Variety (August 1956)

Published Weekly at 154 West 46th Street. New York 36, N. Y.. Variety, Inc. Annual subscription, $10, Single copies, 25 cents Entered as second-class matter December 22, 1905, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1079 COPYRIGHT, 1956, BY VARIETY. INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Vol. 203 No. 9 NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 1956 _ PRICE 25 CENTS FILMS’ B.O. RAINBOW IN SUBURBS Sullivan Scraps $7,500 ‘Ceiling’ For Acts; Goes After Longterm Pacts Zeckendorf, CBS in Huddles On 5-Block N.Y. Television City for ’59 Strategy by Ed Sullivan in view •of the changing cohditions brought on by the competing Steve Allen Show on NBC-TV, has changed con¬ siderably within the past few weeks. Custodian of the CBS-TV Sun¬ day night variety show seemingly has adopted Las Vegas tactics, both from the viewpoint of price and in the practice of signing up a performer for comparatively long periods of time, for a period of four shots within a few months time. Aside from the record-breaking $50,000 to*be paid for three shots by Elvis Presley, Sullivan has gone beyond the $7,500 ceiling which was the former rule. For example, Imogene Coca has been pacted for three shows at $8,500 a clip. First appearance is Oct. 1 and final one will be by April 1 of next year. Sullivan has also lined up a prom¬ ising pair of nitery comics, Davis & Reese for a foursome starting Oct. 14 and thence Dec. 2, Jan. 30 and March 25. Mitzi Green has been set for four shows starting Oct. 21, and then to Jan. 13, March 3 and June 2. Curiously, th'e bulk of the names lie’s contracted for are not of the headliner type^that will bring in more Nielsen points, but are sup¬ posed to be the reliable type that can offer entertainment. Sullivan •apparently hopes that he’ll create a situation like the first exhibit of Ricky Lane, which caught on hand¬ somely. Indications point to the possibility that Sullivan may be •shooting for big initial impacts so that he can again build up the show’s status as a starmaker. Billy Graham Makes Good Vs. Rin-Tin-Tin, Etc., At Mpls. Aqua—20,000-Plus Minneapolis, July 31. Along with its stage, water and .numerous other shows and parades, the just-ended local 10-day Aqua- .tennial, annual summer mardi gras, came up this time with its most un¬ usual attraction, evangelist Billy •Graham. Graham proved that he merited the big billing he received along Mth “Aqua Follies,” the WCCO ■Radio big stage and air show head¬ lined by Peter Lind Hayes & Mary Healy, the water ski circus, the Star-Tribune newspapers’ outdoor show, Rin-Tin-Tin in person and Grand Ole’ Opry” as dne of the festival’s principal lures. The evangelist drew an overflow crowd of more than 20,000 for his morning outdoor preaching at the municipal stadium Sunday (29) morning. His success was dated on a par with that of the various top shows. Aquatennial directors will try to brin 2 Graham back again next year for the one-day stand. 44 Years Later At the time of the Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision at sea last week, Gen. David Sar- noff, RCA board chairman, was within 40 miles of duplicating his historic feat of being the first man to pick up the dis¬ tress signal from the SS Ti- : tanic in the days (1912) when he was a Marconi Wireless ap¬ prentice. When last week’s tragedy was flashed to the world, Sar- noff was on Nantucket Island. He still spends considerable leisure time with his favorite hobby of shore-to-ship tinker¬ ing—but on this occasion he was just relaxing. M-G About Set For $5,890,(100 10 Yr., 16M Deal Metro is on the verge of signing a $5,000,000 deal with Films Inc. for the non-theatrical distribution of M-G’s 16m product in the U.S. Arrangement would run for 10 years and also would give Metro a percentage of the profits. In addi¬ tion, Films Inc. would extend to Metro something akin to a “fa¬ vorite nations” clause, guarantee¬ ing that 60% of the playdates garnered by Films Inc. would go to. the M-G pix. Basic payment WPtild be $500,000 a year. There are upwards of 18,000 non- theatrical situations in the U.S., taking in schools, hospitals, con¬ vents, shutins, etc. Films Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ency¬ clopedia Britanniea. It also handles the Warner Bros, and 20th-Fox 16m films. Apart from negotiating for the (Continued on page 54) If Democrats Overlap GOP—What Gives? Washington, July 31. Biggest headache of the networks is how to handle the situation if the Democratic National Conven¬ tion should snarl up and keep run¬ ning past the start of the G.O.P. Convention. Since it would be the peak of the Democratic sessions, the party’s hassle in Chicago would take prece¬ dence over the preliminary fea¬ tures of the Republican meeting in San Francisco. Latter would be cut in from time to time, the networks figure. Which has given birth to a new gag line going the rounds here “We interrupt this convention to bring you a convention.” By FRED HIFT Hogtied by the courts, snarled in red tape and held down by tra¬ dition, the film business continues to give the suburbs the brush. Industry’s unwillingness—or in¬ ability—to keep pace with shifting population patterns, which in re¬ cent years have seen suburbia emerging as a prime market, is costing Hollywood many millions of dollars in potential boxoffice revenue each year. Big questions asked are: Why can’t the big pix preem day-and- date in selected suburban firstruns and the downtown houses? What good are the suburban “saturation” playdates? Why are films lagging behind other industries in recog¬ nizing the new trends in the flight of population to the suburbs? The distributors know they’re •missing out on a good bet and that, in the light of changing conditions, their merchandising approach ig¬ nores the new and stringent dic¬ tates of “convenience” for the pub¬ lic, which no longer treats “down¬ town” as its- entertainment mecca. But exhibition is slow to rise to the occasion. The only exception, of course, has been the drive-ins, which have blossomed out to a total of close to 5,000 since 1946 and which—to an inadequate extent—are an ex- (Continuea on page 1°) Amusements Big Segment of D.S. Washington, July 31. Entertainment added. $2,695,000,- 000 to * the national income last year. Radio and television broadcast¬ ing contributed $612,000,000 to the total, an all-time high for broad¬ casting. Motion pictures, on "the upbeat, provided $1,003,000,000 of the total, and all other amusements added $1,080,000,000, says the U. S. Department of Commerce. Film industry paid a total of $754,000,000 in wages and salaries last year, compared with $456,000,- 000 in broadcasting and $804,000"- 000 for all other, amusements and recreations combined. All branches of motion pictures provided the equivalent of 205,000 full-time jobs for 228,000 men and women in 1955. Radio and tv broadcasting had the equivalent of 72,000 jobs spread among 79,000 employees. In all recreation and amusement, about 238,000 full-time jobs were provided. Broadcasting continues to hold its top position in the amusement field in wages and salaries. Its fulltime employees averaged $6,333 last year. The comparable figure in motion pictures was $3,678. James Mason on Actors Here’s actor James Mason on the actor’s role in films: “It’s difficult to be a fine actor in pictures. As a matter of fact, the best performances are very often given by those who don’t know they’re acting —the ‘natural’ actors. . “They're either the child ac¬ tors, or those who act on a child’s level. And for that matter—a dog can give a darn interesting performance sometimes.” $150,200,000 In ’55 Profits For TV Broadcasters Washington, July 31. A whopping $150,200,000 in profits (before Federal taxes) was registered by the television broad¬ casting industry last year for a gain of approximately 67% over 1954, according to the annual re¬ port issued by the FCC last week on financial operations of stations and networks. Earnings of the networks, in¬ cluding their owned and operated stations totaled $68,000,000 and accounted for about 45% of the industry’s profits. The year’s earnings compared with $36,500,- 000 in 1954. The industry’s gross business reached a. new peak of $744,700,- 000, an increase- of approximately’ 25% over 1954. The nets, with revenues Of $374,000,000, ac¬ counted for about half of the busi¬ ness. In 1954 their gross was $306,700,000. Of 377 stations which were in operation the full year, the Com¬ mission reported that 228 were in the black, including 28 UIIF (Continued on page 35) Blevins Davis’ Show Biz Gamut Now Covers Disks Kansas City, July 31. Blevins Davis, ballet, legit and motion picture producer, is now delving into a publishing and re¬ cording venture with local asso¬ ciates.- He has set up Foremost- Records, with two affiliates, San¬ dusky Music to handle BMI tunes, and Jennings Music, as the ASCAP firm. Davis is president, and John Sandusky will be v.p. and general manager of the publishing compa¬ nies. Sandusky has been a longtime acquaintance of Davis. In the past he was associated with Shapiro- continued on page 52) • The talk about a Television City in New York for CBS has again cropped up and this time it’s re¬ ported that serious discussions are now under way between network chieftains William S. Paley and Frank Stanton, and realtor William Zeckendorf which could lead to a deal in the very near future. Proposed site for the Television City is the area extending from 30th to 37th Sts., fronting on 11th Ave., on which now run the New York Central tracks. It’s under¬ stood that the tentative blueprints for the project are so massive in scope that Columbia’s TV City on the Coast is dwarfed in comparison. The plaza alone, it's estimated, is five times as large as the one at Rockefeller Plaza. CBS-TV is understood ‘o be shooting for a 1959 occupancy. Problem of where to locate has long been a vexing one to CBS. Last serious proposal was to build in the West 60s in the area of the proposed Lincoln Square cultural centre, but this hit a succession of snags. i Apparently NBC looks all se* to build opposite Radio City on Ave¬ nue of the Americas between 50th and 51st streets, extending back to the Roxy Theatre in a project to be undertaken by the Rockefeller in- erests. Eourbon on the Rocks When Cops Claim Rs.e’s No Lady in Coast Bow Hollywood, July 31. Rae Bourbon’s debut as a “femme” entertainer has run afoul of the Los Angeles County Sher¬ iff’s office. Formerly Ray Bour- • bon, a singer of risque songs, Miss Bourbon who was “christined” several months ago in a series of operations in Mexico, was arrested last night (Mon.) in her bow at the Melody Room here on a charge of impersonating a woman. Defendant insisted she is a wom¬ an" and spent the night in the county jail wearing a velvet gown. She pleaded not guilty at a hear¬ ing held this morning (Tues.) in the .Beverly Hills Muncipal Court and a jury trial was set for Sept. 21. It’s recalled that when the Sa¬ hara Hotel, L&S Vegas, wanted to dump the contract of Christine Jorgensen, the Las Vegas police dept, wrote the former Gl-turned- femme that he would be arrested if he showed up in the town. Let¬ ter was addressed “Dear Sir.” However, when contractual diffi¬ culties were straightened out, Miss Jorgensen became persona grata and has since played several Vegas engagements.