Variety (Jul 1948)

12 « gfc' arnrthtv W«»» •amtalKKt 8wm» Fwep Talent Buoys Up Anientme fk Production, Tho Trend Is Decried Buenos Aires, June 29. 4 Argentina's film industry has marked up two boxofiice successes this year, but both pix have Mexi- can stars as part of their attrac- tion. These are'Dolores del Rio in "Historia de una Mala Mujer" ("Lady Windermere's Fan") and Arturo de Cordova in "Dios se lo Pagua." Meanwhile,-. Aldo Febrizzi has been taking shots here for his picture "Immigrant," of which he Is star, producer, director and scenarist. Other studios have been • trying to sign still more foreign luminaries, with Anna Magnani, Italian actress, bidding for $85,000 for one picture. Yet another studio Is dickering with French actor Louis Jouvct, well known in the Argentine pix industry, as he spent a couple of the war years in Ar- igentine territory..: ' Trend towards using foreign stars is considered a bad one by some, as bound to have detrimen- tal effect on the market for Argen- tine pix in the rest of Latin America. Mexican experience in this respect is recalled. A couple Of years back Mexican studios iqked Argentine talent at high salaries, to make Spanish speaking pix in Mexico. Until that time Mexican pix had an excellent mar- ket in Argentina, but as soon as the pix made in Mexico with Ar- gentine stars started being e?:» hibited, public interest in them tapered off almost completely. Set Shortage Crimps A deal has been made between the recently formed Sijmca studios (which has Vatican backing) and a Spanish studio, with the Spanish Ambassador in Argentina, Count de Motrlco, acting as intermediary, to make a picture on the life of novelist Miguel de Cervantes, for joint Argentine-Spanish produc tion,./with some sequences made on Argentine territory and others in Spain: Julio Saracent is to direct the Argentine seciuences. Shortage Of studio sets is stymie- ing Increase , in local production. Sur Studios has had to solve the problem by inking a deal with Chile Films to shoot scenes for "Esperanza," a picture on the colonization of the Argentine prov- ince of Santa Fe, in Chile Films' studios in Santiago. Argentina Sono Film, San Miguel, Emelco, and Lumiton all have fou# studios each now, and* these are working incessantly. Efa and Rio de La Plata Studios have only one set each and can therefore make only one picture at a time. Anna Neagle's 3d Win Pars Greer as 'Best Actress' London, July 6. Anna Neagle became a three- time winner of the Gold Medal for the Best Actress Performance last week in recognition of her thesping in "The Courtneys of Curzon Street," produced and directed by her husband, Herbert Wilcox, for British Lion release. She pre- viously won the accolade twice in the past 10 years with "Victoria the Great" and "Piccadilly Inci- dent" and is the only British ac- tress ever to cop the honor upon jthree occasions. ' Greer Garson is also a triple winner for her Hollywood perform- ance and the only actor to land a triple crown is Laurence Olivier. Ficturegoer readers' votes for Miss Neagle's performance this year chalked up a new poll record. An- other interesting result of the bal- loting is that Michael Wilding, the star's male lead in "Courtneys," is only one-half point behind John Mills who is Gold Medal winner in the actors'section. V Jannings Planning Pix Vienna, June 29. Emil Jannings, given a ohe-year permit i ecently to act on the Vienna stage, also intends to make a series of films with his own company here. Foi-mer German UFA star is now an Austrian citizen. A year ago Jannings wanted to act in a Russian play at Urfahr, in the.. Russian zone of Austria, but the Russ occupation authorities ob- jected. Despite reports of *Jannings being conditionally denazified, it's said he never joined the Nazi party, although he did continue to act in Nazi Germany, as a Staats- Echauspieler, with the blessings of Joe Goebbels. The disciplinary committee of the Austrian Thea- trical . Union, however, decided unanimously there was no objec- tion to Jannings joining. Union has ruled, however, that Lyda Baarova, Czech screen and stage star and one time friend of Goebbels, may not appear on stage flir screen here. Baarova came here recently from Prague, as a political refugee. E^htU^S-PixFor Locarno Fest Zurich, June "29. Third Locarno Festival will be held July 1 to 12, with 24 pix from seven countries shown, iive in world preem. These are Italy's "Anni DifflciU" ("Diffieult Years"), by Luigi Zampa; "Germania, Anno Zero" ("Germany, the Year Nought"), by Roberto Rossellini; "Arrivederci, Papa" ("Good-bye, Daddy") and "Proibito Rubare" ("Forbidden to Steal"), and Swit zerland's full-length production of the winter Olympics at St. Moritz, "Combats Sans Haine" ("Combat Without Hatred"). Other pix to be shown are Italy's "L'Kbreo Errante" ("The Wander- ing Jew"), "Cuore" ("Heart"), "Come Persi la Guerra" ("How I Lost The War") and "La Traviata"; France's "La Chartreuse de Parme," "Les Condamnes" ("The Damned") and "La Grande Ma- guet"; Austria's "Anni, eine Wien- er Ballade" ("Anni, a Viennese Ballade") and "Gottes Engel sind Ueberall"- ("God's ' Angels Are Everywhere"); England's "It Al- ways Rains On Sunday," and Rus- sia's "Spring." Hollywood will be represented by eight pix, all of whicli will ap- pear at Locarno in European preem: 20th's "Captain from Cas- tile," Metro's "Unfinished Dance," RKO's "Fort Apache," UA's "Sleep, My Love," Columbia's "It Had To Be You," Paramount's "The. Unconquered," -Warner's "Voice of the Turtle," and Repub- lic's "I've Alway? Loved You." Usboit Cinemas Must Abide by PartrLegit Law Lisbon,. June 22. The liSading cinemas in Lisbon are installed in the best and oldest legit theatres of the capital. Para- mount, Metro, HKO, 20th, Univer- sal and United Artists provide, by mutual arrangement, exclusive pre- mieres of their most important pictures in the theatres S. Luis, Politeama, Eden and Tivoli. There is .a movement on foot here to have applied to these cine- theatres a three-year-old law that Compels theatres, transformed into chiemas to give at least four months a year to legitimate thea- tre. Two theatres, the Trindade and the Ginasio, are already com- plying with this regulation and during this summer are Occupied by theatrical groups. Quick Windup Due in Hungary Pix Takeover Budapest, June 29. Complete nationalization of the Hungarian film industry is expect- ed to be effected this year, follow- ing disclosu're that a move is now under way to unite the film com-^ panics controlled by the four, mar jor political parties here into one big state-controlled organization. ' Parties, whicli have controlled most of Hungary's 560 theatres in the past, are now voluntarily re- linquishing their exhibitor licenses to the state. In addition, and of especial importance to the U. S., the State Film Office (SFO) is forming a state-controlled distrib- uting company/ which w o u 1 d handle both domestic distrib and export and import films. SFO prez Gyorgy Angyal announced recently that import restrictions would cover pix of all countries, includ- ing the U. S., which is expected to rule out American pix considered "anti-popular" or "imperialist" in character. Until now, the Motion Picture Export Assn. has handled distribu- tion of all American pix in Hun- gary. Nationalization is expected to be implemented by Aug. 1, after which the MPEA would be able to distribute only under terms of agreement with the film bureau, same as it now does with the state monopolies in Czechoslovalcia, Po- land and Bulgaria. Under the state-controlled ex- hibition, those few minor theatres in the country not controlled by the parties will be permitted to continue independent operation. All of these, however, are of minor importance. In addition to setting up an exhibition control, the SFO will also supervise production, dis- tribution and 16m activities. About $360,000 has been allo- cated for production, on which four to six pictures are expected to be turned out. This number is expected to reach eight by the end of the year, with 20 slated to be produced by the state in 1949 and 50 by 1950. Itailians Now l^ew with Map Forep Fdmers Upsettinif Wage Structures Bergei Paliadhmi Sock London, July 6. Edgar Bergen scored brilliantly in an all-round smash show at tlie Palladium, winning insistent ac- oUtti^, witit his act extending eight minutes overtime. $t:e^ Marlowe wds also an out- st«n<}|^-comedy biib TOURISTS AID EIRE B.O.; NIGHT LIFE IS MISSED Dublin, June 29. With record numbers of tourists visiting Eire —■ mostly from Brit- ain-ii-theatres are gathering in the cdlh. It's mostly ..going to legit h^^ses, with balance to the. vaud- eiji. : Cinemas seejh-to be getting little visitors'■ xnohey. - Closing of Aljbey theatre for month! of !June^ ho^^'S' traditional'holiday^ month- caused, beefs from visitors wh6' wanted to see the famed company. Tourists also complain of city's lack of night life. Dublin has no nightclub and most restaurants put up shutters at midnight 6r earlier. Mex Strike Settled Mexico City, July 6. Strike threat against four Mex film'studios was averted at the last minute through settlement ar ranged by Government Conciliation Dept. ThujFSdas'. (1), just seconds before the deadline: Studios Involved are Churubus- co, Tcpeyac, Aztecat and Clasq. French Pathe's U.S. Head To Paris on Co. Huddles Jacques Chabrier, prexy of Pathe Cinema Corp., an American sub- sidiary of the French producing organization, planed to Paris Sat^ urday (3) for confabs with parent company toppers regarding pos- sible U.S. production and distri- bution plans for Pathe. Firm pre- viously financed exterior shooting in Morocco of Sam Bischoff's forth- coming George Raft starrer, "Out- post in Morocco." Several weeks ago Chabrier huddled on the Coast with Bischoff, but whetlier Pathe and the pro- ducer have similar Continental film-making ventures mapped out is as yet undisclosed. Pathe also is contemplating a string of Amer- ican art houses in key U. S. cities. Its new Paris, a small-seater in midtown New York, is due to preem in September. Theatre BuiUng Upheat in Canada Washington, July 6. Theatre building is on the up- beat in Canada, a report just is- sued by the U. S. Dept. of Com- merce shows. Currently about 100 houses are under Construction, to add to the 1,606 in operation. Last year, the Canadians built a total of 113 film theatres. Report of Odeon Theatres of Canada, J. Arthur Rank chain, shows that five new theatres were added last year and four more have been placed in operation since the beginning of 1948. The present plan is to complete 10 more by the end of this year. This would give Odeon 19 modern houses in top Canadian 'Situations. Famous Players Canada Corp. has launched a program to add 18 theatres to its chain, the first of these houses opening in a semi- suburban area of Toronto last March. Three of the new theatres will be firstrun operations in To- ronto. Company is spending about $3,000,000 for modernization, re- placement and building program. Commerce report points out also that the 20% Dominion tax on theatre admissions was abolished in Canada May 19. However, some of the provinces are substituting their own taxes to take up tliis loose coin. Film people are hop- ing that'some drop in the admiST sion taxes will hypo the boxoffice which has. been off about 15% lately. Current London Shows London, July 6. (Figures show weeks of run) "A La Carte," Savoy (3). "All My Sons," Globe (3). "Ambassador," Aid. (1). "Anna Lucasta," Majesty's (36). "Annie Get Gutt/'. Cors'm (57). "Bless the Bride,?': Adelphi (63). "Bob's Yiur Uncle,? Say. (9). "Caec. Peacoofc?. Straind (3). VCaribbeta.aijiap.,? Wales (5). "Carisslmaj"'Palace (17). 'JChiltern lituhdreds," Vaude (45) "JEdward lily Son," Lyric (58). "Four, Five, Six," York (17). "Giaconda Smile," New (5). "Happiest Days.". Apollo (15). "Lady Asks Help." Garrick (4). "Linden Tree," Duchess (47). "Little Lambs," Ambass. (13). "Off Record," Piccadilly (53). "Oklahoma!", Drury Lane (62). "Outrageous," W. Garden (34). "Paragon," Fortune (9). "Present Lauffhter," H'ymkt (64) "Relapse," Phoenix (23). ' "Starlight Roof," Hipp. (35)., "Travelers Joy," Crit. (5). "Together Again," Vic. Pal, (65). "Wonders Never," Comedy (2). "Worms View," Whitehall (62). ABELES-STACK SUCCEED MILDER-BROWN WITH WB London, July 6. Amidst the hubbub caused by the sudden shuttering of Warner Bros.' Teddington studios in Eng- land, Max Milder, WB managing director in Britain, stepped down from that post. He was succeeded by Arthur S. Abeles, Jr., who had served as assistant to Milder for the past year. Abeles immediately t a p p e d Charles F. Stack for general sales manager to take over from J. Wal- ton Brown. Resignations of both Milder and Brown were attributed to ill health. Milder's condition is reported as still critical. Milder had been with Warners for over 25 years and since 1931 had been top man for all WB ac- tivities in the United Kingdom. 20th.Fox Int'l Shifts Some Latin Managers Joel Hart, in 20th-Fox Interna- tional's Chilean office last two years, has been named manager of the,company's Peru exchange, suc- ceeding Charles Matzen. Latter goes to Europe for an undisclosed post. Thomas Sibert, attached to the Mexico City office past two years, has been named manager of Porto Rico, replacing Andrew Jaeger, on leave for illness. Donald McAfee, now in the Barcelona office, goes to Mexico City. .. . Home, June 29. Italian producers, faced with rising costs as result of foreign production in Italy, are seeking a way for further such production to be done through local organiza* tions. Announcement that Univer* sal-International .plans to produce here has only increased alarm " among local producers, already concerned by the effect on tlieir budgets of Metro, 20th, Korda, Welles and Rod E. Geiger activitiea or plans. A year or so ago, when an- nouncement was made of foreign production in Rome, Italian pro* ducers welcomed the idea, as bringing new techniques here as well as needed coin.. But Ameri- can disregard for wage rates es- tablished by local syndicates has upset the whole structure here, causing dissatisfaction among taU . ent, and creating some disturb"' ances. Maximum here for extras was 12,000 lire ($18) a week. For Edward Small's "Cagliostro," up to 50,000 lire ($100) was paid for an extra occasionally saying a few words. Extras began generally to demand higher wages, so that Gregory Ratoff was once compelled to call the police when they i-e- . fused to continue work, demanding higher pay. Anchise Brizzi, ace cameraman who replaced the late Ubaldo Arata during the lensing of "Cag- liostro," is demanding 75,000 lire ($150) a week—about double that of a year ago. Set designers and costumers have also been affected, though in a different way, since they work on theii;- own instead of : through syndicates. Conversely, leading actors are still paid as before. No Italian player except Valentina Cortese (now in the U. S.), was used in "Cagliostro." Only Gregor Babm- ovitch used them in "The Lost One" and in the current "Faust." but Rabinovitch pix are produced in co-partnership with the Italian companies Cinopera and Grand! Film Storici, Which figure here as producers. When contracts are signed with native units, actors don't beef on salaries. " Snider Seeks Down Under Fihns Expansion Though Sound Stage Lack Hurts Joe Joel, longtime publicity and exploitation director for Columbia Pictures in Australasia, is in the U. S. on his first visit from Syd- ney. He has resigned his Col post to take a leisurely American tour and also execute a number of special missions, including one for L. S. (Sam) Snider, M. P., in rela- tion to possible expansion of Aus- tralian film production in associa- tion with Herbert T, Silverberg, Hollywood attorney, and Andie de Toth, director. Lower labor costs, frozen Aus- tralian pounds ($3 as against the $4 British pound) and other fac- tors, favor expansion of film pro- duction Down Under, save for one thing-—great shortage of sound stages. Housing is so acute that the government is unlikely to okay cinema building over more neces- sary, home building. Nonetheless, Snider, as head of the Snider & Deane independent tlieatre chain of over 120 cinemas, has hopes of easing the way. Con- sidering that sound stages in Syd- ney are usually something like a converted skating rink, it's appar- ent that any such project would call for considerable construction investment. Scenieally, so far as the west- erns and Idndred type pix are con- cerned, Aussie offers many natural advantages. Ealing (Rank) is cur- rently at work with a mixed. Aus- tralian-British cast, headed by the Aussie star, Chips Rafferty, who came to attention in "Tlie Over- landers," best grossing, Aussie- made pic. New film, called "Eureka Stockade," is budgeted at 150,000 pounds (.$450,000), the most costly production investment to date. Columbia's "Specific Adventure (eaUed "Smithy" in Aussie) was also a general click. Average film made Down Under costs 60,000^ pounds ($180,000), but considering tlie standards, which are about one-third that of the U. S., much value can thus be extracted.