Variety (December 1951)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

16 P1CT1WBS Wednesday, December 12, 1951 Lii's Bumper Crop Continued from pin * that a bump is a “pelvic move- ment/* Hover called it a “pelvic propul- sion/* . .He reflected for a lew seconds, then added meditatively; “That’s it/’ Under prodding of defense at-? torney .Jerry Giesler, Hover finally agreed to give art illustration. The po,rtly nitery boss, Who had testi- fied a few minutes earlier that he started his showbiz career as a chorus boy, seemed a little abashed. • With determination, however, he rose to his feet ahd. placed his hands behind his head. From the forgotten lore of his youth, he struggled to recall the bump* It came out cautiously ~ influenced no doubt by the years he had spent as an attorney and away from the artistic influence, of showbiz—and it looked more like he might be practicing a rhumba for the first time. Court’s Definition At this point Judge Henry H. Draeger leaned forward to render a judicial pronouncement “A bump/’ the court ruled, “is a forward pelvic movement/* Hastily, he let it be entered on ceedeif the bounds of good taste, In answer to a direct question, she stated she never saw Miss St, Cyr expose herself. Then, she proved that she was not only a newspaperwoman but a Wife. “My husband didn’t see anything like that either,” she reported. “Otherwise 1 Wouldn’t have Jet him stay.” Hover’s session On the stand re- sulted in an elaborate blackboard diagram showing the location of the stage, Where Hover Sat, where the deputies sat and sundry other items. By the time Hover got through, the blackboard, with as- sorted pink) red and green chalk marks, looked like a diagram of dazzling football plays. Location Lore By the time that portion of the testimony was finished, .the jury had a pretty good idea of what tables to ask for: to get the best spot in the house. Giesler seemed intrigued by the number of “deuces” .(tables for two) Hover had in the room although the lat* ter protested he didn’t try to. crowd the spot. “Sure,” said Giesler, “but. you’ve j' i-i' 1: |. • i.. UUl^i OCUU B/UV.JUU ?V the record that he was fe Only judg- t deuces wherever-you could get in^ on what took place here* ” 7, * No other phase of the testimony . . __ ,, a ... , came in for as much attention. .Hover agreed. He also admitted Deputy Ann Hunter testified that Giesler’s observation that Tables she had seen Lili deliver a bump ® a ** d p are the best nr the during hfer perfbhnance on Oot. 19 ipuse-^'unless yoji put somebody --the night sheriff's deputies ar- > n front of them.” The deputies rested the stripper for a “lewd and indecent performance.” “Well,” probed Giesler, “was it a full bump^or just a half bump?” The witness hesitated, but Gies- ler gently persisted. Fractional Bumping “Maybe,” he asked softly, “it Was just one-quarter—or one-eighth^- or a sixteenth. Or maybe a 32d?” The ; witness thought it was “al had C. It’s Balletic Hover’s description of the dance was punctuated by exchanges with Gross. He refused to go for the prosecutor’s use of the word “move” to describe the action. “It’s an interpretive dance,” he protested. “This girl has had bal- let training/* in his description, Hover said ^Philadelphia, Dec. 11. Aid of the Department of Justice will be sought to curb the twin evils of double-featuring top prod- uct and forced increased admission prices, following the stormy pro- test meeting of members of the insurgent Allied of Eastern Penn- sylvania group, ' More , than 60 exhibs 'represent- ing 150 theatres in the area at- tended the ^meeting held in the BroadWood ^Hptel (4)‘ and heard a dozen speakers assail the practice recently instituted by the Warner circuit in coupling high allocation pixs for weekend' runs in the chain’s key Ashes. ■ - The consensus of the meeting was that discrimination was being Shown *in film rentals. It :was de- clared impossible for indie, houses •to put the same: shows together at the asking price, Sidney E, Samuelson, president and business manager of Allied, was authorized by unanimous, vote to carry the exhibs squawk to Warners* top brass in New York. He was also ordered to probe into the . whole business of discriminatory rentals, to report these findings to the D. of J. and to bring back a report, to the membership on the entire situ- ation. Equally spirited was the discus- sion on the upped admish pictures, with a motion nixing this practice passed unanimously. Allied mem- bers were asked to report on all instances, and Samuelson is now sifting these complaints. Singled out for disapproval were 20th-F6x*s “David and Bathsheba”; Warners* “Streetcar Named Desire” ahd the Samuel Goldwyn-RKO “1 Want You.” For ihio Week endingTuesday (11) 20th-Fox •*e • e-c e.e • • # 222 Un. Par;Thu;..*,..>.*.v* 207 Univ. .. ....«> 48 Univ., pfd .. »....,.♦..... 1.8 Warner Bros;. . . ......... 156 N. Y. Curb Exchange Monogram Technicolor Over-tbe-Counter Securities Cinecolot Pathe UA Theatres., •<..... . ...... Walt Disney 39; 30 ♦"y. • ♦' t * Bid .2%- 3% 6 3/4 m (Quotations flemished by Dreyfus & Co.) 19 19% 10 % 59% im 3% 22%' Ask 3% 4% m 9% —1% — Ve — % — % -■? % % Continued from page 1 most a full bump,” hut after some the act got underway' with an discussion with Giesler agreed to troductory “eight bars of music.” go along with his description of it This was explained at some length as a “baby bump.” lest the jury make the mistake of Mrs. Hunter then testified that thinking it had-anything to do with when Lili emerged from her famed another, off-Sunset-Strip nitery, bubble bath, her maid stood oh Patting of the curtains, he added, the far side of the tub and there revealed a maid tidying up, Testi- was nothing between Lili and the mony showed very clearly that the audience. Both Capt. Hannon and maid “never got undressed.” Capt. Sutton, however, reported Lili’s entrance was signalled by t’rat the maid — holding a large the drummer, and then the action towel—stood between Lili and the began. After, that/ it was pretty er grossed viewers. , much the same description the It was also established that Dep- court had-hbard before, although in uty Hunter is not regularly at- different terms. A few of the spec- tached to the v’ce squad. She be- tators dozed and for a time it ap- lohgs to the Transportation Dept, peared the same lethargy was at- Whethbr she won the assignment tacking the jurors. because the sheriff’s office figured Exhibits A & B movement was involved wasn’t rt " , v brought out, i e . n w?l ^ p F^ a 5 a K Ce 1!! Moiroii u the stand established that he paid Th« nniirt Llli $1 * 25 ° P er week (not the much The big question before the court publicized $5,000), out of which she U ^ llether ^ e i n P aid the maid and provided the Lili got down to the bare essentials arrangements and the set, earlier it was^a little too bare for public estimated to have cost $6,000. It taste. Deputy Hunter admitted that appeared to be taken for granted Lili never took off the net bra and that Lili also supplied her own pantiess which are the foundation costumes, including “people’s A of_her act. . and Bi’ (the lace panties and bra). Empress Josephine also got into Detailing: this, Giesler, closely the act late in .the day when Tom questioning Hover, discovered that Douglas? “interior architect,” who Lili owned the set, the props, the Wrote and staged the show, ap- walls and the doors poared as the final witness of thfe The description of the act firtaL da Y- He said the silver tub used ]y reached the point where Hover i l the show was a genuine antique was recounting, how Lili twirled Pix 2d Communion Bkf st. Second annual Communion breakfast for persons in the film industry has been set for Jan. 20 with a 9 a.m. mass to be cele- brated by . Francis Cardinal Spell- man at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, N. Y. breakfast will be at the grand ballroom oft the Waldorf-Astoria with Rev. James Keller, M. M., head of the Christopher Movement, as principal speaker. Over 1,900 attended last year. that hppq_nwnprf by Empress Josephine. He]added the informa- tion that the snow had cost about $3,000 in “embpllishments.” Pre- sumably he^Was not referring to Lili or her\saiary. iiy Peel Cap! wi'jgle-By^^gJe account ran some 22 minutes—aobut eight minutes logger than the act itself. Appearance of columnist Flora- b-;i Muir in the office at Giro’s a f :w moments after the arrest was pix Continued from pace 3 her toes while reclining on the lounge. T Is for Toes “Okay,” said Gross wearily, “enter it on the diagram on the blackboard. Put down T for Toes.” *e hirtw-hv-hlow aViH I , Gross also sought to make sure , s .?l <> Zl y I that Hover tould see elearly. from his vantage point and when the latter mentioned reading the name “Kenneth Hopkins” on a hafbox, asked if Hover used ^binoculars.” “I don’t need glasses for that,” described to the court albng with I ^• over P^ es ^ ed ’. taking Off a pair Uie coun uiong of spectacles ahd waving them VI tie information that she greeted nn i v n _xn w » t:w officers by saying •\vhat do you <)nly need them for close reading.” silly bastards think you’re doing?” Capt. Sutton hastily added that he didn’t think the scribe meant anything by the salutation. Heijsler Back to Coast Stuart Heisler, who directed He “Saturday Island” for producer didn’t take offense, he said, because David ,Rose) returned to the Coast '''he-thought-^that’k’jus^ her natural Monday (10) from New York. He approach” and he and Giesler had been in N. Y. about a week on agreed that “she was just being his way back from England and herself.” Jamaica, where the pic Was made. Tut Tut , Scripter Stephanie Nordli, who This was confirmed by Miss Muir was oh location with the qrew; ac- wlien she appeared on the stand, companied Heisler to the Coast. Deputy District Attorney Ber- Linda Darnell, who starred, is re nard Gross then took over the cross-examination; The columnist was definite in Jher opinion that the act never ex- maining :in New York for several more weeks. She’s recuping from a severe jaundice attack suffered in England. Journal correspondents, reflected an easing of* biz compared with high hopes instilled by good sum- mer grosses. Emphasis, however,, was largely on the negative aspects, rather than some' signs. of strength that were turned up. Headline bn the survey was; “Movie Downturn. The Boxofficfe Pickup Tapers Off; Attendance Is Near Poor 1950 Level; New .Eng- land Theatre Chain’s Business /Falls Apart’; Profit Margins Shrink. Taxes, Living * Costs Blamed.” Though a number of big circuits reported business better than year ago, gloom Was extracted from the disappointment that re suited because the sharp summer tilt hadn’t continued. UPT re ported biz up 4% from 1950, an un- named chain said its grosses were up. 10% and a second unidentified circuit told the Journal it was do- ing “slightly” better than a year ago. Reasons for the failure to hold the summer line were attributed by various exhibs interviewed, to usual causes; Pix not as strong as those pf the summer, television; high, cost of living, end of block- booking, higher income taxes on the. Public, etc; journal quoted lihnamed exhibs in a number of cities as considers ing closing their houses ont* or more days a week. These includ- ed two in New England and one in Cleveland, They were all nabes. Aside from Par and UPT, the only big loser during the two-day selling last week was 20th-Fox, which went down three-quarters. Universal Was off three-eighths and Republic one-quarter. Off just one- eighth • were Columbia, Loew’s, RKQ Pictures and RKO Theatres. While most of the losses were comparatively small; they were worrisome as indicators of the loss' of Wall St, support. It was feared that they might be hurt consider- ably more in the event of a general market slide, rather than the com- parative sir; Y th v prevailed irt other issues ldst week. already become important b.o. at- tractions; , As far .as. could be. ascertained, Paramount appears to be the only production company that has. an organized star deyelopment pro- gram, although; the other com- panies have been just'as active in calling attention to new talent. Par has organized what it calls its; ■Gbiden Circle.” Group consists of young talent just out of college or drama schools Who have been signed for a pre-star buildup. Al- ter special training at the studio, players are spotted in bit parts and later, depending on the aspirant’s progress, cast in meatier roles. Contingent, which now numbers about 14, isi used for various junkets and r introduced at exhib meetings; Par also pre- pares a special booklet, on hew talent which Is sent to exhib or^ ganizations and exchange centers^ Special Bally Jobs In special cases, the company does a special job. Examples of this are buildups •given newcomers Charlton Heston and Jan Sterling. Former has the male lead in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Greatest Show On Earth.” Similar buildups are contemplated- .for Audrey Hep- burn, Belgian-born actress who ter ceived raves for her performance on Broadway in “Gigi”; and fob Anna Maria Alberghetti* young classical singer. 20th-Fox follows pattern of building players in connection with specific pmthres. Jean Peters and Marilyn Monroe are young per- formers getting buildups at 20th, with the latter having gotten some unusually strong news and maga- zine space lately. Also high on the 20th list are Mitzi Gaynor and Anne Francis. Universal, too, is busy building its star roster. Piper Laurie and Tony Curtis have jumped to the forefront and are slated for U’s top production^. Jeff Chandler and Shelley Winters are ' examples of U contractees who have already arrived, Peggy Dow, Joyce Hold- en, Rocky Hudson and Julia Adams are youngsters who are on the way. Moppet star Gigi Perreaii is being groomed with the idea of becom- ing another Shirley Temple. Young- ster 4 now on a nine-city tour after a big radio and television buildup in New York; U has fol- lowed a policy of sending- its new faces oh tour. Not onl5 does. if help sell Hollywood* U feels, . hut it also lessens resistance of exhibs to accept pix with new names. Metro’s rpster of new names in- cludes Pier^Angeli, who made her U. S. debut in ’’Teresa,” Denise Parcel, Carleton Carpenter/Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Car on, Fernando Lamas, Sally f Forrest, Betsy von Fiirstenberg, Donna Corcoran, Ralph Meeker and Nancy Davis. Carpenter and Miss.. Reynoids, following their performance in “Two Weeks With Love,” are now on a nationwide vaude tour. Miss Caron is the. young ballerina dis- covered in Paris by Gene Kelly and iuihbia’s new names. Actress, who won an Acadfmy Award for her performance in “Born Yesterday/' will be seen again soon )in “The Marrying Kind.” Also rated high- ly at Columbia are Jody Lawrahce, Beverly Michaels, AldO Ray, Anne James and Johnny Stewart; Lat- ter is a 15-year<<)ld who was snatched from . . the cast of “The King" and I,” current Broadway musical hit. RKO's proispects include; Mar- .garet Sheridan, Elizabeth Threatt, Faith Dpmergue, Mala Powers; Kenneth Tobey, William Tallman* Keith Andes and Carla Balinda. IIA-Indie Dickers Continued from page 3 the banks likely would .go along with financing. Same holds for the other four actors. Having lined up such stellar names, UA and MCA Would have little difficulty in setting; the bal-, ance of the package. An indie producer could be selected .Who would in turn handle the other as- signments; i In addition to providing choice releases for the distrib, the deal also could contribute much in the' Way of prestige. UA clearly is bent on re-establishing itself as a major operation with only “A” product on its lineup and the Grant - SteWart-Bf ando-Peck-Ladd names appear a plenty strong plus factor in this Connection. In view of these advantages; and providing a further incentive for the stars, UA probably would re- duce somewhat its regular 30% distribution charge for pix in- volved in the setup. On the per-, formers’ end, ' the arrangement would have to be Worked out so that they’d be free tp make one in- die pic annually, apart from other commitments. Krim and Benjamin are due back in N. Y. at the end of this week. who appears with him American in Paris/” in “An jf y n I, , , . » *.*.* ■& , V,. Judy Holliday tqpis the list of Go-| alone. Continue^ fom page Bells” has already racked up 300,- 000 sales. Team clicked on such disks as “Mocking Bird* Hill,’’ “World Is Waiting for . the Sun- rise,” “Whispering” and “Just One Mor% enhance.” \ Although Mercury hasn’t made an official tabulation of Miss Page’s sales; it’s estimated that she’ll reach the 6,000,000 peak before the end of tfie; year. % Thrush has had nine successive clicks since she lilt, the jackpot last year with “Ten- nessee Waltz.” With her latest re- leases, “And SO To Bleep Again’ and “Detour/’^eaded for big re- turns, it's expected she’ll reprise last year*s sales smash. It’s. figured that Paul-Ford and Miss Page will take in at least: $180,000 this year from disk sales