Variety (Mar 1949)

y^« «,»daT, Mvrch 30, 1949 LITERATI S3 Literati HoUd«y'» ClrcuI«tlon Topper «nildav'» April issue, devoted ^?.oiv!.V to New York City, has l;*S'"the highest sale of any issue fhemag'l history. Issue went on *°ir1n N Y. Wednesday, March R' .nH was 67% sold two days iL It's 95% sold^ today (Wed.), 'nutoibs dumped 100.000 copies of ?he 6(te. mag into N. Y.. as against IhS normal 20.000 draw. It is esti- tted cSrtis Publishing Co ran Kver 1,000,000 copies of the 15- «w (also mag's biggest issue in STrnber of copies). Odd point Is that the issue has also sold out all Slid the country. Mag has tried fnMt copies back from other areas tSStl N y. calls, but can't, unlike K issues, such as the Holly- wood, Paris, London or Chicago is- Tes when there were plenty of Jcturns. Although extra copies were run off for N. Y., no other dties had their quotas cut. neneral circulation of Holiday has been averaging 830,000 and siderably in the past six months. Since special favorable terms to newspaper vendors ob sales of Democracia were cancelled, the t)aper is not doing so well, whereas the opposition Radical party's tab- loid, Clarin, seems to be the fa- vored paper. The Mundo subscrip- tion list has suffered considerably, since the paper was tftken over by government%coons. Curtis would like to keep it pegged at that figure. Ad rates are based on a 750,000 guarantee, and can't he raised. Production costs are so high now as to make'circulation Time's Record Earnings ^ Time, Inc., comprising Henry Luce's mag chain, disclosed in its annual stockholders report that the net income, after taxes, for 1948 was $9,008,721, as. compared with $7,432,824 in '47! Gross income amounted to $130,981,044, a boost of $10,576,827 over the preceding year. Earnings for the year were $9.22 a share, whereas the take for '47 was $7.73 a share. Both the gross and net income were the largest in 25 years.- lustrations by Aj[rs. Mason, will be ready for late summer publication in book form. Stanley Morison's "Four vCen- turies of Fine Printing," present- ing a Mstorical survey of typog- raphy, revised - by Fairiir and Straus at popular prices. Long-range gamble that Jane Wyman would be top Academy Award choice was won by Photo-r play magazine, which three months ago had to make cover selection for the May issue and picked; her. Joshua Logan did the Introduce tion for Constaritin Stanislavski's, "Building a Character/' a posthu- mous sequel to "An Actor Pre- pares," which Theatre Arts Books, Robert M. MacGregor, will pub- lish. Short stories by Metro p.a. Bill Ornstein are being propped for book publication, under title "Ma and Me." Latest of the biographi- cal sketches, "Shadow Lingers On," is coming out in Decade for April. ■ . Ted Amussen, editor of Har- SCULLY'S SCRAPBOOK I ^ *♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦t» By Frank Scully »»< Ruth Dennis, of the Time-Life New York office, shifts "to the Coast. She is research aide to Robert Wamiek,: Life's motion pic- Judgp Bok 'Suspect' District Attorney Jdhtt tt, Maurcr aDLnflimeeii J litlBhtJadielphia ^ last week (23) that he would appeal the above the 830,000 figure too costly] decision of Judge Curtis Bok „„„„^^, and unprofitable. | which held that nine disputed ^^^^ g^^^,^ ^^^^j ^^jll ^g^^l^ It is rumored Curtis will put out novels seized in a vice squad raid | ^^^^^ .^^ Hollywood. Replac- - on midtown bookstores were not j„g j^jj^^ j^^^^^^ ^^^^ York is obscene. , . Tpan Hnlt Actiori of the D.A. followed a r^^"^ irieeting of the Methodist Ministers of Philadelphia, who drew tip a pe- tition demanding that Maurer take the case to a higher court. The elisifgy felt: that Judge Bok ren- dered a decision in favor of real- ism •arid the publishers "because he himself is a realist and an au- thor'" ."^ the New York issue in hard cover, without the ads, as a souvenir or reference book, to sell about $1, Several convention bureaus have made inquiries along that line. London Editor's Prison Rap The London Daily Mirror re- ceived one of the stiffest contempt sentences ever handed down to a - newspaper by a British court; when its editor, Silvester Bolam, received a three-month prison term, and the paper a fine of 10,000 pounds ($40,000). Lord Goddard, Lord Chief Justice of England, who imposed the sentence, de^ nounced the paper for its sensa- tional handling of the details of a murder case awaiting trial.. •■ • The Mirror in its issue of March '■4 played up with lurid details and photographs the arrest of . John George Haigh, who was charged^ With the murder of an elderly i toman. Lord Goddard claimed that the articles, which accused Haigh of crimes other than the one he was charged with, . "vio- lated . every principle of justice and fair play." : The action against the Mirror was Instituted by Haigh's defense attorneys on the ground that the stories would prejudice the out- come of the trial. The paper has a circulation of more than 4,000,000. - _ . - Fisher Defends Strips Ham Fisher, creator of "Joe Palooka," defended the comic strips at the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin's third annual forum (25), but bitterly condemned some of • his rivals in the conii&-book busi- ■; ness.:'.' Fisher said he didn't see why it : was necessary to have to defend • newspaper comic strips. "They may be a little corny at times and a little bit slapstick, but that is good'American humor." The* artist said: presidents and Supreme Court justices follow the comic strips and he counted it as a special honor that several presidents were rabid followers of his own "Joe Palooka." ■ The comic strip is "a mirror of our times," Fisher declared, and aoaed that, with one exception, he had never seen a comic strip that he couldn't read to his little girl. The-comic books, he said, wer^ the real offenders. There are some W comic books being put out and Fisher told the Bulletin forum that he once spoke to Comic Book Pub- ushers and told them: "You men '•■f slmo-st criminals." The artist ssid he resented pornography and saiaciousness being brought to the Anjencan public. Not all comic nook publishers are offendeifs, hojvever, Fisher added. Drake Into Print Galen Drake, the guy on the ra- dio that goes on No. 2 and comes off next-to-closing, has writ- ten a book and calls it "This Is Galen Drake." (Doubleday, $2.95). And now you can read him as well as hear him, and it's just as pleasr ant and interesting. . „ , , Joseph Auslander gives the book a swell biographical introduction arid Drake gives us interesting chapters on such diversified sub-, jects as Love, Sara Bernhardt s Corsets, The High Cost of Mar- riage, Out of the Mouths of Babes, Horses Have Fun, Tolerance, Prayer Is Natural, Hints to Those That Would Be Rich, What About Having Children?, How to Steal a Whale, Using Your Wife's Brains, It Isn't the Church, It s You, Jun- ior's Changing Voice, The New Commandments. The 296 pages are filled with Drake philosophy, humor, facts and jtrifles, all .enter- taining and well written.^ If your radio should break down, you can pick up this book and read what you have been listening to every other hour of the day on Drake's very entertaining radio programs. It's a swell picker-upper* Joe Laurie, Jr. ■ Jamestowh, Vai, March 27.. Sevei-al triggemometry students of a Hollywood Colt-endowed cow college recently turned out a period picture entitled ''I Shot Jesse James." Whether Robert L. Lippert, Who presented the picture! Sam- uel Fuller, who wrote and directed it; Carl K. Hittlemari, who produced : iti or Preston Foster, who starred in iti claitned to have: done the shoot- ing,! haven't taken the trouble to And out. I haven't taken the trouble because btl^^^^ assure me that Jesse James is still alive and eating his head: :6ff, Last heard of, he had left Van Nuys, CaL. for Zariesvjlle, O,, »!hei:e>he ;sup* posedly had laid in a crock of gold fa^ away arid long ago.' \, Enroute to Zanesville, he was hospitalized at A,ustin, Tex., vvith pneu-; monia, but seemingly had shot the virus dead before the bugs could draw the bead on him. At: any rate at l()i he. ^aims he is stili alive, This could very well be, because you will notice that nohe: of Lip^ troublershooters claims to have WUeS. J**se : All: oiie claims is that he shot the bandit. A shooting and a killing are^:^^^ wide :as an indictment and a conviction. But editors kiiow, that' ihpst reSders art skimmers and don't spot the distinGtion uritil Chiimped into buying: a: paper. Not till they start reading as fast as their excited eyes will . tu, i ■ * I carry them do they realize that, under the pure feud and di-ug act, court, Brace on a month s trip to between "shot" and "killed" is the difference between this world and the west and south, in .Cleveland 1 ijjg j,g^(. uMth Fd'Hndep%aTes mfnaeervfs- ^hot Jesse James" Lipperl's triggernoraetricians follow the old King boSerT revie^^^^^^^^ f,fy th«t Robert Ford shot Jesse James. They then attempt to authors t^^' What happened to Ford. After a suitable chase he's shot. Preston Foster is the murderous mathematician who bisects Ford from several acute angles. It all adds up to a 19th century rubout. - \ r -:• ■ Well, that takes care of Robert Fordi who seenis'to iihaye "Howard, the dirty coward who shot Jesse 'James"in thferjiack^^^ still doesn't take care of Jesse himself. Well, Ghosts Walk In "Hamlet." Too Terry. McGovern (not the original Terrible Terry, but the Alabama Terry) put me on the trail of Hugh Talbot, who has been carrying Jesse James, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, on the cuff for:some time and is getting prietty tired of it.. " [ : About a year ago Talbot got a tip that the original Jesse, then 99 * going on 100, was looking for some nice dry ditch near Dallas, to lie in till he gave up the ghost, Talbot hunted down the Missouri murderer ! and spent two months documenting his highly unlikely story, kind of talent should be in the I Later he took the centenarian to Chicago for further checking and Hollywood Bowl or Carnegie! rechecking. Then he transported his Lazarus to. Lawtonv Okla., where Hall. I he first released what to the best of his knowledge and belief was the Sure, TV is, coming and the so- authentic saga of Jesse James. The first shock was Talbot's documented contention that the original: Jesse James was not shot by Bob Ford, Howard or anybody else while hanging a picture in his mother's home. Another member of the James gang was bumped off instead and passed off by the mob as Jesse. This bandit was suspected of doubling as a federal agent bietween holdups and best done away with, because Jack Ford <no! relation) was not ready . to make "The Informer" for at least another 75 years. Jesse's mother was talked into accepting and acknowledging the rid- dled stoolpigeon as her dead son. This was strictly f6r burial purposes. The mob explained to her that the law would get Jesse and harig him eventually if they know he were still alive, and that actually he Was ' on the lam and far from the scene of his murder. She acquiesced to double as the mother of the stoolie and as such attended his funerali i It is this current character's contention that he, the real Jesse James, attended the funeral, too. He attended as a guy named Dalton. His mother had come from Dalton, Ga., to Missouri, so he took the name of her old home town. Civic pride, I guess. In fact, he insists he not only attended his own funeral but sang at it. .: . ' : As far as the law was. concerned thfe funera^closed th Jesse James, but Jesse, fearful of being recognized, left for Mexico: iind says he spent the next 60 years living off; one South Am^riiiiari; ^^^^ tion after another. He had been in Cantrell'iirregular;ari^^ with tiie: Confederate forces during the Civil War ahii cit'edited. thefee gue^^ with making him a success as a soldier of fortune iii the bahaii^:; rer: publics" TV'S Fine Continued from. page t i Eire Nixes 12 Novels On the ruling that they contain material which is "indecent or Obscene," the Irish Censorship of Publications Board has banned the following 12 novels from-circula- tion or sale in Ireland: "Valferle," by Morchard Bishop; , "The'Jacaranda Tree,"'H. E. Bates; I "Journeyman," Erskine Caldwell; 1 "You Never Know With Women," James Hadley Cha.se;, "I, The Jury," Mickey SpiUane; "The Ser- vant," Robin Maugham; "An Air That Kills," Francis King;; "Fish Are So Trusting," Nigel Morland; "Shy Leopardess." Leslie Bar- ringer; "My Love to the Gallows," Rearden Conner; "Tune on a Melor deon," Ian N,iall; "The Last White Man," Yves Gandon. called big names will be at the sta- tion when it arrives—but I don't think that will be for several years. The following is a helluva thing for me to say, but it will give you something to think about. . The big comics are a little bit too old and tired to memorize and rehearse a full half hour of entertainment each week. This means that people in control of TV will be forced to get some new faces whether they like it or not. When television gets around to me I promise you that I shall not do more than 20 shows in a year. I'd like time to prepare, rehearse thoroughly and feel per- fectly at ease. I look upon » tele- vision show as an. engagement at the Palace or the New Amsterdam Theatre or Loew's State. You've got to be good-^and the only way you can be good is to be sure. It may be costly but I would in- sist on at leasTone "or two previews before the actual performance. What I have seen on my television set, with the exception of one or two shows, has been the worst kind of junk. It seems that the produ- cers of this trivia have only one thing on their, minds—is It cheap! You can give them my answer. It is! If you want my views on the circus, carnival, the concert field, international diplomacy or how to make a souffle, just let me know. Arg. Newspapers Simmer The Argentine newspaper world ino "?""ered down since the lift- J,"*."* the printers strike which BflnLr.y®".*"' without any. papers during February. The curbs »n the number of pages which each Spp^L""? Publish, while the Press toiic of the Presidency con- a \ newsprint stocks, have Si«'i''' enforced and the more Xhl Z Koyernment-owned rags are SeiSr* to benefit. Nevertheless, S fli^.°PP°?'"«"» <'«"y. La Prensa, soariS^'"^...'*^ circulation figures from with each Jab it receives ."wn the Peron government. Own IIl^'J*?*l'..Senora de Peron's "Wii special dally, has lost out con- CHATTER Capitol House planning a "Who's Who in the Democratic Party." Houghton Mifflin Co.. readying Will Rogers aulobiog for Septem- ber publication. Ted Patrick, Holiday mag edi- tor, boating to Europe today (Wed.) for a month on business-pleasure. First exclusive fiction writers conference will be held at Marl- boro College, Marlboro, Vermont, Aug. 14-27. Gene Fowler, who cedes all his original manuscripts to Joe Laurie, Jr., an old friend, to deliver his latest, • "Beau Jamo.s." Benjamin H. Feldman sending requests to w.k. personages for fave stories to be incorporated into a book he's preparing. "The Show Must Go On" is the title of Elmer Rice's new novel, via Viking Press this fall, his first novel since "Imperial City, in 1937. , , , , James Mason's domestic story, "The Cats In Our Lives," with 11- After practically a lifetime as a living corpse, the problem of Jesse's returning to his native land and re-establishing his identity became something for the fourth dimension boys to solve. 01dtiine outlaws, like Al Jennings couldn't help much; becaiise Ai; though now 8A wd still alive, was hardly out of diapers when the James boys Were ctim<^ mitting their great train robberies, stickinig up banks ,and generally^ making the life of a sheriff shorter than a fly in S y^t Of flit, 1^^ there any FBI fingerprinting records to affirm his identity.' ; . Two Old Black Joes Talbot, however, claims he came on two old Negroes in Oklahoma, one 98 and the other 104, who identified Jesse as this McCoy. One had held horses for the James boys when they were robbing banks and the other had. cooked for Jesse. r-- The groom said his name was Lu^y ^phrispn* ■ ^I thought you was killed when we helfl.up the bank ot Jforthfield,^ Jesse said. ■■ '^'-^'>''■.[;■ "I skipped when the shootin' come too hdit;'' explaliied Luckyi "Never saw you again," said Jesse. "I figgered you was shot, too." . ; - ■ "Well,' I. wasn't.".-;.' ■;■'■■■'■;-:;''■;'■■:,■;:> .''^''v'.:..:'; "Where was that Northfteld, in Dakota?'' Johnson .iSsked,; "No," said Jesse, "in Minnesota." ■ ; :; :;: ' "That's right," said Lucky, ''in Minnesota. Boy you sure got :a pow'- erful memory, Mr. James." ' ^: ■; A The other Negro, the one who had been cook, told Talbot aljotit a copper kettle which had been buried in Oklahoma with $200,000 in; gold, a big watch, a frying pan and the steel end of s pick. , He;had: found the kettle and some gold coins but ho: $200,000. When they brought the contents to James, Jesse Checked it and askedi "But the watch? There was a watch buried in the copper kettliei*' The cook said he had it and pulled it;but of his pocket. , . Talbot moved his furrowed warrior into a house in Vas NuyS.: .Due, to the buclding bandit'ssage he had to shore Jesse ;tip iwith a'nurse -a^^ a cook while he scurried around for ;an angel to eiarry,: the; ^ri^^ nut, Talbot confessed, had him hanging on'the TiOpeSv "Does your Jesse eat well," he was asked. "Eat well?" echoed Talbot. ''For breakfast he has a bowl of cereal^ three eggs and bacon, hot cakes, a jug of java and a half pint of cognac; .^taken purely for medicinal purposes, of course. Rent costs $150j nurse $200, cook $150, food $180. 'That's $680 a month; and only the beginning! Brother, if someone doesri't xohie to: ]ny : rescu soon I'll have to stick up a bank to keep; Jesse, J^mes alivel''^;:^^'^^ An old coupon-clipper from Missouri called 6n Talbot to see if he to the old ducks like us, because | could clear away any final clouds of doubt still floating over the James the name-making power of teleyi-1 halo. "Ever know a banker named Davis?" he asked Jesse. "Sure. He once tried to stralghtCR in^ oUt/ "Told me crime didn't ■pay-" . ■ '■:■'■ ■ ' "Well, I'm Davis," said the banker, "bUt if you're James you niust remember the combination to our safe." < \ "Don't be silly," admonished Jesse;, 1'The vauU hid fid comhinatibn It had a lock and I had the key." - . ' So any character sounding oil on Aiai^^Qee^ deelaring "I Shot Jesse James" had better shoot him again^ tig fa^ ks I'm cbhceiiied. And he'd better hurry about it beiiiause Jibs^^^^^^ iOii and Jiohbdy .:lives forever.:.• ..,: --■■;:'■:"''■ Fibber & Molly Say:; It's pretty hard sitting out here where we are to get much of an idea or form any conclusions about television. We are told that New York is so far ahead of us here that it isn't funny. However, we see kinescope shows every week that were made in New York, and personally they don't seem to be so far ahead—although it's hard to telT. We naturally feel, however, that we won't go into television until it becomes necessary for us to do so. •And. we don't want to do it -until \ve have to. 'cause we're scared we'll louse it up, on accounta we know nothin' about it and we don't think anybody else can learn us much. Of course you know the radio au- dience is still a lot greater, and it seems to me it will be some time before television gets up to it, I believe that television is going to mean a lot more to the people who are coming along, rather than sion must be far greater than radiO; As you perhaps know, we pion- eered in radio, but we aren't as ambitious as we were 25 years ago, so we'd rather sit back for.a while and let the young blood do the groundwork. Hope I have made this clear enough so you won't know what I'm talking about^n accounta I don't.