Variety (Jun 1946)

Wednesday, lime 12, 1946 UTERATI 61 L Herat i They're All 'Cooth' Now Newspapermen are no longer un- eouth. drunken louts, who live with their feet on desks and a sneer on ihe^ Hps for all the civilized world's conventlons-at least they're no longer that way in films. Long-heard sauawk of the newspaper fraternity «t what they consider the screen's unjust characterization of them has brought forth figures from Francis Harmon, v.p. of the MoUon Picture Association, to prove it ain't so. Last year, Harmon reveals, there were newspaper people in 77 of the 398 features okayed by the MPA. There were 81 identifiable journal- i.sls in the 77 plx. Of these, 67 were sympathetic characters, five were wn- sympathetic and nine played indlf- ircicnt, minor roles. One, an unsym- pnthetic newspaper man, had a prominent role, while 37 newspaper people appeared in prominent sym- pathetic characterizations, Harmon reported. L i Among outstandmg n.lms about newspapermen during 1945, the MPA v.p. said, were "Story of GI Joe," with Ernie Pyle as the leading char- acter; "Blood on the Sun," .with Jimmy Cagncy in the leading role of an American managing editor in Tokyo who uncovers a Jap plot,for- world conquest; "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes," with James Craig in a major sympathetic role of a country editor, and "Col. Effing- ham's Raid,'' in which a bright yoimg reporter helps a southern colonel re- tain the historical landmarks of a southern city. In presenting the figures to the newspaper world recently, Harmon came up with a reverse twist, asking that the press continue howling about individual pictures as much as it Chooses, but to lay off blasting Hollywood for the sins of single 'producer. He declared: . . "I will be frank and say unequivo- cally that we of the motion pictures have no right to brand all newspaper people as villains when the exigen- cies of a particular screen: story re- quire a journalist to appear, in an iinsyrhpathetic role. Edmund Burke's statement that you cannot indict a whole nation applies equally to an entire profession or an industry— whether it be, newspapers or Holly- wood." each to do. Ads are a regular part of the Horseshoe's $1,500 weekly budget, Rose - maintaining that he isn't taking any more space' now than during the last seven years, provirig he says that in the past peo- ple never read - his ads. Rose says he started these ads on the feeling that regular, nitery ads' on the drama, page were not beinjg read. ".What I primarily had to sell was myself," said.Rose, ■ Rose, acknowledges an able assist- in these ads from Lee Roggo. of the Blackstohe agency, his advertising. radio and newspaper promotion- Collier's runs not one but two ads or more in a newspapier on Friday, plugging current issue's contents. Digest runs weekly newspaper ads on its book. Post is upping its Wednesday' back-page, half-page newspaper ads to a full page, plus its i:adio spot commercials, etc. Pubs' FbrelKn 'Markets Upped European and Latin - Arnerican markets for American literary prop- erties continue on an upped scale, which began following the end. of the war. According to a report from Preiitice-Hall's foreign dept., for»gn publishers are. seeking . rights. to many books published in the U. S. during the war, as well as to those more recently published. Chief among the earlier works is Kurt Singer's "Spies and "Traitors of World War .II," which goes into its eighth foreign edition early next year when It will be published in Denmark. Kenneth Boulding's "Eco- nomics of Peace" has. just been , pub- lished in; France and Eliot "Tainter^s •September Remember" lis slated for October publication in Buenos Aires. Various foreign publishers have al- ready bought rights to Rosamond' Marshall's "Duchess Hotspur" and to Russel Janney's "Miracle of the Bells." ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ OM <>♦»»♦♦♦♦♦♦>♦»♦♦ ♦♦♦♦«>>♦♦♦. i SCULLY'S SCRAPBOOK ; ;m « mmm > >mm By Frank Scully » m «« mmm >* m Ed Sullivan's 2d Bid story On top of his scoop that the Broad- way bookmakers and plainclpthes- men allegedly were working in co- operation, it's recalled' that the Broadway columnist Ed Sullivan also broke the story on the Henry Lustig (Longchamps restaurants) tax-eva- sion case. The N. Y. News column- ist first tipped ' the town, including Lustig, that the Government would brook no "settlement." Lustig is cur- rently on trial. Billy Rose's 'Advertorials' ,"Midget advertorials" Billy Rose has been running the past six weeks in N. Y. dailies for his Diamond Horseshoe, have attracted attention far beyond the nitery belt, as one of the smartest bits of ad-copy pro motion in several seasons. Ads, running from 75 to 250 words each, and all written by Rose him- . self, have had no apparent relation to the Horseshoe except goodwill. But effects have apparently been felt. Rose claiming that the Horse- shoe biz has picked up 30 to 50% the last two weeks, as against a general biz decline everywhere. Rose attributing this entirely to the qds in question. Ads have gone far afield of nitery subjects, even of the entertainment field. Rose has paid tribute to Al Jolson, W. C. Fields, Irving Berlin, Oscar Hammerstein 2d, Richard Maney, Ned Alvord, Orson Welles, Flo Ziegfeld, Carl Erbe, Dorothy and Herbert Fields, Bill Robinson, and others. He's also devoted the col- umn to N. Y. Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses, Displaced Persons, the food shortage, etc. Pieces have been nostalgic, anec- dotal, rambling by turn. Recent Bob Moses piece was a defense of the commissioner, of whom Ilpse admits "there's no love lost between the Grand Panjandrum of the Parks and little .Willie," because the news- papers were unfairly rapping a guy who's done so much for N. Y. in the way of parks, highways, playgrounds and stadia. Broadway, in general, has liked the pieces, vvhether columnists, ac- tors, bistro proprietors or plain cus- tomers. There have been excep- tions, N. ,Y. Daily News' Bob Syl- vester recently decrying the "social conscious" slant in the ads, and ■ pointing out an incongruity between Hose's plea for food conservation • for Europe's hungry and the sumptu- ous, repasts at the Horseshoe. Horse SRL's Brown to London John Mason Brown planes to Lon don tomorrow (Thurs.) as corre spondent for the Saturday Review.of Literature. Also scheduled for BBC broadcasts on current English liter' ary and theatrical scene:,and CBS Tcports to this country on prese;it day England. - Was ill last couple weeks with re currence of illness, contracted while in Navy, but is okay now. 'Land of Lost' Books -Isabel Manning Hewson has de livercd to Whittlesey her second book, ''Adventures in the Land of- the Lost," based on her Mutual net- work kids' program. Publication will be delayed, due to continued suc- cess of first book, "Land of the Lost,' published in '45. Meantime, an Eng- li.<:h edition of the first book will be brought out by Heineman of London'. Educational Comics brought out '■Land of the Lost" Comics, first comic book adapted from the pro gram, on Sat. (8), with Mrs.. Hew- son ^writing the continuity. Story was also done on the air Sat. (8). First edition called for 400,000 cop ies. Kaufman's 'Photographic Memory'. Elements comprising a whodunit in themselves are wrapped up in. the recent withdrawal from' sale of Wolfe Kaufman's mystery, "I Hate Blondes," which was published in April by Simon & Schuster. Similarities in sentence phrasing between scenes in the book and pas- which handles ; sages in Eric Ambler's 1937 mystery, ~ "Background to Danger," ■ were cialled to the attention of S&S short- ly thereafter. The publishers, al- though stating that no plagiarism in plot was. found and that the similar- ity sharply occurred in only one sec- tion of Kaufman's book for some 30 isentcnces, took matter up with both authors. "They offered to split roy- alties, but Amber, an English nov- elist, through his U. S- agents. Music Corp- of America, insisted the book be withdrawn. Kaufman explained he has a trick, photographic memory, trained by years of newspaper and magazine work, during which he never , took notes; . He admitted reading the Ambler book (which has been re- printed in 25c pocketbook editions, as well as made into a film), claim- ing sentence structure must have stuck in his mind unconscioiisly. Story broke Thursday (6) in Earl Wilson's column in the N. Y. Post. Columnist. had been sitting on the story for some time, although it also has been circulating in the trade. Coincidence automatically precludes any pix sale of the Kaufman book. The whodunit had a first printing of 10,000 copies and a second of 2,000,' and sold over 9,000 copies. Author will get royalties from S&S on the bopies soldi Publishers seem less concerned about the licking they're taking, on returned copies, future, editions, plates, ads, etc., thaii the feeling the incident will scare Kaufman off from further writing, his acute mem.ory po-'sibiy haunting him that he may again unconsciously plagiarize some thing. Example of the sharp "photo graphic" memory ' is evidenced by these two quotes which Wilson itemed: Ambler . "Don't you think you are being rather foolish,-Mr. Kenton?" "Why?" Colonel Robinson's yellow sk^n tightened suddenly. "Because -what' evci:. your prim notions of responsi' bility . may be, I want those photO' graphs and intend to have them. Furthermore." he added slowly, am prepared to take any steps that may be necessary to overcome your scruples." "Such as?" Kau/7nan He said, "Don't you think you are being foolish, Mr. Anderson?" ••Why?" His Skin tightened suddenly. "Because," he said, "whatever your prim notions of. responsibility- may be, I want that photograph and I in- tend to have it. Furthermore, I am prepared to take whatever steps are necessary to overcome your scru pies." "Such as?" Mags and Comlo Books Dip Sharp falling off in mag and comic book sales the past few months has cued all sorts of trade rumors re- garding literati changes, ranging from talk that the recently-spawned swank Curtis publication. Holiday, would fold, to stories that both mag- azines X (Saturday Review of Liter- ature's prospected popular weekly, and Curtis* pix mag) would be aban- doned. It's reported that Reader's Digest and the Satevepost have had as much as 30% returns from the newsr stands in recent months, with other mags suffering io greater degree up to 75%. Comic books havi.. taken a sharp drop, from a 40,000,000 war- time sale to a present 25,000,000 cir- culation, with the skids still on.' Likeliest i-cason for circulation drop is deflation of a wartime boom in reading, whe^i GIs, travelers, .shifting populations, etc., read mags shoe staff, itself is reported not too : as lime-killer, and publishers' put keen on the ads, as not being rapidr I out new mags in constant stream to fire enough (too general and amia- meet the demand. Anyway, dealers ble) to attract nitery clientele. But|,are reported firing back magazine objections are in minority; there has I bundles unopened, while on the even been an offer to syndicate the other hand the bigger mags, like pieces. | Satevepost, Collier's and Reader's Rose acknowledges an able assist i Digest, are going in more heavily appearing in the News' daily, and | than ever on promotion, staggered in the other seven N. Y. Satevepost Is reported setting sheets. Pieces take about an hour $2,500,000 aside this year for mag, Alcoholics To publicize The Alcoholics Anonymous Grape- vine, Inc., was recently: chartered at Albany, N. Y., to edit, print and bind materials pertaining to "Alco- holics Anonymous." Offices are in N. Y. with Royar F. Shepard as filing attorney. (Capital. stock is six shares, no par value. Bemelmans' H'wood Book Ludwig Bemelmans, novelist and screen writer,- has finished a book to be published by Viking in autumn Titled "Dirty Eddie," book is. a sa tire on Hollywood via a pig who is needed for a part in a picture. Flackers to. Elect will Yolcn, flack chief of WNEW has bowed out of the post of prcsi dent of the Publicity Club of N.Y a post he!s held scveral years. . Nominees for the hew slate, to be elected at a meeting Monday (17), arc: For proxy, Arthur J. C. Under- bill and Robert Nathans; first vecpee, Mao Wagner Carlisle, Mary Pent- land; second vice prexy,. Lt. Col. Dorsey Owings, Michael M. Engel; recording secretary, Helen M. E. McCarthy, Adriienne Minden: board of directors: Yolen, Leon Epstein, (Continued on page 62) Pugit Sound, June 6. "Priority" being the No. 1 word of the Century (that's a dictloiiary, con), I'm afraid I've lost ihy place in line as a historian of matters that don't matter. I am gazing at the sky above the Brown Derby viewing the beauty, of a Navy blimp that was hot advertising Jane Russell in "The Outlaw," when out parachuted Lt. Col. Barney Oldfield, our old Nebraska mugg, who had previously jumped into eight European countries In this war and had become quite good at it. He landed on my surviving foot' and before I could say "Superman!" he buttonholed me and demanded what I had meant by saying I had been ruined by"The Jazz Singer," the first bleater of show biz. I replied that I hadn't said anything of the sort. "You did tooi" he insisted. "Where?" I demanded. "Over at the American Veterans political rally at Warners' KFWB studio." What I had said was that I was running for the lowest office in the land, was low enough to make it siai would assure an honest administration because I was 20% off in my hearing and couldn't even'hear bribes. "A likely story 1" he said, as he pulled me indoors to one of those booths .where everybody shows from the heck up and looks pretty dead that way when the check comes. He began giving ihe chapter and curse about this biz of priority. ■ To hear him tejl it a kid called "Don Juan," starring Warner Bros., Vitaphone and John Barrymore in that, order, had captured the Puget ^Bay area with sound before Jolson knew one knee, from the other. Oldfield, who doesn't smoke, not even cornsilk, hashish or the original Barney's burned-out cigars, nevertheless began getting smoke in my I's. He said he was giving me the straight instead of rushing to Eddie Durling, .Joe Laurie or Louis Sobol. because (1) Durling won't touch anything unless it has a ■ women-'and-horses angle,. (2) Sobol won't touch anything that doesn't begin with Ekibol and (3) Laurie, yawns till his Bl Ropo goes out if the subject is later than April 8, 1901, and the' Bijou bill in Chicago, But you," Barney pointed out, ''you're young enough to know :betler. You know, the iVarners camie from Youngstown, O., and you certainly must remember 'Don Juan' because he put you and your salient travelog ight out of business in Nice, France, and don't go saying it was "The Jazz Singer' again or I'll have to use what influence Warners have, left to get you exiled to'Truman's cabinet." He Lays a FOundaUon Frem there on .he laid out the picture of things as they were in 1926 when everybody thought that silencfe was not only. Goldwyn but hei:e to stay. A day of Big Parades, Dancing Daughters, Patriots, Wings, Card- board Lovers'and Rin Tin Tin, , it didn't seem as if anybody could get very far with. disciplined noise, especially after years of Valentino and Theda Bara -shaking men and women to their very foundation garments without saying a word. All the.while we were making our travelaughs conform to the formula, •like studying geography under Charlie Chaplin," in faraway France, this revolution was going oh in Ilollywood. Cut and titled, we shipped our first reels from Marseilles to New York. I had rather .thought they had met "the Jazz Singer" heading toward Europe and were, sunk in midocean without a trace. I do remember we hurriedly reprinted what reels we had left and rushed! them to the Dutch East Indies in the hope of getting our costs back before Jolsonic sirens began screaming out of every picture house in the world. But Oldfield insists it was "Don Juan", that put us out of business, not Dori Jolson, His version is that it took place on Aug. 7, 1926, and that we must have read even in French papers that John Barrymore in tights had tried to make the most of moments alone with Mary Astor. The picture . had accompanying sounds and rhusic fed to it, and the audience. A Repub- lican by the name of Will Hays blabbed a bit on the .same program, Giovanni Martinelli and Marian Tallye. fought to see' who could open their . mouths, widest, yell the loudest and look silliest, and the boys of Lorighair Local No. 8Q3)Mthe New York; Philharmonic, sawed and oboed an overture to a frenzied finish. . . , He Names Names . This, coming from the screen of the old Warner theatre in New York, must have lieen all very pleasant to Harry, Jack, Albert arid Sam. Sam. now dead, was the idea man. But whethei: I am right or Oldfield, the news of it along, the Riviera Poverty Row was as welcome as the undertaker's approach with a measur- ing tape in one hand and a spade, with damp earth still on it in the other; We knew our celluloidal testimonial to the wonders of European spheres of . influence was now as mute as a parrot with a clevis over his bill, The sad part is that the wisdom,of our judgment was so right in this matter! Of course, that being 20 years ago and I still eating in a magniflccnt manor of my own, the sheer tragedy of that morning after Aug. 6, 1026, looks more comic no'w. The Warners are still in the business just over the mountain from me, and from what I hear, they intend to make quite a show of their 20th anniversary. Before they brought their racket into the picture palaces and a guy could sleep as much as he wanted.without inter- ference, even I was not against coming uninvited once in a while to Warner functions. I was denied the opportunity of seeing the opus of all time on this history-making night in New York, but Oldfield, who wasn't there either (it was before paratrooping) knows what it did. "The first Impact was on the critics. They lit matches to look at the expression on each other's faces, went to the men's room to hold reassuring conferences, made deals with each other to go along in a group, more or less, .so.no matter what happened they'd all look silly or smart togethei". That was the initial note of the revolution, like the first rasp of a beginning avalanche. The thing was so big, few knew'Where to take hold of it, or whether they wanted to get a hand on it. So Seldes Now Dialogs For Far Most of the reviews got off the hook by^calllng it a novelty, and it wasn't until later, when Hollywood's smartest men and some of their parrots in New York began to jump on the Warners, that articles began to appear by guys like Gilbert Seldes, who Is never wrong, that "Hollywood Commits Suicide." After the critics and the electric light company, which put colored lights on the great white way for the first time to extol the wonders of Vita- phone, had tasted this "revolution" in New York, the orange grove, and swimming-pool country was next to feel that narcotic impact of a boom. Face-distorters who had been away'from the dime store-too long and resented the prospect of returning to a once-price existence, were first to feel the rap. Two fellows, a. church usher (on Sundays) by the narne of Conrad Nagel, and John Barrymore, a-guy with a mugg which sent women off into wild dreams and put a strain on the hooks and eyes of their cor- setry, were said by everyone to be the only people in Hollywood who could manage this talkie thing. These two men had been of and in the theatre, where their elocution records were well known. Conrad Nagel's Belgle ' Barrymore took his time about making pictures, but ppor old $2,500-a- wcck (Conrad, not him.. He was owned by M-G-M, and M-G-M was loathe 10 get excited about this talking picture business until it looked a bit more solid than it did in its unsteady coltish-legged days. Louis B. Mayer went into the talkie medium like an agent, not a producer. Anybody, -who wanted' his prize boy, name of Nagel, could have him frorn a price, and Nagel gabbed for every company but Metro. ■ ~ He made, by actual count (must give the Warners' researchers credit on these statistics), 31 feature pictures in the first two years of the Warner remake of Hollywood. He was a very good man for it, because he was' blond, and that meant he could work 24 hours at a stretch without shaving) (Continued on page 62)