Variety (December 1955)

Wednesday, December 2#, 1955 P'X'fHETY ItAOTO-TEIJEYXSIOiy 27 ’56 POSERS-ALLOCATIONS, TINT Prudential Wins—Hands Down Hollywood, Dec. 27. Placement of the hands in the traditional “September Morn” pose is “obscene,” in the opinion of Calkins & Holden Inc.. ad agency for Prudential Life Insurance Co., sponsors of CBS-TV “You Are There,” Prudential and agency stopped airing of “Cardiff Giant” episode because, according to agency toppers, replica of. “Giant” had its hands “in„an obscene position.” It’s understood “Giant” can’t be aired until scenes are changed to show hands in a “proper” position. Director Bernard Girard stated while client has censorship perogatives, “Giant” replica was filmed in exact position the stone was supposed to have -been found. James Fonda produces series. Those Tampered-With Scripts Flender’s Protest on Kraft’s ‘Xmas Dinner’ Recalls Similar Complaint Year Ago + --- N.Y. Mayors Okay Believed Near - + Last week’s • protest by Harold Flender to the New York Times that the script of his play, “A Christmas Dinner,” had been al¬ tered to its detriment by “Kraft TV Theatre” on NBC-TV, is not the first complaint by an author repre¬ sented on the Kraft series. Flender did not receive credit for the re¬ vised version. By coincidence. James Barton, who starred on last week’s show, but was praised for his performance, figured in a vehe¬ ment dissent to Variety by a spokesman for another playwright. Carl Allensworth, on a Kraft pro¬ gram about a year ago called “One Man and a Million.” It was charged by Allenworth's wife that the script was changed, that Barton, in his dramatic teledebut, engaged, in a number of ad libs, that Ver¬ monters (that was the locale) were “caricatured” and that an author is not in a good position to see his work on tv develop along original intentions, although aware of cer¬ tain upbeat factors where depar¬ tures help a script. It’s an old “playwrights vs. pro¬ ducers” story. Some authors are so anxious to “get on the air” that they can’t afford to “do a George Bernard Shaw,” meaning to insist on the play being followed to the letter. Others agree to certain proposed changes they figure will be constructive. Some don’t care. Still others insist that their work not be tampered with, but most of these are writers of major stat¬ ure, with their “names” at stake. It’s no secret that a socalled “fin¬ ished script” is strictly a phrase in numerous cases. The ms. has to go through the sponsor-agency wringer in many instances. As re¬ sult, some llth-hour changes are made with or without the author’s knowledge and the latter gets the first “fe?l” of the show when he actually sees it. * Agents for writers are well aware that if their clients are not on hand (in New York and Hollywood in the main), “anything can happen.” Most of the important scripters have had to establish residence in N. Y. or L. A. to help in prepro¬ duction stages. CBS-TVs Series On Gen. Fremont Hollywood, Dec. 27. Interest in proposed - series on life of Gen. John F. Fremont lias been sold by Steve - Cochran and Harrison (Red) Reader to CBS- TV, with Hubbell Robinson Jr., net v. p., closing deal after Harry Ack¬ erman opened talks for web. Ack¬ erman will supervise the Vidfilming and also have a piece of the prop¬ erty, as per his CBS-TV pact, along "ith net and Robert Alexander Productions (indie firm in which Cochran and Reader partner). John Dunkel- has been set by Ackerman to script series, with Cochran presumably to star. Tenta¬ tive title is “The Trailmaker,” al- tjiough Fremont was always tagged The Pathfinder” in histories. When first conceived by Cochran and Reader, series got attention by Planning as a pilot a succession of ulmed highlights from the whole Project, in the manner of a theatri¬ cal film trailer. Window Display! Hollywood, Dec. 27. For the fifth time, a “Cli¬ max” tv scripts is headed for feature film treatment. This time, however, the negotia¬ tions for the purchase of the script began two weeks ago— and the play, “Bail Out at 43,- 000,” won’t be televised until Thursday (29). Dudley Pictures, Inc., is trying to buy the teleplay from CBS which has previously sold “The Jimmy Piersall Story” and “Portrait in Celluloid,” to Paramount and “To Deal a Blow” and “To Wake at Mid¬ night,” to Allied Artists. , GE*s ‘No Star Or Writer Too Big For Sun. Dramas With the CBS-TV Sunday night “General Electric Theatre” grab¬ bing off fifth spot on the latest Nielsen sweepstakes, packagers MCA and the BBD&O agency are taking no chances on its slipping. Show has lined up.for winter and spring one of the most powerful star and writer rosters in video, a lineup that many a full-hour and even spectacular showcaser would envy. Topping the list are Paul Muni, Kirk Douglas, Bette Davis and James Stewart. Muni has been pencilled in for March 4, when he plays the lead in a Sinclair Lewis short story, “A Letter to the Queen,” which is being adapted by D. J Powers. Douglas will star "in a James Costigan original, “The Ballad of Mender McClure,” on Jan. 15, with Vincent Price fea¬ tured. Miss Davis makes her live video bow Feb. 26 in an adaptation of Paul Bowles’ short story “At Paso Rojas.” Stewart will appear in a trilogy in March, a western being scripted by Borden Chase which he will then convert into a feature. Others set for winter exposure are Ricardo Montalban, who does Norman Katkov's “Esther Van’s Legacy” Jan. 8; Joan Fontaine, playing in Larry Marcus’ “Home- (Continued on page 61) COX NAMED COUNSEL IN FCC’S UHF PROBE Washington, Dec. 27. K/enneth Coxp a Seattle, Wash., lawyer,- is the new special counsel for the Senate Interstate Com¬ merce Committee inquiry into the relationship of network operations to UHF problems. The Commit¬ tee is scheduled to start hearings Jan. 17 when it will call members of the FCC to testifying on alloca¬ tion policies. Cox, who is 39, succeeds Sidney Davis who resigned as special coun¬ sel last summer to undergo treat¬ ment for a spinal condition. Cox I has been a partner in the Seattle firm of Little, Lesourd, Palmer, 1 Scott & Siemmons. By JACK LEVY Washington, Dec. 27. After three years of enormous expansion, during v'hich the num¬ ber of stations has quadrupled and the aggregate gross has doubled, the television industry faces 1956 with two major dilemmas: the al¬ location problem and color. Whether the allocation puzzle w r ill be solved in the coming year is highly questionable. Proposals submitted in connection with the current proceedings seem to con¬ fuse, rather than clarify, the situ¬ ation. The UHF forces, in their battle for survival, have tempo¬ rarily stymied the FCC in its effort to junk the service. The recent Court of Appeals order staying the allocation of a VHF channel in the Albany, N.Y., area may be followed by similar action on VHF grants in UHF cities. If that happens, there’s little prospect of more than a few hew tv stations in 1956. While a forced “freeze” on VHF grants in intermixed cities will en¬ courage the UHF stations to hang on in the hope the Commission will still buy deintermixture, it’s ob¬ vious that some will have to give up. How many is the big question. However, it’s conceivable that more stations .will fold next year than will be established. If that occurs, 1956 will be the first year since the lifting- of the freeze (1952) in which the trend in station expan¬ sion is reversed. Political Football? ^ With Democratic Party prospects for electing the next president 1 brighter than they were a few' months ago, the allocation bungle might W'ell become a political foot¬ ball. The Senate Interstate Com¬ merce Committee, under Chairman Warren Magnuson (D-Wash.) is scheduled to start hearings Jan. 17 on UHF. Also, some time in Janu¬ ary the House Small Business Sub¬ committee, under Rep. Joe Evans (D-Tenn.) is expected to takfe a look at FCC operations, with an eye on possible preference to big operators. Whether these inquiries will expedite or delay solution of the allocation problem remains to be seen. Not entirely detached from the allocation issue is color which is expected to emerge from infancy in 1956. So far, the predictions that tint W'ould make inroads by this time have fallen flat. The most op¬ timistic forecast that the Radio- Electronics - TV Manufacturers Assn. w r as willing to make for next year is that at least 250,000 sets will be sold. That would be about 3% of the expected black and white sales—if the forecast is borne out. Although RCA is staking big chips on color, there’s doubt here that the national economy has reached the point where mass pur¬ chasing of receivers costing $800 to $900 can be obtained. Thousands of letters received by FCC on the toll tv issue indicated that a siz¬ able portion of tv viewers owe money on their sets—a reason they gave for opposing subscription. How then, it’s asked, could they afford color? Not until the price has come dow'n to $500 or less and tuning problems are solved, it’s believed, can color become an important fac¬ tor in the industry. It doesn’t look as if these.things will happen in 1956. The Freeze Is On Boston. Dec. 27. Su b z e r o weather forced WXHR-FM off the air. A break in the 200-foot an¬ tenna located on Mt. Zion in Woburn, Mass., conked the sta¬ tion off the air Wednesday night (21). John R. Thornton, general manager of the station, said that temporary repairs were underway, but until the break W'as located, the station would be off the air. Britain’s Top 10 London, Dec. 27. Commercial tv has collared all the first 10 places in the latest program ratings. Still holding the lead is “Sunday night at the Palladium,” with “Theatre Royal” and “I Love Lucy” tying for second place. “Dragnet” has moved up to fourth position, “Roy Rogers” is number five and “Figure Skating” is in sixth place. Three features secured equal rating for seventh place, “Rob¬ in Hood,” “Take Your Pick” and “Stage One.” “Jack Hyl¬ ton’s Half Hour.” “Douglas Fairbanks Presents” and "Gunsmoke” w-ere level peg¬ ging for 10th place. At the same time, a new Nielsen rating indicates the growing audiences for the commercial web. It is now- reckoned they’ve achieved their target of 2.000,000 view¬ ers in the London area, based on latest figures showing 527.- . 000 receivers equipped to. tune in to the alternative wave¬ length. It is estimated that there are Sfh average of 3.9 viewers to each receiver. Closed-Circuit TV For Sticks With NBC, ABC Shows A new' type of television service to small communities without serv¬ ice at present is being prepped by Trans-Communily-Television Inc., a new' corporation headed by onetime KFMB-TV (San Diego) owner Jack Gross. The new' group, of which Gross is board chairman and Je¬ rome L. Doff prez, has just signed “affiliation” contracts wdth both NBC-TV and ABC-TV. Trans-Community w'ill comprise wired systems in the communities which it services, but unlike exist¬ ing community antenna opera¬ tions, will originate all programs locally instead of picking them out of the air with an antenna set¬ up and feeding them to subscrib¬ ers. Each setup W'ill be equipped with tw'o live cameras and a projec¬ tion unit, and programming w'ill consist of netw'ork film show's and kinnies, plus other film shows plus some local live programs in the form of new's shows, etc. New' outfit isn’t taking over ex¬ isting community antenna situa¬ tions. it’s understood, but is build- ink its own facilities in hitherto untapped territories. First of these is to be in Cedar City, Utah, start¬ ing . in January, and Trans-Com¬ munity hopes to have 50 such sys¬ tems in operation by the end of 1956. Netw’orks will supply film and kinnies—as many as the set¬ up can handle—at flat fees of $500 per month. Trans-Community, in¬ cidentally, is headquartered in Bev¬ erly Hills, but Doff was in N. Y. (Continued on page 30> Marshall Bumps Godfrey Decision by the city of New' York to cooperate with- Ted Granik and Screen Gems in opening its files to them for a filmed television show., “The New York City Story,” may be forthcoming from Mayor Robert F. Wagner’s office soon, it’s been learned. When the Mayor first an¬ nounced the project a couple of months ago, it became a cause celebre with the press, which lermed it a “giveaway” in light of previous offers to pay for access to the files. Also a factor w-as Major Wagner’s former associa¬ tion with Granik’s law firm. Project was left hanging in mid¬ air after the smoke had cleared on the show', but it's understood that a decision will be made on the project shortly, effect of which would be to open the files of vari¬ ous municipal departments and make available to the producers key personnel to act as consultants. Also a major factor is police co¬ operation for filming the series on location.throughout the city. A sec¬ ondary hassle was created, inci¬ dentally, when Police Commission¬ er Stephen Kennedy refused to open his files to Granik. Granick is reportedly talking to NBC with the latter to get his first crack at the show if the city gives its blessings. Program would be filmed in dramatic form, with a permanent host-narrator who would also act in some of the films. Tliis would be a fictional personi* fication of the ci 4 ly government in the form of an official whose work' brings him into contact with all city departments. Series would by no means be limited to crime and detection, but would embrace the work of all departments in wel¬ fare, public service, etc. activities." While files would be used, the show’s scripters would sometimes take dramatic liberties with the case histories for purposes of showmanship and public relations. Welles’‘Dybbuk’ As NBC-TV Spec? Alex Segal, the tv director, has returned to the N.Y. scene of video operations upon completion of his Metro pic and is scheduled to do the March “Producers Showcase” 90-minute attraction. Segal has been talking to the Showcase Pro¬ ductions, packagers of the spec (Sol and Henry Jaffe), with an eye toward putting on “The Dybbuk,” for which he has a casting okay from Claire Bloom as the femme lead. Segal wants Orson Welles for the lead, if the latter’s legit plans permit. Negotiations are still on. Segal’s NBC deal calls for two dramatic specs this season. Dozier’s ‘Deal a Blow’ Bought for Films “Deal a Blow,” the Christopher winning half-hour show presented recently on “Climax.” has been bought* by RKO pix for a feature film. The Robert Dozier drama, in which Jaime MacArllntr made his acting debut, wont for a deal which called for a sizable down payment plus a percentage of the profits until the total readied $50,000. The Daniel Hollywood Agency For the first time since it’s been on, Arthur Godfrey’s CBS Radio ayemer took a thorough thumping in N. Y. from a competing local audio stanza. Jerry Marshall’s ••Make Believe B a 11 r o o m" on WNEW beat him in each of their six opposing quarter-hour seg¬ ments, Pulse shows. Marshall has been crowding God¬ frey for the past five months or so.Jjut never so unanimously. (In November, Marshall beat the ex- king five out of six.) Latest Pulse survey gave Marshall a 5.8 total for in and out of home listening, while Godfrey in N. Y. got a 4.9. Latter was undisputed No. 1 for five years. ropped Dozier in the deal. Bing’s Buy Okayed j Washington, Dec. 27. Bing Crosby became one-third owner of stations KFEQ and j KFEQ-TV in St. Joseph, Mo., last ; week when the FCC approved j transfer of the outlets to Midland Broadcasting Co. The acter- I singer’s partners in Midland are | broadcaster Kenyon Brown, of Wichita Falls, Tex., and George L. Coleman, of Miami, Okla Midland paid $550,000 for the