Variety (Oct 1945)

RADIO MUSIC STAGE Published Weekly at 154 West 40th Street, New York 19. N. Y„ l>y Variety, Inc. Annual aubrrcription, 119. Singte copies. 26 cents, KiiLered aa secoiul-claas matter December 22, lyuii, at the Post Otrice .at New York, N*. r., under tht act of ■ March-3. 1879 . ; ' . COTIKICUT, 1915. BY VARIETY, INC. AIX KICIITS KKSKRVKU VOL. 160 No. 4 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1945 PRICE 25 CENTS PK AS EVIDENCE AT NAZI TRIALS 6 way Legit Ired By H wood Raiding; Theatre Guilds 'Protection Contracts Recent advent of agents into the* letjit field—such as Lcland Hayward with ' A Bell For Adano," and Milsjc Corp. of America (which represents playwright' Norman Krasha) back- ing "Dear Ruth"—again has stirred wrath among legit producers be- cause of inability to protect them- selves and the theatre from Holly- wood raids on their talent. They ."claim the agents have an unfair ad- Vantage in an allegedly one-sided Struggle. A legit producer can't tie an actor • to a general contract for his serv- ices: the contract must call for a definite role in. a specific show. When the show, closes or the legit year is up. the films can grab the actor oil. Aii agent, on the other hand, still retains control of his actor's services when the play is done, and can do with him as he pleases. Although most managers claim they're helpless to combat the films Wider the present contract system set up by Equity, representing them- selves as only a shop window for Hollywood, one producing organiza- tion, the Theatre Guild, has been able to do something lately—al- though not enough— in its behalf, (Continued on page 29! Ask Pix-Radio Co-op On Crime Prevention Sacramento, Oct. 2. Motion picture industry represen- tatives will be asked to present views on films and juvenile delin- quency at a hearing to be.held soon in Los Angeles, according to chair- man Lome Middough, of the State Assembly Committee on Crime Pre- vention and Correction. Middough charges contribution to delinquency of youth in "overdramatization by both radio and films of crime stories." Committee members are recom- mending that leaders in film and radio circles discuss cooperation in crime prevention program. 11 MacArthur Aide Tells 1st Inside SCREENING SETUP Stor y on Ja P D D »y Radio Pte BERNHARD-SPERLING'S 1ST FILM ON THE OSS First film by the newly formed U. S. Pictures, Inc. (Joe "Bernhard and Milton Sperling) for release via Winner Bros., will deal with the OITice of Strategic Services. It will bi based on the story of OSS opera- tions and background written by Lt. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MncBain called "Cloak and Dagger." It runs serially in Collier's mag with initial installment this week. First installment carries what is described as an "editorial blessing'' by Major-General William J. ("Wild Bill') Donovan, wartime head of OSS who may tie in with the picture in some as-yet undetermined man- r** her. Gen. Donovan is now alternate jurist to Judge Robert H. Jackson at the Nuremberg war criminal trial. •;■"•"■:::•> Any use of Gen. Donovan's name 01 ' . tying him in with the picture would set the Bernhard-Sperling film apart from others, about the OSS that have been talked about. Paramount yesterday (Tucs.l also announced that-, with permission of • -Major Donovan, it is preparing a Story to be entitled "OSS." ' ' Spyros Skouras On Biz s Future Spyros Skouras is one who is real- istic enough to concede that grosses must dip eventually—just when, no- body is quite sure—but he also fore- sees a continued boom in America for the simple reason that "the war i.s not over, at least for us. Wc must continue to manufacture for the world. And if economic balance? are properly struck, international loans arranged and treaties consum- mated, there's no reason why boom times can't continue indefinitely." Certainly, right now,'the film busi- ness continues abnormal and "just when it falls off to just normally good grosses nobody knows. Maybe not in eight months or a year, and then again maybe these lush times will continue for a long, long time." he states. The pegging of the British pound will be a factor. If a new British loan from Our Government is con- summated, its present $4.02 stabilized value may not go lower, although there have been, reports of a $8.50 pound. (Its highest in former years was $4.8fi. i. . V By ABEL GREEN Hollywood—and U. S. show biz in general'—will cap its war efforts at Nuremberg. Germany, around Nov. 15. when the first batch of 21 top Nazi war criminals goes on trial. The film and general show biz in- fluence will be dominant. The Office of Strategic Services' film record, made by such pix peo- ple as Commander John Ford, direc- tor George Stevens. Navy Lt. Ray Kellogg, writers Budd Schulberg and Daniel Fuehs. and others, will ba offered as U. S. evidence against the Nazis. The Army Signal Corps, under Brigadier-General Munson, in cooperation with OSS and the Navy, made this film rec- ord. :/->••" The Nuremberg courtroom will have a motion picture screen facing the eight judges—one each from the U. S.. Britain. Russia and France, with their alternates—on ; which Hints of Nazi atrocities will convey to all in the court just why Goering, el al„ are being tried. Lt. Kellogg was lent by the Navy to the OSS and filmed many of the atrocity pix, much new cinematic (Continued on page 24) Buchman on Jolson Biog Hollywood, Oct. 2. Sid Buchman has taken charge of the long-pending Al Jolson film biographical at 'Columbia as author •and producer. He will develop it from the story angle which Sidney Skolsky. Hollywood columnist, . in- cepted. ■ ■ • .The immediate action on Jo'son's Pie sidetracks "Jacobowsky and the CtSonel," which was on Buchman's •ge-nda. Legit Airline Deal To Nix Sleeper Jumps >. Chicago, Oct. 2. Sleeper jumps will be a thing of the past if negotiations with United Airlines, started here last week by Joseph. Hyman and Bcrnic Hart, producers of "Dear Ruth," go through. ' Manaf.'.-rs reveal that United has told them they can have first crack at one of the C-54 transports new- borns outfitted like Pullman cars with lounges, sleepers, etc.. for civil- ian use. when the Chi eomprny of "Ei'i.h" is ready to hit. the roi.6 nest June. Transport ProMem Bogs The Early Exchange Of Brit., American Talent London, Oct. 2. Wlv.t are the chances o* American talent being booked in England or English acts going to the U. S., now Chat the war is over'.' Judging from current experience in London the chances are slim, mainly because the day of anything like normal travel seems far away. : 1 Just now more than 400 American businessmen, many, with far better credentials than the average per- former can get. are stranded for lack of rclurb priorities good for the .'""■"'• (Continued on page 27) . : Sees Negroes Solving Chi Legit Problem . Chicago, Osi, 2. In view of the success enjoyed here by all-Negro plays and plays starring Negroes, the colored breth- ren ought to take. over,, according to Bob Casey, Chi Daily News drama critic. Casey voiced the opinion in his review of' "Anna, Lucasta." which opened here last week. "Best plays Chicago has seen in the last six months have been Robeson's 'Othello.' 'Carmen Jones.' and this one. Perhaps the solution to Chi- cago's theatre problem is to turn the whole thing over to the Negroes. They seem to know what to do with it." Carroll s Unique H wood Theatre Before he departed for Hollywood Ear] Carroll revealed plans for a $5,000,000 theatre in filmdom's me- tropolis that will be a combination of New York's Radio City Music Hall and the Center in R. C. and the former Hippodrome, capacity to be 7,000. which would make it the world's largest. Mark Woods, prez of the. American Broadcasting Co., is named as Carroll's team-mate in the venture. Carroll talked over plans.with Gus Eyssell. president of the Music Hall, and-then stated that ground will be broken next March, the building to be completed in 1947. Site is on Sunset Blvd., opposite the Columbia Broadcasting System studio, measurement*' being 200 by 585 feet. Music Hair is 200 by 300 feet, not counting the lobby, which is 100 feet. Turntable stage for the new house will be 150 feet in diant- (Continued on page 31) * By SAUL CARSON The inside radio story and general communications setup under Gen- eral of the Army Douglas A. Mac- Arthur—and incidentally the first revelation of some of MacArthur's "Jap D-Day" plans—were revealed last week by Lt. Col. Jack Harris, radio and communications officer for MacArthur's G.H:Q. in Tokyo. Col. Harris, formerly of WSM, Nashville, was in New York on his way from Tokyo to Washington on business for MacArthur, and will re- turn to Tokyo in about a week. "Jap D-Day" was scheduled by" MacArthur for Nov. 1. While press and radio circles have known con- fidentially for some time that the Japanese mainland was to have been invaded "sometime late in October," this was the first open, mention of the actual day planned. The first invasion was to have hit the island of Kuyushu. ■''.:'...■ The fact that MacArthur is prob- ably more hep to the fine points of public relations than any of our generals was pointed up by Col. Harris' detailing of the plans made to cover the invasion—and the quick switcheroo to the radio and press coverage of the surrender. I In preparation for "Jap D-Day," 'Col. Harris had equipment lor voice broadcasting. -record big ■• aud, ,,,ores.s„ t , accommodation all ready. At i Manila, from which place the in- vasion fleet was to have started, Harris had two ships, the Apache and the FP-47, and two seagoing (Continued on page 41) ^ TINY BRADSHAW ORCH. ON ITS WAY TO TOKYO . Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra was skedded to depart for Tokyo last Mon. (1). but bad weather delayed sailing. Crew will probably depart sometime this week. Bradshaw's 17-piece unit will be the first band to tour Japan. His trip is under USO-Camp Shows auspices. TMfsofs 0 °TEEK UUdPO'DS COW OO/70/7 0 '