Variety (Jan 1949)

202 IXTKIIXATIONAL Forty.third 't^Afsmff Auniversmy Wednesday, Jfittnary 5, 1949 Argentine Film Producers See Need To Stress Inte rnatio nal Sales Angles Mounting Costs Force Them to Rationalize in Face of Industry Collapse—Pic Execs in Foreign Junkets Drum Up Trade the screen to marryj while Nihi JlarshaU niade only^ one picture for Sono, "Nayidad de los Ppbres." ; v ■ Oil th^ maic! side, sometfti^^ lias been added teta^nAii '-i^^s^-.'.'Sfiiio'': has excellent baritOhe ^iiies as wpH as ple«>t^y :g9od^ the lEpre with rapid strides. " ' If the economic situation continues deteriorating, it is "raTand' director and launching a"botabastic publicity, anticipated that the producers will find the credits granted cast and oirecior, * . ' them by the government considerably cut down. Many campaign. Pictures made on this simple sysiem ai veiy ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ congressional elections are ovet in low cost cashed heavy coin. _ March, the Peron government will start cutting down A glance at last production figures is revealing (using grants to many activities. ' U. S. dollar equivalent): Buenos Aires. Argentine film tycoons have just begun to realize that the time has come to set the industry on a rational, busi- ness level, or local production faces complete collapse. Hitherto, malting movies in Argentina had just been a question of renting a studio, building a few sets, hiring 1933—four pictures were made at an average cost each of 112,000. 1934 six pictures Were made at an average cost each of $16,000. 1936— 15 pictures Were made at an average cost each of $24,000. 1937— 31 pictures were made at an average cost each of $27*000 Ejchibition Althdugh biz has been reaching lecord highs through- out the j^ear, exhibitors haye never had so many priDblems to contend with, so much so that only the :strdng^^ can keep their heads 4ind weather the storm. To begin With they have had tiii graht Wage incM^^ operators, managers and ushers .without satisfy them, and with the demands increasing every so many months. , . Then they have had to face aU the dislocation of busi' 1938—!jO pictures were made at an average cost eacn ^^^^ subsequent to enforcement of the protectionist de- of $30,000. 1947_36 pictures were made at pn average cost each of $100,000.- In 1948 even a grade B pic can't be completed under $60,000. Pix like "Rosa de America," VLa Dama Duende," "La Guerra Gaucha," "Su Mejor Alumno," "Nunca te Dire Adios," "Madame Sans Gene," "Como Tu Lo Sonaste," "Dios de lo Pague," "Historia de una-Mala cree; in many cases this has meant relinquishing a pic- ture which was bringing in record grosses, to substitute a nationally made picture which scarcely drew a hand- ful of patrons. Government employees who demand free admission are yet. another headache. The Entertainment Board created another snarl when exhibitors were forced to eliminate the system of reserv- ing seats on telephone order from favored clients, and ever Mujer,"'"Pasaporte a Rio" cost from $100,000 to $206,000, ■ since they are prevented from selling advance admission mostly on account of high" talent costs. to most shows. Then there have been the "flor de ceibo" Faced with these mounting production costs, Argentine shows three days a week. This is the term given to lower- producers looked around for a lifesaver, but instead of priced shows for the benefit of the laboring classes, decreed planriing a campaign to win foreign markets for their pro- by special order of President Peron. Ticket speculation auction on its own merits, their only recourse was to pressure their government for a protection only too read- ; liy granted. The first, protectionist step was the decree forcing exhibitots to. show . en Argentine production in each theatife for at least one week of each month, includ- ing a weekend, and at preferential percentages. Later this protection was supplemented by the granting of govern- ment loans to producers up to 75% of the cost of each picture. Not content with this, some producers have been pressuring the government to raise barriers against foreign film imports, unless the affected countries «igree to ac- cept equal numbers of Argentine pix. Although the nationalist-minded government waS: eager to fall in with the protectionist proposalsi since it; invested in production Via the loans to producers, it has been anxious to get.a return on the investment, and has its eye. on the foreign exchange which new markets would afford. As a consequence, producers are being high-pressured into internationalizing their production. Their first start has been to import directors and stars from Italy, Spain and Mexico. Apart- from: awakening some interest in Argen- tine pix in those countries, they hope that local talent will gain from the.experience.with better-trained actors; Following this trend, Atillo Mentastl of Sono-Film signed Dolores del Rio and Arturo de Cordova in Mexico; Juan Jose Guthmann of Cinematografica Inter-Americana is mulling with Sir Alexander Korda a plan to make Anglo- Argentine pix in Argentina; Benito Perojo, ace Spanish director, is to make pix alternately in Argentina and Spain, using Argentine and Spanish actors; comedian Luis San- drini may also make pix in France, directed by Pierre Chenal, under the Inter-Americana aegis. ' has been severely repressed, and all theatres have to post plans of their seating, capacity in a prominent spoty so that all patrons can have equal opportunities to buy their way in. Exhibitors were able to ward off the threat of govern? ment decree forcing them to include vaudeville turns in every show So many times a week, but this was achieved only at the cost of accepting Mrs. Peron's 10-centavo tax on tickets in all theatres charging over 80 centavos. Lautaret & Cavallo operate the most important exhibitor chain, which includes eight or nine.t affiliated companies which stretch like an octopus over the entire country. The firm owns the Gran Rex, Buenos Aires, the largest de- luxe firstrun house in the capital city. . Boxoffice Survey" :?i»Accent on Sales- Euture'; accent is to be on the sales angle, and studio execs have' been setting- forth on travel junkets to drum up markets in countries which have so far rejected Ar- gentine film fare as poor entertainment. Italian film dis- tributors hsLve been-bludgconed into lending a helping hand in this direction; it was cither that or have their Italian pix banned from the excellent Argentine market. Now, schemes tor producing italo--Argentine films in Argen- tina are being bandied: back and forth between Rome and Buenos Aires head-offices. It is not on the. selling angle only that Argentine pro- ducers realize they must reorganize. Argentine fans have grown accustomed to seeing and bearing local film per* sonalities on the screen, and demand improved entertain- mcntv with better stories, good talent and better tech- nique. They have fpund that the boxoffice will not re- Epond to mere patriotic hokum. The public wants good entertainment, whatever its nationality. So, it's up to producers to; see that directors and talent really deliver. . Reviewing the year's crop. of pictures, the most sig- nificant fact is that a low-cost documentary, "Pelota de ■SCrapo," made by an: ' independent company on a' Shoe- string, turned out the best Argentine-made: grosser of the year. It certainly will give its makers good revenues for years to come. Reviewing local talent, it's seen that, on the distaff eide, Olga Zubarry and Susanita Freyre, di.scovered: in Noblesse Oblige While playing the London Palladium I had occasion to record at the Victor studios. The hour was unusually eatly for me to be doing anything: constructive buti as usual, the show hiad to go on or words to that effect, so there I was recoi-ding. On that same morning a ^t-d^up of men \vere at the studio to view television, but liniEprtu- nately, the apparatus went out of commission. They were 1947, ran away with all the honors in 1948; Tilda Thamar asked by the executive" in charge if they woiild like to has disappeared from the local scene, "banished" by hear "this American girl" (meaning myself) who was re- Senora de Peron, and now graces the French studios or the lush spots on the Riviera. Delia Garces made no pix, "for reasons known only to the presidential lady," and has had to turn to acting in musical comedy^ The ban on her is expected to be raised next year. Zully Moreno (Mrs. Cesar Amadori) was teamed with Arturo de Cordova in the hit, "Dios se lo Pague" (Sono-Film), and Mirtha Le- firand, who has evolved from a giggling ingenue to a BritaiQ Making More Films Than '39, But Mm Fol(liii| -By SIR HENRY L. FRENCH. During the first months of the year, when import quotas were hard to get and future restrictions probable, the Hollywood releases were held back for the more important winter season, so that only a few oldies were being ex- hibited. This benefited the local productions to the ex- tent that "Dios se lo Pague' (Sono) at the Gran Rex grossed as well as any Hollvvood film, and ran for a record ".14'weeks. Ho^ grosser of the year, as far as can be reckoned«at: present, was RKO's "The Kid from Brooklyn," which ran 11 weeks, after release early in May. The Italian pic- ture. "Shoeshine" (Eagle Lion), also did phenomenally, being held for 11 weeks. "Pelota de Trapo" (Sifa) stayed for 10 and on release in second run has continued gross- ing exceptionally. Twentieth-Fox's exclusive contracts with the Luxor theatre kept "Captait\ from Castile" and "For- ever Amber" in firstrrun for 19 and 14 weeks, respectively. British pix were seen in limited quantity and lost most of the ground gained in 1946 and 1947, when "The Seventh Veil," "Great Expectations" and many others aroused vivid local interest. "Stairway to Heaven" (tltree weeks); released by Universal, was outstanding of the British re- leases, and James Mason drew heavily in the "Upturned Glass" (Rank) (four weeks). "Henry V," which was' shown both in dubbed and original English versions, in alternate shows, grossed well for five weeks, and has since been reissued, but Shakespeare was a hard nut for local audiences to crack. "Blithe Spirit" was considered too talky and made little stir* French pix, on the other hand, have begun regaining ground lost during World War II. Italian distributors labored against heavy odds, with the local authorities refusing them import permits unless Italy agrees to buy some Argentine-made productions; (Director-Gcnerol, British Film Producers Asiri.) London. ' My friends and (j^Ueagues with 10 times as many years in the film industry as I have had iissure ine that condi- tions today are not very different from what they have repeatedly experienced in the past. Film production is a' difficult business! The present situation in the> British industry is not easy to analyze. In many respects events seem to be moving in opposite directions. For example, we are making more films thanvat any time since the outbreak of war in Sep> tember, 1939; yet studios are being closed, and even in' studios fully at work men are being dismissed as reduh- dant.: Just as a happy marriage attracts no publicity, ^o- the steady output from our chief studios passes unnoticed in the newspapers while the discharge of 1% or less of the staff from one studio is featured as a sensation. A trade union leader said at a meeting recently: "if we go oiii like this we shall have no film industry." And he did not mean to exaggerate. He wasi quite naturally and . properly, concemed°^ at his union's increasing list of un' : employed and for the moment he could think of nothing else. But newspaper readers, ignorant of the essential facts, see the situation out of perspective. They thiiik that the British'industry, after being given by Parliament a larger share of its home market than it has ever had, is failing to grasp a splendid opportunity for expansion. There is some truth in.this judg|nent but lt is by no means the whole truth. ' Motion picture compatiies: in the U. S. have for some time been reducing staff and cutting' down expenditures in 'many directions. British producing companies are doing the same, but not for exactly the same reason. ' American companies are faced with a big fall in their revenues and are doing their best to reduce their out* goings. British producers have for many years lived in hope that they would before long obtain substantial earn- ings from the showing of good and suitable films to; the ■ large American public who patronize movies. They now . realize that these hopes are not going to materialize, at; any rate not in the immediate future. Consequently they are cutting down expenditure, in-every directipn .to-bring their costs of production down to the probable earning capacity of their films. Moreover, their estimates of revenue are now being made on a more realistic basis than at any time during the last 10 years. I Wi^hfin Thinking? ~| The- public expected that the reduced competition of American pictures would have sent British film production : bounding ahead with speed and confidence. Many differ- ent reasons are being given in England why this lias not happened. Some Americm writers have gone to an ex- treme and claimed that the effort to bring abouf an ex< pansion in British film production has already failed. Is that wishful thinking? My: own view, for what it is worth, is that the making of pictures is a slow business and that in England recently so many things have happened, the effect of which cannot be properly measured at this mo* . nient. lhat man/ of the small producers are being cautious. The improved quota for British pictures on our home screens; the Government .scheme for advancing loans up to $20,000,000 for film production; the reduced spending power, of .our people as compared with two or three years ago; the increased output of films frpm our major studios with the inevitable demand for more working capital; tbe fear -of increased production in England by American companies from their unremittable sterling balances fol- lowed by the unexpectedly small amount of competition coming forward from that source; the reduction in the number of expensive "prestige" British films and the re- placement thereof by moderate-priced films; all these events, some pulling in one direction and some in the opposite, have delayed large-scale expansion, especially by independent producers. But my; own feeling is that some progress has been made in the last 12 months, and that as the outlook becomes clearer the pace will quicken. cording in another room. They agreed and were brought down to hear the playback of my recording. After it was over, I noticed a distinguished member of the group ap- plauding my efforts. I walked over to him and apologized for what I thought was. not my best work, but he very graciously insisted that he considered it outstandingly good, and introduced me to his wife, Mrs. Marconi. I was so flabbergasted at learning that this was the great femme fatale, without any change in expression, but plenty Marconi that I became inarticulate and could only blurt in makeup, made another picture, "Pasaporte a Rio," with o"'. "May I have your autograph?" To which he replied, de Cordova, for. Sono, wliich can be counted as one of "Certainly, if 1 may have yours." ' ■' the important pix of the year. Ingenup Maria nnvai i<>f( Sophie Tnclcer QptimiBtic Notes J There have been two encouraging features in the last 12 difficult months. First, producers have found subjects to take the place of war stories, and the quality of their best films has been xully maintained. Such pictures a* "Hamlet." "Oliver Twist," "The Fallen Idol," "The Wins- low Boy" and "Red Shoes" are at least as good as any produced in the same period in any part of the world. Secondly, we have reason to be thankful for the way the. British public is supporting British films. The boxoffice receipts are, on the average, higher for British first- features than for those coming froitt any other nation. K this continues-r-as it should—the dislike felt by some exhibitors at being obliged to Show a larger proportion of British films than hithei-to should soon disappear. There is a widespread feeling of sympathy in England for the .motion picture industry in America for having lost a large slice of the British market in which, until quite recently, it provided 80% or more of screen time. At the same time Britain has for 20 years, at least, been trying to establish a British film industry. This has now been achieved. In spite of this, our producers and our public are glad that there is still plenty of screen time left for all the best products of Hollywood. The proportion,leti, free of the quota, varies from a minimum of 5,^% i» * maximum of 100%, according to the character and posi- , tion of the cinema. The regret is that British films are not being given the same generous treatment in U. S. As as comparable pictures from Hollywood are given m tne United Kingdom. Perhaps the forthcoming mcctinfi oi ine Anglo-American Film Committee will find some means oi putting this right. No doubt the American members Have points to raise which are equally important to. 'n*