Variety (Nov 1946)

56 Wednesday, November 6, 1946 Tin Pan Stew Continued from pag* I Crrysby-Bob Hope-Dorothy Lamour film c'xceipt, "Personaliiy," where it's the intonation given the lyric, rather ' than the lj>asic wprdage, which is to blartie. That befalls SO7 phisticatc'd ' lyrics frequently, and usually show tunes, as witli . Irving Berlin's "Doin' What Comes Natur- ally" from "Annie Get Your <3un," yrhich requires a special radio lyric version. The networks maintain strict censorship for this reason, with edited versions of "South America Take It Away." (The line, "tired of shakfng my Pan-American can," from the "Call Me Mister" stage original, becomes "tired, of shaking to that Pan-American plan,"^for in- stance). ''Personality" is only OK ior verse and first chorus only. In the past there has been com- ment that some of the Harlem jive tunes are not as innocent as they sound. "The Viper's, Song" turned out to be hepcat double-talk for, reefer (marijuana.) addicts, There has , been captiousness about the rnelnr ing of "Straighten Up and Wy Right" in the past, as there is cur- rently about Louis Jordan's "That Chick's Too Young to Fry." No question about the double-entendre of "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor" and "She Said No! I Said Yes!," despite the .so-called "cute" toppers which theoretically, take the . curse off the saucier implications. That Individual Touch | Individual performers' treatments !, of lyrics, of course, are beyond .con- trol of anybody, least of all the writer or publisher. The manner in ^hich a Mildred Bailey accents "Lover Come Back to Me;" or the boudoir intonation of Bonnie Baker^s "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, How You Can Love," which, incidentally, cata- pulted her into national fame for a couple ot sea.sons; or the slurred in- tonations of ■ "Old Man , Mose (He Kicked the Bucket)" in an old Eddy Duchin recording (Patricia Norman Vocal) arc examples thereof. Cole Porter's "Love For Sale" is OK now on the networks, but music only, sans lyrics, on the premise it's a standard. Even "darky" in the cla.ssic Jerome Kern "Ol' Man Hiver" runs into racial sensitivities, and mu- sic only is permitted on "Four or Five Times," "Frankie and Johnny," "Weekend o£ a Private Secretary," "The Man Who, Comes Around to Our House," "Oh, Miss Jackson," "Bum and Coca-Cola," "That's Why Darkies Are Born" "St. James In- firmary Blues" on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Completely : tabu are stuttering songs, and titles like "The Guy Who Stole My Wife," "I'm a 'Virgin Who's on the Verge," "She Lost ■ it at the Astor" and "Princess Poo-Poo-Ly," "I'm a Big Girl Now" and "Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did" have to be sapoUoed lor radio. What has stirred recent concern have been disks by the bushleagua recorders, aiming at the jukebox cir- cuits, with titles such as "Not On the First Night," "Baby Got to Have It," : "What Will My Wife Say" and "'(Vho Did It to Mary?" On the other hand, some of th« recent offerings by the major diskers, notably Decca's "Bang Bang" (by Jimmia Davis, who authored "You Ar« My Sunshine" and hillbillied himself into the Gov- ernorship of Louisiana') and Pat FloWers' "Horizontal" for Victor (Bunty Pendleton vocal) have caught the curious ear. , Lifesavers Continued from piica 1 meet time requirements. And, while pre-proven film strength is lacking, it's 'felt the dials will. Click "Story"- wards because material, has been pre-tested in widely,-read msgs. Also argued that it's a .soUhdef .investr ment than the average project be- cause source material has filtered through editors; trained to fit their fiction- to the .public temper of the. tJay.. , ■, .■ ■ \ ,Despile expected liedgings on the 1 part at the mags, project's backers think they can overcome ill feelln.i* : of . some .towards radio by proving value of the layout as a prestige and circulation-builder, with award given 'eadi week and mag handed an accolade for quality o£ its ma- terial. This in turn will be exploit- ed by the mag, and at the endiof the season an award for the best story of the year will be made, with all attendant feature.s,; of „ex- ploitation. Attitude of - Satevepost, which has a SD'day clearance for radio dramatizations now; besides using radio to dramafize synopses oC their stories, is sample of what has to be brolcen down. : : , - Planned to use film players in shows, to originate: here, with ex- ploitation hinging on them and the name judges. Production topper will; be a publieations-writers-agents liaison man, who'I , handle clear- ances, obtain proofs of stories in advance of :publication, deal with mag credits, arrange pei-sonal ap- pearances of authors to receive awards, and obtain okays on final scripts. . ■ . I Under him will be the story ed, who'll be in charge of a ..staff of reader,?, with six storie.s 'to be sub- mitted, to judges for the weekly award. Price quoted is $12,000 a week. of the dancers, who sold from $500 to $1,250 despite the fact that few could carry that weight at the box- offlce. Today few ballrooraerg are in caf«s. Teams like ths DeMarCos or Raye and Naldi, and the Hartmans are the exceptions since they can frequently headline a layout instead of being used merely for support, but others are now finding them- selves, in. difficult straits because of the price factor and increased buy- ing resistance among nitery owners. More victims of current busi- ness slump are the medium-priced singers and dancers. Today niteries are sticking to low-priced talent, deficiencies of which are being cov- ered up by production numbers. IE this condition persisU for any length of time, only possible effect will be the lowering of salaries in the medium-priced lines to meet the conditions set down by the cafe owners. Once that happens, lower- .salaried performers now gelling the breaks will either have gained sut- licient experience or reputation to continue in the same company, or will be out on tlte limb again. Slump Cues Continued from page I Copacabana, N. Y. Angered over the high price of talent, Proser, during the summer, declared that he'd in- augurate a $350 ceiling on supporting acts, With Joe E. Lewis as his top- liner, Proser is getting away with it, and other bonifaces are following suit. One of the more important re- sults of this policy is the by-passing ■of dance teams. Most nitery produc- tion is now eliminating this type act and are designing floorshows accord- ingly. Condition that brought' about this state of affairs is the high price Played Anti-Nazi CoiUinuea f rom page I is solution, that he would succumb to Nazi tactics if he killed the captain who ordered the murders. '. . A large audience, incliiding iGer- nian cultural leaders, Russian ott'i- cers and American representatives, witnessed the preview at; the state opera. Demonstrating the public in- terest, a: crowd gathered outside in hopes of getting unused tickets. . Critics lauded the realistic por- trayal of life in a bombed city and remarked that perhaps only the Ger- mans can describe adequately the emotions.of their people in defeat: Leading man Borchert was ac- claimed for presenting, in the cap- lain, the amazing combination ot sentimentality and cruelty character- istic of certain Nazi leaders. Several Germans In the audience, libwever, complained of too much propaganda and refused to believe that the captain would actually .or- der the death of Polish women while trimming his Christmas tree. The American-licensed paper, Der 'Tagesspiegel, also pointed out that the film is slow and uneven and that the actors seem io liioye ln the back- gro,und ,because optic effects are more important for Staudte. The star of the film, Hildegard Knef, is a new German discovery considered by her admirers a more subtle Lauren Bacall. Picture is openly political, with exceptionally good photography. and quietly effective acting. Wolfgang Staudte, oldtimer in the business, wrote scenario and directed; Her- bert Uhlich produced; camera, Friedl Behn-Grund and Eugen Klagemann; sound by Dr. Klaus Jungk; music by Ernst Roters; sets by Otto Hunte and Bruno Monden. Hans Heinrich was assistant director. Hans Hermann and Max Sablotzky handled photog^ raphy. Actors, most of them .now' faces and with clean records: Hilde- gard Knef, Erna Sellmar, Elly Burg- mer, Marlise Ludwig, Hilde Adolfi, Ursula Kriegi Arno Paulsen, Robert Forsch, Albert Johannes, Wolfgang Dohnberg and Ernst Stahl-Nach- baaer. LOEW BOOKING A G E N C Y OlNtKAl tXCCUTIVI OtflCtS . LOEW BUILDINO ANNEX ^^^^160 W. 46* St., N.Y.C • My«n» »rr»0O Of* OAfr Variety Oills WEEK OF NOVEMBER 6 Naniernii In eonneotlon with bllU below Indlente opening day oi eliitiv, wlietlier fnll or iDlIt week. JLelter* In parentlienla Indlent* olrcnit, (I) Independvnti (L) Loewi (!•) Pnraniount; (K) BKO( (W> Wnrner Story Dearth 1^ Continued from page 3 ducer preference for a' pre.serit-day best-seller, story eds think the lack of-new best-sellers may change the picture now; ,• They point out,-for instance, the static condition of the current best- seller list, as published, each week by the New York Tinjes Book, Review. "The Hucksters" by Frederick Wake- man and "This .Side of Innocence" by Taylor Caldwelf have monopo- lized the top two positions for six months. That's obviously because of the lack of other top quality books. Other' novels which have gotten best-seller-insuring rev,iews, such as Sholem Asch's ''East River" and Arthur Koestler's "Thieves in the Night," are expected tp climb to the top, but editors don't antieipave the sitiiatibn as a whole will change much until next spring, at least. "Hucksters" is already owned by Metro, "Innocence" by Story Pro- ductions arid "East River" by. Metro, while Koestler's book is figured too controversial for films. Fortunately, editors feel, there is less pressure on them to turn up story material now, since the num- ber of pictures being turned out by the major studios has been cut deep- ly in the,past few years. -NKW YOltK CITY <'»plt»l (I,) 1 K Ma[lriBUi.i'n Oro iVI'urlah «taiera . l.anp ; & CluU'o • 'hiiflca l-'recli'rlcks Mnvlf H»ll CI) 7 Niv.ska ■ ■ ' Ruily -'fpiia'. ' ■ Mil) N'pl.lBiv 0.11ve MoiToLli .l''riiiii-e!( J.i.)inerlli I'leii .Siluiehlcr LnH-vi-ruu Nk'kdl lili'fi t'lllb Varus B&Uet .syiiiph Ore Cliranxiiint (r) 6 Kt-ntoii Ba VOU> ,3 [Vfiiti, Aliirphy. , 1. a np .-«|-o>i ,. ,, ««.t.v (I) 6 .?''""SfditfOKl •'on i-iaii, ■ Al lienue .MInevitcli: Rasonia < al l Ravazza ' Still« Cf.) « liiM'l Wlineltir ^nm Ann Slcc'aba ,« Abbott. « * H. Ambiio.w . . .Mriiiirt (,v) s '■'."Wl Hanrpton. O, R«i1 * Curlev 111* fb.oi'oialt-eia Mm,),,„r (I) ,,.j„ ■li'an ))awii in?i>i-gf Ross Co A * JNI HuVPl ItimOKIA'N' MntbiiMli (I) llaopy Tfim *. J?H :i IU>arl.«i: ■. IVIorr.v- Madcaps :i MwlfiH I'nKKy Ryan Jack O't^oiulor , CI.KVKl.A.NU Palaro (II > 7 Ciena Ivrupa Oi'O .1 * H Payace .Uilmny Woocia <'*)iii;jnn-,s PahiCM <K) 11-18 l''i-al,iHI« : Carle Ore .lalinliy JMurjsan Hirlpiie Howard l>.\YTON Keidis (II) T I.ouia I'rima Oro ,Nonrlialanta , P Fi'anjis &, .Tanyco . HQMOKK >alloy Araiia (I) lo Dizzy GUlesple Wlla KitzK-eraia ;| <'orwin.i (four lo mil , Ml.t.MI Olyaiiiin (!•) ^ Cyrloranlany • lay Sells,. IO(JiHl,.l.'i.iiowa Ml- Hydo . Orplieum (I') « Tex BeiiBke (ilenii Miller Ore ■ ArMo Dann Clift.^ter PolDhlii I'.tWTl'CKKT (iiinltol (t) 10 Oarlon Robi-rla 'I'lie l.eveni(».s , Doyle & Seed • (Iwo to nil) ,„, riiiL.^oisi.ruiA liarmnn (I) 7 ' Amaut Uroa .lack Parker TOPS OF ALL in Europe Unfit »iic Naw Year PAUL and NINO GHEZZI I'l"-. Mtfl.: ICDUIK .S.UITII l.'ilU Itroailivuy, New Ifork Waller Niiaaou .s.-i loiiiy While .1 imiiiy Sheridan (II'UKN.S . .lamiilea (I) H-9 'I'he .Sinontbifs ,A I SiMveiiH (*ortway * Parka IL .^(lalr Dailiters Rn ymoo'l I 'lia.'ie »-.-> Dgdlev'."* Midgela Hapiiy Toiii & .ieri S HeariK iSick i.arip Mlckev Kreeinaii ' n.\i,'riiMOKK R...v«l (I) » Rbvlhlii Sweeth'ts .lai'kle Afflbley Walson ,t Rrowft D lieuiitM' SiH KOSTOX IWtoii (It) T Marveit&Mea rannelfl SiuHh: : Hal I.eroy Dolly iVawii n Sioojrea iiorxn «R«w>K ■irnnit (1) 'ilrtO' Rei^ffie Ryiual . I'.oy Roycr (Ihree lo (110 . (;Hi('.4ia> rliieniro (l>) t Phil Kenan .•ViM'oipaniai'w K Tatbol^Marlln Al Gordon Orleiilul (I) 7 ;loaiv T<ftalie \V We.st:* .VIi'Ginly .MarHliHll Bros l.ibonnli 3 : riM'INSATl , Albee (11) 7 Donald. O'Connor Kelly Sis ™ (.'onnle .Sawver Kiirln (V^ ) 7 Lena liorne Bobby Hhei-WDod O 'i I'Jdwftrda Broa Ray liavia, ROCKKOItll '■"'"V" («) » t "e Irvintfa The ..'iiroiiira . K & B . Crane . : <' Jk .M Winiera (one (o (!H) SAN IK\.N<I.S<0 (.olden Ontv (R) (| -^,»,"»',,SO"S Show U(il> Hopkin.i The Sliyrelibs' , sPKiMiriKi.n foiirf .S„ (Ij 7.10 .Minile Men 3 Ra ys , .SlsfllinK Macks , ■Marly, Barrett •Sid Kraft I'a.ve Karol i'or,T?i>o I'arninount (!■) 7-1(» I'rankje Carle Ore •lobnny Morjtan il"len & Howard « .\.SHIN(iT()\ Canltol (1.) 0 Harry Babbilt 'rbe Maxello.i The Bah-ella •Tolmny Burke llnwiiril (I) R Andy Kirk: Ortv :i Blazera Tip Tap * Toe The Mareo.** WOO.N.SOCKKT New Vark (I) 10 TMiil Wayne .lohnson A: Milck (three to (111) Cabaret Bills NEW TOEK CITY Aqiinrlum' Duke lOMin^lou Ore Itlua Ai>Ki!l .Monica Levyis ■ Hdbert- Maxwell ■ I rwln Coi'ey •Sf uart, Roaa ■WIlia: Larkin 3 C.olden Gate 4 rale no(;1el.T (l)uwn(orAn) rllinnle Rogera MlLHan Reed l^lifl' Jaclv.son I'ete .lohriHOn I C Beard Oro Cafe Society (lllllou'll) •litck Bllford 1'titr.lcla' HilKht Doi'othy ..laroao , ■ Mope Koyo KdmuMd Hah. . I'avo Marlfn 3 ' I'lddie Soul ii Oro ■ Dafid iJmol,... I«J Cllicrt. ■ .'"•Ila lUoB MiiKUi;! & Aili^i'.^ln I liMiV, ViUnrrcal 1 in Q Trio , ICniba.^H.v f'liii Chu Martinez I'ialeilliv I'abot ,4 Dresden .S'oro Moralea Ore Irwin Kent Ore 4l)IMIlll. Hcnny (loodnian O <.'\>ich VllloKn Inn 1 Ha iia Courtney •X 'I <1. Revue Chavez Ore N'"d TIarvey Ore lliivjinn-nTiidrtd Dean Mai'lin . . .farrv l.HWia SBfBio Orta (?a(iillni) Oic - Carlon Varola Oro Hotel Coinniodorn. A'aushh Monroe Or Illltol Dixie I.arry Funk Oro Kay Hammond r.ou Soiler Dcaii: & Ray llolel New Vnrker (Jeo Olaon Ore , Hotel I'eniiaylrniiin t'liarlle .Spivak <;irc Hold ItoOHCVClt Guy Loinbardo Ore IlatM Derre .Vilasbh Tn'lna Chas Header Ore Hotel l'la-,,.i .11 ildefrarde llidel 'J'lifl Enoch Lij-ht Ore IVuldorr-.Astorin •lean .Sabloti:. I'iinii .(.'oleintin Ore .Miaeha Borr Ore iceliinfl lee llevuo '■ K<>ll.r'« Sliihlea: Henry Red Allen 0 Koiiio Reid iVlary Q.nborne, J C (IiBBe,i)b(jltnrtl^ li» ClIIIRil ' Mlffiiclilo . Vnldes l.ynne Fader Mnelilio Ore I'npl Cawpn Ore l4i Martinique Waily Vernon •Yic .Damone Tti.iii' & Dean r'auslo Curbeilo Krnie .Stuart Ore l.:iUn Oiinrrei Ted dewia Ore Ocraldlne Dn Bolji .Mack Trlplels I'llroy I'eaee , Call Bennetl !?irli| Oe VysenttX Paul While Jttan trranclai Jerry (3rev Stl^n Fialier Cnrnlval Milton Berle Eliy AjjdeBy MarloA Colby Bon ^''oar Slnsera Miriam Cwinn C.'lihui Didl (^onrKo Won«' ■ Tr' Francea. Chun To I SinsH Mlnsr Bins: .1,030 CurbeMn Oro ' CoiMicnininu .Too IS. Ijewia Ann Roonev Kddin Fislicr Ronny S- Ray Ol^ii 3ubre*.j Miybnel D.urso Ore I'^i'.'ink Marti .Ore DlHinoiltl lloraealloe Si 1-1 Rda.s &' T>aPieri't> Turner Twina lio.'^ebiJdM ■ , Hillv Banlis Hal Huiuvr , 'I'ublea J)avi3, Repaid * liiidy .lack Mathera Nlible fSlaaio Ore Wyd ,Strange (;ir,e ■ l.non Jk rddlo * Kddie Payla Konni' Tlalc , .Sherry Britten Alporv 4 Bromley, B^irretl Tieo Noble • ' ': "V'itl * .lay ■ , . ' ,, Dlek' Raynioed Art ■\Vanev t>re )lonte rarli* r)icK n.-isparre O Rnbcri.i Old Kf^iniiBtnn .Tac-liic I'li-Hlps ■ Sadie Ban' » OelSlay Moore .Niiia PoVer . ; Alice KiniT : llnhhv Hiirreil Joe T.n Port»i Ore ICivieni Relics' He Marco .lacli Carler ■ ■., ■. , .laiiip-'^ ,Burreir .; . The BunhiUa Ralph .t>'iint Oro Marty Bock .Ore : I(uK«ra <^itrn«» Korn Kobbleirs '. . l.ani Kuni , Hy Fidel ■ \ i>oii Baker: , Banahas' Oro Bddie Ijee Slev« Richards Henry l^aJlarr Uuhan Itleu Waily Blacker Muriel (ialnea Cedrlo Wallace * ^ Paul Vlllard Bay Dawn Duak Verniilllea Dwiffht Fiake VilliiKe Itnrn Kii> Bale /.el> t^arver (xa rinnda AKcta Wailaoa Bert Stoije, Patsy Lane ■ : .llinlliv Nola Tex lOletehcr VlllnKe Vnmcunrd Phil l^eeda M-ikine^ SulTiyAn : Richard 11 Bennett Cliittison- i' -:■:>■' WIvel Bob I.ee . (Tertrtjde Hild •iean Alnstie , I'Vancisco Bruce Norman \'lvian Nickolaon U Rivero ft Belm'ta . /.nn'/.llmr tiik Spot a T Carpenter Peic BeK Bales. . lint Shots Nyoka Rdd.!!! V'lnson Oro I'ep Wee Marquolta riande Hopklnp Orr /lininerniaii'a ■ Ocne Kardos .lanczl MaUula . ZMlsa Bela: Paul Arnold v Sinclair * A.1da ' Ilalen AVenzel ■Olsa Orlova . CHICAGO Kliit'khiiwU Kujirf t'lirtvlrt Ore .t KatT * Al itoberia Willies Sluuv .loaiui WliiLivy t5av Ul»ri(Ifte Ore r.Uflo (.'.ai'fia p.r«\ Col lis i inn's N'hvo Mi-lo M(!i-iiKatM m Ti-ucly JJe Kiny. WynJi tMiiire Coloaimo M(Ki«lii yol Ft'Ola Hotel ItiNtniirvk Khei-iiian TKiycH Ore Nelson Pup|)t'la J-lmvpy X'rfiwCovd Tli(* ■ Mili'Liiiiy Ijltlilia KetiPi Ore Hold CoiiRrfHn Milt ilerlli Trio .Kikl Oc'liai't Ore. Li»U,v : Barbour llolfl Khu'kxtono (■JeorK:!** Prico Mfl Of>!i>i)Pr Ore llotol ('oiitiiifiifnl .Tnnu'a ,S,\ l^os Joti \'0r!i Oi'u II ir.<lm:»'\viiifr ItnN'h HtPphi.'ii Kis!"y Ore Ala rdii BcifH i ]\tl>l'l'lK.'CflilS- Latin t)uiir(er AVillio .Howard l-aiin l^ovelieH Al Ketly ('a oil St - iliOier I'anI Carleum tiintil)' Shaw Oto ' I'niiuor llniifie Wvi'fJyrt Krii-R-ht;- ■ ■ l''rHl(lift N*n(i-el Oro .Itully KollM iniif-Kbunv (2) Abbott I>*iuei« (12) Klo riilmna .IrtrUia Mile.i AiiiiH RuaseH I^i»iii(;y Doraw. Hon Bradncia The Lovelies (10) Ce(» DavIdNon <'*tQ . rioh-l Slnvt^iiv ■■ OlyiU' T\lf'f(>y Oro. ' Calsary lii-os 'I'lie Abei'iT. rnnivyn Reflly i>«ttnisi' KfrlJy. Boiil(*vnr-l>»ars. .Tesfitia Roaella SriHuti K'iiiR* Mfira & M!»urio» Phil U(»Rey Jiarry Ross .Too Kiah Oro Mel Cole Ore Lowe, Grossman Pact Interchange Talent Deal Harry Lowe, London agent who's currently in New York, has made an. agreement with the A] , Grossman, agency calling for mutual repre-- sentation. Lowe will book Gross- man acts in Britain, and. Grossman . will handle importations through Lowe. ■•'. Britisher will be in the U.S. for four weeks. MCA Situation Continued from .page 51 keynote of making it the No. 1 taK ent agency in the bii.siiiess, because . the accent has ^become so pre- dominahlly .on the Hollywood pliase. There's the likelihood that tbo>se Icavin.ii llTe .oi-ganlxatiotj will 'attemijt to woo-IVICA-talent thai they've be.on handling, allhouflh such steR.s A^'ill'_^ie,,, difficijit, because ot contractual;tict ' ups. Bortell is working on an ar- rangement with Hilde!»arde and the fiBrtmans, among others. ""jSn:important point of union law is likely to come up in thi-»e ca.ses. Both tlie American Guild : bt Var ,. riety Arti.sls and the American Fed- eration of Radio Artist.? permit tal- ent to leave an office in order lo ,?,o ■ with an a.ssociale who .shifts agen- cies. MCA previously .sutt'ercd a set- , back on this part of union proce- dure when Danny Kaye, who vi'as on-! of those slated to go ,to that of- fice in the CBS Arli.sls sale, clccteiJ to, leave and was upheld by ■thS; unions. , :