Variety (November 1950)

CBS OUT ON S5,000,000 LIMB 23.6% Give TV as Reason for Not Attending Fix, N.Y. News Poll Shows That television is only one of“f several factors contributing to the current boxoffice dip was borne out again this week in results of a survey on filmery attendance in the metropolitan New York area conducted by the N. Y. Daily News. Of those interviewed who said they see films less than once a week, 23.6% gave TV as the rea- son. while 21.1% blamed it on “poor quality and uninteresting pictures.” Another 19.1% listed the necessity of staying home with their kids, Only 1.6% said admis- sion prices are too high. Survey, which comprised 1,000 door-to-door interviews with per- sons in widely-scattered sections of the city, was furnished gratis by the News to the Council of Mo- tion Picture Organizations, It re- vealed that 46.7% of those ques- tioned attend filmeries less often than they did a year ago, while 43,2% attend with about the same frequency. Only 7.5% reported that they go more often. In addi- tion, 40% said they attended films once a week or oftener, 53.8% go “two or three times a month” or oftener, while 29.8% go less than once a moijth. While previous surveys have shown that up to 85% of the film- going public is not influenced by (Continued on page 55) ‘Brigadoon’ Understudy To Shine in Home Town Meadville, Pa., Oct. 31. One-night stand of “Brigadoon” at the Park theatre here Thursday night (2) will be a homecoming for dancer Donna Gilmore, under- study in the show. To celebrate the occasion and give the local girl and her fans“ a treat, producer John Yorke may let her take over the part of the young bride, Jean- nie, for that performance. Group of local supporters put up the money to send Miss Gil- more to New York last summer to crash legit. Dempsey in Deal To Stage Studio Bouts for Video TV ‘Supreme Problem' To Pix, Says 20th; Skouras Stresses Theatre Video Houston, Oct. 31. In probably the frankest admis- sions on television yet made by film industry execs, a group .of four top 20th Fox homeoffice spokesmen, led by prexy, Spyros P. Skouras, warned the Theatre Owners of America convention here today (Tues.) that video rep- present their own suggestions for the film business. Quartet, which also included veepees A1 Lichtman, Andy W, Smith, Jr., and Charles Einfeld, told the member-exhibs present th^^-i: own suggestions for overcoming TV's threats. Skouras placed primary emphasis on the role to be played by theatre TV. Eichtman, leading the parade of 20th execs to the speakers’ ros- trum, averred that video “cannot compete_ on a quality basis with the motion picture,” but stressed its two “terrific advantages” that must be recognized—“it is free to the public and, just as important, it is convenient,” Skouras picked Possible prelude to the staging of championship title fights before a ' small television studio audience, with the “gate” to be derived from sale of the video rights to a na- tional advertiser, was set up this week by ex-heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey. In association with the Henry Souvaine Co., indie radio-TV package outfit, Dempsey is planning an hour-long weekly series to be titled “TV Arena of Champions,” which it is hoped ul- timately will lead to promotion of title bouts in a video studio. Souvaine, who is expanding his video operation with the creation of several new package ideas and who has hired James K. Pollock, former program chief of the N. Y. Daily News’ WPIX, as TV pro- gram head, noted that Gillette Safety Razor had paid $800,000 for (Continued bn page 56) Legit Tabs Replace Acts As Nitery Fare in Mpls. Minneapolis, Oct. 31. New wrinkle for Minneapolis in nitery floor show entertainment gets under way at the Red Feather here. It’s called “capsule come- dies” and will consist of 90-minute condensations of past Broadway hits. Initial offering, starting this The hostility of television- set manufacturers toward CBS, par- ticularly since Frank Stanton, the network president, went on the air to take the color battle to the con- sumer, is seen as likely also to translate inself into an approximate $5,000,000 billings jeopardy for the web. TV set manufacturers, including such major producers as General Electric, plus minor companies who feel they have more to lose than the big operators, have a big dol- lars-and-cents stake in Columbia’s top-budgeted video programming. They are reported irked over Stan- ton’s controversial quote when, in broadcasting his appeal to the pub- lic, he caution: “If you buy a tele- vision set, buy only from a manu- facturer who will give you positive assurances that there will soon be adapters and converters which will enable you to get color.” .• GE, among others, is offering no such “positive assurances.” It is resentful of Stanton’s statement of. caution, particularly since it is spending upward of $1,000,00(1 on (^BS programming for the sole pur- pose of inviting the public to buy sets now. (General Electric spon- sors the Sunday night hour-long Fred Waring show). At the time of Stanton’s state- ment, Westinghouse, which is also involved in a $1,000,000 CBS spon- sorship deal via “Studio One,” had thrown in its lot with the black- (Continued on page 40) _ week, is “Three Men on a Horse.” it Up from there, declaring bluntly ! Stolz, the director, has oper- that “television is the' toughest! Old Log theatre, ; local competition we have ever had to meet.” To offset video’s competi- tion, the 20th prez urged the TOA- ers to restore the “superior show- manship which gave the people of the world the movie-going habit” and to build up both the “agree- able atmosphere” and public serv- ice role of their theatres. sCrawhatter, for a number of years, There are two performances night- ly, at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., and a 75c admission (cover charge). Another local nightclub, Schiek’s, has been offering, capsuled oper- ettas with a singing cast of six for more than a year and the policy has been highly popular and Despite TOA’s having spearhead- j successful, boosting the spot’s pa- (Continued on page 61) Itronage tremendously. Sadler's Exceeds ‘Okla.,' ‘Pacific'; Sets All-Time Gross of $134,769 in LA. Los Angeles, Oct. 31. An all-time high iii girosses has been set by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet of London, which in eight performances here hit a net take of $134,769, tax excluded. Take exceeds the legit record set a couple of weeks ago by the tour- ing company of “South Pacific,” which did $112,368 in Dallas, or the still higher mark of $119,811 set by “Oklahoma” four years ago in Oklahoma City. “Pacific” mark was set In a 4.300-seat house. Sadler’s was in at .the 6,600-seat Shrine Audi- torium for a 12-performance run Oct. 19-28, during which time it grossed a net of $201.66-7, a record in itself for 12 showings. Top was, $4.80, same as the touring “Pacific” and “Oklahoma.” Sad- ler’s opening night in L. A. had a $6 top, which doesn’t figure in the eighL- performance record total, however. Week before, with four L. A. per- formances included, Sadler’s grossed a huge $119,117 in eight performances, the other stops be- ing New Orleans, Houston and Birmingham. Troupe opened yes- terday (Mon.) in San Francisco, to stay through Nov. 12, Video’s Hypo to Music Business; Aids Tunes, Talent-Paul Whiteman 15-Hour Disking Session Costs Janssen $11,500 Hollywood, Oct. 31. Fifteen - hour platter session Sunday night (29) cost Werner Janssen $11,500 to get 75 minutes of recorded music, utilizing 60 sidemen. Long-playing disks will be re- leased under Janssen’s Symphony Records label, conductor having just received license to record by American Federation of Musicians. Show Biz Shills For Dice Tables At Las Vegas By MIKE KAPLAN Las Vegas, Oct. 31. Show business shills for the dice tables in Las Vegas, and talent is gobbled up here like nickels in a slotmachine. Las Vegas is a 24-hour-a-day car- nival with the expected bright lights, games of chance and low- cost or free entertainment for the public. Its god is gambling, and show business—despite an annual talent budget of some $2,000,000 that makes it one of the greatest entertainment centers in the coun- try—is only its prophet. From a show business standpoint, this town is an anomaly. Entertain- ment is geared to cater to the tastes of the 24,000 residents, who comprise the Vast majority of week- night audiences, and those of the 10,000 transients who inundate the town weekly, mostly on weekends. Building shows here is a booker’s nightmare. The townspeople are probably the most jaded entertainment-seek- ers in the wdfld'.' The hiferies are operated on a no-cover-no-minimum policy which, combined with the completely informal “come as you are” attitude, permits anyone and (Continued on page 20) Video has become an important hypo for the music business be- cause of its demands for new tunes, orchestras and performers, accord- ing to ABC veepee Paul Whiteman, who heads up the “TV Teen Club’* and “Goodyear Revue” stanzas on ABC-TV. Television, Whiteman told Variety, can project a new tune into the limelight quickly “because the eye is stronger than the ear,’* and the addition of sight factors lends new appeals. With an im- pressive visual production a nov- elty number such as “Ghost Riders in the Sky” or “Rag Mop,” will reg- ister heavily with the public. How- ever, he noted, that same strong impact can kill a song or, an artist rapidly if they’re telpnsed too fre- quently. For that reason, said Whiteman, he doesn’t inject himself too much into his own shows, and takes care to surround himseif with other per- formers, so that he’s always in a ! picture with strong entertainment values. On the other hand, he con- cedes, a dominant entertainer such as Milton Berle or Arthur Godfrey apparently can remain before the (Continued on page 55) Cornell, Hardwicke To Team in Broadway Play . Katharine Cornell will co-star with Sir Cedric Hardwicke in a Broadway production of “Captain Carvallo,” the current London hit by Denis Cannan. Rehearsals are expected to start in two or three weeks under the direction of Guthrie McClintic, the actress’ husband. As usual, the ac^^ress will present the play under her own management. Her last Broad- way appearance Was in “That Lady,” last season. The London edition of “Car- vallo,” presented by Sir Laurence Olivier, stars Diana Wynyard. ‘Singed’ Bing Prepping For 66th Met Season Monday; Broadwayites Kudosed By ARTHUR BRONSON The Metropolitan Opera Assn, begins its 66th season next Mon- day (6) with high hopes, a re- vamped repertory, a sharply shak- en-up roster, and a new general manager for the first time in 15 years, in Rudolf Bing. Taking over the management of the No. 1 opera house in the world, the new di- rector has been faced not only with the usual snarls- and details of a major opera emporium, but with thorny problems of an unusual, unexpected nature. As the Met preps to bow its season with Verdi’s “Don Carlo” Monday, Bing says, “I feel singed, but otherwise quite whole ’’ He took on a big assignment, he admits, by scheduling tWo hew pro- ductions in the very first week, in “Don Carlo” and ‘‘The Flying Dutchman.” He doesn’t believe that’s ever been done before at the Met. He’s taken a big gamble in introducing .certain Broadway figures to the house — Margaret Webster to stage “Don Carlo.” Gar- son Kanin to' stage “Die Fleder-' mau.s,” and Kanin to write the libretto and Howard Dietz to do the lyrics for “Fledermaus.!' Bing faces a huge financial defi- cit this Season, putting on three new works, and refurbishing tl^e repertory, fo» a possible 400G to 500G deficit, the largest annual loss the Met’s ever faced. (The Met had hoped to regain 250G if Congre.ss had repealed the 20% amusenient tax ; The stagehands have not signed (Continued on page 56)