Variety (November 1954)

12 INTERNATIONAL I I UMW) UVU Jk III Paris; Nov. 16. Jacques Flaud, head of the gov* ernmental Centre Du Cinema, outlined the year’s trends and general pic situation in produc- tion, distribution and exploitation at fireside chat for scribes and professionals here recently. After- wards he made it clear to Variety that France would stand on its fOreijgn film dubbing visa quota of 138: next July_despite the coming U. S, demand for unlimited film* export under the ; General Agree- ment of Trade and Tariffs of Geneva in 1947. According to this, the signatories only can set quotas jn the event of an uneven balance of trade and are allowed only internal protec- tive setups. However, i spite of the fact that the Flaud talk put the French film industry, in all its. branches, in a state of good firian cial health, the 13th escape clause agai would be invoked next year to, maintain the previous quota level. France dropped 15 pix in production this year and these will probably be made up by additional dubbing visas to various countries. Flaud’s main points were that in spite of a more even financial keel* the French cinema had fal- len in prestige and art production which hairipered Gallic chances abroad where the art film was a necessity to gain a foothold. Poor showings at recent film, festivals, and the waning of daring and orig- inality' on the part of producers and stairs Were also important points of this survey. Despite ris- ing production costs} the domestic ahd foreign take this year just about doubled the previous year's receipts in gross. * $19,200,000 Take For Producers At a total investment of $33,- 000,000 for the yearly production, the producers got a $13,200,000 take of their 20% of the domestic revenue plus $6,000,000 in foreign take as well as $6,000,000 in aid. While this seems to leave an $8,000,000 deficit, this is made up by residuals. With employment brisk, it can be assumed that the French cinema is in almost, good balance at; present. While foreign revenue was 30% of the take be- fore the war, it is now down to 10%, and a concerted effort is be- ing made to regain this. Although income has increased It was stressed that production costs had also gone up. An average top film costing $255,000 some years ago now costs $336,000. Main difficulty, he felt, was that was that two types of films have sprung up—the cheaply 'made lo- cal film which rapidly amortizes itself here and usually is not good for exportation, and the big color costume spec, made with foreign markets in. mind and with big scale production and stars but lacking the so-called national as- pects. Producer’s rape of the public domain classics and imitative as- pects of Certain U. S', films were held up as crying for new ideas in. pix. This could stem from a special tax to create a fund for loans to any producer attempting a new, original film. The grosses were up this year, and France took 52% of it while the U. S. had 35%, Italy 7%, England 4% and Germany 3%. On censorship, Flaud opined that the government would, like to keep lit ■•f pre-censorship and wel- comed a recent move to set up an industry code,..under the Syndicat of Producers, which would advise on all scripts submitted. Film Aid. Law To Modernize. In lechnical and other branches he : stated that the Film Aid Law would: pay more attention to stu- dios and labs to help make them adequately equipped and modern. This also applies (o film houses which are getting refurbishing mostly around Paris. lie also. felt, that. France was paying attention to new techniques % and that 800 houses were equipped with w.ide- screens or Cinemascope, and that Cinerama was in the offing as well as an akin process, Polyvision, by Abel Gance. A Technicolor lab is due this summer. As to the Franco-U. S. accord, he said that llO dubbed American films was still the quota and that the Office of. Exchange allowed a 40% remittance with 60% blocked. It could be used in France, only by special permission, for either film investment, production or other industrial affairs. Of ✓the $275,000., put. at the disposal of France by the MPA A, under the last accord, $180,000 has been put in a furid from which film export- ers can take loans against future foreign income, arid thus con- tinue work without the collection wait.. Other problems of lesser import, touched on by, Flaud, were salary raises in the various film technical fields, and thie question of remov- ing frozeri tab levels. Prices are. fixed at about $1 top except for special specs. The double, feature agitation has died out here, ac- cording to Flaud. Co-production, which made up almost half of production this year also was shown as having evil aspects because of a double loss of nationality by having to con- form to two national codes; London, Nov. 23. A request for a joint meeting of the officers of the two trade organ- izations to discuss the expert ad- vice by Cyril Salmon, Q. C., i his report as arbitrator on the break figure dispute, was made by the Kinematograph Renters’ Society council last Thurs. (18) to the Cine- matograph Exhibitors’ As§n. This would be a preliminary confab to be followed by a session of the joint committee of the two assns. The break figure: dispute, dating back to 1951, stems from the in- troduction of the Eady levy to sub- sidize British . production. The "break figure” is. the. yardstick via which film hire rentals charged by the distributor tp the exhibitor are assessed and the familiar pattern iS for the percentage to vary with the gross. In most cases a weekly gross of up to $420 qualifies for a 35% rental with a gradual increase when the receipts rise above that figure. At their council meeting a week previously, the KRS agreed to ac- cept the arbitrator’s advice and the exhibs were pledged to accept it in advance of the hearing. Sal- mon urged, the withdrawal of the 1951 KRS resolution and the res- toration of individual negotiating. He also advocated freedom for the exhibitor to negotiate terms with individual suppliers. ‘Desert’ High Grosser In Germany Because Of Dating Small Theatres Frankfurt, Nov. 16. "The Living Desert,” one of the year's biggest money-making pix in Germany, ' a big success be- cause of its booking into the small theatres instead of the big.first-run . houses. Pic, which has only. 20 prints, here; did $50,000 in its first month,, and. $75,000. in its second! It is now expected to ri three years to.fill all its'German commit-, merits. . In Dusseldorf, where the film prcemed . last Aug! 20, it was booked into the 220-seat Studio ancl ran for si weeks. ’ But in Stuttgart, August Daub, who owns tile .huge 1,500-seater Palast and who controls theatres in six other key cities, wanted the first Stiitt-. ga.rt showing in his .big houses-it lasted just one week. But trans- planted into the 500-seat Licht- spielhaus there, it ran, four stanzas. . It is Opening here in the tiny Bieberbau Dec, 4. In Berlin it’s booked into 45 small cinemas for the three weeks of Christmas, New Years arid Jan. 9, an uriusual longrun set for what will be the year’s top season. It’s now been shown successfully in 150 small German theatres. St” *r 'VARfITV'*' IONDOH OFFIC* > >♦. W«rtli>’« Plicti Tn>ili«r innw. f London# Nov, 23. Terry O’Neill, formerly eastern sales manager of Interstate Televi- sion Corp., has been named U.S. rep for Associated Britlsh-Pathe. Appointment to the post was dis- closed by Macgregor Scott, AB-P general sales manager, following his return here from America. Prior to joining Interstate (an Allied Artists subsidiary) some five years ago. O’Neill was a booking exec with Exclusive Films Ltd. here. In his new berth, he will su- pervise AB-P activities iri the U.S. and Canada. , Buenos 'Aires, Nov. 16. Theatremen !and eX h i b i to r s turned theatremen at this' time of year are weighing in their minds the problem of what they should book in the way of special attrac- tions for Argentine audiences next year. Meanwhile, their account- ants are mulling over figures and tax claims to see which of this year’s legit ventures showed profit. Now that film admission prices have been boosted to more remu- nerative scales, the major exhibi- tors are. less prone to entertain legit propositions, than they were at this time last year. In fact, they would rather forget all about legit and stick to . the business they really understand—-exploitation of pictures. This is not altogether possible for them because the ob- ligatory vaudeville law keeps them scouting around for likely talent. Don Clemente Lococo,. prexy of the Lococo Circuit, which operates the 2,300-seat Opera Theatre, plus 18 deluxe and neighborhood first- runs here and nearby Mar del Plata, describes himself as having celluloid in his veins.-Although he was the first impresario to bring Josephine Baker to Buenos Aires years ago, he is 60% an exhibitor and only accidentally in legit. His venture hr booking the Folies Bergere at the Opera this year was, in. fact, because of Miss Baker’s intervention. It was un- dertaken with a view to overcom- ing the losses inevitable under the, low film admission scales, then in force. Now that those film prices have been increased to a level sufficient to meet the terrific cost of operat- ing the deluxe houses, and pro- vided enough great pictures are made available (preferably by Hol- lywood), all local exhibitors would indefinitely prefer to concentrate on exhibition. Nevertheless, the sort of big coin racked up at the Opera by shows like the Folies Bergere- and the Antonio Ballet, not to mention the Cuevas Ballet at the Metropolitan,, cannot fail to tempt some of them. The thing is to hit on shows likely to be sock hits yet not so costly that they leave no profit. With grosses of $60,000 weekly, the Folies alone must have gone a long way tp wiping out the Lococo Cir- cuit’s losses of the.last six years, due at least in part to the govern- ment's insistence on cheap film en- tertainment fpr the masses. Iri actual fact, if the circuit was to devote the Opera to legit all year round, as was once consid- ered, it could, make more, coin in one month with that one theatre than all its 18 cinemas together- can lpake in a year's time. PLAY SET FOR B’WAY • Frankfurt} Ndv. 16 . German television,- ordinarily be- hind pix productions in the U. S., pulls a scoop Nov. 28 when Hes- sischer Rundfunk .(Frankfurt tele- vision) preems. "Siegfried,” the German adaptation of the Jean Giraudoux play. Upcoming Broad- way performance of "Siegfried” is ; skedded for next season. Original drama, "Siegfried. & the Limou- sine," was written by Giraudoux after World War I, about a French- man who lost his memory in the war and through mistaken identity was brought to Germany tp live. Pic version on the same theme has just been completed as a Ger- man-French. coproduction, made by Trans*Rhein Films and Madeleine Films, under the. title of "Double Destiny.” .Stars are Simone Simon and Michael Auclair. ■ ■i By TOM CURTISS Edinburgh, Nov. 23. Opera groups in Scotland were advised by A. J. Millar, ah official of the National Operatic and Dra- matic Ass’n, to avoid producing American musical shows. "Far too many of us," he said, "are trying to make the boxaffice sure by going for the American musicals. Some of them are ex- treipely. good as entertainment, but I think they are not just what we should be doing. Most of these modern American shows demand the highest efficiency in. dancing, while in the main I consider that our forte is singing.” He advised musical groups to pay less attention to securing box- office successes and to devote their efforts tb a higher quality enter- tainment. I Paris, Nov. 23. “Porgy And Bess,’* under the | aegis of the Everyman’s Opera Inc,, has set precedents here both in the solid success racked up by a for- eign lingo legiter and in decipher- ing the complicated legit covering Here. In its 10-week, run, wiridirig Dec. 4, has been averaging about a $4,000 take nightly which is sen- sational here, especially in view of the hiked prices with a $6 top.. Although in its second appearance here, the show has only been re- viewed by the music critics iri spite of its overall consummate theatri- cal style arid welding of book, mu- sic and dramaturgy. In its seventh week, the com- pany decided to invite. the drama crix themselves, explaining that much as they appreciated the fine music .crix, it would iike to have the opinion of drama surveyors. All. the dailies’ crix showed up Saturday (13), and all professed they saw no reason why they had nbt been called in at the outset. Some felt this was due to an over- sight of the local editors and also; local bookers. Reviews were all :of. rave calibre. The staging of Robert Breen, the decors of Wolfgang Roth and the acting, singing and music all came i for plaudits. While here various members of the troupe doubled iri French niteries. After the run here, there are dates for the La Scala in Milan, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Scan- danavia and other spots, depend- ing on State Department approval. Paris, Nov, 16. French musical comedy taste continues to amaze. U.$; visitors. With Paris the chic capital'of most things modern now, transients are always asking residents, can things like full-dress revivals of "The Belle of N.Y.” be all the rage arid run for a: year or two iri the 1950s? Judging, by the present standards of the book shows—-the revues of the Fplies-Bergere, Casino de Paris, etc., are iri another class—a lavish production Of "Wang” or "El Captain” would seem to bp what the doctor ordered. "The Girl From Utah” and "Chu Chin Chow’* would be ahead of their time i Paris today. If "The Boy Friend’' were to play here} it would prob- ably be swallowed straight. Hep Parisians who know, the superiority of modern U.S. musi- cals have, an answer for this. They , argue that the big musical houses, the. Chatelet, Mogador and Gaite- Lyrique; depend on out-of-town trade and that yokels would rather see an old operetta, clad in some hew costumes and fancy sets but with all its familiar jokes' intact, for the 10th time, than take a chance on anything locally un- known. Managers have found that while "Ajjnie.: Get Your. Gun” may get eight months on its initial showing, standby like "White Horse Inn” can do a full year on its third or fourth return. So coiri- plaints : from . critics and sophisti- cates that things have changed i both music and . comedy during the past 30 years make little impres- sion. Change In Offing Sound as such reasoning may be, a change seems in the offing. Not every Frenchman is deaf to all music written since Lehar’s prime, as the disquotheques where records of the latest jazz hot from the U.S, may be heard and the crowded swing cellar attest. The orchestra at Maxim’s has caught up With "The King and I” and "Can-Can” and promises some "Pajama Game’* melodies for Xmas, and the smash success of "Porgy and Bess,” doing a return engagement at the Em- pire, has caused some impresarios to ponder. The Chatelet. - Mogador - Gaite Lyrique group will doubtless Stick to the old favorites and new shows modeled after them, but before long we shall probably have French version of! the Broadway musical hits in other houses. . Jean Bouchel-Ysaye, director of the Ennpire, who lias profited by housing "Porgy .and Bess,” is mulling plans for production of a song-and-dance show based on an Ariierican original. Two years ago there was a project to stage "Pal Joey” in French With Roland Petit at the Empire, and though this project fell through, Ysaye has been; busily studying U.S. musical products since. 1,000 Theatres in Brit. Likely Will Use C’Scope By End of This Year London, Nov. 16. The transformation. to Cinema- Scope exhibition is: now. showing signs of acceleration arid more than 1,000 British installations are likely to be. completed before the end of the year. This total will in- clude around 400 J. Arthur Rank theatres which are being retooled for anamorphic presentation, al- though the., company is unable to - book the 20th-Fox output. A checkup here showed that 775 indies had already contracted -for C’Scope installations, and 510 of these already had been completed. The others were due to be com- plete by next March 1. . In addition, around 200 theatres in. the Associated British circuit had beeh equipped for C-Scope films, including almost all the key theatres in the London area. The ABC installations are being made, with Perspecta sound. Circuits Management Assn, (which controls the Odeon and Gaumont-British groups) already has completed 230 installations, 75 of which have full stereophonic sound. It is expected that the total will soar to about 400 by the. end of the, year. At the moment he is considering "Kiss Me Kate” for Paris and Mar- [ cel Achard has been approached to dp the book for a French “King and j.” Another. Broadway show that seems a Paris natural—even i for the houses that stick to the routine — is "Carousel," Back- ground, of course, would have to be switched from the mid-19th^ cen- tury New England fishing village to either Budapest or Paris, and a local librettist will have to think up a variation on "This Is a Real Nice, Clambake,” substituting lyrics about a picnic. Paris jnusical stage seems ripe for something more recent than "The Chocolate Soldier.” Mexico City, NoV.' 23. Twentyseven Latin American representatives of Warner Bros. ; fathered here this week for a sales convention being held by Wolfe Cohen, Warner International presir deriti Recorded message from Jack Warner, WB v.p. and production chief, opened the session. Ex- ecutive v.p. Sam Schneider was present iri person to address the company’s staffers. Individual conferences will be held, by the Caribbean, Pacific, ahd Atlantic divisions, supervised re- spectively by Peter Colli, Armando iTrucios, and Ary Lima..