Variety (Sep 1947)

Wednesday, September 3, 1947 PICTURES FILM CRISIS UPS STARS' COIN Radio Cracking Back at Pix? After being on the receiving end in the film version of "The Huck- sters," radio, via NBC's documentary, "Miracle Over Main Street" Monday night (1) hit back at the filmmakers for their "don't care" attitude towards the Marshall plan for Europe. Program lashed Hollywood for putting boxoffice considerations before the public in- terest. Jimmy Stewart, playing lead in the special one-shot airer, was given the following lines: "In my home town, Hollywood, there are lots of men who learned how to use the movies for propaganda to teach guys how to kill. A lot of them would like to use films to explain the Marshall plan to the public. But out in Hollywood we're just like. everybody else. We give the people what we think they want—and maybe a little less, just to be sure." Program also included a satirical story conference skit in which a ■writer, squawking against the mangling of his script, is told by a film producer that Hollywood can't afford to worry about such things as the Marshall plan. There's a little thing called the boxoffice that comes first.' ■ ; . ' Tax Compromise Seen in London; May Lower to 50%, Freeze Tentative meeting in the next 30 4- to 60 days of U. S. film execs with British government officials, in Lon- don, set last week, has given rise to considerable hope in the industry of a compromise on the 75% tax issue. In the meantime, reports from the British capital predicted an an- nouncement shortly of a revision of the ad valorem duty to a 50% and 25% freeze—which still wouldn't give much comfort to U. S. film- makers. London meeting on the tax was tentatively arranged by Motion Pic- ture Assn. prexy Eric Johnston in a trans-Atlantic telephone conversa- tion with Sir Wilfred Eady, who headed the British loan mission to this country recently. Eady hinted to Johnston that the door was not slammed and all was not over, so far as negotiations on the impost are concerned. Big stake the indie producers have in revision of the British tax was highlighted by the lengthy series of meetings in New York last week, attended by Grad Sears, United Artists prexy, and James Mulvey, representing the Society of Inde- pendent Motion Picture Producers. They are particularly concerned with what they term "hardship cases"—those producers who are in a bad financial jam because they . budgeted their films and owe money to banks on the basis of income from Britain. They have been trying to work out a plan for borrowing from the Reconstruction Finance Corp., or the Export-Import Bank, to help them overcome their difficult situa^ tion. As a result of the great indie in terest, it is definite that a rep of the SIMPP will accompany John ston and other MPA officials to Lon (Continued on page 6) Newsreels Mull Plan To Cut Issues to 1-a-Week As Cost-Saying Measure Economy moves of the majors may hit the newsreels drastically. The five companies which operate reels —Metro, Paramount, 20th-Fox, War- ner Bros, and Universal—are mul- ling a plan already discussed among the quintet to cut the two-per-week issues of the reel to one weekly issue „by. -each company _ Scheme which some company prexies figure would save substan tial coin on the reels was presented in Washington at last week's meet at the Motion Picture Assn. office which discussed international prob lems. Proposal was also kicked around at a recent huddle among reps of the five reels. Short subjects departments of some of the companies, under (Continued on page 21) Johnston's Bursitis Washington, Sept. 2. Eric Johnston, prexy of the Mo- tion Picture Assn., left the Emergen- cy hospital here today after treat- ment for bursitis which developed on his recent trip to Europe. MPA prez went directly home where he'll be confined for another week to 10 days. Looks All Set For Yates to Buy Out Goetz's Rep Stock Long negotiations between Her bert J. Yates and Harry Goetz for purchase by Yates of Goetz's com- plete holdings in Republic appeared close to the finish line this week. Most of the details were agreed on in a series of huddles last week and consummation may be expected al- most momentarily. Efforts were being made to close the arrangements in time for the board meeting last week, but it was apparently impossible. Point was to have thaigs set so that Goetz and the other two directors he named to the board could resign at the meeting and leave Rep's operation almost completely in the hands of Yates, its prexy, and his associates. Meeting was postponed from Thursday (28) to Friday for this reason. What figure Goetz is seeking for his holdings is undisclosed; however it's considerably more than the low quotes on Rep in the currently de- pressed stock market, since it will give Yates undisputed control of the company. Yates admitted for the first time, over the weekend, that he had made an offer to purchase Goetz's stock. Goetz, in turn, has offered to buy Yates out. Rep prexy said, however, that his holdings are not for sale at any price." Goetz controls the third largest block of Rep stock, coming after (Continued on page 16) TOP NAMES AS B.Q.' Salaries of top film stars, already at phenomenal heights', are para- doxically expected to go still high- er as result of the present crisis facing the industry. While striving for economy on every hand, pro- ducers admit that they'll undoubted- ly be forced to give the marquee names even fatter fees than they're now getting because they need them as "insurance." With the British tax situation and rapidly contracting markets else- where abroad driving studios fran- tically to seek means of slashing budgets, the Cary Grants and Ingrid Bergmans are seen becoming more valuable than ever. They're "insur- ance" in that whatever the fancy deal they get, they nevertheless vir- tually assure the films in which they star a profit in the domestic market alone. Agents, notoriously far from slow in realizing possibilities for an extra dollar, are well aware of the poten- tialities the present foreign crisis offers. Checks with them during the past week disclose they're practic- ally all thinking in terms of dras- tically lifting asking prices for services of their clients. They either plan to demand healthy salary tilts or increasingly generous profit-par- ticipation deals. It's expected, incidentally, that the profit-sharing arrangements will be- come even more popular with pro- ducers than they have been in the past. It's one way of deferring the element of risk in a future of un- certain markets. On the other hand, with the income tax boys making capital gains setups risky, players, directors and writers may be ex- (Continued on page 6) Another Casnalty of the Currently Confused Foreign Market Is That Deal For Rathvonto Buy Out Odium in RKO CORWIN'S 'ODYSSEY* VIA FELDMAN UNIT Norman Corwin has been pacted by Charles K. Feldman Productions to write the screenplay of and direct his own yarn, "Odyssey of Runyon Jones," a radio play which the writer did for* his CBS series and which appeared in his anthology, "13 By Corwin." It has had some 40 rebroadcasts. Feldman hasn't as yet set a studio deal for the making of'"Jones," but it is expected that one will be con- summated shortly, with the agent- producer providing a complete or almost complete package that will include at least partial financing. Attorney Arnold Grant set Cor- win's deal with Feldman. No Joke Nick Schenck, Spyros Skou- ras, Ned Depinet, Major Albert Warner, John O'Connor, Charles D. Prutzman, Jimmy Grainger, Barney Balaban, Grad Sears and Jack Conn comprised the party flying back from Washing- ton last week, following pow- wows with Eric Johnston on the British situation, when they were caught in a terrific storm. Circling some 45 minutes' above LaGuardia Airport, N. Y., with the tension high, Cohn cracked: "Do you realize what a story this would be for Variety, fellers, if something happened to all the film company execu- tives in this one plane!" June Tax Take Surely Indicates No '47 B.O. Blues Washington. Set>t. 2. Despite the howls of exhibitors, 1947 biz continues to bowl along at a better rate even than record break- ing 1946, according to figures of the Bureau of Internal Revenue on ad- missions taxes. Figures for Julv tax collections, generally reflecting June biz, were put out last week by Uncle Sam and disclose that the July 1947 take ran about $1,000,000 ahead of the same month last year. Since the bite is 20%, biz was actually $5,- 000.000 better. The June tax total on admissions hit $34,972,435, compared with $33,- 980,404 for the tax on June 1946 biz and only $27,829,982 for .May 1947. These figures, of course, include (Continued on page 20) MORE OIL DOLLARS FOR HOLLYWOOD'S KLIEGS Hollywood, Sept. 2. Robert Frost, Texas oil tycoon, is going into indie celluloid production with a company incorporated as Frost Films. First production, still untitled, is slated to go into work about Nov. 15. National Boxoffice Survey Labor Day Boosts Biz—'Bachelor,' 'Tights,' 'Variety,' 'Thin Man,' 'Stranger,' 'Father' Pace Field Kelly Back This Week Arthur W. Kelly, executive v.p. of United Artists, is expected back in New York at the end of this week from his current trip to England. He has been abroad for about three weeks, confabbing with J. Arthur Rank and the latter's circuit execs on opening up Rank's theatres to UA product. Kelly also made a quick trip over to Paris to huddle with Georges Rouvier, UA rep there. WELLES COMMUTING HOLLYWOOD TO LONDON ' Orson Welles, who returned to Hollywood last week from almost a month of huddles with Sir Alexander Korda ; n London, goes back to Eng- land Sept. 13 for six days of addi- tional confabs. Welles is under con- tract to the British producer to write, act and direct a film, which, during the last trip it was decided, will be "Cyrano de Bergerac." Quickie visit this month will be to set details for sending the film into production. Korda and Welles are both to have clarified other commit- ments by the time Welles returns so that it can be determined whether actual work will begin in November or February. Welles had to make a hurried re- turn from England to do the final editing on "Macbeth'." which he pro- duced for the Charles K. Feldman group for release by Republic. Overcoming torrid weather in many spots and lure of outdoors in almost every key, Labor Pay week- end gave film theatre biz the shot in the arm it had been looking for and tipped a strong season at key city firstruns. Many nabe theatres also did great trade on Labor Day. For the'"second sUcceS£ive"'~Week; "Bachelor and Bobby-Soxer" (RKO) easily walked away with titular box- office honors. It had a hefty margin over "Mother Wore Tights" (20th), which soared up from fourth posi- tion to second, thereby measuring up to its initial promise. Others in Big Six this week in Order of strength and playdates are "Variety Girl" (Par), "Song of Thin Man" (M-G), "Welcome Stranger" (Par) and "Life With Father" (WB). Runners-up, which are more im- portant than usual this session be- cause biz was strong outside the top six winners, are "Deep Valley" (WB), "Gone With Wind" (M-G) (reissue), "Crossfire" (RKO) and "Down to Earth" (Col). "Bachelor," which is going to stay seven weeks at the N. Y. Music Hall, is uniformly strong in every one of 14 keys where playing this stanza. Takes in Minneapolis, and Cincinnati are rated colossal, with the amazing thing about its performance being the big holdover weeks it is getting. In St. Louis, the RKO opus is great in second round, big in Chi on initial holdover week, torrid in second Providence stanza, terrific on third weeks in Baltimore and K. C. The $137,000 it's getting at the Music Hall, N. Y., on its sixth frame, also isrgreatr • - - ■■■■■ •-—f "Tights" ranges from smash or gigantic in some nine theatres over the country. "TRin Man," being launched in about 10 key cities cov- ered by Variety, is particularly socko in St. Louis, Washington and Pittsburgh, being top new film in last-named city. "Variety Girl," an- other new entry this week, was helped by special benefit preems of Variety Clubs, shaping as -sock in about eight keys and pacing the field in Omaha and Seattle. "Father," out on a limited num- ber of dates at upped scale, shapes particularly strong in N. Y., Chi, Pitt and Cincy. "Slave Girl" (U) is doing great in Cincy this stanza. "Northwest Out- post" (Rep) is finishing a nice week in St. Louis. "Something in Wind" (U) appears fairly good on N. Y. preem. "Wyoming" (Rep) looks neat in five L. A. spots. (Complete Boxoffice Reports on Pages 11-13) Syndicate which N. Peter Rath- von was originally endeavoring to assemble to purchase a controlling interest in RKO from Floyd Odlum'a Atlas Corp. is now completely out of the picture. And. as things stand now, it has been learned, all efforts that have been made to date by th» RKO prexy to .-aise coin to buy con- trol are dead. Current confused status of the foreign film market was the final brake on Rathvon's hopes. However, there's nothing to stop him from renewing his attempts to line up backers at any time. Odium definitely wants to sell out or most of his stock in the company. And as long as there's any possibility at all of Rathvon's succeeding in get- ting the coin to buy it, the Atlas topper will talk to no one else. They have long been closely associated and he'd like to see Rath von get a setup together which would enable him to continue as president. Odium, in fact, turned down the offer of William S. Paley, Columbia Broad- casting System prez, because of his refusal to guarantee, to keep Rath- von active in the RKO setup. The syndicate that Rathvon is re- ported to have originally attempted to get together consisted of J. Arthur Rank, Robert R. Young, I. W. and M. A. Schlesinger, South African theatre circuit interests (associated with Rank and Universal); Serge Semenenko and Matty Fox. Young is controlling stockholder in Patha Industries, which owns Eagle Lion and PRC. EL distribs Rank product in the U. S. and Young, railroad magnate and financier, was willing (Continued on page 20) CROSBY MULLS CONCERT DATE WHILE IN LONDON Bing Crosby may do a concert next spring or summer at Albert Hall, London's counterpart of N.Y.'s Carnegie Hall. Singer may do a film for J. Arthur Rank and would at that time .partake of the concert idea. Crosby has never done anything of that sort in this country. He has made no p.a.'s beyond benefit ap- pearances since attaining a peak never before reached by a popular singer. Trade Mark Registered POUNDED BY SIMB PILVKRMAN Published! Weekly by VARIETY, Inc. 81(3 Silverman, President 151 West 46th St., New York 19, N. 1. SUBSCRIPTION Annual $10 Foreign f 11 Single Copies 25 Cent? Vol. 167 no No. 13 INDEX Bills ..48 Chatter 55 Film Reviews 16 Foreign v .. .":vr. .'rv: r.. ; r: . "15- George Frazier 42 House Reviews 49 Inside Legit 50 Inside Music 44 Inside Pictures 16 Inside Radio 38 Legitimate 50 Literati 54 Music 41 New Acts 46 Night Club Reviews 46 Obituaries , 48. Orchestras 41 Pictures 3 Pre-Production News 5 Radio 22 Radio Reviews , 28 Records 42 Frank Scully .... 54 Television 30 Vaudeville 45 DAILY VARIETY (Published In Hollywood bl Bally Variety. Ltd.) (10 a Year—*12 Foreign