Variety (January 1953)

84 Forty-seventh USriety Anniversary Wednesday, January 7, 1953 TOP QUALITY INDEPENDENT PRODUCTIONS NASSOUR STUDIOS INC. WILLIAM NASSOUR EDWARD NASSOUR J* Never Has Freelancing Been So Rough By KA1 CAMPBELL There’s never been a year like *52 for Coast -freelance writers. Never has the market 4>een so er- ratic, so replete with custom* greased skids, so mined with shake- ups and changes in. editorial poli- cies and ownerships. Two decades agOjvthe bottom fell out, but today’s Holiday Greetings Music for "Son of Paleface "Pleasure Island /l "Here Come the Girls" Paramount Pictures Corp. Management 1 : WM. MORRIS <6 picture is different. That was deba- cle. Today’s scene is one of up- ' Jie&yaU.. , r The economy wave and subse- quent curtailment of contracts have swept screen writers back into the book and publication field, where they’ve found their old con- tacts non est inventus. The new editors didn’t recognize their names and felt that they had lost their “reader appeal.” A canvass , of currently established names re- vealed that numerous manuscripts had been returned because the edi- tors who gave out the assignments had moved to greener pastures or obscurity. Never before has there been such a wealth of opportunities, with paperbacks competing with hard covers, new magizines besieg- ing studio flacks with demands for unavailable material but—editors have been tossed about like tickets in a lottery bowl and assignment today may mean a rejection tomor- row. Take a look at the masthead of any national magazine dated December, *51, -and compare it with the current issue. What a differ- = ence a year makes! Many national publications, in- cluding Holiday, the Conde Nast group, and others have abolished Coast editorial offices. The re- maining few includes Time, Life, Look, Collier5s, McCall’s, Good Housekeeping, and Better Homes and Gardens. None of the big-cir- culation, point-of-sales books such as Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Better Living, Today’s Family or Everywoman has a Coast editor. Most of the established Coast freelancers follow the procedure of visiting eastern editors at least once a year in order to learn new. policies, new requirements and to secure assignments. What happens now? He returns, spends days or weeks gathering material, whips out a masterpiece—only to have it rejected by the new editor, who pursues a new 7 policy. 'Numerous periodicals have folded suddenly, some with a big inventory and a huge backlog of outstanding assign- ments. But for every book that’s faded. tw r o more have been an- nounced. Drastic changes in ownership or management have played an important role in many w 7 ell- known houses. Liberty, American Mercury, Magazine Digest and MacFadden Publications are typi- cal illustrations. Fawcett, Hearst, Crowell-Collier and Conde Nast have shuffled editors like cards in a canasta deck. Parents Insti- tute abandoned 21 when the ink was scarcely dry on the first copies and Inaugurated “Humpty-Dump- ty.” A great influx of men’s mags has hit the stands; and paper-back publications have hit a new high. When Lou Ruppel ankled Col- lier’s after months of continual ed- itorial shifts, during which time three of the best Coast “names” crossed that market off their list and sent queries elsewhere, that wasn’t the beginning of the tur- moil. The real shuffling of staffs began the previous year with a long list of radical changes. Mac- Fadden led off, and Adele Wl.itley Fletcher followed Ernie Heyn to the American Weekly. The exodus of a dozen editors from the Ameri- can Home was followed by a simi- lar group from Better Homes and Gardens. Christine Holbrook, from the •latter publications, took over the reins of a new book, Better Living. Gerry Gruen joined her. Robert Crossley, Ted. Kimble, and Pat Flynn Rollings moved to Houses hold to head a new staff. Editor Joe Ratner turned huckster. Wil liam J. Hennessey, ex-American (Continued on page 88) ROBERT EMMETT DOLAN PRODUCER PARAMOUNT STUDIO Season’s Greetings JONES, LINICK & SCHAEFER Chicago, Illinois i HENRY LEVIN DIRECTOR 20th Century-Fox For Spring Release "THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE" "THE PRESIDENT'S LADY"