Variety (Nov 1946)

BUREAUCRATS IN PIX IMPASSE 'Notorious Gent' Belies Breen Has Any Anti-British Bluenose Ideas British squawk recently that Joe t————7-^—r—— ,,. . —— Bi'eeii's production Code Admiuis- Kilroy's Here—In Spades ^ration was letting Hollywood get »wav with a lot of things he'd kayo If done by the English won a tilted eyebrow response last week from American oljservers who were get- ting their first glimpse Of J, Arthur Banlc's "Notorious Gentleman" (nee ''A Rake's Progress"). Not only would the picture not have received a PCA seal, most of the pro o.o.ers ojjined, but the script would never have reached the shooting stage had it been ijropounded by an American company. , ^ , Rex Harrison starrer, which has arrived her* highly-touted by tlie British, has : another angle which caused a buzz among tf.S. phsorvers. That was :i result of the criticism which -has been heard in this coun- . trj' lor years that American pix were giving a bad impression of United States to people abroad. Not many Hollywood films, it ",was agreed, have given . anything :like the poor impression of Americans that "Gentleman" gives of the British. It . is a caricature of all the worst trails of familiar English types, with the only intelligent, and decent, sym- patiietic character being an Arfstriim Jewish girl. "Gentleman" was one of two Brit- ish; pix that brought on the beef from the English during the past summer about Breen not being im- partial. He refused to grant the film a seal because Harrison, pic- tured as a college clown, climbs a tower at the university and plants • chamber pot on its spire; Scene | js tContinued on page 30) Kilroy appears 'to be here- in triplicate, at least. Last week Arthur W. Kelly announced he would produce "Kilroy Was Here" for United Artists release; This week Bob Savini, of Astor Pictures, states-rights out' fit, announced that he/had inked a deal with a pair of San Fran- cisco producers; Pat Patterson and Frank Roy Nicholson, to handle distribution of. a "Kilroy" series of six pix. First will be labeled you-know-what ahd will, be released Feb. .15.; ^';V : / ■ Jackie Coogan, . meanwhile, playing tlie : Vogiie . Terirae^ Pittsburgh last ■ week; Closed, a deal by lonfi-diistance for his re- turn' to, pictures in another "Kil- roy Was Here," with another former; child: fllm star, Jackie Cooper, Film will be produced independently by Sid i.Uft and Dick Hyland. Johnston Fails To See British Quota Repealed London, Nov. 5. Abolition of the British Quota. Act j.s merely wishful thinking, Eric Johnston, head of the Motion Picture As.sn. of America, said on his arrival here Thursday (31) on a th'ree-^week European trek. He made the foi'e- cast as representative of the MPA. Johnston will look into European trade revival while on the continent, returning here in April. He expects to have talks with Clement Attlee, Herbert Morrison, Sir Stafford Cripps, J. Arthur Rank, Tom O'Brien and heads of the Trade Union Congress. With O'Brien and the union chiefs he will discuss the trade union movement here. Object of Johnston's visit is aim- ing at closer contact between Europe and America. He, predicted, q reces- sion iii'prices next,year but no slump similar to the one after the; first World War. .Tohnson predicted that within five years films would be education's great ad.iunct. He also maintained that television would revolutionize the film indvistry within the next few" years.;- Current New Book-Play Dearth Prompts H'wood To Dig Into the Files Many a book, play or short story long since forgotten about as a screen possibility may be expected to appear on major studio produc- tion schedules in the next few montlis. Lack of acceptable screen jtare in the Broadway legit houses and the book stalls is responsible, with several film company story de- partments eiu'rently conducting ex- ploratory expeditions through their •files.',, A number of other writers, story editors anticipate, are going to be just as surprised to receive checks from their agents for screen rights to properties thought long since dead as was the author of "Johnny Be- linda", last week. Play, written by ; Elmer Harris and produced by Harry .Wags.tafT Gribble on Broadway in 1940. was tucked away on a shelf tintll a few weeks ago when a War- ner Bros, file safari unit dusted it oft and forwarded it to the studio as ■ « po.ssif)ility for next season's pro- ,gram.. Studio, grabijed, it up at %G5.- 000, cossidored an exceptionally hisih figure, for a property, so long dor- inant. . , ,,; EiIe scouts are lilcewise at work at Paramount, digging out synopses ot potential material to have them re- read and new reports made on them. One roa,son is the feeling that prop- son, Samuel, Jr., who is associated erties passed up five or I'O years ago l with, produijcr Sidney Box in Lon because of particular conditions pre- ,'vailing at the time may be topnotch- ets fpr the likewise particular silua- 'i:on that prevails now. Another reason, however, is that inere's such a dearth of new story material being published that there's , often just not enough tb keep highly- skilled start readers, busy and stocy ;^ditors feci the flle-snooping a profit- able allernative. While these searches 'have been tried in the past wilhoul TOO much success because of , fCoiUinued on page 56) pro- GOLDWYN HEADS LARGE CONTINGENT NOW EAST Samuel Goldwynj who arrived in New York yesterday (Tuesday), heads a Whollssale; contingent in the east oi stars and execs from his studio. Some are in New York for tlie preem of "Best Years of Our Lives," while rest are east on other company business, Goldwyn and his wife, Frances, wil.L;slay" in Manhat- tan until Dcc: 14,when they sail on the Queen Elizabeth to visit their don Tiiey will remain in England only; four days, coming back on, the, re- turn (rip of the ,;Eli«at>eth., They'll: go back to, the Coast around Christ- . : (Continued on page 26i BE IN MIDDLE Washington, Nov. 5. Hollywood-Washington relation- ship may be further muddled by a dispute which has split Federal of- ficialdom over a proposal ot the Of- fice, of; War Mobilization & Recon-, version for creation of a permanent motion picture bureau to.coordinate all Government: production activi-* ties. Bureau, envisaged by the OWMR as' supervisor of planiiing and: production of all Government tilms, would also shape policy to- wards the film industry in distribu- tion of Federal, pix and other mat- ters necessitating Hollywood-Gov- ernment cooperation. : . Current wrangle'which' finds such important branches as the State Dept.' opposed to any overlordship on films,,if prolonged, is expected to put the industry in, the middle. Unsettled cross-currents on whom to deal With in the Government have previously had film execs running from pillar to post duriiig the war: years. ■ Present diffei-ences ;; are sharp, with the State Dept. main- taining that any future programs tor films in and out. of the Government should be flexible an decentralized, while the OWMR has taken up the cudgels for single-headed direction. Creation of motion picture bureau is backed by Arch Mercey, OWMR film liaison ■ official, who . has the support of his chief, John R. Steel- man. Idea is one of the things be- (Continued on page 30) Selznick Lost It At the Astor; Goldwyn's 'Best Years Blocks 'Duel' CoLVPSpingold Plans Retiring Nate Spingold, v.p. and member of the board of Columbia Pictures, will retire next spring, it has been learned. With the company for al- most 10 years, lie has long been in ths inner circle of close advisers to prexy Harry Cohn, Serving as New York liaison with the studio, his duties include supervision of the advertising and publicity depart- ments. Spingold is in his '60s and his rea- son for retiring is said to be his de- sire to preserve his health, which has not been altogether robust re- centiy. He returned last month to the U. S. from six weeks abroad and is now on th'e Coast for three or four weeks, huddling with Cohn and stu- dio execs. No successor has been considered, (Continued on page 28) Kern Saw Most of His Pic Of the recent crop of song- writer - show biz cavalcades, fibout half the central figures saw their sagas cinema-glorified. George M. Cohan saw "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (WB) just be- fore he died, and . the late Je- rome Kern saw most of -the soon-due "Till the Clouds Roll By" (M-C3) before he passed on. , Cole Porter, Al Jolson, Jack/ Norworth ("Shine On Harvest Moon," WB's story, of Nora Bayes and Norworth), Richard . Rodgers (although Lorenz Hart ; is -^lead; Metro's forthcoming "My Heart Stood Still") are still . contemporaneous. UA Toppers West On Distrib Deal With Enterprise Edward C, Raftery, United Artists v.p., left New York for the Coast yesterday (Tuesday) to join UA dis- tribution chief Grad Sears in ne-, gotiations with David Loew and Charles Einleld for release of Enter- prise product. It is understood that essentials of the deal are seti with final details now being arranged preparatory to presenting it to the UA board for approval. Spokesman for the distributing company said Monday (4) that UA had stuck to the policy stated by Sears about six weeks ago regarding Enterprise, Sears declared Loew- Einfeld would.not get concessions in terms greater than those now being given other of UA's top producers. It was stated that the Enterprise distribution fee would be'25%. "Battle of the Astor Theatre," fought in ■ the TihSes Square arena ' for liiOre than a week between ihe. '■: forces of Samuel Goldwyn and the , echelons of . David Q. Selznick, wpupd - up yesterday. (Tuesday) with the Goldwyn pennant , floating triumr phantly over the battleground. J. Arthur Banlc's "Caesar & Cleopatra," one of the pawns in the titanic cn- gegement, was . still in the Broadway ; showcase : and ' Goldwyn's "Best Years ot Our Lives" appeared sot to replace it by Nov. 21 or before. Struggle for Astor playing time which would carry over the Christ* mas holidays was the crux of the series of skirmishes which took on aspects" somewhat between -a comic strip and a dime metier, Goldwyn ' I was determined to' get "Years" in' I the house and Selznick was trying . hard to hold it with stopgaps until he. could provide a: print.of "Duel , in the Sun," delayed by the Tcchui- , color tieup. In the ensuing fracas, two pawns— RKO's "Sinbad the Sailor" and llunt Stromberg's/'Strange Woman" (UA) ■—■tossed'away more than .$20,000 in advertising expenditures under the false impression and hope they were going into the 1,300-seater, which all admit is one of the nation's best showcases. In addition, there were such strange events as haveii't lieen; seen in show business since peep (Continued on page 201 Korda to H'wood Hollywood, Nov. 5. Alexander Korda sails from Eng- land aboard the Queen Elizabeth to- day (5) for New York, thence to Hollywood. Accompanying Korda is brother Vincent, designer of Korda productions. Pair will meet Arthur Jarratt, British-Lion topper, in Hollywood. They will look over Interests here and talk with talent aligned with Korda interests. National Boxoffice Survey Election Day Trade Boosts Biz—Mast,' 'No Leave,' 'Jolson,' 'Forever,' 'Killers' Top List N?lson to Chi, Then D. C. _ .■ Hollywood, Nov. 5. Donald M. Nelson left yesterclav .•(Moiiday) for Chicago where he'll ?Peak on industrial, mobilization ,and the war. .Nelson ako accepted an invitation attoncj the Government-fiV P"^;''.V' conference, slated Wtule House on Nov. 20. for m- tlie Mayer's European 0.0. Arthur L. Mayer, New York exhib and indie distrib, - leaves . the U. S. tomorrow (Thursday) by air for Geniiany, wliere;he'U make a survey for the American -Red .-Cross of GI recreational n eod.'S. . ;R,c.?Ults., .of Mayer's .six-wCek lodksce rpay dc? termirie wliellier or not the RC will continue toi provide canteens and other recreational faciiit;io.s". .for, the Arn'iy, a la.sk which it took on only as a wartime measure.' Mayer, operator of the Riallo on Broadway and partner in, Mayer- Burslyn. di.'itribs. : served the Red, Gross 9.S deputy commi.'^.sioner in the Pacific during the war. De.«pite several days of ; ultra warm weather and pre-election lull, current week's boxoSRce Ss holding up strongly, helped by Election Day holiday throngs, ,^ This means . that the overall national total will prob- ably cltttib to the: beat: figure ift sev- eral weeks. PacinX the big gros.scrs tlii.s stanza iii "Two;Years Before Mast" (Par), which is sock in all cities now play- ;iTi^.' ^'icture will hit a hew; record in Seattle, is terrific in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washinston and Clevc- lEind. -It, is big in San Francisco, plenty okiiy in Detroit and still do Dagger" (WB), "Lady Luck" (RKO) and "Holiday in Mexico" (M-G). In addition, high in the list is "Blue Skies" (Par), which, will rack up a great $106,000 for third week at the N. Y. Paramount. Because in only one city thus far, it is 'hot. included in the first 10 listing., ; "Mr, Ace" (UA) is doing nicely in three cities this week. "Kenny," while' in -five, spots, currently, is proving, , disappointing in ■ several cities. "Rage in Heaven", (M-G) is doing well for a rei.s.sue. It comes into the N. Y. Capitol this Week. ; "Dark Mirror" (U), playing in two 20TH AND A.J. BALABAN RENEWING RQXY PACT New pact is understood currently being negotiated between 20th-Fox and A. J. Balaban to continue latter's services-as managing director of the Roxy, N. Y. Balaban has been in charge of the house for 20th since 1942. His contract expired about six months ago and he has remained on without one since that time, on the possibility that. he might return to California, where he just bought a large home. He now has definitely determined to remain in the east and has sold the Coast house and bought a new one near the Adolph Zukor estats in New City, N. Y. Contract current- ly being negotiated, it is understood, will be similar in most respects t<» the old one, which i;£illed for a salary of $1,000 a we^. W^cmZ^Ti^si^^^^^ looks t. develop '"b ' - . — ' Unto a winner: for: Universal; Kin'^f in ' N. ,: Y. ' Although in only nine cities. Par sea- ojHis will run about $13'2,000. ahead of ^'No Le.ave. No Love-, (M-G*. second; place winner, :{which is ill ,. seyen ,spots, ;■ ■• Others; :in the' oiirreivt Big Teh are "jolsoh^Story" iCol' ;"N0body-:Lives Forever" i'WB), "ICillers" <UJ, "Alai-gie" (20th 1. "Darling Clemen- tine" (20thi, "Deception'' (WB), "Si^^pr, Kenn.v'' (RKOi and "Angel on Shciulder" (UA'. iir m'der p£ biz done ill/ key-, :clties covc'red by Variktv since showing marked strength both , in Chicago and N. Y, "Thieves' Holi- day" (UA), new tag for "Scandal in; Paris," is doing fancy biz,,under new ,title ill Chica,'4o. ■,, , (Complete Bo,i'o//iCC Reporl.s on Paf/e.5 14'1.'5), f J. L. Warner to Europe J. L. Warner is due iii N. Y. f rom, the Coast; iri about two 'and; a half weeks. ; ' Plans , .sailing ■ for Europe, before Chri-^tmas -to spend holiday .season j Also rans, which jusi mii-ied the ' abroad, largely with daughter Bar- I first 10 cla.-ii-lficaf.on. include "Three ' bara. 12, who is al school in Swit- j Little Girls" (20thj, "Cloak and izerland, and Ann, his wife. Trad* Marli neelsrerert FOUNDED BY SIMlS 6I1-VI5JIMAN l>iil<li!ilici1 (Veekl.i by VABIJBTY, Inc. Sid SUvorinBD, President 181 Wesf <Cth St., New YorU ID. N. T 80BSCBIPTION Annual. $10 Corelgn. ,,... .Ill Mingle Copies,.., .......25 Cents Vol. 164 No. 9 INDEX Milton Berle 2 5G Bills ......;..:..,..,..::... Chatter ....,.. Film Reviews Football-Harry Wismer . Foreign ..,. .... ........ George Fra-'.i.er..,,...,;. House Reviews..,...... 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