Variety (May 1952)

It WTKBBfAtlom >VA*liTY'i' LoNDdH OFFICE By TOM VAN. DYCKE Paris, May 20. The European press on the. cur- rent Paris, musical festival, -Mas- terpieces oi the 20th Century,” suddenly switched from music and <Lrama columns to front and .edi- Excerpt From ‘Madam’ On BBC’s 'Light’Show London, May 20. Excerpt from Jack Hylton's Lon- don production of “Call Mo Madam" *s to be broadcast on the torii.1 pages as result of a Louis- waTSHsminutcl ^ ville Courier-Journal editorial of British-.,. Broadcasting Corp. com? May 7. Piece was written by Barry mentator Brian Johnston will be Bingham, who did a stint with the at the Coliseum to set the scene for ECA here listeners. The excerpt will include , ,* _ ., , _ . the hit songs, “Marrying for Love," Kentuclp gazette's thesis was to .. The ocarina,” "It’s a Lovely Day effect .that whereas Russians have - ? - — been sending ballet troupes and Today” and “Best Thing for. You Would Be Me.” Show stars Billie performers to other than Iron Cur- Worth and Anton Walbr / dk . who tain countries, litter have been wbll ^ heard on the radio presen •‘interpreters rather than creators.” Editorial goes pn to state that “So- viets have been smart about play- T f . «, . n I • ni i ing the artistic game in Europe. tlODOlUlU $Ymph ID DlaCK They .have sent Soviet performers ^ ^ t r ' w wa gr and it*? ” lnt0 Germany ' Aus ' First Time m 51 Years, Feeling exists here, even by local A1 *a Pave Off 1 (l£ Dpfirif sponsors, that Louisville's editorial- r “J 5 V 11 WIltH ist led with his -chin on more than Honolulu, May '27. one .count, First, talent like the Honolulu. Symphony Orchestra Boston Symphony, and New York wound up its season : withouta City Ballet must likewise be con- deficit for .the first time in its 51- aidered “interpreters.” On the po- year history. * Additionally; the or- litical score, European crlx insist chestra managed tp pay off an in- that , “Masterpieces” mush, be herited. prior deficit of $10,000. judged as “political,” coming < as Factors responsible a re claimed it does under sponsorship of • the to be the. orchestra's shoeing un- Congress for Cultural Freedom,” dor George. Baratl, .young conduc angled by Julius Fleischmann. tor who has built up strong follow- Conductor Artur Rodzinski got in lug; . abolition of 20% Federal the rhubarb from Florence, attack- amusement tax, which the' sym- ing "the sponsoring committee’s se- phony retained; sale of terrltory- • lections, and pointing out-that Kat- wide broadcasts of major concerts chaturian and Kabalevsky of Rus- to local business firms, and excel rla, Szymanowski of Poland and lent press and radio assists. Janacek of Czechoslovakia have Last; year's special symph6hy not * been included, while other fund drive was headed by execs of composers he refrained from nam- the Hawaiian Pineapple Co., largest • Ing were deemed unworthy of se- pineapple growing and canning lection. 1 firm in the isles. This year’s drive, He wound up by saying “Real just ended, netted $30,000 under musical masterpieces do not • heed leadership of execs of one of the to be promoted or financed by any- big sugar agencies, body. May I'humbly suggest that Barat L ls ’bolstering major con- instead of (or in addition to) or- certs with guest artists. Some of ganizlng musical 1 and social gala season's soloists came from events that cost between' $500,000 Jfcpan and the Philippines—thus and $750,000, it might be‘better to increasing-interest in longhair mu- immortallze Fleischminn’s Gin and sic here. Yeast and any other sponsor there Orchestra consists or pros and • may be ... by creating a musical amateurs, civilians and servicemen, foundation to help creative artists with BarAtt mixing moderns and’ while they are still alive, thus classics. are preventing a recurrence of the Bela Bartok case.” (It was Rodzin- sld’s contention that Bartok, fa mous Hungarian composer who died in New York in 1945, had to have his musical friends pass the hat to pay his- hospital and burial bills.) Replying to Rodzinski, organiza- tion director Nicolas Nobokov, Rus- sian-born American composer-direc- tor, stated that it was not possible to give a complete picture of the evolution of music in the past 50 years, and regretted the omission of Szymanowski, Bloch, Rachman- inoff, Elgar, Schmitt and many others. The battle wages furiously, with lots of printers ink spilled. French crix are burned at the fact that they rate but a single ducat apiece, and that in all 25 seats were al- lotted to the press and radio of the world. Real griping is ex- pressed at fact that embassies, brass, and other VIPs seem to have all they nted. However, in all fairness, the pro- grams themselves have been on "a very high cultural level, with only one omelet to date. Boston Sym- phony, New York City fiallet, Suisse Romande Orchestra, and soloists have been extraordinarily well received. But if any one in- dividual may be said to have stolen the show, it would be Igor Strav- insky. No fewer than nine of his compositions have been given. On the two occasions he led an orches- tra, the 1.900-seat Theatre dcs Champs Elysees was clean two weeks in advance and scale upped to 4,020 francs (roughy $14) for down front pews. His “Oedipus Rex,” an opera-oratorio, written originally in 1927 in medieval Latin by Jean Cocteau, was given a magnificent new production (19), with composer waving the baton. Current show is lush with startling sets and costumes designed by Coc- teau, who likewise declaimed the narration in French. PLAN USING TV ON SCOT TREASURE HUNT Tobermory* Scotland, May 20. Television' may be roped in to help the hunt for Scot .treasure buried In the sea near here. The deep-sea diving ship/ H.M.S. Re- claim, will leave Portsmouth equipped with long-range under- water TV. It will anchor in this quiet Scots harbor Where the Span- ish Armada treasure ship Floren- cia was gunk. Reportedly it car- ried millions of dollars worth of gold. It was underwater televi sion which identified the lost sub- marine Affray. The Florencia sank in. the* bay here 364 years ago. In 1950, *the Duke of Argyll enlisted Admiralty aid in seeking to salvage her Divers brought to the .surface enough evidence to convince ex- perts that the treasure ship really does lie in the water near here. XONDON {Week ending May 30 Orlfure* indicate week* of rmi) "Aftor My F»*hlort/" Airtba#*adors (3). VAnd U to Bod," Strand (33). "»•* Your Llfo/' Hippodrome (14), /'blue for »*y," t H«r Majtsty'* (78). "Call. Me Madame/' Colisaeum (11). "Peep B(Oe fea," Duchess (12). burtt Draper. Criterion (1). "•xclfemeht," Casino (12), "KnleMa ef Maditeis," Ylo Palace (115). "UtfTe Hut," lyric (8«). "London Loughs," Adelphl (7), "Love of 4 Colon#!*," Wynham (54). "Lyric Revue," Globe (35). " ('Merry Widow," Stoll (6). • - "Mortimer Touch," Duke of, York (4), "Mr. Pickwick," Westminster (2). "Much Ado Nothin*," .Phoenix (20). "Other Heart/' Old Vic.(6). "Pari* to Plceodllly," Prince Wales (7), "Penny Plain," St. Martin (48). "Relative Value," Savoy (25). "Reluctant Here**," WhltehaU' (00). "Seagull* Over SOrfOnto," Apollo (09). "South Pacific," Drury Lane (30). "Sweet Madpeic," Vaudeville (1). . "Under Sycamore Treo," Aldwych (5). , Wfter* Moon," Haymarket- (50).. "WMte jheop Family," Piccadilly ’ (33). "Winter Journey," St. James'* (9). "Youn* Klliabeth," .New (0). "Zip Oees a Million," Palace (32). (CLOSED LAST WEEK) Red L.Her Day," Garrick (13), "Rendezvous," Comedy (3). (OPENING THIS WEEK) (Figures denote preem dates) "Meet Celjaghen/t Garrick (27). "Tlmen of . Athens," Old Vic (28). "Up Oarden Path," New Boltons (28). "Murder In Motley," Fortune (30).' "Cold Turkey," Comedy (29). AUSTRALIA • (Week ending May 19) . • "Poop Show," Royal, Sydney. "Kiwis," Umpire, Sydney, "Don Olovannl," Tivoli, Sydney. "The Father," Mercury, Sydney. "Kle* Me r Kate," Majesty's, Melbourne. Seagulls Ovor Sorrento/' Comedy, Mel- bourne. ' “*wan Loko," Princess, Melbourne. "Ho Tree* In Street," - Tivoli, Mel- bourne, PABIS (Week ending April 2«) "Amant do Mmo, VIdal>" Antoine, "back Street," Fontaine. "Caprlcos do Vlchnou," Etolle. "£• 1 * #,r * temerkond," Renaissance. "Chkntovr do Mexico," Chatelet. "Cengrea.de Clermont," Potlnlere. "CuUlne d»s An*#*," Ambaaaadeurs. "Dernlers Outrage*," Vieux Colomble. "Den d'Adefe," Wagranl. "Eternal Marl," Gaite Montparnasse, "Etranges Camaradea," Montceau. ^ "Orande Roue," St. Georges, . "Her I tie re," Mathurins. "Jeaus la collie," Gramont. "J'Y Sols j'y Reate," Gymnase. "Lk PeUille do Ylgn#,"' Madeleine. "Uelaona D#«g#r#us#«," Gaston Bity. Larsgue I'Infant Paralt," Nouveautes. ( Men^Marl at Tel," Capucines. Mlchodlere. ‘ Mult dot Reis," Amblgu. "OcCupo Minimum," Palais Royal. "Ombre Cher#," Edouard VH. “2" "* velt pas le* Coaurs," Rochefort i'SrV *,rV rl V" G * lt * Lyrique. . "Plain Feu," Empire. ^'Profahateur/' Hebertot. "Ouerento at buatre," Michel. "Reaureaction daa Corps," Oeuvre. ,,?* vu 2 tlbortlno," Casino do Paris. *yr Torre Commo Clol," Alhenee. ''Tote des Autres," Atelier. F*«r elles," BoufEes. Mousnuetelre*," Porte St. Mart. "Valso Toreador*," Comedio C-E. “X* UV v? J eye use," Mogador. "Un Vrale Fella," Follea Bergere. ICELAND (Week ending May 17) 'Streetcar Named Desire," Arts, Bel- fUt. Tom A Grou P' Belfast. Opera House, Cork. v*KM. d$ A nd Abbey, Dublin. "Venus Observed," Gate, Dublin. ■*hf Mexico Would Elevate Standards of Mikemen Mexico City/May 20. Higher culture for radio an- nouncers is demanded as a prime requisite for examining candidates for mikemen's licenses bj the com- mission now revamping the com- munications laws. The regulation was made by Guillermo Nunez Keith, top spieler for local station XEW and head of the National Radio Announcers Assn. Keith de- mands that future announcers “have a solid culture, the knowl- edge of at least two languages and a full sense of responsibility.” He indicated that at present about the only thing demanded of a radio announcer in Mexico is that he talk klibly and distinctly, The association also seeks to el- evate radio announcing throughout the ^ Americas. It has obtained President Miguel Aleman’s approv- al for a meeting here during June at dates convenient to the dele- gates. SCOTLAND (Week ending May 24) JN** Day s Mlichlaf," Alhambra, Glas- fiOW( Shillelagh," Metropolis, Glasgow. "ThW.m ® rId •'" King’s, Glasgow. Th« Millionairess," King’s, Edinburgh. BUENOS AIDES dVcch onding May 24) . My Mother-In-Law Is a Fury" (Mi f>u- esra es Una Fiera), Apolo. his l&grimas tam- blen. se sccan), Atenco. , Spain" (Do Espana Llego U4>a Cancion), Argentlno. i “^ h#n J c hesfs Hunt Partridge" (Cuando los Duendeo Cazan Perdices), Astral. nos M i?res lt * m,ni ' ° Dona Vit amlnns)» Bue- “Wrong Lov." (El Mai Amor). Casino. al"&a™S, r com.co* , ' e *" ,DC '* Chacra ,EI Diabi ° an “F-B." (F.B.), El National. ;;^ry«r*ity" (Perversidad), Empire. AinP^ r (Ladronclto do mi Alma), Grand Splendid. fE l Y, cn , daval) ’ Sa n Martin. Je*eb*l (Jezebel), LasaUe. Estnr'vivo/, u«„”. A " V *" ,E1 ^ arlo'f'orlcrKj A MV,po. eW,P * Per " <0ran D ” tJ?, Cervantes. ’* M * d " ,Mi Prlma esta Loc *>> "Medea," Nuevo. IB »“ aa •“ s. s VId“? n Sm?,r“ y L '"" " rombr “ «“ ml eblo.* 1 "' E ””* nl *" '»»"•» Bugcnla). Pu- ‘° JM Llonos <•« T U 7 h p?uJo rt n^ a Tr “ ,h " ,La Cream Time Slot After Tryout Run ■ , ■ -»»4* London Fijm Notes London, May 20. Because of her success in Mario ZarapL'g “Laughter in Paradise ” Eleanor Suriunerfleld, wife of actor Leonard Sachs, has been given a big part in ABPC’s '‘Father Knows Best.'" ' formerly called “Uncle Willie and the Bicycle.” The film stars Cecil ‘ Parker and Donald Wolfit, with shooting to .start- at Elstree late in June. Harold French, will direct. ABP.C's other pic, due to start next month, is titled ♦'Choir Practice." It will be' directed by Gilbert Gunn . . . Georgie. Haft's starrer for Eros Films (Hyams Bros.) is titled “The Black Swan,” ‘In Paris,' ‘Lavender Hill/ 'Vultures’ Pace Aussie’s * AO.; Aonde’. Foreign Ace Sydney, May 27, Virile boxoffice leaders in a strong winter season here are Metro’s “American in Paris” (sev- enth week). Ealing's “Lavender Hill '^oh 0 (fifth week), and the same studio’s “Where No Vultures Fly” iiTits eighth week at Odeon, Melbourne. Newcomers last weekend were “Desert Fox” (20th),. “Browning Version” (U), “Battle at Apache Pass” (U) and “Mr. Drake’s Duck” (Eros). Healthy lineup currently in- cludes “People Will Talk” (20th), “Sirocco” * (Col), “Starlift” (WB), “The Enforcer” (20th), . .“Convict Lake” (20th), “Sailor Beware” (Par) and “Payment on Demand!" (RKO). Sock foreign pic is “La Ronde” in its fourteenth stanza at th« Savoy here. ^ + w „ London, May 20 Having successfully survi .' trial run the TV feature «n d its Release," which, £ bltk ings/is to ije lelevated ? 0 a viewing date starting in Julv p gram kicked off at the beriml^ of the year with screenings Sf™ every other Thursday. Tln/s.S" night on which the Sunday cvcnl^ ,^ as its repeat presentation c ® m “°nly regarded as an off-time for tele. s an Survey conducted by Britl.h Broadcasting Corp. viewer r? search experts has confirmed nf e r ^ prts - of the Popularity of the program. Since the e x£? sion of TV to Scotland, it £ SS estimated that “Current Release" I Is watched by at' least 3,000 000 I people each fortnight. exec s next July to alter! nate Wednesdays, regarded as the ^ ewin « spot Re! eently both the film industry, which originally sponsored the idea, and the BBC agreed the pro! gram should continue indefinitely. Since its inception all but one of the major companies have agreed to collaborate. Only para- mount. now U outside the scheme because of legal aspects. ■^t fij^ s t it was feared that there would be a tussle with some music companies to get clearance for background recordings, but Only in a very, few cases have difficul- ties arisen. “Current Release” as a regular video feature is the one surviving monument to the British industry's Better Business Cam- paign.. MEXICO CITY , (Week ending M*y 24) * Sens," Caracal. "WhSr w ° Ur * v ,n £ Colon * w. ,n Talk About," Ideal. Has Complex**." Chopin. Ln H*v**wx Mollcrc. London Legit Bits London, May 20. Wanda Roth guest-starring in re- vival of Somerset Maugham’* “Rain” at the New Theatre, Brom- ley, May. 26, with extensive tour’ to follpw ... Negotiations pending be- tween Bernard Delfont and Val Parnell to star, Laurel Sc Hardy in British pantomime at the London Palladium next Christmas. Title of panto will he “Dick Whitting- ton, with L A: H to play the Cap- tain and Mate ... Playwright Char- lotte'Frances to make one of her rare stage appearances in new Rob- ert Munro comedy, “Pardon My Claws,” which is being tried out at the “Q” Theatre June 2. She will co-star with Sonnie Hale and Charles Heslop, with William Ken- dall, John Deverell, Charles Lamb an fi Jean St. Clair supporting; The Donald Wolfits grabbing a week's vacation in Paris . . . LI*- beth Webb, currently featured in Gay s the Word,” now touring the provinces after a lengthy West End run, planes to London every Sun- day to do a special BBC recording °f he/ weekly radio feature. “Home at Eight.” Jack de JLeort arranged with Peter Cotes to direct his Amerl- ‘^ exas Nightingale,” which he is trying out at the “Q” «« e fl re ’i Leopoldine Constan- tin u) play the role she played in America . . . Curt Goetz to play the Jack Hulbcrt role in the German version of "The White Sheep of the Fahiily, which is being staged moted^if* L Enc P lass » who Pro- S? £ h £ re /i has disposed.of Itfly and 0 Spain Und ’ Scandtoavl *. Sumac s 3 Scot Dates Vrvio c Glas gow, May 20. • Sumac ’. Peruvian song- Scotl S anH S Set ‘ f0r - three dates in Scotiand, opening in St. Andrew’s on wi?h aSg ° W ’ 4 ‘ She Allows Caird Hnii° n n ni ? hter at the ^ iant ihin Nail, Dundee, June 5, and burgh, June's "* h#r HaI,> Edin ' . ^ Co-featuring with her will be | George Melachrino and his orch. ; lt ' v 11 cont J ib ute the first half of’ I each program. Miss Sumac is sup- f b V lght of her own musi- cians for her songs. Opuls to Direct Giovanni Pie a i • L ® n don, .May 2Q. Ronde Wh0 - directtcI '-“La SlSi o ^ ! 1 ? ned by Josef snaftel to make his color odus based on Don Giovanni Back- ground shots will be tensed, in balsburg this summer. Cannes Relief .Continue* from pare 3 of Egypt, India and many other countries, including France itself. One film coluitfhldt went so far as to ‘admit that, he now realizes What the public, sees in a well- made piece of cinematic mayhem that is not arty, but just enter- taining. Most of the looking-backward column^ indicated disappointment in the lack of pfx with stature at the fest. All talked about the turgid atmosphere due to low qual- ity of films and the generally let- down feeling in spite of the many cocktail parties, receptions and big personalities present. Crix are still smarting over the poor French .showing and blaming it on the commission that picks the films, They claim that two of the best j Gallic potentials were passed over, They are Jacque Becker’s “Casque d’Or” . add Rene Clement's “Jeux Interdite,” both of which wert ••■hown out of competition for gen' erally top audience reaction. Phil Reisman, RKO’s foreign chief, told Variety his views on the Importance of the fests in view of prestige and commercial impact. He firmly believes that the U.S. should make a more -wholehearted entry into these national manifes- tations. Reisman believes that fests are still a bit too touristy, with too much emphasis on the chi-chi as- pects rather than the technical ana esthetic ends/ He believes that the fests should be a place for artists and technicians of all countries to meet and exchange views. New discoveries and technical advances should be* shown and discussed. Also that the other art fof 1 ™ should also be an Integral part to bring up the level and interest. The Venice fest, which unroll under the aegis of a fullscale an festival, is more in keeping his ideds. A talk with Antoni Petrucci, head of the Venice Fn Fest, revealed that Venice waS ing, ahead with these plans* j Venice Fest requests specific nim from every country and scr | ens pn4 pix before they are accepted as tries. Petrucci stated that the a of a fest should be to un ^ e !L nJ exciting new advances in all co tries and points with pride to year’s revelation of the Japan, ^ film in “R&shomon”. The comw fest will have ; as stateside ^ Charles Chaplin’s “Lunelig ■ I with Chaplin to attend m P e ^ J William Wyler's “Sister Carrie (Par), John Ford’s “The W Man” (Rep) and “Death of a » alc man” (Col).