Variety (May 1946)

MCTVRKS Chi Show Biz Reels Under $2,000,000 Dimout as Lewis Blitz Cuts Power By AARON KOOSAMR Chicago, Way 7. Facing a. weekly loss estimated conservatively at $2,000,000, as rc- tsull of electrical power curtailment duo to the current coat strike. Chi- cago area show business- is in >. chaotic condition/hoping for the best Mud (earing the worst. Curtailment order, issued Wednes- day it) by the Illinois Commerce Commission, effective Thursday '21, To conserve dwindling coal slocks, put film theatres on an arbitrary 2 to 6 p.m. schedule, with nothing open on Sundays'. Nileries were al- lowed to operate if they had food licenses '<which all Ars-pots havc> Those Punsters Hollywood, May 7. According to local wits, 20th- Fox execs aren't seeing; "Am- ber" anymore. They're seeing red. Key City Houses Vote Own Dimout; N.Y. Not Worried By Prospects ADD: CHI HEADACHES With ti. y. showbiz not too much worried about the . prospects of a and didh'l use anything but regular | dimout because of the coal shortage, house lights ror: their shows. This ! reports from other, leading key cities ruled out all -'spotlights aiid special I indicate: that self-regulation might lighting effects. be the solution to the proble'm. Legi' shows, meanwhile; holding ! N.. Y. theatre owners point out the-bag to the tune of 'thousands of : that they ^operated under brownout dollars worth of advance, sales', were conditions all during the war. In told to close or devise their own addition, they said, warmer.-weather means of lighting. They Were able ! relieves the theatres of much need to get Army generators, which'film house:" couldn't use because of greater load required. Talent agencies, are up in the air. not knowing what's going to happen to acts they have booked'into' closed vaudfllmeries and boites. Chi for heat. Consolidated Edison, which supplies light to most of the houses, reported Monday iti' it had a 32- day stockpile of coal. Washington film houses last Thursday 121 inaugurated a vol tin- ; tary brownout, with the D, C. Mo- ll Theatre* and 11 Mterles Face Other Froblemb Chicago. May 7. Almost forgotten in the chaos brought down on Chi show biz by the unprecedented dimout order last last week by the Illinois Commerce Commission was the deadline set for this week (or unlicensed operators to comply with city Are and health .ordinances, or close; A total of 63 theatres and 17 nile'- ries are on the. list of 1,895 business establishments in «very section of the city charged with conducting their affairs on : "receipts" though, jhey had been denied licenses by citj^'departments because of safety or health violations. One of the theatres—Albert and ■Ben Barlelstein's Standard. « north- side 460-seater—was cited, along 'with a next-door restaurant whose grease chute extended into the the- atre as an air vent, In Judge Wil- liam V. Daly's court last-week, but case was dismissed after fire preven- tion ofliciuls testified the chute was .removed. WfJnesJay, May 8, 1946 See Victor Emanuel Into Pix Biz Via General Aniline (German) Color? Double Finale Hollywood. May 7. . An indie studio last week niade two different endings for one of its mystery opuses!. Tried one, then tried- the other, then decided to use, both; one after the other. ' '.' Matty Fox Names Ex-Col., I M Franev IIWP Treas ° f lhe execu(ive committee ofcTn J. m. ridUejf, UHI l-IOU., AmJine &Fllm,and, according ■Washington, Mny 7. Strong possibility that. Victor.. Emanuel, of ' Aviation Corp., n ^y edge into pictures as he -has moved into radio via the Croslcv deal j s being whispered in inside Wash inglori circles. Key of the, whole proposition is General Aniline tc Film Corp., now in the hands or the Alien Property Custodian, which controls the German AGFA color film process! Emanuel is a directer. and '-member" important Government, sources, American, Guild of Variety Artists lion-Picture Thealre Owners voting office, which was, open till 3 a.m.. to return to • w-arlime restrictions." Friday '.3), answering questions . Dousing of the lights showed no ap- frnm concerned performers, main-; pi eciable effects on lhe hoxoftice. taincd that if an entertainer does one • D. C. Commissioners, -however.' are show a day he will bo paid-for the.;.presently considering clamping clown entire day or else. j with a total blackout, similar to the Since both the Chicago and Orien- : one in Chicago, tal theatres went on a schedule of one stage show a day. weekdays and none on.Sunday, AGVA Was sticking to its guns for payments fur a six- . day week. The Stratford i.nd Logan, nabe film houses featuring vaude on weekends, cancelled out. scheduled acts completely. Seek Modification John Balaban. head of Chi's larg- est film circuit, together with Jack Kirsch', Illinois Allied Theatres proxy, and representatives of Es- saness theatres, met : with members Cummins Out Of 'Amber,' Into 'Bob/ Hollywood. May 7. Geo. Jacoby to Assist Him 1 is. going to bid (or the property James M. Franey. a colonel in ■ when it'is'put on the auction block charge of G-l for General Dwight . j>yJames E. Markham, the Alien Eisenhower during the war in Enroll Property Custodian, peaii thealre of operations, was"! ;If Emanuel and AVCO should named treasurer of United World j.grab . General Aniline intact, they by ■Matty 'would control a color film patent ■which would make theni important the motion Pictures Co. last wee* Fox; company prexy. .Franey formerly,was executive j factors in tne motion picture ai- officer of the Philadelphia Engineers . du.slry. Hollywood is known to be District as well as economic and ad- , interested in the AGFA process as ministrative analyst Soy the War a competitor for Technicolor, the Dept. Col. Franey, holds the bis- i Ansco division also holds other linguished Service' Medal. Legion of j film patents. Honor from France Hivd Order of | This, it is claimed here, is one of the British Empire- from Great (ne real.reasons for the current'tin, Britain. .. derground battle how going on over George Jacoby will be assistant in ; whether to throw General Anilines charge of. operations to Franey. Jacoby is making the switch from: his job as RKO's home office repre- sentative which ..he has held for the Historians may snoot at "Forever I past two years. Prior to -that he Amber." but the tale of social laxity | was traveling auditor for Universal Cleveland exhibs also voted for a ; in the reign-of Charles IT is making brownout, switching off .marquee j u le rm) S t turbulent' history- in the lights. Fuel ■'shortage, actually isn't ' :illlna | s of Hollywood production. . for more than 17 years. worrying Cleveland fUmcries, since the owners admit they have more coal stored in their bins than most industries in northern Ohio. Provi- dence also went in for a voluntary brownout. . - Golden Dozen Continued from pace 1 Nothing like it has happened since | the filming of "Gone With t'-.e Wind." .which held the local record for explosive energy until "Amber" Y>lew out a fuse on the 20lh-Fo\ lot last ; week. . •"The result was a hurried "alherihg of execs, both home office and (studio, and the scrapping > I a flock I.ol valuablei-film' footage, with a new start in the offing, alter the expen- ot the ICC all day Thursday <2i in l p Ce i s to.'gross $7,000,000 based upon iditure of huge sums on silken gar- an effort to adjust the 24-hour week ! eomparisions with "This Is lhe. i incuts,, both male and female.. Latest so that theatres could remain open after dark and close, if necessary, during the day. After, weekend meetings, lilm theatre execs decided to close 283 of Chicago's filmerics. staling that op- erating expenses could not be met on a four-hour daily schedule. Cir- cuits closing included Allied thea- tres with 225 houses; Essaness. op- erating 31 houses: Warner Bros:. 1". and RKO's Loop Palace and Grand. Only dissenter to the almost unanimous decision was the Balaban tc KaU circuit, with six limp and 4.1 neighborhood theatres, who decided, to try for a few more days. On Monday <G ■. however. BitK execs decided to join the rest of the. ranks 'Continued on page 20) Army" r -which, went to nearly $H.-i tidings oh the boudoir situation was 000.000. -"Trunk" figures show that it ■ spoken by a spokesman for Joseph is near enough to "Army " to warrant . M. Schchck, who spoke: SLEEPY B'WAYITES' LUNCHFEST JESSEL an overall national total of $7,000,- 000. Show money is a virtual certainty for David O. Sel/.nick's. "Spell- bound" ■ which is distributed by United Artists. Chips are down for $6,000,000 or bit belter on this one. Two pictures arc likely to come close to a lie for fourth, being Para- ; mount's "Road to Utopia" and Met- io's "Adventure/ 1 Both are so far ■ neck-and-neck for aggregate rentals ' of $5,500,000 each. Other pictures among lhe choice 12 range from $4,000,000 or close to around $5.- 000.000 or bit beyond, 'including "Leave Her to Heaven/' "Lost Weckr 1 end." "Mildred Pierce.' 1 "Ziegfeld ! Follies." Kilty." "Harvey Girls" ■ and "Dolly Sisters." Ranging downward from $4,000,000 or near to his ficure are a number " Forever Amber' is going to cost $3.")00.0(10. and because the studio is insistent that the'finished product be- hot only a line but a great picture, plenty of ■lime will betaken in de- ciding who will-enact Hie till«- role and handle direction. Daryl F. Za- nuck will have the complete say-so ■in both star and director." Earthquake No I,ess Upheaval was so. potent that il jarred ' Spyros Sknuras. 20t'i-Fox picxy. rroin his home jiftice in New- York to Wostwood Village to discuss replacements for John M. Slahl, - original director, and Pi'H'.y Cum- mLns. -'originally cast as Amber. Slahl is officially out as director, but William Pcrlberg conlinues as producer, under general supervision of /.amick. Nobody around the studio-will ad- George Jcssel, first producer to act of pictures that are expected to pile m j t ||,.,- t Miss Cummins i* as up high • returns for their distribu- tors, including such money-getters a,s 'Scarlet Street.".. "Gilda." "Be- cause of Him," "Tomorrow is'For- ever." "Virginian." "My Reputation/' "Devotion." "Sailor Takes Wife." "Bandit of Sherwood'' Forest." and various others on which it is . too early to make estimates. In the case of "The Outlaw." which -is being released through United Artists, difficulties surround- ing its; exhibition so far make il as a trailer for his own lilm. was luncheoned by some 75 Broadway- iles at Toots Shot's restaurant in N. Y. yesterday i Tuesday i: Some had gone lo bed only a couple of hours before. Milton Berle coiifer- enciering the proceedings, declared tha^ this is the first time that Jcssel will have $10,000 at one lime, but it won't be long as his agent on lhe Foxy iN. Y.I deal. Paul Small, gets $1.1100 in commissions. Among those attending wen; Lee Shubcrl. John Golden. Eddie Buz.- problematical what the'- picture w ill zcll. Irving Caesar. Bill Brandt. Lou Marx. Billy Rose. Leonard Lyons, A. J. Balaban. Bob O'Donnell, living Lesser. Tommy Rockwell. Jessui wasn't the only one ribbed. Berle's wagging session included "win/place and no show, referring to : "Spring in Brazil." "Nellie Bly" . and "Windy City." His las'l show for I Shubert. "Ziegfeld Follies." he called | "four backdrops and my vaudc act." | Bob ODonncll's talk described! Jcs.'d's first act at the Harlem Opera j House. N. Y. He declared Jcssel | came .oill half whiteface. half black-: face and 'a' question mark on his : nose. . Toots Shot- similarly addressed the \ Crumb-bums as did Quentin Rrvn.- *lds. ' Jessel. will do a personal appcar- jniee.at the Roxy for Ihree weeks starting loday iWed.i plugging his own pYoduclioii. "Do You l.ovc Mc," «luc in next at that house. get naturally, but if gelling clear sailing/ based upon what it has done ii) a few .spots io date, it may well end up at the highest Agnrc na- tionally. femme lead.in the "Foiever ' picture, but she has been cast as femme lead in a canine' Mini. "Boo. Son of Battle." with the obvious intent to introduce the gal lo the..public be- fore the release of the suue.r duper "Amber" drama. Studio -pokesmen insist that production of "Amber" will not be resumed until "Bob -has finished his celluloid iiaKle some time in the lale sume.tei'. Whether M.iss Cummins.will return from the open lields to (he historie b-iillloirs is a (luestion still unanswered. To date the studio has spent about half-a-million on the abortive pic- lure, including $30<).<IWI' wiirih of actual production, which will be tossed into the celluloid, scrap heap. The Golden B.O. Dozen TOTAL .$63,000,000 L. A. to N Y. Fred Ahern Edward L. Alperson Desi Arnaz Barney Balaban Lucille Ball Bob Bailin Robert Benjamin Jack Benny Joseph Bernhard Mori Blumenslock Charles, W. Carpenter Helen Colton Stanley Cortez Dennis Day Gene De Paul William Fadiman Jerry Fairbanks Martin Field ■ ■ Malty Fox Rose Franken Phil Harris • Stuarl Heisler Jack Hellman Eddie Heyman Eddie Janis Milt Josefsberg Myron Kirk Arthur Lake li ving La/.ar Mary Livingston Merry Macs Archie Mayo Bobby Mellen Burgess Meredith Irving Mills Richard Morgan Isadorc Ostrer . Nat Peri'in Harry Ray Leo Robin Loren L. Ryder Penny Singleton Spyros Skouras Sunny Skylar George L. Smith Leopold Stokowskl John Tackaberry Bernie Wayne Don Wilson Herbert Wixson N. Y. to L A. Eddie Biizzell Dornlhy Claire Brian Donlevy Melvyn Douglas Jules Fielil Martin Gosch Henry Jaffe Walter Lurie Alan Mellzcr Lcs Reis Harry Revel Gloria SafierV Earl Sheldon Max Siegel Jack Smith N Y. to LONDON Irwin Dash > Richard Llewellvn Wally Moody George Wood ■ '■ " LONDON to N. Y. ■ Bout) Jed Harris Jack Hoskins Joe- ScioVJnian patents open to all comers. Emanuel and his friend, George E. Allen, close pal of President Truman and now a director or BFC r are reported: opposed to opening tip the '-'(inn's patents. One spokesman says thej want to keep the bundle intact for such time as lhe company is offered to American bidders. Markham Dissents Significant is the (act that at a recent meeting of Government of- ficials to consider Whether to put- the .General Aniline patents up for public licensing, Markham was the sole dissenter, making a strong argu- ment that the corporation should, not be weakened by loss of its pat- ent rights. It.ma'yialso be-significant that Alien Property Custodian em- ployees regard General Aniline as dynamite and stay as far away from it as Ihey caii. They claim that this is the one APC properly that Mark- ham "carries around in his ve.-l pocket." » As recently as a few mohtlis ago, it was generally expected that Cen- eral Aniline Would be, put on the auction block late this spring. Now it is not expected to go for at least another year. Another important angle is. that at least .one Hollywood company is said to be ready to nianufacluie ils own color film if the General Ani- line patents are thrown open lo license. This, of course, will no! take place if the firm is sold intact. Best argument against .leasing the patents is that the huge corporation would lose most of its value under that condition. The Government-ap- pointed directors of APC contend that the firm's assets should' not be dissipated in this fashion.' Some Department or Justice of- ficials want the parents opened to public leasing, or sold lo all corners. They contend that, otherwise, lhe powerful firm is liable lo wind up in German control again with all its properties and patents iniacl. They point out lhat. after lhe lart. war, when German holdings were sold in this country, the Germans ■ managed to regain control of some of them in. a few years.; In connection with, the quiet bat- tle royal, legislation -for lhe <M'* posal of tlie l patents is being pre- pared in the Justice Department and another bill is reportedly being readied in Congress to permit the sale of General Aniline intact. I CHI PINKS 6 RKO's J, U s 1 and :t Others Wert- Mex and Kalian Oiica"". May 7. Chi moltoil picture .iv.isor burrall went to towii;. Willi pink'tickets din'j ing April, according to report "j their month's activities issued I*-' 1 week. Six' pix—or .vhieh Ihree were domestic 'and ..Hirer foreign-w; rr '. labeled for adults only. Thvy- m'« RKO's "Bediam" and • (leiiius «| Work." Univcrsal's "Cal Cncps, Aztei;a's "Son o( the- -Nigln" »" a "Prrdrio Diaz. Jr." aiid Meyir-Bm'; jl,yn's "Open City" i Italian'. Of the 492.000 feel of liliii re- viewed 1117 pix l. 50 cuts were inn'"' or "an average of one in .-every l». films.