Variety (Dec 1948)

Wednesday, December 15, 1948 FCC Cues TOA That Lai^e-Screen TV Into Theatres Requires No Gov't QK The Federal Co'nmunications -f Commission has apparently sig- nnlled clear sailinj? for exhibs who want to book large-screen televi- sion programs for theatres while keeping them away from the stay- ai-homes, If these special shows are grooved through coaxial cables or telephone wires, directly ,to the theatres, Iheir exclusivity will be "no concern of the rCC," Wayne Coy, chairman of the Government agency patrolling the airways, has told Mitchell Wolf son, Theatre Owners of America's co-chairman of the group's televisioti commit- tee. Wolfson, who left his Miami cir- | cuit to attend the Television Broad- | casters Assn's one-day clinic at the , Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, N. Y., sees the problem as much more complex ! if theatre owners attempt to gain exclusive programs over the aij\'; "It's an unsettled question whethSr we can exclude the public: from-a , (Continued on page 61) : : Nothing to Do Hollywood, Dec. 14. Gen«! Autry opened a liaber- dashory In : Pboenlx, Ariz., to ^keep' tiine from hanging too heavily- on his bands. In addi- tion, he - owns- four.' radio, .sta- tions, Ave ranches, one news- p;iper, one rodeo, on aviation school; two music, publishing houses, one filling sl;ation and fi\ e theatres, besides merchan- dising .cowboy equipment' for: kids. When not too bu.sy with these enterprises he spends his spare tune acting on the screen .and radio. ' ■ :, NIP WAR TRIALS PIC JAPANESE SENSATION! Rossellini's Switch From Realism to Mysticism Rome, Dec. 6. Reversing his field after exerting a powerful influence from Rome to Hollywood in behalf of clnem;itic realism. Italy's: top director, Ro- berl:o RosselUni, now declares that "realism is finished, at least for m,e:" The producer-director of such films as "Open City" and Will strike a religious' 346th Week! 3,477 Performancei : 'All-time loiTpf. run. roooi'd: In. the Iciiitiiii.itti tluaire, KEN MURRAY'S "BUACkOUTS OF 1948" El Cttpitan :Th«#tre, Hollywoodi Gal. And now in world-wUle vplease "BILL AND COO" Ken Murray'* Academy ' Awar4 . Film : John J. Murdock (The Last of a Great Tradition) By JOE LAURIE, JR. . Toyko, Dec. 7, Biggest sensation to reach the Japanese screen this year is a two- | ''■•paji^ai," reel documentary on the 2V2-year ^is"' future" productions' war crimes trial which was ch- •■y^^ time has come to bring men maxed last month with the sen- hj,ck to dreams and tell them that tencing ol ex-premier Hideki Tojo ^^.^^.^.^ „„ without resurrec- and his 24 co-defendants. Pic was tjo,, - ne„. credo, produced by Nippon Newsreel, i ,,,, „ , , . _ , which covered the entire' ti'ial fori ^'^^ gruesomeness of his prcvl- the Jap newsreel pool Pic was released Nov. 23 on an industry-wide < basis with: nation's three biggest theatre chains—^Toho.i Scliochiku and Daiel—distributing simultaneously. Under -dealr ar- ous films Rossellinl emphasized, had the moral aim: of showing the war's horror so that men could measure the depth of the' abyss in- lo which they had fallen. His last film about postwar tragedy, "Gcr- ranged by Japan Motion Picture I ^any. Year Zero,''will conclude his - . . 'work ,in that direction. Assn., distribs will reimburse Nip*; pon Newsreel for entire production ' H's most recent two films, how- cost, but pledge themselves to l ever, are filled with mysticism and show film as part of regular theatre iantasy. "The Miracle," made last program with no advance in price, i spring, revolves around a case of Deal insures widest possible ex-jmystical exaltation, although the hibition although Nippon Newsreel 1 treatment will continue to be real- passed up chance to make nice I '^t'c "The Machine That Kills Evil profit. Shochiku reportedly of- M;.'n, " his latest fllm, is pure fancy, fered 6.000,000 yen ($22,500) and Idealing with a camera that becomes Toho bid- 7;500.6oo yen ($27,750> I an engine for death everytime it is for exclusive rights before JMPA ' locused on a wicked person, stepped in with suggestion to make This month, RosselUni is plan- a general release as a public serv-1 ning to start on another film, an Ice gesture. Film reportedly cost untitled comedy. As in his previ- 2,300,000 yen to produce. ou.s films, the director will continue ■ I the technique of improvising the Jolson Loves WG Runway iwlu* de^*wiuf a%agSmuffip^who n ■« I' • « ! (1 I becomes a millionaire. : ■ M Loves M More Al Jolson has turned down the bid to return to his old homestead at the Winter Garden,, N.- ,Y., as emcee on the first vaudeo show to be launched by producer Mike Todd from the WG stage iTan. 16. Jolson admits it would be a thrilling experience, in view of his past associations with the theatre; and would welcome a chance to work again on the runway of the WG stage—but it would mean coming east. The singer likes the Hollywood sun too much to trek to New York in the' middle of the winter. Show Biz Returners Gracie Fields and her husband, ' Monty Banks, are scheduled to ar- rive in New York tomorrow iThurs.) on the America as arc actor Alan Ladd and his wife. Sue I Carol. Ladd Is returning from the I Command Performance. , r Others listed among the incom- I ing passengers are Louis DreyfuSt • board chairman and managing di- icctor of Chappell Sr Co., London ' niUKic publishing house; and , J'Yancis iBob) Harley, 20th-Fox's director in Paris. Cantor Donning Beard And Robe for 5th Time To Aid Disabled Yets Hollywood, Dec. 14. Topping off his 40th year in show biz, Eddie Cantor next week dons white beard and red robes to play Santa for the fifth year in connection wlth his "Give a Gift: to the Yanks Who Gave" campaign. Xmas gifts for cA'ery disabled hospitalized veteran is the promise behind drive which' Cantor said is expected to surpass the four pre- vious campaigns .which netted over. 6,000,000 gifts. Backing Cantor are lour national veterans organiza- tions—^American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled Amer- ican Veterans, and the AMVETS, plus cooperation by National Re- tail Dry- Goods Assn. Two thousand posts of the Amer-, lean Legion and its: auxiliaries, in I every: state, arc pushing tlie drive. 1 Other veterans groups are likewise , offering their wholehearted sup-i port to Cantor in promising a i Christmas gift for everp hospital- ized veteran. ': To add greater impetus to cam- paign and to inspire additional gifts: in. every area where veterans hospitals are located. Cantor is sponsoring a contest among the nation's top newspaper, editorial I cartoonists for best drawings illus- , trating the great need in 1948 for remembering the disabled hospital- ized veterans. Christmas Gift Order Form Enclosed find check for $ Please Send VARIETY for One Year To Street Citv State. Donor Street City.., , Zone State ■ A.^2i^f .-e<>Ml'..wilf oceompc.ny .tfuf fiVif .iffoti., llegular Subscription Rotes for On* Yoor—$10.00 Canada and Foreign—$1 Additional P^niETY Inc. 1S/( West 46tli Street New York 19, N. Y. WB AVERS IT PROVED IINOR' TEST CASE Los Angeles, Dec. .14. Winding: up a three-year legal hassle by an out-of-court settle- j ment, .Joan Leslie has been re-! lea.sed from her pact by Warner i Bros., but the studios won on its ; contention that minors' contracts; are valid. WB claims its only in- terest in the court fight was to es- tablish this principle. Miss Les- lie is expected to do one freelance film before starting her initial film tor her own indie. Culver Produce tion.s.- ■ . Court tussle, started when^ she moved for termiivatiDn of. her con- tract on reachinj; her' legal ma-; jority. L. A.' superior court up- held her contention that an Mult cannot be held to contract made while a . minor. So did district court of appeals but ' the state supreme court ruled for Warners. Two subsequent cfioi's to have U. S. Supreme Court take jurisdic- tion met with failure and ■ 'led to i negotiation of out-of-court settle- vi ment. | John J. Murdock, one of the last survivors of the great pioneers'of the Kingdom of Vaudeville, died on Dec; 8 at the St. Erne Sanitarium, in Los Angeles. His age was variously estimated at 85 to 91. ■The life of John J. Murdock is: the history :of American vaudeville No leader of the industry was so conspicuous in the organising and developing of variety in the U. S. as Murdock. As a promoter of chains, builder of theatres and a force in bringing together warring factions in labor and management, his hand was always the ciuiet dealer and his brain was the chief idea hatcher, but his name seldom was seen in print as the head man. His instructions to reporters Wei'e; "I'll give you the story, but keep me out of this." He sat back and was content with manipulating the.-strings backstage: and let:''E,-: F. Albee take, all :,the'bows."':■ ,:■,•:...::■,■■. In the late '90s Murdock. a man of Scottish drive and business sense, started as an electrician. ..He soon spread out, :owning a stock company in Cincinnati in 1900. Coining to Chicago he made the Masonic Temple Roof! there an outstanding vaudeville, theatre. ■ To be booked at iMur- dock's Roof was equivalent to prestige and salary bookings at the Palace on Broadway in i|s great days. ; He booked whole bills of head- liners and the No. 2 act on his programs would have carried the show in any of the leading \aude houses in the country. His Chicago com- petitors, knowing him for a nickel-chaser, thought he had gone oft' his nut. His competitors ran the Chicago Opera House, the Olympic and the Haymarket. The operators were Charles G. Kohl and his partners, , George Castle and George Middleton. Kohl and Middleton had been buddies with the Barnvim show and controlled the dime museums and cheap variety- in Chicago, : Milwaukee and St. Louis. Castle did the booking for .the Haymarket and Chicago-Opera House. . Castle was a great horseman, drove his own trotters at fairs and meets, and his idea of headliners was far from Murdock's, who circused Little ELsie iJanis) and promoted a wild story that he paid: the Four Cohans $5,000 for their final appearance in vaudeville. Murdock liked music and saw ,: that his patrons 'got the best the market could afford , at that time. When he ran short of the .cla.ss-,acts, he built them,: as was the case - of "The Girl With the Auburn Hair." Her name was Grace Akass, who later became Mrs. Murdock. She posed with drapes -before a group of choir boys who sang carols and scmi-rcligious; seasonable songs.: She. was one of the first of the living picture acts and became a big head* liner. About the turn of the century Kohl, Castle, Middleton and Martin Beck made their offices in the old Ashland Block at the comer of Clark and Randolph streets over the old Olympic. They brought in Murdock and developed the Western Vaudeville Managers Association. Murdock picked up Jake Stenard and several, other independent booking: offices ■ and, in a.short time, he was .servicing 20 amusement parks with outdoor attractions, bands and free .shows. This was followed,by the first mil-, lion dollar Majestic theatre, Chicago. It opened Jan. 1, 1006, built by the Lehman estate, owners: of the Fair department store; Murdock promoted this beautiful vaudeville edifice which was a 22-story office: building. It was a far cry from the old dime museum variety to this lobby with oil paintings, and Murdock's job was to obtain attractions . which would: draw, the Chicago elite to variety, shows. , ■ ; = He brought in Lyman B. Glover to front for the place; Glover had been Richard Mansfield's m.inager and was dean of the dramatic critics covering the theatres for the old Herald. Murdock^ having started as a stagehand at, the Old sPike Opera House in Cincinnati, was, doing: all right for the museum boys and plenty good for himself. Martin Beck Comes Into the Orcaniiaiion Martin Beck,who at . one, time was booking beer-gardens in Chicago, had graduated to general manager of the Orpheum Circuit. All o£ the office staff were moved to the Majestic Bldg. in 1906, and a family^de- partment was established. This brought in the baby Gus Sun circuit, which later developed into more than 1,000 theatres. Then came the Butterfield circuit in Michigan, the John Hopkins theatres in Louis- ville, St. Louis, ctC;; also Hopkins' parks, the houses in Cincinnati and Indianapolis controlled by: Max: Anderson and the Cox-Rinock people* and the Interstate circuit in Texas., Later the Finn & Heiman circuit ; and the Thielan time were added. By this time the middlewest gave plenty of: work to actors and, more important, Murdock did a Branch Rickey, with his farm circuits, to develop big time talent. He realized this was an important item and many names of worldwide fame today; first played the western time as beginners, then went to the Orpheum circuit, and ended up by playing their, long cherished desire, the,Palace. Coming east to join Albee, who; placed a, trust in him that others i considered unwarranted, he -was feared and was taken? Into the fold to eliminate him, but his associates soon learned that he was one man who '. could assemble theatres to make vaudeville pay off in millions. He was ; cagey, hesitant, it was almost impossible to get a definite answer out ; of him. He would sit cro.ss-legged and pull out a desk drawer con- ., taining more junk thail a schoolboy's-pocket. He would always have a : bottle of kumycss igoat's milk) and a large size jarof honey on his desk.: While you were trying to make your point he would take a sip of the kumyess, and a bit of the honcyr^he would take a piece of film out of his drawer, hold it up to the light and inspect it and interrupt you ■while he asked .how .vou liked a certain shot (breaking up your line of thought), and then would snip off a piece with a scissor. One ot Mur- dock's greatest weaknesses was the '-chair cooling" idea. At one time a prospective builder ot a theatre, in the south- arrived, to declare Murdock in on his proposition for a franchise. He arrived only to find Murdock was at a meeting. It was the custom ; at^ the tlme to call a boy and t.ake a projspective partner into, the dress circle of; the Majestic theatre,' so. he could see the show and :be im- : -pressed by . the importance? of Murdock's . organization.: From ; the reception room on the third floor, a .long narrow hall led you: past the executive offices, through the large, well-appointed directors' room; I into the dre.ss circle. The routine was su regular that the office boys, ! when they were escorting the waiting man to the show, remarked, I (Continued on page 18) Micholas M. Schenck puti the accant on the fact that "The Pul>lic LikeK Pieluret. Better than Radio and TV —The Prohlem Now Is to Maintain Continnai Interest \ia Quality" * * * on editorial-featHr* In tho 'I'.'Irf Anniversary Snmbcr of Out Soon My Most Memorable First Night -By HELEN HAYES- It was the first night of "Tlie the famous firsinighlci's I could Front Page" in New Voi-k. I h.id look down on from m.\ pen-h been wanting to got married to weron'L doingmuch reacting, and Charlie MacArthur for some time my heart was freezing with tenor, but he wouldn't ^ay .\es until he , Then all of a sudden "-omething had a hit equal to the one I was , like heat lightning flashed upon running m—"Coquette." On the the stage. It was Dorothy Stick- opening night of "Front Page," •Ted Harri.s. in an untmial irosh of ncy, playing Mollie Malloy. When she made her exit from sentimentality, closed "Coquette" that fir-it wonderful scene, the ap- for the night so 1 could attend the pluuse lasted tor two or three min- event. ulos, and Irom that lime on the I sat in the first row of the play was in. Ever since that mo- balcony by myself.; 1 remember; ment I have looked on Doi-otliy that lor about five or 10 minutes Slickney as the fairy godmother after the curtain wont up, the pl.iy who gave my story the (aj;. "And didn't seem to get going very well; so they lived happily ever after."