Variety (August 15, 1951)

BIGGEST PIC STAR IREK TO BTPAY I ii Nothing like a Dame to Hypo B.O, Niteries Veer Back to SJL lines More and more niteries are veer-f Ing toward production as a means •f hypoing business. In New York. Nick Sc Arnold’s Versailles has parted Georgia Hale to stage the shows." and Angel Lopes’ Chateau Madrid has signed the Winnie Hoveler line. Latter spot has been on a one-act and band policy since its opening nearly a year ago. The Versailles went in (or lines and production during World War II. when scarcity of meatx and im- ported foods forced the bonifaces into those spheres in order to hold on to current patronage and entice the nouveau-riche who In that pe- riod started to invade the swank- eries. When foods again became freely available. Versailles resumed its prewar policy with one- and two-act bills. Aside from the Versailles and Chateau Madrid, an increasing number of out-of-town cafes are in- quiring about lines. Another indi- cation that girlie stuff is in greater demand is seen in the fact that Wally Wanger is re-entering the production business. * For a time. Wanger devoted his time principal- ly to the running of dance schools. He’s already installed a line in the Casa Seville, Franklin Square, L.I., and is dickering for installations in other spots. One element that is causing an ibcreasing number of inquiries for ensemble cheesecake is that in the New York area the three most suc- cessful spots all have production shows. The Latin Quarter, Co pa- cabana and Riviera haVe virtually tied up the remaining nitery busi- ness in this vicinity. Other spots (Continued on page 61) ON-SPOT NEWSPAPER VIA TV ‘WALKIE PEEPIE’ In the spirit of “Space Cadet” *nd other science-fiction heroes. Dr Alfred N. Goldsmith, inventor •nd consultant to Radio Corp. of America and other Arms, has per- fected a gadget which can make a ‘‘roving television reporter” a real- ise miracle. Idea is to use a portable tele camera and transmitter which *’ould “permit the rewrite man in * newspaper city room to look over the shoulder of a reporter covering * news event.” City room could **e an accident in all its detail, a courtroom proceeding or any other •imilar event, as the “roving TV reporters” are in the field, and do the rewrite immediately, without the traditional “give me the city desk" call of the legman. In March RCA demonstrated its hack-pack” tele camera and trans- mitter, which has been dubbed a t alkie - peepie.” Self - contained Portable unit, with its own power supply, uses microwave for trans- mission. and has two-way commu- nications, allowing the central ce to give the field man orders. 1 was developed by RCA staff un- Dr. V. K. Zworykin. Talking Clocks’ With Plugs May Rival AM As though radio hasn’t enough competition from TV, “talking clocks” are now going after a slice of the audio advertising pie. Clocks wired for sound have been patented by T. J. Valentino, recording engineering consultant, and Robert Fine, chief recording engineer of Reeves Sound Studios. Tne wall clocks will be equipped with long-play disks, wire or tape recorders, and Installed in retail stores where they will deliver 20- second plugs every quarter-hour to the “captive” audience of shop- pers. Theatre, Home TV' Rivalry Muddles Boxing Pattern Future pattern of televised box- ing, with both theatre TV and home TV competing for exclusive rights, is still in a muddled state. Spokesmen for both brands of video, as well as for the Inter- national Boxing Club, which pro- motes the major bouts, declared this week they don’t know how the pattern will evolve for the future, especially in the light of this week’s events. Pabst, which sponsors the fights for home TV over the CBS network, obtained rights to two championship bouts, for next Wednesday (22) and Aug. 29. while the Ray Robinson-Randy Turpin repeat match Sept. 12 went to the theatres. Because of Turpin’s surprise vic- tory over Robinson In England last month, the repeat is expected to be the hottest fight of the season. But it was revealed this week that, while Pabst and its ad agency, Warwick 4 Legler, discussed .the bout with IBC, they put in no actual bid for rights. Reason is that the fight is to be an outdoor event, scheduled for the Polo (Continued on page 18) Skelton-Rose s 2-Man ‘Clown & Baton’ 1-Niters Comedian Red Skelton and com- poser-oreh leader David Rose have teamed for a novel series of one- nighters across the country, in which they plan to do t two-man show titled ‘The Clown and the Baton.” Unique aspect is that a specially-selected man will go out several weeks ahead of them to lino up a full orch recruited locally in each city. Crew would be thor- oughly rehearsed and ready to take the stage for the complete show as (Continued on page 61) ONmi-STSKED By HOBE MORRISON This will be the sober season on , Broadway. Musicals will probably be conspicuous by their scarcity, and the shortage of comedies may be no laughing matter. But there’ll likely be enough serious dramas to tax the manpower of the stage- hands’ union. From advance pros- pects, it’ll be a tough season for that growing contingent, the escape- hungry tired businessman—and perhaps less than a cleanup for the brokers. The influx from Hollywood will apparently be the greatest in years, with such long-absent prodigals as Ginger Rogers, Robert Cummings and Ann Sothern joining already- established emigrees like Henry Fonda, Gloria Swanson, Fredric March and Melvyn Douglas. Their presence should help atone for the expected absence of such boxoffice draws as Helen Hayes. Katharine Cornell, Judith Anderson, Tallulah Bankhead, Maurice Evan* Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Many of the top author names will toss scripts into the production hopper, but few of the outstanding musical writing teams will offer new works. The active dramatists will include Robert E. Sherwood, Maxwell Anderson, Elmer Rice, George Kelly, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, Anita Loos, Paul (Continued on page 62) TV Set Production Hits 2-Year Low Washington, Aug. 14. Television set production during July was the lowest of any month in two years, with output at 116,- 055 units, according to preliminary estimates of the Radio-Television Manufacturers Assn. While fac- tory vacation shutdowns during the first two weeks of the month con- tributed to the slump, July output "was still only about one-third of the same month a year ago. Despite the fact that weekly turnout has been cut from about 150,000 sets at the beginning of 1951 to around 51.000 sets current- ly, factory Inventories are still in- creasing. Estimates place the num- ber of sets on hand at nearly 800,- 000—a month’s supply at the rate the industry was operating last fall but a four months’ supply on the basis of current output. Granting of power boosts to 41 stations by the FCC, as a result of the partial lifting of the freeze, is expected to stimulate sales. In some areas, notably Miami, cover- age has been substantially in- creased. opening up new markets. Plans to begin operation of XELD- TV in Matamoros, Mexico, serving a population of 300,000 across the border in Texas, is expected to act as a further stimulus. Pix Pasture-ize Aging Stars in Nix Of love Begins at 40’; Stress Youth Neighbor Sues for Half Of ’Stop Music’ Swag * Salt Lake City, Aug. 14. Rudy Marchetti, winner of the ‘‘Stop the Music” Jackpot on April 15. is being sued by a neigh- bor for half the swag. Valree Mel- ton claims he tipped Marchetti the title of the mystery tune was “Blue Flag,” when the winner came dash- ing in for help. Marchetti, when interviewed the day after winning, claimed “Blue Flag*’ was a tune he had learned to play on the accor- dian. At the time of the prize award, value of the prizes was set at $20,000. Valree’a suit says the value was> $30,000, and he wants half for making Marchetti’s win possible. Judy Garland Eyes Pix Return; But Concerts 1st Judy Garland, back home In America for the first time in five months after a sock personal ap- pearance tour of the British Isles, is now making arrangements for a concert tour of the U. S. and pre- paring for a return to pix. The singing actress arrived in N. Y. aboard the Queen Elizabeth Sunday (12) with her -year-old daughter, Liza, governess and sec- retary. Liza joined her mother several weeks ago in France, where Miss Garland was taking her first vacation since she opened at the London Palladium, her first date abroad. Miss Garland told VAaimr yes- terday (Tues.) that she will spend (Continued on page 15) Loud screams by exhibs and the public a few years ago for the film demise of a generation of aging stars has been answered by Holly- wood. Particularly in the case of femmes, a study of recent produc- tion schedules reveals, studios have pretty much put out to pasture romantic players in the over-40 age bracket. New faces are appearing in ma- jor company product with increas- ing regularity. Whether that haa anything to do with the wide ac- knowledgment by exhibs recently that the current crop of pix Is bet- ter than has been seen for years is a moot point. Certainly, substitution of youth for the group of players who were hangovers from reputations made during the ’30s has given pictures more interest, it U agreed. Even more responsible, however, in the opinion of seasoned industry ob- servers. is greater concentration on story values. ‘The play’s the thing” has be- come an increasingly important maxim on the Coast And aging stars have largely been responsible for the belated realization of that (Continued on page 54) DURANTE’S $50,000 FAIR DATE AND 10G 1-NITER Jimmy Durante is en route from the Coast this week to start re- hearsals at the Canadian National Exhibtion, Toronto, opening Aug. 24. Expo will run for 14 days but thtre’s a two-day holdover clause in the contract to take care of per- formances cancelled because of rain. He’s getting $50,000 plus a split for the CNE stand. Following the fair date. Durante will latch on to the Hadacol Cara- van on Sept. 13 at $10,000 with all expenses paid for the one-nighter. Schnozola’s tele show kicks off Oct. 6 out of New York. Helen Traubel will be the first guester. Joe Santley again produces. THE ^CERS • CH0ID , Co *CDr • ORCt® 5 ^ A GROUP OP SOLOISTS A COMPUTE HOUR ...... AAI AQ OP ENTERTAINMENT vV LV II Under Hi* Direction el PHIL SP1TALNY