Variety (October 1955)

'VAKIITY'f' LONDON OWICI » It, Martin'* Nki, Trafalgar Sguara PSriety INTERNATIONAL 13 Vienna’s Hofburg Opens With 1825 Play Restored Theatre Still Shrine of German Language Classic Repertory—No Women Quests First Night +•--- Auto Show Booms Paris Legit With One Major CGck Out of 4 Newcomers; ‘Judas’ a Hit, ‘L’Orestie’ Only Limited By EMUi w. MAASS Vienna, • bet. 18. Aftefr nearly 10-years of camping out in makeshift quarters, the act¬ ing company of the Hofburg on the Ringstrasse returned Oct. 14 to the reconstructed edifice above whose portico is carved the full designa¬ tion— K. K. Hof Burg Theatre—K "for Kaiser of Austria, K for Koenig of Hungary, under the double eagles of.-the old Empire, symboliz¬ ing the united power of church and State. The English - speaking theatre world can perhaps appreciate only vaguely the awesome prestige of the Hofburg of Vienna to tfte legit¬ imate stage of the German-speak¬ ing countries. As a clerk in the Bank of England never errs with money the meticulously trained, ac¬ tors of the Hofburg never err* so runs the tradition, with the scan¬ ning of words and lines. Here German rhetoric is at the peak of perfection. Owned by the Austrian republic, one of the imperial properties ac¬ quired in 1919, the outward ap¬ pearance of the restored playhouse is almost exactly as before. The interior, too, is fairly clbse to the original with new seats, and equip¬ ment, of course. There are two guest boxes for V.I.P.'s. An innovation is an invisible iron curtain, no political signifi¬ cance to be inferred. An old Aus¬ trian law requires all theatres to have such curtains as a fire pre¬ ventive measure. Hundreds died early in the century in a dreadful theatre fire in Vienna. For the inaugural production the . Hofburg management (Rott- Schreyvogl) chose. Franz Grillpar- zer’s “King Ottokar’s' Rise and De¬ cline/’ which dates back to 1825. This was not a casual choice but followed a prolonged debate in the- press, and. the coffee houses. The piece would hardly qualify for Hollywood picturization but is in the classic mould of Hofburg rep¬ ertory. Tradition is enshrined in Vienna and changes are not lightly undertaken,: Significantly the cere¬ monial bf Oct. 14 was attended by the:4iplbmatic corps, heads of Gov¬ ernment and all sorts of celebrities but.no—note—women. Other scheduled premieres of classic dramas during the opening weeks are “Don Carlos" by Schil¬ ler, ‘‘Torquato Tasso" by Goethe, "The Prodigal” by Raimund, "The Concert" by Herman Bahr, “Port Royal” by Montherlant and "The Cold Light” by Zuckmayer. Ireland Files Request For 1956 Film Fest in Cork Cork, Oct. 18. Local Festival -Council here has made application to the Interna¬ tional Federation of Film Pro¬ ducers - Assn, for a Cork Film Fes¬ tival to be’included in the 1956 schedule. Project would be held in April, and decision is expected from the IFFPA meeting in Wash¬ ington this month. Regulations have been prepared for the event which would select “entries which, by technical use of picture and. sound, best demon¬ strates that the film is the most vigorous art, form of our time!" Jury would consist of three Irish nationals and two judges from out¬ side the country. Top award is to be Silver Statuette of St. Finbar (patron of Cork) for the best fea¬ ture, with bronze statuette for the best short or documentary. Other awards would go to top director, actor and actress. Jack Hylton Branches Into IMajor Pix Prod. London, Oct. 18. . Jac k Hylton is branching out into film production. He has set «P a new outfit in association with John .Baxter, and Basil Thomas and his venture starts, rolling im¬ mediately at Beaconsfield for Brit¬ ish Lion release. , . , ( ' Initial Hylton pic; "Ramsbottom Rides Again,” will star Arthur Askey, Frankie Vaughan and Sa- Rece ntly Hylton moved into the tv'field and is producing a se¬ ries of light programs for regular showing on the Associated-Redif- fusion commercial web in London. Sydney Palladium Drops Stageshows For Films Sydney, Oct. 11. Palladium here, run by Celeb¬ rity Theatres (headed by Harry Wren) on leasq from Hoyts’ The¬ atres,. quit the stageshow field and reverted back to-a film policy last week under the Hoyts’ banner. •With the exception of the Harlem Blackbirds, this house has had more flops than successes, stand¬ out being the failure of "Caine Mutiny Court Martial" with Lee Tracey and Ron Randall. Wren in a statement to the dailies denied that he was quitting the house for good. He plans a trip abroad shortly, and intends to book additional U.S. talent and shows for Down Under runs. Hurricane Hilda Flood Sloughs Cinema T^ade In Many Mex Key Cities Mexicb City, Oct. 8.. Following the Hurricane Hilda, flood waters have almost com¬ pletely inundated ' the State of Tamulipas area, forcing more j than 75,000 residents' from their homes there. Worst hit was the port city of Tampico, which has been, more or less, wiped off the exhibition map with the wrecking of nearly every theatre in town. Previous to the floods, there were seven cinemas there. As of this week, only two were attempting to function periodically, one was de¬ stroyed, two were under 75 feet of watei*and only partially visible while the remaining two had walls that were expected to crumble any moment. To add to the exhibitors’ problems, communication and transportation facilities have ceased to function completely. Even the Reforma and the Al¬ hambra, the houses still operating, have only a few reels left that were not shown before the storms struck. Throughout the entire . flood area almost no other cinemas have been left standing. Latest casualty was Cine Tamesi in Ciudad Ma- dero, where the ceiling crumpled. No patrons were present when the cavein occurred. The nearby state of Vera Cruz is also having difficulties with the capital city, Jalapa, and the coffee center, Coatapec, filmless for weeks. Situation for exhibs and distribs throughout the entire flood area is grave and confabs between the national chamber of the picture industry and the various state au¬ thorities are already taking place Government aid is expected to help rebuild theatres throughout the section, with emphasis placed on the immediate need for some form of amusement to aid popu¬ lation morale. Majority of towns in this area had at least one local "cine palace" and natives were inveterate film fans, with whole familiies attend¬ ing two tq three times per week. Top local film government sources will , step in and push rapid reno¬ vations if only to build political fences in the entire area, once floods have subsided somewhat. Co-Prods. Now Favored By Yugoslav Pix Units Belgrade, Oct. 11. With four feature films made in coproduction with foreign part¬ ners, planners of Yugoslav motion picture industry now are favoring the coproduction idea. Of the four coproductions, only two fea¬ ture the National Liberation war. The w.k. German film director, Helmut Keutner, directed "The Last Bridge" hei'e. This is a psy¬ chological drama about a German woman doctor connected with Yugoslav partisans during the war. The Norwegian film director, Kore Bergstrem, and the best Yugoslav film director, Rados Novakovic, produced the Yugoslav-Norwegian film, "The Bloody Road.” This features* the friendship developed in the last war between Yugoslav partisans and the Norwegian pop¬ ulation in the notorious Nazi camp called "The Bloody Road.’ Assoc. British Appoints Thomas Head of Tele. Co. London, Oct. 11. An internal switch has taken place within the production divi¬ sion of Associated British, follow¬ ing the appointment of Howard Thomas as managing director of the group’s new tv company, which will operate the Birmingham and Manchester commercial networks at weekends. . The production division has now been cut into two sections. The newsreel department will be under the control of G. T. Cummins, who will double as executive producer and editor. Terry Ashwood has been .named to head production and will take charge of Pathe Pic¬ torial, documentary work, tv, li¬ brary and sound setup. India Claims 2d Largest Film Biz Washington, Oct. 18. India claims the second largest motion picture industry in .the world, on the basis of footage pro¬ duced, according to Indian claims. The Indian Embassy here says: "There are about 600 producers, 60 studios, 40 laboratories and nearly 600 distributors of Indian films. Approximately $88,200,000 are invested in this industry. About 300 pictures are produced annually, mostly in local languages and dealing with themes of Indian interest. The stress is mainly on music and drama, and by Western standards the pictures are inclined to be lengthy. "There are about 3,500 cinema houses in which the annual attend¬ ance is estimated at 600,000,000. The government of India maintains a film division of its own which produces many documentary shorts of educational and special inter¬ est." Illustrated report says also the national system has 24 broadcast stations and uses 44 medium and short wave frequencies. It says there are about 850,000 private ra¬ dio sets and over 10,000 commu¬ nity sets in use. There is no men¬ tion of telev. Austria’s ’Snow’ Paced Top Grossing Pix Last Month in W. Germany Berlin, Oct. 11. The Austrian film, "Three Men In'the Snow," was the top grosser last month in West Germany’s eight most important key cities, in¬ cluding West Berlin. The German film, “The Rats" (winner of this year’s film festival here), took second spot, while the Gallic fea¬ ture. "Nana," was third best. "08/15 Part Two” and "Beloved Enemy,” both German films, were next in total grosses. Studio activity continues in West Berlin at full speed. Federal award winner Alfred Weidenmann is di¬ recting "Alibi” at the Tempelhof studios for Fama. O. E. Hasse, whose ace role as "Canaris” won him strong popularity here, has the lead. Europa will release this one. Rerolina is shooting a remake of the "Three From the Filling station." Directed by Hans Wolf, it will be released by Herzog. “Studentin Helene Willfuehr,” based on a Vickiy Baum yarn, is the title of a new CCC pic.. Rudolf Jugert is directing this film which Constantin v/ill distribute. "Wovon Man Spricht" (Of What They Talk) is an Alfu production which has Wolfgang Lukschy, Ingeborg Schoe- ner, Lutz Moik and Jan Hendrikp in the top roles. Max Nosseck is directing. Fono’s “Devil in Silk,” a Lili Palmer starrer; CCC’s musical, "Love, Dance and' 1000 Songs"; "My Children and I," another Fono production, and "Son Without Home" (HD) were completed re¬ cently. In East Berlin, six pictures are currently in work. ‘Eye of God* Cinema • Vienna, Oct. 11. "Eye of God" is the queer name of the latest erected film house here. It is in a huge hotel building. The hall was formerly used by various societies for big social events and later also as stage house. It is now equip¬ ped with C’Scope. Whitman. Set for 8-Wk. British Variety Tour London, Oct. 11. Slim Whitman, whose booking for the London Hippodrome in October has fallen tlmough, as he cannot get release from a Denver contract, will definitely play in Britain next' February. Lew and Leslie Grade, who have fixed the deal, say he will be here from Feb. 27, for a variety tour of at least eight weeks. The sudden rise in popularity of the c&w* singer has been one of this year’s recording sensations. His waxing of “Rose Marie" has been at the top of the best-selling record lists here for over two months, and more of his disks are creeping up the frame. German Actor Sues On Changing of Pic Title; , Seen Setting Precedent Frankfurt, Oct. 18. The right of an actor to protect his prestige when he feels that it. is decreased because of a film title change is the basis of an interest¬ ing lawsuit now pending. Final outcome may be a precedent-setter in determining the rights of actors in general to self-protection of per¬ sonality once a picture in which they took, part is completed. The safeguard to an actor about changes in a film in which he played has heretofore not been legally defined. Curd Juergens, a top name in the German film industry (won award at recent Venice Film Fest for his lead in "Der Teufels Gen¬ eral"), completed his starring role in a film called, under his contract, “Schweigepflicht” (Duty to Si¬ lence), made in Beilin for CCC’ Films. • Then, on the suggestion of Gloria Films, who had contracted to distribute the picture, the pro¬ ducer changed the title to “Du mein stilles Tal" (You My Still Valley), which is the title of an old folksong in Germany, and inserted scenes which made the title appro¬ priate to the picture. The title and the folksy .aspects, producer and distributor maintained, would con¬ tribute to the film’s success in Germany. ’Juergens, who filed for an in¬ junction against the film, said that with the new title and changes, which he had never approved, it was no longer a serious, important picture. This, he said, was damag¬ ing to his prestige as an actor. His injunction was granted by the lower court. As a result of the enforcement of the injunction, the showings of the film can be halted when he puts $37,000 in bond against any possible damages that stopping the film might cause. It is understood that the case will go to a higher court. Europe’s Pic Union May Operate Sans Germany Frankfurt, Oct. 18. Dr. Guenther Schwarz, head of the German Film Export Union, has just returned from a meeting in Paris with general director Rob¬ ert Cravenne of Unifrance, and general director Emmanuele Cas- suto of Unitalia. The group was discussing the proposed formation of a European Film Union. Gen¬ eral feeling here is that Germany will take little action or even show little interest in the project. With Unitalia and the Export Union debating over the possibili¬ ties of common advertising and publicity on films, it seems that no coordinated action will take place unless Germany joins the Union.- Italy and France apparently also feel that Germany is taking a “count me out" position. German film industry’s attitude has been explained as “reflecting the gov¬ ernment’s feeling regarding film politics.” For the third party in the Euro¬ pean Union, England will probably be invited to participate. Paris, Oct. 18. Legit biz is still booming here as plays, both old and new, open at the rate of four or five per week. Auto show, of course, is a big help. Of the four newcomers, one looks like a major hit, one' prestige short-run and two with moderate to fair .chances. Most important piece was the Marcel Pagnol biblical opus, “Judas," at the newly refurbished Theatre De Paris, run by Elvire Popesco. This emerges as a bibli¬ cal extravaganza which uses as its springboard the reasons for Judas’ betrayal of Christ. It is sort of earthy, aside to the Passion Play, and thus has a visual and specta¬ cle pull. This combined with the Pagnol name may make this. Pagnol has added comic asides spoken by truculent Roman sol¬ diers and anachronistic lingo such as a Roman corporal not allowing the disciples to approach the tomb of Christ. Play is well acted and mounted m the grandiose old style which still has some eye appeal. This will probably have a run ; but does not seem to have the in¬ terest and apneal for Broadway, since it lacks the fantasy whimsy of a “Green Pastures.” It is more appropriate for a film- version where it can be given more scope ard interest. Pagnol may direct and produce such a pic himseli in Israel next year. Ambitious Greek Tragedy Jean-Louis Barrault - Madeleine Renaud Co. started its Parisian season at the Marigny, with an ambitious rendition of the Greek tragedy, “L’Orestie.” of Eschyles, adapted by Andre Obey. Produc¬ tion aspects are impressive, and masks and choir are used to tell the tale of the tragedy of the mur¬ der of the returned warrior Aga¬ memnon by his wife Clytemnestre. Though critics here pussyfooted around this, and lauded it for its determination and try, it appears in for a limited prestige run. Act¬ ing is uneven with only Marie Bell giving a depth to her role as the sensual, murderess Clytemnestre. Theatre La Bruyere has a farce in Germaine Lefrancq’s "Monsieur et Mesdames Kluck,” which has the familiar situation of a stage¬ coach driver who has a wife at each end of his line.. He has mar¬ ried both and is living a happy bigamous existence until his wives meet. Set in the middle 19th Cen¬ tury. it has some savory folk ap¬ peal. Director Georges Vitaly has given this pacing and plenty of laughs. Dialog is blue at times. Play is well acted and may have a moderate run here. This does not have the qualities for Broadway chances. Comcdie De Paris has a first play by Michel Sinniger in "Celui Qui Ne Groyait Pas” (He Who Did Not Believe), which takes place in medieval times and recounts the attempt of a. man to redeem his friend who has fallen under the sway of the devil and has become evil. Despite some bright acting and some taking dramatic mo¬ ments, it has a tendency to make the players subordinate to the theme. This is mainly of interest in denoting a new playwright to Sinniger who may be heard from later. Present opus will probably not be around very long. BCFC to Release Pix In Japan for Columbia London, Oct. 11. British pictures are to be re¬ leased in Japan via Columbia Pix for the next three years under a deal recently concluded by the British Commonwealth Film Corp. The BCFC is the collective agency for handling British product in that country. Hitherto, the films had been released via the Nippon Cinema Corp. British films are allocated a total of 15 licenses a year, as against 121 for American product. Of this total, six are allotted to Lon¬ don Films and its output is dis¬ tributed by a local company. The remaining nine, representative of the British Film Producers Assn., will now be handled by Columbia under a deal closed by William Moffat, BCFC’s resident director in Tokyo.