Variety (September 1952)

VTetTnegJay, September 17,. 1953 ; MCTUIUES For the Week Ending Tuesday (16) N. Stock Exchange ABC CBS. “A" CBS, ’‘B" Col. Pic. . • Dccca . • Eastman K' Loew’s Paramount. Philco RCA RKO Theatres Republic * Rep., pfd 20th-Fox Un. Par. Th Univ. Univ. pfd Warner Bros Zenith N. Y. Curb Exchange Du Mont '• Monogram Cinecolor Chesapeake Industries V A. Theatres Walt Disney {Quotations furnished by Dreyfus & Co.) ^Wish’ To Nix Crix Continued from page 1 Tuesday night show was cancelled in deference to memory of its star, Gertrude Lawrence, whose funeral was held that day), “Wish” topped the Broadway gross list with re- ceipts of almost $51,300, a new high for the run thus far. Since it had $204,234 to earn back as of the previous Saturday (6), that pow- ered the outstanding outlay to about $190,000. as of the start of this week. After receiving generally un- favorable notices (only John Chap- man. of the N. Y. News, liked it), “Wish" had a shaky start at the boxoftice, playing to a fair gross the first week and a half, but then sagging steadily for the next three weeks. However, the Leland Hay- ward-Logan production suddenly recovered on the sixth week, jump- ing from $25,000 to $29,400, and then bouncing to new highs on five of the last six weeks. Overcall Returned As of the end of last week, the $.50,000 overcall had been returned to the backers and there y/as about $42,000 available for distribution, plus $18,000 in union bonds. The project was originally financed for $250,000 and involved a produc- tion cost of $251,588, exclusive of bonds. Three and a half weeks of paid previews brought receipts of approximately $68,500 and in- volved $17,000 loss. On the regular run, the musical earned $2,353 for the first week’s operation, $1,028 for the next and then slipped to a $1,701 loss for the third stanza. With royalty cuts then in effect, the show lost only $2,151 and $2,137 for the next two weeks, on respective ‘grosses of $26,700 and $25,016, and actually made $1,980 profit on a gross of $29,410 for the week after that. Heavy Extra Costs Production cost on the show In- cluded $104,511 for scenery (of which $84,209 was for-building and painting, an unusually high amount because of the onstage swimming pool);$l9,263 for wardrobe (includ- ing $16,613 for purchase of cos- tumes); advance royalties of $5,000 tor the book, and $2,500 for the music; $59,036 for rehearsal ex- pense (including $5,120 for prin- cipals, $5,600 for chorus; $4,300 stage managers; $30,019, crew wardrobe; $5,862, musi- $i'118, extra musicians) foi' publicity (includ- ins $1,250 general and company managers; $2,227 hauling; $6,203 actor contracts; legal and audit; $1,750 office ^^^'825 for music orches- and copying), setup on the show calls 101 Logan to get lVs% of the gross of the book and 3% as director (he also splits 50-50 c(u "3.vward on the producer’s profits), with of iiw. 2Vf5% as co-author com tv,. Rome 3t^% as llu‘ week until Jo Mi cost is paid off). -uuM/.incr gets his usual $100 a week as designer. Cast payroll is generally about $4,345 for prin- cipals and $2,040 for chorus. The rental deal for the Imperial, N. Y., calls for the show to get 70% of the gross on the first $20,000 and 75% thereafter, but a special clause works it out to a straight 75%. ‘Porgy’ Continued from page 2 to show' this and other capitols torn between eastern and western cultures that the U. S. isn’t all gangsters, beboppers and comic strips, as Hollywood sometimes make them think. Preem at the Vienna State Op- era’s second and larger thea- tre, the Volksoper, drew the snazziest audience the Danube cap- itol has seen in years. All the town’s names in government, arts and diplomacy, including scores.of opera singers, conductors.-and top musicians, were there. Only the Russkis, apparently acting oh Mos- cow orders, snubbed the show.'- No Set Problem Before troupe embarked from the states, Wolfgang Roth, former Viennese, had supervised con- struction of new sets in Berlin and these were flowij in big military transports to Vienna (and back to Berlin) to avoid red tape and So- viet Zone •customs barriers in both countries. - A sidelight to red tape troubles was the problem of Porgy’s goat. Austrian authorities couldn’t un- derstand why it seemed necessary to bring ai. American goat to a country which has thousands of the animals^ But co-producer Robert Breen insisted on his own beast. Finally, officials agreed to adhiit the American billy on condition it never contacts Austrian goats. No statement on whether they feared hoof and mouth disease or de- terioration of the breed. The local drumbeating under di- rection of William H. Hale, U. S. public affairs boss, and personal su- pervision of Bernard H. McGuigan, public info officer of the Embassy, was triumphantly successful. This city, accustomed to all sorts of propaganda barrages since its peo- ple becamfe a major objective in the cold war, reacted strongly to a press and radio campaign kept dig- nified and on a cultural basis at all times. U. S. published daily, Wiener Kurier, refrained from going over- board but on preem day published extensive roto pix along with Ger- man translations of the principal “Porgy’’ lyrics for benefit of radio listeners and theatregoers. Songs such as “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothin* ” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So” are already long familiar here. In the theatre, a handsome German text souvenir book was given away, first time Viennese can remember not paying ' for their programs. Continued from page 4 catiOnal category were “Mandy” (Britain) and “Deaf and Dumb.” “Jeiix Interdits.” the grand prizewinner, is a striking tale of how war affects the lives of inno- cent children. Directed by Rene Clement, it stars moppets B|rigitte Fossey and George Poujouli. U. S. distribution rights, to the' film were acquired last spring by Jean Goldwurm’s Times Film Corp. Highlight of the festival’s clos- ing days was an open-£(ir “wild west” party and barbecue tossed by the Motion Picture Assn, of America. Atmosphere was con- veyed by covered wagons, camp- fires, hillbilly bands plus 10-gal- lon hats and horseshoes gifted to all guests. Until a sudden shower halted the affair, cameramen and scribes were presented with “dif- ferent” angles,, on Venice party- going. Barbecue stunt, combined with other MPAA and U.' S. pro-ij motion, easily gave the Yanks a wide margin, in that sector. In New Hollywood Tint Cycle 3.Par Pix to Run Same Time on Broadway Paramount early next month will tieup three major Broadway first- run outlets with its pix. Skedded to run at about the same time are “Just For You” at the Capitol, “Somebody Loves Me” at the Roxy and “Son of PMeface” at the Paramount. ‘Jeux’ Soldfor RS'. Marl; 20lh Has Rene Clement Jean Goldwurm and George Schwartz, owners of the Little Car- negie and World arties in New York, have “Jeux Interdits,” the prizewinning French film that cop- ped the Venice Film Festival’s top honors. . Rene Clement, its director, makes his Hollywood bow under 20th-Fox auspices when he .arrives Oct. 15 under a deal set up by Dave Stein, Musk Corp. of America rep in Paris. Clement will be given six months to learn English and acclimate himself to American standards before getting an assign- ment. (joldwurm and Schwartz, through their distrib firm, Times Film Corp,, have acquired the U. S. dis- tribution rights, to seven other new foreign films, including pix from Italy, France and Sweden. Films are currently being prepped for the America'! market and will be sub- titled in English. Company plans to 'release them at the rate of one a month beginning in November, The Italian pix include: “Two Pennies Worth of Hope,” winner of the grand prize as the best film of the year at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival and. directed by Renato Castellaiii; “The Overcoat,” based on Gogol’s story and directed by Alberto Lattuada, and Cinderella, based on Rossini’s opera and di- rected by Fernando Cerchio. Trio of .French pictures be- sides “Interdits” include “Ladies’ Hairdresser,” starring Fernandel and directed by Jean Boyer, and “Three Women,” based on three short stories by de Maupas- sant. The Swedish film is “One Suiii- mer of Happiness,” winner of the grand prize at the 1952 Berlin Film Festival as the best picture of the year. It also copped a first prize for the bbst musical score at the 1952 Cannes festival. IimjI aI • Wmnws VI kia Contitfued from page 2 ' RKO on Oct. 31 Hollywood, Sept, 16. jerry Wald, says he’s exiting from RKO Oct. 31. Spokesman for Howard Hughes says it's #mlikoly any deal will be worked out to keep him there. Wald’s attorney, David Tannen-, baum, declined to comment on ru-^ mors he’s discussing deals with Col and 20th. Meanwhile, new ru- mors that Leonard Goldstein had made deal as production chief at RKO are denied by the company. Starr TOA Prez Continued from page 7 chased the hotel from Glens Falls interests, through Joseph Wander, Inc., Albany realtors. Furnishings went on auction yesterday (Mon.). The hotel, which a Saratoga group headed by the late* William E. Benton, theatre owner, tried to resuscitate in the 1940s, had been steadily deteriorating, structurally and otherwise. The United States, the Spa’s other great baroque hotel, was torn down a few years ago. It was turned into- parldng lot, although several small business buildings have since been erected on the site. Auction Herbert’s Piano The concert grand piano used by Victor Herbert during the years he led a 54-piece orch in daily pefformances at the Grand Union Hotel was among the items spe- cifically advertised in the auction which began yesterday (Mon.). The beautiful instrtfment, tabbed as “in perfect condition,” in re- cent years had been standing in the mirrored crystal room off the main lobby. The Irlsh-b'bm com- poser was said to 'have written “Kiss Me Again” and other num- bers while seated at it. The “Lillian Russell Suite In- tact” was another advertised offer- ling. chairman. It was explained that this will probably be a training ground and springboard to the TOA presidency in the future, with the jobholders moving up to* the prfe'si- dency almost automatically, once, the plan is wprking. Other developments at the board meeting: 1. TOA board will hold its mid- winter meeting next February in L. A. 2. The association’s 1953 conven- tion will take place in Chicago at the end of October aad begin- ning of November, next year. Headquarters will be the Conrad Hilton Hotel. A large industry trade show will be held in connec- tion with the convention. 3. California Theatre ' Owners Assn., centered about San Fran- cisco, has joined TOA as a new unit. Its president is L. S. Hamm and its member on the TOA board and as vicepresident will be Roy Cooper. TOA also plans an organ- izing drive in areas where it does not have units presently. 4. Herman Hunt, Cincinnati ex- hibitor, was elected director from that area and will seek to form a TJOA unit there, 5. TOA board reiterated its stand as a member of the Council of Motion Picture Organizations, and endorsed the COKPO activi- ties in public relations and in com- bating the 20% admissions tax. Individual TOA members are free to join COMPO or to help finance its activities. They are encouraged m this by the National Board but not forced to do anything. 6. The TOA legal advisory coun- cil agreed exhibitor groups should actively oppose unjustified censor- ship. It was decided that national TOA would cooperate with any state or -regional unit which de-^ cided to fight local censorship laws, W that the nationaHiody should not initiate such action. Hollywood. Sept. 16. Hollywood’s western formula has been found seaworthy, 'and result is a spurt of costumed swash- bucklers. Gimmick is still the sam'': the stalwart hero, a pretty maiden and the villainous heavieS;:^ but now the action’s more lilcely to take place on water rather than on land. Films in the hypoed cycle fun- damentally follow similar lines. No one has come up with the off-the-' beaten-track seadventurer as yet. Hero commands ja ship instead of a horse; heroine is*usually of nobility instead of a school marm; and the conflicting forces are pirates rather than land-grabbers. And it all wears an attractive color coat; practically outlawed is the black- and-white lensing of the swash- buckler. At the present time, four pix typifying the trend are in produc- tion. “Jamaica Seas,” toplining Ray Milland, Arlene Dahl and Wendell Corey, is the Pine-Thomas entry; “Fair Wind' to Java,” with cast headed by Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston, is in the works at Republic; “The Sea Rogue,” a Warner Bros. Errol Flynn starrer, is before the cameras in England, and “Toilers of the Sea,” Rock Hudson-Yvonne DeCarlo costarrer, is before British cameras as a- Coronado production. Additionally, a fifth pic—^UI’s “Thunder Bay,” in which James Stewart will star, rolls within the next two weeks. All five films are being handed Tech- nicolor treatment. Current and backlogged films of Jhis category, all of which are also in T^echnicolor, include the follow-. ing: UFs “The World In His'Arms” and “Yankee Buccaneer;” Colum-; bia’s “Captain Pirate,” “The Gold- en Hawk” and “Prince of Pirates;” Paramount’s “Hurricane Williams” (Nat Holt), “Caribbean” (Pine- Thomas) and “Botany Bay;” RKO’s “Blackboard the Pirate” (Edmund Grainger) and Warners’ “The Crim- son Pirate” (Norma Prod,). See Arbitration Continued from page 5 which could conceivably wipe out the beefs submitted to Amis. Industryites, who also sought in- formation on what charges, if any. Amis was preparing, are said to have presented the argument that arbitration may take away the necessity for a probe. Their theme song was in the “let’s-see-if-it- works-first” vein. Meanwhile, small biz committee has given no indication whether or not hearings will be held. It has been sifting the merits of the exhib ^ complaints and weigh- ing the necessity of holding hear- ings. Industry opinion is that the committee has been working fairly and has made no attempts to get headlines at the expense of Holly- I wood. Pic Proxies Continued from page 5 its entirety on Monday, had skedded an open meeting on the subject for yesterday (Tues.) TOA heads, upon learning the results of the Monday session in N. Y., changed their session yesterday to a private discussion, with reporters barred. If the arbitration revision made at the behest of the company heads is accepted by the theatre- men, the plan is for the TOA board to vote formally on the system to- morrow. Allied’s vote is due at its Clijcago national convention in November. Starr on Arbitration Washington, Sept. 16. Alfred Starr, new president of Theatre Owners of Amerioa, told a press conference here yesterday (Mon.) that the workability of the projected industry arbitration sys- tem will depend upon the “degree of good faith which the various (industry) elements bring to it.” Warning that failure to establish an effective system will be fol- lowed by “Government regulation,” Starr declared: “This is our last opportunity for self-regulation.” “It is impossible to put Into language everything that should go into the code,” the org’s chief exec said. “Hence the first thing necessary is good faith. This is a matter of terrific import and its workability during the first two years will be a severe strain on good faith.” TOA counsel Herman M. Levy declared at the press meet that his outfit is “willing to approach this in a spirit of compromise.” He added, however, that arbitration must be approved this week be- cause the next TOA board session doesn’t take place until next Feb- ruary. Mitchell Wolf son, retiring prez, claimed that TOA “has emphasized the need for arbitration continu- ou^y.” , B&K’s $1.50 DiV. Chicago, Sept. 16. Balaban & Katz, reflecting up- swing in b.o. receipts this past sum- j mer, has declared a $1.50 dividend I for the past quarter on common [stock payable Sept. 30.