Variety (Nov 1948)

MlSCmLABTY Wednesday, November 17, 1948 By Borrah Minevitch Pkty of Profits Stin Realized In European Amusement Marts By HERB GOLDEN Show biz grosses throughout Europe are great—at the moment. Film, theatre and nitery boxofiices are off only 15% to 20% from the tremendous postwar highs — and that still means plenty of profit in anybody's language. It's the future, however, that has most showmen depressed. They're fearful that thC: bloom IS all but oil their peach. . Survey just completed of Eng- land, France and Italy discloses that two sets of circumstances are plaguing entertainment industry toppers—and most others in Eu- rope, for that matter. First is a ' .growing feeling of the inevitability . , , ■,, ■ ■ of war, with England and the Con-' duction scripted by Philip Yor- tinent the battleground. Second is, dan ("Anna Lucasta ), featuring the high cost of living, which is i Marylin Marsh (Mrs. Yordan) and already taking its bite out of tli; B'nnie Barnes (Mrs. Frankovitch). boxofftce. 1 "Chloe" Mon.tgomery Clift ("Red Despite governmental decrees,; River") positively here and so far Urioes are continuing to go skyward has positively not been- found Paris, Nov, 16. Warner Bros, gave Danny Kaye and his Daniel Boone haircut the George V cocktail onceover be- fore he left for Rome. The U.S. State Dept had plans for Kaye reminiscent of Lindbergh. Mike Frankovitch, now in Rome, so.s.'d Mendel Silberberg, his Hollywood attorney, to fly over and straighten out the money de- ficiencies around his planned pro- This Week's Football -By MARTY GUGSMAN- «t such a pace that the average worker has nothing left over for amusement by the time he feeds, around; Dolores Del Rio being cheese- caked with the UN Balkan States 342nd Week! 3,436' Performaneet All-time long run record in the IceitUiiate theatre. KEN MURRAY'S "BLACKOUTS OF 1948" El Caiiitan Theatre, Hollywood, Cal. And now In wOI•ld-■^^ ide release "BILL ATVD COO" Kfn Murray'* \ Academy Award Film clothes and houses his family. In i rgpg the Palais de Chaillot much, of Italy, working-class fami- "li'^s that could be counted on - for at least two to three trips, a month to the local cinema, it was pointed out by ' Elias Lapinere, RKO's Euroisean salesmanagcr, have been completely eliminated from the potential audience because they're having an Impossible time just <^ buying food. And throughout Eu- .rope,^ the whitecoUar workers, al- ways the lirst anywhere to feel the .economic squeeze/ are fast dwin* dling away as theatre patrons. So, while film, legit, nitery and •ther amusements: execs are well- pleased with business at the mo- ment, they know that the invisible force, of the h.c.l. is working against them. As for the tourist trade from Metro threw Gene Kelly and his' Betsy to the local journalistic wolves via another George V cock- tail party. Mrs. Kelly (Betsy Blair> will be starred in "Mrs. Condon" to be filmed here. 20th's "Sitting Pretty" sensation- ing. the town by word-of-mouth t«j the longest queues since the Chap- lin heyday queues. Bill Robson (CBS producer) here with Ray Morgan ("Queen for a I Day"), having finished the sample i radio platter, "So This is Paris." Flies to Hollywood to wrestle with his new radio show, "Romance," which teed off without his christen^ ing. Steve Craiie (Lana Turner's ex- No 1) smashed his new Cadillac America, it's not even a drop in | s^itidy Ghamps-Elysees. \t F^nr™ Pnwt»in1„i'n/'''rn^ i The American Legion Post No. 1 the. Jbiuropean entertainment ,■ , „„i,i 4.t,„ r>«,.,«« aoki^ dustry, except in a few specific ?L*^''m?c^vL nnt^^^^^^^^ spots in Paris, the Riviera and the polls even opened- pome. The idea that myriads of The Pans Lido show TV stunt Yank pleasure-seekers are pouring in London had the glamour of a' Into Europe is a myth. There were ] personal appearance, yet no one veil under 100,000 who visited ' saw any flesh. J. P. McAvoy, without spouse, returned here on official business. Doug DumbriUe, after finishing his Rome, picture stint, sailed to Hollywood via a 9,000-ton freighter, with his Mrs. Eugene Frenke: will do even cart- (Continued on page 63) MARTHA RAYE, SMASH IN GLASGOW, PLANS U.S. TV Glasgow, Nov. 10. , , ^ ,. u ^i. .. j., Martha Raye, after a successful [ wheels to clinch the end money tour of British music-halls, made ^is planned Greta Garbo pic- biggest hit of her trip by packing ; (Rome filming), out the Empire,. No.. 1 vaudeyiUer I .; : ' ■ ■' , — ^' ■ here. Theatre was booked 1o m A opacity. Many fans couldn't ob- AlrMedia "OWWOW UII tain sci'ts. ■ r* 1 e t* Miss Raye introduced her new hrPPfinill Of kynrP^^inU accompanist, Frank Still, formerly *'«UUIII Ul LiA|IIC9SIUU vith British cbjrper Anne SiieJton , C^f fnv H f Tkie Tv! /10^ He's returning to America with' uCl 101 l/.l/. lIUo JTII. V *•'/ her. Star said She, would do video I Washington^ Nov; 16. vork for a while in New York and on Coast. Later she'll make an- oMier picture. The second ' annual All^Media conference on freedom of expre,s- Feted at midnight party given '•ion begins Friday (19) in Wa.sh- ineton with reps of motion pic- tures, radio, magazines, news- papers, and book publishers at- I tending. On hand will be James M. -BtTrnes, Washington counsel, Society of Independent Motion ■ Picture Producers; Kenneth Clark, director of information, Motion I Picture Assn.; Sig Mickelsonj pres- ident. National Assn. of :R;»dio ..by newly-formed Scottish Critics Circle, Miss Raye plans return visit to Britain "within two years." Tugitive' Lauded After Big Vatican Showing Rome, Nov. 16. "The Fugitive" (RKO) was pre- viewed here at the Vatican before, a - distinguished audience of 460 cardinals, priests, students and News Directors, and Sidney professors, "This isf^claimed to be Schreibcr, general counsel. Motion ! Picture Assn. of America. !' Conference will be held at head- ■ National Assn;, of , First such confab Elias Lapinere, arranged the s!iow-,„.,s summer of 1947 at invi- Ing. The official Vatican news-1 ,. r r ^- »tat. paper "L'Osservatore Romano," in , l'""'"" Just'" filler, NAB presi- reviewing the film, stated that [ dent. "high moral contribution of the | ' : lilm was something Hollywood j . i » rf. n-ii* «ould be proud of," and lauded i Lambs 1 op DUling the first time that a Hollywood mo tion picture has played before such a large audience in the Vatican. Mons. Montinci of the Vatican quarters of and RKO's French sales manager, \ Broadcastei's H wood Strong For Faraway Locales Hollywood, Nov. 16. Upcoming Hollywood product continues pampering traditional American itchy feet by featuring faraway places. Some are lensed on actual location but in many cases the producers are able to provide that authentic look of for- eign soil right on backlot. Metro leads way with "Young Bess," "Secret Garden," "Edward My S o n," "Conspirator," "Forsyte Saga," and British-Iocaled; "Viva Zapata," Mexico; ''Quo Vadis,": Italy; "Storm Over Vienna," Aus- tria; "Greyfriars Bobby," Scotland. At Columbia "Rough Sketch," Cuba; "Song of India," plus series Italian operapix produced by Gregor Rabinovitch; United Art- ists has James Nassour's "Africa Screams," Sam Bischoff's "Outpost ! in Morocco," Seymour Nebenzal's 1 "Atlantis, the Lost Continent." j At Republic "Wake of Red 1 Witch," is laid in "Dutch East In- I dies" and "Angel on Amazon" in i Brazil. Universal has "Rogues Regi- iment," Indo-China; "Mexican Ilay- I ride," Mexico. . Paramount has "Samson and Delilah," Egypt; "Top i 0' Morning," Ireland. 20th has "I I Married a Male War Bride," Ger- I many; "Prince of Foxes," Italy; plus Nat Holt's "Canadian- Pacific," made around Banff in the CanadT lan Rockies. Eagle Lion has "Mil- lion Dellar Weekend," Hawaii; "Reign ot Terror," Franco. Also Argosy's "Mr. Joseph Young" ' Atrica; Warners' "Under Capri- ; corn," Australia; film classics' i "Sofia," James Wong Howe's I "Rickshaw Boy," China; and Irv- \ ing Allcn-Franchot Tone's "Man on I Eiffel Tower," now len.sing in Paris ' WB AGAIN POSTPONES I EDDIE CANTOR BIOPIC I ':■ . Hollywood, Nov. 16. I The Eddie Cantor biopic at War- I ner Bros, has again been shelved pro tem. It's part of the general caution over expensive filmusical properties until conditions stabilize. I Harry Kur'nitz originally had it, I and latterly it was a Lou Edelman production assignment. Difficulty on the story line was a factor with both. Kurnit/, incidentally, alter -scripting the Danny Kaye and "Don .luan" screenplays, is the as- signed producer on "Mrs. Smith and the Octopus." (Spprti 0/rector ef WMOM, N. YJ COLLEGE £AST *GAMES SELECTION tPOINTS Yale-Harvard Yale U Levi Jackson makes the difference. St. Mary's-Boston College ,, B. C. 7 Galloping Gaels came a long way to take it on the chiUr Iowa-Boston U '... .Iowa - 14 Big 9 always tough to beat. Syracuse-Columbia Columbia 20 Kusserow and Rossides winding up their Columbia careers. Dartmouth-Princeton - Dartmouth 7 Princeton has been getting stronger, but Big Green has too many guns. Fordham-Rutgers Rutgers 20 Rutgers far superior. Georgetown-Geo. Washington G. W. 7 Upset! Holy Cross-Temple . - Holy Cross 7 Temple can lick only the soft touches. Penn State-Pittsburgh Penn State 13 Penn State is bowl-bound. San Francisco-Villanova Yillanova 7 Only Army was able to romp against Wildcats. SOUTH Alabama-La. State Alabama The Red Tide has finally caught fire. Tulsa-Arkansas Arkansas Razorbacks lose only to the best. BaylOr-SMtl SMU The Mustangs continue to grind tliem out. Duquesne-Clemson Clemson I : Clemson headed for an unbeaten season; V I Duke-North Carolina North Carolina I The Classic of the Carolinas. ! IVIiami-FIorida .. ' Miami [ Strictly a guess! I Kentucky-Tennessee Tennessee - i ■ Vols'line too big and fast. I No. Carolina State-William & Mary W&M , William & Mary showed its stuff against BC last week Rice-Texas Christian TCU The Owls upset Arkansas, but TCU knows about it. MarylandrVanderbilt . ... Vanderbilt The Commodores liave won their last four, and all by big scores. 14 20 27 14 13 13 MIDWEST Illinois-Northwestern IlUnols Upset! Indiana-Purdue Purdue Both clubs disappointing this season. • Oklahoma-Kansas .... . .. Oklahoma For the championship of the Big 7, Kansas State-Oklahoma A&M Aggies Kansas State has had a bad year. Michigan-Ohio State ; .,.. . .;Michigan I ; Last game for the Wolverine. An undefeated year! { Washington State-Michigan State. . . Michigan State i Tlie Spartans liave lost only to Notre Dame and Michigan. ! Minnesota-Wisconsin .Minnesota I " Toughie for Gopher. Missouri-Nebraska Missouri This used to be a tough one, but not this season. 13 13 14 28 20 FAR WEST Stanford-California California 20 Last stop for the Bears before the Rose Bowl. .Idaho-Washington . .Washington 7 I Just because Howie Odell's the coach, • Oregon-Oregon State . Oregon 13 1 Oregon, beaten only by Michigan, would go Into the Ro.se Bowl I if anything happened to Cal. ' USC-UCLA Southern Cal 14 Trojans are going to be big heJct year. PROFESSIONAL NATIONAL LEAGUE NY Gi.mts-Grecn Bay Packers . Packers The Packers on their way back. Chicago Bears-Boston Yanks ..... i Bears [ Too much Luckman, Lujack and Layne, to say nothing of I McAfee. I Los Angeles-Chicago Cards Cards I The Cardinals still playing like champs. I Pittsburgh-Detroit ... . . Detroit I The Lions have been losing close ones to the best. Washington-Eagles . Eagles This IS for the championship of the Eastern Division. 14 21 14 7 li the people associated making of the picture. with the The new U. S. stamp issue, ded- icated to Will Rogers, just released, marks the third member of The Lambs to be honored by the Gov- ernmenti Three cent stamp bears a picture of the late humorist with "I never met a Earl Carroirs Estate Set at $1,435,494 ; Hollywood, Nov. 16.: Earl Carroll's estate amounts to „ , $1,435,494, appraisal of estate filed » "°8ers quote. Jn probate court disclosed. man I didn't hke." Mrs. Jesse I. Schuyler, executrix, joh„ philip Sousa and Victor wlio filed, also asked court for per- „.,.u„,.f n^t-pr T tmht rinh mission to sue United Airlines, on "eibeit, two other Lambs Club one of whost planes Carroll lost members, were honored with stamp Ills life. (issues in 1940. Jerome Weidmau's "A'ot o Wasted Word"' It onotlicr intcrcitinq ftotur* in .»h« 4Sd Anniversary Number of out toon ALL-AMERICA CONFERENCE Los Angeles Dons-Baltimore Colts Dons 1 Glenn Dobbs back in shape. '49-ers-Brooklyn '49-ers 21 Frisco looking ahead to the rematch with Cleveland next week. Cleveland Browns-New York . . . Browns 14 Browns showed their class last week against the '49-ers. SEASON'S RECORD Won, ?70; Los^, 78; Tics, 9; Pet., .776. iTies don't count) * College games are played Saturday unless otherwise stated; pros play Sunday unless otherwise stated, f Point margin represents selector's choice, not the oflficial gambling (?.a.as'i' ■ ■.,■:■..■..■■,''.•■'■.", '■.■•.',;■. ■;"■■.■■.■ .■.■ °. ■;■ MORRIS SETS 1ST INT'L TV BOOKING IN LONDON London, Nov. 16. First international video book- ing was affected here last week when William Morris, .Jr., presi- dent of the William Morris agency booked the entire Lido, Paris floorshow over BBC, Nov. 9. Show emanated from the BBC studios in ; the Alexandra Palace after the en- , tii-e company had been JloWn in ' for the event. I Layout had American staging by I Donn Ardeuj and had Chaz Chase, ] U, S., comic, and Ben Yost singer.s. Other performers included Les j Chailivels, for whom negotiations to appear in the U. S. are current;, 1 Gillette and Richards, and Jo.sette Dayde. Performers flew back iffl- I mediately after the telecast to re- ;sume at the Lido.'