Variety (Feb 1947)

RADIO MUSIC JR. X SB. ^LP i»^s Published Weakly at }64 West 46th Street, W York 1», N. T.. by Variety, Inc. Annual subscription, tlQ. Single conies, » cents. Sintered aa aectfhd-class matter December 22, 1305, at the Post Office at New tork, N. L, under the act of. March 3, «79. COPXBIOBT, 1947, BY VARIEX1T, INC. A LI, RIGHTS RESERVED. VOL. 165 No. 0 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1947 PRICE 25 CENTS PIX PRODUCTION'S DIPSY-D00DL fall StY 'Speculative Status Tag Fir Pii Cues Hot Duel With ffwood •Duel between Wall street's' finan--fr- tiifll 'pundits and film industry biggies ' e>v« the nature of the motion pic- *ture business is growing hotter, with outside Investors' epia as the stake. Wrangle stems from the ' question whether the making of pix is any- more speculative than that of any other* commodity, with the financial wizards in the affirmative. Per- sistence of the latter in their stance has peeving pix toppers determined to take • steps to counteract ■ the prejudice raised in the public's mind by Wall street, Latest instance of the anti-fllms bias, and typical of the street's thinking, according to trade circles, is. -Standard & Poor's, survey "of the industry, which again tabs it as "Speculative." Opining on individual companies' stocks, S & P comments or Paramount: "While greatly strengthened finances have improved tli.e duality of the common stock, the nature of the industry makes the issue" speculative." S & P report concedes the plaint of many film biggies that "movie shares have turned in a sub-average market per- formance recently" hut differs on its cause*" . -Gripe of major pic companies' top (Continued on page 22) face's $3 Audition A radio audition in which the public pays to get in will be tried, out at Town "Hall, N. Y., Feb. 22, when Georgie Price gives a one-man concert. Price, vet vauder, cafe entertainer and musical comedy; per- former, is throwing the concert at a $3 top in which he hopes to demon- strate in the one-hour show that his material is acceptable* to radio. -- price will offer his impressions of famous showmen, including Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and George Jessel as well as a lecture on showbusiness; Ifcgr© Hieiiie Stirs ■ i.' Film Story Editors ©ft Sic Lewis Book Leak'to film company story edi- tors during the past few weeks of subject matter of Sinclair Lewis's new book, "Kingsblood Royal," hasn't dampened the competition among studios for a first gander at the novel. It has undoubtedly made a lot of execs gulp a few times, however, in considering it as story _ material for the screen. Yarn is about a "superior-type"' gent:who, in delving into his family . tree, suddenly discovers that he has part-Negro blood. Plot then hinges on the switching around of values in his mind as he attempts to adjust himself to this revelation. Lewis book is to be published by Random House in late May, with the manuscript now -said to be reposing in the publisher's safe, while story (Continued on page 56) MORGAN BALLY' AW'T FUNNY IN BRIDGEPORT Bridgeport, Feb. 4. Exploitation stunt by Eversharp and WNAB, local ABC station, in behalf of Henry Morgan show, drew police censure after Bridgeport main stem broke out in a rash-of rogues gallery signs bearing Morgan photo and carrying the legend: • "Warning: This man is after Cros- by," small type telling of Morgan's ah- schedule, Ten-y McGough, WNAB station boss, and Ray Marcus of Eversharp were told off at police headquarters, being informed that posters violated an ordinance. Pic Firms Jarred byB'waj Flops ley B R.'d ' Film companies which have tossed coin into backing Broadway legiters have suffered along with the rest of the angeling contingent in. the high percentage of flops this season. Hollywood had investments in five shows which preemed during the 1946-4? stanza, only three of which are now running. One is "It Takes Two," which teed off Monday (3) night with $50,000 of RKO coin in it. It got notices which makes its stay dubious, Also on the debit side are "Park Avenue," which went down with $80,000 in Paramount, money, and "Barnaby," in which RKO had $20,000.. Profit side is represented by a pair of solid hits, "Years Ago," backed by Paramount to the tune of $12,000, and "Happy Birthday," in Which 20th-Fox has $20,000. Among previous season entries still running and "paying dividends to film companies are "Annie Get Your Gun." backed by 20th; (Continued on page 56) Stalin Biog Floppo In European Theatres • Prague, Feb. 4. Soviet super-epic, "Life of Stalin," is doing a floppoJa at film b.o.s throughout much of Europe. Despite all sorts of hypos, Russians have been unable to generate much en- thusiasm among potential audiences and have been forced to fill houses via paper handed out to factory workers. In some cases they've even supplied transportation to take groups to the shows. ' Film teed off to a psychological propaganda blunder that* has con- tinued to mitigate against it. Soviets preemed it day-and-date in a large number of European cities on Christ- mas. Day. That seemed the height of bad taste to many devout Euro- peans to whom the Soviet premiere and Christmas Day just didn't mix. Ill w lillENT 4 By ABEL GREEN Hollywood, Feb. 4, The Hollywood film, production scene at this moment is so uncertain that-the entire, structure has the in- dustry in a state which borders on confusion. The reasons for this un- sureness are perhaps best summed up by Louis B. Mayer* Metro's studio chief: When Sam Katz saw the amount of money. Balaban & Katz used to make in the old days,- that's when he" started to wprfy," Mayer avers. 'The B&K bunch grossed a million and a quarter one week, and it was then that Katz cracked, 'If we make that kind. of money, how much money can we lose if things go bad?" That's the keynote of the picture business at 'the moment. Having made so much in the lush wartime boom years, the idea now is to keep making it and not lose too much of the ground gained. The conclusion, therefore, is that only top product^ will have the best chance in the coming selective buy- ing market. All. studios are agreed (Continued on page 62) Radio Cold-Shoidders Whodunits In Bow to Grime-Wave Reformers Devoted—Rememherf Pittsburgh, Feb'. 4', Biggest howlthe Senator theatre has probably ever heart} came in the Screen Snapshots short on same bill with the Rex' Harrison picture, "Notorious Gentleman." „ Sound track on the short said: * "Wherever you see Laraine Pay, you will see her husband, Ray Hen- dricks, too. They are one of Holly- Wood's most devoted couples." The screams drowned out the sub- sequent dialog for what seemed like minutes. Allen to Stay On lespitt Censors Despite his comment of several months back that he would probably exit from radio at the end of the current season, it's figured that Fred Allen will be checking in for Stand- ard Brands at the usual time next fall. For one thing, the Allen .brand of humor has paid off this season with unprecedented ratings, and it's a cinch that his sponsor will woo him into the fold at any cost. Those close to the comedian say that whatever qualms he has about continuing the kilocycle stint stems chiefly from the NBC censorship snarls, which in recent weeks have out-snarled all previous snarls. One of Allen's writers maintains that there are now eight guys at NBC hdqs, who are having a field day with the script and that,, since it's the only top NBC comedy show orig- inating in New York, the web's con- tinuity acceptance boys in Manhat- tan are making a super-production out of it. Allen himself has argued that you can't stay on the air 14 years by resorting to dirt. NBC's position is: Allen or no Allen, it's taking no chances. Neon Vs. Red Lights Los Angeles, Feb. 4. Theatre operators in these parts get red behind the ears when they read the section of the California Child Labor Laws dealing with the employment of messenger boys, Under the statutes it is a mis- demeanor to send a minor messenger "to the keeper o£ a house of pros- titution, variety theatre or any other place of questionable repute," Six Plays Shape Up As P«Ue Pulitzer Winners Although all plays arriving on Broadway up to the. end of March are eligible for th« Pulitzer prize, there already is some speculation as to whether the winner will or will not be among the season's crop as of now. Six plays are regarded as pos- sibilities and at least one, due next month, should be considered by the Pulizer jury too. There is always (Continued on page 27) Boake Carter's Sister Now a News Analyst Minneapolis, Feb. 4. Sheelah Carter, sister of the late Boake Carter, m.pke» her debut this week over WTCN. as a news analyst. Her voice is said to resemble that of her late brother to an amazing de- gree. Daily noon broadcasts are being sponsored by King Koil mattresses here and will be heard over a net- work of Minnesota and Wisconsin stations. By GEORGE ROSEN Radio whodunits, target of coast- to-coast criticism from social or- ganizations, etc., have reached the saturation point on the major net- works. Today the inner sanctum boys on the webs, in an effort to get off the hook, are turning a cold shoulder to the bangipang stuff. The decision, to .soft-pedal the crime-doesn'tnpay sagas- has come at a time when" sponsors have been falling .over each otber in a-bid to grab one for a quick audience pay- off. In most instances the crime packages are the lowest budgeted of the commercial network airers, and they've all become "rating-stealers", giving the advertiser his biggest per point payoff in radio today. CBS has already gone into action, • having nixed a commercial bid for a half-hour mystery airer on the' grounds that the network has enough of 'em even though its action meant losing the client to another network. A? such, CBS translated into a dollars-and-cehts "turnaway the note of caution sounded last fall at the (Continued on page 22) Morris Offiee Prepares 1 Wear-Old Drummer For Sale as Maestri Hollywood, Feb, 4. William Morris agency is ready- ing 10-year-old Joey Preston, drum- mer prodigy, for a theatre tour, leading his own band. Moppet will not be sold as a novelty alone but will be peddled as a legitimate mu- sical attraction. Highly regarded by name bandsmen who have heard him, and musically sharp, he is ex- pected to hold his own out front in solos. Ted Ryan, his manager, and the Morris agency are now working out a system of testing the kid's b.o. draw. He'll be spotted before a band o* weekend dates in the surround- ing territory, playing clubs and ballrooms where there is no liquor sold, in a combination grooming and barometer-reading. The Hour Of Charm Girl. Orchestra anil Choir k Condnoted by .■■-.•■■■■' I Phil Spitality ^ Sundays, 4:30 p.m. EST CBS Network