Variety (May 1950)

MIlSCELLAXY P^niETY :^e«In«^ay 4 May 31* 1930 $238,147,000 Amusement Biz For ’48 Doubles Figure of Decade Ago Washington, May 30. U. S. aimisement biz for 1948 vas a huge $2,208,147,000, accord- ing to figures just released on the National Business Census for that Near. This more than doubled the $998,079,000 lor 1939, the last pre- vious occasion on which the Cen- sus Bureau had taken the nation’s business pulse. Cc'r.sus figures include retail, wholesale and service businesses, except for the very smallest opera- tions, but not manufacturing. Thus, both exhibition and distribution of films are included. However, the survey did not cover radio and television broadcasting, an impor- tant entertainment factor. Other- Nvise. amusements range the field from race tracks and opera to sports, circuses, and just about everything else. During the sum- mer, the Census Bureau expects to issue figures in greater detail; these would break down amusements into the various categories, show- ing the business done by each. Census Bureau also let go most of the state and local returns in the business census. These show that New' York City led the nation by a wide margin in 1948 in the volume of receipts taken in by its amusements. Total reported was $282,000,000. Los Angeles amusements did $.')9.337.000 business in 1948; and J.os Angeles county as a whole grossed $124,800,000 in the amuse- ment field. Cook county, 111., did $120,700,000, of which $95,922,000 was credited to Chicago, with the rest going to tlie suburban towns. Philadelphia’s amusement busi- ness came to $37,800,000, and Dade county. Fla. (mostly Miami and !\Iiami Beach) did $20,800,000. In addition, the hotels and tourist cainps there grossed close to $50.- 000.000 for the year. Parks, Betty Garrett in Sock Bow at Palladium London, May 30. Kilmsters Larry Parks and Betty Garrett 'Mrs. Parks) drew one of the biggest ovations of the season at their fir.st Palladium show here Monday '29). However, audience became restive w^hen during the first 30 minutes of their act, they came' up with only two songs. A number of tunes at the close of their act put them back on top and duo came off with a sock reception. Other U. S. acts on the bill clicked heavily. Merry Macs, Vic Hyde and Don Cummings drew ex- cellent mittings for their work. Parks and Miss Garrett did sev- eral vaude dates together in the States last season. This is their first London stand as a team. ROSSEN ‘BEST DIRECTOR’ FOR ‘ALL KING’S MEN’ Hollywood, May 30. Screen Directors Guild kudosed Robert Ftos.'^en as “best director of tl .? \ ear’’ for “All the King’s Men. ” ill \ote at annual SDG dinnci- at tlic Be\(‘rly Hills hotel. Aired b>’ NBC and chairmanned by George Je.ssel. selection was the rc.sull of a floor vote. Candidates included other three winners of quarterly awards, Mark Robson for “Champion,” A1 Werk- er for “Lost Boundaries” and Carol Reed for “Third Man.” Plaque wa.s awarded by Joe Mankiewicz. who won last year for “Letter to Three Wives.” Fredric Marches Eyeing Legit Scripts for Fail The Kiedric Marches tFlorence Fldridge) have turned down nu- merous summer theatre engage- ments and will concentrate this Hummer on reading legit scripts for n(‘xt season at their Connecticut farm. .March returned a week ago from the Coast, where he did a major stint for Metro’s “Big Country,” one of the company’s top films for next season. While on the Coast March also did a radio show, on tape, for the Screen Director^ Guild. “A Star Is Born,” in which Ruth Roman has the femme lead. Airer is programmed for June IG. Adler-Draper Say. Mistrial Verdict Vindicates Them Hartford, May 30. Although their $200,000 libel suit against Mrs. Hester B. McCullough of Greenwich ended in a mistrial Saturday afternoon '20). harmoni- ca player Larry Adler and dancer Paul Draper announced the verdict as a “vindication of our loyalty.” .Mrs. McCullough, through her attorneys, announced llie decision as a “disappointment” to her. The suit was brought against the house- wife as a result of statements made by her prior to a concert by the enlertainers at Greenwich in Jan- uary. 1949. At the time and in sub- s(‘quent .statements she charged the cntei’tainers with supporting C'ommunisl-front organizations. The misti'ial was declared by i,F'e(leral Judge J. Joseph Smith when the jury of eight women and four men failed to agree on a ver- (li(( after deliberating 11 hours. C'ounsel of both parties to the suit 1 el used to say whether they will reopen the case. The trial ended on its 21st day. In biinging the suit, the enter- tainers claimed that their i-eputa- lions and earning ability were con- siderably hurt by Mi-s, McCul- lough's statements. 5 31 Subscription Order Form Enclosed find check for % Please send VARIKTY for years O Cl lilt .Street L'itv /nne . . . . State Regulor Subscription Rotes One Year—-$10.00 Two Yeors—$18.00 Conodo and Foreign—$1 Additional per Year yK-RlETY Inc. 1S4 West 46fh Street New York 19, K. Y. Hoot Gibson Into TV Hollywood. M;?y 30, I.ale.st film cowpoke to enter \itleo on an active basis s Hoot (fihson. w ho has formed llfc ot Gib- son ProdtiCtions, Inc., in associa- tion with Victor S. Fox, ptavxy of (’eniral Color Press of Wilkes- Barre, Pa., and Fox Feature Syn- dicate of N. Y. Fox will finance program of 100 28-minute telepix. Pix will be known as “Hoot Owl Ranch.” Gibson will star in and direct series, w'hich will be made at the rate of three weekly. Pix will be straight westerns with lensing due to start June 15. Today’s Stare TV A-Plenty, WILL MAHONEY THE INIMITABLE opinijig at the Palace, New Turk, Thur.silaN’, June 1. Represented by ASSOCIATED BOOKING CORP. Red Skelton Wants New MGM Contract With OK for Video Hollywood, May 30. Red Skelton is seeking a new Metro deal which would give him permission to appear in television. His current contract, with a tabu on TV, still has about two years to run. Only a few stars with studio con- tracts are permitted to work in video. Among them are Bob Hope. Bing Crosby, Milton Berle and Doris Day. Abbott and Costello, under tlieir new pact with UI, may enter the TV field in 1951. Savoy Pacts Hildegarde; Singer Sock on BBC TV London, May 30; Anna S o s e n k p, Hildegarde’s manager, has closed deal for the i film star to open at the Savoy hotel June 12 for three weeks.. Deal with Carroll Gibbons, recently appointed booker, and for many years bandleader at the SavOy, includes a three-room suite, two _ rooms for the singer’s pianist aiid j smaller lots around town, thcr^ By NBAL GRAHAM Hollywood, May: 30, Scores of the top Hollywood st ar.s are squawking these days becau.se they are having to compete w it h younger versions of themselves oh television; But there’s not b in g can do aljout: it,: Any indie ihade before the Peirillo soundtrack contract in 1946 is hioie than likely ;to Wind up soon on Video screens, Aiid since most of today’s names, banned from tele- vision appearahees by studio edh- tracts,. started > with bne of • the t ^uuiucr secretary, and food for the entire j scores Of entourage. i video that Appearance of chanteiise on tele- vision last week (23) for the British Broadcasting Corp. \yas sock. Show was unrehearsed and entirely ad f Doris Day, Claudette Cpibert, lib. Studio at Alexandra Palace [‘Tames : Gagney, Jaiik Ben lAcicrnorl fr. r>ocamVt1a TJ V 'o. I T.add RaTlNaY»a ' how available for are not hecessarilv wpfks of art, but are filled with r-power galore. Rita Hay worth, Mickey ^ Roone v : Lad d, Barbara Htan Wyck, Den his Morgan, .Tames Stewart, Huhiphfey Bogart, Fred Astaire, Paulette God- dard, Ginger Rogers—the li.st is practically endless. These are now the ‘’regulars’* on; TV. And the : castriist is. just beginning. . ; Using one lotr—;Wamers-:^a.s a case in point/ it*s fojund that quite a headthy share of the studio’s co«- ■ tractees can be.seen quite rcgulaiv;: .Act, which included some halG on Tv Day has a 194i was designed to resemble N. Y.'s Persian Room, with champagne bottles on tables for the film and stage personalities who were guests. The BBC extended the original 30 minutes to 40' It was a traditional Hildegarde show. A few introductory remarks to \ iewers and straight on Nvith the act, opening appropriately with “I Feel a Song Coining On.” MARCH TAX COLLEaiON SHOWS AMUS. SPURT Washington, May 30. Show' biz perked up in March a little above what it was during { March of 1949, on the basis of ad- missions tax figures released last I week by the Bureau of Internal i Revenue. The 20% tax collections during April, which generally re- flect March at the b.o., amounted to $27,394,996, compared with $26.- 307.280 for the same period of the preceding year. About 75% of the total is estimated to come from mo- tion picture theatres. However, the normal seasonal decline was sharply in evidence. The .April tax collection was be- hind the March collections (reflect- ing February biz) of $32,910,332. The bright spot in general admis- sions w'as not shown in the nitery field. Tax collection of $3,290,257 was nearly $300,000 short of the figure for the same month In 1949 and even more behind the preced- ing month of this year. Thii'd Internal Revenue District of New' York, w'hich includes Broadway, reported a monthly tax of $5,130,491. That was good but behind the terrific $8,180,000 of the ' previous month. The 20'"b bite on Manhattan’s night spots brought Uncle Sam $375,616. This fell short of the previous month’s $532,- ooe; dozen numbers, with IT Love You in Any Language” as one of the highspots, was efTectively broken by introduction of some of the per- sonalities present, who were pre^ sented with the traditional rose that she gives to patrons. Viewer reaction was pretty solid. There w'as some that the star wasn enough in full closeup, but there was a unanimity of opinion about, the quality of her performance. Lawson, “The, Glass Menagerie.” seen immediately in See Fmal Curiam On Wash. Appeal Washington, May 30. Supreme Court dropped the finM curtain on the Hollywood “Un- Trenet Must Submit To Quiz in Suit Vs. EL Charles Trenet, French nitery singer, must submit to an exam- ination before trial on question of moral turpitude in his breach-of- contract action against Eagle Lion. New York appellate divi.sion this week upheld the pre-trial morals quiz with Is o m e modifications. Trenet claims EL breached a single-pic pact. Court decision holds that the singer can be questioned on the alleged fact that he was detained by the U. S. immigration authori- ties. He must also an.swcr ques- tions on charges that adverse pub- licity in newspapers forced EL to drop the picture after pre-lcnsing preparations. I rp 400G Col Ranch Fire Hollywood, May 30. Fire, accompanied by explosions, destroyed property worth about $400,000 on the Columbia Pictures ' ranch near Burbank. Among the casualties were sev- eral street sets, a lumber mill, generator house, paint shop, stu- dio cafeteria and the huge water ■ set recently used in “Cargo to Capetown.” PRC effort, '‘Mr. Celebrity.” mak- ing the rounds; Dennis Morgan, a 1936 release tagged “I Cover the Sea; With Humphrey Bogart. iF.s an oldie known as ^Midnight ’’ and Virginia Mayd’s appeararice is In a 1943 UA release, “Adventures of _ ^ Jack Londoii”i for Janies Cagney disappointment j a 1934 Mohogvaimer, ‘‘Flirting With n’t seen often. Ginger Rogersi .vwho has done her last, two chorok for tlie : Burbank lot; has to contend w it h ;‘‘A Shrieik in; the Night,” a 1933 ; quickie. Gertrude Lawrence^ star I of studio’s sooni-rto-be-released I biggie, j can be I Funny Business,” an English com |edy lensed in 1934 with Laurence ! Olivier as teaim - mate. John Wayne, whoTl swing to the lot later this year for a cbmmitnierit* Iws fiye oldies in the 1934-38 pe- riod being shown j Plenty of Indies Filins made independenfl.w hut released through either UA or one b.f the majors, account for (he j largest share, of the star-ppw el*. friendly 10” contempt-of-Congress i l case yesterday (29) by refu.sing foi, l Goddard^teainer released a second time to hear appeals from i J^®f®btovint ip 1940, can be seen the conviction of John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo. The High Court refused a re- view on April 10, and the two screen w'riters thereupon asked the tribunal to reconsider. Yesteittay’s action ends the struggle, and shortly the pair will probably be- gin to serve their sentences. Each faces up to $1,000 fine and a year’s imprisonment. The other eight defendants did- not stand trial. Instead, they stipulated that they w'ould accept the rulings in the Law'son-Trumbo appeals. They are Adrian Scott, Herbert Biberman, Edward Dmy- | tryk, Albert Maltz, Alvah Bessie, . Samuel Ornitz, Lester Cole and Rin.g Lardner, Jr. The trial court here is expected to impose sentence within a few days. At the Hollywood Red hearings of the House Un-American Aclivi- ties Committee, in October, 194'7. the 10 refused to tell whether they were, or ever had been, members of the Communist party.. There- upon, the House cited them for contempt Nation-wide drive for pardons for “Unfriendly 10” will be launched shortly by Council of I Arts, Sciences and Professions in I a last-ditch battle. Every recourse I to court action has been exhausted in cases of Lawson and Trumbo I but it’s possible appeals to Su- , prerne Court will be made for the other eight before the national campaign for a Presidential pardon is undertaken. regularly these day.s. a.s can i another Goddard starVer, “Pot O' ; Gold/’ in which; Jamek Stcw art;^k' i spotted as male leiadv Linda. Darr .hell, a Sloth - Pox contractee, ! staiTed in a couple of indie films during the war years-—“.City \yith- ■ out Men,” released by Columbia, ; and “It Happened Tomorrow,” re- pleased through tJA—:"both of whic.'li; are now .TV fodder. Latter, in- cidentally^ has Dick jPowcll as male lead. Pair of ,20tli - Foxe|-.s, V ictor Mature and Gene 1'i erivey, have their 1941 UA release. ' The Shanghai . . Gesture,” to reinincl them of the earlier days, , Par’s Alah Ladd can be seen in several he made befbre signing with the Marathoh lot, among them PRC’s “Gangs, Inc,” and 1 i al Roach’s “Captain Cautioh,’’ 1.mat- ter toplines Brian Aheyne. : Ed- ward G. Kobinson; is in wil b a pairy ‘‘.Tourney Together” (UA*’33) “Tliunder in fhe City ” (Co- . ■ < (Continued bn page ,5.5) MULLEUBY Irving Berlin;; now. that; he Ija.s completed the score for his jnext Broadway musicai, ‘?Gall l^Ie Madam,” is ,mulling a filhi IdT . Metro, the score for George A b- is Douglas Draws ‘Ace’ Hollywood, May 30. Next job for Kirk Dougla.s male lead in “Ace in the Hole” at Paramount, where his last appear- ance was in Hal Wallis’ “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.” Jan Sterling plays the femme lead., “Ace” will be Billy Wilders : alrea(dy first solo assignment as producer- director on the Paramount lot bott’s upcoming miisicoinedy based on Betty Smithes “Tree Grows in j Biboklyn’* and an original revvt^‘ Berlin flies to Paris today < WJ’tlJ to open a French office for his music • publishing house. Metro picture would be titl.cd “Gonie Oil Along” (from the lyi'ics of his “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”) and would comprise a number of Berlin’s /id sinhdards. Songwriter is Mso considering a Broadwdy revue which Avon id be based ori his “past, present; a future,” presenting his pa.st Uiiie present Ones and ndw songs.', written but not yet P lished. “Madam,” incidentaliy, if slated to go into rehearsal Aug. 15.