Variety (September 1952)

Roach’s ‘Magaane’ Formula Hal Boach> Sr., currently in N. Y., is pitching two hour-long series, which would offer pix names in small doses. “Children’s Hour *’ which sitars Maureen O’Sullivan, would include an updated “Our’Gang’* comedy; “Impy and Angie,” a fantasy segment; “Crum- my the Clown,” and a religious drama. “Actors Hour” would have three quarter-hour dramas and one serialized pic. Fay Bain- ler and Onslow Stevens starred in the pilot film. Idea is to sell these series on a “magazine” basis. Each would * accommodate eight advertisers, who would pay $10,000—covering time and talent—^for the spot. Since the average show in the top 40 has an audience of 5,000,000 homes, the bankroller would get a circulation as big as, or bigger than Life’s for the price.of a black-and-white page in that mag, Roach says. However, he adds, there are actually three TV audiences and the film could be screened in afternoon and morning periods during tlie same week that the evening edition is beamed, without hurting the ratings. The afternoon screening would cost about $5,000 per spot, reaching an estimated 2,000,000 homes, and the morning run, hitting about 1,000,000 homes, would sell “insertions” at $2,500 per. He computes that some 400 advertisers, with ad budgets in the $ 600 , 000 -$!,500,000 bracket and who are not now in tele, could afford this kind of package. Glares in Residuals Lnring Fdm Directors Into Vidphc Field Hollywood, Sept. 22. - Upbeat in vidpix production has resulted in an estimated 20% In- crease in employment among ranks of the Screen Directors Guild of America, with an increasing num- ber of motion picture directors drifting into television. While TV today doesn’t approach pix in coin paid, the spread of work resulting from video employment has been a healthy trend among the directors, a guild exec said. Figure of pix directors who have crossed the telefence approaches 100, of the total guild'membership of approximately 750. TV has also drawn on cutters, assistant direc- tors, art directors and commercial meggers from pix. Topflight directors under con- tract to major studios are the only ones who haven’t tasted TV In one form or another, but even these ex- press a good deal of interest in video, watching developments Closely, particularly in teleplx, which has attracted most directors. Geo]^e Stevens, one of Hollywood’s leading directors, has said he would like to be in TV, and he’s awaiting the right opportunity. About the only way TV today can draw the top directors is to cut them in for a hunk of residuals in addition to salary, and that prac- tice has been followed to some ex- tent. SDGA’s recent pact with the Alliance of Television Film Pro- ducers has proviso for residual payment on the fourth run of a telepic. Directors from pix now in TV Include Hal Walker, on the Joan (Continued on page 34) Joan Davis, Mack End 12-Year Tie Hollywood, Sept. 23. Dick Mack has resigned as pro- ducer of the Joan Davis telepic series for General Electric to con- centrate on producer - director chores for the Martin-Lewis radio shows and to enable him to return to creative writing. It ends a 12- yoar association with Miss Davis dating back to her early radio days. Mack wound fourth telepic .in the series Monday to complete his work. Ford Foundation Pacts For ‘Omnibus’ Pir3eries TV Radio Workshop of t foundation has inked 'Ti inc. Gotham film outfit, production this month of tures for the FF’s “Omnibu on CBS-TV. 4 , range from c e minutes in length ar ? "‘de variety of subjects, he Umsed. for the most ] location. “Omnibus” ® at 4:30-6 p.m. ‘Pan Am Show lime’ Hollywood, Sept. 23. Standard Television will release the series of 13 musicals made In Mexico by Robert Stillman’s SMF Productions under the title “Pan American Show Time,” Deal marks Standard’s entry Into the vldfihn field, having previously handled only old feature films for tele distribution. More Guilds Ask ATFP to Begin Pact Baiganiing I Hollywood, Sept. 23. Two more Hollywood talent I guilds have approached the Alli- ance of Television Film Producers, seeking pacts from the Alliance. Screen Writers Guild Is In its sev- enth week of strike against the Alliance, as a result of failure to obtain a contract. Screen Extras Guild, asking ne^ fotiations for a pact, wants a con- tract patterned after that of its 'sister guild. Screen Actors Guild, with an uppance in minimums plus additional payment amounting to 50% on the third and fourth runs, 25% on all subsequent runs, it was disclosed yesterday by Deane John- son, repping the Alliance in nego- tiations with the various guilds. He said the SEG request, along with one from Script Supervisors, had just been received, and conse- quently it was too early to give the Alliance reaction. Scripters seek -a pact following pattern it now has with the indies, guaranteeing 60 hours a week of work. They are asking $152.95 a week. Alliance members discussed pro- posals of the various guilds at a Thursday night meeting which (Continued, on page 43) Lutheran Synod Budgets $400,000 for Vidpix St. Louis, Sept. 23. The annual Fiscal Conference of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod last week included a sum of ■$40ft,-000 -'m -the-b u-d-g c t -for- the.. continuation of the series of ^ TV films in the precedent-m a k i n g budget of $6,500,000, largest in the history of the church group. The fihns are produced by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod In coopera- tion with the National Council of Churches. •• This will b# th« leC'onJ year the series of films, tagged, “This is the Lif^,” hava baen made. . Tha picture startad thtf vUh an appropriation of fw),000r Tele talent and creative person- nel say that the TV Depression is here, even though video billings and set circulation soar. Where once there were 10 jobs looking for one qualified man, today actors, directors and other production staffers find the situation reversed. The villain, they claim, Is vidpix. Exemplifying the effect of tele- films on the industry Is the new format being evolved for WOR- TV, N. Y., which is dropping most of its live shows in favor of cellu- loid. The indie’s spprts, news and special events departments were axied last week. The cross-the-hoard “TV Dinner Date” and “Music and Silhouette” are expected to be scrapped, and “Broadway TV The- atre”— the 90-minute Monday- through-Friday drama — may bow out after its current 13-week cycle. The new all-night operation will be suspended, with Fred Robbins’ night-owl block moved to an after- noon period. With the Thomas F O’Neil, Jr.-General Tire project for a syndicated-film “p.etwork” gain- ing momentum, the object presum- ably is to use WOR-TV as a prov- ing ground for operating a station with programs on spools. Among those getting, pink slips at WOR are: Edjdhe Meserand, first prexy of the Assn, of Women In Radio & TV and assistant news- special events director of the sta- tion for the past 14 years; Bob O’Connor,, former sports editor, a news scripter for the outlet since 1946 and its sports director since the video adjunct was added; and Ralph Gif fin and John Horstman, directors on the sports remotes. Also, fired were: Barney Boyle, vet traffic manager; David Holmes, of the traffic division; longtime staffer Helen Levine, who wrote promotional announcements; Harry Young, manager of stagehands; newswriter Larry Pickard; sports- caster Dick Nesbitt; newscaster Dick McCutcheon, and two film cutters. Status of newscaster John Wingate -is uncertain. As part of the de-emphasis on news, the United Press film service will prob- ably be dropped. Underlining the significance of the new pattern is the fact that WOR-TV was launched with a no- (Continued on page 34) Standard Shelling Out $500,000 for New TV Pix Series of Musicals Hollywood, Sept. 23. Already a heavy investor in tele- pix via its $500,000 sponsorship of “Chevron Theatre” on the coast, Standard Oil of California has allocated another • $500,000 for “Standard Hour,” . new telefilm series to be shown iil six key cities in the west, and teeing off on KECA-TV here Oct. 1. ABC crew directed by Bill Hol- lenbeck shot the first 13 in series at Richmond, Cal. Format is light classical musical, with vocalists and ballet. On first show are singer Dorothy Warenskjold, harpist Anne Adams, tenor William Alvis and the Frisco ballet. Series will be seen in Frisco, San Diego, Seattle, Phoenix, L. A., and Salt Lake City. Azearraga to New York To Buy Vidpix Properties Emilio Azearraga, “Mexico’s No.' 1 radio-TV man and owner of XEW and XEW-TV in Mexico City, ar-' rives in New York Sept. 28 to nego- tiate for vidpix properties. Azearraga, who is also regarded as the No. 1 Mex baseball fan. will also attend the World Series ac- companied by the president of the Mexican League. Azearraga is planning to acquire his own ball park in Mexica City for televising ;Of games. NBC-m amooo Intl Theatre Vidpix Deal; Sharpe’s 4-Way Spread Driscoll Out Among those being dropped in the WOR-TV cutbaclcs is Dave Driscoll, news-special events chief of WOR for 16 years, after a disagreement on plans for TV news and sports curtailment. Driscoll, who handled both AM and TV news, was shifted to the video side in the recent integration of WOR and Mu-, tual newsroom, with MBS’ Milt Bergh taking over the combined MBS-WOR radio news department. WOR-TV Sports Status in Douht; Wade Wades In Warren Wade, who took over as manager of WOR-TV, N. Y., this week, will have as one of his first problems settling most of the in- de’s sports remote contracts. It’s understood that WOR-TV is start- ing talks to get out of its pacts with promoters of boxing, wrestling and trotting race pickups. A spokesman said the station is not dropping all sports and will carry some. This probably means that if a bankrollei^ brings in a sports package it will be carried, but the station will not sustain re- motes from the clubs. Reports that the Brooklyn Dod- gers ballcasts w Vld be dropped in '53 were denied over the week- end. BBD&O agency has the rights and WOR-TV has the option to carry them. Games reportedly bring in some coin, although the profit margin is slight, but they produce good ratings and pre- and post-game time sale coin. Should WOR-TV drop the Dodgers, how- ever, games might go to WATV, Newark, which had the night ball- casts a couple of years back and which will have an improved sig- nal in Brooklyn resulting from.its transmitter being moved to Empire State Building. Wade, who has been producing the 90-mmute cross-board “Broad- way TV Theatre” and the 60-min- ute “TV Dinner Date” strip, was program manager of WPIX, N. Y., before joining WOR. A tele pi- oneer, he was with NBC as TV pro- gram manager in 1936 and again with NBC-TV after the war. Dur- ing the war he was a colonel in the Army Pictorial Service and produced training films. Working with Wade and General Teleradio and Mutual toppers on paring costs at the outlet is Wilton Gunzendorferr on leave as opera- tions manager of KHJ-TV, Thomas F. O’Neil, Jr., station on the Coast. Speidel, Wildrool Buy ‘Bostou Blackie’ Vidpix WABD, DuMont’s N. Y. flagship, wrapped up' an SRO status this week on its 7:30 to 8 pjn. cross- the-board time by pacting Speidel and Wildroot as co-sponsors of the “Boston Blackie” vidpix series. Two' bankrollers will pick up the tab for the show on Fridays, start- ing Oct. 3. - Station has been successful In I selling the half-hour strip, accord- ing to. .WABD manager Dick JoneSt since it switched its programming policy from a moppet-only slant to one aimed at adults as well. Other sponsors in that block in- clude Liggett Drugs (with Vitamin Corp. and Philip Morris) for “Easy Chair Theatre” on Mondays; Pacific Coast Borax, for “Death Valley Days” on Tuesdays; Miller Brewing, for “N, Y. Giants Quar- terback Hxiddle” on Wednesdays, and Marcales Paper, for “Paper ; Playhouse” on Thursdays. Don Sharpe, probably the top impresario in the vidfUm business, expanded his interests, further this week , by signing a $1,000,000 deal with NBC-TV for a new half-hour series, titled “International Thea- tre.” With two other major TV film series sold for major network spreads and a third being sold on a spot basis throughout the country, Sharpe already has a multi-million dollar vidpix venture as a going business. “International” series is being produced by Dougfair Productions, Douglas Fairbanks’ vidfilm firm. Shooting on the first 39-week cycle is slated to start Oct. 13, with the $1,000,000 covering talent and pro- duction costs for that many stanzas. Time slot it will occupy on NBC and a sponsorship deal have not yet been set. Sharpe’s two . other network shows are “My Hero,”" the Robert Cummings starrer, and “Four Star Playhouse,” which is to rotate Joel McCrea, Charles Boyer, Dick Powell and a fourth major film personality each week in the star- ring role. “Hero,” budgeted at $27,500 weekly and produced by Ofheial Films, preems on NBC-TV Nov. 8 under sponsorship of Dun- hill cigarets, filling the Saturday night 7:30 to 8 period being occu- piel until then by “My Little Mar- gie,” also a vidfilm series. . “Four Star” preems this week on CBS-TV under sponsorship of Singer Sewing Machine. Also pro- duced by Official, the series will also carry a $27,500 weekly nut. Ronald Colman, in his TV debut, will guestar on the initialer. Fourth show Sharpe represents, is “Terry and the Pirates,” which Is also being produced by Dougfair and Is budgeted at $19,500 per stanza. Allocated for syndication bookings, it has been bought by Canada Dry for more than 20 major markets. Conde Nast in TV Bid Via Telenews Conde Nast Publications has ac- quired a minority financial interest in Telenews Production and I. S. V. Patcevltch, Conde Nast prez, has been elected to the Telenews board. > Alfred Burger, Telenews exec veepee, said that there are no Im- mediate plans for the mag firm, which publishes Vogue, House & Garden and Glamour, to get tnto tele, but that the publishing group is interested in getting a first-hand look at TV. He' envisages that there will eventually be mutual co- operation involving the magazines* editorial services. Burger said that Telenews, which supplies news film to tele webs and stations, is going to expand into programming. Several pro- jected shows have already been dummied up. Among Telenews in- vestors are Paul Warburg, attor- ney Abraham L. Bienstock, Kuhn, Loeb senior partner John M. Schiff, and Angler Biddle Duke. Telenews prexy Herbert Scheftel is currently in Europe on a busi- ness trip. ‘CHINA SMITH’ V ffiPIX SOLD IN 12 MARKETS Initial sales of the new TV film series, “China Smith,” starring Dan Duryea, have been set In 12 mar- kets," if was announced this week by Manny Reiner, v.p. in charge of sales of PSI-TV, Inc. Sponsors include Cribben & Sex- ton, Inc., for Universal gas ranges, Chicago; Falstaff Brewing Co., for Falstaff beer in nine markets; Byl- vania Electric Products, Inc., for Sylvania television sets, in San Francisco, and Thrifty Drug Stores, in Los Angeles. Series will debut during the week of Sept. 30.