Variety (April 1953)

miscellany PfinTEff Wednesday, April 15, 1953 With ABCs MPAA Film as Clincher The most “official” mating eU Hollywood and television yet takes place next fall under auspices of the Motion Picture Assn, of Amer- ica over the American Broadcast- ing Co/s facilities. It’s to he the long-projected filmed TV series, probably at first spearheaded and emceed by Eric Johnston, presi- dent of MPAA, and utilizing two or three film clips from current production of all the major studios whose membership comprises “the Johnston office.” The deal which ABC prexy Robert E. Klntner finalized re- cently on the Coast officially ties Hollywood into the TV picture, whereby video, will become a regu- lar trailer for the film industry. ABC is set to lens the pilot film for the MPAA’s institutional TV show. Proposed format for the half-hour program has been pre- sented to the companies and now awaited is the okay of the dis- tribs’ ad-pub directors, who are to meet this week. Cost of the pilot stanza is figured at $10,000 and should not go high- er, since the bulk of the program will be taken up by the pic ex- cerpts. Stars of the pix will round out the airefs with brief appear- ances, eventually taking the emcee ^ABC will pitch the completed pic to sponsors. It's understood that some bankrollers have shown interest in the idea already, but if no sponsor can be found, or if the completed film isn't what the distribs had in mind, the whole project will revert to MPAA for reappraisal. , If no hitch develops, the trial reels roll within a couple of weeks. Setup as planned would involve no expense whatever to the studios. Following Johnston and the players, the action will be a co- hesive exposition of what Holly- wood has to offer, keying the clips With the release dates. Thus, the (Continued on page 321- MinevitcVs Private Plane To Paris at Auto Rates Via His Gallic Charm How Borrah Minevitch, owner of the Harmonica Rascals bearing his .name (with which he hasn’t ap- peared for many years), charmed the French Line into transporting his private plane to Paris for the same cargo rate as a tourist auto- * mobile is a saga in showmanship selling and characteristic Gallic pride. Obviously, the passenger plane consumes as -much space in a hold as several automobiles, but when Minevitch turned on the charm—that he wanted “to see my beloved France from on high, and not on wheels like every casual tourist”—he melted the hearts (and (Continued on page 25) Vanderbilt’s UJA Film, Author-lecturer Neil Vaiftlerbilt this week signed with the United Jewish Appeal to make a full- length lecture film on Israel. He’ll start work on the pic fol- lowing his filming of the Corona- tion in London in June. PH0T0$ FREE! 8x VO GLOSSIES ’Unsubsidized’ U.S. Pix Get Congressional Plug Washington, April 14. Strong plug for the unsubsidized American film industry and its im- pact on the world has been placed in the Congressional Record by Rep. John J. Dempsey (D., N. M.). “This American industry,” he said, “has the peculiar distinction of be- ing the only one of its kind in the world which is not subsidized .by Its Government. All other coun- tries subsidize their film industries but the American industry brings dollars back to the United States. I think it merits commendation. “American films have an extra- ordinary impact on social and eco- nomic attitudes in all parts of the free world. The.fact that Soviet Russia and 'Other Iron Curtain countries bar American films from exhibition In their theatres is mute testimony of the effect and influ- ence our pictures have on the peo- ple who view them. Actually our motion pictures are the greatest salesmen of America, its demo- cratic processes and its products. HORACE HEIDT FOB LUCKY STRIKE Under Personal Management JOHN LEER 111 Fifth Ave., New York N.Y. Theatre Wrassles A Hassle: Does It Or Its * Employee Claim Jewelry? An unusual hassle centering around the finding of lost property in a theatre has developed in N.Y., where a court ruling will eventual- ly determine whether the finder (a theatre employee) or the theatre is- entitled to final possession, if no claim is made fof the lost object. Principals involved are the Ray- bond Theatre Corp., operators of the Normandie Theatre on 57th St.; Barry Bond, a former assistant manager of the house, and the N.Y, Police Dept. The lost object is a jewel bracelet, said to be valuable, but its exact worth is undeter- mined. Bond reportedly found the brace- let last October. He allegedly held on to it for 10 days; did not re- port its finding to the top echelon of Raybond, and turned it over to the police. Following a waiting period .of six months, time allowed before the finder can claim lost property, Bond was reportedly no- tified by the police that he could pick up the bracelet. It was at this point, last Wednesday (8) to be (Continued on page 70) Showfolk Aid Palsy Drive ’Nine more show business reps last week agreed to serve another year as co-chairmen of United Cerebral Palsy’s national cam- paign committee, according to na- tional chairman Bob Hope. Aides in the .drive to raise $7,500,000 are Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, • Arlene Fran- cis, Jinx Falkenburg McCrary, Jane Pickens, Kate Smith, John Cameron Swayze and Jack Webb Fourth annual campaign kicks off May 1. Bids Swamp Lanza Since M-G Break Hollywood, April 14. Music Corp. of America, which represents Mario Lanza, says it has been swamped with offers from radio, television, concerts and mo- tion pictures since Metro an- nounced termination of its contract with the singer-actor Friday (10). Agency spokesman said that the re- straining order obtained by Metro last fall prohibiting Lanza from working elsewhere doesn’t apply, now that he's a free agent, accord- ing to MCA legalites. He also de- clared that Lanza agreed to start working on “Student Prince” May 5, and the next he heard was that the stuclio was dropping him. Metro’s long hassle with Lanza came to a climax Friday with the studio firing the singer “for various reasons.” Among the reasons, ac- cording to a Metro spokesman, was “Lanza’s notification that he would not report for work in ‘The Stu- dent Prince’ unless new demands not compatible with his contract were met.” There had been trouble between the singer a;id the company for nearly a year. It came to a boil last Septeihber when the studio filed a $5,195,888 damage suit for refusal to.report for “Prince,” and asked for a court order restrain- ing Lanza from working elsewhere. Later he agreed to start the pic- ture on May 5. A n , i Flat Future -FORECAST BY ARTHUR MAYER- I dreamed that it was 1960 and that the motion picture business had hit a new all-time low. Exhibitors, even in Texas, were weeping and wailing. Many of them were in such reduced circumstances that they were still driving their 1959 Cadillacs. Seven long years had passed since they, had first looked at the future through rose-colored glasses, courtesy of the Polaroid Co. Film rentals, which, during the halcyon days of 1954 had mounted to 70%, were now denounced as excessive by Wilbur Snaper, permanent president of Allied, and even circuit spokesmen balked at 90% for roadshows with admission prices raised to $5, The newspapers were filled with reports of theatres being converted into aerostations for interplanetary planes, but there was little mention of the increased seating capacity, afforded by the mushroom growth of eight screen drive-ins, gyroscopic drop-ins and 10-mile off-shore submarine dive-ins. The. television interests, under the inspired leadership of Leonard Goldenson of ABC-United Paramount-RKO-Loew, had*set as their goal a television set in every room of every house. 150 million of their infernal internal machines were already installed and they were multiplying like rabbits. ' Most of the se.v vwere of f thetnew flexo constructo type patented by Matty Fox’ so that they could be ex- panded or contracted to fit the entire side of anything from a ball- room to a bathroom. They all had the new 'NBCBS color system, sound effects by Brandt, Inc. and the Sino-More Stereoscopic attach- ment particularly adapted for bedroom use. Most families had the new Phonyvision installation which, when a dime was dropped in the baby's piggy bank, could bring them the daily rushes from Lippert, Goldwyn and other leading producers. Something had to be done to save the industry as it had been saved in 1953 by 3D and in 1956 by the Smellies (invented 30 years previously and fully described by Arthur Mayer in his perennial best seller, “Merely Colossal,” regular price $3.50, autographed copies $2.50—advertisement). As usual, it was Spyros Skouras who led the rescue drive. Spryos, having beaten off Green in 1953, Gray in 1055,.White in 1057, was now having “tzouras” with both Black and Blue. At simultaneous dinners in the Metropolitan Club of every American and Greek city he announced that every 20th Century-Fox picture hereafter would be photographed on the Touchoscope process. The feelies at last were a reality. No longer would you merely have Marilyn Monroe in your lap and breath /her intoxicating per- fume (courtesy of Stalkin), you would now be able to intimately caress her. Charlie Einfeld came.through with-a brilliant new slogan for. the occasion—“Movie Movements Are Better Than Ever.” And Mr. Nicholas M. Schenck stated that Metro was closely in touch with Touchoscope. In his behalf Howard Dietz announced In Variety that the picture had no problems which a new dimension could not cure. r Is This a System? Balahan, Paley Named To Israel O’Seas Corp. Board Barney Balaban, president of Paramount, and William S. Paley, board chairman of Columbia Broadcasting System, are among the directors of Israel Overseas Corp., which has been set m tb invest in the development of in- dustrial enterprises in the State of Israel. Outfit’s registration statement covers $1,600,000 of capital stock and $3,400,000 of 20-year deben- tures. The dementia of 3-dimension days was dwarfed by the hysteria that followed these prdnunciamentos. Within a week, every company in Hollywood was publicizing its own superior new system and intimating that all other systems were stinkers. Universal had the Feelie-Jeebies; Wapier, the Touch-and-Run system; Columbia, the Cohn and Moan. United Artists based its campaign on advertising reading “The UA touch will make you Youngstein.” Y. Frank Freeman pleaded in vain for the Paramount Pinch process by which the inventoried film in the vaults of producers, valued at one billion dollars, could be sal- vaged. Overnight the public declined to attend any films that they could not feel as well as see and smell. At the height of the panic, however, the National Censor Board, which had been established by an amendment to the Constitution after the State Boards were declared illegal, stepped in. It ruled that films establishing a personal contact with performers ranging in sex appeal from Ma Kettle to Francis, werp lascivious, lewd and indecent and Could only be shown in houses with uniformed chaperones oc- cupying every third seat. The industry seemed doomed. All work came to a standstill in Hollywood and everyone, except relatives, were drop- ped from the studio payrolls. Theatre business disappeared completely, even in Bob O’Donnell’s theatres. Eric Johnston flew back from Pago- Pago. A Guy With a Tall Memory 1 m Per Thousand! EA.f| Per Hundred m 10 * W# use East- man Paper. Free Delivory Anywhere Our service it to duplicate your photos in quanti- ties as good as your original or better. Our Goafanteo: You must be satisfied or your money back. Samples of our work sent on request. 100 FREE WITH ANY * ORDER OF 100 OR MORI LET'S GET ACQUAINTED! 24 HOUR SERVICE DUPLICATE PHOTO GL. I143 6775 SUNSET BLVD. HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. Berle-History of Then & Now TV That a TV milestone has been passed will be realized on Sept. 22 when Milton Berle—no more singing Texaco servicemen, no more Texaco Star Theatre—returns on NBC-TV under General Motors sponsorship. The Berle-Texaco relationship, which began five years ago, is almost a history of television. When Berle started with the Texas Co. in 1948, there were about 1,000,000 sets in use. Today there are 23,000,000. Berle’s pay has gone from $2,500 a show to $17,500. In the 1948-49 season, no one was sure of television’s future. So Berle doubled in radio for one season. For three seasons, Berle was Mr. Television, some 20 rating points ahead of the rest of the pack, with the alltime tele rating high, an 80, reached in November 1948 (when mobs formed in front of television stores on Tuesday nights). He slipped to almost 20th in. the 1951-52 season, with the hypo of Goodmam Ace and a large staff of writers bringing him back to this season’s top five. From a weekly show, Berle went to three out of four this season, and is scheduled for two of three next season. Television time and talent (for eight stations) cost $10,000 a week back in 1948. As Texaco bows out in 1953, time and talent costs were $110,000 a week (for over 60 stations). What of the Texas Co.? Priced out of television, it will pause to catch its breath. Next season Texaco will not bankroll a national show on either television or radio. It will merely buy time spots on a local basis. At this juncture, some simple soul suggested that it might he con- structive to see some of those ancient flat pictures that used to be exhibited back in the early 1950s.- A few desperate exhibitors made the rash experiment. The results were sensational. Even good. Mil- lions of people smashed their stereopticon, scented television sets and rushed back to the theatres to see the oldies. Dozens of decrepit old house managers, no longer sufficiently agile to get out of the way of the stampede of incoming patrons, were run over and crippled for life. Overnight, every studio in Hollywood had to be retooled. Many of the great negatives of the past had already been junked or allowed to disintegrate. Wise oldtimers, however,- like Adolph Zukor and Arthur Krim, unearthed some half-forgotten pictures such as “The Greatest Show on Earth” and “High Noon*.” Sales departments imme- diately raised film rentals on these specials. All of the former execu- tives were re-employed in Hollywood and paid their back salaries with interest. Exhibitors dusted off the ragged remnants • of their lobby hold-out ropes. The Government reinstated a 40% admissions tax to replace the 20% one abolished in 1953. The operators union insisted on four men in every booth, with double overtime because of the difficulties in relearning how to project flats. The only pic- tures they continued to project deep into the auditorium were Jane Russell’s and Silvana Mangano’s. The only odor was that of the films themselves and the whole industry settled down to enjoy another boom until the next crisis should raise its prosperous head. 4/15 Subscription Order Form Enclosed find check, for $ Please send VARIETY for y^ s To (Please Print Name) Street City Zone.... State Regular Subscription Rates One Year-—$10.00 Two Years—$18.00 Canada and Foreign—$1 Additional per Year PfifUETY Inc. 154 West 44th Street New York 34. N. Y. i — o to. • L. |