Variety (January 1958)

178 INTERNATIONAL Fifty-second I/&RiETY Anniversary January 8, 1958 Old Rivistas (Italian Revues) Never Die — They Just Keep Rollin’ Along Rome, j If the curtain came down on an Italian musical show much before 1 a.m. the audience would feel cheated. An Italian rivista (the word means revue but covers mu¬ sical comedy as well) should begin at about 9:15 p.m., continue until iiearly midnight without an inter¬ mission, and then resume for an hour after a 20-minute intermis¬ sion. That’s the tradition, just as everything else is a tradition, and woe unto the one who tries to alter it. The greatest alteration in years in the rivista field has come with the introduction of booh shows largely through the work of a team of two authors— Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini — who have turned out “Jupiter In a Double-; Breasted Suit,” a version of “Am-j phitryon,” “Buona, Notte, Bettina," a takeoff on “Bon jour Tristesse,” and “The Owner of Moonbeam,” a story especially written for Rob¬ ert Alda* among others! The Garinei-Giovannini shows have won ! acceptance because they have other¬ wise met the fixed formulas buti in the case of the Alda show, they had to offer a lot of. apol¬ ogies. Two years earlier the authors had been in the United States and they had seen Alda in “Guys and Dolls” at which time they said to each other that if they only had a star* of this calibre they could really put over a book show. When Alda, appeared, in Italy to film “The Most Beautiful Woman In The World” with Gina Lollobrigida, they approached him. on the Sub¬ ject and he agreed to brush up on his Italian and to make a stab at the show. All was well except that the tradition of the Italian public is not to accept a new star in rivista. To meet this require¬ ment they wrote in a part for an older woman and cast an estab¬ lished Italian actress in it. While her part was not as important as Alda’s it Was important because it lured the public. Once they saw Alda they liked him but they would not have come because it is not the tradition to come to a rivista. which does not have an established: local name in it. M .Need Italian Stars By SAM’L STEINMAN ('The Roman Rambler) the last name— writes all of the music for their; shows but his name is always used in a secondary sense. One of the reasons may be that the good songs are presented at Italy’s song festivals at San Remo, Naples, Velletri, and Como and not in the shows. There’s more money in songs which Win the top prizes at Festivals! .. An exception was Rescel’s “Arrivadercl Rome” which was introduced in a rivista as an extra because no one seemed to think much of it. Just to show how wrong the experts can be, it has turned out: to be the No. 1 Italian song of the modern era. and some day may stand in the same ; class with such standards as “O, Sole Mio” and “Santa Lucia,” if it is not there already.; Once the book is available with the added music arid an estab¬ lished star, the show is ready to go. It immediately becomes the “Dapporto . rivista” or the “Marario rivista” and nothing else despite such names “We Are All Doctors',” a spoof at Overuse of titles in Italy, or the current “Bill! & Pupe,” a Duri for those who know. Italian. (“Guys and Dolls” was translated into “Bulle arid! Pupe” and the rivista starring Edoardo Billi is usirig the pun 'title.) If the star is a lady she roust have two or three leading men— ^Osiris al¬ ways uses at least’ three. The dancers are almost always Amerir Can Negroes and they almost al¬ ways stop the shows. Negro en¬ tertainers are very popular in Italy. Choreography the work of Americans in most cases arid shows of the . current season include the work of HermOs Pari arid Donald Saddler, The dancers come from two groups most of. the time— The Bluebells, who: are supplied by an Irish lady now known as. “Miss Bluebell,” and the girls are all English; arid the “Charlie Bal¬ let,” which is supplied by a Swiss gentleman arid his charges are everything: . but Italian — German, Swiss, English, Scandinavian. It’s strange that the couritry which pro¬ duced ballet turns out so few cap¬ able dancers these days. Tryouts usually consist of a week in a small city arid then the big opening is either ip Milan or in Rpme. Milan is good for a run of i.0-12 weeks arid Rome for 4-8 weeks, de¬ pending on the show. Although the former city has 500,000 people less, it is the gay business capital of the nation which gives great sup¬ port tp show business. Then Turin, Genoa and. Naples can be counted ori for about two weeks each. Other week starids can be picked up. in Palermo, Florence, Venice, Bologna, and San Remo. Beyond this point . the shows have ; to fill in with one-to three-night stands. The . orie-nighters . are murder on the company but often among the most profitable to the production. . Incidentally, old Glass A rivista riever die. After a season they arp sold to a Class B company which recasts it with lesser names and plays lesser towns. In five years the big hit of the season may be playing movie houses in mountain towns with unknowns for peanuts but; that’s the way it works out — everybody gets to see a good rivista sooner or later. And as long as it’s! done according to tradition, it becomes part of the Italian rivista . legend. . There are those Who say that the rivista of ancient Roman days; are played by ghosts iri the ruins: Who are we to doubt it? Berlin ’57 Aide-Memoir West Berlin’s show biz of 1957 in capsuiated superlatives: Best film-foreign ....... . ... Most impressive stage presentation Best acting — male . . .. . . . . . . ...... Best acting— female . . . . .. .... . . . Best jam presentation , . ... . . ...... Best cabaret ensemble Most glamorous event Best circus Best ballef . . .. . Best radio station Best TV programs Most perfect gentleman Most publicized personality Most lovable Screen personality Most vivacious playwright : Most elegant playwright Year's cutest guest ..... . Most interesting guest “Twelve Arigry Men” (UA). Viennese Burgtheater with “Maria Stuart” Ernst Deutsch in “Merchant of Venice” Kaethe Dorsch in “Maria Stuart” Modem Jazz Quartet Stachelschweine (Porcupines) “Holiday On Ice” " Circus Sarrasani (Mannheim) Ballet-Theatre^ . de Paris de Maurice. Be j art AFN-Berliri Soccer; . Henry Fonda, Cecil B. DeMille Switzerland's Liselotte Pulver Thornton Wilder Terrence Rattigan Denmark’s moppet star. Eva Cohn Marlon Brando BERLIN ON HALF-SHELL By HANS HOEHN FILM: Berlin. With about 260 cinemas a n d nearly 500 film openings per annum suggests that screen fare still provides the Ber¬ liners No, 1 entertainment. Most of world’s best pix are shown here. To the continuing dismay of the more fastidious customer, nearly all foreign features are only shown in synchronized German version. “Dubbing” repeated^ sabotages artistic values. American films remain domi¬ nant. Germany’s own industry’s share of the W-Berlin market has beeri between 40-50%,. helped by the fact that nabe houses favor domestic product. American films are next in popularity with 25% Paris’ Grand Guignol — -Traditional Citadel of Shockerarna This is no laughing matter. Some of the top French stars have tried their way in Italian rivista but; they have not been able, to make the grade without an Italian star, one who has worked hisway up through the rivista ranks. At the moment the grand old lady of rivista, and she Would resent one of the adjectives, is Wanda Osiris, who still draws although her big claim to fame today is the fact that she always appears on stair¬ cases of grandiose, proportions and in gowns with trains a mile or so in length. One. of her claims to fame is the fact, that most of the big male stars of rivista started as her leading men. Carlo Dapporto is a great favor¬ ite and he can be described as an Italian Bob Hope. He tells his story just that way. Walter Chiari has been the great juvenile come¬ dian but he has been lost to American films and Ava Gardner. Renata RaScel won fame with his song, “Arriyaderci Roma,” and it may be! the American films that Will take away this funny little man. More secure in Italy is Toto, who is in real life Neapolitan Prince DeCurtis, who is the great¬ est drawing comedian in Italy but little known elsewhere except for the Latin lands where his films are shown. The popular comedy team Of Billi & Riva has broken up this year and each is going his own way. Erminio Macario is the typical Ainericari burlesque come¬ dian with baggy pants. Delia Seala comes closest to being a Gwen Verdon type of soubret while San¬ dra Mondriani hearkens . back to the Barbara “Spoony” Blair school. These names then are the bulwark arid backbone of Italian musical comedy and rivista. In mentioning the two Writers, we referred to the men who do the book of the show because that’s the way it Is in Italy. Gorrii Kranier-i-he’s an Italian, in spite of Paris. The Grand Guignol Theatre now enters its 63d year and it has made enough blood flow (on stage) to give copious transfusions to a King. Kong. Things might have changed somewhat, from the early days of glory and gory, and now striptease has invaded the confines of this Paris house heretofore dealing in other bodily horrors, and the psychological has often replaced the gruesome, but it is here to stay and part of the theatrical . and touristic lore here. The new bwrier, Rayriionde Machard, declares that though the. trick, horror aspects of the films plus the two wars, had made Guienol terror tame, even the hardened new . audiences blanch. In fact, she maintains, there are st*ll susceptible clients who faint, even at the less bloody and more suggestive presentations today. t Atomic Age Gruesomeness. Present show utilizes the old Guignol precepts of visceral shock, via gore; interpsersed with comedy that still stays around the bitter and potentially blcipdy. A striptease farce has tWo women showing their respective doubting husbands that they s^e still attractive. A racetrack play has a motor racer's car tatnpered with. and. he, on stave,, ripped arid bloodstained, vieWs the denouncement played out between hi«v wife and the murderer. Though suspense and psycholoeical suggestion has replaced the days when eyes were poked out by knitting needles, heads were pushed into stoves etc.. Miss Machard still has some awesome gimmicks to. unveil. She wants to create a series Of plays which will have deaths and murders iri “new wavs.” No more bullets, knives: arid poison for her, the Grand Guignol will go modern, along with the t'mes, but still bear its appeal of shock and morbidity for those who still make this house a mecca. After the new wrinkle of a man being killed in an auto race, she has a gas chamber execution foblowed by atomic deaths. This is a far cry from the early days. The By GENE MOSKO^ITZ present site of the theatre was a chapel arid it still has hangovers from those days in its wooded aspects, angels and pew-like seats. It was taken over in 1895 by Oscar Metenier, an cx-civil service work¬ er in the police department. Instead of whispered prayers the neighbors soon heard screams of horror, from both stage and specta¬ tors, as the theatrical bloodbath begins! After” Metenier, whose ruegedness was mainly in the natu¬ ralistic horrors Of . life. Such as alcoholism, ' wifebeating, uncouthriess etc., Max Maurey took it over! and give the Guicnol its true sheen and budding public favor. Marirey was more of an aesthete and decided to fulfill the public penchant for vicarious thrill by allowing them to Witness all kinds of physical torture, dismemberings, and the like. In short, things, they had. riot been fed si rice sitting be¬ fore. the guillotine during the rev¬ olution. It soon caught ori and the French populace — Parisians as well as provincials — and also the for¬ eigners soon made this a must. Crowned heads also came to see the ketchupy carryings-on. Rapes, gougings and operations filled the stage, and it became a must for all • tourists. Grand' Guignol also became a word and mariner of indicating a certain type of theatre. such as using a sadistic gangster in “No Orchids for Miss Blandish,” a revival of “Dr. Jekyll. and Mr. Hyde,” and Mary Roberts Rine¬ hart’s creaking door melo, “The Bat.” However this could not com¬ pete with the filmic jolts of such pix as “Les Diaboliques,” and Miss Machard. bought back the old routine but with more up-to-date horror gambits. She is saturated with the love of Guignolism, and says that Some authors mysteriously died after their plays were performed; the man who was technical adviser on. the autpracing entry was killed in the terrible Le. Mans, disaster just after it opened. j: A ‘Frankenstein' For Sure j But then came “Frankenstein”, and other, horror films, and the Grand Guignol was hard put to compete with them except that their blood was red, even after color, and came from live actors seen and heard by the public. But soon public shudders turned into guffaws, and the Guignol became a place for a laugh and a mock thrill. . However the blase audiences still get caught up at times, and a couple of years ago a revival of some early Guignol masterpieces led to some faintings: These in¬ volved chunks being ripped out of people, . bleeding eye sockets, etc. But progress knocked and there were attempts at psycho horror Backstage Inside Stuff Backstage, one is initiated to the mixing of different type blood for old and new wounds, the gun¬ powder, stuffed wolves, trick knives which squirt blood from the handle, etc. A gimmicked Guignol still rates as a tourism must-see along with the Eiffel Tower, Maxim’s etc. The most gruesome backstage prop was the apparatus for per¬ forming operations on stage. MisS Machard is not sad about the past, and feels: that latent sadism and morbidity still bring in customers es well as the curious. It is just a matter of finding what will still get a tremor out of people she says. Like any carny, it is evident that there, are certain things that Will, never change in the permanently changing thing , that is show biz. The Grand Guignol is one of them. Big crowds attest to this as the over 200 seats are usually filled every night on the Rue Chriptal right near the more earthy hurlyburly of Pigalle and its flesheries, filthy postcards and streetwalkers. So people still trek, the blood runs, and Miss Machard still has some new tricks to jolt those look¬ ing for it Winds Miss Machard, “We take people on an emotional roller coaster not a physical one, like in Cinerama, and they are still the most taking and penetrating.” So Grand Guignol looks sturdy in its 63d year. on the average, followed by Aus¬ trian (about 8%), .French (6%), British (3%) and Italian (2%) fea-r tures. The case of the MaSaik labs, whose crisis began in November 1956, is still not settled .at year’s end. Many of the once-so-ciitical observers have obviously lost in¬ terest because of many postpone¬ ments and delays of creditors* meetings. Labs keep running at full speed arid one .nearly feels that Ernst Wolff, the Mosalk boSs, “will survive — someway or the other.” Artur Brauner’s CCC is city’s most, active and film producing outfit! Yet neither it. nor any of the other local companies has pro¬ duced an international hit: Most of the ideal output is of mediocre quality. RADIO: Radio is alive in this city,: still an _ island airiidst So¬ viet-controlled East . Germany, In addition to. the local SFB (Station Free Berlin) and U.S.-sponsored RI AS there are still, the American (AFN). and British (BFN) Forces Networks! There, is much to listen to, Moreover, explained by W!-Ber-r lin’s complicated and handicapped geographical. and political situa-. tion, . radio plays here the role of the most.! important information source. Include iri that East Ger¬ man captive listeners. The fact that W-Berliri has no “hinterland” keeps Berliners at home a lot. This further stresses the /importance of radio as an entertairiment medium. VIDEO: Teutonic television has m uc h im _ proved during the past , year: How this new medium has effected movie-going is still not clear. Berliners are not able (a matter of coin) to keep pace with the remainder of Western Germany. Whole country has 1,048,241 registered; television set owners as of Nov. i, 1957. W-Berlin’s share was 49,296. j MUSIC! I Berlin is a very receptive market _ for Am e r i can songs, im early all big U.S. hits click here! Most of the tunes on the local hit parades are of American origin. And if it’s a, German, song, a checkup often reveals that it’s originally an American tune. The four foremost local diskeries concede best results with stateside melodies. Big Yank names . here last year: Elyis Presley, Harry Belafonte, Pat Boone and Bill Haley. VAUDEVILLE: Echoing the old story: _ Vaudeville is here more dead than alive. None of the once noted, houses such, as Seala or Wintergarten survived the War and this city has still rip big vauder that could handle firstclass international bills. The minor houses cannot, afford the hig head¬ liners and the latter mostly prefer taking engagements in W-Germany where salaries are better. Circuses come and go. .Their! presentations are often very good, but they have it tough to make out financially. Circus proprietors are hopeful that (Continued on page 212)