Variety (April 1957)

INTERNATIONAL l* PS&IEFy 'VAmrrv'*' London ocfici S t. Martin's Placa, Trafalgar Square Some Aussie Indies Try to Revive Fight Vs. Yank Circuit Interests Sydney, April 16. 4 There’s some J;alk ““of legislation against the operation here of ma¬ jor American distributor-exhibitor interests, but the bulk of it is in¬ spired by independent exhibs, who for some time have resented TJ, S. distribs who also have some thea¬ tre holdings in this territory.. Biggest drive . along these lines has been by some West Australia exhibs who would bring about thea¬ tre licensing and divorcement to separate theatre and distrib inter¬ ests. A Select Committee now is studying how one theatre and a single ozoner operate in this West Australia province under Yank con¬ trol. It may well consider how much U. S. interests have cut into Aussie exhib operations, ‘ blit that is about all. This may reach the . stage where it will be aired in Par¬ liament, but that is slightly du¬ bious. But elsewhere, it is principally the old story of local indies trying to make big,‘sweeping charges that larger Yank interests like 20th- Fox, with its link with Hoyts, and also Metro, trying to control‘the exhibition field. Metro, of course, has its own circuit of. some. .12. theatres. Hoyts is a big circuit operation, with 20th-Fox obvious¬ ly interested through ‘its’ substan¬ tial control of said chain. Some indie exhibs 1 ^charge, that both~20th-Fox and Metro first re¬ lease their ace product in their own (Hoyts in the case of 20th- Fox) houses and then offer same fare to flther cinemas but at top rentals. Ernest Turnbull, chairman of the directorate of 20th-Fox and man-- aging director of Hoyts, who was in West Australia recently, sajd the boxoffice takings in that state have' been at a low ebb for some time despite the flow <of solid product. Rome Court Will Try Two Cases Involving Pix Poster Morality Rome, April 16. Two more court cases involving film company flacks with the law concerning poster morality have followed in the wake of the cur¬ rently trying case of “Poveri Ma Belli.” Posters for this Titanus re¬ lease were ordered off local walls by Roman police because' of osten¬ sible offense to morality. Both new items concern Colum¬ bia Picture's local releasing or¬ ganization, “C e i a d - Columbia,” whose publicity director, Enzo De Bemart, has been ordered tried for public posting of material on two current Columbia releases, “Zarak Khan” and “En Effeuillant Les Marguerites.” Latter . is . e Freiich pic starring Brigitte Bar¬ dot. Display material on both items was deemed immoral by lo¬ cal authorities.... Offensive “Zarak” poster, it was claimed by the defense, originated in the U. S. and was distributed sight unseen hy-the Columbia pub¬ licity office. New Aussie Radio Head Has Support of Public . Vienna, April 16, • Appointment of. Oskar Czeja as head of the Austrian Radio System means that at least one expert will now be in charge of this means of “culture and amusement.” While Czeja is a non-party man, he will have not less than four assistant managers, two of wich belong to the Peoples Party (Con¬ servative), with the other two Socialist Party members. Czeja is reputed to have the ap¬ proval of practically all radio lis¬ teners. Bell-Steele Package Extended in Britain •London, April 23. V The Freddie Bell & Bellboys and Tommy Steele package show, billed as “The Greatest Show From Brit¬ ain And America,” has had two weeks added to its tour to take in Wales and Scotland. To fit in the Scottish date, the; weel£ at the Rank-owned Dominion picture house in London has h'een brought forward to May 20. The package opens the tour May 6 at the Liverpool Empire. After finishing his stint with the Bell¬ boys, Steele goes straight on to a vaude tour which will take in most of the country. Andres Trillas, Cabaret Operator, Saved From Jail Buenos Aires, April 16. The National Appeai Court has revoked the prison sentence against Andres Trillas, for 40 years, operator of the Ta-Ba-Ris cabaret on Calle Corrientes, absolving him of criminal charges in a case against the Alvear Palace Hotel Corp. A 5,000,000 peso lien on his properties was also lifted by order* 4 - of the Appeal Court. That figures about $415,000 in U. S. money. Trillas had been remanded in custody on the order of the Nation¬ al Recuperation Board investigat¬ ing the alleged fraudulent enrich¬ ment of associates off Heron’s late brother-in-law, - Juan- Duarte. The Court "has found that Trillas’ action in presenting in¬ flated balance sheets to obtain a building loan from the National Mortgage Bank, cannot be de¬ scribed as crimnial, since the cor¬ poration of which he was president was putting up* the Alvear Palace Hotel as guarantee and its yalue was far greater .than the amount of the loan, even if the corpora¬ tion’s financial position was mis-, represented and bank officials showed evident partiality in grant¬ ing the loan because of “influence.” Although absolved of criminal intent and the order given for Trillas* release, he still has .legal complications to face arising .out of his connection with Duarte’s financial combinations, AUSSIE VAUDE UNIT MULLS U. S. VISIT. Sydney, ApriL 16, Harry Wren, topper of Celebrity Circuit Ltd., opposition to-the Tivoli vaude-revue loop, is mulling the sending to the U. S. his “Good Old Days’* revue. This is com¬ prised mainly of oldtime Vaude stars. Show is a current hit in Melbourne after ’ a solid run here. Wren said he had entered into negotiations with agents -in the U. S. to route the show. Wren is also breaking into the drive-in field in Wollongong, ma¬ jor industrial centre, and is cur¬ rently playing first-release Para¬ mount product at the Majestic, Adelaide. He plans to bring out top U. S. stars for Down Under runs this year. SEE POSTERS TOO SEXY British Showmen Sense Challenge To Bluenoses Cuba’s $4, OpO,OOONat’l Theatre Ready for ’57 Havana,* April 16. Cuba’s National Theatre is sched¬ uled to be completed late this year, according to Architect Gabriela Menendez. The $4,000,000 house has been In construction for two years. Theatre will seat some 2,700. Directly behind the theatric will be a smaller auditorium seating 800 persons.- The two theatres will be Separated by a central unit hous¬ ing dressing and equipment rooms. Theatre is located in the Plaza of the Republic, where new buildings are being erected to house various government organizations. The Plaza is on the outskirts of this city. ‘Peace Takes Great Lead At IIIUIUll !/• Vi Rome,' April 16. “War and Peace” (DeLaurentiis- Lux) is’off to a commanding box- office lead in the seasonal stakes, with over $800,000 in the till for the first 12 big city key situations reported, 5 Far behind is the second place runner, “Trapeze” (UA), fol¬ lowed by “Moby Dick” (WB), “Pic¬ nic”. (Col) and “Anastasia” (20th). Metro’s top moneymaker so far has been “Bhowani Junction,” next on ihe list of winners, with “The Conqueror” (RKO) following up. Italy’s second feature “Poveri Ma Belli,” a' surprise small-budgeter made by Titanus follows with “Man Who Knew Too Much” (Par) and ..“Eddie Duchin Story” (Col), winding up ‘the top 10 for the season. Just.outside the top circle are “Guys and Dolls” (M-G), which is in just ahead of the first French item among the top grossers, “Dia- bolique.” “Monte Carlo Story” (Titanus) follows. Current boxoffice leader . in Rome is a reissue (in Todd-AO) of “Oklahoma” at the Adriano. “Giant” (WB) is somewhat disap¬ pointing in its local bow at the Rivoli, a smallseater. Taken From Hiding German Version of 'Journey’s End’ Is Critically Acclaimed Frankfurt, April 23. “Die Andere Seite” (The Other Side), the 24-year-old German film based on R. C. Sheriff’s “Journey’s End” has finally opened through¬ out West Germany, and has been met with outstanding praise here. ■ The film, which was a_ Stage hit 30 years ago throughout Europe, is based on the play about- World War. I, concerned with a group of English officers before the offen¬ sive in the West against Germany. Neither nationalistic nor pacifistic nor anti-German, it deals with men who face death In war, •Hailed in the German papers now as “a film banned in Germany since-1933,” it has a special con¬ notation in' its classification as “free for young people who are more than 10 years old.” Films are usually restricted by the age of 18, but ttyis is apparently consid¬ ered of importance for the younger viewers. The pic, directed by Heinz Paul and starring Conrad Veidt, pre¬ sented the now-famed actor Vik¬ tor de Kowa in his first film. First briefly opened in Berlin, in the early part of 1933, it was banned in the fall of the same year. Al¬ though prints of it were supposed to be destroyed under Hitler’s ban, a copy of the negative was hidden away in a little farmhouse in Aus¬ tria and in 1949 the film re-openCd with a great' premiere in Paris. Tt has now passed through the, Ger¬ man censorship and is being ac¬ claimed here. Scot Medico Raps Prudery on ‘Birth’ Edinburgh, April 23. A Scot town council committee’s recommendation that the pic, “The Birth of a Baby,” should not be shown at a local cinema was described by a doctor councillor on the committee as “an apotheosis of prudery.” The doctor, at a meeting of Mus¬ selburgh general purposes commit¬ tee, said he' f would vote against the recommendation. London, April 23. A move to cut out sexy poster advertisements has been started by the four major British picture in¬ dustry organizations. They claim that unless the posters are toned down there is a danger that other authorities might step in and dic¬ tate what material may be used. The Cinematograph Exhibitors Association say they will ask their members to comply with the sug¬ gestion because of the possible outcojne in relation to exhibitors as a whole if they fail to do so. Variety Theatres Lpss , Increases to $75,600 London, April 23. - Variety Theatres Consolidated, headed by Sidney Bernstein, who is also chairman of the Granada picture chain, reported a loss of $75,600 for the year as against last year’s loss of $4,480, This will be the fifth year that stockholders have gone without a dividend, , Italians Yearn for Film ‘Security’ Hence Their Eager Favoring of New ‘European Common Market’-—Pool Seen Coming --:-:-- 4 - _ Seek Vidor Borge For Return London Date London, April 23. Victor Borge, currently having a sock success at the Palace Thea¬ tre, will probably return here for another season next year. At pres¬ ent, negotiations are going on with Emile Littler to find a suitable date. x Borge has extended already his current run one week, bringing it up to seven' weeks. Although tick¬ ets are not available yet for the extra performances, a long waiting list already has accounted for them. Mixed-Nationals Of Ballerinas Genoa, April 23. Third International Ballet .Fes¬ tival in the hanging gardens of Nervi, on the Tirrenian sea, near Genoa will take plaice from July 20 to August 3. Mario Poreile, geh- eral manager and organizer of the event, is back from a European swingaround during to contract various companies and artists. The Festival will open with a “Homage to the 19th century” in which Alicia Markova (England),, Yvette Chauvire (France), Margare’th Schanne (Denmark) and. Carla Facci (Italy) will dance as guest ballerines. Ballet de Marquis de Cuevas will appear on July 24 and 25 present¬ ing works new to Italy such as David Lichine’s “Corrida”; Ana Ricarda’s “Chinese ballet”; Wadim Sulim's “Fountain of Bakchisarai”; Vassili Lambrinos’ “Countrepoint d’Amour”; Enrique Martinez’s “Fiesta.” The “Ballet of the Opera theatre of Paris” directed by Serge Llfar will give three performances and the Spanish company of Luis- illo. ■ WEST BERLIN CINEMA SHOWS E. GERMAN PIX Berlin, April 10. Under the title, “Als Wir Wieder. Anfingen” (When We .Started Again), the West Berlin Studio, an arty house, Is currently showing in conjunction with Rebus-Film (Fer¬ dinand Buttkus) five German post¬ war pix (1945-1948) of artistic value. Four of these five films are DEFA productions, “The Mur¬ derers Are Among Us,” "The Beaver-Fur,” "Marriage In the Shadow” and “Affair Blum.” Fifth pic is West Berlin’s CCC produc¬ tion, “Girls'Behind Bars.” Every pic is running three or four days. Most successful films are to be repeated. Although biz Is not rated Satis¬ factory, these pix give evidence of the fact that German film-making had a surprislhgly .goqd beginning after the Reich’s collapse in 1945. They may even be compared, at least in parts, with some of Italy’s efforts of the early postwar era. NO SABBATH MATINEES But Anyone Can Tune In a Television Movie Blackpool, Eng., April 10. Blackpool Entertainments Assn, claim that the town’s cinemas* are being victimized by the Town cdun- cil over Sunday afternoon film shows. It recently nixed an appli¬ cation to license Sunday afternoons during the hollday season. “We have been specifically chosen by the Churches to be de¬ liberately and systematically vic¬ timized over this question of ex¬ tended hours on Sundays;” said R. C. Taylor^ secretary of Blacks pool Entertainments Assn. “Every Sunday afternoon anyone may switch on a television set and see a full-length feature film. Churches uphold religious prin¬ ciples by taking it out on the | cinema industry.” Rome, April 16. The recent creation of the Euro¬ pean Common Market has spurred plans.for a European Film Pool in which Italy, France," Germany and possibly others would -share pro- ductiott and distribution facilities Plan, which also would entail cut¬ ting, of red'tape and customs and tariff barriers, has been around for some time already, with delay in approval of the European Market idea and reported German objec¬ tions to certain details helping to keep it dormant. Now that-“Market” is beginning to--roll, and with-Italian film indus¬ try on a desperate search for a “guaranteed” outlet, it appears likely^ according to local observers, that some sort of European Pool plan will materialize in the film -sector as well. Fact that the next meeting of the subcommittee (made up of Italian, French, and German reps) has been anticipated to April 24, father than later on in the year, appears to indicate a desire to get ‘the show on the road. Up¬ coming meet, to be held in Milan, follows on the heels of the jecent get-together in Munich-which laid the groundwork for the proposed organization. Reportedly considered at Munich were such details- as a general easing of red tape in exchange of .pix, an immediate freeing of ex¬ port-import of original-language, pix, newsreels, art and cultural documentaries. .. Also discussed were the setting up of a distribu¬ tion net in the three countries, by which distribs in one nation would become directly associated with an equally important company in one or both of ihe other nations, and on a permanent basis. These com¬ panies would pool their financial resources for the production of pix under a “European” manner which would enjoy a wider guaranteed audience, as well as an equally dis¬ tributed financial risk. As seen from here, it appeari that the Italians; whose pic indus¬ try^ is momentarily worst off, are pushing the hardest, aided by- the French, who have always been sym¬ pathetic to the .plan, With the main obstacle still being Germany, only now slowly coming around to the idea. It’s perhaps significant that the anticipation ' of the meeting to April 24th allows plenty of time for- prelim discussions before the upcoming Cannes Pic Festival opens (May 2). As previously re¬ ported (Variety, April 3, page 3) further meetings of . government reps are skedded to be held on the ECM subject during the riviera event, with the British reportedly in on the huddles. Broidy Gives Reasons For AA Balking Plans Of ABP-WB Merger London, April 23. Steve Broidy, Allied Artists prexy, left London last Friday (19) after a 48-hour quickie to explain why his company had resisted the local merger between Associated Britlsh-Pathe and Warner Bros. Ne¬ gotiations went cold after the deal had been discussed for several months when AA objected. Broidy told a press confab his company was not in favor of the proposed merger because consider¬ ing it « great risk, and was happy to continue with the existing setup, whereby ABP releases AA pictures in this country. He said that his visit was also to discuss the release of x a new prod¬ uct in this country and to express his gratitude to the sales staff of ABP for the wonderful job it was doing. Broidy felt that today, if * picture was to click, it had to have either guts or. a gimmick, or both. The younger generation had the ideas, and pictures had to be aimed at them. Cicely Courtneidge, currently appearing in London in Petef Saunder’s production of "TM Bride and the Bachelor,” cele¬ brated her 50th anni on the West End stage last Wednesday (17).