Variety (May 1950)

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• . tONOON' pFPfCI i it. ftartJA'i flacf/ Trafalgar Iquarp in? . . ^.. ■ Lohto, May 4/’'’'^ W6si £nd film iimsilnesa during tbe was moderately ; g(c^.' The.'Weather didn^t help,' ,, withi »eon«ideraWe rain upsetting ' advance caleuiai^ns. The panny Kaye “The Ihflpeetor <3en- ecal,” continues big and its third . week groi$ ol over $14,000 was a hefty takes Metro’s Empire, With /‘East Side, West Side/* plus a stage show, was easily the biggest grosser.with $17,000 in the till for the first. ,weok, *’She. Wore a Yeh ' Ibw.Pibhoh/* coupled with“Bride Ebr stayed 'up big at the London EavUion: with over $6,600, blit the Gscar-winning- -'All the King’s Men*’ did average business in its second week at around .$8,- , Among the British pictures, the nCw Douglas Fairbanks, Jr;, star^ iei\ “State Secret,” opened with a big, $10^500 in its first week.. The Leicester Square theatre, showing by Board of Trade command the Independently-made Pilgrim pic- ture, “CJhahee of a Lifetime,” ended its first week with little more than $2*200, “ All estimates .are net aiid don’t Include admission tax, but adhiisr Sion prices indicated arc inclusive of iax.^■ - Fuller Iic^p Gives Up Adelaide Majestic Adelaide, May 2. Sir Ben FuUer, chief of the Fuller legit loop* has . decided to quit the 1,000-seater Ma j estic here,^^/ :by liquor interests, will be sold to the high- ; est • bidder, or may ; be further leased to pic and' legit interests. Sir. Ben, .said the ante, was . too tough to hold him t^^^^ spot . The Pullers^ Shll have the 390- seater liberty here, and wiil make a deal; with other interests fbr a house to spot legit shows, from time to time, . / / ' Transndtter Order Gets Mexico Video Under Way Me^co City, May g. Television has made its first practical start in; Mexiep. Cadena Badio-fusora Me^cana, radio web oper^ed by Emilio Azearraga and associates, and Othoh M. Velez as manager, placed ah order with General Electric for a 50*000 kw video transmitter and started a tower for the transmitter which will^ cover the entire Valley of Mexico. Mexico City and several smaller towns' are in the Valley. Order was taken by Albert J.- Smith, GE veepee, and Carlos A. Caballero, of GE’s electronic de- partment. Estimaies for This Week Carlton (Ear) (1,128; 65b^L60). • /‘Dancing Years” (ABPC). Very moderate'$3;900 in its third week; ■Mter mild ppenlng. Obviously held primartly for. quota. “No Man of ,Hci* Own’V and “The “Dividing » Lit?e”»-jh tomorrow (5). ' Mpirh HM-G) (3,099; 50c-$1.66), /‘East'Side; West Side” (M-GV and stage 'show. Powerful $17,000 in first* Wehk; with business standing lip "in second weet Holds. Gaum'Oht <CMA) (i,500; 45c- >1.60): ^’All the -King's Men“ (Gol.). Pipyed to average busir Ucss, arbund $8,400 in its, third week. British-made “Prelude to Fame” moves in today (4). Mexico City, May 2:, ; Radio station operators through-: put Mexico have been jolted by word that the Ministry of CommU: nications and Public Works, ruleW of air affairs here, intends to put a ceiling: on stations! time prices with a view to making the rates lowier and more uniform. Ministry has tasked the stations to submit their maximum rates so that It can study then? and decide just how. mucli they bhoiiid charge. Mahagers, calling the lobming tariff ceiling arbitrary, assert ’ that it Will hobble>exiStihg. stations and discourage the opening of others. Stations must strictly obey wliat- ever tariffs the ihinistry rules or be liable to stiff; penalties, . Minia:: try indicates that fixing the tariffs is imperative as the stations have about run wild in thair coin de^ inattds, detrimental to customeirs and the general public. ^ Leteester Sq. (CMA) (1,753; 45c- $1,60): “‘Chance of a Lifetime” (BL)., This “command’^ picture shown by government order took a . real heating, w $2,200 In its opening week. Must stay for sec- ond week oh government insti'uc- tions. “Wabash Ave.” iFox) moves 'In following Week.- London Pavilloh (U-A) (1,217; 4$c-$l,60). “She Wore a Yellow^ Ribbon,” “Bride For Sale” (RKO). Stood up nicely to comfortable $6,300 in third Week. “Ghampagne for Gaesar” (UA) and “DOA.” (UA) open tomori’bW (5). New Gallery (GMA) (1;376; 45c- $1.60). “One Way Street” (U-I). Modest $2,500 In second week. ■HoldS; ■ Odeon, Leicester Sq. (CMA) (2,- 200; 45c^$1.60>. “Oh, You Beauti- ful Doll” and “Mother Didn’t Tell MeV <Fox). Down to mild $6,10() in third week after $7,200 in sec- ond round, “Cheaper By the Dozen” (Fox) opens today (4). Odeon, Marble Arch (CMA) (2.- 200; 45c4l,6p). “The Big Lift ” (Fox). Good average $9,000 for opening . Week and continuing at modest level. Plaza (Par) (1,902; 65C-$1.60). ’'State Secret” (BL). Opened io very good $10,500, Which is well above average for house. Stand- ing up extremely well in second round. Warner (WR) (1/732; 65c-$ 1.60), The Inspector General” (WB). Very nice $14,300 in third round after powerfhl $17*0()0 in second stanza. Holding till end of May. in As ie Rep 'Sydney> May :2.' I _ Longtime. associated With the British division of 20th-F6x, Vic Green has been appointed Aussie rep for Republic in the Down Un- der zone. Appointnient Was: coiir firihed by Reginald Armour* Rep.’s: foreign chief. Product is now un- der the 20th^Fox banner, follow- ing a deal set a couple of weeks sgo by Richard Altschuler, Rpp.’s veepee, who visited this zone for a' quick lOoksee. Republic fare pre- viously went through British Em- pire .Flms., " • ^ Green quit 20th-Fox awhile back ^ enter the 16m field. The Re- l^blic offer;' however, Wobed him lisis Continued from page 12 ssssJ in French theatres is tax-free. This money goes into the poo from which exhibs draw to rebuild the- atres bombed out during the war and for cohstrUctioH of hew houses, while producers draw qn it for par- tial financing of hew product. About $4,500*000; was tuiiied; over to :the pool in 1949. (jrovernment otherwise has a 35% admission bite on tickets, with the average box*^ Office price how about 18c. French execs expressed the hope that a larger audience can be found for French pix in the ‘ U. S, but claimed to recognize the problem of non-acceptance by the general American public of foreign films pi; any kind. Diespite that, they plan to huddle with MPAA pi’ez Eric,Johnston, as well as the major cbmpany presidents, to ascertain their chances of getting some of their product into the major cir- cuits.; Trip expressed too little knowledge pf the MPAA’s produc- tion code to voice ah opinion oh whether they would adhere to it as ah aid in boosting their Ameri- can playdates. They emphasized that French pix will continue to present the French way of life, With no epheessiohs to American audience tastes, but adniitted that bn certain minor points It might be belter to follow the code in produc- tion thah be forced to scissor their product in order to get it past Americah blUenoses; j ;Speakihg for the French indus- try, the trio sdid they: wbuld- like to see Complete freedom of competi- tiph among all countries’ prbduct pn/O^rench screens* Until they get timt expanded fofeigh market for their product, they said the eurrent! French quota must remain, Quota ] now provides for five weeks of guaranteed playing time for French films out of each 13| with: the U. S. permitted to export a total of 121 features a year to Frahce. Bumminfc up, Frpgermsi, who is prez of the French Film Producers Syndicate, declared that the spe- cific problems of French. disttibU- ] tipi? cannot be kept separate from j the general problems of film trade j relations betweeri the U; S. and all j film producing countries. “This problem,” he said, "is as much of interest to the U. S. film industry as to motion picture production abroad, adld it must b» solved.” Berlin,. May 2. Cbmpetltibn is just as keen thea-: tre-Wise between; the east and the west in Berlin as it is politically. The theatre race looks like a long- drawn-but affair, and right now th> east ■ sector is ahead; At the Komische Oper or Kammerspiele in the Sbyiet east, theatre admis- sioh prices are about bne-third the jjrice of a ticket to the Staedtische Oper, or .Reniaissanee theatre in the western sectori Actually, Such a lead is no sur- prise; The economic situation fa- vors; the Commies; The east, mark isn’t worth Very much. . Wages are low and consequently productipn costs are low. Good talent is pleii-. tiful. It isn't unusual to see an excellent performance af the Ko- mische Oppr, ; ^ ^ ^ To counteract the east sector lead, the west sector must offer more than they have been recent- ly. 'The only production that is doing good business at the Staed- tische Oper in “Abraxas,” aiid that in itself: is prppf positiye that if something good is produced in the western sector it will survive ayd be a financial success. But western Berlin lacks much of the creative talent like; that possessed by janriihe Charrbt (Who, by the way, is French) and Werner Egk, who did “Abi’axaS.” Many excellent directors and producers who operated in Berlin before the war are now located in the western zone because they;don’t care to take the risks inyolved in Berlin. Western Berlin wants them hack and must get then? back in order; to get ahead of the competi- tionv .• 2 New Rumanian Le^ts Follow ike Soviei Line Bucharest, Api^il 29. Two new legiters, the Youth the- atre and the Satire & CPmedy the- atre, have opened here. The Com- edy is offering the Russian play “Kak Zakaljalsha Stal” (“The Hard' Steel”),: based on Nikpll Ostrowskij's hovel, which h a d previously .:heeii lilmed in Russia. “Cota Decelbal/’. a Hpumahiah play by Mircea Stefanescu; is her irig presented at the Satii-e & Com- edy. Work deals satirically vdth the pnetime uppei:-ciiass in Ru- mania.; Both theatres are com trolled by the Rumanian Nktioiial Theatre,. with actors and tech- nicians epmihg. from that ihstitu- Londph, May 9* While the government has stepped in to try aiid/stem the offi- cial ban on telecasting sporting events, the British Brpadcastihg Corp. has fixed a transmission of an important fight between Mel Brown, colored. American boxer, and Dennis Powell, heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion of Wales,"/;. The fight* which is being telecast from Birmingham, will be the first putside broadcast from the Mid- : lands since, the new Sutton Goldfield ^ station was ppehed last j^ear. It | will also be the second profession -1 al fight to go out oii video since the war.'- ;' j British Board of Boxing Control has; given an ofiicial Dka.v to the ; BBC, allowing it to ePniinue its i experimental out.side brpadcAAts oh boxing. Sardinia Catches Eye as Film tocatioii^ Genoa* April 30. j Sardihia is the latest island to, catch Italian filmmakers' attention ! as a fine pic location. With two j pix, ‘•Fadija” and “Altura/’ al-1 i*eady filmed there, sevei*ai Others J are riated for filming oh the island j this'year. , '..'.I Scheduled SO far are two pictures based on ;hpvels by Nobel prize- winning novelist Grazia Deleddk: “L’Edera” (to be directed by Au- gusto Gcnina) and “Marianna Sir- ca”; “L'Ultimo Bandito“ (“’The Last Bandit”') with Amedeo Naz- zari; “Vendetta Corsa'I (“Corsican Vendetta”) with Lea Padovam; “Tavolara” (‘’Lighthouse Island”); and two island “westerns*' reported- ly patterned after the successful “Mafia” (Lux Film). A new; Anglp-American prpduc- tiph asspeiation which will operate on a strict 50-50 basi.s was an- nounced in London last week by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr; American spohsprs are ; the Schroder-Rocke- feller Bank and Jack Wratlier of Texas.;.' Fairbanks is how talking: with two or three masor financial set- ups ifi London and a final an- nouncement is expected in a few weeks. Title of the hew setup hasn’t been decided, but in diie course separate coihpahies will be formed in Britain and America. . Fairbanks, who said he would be the intermediary between both countries, “living more or less in mid-Atlantic,” explained that this was hot a new attempt to impose a further American company on the British scene. Nor was it a heW attempt to unfreeze dollars. In fact, “there was nothing of a wrangle*' about it, but a genuine attempt at full collaboratioh. Company will finance and spom sor production either in Britain or in Hollywood, pF, alternatively, to negotiate package deals. Outfit Was starting off modestly and he envisaged not more than two pix in the first year, rising to four or six in the second year, and pos- sibly a growing number after that. Wherever possible, color would be used and this might give them an outlet on American TV when color was officially introduced; Negotiations for. the deal have been proceeding quietly for many inPnths. They were discussed with interested financial groups by .Mord Bogie during his recent yirit to London. . Lohdoh, May 2. MambeFs of .ParUampnt, the press* delegates to an interhational radio conference ahd motion pic<- ture execs were shown the high standard attained by British big* screen -television* wheii the foot- ball Cup Final, biggest sin|d< sporting attraction of the year, was used by J, Arthur Rank's sub- sidiary company, Cinema Televi- sion, for a demPnstration at a suhr urhah theMre. Despite bad weather epnditiphs* reception attained a high standard of perfection. The Wembley Sta- dium, where the Cup Final was played, was enveloped in mist throiighout thh game'. There had been heavy tainfall and conditions were anything hut favorable for achieving first-class reproduction. , The theatre at PengCrVat which the demonstration was held, is more than 15 h?iles from the Sta- dium and cGnstderably more from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace,...■. ■ ’///'• The TV picture filled a screen 20 by 15 feet, with an amazing; de- gree of light. Althpugh using the BBC 405 line system, there was np evidence of a coarse, grain and; definition ePmpared hot unfavpr-. ably with rush newsreel jobs. The most interesting factor in regard to the demphstra tidn wa s that, after the; first two or three minutes, Rie invited audience edni- pletely forgot they were witnessing a new technical advance, but be-^ canie thoroughly immersed in the game. The first goal was received with spontaneous cheers and uh- restrained enthusiasm. ; , General Consensus of opinion is that the TV audience had a better view of the gaihe than those who stayed but in the rain for niahy hours; The TV cameras did a superb job. The haU was always in the picture, and the commen- tary, while never boisterous,' was always helpfu] and explahatory. It’s generally estimated that be- tween 5,000,000 and 6,000,000 peo- ple stayed indoors to watch the game on home receivers. The gate on other football gaihes wis down; by well over $100,000. Pic- ture theatres in London and Mid- land areas serviced by video also felt the pinch. Irphieally enough, the succe.ss of . this telecast may lead to the ban- ning Pf many other top sporting events; Assn, for the ProtectiPn of Copyright in Sport is huddling now on the best pPlicy to pui^isue;. and many of their meinbers, in- cluding some of the top prompters* are plumping strongly for a total bah. ; s Anni Moscow, April 30. Dealing With the bii’th of the I p?"eseht Cpinmunistic regime in Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation, young Ukrainian play- wright Jurij Bjarjakowskij’b new play, "Prague Is Mine/’ has opened at the City theatre here. Play was directed by Valentin Wlassow,; with 'Sergei Wetshoslovy appearing as the Czech Communist leader, Ju- lius Fueiki.'.- “The Unforgotteh Yeav of 1919,” by WsewplPd Wishnewskij, was presented at the Red Army theatre recehtty ;Stalin, Lenin and inci- dents of the October Revolution dominate in the story, 1 oi" which the author has received the Stalin ;prize; Soviet Fiim Studios reports that | the Stalin prizewinner* Mark Don- skij, will soon start to direct "Aliet- in the Moiintaihs,” based on a novel by Shomu.shkirt. Exterior scenes will fie shot in hoi*thern parts of I the Soviet, with; interior scenes shot in Mosfiim Studios in Moscow; Studios in Baku report that a dpe- Umentary in colpir, "The Socialistic Azerhaijah,” was recently finished in order id celebrate the 3bth birthday of the Azerbaijan Repub- lic in the Soviet Union. Wolfgang Motibn Picture Export Assn, chief for Austria, will be married May 15 in I.a>ndon to Maria Ellen Gzowiczka, npn-plo-^ fessionat*. ON PRODUCTION DISTRIB London, May 9. Impoi'tant di.stribution deal has been made by John Woolf with Sir Arthur Jarratt, managing diiector of British Lion, As a result, the latter company will be handling product of the new Woolf outfit,; Independent Film Distributors, and its associate prPductipn company, Romulus Films. The new Woolf organization ha.i already completed its first two pro- ductions, two others are now in work and a further two are due to start lensing by the end of June. A, nurnber of these films will novv be made at the British Lion stii- dips at SheppertPn; Midberg fa Make London Producer Bow Witb‘Head’ ; Loi?dpn; May 2. John Wildberg will make hif. debut as West End legit producer in association with Wauna Paul, alsP American, Show is titled “Don’t Lose You r Head,’ ’ with Irying St. John doing script; Likely stars ^ are Hartley Pbweri brid ; Zpe Gail, latter making her initial appearance ^ iii a straight play.-' Second French TV /.Paris, May .-9. Government is inaugurating ; a second videP station, according; to Henri Teitgen, Minister of Ihfbr- maticfi?. Outlet will be located at Lille, hear the Bel^at? border. Teitgen also dlsclpscd that tha government expects to stai’t color Transmissions in the near iuturt.