Variety (April 1956)

12 INTERNATIONAL PfirtiEfy •VARIETY'*' LONDON OFFICI t St. Martin's Placa, Trafalgar Squar* London Film Biz Holds Sturdy Pace; ‘Safari’ Sock $7,5001st Three Days; Fair Hefty $9,900 For First Five London, April 17. The sturdy pace of West End firstrun business was maintained in the last stanza, with above-average returns reported from a number of situations, “Safari” finished its first three days with a sock $7,500 and was heading for a smash $14,000 in its initial frame-at the Empire. At the Odeon, Marble Arch, “The Harder They Fall” opened in great style with a hefty $9,900 in its first five days, and prospects of a solid $13,400 on the full round. “The Vagabond King” made a disappointing start at. the Plaza and its opening week is un¬ likely to reach $7,000. “The Man Who Never Was” is holding up as a smash attraction at the Carlton, despite the fact that its West End run is concurrent with general release. The third sesh hit a fancy $10,800, slightly better than the pervious week. “Miracle in the Rain” did a sur¬ prise $10,700 at the Warner, an-d “Alexander the Great” maintained its boff rating with a great $14,200 in its second week at the Odeon, Leicester Square. Estimates for Last Week Carlton (20th) (1,128; 70-$1.70)— ‘“Ihe Man Who Never Was” (20th) (4th wk). Likelv $8,500. Over $10.- 800 previous frame. “Carousel” (20th) preems. .today (Tues.). Casino (Indie) (1,337; 70-$2.15) —“Cinerama Holiday” (Robin) (7th wk). Still big at over $12,000. Empire (M-G) (3,099; 55-$1.70) —“Safari” (Col) (1st wk). with big $7,500 for first weekend (three days) with prospects of great $14,000 for full week. Gaumont (CMA) (1,500; 50-$1.70) —“The Feminine Touch” (Rank) (2nd wk). Steady $5,600 or near. Topped $7,000 opening week. “Magic Fire” (Rep) follows AP riI 19. Leicester Square Theatre (CMA) (1,376; 50-$1.70)—“The Tomahawk and the Cross” (Rank) and “The Price of Fear” (Rank) (1st wk). Heading for sturdy $8,100 after neat $5,200 in opening weekend. London Pavilion (UA) (1.217; 50- $1.70)—“Charley Moon” (BL) (1st wk). Mild $4,700. Holds one more week. Odeon, Leicester Square (CMA) (2,200; 50-$1.70)—“Alexander the Great” (UA) (3rd wk). Heading for smash $12,000. Around $14,200 in previous week. Odeon, Marble Arch (CMA) (2,- 200; 50-$1.70)—“The Harder They Fall” (Col) (1st wk). Well above average with likely $13,400 this frame, after great $9,900 in first five days. Plaza (Par) (1.902; 70-$1.70)— “The Vagabond King” (Par) (1st wk). Below hopes at under $7,000. Rialto (20th) (592; 50-$1.30)— “Oasis” (20th) (2nd wk). Moder¬ ate $2,000. F?ir $3,300 first week. Ritz (M-G) (432; 50-S1.30)— “Deep in My Heart” (M-G) (2nd wk). Steady $2,800. Studio One (APT) (600; 30-$1.20) —“African Lion” (Disnev) and "Blue Men of Morocco” (Disney) (2nd wk). Fancy $5,300. Warner (WB) (1.785; 50-$1.70)— “Miracle in the Rain” (WB) (2nd wk). Neat $7,500. Fine $10,700 opening sesh. BBC DFI FCATION DUE IN U.S.S.R.NEXT MONTH London. April 17. Under a reciprocal arrangement a BBC delegation is going, to Mos¬ cow next month at the invitation cf Soviet broadcasting authorities. The trip has been organized by the Soviet Relations Committee of the British Council and follows a Rus- New Scot Film Outfit Formed in Glasgow Glasgow, April 10. A new film company, formed here, will be called Anvil Films (Scotland) Ltd. It is an offshoot of the former Crown Film Unit, disbanded in 1952. Directors are Ken Cameron, Ralph May, Richard Warren and Ken Scrivener. May was in charge of the Crown unit from 1950 to 1952. First assignment of the new company will be an entertainment film for the Children’s Film Foun¬ dation. Titled “The Highland Trail,” it’s based on an original story by Alastair MacTavish Dun- nett. It will be directed by Kay Mander, femme director. Mammoth German ‘Wind’ Run Winds Berlin, April 10. After numerous prolongations, Metro's “Gone With the Wind” final¬ ly completed its mammoth run at the local Kurbel. Film preemed Dec. 3, 1953, has has been shown ever since at this cinema, with 'hree performances daily, attract¬ ing a total of 600,000 customers Opened [Kn all, within 122 weeks 3,032 per formances have taken place, thus registering an alltime longriin rec¬ ord for the divided city. “Wind” was replaced April 6 by the Gallic feature, “Napoleon,” released here by Allianz. Walter Jonigkeit, owner of the. Kurbel (and also of the Delphi Palast here), certainly made Ger¬ man film history with “Wind.” Un¬ usual longrun not only became the talk of the local press but also con¬ tributed to make the Selznick clas¬ sic head the list of those pix which garnered the most playdates dur¬ ing the last five years in this coun¬ try’s eight most important key cities. Jonigkeit, incidentally, has al¬ ways shown strong interest in for¬ eign, notably American films. Also, during the Nazi years, he showed American pix as long as possible. His last Hollywood film at the Kur¬ bel, “Union Pacific” (Par), ran Sept. 6-12, 1940. And the Kamera; another Joriigkeit house (bombed out during the war and located now in what became this city’s Soviet sector), showed as last American film Paramount’s “Double or Noth¬ ing” in 1940. Only the prohibi¬ tion of Yank features by the Nazis in 1940 forced Jqnigkeit to skip Hollywood product. Ain’t Actors Human? Scot Parker Visit Stirs Row Edinburgh, April 10. U.S. actor Fess Parker, here on» his Davy . Crockett p.a. tour, sparked off a row in the local council when the civic boss, Lord Provost Sir John Banks, left the council chamber to keep an ap¬ pointment with him. Councillors shouted “Scandal” and “Shocking” when the Provost said he would have to go and re¬ ceive Davy Crockett. One council¬ lor shouted: ‘.‘Would it be possible to inform us when. Marilyn Monroe is coming to this city?” Sir John Banks said later; “Why shouldn’t I meet Davy Crockett? He has given great pleasure to _____ iv ,, ro „ „ Ul 1 .j ni ^ ons °t‘ children and grown- sian broadcasting delegation which ups a11 round the world.” toured the United Kingdom last Parker delivered greetings from year- : the Mayor of Los Angeles, The British delegation, which will be away for just over a week, will be led by J. B. Clark, direc¬ tor of external broadcasting; and will include R. T. B! Wynn, chief engineer; F. Gillard, chief assis¬ tant to the director . of sound broadcasting; A. E. Barker, depu¬ ty news editor; Leonard Miall. head of tv .talks; S, ft. Watson, head of tv designs.department; and A, Goldberg.: program organizer of the BBC’s Russian section. Austro Lyricist Prez Vienna, April 10. Austrian lyricists formed their own association, electing. Rudolf Berdach as president and. Hans Ilauenstein v.p. Plan. is to intervene at various institutions, mainly broadcasting, to get more attention for Austrian production. Austrian radio plays •less than 50% local output. Folkdance Specialists Revealing All to Japan Tokyo, April 10. Five folkdance specialists ar¬ rived in Japan last week for a five- week tour of the country to demon¬ strate their art to the Nipponese. They are traveling under a grant from the U. S. Dept, of State and are sponsored in Japan by the Asahi Newspapers and the Na¬ tional Recreation Assn. Heading group are Mr. and Mrs. Michael Herman, directors of Folk Dance House, New York. Others are Ralph Page, Miss Nelda Lind¬ say and Miss Jane Farwell, Yank Distribs Win Over 102 Jap Licenses Tokyo, April 17. The Japanese government policy for import of foreign films during 1956-57 fiscal year has been for¬ mally announced by the Finance Ministry, which has adopted essen- ‘ionally the recommendations made to it by a committee which investigated the problem. Although the ministry did not state the amount of foreign cur¬ rency to be allowed for import of films, it was expected that the fig¬ ure of $11,500,000 suggested by the committee would be adopted. Strong hike in remittance rates from last year’s basic 14% and 19% to 22% and 25%, respectively, give reason to believe the sug¬ gested allotment will be made. It is expected that at least $9,500,- 000 will be required to take care, of the remittance payments under the new rates. Also indicative ‘ of the Japanese improved financial staje was the removal of flat buy ceilings with the exception of those earned through successful export of Jap¬ anese films. In the latter case, im¬ porter-exporters who earn at least $30,000 from export of a Japanese picture will be allowed to bring in one picture over quota for which they can,pay no more than $10,000. MPEA companies in Japan were allotted a to^al of 102.09 licenses to be divided by MPEA under its global division system. Ministry set April 30 as deadline for filing of MPEA per-company allocations. After that time, if MPEA does not decide, it is expected the ministry will make its own divisions. Other global areas got a total of 19.91 li¬ censes; non-dollar area quota was 42.42. Scotland Claims Record On Kids’ Attendance; Effects Seen Very Good Glasgow, April 17. More children go to the cinema in Scotland than in any other coun¬ try in the world, according to Stanley Reed, British Film Insti¬ tute secretary. In a speech here, he said the cinema-going habit becomes heav¬ ier as one progresses from the south of Britain to the north. The highest incidence in Scotland vyas in Aberdeen. Average attendance for the whole of Britain was 24,000,000 a week, but that didn’t represent a cross-section of the community. Two-thirds did not go very often. Those who did go very frequently were mainly young persons, the peak of cinema-going being in the 18-20 age group. ' Reed said a lot Of nonsense is written and spoken, sometimes in law courts,* by people who should know better, about the effects of filmgoing. Film was a highly emo¬ tional and powerful medium, and its appeal was very direct. Brit. ‘Fanfare’ Filmed London, April 17. ABC-TV’S “Film Fanfare,” which was originally screened live from tlieir Birmingham studios, is now being pre-filmed at Elstree. In this way the 45-minute program is given a more lavish treatment, in¬ cluding backgrounding by a 40- piece orchestra. . "Film Fanfare” is now being, di¬ rected by Don Sharp and - pro¬ duced by Terry Ashwood., It is networked on the London an,d Birmingham commercial channels. Int i Dramatic Fest in Paris To Draw Entries From Over World ----f M. Monroe to London For ‘Prince’ in Aug. Edinburg, April 10. Marilyn Monroe is due to arrive* in England Aug. 1 to start filming “The Sleeping Prince,” her co-star, Sir Laurence Olivier, revealed here.' Her work on the film at Pine- wood Studios will take approxi¬ mately six weeks. Sir Laurence, here to see his wife Vivien Leigh opens in a new Noel Coward comedy, “South Sea Bubble,” said his next film will be “Macbeth,” with himself as Mac¬ beth and his wife as Lady Mac¬ beth. It will be lensed in 1957. “South Sea Bubble,” a comedy in • the best Coward tradition, played to SRO biz at Lyceum here. It is set to open in London next month. Co-Op Theatre For Ireland? Dublin, April 10. Irish Actors Equity is mulling a project for an actors' cooperative theatre to meet need for new thea¬ tre building in Dublin. Dublin Gatd Theatre, v used by Longford Pro¬ ductions and Hilton Edwards-Mi- chael MacLiammoir Gate Produc¬ tions’ on six mqnth leases, is sked- ded to close shortly because of in¬ ability to alter present structure .to meet Dublin Corp. safety re 7 quirements. This will leave only three major legit houses in Dublih —Abbey, Gaiety and Olympia. Equi'y has asked the Dublih Corp. to extend license of the Gate until a suitable alternative can be found, and will at same time ex¬ amine- co-op idea which is sup¬ ported by its prexy, Nigel Fitz¬ gerald. ROSARIO BALLET HAS HOLDOVER IN PARIS Paris, April 17. Pencilled in for a month, Ro¬ sario’s Spanish Art Ballet looks to run overtime with fine reviews and public support assuring it a longer run. Monicker is belied by the fact that its more popular aspects get the biggest palms. The folk and classic entries are well mixed and the versatility of the group, plus the vitality and class of Rosario, make this an eyefilling terp ses¬ sion. Fine costuming and adroit lighting are also plus assets. First part runs through a group of pleasing sectional dances as most members shine, and striking¬ ly noticed are the fiery dance of Nieves De Juan, Juan Quintero and Juan Alba. The telling guitar interlude of Juan Garcia De La Malta is also firstrate, as is the perfect piano accomp of Alfredo Mendoza and Perez Busquier. Troupe is young and well-trained, and the few attempts at classic ballet, namely “Sortilege De La Lune”. are ingratiating but lack the rigor and dance effusion needed to make the tales balletic. Since the great schism twixt Ro¬ sario and Antonio she has wisely' given a well-rounded popular bal¬ let while Antonio • has gotten to¬ gether a more ambitious ballet troupe. Both do well on their own and a good : Hispanp group is al¬ ways welcome and lucrative in Paris. , Boultings’‘Progress’To New Brit. Circuit High London, April 10. “Private’s Progress,” the Boul¬ ting Brothers’ satirical comedy on British army life, has proved to ■ be the biggest grosser on the As¬ sociated British circuit ever han¬ dled by British Lion. London re¬ turns are way ahead of “The Third Man,” which previously held the record. The British comedy wound its three • weeks ' general release in the London 'area recently. In most-situations, the weekly aver¬ age yva,s topped by the Wednesday and almost •, without exception ■ it created, a new- high in receipts. Paris, April 10. The Third International of Dra¬ matic Arts is set to unroll from May 14 to July 18 this year. Fest will have three parts, a lyric as¬ pect. to be at the Theatre Des Champs Elysees April 19 to May 31. Then there is a series of film showings at the Studio Agricul- teurs (main theme the rapport be¬ tween theatre and cinema) and the main drama section at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre. Lyric segment will have as reps East and West Germany, France, England, Italy and Yugoslavia. France will present the partici¬ pants of the forthcoming Aix-en- Provence Music Fest, East Ger¬ many the Radio Berlin Orch and Choirs, West Germany ' the Sla- dische Opera of Berlin, England and the English Opera Group, Italy the Teatro San Carlo of Naples and Yugoslavia the Belgrade Opera. West Germany will send the Schiller Theatre of Berlin with Leo Tolstoi’s “War and Peace” and the Schauspielhaus of Bochum with Goethe’s “Faust.” East Germany will have the Deutsches Theatre of Berlin in Frederic Schiller’s “Kale Urie Liebe.” This is the first time that the Bertold Brecht-Helen Weigel Berliner-Ensemble group is not repping East Germany. Other Germanic lingo entries are Aus¬ tria’s Jofestadt Theatre of Vienna, with HofmannstharTs “Der Schwie- rige,” -and Switzerland with the Zurich. Schauspielhaus in Durren- matt’s “La Visite De La Vielle Dame” (The Old Lady’s Visit). London Theatre Workshop Great Britain will send the Lon¬ don Theatre Workshop, who scored a success last year, in 'Hasek’s “The Good Soldier Scweik” and -The Birmingham Repertory The¬ atre with G. B. Shaw’s “Ceasar and Cleopatra,” Ireland’s Dublin Play¬ ers bring more Shaw with his “Candida.” The U. S.-will send the current Broadway click, "Diary of Anne Frank.” Belgium’s Theatre National will have Michel De Ghelderodes’s “BSrbabbas,” and Spain’s Teatro de Camara de Bar¬ celona will present G. De Castro’s “Les Enfances DeCid.” Italy will be repped by the Company Morelli Stoppa with Godini’s “La Locan- diera” in a staging of Luchino Visconi. Norway’s Nationale Scene De Bergen will have Wiers-Jenssen’s “The Witch” and Sweden’s Kunglia Dramatiski Teatern of Stockholm will do Anton Checkov’s “Uncle Vanya” and Auguste Strindberg’s “The Father.” Israel will send her Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv. Poland will be in the running with the Theatre Polski of Warsaw in Adam Miskiewicz’s “Les Aieux” (The 1 Frebears). Russia will probably send the Maly Theatre and Holland, Yugo¬ slavia, Czechoslavakia, India and Roumania will attend but have not chosen their entries , as yet. There may also be a fullscale Kabuki Troupe from Japan if facilities are available for transporting these grandiose productions. LONDON’S ALBANY CLUB BECOMES HYLTON BLDG. London, April 17. Jack Hylton has liquidated the Albany Club,* 3 Savile Road, in Lon¬ don’s fashionable ' Mayfair, took a capital gain on what Was a long¬ time private eating club, and has leased back the property. The, site will become the central headquar¬ ters of all Hylton' enterprises. Right now he has four different offices, ‘ranging from 125 Pall Mall, his legit producing hq, and others embracing" his' film, television ana other holdings. Albany Club will become the Hylton Bldg. Show¬ man currently is in America, due to sail back tomorrow (Wed.) aboard the SS Queen Elizabeth.. KONA Gamble Pays Off . Honolulu, April 17. Looks as if a $180,000 gamble has paid off for KONA, which boost¬ ed power .and switched to Channel 2 last fall. New Pulse survey rat¬ ings give station eight shows in the tpp 15. .A-year ago. KONA had only one of the top. programs. Station;is an NBC affiliate, com¬ peting with KGMBrTV and KULA- TV.