Variety (Jan 1949)

WedncBday, January 5, 1949 Nippon Radio's Distinct Effort To Reflect Democracy at Work Fyrty'third f^S^B^jpjt Anmveramy DfTSBNATIONAlL 205 By RUSS SPLANJE - Tokyo; Radio in Nippon, through the nation's monopolistic Broadcasting Corp. of Japan, is makiDg an effort to reflect the democratic tenor of the times. Progress since the end of the war has been slow but steady BCJ's network has been increased from fll to 105 stations, and will be expanded to 112 early next year. The number of radio receivers in use has risen from 5,400,000 in 1940 to 7,200,000 in 1948., The web's programs have taken on a somewhat livelier air, with several shows patterned after U. S. pro- ' grams topping the popularity list. Most significant of all is the fact that local stations have been given greater freedom to originate pror grams, instead of devoting 95% of their broadcast time to network shows originating in Tokyo as they did until the end of the war. However, the biggest changes in postwar Nipponese radio will not be felt until this year. Last year ivas notable for the fact that the groundwork was laid for these im- pending reforms. Frincipal shake- —up will be -in BGJ's-archaic and bureaucratic program department, which has been drastically over- hauled. With tBfe help and advice of the radio branch: of SCAP's ; Civil Information and Education Section, BCJ execs have set up programming organization similar to, but not consciously modelled after, program department of Brit- ish, Canadian and Australian broadcasting corporatlonsi New organization will have sepa- rate planning and production de* partment, with writers, announcers, directors/etc, pooled and assigned to specific shows by their respec- tive chiefs. Heretofore, BCJ pro- gram department was a liodge* podge of individual empires, with separate program chiefs for each type of show (music, education, sports, etc.), with their own writers; announcers' and producers. foreign ownership; Several groups have. already announced, their in-' tention to launch-a broadcasting venture, but soaring costs may rule out all but a few. Estimated cost of building one station is lOO'.OOO,- 000 yen ($400,000), providing ma- terials could be fouii^ at all. The Mainichi, nation's second largest newspaper, is studying the Osaka area'with a view to building a transmitter there that will eventu^- ally be expanded into a network. Paper is prepared to pour 3,000,000 yen ($4,000) a month into the project. Lack of Know-How France as a Market for Americans In All Phases df Amusement Biz By MAXIME DE BEIX Biggest stumbling block com- mercial radio faces in Japan is the lack of know-how. National ad- vertising is pi^actically nil in Japan, since very few : Japanese products are natioftally marketed. Moreover, advertising is profitable only in an economy of surplus; and the Nipponese economy will likely be l)ased on scarcity for many, years to come. However, some potential radio entrepreneurs say frankly they will engage American talent to handle sales end of their, broadcasting v«ntures.- One characteristic of Japanese radio which has retarded develop- ment -of .BCJ and which commer- cial stations will have to overcome is the lack of imagination and en- terprise among the men: who make radio in Japan, BGJ's 25-yfear monopoly has induced a stodgy form of complacency which is re- flected in the firm's programming. I Another weakness is the poor technical development of the in- dustry. American radio men in Japan estimate that Nipponese radio is 12 years behind the. U. S. Listeners Poll Second big change which will make itself felt in 1949 is the launching of BCJ's first scientific listeners' poll. Firm has made no real effort up to- now to: ascertain listeners' wants. BCJ is a privately-owned public service corporation : supported by listener's fees from radio-set own- ers, now set at 35 yen (13c) per month. Comnany operates two net ■, ■ Paris.''' , Though prevailing political apd economic condi* tions make it tough to prognosticate what Franco- American show biz relations will be like during the year aliead, the shadows cast by last year's record permit at least an idea of the current trend. For American showmen, France is a market, a ^ source of material, a bridgehead and a turntable; : also, according to how they are situated, a play- ground or a headache. France is a market for Amerir;: ican talent, for picture's, for iplaywrights' for mustc, and is becoming a market: for radio productions] and : may become' one' for .video If and- when French TV gets out of what: amounts to the lab stage. Also:. for American equipment, : Conversely, France is a source of creative talent in all- phases which, even if seldom expertly com-: mercialized, can be used in the: American show biz pattern. Some of tlie recent Gallic bookings inv N. Y, niteries cue to use of French music. Both v Broadway and Hollywood can find liere adaptable material, as evidenced by "Red Gloves ("Les Main Sales"), and eventually some more live potentiali- >: ties. . French ballets and orchestras have .played America, and the French are trying hard to plug ■ i France in America via radio. : These trans»Atlantic exchange of values cannot be estimated only in dollars and cents. Both politic- ally and_ geographically,_France, even if temporarily "fallen from her historically commanding position in world affairs, is still more or less a doorway to Western Europe, and everything, that helps keep it open by bringing U.: S. and France closer tends to permit American ideals and way of. life to perco- late through the whole continent, and to maintain, , peace. An American star, an American picture, play or song, can be a most efficient vehicle for American propaganda abroad. This should be borne m mind when show biz finds itself confrpnted :with economic hurdles. As a playground, Paree, if somewhat dimmed in its century-old splendor due to postwar economics^ and beaucoup- bluenosc' shuttering, still retainir worldwide glamor. So does the Riviera, whose cli- mate and gambling both make a little heaven in a ' '"^ I. Scarcity of legit production money and desire to avoid risks will result in many American adap': tations : playing France even if with little profit to U.S. right-holders. Ambitious talk is heard here of producing some of the Broadway musical hits, like "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Oklahoma!" An American group has thought of taking advan- tage of the low cost of production here and of visiting talent to incept an Anglo-Saxon theatre that, would produce , plays,: in English. On closer figuring it has not been found feasible, without crossing a sea of red. 2. Desire to draw business will make those nit> erties or even theatres that can afford to pay sala- ries book American talent. What is very hard for : theatres (such as Theatre de Paris, where; the :$6,000- per-week salary of the Katherine Dunham ballet made it tough for producers F. Lumbroso aqd Leon. Volterra to break even despite -socko .jbiz. at top scale) is easier for the bigger and better niteries; .Biggest' employer; of American. talent here is .Pierre-Louis Guerin, whose floorshow is, financially, practically all-AmericaUi with such draws as the Debonairs, the Ben'Yost singers and Chaz Chase. Guerin is now working hard to make the Ambassa- deurs, recently taken from Clifford Fischer on a lease and purchase option basis, the ritziest spot in Paris. The Bernard Bros, scored heavils'there be', fore .packing Sa Majestic dub. r C. SiEout8"O.0. Talent I in technical knowledge; and 18 - - , . . . . ... years behind in the production of very much war-shattered continent against which, as equipment. Vacuum tubes, for in- ! a headache, France is one of the continental coun- ■-' tries where postwar regulations are, in all phases. stance, are not of uniform quality, and are poor at best by American standards. Recording disks are. also greatly interior to the U; S, product,' As for television, Japs have developed at least one labora- tory model described by U. S. radio experts here as "not too bad," but commercial development of TV in Japan is a long way off; most distracting for American showmen, and gen- erally speaking f6r tourists. ''i: Politicos' Lust to Keep Power FILM BIZ IN IRELAND UPBEATS 10% IN'48 '. Dublin. The heavy backlog of American ^ pictures waiting to be played off in works, "file No. 1 xv^eb blankets the I Eire prevented any dislocation of country with 88 stations, including biz due to the U. S. embargo when the key statioii, JOAK in Tolcyo. No. 2 network includes 17 stations in; principal cities, which reach Y0% of the population. JOAK op- erates on 50,000 ^ watts, eight so^ Britaih upped import duties in 1947'. Several distribs bought: up a number of reissues and looked like they'd cash in until the em- bargo ended just when the last; of called "central" stations in kev 1 the backlog was being played off. cities have 10,000-watt output, and The result was that Irish firstrun local stations operate at 500. in liouses began to play new Ameyi- addition, net includes 42 tebroad- l can product before it played Lon- cast transmitters on 50 watts for j don, namely, "Call Northside 777," boosting Signals over difficult ter- j "Naked City" and "The Iron Cur, rain. An estimated 43% of Japa-1 tain." These tliree were among nese households have radio re- ! the top grossers of the year. "The ceivers. [Best Years of Our Lives" was Manufacturers are turning -out "^ht on top with a 26-week run sets at the rate of about 70,000 a i"* . month, and are limited to this ! ^ ^"Sht shading of the govern- figure by material shortages. Re- 1 '"'^"t entertainment tax on film ceivers up to now have sold as fast 1 ho^s^s helped biz, which was as they reached dealers' shelves, but a group of manufacturers is readying a petition to the Japanese Finance Ministry asking that the commodity tax on radios be re- duced to 20% from the present 30% on the grounds that the high ;tax . is discouraging potential buyers. , BCJ has shown readiness to adopt American ideas where adapt- able to the slow-inoving Japanese radio technique. Two most popu- lar shows on the air, judging by letters from listeners, are "Twenty Gates," based on the American "Twenty .Questions" and "Foun- tain of Knowledge," modelled after Information Please." A Major Bowes type of "Amateur Hour" also ranks among the top 10. Two new shows, "What's My Name" and "Hit Parade," both based on i{. S. programs, go on the air shortly. Commercial radio in Japan will soon become a distinct possibiliti'. A bill to authorize such ventures was introduced in the Japanese slightly up all round. A heavy in- flux of tourist coin hypoed the box- office, and the improvement over 1947 is estimated at around 10%; although runs have been shorter and holdovers, fewer. than in re- cent .years. Film rentals have shown a tendency to rise about 2% or slightly more. Interest in musicals is still slack, and there is plenty of evi- dence that customers are shopping around for their entertainment. Surprise failures were "Gentle- man*s Agreement," "The Miracle of the Bells" and, despite a big re- ligious buildup, John Ford's "The Fugitive." Most of the continent is going autocratic in: a double effort of local politicos to remain in power besides raising the dust necessary to save their country from going to the dogs. Very few of them follow the lead of the Swedes, whose legislation for pictures, for instance, enacts practically no pro- tective measures for their home-industry with the result that their home , industry is; doing compara- tively better than in any other country, thus evir dencing the value of free trade. The French exchange regulations not only re- strict the transfer home of pix revenue, but also that of live-talent salaries, supposed to be 50% of earnings, but there are even hurdles on the latter. Katherine Dunham, for one, found that out. Their pix industry is protected now: by a five-weeks-per- quarter screen quota, stiffer tlian formerly,- plus what amounts to discriminatory taxation and tech- nicalities as to the emoloyment of non-native tech- nicians in French studios. Their -legit branch is placing a ceiling on the amount of foreign adapta- tions that can be produced and practically places the American playwright at the mercy of his adopter. His revenue, in francs, is just an induce- ment for liim to come and spend it liere. Worse: still for Yanks, SACEM, local equivalent of ASCAP, if they belong to it, holds them in its folds, even if they are Americans, and won't. permit them to join ASCAP later, insisting on acting for tliem therei American acts here find working permits and ex- change control two bunkers to negotiate, and tooters find those stiffened still by local Petrillos. Diskers and equipment manufacturers can also use_a lot-of aspirin before they can cash in on their exports. It must be borne in mind that the French are themselves suffering from an economic crisis which', legitimately or - not,' is currently pauperizing the masses. Also of a vodka-reeking propaganda which America might be well advised to combat by con^ verting some of its dole into indoctrination media. Show-wise, the economic crisis causes the popular seats to - do less business than the higher r priced ones in the theatres, while about- 2,000; people who make Paris cafe society pack the better niteries though the cheaper amusements cannot do business. Mass spending is at a low ebb, increased by antici- pated tilts in rent and: terrific taxation. These very unhealthy conditions, translated in concrete terms, require no wizard to anticipate that during'the coming year: U.S. talent scouts have flne-toothcombed France lately. Joe Glaser imported Yoninelli, now playing U. S. William Morris and Jules Stein, among others, have given niteries and all shows the o.o. without finding much they could really consider for tlie U. S. liigtime, apart from singers. Generally speaking, French operators won't take the risk of payin? U.S. salaries,,even at a very 'much cutrate. And if tbey undertiake at their own risk to guarantee part of it in dollars, the exchange may make; the deal far worse for them than orig-* inally planned. Within a year, the unofficial rate has gone from 350 francs to $1 for 500. The French _ musichall producers prefer to cut the nut to the ' bone and use local names in revues. Marcel Carrere, occasionally, may put on an international act, but French variety, of late, hasn't been much of a market for American talent, though it has been a source of vocal acts for U. S., namelyi Compagnons de la Chanson, Edith-Piaf, Suzy Solidor, Georges Ullmer and. skedded, Yves-Montand. French talent is increasingly ogling U. S. dollars. Nitery conditions in U. S. help cue that development. ' 3. Pictures are something else again. Motion Picture Assn. ' of America reps here, Frank Mc- Carthy aided by Il]ip-2rt Allan, have done a job which should earn them the gratitude of every Hollywoodite, besides that of the continental reps ' whose problems they have helped solve with such diplomacy that even the French regard them very highly. They have set a very, high standard for their MPA successors, Gerry Mayer and Eugene Van Dee: : American-pix here, despite local obstacles, are more than' holding their own. Their importance cannot be estimated in terms of revenue. -This is why the I'olding of U. S. newsreels for economic reasons is to be deprecated. As to the French themselves, tliey are inclined to kid themselves as to the potentialities of their liome product in U. S. But that is another story. 4. French National Radio is a government-owned and operated part of the amusement business. Ther trend there, due to shenanigans of some of the ■ execs, is to use strictly local material under their: control, thus mostly precluding American exports'^ Radio Luxembourg,' which covers a good deal'of France from its Luxembourg airer, is the expertly run independent and commercial opposition. It is - doing very well and: an excellent bet for American exporters, but won't sell to American interests, some of which evidenced interest. The French, of course, are very keen on getting American airtime, through disks, tape or direct transmission, and welcome such U.S. producers as Ray Morgan, Who may get them a break in U. S. 5. As to TV, it is still in diapers. France- may produce a certain amount of usable material, espe- cially when it concerns fashion or deluxe trades that welcome an American plug. This explains why they look favorably on closing a deal with Bbrrah Minevitch . to introduce tlieir material in U. S.- One of their' main difficulties is that, whereas radio, has an appropriation sufficient to operate it,. TV has practically none, And there's no one willing to angel it under current conditions. ■ 6. American pop music is extremely popular here. The younger generation is crazy about it. What it: will bring Tin Pan Alley in the way of revenue is -another:matter..'. ■,; ■■;..-. ■■',.,:: ■ .,: ■ 7. As to American equipment, it is. of course; much in use in the film industry. But American, radio and TV sets would be hard to market: Local' manufacturers, backed by taxation, are controlling the market. British Films British films are doing good biz, a good British pic taking about the same coin as a good American. Top grossers among the British list in firstrun houses have been ?'Ham- let" "Oliver Twist" and "Red Shoes." The general lack of in- terest in British pix, noted a few _ _„t,„ years ago, appears to have been IMet early In 1948 and will prob-i overcome, ably be enacted. Law will provide I Only one Irish feature was pre- fer licensing or privately-downed duced, by Dublin.Films, during the broadcasting stations, but will ban year, "My Hands Are Clay"; it got a lukewarm reception and lasted only one week on its firstrun ap- pearance in Dublin. Building of new cinemas has been slow owing to government re- : strictions; only about six new nabe houses liave been opened in the past year. Projects for another 20 have been submitted for gov- ernment approval. During the year fresh ap- proaches were made to Eire gov- ernment for removal of import duty on newsreels, which are not shown in: Eire. Newsreel Assn. spokesmen claim; it would be un- economic to resume sending news- reels while current tax is in force. Both exfaibs and newsreel distribs have had - discussions with gov- ernment officials, who are advising Finance Minister; lilacGilligan on possible adjustments. There has been a considerable extension in the 16m market. The number of mobile projectors tour- ing rural districts has increased, and there are indications of exhibs' and renters' associations to check encroachments on terri-^ tory covered by regular cinemas, Both the .Dept, of Education and ' Dept. 'of Agriculture . haw keeii. inteirest in these visual aids, and drders for projectors are; re-; portedly oh their :iivay, 'The Edu^' cactibh Dept. is to include filrti ejcyperts in its new Council of Edu- cation, an advisory body how be- ing set up. The same department. has okayed special courses in film claslies with regular 35m inter- technique and teaching with visual- ests. Cases are now before both ' aids at state training collegci.