Variety (January 1958)

2 PSuentfrt Wednesday January 15, 1958 DON’T REMEMBER SCHOOtMARMS ONLY |g"tertamment’* ^ WHFN ^TIIFK^ WITU ^HAJCFSPFARF i William. D. Boutwell Argue* Young Must Be If ULN J 1 U VA If 1 1 11 JllnlVLJl liftULl Ta„*ht To R« Matters. Not Slave*. Ot Mode™ By PATRICK D. HAZARD ♦ ( Author of this article is cur¬ rently billeted at the U. of Penn¬ sylvania where he is working up a proposed curriculum for the teaching of " popular culture ■’ courses within the frame of Amer¬ ican Civilization. He is B former Michigan high school teacher.) Horace Mann and P. T. Barnum played different sides of the street, and the teacher and promoter in America have had chips on their, respective shoulder ever since. The century-old cultural cold war between education and show biz in our civilization is; up to a point, a good thing: it keeps important distinctions ‘between, say, enlight¬ enment and razzmatazz, knowledge and knick-knacks) clearly in mind. But the old antagonisms, in new and empty minds, can move both professor and press-agent to ori¬ ginal and unnecessary confusions. I say it's once again time to check our stereotypes for size: Is the lat¬ ter-day Horace Mann necessarily a pedant or hypocritical phoney? Or are our new-model Barnums ulcerous hucksters on the way to being robber barons of the popular arts? Perhaps a fresh look will reveal the basis for at least some forms, ©f peaceful coexistence. I won't presume to say what the scholar and teacher can learn from, the media masters „ of grayflannel magic ithat’s really for them to say to me), but I do think. Scholas¬ tic stodginess is worse than silly when one has seen the. movie ads of Saul Bass ("St. Joan,” "The Man Y/ith the Golden Arm”). Our text-, books ought to aim at that kind of brilliant graphics. I do want to say, however, that the scholar can be useful to the policymaker in the popular arts without being untrue to his ideal of objectivity. This paradox, is true because of a new climate of belief on the university campus. Not so long ago, most professors grew up before the coming Of the movies, radio and television. In¬ evitably, these new media seemed to threaten the scholar with a sub¬ tle, indirect form of technological unemployment. So, partly from (Continued on page 18) 4 Paul Robeson’s Brit TV; See State Dept’s Okay London, Jan. 14. Paul Bobeson is accepting invi¬ tations to appear on British com¬ mercial tv for an exclusive ATV series starting with "Sunday Night at the Palladium” April 6. Deal, made through his London agent, Harold Davison, also in¬ cludes a nationwide concert tour. Understood there’s strong possi¬ bility of U.S. State Dept | approv¬ ing Robeson’s passport application, long withheld. Muzak 'Going UP V Vancouver, Jan. 14. . Seemingly whatever Seattle can do, Vancouver “can do bet: ter.” CJOB Wired Music (Muzak) hre, taking cue from Roosevelt Hotel, Seattle, has sold instillations into the ele¬ vators of Belmont and biggi Georgia Hotels. This on heels of announce¬ ment that Strand here /gets Seattle’s Cinerama set-up by .„ March. It’s currently “Mu¬ zak while you work the lift” here, and riders are reported brisker, better on bonhomie. Telepix Eligible For Brussels Expo International Experimental Film Competition at Brussels, Belgium, this spring now is open also to filmed records of television shows. Deadline for all entry applications is Feb; 1. _ The competish is skedded for April 21-27. It’ll . he followed dur¬ ing the ' summer by the regular international film f est and, later on, by. the selection of the . best films of all time. Experimental film competition is staged by the Cinematheque de Belgique, headed by Jacques Ledoux, who has urged filmmakers ir. the U.S. to send in their applica¬ tions.' Denies R&R Is V J). Cause; Alan Freed Sez It’s Just ‘Adnlt Entertainment’ Hartford, Jan. 14. A WINS , N. Y., deejay catsigated the Massachusetts . Public Health Department for its news release of Saturday (11) condemn¬ ing rocl^ ’n’ roll as the cause of an increase of venereal disease among teeners and a general increase; in juvenile delinquency. Alan Freed pointed out that rock ’o’ roll has been accepted as adult entertain¬ ment. More than one half of the 137,000 persons who attended his recent -bash at the Paramount, New York, he said, were adults; adding that a great percentage of those who attended the local house also in this classification. The dirty part of r ’n’ r has been cleaned up, he said.. College students, Freed said, are now demanding danceable r ’n’ r music. Freed said that "Bay An¬ thony within the last month threw (Continued on page 22) Trade Mark Registered. POUNDED 1*03 by SIME SILVERMAN; Published Weekly by VAR I ETY, INC. Syd Silverman. President 134 West 46th St.. New York 36. N.Y. JUdfoa 2-2700 Hollywood 2S 0404 Sunset . Boulevard; Hollywood f-1141 Washington 4 — 1292 National Press Building. STcrling *5443 Chicago 11 012 No. Michigan Ave.. DElawaro T-40S4 London WC2 . . Martin's PL. Trafalgar Sq., COVent Garden 0133 SUBSCRIPTION Annual. $10; Foreigix, $ll] Single Copies, 25 Cents ABEL GREEN, Editor Volume 209 _ Number INDEX, * 7 Bills 70 Night Club Reviews.,..,, . 66 Chatter 79 Obituaries .............. , . 70 Film Reviews 6 Pictures . . . 3 ..... 69 i 27 Inside Music ........ Radio Reviews ... w . . • . . . . ; .48 Inside Pictures ....; . 18 Record Reviews , 54 Inside Radio-TV .... Television ... ... . . . . • . . ; . 27 International 12 Television Reviews ....... * 87 Legitimate 71 Tollvisiori . 26 Literati 77 TV Films ............. .. . 30 Music 54 Vaudeville . 62 New Acts 69 Wall Street ... ; , .......... . 18 ’Stay Out of Diif Hair’ Madison At. ’Geniuses’ Hollywood, Jan, 14. If Madison Ave. “geniuses” would leave picture-making in the hands of the 'professionals, there would be some progress made in the quality of telefilms, asserts Dick Powell, prexy of Four Star Films, and owner of that company, along .with. David Niven and Char-, les Boyer. Powell points to Four Star. Play¬ house, which Four Star turned out a few years ago, a series which, proved a success both in quality and financially, arid attributes its success to the fact actors (the three owners of the company) picked their own $cripts. "But today, it’s very seldom that actors pick their stories. Instead they're selected by sponsors and agencies. Nowadays at Four Star we have . one show with five actors who have nothing to say about the scripts. Out of 41 scripts these actors submitted, over 50% were turned down. In my opinion the agency turned down the good stories,, arid accepted the worse material. Somebody back on . Madi¬ son Ave. thinks he?s a genius. "I'm going to N.Y. to see if I can talk some sense into him. We made our reputation making anthologv pictures, but now they won’t let us judge what’s best. As far as I’m concerned. I’d just as soon lose the show if these condi¬ tions cari't be corrected. They’re impossible working conditions. When they turn the stories down, the onlv reason they , give is ‘I don’t like it.’ “That in general is what's wrong with' most tv. When. I came out here to work ill movies, I was a singer, and I’d pick out the songs. A couple of years later some ex¬ ecutives at the studio who felt .they were geniuses decided they ’vvbuld pick the songs, and we never did have any hits after that,” com¬ ments Powell acidly. NATIONAL LOTTERY PROMISES CUT IN TAX? Washington, Jan. 14; Only way for Americans to get a tax cut is the use of a national lottery, Rep. Paul A. Fino (B., N. Y.) told the House of Repre¬ sentatives last week. "The recerit Trendex poll taken in every section of this land and of people i every i ri co in e bracket,” he said, ^should he. suffi¬ cient proof that most of the peo¬ ple favor a national lottery as a means to reduce taxes. "If the honorable members of ibis Congress would banish hypoc¬ risy, remove the blinders, and open their eyes to this pathless and voluntary form of taxation, they will find an additional $10 billions a year coming into: the United States Treasury. Greer Garsoii Oil Well Dallas, Jan. 14. Greer Garson, the film actress and wife of local oilman E. E; Fogelraan, is to get a Texas oil field named for her. That was revealed by Fryer & Hanson Drilling Co., . co-owner of the discovery well With Fogelsori. Application has been made to the Railroad Cominission for discovery allowable and asked that the area be named for Mrs. Fogelman. Ap¬ proval of the commission Is ex¬ pected. William D. Boutwell Argues Young Must Be Taught To Be Master s9 Not Slaves, Of Modern Mass Media . William D. Boutwell, an older pundit than Patrick D. Hazard (see adjoining space), recently addressed the National Council of Teachers of English in advocacy of the thesis that the modern educator must take films, television, radio, jazz and other forms of "pop culture” into reckoning. Using the provocative thought that the major detonations in entertainment have their own "fallout” which is felt long afterwards, Boutwell, (he’s Director of Teenage Book Club) alluded to America’s; grim . statistics of juvenile delinquency as "an iridex of mental short¬ comings of both parents and young people,” ’ When students get holes in their teeth, schools concern themselves. But what about holes in their heads? Not the least diverting idea put forward by Boutwell to the English teachers is this: “ The only textbook in mass media is a. magazine— Variety;” The following paragraphs from Boutwell's address sum up his point of view. He followed on with practical here’s-how steps, of interest primarily to School pros.. Quote: One of my best friends is a high school principal, I’ve known him a long time. So long that I have no hesitation in charging him with the neglect of American youth and other educational crimes. That is, I do this if I can beat him to the verbal punch. Re¬ cently, I had the good fortune to get my blast in f irst . This is what I said ; "Abe, you run a good school but your student s graduat e from high school unpre¬ pared to cope with one major force that will most affect their lives practically every waking hour until they die — and I don’t mean sputniks. * "Look, " replied Abe. "Their parents want them to go to college.. Sixty per cent of my graduates. get into college. Isn't that enough? What are we neglecting?" "Education for mass communication, I replied. "You mean cut out the comic books boys, turn off the rock and roll, and hit the books ?" "No, I don ’ t mean teach youngsters to kick out mass c omrnuni c at i on . I mean to teach them to learn to live with it. We all know about fallouts nowadays. Mass Communicat i on comes down on us like a fallout • Miles and miles away somebody sets, off a magazine or a television show or a movie • For weeks and months afterward the results fall oh mil¬ lions of people all over the world. If the "explosion" is, let us say, a new musical called "My Fair Lady* , then the fallout of music and laughter cheers everybody. If it is the latest issue of a scandal magazine then the fallout can be dangerous. The cumu¬ lative effect of a fallout can brighten or blight the lives of millions . " Abe isn't bowled over easily. "Very fancy," he said. "Let me tell you what really happens • On Saturday night the boys get some girls and an old jalopy and a case of beer and off they go to the nearest drivein theatre. Do you think they care what pic¬ ture is showing? I'm not sure they even see the picture. My job is education. What you are talking about is entertainment. Every guy has a right to choose his own entertain¬ ment on his own time. Good, average ; cheap or tawdry. That ’ s his business, not the schools." I was determined 4lo t to be sidetracked. So I said* "Abe, you know the language of the UNESCO preamble — ’since Wars begin in the (Continued on page 22) DAILY variety (Published In Hollywood by Dally Vaii.ty, LtdJ $15 a ye^r. $20 Foreign. After March 1st, 1958 Newsstands 35c Per Copy Subscription $15 Per Year See Details Page 11