ..Ned E. Depinet, N. Petov ftathvon ■and other RKO toppers, will''outline 'sales exploitation; and production plans during sessions starting i/xl Monday. Three films to be screened are 'Behind! the Rising Sun,' The Sky's the 'Limit'' (Fred Astaire) r.nd 'Lady Takes a Chance'' (Jean Ar- thur). Parts of oihcis arc to be shown .also. : : ■ .■ Approximately 40 pictures arc likely to be announced for release during 1943-44. Also to be discussed during confabs will be Walt bUricy and Samuel Goldwyn- product. Eddie Cantor, is schedill'ed 'for-a talk oh Monday (12) before leaving for the Coast to take his product" m assignment on the RKO lot. Charles W. Koerner, v,p. in charge of studio production,' .and Perry Lieber, «tudio 'publicity director, are among those coming in.from tha Coast. - . For the first time, RKO field" ex ploitation men will attend a national sales sesssion. Exploiters from nil. parts of the country are scheduled to attend for prizes to be.awarded in connection with the Ned Depinet drive. Fun in a Browne-Bioff-Dean Tax Consultant Must Serve His Two Years The conviction of Martin A. Hirsch. tax consultant of Brooklyn, who was charged with committing per- jury before a special Federal grand jury investigating racketeering in the motion picture industry, was upheld on Thursday (1) by the U. S. Circuit' Court of Appeals. Hirsch had been released in $5,000 bail pending his appeal. He was sen- tenced to serve two years and fined $2,000 by Federal Judge Alfred C, Coxe last year. v - • Hirsch's trouble started when he lied to the grand jury, about the source of the $25,000 cash bail he had posted for Nick Circella, alias Nick Dean, Chicago night club own- er, mobster, and former, bodyguard for George E. Browne, ex-head of the IATSE. Dean was indicted, with Browne and Willie Bioff, Browne's personal aide, for extort- ing more than $1,000,000 from film companies in the: motion picture in- dustry. Dean pleaded guilty and is now serving an. eight year bit. Browne and Bioff were later'convicted; re ceivirig eight and 10-year sentences respectively.: Hirsch had contended, that while, his testimony was false it did not re- late to a material subject, and, therefore, could not form the basis for a prosecution. The circuit court ruled, 'If the false testimony related to a material, matter,'! as we have held, guilt is clear. Therefore only a seriously prejudicial, error in the conduct of the trial would justify a reversal. The reqord disclosed' no error of that, character.' irsch was called before the grand jury on June 12, 1942, ..questioned regarding the bail transaction,! with the possibility of further indictment and to ascertain what! Hirsch had done with the $15,000, which was returned to him. He! testified, that, he had 'placed the money in a box and some of it I have got loaned out" when ..pressed for details. Hollywood, July 6. Bill Pine and Bill Thomas are go ihg in for comic' murder in 'One Body Too Many/ co-authored by themselves- as a starrer for Jack Haley. , .-. ■' Originally signed to a one-picture deal: for Rhythm Ranch.' Halcy's pact was extended to cover the chiller cliller comedy.. Zanuck Back At 20th Prod. Helm . Hollywood, July 6. Darryl F. Zanuck. resumes his old post in charge of production at ;2bth- Fox today (Tucs.) with his .personal attention devoted to films of national and • international character. One of his' early objectives is 'The Story of Woodrow Wilson.' Another is a story with a Grecian background, depicting the fighting spirit of mod- ern Greece against the German-Ital- ian invasion. Col. Zanuck. recently released from active duty in the Army, has called conferences of; producers, di- rectors and writers on pictures slated to get .under ay iiv the next month. Oh foreign policy, he .has assigned Robert Kane to return to England within the next six weeks to produce one picture, arid probably two, to take care of ( the British quota for 20th-Fox. !.' Atry. for'Boys From Chi' Scores Browne-Bioff For Their 'Singing' George e: Browne, ex-hoad of the IATSE. and William Bioff; his per- sonal aide, were accused of 'attempt- ing to talk their way out of Federal •prison sentences,' by involving .'the boys from Chicago.' it was charged by James D. C, Murray, defense counsel for the six alleged Chicago gangsters in N. Y. federal court oh Wednesday (30), before Judge Mur- ray Hulbert. Murray, in arguing motions at- tacking the Federal anti-racketeer- ing indictment, stated 'that 'Browne and Bioff are'attempting to obtain surcease from their sorrows by ef- fecting a general jail delivery of my clients." He intimated that Bioff and Browne had furnished information to government authorities concerning his six clients! in an effort to obtain leniency- for themselves. Judge Hulbert. reserved decision on the three motions, which attacked the sufficiency of the indictment, and oh another special plea through which the defense attorney hopes to prove that the statute of limitations bars prosecution and for a bill of particulars. Murray also sought a delay of the trial which is scheduled for. Sept. 7. The court, indicated-that a postponement would.be granted for at least another month, told the at- torney to confer with Boris Koste- lanetz, special assistant U. S. attor- ney-general, who will prosecute the 'Boys from Chicago,' at their forth- coming trial in reference to the de- lay sought. Murray charged that the indict- ment filed against the six members of the old Al Capbne gang was de- fective and fails to assert any overt acts by any Of the defendants in the furtherance of the alleged conspir- acy to extort money from film com- panies. He asked that the court grant his motions to' quash the indict- ment, The ' indictments were filed under the federal anti-racketeering act. Murray stated that he withdrew innocent pleas, only for the purpose of arguing his-motions. The attor- ney, also stated that he did not rep- resent John Rosselli,- West Coast agent for the mob, nor Louis Kauf- man, business, agent for local. 244, Motion Picture Operators Union of Newark, who are also charged: with extortion and will be tried at the same, time with the Chicago gang. They are 'all free, having put up $100,000 bail, with the exception of Kaufman, who is out on $25,00.0 bail. ;ttttt tttt f tttttft'ttf f 111 tt f 111 I I 11 I | 11 11 ) || | n lefty's Notebook By Joe Laurie, Jr. i» ♦« ** m * ** * * u ************** * \ >«♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ > | > V I , 4 > Hays West, Coe in N. V. . Will Hays, head of the Motion Pic- tures Producers & Distributors Assn., off to the Coast, over the weekend after several delays. He plans re- maining hi Hollywood the remainder of the summer. , While West, Charles 'Socker' Coe, -MPPDA vice-president, will stay in N. Y., being, due in as' soon as he concludes his series of public rela- tions . talks on the Coast. ■ ***** . Coolacres, Cal., July 6 Dear Joe: , ' • Aggie and me saw the 'Coney Island* picture and it's so different than the old Coney Island we knew. Of course, me and Aggie think of the old Coney Islahd^-Way back—Stauch's Dancing Pavilion, Henderson's In man's Concert .Hall, The Imperial Music Hall, The College Inn ScottJ Morgan's, Stubenbord's-Restaurant and Dreamland. ' - Henderson's was the first music hall oh the island to give a class varielv show and cater to women and children. It's last performance was given in .October; 1924, nearly 20 years ago. The first building of Henderson's was a wooden structure op the type, of a bungalow built by the father of Fred Henderson way back in 1879. Several fires which cleaned up Coney Island from time to time destroyed, a few Henderson sites in the 80's and 90's. A brick theatre was built on the original site, about 1897. ■' After the fires, lots of the.amusement.places played under tents. Inniah's Casino, on (he Bowery and Henderson's Walk, was the grand- pappy of the burlesque show. It was owned and controlled'by the Inman Sisters and was built in the early 80's. It was in Inman's that Alex Can 4 played stock burly in 1906. just before his big hit in 'Wine. Woman and Song.' It was in Inman's that Can- was.established as a comic. Inman's had no admission charge, .the barker yelped 'It's all free folks, all free come right in.* When you got in you sat at tables, and if you were a' slow buyer the waiter would wipe up the table with his towel. If top "slow, he'd spill slops all over your clothes. That was the way the waiters in those clays 'hinted.' Inman's had a chorus of 24. besides "the principals and they all lived above the hall in the hotel. . The performances started at noon and were continuous until midnight. 1 There' were so .many shows, comics would keep makeup on even when they went -out to eat. It was a common sight to. see Irish, "Jew, Dutch and blackface acts strolling on the streets in full makeup. There was no production; just a cycle of gals and bi Noises would drift in .from other" amusement places,-.but. the show was pretty good under the conditions. ' College" Inn's Names The ■•■College Inn had some of the greatest entertainers in America. Jimmy Durante, Lewis, and Dody, George Whiting, Eddie Cantor , and dozens of others. The gang would drift in .from Broadway after show- time and the tops of Broadway would be sitting. around getting laughs: I'll never forget-when we- played Henderson's. Right outside of the the- atre, Big Reilly, who weighed 300 pounds and owned a lot of the real estate in Coney Island, had: a. 'hit 'cm hard and heavy boys' racket—you' know, you hit the hunk of iron with a big wooden hammer and a thing.. a-ma-bob goes up and hits the bell away up in the 5,000's—that js.if you hit it right. Well, Fred Fenlon. Harry. C. Green arid myself, would be up in our dressing room, which was just opposite the bell, and we got an air- rifle and when anyone would hit the ihing-ein-a-bbb, we'd hit the bell with, the- airrifle. The marker would only: go up. may be to 400, but the bell would ring. Of course, it. got a laugh outta the mob,'but old man Reilly was raving mad. He'd climb up (about two stories)! and: see. what was the matter, climb down again,, then say. "Okay, boys, hit 'em hard and heavy; try it now boys'—and we'd hit the bell again with the rifle. I guess if he ever caught us he'd-a murdered Us. He never caught us. ■ ..-' Beer and Fix Then , there was Lang - ?, a beer parlor-where they ran pictures. It was very dark in there. If you were a rube and' ordered beer and gave the waiter a dollar bill you'd sit all day waiting for your- change.. You couldn't see the waiter's face and so didn't know who to squawk to about not getting your change. Plenty of sidewalk Maddonas in those days, too. Tops in eating.places were the Riccadbnna, Shelbourne, Tappan's, Felt- man's. Feltmans was the first' place to have crispettes. ' Many is the time Eddie Cantor 'and I went on the Coney excursions that , were given by the N. Y. Journal. Ride you out from the East Side, give, you a swell feed arid a ride on every gimmick in Dreamland from Chute-the-Chutes to'Tunnel of Love. Hearst would give these outings twice a week during the summer. It was a lot of fun for us kids on the East: Side. > Do you remember the Loop the Loop?. Women would faint even watch- ing it. ■ Papers: ran editorials to stop it; .strong men would back out Just before going on, but it made plenty of dough. I don't believe there has been a new ride in Coney .Island in the past 10 years with the exception of the parachute jump. Me and Aggie can still smell those hot dogs, crispettes, hot corn, and salt water taffy. And how about that silk candy? That was a doctor's special. Oh a weekend there were more lost kids in Coney island than all of Hollywood could adopt, It was a'great place, and I guess It still is—in fact, I believe it always will be. The air kinda sprinkles a guy with the spirit of youth, romance and adventure. 'I'll bet if you asked any sailor what boat he'd like to serve od, he'd say 'The Tunnel of Love.' I'd enlist myself if I was. sure to get that assignment, that is, if Aggie, would etay home. Best to the gang, sez . Your pal. Lefty. Hollywood, July 6. Tom Steele, inked player ' pact. at Republic. ..... Horace McCoy drew writing ticket at Columbia. William Johnson handed. actor contract by Metro. Herbert Marshall. signed three- picture pact with Metro. Sylvia Reagan inked writer pacl al 20th-Fox. Joy singer, ned by Metro. Guy Pearce renewed as makeup chief at 20th-Fox. Alice Eyland drew player ticket at Metro. Renee White handed player, con- tract by Jack Schwarz at PRC; Kermit Maynard drew player, - tract at Republic. Vi Athens' player option lifted by Columbia. . Byron Poindexter, dancer, signed by Paramount. Doug Morrow, handed actor ticket at.Metro. Ramsay Ames' minor contract with Universal approved by Superior Court. Dennis O'Koefe Inked contract at Paramount. ■ Elliott Reed's player option picked up by Paramount Extras Draw $1,800,000 In First Half of'43 Hollywood, July 6. Total of $1,800,000 was paid to ex- tras by film studios in the first half of 1943, with May yielding $354,000, (he- heaviest crop of the year thus far for atmosphere players. Statistics,' issued by Central Casting, show gains every month over' the-first six' months of 1942. Earnings in January amounted: to $256,728; in February, $286,803;- March, $274,000, and April, $345,860.. Wages paid in June have not been itemized, but are figured at about $300,000. - . Bill Keighley in Eng. Washington, July 6.* , Lieut. Col. William Keigh|fey, chief of the Army Air'Force Motion Pic- ture Unit, arrived In England Mon- day (5), it was' learned here today ! Tuesday). It had been originally planned to : send Keighley to North Africa to handle Air Fprce film- activities there. Whether 'he will remain in Britain or,continue qji to the African war zone was not disclosed by Arniy circles. ■■"■'