Variety (May 1955)

Wednesday, May XI, 1955 LITERATI 69 Literati * Too Literally Constructed? Doubleday has recalled Edwin Gilbert’s novel, “Native Stone,” which was scheduled for May 5 publication, because the author’s precede note—“though some ac- tual places, institutions, and per- sons are mentioned by name in this work, the characters of the story itself are purely fictitious, and their actions or words are not intended in any way to comment or reflect on said places, institu- tions, or persons”—was apparent- ly not. enough' Some characters, it was felt, were too recognizable, and rather than risk complications, review copies have been recalled. It will be published in the fall with proper changes. Gilbert, Who started as an archi- tect before authoring, used that profession as his locale. This is not the first time a pub- lisher, on second thought, recalled a book for further* camouflaging. PocketBooks’ Laurie Book PocketBooks (Simon & Schuster) has wound up as publisher of gag- writer Jerry Lieberihan’s anthol- ogy of Joe Laurie Jr.’s gags, with a first print order of. 150,000 copies vin a 25c paperback. New Ameri- can Library, which had com- missioned Lieberman to put it to- gether and had given him an ad- vance, decided against it. Lieberman is a young gagwriter to whom the late author-comedian took a shine as a coming talent, and even willed him a consider- able amount of the prolific Laurie comedy files. Peripatetic Earl Wilson Rosemary (Mrs. Earl) Wilson, wife of the N. Y. Post columnist, will remain in Europe’for a few days early in June, in company with Eleanor Holm, while her hus- band flies back to Tiffin, O., as the honor guest of his alma mammy, Heidelberg College. This was a prebooked commitment of a year ago, and this summer’s European touring plans were unanticipated. Wilson must also emcee the An- thony Awards at Fort Wayne, Ind., similarly pre-booked, and where his mother and sister reside. When Wilson picks up his wife • in Eu- rope, he plans taking over their 12- year-old son Slugger on his first overseas trip. Miss HOlm then plans to visit the Robert Ruarks in Spain. Mitchum’s Defamation Suit Robert Mitchum filed a $1,000,- 000 defamation suit Monday. (9) in Santo Monica (Cal.) Superior Court against Confidential mag, publisher Robert-Harristm, editor Howard Rushmore, managing ed A. P. Govoni, charging article m July issue “completely false, un- true” and held him up to ridicule, and public discredit. Yarn stated actor removed all clothes* sprinkled self with catsup at Charles Laughton party. Attorney Jerry Giesler, repping Mitchum, said additional damages for libel, slander may be sought by amended complaint. Wolfit’s ‘Interval* Donald Wolfit’s autobiog, “First Interval” (Odhams Press, London; $2.25), emphasizes his struggle to become a recognized actor-man- ager v It’s a readable book and he rightly takes pride in his sense of achievement. There are times, how- ever, when the narrative becomes a little tedious, as he allows his ego to run away with" him. Wolfit emerges as an actor who has risen to stardom without in- fluence and entirely by his own efforts and convictions. It’s under- standable that he should not be too modest in describing his suc- cess. He also points with pride to the way in which he kept Shakes- peare alive in the West End Thea- tre during the air-raids with lunch- time programs, although the Old Vic had shuttered. Subsequently, he was able to tour with Shakes- peare to the Forces, thus refuting the convention that servicemen only want 'thirdrate and loud- mouth sopranos. Myro, French Bestsellers French publishing companies have revealed statistics on the 149 books that have had the biggest Bales in the last 10 years from 1945, when the book biz returned to norm, to 1955, Circulation runs from the topper, which hit 798,000, to the bottom of 60,000. Many U.S. and English names show on this list. Among the first 20 are two “Don Camillo” books by Guareschi, Ar- thur Koestler’s “The Zero and the Infinite,” “Victory On Everest,” by Sir John Hunt, Kathleen Win- sor’s “Forever Amber,” T. Heyer- dahl’s “Kon-Tiki” and Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” The big 20 ran from 789,- 000 for “The Little World of Don Camillo” to 255,000 for “Tolls.” French biggies were Pierre Clostermann's war aviation non-fic- tioner, “Le Grand Cirque”; Krav- chenko’s “I Chose Liberty,” Ver- cors’ Resistance novel, “Le Silence De La Mer”; Saint-Exupery’s fairy tale, “The Little Prince”; Albert Camus’ “La Peste” (The Plague), Roger Roche’s “La Grande Gre- vasse,” Pierre Daninos’ comic looksee at Gallic mores through the eyes' of an Englishman, “Les Garnets Du Major Thompson”; Jean Duche’s romanticized history, “L’Histoire de France Racontee a Juliette,” Andre Soubiron's two books on the medical profession, “Les Hommes En Blanc” (Men in White); Daniel Rops’ “Jesus Et Son Temps,” Jacques Prevert’s book of poems, “Paroles”; Robert Merle’s “Weekend a Zuydcoote” and Cecil Saint-Laurent’s spec-sex-costumer', a la “Amber,” “Caroline Cherie.” Of this group, 10 have been made into films and three will be made later. Pix are the two Guar- eschi “Don Camillos,” “Cirque,” “Silence," “Everest,” “Kon-Tiki,” “Amber,” “Hommes,” “Caroline” and “Tolls.” Preston Sturges starts “Thompson” next month and “Peste” and “Prince” are-on pro- duction agendas. Ex-Vauder’s Novel Ex - vaudevilllap Joseph Hall- worth has a. novel,- “Diamonds Grow on Fig Leaves,” breaking May 21. Exposition Press is pub- lishing tome of slum life in N. Y. during the ’80s. \ Author used to play the circuit as song-dance man, knife-thrower, card trickster and, magico. Tips for Ams & Pros “The ABC’s of Play Producing” by Howard Bailey (McKay; $3.50) is a handbook for amateurs, but also contains valuable tips’ for pros. Bailey heads the theatre at Rollins College, Fla. Summers, he and Bis wife and daughter act in stock. He is also a writer-director for the Film Production Division of the Air Force. Author keys his text to quotes from George Kelly’s play about amateur producing; “The Torchr bearers,” which Bailey allows “should be read periodically by every worker in the nonprofession- al theatre.” Virtually every subject, of pro- duction is covered, with notes on pageants, religious drama, musi- cals and arenas. There are a num- ber of helpful diagrams for the director; and a copious check-list of “recommended” plays. Down. New Paris Dally Oct. 1 is the publication date for new Paris morning paper, Express- Matin, a 20-page paper (average French sheet rarely tops 12). It’s an outgrowth of Express, political and cultural weekly edited by Jean - Jacques Servain - Schneider, erstwhile editqr of Le Monde, France’s most influential afternoon paper. Usually Informed Canard En- satirical weekly, claims that -the new paper is being bank- rolled by Pierre Mendes-France, late premier, and will be used as a springboard to returnJiim to office again. At any rate staffers are being hired as of now* Jessie Royce Landis’ Biog Jessie Royce Landis has ean the distinction of being the f American actress in many years have her memoirs published England. “You Won't Be So Pi Know More” (All So.75), derives its cumbersome t from an old saying of her mot! f* cept for place of publication s title,- Miss Landis’ autobiograi has no distinction. It is an ( fashioned recollection, stud< with general “thank-yous” and prints of press notices on the st; performances^ , One feels that Miss Landis m be smiling secretly at that ti for she is still a handsome pers However, she shows rare indifl enCe to the spelling of pro names, and she seems to have i gotten several well-known episo in her career, including, for exi pie, her adventures with Wai modern-dress version K e dda Gabler” at Bar Harbor 1947, The book is well-illustrated, but captions are not always fortunate. Photos on a single page, for in- stance, show Miss Landis in roles from “The Mernr Wives of Wind- sor and “Love From a Stranger.” These are labelled “two pictures that reflect the author’s versatility as” an actress.’” In • both studies, Miss Landis’ face is a blank. Down. Freud On Broadway “Freud on Broadway,” by W. David Sieves (Hermitage; $5), is a sprawling tome on psychoanalysis in American drama. Based on ma- terial gathered for the author’s thesis in 1951, this work has been expanded during Sievers' profes- sorship in Speech at Long Beach (Calif.) State College. The professor sent question- naires to 33 playwrights, probing their debt to Freud. Many top- flight dramatists replied, some at length, and their statements are printed. Virtually every Freudian aspect of dramaturgy is explored. While it is no surprise to find treatment of O’Neill, Williams, Wilder and Odets, it may astonish some to learn that “The Poor Nut,” by J. C. & Elliot Nugent (1925). is rife with “inferiority and guilt”; that “Broken Dishes” by Martin Flavin (1929), “shows the light of reality effectively demolishing . . . ego-defenses which arise as com- pensations for painful truth.” The works of Mae West, Sievers avers, “vitiated the\ . . mature, adult ex- amination of , . . Freud.” Author has done a thorough job combing modern drama for Freud- ian implications, but sometimes he seems to find neuroses under the casting couch! Down. Special Gleason Issue Martin Goodman, who publishes, a flock of fan magazines, last week brought out a special issue de- voted entirely to comedian Jackie Gleason. In his editorial Goodman cited Gleason’s unusual talents as the reason why he deviated from his normal policy In publishing for the first time a magazine devoted entirely to a single personality. The magazine Is, in the main, a pictorial biography of Gleason, with text written by Paul Denis. It contains no ads, purposely. Goodman is giving the magazine a big promotional push, sending it to top columnists, newspaper edi- tors and disk jockeys around the country.- CHATTER Mike O’Shea doing weekly fea- ture for the West Indian Review, Jamaica, B.W.I.; editor-publisher is Esther Chapman. Ralph J. Gleason, San Francisco correspondent for Variety, placed a yam on Frisco jazz with the new Chicago mag, Cabaret. Bud Palmer, former Princeton U. and N. Y. Knicks basketball star turned sportscaster, readying a book on how to play the game. Chet Whitehorn, ex-Tempo en- tertainment (and associate) editor, doing a story on Jules Alberti’s Endorsements Inc, for Cue mag. Vet newspaperman-author Ber- nard G. Richards reelected chair- man of the board of the Jewish Information Bureau, nonprofit edu- cational agency, for the 24th suc- cessive annual term. In a treatment rare for a local station, the current Life gave a spread to last month’s closed-cir- cuit “test for* teachers” in the New York schools conducted with co- operation of WCBS-TV. Columnist Danton Walker (N. Y. Daily News), whose autobiography, “Danton’s Inferno,” is being pub- lished May 16 by Hastings House, scheduled for a flock of radio-tv appearances to plug the book. Warren Flood, of the Albany Knickerbocker News, elected pres- ident of the Saratoga chapter of the U.S. Trotting Writers’ Associa- tion. He succeeds John Page, sports editor of The Amsterdam Recorder. Charles N. Heckelmann, veepee and top editor at Popular Library Inc., was spotlighted in the Notre Dame alumni mag, which gave the ’34 alumnus a nod as “fast becom- ing one of America’s top Catholic popular fiction writers.” Allen L. Grammer inked as pub- lisher of Art News and was simul- taneously made v.p. o£ Art Founda- tion Press Inc., mag’s publisher. Grammer became prexy of Street & Smith in ’38 and in ”49 resigned to become publishing consultant. Confidential’s publisher Robert Harrison claims a 4,000,000 print order for his latest bimonthly (“ex- traordinary because of this, time of the year”), and if it sells out he’ll risk a similar-edition in July, the height of the summer season and traditionally not conducive to newsstand sales. Peter Craig-Raymond resigned the editorship of Ballet Today in London and was appointed edito- rial director to Town & Country Publications, mainly concerned with editing Teen & Twenty, Brit- ain’s teenager newsmagazine. He has also been appointed editor of the weekly Automat and began a new monthly show column in the woman’s magazine, Heiress. SCULLY’S SCRAPBOOK By Frank Scully Being a man of iron will (and a macaroni constitution) I am still trying to ease the story shortage by dumping from my stockpile into the open market every so'often. No acknowledgment necessary. After all, the scores of murderers Sam Liebowitz liberated never so much as sent him a card in appre- ciation, so who am I to hunger for the byproducts of gratitude? Take ’em or leave ’em. They’re as free as the air you breathe. And lots cleaner. Old Title New Title CAGED AGED The day the coast-to-coast coaxial cable cut through Joan Craw- ,fish’s ranch in Arizona made her as happy as a bride. She knew this feeling well, because she had been married six times before she decided to quit fooling around and settle down. Television brought the world to her ranch house and no overnight guests to go with it. Life was perfect. She would catch the morning newscasts at sunrise. She even repeated the commercials. One spieler charmed her in a horrible sort of way. He was MacDonald Caries, who plugged Bare Aspirin. He kept telling her to take two Bare Aspirins in a glass of water., immediately on rising so she’d never know what a headache Was. Up to then she had never had a headache in her life. But this guy’s suggestive therapy began giving her the worst sort of headaches. Then one day he told his listeners he was coming to Tucson to get rid of some sinus trouble caused by the smog, fog and grog of Holly- wood. Joan went to his hotel and shot him. He hovered between life and aspirin for weeks. In jail Joan was allowed no papers, radio or tv. There was nothing for her to do but fall in love either with her lawyer or the„convalescent shillaber. The lawyer got her off the hook. It was 'a dramatic trial and in gratitude she married the now recovered newscaster. They rode off to her ranch in the setting sun, promising never to listen to radio again till suggestive medicines were heaved off the air. As they kissed, Joan looked skyward and nearly swooned. There a skywriter was spelling out a sure way to kill morning headaches. “Two Bare Aspirins in a glass of water,” he wrote. Joan rode back to town and ordered an anti-aircraft gun. This is a nice western for people who have headaches anyway. ^ THE PRINCE WHO WAS A FIEF THE ROYAL SLIP Hired to assassinate the infant Prince of Grabag, Hijacque, the thief, steals a priceless pearl and the heir. Then Hijacque has the gold tattoo on the prince’s arm copied on the arm of the only one of his brats bom in wedlock. After that he liquidates the rightful heir and palms off his own son to the Arabian knights as the captured royal Prince, Hassan. He says he intends to guard the pearl and the prince with his life. The Arabian Knights offer the kid for ransom. But as the nego- tiations bog down the price crawls up. This goes on for years. The lad grows into a remarkable likeness to Tony Curtis and falls in ~ love with a street singer who shows a remarkable likeness to Pipah Laurie. She stars in a show by Theodore Dreiser which shows a re- markable likeness to Ali Babba and one of the 40 thieves. All this is considered, pretty remarkable by everybody but- the Arabs. Pipah and Hassan want to get married but they have nothing to live on. So Pipah swipes the priceless pearl from Hijacque. Knowing they cannot pawn it, she arranges to exchange to the Sultan’s mob as down payment for subsequent delivery of the prince. They meet in a lonely part of the desert. As she takes the pearl from her bosom her hand is pulled to earth by some magnetic force. The same thing happens to everybody who touches the precious rock. They kick the sand away and there is the answer. Oil! All agree to say nothing about it until leases oh the public sands 6 are sold to a foreign syndicate. This happens so fast everybody’s, head swims, which was an aquatic record for the Sahara Desert, and' pretty unusual anywhere. Pipah -goes back to Grabag with three pieces of paper—one for Prince Hassan, one for Hijacque and one for herself. The rest of the paper went to the Sultan’s mob. Then everybody got out of the country till the public betrayal blew over. The Prince and the Pipah were married in Switzerland and lived happily practising pratfalls on the ski runs until they were divorced the next year. GONE WITH THE WINDED THE SWEET CORPORAL This is a War-Between-the-States picture, set in a place that wasn’t even a state at the time but wanted to get in the' fight anyway. That was Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sniff Peck was a southerner with northern sympathies. They both 'loved, Gatling Gunn who was from the border state of Missouri. She switched loyalties every time she changed her dress. Sniff organized the Mojave Territorials and gave himself the rank of colonel. Bouglas got himself in the outfit for espionage purposes. He simulated a Texas drawl. That got him a. captaincy. There weren’t any communists around then, but spying was then, as now, big biz. Peck sniffed the air. You’d think somebody was cooking garlic, but it was only his asthma that made him sniff like this. Anger made him feel winded and he was angry at Bouglas. “I called you that and I ain’t smilin’,” he said, “Besides, keep away from my gal.” Bouglas reached for his sword. .But Gatie put her hand on his. Sniff started out in a huff. He turned to glare at Bouglas and saw him kissing Gatie. “I’m only kissing him goodbye, a last goodbye. He doesn’t know you and,Ji are betrothed,” she explained to Sniff. Sniff sniffed the air again. “Attention, Bouglas!” he said. Paul will go reconnoitering with me before you sober up. Some Apaches are being won over to the other side by too much Southern Comfort.” “Which side, sir?” “Why the side where the comfort is, you danged fool!” When they reached the Apaches, Sniff ordered Bouglas to infiltrate their lines. “Where are they, sir?” he asked. “Oh, around here someplace. Go and look for them.” He spun a “dead soldier” which was what they called an empty bottle in those days. It pointed north. “Try there,” he said. It was the wrong direction. That was where Paul and Sniff had come from. While Sniff was. waiting to see if Bouglas was scalped, the Apaches sneaked up behind the colonel and let him have it instead. Bouglas kept running and finally found himself back in the bar. Gatie thought he had come back for one more farqwell kiss. A corporal who had escaped from the massacre came upon them in a farewell embrace. He handed Douglas the epaulets of Sniff Peck. “Any orders, colonel?” he asked. “Yes,” said Bouglas. “From now on when you see me protecting American womanhood, look the other way.” He looked the other way. And just in time too. A bullet was heading his way. He ducked. Bouglas got it in the back. The corporal picked up the epaulets , and pinned them on Gatie. “You’re pretty good at counter-espionage yourself,” he said. ’Thanks, Ulysses,” she said. “Shall we go to Vicksburg?”