Variety (December 1950)

54 EITERATI Wednesday, December 20, 1950 Louis SoboFs 20th Year Louis Sobol’s contract with the Hearst newspapers has been re- newed for two more years. Next year will be his 20th with the N. Y. Journal-American, His column, •<New York Cavalcade,” is syndi- cated via the Hearst press. Hillman Cuts Prices A cut in the content and price of three of its four meller mags Will be completed by. Hillman Peri- odicals with the issuance of Febru-. ary’s Headquarters mag. Publica- tion that month will drop from 25c to lOc, as was done this month with Hillman’s Crime mag and last month with Real mag. Under new price structure mags run 48 pages, as compared to 96 pages at the higher tab. Uncensored Detective, another Hillman publication, will continue to sell at its regular 15c price. Robt. Flaherty Biog buell, Sloan & Pearce has com- missioned Richard Griffith, assist- ant to the director of the Museum of Modern Art Film Library, to write and compile “The World of Robert Flaherty,” a biography of the film director; Book, slated for publication next fall, will include unpublished pho- tos and excerpts from his Arctic diaries kept by Flaherty while making ’‘Nanook of the North,” and contents of letters written during lensing of his pix on other foreign locations. Best Plays* ‘Index* “Index to the Best Plays Series, .1899-1950” (Dodd, Mead;: $2.75) is a useful supplement to the stand- ard “Burns Mantle Best Plays” volumes. It lists every legit show in New York from the 1899-1900 season through 1949-50, indicating in which “Best Plays” volume and on what page the production credits, cast and other details ap- pear. Another section contains a sirnilar tabulation of author; adapters, composers and lyricists. This should be a real conveni- ence to anyone who ah:eady has the complete “Best Plays’- series, but is likely to be of limited help to others, since in both the play arid author indices the individual “Best Plays” volume is indicated by number rather than year. There is a table in the front of the “Index” sho|fing the season of each “Best Plays” volume, but that adds little for anyone looking up authors, composers, etc., since no titles are listed with the latters* names. But now that a full index has been published for the “Best Plays Series.” it should be revised and reissued each year to include the latest “Best Plays” volume. Kobe. Smith’s ‘Musical Comedy* Cecil Smith, music critic of the New Republic, and editor of Musi- car America and former dance and drama critic of the Chicago Trib- une as well as Theatre Arts, has written a new book, “Musical Com- edy in. America” (Theatre Arts Books, $5). Smith, in his Introduction, is very frank in saying, “I do not think any of the missing items, an- cient or modern, were omitted un- intentionally, though a multitude of different reasons led to their exclusions.” Smith certainly omitted many musical comedies and personalities that certainly should have been included in a history of musical comedy. He also has many inaccuracies (although not terribly Important) which should have been checked; arid I’m sure the second edition (and this book deserves a second edition) will rectify this. Here are just a few of the items that should be corrected: There was no “roof garden” atop the Winter Garden. Sam Bernard was not a“Jew comic” in “The Rich Mr. Hoggenheimer.” He was a Dutch comic, and Sam Bernard was never in “Potash & Perl- mutter.” It was the talented Bar- ney Bernard. He also says that R. H. Burnside was in the pit^t the opening of “Lady Of The Sfipper.” “Burriy” was not a musical direc- tor, but one of the finest stage di- rectors in the country,* and yet Smith does not mention him as the great director of the Hippodrome shows under the Charles Dilling- harii management. He calls Irving Berlin “a young rehearsal pianist.” Berlin had' a tough time playing for himself, let alone playing for rehearsals of any show. Smith also calls them “The Fly- ing Cansinos” in the “Greenwich Village Follies.” I played with them all over the Orpheum Circuit when they first came over, and they were Just^illed “The Cansinos . . Span- ish Dancers,** I never knew ’em to be trapeze artists. Smith also claims that minstrelsy played only 25 years after 1841 ... that would make it 1866. Minstrelsy lasted over 50 years after that. Do you remember the Cohan & Harris Minstrels at the N. Y. Theatre? And Honey Boy Evans, and A1 Fields? And don’t forget Dumont’s Minstrels in Philadelphia that ran for almost 50 years. And as for Baby Sriooks, Fanny Brice did not originate it It was Rae Dooley (Mrs. Eddie Powlirig) who did it first in “Hitchy'Koo” in 1918, then did it for many years after in the “Ziegfeld Follies,” with such guys as W. C. Fields and Will Rogers doing the “father.” In those days Fanny Brice played the “mother.” Thi$ isn’t taking any- thing away from Miss Brice, who is one of the funniest ladies of the stage, screen and radio. Smith, being a music critic, naturally has his favorite ‘.‘music; meri.” He leans towards Cole Porter and George Gershwin, which is a great “daily double,” But he still brushed off many fine composers. The illustrations in the book of old rind new stars are grand. I wish there were more., All in all, “Musical Comedy in America” is a must for any thea- trical bookshelf; It is the first book I know of that has ever been published about musical comedy in America, and Smith deserves a lot of credit for being a pioneer, for capturing most of the musical com- edies from pre-“Black Crook” to “South Pacific.” Joe Laurie, Jr. FDR's Final Letters Third and final volume of “FDR: His Personal Letters” was publish- ed recently by Duell, Sloan & Pearce. The boxed set of two volumes, priced at $10, contains 1,648 pages With 48 pages of illus- trations. This completes the work of the late president’s letters in book form: Vol. I, Early Years 1887- 1904 arid Vol. II, 1905-1928, each $5. Forewords are by Eleanor Roosevelt with Elliott Roosevelt as general editor. Old Corner To Doubleday Doubleday & Co. has added Bos- ton’s Old Corner Book Store Corp. to its string of 25 retail book stores. Boston group, established In 1828, will continue operatirig under the same name" and with the same management and staff. George Hecht, Doubleday veepee, will head the setup, replacing Richard F. Fuller. Irving E. Jones will continue as Old Corner’s vee- pee, while Robert L. Conlin, Dou- bleday treasurer, has been elected secretary-treasurer of the Boston operation. Old Corner has three outlets in Boston. Prof’s Next Pic Tome Next book on the agenda of Dr. Hortense. Powdermaker, anthro- pologist at Queens College, N. Y., will be on the pic industry, as was her recent “Hollywood, the Dream Factory.” New one will concern itself with the effect of films on their audience. Sociologist, who spent better than a year in Hollywood on the last tome, intends to give all of 1951 to a study, subsequent inter- views and research for the new volume. She expects to take an- other year to write it, with publica- tion not set until 1953. Freedom’s Nature Since attractions in. show biz are likely to be called on in the im- mediate future to perform more and more in unfamiliar fields, they’ll be aided if they read “The Nature of Our Freedom,” by Leon R. Yankwich, published by Writ- ling & Co., Los Arigeles. Author IS judge of the U. S. district court in L. A. and a scholarly jurist. He has written several books, his last previous to “Freedom” being “It's Libel or Contempt If You Print It.” In “Freedom” he clears away a lot of the debris which has bogged down the Bill of Rights. It’s so simply written that even an actor’s pressagent can understand it. The book IS a “must” for Hollywood aS it girds its loins to save the cotin- try again. Scul ‘Suspense’ As Whodunit Mag “Suspense,” CBS radio and tele senes which is already represented in the literati field with a comic book, is expanding its foothold iri the publications field. Arthur Perles of ^he web’s subsidiary rights department has set a deal for Farr^l Publications to bring but a whodunit mqnthly mag and pbeketsize books under the “Suspense” imprint. Mag, to be edited by Ted Irwin, will avoid lurid material arid will lead off each issue with an 8,000^ word novelette. One story an. issue will be based on retelling a tale originally used on the AM or TV show. Pocketsized tomes will all be original novels following the program’s mysterioso formula. “Suspense” jomic book, out slightly more than a half-year, has' hit newsstand sa.les of 400,000/ CBS deal for “My Friend Irma” comic book and comic strip is pay- ing off also. Strip in two months has been inked for 40 dailies. Doubleday’s Roster Show-minded Doubleday has the following due within the next several months: Ilka Chase’s “New York 22,” new novel of the slick fashion mag set; Noel Coward’s six short stories titled “Star Quality”; “Tessie:' The Hound of Channel One,” by Shepherd Mead, first satire on TV; another book of baseball huirior, “Three Men On Third,” by two Smiths (H. Allen and Ira L., unrelated); N.Y. Newsgal Lillian Barker’s “The Dionne Legend” (the quints have been her regular beat for 16 years); rind. Barbara Arin Scott’s “Skate With Me,” the Olympic Champ’s autobiog. , Kane Takes To “Stairs” . Hartnett T. Kane, whose “New Orleans Woirian’’ made a good com- mercial picture, seems to be head- ing that way again with “Pathway to the Stars,” (Doubleday, $3). It isn’t about Hollywood, but is a novel based on the life of John McDonogh, a fabulous character of the old French Quarter of New Orleans. . This area Kane knows backward. In fact, he has dreamed up at least half a dozen bestsellers by tilling the soil of the Old South since he was. graduated from Tulane 20 years agoi Though he writes what is called a popular novel, Kane is an indefatigable man on research. At the end of “Pathway to the Stars” he gives the sources behind his romance and these prove as in- teresting as the story itself. Defi- nitely for pix. Scul, CHATTER Albert Rapp’s “Origins of Wit and Humor” will be published by E. P. Dutton on Jan. 8. William C. Lengel upped to edi- tor-in-chief of Gold Medal Books, subsid of Fawcett Publications. “Fun Fare,” Reader’s Digest col- lection of humor and anecdote, to be published by Simon & Schuster, Jan. 15. Frank Tremaine returned from Korea to resume his old job as L.A. bureau manager for the United Press. Robert Green, formerly of Fed- eral Advertising Agency research staff, has joined Esquire as as- sistant marketing research man- ager. Doubleday bringing out a sequel, “Compound Fractured French,” to “Fractured French,” by F. S. Pearson and R. Taylor (with an as- sist from Abel Green). Bill Irwin, Chi Sun-Times radio- TV editor, cuts back his daily columning for the sheet to a twice- weekly stint. John Crosby’s Her- ald Trib pieces gg in the other four days. Paul Denis compiling a “Celeb- rity Cook Book” for Rockport Press, N. Y., for spring publication. Using recipes of show business names and other celebs, plus illus- trations. Alfred Hitchcock is contributing a chapter on production technique to “Lights, Camera, Action,” a book of 70 articles on film-making, sponsored by the Academy of Mo- tion Picture Arts and Sciences. Book of the Month Club, stock of which has been traded oyer the counter, was admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange Dec. 12. It registered 900,000 shares of common at $1.25. Ticker symbol is BOK. Jimmy Savage doing a profile of. Mae West for Esquire mag for May. Metro homeoffice publicity staff- er Bill Ornsteirt has sold a short story,“Family Tree,” to the American ^Hebrew for publication early next year. The late Robert F. Wolfe, Co- lumbus, O., publisherj arid’ the late Carr V. Van Anda, managing edi- tor of the New York Times, were added to the Ohio Journalism Hall of Fame on Dec. 12 at the annual Hall of Fame dinner at Ohio State University, attended by editors and publishers from throughout the state, ' Sex life of Hollywood names is thoroughly ^ but anonymously — explored in Dr. Max R. Rubin- stein’s “The Gland and Sex Dilem- ma” which Research Publishing is bringing out Jan. 6. Noted Holly^ wood endocrinologist uses the case-history technique to prove his contention that Mm stars are the “same troubled, people” as ordinary citizens around the coun- try. SGUI.LY’‘ B, Frank Scully Bedside Manor, Dec. 16. Three times within one week our hard-pressed picture industry got dusted by a fast ball from a pitcher whose control js out of this world. I refer to the Catholics. First, there was Bill Mooring, who writes a column on Hollywood for about 22 Catholic publications. His key paper is the Tidings in Los Angeles. He discovered the sleekest Communistic propaganda in“Born Yesterday.” In fact, it was so smooth that only insiders could see it. I’ye known Bill for 20 years. In fact I knew him when he was a Socialist and worked on the London Herald. His conversion from that modified form of dialectic materialism to the ways of Rome is a story known to many, myself among them. Generally speaking, corivertri and their true stories leave me wffh a mild allergy Which passes in about ah hour. Catholics who have be- come Coirimunists, and then reverted to their former faith, affect me somewhat differently, If they impose a silence on themselves as a sort of penance I feel Very warm towards them. But if they sound off in every directiori and, seem to be hailed as doctors of the church every time they open their mouths, I move away lest I pick up a sort of hali- tosis by osmosis. Bill Mooring falls somewhat between these two extremes. His moral zeal is tempered by a nice writing Style and a familiarity with the pic- ture biz. Sometimes he praises pictures that I believe would have been better if melted down and used as an embalming fluid. Frequently on these occasions I look for the cause and often find it in riii rid on an adjoining prige. I didn’t see any display ad about“Born Yesterday” anywhere near his righteous reading matter. : Lolly Parsons took issue with the Tidings critic. She said if there were any Communist propaganda in “Bom Yesterday,” it eluded her, I realize that this sort of opinion could easily win an Academy Award for subtlety itself. But if the stuff was so finely woven that nobody could see it, it’s quite possible it wasn’t there at all and Mooring was merely suffering from what my Air Force friends among the Penta- [ gonians call a mass hysteria emphasized by an acute personal halluci- ;nation; ' Trouble Over Hollywood Within a week of this blast at a picture which had gone the rounds as a most entertaining play, the Legion of Decency pledge was given at all the Catholic churches. This is an annual pledge and held no special significance as far as “Born Yesterday” was concerned. It’s rin old pledge and has a sound moral background. It merely reminds its people that they should not subsidize forms of entertainment that are seemingly designed to undermine the faith and morals of 30,000,000 believers in a certain way of life. But on the same day that the pledge was administered, America came out with a piece entitled “Hollywood Over Asia.” America is a Jesuit weekly whose format is similar to the Nation’s, its bete rioir, incidentally, in the field of weekly journalism. “Hollywood Over Asia” was written by Richard L-G Deverall, who for three years was General MacArthur’s chief of labor education in Tokyo. His was,a rather temperate blast at the sort of pictures Hollywood has been exporting to the Far East. He told of fairly high-level reac- tions to Hollywood product. His first example dealt with Asiatic doubt that America had riny housing probleiris, slum areas or problems of this sort. These Asiatics were quite sure they knew what the conditions, were in America. Everybody had 20-room houses, several servants, two cars and sent their children to college with $100 bills in their pockets. “After all,” admonished a top official,“we see all your movies in this country.” Deverail’s second ^case-history dealt with a learned Japanese pro- fessor who was telling his class that American culture consisted of gangsters who shot down rivals walking along crowded streets and then sped away in high-powered cars. As for family life it consisted of rich people drinking freely and arguing about divorce. Experts by Visual Education Asked what he was basing his conclusions ori, the professor said, “I am very sorry but I have seen every American movie since the Occu- pation came to Japan. I am, I assure you, an expert on American culture.” In India, Deverall wrote that he saw other distortions Which could be laid to Hollywood pictures. These people are touchy about racial inequality. Not so impressed with gangsters and their molls, they nevertheless were not unaware that Negroes played the role of ser- vants in one type of picture, and in westerns for every white man who went down in mortal combat at least 10 Indians bit the dust. This led them to believe that in America Negroes and Indians were a de- pressed class, the untouchables of the new world. Thus, all through Asia^ our pictures, according to Deverall, were making it very easy for Asiatics to transfer their hate of former colonial masters to white Americans. His general conclusion was that the best friend of world Communism in Asia is a Holly wood “that floods Asia with race supremacy, materialistic, we-have-a-lot-of-wealth movies.” “So long,” he wrote, “as we tolerate a Hollywood that exports intel- lectual atomic bombs and cultural stink bombs, just so long do we continue to earn in Asia the dislike for the white American that is so evident in many countries.” Not content to strite the problem he went on to a conclusion. He hoped Hollywood would clean house of its own volition. But if Holiy- wood didn’t act he was all for appropriate action to license the export of American films. In brief, censorship. (Every U. S. film that plays Japan is screened and passed by General MacArthur's headqurirters before being licensed.—Ed.) Did Deverali's Periscope See Over the Wall^ Deverall says that these pictures are used in Soviet Russia to point out that Americans are chiefly drunks, materialists and pursuers of gross sensual pleasures. This may be true but I doubt if it’s much more than scuttlebutt. After all, rio pictures: are sold to the Soviet Union, and even the best of them could be switched here and there to give whatever impression a specialist in proprigrinda wanted to give them. If nine-tenths of the picture were bad and the final tenth showed a moral regeneration, it would be an easy matter for a Russian censor to clip off the last reel and let the crimes go un- punished. ■* In fact if this thing degenerates into this sort of war it wouldn’t be much of a task to take our worst pictures, change the dialog and ex- port them as Russian pictures to be dropped either side of the Iron Curtain. XJUL tll'C JlCcti , , , piuuicju IS muen Closer to nome. if so muen oi our product, does things like these to Asiatics, what possible good can they be doii^ bur own people? That people enjoy violence-vicariously cannot be denied. But there were no fights, sex or drinking in “Des- tination Moon,” and that was good entertainment, too. In fact, I doubt j ? picture would be tampered with anywhere in the world* Dubbed^inFren^, Chinese or even Russian dialog, the cast, of course, would be identified by picture-goers as French, Chinese or Russian, but would this harm America particularly? If along with their checks such foreign exhibitors said, “That was a good picture you sent us. heart?'*^ it,” would that break a Hollywood producers