Variety (January 1944)

5 : XEGITlMAtE WeJiicstlay, January 26 , 1914 , L iterat i there might be some he's overlooked, No more advertising for the conn- he asks those ii;terested to send ad- j try editions of the N. Y. Sunday ditional material to his home in Bal- ■ News, effective this week-end (Jan. timore at 1524 Hollins St. 30.) Now costs a dime for an ad- Supplement . tentatively skedded, j " less paper of modest propovtionsi : (or publication early in 1915. ' ■\yhercas a year ago the price was a • .■ / nickel, and tor a substantially 'i. . CHATTER greater .arhotmt ol, reading ntatlers v. 'Raymond , ;Moleyi, is .'■ readying a. .Ads^^-'^ tbihe about the film mdustry. daily .cpuritry' editions.-^ Ne.ws , VBurris.. kiantle^^ .“Best Plays of ;|ment% ago as a -paper cdhservatibii ISOO-IOOO,’ be ;,pubiished peb- 9. . hn’easure. .' ideal tras to .'enable .metro-: ■ Richard .Aidingtoh, \vbrking on a pdlitan editiohs.::to.-,r^^^ much' 'biography of, JameS’.'M.cNeill Whis- paper as possible. ' Sub.sequently tier. : lOunft necessary. to cut diit :Canadian . - Philip .Keenan,, the. Mpvicland pub-.. . Circulation entirely^,,, y b.,' , • - lisher; ■tprAtlanta,,: .bymag Although, ad-less, .country •edition : distribution'.pariey,' '• yyilt be' : operdted, .at a big.. loss'. Of ' Fihn: .studios, bidding' for Niven .course, seen iikely'itliat.the News:,:will' ,Bus.ch’s^^'h^^^ the: Sun,” ; continue to maintain It at all costs, just publisl>ed by Morro\y. Country editions '..of the fi., Y., daily 'Terrence' '.'Kennedy, - West Coast help give it' that astronomical cirquiaT scribbleri in N, Y.- tO '.lDllow through tloii figure, biggest: to the^^w ®u several Writing assignments. Ned's doesnlt want' to reliniciuish it, ; Janet;Welt,; formerly on the edi- -i-, ' ; : 1 toritil staff of the N. Y. Journal-Am- ■ “Scotty” Restoh's Backirpund'^^ Hillman A. bit of background on James ' B. c Reston, N. Y. Times London corre- Sumner Welles, former asst. y. S., spondent, whose story on “Britain’s secretary of state, has signed a con- Fifth War Christmas,” considered "'‘th Hjirper s to publish his one of the journalistic ::classics of ;^drt^^^^ . , j. j ■ World War II, and reprinted in “Va- Walter Hacketl who just diecl was riety” on Dec. 29, 1943: “Scotty,” so a great personal friend of Bob Davis, nicknamed because ' born : in Scotland writer f or in 1909, formerly wrote a column .i : about N. YV'fOf the Associated Press. Pisherj Philly Reqord bolr He tlien went to London for the AP umnist, is penning a tome on Broad- and covered the British foreign of-: Way and Washington columnists for flee. He joined the N. Y. Times in Howell Soskin, publishers. , :v : 1939 ih iidridoii, then was transferred Press-Scimitaiv lost pho- to the Washington office of that ‘“S KBtoOU;P;negar,.t 9 ,^ paper to 1941 reporter . Virgil Pulling to OWI During the summer of 1942 he Overseas Branch past week, wrote a book, “Prelude to Victory,” , Joseph S. Fmley ruslMig a novel which had a big sale, following ex- ®°WPleBQn cellent feviews;: Following a short Auction call. Novel is his .first., ,He stint with the U. S. Office of War In- Previously wrote short fiction. fortoation, he returned to London for „ wV the Times, where he ls still stationed, PosPs, * saloon editor - Earl Wil^n, ', ' . ' - ^ for She mag. Piece is tagged. “The 1.' ' , V '.-i :' Man Who Knows All About Women.” Morris Office Adds Helen Strauss : ■ to his address The Wililam Morris .^genoy Is, atr to the Democrats meeting for the Wting-to bhild a : eomprehensiye jeffersbn Day dinner,: began: with Ms literary , departmettoe compliments: to this: personage and The most recent addition that present.- and thea paid his re- is m who dor the past specto to ::Postmaster General Frank 'i^ht years has been ass C. Walker. Esquire! It got a big story editor of Paramount. She re- tough “ signs there to join the Morris Agency ' to New York Feb. 26. Recently the Morris Agency added A !•* D Joe Schoenfeld to: its literary staff, ACtfeSS M16S tO K€C0V€r He will be located on the Coast. n/s n Ol ' Till after March 1. Schoenfeld left J(j IrOm jilOWmail WuO “Variety,” where he was! associate ' ,. ; , ,,,: .. : editor, to join the agency. *’P|*A|n|cp||'' H Miss .Strauss:.in. the east ■will aug- 11'.UllllSCU:; ,I1C| meht the department headed by Al- Action filed ip, New - York: police bert Schneider and including Berth court against Alexander H. Cohen on Kaslow. On the Coast, besides; bebalf of Elaine Miller aims for the Schbenfeldy Donald Hyde, Reece recovery of money ;which the :ypuhg Halsey and Margerie Lyon are showman is alleged to have secured staffers. ' ■ from Miss Miller, an aspiring actress. —' y According to former magistrate Louis Fa'iycett’s Aviation Award , fi.. Brodskyattorney for the plaintiff. Annual Fawcett aviation: award for Cohen secured $3,500 from his client seientifid :achieyement, an'nhUnced by Oil the promise to make her a star, or Fawcett: ■ Publications, ds' the aum' hf at least, publicize ..Miss .Miller’s, stage . $l,oOo:to tbe persbh, pefspns; or hr- .appearances, hnd that he wrongfully ganizatiori makihg the: greatest sih- retained $3,025 of-her moheyi ’ ^ gle cpntifbutiQn during, the year to.Virtually :■ the only . service that f! the toientifle advancement of avia- Cohen performed for Miss Miller, it :■ tiop as. a public service, The. win- is alleged, ■vvas to place- her in a net for, 1943 will be announced in small part: in “Bright Lights,’’ revue February. which he presented at the Forrest, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, MaJ N. Y-, last. Septeinber. .in. .assbeiation Gill Robb Wilson and Casey Jones with Martiri PoU and Joseph Kipness. will represent: the fleld of aviatioh The ■Show' was yanked,; after three: ill judging the Awatd ■winner. Judges performances. Miss; Miller: says that representing : the ■'publishers: are :W; Gohert spent . $4.73 Of the. money,, H. Fawcett: Jr., .Bill IVilliams and rnhstly for gowns, on her, b.ut w^^ ' Roland Cueva, co-editors of Me- to know what became of the balance, -chanix Il'i.Ustrated,,M.ag'azine. . ' . : ';i ' , Goheh and-Kipness presented:.“The ' . Duke of Darknes.s’ at the Playhouse, ' Baillie Names Dickinson N. Y., Monday (24). , Hugh Baillie. president of United Press, has announced appointment of , : ' ' , , , ,, William ';B,: Dickin,son as general Helett Alexander’Name . ■ manager for Australia. ' ci !,• 4 - e :-'-i.-■ ■"''''■ - ■ Latter succeeds Brydon Taves, OUDjeCt 01 COUrt CaS6 killed in plane crash at New Britain The right to use of the name, last Dec. 26. " , “Helen Alexander,” in toe ■ music ;■ .: ,, -■ ■, ' field will be decided by N-. Y. su- Mencken’s “Language” Supplement preme court Justice Aaron J. Levy H. L.. Mencken "back: to. Baltimore shortly. The court reserved decision after his N. Y. visit: and will be at on Tuesday (23) on the application home for the next year, at least, to for ah Injunction brought by Helen work on a supplement to the fourth Alexander No. 1, a concert and radio edition of his “The American Lan- artist, again.st Helen Alexander No. guage.” published in 1936. 2, in the same field. Mencken has already assembled . Helen. Alexander No. 1, through data filling a huge series of filing her attorney, claims prior rights be- , cabmets for the supplement, com- cause that is her true name. She a!- prising new additions and changes in leges in her sliit that .she was..subject American English. , On : the chance to ridicule in the musical field when ,- .- . ,I,'' criticism of a recital given by No. 2 in 1941 embarr.astod her. Aj|Bj|||r| CDCIIAll In defense, Helen -Alexander No. 2 vAIVIUCL rnCnutl : / ' alleges that she selected her profes- siNf F ,'sto ' sional name from a combination of ■ Plav Itmkprn mirl ''■ ' her late father, Alexander Berger, » i«y wwKers anu^ and her given name. The' plaintiff Authors’ Representatives asserts, that she had used the name theatre '■ ■ -■' • (N* Y.) "Hour of the .Air.” , The Diike ill ' Alexnrulor- H, ..C’.olie'n ami, Johsi'ph PV?»'d«ot,lon t)f,.tIn'K‘-act dram’u (one aeonp) by . HumlUon. Hlars Philip • yrile r fentili’PK Ktlgm* Htohli nhcl' jiOul«. IIpV” tor; IhilHh'l .llPntiprHOu;. spiiiiiBs bv Stewiirt Cbmmy; obohed ' I*Iaylu)U8t% N. Y., Jan. 21. ‘II; ton. - p GriU.imT.,., • • !v. ■;. ■ > / • • • .• f . Ktigar. .gjlphi I ’ Tho Duke of' IiUteiTaine.'.i Mpy.iS’nlP Voulnin Hnjniomt :Kuri* rimuvpt.......... .Htn.iu* CV»u|i’er ifcirteau-'..... ..;.i......,^^,olls Uu'hartlson Tlvo Dtike ot launovrO Louis HeHor fCre .(jount d’Aublaye...Albort C'iUtoII . . , . fDormnn .Lpomvrd Guards....... ..sv....i.; • Kalpli, Dodglris , 'l;Jo's.eplvyvlb‘Vy,-'■' Patrick Hamilton specializes in thrill plays as witness ‘‘Angel Street” and “Rope’s End,” although the lat-, ter didn't do well enough here some years ago. His newest meller is a one-set. ■ 10-character play with doubtful chances. ■ Rarely have all-male cast plays clicked, “The Duke in DarkhesS” be- ing: of that type. Author has reached way back for his story. France of the 16th century. Background is civil war. with the struggle for power among the aristocracy. ■<: At the opening Duke of Laterraine, who has been imprisoned in the castle of his foe, Duke of Lamorre, for .15:'years; is seen with his servant Gribaud. They plajr chess and quar- rel, confinement weighing upon both. Laterraine feigns blindness as a means of getting more: latitude in his quarters. Gribaud goes mad and his ravings hardly lighten the story. ' Lamorre comes to see his adver- sary, Uneasy that there may be an uprising if Laterraine escapes. He decides to find out if the prisoner is really sightless and an old test is made. A poker is heated red hot by Lamorre’s swishy son and the iron is thrust close to the eyes Of the prisoner'who does not flinch. That is supposed to be the thrill portion of the play. One of prisoner’s followers has been planted among the castle staff but has a difficult time convincing the duke of his identity. Then an involved escape is planned which takes up 'considerable time. It is necessary to get rid of the servant by poison and the body is tossed to the courtyard, a long rope indi- cating that Laterraine has : escaped, while his servant Avas killed in the attempt. Way is paved for Lamorre to scurry for assistance, while the prisoner’s henchmen appear and they leave the castle. Philip Mefivale is starred. ' It is nothing new for him, to, appear m costume drama and his Laterraine is good playing but he Is on the stage too long. That is the result of the limited use of otlier characters. Edgar Stehli is the servant who goes insane. His is also a merilable performancel 'yet, a madman’s raving is 'hardly entertaining-. Louis Hector is a character actor of standing, too, and his Lamorre may be liked by persons who go for this type of stage fare. Though the best effort by the young managerial team of Cohen and Kip- ness, the staging by Robert Hender- son is in and out. It seems to be a take it or leave evening in the thea- -. tre. ■ Ibee. Play Out of Town Decision Wilmington, Del., Jan. 21. . Etlw^rtl .Choate pi’oduciti^ drama .by Edward Chodhroy^ Sta'sed: by Auth^ ..Set- Frederick Fox; p.i'eseatcd: at Plny- hn:uae, .Wlluihifftoh, X)el,, Jan,' 21-22, ”44; $2,20 top, , '• Miss,Eaines.’;;to..V.;.:.-. Teaii" Casio Follx;.......,. ...; . .ii,, . iE’iclcie Van: iPatteti •Harriet -Howardv..i .Gwen Andei’Hon Rlgf?S:..;. .ThoTiias W, Ross ■Anderson. Hollister Brown. i.V. tRaS'mohd ;Girebhleaf Miss Baines.'.;;.... .v Felix Harriet .Howardv.. 'Riggs..;., ,'Andersoh..'.'..vv. * B rown. i.V. ^^.. .v. * Mrs.^ 'Bowen.. i,,,.;., I Jlin Morgan. I I'lenhetfi 1 F11zge ra 1 d i;, A. [.Tommy Riggs; rVirgie;,. [ Mrs.. May .Howardv . i I MasteiV.,-;.; ['Allen.'.'..'. dx ..•Peters...,. .., I Serg«>ant C'ar.ey r... C. .Grace Mills ■.Robert Ju.hlor Rusty' Bane., ., iPaiil Huber . . ..La,rry lingo Georgia Burke Weiie' ifaddern- (Crowley tfowai’d Srnlth .'..Lee^Kanford .. i . Raul Ford What may be among the season’s most cosily musicals is “Vincent You. maps’ Revue,” which entrained for Baltimorfc over the weekend dated to debut there tomorrow (27). It is the show whicli Youmans origir.aliv called “Good Neighbor,” and has none of the' composer-manager's ipu,sic In the outfit which went to Baltimdreiare 53 pit musicians, there being ion people in the entire troupe. . . ■ : A. L. Berman, attorney-manager, has Withdrawn from the Youmans show; Dick Herndon going in as general manager. Heihdbn was formerly a producer and operated the Belmont theatre. N. Y. He had been retired from show business and was manufacluring cigars in Philadelphia for the past several seasons. Tom Bodkin also resigned as company manager and will be c.m. for “Follow the Girls” (formerly “Ankles Aweigh”), Dave Wolper’s tune show. . ■ ■ ■;■' '-j, Youman’s revue has some difficult trouping slated, jumping to Toronto, where it plays next, week, then to Boston. Sliow is reported opening in New York at the Adelphi, currently lighted with Maurice Schwartz’s Yiddish drama, “The Family Carnovsky,” which is listed to cIo.se Sunday (30). Latter is due to tour to the Coast after one of the best seasons by the Maurice Schwartz Yiddish Art Theatre troupe in years. ; The Youmans show joins the group of Broadway lc,git ventures boasting a symphony orchestra. Show management has ■ corraled Max Goberman, Jprmer conductor of the Brooklyn, NYA and Bullet Theatre symphony oi'fihs, to lead its longhair pit ensemble. Reyue is somewhat off the be'aten path in that it’s produced by a popular composer but doesn’t boast, one of his own tunes. The score has been culled from the works of Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakoff and Ernesto Lecuona. Two ballet groups will be. headed by Leonide Massine mid Eugene Van Grona, respectively, with the Massine group dancing to Ravel’s "Daphne et Chloe” suite, the “Antar” sytoPhony. pi Rimsky-Korsakoff and a Lecuona score while the Van Grona ballets will utilize Lecuona exclusively. Alfred de Liagre, Jr., entered the Lenox HiU hospital; N. Y., Sunday for an emergency appendectomy Sunday (23), He was operated on just about the time the curtain rose in Washington for ‘Tlie Voice of the Turtle,” special performance being given in aid Of the infantile paral,y.sis fund. De Liagre, Jr., is presenting the show at the Morosco, N. Y., where ' it is a smash. Annual legiter given in Wasliington for the fund is “a com- mand performance.” Boxoffice at the 44th Street, N. Y., where “Winged Victory” is packing ’em in, is unusually draughty, result being that several ticket selleis have been hospitalized. : Corp. Lex Carlin, Jr., is in the Bronx area military hospital -with pneumonia, but reported to favorable condition now. Pvt. Barney Bowman was in the Ft. Jay hospital last week with a respiratory irritation and so the balance of the ticket staff was forced to stay on the I Job o-Vertime. 1 Meyer Davis, fprmer maestro and now probably the most prolific backer of legit produtoidns, Was compelled to shift “Suds In Your Eye” from . the Cort, N. Y., to the Forrest in prder to spot “Wallflower,” which is his first solo: production;' at: the former house. He also has a sizable slice of “Suds.”, Despite mixed notices, “Suds” has perked up at the b.o, “Wall- flower” bows in at the Goit tonight (Wed.). Lee Falk, Hearst-syndicated cartoonist, slated for the Army soon, has a new play, “The Passionate Congressman,” which Theron Bamberger may do. This is not the cartoonist-playwright’s first play, however, a script of his, with Sam Levene, having been tried out by Gilbert Miller at Maplewood, N. J., some time ago, although it never got to Broadway. • Report that Jack & Heintz will back Harry Green’s Broadway play with $50,0(10 is denied by William S. Jack, prez of the Cleveland defense plaiiti Said he and employees are too busy raising $30,000,000 for company’s post- war expansion to go iuto shpw biz. :: average audience restless. Edward Choate has given it an excellent pro- ductioh and the acting generally is first rate. Some fine writing high- lights the dramatic moments, and while the comedy touches are few and far between, they in no way interfoie with the play’s “message.” The plot revolves around a high- school professor “in a typical Amer- ican city” who, because of his love for democracy, agrees to head a citi- zens committee bent on destroying a political gang responsible for incit- ing riots between white and Negro Workers. The gang, in turn, frames the high-minded professor but the play ends bn a hopeful note a8 the educator’s soldier son takes up the homefront battle after being wound- ed in Sicily. Thomas W. Ross as the professor gives a thoughtful; intelligent per- formance, : and (close -behtod 'tolin is Larry Hugo as the soldier son. The latter’s homeoOming from the war is especially well done. Jean Casto pro- vides comedy relief as a disillusioned school ; secretary. Other laughs .are provided by Georgia Burke as a h p u s ekeep e r - turned - warplant worker. Hers is one of the most sympathetic roles in the show. Gwen Anderson is: a charming heroine, and type roles are well handled by Matt Crovvtoy, Paul Ford. Grace Mills, Merle Maddern, Rusty Lane, Paul Huber and Len D. Hollister. The author has staged his scenes vi'ith fooling, and Frederick Fox’s two set- tings are attractive. Klcp. SAMUEL FRENCH ■ •-. SINCE- 1880 • 'to . Play Brokers ami . Autltors’ .Reiirasentatives eft West’ '4fltli: Street, 'New Vork BU Went ttb Street, I.oS Angeles - In “Decision,”' Edward Chodor,ov makes an honest, sincere attempt to. present in terms of the theatre the homefront battle to preserve democ- racy despite racial discrimination, bigotry and fascist-minded industrial leaders. ■ Pulling but few punche.s, the au- thor holds to the thesis that powor- ful:forces are working to.destroy the same brand of democracy at home that American soldiers are fighting to , preserve : on global:, battlefields. While ho may not have written a popular play, Chodcrov certainly has fashioned ,.a cbritroversial dramS whoso main appeal will be to seri-;: ous-minded audiences of liberal viewpoint. ■ ,' ; At present “Decision” is in no shape for Broadway. More work must be done on it from practically all angles, especially in speeding up the toail-like: pace: and in overcom- ing the liandicap of long-winded -speeches which tend to make the Pemberton Lectures Brock Pemberton is booked for a series of lectures on the theatre, his fli'-st address to be in Pittsburgh Monday (31), with Evansville, Ind., ; to follow and there are a half a dozen more dates through February; Manager says he has no intention of taking to the platform regularly but will fill in while awaiting a play to produce. There have been few theatre talks on the rostrum for the past year or so. Several critics were formerly in. the lecture field, namely John Mason Brown, formerly of the N. Y. World- Telegram. who is in the Navy; Burns Mantle,, retired , reviewer for : ■ the News, who gave occasional stage talks, and, John Anderson, ot the Journal-American, who died last summer. ‘WINGED VICTORY’ (44th Street, N. Y.) Seeing ‘Winged’ Victory a second time, several things stand out. Fore- most, Of course, is the way the Moss Hart play stands up as such a spec- tacular, moving show. While famili- arity lessens the impact slightly, various things come to attention to offset this. : : One thing, apparent to anyone , versed in radio production, is toe manner in which Sgt. David Rose’s musical score provides mood bridges between scenes. That's typical radio technique arid is one of the artful tricks that legit craftsmen have been either too aloof or too obtuse to learn from the- broadcasters. tVith his radio background. It was a simple matter to Sgt. R.ose. But it’s some- thing every playwright; ' producer and director On Broadway could profitably study. It’s unquestionably an effective way to' sustain or. de- velop an audience mood between scenes—and it is practically never done in tlie theatre. As it was to his ‘Lady in the Dark,’ Hart’s writing i.s quite modern m form. That is not a matter of con- tent or subject matter, but of method. Whether it is the influence' Of films arid radio; with their quick riiove- ment and rapid succession: of short scenes. Hart has obviously absorbed -sometning of that style of story-tell- ing. He also uses music, dance, crowds arid, particularly to ,‘WlutSo<f Victory,’ a broader sweep than most playwrights do. It provides striking effects. ■■:. :■ ■ ■ As to individual performances, , 'Winged Victory: has: slipped 'slightly in some instances, but has improved in the crowd scones. Of the leading players. Cpi. Mark Daniels has lost the :'little variation and shading he originally had, but Pvt. Dick Ho'gan anci Pvt. Barry Nelson retain the edge of their playing. Pfc. Edmond O’Brien has avoided broadening his performance,, but Pvt. Don ’faylor now overplays a bit. The shallow- ness of Phyllis 'Avery’s 'playirig con- flrms the earlier suspicion that hers is a fool-proof part rather than a sensitive performance, but Elisabclb :Eras;er .registers jiist as clearly, and Jean McCoy and Olive Deoring arc as cpttViricing as before; Of the others.. Pvt. Alan Baxter, Pvt. Whitner Bis- sell, : Pvt. Philip Bourneuf, Pvt. George Petrie, Pvt. Karl Maiden and 2d Lt. Don Beddoe are notable. There have been a few cast changes, and Sgt. Norman Leyden has suc- ceeded Sgt, Rose as orchestra con- ductor, : ■ Kobe.