Variety (Nov 1947)

RADIO MUSIC STAGE Pi^bllsjbicd Wesl^Iy fit ;S4 Weit 4Cth Street, Neir Torfc }>, N. T., by Variety, Inc. Annual (ubacrlptlon, fip. jSliiBl*.ooplea;, it cant*. Siitorea^aB JeQQnd-claa* matter December 22, 1995, at thi;' Foat Onic* at. How-: Torltr Nt IF., under • tli« act ol ,ltB«cb t, im- ^ COPTRIGHT, 18i7, BX VARIETY; INC. AM, RIOHTS B¥:SEBTBD. ^OL. 16B No. 9 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1947 PRICE 25 CENTS SCflART CITES ; RESPONSIBILITY OFPRODIKBS X significant change has taken - plRce. in^HoUywood's thinking on the type of goAiologicai and political ^OQt«nt to be included-in f&ms, but '.' it httsn't resulted from the recent ..Washington probe" of the industry, Dore Schary, RKO-studio chief, told ' Varimy in New York this week. Commenting on the probable effect ■ of the investigation, Schary de- " 'clared: ;.' "Producers who. .were afraid to •islidk theii* necks out before are still • afraid. . Those that •• hate always vjihottfl. courage -ivill continue to 'flftake the pictures thfey want. The ■ Opldwyps and Zamicks and our own studio .will not be frightened olT." ■ ■ However, Schary added,, with tl]e international situation as it is and t.-fllms, to much of-the world, being ' 'the sole representative of the United ' States, renewed thought must be ■Hiveji to 6jlect -of our pictures '*■ Albfoad. Had he beetx, "badgered" (Continued o» page 63) Foy-Cohan, Jr., Team Up For New Comedy Airer Eddie Foy,. Jr., and George M. Cohan, Jr., sons of two show biz greats, have been paired, as a com>- edy team as the first offering of Tom Elwell, new radio package producer.' Elwell Is lormer general i manageir' for Hunt Strombejrg, Jr., legit pro- ductions, Duo will jbe backed by a 15-piece orchestra, a femme. vocalist and chorus. Elwell has also pacted Bela Lugosi and comedienne Ann Thomas for a new comedy-mystery show. Miss Thomas had the role of Miss Duffy in the screen version of "Duffy's Tavern" and is now appearing in the Broadway production of "Burlesque." ;B'woQd'Astonished'At Hearsf s Campaign For V. S. Film Censorship • . Hollywood, Nov. 4. . . Reaction in studio circles to yester- day's (Mon.) editorial in the Hearst ,. papers, advocating Federal censor- , ship of Alms, can be expressed in a . jingle worii—astonishment.. None' of .the industry toppers .questioned. ^. Wuld make any further comment, . " Off the record, however, they . couldn't "see what W, R. Hearst is driving at" and failed to understand ,, "why people who live in glass holises .;, should slai t throwing stones. Last person they would expect to support '. censorship is a newspaper publisher," j-they. said. They also indicated that, especially in the .case .of Hearst, his papers have always taken a particu- larly violent stand against GoveVn- . .ment policy and opinion. Northwest Indians Hear Crooner Call of Range Ottawa, Nov. 4. pr. H. L. JCeenleyside, deputy nimister of Mines & Resources and chairman of North West Territories Commission, just back from a •.' junket through the Arctic, declares , .northwest's Indians prefer cowboy . «ongs to their own tom-tom chants. Dr. Keenleyside, largely responsible for extensive distribution of Cana- dian motion pictures in Latin coun- tries while this country's represen- tative in Mexico, said the western • ditties hold the Redskins spellbound around campflres. : He said some Indians have two or ■ three radio receivers, some sets mounted in thei* canoes, automobile style. Motion pictorjif! also get SRO at any showing for nirthwest In- dians who will stay o" return as ioug its the screen is lighted. Disk Firms Steam As 'Artists Seek to Fatten Up On Waxers for AFM Ban The phonograph - recording com- panies are running out of patience with a segment of their artists, not to mention the music publishers, who are besieging , them to stock up on a carload of advance disks, in an- ticipation of the American federa- tion: of Musicians ban. "Such a backlog would take the Federal Reserve to underwrite it: thesB guys must thinlc we're another Fort Knox, or some- thing," said one disk company president. "If they want. to in- sure themselves earning $100,000 to $200,000 a year in royalties, then the;^ must play ball with us, if the advance-recording technique is to become a protection type of practice for the disk business." Considering that a recording ses- sion with a pretty full orchestra for a dance version or to back up a name singer, for example, runs over $1,000 per, this entails a stagg(iring investment for the recorders. "But it they are so anxious to make sure (Continued on page 62) SPONSORS PULt . IN THEIR BELTS By BOSEN Sudden cancellation of Fred Allen ^one of the top-rat.ed personalities in radio—by his food sponsor, Stand- ard Brands, has stirred a feeliiig of uneasiness within the trade over the pro-spects of a wholesale exodus of top food bankroUers from radio. The sudden Allen shift came in the wake of the current food crisis and high-cost-of-living that has: drastic-- ally altered family budgets and buy- ing habits. . As,for Allen, his show was imme- diately bought by the Ford Dealers Assn, for slotting in > the same Sun- day night 8:30-9 time, in one of the most hushed agency maneuvers in recent agency annals. . One of the lop spenders in radio, with a multi-million dollar budget for daytime and nighttime program- ming on the major networik.s, SB, in yanking its top comedy salesman, has effected a saving of more than $1,500,000 a "year in talent and time cost for the Sunday night period it's (Continued on page 36) N.J. BRAND OF BURLESK NEEDS PLENH OF FLIT By ED BAKRY Burlesque may be cleaning up in the hinterlands, as. reported, but it will need plenty of cleaning up be- fore ever malcing the grade in New York. The seven-year enforced sab- batical leave of this brand of show business from N. Y. stages, via edict of N. Y.'s late Mayor Fiorello H. La GuSrdia, hasn't impeded their pitch tor vulgarity. Consequently they'd have to be given plenty of flit and sapolioing before being al- lowed to reenter N. Y., if the stanzas that have been playing the Newfrk and Union City, N.- J., houses are facsimilies of what goes on else- w|iere on the hurley .-wheels. The Empire, Newark, and Hudson, Union City, are serviced via the Izzy Hirst circuit. Latter also has an interest in these houses, thus getting the take both ways. Both have stock choru.se.s. with only principals now rotating the wheel. Latter comprise from 10 to 12 people, with an occa- sional vaude act or two augmenting the 'layout, On the three shows perused at j both house.'!, "Sensations," with i (Continued on page £3) Legit Managers Meet to Curtail 1st Night List Proposal to curtail the first-night press ticket list on Broadway will be considered tomorrow (6) fat a League of New York Theatres mem- bership meeting. Members are urged to attend because the matter is "of utmost importance." Limiting the number of premiere tickets ap- pears to be up to managers individ- ually, and some have already cur- tailed their press lists, but, it's hoped by these to have others enter into a "gentlemen's agreement" to do likewise. Managers who favor cutting tho press list contend that a majority of those attending by means of such tickets constitute a "cold audience" although not present for the purpose writing reviews. . It's claimed that the percentage is too high in com- parison to regular firstnighters, espe- cially ill: houses with first-floor (Continued on page 58} 1 Columnist Clampaigns To K,0. Pegle^'s Pic Deal • Hollywood, Nov. 4. More than 100 organizations throughout the country have asked syndicated Columnist Erslcine John- son for petitions h&'s printed'at his Own expense to prevent the pro- posed filming of a biopic on Al Ca- pone. Written by Westbrook Pegler, the yarn has been budgeted at $1,- 000,000 by its co-producers, Pegler's brother, Jack, and Loil" Goldberg. Via Johnson's Mutual airer last week, originating here from KHJ, the commentator-columnist started a campaign to get 1,000,000 signatures, 100 to each .petitions .:^e''i]a9intains that nobody wants such a'flUtf "iwrit-'" ten by Westbrook Pegle'r-oi!;?i'rtyon.e els^." Picture is being'.grooved for tTnited Artists release. ^ ' Cancels All-Male /Shrew' After Strong Criticism London, Oct. 28. Legit producer-ballet dancer Rob- I ert Helpiiiann has called off his plan 1 to stage an all-male production of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" at Sti'atford-on-Avon, with himself cast as Katherine, Criticism of the idea as being Id bad taste, with Beverley Baxter, Member of Parliament and drama critic, leading the attack with , cry that id?a was "desiadent," led to Helpmann's changb of ndnd, , 'Show of ShoW Pickup Raises Censor Bogey -How to Cope With It? CBS came up with the most tal- ent-laden show: in television history last Thursday (30) night, -vlfhen it picked up the "Show of Shows" from Madison Sq. Garden, N. Y. In addi- tion to the talent, though, the show was also laden with probably the bluest material ever seen or heard on a tele scregn-^all of which brings up that old bogey, censorship. What's to be done about such shows in the future? Show was staged ih the Garden for the benefit of the New York ITniv.-Bellevue Medical Centre, As a benefit affair, it had-almost every, name performer of any reputation" currently in W. Y, List of stars ran (Continued on page 63) INDEE DISKS YEAlt'S. TOPS Chicago, Nov. 4, With the Dec. 31 deadline on re- cording near, it's figured that biggest boosts industry has received of late have come from_ independent wax- eries working with, comparatively unknown talent. Among the biggest selling records of the year have been Francis Craig's "Near You" (Bullet), Jack Owens' "How Soon" (Tower") and Art Lund's "Mam'selle" (M-G-M). METSFUGSTiU) NIX; OPERA . By AUVHVJB BRONSON Ther Metropolitan Opera-Assn, h,as no plans 40 rehire ^rsteti Flagstad. its prewar'Wagnerian soprano great, according to general manager Ed- ward Johnson, despite contrary ru-' mors. Mme. Flagstad left the Met in 1941 to return to .Norway^ and spent .-the war years with her hus- band, a noted Quisling who died ,ia . prison^ awaitin^t-'trial as a collabora- tionist. Johpson said he owed that; much'to his subspribets, to.the anti- Nazi, anti-fascist and Jewish mem- bers., He iWo'uldn't split his publie, he .said. , Furthermore, Johnson said, Mme. Flagstad has made no overtures, to the Met since returai^g to the.U.S. Jajt season' preferring, to 'pursue- a ' concert recitalist career. Johnson also-took exceptioh to complaints against rehiring .this fall of Max Lorenz, tenor- who was with . the' Met in the early '30s, and who spent the war years' in his patiye (Continued on page 60)^ ,' Amusement Biz Given Full Responsibility For Vets' Hospital Shows Show business' pledge that the wounded of World War II never will be forgotten is being realized wjth formation of.the Veterans Hospital Camp' Shows, Inc., to replace tTSO- Camp Shows which gets its honor* able discharge Dec. 26. New organ* ization assumes the task of entertain- ing between 95,000 and 115.000 sol- dier wounded, *onVp. 1, 1948. Veterans Hospital Camp Showa will be the major pesponsibility of show business and will be guided by a committee. to be elejfted from all branches—pictures, "J5?l§nt unions, radio, music ojr^a«^^pSjfs and exhib- itors. Already as$piaTed with the (Continued on page 62). ED SULLIVAN 'Recommen'digd: Phil Spitalny's Christmas Corol Album"