Variety (Jul 1946)

•VABIETTS' LONDON OIHDI ■ 8*. Martin'. Flam, Treble** BqaaN PftRIETY INTERNATIONAL 23 Dutch Showbiz on Rebound After Occupation, But the Stage Lags Holland Is on an entertainment ♦ rebound since the Nazi occupation, according to Cees Leseur, promi- nent Amsterdam actor-director, with legit coming in lor'special attention. The govt, is how trying to foster a national theatre, using pre-war and wartime community stock companies as nucleus. Groups have been sub- sidized in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, with a Hague com- pany in operation,' and a Rotterdam group ready to go in November when its new house will be built. The Dutch, according to Leseur, who arrived in N. Y. last week, are much less-legit-minded than either' music or film-minded. The Dutch had only a small film industry be- fore the war, and none now. Exhibs showed mostly U.'S. pix before the war; with Dutch subtitles. Holland now has a lot of British film; a snag with U. S. producers over royalties keeping American pix out. No new U. S, film has been seen since the war, says Leseur, other than what the Army (SHAEF) showed. French pix were popular, in Holland before the war, and are now. A few Rus- sian pix have been popular lately, but for artistic reasons, Says Leseur, not for their political slant. As for. legit, says Leseur, who for . the last 14 years was director of the Theatre Centraal, second largest le- giter in Amsterdam, it hasn't become a part of Dutch life, as music or films, because the Dutch look on theatre-going as a state occasion, and are usually too busy or too tired to dress up for an occasion. During the war there were Ave le- giters going in Amsterdam. The Germans okayed use of scripts, but otherwise didn't bother the Dutch much. Shakespeare and G. B. S. Leseur generally used foreign scripts, many of which he himself adapted. He did French plays, and American ones, until the U. S. en tered the war. The Germans per- mitted Shakespeare, says Leseur, because he was a classic, and Ber- nard Shaw, because he was Irish, Leseur staged, a few Dutch plays, and some German, and usually got in three French-scripts-to one Teu- tonic. Where, before the war, a three to four-week run wasrionsjd ered a success, during the war a pro- duction ran two to three months. Leseur staged two U. S. plays since the war's end, "You Can't Take It With You" and "Jacobowsky and the Colonel." Last play he staged, during the war was "They . Knew What They Wanted." Other U. S. plays done elsewhere in Amsterdam and The Hague, he said, included "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "Skin of Our Teeth." Leseur, who was last in N. Y. in 1939, decided to revisit the U. S. for a while, as a refresher after seven years under the Nazis. He would like to act in, and direct, a Broad way play, and has an ear open for a film bid. He also brought with him a Dutch script, H. M. Planten's "Rembrandt," which he'd like to do here, and in which the Shuberts and John Golden are interested. The Wm. Morris agency is handling him RKOV Swiss Meet Geneva, Switzerland, will be the site of RKO's Central European sales convention scheduled for July 3Q-31. Original date had been changed to Aug. 27 because of ac- commodation shortage, but was moved up to the earlier date when RKO manager. Armand Palivoda wired that the situation had cased, In attendance at the meeting will be Vladimir Lissim and Michael Havas', European and Near Eastern manager and sales, manager respec- tively. Wally's Swedish Plans Gustave "Wally. Swedish legit pro ducer recently arrived in N. Y., re- ports that showbiz in the Scandi- navian countries has been booming since the war's end. Sweden, neu tral center for diplomats, news papermen, and espionage agents, garnered record b.o. receipts even' during the war years when sur- rounding countries were Nazi oc cupied. In N. Y. to look over current Broadway plays for possible produc tlon in Sweden, Wally said his next musical comedy, to go on the Stock holm boards would be "Escapade. 1 Play is a three-nation project with Louis Lajtaj, an Australian, doing the lyrics; Steffan Tjerneld, Swede, writing the book, and Wil- liam Molllson, an Englishman, di recting. Wally will star as actor dancer in the show. Gets Irish Razz Dublin, July 18. "Beloved Enemy," made in Holly wood 10 years ago with Brian Aherne and Merle Oberon starred in romantic story of Irish "troubles, 1 has caught up with trouble , during a swing of the countryside in a reissue handled by Egan Film Services from here. When shown at Rock Cinema, Cashel (County Tipper ary), the town council held a meeting to protest the "offensive stage-Irishman' produc- tion." The chairman, F. Phillips, de clared it to be "trlrlng with the na" tional gospel of the Irish people" and the council passed a demand-to the Minister for Justice to have the pic withdrawn from circulation imme- diately. Production aroused no big storm when originally shown here in 1937, or in recent reissue showing at Astor, Dublin, for three weeks. Reception was lukewarm with plenty of razzes from people Who knew the Irish "troubles." Cashel protest is considered futile as Minister for Justice is hot em- powered to order withdrawal of film, except under emergency conditions. Films can only be banned in Ireland by censor Richard J. Hayes on moral grounds. It's said here that Hayes' predecessor in censorship office, the late James Montgomery, disliked the picture, but had no power to with- hold a certificate for showing. Col/s Pery US.-Bonnd Sydney, July 18. Nick Pery, Columbia's Aussie-Far East chief, leaving for U. S. home- office visit this week. Pery, who produced "Smithy," home-made pic for Col. at Cinesound, had planned U. S. trip some months ago, but postponed it until after pic's Aussie premiere. Understood there's possibility of Col making another pic here. Irish Hotheads Toss Bucket At Tktory Screen Dublin, July 17. Self-admitted young members of the illegal Irish Republican. Army threw a Are bucket through the screen at the Grafton here last night (16), after shouting protests against showing of Gen. Film Distributors* newsreel of the Victory March through London. Demonstration was obviously planned by about two dozen youths who shouted at inter- vals, but left the theatre within IS minutes. Film is also running at Carlton here, but there was no protest, although- police took precautions' against recurrent demonstrations during balance of pic's run. The Victory March got a generally good reception here, with audience approval for shots of Irish-born Field Marshal Montgomery and for wo- men's units. Canadian Film, Price Controls Unlikely to Be Eased in Near Future Montreal, July 23. Small chance' that price ceilings and theatre and film controls gen- erally will be lifted or even eased within the near future, is voiced by officials close to the Wartime Prices & Trade Board (Canada's OPA). Due to living cost boosts, various Canadian film bodies have been in contact with the Prices Board for a revision in the regulations, but it was made known last week that the changes were not going to be forthcoming. Theatre and film controls have operated smoothly for several years except for the occasional beefs to Ottawa from the Nat'l Council of Independents. Indies claim that the controls are not effective enough and even put up a stiffer fight against their removal. The controls, except for the in frequent exception, have remained almost unchanged since their incep tion in 1941. STAGE GUILDS HAY UNITE Dublin/July 17. A message from the Irish Catholic Stage Guild to its U. S. counterpart, suggesting a link-up of Stage Guilds of TJ. S„ Britain (Interval Club) and Ireland, is being taken back to America by Father E. J. Flnnagan, of Boys Town, here on a visit. He planes back to N. Y. soon. Franco Sets Up New Pix Censorship Board Madrid, July 23. Franco government created a new board (or film censorship last week, with 12 members to be appointed by government decree. Censor group will consist of one priest, nominated by the Catholic Church, reps of the Education Ministry, and a group of producers and exhibitors. Under the setup, the new board will make its decisions by a majority vote, subject to the veto power of the Church . representative. De- cisions of the old censorship organi- zation will be reviewed and made subject to new recommendations. Ulerrie England 1 Fades, Princes Shuttering; Delfont's New <Noose' London, July 19. Jack Waller's "Merrle England," failing to hold up at the Princes the- atre, is closing July 20, and with Firth Shephard's revue "More Shephard's Pie" not yet ready, Ber- nard Delfont goes into Princes with revival of "Gay Rosalinda," opening Aug. 8 for six weeks. Delfont, incidental, has secured English rights to Richard Llewellyn's new play, tentatively titled "Noose," which he intends to produce at the Garrick theatre in conjunction with Reunion theatre, new company com- prising ex-service actors for' whom Llewellyn has written this play. ' Garrick, which is currently run- ning "Better Late," revue starring Beatrice Lillie, is expected to come off around late September, with the- atre taken over for short season by Henry Sherek who will present se- ries of new plays there by unknown authors early October for six months, after which "Noose" will be staged. Swedish Labor Strike for 100% Wage Tilt Keeping 2,000 Theatres Dark Granville's Chile Spot Douglas John Granville has been appointed Warner Bros, manager In Chile^and takes over his duties Aug. 1 with headquarters in Santiago. Succeeds Isidor Rosenfeld, resigned. Granville was formerly connected with Metro in Venezuela and Trini- dad and had been in England re- cently. He left last for Buenos Aires to confer with Arthur Abeles, Jr., WB supervisor for the territory. MIntlUps British Staffers London, July 23. In a realignment of top person- nel effected by Murray Silverstone, 20th-Fox International prexy, soon after his arrival Jiere last week, Ar- thur Silverstone and Kenneth Har- graves were named joint assistant managing directors to Otto Bolle, recently-named 20th chief in Britain. Silverstone, brother of Murray and Emanuel, was formerly circuit sales manager. Hargraves is secretary of the company. Silverstone and James F. Pattin- sori, former assistant sales manager, were named to the board of direc- tors, with Hargraves already on the directorate. 20th International prexy also announced the appointment of Pattlhson to succeed Sutton Dawes as sales director. Dawes has resign- ed after 30 years with the company, owing to'ill health. Bolle, meanwhile, was introduced to the British staff at the 20th In- ternational convention held here over the weekend, with Murray Silverstone presiding. Meet was at- tended by h.o. execs, branch man- agers, supervisors and the entire sales force, who welcomed Bolle and heard a farewell , speech from his predecessor, Francis L. Harley. Har- ley takes over; as the company's managing director in Europe. 'BELLS'RINGS BELL IN SWANK DUBLIN PREEM Dublin, July 18. With no film star available, RKO flacker Don Prince did a hangup job for the Irish premiere of Leo McCarey's "The Bells of St. Mary's" with the President of Ireland, Sean T. O'Kelly, as chief guest for the opening at the Savoy here to-night. Other guests included the Chief Jus- tice, His Honor Conor A. Maguire, Archbishop Mulligan,' and members of the . govt, and diplomatic corps. Seats for the preem set a record for this country by selling out with- in two hours of b.c. opening. Pic is booked at Savoy for unlimited pe- riod, with moveover to another first- run house of the J. Arthur Rank chain, the Metropole, later. Robert S. Wolfe', RKO manager in Great Britain, and Louis Elliman, man.-dir. of Metropole and Allied Cinemas, hosted the guests at a party in the nearby swank Gresham Hotel after the screening. James J. Mulvey, gen. mgr. for Sam Goldwyn; Col. Jack Votion, RKO European rep, and David E. Griffith, European rep of Interna- tional Pix,- planed to Dublin for the opening and were met by RKO Irish manager Hubert McNally. XEATON IN MEXICO Mexico City, July 23. Buster Keaton planed in Thursday (18) from Los Angeles to work in his first Mexican pic, "The Modern Bluebeard," that Alejandro Silkind will produce. Comic was accompanied by his wife. Tivoli Loop Biz Good Despite Strike Status; Bid for U.S. Talent Seen Sydney, July 18. Biz is okay with the Tivoli loop, despite fact that Sydney is passing through' a tough postwar industrial period due to strikes. For past two weeks Sydney has had no street cars from £ p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday morning, making it tough for all amusement setups. Fortu- nately, Tivoli is situated close ; to the R.R. station, thus copping trade from train travelers. Will "Mahoney show played to eight weeks here on two-a-day. Dave Martin and his backers. In- cluding some pix toppers, expect to land a lot of overseas talent here before year's end, to hypo vaude- revue presentations. Most of the talent is expected to come from the U.S. Satisfactory lease-lend arrange- ment by Aussie govt, with U.S. is seen as means of unfreezing dollars for U. S. buys, backed too by the U. S. loan to Britain. Strike of Swedish Business Em- ployees Assn. which has shuttered all 2,000 Swedish theatres since July 1, will take a healthy slice out of European film rentals should it drag out beyond the summer dol- drums, foreign dept. execs said last week. With the union demanding a 100% wage hike and cut of work week from 6lx to Ave days, the Swedish Business It Industry Assn., repping for exhibs, are taking a strong stand and a protracted labor struggle is probable,- it was said. Sweden, currently in the top bracket of continental money-makers for the. majors, plays almost all Yank films with the top pix good for 10-week runs in key houses. Swedish exhibs can afford to wait out the summer because business then is almost at a standstill, ac- cording'to Carl A. Nelson, Swedish circuit operator and producer here on a four-week visit. Theatre em- ployees in that country put in a six- day, 30-hour week, since the houses' policy is to play two shows nightly of two hours each and. no matinees. Nelson said. Attempt of American Aim compa- ' nles to bring in 16m Alms has em- broiled the Swedish Theatre Owners Assn; in a dispute with' them, Nel- son disclosed. STOA has nixed the idea, voicing the objection aired elsewhere, that the narrow-gauge pix would hurt the 35m business. Exhibrdistrib contracts ban 16m ex- hibition without consent of theatre- men and American distribs have been stymied to date in their ef- forts to win over local exhibs. British films in Sweden take a back seat because they can't stand up in competition with ' American pix, Nelson said. Chief foreign rival of the Yanks are the French whose films are widely played in Sweden, according to Nelson. Swedish pro- ducers have been turning out some 50 films annually, he added, with the average ; cost per pic ranging between $80,000 and $100,000. Aussie Pix Duo Due In London for Rank Huddle Sydney, July 18. A. Ben Fuller, son of Sir Ben Fuller, head of Fuller loop, and Lyal Grant, director of the Fuller setup, will fly to London soon for huddles with J. Arthur Rank on the Aussie pic situation. It's known that' the Fullers want to return to live, vaude-revue en- tertainment and quit the pic field. Rank, via GUT deal with Norman Rydge, now has 50% interest in the GUT loop, but is known to be look- ing for more theatres, hence the possibility of a deal With the: Fullers covering certain zones. It's recalled that the FullcVj; sold their New Zealand interests to the Robert Kerridge loop some time ago. Fuller and Grant had charge of that loop. Presently, the duo is on the Kerridge board. Rank now holds 50% interest in the Kerridge setup. RKO's Sandia Mgr. Sez Biz Easing to Normal Pix biz in the Scandinavian ter- ritory is on the slide, according to Carl Gerhard-Wallman, RKO "MBrr ger for the territory currently in New York, but the dropoff is only a. return to normal after the wartime boom, hypoed by the influx of 500,- 000 outsiders who are now leaving with the advent of peace. Wallman reported a 27% bite into Swedish house grosses alone, while the other northern countries are suffering similarly, with one exceptldn, Den- mark, where U. S. films are barred. Danish situation . is a result of fear there of creating dollar obliga- tions. British' pictures are okayed because of trade reciprocity created through purchase of Danish food- stuffs. Wallman said that the loan .to Britain might remedy the condition, since it will enable Danish govern- ment to collect war-Incurred debts from England in dollars. Houses in Denmark show Swedish product, in addition to 40 OWI features, five from each of the eight majors. Finland, with only 220 theatres, - was hardest hit by the war. Mean- while, Sweden is undergoing a studio strike, which Wallman tended to deprecate on basis of the fact that all film theatres close during the. summer months, with the ex- ception of the Aye largest Stock- holm houses. Because of the un- stable monetary situation, all pic- tures (about 80 per year from the U, S.) are distributed against frozen credits. 16m Doubtful Possibilities of 16m distribution is Scandinavia don't look promising at present, with government restric- tions in Denmark designed to pro? tect exhibitors and Sweden thor- oughly covered by 2,200 regular 35m houses. Only areas where there is noticeable understating are north- ern Norway and Finland. As is the case with most other territories, Russsian pictures are shown but are not well received because of their straight propaganda line. . Norway theatres, . community owned and operated by an elected board, will continue to operate as they have in the past, without con- tracts, with pictures booked on a. sliding scale of rentals of between 25% and 35%. Entire Scandinavian territory has 3,060 houses.