Variety (April 1953)

14 INTERNATIONAL PS&TBrr v^kihi i * i»wr*wr« vrritR t St. Martin's Plat#, Trafalgar Square U.S. Sock List in Cannes Film Fete: $ ‘Madam,’ ‘Pan,’ ‘Sheba,’ Lili,’ ‘Confess’ Cannes, April 14. 4 Sixth Cannes Film Festival be- gins tomorrow night (15) with the projection of the French film, «‘Le Salaire De La Peur”' (The Wages of .Fear”), H. G. Clouzot's three-hour study of fear, which is the French white hope of the fest. Following the screening will be the first formal midnight dinner, which will bring together the more than 300 invited journalists and film personalities. Thirty-four films will be projected, plus 40 shorts from the 25 competing countries. Coverage will be big, with scribes from all participating countries sending in press stories. Stateside participation is fine this year with a big personality turnout plus a fine selection of pix that are of fest calibre. Six prizes will be offered with a top pic kudo, a specially made figurette, and five other prizes, at the discretion of the jury, which will probably cover best actor and actress, screenplay, direction and photography . There is also a prize for the country having the best all-around selection, which already looks like it will be in the Stateside pocket, with possible upsets in the offing from either Japan, Italy or France. There will also be a prize for the best short subject. Kudos are cov- eted in Europe for prestige as well as b.o. pull. Jury this year has a good nu- cleus of people, directly involved in filmmaking, who should be able to insure acceptable . prizegiving for this fest. Jury consists of di- rectors Jean Cocteau and Abel Gance; film crix Andre Lang and Louis Chauvet; actors Renee Faure and Edward G. Robinson, present (Continued on page 20) ‘Bwana’ Fails to Smash Any Marks in Scotland, Worrying Many Exhibs Edinburgh, April 7. The 3-D film situation is worry- ing Scot exhibitors following the lukewarm reception given “Bwana Devil” by the crix and part of the public. “Bwana” was severely panned by some newspaper crix and on the Scot radio, a factor which lowered attendances consid- erably after the opening weekend. Exhibs said at a meeting here that they didn’t want several 3-D systems. J. K. Stafford Poole, lead- ing Scot exhib, thought a solution was primarily in the hands of American producers. Within a short time one system or the other would emerge as the most suc- cessful to be used by most com- panies, he thought. Sir Alexander King, Scot cinema magnate, poo-poohed “this 3-D fever which calls for the use of spectacles.” ' Three-dimensional pix via Polar- oid glasses “puts the cinema in- dustry baek 20 years,” he said, “I went to ‘Bwana Devil’ to be entertained,” he explained, “and I came out with a headache. In the interval they sold ice cream. They should have sold, aspirin.” Playing the Gaumont, leading downtown house in Glasgow, “De- vil” did not set the heather on fire, although it was conceded by most patrons that 3-D has much novelty value, Exhibs praised novelty appeal of “Devil” while decrying its story value. Theatre Directors Get Into Act as Paris Crix Paris, April 14. A unique new legit tryout is being staged here by author Claude Vermorel of his play, “Le Bonheur Des Hommes” (“The Happiness of Man 1 *). Vermorel has directed the play himself and it will be presented today (15) to an audience composed of legit crix and legit house directors. If play goes^over with this hyper- critical aud, it will move into the house that gives the best offer for a regular run, Actors Claire Maffei, Hubert Noel, Balpetre, Alexandre Rignault and Robert Moor are working for nothing, and counting on the play’s acceptance for the eventual payoff. Play takes place in 1938, and deals with a -group of Jewish refu- gees who are trying to get over the German border and escape into France. It deals with the com- plex feelings And guilts of this strangely assorted group and their final facing of reality when war is inevitable. Decor is by Jean Saint Georges. I Eire AM Topper’s U.S. 0.0. I Dublin, April 14. Francis MacManus, general fea- tures officer of Radio Eireann— the Irish , state-controlled radio service—sails for U. S. on the America next week, arriving in N. Y. April 29. He is skedded to do a three-month study tour of radio and TV setups in the U. S. Tour is being sponsored by U. S. State Dept, and Radio Eireann. MacManus, former educationalist, is a novelist, and controls all-fea- ture material and gabbing for Ra- dio Eireann’s three outlets. MOSCOW BALLET OUT OF CURTAIN FOR PARIS BOW ' Paris, April 14. Soviet Embassy here announced last week (9). that the Moscow Bal- let, troupe of 60, is slated to make a Paris appearance at the 3,000- seater Palais de Chaillot house June 28 for four-week run. Com- pany is headed by Galina Ulanova, noted ballerina who won critical raves when she danced at the Flo- rence Festival in 1951. This Will mark first appearance outside of Soviet Russia of what’s reported to be one of the great ballet companies of the world. An- nouncement has already stirred in- tense Interest among balletomanes and ballet biz figures everywhere. . Program will include Tchaikov- ski Bwan Lake” and Prokofiev’s Roroeo and Juliet.” Athens Legit Scene Shows Many Preems, Comedy Boff Biz, One Near-Bankruptcy Athens, April 7. Many legit openings bowed here this month, most of local origin. * Two Xenopoulos dramas, “Popo- laros” and “Kontessa Valerna,” opened, first at Mqssouri theatre, with Hellen Hatjiargyri and Kos- tas Moussouris in leading roles, the latter at the National Theatre. Elli Lambetti scored a personal success in a reprise of Ibsen’s “Doll’s House” at her new Ky- veli’s theatre with George Pappas and Dimitri Horn. Terence Ratti- gan is back at the Elli’s Labetti theatre for another week, repeat- ing “Deep Blue Sea.” ’ The lightJGrreek Comedy, “Than- assakis The" Politician,” is still breaking records at Kotopouli the- atre, surpassing 200 performances, with Denos Eliopoulos in the starring role. Another Greek comedy, “Rena Has Turned Wicked,” scripted by Sakellarios and Ganniakopoulos, and adapted by Basile Logothet- ides, is doing fine at the Kentrikon. Ilya Livikou has the feminine star- ring role. Sophia’s Vempo vaudeville show is doing well also. One theatre which faces a bank- ruptcy is the National Lyric Scene, operating under government con- trol. Its staff, unpaid for several months; protested to the govern- ment, and the board succeeded in getting better financial support. ‘Private life of Helen’ In Scot Preem April 27 Glasgow, April 7. Diana Wynyard and Cecil Parker will star in “The Private Life of Helen,” ' English adaptation of I*French play by Andre Roussin. It opens April 27 at the King’s. Play is based indirectly on the novel, “The Private Life of Helen of Troy,” written by John Erskine in 1925. Andre Roussin and Madeleine Gray turned the book into the French play, “Helene,” performed in Paris. Now Arthur. Macrae, Brit- ish thesper-playwright, has trans- lated it into English and will play the role of Paris. Othe/s in cast are Shelagh Fraser, Josephine Francis and Edward Brooks. Dub One French, Two German Pix For U.S.Distrib „ Remagen, Germany, April 14. Vet Hollywood megger Frank Tuttle has just completed direc- torial chores on English dubbing of the first three pilot pix» under Spectra Films aegis, for eventual U. S. sale. Tuttle, who has been working on the Continent since 1950, recruited English speaking voices mainly from non-pro-ranks in Germany, mostly U. S. em- ployees or their families. One French and two German features ’lead off the Spectra pro- gram, and will shortly be offered to potential distribs. First is the Gallic “Entree des Artistes,” re- titled “Don’t Play with Love.” It stars Louis Jouvet and Claude Dauphin. Second pic tackled was “Toxi,” German-made story about the Ne- gro child of a U. S. soldier in Ger- many. Tearjerker script ends with the sepian heroine reunited with her father and taken Statewide. Eight-year-old Lily Handler, daugh- ter of N. Y. Times’ Bonn corre- spondent Meyer Handler, handled the English-speaking chore for the juve star. Last of the three is the German- made “Dangerous Border,” a cops- and-robbers epic about the heavy- shooting coffee smugglers of the German - French - Dutch border areas. Frank Tuttle and Bob Meyerson, associated with Spectra in an edi- torial capacity, wrote English dia- log for all films. Dubbing was done at the International Film Union Studios, said to be best equipped in Germany. France Sees Biggest Tourist Year Since War; Yank Vanguard Arrives Nip’s 1st Export Pic THREE GOVTS. AS ANGELS FOR DUBLIN OPERA Dublin, April 7. Governments of West Germany, Italy and Ireland are angels for the opera season which opens here April 20 at the Gaiety Theatre The former have made what A. E. Timljn, secretary of the Dublin Grand Opera Society, described as “heavy financial contributions.” Th* Irish government, through its Arts Council, is providing about $2,500. Both Germany and Italy ore rep- resented in the season: Germany with leading warblers from Mu- nich State Opera to sing “Tristan and Isolde,” “La Boheme,” “The Marriage of Figaro” and “La Tra- viata.” The Italian group, from La Scala, Milan, and Rome Opera, will sing in “Madame Butterfly,” “The Barber of Seville” and “Rlgo- letto.” Producers and conductors are coming from both countries. Only Irish conductor will be Coi. James M. Doyle, who takes the ba- ton for “The- Marriage of Figaro.” He’s Dublin Opera Society’s direc- tor of music and holds the same job with the Irish Army. WB’s Wolfe Ccken on Far East Trek for ‘Wax’ Botf Warner Bros, international prexy Wolfe Cohen left N. Y. Monday (13) on a trip to Australia “and the Far East. Exec isolated to hold a.meeting in Sydney for all the sales staff of Australia and New Zealand. He then moves to Singapore, where he’ll hold confabs with, sales staff- ers covering India, Burma, Pakis- tan, and Indonesia*. After brief stops in Manila and Hong Kong, Cohen will hold another meeting for the Japanese sales staff in Tokyo, In addition to the sales palavers, purpose of Cohen’s six-week trip is to launch ‘IHouse of Wax,” prints of which are already enroute to countries in that area. f sjt ti [' fisqs', c-J tfi./'tdufl i / ^ . Tokyo, April 7. Christ in Bronze” will be Japan’s first film made directly for |’ Export. Film, based on novel about persecution of early Christians in Japan, will be made by Shochiku Studios, with vet director M. Shi- buya at the helm. Originally planned in color, it has been changed to black and white in.order that it will be com- , pleted in time for Venice Film I Festival. British Firm Uses TV To Aid Sales Drives London, April 7. For the first time in Britain, TV has been used for industrial pur- poses to help selling techniques. The pioneers were Brown and Poi- son, manufacturers of tinned and packaged foodstuffs. The presen- tation was the climax of a two-day sales conference in London. The show was staged by BBC-TV pro- ducer. Henry Caldwell, using Mar- coni equipment on a closed cir- cuit. Apart from two or three straight sales talks, the program consisted of short sketches ad libbed by Frank Muir and Dennis Nprden. . 1 :>j f|» I Brit. Govt. Okays VAF’s 40% Local, 60% Foreign Quota for Nitery Talent London, April 14. After pegging away since 1947, the Variety Artists’ Federation Is now in sight of achieving its goal of a quota for British cabarets. The Ministry of Labor has come out in favor of the vauders’ union, with a suggestion that a voluntary agreement be made, ensuring a minimum pf 40% playing time for local performers. As a result of the Ministry edict, a meeting is to be arranged be- tween the VAF and the Hotel & Restaurant Assn, to okay details, using the government formula of 60% foreign and 40% British, as a basis of the negotiations. This stage of the negotiations has been reached despite utmost resistance on the part of nitery operators, who have solidly object- ed to having their hands tied by a categorical agreement. They have always urged that they should be given freedom of booking, on an assurance that they would use local attractions whenever possible. As basis for the forthcoming talks, VAF are proposing to use the existing quota agreements for vaudeville as the model. These are based specifically on the acts employed,\ and do not take into account musicians employed in the pits. The vaude agreement in the West End of London is on a 50-50 basis, but outside that limited area, theatres have to engage a mini- mum of 75% British artists. In early days of the negotiations, Hotel & Restaurants’ Assn, were claiming that name bands, em- ployed in West End cafes and hotels, were a. positive customer lure and should be offset against any negotiable quota. This point of view is being forcefully resisted by the VAF, who claim it would nullify any arrangements made. It’s also still expected that the nitery chiefs will -make a last-ditch stand against agreeing to the quota. But if a common basis of negotiation is $ot quickly attained, VAF intend to have the issue pub- licly ventilated, and will promote questions in the House of Com- mons.. They threatened to invoke this machinery if the Ministry of Labor had not intervened by this time, and are now holding 1 that weapon back in reserve. O’Casey’s ‘Purple Dust’ Preem Set for 'Glasgow Glasgow, April 7. „« Sean °’Casey’s new comedy, ^Purple Dust,” presented by Sam Wanamaker in association with Thane Parker, is set to open its British tour at the Theatre Royal here April 27. Cast includes Miles Malleson, Siobhan McKenna, Liam Redmond, Walter Hudd, Eithne Dunne, Sha- mus Locke, Joseph O’Conor and Harry Hutchinson. Play is direct- ed by Wanamaker. O’Casey has contributed a num- ber of lyrics to music composed by Malcolm' Arnold, based, on tradi- tional Irish airs. Play, concerning two Englishmen who take over an old Irish mansion, has been a pros- pect for Broadway production sev- eral times, but never ^actually reached the stage* J 1 jrctros jkii. . Paris, April 7. American tourists are beginning to arrive and the Bureau du Tour- ism here is girding for one of the biggest expected tourist influxes since the last war. Tendency of tourists to stay in Paris for much shorter periods of time due to the HCL and the various other draws on the continent continue to be tourism headache's. This year, all prices including taxes will be clearly noted at all hotels to prevent any misunder- standing like those that arose last year. In the past, the 15% serv- ice and 9% state tax was tagged on the tab just before delivery, and this annoyed many tourists. Res- taurants are also being urged to state the prices of meals that are all inclusive. The season of Paris is being pre- pared, this being a rash of lush galas for the carriage trade here via a series of benefits. Various films will be used for these galas, as well as many vaude acts. At the same time, there will be the usual number of festivals and special events going on all over France to attract the tourist. Cui- sine, couture and culture will all be oft hand waiting for the tourist. A series of musical, film, theat- rical and art manifestations are on the agenda this year. Biggies are the Cannes Film Festival April 15- 29,. with 30 nations participating along with a score of international film celebs. Bordeaux will be a festive center .JMay 12-24, with the Ballets De Marquis De Cuevas, Opera, the first presentation of Paul Claudel’s “Christophe Co- lomb” by the Jean-Louis Barrault- Madeleine Renaud Co., along with international gymnastic and sport festivals. Strasbourg runs the Mo- zart Festival, featuring various In- ternational ofchs June 6-14, Aix-En-Provence has its yearly music fest July 10-30, and will pre- sent “Cosi Fan Tutti” and “The Barber of Seville.” Besancon is the other big music center with a fete Sept. 3-13. Vorious other sec- tions of France will join in with art exhibs and folklore fetes. The Menton fete runs from -Aug. 3 to 14. Festival, presided over by Pab- lo Casals with a host of music greats. Last year, Aix-En-Provence drew 20,500 people; Strasbourg, 17,600; Besancon, 11,800, and Lyon, 55,000. This year, with higher tourist in- flux and the Coronation in Eng- land, a great many more visitors are expected. 3-D Metroscopix Bows In Vienfla; Commies Claim Better ‘Depthy’ System Vienna, April 14. Metro will break Austria’s first postwar 3-D show with a 20-minute “Metroscopix” program in. three Vienna theatres at the end of April. Wolfgang Wolf, Metro rep here, says the system is one re- quiring Polaroid glasses. It was seen here before the war, but apparently made little impression. Local press is full of 3-D news, including much plugging in Com- mie papers of the allegedly su- perior Russian' “screen-in-depth” system, said to be long in opera- tion in the Soviet Union. Metro announcement got big space, and there’s little doubt the engagement will draw heavily. In other Austrian developments, the Metro exchange has been un- der attack by Red organs for £® g ! dly usin S “Gone With the Wind” as a club to force block bookings of as high as 20 Metro and 20th pix (they are sold to- gether) in the southern Austrian provinces. GWTW is still doing almost SRO biz in its fourth month m Vienna, and at highest prices ever charged here (90c top). O’Brien’s Chile Boost , John O’Brien, with Metro’s for- eign division since 1938, has been upped to general manager in Chile. He replaces Jack Tilden, resigned. O’Brien, who previously was salesman in Chile, was promoted to the new post in line with com- pany policy of advancement within the ranks, according to Loew's In- ternational Corp. veepee Morton ^#f? r * ng * Cl >1 ( j *'ce \ tfl