Variety (Feb 1948)

INTmRNATIONiUL IT Bigger Grosses, Runs, Prices- Aiid Headaches-Mark Arg. Fix Scene By »AV. JOSEPHS " Buenos Aires, Jan. 13. Longer runs, higher b.o. prices and bigger gtossetf—but more head- aches than ever in .the censorship, competitive and dollar remittance, situation—sum up the postwar film picture here in this top Latin center. It's the same for Hollywood ma- jors, the expanding local industry— which now claims it's ahead o£ Mexico —and ' the Europeans who have come back into the Latin field with greater strength than prewar. Arid the worry is that '48 will see worse.ning i^ather than bettered de- velopments, in the radio, legit and nitery fleWs. . Government of Gen. Juan D. Perbn is still the chief factor blamed by industry chiefs for their plight. Peron's wife, the former Evita Buarte (who must now be, oiticially addressed- as Dona Eva Maria Duarte de Peron) ,is the person most intereste'd'and'most responsible for the crackdowns. A one time radio Eiricl film player who achieved her dream of becoming Argentina's First LSdy, she has kept a constant and increasing personal supervision of air, pix and theatrical fields. But these difficultie.s are not the only ones worrying, exhibs, pro- ducers and . others. Starting Jan 1, new rules 'went into effect making it 'obligatory for all 'firstrun houses to run at least one national pic monthly.; All other houses are to give at least two out of five weeks to locally made product. Naturally this has pleased the national pro- ducers, some of whom have ex- hibitor interests and chains. But it's made going increasingly hard for Hollywood companies faced with ' continental competition for playing time. ■' WB USES FLAIR TO OPEN TEDDINGTON STUDIOS London, Feb. 3. Official reopening of Warner Bros.' Teddington Studios, rebuilt after extensive bomb damage, took placer last week (29). Arthur S. Abeles, Jr., WB ditector, and execu- tive assistant to Max Milder, and now in control during latter's absence in ihi U.S. for home office conferences, stressed that studios are open to any indie company here wanting to make pix. He further confirmed that next star due here would, be Claude Rains, who is coming over for "Silent Dust." Danny Kaye, prior to his opening at the London Palladium for Val Parnell, was specially brought down to the studios to handle the opening ceremony. Visiting film and stage stars included Griffiths Jones, Wil- liam Hartnell, Pat Kirkwood, Claude Hulbert, Clifford Evans, Nora Swin- burne and Esmond Knight. Event' was deemed important enough to be covered' by the British Broadcasting Corp., for its Picture Parade Feature, and Pathe News. Latter have been topped by the British,- followed by. the Italians, Mexican, Russian, French and Span- ish films, not to mention Swiss, Chilean, etci In fact, many believe no^other capital in the world plays the product of -so matiy countries— since, while the U. S. may see im- ports from many fields. New York runs..tliem in-a very few specialty houses. In this cosmopolitan capital, •where almost everybody speaks two and, many speak three and four languages, going , to overseas films is not a rarity but regular habit for a va^t audience. This, combined with longer runs as -it^ general trend,- has cut into the number of pix which.can be played, especially in downtown houses. Where in the past two and three weeks was considered good, "Ma- donna," which ran 16 weeks at the Broadway, and "Best Years," which filled the Luxor for 20, are no longer .uttusual. Admission prices have gone up i sharply. Where wartime B. A. firstruns rarely went over three pesos (75c U. S.) firstrun speciaLs now draw four and five pesos, reg- ulars . three pesos and subsequents. two down to 1.20. By Presidential request prices are 20% less on Mon- day, Tuesday 3nd Wednesday "to ena'ble workers to obtain entertain- ment at reasonable prices." I(lea hasn't caught on too well since Ar- getine audiences like Saturday and Sunday .filmgoing, especially if rain hits .football and races, biggest com- petitors. XT, S. companies have also become Increasingly worried over; two other financial worriesmounting local costs and exchange. Salaries h'a-ve been repeatedly raised by law, a pension fund established 'and. operat- ing taxes hiked atop increases in office, costs, freight haulage and the annual Christmas bonus of a month's salsiry, all decreed by law. On the dollar remittance front, new import permits were suspended Aug. 1, '47, and dollar exchange halted. Companies havfe been work- ing on former permits and still have some three .to six months to go. Most think that changes will be made shortly. Promises to this ef- fect have • been given by Miguel Miranda, Argentina's "Economic Czar," who indirectly controls the Banco Central. Despite all these difficulties, how- ever, it's apparent that those com- panies with good product have made greater profits in the postwar years than previously. Income has been above all costs for the better films. Thos^ majors with merely normal pix have suffered, however, since ■■ grosses. .t\ay|9 io - their .,ea!5es-• beeu^ eaten uptt^y- higher jexpettSes, fEiphtft. In 0 .Sfiriej .of PiMtwat Canadian Exhibs Plan Fighting Vs. Saunders Local Amusement Tax Toronto,- Feb. 3. Movement to combat a campaign launched by Mayor Robert H. Saunders to h&ve the Ontario Legis- lature either draw up a provincial amusement tax or authorize munici- palities to make similar ihiposts is gaining impetus here under the guidance of the Motion Picture The- atres As.<5n. of Ontario. Provincial or miinipical amusement taxes hinge upon whether the Dominion repeals a 20% excise tax levied during the war and still in effect^. Meeting of the Ontario Assn. of Mayors and municipal council heads is scheduled to be held here Thurs- day (5). Saunders, it's reported, will endeavor to push across his drive for the tax by enlisting the aid of this organization. Theatremen - last month gained partial assurances from D. C: Abbott, Minister of Finance, that the- Dominion tqx might be wiped off .the books late next spring. In return for this concession, more than 1.300 Canadian exhfos have pledged that when the tax is axed they will pass on the reduction to their patrons. Furthermore they also agreed to freeze current, admis- sion prices, exclusive of possible lo- cal and provincial bites. This pro- posed action, D. McCourt, secretary of the Niagara Peninsula theatre Managers Assn.. points out, repre- sents a continuation of a fair price \ policy adhered to by most exhibs who have tried to keep b.o. scales at a sane level when compared to spir- aiing commodity pricesi . Protesting Mayor Saunders' stand in Stirring up new local taxes, Mc- Court recently noted in a letter to the press that in nearby St. Cather- ines firstrun houses charged an evenins admission price of 35c in 1941. Today, he wrote, the scale has risen, only a nickel with, of course, the. dominion 20% tax pyramided upon -that sum. He especially felt that in the event of elimination of^ the excise bite "theatre patrons alone should benefit as they paid without protest when, they felt it was neces- sary." ■ MPEA's Jap Mission Tokyo, Jan. 20. As part of the Motion Picture Export- Assn's promotional activi- ties in Japan it has been . .mding three itinerant lecturers throughout the country to boost American films. Conceived by Charles Mayer, MPEA managing director here, the plan emphasizes the entertainment values of U.S. pictures. MPEA lecturer; Y. Takamashi alone: mads as many as 26 speeches before varied audiences in one pre- fecture in * nine-day period last month. Addressing such groups as school teachers, department store patrons and cultural -societies; he spoke to at leaSt' 8,000'people;" Guatemala City Natural 1-Niter Guatemala City, Jan. 27. . This thriving little city located halfway between Mexico City and Panama, and an overnight stop for most of the tourist trade flying this route, is a natural one-nighter for any American troupes playing this Latin-American territory. Currently, heavy billing goes to the ubiquitous Paco Miller, who does a ventriloquist act and with a lew added Mexican single ballys his show like Ringling, to make him one of the top money getters in Latin America. No matter where 'one goes, one sees him billed, but heavy. So strong Is the demand for "flesh" ,h^re that they'll play any- thing that looks-like-,, boxoilice, and most attractions can write their own ticket on 'a percentage deal. Un- like the states, thjs is the best angle for a troupe touripg these parts. Teatro Lux, playing .acts occa- sionally, and .currently the five Mex musicians, £ios Borochos, do a stint at this house. 'Most of the other theatres aire playing Argentine flick- ers and ; American films, with dubbed-in titles. ^ ' Giro's, an outstanding dub, will buy once in a while, if an act is enroute through, but mostly the town is not hep on night club an- gles. Club is beautifully decorated, in Mex motif. Seats about 250, with front bar. Prices ,are about on a par with U.' S. and money exchange is even with U. S. currency. Biz in town is good; with gobs of tourist trade'.' due' to its inclusion as stopover spot on guided tours. Tour- ists are cagey with their dough and looking for bargains all over the town. Panama Clubs Wracked by Headaches; Pace Being Set by Internacional SAN SALVADOR YENS AMERICAN STAGESHOWS San Salvador,. Jan. 16. San Salvador, located a couple of countries north of Panama, in Latin America, could well be called a bo.oker's-. dream t<>wn. The town, having'some people with money to spend, has few nightclubs or .other bistros to cater to them. And every- one wants American stageshows here. Two exclusive clubs in town cater to what money trade thoy have here, with little expenditure for talent. Inaccessibility of the city, and poverty of the masses, have scared off most of the show promoters, with the exception of Paco Miller, who .brings his Mex aggregation to these parts on occasions. The town Is open to any deal of an American pro- moter. The Teatro Nacional, located in the heart of San Salvador, books occasional troupes that pass through. Blias Gadala Maria, big importer, has been dickering with Kelley's Ritz, in Panama, to import its cur- rent, show, which- is an all-American femme- musical, into' the theatres here, for one and two-day stands. Troupe,, headed for Mexico, and passing through here, would be a natural for the promoter. ■ WHITEHALL SETS UP SYDNEY PLAY SKED Sydney, Jan. 27; Whitehall Productions; headed by Kathleen Robinson and Roland Wal- ton, operating the Minerva here, has skedded several plays. "Off the Secord," a British com- edy, is presently being cast. Show win be produced by Britisher John Sykes, - Follows a limited run of three short plays—''Village Wooing," by Bernard Shaw; "Lost Gdieration" by Lynn Foster, and Noel Coward's "Fumed Oak." "Sweetest and Lowest," British revue, is winding up after moderate run. "Sweetest" was produced by Wee Georgie Wood. Irish Tax Hike Snafus Pix Biz, With Bite Now 55'^ Dublin, Jan. 27. After a week's experience of upped admis.sioii prices, following big tax hike now averaging 55% of a theatre's gross take, Irish cinema managers agree biz has taken its biggest nosedive in history. For the first time on record there were empty seats at Sunday night per- formances in some Dublin firstrun houses. These usually sellout early and can only be got at fancy figures on black market when Siinday night comes. fhfee Cinemas in country towns have dosed down and another is to put up the shutters next week. A town council oifering a cinema for leasing hag,got np„ljids.,. - - Current London Shows London, Feb. 3. {Figure shows weeks of run) "Anna Lucasta," Ma.iesty's (14). "Annie Get Gun," Col's'm (35). "Bless the Bride," Adelphi (41). "Blind Goddess." Apollo (9). "Canaries Sing," Garrick (11). "Chiltern Hundreds," Vaude (23). "Dark Summer," St. Mart (8). "Diamond Lil," Wales (2). "Edward IWy Soh," Lyric (36). "Four Hours Kill," Sav". (1). "Hidden Years," Fortune (2). "Life With Father," Savoy (35). "Linden Tree," Duche.'ss (25). "Macbiplh," Aid wyeh (8). ' "Mountain Air." Comedy (1). "Never Can Tell," Wynd (IB)-. "Off Record," Piccadilly (36). "Oklahoma.V Drury Lane (40). "Owe, Two Three," Yorks (21). "Outrageous," W. Garden (12). "Present Lauffhter," H'yif'kt (42) "Relapse," Phoenix (1). "Slarl^sht Roof," Hipp. (13). "Sweetest Lowest," Ambass. (92) "Toffether ARain," Vic Pal. (42). "Tuppence," Globe (17). "Worm's View," Whitehall (40). . Paris-Rome Group Preps Religious Pic for Egypt, Palestinian Locations Religious film called "Divine Trag- edy" is being readied for April pro- duction by EDIC Films of Paris and Universalia of Rome financed by in- vestors in Italy, France, Switzerland and England, according to EDIC partner Georges de la Grandiere. Picture, he said, will . be based on the. life of Christ and has the blessitag of the Vatican, the Pi-otes- tant church in France as well as other denominations. De la Grandiere, who recently arrived in New York, planes to the Coast today (Wed.) .to study Amer- ican filmmaking techniques. Prior to his departure he declared ''Divine Tragedy" would be made on loca- tion with the bulk of shooting to be done in Egypt and Palestine. A multilingual film, picture will have dialog in French, English and Spanish. ^. While in the U.S. de la Grandiere expects'to iset a 'NQtth American .dis- tributio.nal deal for EDIC's recently completed "Mon.sieur Vincent." Star- ring Pierre Fresnay in the title role, film is based on the life of St. Vin- cent de Paul. Original story was authored by Jean Anouilh., ■ . Panama, Jan. 27. Panama is In the throes of an up- heaval that affects the whole Isthtnua. What with the squabbling about bases, with the town restrleted for the military personnel, and thing! way oft in general, cabaret owners, are really moaning. Colon's Copacabana, long a "must" spot for the visiting sailor, and usually employing about 40 peopla in its show, is really crying the blues. Using American acts, and no line, it has more acts in the spot than customers. Panama City, on the west coast, ia more fortunate as its transient popu- lation is bigger. The Internacional hotel, with a sizzling casino on its second terrace, goes to town with most of the money trade, and runs wide-open gambling, from craps to roulette. The casino doesn't help the Coral room in the hotel with its expensive floor show, but the bars do a good brisk trade. Kelley's Ritz, ,for 30 years the number one spot on the Ist.hmus, tops them with a fast-moving, 22-people, all-girl show, featuriqg Juanita and so it. keeps customers in thfeir pews for every quarter they can spend. Skating Champs. Show is staggered Two cocktail bars make up for the late trade, and the ffont bar never closes. ■ ■ Balboa Garden, a natliral- amphi- theatre, is huge and bare. El Ranoho^ with a switch to new policy, is giv- ing the clientele the best food in town and doing about the best of th« Garden's biz. Club Atlas, another huge outdoor arena, with a good American membership, is holding its own, 'hut strictly weekending it as to dough, with mostly Canal Zone trade. _ • ■• ■ Club Happyland aud-'Cuba are just struggling along; to keep that man away' from the mortgage. Club Rialto, next door to Kelley's Ritz, with an imported aggregation of Latin-American femmes, is doing about the next best ^iz tp Kelley'« and InternatiAnali' ^ Bulg; aria Sidetracks . Ui. Pix for Soviet's Sofia, Jan. 27. Advertised to open yesterday (26) at the Kino Modern here, playdates of "Tarzan's Secret Treasure" was cancelled. Subsequent inquiries of the Motion Picture Export Assn., which handles distribution o,f U. S. films in Bulgaria, revealed the film had been shelved to make way for a Russian picture for which the gov-' ernment film monopoly, Bulgarsko Delo, had demanded a booking. This arbitrary move was by no means a precedent in this Com- munist-controlled country, for a similar incident happened at the same house last fall. Then Jthe the- atre pulled Wa'rner's "My* Sister Eileen" to provide playing time for a Russian film commemorating the anniversary of the Soviet's October revolution. After the run of the political pic, "Eileen" resumed. Previously, th'e Kino Modern hung up an unprecedented record with Metro's "Music for Millions,'' gar- nering an extraordinary gross and net receipts in the course- of a run in excess of three months. House drew capacity until the 12th week when for the first iimp 75 seats were un- sold. WB's "Rhapsody in Blue," an- other MPEA import, is also doing well in its sixth week at the Kino Makedonia. Irish Pic Gets Election Votes, Opposition Goat, In 1st Propaganda Try Dublin, Feb. 3. The first use of a propaganda film in an Irish general election is un- doubtedly garnering votes for Clann na Poblachta—the Republican Party (no relation to the G.O.P.)—which sponsored It, although not using the name of i the party .or its leader throughout: The film, "Our Coun- try," carries the trade name Irish Civic Films and the name of the commentator, Noel - Hartnett. Hart- nett is director of elections for the Clann. - • . The 700 feet, sjiot by cameraman Brendan Stafford, of Gaumont-Brit- ish-Instructional Films, , is made up of an introductory spiel by Hartnett and shots showing slum housing, neglected agricultural . land, emi- grants leaving' for Britain, grocery store notices on shortages' of essen- tial foodstuffs—compared with store windows - full of' high-priced, im- ported luxury goods. ' A-'.doctor talks on problem ot tuberculosis and film ends, with -,g;a)}' .by, an jUnidentifled man^ seated at; a desk-^actually the party leadier' Sean McBride—outlin- ing policy to improve the position. No reference is made to the coming election. Fifty copies of the film were made and to date, about 60 of .Eire's 300 cinetnas have used it. Pic is, of course, being offered' free of charge. So far it has not been screened at any firstrun house in Dublin. • In one town it was projected in a street and pulled a big crowd. '.• Film was subjeo't-of strong edi- torial attack in de Valera'& party newspaper, Irish Press,''which de- scribed it as a "secret weapon," alleging that since Clann na Pob- lachta was not mentioned the or- ganization""could not be very proud of it." At the same time, the edi- torial gives grudging credit to the enterprise of using film as election- - coring propaganda. i Mayme Richardson, Negro singer, is currently touring Palestine. She made a highly successful debut in I Tel Aviv recently. Rosita Rivera, 10-year-old Spanish dancer, is Paris' newest child, prod-* igy. She gave a recital recently at Salle Pleyel, under the auspices ot the^p.ffke Artis.tique,Esp>gBQlt <