Variety (Jan 1949)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

F^rfy-thitA t^kRHSftf AnnivrrHory AL BURNETT Sf NDS GREETINGS TO ALL HIS AMERICAN FRIENDS Appearing Nightly at THE STORK, MAYFAIR, LONDON, W. I. Drop me a line even if it's onfy a gag or a pqrody f incidciitmlly I am still woiting for lost year's matcrlall 40, PORTSEA HALL, LONDON, W. 2 OLIVEUrS Famous in Last 15 Years as THE SHOW PEOPLE'S RENDEZVOUS SEND NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS TO ALL OUR EMENDS HOPE TO SEE MORE OF YOU THIS YEAR 35, Store Street London. W. C. 1. GREETINGS from PRIMO SCALA of LONDON RECORDS Prime Scala's Band is known in Greet Britain os tii« lead* ing Aecordien Band of Radio. Recording and Vaudeville Sole Representative: MICHAEL LYON U.V.A. Ltd. 52, Haymarket, London, S> W, 1 Intl Fihn Selling Special Technique By GEORGE GILBERT There's an art in extracting dol- lars from the overseas markets and that. Icnowledge is often demon- strated to top U. S. producers by a select group of "super" interna- tional film salesmen. Among the j talented coterie are Jacques Gri-1 nieff, Calvacade Pictures' head | Harvey Pergament, and George i Bookbinder. j This trio, has demonstrated a I faculty of getting those dollars on I the line that, in some instances, I flabbergasts veterans of the film I export business. Just how it's done remains a mystery, but when Grinieff can ofter Walter Wanger S900,000 lor: overseas distribution' rights to "Joan of Arc," as he was recently reported to have done, tliere can't be any slipups in the technique. Most common avenue of thaw- ing, frozen earnings" of American films Is to utilize the blocked pounds, francs, lire, etc., in financ- ing location films in the respec- tive countries where remittances are banned. Grinieff, it's under- stood, is grooving idle lire to back the forthcoming film version of Hans Habc's "Bridge of Sighs" which is due to roll as a 100% locationer in Venice next spring under Rudolph Mate's direction. Also looked upon as a practical means, of conversion is the pur-' chase - of raw materials: abroad which have a ready market in the U. S. Blocked coin buys textiles, wines and other goods which be- come dollars when exported to America.The Motion Picture Assn. of America, in an effort to free some of its members' idle earnings abroad, last year entered into a deal with the World Com- merce Corp. which often employs such an arrangement to liquefy clients' frozen foreign assets on a commission basis. • Pergament handled the deal last month whereby «■ Wive Films of Stockholm handed Samuel Gold- wyn $25,000 in New York in return for an outright buy in Sweden of the producer's "Song Is Born" despite the fact that none of the majors is currently extracting anyr thing from that: territory. In nego- tiating the transaction, he indi- cated that film men in Norway and several other European countries were desirous of bringing about similar deals on the same outright basis. Bookbinder injects the personal touch into his dealings with Conti- nental exhibs. An accomplished linguist, he trekked through such Russian satellite countries as Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czecho- slovakia last year setting deals for Walt: Disney as well as a number of other U. S. indie producers. He explained in New York recently that he found no difficulty at all in negotiating circuit deals behind the Iron Curtain since theatre: men there have always needed: good product at a fair price. However, the industry's prime salesman, some observers feel, is MPAA prez Eric Johnston who, last summer, sold pix to the Rus- sians, Czeclioslovaks and Yugo- slavians. Pacts, in all cases, call for partial payment in dollars. Johnston's feat is another example of what the "personal touch" can do. Del Giudice Asking Aid From Brit. Govt. Pix Corp. As Riley (Ir.X') Steps Out London. Pilgrim Pictures, founded by Filippo del Giudice, a former asso- ciate of J. Arthur Rank, is uwdef-' Stood to be'seeking a substantial loan from the government's Film Finance Corp. Company's move iojt fresh coin resulted when Gludice's millionaire backer, W. G. Riley, withdrew his financial support and stepped out as company chairman. Riley, it's recalled, is the "Mys- t^ious Mr. X'' who aided Giudice shortly after the producer lelt the Rank fold more than a year ago. Pilgrim's first production, "The Guinea Pig," made in association with the Boulting Bros., scored modestly and the company's second entry is now nearing completiom- La Monte Vamed By Trans-l,us Trans-Lux Corp. has turned over management of its Mexico City house to John La Monte, v.p. Tliea- .tre is operated as a feature house, : La Monte is former branch man- ager in: New - York for MonograM, SEASONAL GREETINGS With MANY THANKS for your confidence in the PAST, and BEST WISHES for a continuance of our pleasant association in the FUTURE. Sineerelyi -HARRYa LOWE 26 Glencestcr Mansiont. Cambridge Clrcut, London W. C. 2 C«Uc A<i4r«« — Lowe. London SAM BROWNE England's Leading Recotding Star REPRESENTATION England: Foster's Agency America: William Morris Agency