Variety (August 1953)

Wednesday, August 5, 1953 PKCTVTltKS n BIG ROLE The $668,000,000 cut in foreignA aid funds, voted last Week by the House was /part a'of: a cbiiipromise money, bill allocating coin for the new Foreign Operations. Adminis-. tration. lias industry execs worried. While they /foresee no immediate effects, they fear that .the rodue- tion niay -well affect film .remit- tances from abroad, in 1954. : It's thought that, .apart, from those countries .which; actually may feel the dollar pinch as a result, there' Will be others which ordi- narily. woU1 d not be affected/ but which may cut dollar Spending -aS a counter-move, It is conceded.that the industry’s excellent overseas showing this year and last year; has been due, to a considerable extend, to the foreign aid program.: Motion Pictu re Assn, of America preicy Eric johnston not long ago warned MPAA board members that They Should not expect 1954 ,1o reach the same levels as 1953. lie- based this on the fact that this year’s remittances are . being swelled, by large chunks; of coin representing, accumulated income from such countries as France and (Continued on page 16) 3-D ‘BANANA’ RIPENS IN RECORD 5 i| D. ofj. Washington, Aug, : 4, A full COMPO delegation con- tinues in Washington, awaiting, ac- tion by the President on the admis- . sions tax repealer. ... . We don’t know .what the Presi- dent will do,” admitted Robert Coyne, COMPO/exec, who was one of the. leaders in the successful campaign; to get the bill through Congress. “There is still a chance, that he will sign the bill and. make it law.” Eisenhower has until Friday (7> to act. Since Congress adjourned late last night (Mon;.) , the Presi- dent could kill the measure either by a pocket veto .(taking no action at all) or by a direct veto. The latter is regarded as more likely, if he decides against approval. In that case, it is pointed out, he could issue a veto message explain- ing why.he opposed the repealer. The COMPO group huddled yes- terday (3) with Eric Johnston, to discuss possible future action. Since the Ways & Means Com- mittee is continuing to meet here all week to consider a general tax revision bill for the. next session, COMPO will probably take a stand (Continued on page 20) ; . ;;; ■ Hollywood, Aug. 4. ! New speed' record for shooting a“ feature . picture is; claimed by ! Albert Zugsmith and. Ben Poskay, I producers, of the screen versioiv.of 1 ’’Top' Banana,'’ . . [ First actual transference of a ’ legit show to 3-D film was com- 1 pleted in five .days; It slafs' Phil j Silvers and Rose Marie. Shooting.] was ‘hastened by a new lighting j technique,; permitting fast, lensing •• of eioseup and longshots; Advent of the new widescreen era, with fewer pix «*ind the .'de- mand on e.xliibs for heavy outlay in new equipment, has cued new distrih .attention on market changes dtic to population shifts. Opinions ! are divided oh the extent, to which ! those population trends have ,af- TO .11 oil \wood; Aug.: 4. Sat Uugell wax tipped from pro (lucl ion .manager to-studio: manager ..i Oi\i i; j , t * i • • , _ ‘ \ n u. iw ti ' • ■$ w • •' .footed• apportioninent.-of. revenue, 1 °f 20tli-F<).\.' w ill* t-onlrol t)v.er..p()s|.- i t:ilions oh. the exhibi but ..it’s agreed ' that. significant 'production depart motifs.-' including .j lion and production, changes -are taking t place.. ; . |.sound, .music, iilnv eiUtiiig,. r*vre- ' piv. These include - ►/ ; Washington, Aug. 4; j -. : The ■ an:t;ilr.iis( ..-division-. of the ; .1 list lee Dept, will join hands with' i Sianley • Warner to' urge eoiirl. a.p- | ; pro\a.l of: the 'SW. purchase of. ' Cineratna Productioiis, hut:, with / p Ioniy of st ri ng’s aitairbed. : . : .'- To win ,Iii.''lice, supiiort, vS\V was.. dreed. to agree. to stringent. 1 imi— exh ibition. (listrihu- of Cinerama Washington; Aug., 4. Allied Artists thinks it Has found a way out of the dead end which has developed in the Film Division of. Dept, of Defense’s Office of Public Information as a result of recent, attitude of Marine Corps towards films which depict f the Leathernecks as a rough-and- tough outfit. Having been turned do,vim : by Marine bosses for cooper-; ation in screen . version of Pat I |- Frank’s be.st sel 1 er a bout t he corps \ in Korea, “Hold Back the Night.’’.i Allied Artists has decided to con-! vert background of film to the Army. 1 ) Producer Richard Hcermance J huddled at the Pentagon past week ! with Lt. Col., Cl a re. F. Towne, who \ handler liaison, with Hollywood for. j Defense; and a virtual agreement, was reached oh scrip] changes .to convert action to an Army, rather than a Marine whit. .'Heefmartee is Understood to have guaranteed full compliance with Army ' decisions on script /changes in order to' se- cure the vital assistance of techni- cal advice; combat footage and equipment. / is the second time Within a months, that Marine toppers shown sensitivity about por- (Colitinued on page .161 Since indiv!(1 uu 1 d 1st rib stat istics tend to be. influoneod considofably b.v the type of pix they handle, execs have shown great interest in a study on the American market ! wliich appears in the August issue of Fort line magazine. Article traces the population growth since 1.929. It cites fact that, where farm popu- lation has declined, central city population has stopped. Subiirhih, since 1947, has grown more .than the nation itself., according io the Fortune researchers. They also come up with two significant . percent ages . For .one, says the article, “In 1929, 60% of Americans lived in big. cities or ori farms;, today, nearly 60% live in suburbs or small fo\vns ; ’’ For an- other. ■ “All in all; 58'/. of The ; gCoiit inued on page 20) cording, Jalmratory and labor, re hi-' j lions. H lyunind A. Klime was; ;Hj)|)ointetl '.."executive product ion ' I manager and .lack (’odd became treasurer. Changes were actuated by. the recent resign at ii'nv of I’reij M el/.ler as studio inanagei; ; ami I reasurer. M-G Burns at Theatre Council’s Lack of Legit Names for’MainSt.’ P.A. (’incraiiia new aeijiii- ol’ present :'.Evidence-■■■t-l-Tal 3-|) and other new lechniqucs served to hypo film hi/ during ,1953 is sharply pointed up ;in f lie R K() l’h(‘;Vt res. (’di p. and •subsidiary com pa n les’. fi nanciaTi re- port for the..*second '.quarter of this year and in the six niouth tabu- lation; The v he\y (*ia’’ pix, p'us ., S. solid b o. hats,: gave the the- . . _ j litrechain, a-cohsolidaled net profit trAh ftM ’. ,n < S cl < n , i°^ T / , )()l ! i.-dl’ $92,240 54 for the second stanza $,>00,000 m Mam Sheet to,Broad -1 as (‘Ompared to $36,935.60 for the way, the exhib-hacked film made , sa me period of 1952 in cooperation With the Council of j ,• For the six montji period ending Living .Theatre, Metro, which is dist ri hiding the picture, is peeved at what it regards as a sliutoff in the cooperative efforts between the Council .and the: fjlmory. Burn is part icularly based at. the Coun- cil’s inability to come up, with lop • 1 egrt names :to make personal ap- pearances on behal f of t he pict iinv . Metro,: through pub-iid yeepce I Iowa id Diet/., had offered to fool all expenses for the touring legit names. Under the original bally plan,, (’oimcil was supposed lo pro- vide a legit July, |!)53, . company chalked (Continued on page 10) 1. l.imitatiotl to 24 theatr(*s. Including.hoth sitions and conversions SW houses. 2. Limit al.ion of (’I ne rani a pro- duction to 15 lilnis which must be completed by Dec, 31. 1958, by which lime SW Tnust withdraw, from all production. ; 3. To i ; m 1 n a lion o IV SVV d i st ri bu- : tion of t’iiuu'ania j;)icti»ri v s by Dec. 31, |96(), by. wlilci't. 1 line SVV must I lii n over . (list ribu(ion jo;. some oilierorganization. Maurice Silverinan.. of Ui.e. Jus*. I' .' antitrust .(llviklon, and attor- neys for S\V . writ go: beldi'i* FeiL eral Judge Augustus A. Hand in Kllzab(dlitov\ n„ N, V., next Wednes- day (12) to ai-gue ainendinent of the Warner antitrust decree to permit the Clnef/inia. deal. - Stanley Warner’s petition/ sot- ICoiiflrmod oil page 18) up 'Va.le.rie Hobson few Md. ,Sex, Foul Youth’ a legit marquee name Vfoi each (if 22 cities having subsenp-.. , 0 S(A< , ■ ms | H v s ,. 0 .j- }Continued oil page 20) 1 returning home. William C, Shelton, IJ. S. rep for Pa ill (Jraet z, I (‘ayes N. Y. t oday (Wed.) on tlie lie de France for London, where.lie wifi consult with (Jraetz oii U. ' S.. distribution for the lat t it’s “Mori. KiiJois." Pie, currently. lensing in Lon- don, stars (Jnard .-Philippe . and Shell on expects tlie l.ilm before Armed with a greenllght from tlie Dept, of Justice to assuiiie oj>eration of Ciueranri theatres and to produce . films . In tlie me-, dium; 'Stanley.' Warner, is sidling [ plans to display the- widescreen process in Its houses in Philailel- phia, Washington and Pittsburgh. Theatre chain will also begin ,mv. got.ialions for . theatres jri cities In which it does not bp era'I e hoieivs.. SW will launch its c.xoansion plans as soon aji it receives tin* ex- . t)ect(‘d court approval to if; jxde (Coi)tinuc(i on page 20) V Baltimore, Aug, 4. Sydney R. Traub/ chairman of !!;^ ryland MOtion^ic- /(he same- period • ui.e. Censors, has banned exhibp j equiyalefit/ pf ' 55c: tion of; “The Moon Is Blue”, in Maryland. . v. Traub released a statement con- ; IN 1ST HALFjUP 600G Estimated net of $1,608,709 after taxes: for the six months ended June .30, *53, was reported last week, by Technicolor, Inc. Earnings are equivalent to 84c. per share on tlie new stock outstanding. The old ■ j stock Was split two for one on May 18 ,; *53, .v. .Half-year . profit, compares, to a [net' after taxes . of $1,025,420 for ast year,...the per share oh Trade Holds Well in Keys; < BIonde8 , New Champion, < Cinerama , 2d, Teather’ 3d) ‘Moon’ 4th pix. "‘.'The Maze” (AA>, “Farmer ’rakes Wile” (201 h) and ”AI1 I De- sire” < U> are runner-up films. “Hide Vaqueio” (M-CJi, in eighth Return of sweltering .heal is ■ • wilting biz in some key cities in ; current round, while along the At- j ! -1 antic: seaboard rainy, cool weather j I is giving tiade a nice liypo^ This | slot lasl round; turned up \vilh on- j session is-maike.d by launching of j jy two''nice- sessions out of seven -ijumcrous noM- pix. acdirrtinf! (o re- r 0 Ukm-s beint- fairish to. 'tinl ; ports Irom Variety (.orrespiimlenls f ern v>” stiil is irvins.lo Ket up steam hut managed, lancy .tak- ings in ' Buffalo and solid total, in I hese probably wil I show up welI in forthcoming weeks hut estah- j k, (* shares. basis. adjusted to the new r stock demni ha- a ' ■"/ , 1 ing first', place. The, Russel l-Mon-' “cbhepTfar| h bfvF^^^' r ' W T w'- ' / •A/v v ' ' { roe • musical range's from' great to;; !{ tent , lon °?,, t! ? e . audl " ; f.nl (iftk Hltfft I mi.ghty : on some five p)aydates. The ! sqnywlral currently on tlWif ex--' M ip n( , a p ()li ^ so | i(| j n N . Y. and tended fups. ■■ • .,'; . • K. U., and sock in■ Denver. “Oily of ii I . . GQi)tK;mi ,n Prelcr . ; Blondes . , Bad Men” (201 h'/ light : in K. C. and !' J ; (20thI, rated as one of most prom-' f air in o (iri . V(M v shapes good ip.Min, ' ising newcomers; last Weck/as^ 1IV-. heapolis ahd^^ nice. in^Louis. ' . i'i 1 mg ; -up-..f'o' appraisal by captur- 1 ■ ' ing :first', place; ..The. Russell-Moh Tni«lo.. M.ifk ■■ fi>/jl'(UO eJI F'OUfMDKi) MY SIMK SM Vfi’.llMAN Published Weokly by VARIETY, INC ll;irol«l lOrichn. I’lfHlilcril . ir>l Wifal 401 h St. New Yoi k M; N Y . Hollywood 28 ' • W'l11'-Y-urra SIi.cpI Washington 4 ' J292 NiUion;tl I'reh.H iJiiildlnd- Chicago 11 012 No. Michigan ; A ve. Lohdon WC2 . 8 Si Martin’s I’I., Tralrtlgai. f»q.. : SUMSCIIM'TION: 'Annual $10 foreign $11 Single Cock*#: 2."» IViiIh Vol. 191 AMEI/GIlICKN, Eiliior i /|| "index No. 9 ehce drawn to only one thing—sex aq.d seduction.” . He also stated that the. “iiigh- lev'cl” of the acting; “adds to. the impact of the fdulness upon the i ..: “Abbott-C’ostelio . Mee.t . . Jekvil'n and ifv.de” < (j i ; also pew/^ is dofhg..| i Bill's . . (MiaI ter , '.• . Film Reviews :, IfouSe, Reviews " Inside Legit .:/ inside Thside ' Inside Inside' Music . Pictiires Radio Te I (‘vision Despite denials by Loew’s execs; 11)inking :'of ArneTicarTyouth?’ """ j Columbia reportedly. has o.btained • 'lint -.in .tl l' ' i , , ' * ' * - ■ '• ■ ’ I n)Uhty : on some five:playdaies^ T'hc !-'8fA n - : ^ n r'av ^ i • • : -'l'aiiuchi-ng\ffr^-‘CJd'eran.> 9 - i (indie/ in / /'/.i'^ / i?i v !^ Chi is pushing it:up to second posi-. r , RA'.-^ideh, >P (i ns. today at N, Y,-=- p.r TiivAr" Washington. / hSiranger'.. Wore / a ":j : ’Literati / .'. Week in’row Gurr shapes .mild in N Y/ • i; Music . ; I V • , N-w AH, t i on, .-'(Miargf* at. Feathe is t.hfrd for second “Moon; Is Blue” (UA* again is' fin- . . i mild se's-.. ' B,,nd lriferTi.ati.onal Legit jin ale ' Aug. -12 - has/tentatively been set One of the highest percentage deals ‘:Wagon’’. . : on. it s decismn^ 0 ”^ 0Vi ^ V l ^ e cen ^’ s c;Pver given, by the/Capitoi Theatre- /siori'out of eight dates. ' “Main’ St.' Y. ■■Music Hall UMon, . .. .. . . I Broadway ■showcase. • for. “From To Broadwav” (M-G.'is taking fifth { . h.y ,c,n p ,n r f . a, , jHh c Wf,(, k : mnnM, m ini/ iiv.vuwU,' ,h ei.m C aine f,iT>m Ou'y. Spun? ■ '(’onvihciiig’ in Omaha .Omaha, Aug. 4, Broadway Here to Etefniiv.” opening today '•Wed,).; Although’ neither; Imcw’s ...nor Columbia won Id. divulge actual terms,-.ollvcf sources indicate it's a i , ** -Rlue” showing here v-ds blasted hy Archbishop Gerald .70-30 deal. Kni^hl?^After a Cbluhibia spokesman (le- airWi>n/ftn Howeveri /'.scribed".'the deal as “the best we’ve m : ,rrAdmf r tf' i.i.wi/, rtrr and drew Picker, a top-ranking. Loew’s nobs nightly. . . exec, denied that the deal was a reviewer Ed Si- record high percentage for the i house. block- World-Herald (Continued on page 46) money, ni’iinlv througir. sheer', weight of humoi'ous’.l)0()klrigs since inclined- to he spotty. : . .“Si-alag 17” (Par/ryintiriLK'S lirin- ly .in sixth spot, although not on-; j by in g i n any fresh boo kings .“S(‘c- ' ori'd. Chance” <RK()/ champ last ^t^7?T7^i7s~iiTri'sliTtVg — stWenfiTT^TviTily “Shane” iRari, second a week ago, 1 U ■ looms sock in Del roil -'.- “Wiiiic VV’itch Doclfw” ,( 20th'.. dull in I/A and Toronto, looks big in Denver. ■ ■'Sv/ord arid Rose” RK(). still '.-.round. i-- big bri second Frrsf o Nig) 11 (Mub. Reviews .Obituaries . ; Pietures , '. Radio-Tele viviori... .•It'adTp’ Rc.v.i/"\ v ' .. Rec-'ji d: ; • . . . Frank Scullv T(deVi wmi ffevi/’v. •> , M’V-FiJni/ ' : , Unit Review-. .•: . ., . %/Ci.t^’—TJiat--Nr.ioir-- .^Iee. p.s2_,.L Rfq >i^-... = A/ii»/l(j.v-ill( is Xo-so in Providence ‘‘Melba’’ 'i ^- 54 62 ' 6 ' 55.' .56 44 ; 18:' 36 36 ' 13 56 61 .. 3 9 55 53“ 63 : .3 : 22 26 40 61 24 30 54 =48i= r 1 is eighth ' : . 'UAr is rated'fair in philly ; “Thunder Bay”, iU' ar.d “Scared (Coi"pl' j te Borof/iee Reports cm : ! (Par) found put the top 10,1 . Puyc> 9-11 j ... 1 c — daily variety (l*liblish* , fl in llullvwofifi |>y pailv Variety, l.til ) $J3 a Year. $20 fomun