Variety (May 1946)

MISCELLANY Wednesday, May 15, 1946 Army Snafus Own $1,000,000 Film Setup in Austria Via Manager Switch fly JOSEF ISRAELS II Vienna, May 7. The Information Services. .Brunch *if U. S. Forces Austria, finclinK. it- wlf cmbai;assed by possession of a film distribution—production biz (ISB) Films), piling up profits at the rate of $1,1)00.000 yearly, has sud- denly moved to divest itself, of Ihis asset. A committee of seven Army officers, none of them film men. moved into ISB Films without no- tice, blocked bank accounts totaling j $1,-100.000 in some 20 banks "for! audit" and lias accepted the resigna- ; lion of Eugene Sharin, Film Officer wlio has bossed the enterprise since US entry inlo Austria in spring of 194S. U. Col. F. E. Mackintosh of. USF.Vs Executive Division is .tem- porarily filling S.harin's post. The Mackintosh committee finds itself considerably bewildered by in- tricacies of Mm booking, distribu- tion and production and, at date of writing, hasn't determined future of ISB Films. They, have interviewed Karl Hai ti, Austrian film boss under the Nazis and now employed by ISB. and other native picture figures with possible view of turning over busi- ness to private Austrian hands. But so great a plum cannot- be .lightly, handed over, particularly to.'Ihose whose Nazi records may yet be '■ques- tioned. To date ISB Films holds over $300,000 < in Austrian schillings) for U. S. account and eventual dis- tribution to Hollywood ■ interests. Profits on U. S. product are pour- ing in at a rate that forecasts a $1.- 000.000 surplus by year's end. Army (.Continued on page 69) Sports Shorts One plane chartered for . trip from N. Y. to Louisville for the Derby developed radio trouble and grounded in Maryland, not far from Pimlico. so 17 passen- gers vvent. to the races there, others being flown back to town. , . . Demand for Yankees-Red ; Sox ball game tickets so heavy that one broker alone sold over SOO tickets Tor the three game series last Friday to Sunday i10-12). First pictorial history of box- ing, due May 22 under Essential' Books imprint, written and com- piled by John Diiiant and Ed- ward Rice, tilled "Come Olit Fighting.'' Contains 200 photos, with text and an introduction by Qtienlin Reynolds. Boxing is scheduled every Monday and Friday at Madison Square Garden during. Juiie, with llie Louis-Conn .scrap dated for the lHlh i Wednesday i at the Yankee Stadium. ■ Public sale of Louis-Conn light tickets started late last week at Mike Jacobs' offices in Madison Square Garden. 90S- of the pat- ronage being Harlemitcs.. .Bar- ney. Balaban bought a boat for his children which reminds, Spyros Skouras of the time Plato, his 12 -year. - old son i"who's" not so smart- despite his name." says his dad I was teach- ing, his father .how to. sailboat and. in disgust; cracked. "Hon- estly, pop. how did you ever be- come president of 20th ConUiry- Fo'x... RKO's annual outing and boat ride up the Hudson to Bear Mountain next Monday-Tuesday ' (20-21). with half the office and exchange forces alternating on ' those days. 204th WEEK! KEN MURRAY'S "BLACKOUTS OF 194*" El Cipitan Th«atr«, Hollywood, Cal. "SlHjje entertainment Hi its Uesl. RlaeUiiiil.s' lias -everything- a good uiusluri shouUl have." EDGAR BERGEN The Berle-ing Point By Milton Berle Chi Sniffy Sip Contest Proves Scotch'Experts' Not Hep to the Stuff 'Anybody Who Travels in Europe and Doesn't Have to, Today, Is Nuts Anybody who travels in Europe today, and doesn't have to. is an idiot, according to Maurice Abrava- nel. Orkonductor, who left pit of ••Day Before Spring" in January to go to Australia for three months of symphony concerts, spent three weeks in Switzerlandj London and. Paris, before returning to N.Y. last week. Situation Is critical in food, heat- . 5ng. rooms and exchange, he says. Room situation is 10 times more dif- ficult than in N.Y. You can't take ; money from one country to anoth- ' er, unless it's in dollars, so that : whatever excess' native exchange; you have is wasted. A satisfactory ! meal in Paris costs $5 for breakfast, i $25 for dinner, per person. j Abravanel went out to Australia ! to conduct a 10-week season of coiir certs with the Sydney Orchestral Society. One concert was an all- , American program, first such given ; in Australia, with contemporary works of Copland, Barber, son, Thompson and Schuman. which I Ben Paul, owner of Crown Whole- Key to Future British Loans Hollywood, May 14. The Authors League is canvassing congressmen, and administration officials hoping for a change in the copyright laws as it applies to ma- terial entering public domain after, copyright dies. They hope to change present law which gives 28 years, plus an additional renewal for an equal period. The League, instead, suggests granting estates SO years after death of writer which would be a considerable increase. . The League, in exchange, would ■give to the U. S. government in perpetuity all rights thereafter. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers will also be called in,, idea being to tie up everything writers and composers contribute, selling argument being j that if the English government had. ] all the income of Shakespeare's 1 plays up to now. they probably i would not need the loan today. !' Emmet Lavery, Screen Writers ' Guild president, is now running for Chicago. May 14 Ernie Bvfield. considered some- thing of a connoisseur "f »^ . congress. If . elected he is expected hquor*; failed, disma lyrecenA ,-in plovjdc j mpo ,. lant aid '. £ the a sniff-aiid-sip contest conducted u | an here. Purpose of the lest was to de-j ^ ' . . ■ levmine whether the Illinois Liquor i Control Commission could allow dis- ' tillers to brand their product "Amer- ican Scotch" rather than 'Scotch type'', whisky. By field was one or 10 Chicagoaus invited by the commission, to partic- ipate in its blindfold lest to detect the dfference. if any. between do- mestic and imported Scotch: Out-of six samples, he got only one right- Thorn- i low est score of the bunch. Sunday past was Mother's Day. Last year I gotmy mother a 75-carat watch inlaid with diamonds, rubies and pearls.. .she liked it so much she wanted to keep It.. .She's a great gnl, my mother. I've got to hand it to her;—every.Saturday night; . .Years ago I was told I was an incubator baby and I haven't forgotten it for a moment. To show my appreciation, every year I sen* flowers to an oil stove.. .Of course, I don't forget to .send >»v mother flowers, too. Mom is crazy about daffodils, arid she likes the rest of the family too. . .Whoever thought up the idea for Mother's Day. shoiild be awarded a prize. It'i a grand thought. But do you know what burns me up about some children: they don't bother to write a'teller to their dear mother alt year—and oil this one day they send her a telegram and scare the hell out of her. . ' ' The Great Wit Way Bet on a horse at Belmont the other day—it took-three;freight trains j 0 pass him before he realized that he was on the wrong.track. . Caught the Blue-Lessey-Moore . socko combo . at La. -Martinique.. One jealous hamola remarked 1 , "I'd rather see Moore of Lessey and Le^sey of Blue." We have a'new innovation at the Carnival—we change the waiters-after' every show. , Got the surprise of my lite last week. Met a gag writer who didn't have any files, never switched a joke, and wrote nothing but original material. (Huh!) Lindy's has installed pickled earphones for people that are hard of herring. The union made Jack Cole slop dancing because ot his last name. There's Ne .Truth To the Rumor. That Francis Renault is taking over the program, ''Queen.For.a Day"... that Myron Cohen opens with the Old Vic Repertory Company. , that W.ipsfbrook Pegler writes for PM...lhat MCA is booking William Morris, Jr., on a .concert tour:. .that Senator Claghorn lives on Southern Blvd' That John L. Lewis uses Miner's makeup. ■••'■' Hangnail Descriptions Dick Tra'cy: Old Clues Man.. .Howard -it Shelton: Punhandleis ..El Morocco: The Bore-Hundred. '. .Hildegardc: So'phistigreat!. Orson Welles: "I" strain. . .Barry Gray: Pan American.. Harry James: 'Little Boy Blew. Berled E||i Was toaslmaster at a luncheon given to George Jessel. 1 loved .lessel's crack when he said. "Since I've become a producer; I don't want you to. applaud me anymore—just say YES. Would you call Hollywood the. Honie of the RAVE and the Land of the B? . Irony Dept:. "Song of Norway" makes more money in one week than Grieg made in his entire life. With the movies they're showing loday every other seal in the theatre should be equipped with a psychiatrist. . jimmy Edmondson has written the new jitterbug vegetable song...Hey Bob-A-Rhubarb. -■ Sol Violinsky has also completed a new song titled "He Dreams of Iter Every Night Because He Can't Stand To Look At Her In the .Daytime." Novelty: Bought a fountain pen the other day that was guaranteed to write for/"ONLY ONE WEEK," With so many radio shows going off the air. pretty soon the only thing you'll be hearing will be time signals set to music. My bathtub is finally empty;..NO COAL. US. Info Service Too Important' was a great success. American GIs. (Continued on page 22) WINCHELL'S COAST TRIP TO REGAIN HIS HEALTH Walter Winchell trained out to the Coast Monday (13) for his first trip out of N. Y. since last winter. Col- umnist usually heads for the Coast al the end of May, but a recurrence oT sinus trouble, coupled Willi his recent laryngitis, prompted him to ! leave a few weeks earlier this year, sale Liquor Co., which buys thou- 1 If the Beverly Hills climate does him sands of gallons of Scotch a year,! any good, Winchell will probably stay : on the Coast for the summer. He'll [write his column there and do his ' Sunday night broadcast over KECA. . ABC outlet in L.A. With a six weeks' vacation from j his radio chores scheduled for this Correct guesses in three out of six j summer, Winchell is currently trying Ginger Rogers's deal for a term.1 sips were by Don Kuhler or the. cast | to ,j ne up a concurrent six weeks' with Enterprise productions, the' of "Slate of the Union" and Les j ies Pile from .his column-writing, in- Loew-Einfeld outfit, in addition to I Lear, business manager for Olsen & | stead ot lhe llsual f0ur weeks. Col- lier RKO ' commitment,'' calls for j Johnson. Three guys with four' of j reportedly -wants to lake 'full $175,000 a picture, plus 40'.; of the the six right were Frank Weaver, ' advantage of any rest period in order profits. Two stories have, already : prez of lhe conimissioi); H. William ] 10 .regain his health completely, been purchased for her, the first be-1 Johnson, publisher of live Tavern Jng "Maggi July" by E. A. Ellington, i News, and John Mack, manager of author of "Gilda." to go before the;'lhe Hotel . Continental. James camera in November. Second prop-j O'Brien. editor and publisher of'the ! erly is "Wild Calendar" by Libbie [Illinois Beverage Journal, got 'em! Block, bestseller of last winter. jail right. j Hollywood May 14 The RKO commitment Miss Rogers I Whereupon Frank Bering, the | Mike Todd leased bolh ihe Holiy- has calls for one picture a year foi j other halfjof the Bylield-Bcring Am- ! wood Bowl and the Pilgrimage bowl from the Bowl .Association. Ginger's 175G Plus 40% From Enterprise Prods. was almost as bad. He called only two of his six shots correctly. Simi- I tar scores were chalked up by Joe ; Binns, manager of the Palmer 1 House, and Charles Harrison, pre/, 'of Harrison Restaurants. Hollywood, May 14. j Todd Rolls in Bowls, 2 Hollywood Stadia the next three .years, and provides I ba.ssador-Sliermaii combo, then for-her doing any amount Of outside stepped inlo the arena—unofficially pictures. The Einfeld-Loew deal with)—and. although he's a non-drinker. Miss Rogers is on a par with one she j showed up By field/, by calling foul- made wilh David O. Selznick a few ; of his six sips right, years ago for "I'll Be Seeing You." where she got $175,000 and 10'!. of the gross. L-E figure her percentage on the profits on her Chores for them will equal this amount. Jost to Keep Jessel Out of Mischief in N.Y. Hermes Pan and two asst. direc- n:ll'fi_ D—l- I •'*.- tors are in N. Y. fron'i the Coast for BUI U1T Hack in Legit - huddles with 20th-Kox producer Bill Orr, stage-screen actor, who | George' Jessel on fortlicoming recently, returned to . the Warner | Hlmusical. "I- Wonder Who's KKsine, Bros, studio after three and a half Her Now" mee "Hello Ma Baby'/i. years in the Air Forces is in New | autobiography /if songwriter Joe E: York to. resume his stage career. | Howard. He is accompanied by his wife, j Powwows going on between ,Tcs- acfrt.ss Joy Page, daughter of Mrs. scl's four and five shows irt the Jack L. Wiirner. • Roxy. l':v^.v -: - - ' ! ' CM with musical productions planned for both arenas. Todd lakes over Hollywood Bowl for'month of Sep- tember with musical slated, title un- announced, Producer- also takes over operation of. Pilgrimage Bowl'during latter part of summer but will not put on a Pilgrimage play which has. been cancelled, due to construc- tion work now going on.'' MASSINE'S DUAL CHORE Hollywood, May 14. Lconidc Misssine, originally signed to stage dances in 20lh-Fox's ''Car- nival in Costa. Rica," will also dance 1 in the Him'. | Vet Br I let Rit'sse .dancf r-chore- lognipher is skedd<-<l In du a special- ity number \\ilh Veia-Kllcii, . ' ■' i 1 1... ■: i i e .i •■ • i:. . Rome, May 14. Editor. Vahikty: Am lather depressed but perhaps not loo surprised at the great op- position growing back home against the information and cHlural setup abroad. I admit that some of Ihe criticism is justified but on the whole I feel that our Congressmen show a complete lack of compre- hension on the necessity of having these offices abroad. Ignorance has been one of the greatest ills of this world and the cause for so many of our ills. Carried on on international plane it has been the primary cause for wars. The one way to eliminate wars is to have education for the masses and free access to all news. Here was one concrete step toward having others see Americans a.s they really are. | We have been represented as a . malerialislic and grasping people nut j fin- world domination. All these I years Italians have -associated Ainer- I icans wilh boogie-woogie, divorces. Hollywood, big fortunes: bathtubs and many superficial aspects of civil- ization. In a, few nionllis in Italy. U.SIS has opened the eyes >>f many Italians by showing what Americans have contributed in the world of ail, engineering, medicine, 'agricul- ture, music and deiiKK'iacy. I'liey have been very much surprised. They had associated us with the lighter lliings in life bill now they see the United Stales as a matured nation which has contributed much lo this civilization of the 20lh century. Anything that our friends in the newspaper and radio world can do to help this program will certainly be doing something In making this a belter, and friendlier world. OWI contributed much during the . war. USiS can do much lo prevent • the selling tip of a. new OWI in 10, 20 or 30 years. Does this sound like preaching'.' Perhaps it is but I feel very strongly about it and I know, that USIS is something that .should be roughl for. I'd feel the same way if I were to leave the outfit tomorrow. J. D. HiivOlto. Washington. May 14. Although Congress is preparing to slash'to the bone funds for the new Slate Department foreign informa- tion .service, which includes use of films. British are, expanding their information service, including the motion picture end. Setup was explained here recent- ly by Neville Gardiner, film head of Ihe British Information Services in this country. Gardiner disclosed that the films division of the new English "Central Office of Informa- lion" (successor to Ihe Brilish.Min- islry of Information) will be bigger than it was during the war. Just back from eight weeks in England, Gardiner explained that his country has set lip a three-point postwar information program and lias committed itself to: provide in- formation for its own people: con- tinue in peacetime the wartime poli- cy of a single information unit: and provide information foi; exchange wilh other countries. Films play an important part in each point. The .1946 program calls for the production of 200 Minis, most- ly shorts. Ninety percent ol lhrs* : will be made at the request of various ministries, and.10% will be originat- ed by COI. Already in production, at the request of Prime Minister Clement Attlce are films on ih< 'sub- ject of rood, problems of interna- tional trade, military government, etc. One, on displaced persons; has already been completed. Muiishin Can't Start At Metro Until 1947 Louis B. Mayer, and attorney Louis Mandel set Jules M,unshin'.«. Met)" film..deal when the studio head «'« s in New York recently. Mandel now reps Mnnshin and Jai- ler's M-G pact starts June.-1S47. when "CaTl /Me Mister" irun-ol-ihe-play contract expires. Meantime ihc.ex- GI comedian had.signed a new P"" with Melvyn Douglas *. Her™ n Levin before "Mister ", cam* . Broadway. I -.v. v .:'■*■> -'O > / J • i 1 ■' ' ■' lu