Variety (Jan 1946)

Wfilne^tlay Januaiy 9. 1946 lorlU-lh p^fZIETY Anniversary |>'TI<:ilXATIOXAI. 203 Will the Pan-American Highway Become the Hemisphere Main St.? Re-«1«W'** LiUin Possibilities From Enlertaiiuneut Angle; Ouuicfs Seen Boundless By RAY JOSEPHS Will tlio i>Hn Amcricaavlli.ghway the bbniisjAerc's ,' ctvoet now ' Wili Buenos Ane,-^' C.ille Corrioutcs, SantiaKo'i, AUimcda , i^5clici;:s, IVIontcvidco's 18 de Julio anrl Uio dc Janicro's-de;ia ., ■ Averiida BiQ Rranco; baconxc iis^liimiHar . ■ as Bi'ondway aiiri Hollywood and Vino to U, S.. screen, sta,i;c, vadio .ahd othei: eiitcrtainincnt bii". perspnalitiesV ■ Now that the Tucli aWaitod postwar days are here, industry iejtider^ dcajittg : in deliiiite possibillUcs i'alhcr thaiv al pipedreams arc befiinrting tO; reqhcck the tatin p:osKibi^iti,es^.Tlley've■emer^ ' \yii1r the cOncUfeion that opiiortuiiijws ill the ptheiv;, Americas are boiindU^ss But they've al.so loiind the going -is cer-. tainly not soing to be easy even . ilioii(Sh: cpnsidcValjlc ground wbi'k has already ; been dor.c. Those who've been: crystal-ball gazin;; point: oiit , that, at; ijredicted, Latin America has bocphre available for overseas iiiteriiationr,! expansion iong before the couirtrics. of Europe EHcV elsewhere. Untouched, by. the p!?ysical ravages PI' >viir, imuorriccl about the fnore immediato problems of tood and 'c'.othai?. Latin America has neverthelc-s had certain war vvorries. too, and tias to solve them betore it gets around to . any larsc-seale hanging up of the welcome sign. announcins the jiist-arrived-fromrEstados: Uivido-s on its opera houses, theatres, lilinories and concert halU. F.u't that priorities for Latin America wore among the first to he knocked oil' cnabk<d many cnterlaininent execs awaiting \-3 Day to hu.stlc down for swinss throush the territory almost as soon as the. sirens stopped blowing. Uiiy Josi'iilis theii position, programming has been bettered and advertising, revenue Incrbased on local brp'adcasitins; atid tlyo Short-, wave, fteld.hrs rnacie. strides irnpossiblp ta: cbnciivo previ6.us.iy. . In nitery and vaudc fields trans lOrt troilblcs bq'.'f ed cvdryi: thing; down .when the war got uriHer way i>i . earnest and, save lor Mexico which was ei^s.^ to reach, and foi a few select numbers in the big casinos o£ ".tio imported acts, almost stopped operations. Little competitive material has developed which will replace Yanqui importations, howevei i and this field should bo opening pronto, , In concert and opci-a same thing held as with nitery and vaude except that at no time did the inter-American tlow stop completely. The ballet tromes, which always did well . in tlic Latin field, are ^already hiaking skec'.s ready for refftrn ■ .iaiints,' aii.d: .name' artists, whose recpv,ds..nivor. sfe.ppqd selling in as . big, numbers as could bo. put on the. market, dru being . besieged with tempting oH'ers. Final .flelfl-Tand one which shoWs definite promi.?e-^is that of bands. Prior to and cluruig early days of the war .ijrnctically no U.: S.name outfits wont south, notable exceptions being tho.EdcIy .Duchin crew, which played a highly . strceos.'titl date. , in Rio, and Everett Hoagland, who has become a kind of permanent resident at A. C. Bliimenthal's Ciro's ,in the Retorma hotel, Mexico City. Desire lor name btod visits ha.s been barely kept under control, and outfits which have been seen in. films are especially wanted. So much for the general outlook on tlie brighter side. Taking the big. headaches tliat shape up, chief difficulties: .are rthest:.,. . • \^ .'-'iV Tliere's still little or -no cooperative circuiting possible. ■ Individuals and groups: aTe still faced with all kinds of offers from Rio or B; A. or Mexico Cit.y, with no way of t.ving things together. The. number of managers who have renrcsentatives in ever.v Latin country, and who can therelore arrange skeds which fit in and make profits, can bo. counted on less than the fingers of one hand. Thus much activity is stiHhit-or-miss. •. . ^' advertisers. Hence in. certain, arca.s concentration meanscompetition more than it should be, and in other areas 'nothing at all. It's been in these latter y;iots the Nazis, incidentally, have always worked through radio, pix, music, etc., and where they are still worlcing today, JA good many Latiri ijrbspocts ,v>'hioh sound, good in pps'^s , .don.'t translate' into tmucli of, .Uncle Sani'.s cash, Lr.tin coun-:. ., tries-^Argentina beoaui;e ot. war-time sales ,of her iridal ,and wheat to Britain and the U S b:Mii", thi' oul',l;'.rding cxocp ■ tioh.-^have suffered muth,,: fr.piTi '.inllation; and sufter jt now; henee American performers and companies v.'hieh once were able to take home fancy profits through thina.s they could buy cheaply in Latin America now find the take-home psy has shrunk all the way. Finar hurdle which has developed du;ing war years, and whish stands in the way of postwar expansion, has baan-ttre wave of nationali.sm which has grown throughout Latin America. All kinds ot now cMscriminatory Ic 'islation I'as come along, sometimes to produce more revaniii', .someiimcs . to protect, v/ar-dovolbped growth., U. S. film cpmpfinits h; v.! felt tne pinch severely. , So. have someof the major U. S. manufacturers who foimcrl;. us'd lots of Latin air-time, handed by U. S. agencio, to sjU their product.'. Despite all those point.', however, consensus is lh:'t Latin America, for thoio jn tlie U. S. entertainment induHry lon:-,ing forward to stsady £ rowth, fair profi's and lonl-itimo operation'-, efl'ers advantages rot to be found in any other I'o.cign field. . It's close H has 133.000,000. ficople. It's entertainment hiangry. And willingly or unwillingly, as a result,, of war, U, S. and the Latiri republics hfivj bf come tied economisiilly, strategically: arid: politically in jj w-'y pot eamparable to ahy ot'ner area, of the world. Serious Sliorlajjcs Seal t eved . Ori;iiii izut ion Tin* Pix FitsM In the pix field chief worries have been the growth , of., nistional. iildu.stries, especially in Mexico and Argentina. ,■ :• :Lcsit Slim-up shows that w'hilc tvanslatitins' of ijonieUi ^S.,' pi'ociiictions have continued during war, httle progrps^i was made and all kinds of rcdtape regulations and tran,slafing . difficulties must, be overcome :,botorcv Broadway . efforts become a.s familiar south ot the Rio Grande as those of Paris, Berlin, IVJadrid and other European capitals. Ill radio, thanks in no small measure to the intensive progranr carried on by the Otlice of Intor-Amcrican Alhius, Jiiaking Uncle Sam the chiol time-user in Latin America, the U. S. became top-dog. Latin stations_have. improved Same kind of scattered organization— understandable when you realize there arc 20 countries south ot the border with as many capitals,, customs regulations* governments, ideas of their own sovereignty-!— appUcs to almost everything else eoneerning entertainment field. Mexico is: worlds apart from Argentina, :not only In distance, whiehhas been clippered down to almost nothing, but in tastes; interests, faciiities, and .cash.' . '. ■ ■:. , . ■ . .-: ' . Not unnaturally the concentration has been on thpge areas likely to be most important from a return and remittance point ol view. .To a certain extent this was overcome during the war. when the Office of Inter-American Affairs, for instance, in arranging its radio activities and prodiiein^. shows ior local consumption, concentrated on areas most important strafegically rather than finaftcially. But no one expects that , tlie broadcasting outfits here, to cite, but one case; are going to be overly interested in territories of tio or little value :to Admittedly, many L:iiin counLrjc. rre now suli'cring sorjpiis shortages. Thcalrc-Puilding pi ogrnms , for instancCi af e likely to take a longei time gettin'i solved there than ha.e. While there are fcwei labor pi-oblems. material^, especially stufl whicn must be imported, will be diverted hero bafore they got exported, hence the numbai' of people \vorking—i and spending for entertainment— .is certain to take i a longer time getting into high gear In Latin America. .; To spur on Latin bu.t^iness; mplte more jobs,. rai.s{;:the .'?ta,ndard of : living, a : vast intcr-Amci-ican .program was: linecj up at the conference in Mexico City a few montlls: ago. If this.^ .really gets under w/iy it's certain to flijd -a reflection inevery angle of . show biz and broaden the entire tiekct-buying and radio-listening base. One important contribution which entertainment industry in the U S must make as part of thi:( pro-;ram is explaining and interpreting this country to the Latin*. Pointed out that of all things, this doesn't mean that pix, radio, ct ,-il, must suddenly become propaganda media. But as war showed how much radio, movies and other branches of the industry could do to sell the U, S. so postwar operations must keep this in mind. ■■■ Explained tliat this added respon-sibihtv doesn't mean mak-i •jng pix,, for example, which .self-consciously seek to woo the Latins, or broadcasting only the kind of programs which pat us on the back. Latiiss grew to distrust Na/i and other propaganda during the war and want no more over-selling now that it's over. But as they put it. since a majority ofLatins get their ma,ior— and. in some cases, their only impression ot the U. S. through the entertainment ambassadors they see—there's a responsibility that goes beyond gven what must be done at home in the U. S. Attstralian Film Industry Eyes Rank-Hypoed Rivalry Sydney. J. Arthur Rank is going to have a ma.ior say in the Australian cinema field from now on. There's no doubt ol It. That recent deal with . Norman Rydge for a buy into Groatei Union Theatres is the open sesame tor Aussie expansion via the British tycoon: The Aussie cinema fleld will cer■ tainly be international from now on. uith 20th-Fox hooked to Hoyls' major chain ot cityand nabe liou-ses, a"cl the Rank interests allied with CJi'catev Union. ■ it was figured here that Rydge. GUTtopper, jiCter yanking the loop Out of the financial mire a tew years a«o. would keep GUT strictly indie. K.ydse indicated this many time-,, openly stating that not one single share would be sold to any outside ihteroKt. Rydge was approached several' times by U. S. distribs seeking to buy into the loop, and a deal was proposed .some years " ago between GUT and the then-powerful "Wish John Maxwell group. All tleals were nixed, including any furW vcjom with lIoyt.s as General ;^ncatrcs. Rydge said he intended to "^wnain indie. During the final .span of the late auiart Doyle as GUT topper, a deal nearly consummated between loop and Warners. This deal, on the fire, because cold just P '01' to tlie exit of Doyle and the wcoming ot Rydge. Had that deal ?. 'f Aussie cinema field iouldjuu-e been strictly Yankee. Suhurbaii Spread in h'"'^' ."^'^ ''^cy city spots, not so strong ,„ nabcs, GUT, on the t^^'Hfi \ move out on a rtftvf ^^-ooi^e the few tin 12^ 3."^'*' showmen to come t nacr the GUT tent pronto. Like Hovf, ' ^'^^ indies will be hoHiLr'""^""y, Powerful in nabc keys, but, undei gather in additional (errilory for the 20th-Fox setup. International battle in the span ahead promises to be a hefty one. ■ Indie nabe men are presently mulling what side to hook up with, It's certain that before long there will be few. it any, indie .showmen left in AUssie. Right now the U. S. look.s to have the edge on thing.',, opinion being that you can't run a loop oil British pix alone, although GUT would not attempt to do this, irrespective of the Rank come-in, having a flow of U. S. pi.\ via Universal. Columbia. Paramount and Republic. Hoyts. apart from 20thFOx, run Warners, RKO. UA, and via 20th-Fox deal with Rank on produce (ion, will continue to release all Rank-produced pix in Vni& zone for another four years. Hoyts also run Universal and Columbia in own nabe theatres. Rank-Rydge, it's agreed, will offer plenty to the indie showman to come into the GUT tent. Move by the Rank British interests to expand with GUT in Aussie xones would have the complete approval of the Chifiey Labor Gcivernmeiit via an understanding on help for Britisli expansion with the Attlee labor government. Key card licld by Bank ties in with advancement in British countries: lie , has alrO!.idy done this -.ill Canada. South Africa and India, and: now, via GUT, is CJitonding to Australia. ' ■ :-' ' ' It's figured hct'e, that there : would be no difl'icultjes placed in the \u>y 01 GUT on any new theatre building plan, or any coinage splurge to rope in indie .showmen! in fact, it looks like an "opcti go" tor the British-AiLssie tycoons on governmental blessing. Rank's present tnterost in Universal, with an alleged bid for more control, is seen here to mean that Universal sooner or later wili fit into the scene already set via the BankGUT deal. Universal became aurally General Theatres, refused to rejoin with Hoyts, and was desperately short of product. Norman Rydge and Here Mclntyre. U's topper here, have been firm friends ever since. Presently, and for the next four .years, the Rank, product : is distributed via 20th-Fox. with Alan Williamson, Gaumont-British. Rank's Aussie representative. Williamson will now go onto the GUT board to represent Rank, and another Rank man comes from London to also go on the GUT board. It has been said that Universal will come into the new .setup via distribution when Rank's pix swing from 20th-Fox on contact completion. Rydge. on the other hand, may ask lor the release of the Rank pix through his own distribution unit. British Empire Films, currently: handling Elaling and A.ssooiated British fare, plus Republic and Monogram. >BEF, with Gordon Ellis at the helm, is: said to bo setting plans for Rank, distribution in: the luture. . ■ Insiders aver that the . Aussie distribution of Bank^prodHced pix, will be distinctly British. , although it's adinittcd that Universal will fit , into the picture somwher.e. See Mexican Fflm ProdHcHon Up As High As 200 Pictnres in 194$ By DOUGLAS L. GRAFU^FF other. Offers. The Fullers tried 4e-4Bteriis.t. Rank in their loop tome time ago. Nothing was signatured, and the Fullers decided to stay indie and go out on a big expansion move. Today, the Fullers control most of the ace .'.pots iii Perth, Sv.estorn Australia; ai-o alt set to expand further . in the keys of Sydney, Melbourne. Bri.'-bane and Adelaide, with Sir Ben Fuller indicating that the loop will bo completely international, buying talent in world centcr.s, from vaude to griirid opera; and screening the type of pix that puli payees to the b.o. Has, been .said that the Waterman brothers, operating a riiaj lir pic Ippp in South Australia, k e y c cl m Adelaide, aliso approached Ranlt some time ago: on a deal, but. according to insiders, because of holding no key spots elsewhere, could not interest the Britisher. One of the Waterman houses, York. Adelaide, is presently a show-window rie.nl with' I-toVtS. Mexico City. Pix, far-out-front favorites of patrons in Mexico of paid public divorEions. eontinued' to be more, so in 1945. That,: despite not so easy going, due to the long .strike against the eight major U. S. companies doing business in this land, which kept their products off ;-crcens tor several weeks, and ended with pay hikes of from 26^ to 42','-' Uhe help had demanded a iiO';; boost): the drawnout quarrel between the two biggest Mexican pic labor unions, .and,for a. -goodly part of the year, a rawstock .■ihortage so sharp that rationing by the government Was ncces.sary. But when this whirl did .settle down, the biz went pluco'--. Production was around 6.5 films for 104,'>. Plans arc bcinft advanced to reach the unprecedented high of 200 in 1046. PrbducerS say that flgtiTC is a conservative estimate. Rca.'^fiiis: Industry is ^rpueh more on ' its fell in linouiJs fpr more: and better prodUCtiOM, Fihiincing is bcttci;. Industry s own bank, the Banco Cinematografico. S. A., which coined the trade to around 818,000,000 iMpx),^. ($4,500,000 U, S,). in 194-). hi'.>hcsl in its Woven ycar,s',:]iCo. j.s out to i-ender at len $30,000,000 (Mex) (^iT.ri' O.OOO U. S. ); r,ead,v„ .cilsh in the licv,--. yoiv'., Thcr« will iiiS tWee ftrf.t-cl;is.s, plus,, studios in action— the opo! t,tiat ,R1'Cp and a Mexican syndicate, headed by f'lmilio Azcarrat'a, is completing; that which Howard Randall, American sound engineer, and Theodore Gildred, U. S. exhibitor in Mexico, are preparing, and another that allMexican interests arc readying. All three are skeddcd to j-tt {."'rig this month. With the tluee in service. Clasa. A;;teca and Jarge Stahl's. at! of which have been face-lifted, six studios will bo in service in 1946. Ending, or at least smoothing of : labor: grief, and upping of -the '<|ual> ■ ity in player, megger and; writer division;, arc cited as big factors in enabling the producer.s to attain their possible high goal in 1946, And there will be abundant rawstoek/' The government promi-ses that, AH this is not worrying the U. S. firms much.. Consensus of their opinion is that Hollywood fare will continue to hold a high place, on Mexican screfins in the new year, thougli f'ome Mexican pi.x have cut in heavil.y on U. S. biz, Tieups .some U. S. cnrap;uiie.s. such as BKO, have made with Mexicans are generally jcen r.s good. Tlie reaction re dubbing is only a little better than hikewarm. I „: Prodifcoi's expect to : expand ttrciF: .; I lorcign markets in the new year. iTiie.v .fee excellent pro.>>8iects in I South Amcric.i, though stiff compe! tition fiom the Argentine is q worry. Some Mexican big^tie.'= are t^t open more excliai)'.;cs way down south. Eurnpj. to;-, is .'■een as a good bet. : particularly .Sprvin. which has opened tip niuCh of: Inttr t^. .Mexican pix, and, : to >oh1e C^fjert. Portugal, v/ith pros-. :■ ne,-t. h;'!(.l l> be good in France, Belgium, tlie Nethevlanr's and .Switx ; erland. The home front iscoiintcd iipon ' to do, move tliLTi take care of itself in 1946. B xoffioc in 1943 is be-'' I'cved t 1 h:;vp s."t a new record, : .'U'oinid HVIO.OOS.OOO (Mcx). (,V2!).2,->0,0001. [jointed to a.s extraordinary in view cif iniifh higher admitt: nee chai-gc',':. $4 (Mex), (11, being now' .'-tancUird foi stellar pix in tlie first tv.n hijupcs.