Variety (September 1954)

Published Weekly at 154 West 46th Street. New York 36; N. Y., by Variety; Inc. Annual subscription $10. Slagle Copies. 05 cents. Entered as second dais matter December 22 . 1905. at the Post Office at New York. N. Y.» under the act of March 3. 1879. . COPYRIGHT, 1954. BY VARIETY;' INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED VOL. 195 No. 13 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1954 PRICE 25 CENTS ‘Voice Needs ‘ in By ART SETTEL ( Ex-Variety* Mugg in Jerusalem, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; Berlin t Germany, and Flatbush-am- Gowanus—Now with CBS-TV) Fast shift in the Red propaganda line is apparent ill the shortwave radio output originating in Moscow aiid her satellites, and monitored by this correspondent in the course of other duties, for a radio net- work. One year ago, Cominform propa- ganda machine was hitting hard on the theme that XJ. S. pilots were dropping bacteriological bombs on the.. innocents of North Korea, famine-ridden areas of China, Ger- many and some Balkan States. Idea was to fix “blame” for the blight on Americans, with the re- sult that millions were given to be- lieve that the drought, potato beetles, .etc., were the result of po- litical mischief by Uncle Sam. The story backfired, even with the “confessions” extracted from brainwashed fliers, and the Com- mies themselves wearied of their Own fairy tales. Today, it’s the ‘A’ and ‘H’ bombs, with Cominform story- tellers working overtime weaving tales of horror.in which American “warmongers” and “mass murder- ers,” “Nazi lovers” and “imperial- ists” conspire to wreak vengeance (Continued on page 42) t Only ‘Inside Stuff’ On ~ Hildegarde and Johnson Splitup Is 30% of Take In the past two weeks it has be- come a city desk story in a num- ber of dailies seeking the “inside” of Hildegarde and Johnny John- ston splitting after. a year’s suc- cessful teaming. They're in their final fortnight currently at the Desert Inn, Las Vegas, at $11<000 a week. When Hildegarde reopens the Cotillion Room’s season at the Hotel Pierre, New York, on Sept. 21, her pew “partner” will be Jack Whiting. The only “inside” on the Hilde- garde-Johnston schism is a matter of terms. The male singer got 30%,. of the take, which Anna SOsenko, longtime personal rep for the “chantoosey from Milwaukee,” felt was too high considering the comedienne’s costly costuming in- vestiture, the general load of the entire operation (management, ex- tra musicians, special violinist- conductor, and- the like). What- ever Whiting’s deal with Miss Hil- uegarde, who comes into the Pierre at over $4,000 a week, it is predicated on his (Whiting’s) stint as a featured support of the sea- soned nitery songstress. It is said to be over $1,000 a week as his net ■'. snare.-i Johnston gave the impres- „ 11 . ft is was a 50-50 deal; this, coupled with sundry film commit- ments, created the splitup. 4 - RCA Victor’s $500,000 10-Year Kay Starr Bid In a move to bolster its femme ranks, RCA Victor is nearing the wrapup of a! top coin deal with Kay Starr, Capitol Reords’ song- stress for the past nine years. Her pact with Capitol expires this De- cember and it’s expected that her new deal with Victor will be set- tled by the weekend. Victor reportedly has offered her a five-year pact, with options for five more years, with a total guar- antee' for the 10-year period around $500,000. Along with the general upbeat in the album biz, the deluxe pack- ages at fancy prices are coming, into increasing favor among the major labels. Decca’s heavy sales on its new Bing Crosby wax biog at $27.50 is giving the latest spark to the deluxe package idea. A customer poll, via postcards en- closed in the “Bing” set, indicates that the relatively stiff price is no handicap to sales. RCA Victor found that to be true with its click promotion of the Glenn Miller Limited Edition last year. That “limited edition” sold around 100,000 copies at a $25 price tag. Victor, in fact, will market another Miller “Limited Edition (Continued on page 85) ‘Legionnaires Aren’t Millionaires’; D.C. Biz Off During Convention Washington, Aug. 31. Estimated flow of 150,000 Amer^ ican Legionnaires and their fami- lies into the Capital has had a downbeat effect on most phases of the entertainment industfy here. Theatres are grossing below ex- pectations, the better restaurants and cafes are off, and hotels still have vacancies. Reason, as one cafe owner put it, is that “Legion- naires aren’t millionaires,” and the delegates are for the most part re- stricting themselves to the less ex- pensive hotels and motels. Theatre operators said the Le- gionnaires have kept the local patrons away from the downtown districts, and the Legion trade hasn’t been able to make Up the difference. The Warner, playing “Cinerama,”, said since Sunday (29), ful r y 75% of its patrons have (Continued on page 85) i By LEONARD TRAUBE Television has been lit’ry almost from the start, but this season shapes as the peak-a-book in the belles-lettres department. Pro- ducers and story editors of hour- shows are gumshoeing at a fast clip to get a beat on the hardcovers, and some of them, taking a leaf from Hollywood, are working hard and furiously on pre-publication rights (remembering with a wistful gleam that David O. Selznick paid a mere $52,000 or so for the pic rights on “Gone With the Wind” by grab- bing it from the Margaret Mitchell galley proofs). A major “love that publisher” yenner for the 1954-55 video season is the Westinghouse-CBS “Studio One,” long with an affection for printed matter. A tieup with Doubleday gives the Felix Jackson series two new novels in A. J. Rus- sell’s “Fatal In My Fashion,” which is being teleadapted by Patricia McGerr for Oct. 25, and “An Almanac of Liberty,” Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas’ “definitive” credo on freedom, list- ed for Nov. 8 to coincide, with Doubleday issuance. (Edward R. Murrow is being glommed as the onscreen narrator for “Liberty.”) “Studio One” story editor Flor- (Continued on page 42) ‘RCA’ Call Letters For NBC Stations? Chicago, Aug. 31. The revival in recent weeks of the “This is NBC—a service of RCA” stationbreak tagline which now accompanies network radio-tv programming is seen as the dawn- ing of a new era in which board chairman David Sarnoff will Create a greater identity between the par- ent company and the subsidiary operation. Some even are saying “don’t be surprised” if the Coming months will witness overtures toward a change of the New York flagship call letters from WNBC to WRCA (for both the radio and tv adjuncts) with the same pertaining to the Coast o&o operations, now carrying the KNBC-KNBH call letters, thus becoming KRCA. The more pronounced RCA-NBC identification has its precedent in the case of General Electric and (Continued on page 80) Attention D.C. Chicago, Aug. 31, As the NBC-TV Affiliates wound up their meetings here, one of more politically-con- scious execs cracked: “We are barring radio-tv coverage of the convention.” ‘Greasepaint’ TV Gala As Sid Caesar Trailer Flock of Hollywood-tv-radio names have been gathered in for a kind of' “soldiers in greasepaint” gala on NBC-TV Monday, Sept. 20, in the 8-9 time. Set so far are Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Jack Benny, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra,. Ty- rone Power and William ^Holden, with American Federation of TV- Radia Actors cooperating on the pro-GI spread. Show will serve as lead-in to fol- lowing week’s new Sid Caesar show. Relaxation of U. S! Commerce Dept, regulations on trading with the Russians and their satellites has revived speculation in the trade on possible future film sales to Moscow. The Russians, on several occa- sions, have indicated to the Mo- tion Picture Export Assn., and also to individual companies, that they’re in the market for‘ Ameri- can films. So far, however, MPEA has nixed "all such proposals. Position of the MPEA is that it can’t and won’t sell to the Soviets until and unless the U. S. State Dept, thinks the time is ripe for such a transaction. So far, State has /made it clear that it doesn’t think the time is opportune for such dealings. An MPEA spokesman empha- sized last week that, even should State flash the greenlight, it’s by (Continued on page 79) Frankfurt, Aug. 31. American circles in Germany are raising eyebrows over Alexander Paal’s new film which stars the two Chaplin boys in their first German film venture. Titled “Columbus Discovers Kraehwin- kel,” the pic spoofs Americans and American values in such a way that German audiences are laugh- ing at—not with—young Sidney and Charlie Jr. “Columbus” is the story of two wacky ex-GI’s who descend on a tradition - rich Bavarian town (Kraehwinkel) with some far- fetched plans for turning the place into a modern tourist trap. .They promptly open on American drug- store complete with jukeboxes, slot machines, obscene neckties, and Scotch whiskey on tap at the soda fountain. Allied with them is the town mayor who changes their dollars at a private rate and bears a striking resemblance to a petty Nazi official. Arrayed against the Chaplins and the mayor are most of the townpeople, led by the young German hero who once so- journed in the U. S. but came back home “because America just didn’t suit him.” The German, not Sid- ney, gets the girl, of course. The arrogance displayed by the Chaplins as they go about “taking over” Kraehwinkel, the political (Continued on page 85) Connee Boswell, Herself A Polio Victim, Donates Disk Coin to Stricken 6 Connee Boswell, who appeared J on the CBS-TV “Strike It Rich” stanza last week (25) as the “help-! ing hand” for a Houston family stricken by polio, is donating her full royalties from the sales of the first 100,000 copies of her latest Decca release, “If I Give My Heart j ?o You.” Miss Boswell, herself a polio victim but always active in show biz despite it, is contributing the money to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob G. Becker and their four children. In addition to the $500 earned for the Becker family in Miss Bos- well’s “Strike It Rich” appearance, the Decca royalties will add up to another $4,000. Samuel Goldwyn’s ‘Best’ 72d Birthday Present: No Chi Double Features Hollywood, Aug, 27. Editor, Variety : Today is my 72d birthday—and I think you will be interested to know^that one of the nicest birth- day presents I have received, even though it was strictly coincidental, is a story in this week’s VAiiiEtY. You cannot imagine what a pleas- ure it gave me to read, “Mo Double Features in Chi’s 13 Firstruhs For 1st Time in Years.” I do not have to tell you that doing away with double bills is something I have been fighting tor at least 25 years. It just proves that if you live long enough you will finally see things work out as you hope. This is really a Wonderful indi- cation of the health of our busi- ness that has been brought about by good pictures. As long as Hol- lywood keeps concentrating on fine pictures instead of a lot of pic- tures, I am sure it will continue to find that the public is much hap- pier with one good picture than ‘ two poor or mediocre ones. I am confident now that we will see the trend away from double features spreading over the entire country. Anyway I Will look forward hope- fully to a headline in Variety a year from now—“NO DOUBLE BILLS NO PLACE.” Sam Goldwyn.