Variety (August 1949)

5nSCELLAlVY Soviets Demand U. S. Pact Revision Before Allowing Import of Films Vednc«d«y, August 31 . 1949 Moscow, Aug. 30. Relea.se of American pictures in Russia will likely be held up fur- ther since authorities reportedly are demanding revision of a 1948 j pact made with Eric Johnston, 1 head of the Motion Picture As.sn. 1 of America. Exact nature of their! demands are undisclosed, but they flatly refuse to take any films un- til the MPAA chief consents to cer- tain changes in the deal, Johnston’s initial arrangements called for submission of 100 films to the Soviet Ministry of Cinema- tography for approval. Ministry , vas to select a minimum of 201 prints to be exhibited the first year i and thereafter the deal was to be continued on a picture-to-picture basis. Agreement stipulated that all product was to be bought at a flat sum with payment to be made in dollars in New York. Louis Kan- turek, eastern European supervisor for the Motion Picture Export Assn., recently delivered prints for the first 24 features for the minis- try’s scrutiny. He has since re- turned to Frankfurt where he’s currently conferring with Irving Maas, MPEA veepee and general , manager, regarding the impasse. Autry’s Quickie Hollywood, Aug. 30. Gene Autry plays a guest role in the Bob Hope starrer, ‘ Fancy Pants,” at Paramount. Autry gallops to Hope’s res- cue and gallops right out again. Maas to Frankfurt Paris, Aug. 30. ! Irving Maas, veepee and general manager of the Motion Picture Export Assn., left London Satur- day <27) for Frankfurt, where he is scheduled to meet the MPEA’s eastern European supervisor, Louis Kanturek. Latter recently returned from Moscow, where he delivered the first batch of Amer- ican film.? for Soviet selection un- der a 1948 agreement arranged! by Eric Johnston. Maas, it’s understood, will re- main about 10 days in Germany prior to planing direct to the U. S. F.nroute to Frankfurt ho made a sliort stopover here to huddle with tlie MPEA’s representative in Ger- many Marian F. Jordan. He also spent every minute interviewing available execs on the continental situation, despite the warm Au- gust weekend. Cantor, RKO Sued On Plagiarism Rap Los Angeles, Aug. 30. Emerson Treacy, screen actor and writer, filed suit for $150,000 against Eddie Cantor and RKO, charging plagiarism. Plaintiff declares his screenplay, “Isabella’s Pawn Ticket.” was re- written as a musical comedy. ‘‘Hail (’olumbia,” for Cantor, and later used as the basis of the RKO picture. ‘Tf You Knew Susie,” re- leased in 1948. Italian Film Stars May Head Legit Unit to Tour U.S. Key Cities Next Year Rio de Janeiro, Aug. 23. Italian film stars such as Anna Magnani and .Mdo Fabrizzi may ap- pear in key cities of the U. S. next year as part of a legit unit headed by Ruggiero Ruggieri. if plans of local impresario Dante Viggiani materialize. Latter is sponsoring the current Brazilian tour of Rug- gieri. In view of Ruggieri’s success in .\rgenlina and Brazil, Viggiani feels that an American venture would be financially sound, inasmuch as the U. S. has a large Italian-speak- ing population, as have the two South American countries. •Arrangements for the projected tour are now being worked out here by Viggiani’s American rep, Marcel Ventura, and Italian producer Stefani Miraglia. Contemplated swing through the U. S. reportedly would be the first of its kind for an Italian theatrical troupe since the trooping of Eleanora Duse more than ‘20 years ago. Selznick Sets Prize For Best Yearly Goodwill Pic Venice, Aug. 22. .\t'a press dinner last night <21) in Venice city hall, producer David G. Selznick announced his inten- tion of donating a yearly prize to the film made in Europe by a Eu- ropean and presented in the United Slates during the preceding year which “constitutes the most notable contribution towards com- prehension and cooperation be- tween free and democratic people,” , The winning picture, starting in 1950. will be shown each year at the Venice Film Festival. Selznick emphasized the fact that he is placing full responsibil- ity for the award in the hands of a special jury, which will be made up of North and South American personalities having no financial or commercial connection with the film industries. PhiDy $ love That Legion as Vets Poiir in Welcome Convention Coin Adler’s Gala Fire Hits Bevhills Wm. Morris Office Beverly Hills. Aug. 30. \aluable manuscripts, records and tape recordings were destroyed by fire in an annex of the William Morris Agency. Records, damaged by flame, smoke and water covered « period of 21 years. Damage to the building itself was slight, according to Abe Last- fogel. W'ho ordered immediate im- jnediate rebuilding. Zanuck Delayed Paris, Aug. 30. Twentieth-Fox’s flock of Euro- pean local ioners is likely to keep company production head Darryl Zanuck here for some time. Meanwhile. Louis D. Lighten and Henry Hathaway, producer and director, respectively, of the linn's I’ecently completed ‘‘The Mla(k Hose.” have arrived to screen the pic for Zanuck. 377lh Week I 3,836 Performances All-time long run record In tfce legitimate theatre. KEN MURRAY’S "BLACKOUTS OF 1949" ComplcUs 7-year run El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood, August-27. OI‘ENS Ziegfeld Theatre, N. Y., Sept, 6. Miami Theatres, Cafes Stay Open In Hurricane Miami Beach, Aug. 30. First of the big blows this year hit south Florida on Friday (26), but damage to the Miami area was negligible, though the Palm Beaches were hard hit. With the greater Miami area ex- periencing minor winds (53 miles per hour at the height), the upper reaches of the ‘‘gold coast,” espe- cially around the Lake Worth-Palm Beach sector, were belted by 125- mile winds that wrecked many wooden structures and ripped the roof off the Palm theatre. West Palm Beach. In the Miamis, most clubs and all theatres remained open, though drawing sparse business. Worst casualty was patronage, when visit- ing Veterans of Foreign Wars reps leh town in a hurry on news of the impending windstorm. Biz, how- ever, picked up over the weekend for majority of clubs and cocktail- eries. With most of the bigger cafes and lounges closed further up the Gulfstream (Palm Beaches and other coastal towns), there were no complaints. Most of the wreckage was to homes, citrus packing houses, hotels and trailer camps. Storm came unusually early in the “season,” with most of the Miami area operations readying for at least another blow. Paris, Aug. 30. Larry Adler played Sporting Club, Monte Carlo, Aug. 28 for gala performance, for a 250,000 franc fee. Opened at Gaumont Palace, Paris, Aug. 27 for a month. England Too Rugged’ For Pic Production, So Borzage Back to H’wood Film production by U. S. com- panies in England received a si- multaneous boost and panning this week by producer-director Frank Borzage and actor Johnny Wei.s.smuller, who returned from Europe Monday (29) aboard the same plane. They were accompa- nied by their agent. Bo Roos. Borzage had flown over to scout the possibilities of filming his pro- jected “Mark of Capt. Kidd” abroad. After looking over the situation, however, he nixed the idea, claiming production condi- tions are “too rugged.” Film, he pointed out, calls for the • same lavish Technicolor production as his recent “Spanish Main” and he would rather trust it to Hollywood. As a result, he’ll lens the picture on the Coast and plans to hud- dle with agent Charles K, Feld- man on his return to Hollywood to set up a releasing deal, possibly with one of the major companies. Weissmuller, on the other hand, plans to shoot one of his “Jungle Jim” series in England, utilizing frozen funds accumulated by the first two films in the series that have played there. Ex-swim champ is partnered with producer Sam Katzman in the outfit, which re- leases through Columbia. Weiss- muller starts the third “Jim” pic- ture on the Coast tomorrow (Thurs.), immediately after his return from N. Y. Jones’ Glasgow Boff Glasgow. Aug. 22, Allan Jones, singing numbers from films he's made, scored here tonight at the Empire when he opemed with his wife. Irene Hervey. He was called back for repeated encores. METRO AUDITIONING i DIRECTOR CRABTREE Legit director Paul Crabtree will visit the Coast next week as a “guest” of Metro He has been invited for a confab with produc- tion chief Dore Schary that may lead to a pact as a director at the studio. I Crabtree has staged a number of I plays for the Theatre Guild, the I most recent being “Silver Whis- I tic” He has been directing at the I Westport, Conn., strawhatter this I summer. Among plays he did there was his own “A Story For a Sunday Evening.” NEW FRENCH TALENT SCARCE, SCOUTS AGREE Paris, Aug. 30. After surveying the local scene, impresario Sol Hurok as well as MCA veepee Charles Miller and other scouting visitors concur that there’s no visible new sock talent in the French capital. Despite the generally bleak outlook here, Hu- rok found things rosier in Italy, where he signed a 2,5-piece accor- dion orchestra which specialize.s in classical and folk music. Aside from acquiring a Ruman- ian-born Chaliapinish .singer known as Christoff, Hurok previously picked up Britain’s Sadler Wells Ballet for a U. .S. tour and al.so inked the Luton Girls Choir for a 60-day swing through both America and Canada starting April 1. 1950. Recuperating from a broken collar- bone .sustained in a recent fall, he sailed today (Tues.) from Havre for New York on the He de France. < 8 . 31 Subscription Order Form Enclosed find check for $ Please Send VARIETY for v*'®’' 1 WO 1 ears To t'l HI .Shill* f .Si reel rilv /one .Slate Regular Subscription Rotes One Year—$10.00 Two Years—$18.00 Canada and Foreign—$1 Ad'ditional per Yeoi U^niEfr Inc. IS4 West Ofh Streri Naw York It, N. Y. Unicindest Cut Tel Aviv. .Aug. 30. U. S. columnists Louis Sobol and Earl Wil.son, and , Vahiety’s editor. Abel Green, I may not know it. »nii some of I the local film-press bunch had been built up for a gander of I their imphotqgenic and 'un- histrionic talents by United Artists which has been her- alding the occasion as part of the trailerizing for “Copa- cabana.” Unkindest rut to all, how- ' ever, was imposed by the Israeli censors, who nixed Car- men iMiranda’s hip-swinging scene in the film on the grounds of “siiggestivcness.” Since this is the scene where Miss Miranda supposedly audi- tions her stuff to impress the three American newspaper- men, playing themselves a.s sages of the saloon circuit, with the cut also went their ‘ local cinematic debuts. Garfield’s Zanuck Pic John Garfield, who’s been spend- ing the summer with his family at Fire Island, N. Y,. since returning from Europe, left yc.sterday (Tues.) for the Coast for work on the Darryl Zanuck production. “The Big Fall,” for 2()th-Fox. Pie is Casey Robinson’s adaptation of the Erne.st Hemingway racetrack story. “My Old Man.” Robinson did some background shooting already this summer for the pic. around the Paris tracks. Micheline Prelle (formerly Presle) will play op- posite. Garfield .said before leaving that it was a one-film deal, and that he’d be back in N.Y, thereafter to look for a stage stint. His wife and family remain in N.Y. Actor had some radio recording a.ssign- ments in N.Y. last week, too. Bemelmans as Actor Hollywood, Aug. 30. Ludwig Bemelmans turns actor In Metro’s “Asphalt Jungle,” John Huston directing. Writer arrives here next week. By JERRY GAGHAN Philadelphia, Aug. 30 . The American Legion may havt received bad’ raps elsewhere but Philly would play host to the gang whenever it gets the chance. Th* 50,000 visitors brought in by th- 31st annual Legion get-together ha! inJly%ffecYed"brf^ in recent years (notablv in Npw Y ork), has done a policing job nn Its Relegates and friends, but nol so much as to cut out the carnival spirit that has taken over all nf mid-town Philadelphia, in the or- der named, the convention hai proved a windfall to the hotels bars, taprooms and cafes th# restaurants, drugstores, film house! and whatever other merchandislna establishments the visitors haon^n to hit. Means Plenty Bucks Any town that doesn’t want thousands of guys on the loose just isn’t open for trade. Despite the usual glumming about the size of tips In taxis and cafes, the general trend to draught beer and the cus- tomary moaning of movie moguls It is apparent to every onlooker that the Legion means plenty bucks. The boys and girls are wav- ing It around and looking for places to put it. Film houses are clocking up an exceptional week for the end of Augu-st. although to hear the com- plainers, the Legion is cutting down trade by shooing off locals that might normallv travel Into town. One thing militates against top film business—the parades, of which the Legion has plenty, and which naturally keep customers out I in the open. I With President Truman as the'' j headliner, the Legion brought Into town a complement of show busi- ness personalities. Mr. Truman I flashed in and out for the opening of the convention yesterday 129), but the National Commanders 1 Dinner in the Bellevue-Stratford ' counted such show world personali- I ties as Edgar Bergen. Morton Downey, Kitty Kallen. Rav Noble, Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson, Metro players here for the pre- I miere of their new pic. "That Mid- I night Kiss,” which opens at the ^ Boyd Saturday (3). TV-AM Coverage Television and AM coverage’of the convention have been worked out fully by the local outlets. WPTZ, NBC television affiliate, picked up the President’s Conven- tion Hall address for all local video stations and pa.sscd it on to WFIL- TV and WCAU-TV. A union dis- pute was responsible for the pool- ing arrangement. WPTZ employees are signed up with lATSE. which is the boss union at Convention Hall. WCAU-TV uses the rival (Continued on page 61) British Story Supply As Cold as FYozen Pounds Hollywood. Aug. 30. Despite the fact that they can be bought with frozen pounds. Holly- wood studios have found virtually nothing that interested them among British plays and books. Story editors for the major com- ' panics declare that English writers are turning out just as little in the ■ way of acceptable screen material as has been published in this country since the war. It was expected that tliere would be a large increase in the (luantity of British material aciiuir^d by the studios as a result of the Anglo- I American Film Agreement 01 t March. 1948. That specifically listed the purchase of .‘•tory erties as one of the methods by which the cold storage sterling could be thawed. Story eds, as result, have been culling ’ but have come up with 'irtua y nothing since the pact became e - fective. ‘ , i Even though yarns can he relatively cheaply wilh the tro* pounds, it’s not profitable they arc particularly good, as story exec pointed “you can’t produce them in wood for frozen pounds." In b ^ words, production costs j- that a story bargain is no unless it can be turned into a notch picture. • • CZ.