Variety (September 1952)

20 FICYIDRBS W6<Itie»^ay, Sepitemljeif 24^ 1952 MS Hal Roach Continued from page 1 to four things: (a) potency of the Bali name, which he says is synony- mous with romance; (b) the group is high-class talent; (c) it's a smooth show after rehearsals ^and a Lon- .j u i 4 . u ^ don tryout, and (d) its sock press ^ be Just as happy to <.gmpaign. “It's also least likely to get $5,000 a week for 40 weeks — ^ 0 ^,^ hack—14,000 mUes for a re- dMo? to%feTo Vtoes% he says, appearances on filmed TV,” Eoach reasons. “That means that he is costing the studio only $50,000 per picture. The same kind of sal- ary arrangement can be used with writers and other contractees. Pro Inlira's Continued ^rom page 7 Goldwyn Continued from page 3 ent is concerned, contrary to popu-' lar impression, no great pool of talent is tied up by Paramount. “The number of stars, including juniors as well as top stars, which are under contract to Paramount theatres than at those meetings, jg t^an 50. Most of the name they'd' get better results. Arbitra- g^g^g whom TV is Interested can tiomis .honsensp, a picture sho^uld appear, and indeed have appeared, get what it earns. Exhibitors young stars^ as soon as should encourage producers, not successfully finish their train- try to get their pictures cheaply, ajid become popular, can easily - Re subsldl^ -for foreign- pro*- jicdiitrfe" ’tiie"Yi;^tt ’to appear on- ducera: “I think if the foreign . .producers gave more .time to mak- Company also points to its KTLA ing pictures, instead of waiting at station. L. A., its investment in ductlon costs could thus be According to Khan, it was brought the doorstep of Parliament for sub- T^uMont. in subscription video and - - * - •• I «<• nno ifc nrA/iiirfirtn I 4-U....T*.! vi,<.nirA Koffot. r»io- LawTcncc trl-color tubc as proof that there is no conflict be- tween pix and TV. trimmed by about 40%, with the I in $750,000 and its production gi^iies, they’d make better pic-1 L*a”wrence 'tricolor tube as 'cost has already been retrieved in tures.” ..... rrtr ..A w rb Ih® Indian market. Khan and Re the Government 16m suit Sees Tv as B.O. Frankovich leave for the Coast seeking the sale of films to TV: Key question is how to put Holly- today (Wed.), where the former “The suit is silly and I don’t think Filin Reviews Contimieit" from pa,s« wood names into will gander Hollywood production the Government will get very far hurting their box omce draw. The techniques. Frankovich, meanwhile, with it. It was inspired by minor Roach argument, that video work try to sign a writer and dl- people in television—Sarnoff and can help rather than hurt the b.o., sector for , “Fire Over Africa,” Paley are too smart for that.” runs this way: stars are stars omy which he expects to start filming Re criticism of a campaign fund when they are known, and they jjj Africa Jan. 20 with Errol Flynn for Gen. Eisenhower raised at the lSlll*op© ol. lose their names if they aren t seen ^he lead role. Warner Bros, lot: “I don’t see why present form. Despite ite Venice by the large stay-at-home-and- Frankovich revealed that his Zanuck, Jack Warner and Samuel Fete kudo, this Is an overlong, fre- watch-tele audience. Regular halj “Decameron Nights,” which was Goldwyn can’t be for Ike. But any- quently unclear, poorly dialogied hour appearances may tend to hurt in Spain and Italy, is curr- body is free to collect for any can- tli6in &t the h.o.j but if their tele being processed (Techni* did^te they like/^ This is further burdened by s stints are kept-brief they will ^.^lor^ in England, with Techni- Goldwyn disclosed a plan to serve'as trailers, luring new fans color working on the tinted prints, open “Andersen” In Los Angeles hist into the theatres A « He . has completed a deal with aSd N. Y. a few days before Christ- weekly feature for Marilyn Mon^e, Films for release of the pie- jnas but the specific theatres have for example, would be a big b.o, i^^ England. When he returns yet to be set because of “bidding Iiyp®. to N. Y. from one-week visit to the considerations.” He and his wife, Pix and TV can actually be com- Coast, Frankovich plans to hold Frances, tad been abroad for “bus- plimentary, Roach feels, citing preliminary talks with distribs oh iness and a little rest.” vaude and films in the early days, a releasing arrangement for “De- cameron.” **A star who won new fans through vaudeville found his marquee value for pictures strengthened,” Roach recalled. “The fact that a man could be seen for 75c at the Palace Second to Hollywood John G. McCarthy, veep of Ihe MPAA Shows Continued from page 5 in some time. Version seen was Italo^dubbed, but English-language one also exists, and said to be more complete. Story concerns' the crisis of a society woman shaken by the sui- cide of her son. Desperately seek- ing a way out of the chaotic post- war world, she follows the advice of a Communist friend, goes to the people and sees poverty for the first time. But she also finds the ■*Q|lin D0 SwCIl aUI. I etc cut? X ClJLC4V*w • j . A £ K * JIAXOV vaaaav* didn’t hurt him when he did a Tol- J^otion Picture Assn of America, cliff hanger, thereby arousing in- Commie’s interest in thn situation lies’ show with a $4.80 top.” stresses that India s 250 film fea- Merest in the video audience to see is not sincere, but merely mechan- ■RnnpVi whn hflc been out of the- ture output per annum puts that picture “to find out what hap- ical. Abandoning both him and Roach, who has been out or country second only to Hollywood pgned ” . Iier husband, she tries for a more heSs tr^inefhl ® mass productiorujentre. This picture currently being viewed human approach, substitutes mate- years said that he plans tmng tne g^j^ g|. ^ Radio Corp. of Amer- hv U S industrvites contains uid with a more personal in- VMPIX wiU ba used :n lulUength chiel; and ECA pr. from three British films. Second ^ reason, she is pronounced features. M. Folsom. Chandulal Shah re-1 'Hollywood would benefit from sponded with a speech accenting hfllf of the nrocram consists of in- ♦ i ^ r $ entering tele he feels, rather than American magnanimity-in light of ^ consists or m- msane and locked up in a clinic, eniering^ veie, ue “ American jnagnamuui,y- iu ugut ua terviews with film personalities, where she continues to suffer in abandoning it to radio w the fact that, in its spbeje of in- sile^^e at the SideouC Pte over- terests- If my- interview with Claire Bloom when reaches itself towards end, and ac- nant m the mdust^. stitute competition to Hollywood s gj^^ j^g^ returned to London Hons situations are insufficiently wouldn’t schedule the big ^ overseas markets after competing the femme lead In motivated. SO^minute sho^ws o^n Charles Chaplin’s “Limelight.” Support front-Alexand;w Knox, nings, the traditional gomg-out Eric Johnston both in New York second interview, conducted by a Giulietta Masina and Ettore Gian- nights. and.Washington from whence, un- ^ Roac who sa ■will - dl-»»rT WWi# g- - w — ^ ' - He claims that vldpix already has wood, where the group vt jjaw- a. comnanip*? tn video U *o outstanding came|man. • writers, ducers and players fly back to “”nt“toT“sent anlx^^ple’ of «P«ialIy m opening reels, ap^ technicians, etc. Further, telepic Bombay. ^ lauirv. aaiofc. producers have learned tricks in Frank Capra sparked this jun cost-cutting that can be applied to ket which includes Shah, the theatrical product. dean of the Indian producers, About eight companies are ten- ^on? with Miss Gohar (Sbiee ants in his. Coast studio, including Ranjit Movietone Co.) and the fol how it can be employed to seU pix in theatres. U. S. pixites, who formerly looked upon video with] horror, are beginning to realize that it can be harnessed ad- vantageously. Recent success in I Was a Prisoner iu Siberia (JAPANESE) Tokyo, Sept.*'9. hrsomTalRoIcr-iP. Latter ha1 lowing ^ . a « of new pilots in tte can ^^;^Xmari, David TbrS departments consider serf- tion. Stars Aldra Shlxemi^Si!^ iSrected "o!d Xow“g turald oSt (pXfessionaliy Just David), ArJnd- SZ"'* «te to CeilUXOia Miuwa uciue buincu ... ■dSv.o r«o-n_ meOlUm. . ShlyiiVa KftTn niro»Vi. V.,! on the Roach lot. B’way’s l$t Hit Continued from page 1 hatl Mukherji, Bina Rai (just mar- ried to Nath); B.. N. Sircar, pro- ducer 'and^-exhibitcr' fNev*'' The atres. Ltd., chain), Keki M. Modi (West India Theatres, Ltd.); K. Suvraraanim, Divecha, Mino.o Kat- rak, M. R. Acharekar (last three technicians) and Mrs. EUin Modi. the Coppicus, Schang & Brown division of Columbia Artists Mgt., and -is sponsored- by the Cultural TrUHiaH Greets Film Dept, of the Republic of Indonesia. That government kicked in for $100,000 for the tour, with $75,000 of it for roundtrip transportation, and balance for European clothing, rehearsal costs, etc. It bought out the entire ^ouse for Oct. 17, for XJN members, etc. Delegation From India Washington, Sept. 23. President Truman greeted the delegation of visiting film stars and executives from India yester- day (Mon.) with Eric Johnston, prez of Motion Picture Ass’n of Troupe can gross almost $21,000 America, handling the introduc- at the Fulton, at a $4.80 top, with tions. operating nut estimated around When a photographer’s flashbulb $14,000. Fred C. Schang, prez of exploded* just a few feet from Columbia, who’s made the Bali at- them, both Mr. Truman and the traction his. baby, gave the troupe Indians got a laugh, when the a minimum guarantee of 13 weeks’ President cracked; “There must be bookings, and can keep them here a Communist in the crowd, for 26. He spent 170 hours in the air on the project, on -one trip t<5 Bali, and then on another to Lon- don to see the troupe before it played here. - Booking problem is complex, he says; he has to have them in Cali- nation extends from Jan. 6 through fornia by end of November, to Feb. 4. keep them out of cold weather. The third such prospect is Only once before has.a Bali troupe “Deep Blue Sea,” Terence Ratti- been away from home, a group gan’s London success which will going to France in 1933. This star Margaret Sullavan in the role troupe has never ventured from its played in the original West End interior village before. edition by Peggy Ashcroft. Show, Troupe has had unusual news produced by Alfred de Liagre, Jr., and promotion breaks. Newspapers and John C. Wilson, opens Nov. 5 and magazines have run several at the Morosco. Fact that the lat- articles already on the troupe. A ter house has a relatively moder- group appeared on Ed Sullivan’s ate capacity (912 seats), will com- TV show Sunday (21), and Colum- plicate the situation created by bia Records plans disldng some heavy party bookings and expected of the gamelan (native) music, heavy advance sale. -In the cases B 6B8B 0B B LegiLTix Famine Continued from page 1 Schang is aiming at a picture deal, and hopes to have the troupe’s atage program filmed in color. He attributes the dancers’ drav/ of both “Two’s Company” and “Deep Blue Sea,” no ads have yet appeared, but there has already been considerable advance mail. lO^Year TY Ties the Continued from pago licenses of the networks’ owned & operated stations because of the past misconduct.” Entitled To Some Procedure Paramount is entitled to the same procedure, as far as its mo- tion picture.^ antitrust violation is concerned, it asserts. Par then adds: “A lengthy trial resulted in a consent decree prescribing a de-] tailed course of conduct. That de- cree has been complied with and no violations here occurred. If any question is raised, the D. of J. Is free to go to court for additional relief. This guarantees’the elimin- ation of any objectionable practice and avoids the harsh remedy of cancellation of licenses or author- izations.” As to the question of making film talent and stories available for TV, Paramount asserts it has no restrictive policy so far as video is concerned, and will make prod- uct available “as soon as the eco- nomic condition of TV is such that it can pay a price for the films com- parable to that which film industry can pay.” The present TV market, With its 109-plus stations, is small as compared with the 12,000 to 18,- 000 theatres and naturally cannot meet the price that exhibitors can pay, brief points out. But “it is ob- vious that as more stations are added, TV will become a most profitable customer for picture- producing companies. It would be sheer economic folly to shun such a customer. Paramount has no in- tention of doing so.” Nor does Par restrict talent and story rights. “Stories have been made available to TV and will con- tinue to be available. So far as tal- Shlzuk* F^ii, kozo bkiuakl: editor. Yu- taka Abei music. Akira Ifukube. Running Cme. to MINS. • U'b V V VU'U'W W Pvt. Yoshlda Akira Shigemitsu mo'ashl ...Santa Arekl Pvt. Matsumoto Hiroshi Ayukawa Pvt. Hibino Tero WkatsUkl Pet Kweko Kat.'suml Tasuka ^pt. Kurlhara Ikko Okuni Pvt. Aoki Tadashl Suganuma First full-length documentary by westem'-trained' producer" Bhu 'Taguchi is a low-keyed dramatiza- tion of the actuM experiences of a Japanese saldier imprisoned three years in Siberian prison camps. Taguchi turned out two docu- mentary shorts here that were dis- tributed by the U. S. State Depart- ment. This was shot entirely on loca- tion on Hokkaido, Japan’s north- ernmost island. It actually is a restrained blast at $oviet in- humanity. Pic avoids concentrat- ing on sensational brutality as it defines the hardships suffered by thousands of prisoners during Si- berian winters. “Prisoner” has good prospects of a long run in U. S. art houses and a sure bet for Japanese ‘foreign-language spots in America. Camera work Is superb. Nar- ration is poor being too cultured for first person description. Film likely will need new narration and English titles for American usage. Story shows a- group of five prisoners, who have been incarcer- ated for a year, just before being told they are to be returned to Japan. Star of the film, Akira Shige- mitsu, who has been outspokenly anti-Communist, • is denounced as “ultra reactionary” just before the vessel taking prisoners home de- parts. ^ He is sent back to labor in the mines where he will receive more “training.” Impact of this fjlm comes from the description of weaknesses and strengths of the men who are re duced to animal existence. Acting is realistic, but much of the story is told by the camera alone. Lars, SEATTLE (Continued from page 9) Train to Bombay” (Col). Good $9,- 000. Last week, “Untamed Woman” (UA) and “Bom to Saddle” (Indie). $‘ 10 , 000 . . FJftli AvenHc (Exerireen) (2366; 65-90)—“Full House”' (20th). Modi erate $8,500 In 8 days. Last week, “Greatest Show” (Par), $9,800. Liberty (Hamrick) (1,650; 65-90) ^“Devil Makes Three” (M-G>. (2d wk). Down to slow $3,000 ih 3 days. Last week, mild $5,500. Music Box (Hamrick) (850; 65- 90)—“1 Minute to Zero” (RKO) (3d wk-10 ^days). Okay $6,400. Music Hall (Hamrick) (2,283; 65- 90)—“Merry Widow” (M-G) and “You for Me” (M-G) (2d wk). Held at nice $8,500. Last week,'great $13,400. Orphetun (Hamrick) (2,599; 65- 90)—“Bonzo Goes College” (U). NSH $6,000. Last week, “Son Ali Baba” (U) and “Black Hills Am- bush” (Rep), $7,800. Palomar (Sterling) (1,350; 40-70) ^“Black Swan” (20th) and “Rain Came” (20th) (reissues). • Modest $3,500. Last week, “Valentino” (Col) and “Son of Sheik” (Indie) (reissues), ^ under $2,000 in four days. Paramount (Evergreen) (3,039; 65-90)—“Big Sky*’ (RKO). Disap- pointing at slow $9,000. Last week, “What Price Glory” (20th) and “Army Bound” (Mono) (2d wk), $5,300. w PITTSBURGH (•Continued from page 11) $9,500 in sight. Last week, “Just for You” (Par), $14,000. Squirrel Hill (WB) (900; 50-85)— “Lady Vanishes” (UA) (reissue). Strong $2,500f. Last week, “Hunch- back. Notre Dame” (RKO) (reissue) (2d.wk). $2,000. Stanley (WB) (3.800; 50-85)— “Crimson Pirate’* CVTO. Nice no- tices for Burt Lancaster’s adventure hocus-pocus with oke $13,000 or near. Last week, “Big Sky” (RKO), $ 11 , 000 . Warner (WB)' 2,000: 60-$1.25)— “Ladv of Fatima” (WB) (2d wk). Special date at advanced prices paying off in shades. Will come close to $14,500 this session, and stays. Opening week, smash $20,- 000 , . DENVER (Continued from page 11) week, “What Price Glory” (20th) and “Arctic Flight” (Mono). $16,- 500. Esquire (Fox) (742; 50-85)—“Af- fair Trinidad” (Col) and “Yukon Gold” (Mono). TaU $4,000. Last week, “What Price Glory” (20th) and ’^Arctic Flight” (Mono). $3,500. Orpheum (RKO) (2,600; 50-85)— “Sudden Fear” (RKO) and “Pirate Submarine” (Lip) (2d wk). Holding at $10,000. Last week, fine $13,000. Paramount (Wolfberg) (2,200; 50- 85)—“Full House” {20th). Fine $13,501). Last week, “Sort of Ali Baba” (U) and “Swindlers” (Real- art), good $13,500. Tabor (Fox) (1,96T; .50-85)— “Rose Bowl Story'* (Mono) and “Wagons West” (Mono), Big $9,000. Last week, “Untamed Frontier’* iU). .and.. “Daniel., and ..Deyii”'' (U), Lgood $8,500. Webber (Fox) (750; 50-85)— “Rose Bowl Story”' (Mono) and “Wagons West” (Mono). Big $4,000. Last week, “Untamed Frontier” (U) and “Daniel and Devil” (U), good $4,000. PORTLAND, ORE. (Continued from page 9) —“Merry Widow” (M-G) and “You For Me” (M-G) (3d wk). Good $6,- 000. Last week, $10,000: Mayfair (Evergreen) (1,500; 65- 90)—“One Minute To Zero” (teO) and “Sea Tiger” (Mono) (m.o.). Fine $4,000 in 4 days. Last week, “Frankenstein” (Indie) (reissue) and “Dracula” (Indie) (reissue) (5 days), $4,500. Oriental (Evergreen) (2,000; 65- 90)—“Monkey • Business” (20th) and “Shores Tripoli” (20th) (re- issue), day-date with Paramount. Fine $5,000. Last weelc, “One Min- ute To Zero” (RKO) and "Sea Tiger” (Mono), $6,500. Orpheum (Evergreen) (1,750; 65- 90)—“Greatest Show” (Par), first time at regular scale. Good $9,00()j Last week, “One Minute To Zero (RKO) and “Sea Tiger” (Mono), $ 12 , 000 . . Paramount (Evergreen) (3,400; 65-90)—“Monkey Business” (20th) and “Shores TripoU” (20th) (re- issue). Fast $9,000. Last week, 'Af- fair Trinidad” (Col) and “Rainbow Round Shoulder” (Col) (2d wk), $7,500. United Artists (Parker) (890; 65* 90)—“Just For You” (Par). NSH $9,000 or near. Last week. “Be- cause Of Sally** (U) (3 days) (2d wk), $1,500.