Variety (Nov 1943)

'Wednesday, November 24, 1915 PICTURES 31 Good M. C, Songs, Jokes Continued: from pace 4 Most train- people, just completing',one.on juve Iciil stage as is necessary overseas ins camps back homo Have . excel-j aeli ">qucnls. facilities;^ here -there are To top the above, the CIAA has, ' within the past six weeks, put out . some 12 films-on varied subject mat- for Some; ler, tisitig SAG members, and has an extended plan' to make more pics in the near future. Another source of revenue for many members is the dubbing in of foreign language sound (raeks.on films for the-OWI. with .Co-. ltaVibia currently doing French version of .'■'•■Men in Their, Life,'using some.-20 actors, with other language's .lp follow. Both Columbia and 20th-- Fox. which started Monday .122),to dub in the French, sound track for. •Claudia." with other language? to follow, have some 10. pictures sked- dcd'.for the dubbing process in each language. Next on the 20lh list is 'The Lady Is WiMing." lo.be followed by 'The Adventures. Martih Edeh.' ii. cnlcrlainer plays to 50 people or 1.(100 in these parts, '.but it seems , that certain facts' aiid' preferences are cunstahi icitarcllcssot the size, of the audience."' The mcii want terribly to have fiin.. ni'ul -pend ah all too short lioiir - ' another world. . For this: • reason/overmen's, troops are 'basically ri-fcpti\:<• and -will help' an act along, The. ■ ■ v^y way to win an audience is to -'ap.-on' i> bil, (The inevitable •\yiM> guy" Jia> to be neatly and tact- fully put io.' shame' or, discouraged. Tlie clinchci seems to be having a couple ol" the soldiers come up o'n4he age with you. 'fhis is particularly 'line when the 'crowd is not too.ja'rgc ihost of : the boys : know; each '. It is n big item of conversa- tion fur a week afterward., . ; Thciu ton', the. men like informal- -' •.-: JVm Burke, who plays Irish cops iir lhc niovie$, got up and lold jokes and .sang until ' guy* wouldn't let him go. He had found out; or knew fiqm his> own experi- thai smut that never re: -s the surface is the best 'dirty' joke you can fell a soldier. Most of the boys 'are thinking;, two. jumps ahead.so innuendo arid suggestion in n joke put il across. - A crack at. the. .'system' is always appreciated 'as the ;mcn always beef about it—Hie day this healthy complainingstops' is w-hen .w.e. have to start . worrying. Above all. be'natural with the boys; <lo«'t-'wa.vk.th«S' flag too often; if you gel 'sentimental . j'e humorously touching:, bring a good iri.c, and your music, .'song's., and jokes will soon have the men eating out of. .your hand— .which, would -seem to be the goal, of this type' of entertainment. Quite often I read that' the gov- ernment has trouble getting overseas jAsk Wider 16mm. Pix Use vahmloevs. Sonic of the big names Army s Atlanta Confab \K On Show Biz Technique * Holly wood, .Nov! 23.' "• At conference Atlanta, the Army. Special Services division, will- gel a lbad of know-how .on ' various' phases pasf masters. ' .. : •. ; Hollywood's contribution. the meeting will be George Jessei. d's- cussing 'emcee' technique; L. Wo'fe Gilbert, sprigwriling; Brian Aherne, aclin :Arch Obpler, radio produc- tion.. '■/ Conrad Tliibault goes south from N. Y. for. the confab and a studio dance director is also slated to at- tend. ...;-' :. : '-V. A. similar meeting for the Ninth Service Command is scheduled for Dec; B at Santa Monica, Cal. :.. Beer Out of Bounds To Coast Civilians • Hollywood, Nov; 23. Beer drinking has become an ex- clusive privilege of servicemen oh leave at bars and cocktaileries. Not that . there's a ' shortage of native brew, but dispensers want to be sure that there's chough on hand for- the furloughecs. .. Eastern beer, is; practically non- existent but may be had at, the. hel- ler spots by the regulars at premium prices. '.' ;■'■'• '.. First Femme Troupers ArriVe in New Guinea - ,' ' ' New Guinea. The first women entertainers 1o appeai" In New Guinea, arrived on pet;.30 by plane from the Australian mainland and.are natives of Sydney. Australia. Their lour- is under the direction of the! U. S. Army Special Service and .'includes-.Pat Foley, in-- geriuc: Iris Collins, female magician, best since Adelaide Herman, and six chorus girls, MaurincBrennan; Joyce Fletcher,' Betty Forrest. Betty Dceble, ' .Louise Harrington, ;-. Betty' Collins. Accompanying the troupe is Clyde Collins,, Australian arranger; .who writes the scores 'for the. show, which includes Gl'laleht available in each base the girls play, pile of the highlights of the show is the jitter- bug contest in .which soldiers, from the audience ante with girls on- sta Lt. Lanny Ross made a sur- prise appearance opening night of. the show. Gary Cooper. Una Mcrkcl. Phyllis. Brooks and Andy Acari, accordion, accompanist, are enroute to New Guinea to play ior the .troops. in the forward areas. They arecutting" their stay on the Australian mainland to a'minimum .in order to devote most of - lheir> playing time 'top side.' 60% of Stars Set for US0 Continued from page 1 USO-Camp Show» that the donVcslic course. CSI is confronted will) the prograni Avill be slashed in Jiaifj task of building up the vast, paid performer circuits. Faced ■-. with a steady shrinkage of available lalent, many of those-", currently servicing, the -camp* and navy ! bases in this country- will be asked to go overseas, •With, the offshore', program, from here on, get ling priority in attention,- img bases ica,"' una; o f shbw; business sce.rii to have paired •with the little names who\felt the call loo. There is no doubt or deny- ing that .art' overseas USp trip'is no cinch. This world is still a big one, and it needs people- who are big ■chough to bring 42ud street. Scollay Square and the Loop to a rough little, stage half-way around- the world. Many civilians and .showfolk don't seem to think- this is -necessary to win a war; whereas it becomes dally more ''.vital.. ■ The longer, a, man is away from home -'life, a .wife and kids: nd civilization in general the greater his heed is for tan ible re- minders. Actors—without greasepaint—who unglamorously care enough to come i over and spread a litlle.sun.vhine..can do much, to straighten a guy out when he needs it most. We need guns, amino.' food \ supplies, and trucks, but never let anybody forget that an hour of genuine relaxation does as much .toward attaining our victory as aiiy of these. Victory does mean blood, sweat ■ and tears, but laughter -and'gaiety' must walk hand ; in hand Willi lliem if the mission is.! to be acconiplishoc. A. Eliol BiiniJiom. Care Postmaster, San Francisco. On Gov't War Info Setup Washington, Nov. 23. Increased use Of 16 mm. equipment and non-theatrical films in . connec- tion ^ith the * Government's ' war information program were recom- mended last Thursday by the Na- tional Advisory and. Policy Com- mittee on Non-Theatrical Films. Reps met her* with Stanton Grif- f's, chief of the OVfi Motion Picture Bureau, arid C. R. Reagan, head of i he bureau's ripn-theatrical division. The 16 mm. people recommended: (1) fuller utilization of the printed word, radio and films for informa- tion on the progress of the war; t2> release of additional informational Alms dealing 'jri realistic .fashion' with .fighting, war bonds.' manpower, inflation'.- etc.: (3) .channeling of all goverhmetit "sponsored-'-pix through the 236 Iti mm. distributors for the more than 25,000 10 mm. sound projectors., in the U. S. lIpRj Training Shorts — Continued from pa[( I s Rickenbacker Continued from pigt 4 , tTSO Assembling Stock Troupe for Overseas USO-Camp Shows, is arranging as a'n : experiment lo send a stock com- pany overseas; to do a repertoire of legit attractions for the Yank boys in unirbrm. Troupe js being assembled With the assistance of Bert Lylcll, Equity president.' Under present plans, the troupe will, be limited to six actors, with .'the plays selected accordingly. Routing , and other details are still to be mapped, with: the troupe's off- shore stay depending on how favor- ably the boys react to legit "shows*. If the shows click, the company may be asked to stay over for at least a year! with subsequent units to -be whipped into shape in N. Y. If the War "'.. gives: its okay, the cast will also enlist lhe>ei\:iccs of exra'elpis in uniform at the vari- ous bases as bit players. Ih'uS per- niilling the. inclusion of plays in the repertoire that, are not limited to six pcrforniers. Among the plays lo. be performed are -The Vinegar ..ice.; The.First Year.' 'The Show-off' and "The Late • Christopher' Bean.*- The casi of six 'comprises Hugh- Rennle, -who will also direct; Ncdda Harrigan. Leo Chalzel. Jane Lauren, Blanche Faye and Stephen Dropping Legit ■: Decision to revamp the USO- Camp Shows domestic program, ..'.'■which will result in the climin:- alion of 30 Victory Circuit unils, in order 16 channel, more- 1 coin, talent, el.c. inlp the vast overseas . ehlertainmehl program, will also' mean the elimination of the legit attractions skedded jo (our the nation's camps and navy basei starting next month. 'The Male Animal.' 'The First Year*' and 'Junior Miss" are the three legit shows being dropped from the Camp Shows schedule, ' Wi.h word going out to the play- ers arid ''-directors on Monday 1221. Bcrl Lylcll. Equity presi- dent, had been aiding the CSlV execs in setting up the produc- liohs. Johnny Long in 'Yours Truly.' both of Which used plenty of extras. . Jack - Tropp. indie. .producer,: is. shooting one. on juve delinquency, ' w hile Bill Gahz jusf ebinpieted 'Sig- nals for Victory' , and "Music, Man- power and Morale." both of which the Army are interested in and: are showing in camps. Latter deals with music in defense, plants. Commercial Gr*vy Besides the number of films done for the Army. Navy and regular : jhort releases; SAG members are also finding' plenty of: revenue iiv cpmr mcrcial films being made by ihe major-'studios'as'-wcll as the iu'dies. On jho 20lh-Fo,x lot, Coca-Cola is■ at present shooting films of name bands and using extras, as background, while'Paramount lias' been shooling Pics ort 'electricity,"! electronics' along ■■with' Pducalibnal subjects for the .. rniy. RC'A-Victnr has been turn- ing out pics, with lhe.idea of selling •them to different plniits. while "Lucky- Strike-.has. alto b'ceii- making cohi- . . mcrcial. slibrls. Curtis Wi-ighl, i liihi ror anoUiei" hour.' The Ripley through Jim Daiidy studios, have ' was' the show-wise" execs rushing -been active, while Spot Films has j ickriibarkcr. thereafter, for his hut also (jiven plenty of work to SAGers. J (onraph—presinnably, of course, for March of Time is using plenty of [ llioir kids. ; frbm-within.. ickenbacker directed some of his remarks', . the, prexy of Warner. Bros. Pictures in endors- ing is opinions and also in mild refutation, using Russia's present im- portance" as a ..world .power as evi- dence of how unified direction could correct economic evils. Rickenbacker reiterated . his alti- tude that 'any American worker who dares to impede the .production -of; supplies is worse than. a. sabb.teur.' He stressed that' 'lob lillle .and loo late' is still a keyhpte for our far- Mung global front fighters, hence the need for lib absenteeism..■slowdown, or strikes, and thus he susfained the Russians* excellent record jn thai direction. 'Rickenbacker cited that .there are ! now 32 liihling- f.ronls. and. that "we'll be lucky to defeat Germany by late 194.4.' and that Japan slill presents a Tongv ..wcai-y..war. • 'We. will never live lo. see. the day of winning, back island-by-island.' said he. 'We pinst | --- -- - . k.o. Japan .from.' the heart, and then ' ii>_ii,. n f ITnnf' Pfltreaht 'its tcnlaclcs into the .Soulh. Pacific j -Kail}. QI nope 1 agtdlll will collapse, and even then we will ,. ■ Set - for-' N. ,Y. Jail i" 2 be faced wilh guerilla warfare for ' . '-,.', -',■,.• vears lo come,*Gcnileme*iv I point- -'M >':,^ [ 1 f ;l ^ ! \6 the SpanisiuAmcr=can war S'^K'•* P'.'.ih >; .;.r -.chjldr^. ,«» m V*». ; *'.<» ; proof of that.' ■'"-. ■',. ■■"',* .1 .Kurope. av ( )I s «ucU a I. Man:,a!lan . Rickenbacker spoke, for about | Ceuici . Y., .. • | minules aiid the show bunch aii opiiieil. . 'We could have, listened to served as the'War Dept; continues lo pour- aditional hundreds of thou- sands of troops into the.battle zones.' - It- was disclosed this week that USO-CSI, on the basis or the potential pledges,: is already in a position to chart its global program for the full year. .. ne of the first units.'going : out, comprising four performers, will in- clude Danny; Thomas/comedian, cur- rently appearing at.La Martinique, N. Y., nilery, .cither Paul>:te God T da i d or Ann Sheridan, and an ac- cordionist aiid dancer.. '• One. Year In Europe Alone An indication as to the unpre- cedented . program . confronting CSI during 1944 and the.vasthess'of the operation Is to be gleaned from the fact that in England aiid the ETO 1 European Theatre of OperalionsJ area-alone, there will be a solid year of playing time by Xmas. Similarly, it will lake six months 16 circuit the bases in the North African-Middle East area, with anbtheT"six months of playing time in Ihe Australian- South Pacific combat zones. The Hollywood . program ' wasi sparked by the volunteer'recruiting program of Camp Shows proxy Abe Lastfogel during the past : two months, during which time h<-\- suc- ceeded iii enlisting not only the aid 'of- 'the stars, but of studio exc -s as well. - ., .' , .. , ^ i _ . Lastfogel will remain oiilh" Coast J,g|" -. ( - •• .tinlil mid-December seltini; U"-e :, n(| ^ ( i,/ la i ttc effective Jah; 1. with only 30 Victory Circuit ,units to , lour. the,; nntioii'ji army-.c-ahips; ahd'jiavy bases iiislead of the CO' Ilia were lined, up. Move was made iii '-accordance with in- structions fh-nv the - yVar Dept. in Washington that liie oyeiseas 1 pro- gram bo give'- A-l. prioi ily oil. fund/ coin outlay, etc, The. far „, expehditures. talent, etc. As a.resull I to be covered.include Korth Afi at least half of the 1944 appropi ia- | tlie Middle East, ."Hawaii, Paha tioii "' earmarked for ..servicing "of i.tlie - Caribbean. .t*rea°V South Pacific; iroc'ps in jhis country is being Chan- aiid Southwest Pacific^ Siciiy-ilaly' nelled ' inic V the '.oll'shore progvani. tliealres .pf bperalion. NtHvfuuiidlai'.d, operation, ''' | Alask ,'Eiiglan'd i; Greeii'laiuj a'tid-Ice-" "" 'Uiidcr the all-out riplly\\Wl*"^.bi"-'j':! a . n .<!: ■'..■'. '■ '■ lizatidn, the fil'st batch of stars, it | — .-..'.-.■ —^'. was- disclosed tlus. wcck. will, check ill On'the foxhole circuit shortly alter the first' of 'the year aiid 'from thcii on there will .be a' steady flow, of names into the various theatres'of operations Tlie USO-Camp Shows execs are cognizant' of the fact, loo, that as Ihe. year progresses new "the- atres of. operation will have lo be - . . ... , ., ■ , icial recognition of the film in- dustry *s role in lightening the bur- den of. GI Joe at some remote base and a plea for more of the big nanies - from il'oliywpi^ . and Broadway to entertain Overseas are an editorial, 'We Could s More Bob Hopes.! in the 'Nov.' 19" issue pf Yank, - Army- Weekly. Editorial comments oil the. criticism directed at Gricie Fields in The Crusader. British Eighth Army's official .'weekly''-'• which. claimed that the comedienne, broke a date to enlertaiii troops' " Italy and ran 'off to America lo keep a- radio engagement. ' Chalienging the assertion by Th« '- Criisadcrs editor that .'all entertain- ,eis like Gracie should have been put in uniform at the start of the war and allowed to wear paint arid pretty clothes 'only while "they're perform- ing before audiences at servicemen.. • Yank retorts: 'If you slapped Betiy Grabie, Ann Sheridan, Abbott and Goslello and all the other Hollywood stars into QDs, it might inake the Army very pleasant, but It would also, ruin movie production. I.ife Is pictty gliim these days Jor GIs in re- mote parts of the. world, but, if ;it, weren't for the movies, it'would much worse!: . .- ' -." 'But we could use a few more per- sonal appearances of big name stars overseas, a few more people like Al- JolSon, who has' made four ''.trips to foreign theatres of'war, Bob Hope, Ray.. Bolger,; Jack... Benny, Joe E. Brown' and Andy Devine, who re- quested rib v publicity when he sweated out a recent journey to bur remote . bases in Labrador and Greenland." 'Most, of the troop .'entertainment in Ihis war lias .come from the -rank and file of ordinary show people— men and women" whose'names are not famous but who have been work-' ing on Ihe stages of camps, and over- seas bases without a break .since 1 Pearl Harbor. They dori".l'ru'-h hoine to fulfill radio obligations because tlie.y haven't, got any radio obliga- tions, nd they are not planning lo casli in on their Army-tour publ: -ily because the papers never nienti m themL We . have never, seen head- lines.- for .instance, -abbii I Maxin a lap dancer; Chrisliii aecordiohisl and singi-r, Joy, a- corned ten 1: Thos.'o three girls, typical ttn'fip. ch- Det. Show Biz Legion Post Rehabilitates New Vets . Detroit.' Nov. 23. With veterans of World War'. II slarling to join the American Legion. "World War l"s veterans are starting '.machinery in motion and lii:hig up a iiew progi-am; the rehabilitation of j additional stars for Ihe global ci,^ ^ wrf _ wcl - e - killed jn HC: soldiers of tins wa,, , . . ■ Undex an a,Tan gen ie,,t wi h ; (.„„, M ^ 27 ■ ,' tf43 ;-* vvhile Leader here. • ; .the ; the .stu.ho. heads, ^e.si-j.i:^ *ViU* bc.s^^.ji.jj 0u i.-. P i 0|; i h AUantfir" ba:.^i=."- leader' throughout, the country, is made, available tb LSO-C.amp. Sho\y.s , ■ , . ■ . -.'••. • ...>-", -., Detroit's" Theatrical I"o>l. made up - as cutro:.pefforme.is.f»r .p*«-ri«d ! '..of"i'it i ; \ '.' i'b'.'i'l. time that the huncl. edj Of vets of the'first war wl.o-are in ! weeks each. ' Conl.acls , Senerally i" r unpubl.c.zcd-.selt^ Mianu ^fimv: show \»-,.. who have appropriated provide for .such 'at 'liberiy'.' lime..a'1-j- p 00 ^' oi_i overseas duly, shared the fluids from their treasury for such'a *: ihoimh iii the- asf, shooting sched,- bui:<i< n . ihey have BCeji cai;ry:i g ; ..so •jiro-riini. The* move has won swift u'cs'"wf.-'re ar/ah«"d so thai t'licv wcreJ quietly with mare of. the lugher-pa; attention: froni ollibr. American Le'- \ divided into pcviofls. of' six weeks '' lam, ' : ' PCr-sonalilies- of , ilollyv.-., which have "started a-each.; Now they'll be s.-iiul-.vichrd in- .'*' l(l -..roadway. As far a - v.e I;; to one J2-week period of in-dr,in to. iherts nolliing holding tnein back.: permit for extended, overseas , War Dept. has never set a l.;::it play"n" tin: . 1 on the number of enleili.iner- a;- ■ ' ' ' "■'• : - iOwcfl in its'.'to'r.cign thOaVres. 'prob- ime Ailmlnlstralive I'osls ; ably b'-eause it has never l.r.'i' tn.-.iiy : Development of the N-i-.h Afriean.' dilYicul'ies along liiat Iii.-.- ,'May;.. A:i>t! r aliairand o licr vi al• ihea'.n- the fo.^1 and Ihe lod»mi;-' .-, : b* of op' iatioi.s -Ju::rig the coming.year- !lil ' be.-i-al times, but .\ye ztlsntu:?, lii.-iy al.-o re-i:-;- in tin- seilin-^ up ol' _ :! -"' ! . lt "- audiences w ; :i■ b.t apprec.- I'nfl-'.inie ,-i(l:nii,i.'-:r.-itivi- poslv. .-irhi- j'''""■:.' .-''••. - U,r. to t.!.e key l-:TO po. iimn held-by . "M.-a'-v-iiilcifs ie'poi ti-:l fi-..i:. :fl bvc-i ; I.altei- has be( n i: .Ihis j don . i,y John MaeVai:'-. . ,; ".. r-i- coiii:!i-y. for scve) a! week'- lui'iclli.ti'i • poller; there, (hat..Ki iiiV- M'. .'• ; e.r Lined up thus "far as parlit-ipar-.l- ::\v i'.ili (iaiiip . l'ioy,-s execs aii'l ih.-.v lb'■! Churchill, reporledlv-.irriiylcii oy tne in. the pageant ai'i: Jeri v Lr;.,ler. Bea | tlie Coa :i. >ec -ntK 10. hri.-lfllv With ' remarks ■ about Mi s. "le'iN. has Wa'.n. Jerry; Wayne, Song' .Spinner;) L^-lfogel an'.l l.ieln iiiai".;tiini" th'e '.oroen d -.strict cOn.^oivliip of' . lie quinlel, Sara'' At:n ' McC'abe. -Bobcaiiipaimi' v. i;ir.!i V-.ns far h;l.-. eul- } "•'."'. :h rii-y-V. paper pu'oJM:ed ;n ll'iward,' Henrv Jerome drch, Barry ■ nimaled in l!ie-poteniial 00 to- W.% I;al\\' Factor; too, .says MacVani-. has Sisters, Clu'is Ci'oss and Don Doug-i pledge of stars-- . been .!l-e paper's critical all'.lin'V! to- las. . I .In ad<lii;pii lo flic nanwr players';ward Hie lialian pulitical.siluytion.- giOn posts. mbi e nationwide, lb have the 'present Legion:' which lias been through tlie mi If.: act:' a < rehabil i'.atibn center, fpi" soldiers of this war.