Variety (May 1952)

nCTVBES Wedh^fay, May 21 , 19 SJ OA s Chances for 36 Pix in 1 New deals pacted by United Art--4 ists with Edward Small and Sam Hit in London by Auto .J£e£lS55 to washing " Spiegel in the past week strength-1 en possibilities that the'distrib'will have its desired 36'features for re- ahd^piegelf^’fiock^Of other film- • London’s keex*-to-the~l$ft | ( ofthecapture. ^rakers in a recent period have fie proved too much last Week for committed themselves to delivery, Morris Helprin, U. S. rep of Sir of product to UA in future months. Alexander Korda. Habit got the Small’s contract-signing followed best of him as he got to the.'centre his departure from Columbia, of a London street and he looked |> where he had been operating, on the wrong direction. TEtesult: a « partnership basis the last couple fractured leg, bruises of the hand of years. Split was caused by dif- and various contusions. Also a ^ ^ - - **-■ threatened lawsuit by the owner pf the car which hit him to recover the cost of a damaged headlight. Despite ‘ the injuries,, Helprin flew back to: New York the follow- Hollywood, May 2d, - Edward Smkll Productions < Is revamping the script of ‘’Prison- er’s Island* to take advantage of * front-page story. Rewrite will in- corporate a. new angle ‘based on the capture of Brig.-Geh. Francis T. Dodd: by .Communist prisoners on. Koje Island, Michel . Kraike, producer, is footage and details. ferences with Col brass over his sale of earlier-made properties to television. Small will lens 13 pix •lor UA, 10 o: -which are slated for delivery by the end of ’J53 , .« « *. _ t. _ it F-WC Circuit Pitches Pix —*1 First, set to- go before the cam- ing day to have his leg set and has eras on June 2, will be “Kansas been confined to his home since City 117,” John Payne-Cpleen Gray then. He expects to be in his of- nun xr«*.ien« «riii tj^ ce onL crutches next week. City Investing Has 500G Prod. Stake eostarrer which' Phil Karlson will direct from a screenplay by George Bruce and Harry Essex. Production of the second is skedded to roll July 15. This will be ^‘Return of • the Corsican Brothers,” starring Louis Hayward, directed by Ray Nazarro and scripted by Richard Schayer. Small has set up' production headquarters at the Samuel Gold- Wyn studio, Hollywood, and is now assembling a staff' under Ben Hersch, general' manager and pro- duction supervisor. The producer reported that scripts for his entire ’ 13-pic program are finished or near completion. ■ • Spiegel’s New Deal ■ Spiegel, whose last was “The fltorda In England. Cl has a heavy at “smokers African Queen” for.UA, will do financial;stake in the Lopert Film type. ^ ^ • • m i « i »1 /♦ >4 4 t • m Newark, May 20. Miffed at a restraining order which permits the showing in New- ark of the controversial - African documentary film,. “Latuko,” Pub- lic Safety Director John B. Keenan said today (Tues.) that he will press for legislation which would give authorities the right to say that certain films can be shown only for non-profit and in places not regularly used for general- enter- tainment. New York State has such a safe- guard, Keenan pointed out. He declared that the restraining order had handcuffed the police “in the Los Angeles, May 20. . First major western, circuit to go in heavily for television sponsor- ship is Fox-West Coast, which takes the plunge Thursday (22.) on “Un- cle Archie’s- Komedy Klub” over KNBH. Deal calls for 13-week op- tion - segments spreading over one year. Pitch is aimed at selling kids on the idea of going to film houses. Idea is to plug three films each week with mention, of F-WG thea- tres where they are showing. First films to . be plugged are “Kan- garoo,” “Ivory Hunter” and “Belles On Their Toes.” For Theatre Tele Theatre Network Television this week signed for exclusive video Investment of more than $500,- performance pf their sworn duty.” lhrhtheavw 000 ^as been made by the City In- Keenan expressed fear that the vesting Co:, N. Y., in three pix be- court decision would encourage a weight void wMch ihg produced by' Sir Alexander traffic of obscene films displayed P confronted big-screenTv'since last summer. While details of the Aiiieau jl^jl . wxj., w*** w | ... v*»~ «- *■-j*'-. • . , rtf'al not revealed -it’s be- four pix under'his hew deal, first | to* » tv'^fram interierinx Ileve ^ th «. Internationai Boxing the pix in the ing the city from interfering pi.-f. ?«. nv-nmnfin v” .Fvvnt.. e pix Club, which, is promoting" the ; bout, will receive a percentage of the of which is set to start shooting leasing rights to in London on July 15. This has U. S, ' with the showing 6f the film !the working title of “Melba,” based Robert W. Dowling, prez of Cl *a*. issued here, yesterday '(Mon.) "theSe^yi^g the on the career; of Nellie Melba, the and chairman of the board-of Lo- by the Chancery Division Su- even j. as w ith previous bouts lined singer, and will be done in Tech- pert, concluded the new deal with perior Court. As a result of the nlcolor. According to Spiegel, Korda prior .to returning to New ruling, handed down by Superior indicating how theatre TV has (Continued on page 16) Krim to Huddle With Chaplin On — — X o ^ r T J _ rt '] r it ' *i» luuiuduiia xiKJ W vacauv 4 , T woo York ftosa London last week. Par- Court Judge Freund, the Newsreel atured during the last year, Itrs tleipatlng In the negotiations were Theatre here. resumed! presenta- anticipated that . both'," fijrnery Ilya Lopert, prexy pf .the distribu- tion of the film immediately f61- .... . ■- - tion outfit, and Morris Helprin, lowing the judge’s decision. U. S. rep for Korda. They returned Newark police, who had con-* with Dowling. fiscated a print of the film and, ar- (Continued on page 13) dl , Pix in which Dowling bought a Limelight Distrib are " GUl5ert & Su,Iivan ” which went before the cameras i m i Arthur B. Krim, president . of I April 15; “The Sound Barrier,” /0th-rOX Off fO H|€ RtlCCS United Artists, leaves N. Y. for which is completed, and the next grosses and their payment for rights will surpass a six-figure mark for the first time. Fight is to be staged' June . 23 at Yankee ‘ Stadium, N. Y. TbTT prexy Nathan L. Halpern predicted that some 40 or. 50 theatres, would be ‘ linked together for the event and s$id that an even greater num- the Coast within the next few days | Carol Reed film, which has not ]^0VV'XlIld 0^ lst^RlID* her . may tie in if the telephone to resume talks with indie, pro- ducers on distribution deals. It’s expected Krim 'also will see •Charles Chaplin regarding the re- lease of Chaplin’s “The Lime- light,” which is now editing.. Chaplin, who owns 25% of the UA outstanding stock, has yet to enter into an agreement covering his film with the ’company. How- ever, initial discussions have taken place and it’s held highly likely that a contract will soon material- ize. There have been no hints on possible terms, except that “fa- vored nation” deals are against the policy of UA’s management. » In the past, Chaplin and Mary Pick- ford, also a 25% owner, had the privilege of releasing pix through UA at terms giving the distrib 25% of the gross rentals up to $800,000 and 10% on income above that figure. - Shortly after he became prez last year, Krim announced that such deals, which obviously are highly favorable to the producer, would riot be entered in the fu- ture. He feels that stiffer terms ure necessary for the distrib to operate profitably. G. Templeton Heading To Germany on Govt. Pic Job ■ • • Hollywood, May 2(£. George Templeton, has left for Washington enroute to Germany to head the motion picture division of the State Department there. He had come back here, following his appointment last month, talking With writers, directors and other creative talent about joining him abroad. He found many “more than willing to go.” Templeton will make no deci- sions until he reaches his head- quarters in* Bonn and surveys the situation.- He’ll probably recruit technicians there. Most of actual production will be around Munich, Berlin and- Frankfurt. Although he’ll be gone two years, Templeton will maintain his indie company, Templeton Productions, under su- pervision of Dan Packer, who’ll en- gage in both theatrical and tele- vision production. been started and is untitled as yet. Deal differs basically from Cl’s previous arrangement with Korda. A Couple of years ago, Cl, through the Lopert outfit, made an advance of $1,080,000, 'against a percentage, to Korda for distribution rights to 13 films. They included' 10 com- pleted pix for $280,000 cash down, plus $400,000 on delivery of “Tales of Hoffmann,” and $200,000 each on delivery of' “Cry, the Beloved Country” and “Outcast of the Is- lands.” That was purely a distribution arrangement^ with Lopbrt getting a (Continued on pa^e 13) Brit. Govt. Refuses To Halt Sale of Denham; No Quota Threat Seen * London, May 20. The Government tonight (Tues.) declined to intervene in the sale of the Denham and Isleworth studios, refusing to accept the assumption Of Labor members of Parliament that the studios’ retention would increase production, save dollars and strengthen the British hands in forthcoming Anglo-American nego- tiations. Questions raised in the House of Commons last week by T. A. Swingler yielded a written answer which he regarded as un- satisfactory. In his question last week, Swingler implied that the reported sale of Denharri to Electrical and Musical Industries, which would use the plant for non-film making purposes, might hamper -the pro- duction of an adequate supply of product to fulfill the '30% quota. Reply for the ’government by Henry Strauss, parliamentary sec retary of the Board of. Trade, agreed that there would be official concern if lack of studio space made the quota impossible to ful- fill but he did not consider that such a situation had arisen. Nor did he feel that it would arise if the Denham lot was no longer available for filming. Kangaroo Gets Headstart 20th-Fox got a lot of publicity mileage out of' the “escape”" (the company’s pres* agents will swear it was strictly accidental) of Zip, a five-foot kangaroo that it was im porting from California to New York for the opening at the Roxy of . a film named (of all things) “Kangaroo.” The Houdini of. Mar- supials made its getaway wfyde company is'able to clear additiona facilities. It’s' considered doubtfu that the fight will reach any the atres on the. Coast, since there is only/ one TV relay line west of (Continued on page 5b) SWG Name* MacDougall Hollywood, May 20. ■ Ranold -MacDougall has been.: named to Screen Writers Guild exec board, replacing Sloan -Nib- ™ j, Washington, May 20 Testimony-designed, to show that ;prec i ,ion v Equipment Coro <20th-fox subaid) used the war at an excuse to hold back TV develop mehts by Scophpny Corp. was given ttie Federal. Communications Cpm. mission yesterday (Mon.) at Ye. sumptioh of hearings on Paramount antitrust , issues. GPE and Par jointly held 50% interest in ScS phony, Which they were required to d|vest. fy 1049 by the consent Cree., Commission counsel Max Paglin produced a memorandum in March 1944, in which Arthur Levey, prexv of Skiatron Electronics & Televi* sion Corp., which has acquired Sco* phony patents, informed Par vee- pee Paul Raibourn that he could not accept explanations by GPE of its inability" to develop Scophony TV sets “when other companies far more heayily committed to the war effort have b$en making progress in this regard.” Levey told Raibourn: “I have for some time had a growing convic- tion that the objects for which GPE became -associated with Scophony haver become increasingly obscure.’ 1 • Memo’was based on a letter to Levey from Earle G. Hines, prexy of GPE, saying that war shortages of material and personnel prevent- (Continued on page 13) Picture* 3x4 Feet For The Home Revealed By Skiatron at FCC Probe Washington, May 20. ■ .Skiatron is currently working on a pilot model of its Supersonic projection receiver permitting TY •programs, tb be shown at home in pictures three-by-four feet, Arthur Levey- testified. * At hearings on par. anti-trust issues. Skiatron in- herited patents held by Scophony, in which Par and General Preci- sion owned,, a 50% interest until 1949; Commission has been- hear- ing evidence that Par and GPE suppressed .development of the Supersonic receiver. ' The Skiatr.on receiver, or “pro- jector” as Levey prefers to call it, Is about the same size .as a 16m home moVie projector and operates in a: similar manner, throwing a TV picture on-a wall, screen or treated window shade. The projec- tor ’contains the usual knobs for tuning in stations, Levey told .Vahixty following the hearing that Skiatron plans to • (Continued on page 13) - . . . . , ley. Latter ankled because he Is being transported from LaGuardia now ip a supervisory position as Airport and was reported cavort- story editor of Revue Productions. irig between the Whitney and Grace estates near Roslyn, L. I. New York papers, aside from the World-Telegram, shied away, but the Long Island papers went for I credit on “Las Vegas Story.” the yarn hook, line and kangaroo. The SWG membership meeting Wednesday night (21) will include report on Guild hassle with RKO over the -Paul Jarrico" screen- Last heard from, they and L.I. po- lice—possibly with a. little help from Stirling Silliphant’s press de- partment at 20th—were organizing r. helicopter search and a kangaroo posse. Long 1 Island Star-Journal head- lined the story: “Zip Zigs As Po- lice Zag; It’s a .Kangaroo, Not a Gag.” 100 Industry Leaders Enter Pic Golf Tourney Almost 100 industry leaders have entered the film industry- golf tournament being sponsored, by New • York's Cinema Lodge Of B’nai B’rith at the Vernon Hills Country Club, Tuckahoe, N. Y., to- morrow (Thurs.). Those scheduled to participate are Spyros Skouras. Si Fabian, Abe Schneider, Harry Bratldt, George Skouras, William Brandt, William White, Burton’Robbins: Leo Jaffe, Martin Moscbwitz, Abe Di'ckstein, Edward L s Fabian," MaX A. Cohen, Harold Ririzler, Solomon and Mor- ris Strausberg, Mhrrie Goldstein, Robert Sherman, Paul Lazarus, Jri, A1 Rylander, Howard LeSieur, Mortimer Wormser, George'Horn- stein and Len Gruenberg. . Participation is open to'all mem- bers of the film and allied indus- tries. Alfred W, Schwalberg is chairman and Harold Rinzler is co- chairmaru N. Y. to L..A," Julie Bennett Charles Boyer ’Olivia de Havilland John Farrow Lester Gottlieb Sir Cedric Hardwicke Alexander S. Ince Leo McCarey •Les Thomas • N. Y'. to Europe Larry Adler Earl Blackwell John Byram Marian Byram Joan Caulfield Saul Goo*dman Charles Laughton Herb Leder Cele McLaughlin Leonide Moguy •Maynard Morris' Stephen Pallqs Gregory Peck Leonard Pennario Benno Rabinof •Sylvia Rabinof - Tino Rossi Sidney Sheldon Europe to N. Y« Glenn Ford Burl Ives Milton R. Rackmil Jonas Rosenfield John Shubert Jerome Whyte 1 L. A. to N. Y. Larry Adler Dana: Andrews Val Arms Ted Ashley * Lauren-Bacall ' Humphrey. Bogart Vanessa Brown George D. 'Burrows Macdonald Carey Richard Carlyle Carleton Carpenter Janis Carter Sidney' Chaplin Richard Conte ' Stanley Donen Roger Edens • Eddie Elkort Nanette Fabray Ed Gardner Paul Gross Henry Hathaway Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Dr. Herbert Kalmus Otto Lang Sammy Lewis Frederick Loewe Joseph Manklewicz Daniel Mann John Nasht Donald O’Connor Mike O’Shea Harriet Parsons Gregory Peck' JanTeerce .Frank Pitman Vera Ralston Debbie Reynolds William Saal Sidney Sheldon Jack Smith Lou Smith Walter Starckp Kay Starr Abe Steinberg Harry Steintnatt Don Weis William Wilder Herbert J. Yates