Variety (March 1944)

WAR ACTIVITIES , Wednesday, March 1, 1914 Films Made Part of Front Line Equipment; Beachhead Showings Within Range of Jap's Gunfire Tonic value of reo'.ion pictures is* now i-atcd. so highly by U. S. .inili- tary.^ ofiiciaisi,: tliat.' Ariisiwcan,' task' forces take film along wifh munitions alid set up proicction within a lew days after the Marines land in many cornbat sectoTs; \ At BougainvUle'the first film; was .ihowiva week a:tcr a 'beachhead \vas. establislledj with ' pic-: tures going on within a few hundred yards from the front Imes. In some cases projection was so close to the fighting lines • that the Japs could hear.the sound. Similarly, pictures were shown in Tarawa shortly after Iroopi landed there. In other combat zones the latest releases and often pre-releases, are being shown within 18 miles of the front lines. . ■ •With^^m^^ pictures now recog-. nized by virtually every offifcer in the II. Sm armed forces as the most liiipoitant factor in k e eping fighting men in shape, some 1,500 shows are being staged nightly in combat zones in various parts of the world. This compares with around 1,180 picture shows nightly in Army «amps in the U. S. Films sho-Wn so early after the 'Bougainville and Tarawa landings 'were not, of course, from the regular circuit operation but from the task : force . stocks. Regular circuit ftlms moved in a couple o£ weeks later:' When more troops arrived.. : ■ It is estimated by Army officials that around 90% of the men over-o <eas in various parts of the world get to see pictures. Approximately 10% • have, not been able to. see films due ■ more to the fact that there, were not enough projectors than for any other reason. At the close of 1943 there were over 2,900 projectors in use overseaSj as compared with 370 a year earlier. . Demand for equipment far exceeded the supply availahle Immediately after Pearl Harbor, and : 'It was not until the end of 1943 that tbe-deficiency was largely made up. . At tfie moment the Army is getting • all the projectors needed atid plans are to have an. additional 1,000 pro jectors, in- operation iby the summer of 1944. 19 . Army Exchanges • There are 65 prints, of each picture currently in circulation via 19 Army ; tContinued on. page 52) Mrs. Perkins to Canteen ■ Boston,-^PeK Mr,<;. O.sgood Pcrkin.s, widow of the late actor, has been -named ex- ecutive, director of Boston Stage Door Canteen by American Theatre Wing. She will work with the two Boston co-chairmen, Mrs. Maleom Bradley French and Mrs. Simon Waters. Mrs. Perkins returned to Boston following the death of, her hu.sband and now. lives in Brookline with her 12-year-old son, Randolph Scott's Findings on Films In South Pacific Hollywood, Feb. 29. ■ Films in South Pacific outposts are as up-to-date as those playing first-run houses in the States; ac- cording to Randolph Scott, who has just completed an 18,000-mile junket that saw Ijiim entertaining service- men in New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, New Georgia, New Hebrides, Es- perito Santo and Bougainville. Scott was : accompanied on the tour by. comedian Joe De Rita. According to Scott, so recent were some of the films in the areas he visited' that he found himsfelf play-, ing in competition, with his: latest pictures.' , First in importance to servicemen is mail from home; declared Scott, with pix a close second. Films, he said, are not only important to the G.I.s but have created avid fans among the island natives. A Mighty Bond Seller, He Jack Foxo of Locw's Columbia the- atre m W ;Sti-e,et:, ,Washipgton,';is tljo- city'.'! prize bond seller. Foxe sold a bond for every seat in first week. On,^i^ecOiui ■wock tAVO b6ftd.«'f b seat, . Oh thii'd w'eok hc.iiiadc it-thi'feq, lor every .scat of the 1,234. Now he's alter fqui'' t'o.r, each, seat in,;,liis iitti-; aiate! liousc'v, , ABCtlQn,' sale ,.of; riylori, ho.sc and hicrchandise donated by merchants , in, vicinity • helped out when the bidding slackened. Record isS considered remarkable, for Locw's Columbia is a movcover house, playin^g pictures after Palace and Capitol have run them. It gets a "slough' 'patronage. Plan Collections at All Shows To Hit Red Cross Goal H wood's 6,496 In Armed Forces Hollywood, Feb. 29. Red Cross survey of the military efforts of the Hollywood studios dis- closes 6,496 members of the film in- dustry in: the armed services. —fctst-includes-i;324-tnembors-of-t he- Screen Actors Guild, 233 screen writers, 169 photographers, , 121 directors and 100 studio executives,, in addition to technicians;,' white coUarites and manual laborers. : Griffis' Coa^t Trip , Stamen Griffis. chairman of execu- tive committee Paramount, on leave from that'post as chief of the-Motion Picture Bureau of the Office of' War Information in Washington, is on the Coast now on official business. While west he will huddle with Y. Frank Freeman; Par's v.p. over pro- '<du,c&n and presjdent'of the:A^^ lion of Motion Picture Producers, in addition to John C. Flinn, coordina- tor of the Hollywood Division of the War Activities Committee of the pic- ture industry. Griffis will be in Hollywood about two weeks; , Joe E. Brown, Fredric March Slightly Terrif, Ar my Colonel Writes ?15 ,000FACEUFTFOR STAGE DOOR CANTEEN Remaining on its present premises at the old Little Club in West 44th Street, N. Y., the Stage Door Canteen is ; going to ■ take ' on, the' lustre and class of a modern nitery; I*or that purpose it will close down shortly to tmdergo lavish refurbishing. Esti- mated that the job of prettying up the. Canteen and -making improve- ments will take two to three weeks et least and entail the expenditure of a minimum of $15,000. In addition to general redecorat- ing, the stage will be'rebuilt'arid.to kitchen tiled, , with , extra, modern icebox and other facilities, installed. Included will: be - cloakrooms for kitoheri and other ,workers, ^yith at- tendants in charge. Camp Shows to Pull In All Legits for Summer USO-Camp Show.s, Inc., is prepar- ing ,,to pull all, legit shows .ofE the' circuit for the summer.' Touring version of "Whistling in the Dark" has already been replaced by a va- riety unit and: ''Male Animal" Will be, withdrawn when it 'hits Cali- fornia. , Victory ■ : (domestic) circuit, with closing of "Whistling in.; the Dark" stands at one legiter; two concert units and 26 variety units, accord- ing to George Deber, booker of that circuit. SPECIAL SERVICES TO QUARTER IN N.Y. Washingtoi, Feb. 29. Army Special Services is in proc-; e.^5 of moving to New York where it will consolidate its operations more closely with the Army Ex- change.- . Move, in line with the decentral- ization policy announced some time ago by the War Dept. will also re- sult in a saving in manpower. From the standpoint of entertainment activity, the move to New York,: center of show biz, constitutes a dis- tinct advantage. ■ .; Brigadier Gen. Joseph W. Bryson;: head of Special Services, will re- tain his office in "Washington. In addition, there will be a skeleton staff here consisting of a liaison of7 ficer for each, division of Special Services. Col. Francis Kerr, deputy director of Special Services, , will head the New York setup. Special Services, set up 1 to supply recreation . to - the Army overseas, covers a wide variety of activities; It includes music, theatricals, disr' trib'Ution of. pix," athletics, welfare and the Arrfiy Exchanges. Film end works ; in ' cooperation with the in- dustry and WAC, and live talent is handled with .such groups as Amer- ican Theatre Wing; UEO and HVC. Uncle Sam's Callboard • ' ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ^ (The niirhoT 0/ the /QUotoi7j0 let ter, an ArmM colonel stationed someu'herc in Italy, for obvious rca- sojjs prefers to re?nain ono'nymous.) £di(o.r, "Variety": •'V.'e see quite a few-movie stars over here. Most of their shows are lousy. Too snort. They glorify the star and stooges. Joe S. Brown is tops with the gang. I'he British put on better showr with their FisSA shows—old-lime music hall performers. Some liave been out of the TI. K. for four years now, putting on their acts without a letup. Never saw a better bunch of trouper^ than thosfe actors and ac- tresses.- .- ., ■ The t eel ing among American GI's, and officers, too, , is that the stars, radio and pix; both appear here .lust to keep their names alive. Much, of their comedy is almost ^oo sophis- ticated for one-third' of the GV?, Fredric March was different. He, gave lis somR wonderful acting, seri- ous .stuff that was,so unusual that it kept everyone spellbound. He can repeat anywhere and the gang will come to see him. But if Abbott and Costello and a supporting troupe of 8-10 people could be gotten together for IVa-hour act; and about 50-100 such troupes were over here all the time, then we'd be doing something on a par with the British troupe. Few of our lads see ENSA shows regularly; when they do, they are sold on the entertainment. But to see a star all fagged out by one per- formance, a day for only flve-six weeks sure gets under my skin. The ENSA gang put on a two-a-" day for months without a break, and long shows, too. Some of the fault is with our own Special Serviced people in not arranging a better bal- anced program and not being Ijard boiled enoughi . f , Motion picture industry's Red Cross campaign teed off last Thurs- day (24) under the chairmanship of ' Joseph Bernhard with a Red Cross- breakfast at'the Hotel Astor, N. Y when approximately 1,000 industry reps attended. Bernhard and his campaign staff emphasized that the goal for Red ■ Cross collections during, the 1944- campaign, March 23-39, was $10,000,-. 000 or about three times as much as ■ in 1943. It was pointed out that, as a lesult, it will be necessary for ex-.! hibitors to have collections after : every , performance instead of once: or twice daily. : Among the speakers, in additiori to Bernhard, were Hend.Vson E. Van Surdam,'of the Red Cross, Max A. Cohen, Freol Schwartz and Sar» Rinzler. Huhiphrey fiogart. and his wile, " Mayo- Methot, will appear in a ishort subject titled "A Report From the,. Front;-' which will be used in coii-* ■ junction with the Red Cross appeals. Bernh.ird, menntimp, ^las— conti- pleted his executive stall for the campaign. Harry Brandt is to serve Ed Wynn Off March 13 On First Hospital Tour Ed Wynn will contribute his serv- ■ Ices to USO-Camp Shows, Ine., while heading the first troupe organized exclusively for performing in hos- pitals. Wynn starts March 13-on this- tour which will take him to ^ institu- tions away from the cities, which usually gets gratis entertainment from performers- in those towns. Outfit will do a show lasting about , 90 minutes in the hosp auditorium and : will follow with about three hours entertainment in the wards. Other CSI units play hospitals, but only when'they are on .or neat camp gi'ounds. Under :the present set-up;. Red :Cross has jurisdiction ■ ove^'hospital recreation activities., Consequently, the Wynn outfit will be welcomed by a Red Cross worker and will get letters from RC officials. Wynn's start will give Camp Shows a father and son team. Keenan Wynn is now over$eas. Gene Clark the Winnah ' ■ Gene Clark, former radio scrip ter and currently stationed at the 803d Signal TVaimng. Regiment, Fort Mon- mouth, N; J., : announced winner of fhfe- pne-^cf .play, ,coritest, sponsored by the special service branch of the regiment. Clark recently walked off with: first prize: in a short story ,con- test in the same series, Prize-winning play, "Flames at thg Dawn," will be produced at the post in the near future, with Clark plan- ning, also to:adapt piece for radio. - It's Lieut. lUelniker Now Harold ' Melniker, former aide to Howard Philbrick at Central Casting in- Hollywood, has been promoted to first lieutenant in Army, attached to the Security Division. X. Y. He is brother of William Melniker, executive in Loew's foreign theatre department. Gefirin^.to B;klyn Navy Yard Seaman First Class W. C. Gehring, Jr., son of the 20th-Fox western .'-ales manager, transferred from Nor- folk, Va„ to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Plenty From Pitt Pittsburgh, Feb. 29. Sam Reiss, supervisor National Screen, Navy. , ' -.,, :_, '■'■ " Jack Kluchman, owner of Trelon Cafe, Navy, Anthony Datclla, Rosecoe, Pa.; theatre owner. Army. Malcolm McDonald, maaiger, Harr- ris-Northside, Navy. Mike Pihoney, Warner publicity dept.v'Army. :.-', , - , : . , Joe Ursetta, .with "Icecapades," Army. - ■■ - - Warner Lund, Carmichaels, Pa., theatre owner. Army. Bob McFadden, ; nitery singer. Navy. \':; ,'o\,,--,-';, Val Donne, Warner manager in Tyrone, Pa., Navy. Joel Golden, ex-Par booker, Navy; Il'wood on the March Hollywood, Feb. 29. Bill Christy, scrsen actor, Navy. Maurice Tombragel, screen writer, Navy. ^ Vincent Price, .film actor, Navy. Dickie Moore, screen actor, Army. Jack Stevens, cartobn cameraman, Army. Joe Wolverton, bandmaft, Army< Hal Landon, screen actor; Army. Milton De,utsch, band manalgor, Army,-:.. . -,' * Wally' Kline, band trumpeter, Army. Robert Bushnell Ryan,, screen actor, to U. S. Marines and reported already to boot camp. Douglas ^Bagier, film editor, Army. Lon , McCnUiater, screen actor. Army., ■■ Ruth Penny, studio fashion editor, WAVES. - Bill Johnstone] radio actor, army. Flash Messjter, studio technician, army. Ben Lithman, screen writer, Army. Bev Barnett, press agent, NAvy. L. A. to N. Y. Lucile Atson. Nate Blumberg. Connee Boswell. Pat Casey. Charles Coburn. Norval Crutcher. Ken Dolan. ' Baihara Everest. Fred Gabourie. - Edmund Gwenn. William Heineman. . -Jesse Lasky. Tom lAickcnbill. : John;: Martin.'' ; .-,':-,,',;' :! '--;:,-'. Louis B. Mayer. Tess Michaels. Russell McKnight. Merle Obcron. Carol Sax. Howard Strickling. Barry Sullivan. Bill -«%dio )■ ■Thomas. . v .Mike Todd. < - ' ■ ,: June Vincent. William R, WalSh. ^ ■ Perc Wcstrtiore. Cliff Wbrlt. N. Y. to L. A. Edwin W. Aaron. Harry Ackerman. Artie Auerbach. Phj^ Baker. Mr. and Mrs. Irving Berlin, John Emery. Sylvia Fine. George Frazier. Tamara Geva. Jean Holloway, Danny Kaye. William F. Rodgers, J6e Schoenfcld. Sam Sbiff. as field director, Ned E. Depinet, dis- tributor chairman, and Herman Robbins as corporate gifts chairman. Harry Goldberg is campaign man- ager while Charles A. Smakwitz serves as publicity director. A na- tional public relations organizatidn with a chairman in every exchange centre has been appointed to work wi'.h exhibitor chairmen. , "Red cross at War" rally in Madi- son Square Garden,^ N. Y., was scheduled last night (Tues.) with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, GoVi Thomas E. ; Dewey and Mayor LaGuardia as principal speakers before some 20,- 000 volunteer Red Cross workers. Script was written by Ben Hecht, with players including Bert Lytell, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Helen Men- ken, Jane Cowl, Lionel Stander, Jack Austin, Eleanor Stebor, Selma Kaye, John Sebastian, and Rosario Antonio, Gus Gysell and John Golden assigned Leon Leonidoffi to stage the production, to which the production facilities of the Radio City Music Hall were loaned. - More than 1,500 theatres in the Washington, Detrglt, New Haven and. Denver territories were repren- sented in the four Red Cross ex- hibitor rallies held last Monday (28), Bernhard, Sam Dembow, Jr;, and A, : (Continued on page 51) OWI Needs Pix Aides For Reoccupied Terrain Feelers - are being sent out for writers, publicists and others with a knowledge of the film business by the Office of War Information, fpi-, lowing recent report .:hat some 480: men are needed by this branch ot the service. Believed that mOre men will be sought from the industry as more picture houses go into operation' irt reoccupied territories abroad. Raft's N.Y. Airers Before Pix; Back from Overseas George Raft, back in N. Y. after a two months USO-Camp Shows tour of England, North Africa and Italy, cut short when he returned to take treatment for a severe, at- tack of sinus and tonsilitis, expects to return to Hollywood about the middle of the month. Meanwhile he's doing two radio guestshots, on the Gertrude Lawrence show over the Blue Sunday (5), and with Fred Allen the following Sunday (12). His fighting-front entertainment troupe included Louise AUbritton and June Clyde, film actresses,, and, Bob Bain, guitarist and singer. Raft was replaced in this troupe, which is still on tour, by Harry Barn's, pianist-composer, one of the orig- inal Paul Whiteman "Rhythm Boys," who recently completed a three- months tour with Joe E. Brown. ■ Raft brought back an air medal, given to him by Lt, Douglas Mont- gomery, former filmite, to present to the latter's father. Dr. C. H. Montgomery, who resides In- Bev- erly Hills. During the trip, he found soldier morale to be high, especially near the front where fighting was going on. He reported that troops arc re- ceiving plenty of entertainment and seeing many of the newer motion pictures, including "Madame Curie" which was shown in Algiers When he was there.