Variety (Jan 1949)

FILMS VIDEO STAGE VOE 173 No- 4 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 194d 276 PAGES Hopof Pix With High-Volt^e Names Makes Rating of Top Stars Dubious Analysis of tbie year's top-gross-+- ing films—and what made "em that— spotlights more strongly than ever the faCt that the-draw • of star names is no more than a subordinate factor in creating an audience. The star may prove a marquee lure because of his or her performance after reviews and word-of-mouth get around—wit- ness Jane Wyman in "Johnny Be- linda"—but there's a mighty small handful that'll pull *em in on name value alone. That's plenty clear in even the most casual gander at Variety's annual summary appearing on page 46, of the leading grossers of the past year. From that list is usually made up a companion tabu- lation of the top money players during the Ig-month period. That's | all but impossible for 1948, for as ' soon as you get past Bing Crosby, I Cary Grant, Lana Turner, Clark! Gable, Bob Hope and perhaps a' few others, the rearoning becomes . spurious. Too many factors contrfbute to the success of a film to credit it to a, player. Star names help, of course, but only if they are plenty backed up by a good story, com- petent direction, interesting pro- duction and the myriad of other values—some of them highly in- tangible—that go to make up a good picture. Impossibility of the popularity listings is perhaps best evidenced by a national mag's announcement last week that a poll of its readers Buchanan's Payoff In a bid to hold onto its per- sonnel, Buchanan & Co., ad agen- cy for Paramount and a number of other film accounts, is picldng up tab on extended trips for its higher-paid employees. Company has notified its personnel that any- one who has been with the outfit for five years or over will be en- titled to a six-week travel vaca- tion in 1949 or '50. Vacation applies to all em- ployees earning $3,250 or over. Travel expenses will be footed by the company on a basis scaled to pay, with $10,000 men getting $1,000 towards the junkets. 7 IN 11 till 14, showed Ingrid Bergman their fave player. But where were all the pa- (Continued on page 47) E'way Assn. Expects Action This Year On FaceKfting Times Sq. Negotiations between the Broad- Way Assn. and the City Planning Commission ahaed at wiping out the carn'''al atmosphere in the Times Square area have progressed to the point where concrete action seems likely in 1949, according to Robert K. Christenberry, Broad- way Assn, prez. Another meeting of the association's zoning revision committee with members of the Planning Commission, headed by Robert F. Wagner, Jr., will be held early in January. _ Principal targets of the facelift- ing drive are shooting galleries, pinball and bagatelle game estab- lishments and open-front stores. While the campaign is presently confined to the area 4)etween 42d to 52d street, Christenberry said that that he is asking the Planning i-ommission to adopt its recapra- wendations to include the area fi-om 34th street to Columbus Cucle. ISRAILCAP A LA ASCAP Albany. Israelcap, Inc., has been char- tered here to represent Israeli composers, authors and publishers a la ASCAP. . Gi^anization will maintain an of- ftce in New York. Cap Gains Nipped By CBS-Benny Nix Washington. The capital gains maneuvers in- | volving top radio comics were thrown into scrambling confusion [ last week with the revelation that | the Internal Revenue Bureau has nixed the Jack Benny deal. Government action, given heavy play in the press, immediately brought forth an official statement of clarification from CBS, which declared reports of the tax con- sequences to Benny of the capital gains deal showed they were com- pletely njisunderstood. Benny, ac- cording to the statement, was to be paid $2,260,000 for the stock and assets of . his Amusement En- terprises and not the $4,000,000 originally reported. In addition, CBS claimed the comedian owned not all but only. 60% of the firm. Accordingly, the total money pay- able to him would have been only; $1,356,000. I Had the' tax bite gone through ' under the capital gains setup, con- ! sequently, Benny would have paid only $339,000 to the Government (Continued on page 247) LENA HORNE SCENES OUT (WF'WORM IN MEMra^^ ' Memphis. Lloyd Binfprd's censor board wrapped up Memphis' topsy-turvy | 1948 pic season by deleting all '■ scenes in Metro's "Words and Mu- j- sic" that'spotlight Lena Horne, Ne- | gro songstress. Binford's "blasting j bxjard" greenlighted pic to open ! here at Loew's State theatre last [ Wednesday (29)—but without giv- ing Memphis patrons the chance ' to hear Miss Horne sing "Where Or ' When" and "The Lady Is A Tramp." Daily running ads by theatre and other promotion have also killed Miss Ilorne's billing. Binford re- fused 46 comment on the reasons for the move. Met^o ofCicials like- wise withheld comment. Miss Home's appearances in Metro's "Till the Clouds Roll By" and 20th- Fox's "Stormy Weather" were also tabooed here by Binford several years ago. ( By HERB GOLDEN ■ Paramount's "Road to Rio," with $4,500,000, was the year's top- grosser as the American film in- dustry started a giant step back toward normality in 1948. Pic- tures made at tremendous cost and designed for an equally tre- mendous boxof f ice potential. Which marked the peak profit years of 1946 and 1947, gave way to prod- uct less flambouyantly conceived and certainly less enthusiastically received at the b.o. in terms of tlie industry's "Golden Circle"— that charmed ring into which go only those films that earned $4,000,000 or moi*e in domestic grosses. It's a story that can be told at a glance. Only seven pix joined the "Golden Circle" in 1948, as against 18 in 1946 and 15 in 1947. Aggregate grosses of the $4,000,- 000 or over films merely reinforce the idea. They drew a total of $29,100,000 in 1948, compared with $88,500,000 in 1946 and $85,421,- 000 in 1947. Following close after the Bing Crosby-Bob Hope starrer ("Rio"), at the head' of the gross tabula- tion was Metro's "Easter Parade" ($4,200,000), United Artists' "Red RiVer" ($4,150,000), Metro's "Three Musketeers" ($4,100,000), Warner Bros.' "Johnny Belinda" ($4,100,- 000), Metro's "Cass Timberlane" ($4,050,000) and Paramount's "Em- peror Waltz" ($4,000,0001. That gives Metro three. Para- mount two, and UA and WB one each. Taking a larger aspect—all the (Continued on page 46) Legit Must Drop Its 4City Routine, Take to Sticb for Big B.O., Sez Agt. Legit Maiiager Kn^hted London. James- Bronson Albery, promi- nent theatre manager here, .was honored with knighthood by King George VI in His Majesty's annual New Year's ceremony. He was prez of the Society of West End Theatre Managers 1941-1945. Currently Sir James is a trustee of the Old Vic and Sadlers Wells and is scheduled to become a member of the executive arts coun- cil drama panel in January. Regal distribution of honors also saw concert singer Astra Desmond named Companion of the British Empire. Seidelman Sees No Foreign Drop Scanning the '49 horizon over- seas, Joseph H. Seidelman, Uni- versal's foreign dept. head, sees a further tapering of the American film talce but no disastrous collapse in the $90,000,000 total of '48. Seidelman believes the next 12 months will bring $75,000,000 or thereabouts to the industry in ac- tual remittances from beyond the borders. An upturn in 1950 is not an improbable development, he stresses. As for Hollywood moving into foreign climes en masse to thaw out frozen film coin through the (Continued on page 247) By WILLIAM RODDY {Veteran Advance Agent) The first step the League of New York Theatres should take in solv- ing theatrical problems and restor- ing the theatre to the prominence it once held throughout our coun- try, can be solved easily enough,, if a few evils are eradicated. Managers should be taught that it I is a business mistake to produce ' with the narrow viewpoint that New York, Philadelphia, - Boston and Chicago are the only worth- ; while theatrical cities. There are ! 100 others. I Old-time managers like Savage; Dillingham, Tyler, the Selvvyns, Wagenhals & JCemper, Brady, Com- I stock & Guest and others knew the ! hinterland was more profitable for I their attractions than a quartet of j big cities. Therefore they sent out ;many companies of a current hit, I on a carefully booked and compre- ihensive "road tour—and made ' money. The Shuberts had, at one time, ■ nine companies of "Blossom Time" covering the country from coast to coast. There was an equal num- ber of "Within the Law," "The Lion and the Mouse," and Wagen- hals & Kemper sent out 12 com- panies of "The Bat." Oliver Moros- co had out eight "Peg O' My Heart" companies for three consecutive (Continued on page 62) Politics and the Artist By CHARLES O'BRIEN KENNEDY With the emphasis born of ig- I in multiple marriage exemplified' norance, Mr. Babbitt declares that i the artist in search of the ideal, artists know nothing of politics. He j The Greek theatre produced prefers goveirnment by the Insensl- ' Sophocles, with many dramas, some tive and dull; by the impecunious i .of whicli are still esteemed by lawyer seeking additional incdme, scholars. His piety and civic-mind- or the rugged individual who "rises" j edness gained him the office of to power from one suspender," (to ; treasurer of the public funds. Oh, quote Edgar Lee Masters) Once there lived a harpist singer wonderful Athenians, to trust your money with a playwright! His and author of psalmk, including the epitaph reads: "Although Mace 23d. With these limitations he be- \ donia cover his bones aU Greece came a King; a fearless, warrior j is his monument." and"?i mighty ruler over Israel if not oyer his family. The Psalms are his rich legacy, even to those who prefer the tune to the text. This was David, and his talents passed to his boy, Solomon, author of the world's greatest love song: Exhib Pans Confreres For Prods.-Distribs Attacks as'Eyewash' Cleveland. Marking what's probably the first time that an indie exhibitor has blasted his confreres for their persistent attacks on producers and distributors, E. C. Grainger, prez of the Shea circuit, Ohio, panned the resolutions adopted at the recent Allied convention in New Orleans as "bunk and apple- sauce." In a letter to P. J. Wood, head of the Independent Theatre Owner^-of Ohio, Grainger, who's the brother of Republic sales veepee James R. Grainger, declar- ed certain of the resolutions were "adopted without much serious consideration or real good faith." Shea chief noted that such thoughts, coming from an exhib, probably sounds like treason. He .emphasized, though, his belief "in marshes and developed harbors be- tween battles. His political acu- men is recorded in history. 'Ru- _ . _ mor says that Emperor Nero play- the wisest of humans, with a clear j ed a musical aGcompaniment while judicial mind; whose experiments jRome burned, his artistic soul un- ruffled by thoughts of no insur- ance. Early Deadline This edition of Variety went to press ahead of the normal Tuesday deadline. Production detail, binding, etc., and the size of this 43d Anniversary Number make it necessary to omit certain standard departments- for this- one issue alone. Consider the Roman, Julius Cae--vi „ , " ' ; ' "•■^i,"' Z'" ~\S~ ""i sar, who wrote the "Comraenta- Jif ^-Z^^^^ ""'^^ ^-^^ ries," founded libaries, drained ^^^^ V^^^^ conventions could "brmg ' " about more cooperation from prod- ucers and distributors if they would urge the exhibitors first to fae honest with themselves and then to be honest with the producers and distributors." He added: "We know there are many faults in this ; (Continued on page 247) Disraeli wrote novels: "Vivian Gray," "Coningsby," "Lothair," "Sybil," also essays on government. This adversary of the great Glad- stone (an artist himself). Who trans- lated Horace superbly, became Prime Minister with a genius for canals. Dazzled by his wit and awed by his Intellect, Victoria AMERICAN HEADS ITI Dr. Maurice Kurtz, an American, took office on Jan. 1 as the first secretary-general of the newly- established International, Theatre' Institute, quartered temporarily in UNESCO House, Paris. The ITI is a clearing-house for ^aTp. him Farf .If Hor^AUcfsViTiT i airing of problems in profes- made him Earl of Beaconsfield, al- gjonaj amateur play produo- (Continued on pag€ ez) tion.