Variety (December 1954)

♦ -4 Unperturbed by Versailles’ Row, Customs Stands Pat: No Nude Scenes The U. S. Customs Service in the past has, on several occasions, closed an eye to nudity in foreign films. Last week, spotting it in the French pic, “Versailles,” Customs didn’t wink an eye. It ordered the import temporarily detained. This immediately brought howls of protest from Jean Goldwurm, Times Film prexy. who’s bringing in “Versailles.” Not unawares of the publicity value of an interna- tional controversy in the making, Goldwurm dispatched wires to the French Consul General in N. Y. and Washington officials, asking them to “quickly correct this blun- der which would cause a misunder- standing between our two coun- tries.” “This ill-considered action on the part of a Government agency is an affront to the Republic of France and to the French people,” he huffed, adding that “Versailles” was produced with the full coop- eration of the French Ministry of National Education and “should be welcomed here at this time as an important instrument toward rees- tablishing the traditional cultural exchange between our country and France” . At Customs House in N. Y., Irv- ing Fishman, Deputy Collector of Customs, appeared unimpressed by the threatened clouds of inter- (Continued on page 63) Tex McCrary’s Political Future Keyed to His New Public Relations Setup Tex McCrary and the GOP may still get together on an official basis. Indications that McCrary’s long-known political ambitions may finally reach fruition came to the fore Monday (20) when he attended President Eisenhower’s stag dinner in Washington for the wheelhorses of the 1952 campaign. It was an off-the-record affair but political pundits claim the politicos met to discuss organizational activities for the future. McCrary’s future tieup with the GOP is seen t . a development of his move-in on the public relations field. The radiocaster is tied up to WRCA, N. Y. t for the next two years (Tex & Jinx), hence he w'ill limit his publicity activities to a few select accounts; but it’s ex- pected that when NBC pact ex- pires he’ll move out of broadcast- ing entirely to concentrate on his p r. office. Coincidentally, the pact winds up in an election year. His wife, Jinx Falkenburg, however, will continue and expand her broadcasting work. McCrary currently is negotiating to partner in {iis public relations firm with Albin Dearing, who com- manded a paratroop division dur- ing World War II. McCrary’s set- up also includes Bill Safire, man- (Continued on page 18) Chevalier Due on B’way In September for Miller Maurice Chevalier will do his one-man show in America, under Gilbert Miller’s auspices, on Broadway next September. The French singer-comedian is coming to New York in April, “just to look around and breathe the new ' times and television and see the ' best shows,” he wrote to Variety. After 58 recitals with his solo : stint at the Theatre des Champs- I Elysees, Paris, Chevalier’s pattern j now is to “Americanize my stuff ! during my winter season in Lon- don and Sweden.” Film Execs Rue Legit Hits At Sky-Hi Prices Film industry execs are doing a burn over the high cost of going ; legitimate. They insist the pro- prietors of stage properties are going way overboard in the prices they’re demanding for the licensing of screen rights. Reps of the Hollywood studios in i some instances think Hollywood’s own Samuel Goldwyn is to blame, at least in part. It’s figured that Goldwyn’s deal to buy “Guys and Dolls” at $1,000,000 against 10% of the world’s gross has tended to give the Dramatist Guild and in- dividual writers and producers of Broadway shows over-enthusiastic ideas about prices generally. Underlining this, according to a v.p. of a major film company, is (Continued on page 18) ‘HITLER’ SHOWS UP IN A MUNICH NIGHT CLUB Munich, Dec. 21. In line with the recent stories about reviving Hitlerism in Ger- many, a new nightclub act has ap- peared in Munich. At Giseia’s, an avant-garde student hangout in Schwabing—the Greenwich Village section of the town—an unan- nounced entertainer stepped up on the platform and did an imitation of Hitler. He vocalized the sound of goose-stepping Nazis, the crowds’ applause, the introduction by Goeb- bels. The Hitler bit was in no way a ridicule or sarcasm; it included a garbled few words about the greatness of the country in a voice accurately simulating the dictator’s. Act received standard applause from the student crowd, most of (Continued on page 18) U.S.1E0, Clifts YEN O'SEfiS FACES The transatlantic traffic in talent is getting heavier. Due to the de- mands for new faces, brought on mainly by television, the talent agencies are importing an increas- ing number of acts. As a matter of fact, the favorable trade balance in talent now en- joyed by U. S. agencies seems to be shifting in favor of the Continent. The U. S. is facing the necessity of becoming primarily an importer of acts instead of its customary role of being an exporter. The needs of television and the desire for new talent in the cafe and outdoor circuits seem to be the primary reasons for the shift. Cafes and what theatres remain are also contributing to the rising amount of imports. For instance, Radio City Music Hall, N. Y„ has been giving a fresh facz.de to many of its bills with a Continental turn. Hotel and cafe circuits are also relying more heavily on imports, with many of them becoming at- tractions. For example, Patachou, now at the Waldorf-Astoria, N. Y., and booked for other hotel situa- tions, is a French import, as is Edith Piaf, who for several years brought SRO business to the Ver- sailles and who this season will tour theatres. Noel Coward is be- ing submitted by Joe Glaser’s As- (Continued on page 20) Gobel Playing It The Safe Way On ‘Over-Exposure’ Apparently George Gobel has no intention of wearing out his wel- come on tv, according to his per- sonal manager, David P. O’Malley, who points out that the comic, if anything, has no desire to “cash in” on his new popularity by spreading himself thin on the guest star circuit, but that in recent weeks he; 1. ) Turned down the Milton Berle show during the latter’s brief illness; 2. ) Rejected a 90-minute NBC* TV spectacular two weeks ago; 3. ) Turned down the General Motors’ Motorama show via NBC* TV originating at the Waldorf-As- toria. N. Y., scheduled for Jan. 19, despite a firm offer of $25,000 plus a budget for a writing staff; 4 ) Refused a repeat appearance on Jack Carson’s one-a-month NBC- TV show; 5. ) Turned down an appearance on last week’s NBC-TV Overseas Press Club “Dateline” spec; 6. ) Refused numerous offers of guest appearances from competing networks which O'Malley, as man- (Continued on page 18) Just as Tough as Ever’ Laments Don Quinn on Telefilm ‘Blacklists’ 4 Buff. Minister Extols ‘Spiritual’ Mae West Buffalo, Dec. 21. Description of Mae West by the I Rev. Thomas J. Kelly, minister of the Spiritualist Church of Life of Buffalo, as a “wonderful, spiritual person” drew heavy attention from the dailies here when it was coupled with a report that Miss West had contributed $500 to the work of the church. Rev. Kelly also declared that Miss West had been instrumental in inviting a group of newspaper men and critics to see a special per- formance staged by him at the L*iin Quarter in New York under her sponsorship in which he gave what he termed a “performance of psychic phenomenon.” See N.Y. 3% Sales Tax Test Suit Vs. Indie Producers City of New York is preparing to attempt to tax the “producers’ share” qf the gross revenues of film distributors operating out of the city, it was learned this we r k. Tax which would be applied against the producers’ share of film revenues would be the 3% sales tax, and it would apply on all sales regardless of where they were made, be it Hollywood or Oshkosh. City’s tax department has been studying the problem for more than a year now, but it was be- (Continued on page 20* 81 ENTERTAINERS HIT GI CHRISTMAS TRAILS Hollywood, Dec. 21. Hollywood Coordinating Commit- tee will play Santa Claus to serv- 1 icemen overseas with a flock of 81 troupers who will put on Christ- mas shows at military bases in Japan, Alaska, North Africa, Eu- j rope and the Northeast Air Com- mand. They will be gone two weeks. Following is a list of enter- tainers: FAR EAST — Unit A; Johnny Grant, Hal Biller, Freddie Browne. Jean Fowler, Pat Ireland, Carol Jarvis, Berneta Denson, Karleen Millard, Wanda Smith, June Wil- sott, Joan Wright. USO Musicians: Owen Bari, Joe South. Unit B. Carolina Cotton, Marlene Gaylord, Norm Nielsen, Texas Rase. Thad Swift. USO Musicians, Craig Ev- (Continued on page 20) Hollywood, Dec. 21. There’s a sharp split among Hol- lywood telefilm producers on the question of whether a "blacklist” of certain creative talent is still as rigid as ever. Some say it’s eased up a bit in the past year, while others contend the employment tabus are being as strictly im- posed as ever. All the producers agree, how- ever, that they are nonplussed by the inconsistencies of the various “blacklists,” wherein some talent is acceptable on certain series but not acceptable on others. Turn- down in nearly all cases is because the talent isn’t politically able to sponsors and/or ad »en- cies, although producers are never told this in so many words. In some rare cases the talent is un- employable for reasons of morals. It’s admitted by most producers that the hardest hit are zictors and writers in the “twilight zone"— those who have neve- been iden- tified as Communists or fellow trav- elers, but who are nevertheless considered suspect by pressure groups. Most in this category never know why they are “unemploy- able,” producers say, since it’s im- possible to tell them the truth with- out incurring a civil suit. Most outspoken of telefilm pro- ducers contacted on the “blacklist” question was Don Quinn, of “The Halls of Ivy.” Quinn, asserting that (Continued on page 53) ‘Okla’ Calling It Quits; Bus & Truck Folderoo Ends 11 Years of Tour “Oklahoma” Is seceding from the road. On tour almost continu- ously for more than 11 years, the Rodgers & Hamn\erstein musical goes into mothballs Jan. 1. Show is currently touring under the sponsorship of Nick Mayo, Phil Mathias and Jean Barrere, the third management to have routed the tuner since it first hit the hinterlands Oct. 14, 1943. Present trek was designed pri- marily to cover out-of-the-way territory skipped by preceding editions. Production, traveling via bus and truck and playing at reduced prices, was originally scheduled to run through the ’54- ’55 season, but sufficient promis- ing bookings weren’t forthcoming. Business has been spotty. Vehicu- lar company played its initial date Sept. 17 at the Klein Aud., Bridge- port. Playing mostly split weeks, the tuner will have racked up 131 per- formances when it closes. Run will have covered 36 cities, half of which were getting the show for the first time. Musical is at the Shubert Theatre, Detroit, this week, moves to the Central High School. Kalamazoo, next Monday- Wednesday (7-29) and folds at the (Continued on page 53)