Variety (July 1953)

Wednesday, July 1, 1953 Two US. Fix in By HAROLD MYERS ; . Berlin, June 30, A T’rorieli entry, >v Le SalaireyDe Ln Pc mV* was awarded .first place in the Berlin Film Festival, which Wound up Sunday (281. Runnerup WflvS “Magi a Verde,” Italian film; “The Village,” from Switzerland,; : rated third. . ~ •. Among . the English language films, seventh place was. won by .Britain’s .'.‘The Captains. Paradise,”. eighth ple.ee by' the American pic- ture,. ■Repii-h!i(j‘' , sf “The Sun Shines Bright,'- and YOthrFox's. “The Man On A Tightrope” was tenth. / ■ In one of its main ohjeeliyes, the Berlip Film Festival failed. Politic cally, it -was intended that; the junket should .Serve ns a shop- AvihdoW; for the film industries of the western world to the residents, of Eastern ■.•Germany, but since the riots of a week ago, there ha's been no through traffic from iCast to . west; One picture theatre just in- • side the 'western’ zone had been taken over for* the duration of the ./'Festival, for the exclusive use of Fast Berliners; , but ; only ...a few score people each daF have suc- ceeded In penetrating the bar- • rier to get a glimpse of the inter: national screenings; "The Bad and the . Beautiful” (M-G). \vxis llol lywood 's opening attraction here and rated high marking in the public poll oh which the Festival results are (Continued oh page 53) For Putting 'Heart' Into ' By GENE ARNEEL , \ Saranac, N. Y., June 30. “Variety Chibs represents the heart of show business arid a. part of that heart is right here,” com- mented Robert J. (Bob) O’Donnell, v.p. of Interstate Theatres, Dallas- lie was referring to • the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, and 45 Gotham visitors were in mimed i-- ate agreement with the Tex a s showman. . For the operation of .this tuber- culosis institution showed certain individuals, and groups in the trade at tlieir humanitarian best The Rogers hospital has become; ‘a re- markable achievement, h a yin g been, elevated over the past four years from a project of’ pitiful neg- lect to an instrument of genuine importance in combatting . TB. Prominent specialists in thp field have come to recogniie the Rogers hospital, to the. extent that they’ve proposed merging its research en- . (Continued on page 55) House Subversive Probe Resumes Next Week in NX Washington, June 30. Subcommittee, of the House Un- American ; Activities . : Committee resumes hearings in New York, starting July 6; pn Comhiy infiltra- tion into education and entertain- ment, Sessions will last;about, brie week, according to present esti- mates. Hearings are to take care of loose ehds; left over from: the hearings conducted in NcW York last,May.v. . •• ■- ' Lillian .Heilman arid Dorothy. Parker are a mon g those whom- Seri. iJoseph R. .McCarthy’s investigat- ing com-miitee-fejcpec , tS;-:to' hear dur- ing three days of . hearingsepm- mencihg tomorrow AWed ), in con- nection. with the State Dept.’s overseas libraries arid information centers. . Among others of the 23; v. riters and artists for whom sub- poenas have been Issued are Rock- well Kent, Mrs. Paul Robeson arid Coriiss Lamont, For Entertaining GIs ' Holly wood. June 30. U. Gen, Robert Harper, ropre- s nting the U. S. Dept, of Defense, commended more’ than TOO Holly- wood film and radio personalities for their - work in entertaining. American servicemen overseas dur- ing the past three years. Celebration was held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium, with George Murphy presiding as head of the Hollywood Coordinating Commit- .Jec,.;.,Event was. emceed by Johnny Grant and Keenan Wynn,. who had inade junkets to Korea: Grammar School Stuff Romo, June 23. After being informed here that her play, ‘“The Children's HpUr” bad . been . removed; from, some overseas; State Dept, libraries, Lil- lian Heilman said, Til stand on the pl ayr-rit’s about ai political as a 10-year-old In a grammer sehqpl.” . Miss Hellmari declined further com merit, saying that her plays can speak for tJJierriselves, and that she did not care to go Into her per- sonal views. She 1$ vacationing in Italy .for the summer,. making Rome her: headquarters, with trips around the peninsula. Sure Hates TV: Psycho Stabs CBS Cameraman S'J: And Assaults Actor A crazed ;psychopath sneaked into a CBS-TV (New York) studio where “City Hospital’i.was in re- hearsal yesterday (Tues.), cried, “I hate television!. It’s dirty!/- slabbed a cameraman, aridhurled a glass pitcher at the head of an actor. . The cameraman, Pat McBride, was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was suffering from a punctured lung* The actor, Erie Dressier, was also taken to hospi- tal, suffering- front, shock, but was later released. Four; guards disarmed the assail- ant. Richard Gaughan, 29, a Clerk, who was removed to the 18th Po- lice Precinct. Cp-sponsors of “City Hospital/" Arrid and Carter’s Little Liver • Pills, and producers Julian. Flint and Walter. Selden; cancelled the ' show skedded for last night (Tues.) and. substituted a kine. Herman Glazer, manager of the CBS street-level studio 58, at 55th St. and 9th Aye., formerly the Town Theatre, said the assailant had gained entry into the studio bv (elling, a guard: “I’m an actor on the show in rehearsal,” Police at 18th Precinct said the assailant, ‘had niade the statement after liis capture: “TV is killing people. I wanted to straighten it out by; killing the 'TV operator,” :Gaughan will be detained in court I today; (Wed.) at TO a.m., and then taken to Bellevue Hospital. •/ - ^ ; Mars, Ark/ The boys at Universal-International have gone from “City Beneath The Sea’’ to “It Came From Outer Space’’ in a matter of a few months. That sounds as Jf they went from being all wet to being high ami dry, but the less facetious fact is. they are making more money on less invested, capital than any bunch in Hollywood today. This should inspire those who fear that Hollywood is living on bor- rowed time. For all their mechanization, pictures are still very person ai .prodUctioris, arid.no one could have been blamed if he had prophesied that with the death of Uncle Carl Laemmle years ago Universal Citv would have become a ghost town long before now. But the opposite has; turned out to be the case. Even bogged dovn by a merger and as silly a split, billing as the world of biz has ever seen (all no doubt necessary for -legal reasons), the. old -lot off Holly- wood’s Cahuenga Pass has come up with; amazingly successful,, guesses as to what the public Will go for next. It has done even; better in guessing how far the. public^wiil go when: a cycle has started, HORACE HEIDT FOn LUCKS STRIKE " Urider Personal Management JOHN LEER , ;.ill Fifth Ave,, New York Hollywood, June 30. Screen Actors Guild’s special committee appointed To study the Commuriist problem suggested a new bylaw making persons who are members of the Communist' Party ineligible for- membership in SAG, arid the union’s eJciec board, after a lengthy meeting Monday (29) night, passed it unanimously, it is being submitted to.. membership immediately for mail referendum. Letter to members, accompany- ing the proposed; bylaw change, traces SAG's long- anti-Communist fight, and tells members that the board “condemns in the strongest possible -terms''■■-.the following Guild members who have been named as present or past Communist party members, who. on. appearing before house; committee refused to; state whether they are or ever have been members of the party: Georgia Backus, Morris'- Carnoysky, How- land Chamberlin, Dorothy Com- (Continued on page 54) Tokyo, June 30. In an unprecedented action, the heads of. all the major U. S. film* distributing offices here signed and dispatched a cable to Eric Johns- ton, Motion Picture Assn, of America proxy,-. protesting the planned release in Japan of. War- ner Bros.’ Pacific war tinter, “Task Force.” Action followed intense discussion of the propriety of re- leasing this plus a protest to the American embassy from the Japa- nese Motion Picture Ethics Com- mittee. ; “Force” was imported last year, but not released. Current popular- ity of local war films, and smash b.o. of “Sands of Iwo Jima” (Rep) last May prom pted the planned July, release of. the Gary Cooper pic. Opposition voiced by film cir- cles and the intelligentsia lias been- ( Continued, on page 54) ? 1 Sit bsvription Order Worm -Enclosed find check for $ Please send VARIETY for ^ To .. (Tleas® Print Name) ■.Street . . . . . . •. , City. ... *. .. .. . y . . . Zone . . . ; State . , . . * . , IN Regular Subscription Rates OneTear—$10.00 Two Yeari~$ 18.00 Canada and Foreign—$1 Additional per Year By TOM WEATHERuY r Nqw comes, those sultny. silly days, When 'neophytes from their hide- • ’’ a ways ! JBombai d the drama'' eds. with \ dreams About their Avondroiis Theatre schemes.. .. . . . One claims he’s gonna star -Mae West . • • •; ■; [ In solo ] readings : from Eddie ;.' Giiest; ; ; . .. Another’s found a script so funny Even. Jack Benny’s morie 3 T , 154 West 46th Street Inc. Hew York 36, N. Y. putting up Bxit comes the Fall, arid these fey Disappear like a wisip of smoke; , ^heAr-^=opc-ni) ig^-nig hts---ar e^nev er= roasted—- Because ■ their: bonds are never posted . •periple^^;feltTsurie;, yet U-I went ahead with /Tt Came From Outer space” and, according. fo /Brop, *-it has a strong money entry in this science fiction feature which is assured attention in the present market; by use of 3-D/ stereophonic sound and wide screen,” He wrote this on May. 21. By now he can cash iri his clips where U-I cashes in its chips. The gamble has paid off handsomely. What pleased me rnost about this payoff was that. Bay: Bradbury cariie through a winner, too. He wrote the original story. Bradbury Tells The World I don’t know him,, but shortly after the last presidential election fie took out a full page ad in Daily Variety and told our part of the solar system that he' was continuing his dissenting opinions, and any- body Who called film a Commuriist had better fio it dowri an uribugged dram because he’d do his best to qlink the lout under charges of criminal libel. . His Democratlc Manifesto so impressed irie: that I wrote him a fan • letter. That he has riot been dragooned before some judgment-proof Congressional committee for’ his. insolent .Individualism I lay to the fact that I saw a sticker on an old car the other day, “Ike and Nixon/* it proclaimed, “Time for a change.” “Gosh,” I. said to myself, ‘‘already? After only six moriths?” ; Anyway, Bradbury by flying; a “Don’t-Tread-OnrMe” ensign, has so far riot been trod; upon. . / . I hope that is not his penname but one his ancestors passed on to him,, because I’m getting pretty tired of having immigration officers calling at Bedside Manor and wondering if I could help them Clear up the past of some Hollywood character who is a first-generatiori ; emigrant, arid because he talks like an early American is suspect by second-gerieratiori ■emigrants who have wangled their way into harass* ing Official positions. V A couple of these immigration couriers, bewildered by my Harry Greb sort of windmill tilting, recently asked, “Are you an American- born, Mr. Scully?” I suspect they hoped for another case to add to their dossier. “Hell, no,” I replied, “I’m a New Yorker!” What I liked best about Ray Bradbury’s picture (and I call it his picture despite the contributions of William Alland as producer, Jack Arnold as director, Harry; Essex as scripter. Cliff Stine as cameraman and Richard Carlson as star), is that. Bradbury clothed, his hero in civilized trappings. His hero was a scientist instead of a trigger-happy member of the military arm. He. believed the visitors from outer space meant no more harm to the emigrant or native-born Americans than Columbus meant to the natiVe-bpm Americans he first met 462 years ago. So Brad’s herb tried to brief his fellow-townsmen in hospitality instead of hate, and in courage and confidence: instead of fear and distrust. . - . : : ; ; . Way Off Course, Efi? . This is right down my alley in international and interplanetary; relations and I was glad to see that Bradbury, gave his hero the mind and the means to help the visitors, who seemingly were grounded by accident, to get back on their course arid kiss this dizzy planet goodbye. The other day I found out; why it is dizzier than formerly. It is traveling in three directions at the game time and is 50,000,000 inilek off its course. I had hoped that Bradbury would have given some inkling as to why a ship from outer space might have got so far out of line as to plunge into the Mojave Desert; but that^; would have opened up the whole field of magnetic energy, and the peasants are hardly up to the cosmology of atomic energy without being driven out of their, few remaining wits by. the next great step in power and politics. • .. Though this may not be earth-shaking news, the Air Force arid I have made a peace pact of sorts.; It seems about three years ago I, roundly berated the Pentagoniaris for. first, denying that these objects from outer space existed and, second, ordering that the so-and-so’s be shot down on sight. Since that time the Pentagonians adiriit (unofficially, anyway) that they made a sorry mess of that public,relations job and hold no hard feelings toward me for bringing them to heel in the matter. More- over, they are now stuck with 750 unknown objects, ’most of which have been caught on their radarscopes. That represents quite an in- crease over the .34 I claimed they, were stuck with in 1949. Their orders no longer are. to shoot the Saucerians. at sight. With Passports And Visas, Tqp? Both the Air Force’s intelligence officers and the FBI are busy running down just such characters as Ray Bradbury imagined in “It Came From Outer Space.” I have heard the figures; They vary be- tween 5,000 and 10,000 ,spacem(m : STippo^edly wallUn^ this earth arrd^' checking on the.’■possibility of friendly landings. In fact; I have talked to some who. claimed they ' were from outer space and were planning to pull Out sppn, as it; didn’t look as if this W’orld were long for this universe. The suspieibil was that We would eventually' blow ourselves, to hell. ; . ^•' •; • They Were not ,s.o concerned about atomic bombs because, after all, there is just so much uranium around, but the hydrogen bpmb clis- turbed them because there is plenty e£ hydrogen in'tour atriiosphere/■ arid they feared that such a brimb icpuld light up the rest and burn the atmosphere off our earth. Without atmosphere; of course/ not only The ducks vyovild be dead ducks. It was an ■ interesting theory. Another Saucerian advanced the sus- picipn that if we blew up our planet, other planets would rush in to fill . .the Vacuum arid that would speed up the whole solar sy stem and yank their point of origin into the tnad whirl as well. I don’t,; as a practice, tyrn these Cases over to the FBI, because I understand all tlieir : :psyGhiatrists have gone . crazy already, i just; listen and Say, “Sure, sure/’’ tiiL such visitors leave. ■ -, /Having missed George Pars version of Orson Welles* version of H. G. Wells’ versibn of . .machines coriring’fro'ni 4 : Mars to destroy us and being buckled under at the last moment by. our super-duper mi- crobes, I’nt glad I hung around long enough to see U-I’s more friendly version of what visitors from space have in store. for us. That word “space,” which used to mean the little White spots be- tween Words, is becoming a mighty fascinating noun. I hope our ^pilotsr/Who-niust^be^up^to^SOfiGO^eetrby^nriwT^get^the^restrof^the-way- soon, so I can check on whether Wells. Bradbury or my spies had; the best, answer as to what they look like and what they are flying around here for anyway*