Variety (May 1952)

strc ® t * N® w York 36, N. Y„ by Variety, Ino.' AjrnuaJ subscription, $10. $La*le copies, 33 /cents. Entered as second class matter December 22, 1905V at the Dost Office at New York. N. Y.. under the Sot of Sard* ^.1879. COPYRIGHT, m2, BV VARIETY, IHC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED YORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 1952 PRICE 25 CENTS > " * ** , Legit season Just ending has ex- cited the N. X* drama critics—but in reverse* Most; members of the N. Y.. Drama Critics Circle, whom Variety polled for their reaction to the 1951-52 season, cast a jaun- diced' eye on what' they called the worst season in years, then un- leashed ' some chpice wordage on the various.!actors .inyolved. Critics belabored high, costs,, talent, play- X " rights • lor the ’ lack’ of them), NTA and (in-A couple of cases) themselves.* 1 'Other . beefs included “over- heated theatres'' ill >infer,” which the Herald tribune’s Walter F. Kerr found “more suffocating than the plays”; Ethel (Journal of 'Com- merce) Colby's complaint of “too iriany revivals, nolfe especially dis- tinguished, except - perhaps ‘Com slant Wife’”; W Wall St. Jour- nal’s Richard 'Cooke likewise lamenting “not enough original scripts”;, - ahd '' Kin g Features’ George Jean Nathan also advising 'there were milch ' better play scripts available." . ; “If it hadn’t been for the t re- vivals,”-' declared the Brooklyn Eagle’s Louis Sheaffer, “the season would have beeti d complete bust. Revivals,' of Course; are a vital, in- dispensable part of 'any healthy (Continued on page 56) *, Bob Hope .this week negotiated a separate deal with NBC whereby the comic will become a radio-TV commentator during' the . Repub- lican and Democratic conventions in Chicago in July. ; Hope will .do a five-minute daily network .radio Commentary, a la Will Rogers, and another five-min- Ute cross-the-board strip for Video. It will not be available for sponsor- Pacting of Hope accents the com- petitive politico sweepstakes among the networks, which are going in for. namfr personalities for auxiliary coverage of the conventions this year. Just as in the past, person- alities like Gracie Allen were mred by newspaper syndicates to write convention .Columns, TV is plaiting a bid to provide the same supplemental^ features. ‘ • a new facet of network talent raiding, NBCt-TY .was. reported •■" ls Wee k.to be trying to woo Bish- op Fulton J, Sheen away from the rival DuMont web, NBC is said, jo have offered the bishop $50,000, w be turned oyer to Whatever cjhar- |ty he designates, but thd bid was turned down. Sheen reportedly told NBC that (Continued on nasfe 55) Via Coke AM-TV Deal Hollywood, May 20. Radio-television deal is reported near closing by Bing Crosby for Coca-Cola sponsorship next sea- son. GrOaner balked at the drink firm’s original pitch for 10 tele shows next season to supplement his radio schedule, so a compro- mise was worked out whereby Crosby would do. six tele shows on film in addition to his weekly radio. . To fill out the weekly TV sched- ule, Andre Kostelanetz would pre- sent a straight musical show with guest singers. Disk Guarantees Near End as RCA, . Lanza Deal in Fiz i • Indicating an end of an era as : far as heavy guarantees for' disk artists are concerned, negotiations between RCA Victor and Mario Lanza for a new recording pact broke down last .week over Victor's refusal to grant the tenor’s guaran- tee demands. ‘ Lanza asked for a $200,000 minimum payment over the five-year term covering the pro- jected' new deal. Although Lanza has been one of their best sellers in the last couple of years, RCA execs are wary of saddling their artists’ payroll with guarantees which represent a gam- ble on the singer’s future earnings. Victor 'has offered Lanza,. whose pact recently Tan out, an additional five-year deal with a 10% royalty (Continued on page 61) BABY-SITTER‘MUST’ IN BEL GEDDES BARN PACT When Barbara Bel Geddes guests in “Moon Is Blue’’ this summer at Richard Aldrich’s two Cape Cod strawhats, the management will provide a baby-sitter for her six- year-old daughter, As far as known, it’s the first instance of such a stipulation being included in a player’s contract. Incidentally, the deal also calls for the actress to have sole' star billing. . Miss Bel Geddes, currently co- starring in the F. Hugh Herbert comedy- at the Henry Miller, N. Y., will make the barn appearances with her husband, stage manager Windsor Lewis, as leading man. During ‘ her vacation from the Broadway edition of the show she’ll also-do a guester at Lewis strawhat, the Robin Hood Theatre, Arden, Del. But she’ll have to hire her own baby-sitter there. . Hollywood, May. 20. All major film studios are check- ing loyalties of their employees against dossiers furnished by the American Legion. Around 200 names are on. the Legion list, many of top importance to Indus? try. Studios are" also getting non- commital letters In the effect that the Legion is merely furnishing the studios with information it has on certain film people. Letter from the Legion, signed by James F„ O’Neil, director of publications, does not ask the studios to do anything specific about the list* Nor does the Legion ask persons on the list to send replies 'or statement's to the Legion itself. Of the 300-odd names on the list, only two persons were ever subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. The others are accused of having at one time or other been members of organizations rated as Communist fronts, or otherwise acted in a manner linked to. leftist activity. A font of information, according to the dossiers, was the report by the California Senate's factfinding committee on un-American activi- ties by its head, Jack Tenney. Studios are acting individually in having their employees, or those who were involved in pictures shooting or about to be released, answer charges* It’s asked that (Continued on page 2) ‘Ziegfeld Follies’ Offer Max Liebman, producer-director of TV’s weekly “Show of Shows," Is considering an offer by the Shuberts to produce the’“Ziegfeld Follies" on Broadway next season. “My initial allegiance. Is to NBC/’ Liebman stated this week when contacted bn the report of a> pos- sible Shubert tieup. “And .pro- ducing ’$how of Shows’ is a full- time job. I T&on’t do ’Follies’ if I feel that it would interfere with the TV revue.” * Liebman and Lee * Shubert met yesterday (Tues.) to discuss the possibility of a co-production. The Shuberts have the leasing rights to the “Ziegfeld Fbllies” title. Cleveland, May 20. Operators of super-market? will use more Hollywood and Broadway glamour in preeming their new stores during next year, it was of- ficially Indicated during the Super Market Institute’s 15th annual convention here last week. Appearances of film stars, hill- billy bands, hotshot jukebox singers and Broadway, musical shows at debuts of big food mar- kets pay off In exploitation and good-will results, members were told by Jack Stone, director of ad- vertising for Furr's Super Markets in Lubbock, Tex. Entertainment budgets running up to $50,000 for such preems in that respect, are' good investments, he said, in relating how Texas grocery marketing -. centres have profitably capitalized on Hollywood glamour in preems. Following Stone’s advice, offi- cials of convention spent a hefty wad of Tong green on entertainers for the five-day n^t* Daily shows at civic'auditorium were headlined by Danny Thomas, Morton Downey, Victor Borge, Sally Rand, Ted Lewis’ troupe (minus the ill band- master) and two Met Opera singers, Eugene Conley and Lois Hunt. Top political experts, now train- ing all their energies on the con: ventions coming up in July, will be; anxiously watching results of tele- vision’s participation to determine whether they might have to revise drastically all the. circus and bally- hoo aspects of the' nation’s political scene. - It’s already been proved that TV, through its Inherent intimacy and probing eye, can show .voters whether a candidate. Is phony or sincere in his campaigning. This year, with video bringing the con- ventions directly into soine 18,000,- 000 living rooms across the coun- try, politicos wonder whether such (Continued on page 61) Ken Murray ..and CBS-TV this week broke off all negotiations, af- ter failure to' agree pn terms of a new contract,' and as of the mo-* ment Murray becomes a free agent, upon conclusion: of his present {Sat- urday night Budweiscr-sponsored cycle. In view of the fact that Murray, during his three years as star* of the show, has established himself. as one of TV'S peytna nent fixtures, with a habit-forming audience that spiraled the program Into the rat- ing bigtime, tbe bltfwUp comb? as a stunning shock. CBS .acknowl-. edged that‘‘'as Of now it’s all off " and admitted that-it Was "making other plans ,.for Saturday, night.” It’s considered likely that NBC will move in in . a bid to negotiate a deal With Murray, in vipw of previ- ous talks the web has had with the comic-emcee and in view of. Mur- ray’s click in the Saturday time, in which he has almost consistently’ outraged the Opposition “All Star Revue" show. • At stake, too, is the continued Budweiser sponsorship coin* Brew- ery has a new contract coming up for an. alternate- week sponsorship, in place of the weekly pickup of the past three years, but unless Murray and CBS come to an agree- ment, it’s considered doubtful that Budweiser will re-enter the spon- sor sweepstakes; Murray 'says that the network wants to commit him to program (Continued on page 63) Judy’s 8-a-ffeek National Tour? Judy Garland is expected to tour nationally as star of an eight-a- week variety show this fall. It’s anticipated that* after a summer’s rest, she'll open late September or early October on a jaunt that will (Continued on page 61) MAY t ami JONI A