Variety (December 1954)

12 INTERNATIONAL 'VAtliTY'l* LONDON OPFICI B It. Martin'* flic*. Trafalgar Iquar* Paris Empire Back as Music HaD; More Playing Time for U. S. Acts Paris, Dec. 14. ♦ TJje Empire, which was origi- nally a music hall from 1924 to 1935, and housed most of the va- riety greats, goes back on the house standard next September under the aegis of Jean-Jacques Vital. House comes under the Essoldo Group Agrees To Rejoin CEA Ranks London, Dec. 21. The Essoldo group of 175 thea- Pierre-Louta Guerin Lido Syndicat n-es, which resigned from the Cine- which controls the big cabaret*— matograph Exhibitors Assn., a few the Lido, Moulin Rouge and Bal weeks back as a protest against the Tabarin. This will create a t^n-1 jecent Eady negotiations, has now dem which would be able to offer decided to return to the fold. The big name U. S. acts three to four decision was taken by Sol Sheck- months on the Continent. Plans ma „ the circuit topper, following are to make house an interna- a three-hour session with CEA tional center for known artists and leaders. yet charge low prices ($1.25 top*., Keturn of Essoldo was prompted Vital will run the house on a 14- by an assurance given by CEA reps hour daily basis, with mornings j that the point of view of the inde- and afternoons being devoted to \ pendent exhibitor would be put taping radio programs and also showcasing live tv shows. These are paying audiences and the house will be amortized in this manner, leaving leeway for low before the producers and, if neces- sary, representations would be made to the Board of Trade. Sheckman, with the support of other independents, had corn- pricing for the night music hall, j plained that under the Eady Guerin made the point that each scheme they were obliged to pro- house will have its own direction, ; vide a cash subsidy for the produc- and that his main function will be tion of British pix which they were in getting the proper names for unable to book firstrun In their the theatres. theatres. They agitated for the re- Volume would allow big scale 1 moval of this, prices for name acts, and he point- ed to the engagement of Borrah Minevitch’s Harmonica Rascals as the first step. He then could book them into other spots around Paris. Jean-Bouchel Ysaye stays on as head of the Empire, but his plans for bringing over U. S. musicals are stymied. Until next Septem- ber house will play a few foreign ballets. Only fly in the ointment Noel Meadow on expert In the Held tees * Foreign Films Now Open in IT estern Territory , Move East to New York on iNtereitiN9 editorial feature In the epcomiNq 49th Anniversary Number OUT SOON Zurich Having Big Legit Season; Most Hits Are Classics or Revivals New Spain, Italy Pix Collab Pact Rome, Dec. 14. Italy and Spain this week ex- is a commitment with Roland Petit j tended their film collaboration to produce a revue at the house. Pact. which regulates pic exchange However, even if Petit decides to Between the two countries as well do it this probably can be arnica- as ^Be growing number of co-pro- blv arranged Auctions. Agreement as now p ar i s «iii reallv be a variety signed includes some changes de- ,wlng s _ i_nto act,o„ ; with^Pari. be. | „. les „„ we| , lncreaslng the How of pix between Spain and Italy. Merger concerns an estimated audience of 800,000.000 spectators spec Dec. 21, the""TabarTnisset | if i Italy with a Spanish audience to preem next July, and the Moulin 1 total of about 300,000,000. Ualian Rouge will get a new production I production hits a yearly 150 fea- dress, keeping the biweekly change . lure productions while Spain coming a must spot on the lists of all vaude Artists. Marlene Diet- rich is the name again being bandied for the opening show. Meanwhile, the Lido opens its new of headliners, in January. Brit. Exhibs, Distribs Fail to Agree on New Break-Figure Pix Plan London, Dec. 14. totals an average of 40 pix per year. Spanish pact is latest of series of extension-agreements signed by the local film industry with foreign l>ix business, other recent deals having signed with the U. S., France. England, Argentina and Germany. Ironically, all these ' pacts be- KRS Calls On Exhibs to Act In Rental Row London. Dec. 21. The Kinematograph Renters So- ciety has passed the ball to the ex- hibitors in an attempt to resolve the impasse that has suddenly developed in connection with the arbitration award on break figures which is the yardstick via which concession terms may be offered to independent theatre owners. The distributors have taken the un- usual step of placing fullpage ads in the local trade press to explain where they stand. Prior to the arbitration hearing in October, the Cinematograph Exhibitors Assn, indicated its will- ingness to accept the findings and the KRS agreed to implement the verdict at a council meeting two or three weeks back. The latter body now claims that the exhibs are failing in their promise by re- fusing to agree to passing of a joint unanimous resolution as rec- ommended by the arbitrator. Conditional upon the acceptance by the CEA of the terms of the resolution, the XRS has promised to withdraw its original break fig- ure motion which, when passed in 1951, led to the present dispute. The unanimous resolution recom- mended by the arbitrator calls upon any exhib desiring a revision of his break figure contract to dis- close certified figures at the open- ing of negotiation. East Germany Showing 50% Foreign Films Frankfort, Dec. 14. The proportion of films showing in East Germany is now about 50- 50, local and foreign pix, with half coming from DEFA, the Red-con- trolled producing firm in East Ber- lin, and other eastern countries, and the other half coming from West Germany and other western European countries. Even in West Berlin, the theatreowners report that about half of their audience comes from the East Zone. At the three large theatres near the rail- road linking the East and West sectors of Berlin, the percentage of Easterners attending is even higher. One of the biggest hits currently in East Germany is “Fanfaren Der Liebe,” starring the popular Ger- man comic, Georg Thomallo.. Also big draw’s are a pair of Maria Schell starrers, “As Long As You Are There” and “The Dreamy Mouth.” A last-minute hitch has devel- ( „me void next Dec. 31 if the RUSSO PEOPLE YEARN FOR CURTAIN LIFTING l Edinburgh, Dec. 14. The people of Russia are highly artistic and are just longing for the Iron Curtain to be raised, accord- oped in negotiations between ex- hibitors and distributors in the adoption of the arbitrator’s ruling on the break figure dispute, ad- vocating the restoration of freedom \ wmv v wav* IIV Al L/V V.. U 1 ML U1V , • , f T T A. /-I ri _ Italian Protective Film Law is not ,ng . !°, IJul V e i’ Cowan. Scot submitted and approved for ex- tension before that date. Con- tinued delay on behalf of the gov- ernment in dealing with the film of trading between theatre owners law situation is again worrying lo- and distributors. cal filmmakers. The dispute dates back to 1951 1 ' when the Kinematograph Renters Society adopted a resolution setting out the terms in which it was pre- pared to give special film rates tor exhibitors whose weekly tako-fell below a stated level. Thus resolu- tion had always been resisted by the exhibs. and after a prolonged hassle both sides went to arbitra- tion. The award, published a month or two back, was mainly in favor of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Assn., which had agreed to accept the findings in advance. The KRS COMMIE WANTED THEATRE Tells Aussie Spy Inquiry lie Tried To Buy. Showcase Sydney, Dec. 14. Bruce Joseph Milliss, a confessed member of the Communist Party in Australia, admitted to a spy in- quiry here that he had tried to buy a front rank city theatre for the purpose of showing Russian films. Called before a Royal Commis- artist back from the Soviet Union, The Russians, she said here, have a great yen for ballet and opera, and their huge theatres are packed nearly every night. The Russian Opera “would shake the world if it could come to the Edinburgh International Festival— If we had a tl\eatre worthy of them,” she ’said. She found the Soviet people proud of their work of reconstruction. B^ija Calif. Not To Get Gambling Mexico City, Dec. 14. Baja California, Mexico’s newest state, is not to be anywhere near the indoor gambling ground pic- tured in newspaper yarns from the U. S., anent revival of reports that syndicates of Yank gaming opera- tors plan to bid for casino conces- sions in and about Tijuana. Th^s was stressed by Baja California government reps interviewed while on official business here and by Gov. Braulio Maldonado in Mexi- cali, the state capital. The Baja California chiefs de- clared that no gambling conces- sion will be granted because the state government is carefully obey- ing instructions from President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines that legalized gaming be barred from that region because its position, immediately over the border from California, is sort of a front window’ for Mexico, and it is much nicer to have that window show orderliness. Gam- bling halls, the chiefs explained, are not regarded as nice things by national government toppers. The Baja California official spokesmen again spiked wideopen gaming reports that began last September on the strength of a re- ported $1.000,000-take in a day at a Baja California fall fair which featured gambling. Zurich, Dec. 14. The first four months (Septem- ber to the end of the year) of the current legit season at Schauspiel- haus here, the country’s leading legit house, loom as the hottest this theatre has seen in years. Out of eight plays staged so far, only tw'o have flopped. This constitutes afl unusually sock result. In line with the wellknown con- servative attitude of local audi- ences, most of the hits have been either classics or revivals. For ex- ample, Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and Moliere’s “School of Women,” are already past their 25th performance (an excellent score by local standards), being on the bill since the beginning of the season. Ibsen’s “Wild Duck” has played to satisfactory "biz, whereas the revival another of the Bard’s works, "Henry IV,” in its first re- appearaAce since 1941, is a sellout at every performance. Next open- ing skedded, Heinrich von Kleist’s “Penthesilea,” a German classic, w'ith a particularly strong cast headed by local faves Maria Beck- er and Will Quadflieg. Advance sale on this one is already high. Exception from the rule are two modern Anglo-U. S. works, T. S. Eliot’s “Confidential Clerk,” which fared very w’ell despite mixed no- tices, and the recently staged “Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.” Lat- ter shows promise of becoming one of the real hits of the season. The only flops so far are Jean Anouilh’s “Leocadia,” one of the author’s earlier comedies, and Swiss playwright Arnold Schwen- geler’s new comedy-drama, “In This Sign . . .,” a wasted religious essay of the Roman days. Additional coin is pouring in from regular one-nighters of the French road company, Galas Kar- senty which, almost automatically, is SRO at Schauspielhaus. This was the case with its first two ’54- ’55 offerings, Jacques Deval’s “Etienne” and Julien Green's "South.” Also skedded are “Daz- zling Hour,” “Dial M for Murder,” “Gigi.” “The Lark” and “The Four Truths.” announced its acceptance a week sion which is investigating revela- or two ago. Since then a scries of t>*>ns by a defecting Russian Em- joint meetings have been held be- bassy official, Vladimir Petrov, tween the two bodies to agree on a Milliss said last year he was con- formula for future operation. A te>ned in negotiations for pur- full report on the current negotia-1 chase of the Embassy Theatre, tions was given at last week’s CEA ' Milliss said he was chairman of executive session, when it was sug-1 a local outfit called New Dawn gested that if necessary they should go back to the arbitrator for further advice. Claims Readers Like To Read Bad Reviews proposed that Sov-Export Films Films, which had a franchise con- tract with a Russian film organiza- tion. The asking price for the the- atre was $662,500. of which Milliss would find $25,000, hoping to raise the remainder in mortgages. He • Vienna, Dec. 14. Friedrich Schreyvogl, director of the state-owned Burgtheatre, has "discovered” why reviews about new plays are mostly bad. This is how he sized up the situa- tion. “The casual reader prefers a bad critic. It makes him feel better. The editors know that so they in- struct their reporters to tear the premieres to pieces.” should put up $300,000, as a sec- ond mortgage, to complete the purchase. The bait held out to Sov-Export Films, he admitted, was that 70% of the pix would be Soviet films. The deal fell through. At that time the Embassy, operated as an ace house by General Theatres Corp. on lease, was on the mar- ket. Eventually General Theatres bought the property. BFPA Votes in Favor Of Pix Standardization London, Dec. 14. British Film Producers Assn, is in favor of standardization of as- pect ratios. It confirmed this de- cision at an executive council session after discussing a report prepared by its technical commit- tee, which embraced developments in widescreen cinematography over the last two years. Purely from a production view- point, the BFPA technical commit- tee considered that results on some large screens have not proved “en- tirely satisfactory,”' and they sug- gested an investigation into the possibility of achieving a standard- ization. Understood that the BFPA survey embraced every form of panoramic production including CineinaScope and VistaVision. At the same meeting, the BFPA executive indorsed suggestions from its studio sound panel advo- cating the substitution of magnetic sound for photographic sound; standardization of 35m as the size of sprocketed magnetic film; and conformation with the American Standards Assn, standard for 200 mil magnetic sound track W’here triple track magnetic film Is used. Hope to Streamline ’55 Cannes Fete: Only 2 Films Per Country Paris, Dec. 14. Although 1956 will probably see only one of the top film festival tandem of Cannes and Venice holding a competitive fete be- cause of the edict of the Interna- tional Assn, of Producers, the or- ganizers of the Cannes festival are going all out this next'year to make it a big event. Budget has been upped and the film list stream- lined along with the number of kudos. A true international jury is in the offing for this fest. It will be held from April 26- May 10 or a few weeks from the usual date. The government has brought up its coin allotment and the city of Cannes has hiked its outlay for the fete. This gives the festival a fi- nancial backing of $105,000. Favre- Lebret, fete prexy, says that in 1955 a gold palm will be given as the grand prize for the first time plus five other rewards. Also that at least 50% of the jury will be in- ternational. Countries producing over 100 films will be allowed only a maximum of two films as op- posed to the previous five. lie hopes in this way to cut down the marathon aspects of previous fetes, and also raise the standard of en- tries. There seems sure to be some out- cry at this from large producing countries whose big private incen- tive, besides the international pres- tige and goodwill, w’ere the tax Paris, Dec. 21. I ^ ree visa s and free remittances After a six-month hiatus from ' handed out to all pix entered in Fears Far East Countries May Dent Hawaiian Biz Honolulu, Dec. 14. Even if Hawaii’s resort facilities are expanding, the Isles face in- creasing competition from the Far East, according to Dick Evans, lo- cal passenger agent for American President Lines. Just back from two-month sur- vey, Evans says “there’s building and improvements everywhere.’ He’s referring primarily to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Manila and Bangkok. Hong Kong remains the jewel of the Orient, Evans found, with new hotels and excellent tourist facili- ties. British and American inter- ests are investing heavily in that city, even if it is literally a stone’s throw from Red China. Spivy Returns To Paris Nitery Scene the Paris nitery scene, Spivy came back this week by taking over the Windsor Bar on Rue Pierre Cha<- ron off the Champs-Elysees. Now called Spivy’s, this wood-panelled room has a pleasant saloon atmos- phere. Besides the raucous-voiced Spivy It features the piano and songs of Don Gais and the bqllads of Ray Kidd who is also playing the Folies- Bergere. Drinks are at a $1.25 minimum and this has the ear- marks of emerging as an addition to the winduppery corps here. the festivals. Anne Shelton Mulling 1955 Australia Tour Glasgow, Dec. 14. Anne Shelton, British thrush, is mulling a trip to Australia in 1955. Plan is for her to star in vaude and sing on commercial radio. Singer has already appeared in the U. S., South Africa and in Eu- ropean countries. She’s currently at the Empire vauder here on a 1 United Kfhgdpm tour.