Variety (Feb 1948)

qrAMBTrS' LONDON OVFICK IIVTEIIXATIONAL IS U.S. Fix Market in Plnlippines Bullish; Meet Homemade Competition in bifia Washington, Feb. 3. i The- Awiferican film market in the Philippines looks good for a long time to come and with little chance for any crackdown on American coin, reports the U. S. Department of Commerc*. because the taxes on V S. pi?t provide a considerable portion -of Ihe Philippine Govern- ment revenue. Survey is one of several' released by Nathan D. Gol- den; motton picture chief of the deoartment It declares that: .. Ti(e Philippines will encourage rather than discourage the. import or U. S. films for a number of rea- sons—(1> domestic industry cannot supply the demand; (2) domestic industry itsdf will profit from an expanding market for U. S. pictures and, Itom the continued rapid in- crease in the number of theatres, Wheris not only U. S. but Filipino pictures can be shown to atidiences that, jsre reW« more »nd more upoif pix 'for entertainment; <3) revitnue.. from U. S. pictures is a very, important item (at present »botft B%> in the national govern meiit'a income. The Philippines continue to be one of the few ffee exchange mar- kets in thp wprld today, with no contnils ffeuied lot tKe near future. While bueiKMiA's ic startiim; to fall off some .in., ttie islands, Golden reports that-.iAaior Manila theatres still opeK at 7: 30 a.m. and play to good- ' audiences. .American,films grab the big biz in the cities, but native- made,'fiUn-S'do the best at the box- office in the sticks. Filipino films, inditcniany) have more trouble with the censors iihere than have Ameri- can..' Repprts on other countries: iK4ta •»« rakMsn: Dominion of India hii thtee central boards of censorship and Pakistan has one. Five American films have been bJU'red as sordid without redeeming features.' Love-scenes and exhibi- tions, of,, semi-dressed women are objected-to on moral grounds. U. S. pix'^<ate>'> often criticized as frothy, too. lavisby .and without adequate substance, ■ Also subject to censor- ship are : films wiiich extenuate crime, imdermine moral teachings, . bring public servants into, disropute . or - wound the susceptibilities, of for- eign '.nations, as well as 'exhibiting cruelty ' to: animals and gruesome '.wmurflers,. Despite the size of the'country there are only 1,585 theatres in both Pakistan ana Hindustan, of which 22a "show foreign films exclusively. .American films' are very .popular, but the lUtive output, which got as high, as iSft-features in 1946, are the boxdffice' .tops. For example, saj's the- survey, while thie average Eng- lish Ir.ngtiape feature will run three weeks, in Bombay, some India-made films has run as long as two years. French Imile-Chiua: There is no special criticism of Hollywood pie Copenhagenv Jau; :27. DeSmark's newest arid youngest manager-director,. Mej^r Feigehberg, who after his "flirst success with a Sartre play took Over the ^n?aU, arty Biddersaleni had a record Jlop with .his .flrst prbduetion h^rej Molnai-'s "Lilipm," which 'was severely; panned by- the crix and played only a few days. FeigCpBerg now is* hurrying Tennessee . Williams' ' "The Glass Menagerie'' for presentation. His leading lady, Rai-en Lykkehuus, left suddenly and lieir part in the new Americian. play'^-ill, be played ■< by TOver»Bangi'-''.:-':■■',;■■'' Detiiy T^teT ■ vifill ■ stSge c Norjinan Krasna's "Dear: Ruth,' which fllao is showiiig M the Aalboirg Theatre in Jutlani The D^ishi revue king, Stig I.>dmmer, is .presenting Kurt Weill's "A Toticb of Venus" at the Glas^Jien, ■ a ■con<«r( ibaUi 'ipminer i^4.-tiie Glasaieii ' Mso for » revcKi in September*:' aiid: iblldived ' witti- •"The Night of January 16" by Ayn' Rand. The concerj hau is used:.as a. legiter ijecause ''^f the;shortage trf„ tWeatrics in Copenhagen. ^^^^^^^^ 1^ '::■;'•,■•':■. :;:pue;n0S':AiteS^:|'fb,,-'?.;':■.■■ The* current l«n by .Argentina oh Icjreign film iffiporfa has put XJ,,S., companies in the irole pf the injured innocent , spectator. A«»t-dihg to Joaquim Rickard, Mo'tioil. Picture Assn. rep, th^ ininiediate cause for the import, ban was a liassle be- tween Ai%ei)ti.na and Spain in which the tl' iS, was 'hot involved.' There IS .no ajiimosity evident here against U:. S.; :ftlm .cbtnpariies. and Rickard hopes to Straighten out; the situation in a ffew days. . ' . ; Argentina's step, was.' direct retal- iation against a new iax" levied by Spain on Argeniine-prpdUGcd Alms, officials: brattded the tax 4s t^reaking the :p«ict gov?rniftg ,the exchange of pii^tures between |he two countfies. 'jhere is. also speculaiion' that Ar- gentina's dollar shortage miay a^o be in ,pEVt responsible for the measure, However, AmeHcari fllm compianies have not been reinitting funds from this territory for the past five months. ' ■ Metro and tJhited Artists were informed today (3) ithat two of their new pictures wt>tild TSe able,i,to be shown on B.A. screens befojce the «nd of the Weelc These arc "Desire Me" (M-G) and "Copacabana" OTA). Fact both pix were oltayed is be- _^ _ ^ _ i licved furtiier indication that the tuiTher^.'except "for "tlVe scantiness , ban is directed primarily against ot the. clothin.s; worn by some i Spain, women.'' Censorsliip is very strict on such- subjects as racial violence or incitiJin^nt, and pro-Communist sub- .iects. Id this country, the U. S. is down to only 25% of the market and the French films are the biyfe.-^t competitor,' There is no domestic production.': In «11 Indo-China thct-e are only 36 theatres. ■ China:- Cpmme. y reports no in- .dic^itioh, of further restrictive meas- urfts by the Cliinese Government which has, however, fro,zen all our coin earned in 1946 and 1947. The Chinese are badly off regardin? for- eign', excli^ngc' and might have- to place «eiiv restrictions on film im- ports in the event the American companies demanded their money and ■ an alleviation of eonditiops. Non-Communist China has 21 film producing companies in Shanghai; four in Hong Koni;; and one in Can- ton.'Fx-oimV-J Day to September. 1947.' Shanghai turned out 3G features and 25 newsreels. The studios there actually iiave a productive capacity of 10 picture per month, but a short- afie of ravv stock cramps their oper- ations. .: At present, in China, about 320 theiitres: are playing British and Amertcaii films. - Kill That Pix UmpI ■Tokyo, Jan. 27. Daiei Motion- Picture Co., one ot Japan's bigge.st film outfits, as- sured itself plenty of sports page space next summer by purchas- ing'a pro ball team—one of Nip- pon's best—last week. Prodded by Isamu Rokusha, former director of the company, the outfit bought the Nagoya Dragons, member of the Japan Pro League. Rokusha grabbed the job of club's prexy, but will- retain last year's Nagoya skipper as manager. Documentary Unit that Filmed Exodus Saga Now ortation Paris Show Biz in Dark on Effects Of Franc Move: Niteries Qum Haifa, Jan. 25. Although i>ll four members of the documentary unit that filmed the story of the refugee ship. the Exodus, had' proper visas to enter Pales- tine to finish the film, the fluartet is currently waiting to be deported, after being arrested and refused open entry. Action climaxed a tra.sic story of flight ■ across Europe, with group arrested- by Briti.'^h officials on landing in Haifa, witli all equip- ment and exposed film confiscated by police. Group- included Meyer Ijevin, American writer who scripted the Palestine film, "My Father's House;" Tereska Torres, French actress and daughter-in-la'W of Leon Blum; Ber- trant Hesse. Pathe News cameraman from Paris, ana J. Michaelovitz, an'^ actor. At their arrest, they insisted upon taking along their cameras and belongings but the police re- fused, assuring them that everything would be safe. "Upon returning to their Ship, however. Levin found their suitcases ransacked and several rolls of film missing. , The group began shooting the film sever$3 'months ago, retracing the path taken by" the Exodus in its futile attempt to enter Palestine. "Everyone seemed to be against the picture," Miss Torres said, -'except for the Polish government." The Russians arrested them on their way from Vienna to Prague; the Ameri- cans held them in Germany ap- parently because they disliked their filming of the displaced ^pprsons camp, and the British turned down their jt-equest to enter Palestine and wind up the film. French Pathe arranged for dis- tribution rights to the film, which was entitled "The Illegals." The ultimate fate of the film is now ip doubt while the four ■ pcrscns arc temporarily free on $4,000 (U. S.) bail each. Andersen Biopic Is Skeddecl for Denmark Continuing the cuwent trend of shooting films on actual location si^pSi producer. Marion Gerini; is now mapping plans to turn out a biopic of Hans Christian Andersen in Andersen's native Denmark. Ten- tatively titled "Life Is a Fairy Tale," the film is slated to roll in June. Release plans haven't yet been set. lb Melchiori son of Metopera tenor Lauritz Melchior, is to be associated with Gering in the production, Ne- gotiations are currently under way t- sign a top Hollywood actor for th'; feature role. Story will attempt to merye Andersen's life with his fairy talcs, according to Gering, since it's generally believed that the -auUior himself served as the hero of his stories. 'RELAPSE' HITS LONDON; TOUR HOURS' LONGISH London. Feb. 3. '■Tiic Relapse."' a bawdy 17tl} cen- tury revival, ijreenied at the Phoenix m.st Wednesday (28>. Transferred frrm the Lyric. Hammersmith, the play stars Mfidge Elliott and Cyril, Ritchard. With beautiful pi-oduction and mountings, piece is splendidly acted aiTd loom* as a success. In the week's other opening. "Four Hours to Kill" bowed at the Saville Thursday (29). Based on Norman Krasna's "Small Miracle" which Paramount filmed some 13 years ago, play was tolerantly re- ceived hut shapes up as too verbose, w'ith its chances dubious. Jacli Larue is starred .in the Bernard Del- font production, directed by Noel Madison. ' Havana Nite life Beckons Tourist Havana, Jan. 27, Havana, the Paris, of Ijatin Amer- ica, is going all out for that Y.-mkee dollai": with fair prices predominant- ly,a big factor in corraling the D. S. trade. Nightclub "biz ^starts at midnight and goes till dawn, and-the majority of clubs feature. Cuban talent throughout. Few American acts are working the territoryj as most of the clubs put heavy accent on the rhumba, striiftly on the native side. Majority of acts have been around Havana for years, and really go all out to work up their frenzied rou- tines. San Soiici, long a "must" with the tourist trade, does a good Job- with its talent budget. Casino, a long way out of tlie city, by comparison, goes big on the gambling angle. Its Paris, Jan. 30i Precisely how show business will react to and be afVected by new measures of the French government to protect the franc, is still hard to tell. If the idea is successful and currency regains more purchasing power, current prices of admission will mean better profit tor showmen. But in the meantime they are very much in the dark. Sudden withdrawal ot 5,000 franc- notes from circulation, apparently to be exchanged later for scrip, and closing of banks for two days tJan. 29t30), placed many showmen in a spot, especially in a country where salaries are mostly paid monthly, and where many offices are closed on Saturday (31). Deprivation of ready cash over the weekend should cause a nip in takes. How the man- agements themselves will be affected depends on the liquidity of their assets, American exchangemen are al- ready feeling the effect of the new conditions in paying the ad valorem import duties on goods invoiced them from home in dollars, such as rawstock. Customs now reckons the duty on dollars at former black mar- ket rate, instead of the'pj'eviously official 120 exchange. Tlvis moans that the recent cu tarns tax tiU in such ca-ses that would have meant multiplying the old duty by four will now be increased by about 10. Another headache is the: current ivtalling of the Administratien in is- suing the expected film law, which ; points to its asking for amendment of the Blum-Byrnes agreement at any time now. This loaves the ex'^ changemen in the dark inasmuch as no definite reply has yet been made to tiie Motion Picture Assn. req;--e.Jt, through diplomatic channels, that the ukases limiting to 15 situations the showings of -or-iginal versions with English subtitles and brushing, oti permitted imports of films over two years old^ be rescinded. ' ' Bad Times f«r Boiles Except for very few spots such as Champs Elysees, Floj-cnoe and Mon-. seigneur, Paris nitcrjes are hitting, bad times. Mass . ontertainroont shows and band are an incidental item, and it's onioying good tourist places like the Lido.on the Champs trade at the present. Cab fare of I Elysees, and Tabarin in Montmartrci DiSNEY FOREIGN MIBS DUE TO BE mm UP Dubbiqg of Disney cartoon films in most European countries will pro- ceed at an gccolerated pace, accord- ing to Jack Cutting, in charge of the firm's foreign film version-s. Com- pany is setting up a new dubbing unit in Holland to handle native dialog! for Alms released there, he said:' Present plans, Cutting said, call for dubbina of "Bambi" and Pinoc- chio" for the Ein-opcsn market with othgr features following. Dubbing of the cartoon pix is u.sually done in each individual country where the film is intci'ded for distribution, in keeping with a long-standing Disney policy. Cutting sailed yesterday (Tuesi) ''or Kotttrilam. He expects to make a two-month continental swing, touching Switzeiland, Italy, Sweden, France and possibly Denmark. Czech Protest Bars German Pic in Fmland $10 stymies most of the short-money trade that would like' to, visit the Spot, but doesn't want to go for the cab tariff. Club Faroan, located in the cen- ter of the city, en .joys a hefty late biz. It opens at midnight. a.nd with a galaxy of hostesses on hajid plus a good band aud Latin floor show, the room, seating about 300 does well on all counts. •' Tea,tro Aipexica, .leadiiig picture house here, goes in for Cubah sta.gc with floor sliows that place them on a par with the revue theatres, plus club atmosphere, may weather th* impending storm, but most ot the- plush palaees are I'.it bi'.dly. Eateries are not dr)."ii'4 bettor than the wine and hoof havens." At Max- im's, Albert is s ill giad-hauding some of his reguhn- customers, who look upon the pla^e ,is a fixture, and Boiicrt is still catering to the dis- criminating in his intim:i1f Casloulct. E,ut'London's John Mills is a sad- der and wiser miin by now. He's so-so. :. Hebihki. .Tan. 23. The German film, "Die Goldene Stadt' ("The Golden City"), pro- duceti; by UFA in AgfaColor, was shown In Finland durin,t; the wai- and became a Kreat success. This year the film was reiwued at some houses in Hfcl.sinki. The Czech Lega- , . tion protested agaiiist .showin.g the ; ' Paris, Feb. 3. j-^j^,, pointing out that the film is A riproaring comedy, "Petite : ..rteoradinc to Czech iiational fccl- Hutte" ("Little Gate"), authored ; j^^,,,!'.. I by Andre Roussin and produced by I "q^^^^^ b;,,ined the film imme- Leon BeJioit-Deulsch, is packing ; j,;^^^^ according to the law about 'them in at the Theatre Nouveaute-s. ^urt Finland's Busy 'Little Cabin Swedish Pix Stymie Stockholm, Jan. 28. , l^aiiure to reach an agreemeiit ' Its suWect-matter is likely to debai with studio workers has frozen pro-; it from the American stage or j duction ot the Swedish film indus- screen, however. tr.v. Old pact expired the first of \ The play concerns a shipwrecked 1 the yciir. • woman in an afrair with a Negro ; Present indications pdlnt to cook, after her husband has already timnths of negotirtions before differ- agret'd to share her with a while | encfis are ii-onlid out. t lover. ' friendly relatiow with foreign gov- ernments," " - ^ Other Poreign News on Page 17 JEWISH TALENT STILL ACTIVE IN ARAB AREA Haifa. ,r:m. :2f>. Strife bi twccn Jcwj^ and Arabs ' in Palestine is putting a severe . crimp Jjilo theatrical ac,tivity in the , area. Since Nov. 20. when the par- ; tition plan Was announced, tl-.o Pal- estine Pliilharmrnic Orchcstr:i has Only given two c(iTicev1.>f .'■■nonKer t' by some young Jewish ex-service- men L'ndcr the billing of ''Mu^'r Calling." Theatre companies find it impossible to come from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem because tlie convoys are shot at by Arab.";. In the main eitie.-i, moreover, everything is jihut down after 7:30 p.m. Some :Jcwi,«h pcrformci's. however, are .stiU playing in Arab states. Laila Mm-ad is still the most popu- 1-ar film .star of Egypt and is cur- rc'iilly staj'j ing in an Arab version ot "tlomco and Juliet." In E.gypt .■iiirl Bey ruth, .some Jewish musician.s are still woi king while the ■Viennese composer Walter Schlesinger re- mains as profe.s.sor at the Ankara Cons-: rvatory of Music. In genera! shows, plus late stateside pictures. ■ ghutlcring the eating pa'ace that was. Teatro Campamoar plays American expected to draw the Paris who-s - acts, when available, or enroule v/ui to the Etoile. He now is ito-' • through the territory. Encanto, an- „jj,g jurh it into a sl)owmcn'» other filmhouse playing Cubaii< stage club .sho\v.s, is doing well with American ! Two new boites have opened in film fare. (.^^g Champs Elvsees neighboriiood,' Most of the theatres featuring Mex i however, in spite of the linpropiti- and Argentine flickers are getting , ous hard times. First, on Rue good boxofl'ice results, and with j Balzac, is the Music pox, liaunt of plenty ot this type of film here, there j the Intimistes, a sect opposed to the .seems to be no dearth of product. lEx'stentialists. Tlie p?a.''2 has alreaiSy Oriental Park has racing three attracted show people, iiicludinij cSi-Ayx a week, with .attendance just Borrsh Minevitch. Rene Lefevre,. Daisy Daix, etc. . The other is Sieto-Bar, on ,tt!e Roe de Ponthieu, with Sprnish «ft[hos» phere and accent oii LPtin :«^tcri,flIi It wils visited on opening'.pight by Spanish dancer Stcl'a de BliVa,.:Ear- nard Hilda, Jane Morgan arid-tJtlier^^ Parisiails nowadays i»rc beginning to make it lashjontible to eat in bistres, meaning cheap ioiiits whe"e at least they can save enough tti p-ay for their taxi at the rocei'tly, 1iilt;d' rate that sppeip'S bused piv thi; black-: msrket cost ol C?.-*. 'ithe t"er<d ,1ae-'' came apparent when Xmas and'New Years Eve biis, shewed retuttss wsy below expectations, with many. who; used to tbrow parties in niteriis saving by doing it at home. While Mills da"kcns liis glanioi'ous Pans ]ob.ster zni caviar room, pro^ vincial gourmets are a'so in mourn- ing and tour^ts will find well- known places in Lyons such as Merc Filloux, Mere Brazier, Coehon d'or. Francotte and others shuttered. Palestine Skeds 'Work' Jerusalem. Jan. 27. Alfiiough made in 1934, the 'Pales- tine produced picture, '"Avoila* f"Work'!>i has not reached local acseens until now. Film won first' however, Jewish latent wa.s never, prize at a Switzerland film Icstival prominent in the' Arab states. \ 13 years ago.