Variety (Aug 1945)

50 LEGITliMATB Wrdiioijilay, Angiisl 8, 1915 'Harvey Advance Sales Involve Todd, Pemberton in 'Situation' ■ H.iiiidliiig 'and disposiiioh of ad- ■■ykiicf'-sale^ U money for ."iiar- ., 'vpy." Wth, Street, N.Y., has developed . into, a .■iitiiation between Bronk Pem- •bwlon. - hilS; producer, and. Mike Todd lessee of bouse Pembeiton h,is gone, on record as objecting to. with- diawal of any of such fundi- lioni the theatie's bo\ oflice account whiih he aHeget. recenll\ wa^ done .■Advance ..tor "Harvey . is around: ■■■■ $70,000. and around onQ4hird nt that ■ was allegedly turned over to Todd. Producer declai'es that the advance coin which will piobablv inciea^e to $100,000 a-s the new sea.son opens. • reallj' cpmprises trust, lunds. not ac' tually the property of producer or theatre operator until the date ot performance, because, it s refundable in the event ot cancellation. Tlirovish- ; FrwiJ^^^ his aUorne.v.. ■ Pernbertoiv has advised Juliu.s Spee- toi ticasuiei ot the 48th Street not to turn over anv advance money to Windsoi Leasing Coi p and Ihe ticket •sellers' union has ordered Spector to adhere to that instruction. .Whetner any toil) was diverted or Whether it was a move aimed to stait a "battle foi the 48th Stieel i~n I clear Todd loses possession ot the houje at the end of No- . ; vember. when it reverts to the o\vn- ei (Leblapg estate, operating the house under a corporate name) but it ih i ndica ted tha t _|'Harvev ^ will ~ confinue to ~do blX bTisine-s—Ion after that date. He negotiated for an extension of his leave but balked when the Leblang estate demanded hjlf the house profit retroactive tg last April, when the deal was pio- posed.:^ ■,■ ■ Because Todd booked ' Haiyey into the 48th Street. Pemberton wa.s ■ Willini? to move the show at the e-x- ■ piration of the lease. However. Todd . could not secure another theatre and ■ Pethberlon entered into a booking contract with the Lebteng peo- ple feeling he was placed: in the middle ol an argument between the ■ lea.^ee and owner.. Todd expressed no ■ : criticLsm ot Pemberion's move and : there were no ditferences between them until the matter of the advance ticket money arose. Big Pix-Mag Tie C'onliiiucd from .piige I ,sf-t df'sjiininsi.-buiUiing problem U.su- ally ' altenclant with .striiwhat' pro-, duction' by. pi'C'Seii.son purchase -of a I lUick ol scenery troin .Now York warehou.s-cs.- Froni the as.sortmerit he —m<,iiiagi^whip—up_iLh<itc\ei._llie_ play calls tot Scaled at $1 80 top with 537 ."seats, bouse can better $7,000 weekly on c.NceptKvnal Iji/.. Shows run Tuesda.v thiousjh Sundiiy with SabbaUi take being the; \veek.'.s'. i:i,!;htest.^' .Season set through Labor Dav. Literati martjr othev projects. Among: Atlas" .nsgo!l:iable. securif.ie.si. a.s listeid in the him.s last fiscal lepoit are holdings, m CBS Mai shall Field was recently le- ported being interesttd in the pur- chase of Libeit\, possibly tving it in' with Saturday Review of Literature .group . which enyi,^ioried a supei;- duper national weekly itiag embrac- iiig. featui-es from Life and.: SateVer uost Field-SRL gioup if it had bought- Liberty, would proDably have used only its title. Canadian mtere.sts were also de.fr iTfitely eveing Liberty. One Toronto . eiitreprenuer. who is clo.sely allied to'the radio field, is known to have otiered m the last week to buy the Gahadian rights to .Liberty : but to .have.:been told , that he must discuss' the matter with Odium. Latter is understood to have, turned the -Ca- nadian businessman down, declarmS he had his own plans fgr the publi-. cations. These plans are understood to be. a mag-pix tie-in on story pub- lication and initiation, with bi:.l' names Irom the screen and fiction fields, as well as big-name ' corre- I spondents. working for both Hollv- i GypoIa's Autobing : ■ Gypsy Ro.se Lee has joined the autobiographical parade. She .s do- ing ■.her: life-slbry for Simon & Schu.ster which has previously: pub- lished her myslery novels.- Gypola will expound on • life with mama and June" (Havoc, her sister), which she touched on brieth in pie- vious pieces m the New Yoikei and ' Vai lety." "CONTACT!" SUTUJiif*!' ertllion i>f (H)N 1 ACI BOOK .UatH -t^Virmes.-, Ail(irt^i4st's, ani,l 'suii: to, ('oiii;K'i in t he rtp.IdH Of STA.*n':. S( 'KKIi^.-N', IIA DIG. .A(3 KNTS. . N H". NT ( l .r BH. NIfl WHI'AVKKS.s ' M A* i A- /,f.\IOS, rM*HM 'ITV. Sl»OriTS. HAi- LUrr. AiUSir. JIOTWliS, eti-; i t pov'^i's botii. ■ Xew! York .(Ok! 1 IttUy\v(>(jd , aiHl iH',tilt" only t r^i'lp fi'ci in'>' ul" it.K -Winfl .f(i(H'(l.iniit iii;^:: ('ill rCtXTAC'r BOOK, will a)?ii1/:i)tt«.fr pjiiii.iinyvN'lU'ri* iii llit' riti.tftl'SS'ffttjis lU. (■-ii liiKia.'il't:, Vl-OO a , ruliy.,- ■ V. ■ . • TubliHlifif l.y ■ .. il.-jir lt;ast "iltli .s(rt'*?t II IIvuoimI 41;. <':ilir. Wise. Strav^at's 'Immoral' Rap Milwaukee. Aug. 7. The Port Players, summer troupe operating siiccesstuUy iii the fiubur- ban Shorewood auditorium for sev- eral years, are battling, a church faction which seeks to d;ive thf- companv out of its summer theatre on grounds ot- 'immorality. ■ The comedy. "Chicken Every Sun- day.' brought a coVnplaint from the Rev. Meredith M. Hogue. pastor of the Shorewood Presbyterian church. H« protested to the Shorewood school boai'd, which controls the au- ditorium, a high school and mu- nicipal hall.- Tllfi. pastor said that the play was "full' ot suggestive' and wrtrse than suggestive, lines, and . ot the mo.st- blatant profanity that cried to the very ratteis Theie wa~ ni loke- in .the w'hole play that was not bai-ed on sensuous: and immoral conduct.. In the eyes of your school children thfese preseiitatiolis^'held in I the school building; hiust seem to have the approvai; of the : school. Tills, to me, is the chief wrong, in i):.|/_ 1 Leo J. Landry, school board di- ! reclui-; made the discovery that per- I haps the leaise to the troupe was in violation of a State law which for- bade commeicrahprodurtions-rn high schools. Counsel for the Port Play- I er.'i -aiiacrted, that- the law' .did not apply .in that case. Meanwhile, I friends of .the Port pjayers cireulat-' l ed a pelitioh: of support. , I : The school board decided that, the Port troupe : could . finish its se^.soii m lhe hall, but -asked Director Mor- ton Da Costa to tone down the remaihing productipns'. , Da Ccsta I: flatly roXuscd,.' ;.':.; T S.«lves ^Jr.'ftliHS' C^atfting Ciietna Pa Aug 7 Thanks to the v\ai Chailes F Coghlan, director - of the Gretna Playhouse. Mt Gietna Pa, solved his problem as to who to cast tn the key role of ,ludy in '-Junior MitiS'■ being staged at the Gietna summer theatre for week: ending Augi \5. ' Goghlan was- giving the-:.-situation .serious thought when he received a phone call from Hermine: Munro. asking.)(,be could use herm a Gret- ija PlayhoBse~pioduction Miss Mun- ro,-it seems.v IS staying in nearby Lebanon: because her husband a ser- geant in the Armv. IS stationed at Indiantown Gao Military Reserva- tion. For nearly a year -she played Judy iii the -Max (3ord6h road coriir pany. of "Miss. ~ .lSiSes-Spilliira's~B«<>k ■ :'■';:- Chicago. AuiS. 7. ''Needle ip a''Hi'yslack."'skedtied to be, pt.ibii,shpa 'Aug. ,20 by. Whittlesey lldlise,- is, joint .eirort of Pence James, nitery ,critic oi' Chi .Daily News, arid Bill Spillard. lormer. bpoking agent. si.)iigpliigg( 1 and U S Buieail of Xaicolits agent now investigatoi tor National Boald ol Fiie Undeiwiiteis, Chi - 111 sloiy of SpilUid's expel lences with hophejds James and SpiUaid got:, togetiier: on -it -about twb years ago, when lattei' visited'Clem Lane, citv ed of the News on a ,song-selling .^ti-iit; .whereilflpi} .Lane .reterred .hini to James: Book, rather than a plug toi the tune, is the je.sult Strawhat Review Gloucester. Mass.. Aitg. 6. Vinaf^ Hrn'K;j .Siiiiniiei- ']'iit*.Um :pi'"tulill'l.kill (if ..' ■■.S;i.l'"ur"tl.'sy " .ViHlil.'''-;'vit»w "'.: pfity'. .irr- t-Wo- ;i<'i.s-|)y .laiups "Mufiuii'. I>iVtifl'»(l by Leotuti'd *t)(<'>(j . by iViilo 'I tuHiiaM. .At' Bnas lloi-ics .Siitmni»r 'rhi'iiuv.'- v;iuur(?H((?r,' i>pciiiiij( AitJi.' •V '■■(^.'■■^^ ■ :\ Brti I ,\jli L'l)liv ; . i . ^, ,n«>inh^v AljiVi'. ..■.'.. l!'l'.(>»Ky .\lK,\Vr.-(.', ; l>l MMrlH -r.of.l y ■ TJi( i 'j xitrr il>:»y|j*.;.,.. ,V, .IhcU Aiurtili.v..v.* i--^, <v*'iiiu'y .'J'illMKiiv... HOHr". Lal'dtHI , . , , . , ■.V' Wiiii*!)-. .-. ■r.kI; >lli!i "Willianif",.'., . I'cmiiy ,... .. .■ Mr,; Pe'flf|■..'...v^.'■,■ .( i iiiTi.v, Dun tifnn . .. IJiili .:,.. ..Willium TtM'i>: .WilOaiii Wtsysij ; ,. ..('Irti.li AVillianif*- . 1V'.;... i I .of) Nmv:i ... ,,.H.neii ^JiiiiX'y ....,. Velmu Elo>' toil .v'. ..TaiiifH ('iiylf. ,..'. . ftn.\ y 1 koinpt'l ..;. ;H,>ity iiiirtley' , Carl wriRht .. ■...; .Xii-li, ,pein(i». ,... V\' ill iy in. Siia I on .'.. .(!«orge Sot^lyi'i . Wiiiiiun K(''lii»*U'er .... .iSiu'-^lie Hniljft-' .....;. ... .!>(• .[Jitvis . ..'. .". AN'ril. UontlOH PLAY PUBLISHERS '. of ihta md many other ditt'iiguish»J ployt SONG O,:" BERNADETTE TOMORROW THE WORLD LOST HCRIZON • HIGHIAMO . FLING-EVE OF ST MARK BEST FOOT F SRWARD FEATHERS IN , :: AGALE ■ MRS. MINIVER> GREAT .■ 3 IG DO O RS T EP • KITTy \ FOVIE ■ HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY THE DRAIHATIC PUB1ISHIN6 C6. , Incorpoi'aled 1887 59 E. VAN BUREN STvCHtCAGO 5 1 New Plav foi Sajville SayMlle, L I, Aug 7 :"I'i{ty-Fifty,;' ''new fcbmedy-- tiy Andi'e't\^RosgQ.tlial,.jsaU .Sayvi.lle Piayhousfe;' AVee'k of Aug. 14. vyith .Clarence Derwent directing: Cast inciiides Margaret., Barinermaii, .Clay. . Clement,.:; IVTarforie Gat'eso'n., .John Venn Rosenthal authoied Bioken vTouiney,"' produced at the II luy IVIillei N Y, in '42 PLAYER •>»> LEE Scripts • Music - Ic/rlcs Sptcialty Material «i K. mil at.—-i.K. g.<»«i).t ( Iiiitoii (Coitn.) in the Black Clinton Conn Aug 7 Clinton Playhouse lot,al stiawhat, h.iLs season s hallway mark eurrpntly \\:ilh .not a redink week to date: With 'Kiss and Tell ' Abies liisli Ro,se." :"Blithe Spirit,": and ' :'"Ten Hjitfleliidiaos" already uhcler: Its.bs^lt. ■to: okay; grosse.s, current week::has P'Soldier's- -Wife"' likewise ''optimistic i from:: b.o, angle, "Johnny .Belinda" is due foi an August week with .lean Piatt doing her B»-oadway. role, Also, two late--season ..tryouts .are in the-pencil stage. : ...:.::■■. I Spot is opeiated by Sam W&s.sei- j man jndie presenter of legit and : vaude attractions, who has impre- ■rsariood iii fJew" Britain. Conn.: and Woiceslei, Mass He has licked the From prize-ring to barbershop, very slightly alter the manner of ClitTord Qdet.s with "Golden Boy," IS the theme ot the drama "Saturday Night' which now and again verges upon tai-ce. The budding -boxer barred tiom lasting: fame by women and wine IS. strenilously imd 'some- times ably portrayed by William Teiiv ot embMO Hollywood note again.st sets fai above the stiawhat avera:ge in Milo Thomas' Bass Rocks summer theatre. :: : At times this transparent play in .two acts, the end .of which is never in doubt. becau.se the first of seven soehe;s;dwirtdjes inip a series of flashr backs, creaks slowly tinder the cob- 'webbed rafters. Again, when, Terry, as Bert Murnhu., siffi.^a^,.-* m wan is''to' 'oKL-otlT? oetwecn torrid love and the lure of the rin.n. there is action enough to hold interest. , . Htwever,, unless tightened up, and pared down, this now .lames Hagan pla> hasn t a chanie outside the hay- seed circint. .What happens to the young pug never seems truly impor- tant despite the support- of _a v'alianll.y '.slriving; ciisl '■^ilcluding'^a" real cauliflovvcr liiejtchant, Loii Nova,' One sets Beit Mmphy first as a small town harber languishing over memories of his gloved pa.st.,: A bai-bershop.trip. with 'WiHiam- Weyse and CKiik Williams m suppoil inlci- ni itlenti.y throtighouLihe; 'play; sets the athibsphoro of otfier tiiho.S'. , .11' 'Nova, who has a fitful bit as!a .shave" custariieri - :seet}js: -lfes : subtle, than an expei ciued actoi who ,l?ii:ows nothing about light fania^tic.s, so much the more proof .that hii-has' tnllo' c'-' his own foitc with dis. .t^nc^i.pn,■;,:';vv'^ .^-^^ V'-vJ. An rfittul managei is Royal Rompcl as Qiiincy Tillman who fakes hold ,ol, jyiufphj* snd attempts ,tp ,.stee,i- iii-n'T ptfrt'.a duet of beautie.-^ :i.nlO' some .sei-ious busineis.s iii- - 'the rtng.. ■But.the lad. at firsst fai.thlul'tb Meleii Milrcy.' a dem I'lre- Lbtty' Davis, ifalls for: the mofe dazzling lures of RosiS Latobn, (Betty,:, ftartley). This lattei inlatudtion throws hjitj off his game He weakens as a pug eventu- alh mall ICS Lotty and ends up as a : ba r ber' w i th f a xij r u nijt^jd+ed^sS^piKit- '^n.cmo,i'ies. ; ','■',. ■ Nostalgia, personifi(<d bv heait- thiobs and ralhor nue coskimes and sets fails to offset a tedious postuiing throughout the piece. ,One is re- minded throughout of,, "The iStraW- beiiy Blonde' with ,Iim Cagne\ which went on a gieat deal bettei As the siren. Betty Bartley is UiscioUiily seductive. ..Helen Kiarcy, who eventually marries the pug, is adequately righteous and naive Waltei Cailvviight docs an excellent job as a wdilei and Velma Rovton does not appeal half often enough with hei poised'Chaidi'tei bit ■■: •■ .;•-•■' ,,:,-, ■ Dame, ' Ted Fiiend Sells Out Ted and Doiothy (Kay) Friend utilized a 2i>c Dell Mysteiv, "Cui- lains foi the Editoi' (by Thomas Polskyi to diamati/e then sale of the Lassen Advocate, Susanville, Calit. New owner is Lawrence E. Tdwe, director of ihe University; of Michigan News Services. His Mif Mis Fl-Dean Towe, will be assistaiit editoi'.- ,•"?,;:';';'.'■! Fi lend, veL N Y iiewapaperman quit the N Y. Daily Minor to achieve a liftinie: ambition-^owiung and publishing a smalltown: news- oaper. He bought the Lassen Adr vocale and two years ago forsook- the 52d Street beat (Friend was nitui v"-!^^^d-alnu-.efflent^ editoi ot—the Mirror) tor Susanville as did his wile. .Dorothy Kav; ex-Broadway p.a. Thev are settlingm the San Francisco Bay territory. Miss Kay has since become a licensed pilot. "Naked City'' XESqiiliii.r Bocnfsf *4)\ doesn't disclose -hii? real, naine. :'wil. liam MeCieery, edi.t6i' o£ Pin pictiira News, in his foreword likewisg speaks ot him only as Weegio - The excellent candid camera shots tiulv lay New Yoik baie as a Naked City'—an excellent tit'e, matched by the extraordinary lehs studies The captions aie mroini*! and biee/v nioie oi less in the \ei- nacular; and siriell bf-a bigtime N, Y. newspaper's city rooni and morgue^ ' because the shots aie a combinaUon ot both Th6 collection has been well edited and the pis, foim a moie oi less-contemporaneous history of oiir ' times as seen through the shifting scenes of New Yoiks high and low circles. ■ The emphasis: IS on the Bowery rather than the Mel's dwi mond horseshoe: in. truth the latter set only gel,into the book because they'ie newswoithy a.s fieaks or novelty shots, much-,, as Sherman Billingsley was "caught" by the lens, while visiting the Bowery s Stork Club, yclept Sammy's Boweij Fol- lies Abe/ "Variety" Pursues 'Em Stars and Stripes. German edition, recently ran a Story about a gal. in London who had turned: to. bui glarv, because ot insomnia, storv earrvmg the head; "She Shoulda Stood in Bed' Whereupon some GIs wiole in, asking since when had SiS taken on an ex-"Vaiietj" head writei Swank G»es Diieesl . Swank mag., back on stands' after a three-vear absence, will appear as quarterly lor duration . of : war, swinging to digest Jorm. next (Oct.) issue Arnold Shaw is editoi Chailc-, L. Markmanii: m.e.:: J9n Gnagv;- art director.:. --.■. .' - .- - ■ . ■■ . Uncle Sam's Ic Rovaltv Armed Services Editions of bEsst- sellers pay Ic as.a nominal royalty,: but give the books away to the service men. The penny is split 50-^ 50 between author and publisher.- Some 40 titles are printed up each and every month by Armed Services Edition, each running -160,000 copies- Hill's Fliidinrs ' Tommy Hill. George Matthew Adams syndicate cartoonist, has made a coast-lorcoast tour enter- taining iiv Government hospitals, and while in California tied up Jack London s "Sea Wolt for a new comic serial. Qn his own. simply bv visiting editors along the way. Hill picked up 126 papets to add to hi-, string and lepoiti that editois to a man hold the view that aiisoon as the war IS over there's going, to be a general housecleanmg of all old deadwood and an introduction of new features and new comic strips. Towne's Gemutlich Biog Cljiv,!.-» ; ,Hanson Towne s autobiog, ■-(^ ' I Si Ooji (Messnei U) is la gemutlich: book which harks back I to an. era of literary graces and I thespic distinction. The venerable I edi(or-authoripoet-actor (he was 1 born in 1877. so that qualifie.s him for the : Venerable League), chattily 1 riiscour.ses on Dreiser,<,McClure'.s.and Bernhardt. Hopewell, Masetield. the Siiiait Set and Mis TisReT'Richaid^ LeGalhenne, Tarkington Sinclair Lewis, Hampden and Geialdine Fai- rar, : Harper s Bazaar; Mrs. Faver- sham:'.< p,arlie.s, James-Bfahch Cabell, the Delineator-and, the road company of,"Life 'With. Fathei'" in the .same stnde. Its easy, pleasant reading, Abel. , IVIoi'-fFenlhau; I'oundalion 'A Plan for Geirnaiiy is tentative title, of the manuscript contributed, to the. newl.y: founded . "Elinor: aiid', Heniv Moigenthau Ji , Foundation I foi Peace. Inc., who.se announced purposes is to^ ^^'oi^ for "the eiicpur- I agemeiit; of .individuals' and organi- ,;zatipns ,aspiring tor a world of fre'e-^ dom. .'peace and security,; 'and :for the Coordination, and direction of the- cfloiti ol all people in then attain- ment of such a World." Eleanoi Roose\eU MoiiisL Eins( and Haiold Hochschild will diieet the outfit which-L^Lhiiifiied-as a= non-piolit member corporation in papeis (lied with Secietatj of State in Albany by Greenbauin, Wolrt & El list Mpi'ganthau manuscript is the in- itial gilt and at present: the only tangible asset of the gioup, Oigam- nation IS to leceive all ploRt.s and diiectois aie expected to con.sider a publication oHef by Haipers at their first ineetiiig. - , Weeeie'a ''Naked CUy^' Arthur Fell f, who is the ''Weegie" o( PM, is s,o much betlei known by nom-de-lens ttiat even his byline on C1I ,-%TTKR ' , ■ : Morns Week.s. asst. m.e. at Look, loining Pageant m similai capiciiy Aug. l3. C. P. Chadsey Joined Grosset t Dimlap a.s- editor of the leterenee book department. Yorker doing a "profile" on Bennett Eugene Kinkead of The New Cerf for Life mag. T Sgt Heni'y McLemore now a'?- signiSd to Army Ground Forces . LiaKson Unit in N. Y. Reggie Callow assistant film di- recto'. .sold "A Yes Man Relaxes'' to New Yorker mag. ' Added to True mag staff are Alwyn W. Knight. Peggv Avisworth and Ignatius W. MacVay* - . James S. Thompson, jjiesident ot : McGraW'Hill Book Co.. i^turned oy plane from six-week visit in Europe; Rudolph Elie, Jr.. exrBoston mugg now m Paciflc as war correspondent ■ foi the Hetald, expected back in October. . : Jerry Dreyfus, former N. Y. Post reporter and fashions columnist, made editor of True's new monthly shopping dept. The life of Gus Edwaids going ■ into bowk- foi in wrll include a- chapter written by his iiiece. smgjiig' -i^i Joan Edwaids Beiore doing that Hevwood Bioun biog. Samuel Hopkins Adam's, has a .; novel coming up for Random House. It has a Iheatiical backgiouiid, ciiea 18M'S.. 7.'■;'■'. ■■': ■■ ;"' ■ ,■■-, i: '' '^, ■ Fi^ank': G.itibe whodtli.ii.t: aulhor and Hm w>,nter. has a-varn.-"Ask Me Anothei in the new issue of the |Giecit Ameiican Detcctue Stoiy ! Anthology. ■-..-. . I Gro.ssct & Dun 1 a p , publishe.'? I: Laughing- Stock. . collection ■ of American, humor, edited by Bennelt. I Ceil illusliated byCailRose Sched- uled .foi- Sept. 1 publication. . : I ■ Walter Annenberg, chiel , of Ti i- ! angle. Publications, and 'Keiineth Fiiede publishei o£ Scicen Guide, in Hollywood- for coniabs with: Cuil, Schroeder West Coast buieau head.' Chief Specialist Geoige F Folev, li USCGR has finished his book Smbad."-which Dodd-Mead_ wjU, 'publisil in Sept.: Deals With famed ma.scot of Coast Guard Cutter Camp- bell I.awvence Dame. Boston Herald-: Traveler editorial writer and "Vir riety.s"'. Boston mugg. appointed di- lectoi of Haivaid U News oflice' stalling Sept 1. Will continue at H-T .same time Su'imei, 194.5. edition of th?: Celebiity Seivice "Contact Book' ha., gone into second printing C'oii' : tains West Coast suoplement besides covering stage, screen, radio, nigi't- clubs, publicitj and piesi m Nei* Yori .