Variety (June 1955)

14 INTERNATIONAL » J^AKIETY 'VANITY'S' LONDON OPPICR • «». Mirtln'i Plici/ Trafalgar Square New British Conservative Govt. Faces Many Film Biz Issues-New Quota, By HAROLD MYERS London, June 7. The new House of Commons, elected at the polls on May 26, meets for the first time (Tucs.) for its formal swearing-in and for the election of speaker and on- Thurs. (9) will start its normal legislative program after the state opening by the Queen. This has been advanced by five days to enable the govern- ment to proceeding with the nec- essary emergency powers neces- sitated by the national rail strike. In the next five years, the new Conservative government will have a heavy program of film in- dustry affairs, notably the renewal of the Film Quota Act in 1958. Plans for a new bill will be in- augurated early next year and there will be prolonged consulta- tions with all sections of the mo- tion picture industry before the draft is presented in the House of Commons early in 1957. Broadly speaking, this is regarded as non- party legislation, although there, is a natural leaning by Labor party spokesmen for the strongest possi- ble protection for- the native film industry. National Film Finance Co, To Go Political insiders, however, be- lieve that one of the first steps concerning the film industry, to be taken by the new government, will be the dissolution of the National Film Finance Corp. This govern- ment agency, for the financing of independent production, which was introduced by Harold Wilson, when Board of Trade president in 1948, is expected to be wound up within the next two years. Its continued existence is regarded by ardent government supporters as a threat to the Conservative principle of free enterprise. Already the NFFC has taken over the operation of British Lion. This was accomplished a year ago when, in view of the inability of the old corporation to meet its obligations, the NFFC appointed a receiver and manager. The subse- quently-formed company is wholly owned by the NFFC. This was re- garded in trade and political cir- cles as the first step towards a gov- ment stake in film industry affairs. It’s common knowledge that the NFFC has made substantial ad- vances. to other industry groups and similar action might be nec- essary at a later stage, if repay- ments were not met on schedule. This could lead to the government having indirect control of a sub- stantial segment of independent film production in Britain. Where- as that would have been in accord with Socialist policy, it does not meet the aims of the Conservatives. Another likely development will be the dissolution of ACT Films, Ltd. This company was formed a few years ago by the Association of Cine Technicians to provide em- ployment for out-of work studio members. It started off ambitious- ly with top features, but has for some time been primarily con- cerned with supporting produc- tions. ACT Films’ On Way Out? Most of the finance has come from the NFFC, but this is ex- pected to dry up by the gnd of this, year. Unless it can. succeed in rais- ing coin from independent sources outside the government agency, ACT Films may be forced out of business early next year. From an all-industry point of view, the immediate problem con- cerns government policy on the ad- mission tax. There is a likelihood of an emergency budget in the fall and the picture industry is cam- paigning for national relief, At the same time, the legitimate theatre, which had been assured of total exemption if the Socialists had been returned to power, is renew- ing its agitation for the abolition of the duty on the living theatre. Ranrdle Back at Work Manchester, Eng., May 31. Frank Randle, w.k. NOrth-of- England comedian, is returning to' show biz after a lengthy illness. He resumes in vaude in July with lead role in a new Jack Gil- lam revue, “I’m a Good Boy Now.’’ I Old Vic Season Winds June 11; Goes On Tour London, May 31. The current Old Vic season closes on Saturday June 11, with the second part of “Henry IV.” During the final week, “Macbeth” will have its 100th performance, a record for the theatre. On the Monday following its closing here, the Old Vic starts an Irish tour, opening in Belfast for a fortnight. A week in Dublin fol- lows. The new London season is due to start in September, with “Jul- ius Caesar” slated as initial pro- duction. The play, which will be staged at the Edinburgh Festival, prior to its London preem, will star Paul Rogers, Wendy .Hiller, John Neville and Richard Words- wortfy. Austria Tax Plan Frankfurt, May 31. U. S. distributors in Germany are planning mass action to fight the new discriminatory legislation which has just been*proposed in the Austrian legislature. The new bill, if passed, would levy a special tax of $200 per print for each for- eign film shown in Austria and dubbed in another country. This would mean that a U. S. film which brings in an average of $2,000 from its Austrian showings and has an average of 5 prints would lose half of its income by paying this tax. As such it would be nearly impossible for films made in the U. S. and dubbed in Germany, as is now done, to take any earnings out of the Austrian market. Big advantage to date has been that. U. S. films dubbed into Ger- man could make a small additional profit by later showings in Aus- tria since the language is basically the same. The law would either force for the U. S. distributors to dub their films in Austria, or to skip this secondary* outlet for their films which were dubbed in Ger- many. The proposed bill is anti-German also in that its purpose is to take the dubbing business away from Germany and bring it as a lucra- tive industry to Austria. Of course,- this would be a major blow to the German dubbing business which does an excellent job of turning U. S., French and other foreign films into the Deutsche tongue. And as far as U. S. films are concerned, although theoretically the dubbing could be done a little cheaper in Austria than in Ger- many, because of lower labor and lab costs, the Austrian dialect is not a pleasant one for the German ears. The Germans, anxious to pro- tect their dubbing rights, are ex- pected to take action along with the Yanks in fighting this move of the Austrian lawmakers, Ex-Governor of Aussie Into Drive-In Field Sydney, May 31. Sir William McKell, former Gov- ernor-General of Australia, and Al Rosen, Yankee producer long out here, have combined financial re- sources in a bid to break into the drive-in field here against the powerful Hoyts, Greater Union Theatres and major independent loops. Understood that the Films Commission will only issue a lim- ited number of licenses covering the ozoner field. Insiders figure that McKell, long in the political arena, will know how to play his cards to beat pow- erful group opposition to his plans. Rosen, apart from his former legit activities which were not success- ful in this zone, has been delving into indie pic distribution here to a minor extent. This is Sir Wil- liam’s initial experience in show biz. Oldest Music Sheet? Vienna, May 31. Prof. * Carl Wessely of the Austrian Museum Society dis- covered what he believes to be the oldest existing “music sheet.” It is very small in size, about 15 square ' centimeters, and contains a score similar, to the ones of to- day, with the only difference that the words are below the notes. It is believed to be a part of “Orest” by Euripides, written 27 years be- fore Christ, when Emperor Augus- tus ruled. Script, Wessely Said, laid more than 100 years in the archive's of the museum here. Experts are still investigating. . « British Prods. To Air Worry Over Eady Dip London, June 7. British producers, generally dis- turbed at the declining income of the Eady pool, are to make the full facts known to the Board of Trade immediately. At their monthly ex- ecutive meeting last Week, it was reported that annual receipts are more than $1,000,000 below esti- mate, but a large part of this* could be put right if “non-coopera- tors—exhibitors, who are either re- fusing to pay the levy or are only operating * a reduced scale-r-could be brought into line.” In the first 39 weeks of the cur- rent financial year, Eady collec- tions have totaled about $5,476,000 compared with $5,734,000 in the corresponding period last year. The fund dipped around $165,000 in the first three months because- of a lower rate of levy in opera- tion from last Aug, 1 to Oct. 23. Income in the subsequent 27 weeks, however, has not made good the first quarter dip. When the present scale was agreed on last year, the British film producers reckoned it would yield about $8,400,000 in a full year, but present returns indicate that the net is likely to fall be- low $7,300,000. This figure, too might prove over optimistic. On the basis of the present yield to the fund, producers are receiving a distribution equal to 29% of the gross. There are 648 British fea- tures currently in circulation quali- fying for a share in the Eady in- come. The bright side of the picture, so far as British producers are con- cerned, is the continued"improved earning capacity of British films in the domestic market. Rentals earned for the 39 weeks of the current Eady year total $14,798,- 000, an improvement of $1,892,000 for the same 39 weeks in the pre- vious period. Aussie Ozoners Hypoed By Hoyts, Greater Union Combine for Drive-Ins Sydney, May 31. Major pic loops, Hoyts and Greater Union Theatres, in asso- ciation with top independent cir- cuits, will spend about $1,685,000 on a drive4n circuit in the Sydney area. Present plan calls for five ozon- ers each estimated to cost $337,000. Spokesman for the new group said that the drive-ins would combine the most Up-to-date features found in the latest U. S. operations, with accommodations for 750 autos, j Surprise combo, since GU and Hoyts are big rivals, is seen as a move to prevent an opposition splurge in the ozoner field as well as a battle for control between ma- jors and minors. The independents are headed by Leon. Snider, who operates a strong country circuit, A. R. Payne and R. E. Pirano, nabe operators. Hoyts presently operates two ozoners in the Melbourne zone, AUSSIE INDIE DISTRIB DEAL Sydney, May 31. Ray Films, Indie distrib outfit headed by Ray Rushmer, signed a pact with Norman B. Katz for en- tire output of Associated Artists Productions Inc., covering 35m and 16m product for distribution here. Ray Films looks like developing into one of the major indie out- fits operating in,this zone. ,, 4 tl Honey’s Club in Paris Scores Via Low Scale j Paris, May 31. A new, reasonably-priced windup- pery has opened here, off the Champs-ISlysees,. in the Honey’s Club run by U. S. manager Herb Gentry, Gentry had a club here some five years ago and knows the Paris scene well enough to realize that a medium-priced club (with Intime show) could paY off in its appeal to the younger American Colony and the show biz set here. Biz was good when ogled. Blossom Dearie, plies her piano and song interlude and just skirts blue material with a knowing in- nocence that makes this a fine in- time boite entry. She has nice rhythm support from bassist Michel Finett. Bart Taylor. fills in' with the eighty-eights in a fine rep of standards. Club is open all night, glad-handing being split between Gentry and Al Dorsey. U.S. Pix Tighten Grip on Italo Biz Rome, May 31. Yank films increased their b.o. hold on Italian firstruns during April, racking up a strong 67% slice of the market as against an Italian cut of only 26%. Percent- ages of other countries were negli- gible. The U. S. percentage total also marks a rise over April figures in 1954, which stood at 52%,against 31% for local product. The strong Yank showing. in the month was aided by high figures totalled by such pix as “Sabrina” and “Rear Window,” both Par; 20th-Fox was second with its CinemaScopers (led by “Desiree”) giving that com- pany an amazing 27% slice of the Italian firstrun market, Totai firstrun gross for the month, set at about $1,750,000, ran slightly short of the March figure, though ahead of the figure for April in 1954. Famed German Circus Does Folderoo in Rome Rome, May 31, ’ The once-famed German Apollo Circus has come to the end of its long road here. A long string of bad luck, which included repeated storm damage, road accidents, in- juries, etc., have dogged the tent show during its extended Euro- pean travels. Climax during its final Roman stand was a disas- trously lagging boxoffice which caused attempted suicides, one week apart, of the circus owner and his wife. Closing sign went up over a week ago. Disposal of circus mena- gerie, as well as their feeding meanwhile, presented an increas- ingly pressing problem. Romans finally chipped in with coin and feedbags (government contributed some cash, as did Anna Magnani and Ingrid Bergman) to tide over the troupe until debts were paid and personnel sent home. German government agreed to repatriate the most-German members of the circus, while horses, bears, etc., were sold to pay off debts. \ ■ Cinex Plans Expansion Of Film Trade in U.S, Mexico City, May 31. Cinex, the semi-official company that controls distribution of Mexi- can pix abroad, is readying expan- sion of biz in the U. S., Europe and the Near East so that Mexi- can producers can garner more coin, said Mario Highland, Cinex submanager, as he planed to L. A., which will be his headquarters for direct supervision of Mexican film distribution along the U. S. west coast. Mexican films are- currently grossing more than $2,000,000 year- ly in exhibition in 550 cinemas of the U. S., Highland revealed. Mex- ican productions are placed state- side by exchanges in New York City, Chicago, San Antonio and L.. A. Montevideo, Uruguay, May 31. The vagaries of blue-pencillers are strange nearly everywhere, but nowhere are they as strange as across the river in Argentina, where they are now going in for telling film distributors what they must show instead of what Jhey must .not show. Over on that side, the Peron re- gime is in the throes of a bitter dispute with the Roman Catholic Church. It has rushed through the rubber-stamp Congress a bill sepa- rating Church and State, another making divorce legal, one granting illegitimate children the same rights as legitimates, has reopened red-light districts and has for- bidden religious instruction even in the Convents and Monasteries. The hassle has considerable re- percussions in show biz. On the one hand, a number of American pix were delayed getting release certificates because they had some religious connection^ Even one of the most costly native productions was denied a release certificate for nearly six months, until a sequence was cut which referred to the ephemeral nature of man’s ambi- tion and the eternal nature of Holy Church. Latest symptom of anti- Catholicism took another tack and its reported that RKO was “re- quested” to reissue “Joan of Arc," to run day-date in fbur firstruns because in this pic the church played an unsympathetic role with the Saint burned at the stake. Nevertheless, the censors are carrying out their task with dis- taste (or someone slipped up some- where) because Universal’s “Sign of Pagan” has been running two weeks at the Metropolitan ' in Buenos Aires. Some sequences in which the early history of the Roman Church get praise are re- ceived with cheers and applause by’audiences anxious to show par- tisanship with the Church. Arg. Army in Row With Opera Theatre Because C..0. Can’t Get Tickets Montevideo, Uruguay, May 31. Uruguayans who visited Buenos Aires recently have been amused to learn that a clash has occurred between the army there and the charges of “profiteering” and “speculation” in connection with the Parisian Lido Revue Co. now playing at the Opera. The Lido’s success has been even more sensa- tional, than that of the Folies Ber- gere last year. Although it has been playing for five weeks so far, it looks likely to stay on through June and perhaps July. The clash with the army occurred when a commanding officer sent one of his men to stand in line and purchase seats for him. After the soldier had queued almost an en- tire day, he finally got to the wicket only to be refused, stubs unless he paid a premium which he could not have on him. The C. O. refused to believe this story and had the sol- dier jailed for allegedly playing truant and trumping up this tale. On being sent to buy seats again, the soldier-citizen was determined not to get caught again, so spent the night outside the theatre to be first in line next morning. Notwith- standing, the boxoffice again denied him admission without a “premium,” so he called a cop and put in a charge of “agio” (profit-, eering). As a consequence the the- atre boxoffiqe has a police “inter- vention” clomped on if and the government closely inspects every stub. The gross at the Opera with this Lido show is around $18,000 a night. Early every morning long lines- of wouldbe spectators are pacing the sidewalks around the theatre trying to buy seats. Old Vic Co. Visits Ireland Dublin, June 7. Paul Rogers and Ann Tocld, heading the London Old Vic Co., visit Ireland for first time next week for a season at the Belfast Opera House and the Olympia here. Company has been on tour in Britain. Plays skedded for Irish staging aice “Macbeth” and “As You Like It” on a split-week basis. Robert Helpmann is directings