Variety (Jul 1944)

'■I m \ SCREEN STAG E WRIETY Published Woeklv at 154 West 46th Street, New York 19, N. ,Y., by-Variety, Inc. Annual subscription, fto. Single copies, 25 cents. Eulered aa «econa-clas» matter December 2% 1905. at the Post Office at New York; N. X., under the act of March >, 1879. OOrXRICOT, 1914, BX VAKLEXX, INC. AT.I, RIGHTS RrJSKKVriO. . -J,,: VOL. 155 No. 6 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1944 PRICE 25 CENTS NATL THEATRE I N FIX. RADIO -— ' . i — ,—_____—— _— 1 . f GI-Schooled Radio listeners Seen Cueing Post-War Switch in Ad Bally 600 Performers, Others Back to Work In Niteries As Result of Tax Cut to 20% After two weeks under the 20% + nitery tax only 50% of niteries throughout the aountry tfre open arid operating with talent, according to a purvey made over the weekend by the American • Guild of Variety Artists, About 15% are'figured to be normal summer closings, accord-. ; ing to AGVA, and are skedded to re- open in autumn, but the other 35% ;...ar« casualties of the former 30% tax, ' effective from April 1 to June 30. Renewed activity on the 20% tax basis has provided re-employment . for some 600 performers, as well as musicians, hostesses and others. Biz throughout the country is of up- and-down caliber. Swank spots -with top budget shows, especially those with name acts and name bands, are ; jetting the greater share of the i moola. Intermediaries with less cost- ly shows' and musicians are getting a' profitable turnover, with cocktail lounges and smaller places turning a profit sufficient to keep 'em going (Continued on page 43) U.S. Survey Shows Films Get 80 to 85% Of Amusement Coin Washington. July 18, Business survey by the- Depart- ment of Commerce discloses that, year af£er year, 80c to 85c of every dollar spent for spectator.' amuse- iments is laid down at the film thea,-. tre boxoffice! Department of Commerce survey Covers the years from 1929 to 1942 inclusive, and shows the ratio run- ning about the same year in and year out. through good times and depression. Figures show that, for 1942. for ex- ample, the American public spent $4,639,900,000 for every amusement and recreation (Continued on page 381 Ward Bond Hit By Auto, May Lose Leg Hollywood, July 18. Ward Bond, hit by an auto last night (17) upon leaving the premiere of "Since You Went Away" at the Carthay Circle, suffered a compound fracture of a leg and actor may lose the limb. . Driver or car claimed he "just didn'Lsee Bond" and wasjio. the police. ' ' '* Income Tax Sleuths On Payola Trails? There's a rumor in the music busi- ness that Government men, on be- half of the Treasury Department. «re investigating the payola racket practiced between some rtiusic men and bandleaders. There is no conlirntation of the reports,: but the men are said to be looking into the failure of bandleaders, Involved • 'in such transactions ,as .being paid for plugs, to list such - revenue on in- come tax returns. How such evi- dence can be : obtained is not /ex- plained however.. - System some publishers 1 tise of paying for plugs, from various lead- ers has long been a sore point with the music industry. There.nave been numerous attempts to cl<5an it up, to Helen Hayes Baits Fish (Then Hamstrings Him) In Upstate N. Y. Speech By HARRY G. SMITH Helen Hayes, supposedly enjoying a summer recess in Nyack from her theatre public, hit a new dramatic high , in a politico-comedy drama produced at Middletown, N. Y.. last Friday evenitfg (14). It was all staged by the Bennet-for-Congress Committee, of which Miss Hayes is vice-chairman, and it gave the ac- tress a crack at a different portrayal! It . was a gusty, convincing role played before 500 enthusiastic first- nighters gathered at the high school. Arnold W. Bennet, opponent of Congressman Hamilton Fish for elec- tion in the 29th District, played lead, to the theatre's First Lady, and at curtain rise started the action by giving the low-downbeat oh the con- gressman for his record and because of: his allegedly reactionary ten- dencies. But the spot feature of the performance was Miss Hayes. Although recently touted as a "Barkis-is-willin'" candidate to op- pose the Newburg solon and oust him from his seat on the Potomac, type of hyii ss Hayes has nixed the allegation. Of this, b tlt as cn i ef protagonist for-Bennet, she has made numerous appearances throughout the county in a civic repertoire piling .tip bad news for the Fish prospects this coming ■elec- tion. ■ Vi'-'-VV- /'■.-„'■''; " Getting a big laugh in her opening lines by rerninding the audience that "my advance agent. Ham Fish, has billed me as. 'The Great Menace'." the actress easily got . Into the full swing, of an .incisive commentary on the ways and works of the Ham What Ain't, declaring that "the con- gressman-has worked himself into •a great rage over, my daring to join my Rockland county neighbors, in their battle to -retire him, If I Understand him correctly—no easy matter. I assure you—he objects .to me on two bases: (1) I am an acr (Continued on page 38) AND NEW TALENT Drama Has Moved Into the Broader S jrh ere of the Screen and in the Air, Say Film Production Toppers —Wilk (Warners) Notes Rising Production Stand- ards STATURE By MORI K RUSH EX Increasing awareness among mo- tion picture production executives that America's national theatre to- day i?, in effect, to be found on the screen rather than on the stage, is regarded as one of the major reasons for the extensive purchases of play and book properties and the ever- rising standards of production. Im- pression among major film com- panies is that America's national (Continued on page 20) : ' BLACK MARKETS DRY UP CANADA'S B00ZE - ;-\ .'. Montreal, July 18. John Barleycorn has assumed the most vital role in his turbulent career as result of the operations of bootleggers and black market opera- tors in Canada. Where monev fails liquor now gets an audience. A case of Scotch settles many a business deal. Gilt of a couple of bottles of- ten gets goods for "the retail mer- chant or jobber to whom a manufac- turer might otherwise turn a deaf ear. ■' With many commodities scarce and the demand for consumer goods still strong, liquor has assumed strategic commercial importance because it is even scarcer.: Giggle water has be- come one of the arbiters in indus- trial relations, just 'as sheepskins, .; ■ ■ (C'ontiriued on page 43) • MERMAID SHORTAGE ■',': Mermaids are reported at a pre- mium this 'year; stymieing many a promotion for water-show entertain- no avail. Lately, it has been groWin_. according to execs, despite the threat merit, of heavy fines In code i'ormulate^'- War work is believed ocrupyjn ;-\rf'- the Contact Men's Assh,;: - ' most of the gals.' Sinatra's $40,000 Wkly. Stage Package Nixed Frank Sinatra is said to have asked Paramount theatre, N. Y., for a sal- ary of $40,000 .weekly for. a package stage show this fall, T.hiVfigure was to have«iric]uded a $10,000 per week band and several thousand more for accompanying acts, all to be paid for by Sinatra. With the collapse of negotiations following the discussion of Sinatra's terms it's probable the singer will not play the house this year. _ His contract with the Par, signed by him during his last stay there, is for a time "mutually agreeable" to both parties and calls for $4,000 weekly. Par. is asserlcdly agreeable to rais- ing this ante, in view of the singer's tremendous spurt in popularity since the pact was signed, but figures the 40G out of line. American Deal for Irish Station When War's Over Negotiations by representatives of an American broadcasting company with government officials of Eire have now been completed with the granting of a franchise for commer- cial broadcasting when the war in Europe ends. ''';.; .- -..«•''' The identity of the Yank negotia- tors and the name of the com pany concerned will not be divulged until the new station begins functioning. 'Carmen Jones' to Skip D.C., Balto, Avoiding Negro B.0.'Situation' "Carmen Jones." 'the colored-cast operetta, will hot- play Washington or Baltimore when it starts on tour; eliminating a possible "situation" anticipated at the capital because the show was expected to attract colored patronage on the lower floor, as it ha.s been doing in New York. "Carmen" road showings depend on its continued business at the Broad- way, where the attraction is holding to profitable b.o., not having had a losing - week since opening. No out- of-town dates have been definitely booked and the local engagement may extend well into.autumn. Staff of the National, Washington, was in a dither when it was first re- ported that "Carmen" was slated there, for the- .boxqrl'ice has stead- fastly refused to sell tickets to Ne- groes. "OtheJlo." with Paul Robe- son, will also skip that date, colored star having a contract stipulating that Negroes must have the same right to buy tickets in any part of the theatre wherever the show plays. Robeson, according to his contract, can walk off the stage without lia- bility if he discerns any discrimina- tion out front. Return of American armed forces after the war may result .in cohiplete revamp of the "overboard" com- mercials on radio shows simply be- cause the millions of Soldiers, Marines and Navy men haye been ear-trained by Armed Forces Radio Service to do without these ad blurbs. That's the reaction of servicemen, home on leave from hundreds of fighting fronts. The GI's .who. listen . to their favorite shows transcribed by the AFRS. hear n.o. commercial announcements at alL Hence, they are unconsciously being educated against such ad bally, aver these men back from battle areas. ; The radio shows so transcribed by AFRS are shortened because of this omission of commercials, the usual 30-minute show actually taking 2S minutes or less when transcribed ' without "benefit" of ad plugs. AFRS doesn't mention that the commercials are deleted but simply fills out the (Continued on page 2) 154 US0 Performers Await Signal to Cross Channel Into France Although USO-Camp Shows has had 33 units> or 154 performers, ready in England since D-Day to cross the channel and entertain troops fighting in France, there is little likelihood of any show people being permitted onto the Continent for at least another six weeks. Theory is that conditions will be too unsettled for civilian groups until then, GI entertainers, however, went right in with early invasion forces. ';.' . .;' Films were shown U. S. troops in France within 10 days after D-Day. First film to be screened was "Cover Girl" (Col) with 'Rita Hayworth. FOR TELEVISION