Variety (Sep 1947)

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RADIO MUSIC VOL. 167 No. 13 Published Weekly at 164 West 46th Strut, N«w York IS, N. T„ by Variety, Inc. Annua! subscription, 110. Single copies, 25 cent*. Sintered as aecoud-clasa matter December 23, 1905, at the Poet Office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 2, 1879 COPYRIGHT, 1947, BY VAK1KTY, INC. A I.I, RIGHTS RESERVED. NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1947 .. . 1 _" . ! . ._ : * i : ' .. '■ • PRICE 25 CENTS FILM BIZ S ANTI-SMEAR DRIVE Godfrey Gets Spanked by CBS Censor in H'wood for Loose Lip Hollywood, Sept. 2. < Arthur Godfrey and. CBS' Holly- wood censor had a merry tin" last week and although the headman of two of the net's programs got in the last word he hasn't heard the last of It. Levelling the specific charge that Godfrey is a bit careless with his ad libs, which at times are said to breach good taste, censor John Mes- ton served notice on CBS in New York that his transcribed repeats on his daytime show would be mon- itored and the needle raised when- ever there was any question of pro- priety in his off-the-cuff remarks. Godfrey took it with a burn and mentioned the reprimand in his broadcast, which was allowed to pass on the ground that he had right to defend himself. Meston accepted it as a challenge and hereafter will closely scrutinize every disk before it goes on the turntable. Meston took action when Ed Buckalew, the net's western station relations manager, reported back after a tour of the area that many station owners took exception to some of the Godfrey ad libs and asked for an expurgation before it is piped around. Understood that Meston was supported in, his stand by the CBS homeoffice and that Godfrey will have to watch his lan- guage hereafter. Among incidents which came un- der CBS scrutiny, for example, was Godfrey's use of the Bronx cheer as his reply on the air to an objecting station. X on Cash-Carry Plan Hollywood agent. Tony Owen has been in New York during the past Week talking representation deals with eastern 10%ers for the new talent rep organization in which he is partnered with Huntington Hart- ford. Hartford, heir to the A. & P. grocery fortune, has been making efforts during the past few years to break actively into show biz in New York and on the Coast. New outfit, which unveils in Bev- erly Hills this week, is labeled Huntr ington Hartford-Tony Owen Agency. More Memphis Bines As Censor Binford Snips 2 Negro Acts From Pix Memphis, Sept. 2. Censor Chairman Lloyd T. Bin- ford drew the color line twice more the past week as he clipped a couple of current flickers, one beyond re-" pair. The Pearl Bailey sequence was ordered out of "Variety Girl," which opened at the Malco Wednesday (27). However, no announcement •was made in this connection and the Negro singer's name appeared in the billing and advertisements. Hal Roach's "Comedy Carnival" ■was left so badly hacked after all the appearances of the little Negro boy with the ' Roach crew a la "Our Gang" were ordered taken out, that UA was forced to cancel the engage- ment scheduled at Loew's State. Ex- tremely doubtful now that picture can ever show here. Local censors are acting more and more in star-chamber sessions, with announcements forthcoming only when the press is able to pry them loose. Binford, whose advancing years make it increasingly difficult day by day for him to give coherent answers to questions, has taken to hanging up the telephone on all newspaper reporters inquiring about board actions. Revivals Posing Royalty Problem For Publishers This year's crop of successful song revivals is creating problems for publishers. By coincidence, most of the revivals which have and may yet become best sellers on disks were written prior to the 1909 copy- right law, hence their publishers do not receive royalties from the sales of disks. In a couple of cases, how- ever, where changes were made in the tunes and new copyrights ap- plied for and granted, royalties are being paid. •Latest problems for publishers and manufacturer is Frankie Carle's as yet unreleased version of "Glow Worm." This tune, published by E. B. Marks, was written in 1907. But Marks* has advised Columbia Rec- ords that since Carle's version is (Continued on page 49) CAMPAIGN SET Film industry, which has been complacent for ; years. under a bar- rage of hostile or careless smears and criticism, many of which have been undeserved, has Anally reared on its haunches to defend itself. Unwilling to suffer any longer the barbs from press, radio, moralists and others with an axe to grind, the industry will embark shortly on a mammoth public relations campaign to convert its defenseless attitude into one of mass offense. Campaign, it's hoped, while pointing up Holly- wood's side of the story in all in- stances, will also put the captious critics in their places. Plans for one of the most intensive industry-wide projects ever devised have been mapped out by the Public Information Committee of the Mo- tion Picture Assn., comprising the ad-publicity chiefs of each of the major companies. Committee is chairmanned by Charley Schlaifer of 20th-Fox. Plan has been received favorably by the prexies of the various MPA member companies. Campaign is an outgrowth of a (Continued on page 54) Disk Jockeys Now Hurting Sales, Gang Up on Hits and Wear 'Em Out MULL FILM BIOG ON OSCAR STRAUS' CAREER Film biography of Oscar Straus, today's "waltz king," is being mulled to coincide with a flock of revivals of his "Chocolate Soldier" and "Waltz Dream." Latter operetta, first pro- duced in 1908 (incidentally with the Metropolitan Opera's general man- ager Edward Johnson in it) is cur- rently playing in Paris, Berlin, Vi- enna, The Hague and Brussels. "Chocolate Soldier," done by J. H. Del Bondio and Hans Bartsch last season, goes out Sept. 19 on tour. Straus' "Three Waltzes" (the other two by Johann Strauss Jr. and Sr.— no relations) is also slated for re- vival. Straus, now in his 70s, resides in New York. He is working on his memoirs which will be the basis of the biopic. He has concert offers in London. France and Holland but af*er an intensive 8-week tour (52 concerts), during which be conducted every day. he prefers to work on his life's story instead, at least for the time being. Chandler OKs 100G Gillette Bid For Series Tele Baseball commissioner A. B. ("Happy") . Chandler has okayed televising of the 1947 World Series at a price of $100,000. Figure is re- portedly a bid of Gillette Safety Razor for sponsorship of the series broad- cast on all available tele stations throughout the country. Chandler's final decision on grant- ing the rights, after several weeks of wrangling among -big league mag- nates who'd been opposed to having the series televised, was contained in weekend telegram to Mutual prexy (Continued on page 55) Int'l Tele Newsreel Seen Washington, Sept. 2. An international television news- reel, produced jointly and regularly, by Britain, U, S. and other nations, is envisioned by BBC, according to reports reaching here. BBC sees the foundation already laid for such a reel by the exchange of topical film by BBC with the television compa- nies in other nations. BBC is currently expanding its video work and hopes for a weekly news arid topical program by the end of this year, with daily changes of program a little later on. - B way Show Biz Glad the Legion Has Hit the Road Broadway amusement enterprises are thankful that the American Legion convention hits New York but once every 10 years. Aftermath of the vet confab left nothing in the way of upped b.o. receipts, many headaches and in some instances a sizable loss of coin. Entertainment industry isn't put out at the actual drop in attendance during the convention, but it's claimed that the Legion's stay just before the three-dajr Labor Day weekend discouraged holiday visi- tors, so that this resulted in a double loss. Extent of the Legion's contribu- tion to Broadway boxofflca is seen (Continued on page 49) Serving an Ace Evidence that television of sports events may have a bene- ficial effect on the boxofftce was overheard Monday afternoon (1) in the stadium of the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, N. Y. During the fourth set of the ex- citing match between Dinny Pails, of Australia, and Ted Schroeder, of the U. S. team, one spectator explained his late arrival by saying that he'd been watching the ding-dong battle on his video set at home, and had decided it was too good to miss in person. Wherever the chap came from, he had ample time for the trip, as the match was the longest in Davis Cup history, running five sets (71 games) and requiring more than three hours to play; Disk jockeys, who at one time did an exploitation service for the rec- ord industry, have now reached tha point where their greatly increased numbers are in a large measure re- sponsible for the slump in retail sales figures the last six months. This conclusion was drawn, by one of the major manufacturers from a survey made recently in various parts of the country. And the basic cause for the interference with ales, strangely enough, is that too many of the nation's hundreds of jocks got smart. Back in the early days of radio disk spinning, the average disk jockey tackled his job from a hap- hazard point of view. He slapped disks on the air without regard for pace or any of the innumerable, but important, angles that make for' good, programming. Then, when the field was found to be a good thing and others joined up in droves, the smarter jocks began to plan their shows. As a result, the last two years or more have seen an approach to the (Continued on page 55) Cops Shutter Midway's Iron Lung Sideshow Minneapolis, Sept. 2. Minnesota State Fair police closed the midway's iron lung exhibit after 18-year-old Barbara Shea, Superior, Wis., complained she had been kept imprisoned in it nine days. She said she had been employed. as a ticket taker and then used as "demonstrator." Fair officials also charged Mrs. Jesse Marsh, operating the concession, with falsely adver- tising her as actress "Sally. Rogers," polio victim, in spiels, and also com- pelled patrons to pay additional ad- mission after entering the exhibit. ^ PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT silent night 'twas the ni6ht before christmas aoesteIfioeus SOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN CAROL OF THE BELLS MARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SINI OH LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM JOY TO THE WORLD THE FIRST NOEL L tie HOUR OF CHARM ' ALL-GIRL ORCHESTRA CHOIR Vnd,c lh« direction of PHIL SPITAINV CHARM RECORDS. Inc. T. Q. Ron 40. Radio City Station. New York 19. N. Y.