Variety (Sep 1948)

WwTncsJay, Seplember I, 1948 Visiting Firemen Make Studios Burn As H wood Seeks to Douse Guest List Hollywood, Aug. 31. studios are taking an awful beat- ing from visitors. Current season Jias seen more concentrated visit- ing tha.i i years, due to fact pror duction has been down and fire- men therefore are herded onto just a few, rather than large num- ber of ,seto. It's, a caution what's happening. When W .rners made announce- ment that it was ia midst of heav- iest shootii.g schedule since before the war, it. didn't talce'long for them to rue tlvat Story, which was printed in all the papers. The very next day no lesi than IParisl «i=By Bor Runaround rah Minevitch— Paris, Aug. 26. overflow mulling The Cannes Biarritz, There's a singer (male) at the Carousel who's garbed like a 70 yr. old professor (tres distingue) and does a soprano bit; that floors you. Matt Duffin (form e r U. S. j vaude actor) who books one unit ■ (Reprinted from New York Herald Tribune, August 25, 1948) RADIO IN Review one 50 requfjsts were received by pub-1 each month to the U. S. zone in licity department to go through' Germany a proud new pappj;. studio. Several days later, studio 'Clocked exactly 26 parties in single day, which had both producei-s and directors, and particularly flack chfftf Alex Evelove in a tizzy. ,It reached point where Evelove wasn't getting any stories from his unit men. On that momentous day wl-tn more than 200 visitors showed up in. these 26 parties, every unit parson in department «pent entire day acting as escort. That's oie of the complaints now, among publicity chieftains— they don't have enough personnel in their departments to take care of the requests, tnd rulings are that messe.-per boys no longer can serve as guides. Studios now are beginning to nix requests for tours except in of most ir portant persons Those Stalin tallcs. were like a; nembutal to the war hysterics here. The price of pop discs here are j about the same as U, S.. Best Sel-; lers are the Duke, Louis Armstrong and Basle.. Add Russ trick strategy: the I Czech arms play to Israel. Cynda Glenn and 18 bags escap- ing to Cannes. Boris Morros and mama to Switzerland. ; v That's Paris! j There's a legit and al-so a film i ("Gloehemerle") running to capac- ity here tliat has tjic familiar Street corner men's powder room as a central springboard. You must ( see dear Paree, oui-oui! With the UN session here Sep- tember and the possible Big Pour t talks here too—lodging may come case ; to a double'Shift basis. | One , The Val Parnells and the Harry 323rd Week! 3323 Pepformance* AU-tirae long run record in the legitimate theatre. KEN MURRAY'S "BLACKOUTS OF 1948" El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood, Cal. And now in world-wide release '•BILL .\ND COO" Ken Murray's Academy Award Film Rec(»dIfeatWinre HitAUSbwBiz While John Crosby is on rocotio;^, his column uoill be contimied by a number of guest writfrs. Today's guest writer is Fred Allfn. By FRED ALLEN In Defense of Radio? Television is on the march! products are only to be found in Radio is doomed! Alarmists report the black market and pork prices that panic-stricken actors scurry are inflated—thanks to radio, through the hallowed halls of NBC llnsban«J and Wife ProgVain with niake-np kits concealed be-' Two moulting love-birtis build a neath their radio scripts ready to fresh nest in their microphone flee the microphone, the instant each morning and twitttir away video calls. I their allotted time. Cleverly blend- As a journeyman radio panta- ' ing comineiciafe with gossip about loon I refuse to be stampeded un- 'their prix'ate lives, the cclebrilles til more ominous portents loom in they have hobnobbed tv-ith the my personal oHing. In my frayed : previous evening a n d advice to cstiniation television today is noth- ! their listeners on subjects ranging ing more t h a n agitated deealeo^ 11 r o ra swan - culture to "how to mania rampant on the tavern wall harden canteloupos and ni;ike and in the family living room. For j croquet balls out of them," the entertainment television ofl'ers lo. quacious puppets, stout ladies bending over ovens assembling cu- cumber ragouts, blurred news reels, assorted sporting events, antiquated B pictures and a few entertaining shows. Radio, in rebuttal, fills the home husband and wil'e mate the trite with the trivial and foal the drab. About all these programs prove is that the only time a nutrried man will talk to his wife for a. half- hour is when they are sponsored. Soap Operas ■ ; Fosters .jointly renting a villa for summer next reason why visitors .are such a pain in the leck is seen in case tu^t,,t ■of Jame- Mason, making his Amer- , There's a wer here that II ican screen bow in Enterprise' 1 make a French beachcomber out of "The Best ""'hings in Life Are Free." Mason was studying bis lines quietly, over on-one side of set when avalanche of humanity <descended upon him^ and he spent next 20 minutes Inking his auto- graph. With overhead amounting to more than $3,000 an hour, that nii ch time was lost. Another case in point was family «lf an important exec, totalling five, who spent half a day on set at an- other studio. Couple of the five Were moppets, and even with rigid (Continued on page 24) vou. It's called "champagne peche." Put cut peach, a little ice, grenadine, apricot brandy, and (Continued on page-24) New Drive-In s Mo B.O. For Ballyhoo Purpose Puzzles Pix Legalites Something new m probaibly unsuspected by the U. S. Supreme Court when it banned price-fixing in the Government anti-trust actioh-^is now fwro*in| 1 broAvs at iOth-'Pbx's homeoffice. { Legalites in that company are cur- rently pondering the peculiar ques- j tion of whether the price-fixing i T nnrinn All? II I hix can bar tlje pulling of product' .1. Arthur Rank's"'TecLcLr I w^^^^^^ feature on the Olympic Games is i rh9 ^u Jlr ^ oresented bv the i over taking on all the earmarks of a, the pu/zler is presentea by the i over RANK'S 16 DIFFERENT ! VERSIONS OF OLYMmO ]^ffe«nt^Si»sTaie^'^ef "dued *:?!!!!^^'„thft z'JT. i i??p.f!!Jy ' case of several Neai'-record heat waye that blan- keted most of the country last week took a severe toll of all forms of show btisiness With the excep- tion of amusement parks, swim- ming pools and other outdoor yen- Riviera ' tures. Effect of the record huntid- ! ity was felt especially in the east, 1 which sweltered from last Wednes- i day {'iH) until yesterday (Tues.), when a cold wave traveling south from Canada brought weather con- ditions back closer to normal. Broadwpy, usually considered the nation's measuring ktlcfc,: was sharply dented. Most of th? n^' lives .migrated in droves to nearby beaches an 1 those that stayed in the citv preferred to stick by their electric fans rather than venture out into the hot streets. - Usual headaches—' summer tourists shunned New ' York, which cut still further into business. Radio: City: Music Hall, usually the No. 1 stopping-oQ place for visiting firemen, reported a dip in its gross to $133,000 for the cur- rent week, first time the bill has attracted less than $148,000 since it opened four weeks ago. Majority of the Broadway de- luxe film showcasers \yere hit hard, with those houses ^running : bold- pictures suifering most, drive-ins in Mis- \ Operators of air-conditioned nabe with romp, revel and enlightening , Dramatic charades that dist. fare. Take inventory of the avei-i ^'".""i^ ^'''f ^ age radio day and your list will «I»so<ies daily, the plot usually show the following attractions: ^""^•^'•"■■L » character named .lu.st ^ ,^ i », Simple bamwho — altliouKh his Farm Market News .hou.se is on fire, his daughter lias At the crack of dawn, as the ] eioped with a man who was seen farmer rises, he is reliably m- eoming out of a Henry Wallace termed via radio that corn and i.aUy, his wife has just left Iowa hog prices are collapsing. Sensing I ^ runaway horse and he has It IS lutile to haul his crop and had an automobile accident that stock to market the fanner feeds , broken his back, fractured liis us corn to the pigs aud goes back I skull and crushed both legs — is to bed. Nine months later corn j still able to crawl to the micro- phone and help the announcer ex- : plain the big contest and where j ou mail the box-tops, BE all of the tears caused by. soap; opei'as were laid end lo end radio could open; its Qwii Gulf Stream, : , • Quia.Shows^ Havens for housewives; Most Dean Martin"and" Jei^^^'Lewis , hastily establish the can garner up to $1,250,000 in five 'gnorance of the contestant and vPfli.: in tho nart intPH with Hal give her a refrigerator, an airplane or $20,000 to get away troin the ^ microphone. Many winners are so dumb they can't find their wa.y out i of the buildings Months later their : Martin-Lewis' Film Deal With Hal Wallis Worth $1,250,000 Hollywood, Aug. 31. years in the pact: inked with Hal .Wallis for two pix annually. Deal, which permits the team to make one outside film annually and play all desired club and vaude dates,,, ,. > j , j ^ also retains television rights for slumped over their films. In addition, pact ar- "leir prizes—a Road Knig trailer ranged by the comics' manager; 1 ^'t^ a detachable outboard motor Abby Greshler, specifically pro-1 (Contmued on page.lO) vides they are not to be separated at any time. Teeoff film will be "My Friend Irma," based- on the CBS radio series, in which they will get "in- troductory" billing. After this, they «ut of the mass of footage shot «round the matches for shipment to various countries throughout the world. American version, pushed through a*- top speed, is being flown tomorrow (Wed.) to the tr. S. for handling by Eagle Lion. Besides having: different com- mentaries in ail the chief lan- guages of the world, each of the 16 emphasizes the particular Olym- pic exploits of the country for I which the version is intended. Over 75 miles of footage was shot to give Rank's ■ editors sufficient leeway in piecing the 16 versions. mitting cuffo viewing of pix to'surprised to see business holding build up a following. The open-air | fairly well, with some customers ftickeries are depending on sale of I ducking in for a few hours of cool drinks and eats to help meet ex- | air regardless of the films on dis- penses for the time being. I play. Houses with no cooling units Since the films licensed by 20th reported they might just as well were not rented on percentage, i have closed down and let their company has no complaint on the i stafl:s take to the beaches. Situa- Ptomaine Stalls Bennys An Extra Day iii N. f. Between picking ujp some . . I ptomaine on the Queen Mary and will be costarred. "Irma is slated Uosing her passport, Mary Living- to get under way this fall. Team, i st^ne (Mrs. Jack Benny) was in a currently at Slapsy Maxie s in Los t,jt ^f a tizzy when they docked Angeles, has a Philadelphia com-1 jyjgn^ay oq) New York. Kidded mitment for the fall but Maxie s is ] somewhat that she "wouldn't be trying either to buy it off or post- ; permitted to land," sans pa.ssport pone it. If .successful, team will re- ^^.^^ tou„j j,„,p|e t„„e—plus main in the nitery through the jood poisoning, this combined After 150G Preparation, _ 'fioy' Goes &ins Haircut groi\nd of reduced revenues. The i question, of course, is whether cufTo showing is sufl'icient basis to pull pix sold on flat rentals in view of the threat to other customers. If the product is yanked, there's a better than even chance that; the exhibs will holler "price-fixing" in the courts. Last year, one midwest exhib played J, Arthur Rank's "Great Expectations" on a zero admission scale because she liked the pic so much. Terrific howl was raised by competing exhibs. Twentieth fears the same reaction. tion was duplicated throughout the country, even as far west as Los Angeles. Leeit Legit suffered a similar setback. With the exception of one or two clicks that have been sold out for tContinued on rr'ie 55) filming period. Pact provides that tensing chores are not to exceed eight to 10 weeks for each'picture to stall the Bennys an extra day in New York. She is expected to be OK by this (Wed.) afternoon to with bar to nitery dates during t(.,,^ ^ack to the Coast, after can production. Hollywood, Aug. 31 RKO is tossing $150,000 worth «f production out the window to. ^ _ release "The Boy With Green i Autry Would film Hair" in its original version, After j i 'if * |^ Tavnc fiuv Bore Schaiy's departure from I A^"® KjX-tCXdS UtUV RKO, the studio spent 150 grand ! Austin, Aug. 31. «n rewrites and retakes to slant the I Plans are afoot to film a hook story as straight entertainment and based on the life of former Texas dunk its peace-between-nations Governor Coke R. Stevenson, cur- plea. I rently « candidate for the U. S; Ned Depinet, executive veepee,' Senate. Gene Autry would play and Boyd Hatch and Frederick Ehrman, RKO board members, eandered the picture last week and decided to go back to the original version. Stevenson. Gene Autry Productions is ne- gotiating to purchase the film rights. Booth Mooney . of tiiiK city wrote the book, - Heat Ups Coke Sales New. York's tropical heat wave which shrivelled the five days ending Sunday (29) shot up the sale of soft drinks in theatres. Nabe houses in the five boroughs did particularly well with customers taking airconditioned sanctuary. Typifying the general per- formance on drinks was one first-run Brooklyn house in. the downtown section, 'this de- luxer sold 14,500 bottle cokes in five days at 10c. a crack. With the exhib splitting profits with the concessionaire, the house made close to $700 on drinks alone. Sum almost equals operating expenses. Dinah Shore Socko. At London PaHadium celinjg yesterday's RR reservations. The comedian States that the highlight of his European summer Was entertaining our Occupation troops In Germany, following their Palladiuni (London) click "which was like a Hollywood premiere; London, Aug. 31. I there were so many American show Singer Dinah Shore, opening at i people in towh at the time." the Palladium Monday (30), pro- l Bennys, Phil Harris, Alice Faye duced a bolf reaction almost i & Co. also did the Riviera tour but equalling that of Danny Kaye. "the packing and unpacking really Miss Shore had to beg off after got me down; then, too, you usually several encores requested by the I take four times as much clothes payees. Miss Shore succeeded the I as you really need," says Benny. •Andrews sisters in the top slot. Another U. S. act j the Nicholas Bros., also scored. It's the second time this year that they played a London house. Miss Shore who remained on Joan Evans the 'McCoy' .loan Evans, 14-year-old without any previous screen or stage ex- perience, has been chosen by Sam- stage for more than 40 minutes' uel Goldwyn to play one of the drew unanimous press raves. Daily Mirror stated "No doubt about it Dinah^s the goods." Daily Mail said she deserved every handclaP' Express declared "We loved it," and the Daily Herald noted that the packed house rose to her con- tralto artistry. leads in his next production, "Roscr/. anna McCoy," story of the Hatfield- McCoy feud. Youngster is daughter of Dale Euason. playwright and former fic- tion editor for Cosmopolitan mag, and Catherine Albert, short story writer. . 60% of *he total Sunday Journal-American circulation concmlirated in New York's rich city and suburban area. T*^ your itoiy to virtually as many (amitifts here as through the ofher two full-size Sunday newspapers combined. ts 47.S-. Ik fflerican Paper B 30.6% Poper G 21.&7o Ooi/y over 700,000 — $vn</ay ow 1.250.000 REACH OVER A MILLION HOMES IN METROPOLITAN NEW YORK WITH THE SUNDAY JOURNAL-AMERICAN