Variety (March 1959)

m KIETY VOL. 214 No. 2 Published Weekly at 154 West 46th Street* New York 36* N. Y.* by Variety, Inc. Annual subscription* $15. Single copies* 35 cent*. Second Class Postage Paid at New York, N. Y. COPYRIGHT, 1959, BY VARIETY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11,1959 88 PAGES ■ FLORIDA’S BOXOFFICE ‘BESTS’ As Foe of Censors Vichey a Bust NAME NOT ENOUGH MFL’ & ‘Music Man $27,009,0fK) So Far; Luben Vichey, head of National Concerts of Manhattan is ex- . f* /I • ti OAA AAA lit *1 "fnquiTie^ ^ IAITHfl T DM ACT 5 lompames Gross Jl,o#9,(P a Month where the dance company Is booked. Will they advance-sanction tf U I | llUw I flMB ilU I Luben Vichey, head of National Concerts of Manhattan is ex- . plotting the censorship of Les Ballets Africians which he did not fight. His office is sending “inquiries” to Chiefs of Police in cities where the dance company Is booked. Will they advance-sanction native dancers appearing in certain scenes sans brassieres? The inquiry and the answer, invariably- negative, is then “leaked" to the newspapers. Vichey is making publicity capital of an issue taken seriously by the American Civil Liberites Union, and others, as to whether the N.Y. City Commissioner of Licenses exceeded his powers in extending from buildings to brassieres. Minneapolis, Dallas and Louisville are among the cities report¬ ing such "inquiries." Threats of Govt. Encroachments Chief Concern af B casters Meet Chicago, March 10. %■ --- : - - — For the second straight year the XT n * rotating axis of the National Assn. UellCOlfl: iNeW Concept . of Broadcasters ■ annual conclave Aiyihc will be the threat of Government ©noppmg AmUS. venire encroachment on the industry’s Caracas. March 10. status quo, with the matter of con- The Helicoid, Caracas’ ant-hill stantly rising operating costs this type shopping centre, is due for year creating a definite topspin. completion early next year. It will For a convention that, for the j be a small city in itself with hotels, first time, is focussing exclusively j banks, clubs, swimming pools, on problems of ownership and bowling alleys, dance floors, large management, there are hardly any exhibition areas and a novel mo- current issues more pressing. Pro- tion picture theatre made up of gramming is possibly the only ex- seven different screening rooms ception, and that matter will un- where the same film will be shown doubtedl.v be undertaken at the starting at 15-minute intervals three affiliates’ meetings prologuing throughout the day. the convention proper and in * -:- : -- the corridor chinfests. It very __ _ _ T likely will also turn up in the tv V jjlnuTrunn.. management session on Tuesday I I) fill lli*W^lTlPn (17) as one of the medium’s vul- 1 iUIIl llVTVOlllGU nerable points and possibly too in _ _ NBC board chairman Robert Sar- l|„ AM Hoff’s keynote address on Monday. Ill ilfl|l/flWK^ 11VPY But, like music licensing, editorials, 411 l “ r M uu f V f VI and audience research, program- _ SMf MSJJ" *“* ^ SOTOt The 37th gathering of the indus- ^ 11 VUUIIVlIl try organization kicks off this Sun- day (15) at the Conrad Hilton Ho- Broadcast and press correspond- (Continued on page 56) fj? tS, T rcc r o 1CU ! arly . t j l 1 °. se base< ? in ‘Blacklist’ Aired on CBS; Ingrid Bergman’s Candor Tops Zanuck, Crowther Blacklisting in the film industry .does exist, and it takes various forms, but it is largely based on what motion picture executives in¬ terpret to be public opinion. Also, talented people can break through the blacklist barrier, but only by sacrificing use of their own names. These appeared to be the com¬ posite. conclusions Sunday (8) as Ingrid Bergman, Darryl F. Zanuck and Bosley Crowther got into the blacklist topic on Edward R. Mur- tow’s “Small World” show on CBS- TV. There was a good deal of hem¬ ming and hawing on the part of Zanuck and Crowther r with only Miss Bergman completely forth¬ right in her comments. Since the Un-American Activities j (Continued on page 17) 1 ; Yank Newsmen In Squawks Over Soviet Treatment Broadcast and press correspond¬ ents, particularly those based in the USSR, reportedly are miffed at our State Dept, and other gov¬ ernmental officers for the lenient treatment afforded Soviet news¬ men in this country while U.S. newsmen in Moscow get a push¬ ing around, CBS, more than any other web, has. been getting a tough break and one way to make it difficult for a correspondent reportedly is to deny him proper facilities. Irv¬ ing R. Levine, wtro is leaving Mos¬ cow for Rome- after a four-year stint fpr NBC, was denied a radio circuit as punishment for break¬ ing censorship On an interview with Senator Hubert Humphrey. Paul Niven of CBS was thrown out because of “The Plot to Kill Sta¬ lin,” Dan Schorr, another CBS newsman, was denied a re-entry visa. ’The AP’s Roy Essoyan was banished on a. charge that he vio¬ lated censorship, A variety of charges were used to throw out Charles Klensch of the INS, Welles Hangen, then of the N.Y. (Continued on page 21) By LARY SOLLOWAY Miami Beach, March 10. Miami Beach’s cafe impresarios are already studying—with mixed feelings—the results of a season still in its peak stages. The red ink, marked opposite some of the . most costly names booked, is lead¬ ing many to a reappraisal of talent values in terms of draw appeal and the sort of act they bring for a night club date. Some bonifaces are seriously considering a turn away from ex¬ pensive names who fail to carry their salary weight; this winter, only the topsters bred on the cafe circuit seem to have reached the profit margins, plus a few from other show biz branches who also . clicked at the b.o. j. The record - breaking grosses 'toted up by Joe E. Lewis—and Eydie Gorme, co-toplined and pro¬ viding the sellouts zinger-upper— i for the Eden Ro&’s Cafe Pompeii t set the 650-seater on a hot course ' of patron pull that carried over ' into succeeding weeks. The Lewis- , Gorme combo hit an estimated $180,000 figure for a two-week stand. Tony Martin, who followed, . also snagged a high-profit mark for his week, while currently, Sam¬ my Davis Jr., who closes an eight- day run this week, is approaching the Lewis-Gorme figures. The record of recent weeks for the Roc serves to point up an all- important factor, peculiar to this area’s cafe circuit: acts, no matter of what stature, cannot maintain big-pull status unless they have a staging that is solid from begin¬ ning to end. If tney come in with a so-so script, the name value may hold for a week at most, but come second stanza, and the word-of- (Continued on page 72) U.S. Acts Oil-Dp Aramco Staffs Arabian-American Oil Co . (Ar¬ amco) is shelling out some heavy coin to entertain its American per¬ sonnel in the Middle East oil fields. Company has signed Woody Herman for an April trip to the Middle East and has set Lilo for; a May stand. The oil company through Music Corp. of America buys entertainers about six times a year. Spanish guitarist Carlos Montoya played there in January. As it now stands, Herman will do a concert* while Lilo, with other acts in support, will play three va¬ riety shows. Her schedule calls for one show each in Dehran, Abqaiq and Ras-Tanura. Talent is flown over in Aramco’s DC 6*s. This ‘Variety’ Issue 100% From Its New Press Plant This issue is the first wholly made up and printed in the new I Variety printing plant in the (Bronx, formerly the press of the i N.Y. Post. ) The physical moving transition j from the old Rogowski Press on i Pearl St., where Variety has been j printing for some 40-odd years, ! was made in the course of one i week. Some press jobs were com- : pleted in the Pearl St. plant as i equipment was being moved to the . East 148th St', site of the new j Variety press. Pearl St. is part of : a condemnation for a new munici- ’ pal housing development, j The new Variety presses will •permit greater flexibility and spot . color will be available in the near I future. Belafonte Seek Negro Films Sans A Race Conflict I Harry Belafonte last week said i his Harbel Productions (currently . shooting “Odds Against Tomor- ! row” at the Gold Medal Studios Lin the Bronx. N.Y.) would seek to create avenues for Negro artists to perform and to function in their chosen profession. “I will go outside the United States to find subject matter, if necessary," the actor-singer, said. We’ll make pictures, employing Negroes and may be about Negroes, but not necessarily in the context of race conflict. Producers in Hollywood today generally are very reluctant to go into the area of the Negro without the race con¬ flict theme. I plan to do the story of Pushkin which has virtually nothing to do with the fact that (Continued on page 21) ‘FLOWER’ DRUMMING UP BIG LOOT SONG AT B.O. “Flower Drum Song" is appar¬ ently going to be one of the big hits of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein 2d. The musical, bn which Joseph Fields collaborated on the book, has not only played to solid capacity since its opening last Dec. 1, but is maintaining its huge advance sale. An initial return of 25% was made last week on the $360,000 in¬ vestment. The show has earned back $127,000 of its $397,000 open- night cost, and is netting nearly (Continued on page 84) 4- By JESSE GROSS The combined gross for the Eng¬ lish-language companies of “My Fair Lady" and “Music Man" has j reached almost $27,000,000. That represents boxoffice income for four U.S. companies—the original Broadway productions and the touring editions—and the London presentation of “Lady.” In three years at the Hellinger Theatre, N. Y., “Lady” has grossed I about $10,900,000, while the tour- jing troupe, nearing the two-year • mark, has racked up almost $7,700,- j 000. That brings the musical’s com- | bined total U.S. take to around $18,- ' 600,000. The London company, ; averaging $45,000 weekly at the ■ b.o., has piled up not quite $2,000,- j 000 since its opening at the Drury j Lane Theatre last April. j “Music" has grossed over $4,- j 400,000 in a little more than a year j at the Majestic Theatre, N. Y., ' while the touring . company, launched last August, has taken in just short of $2,100,000 for a com¬ bined total of about $6,500,000. The touring edition of “Music" is cur¬ rently in Chicago for an indefinite run, having moved into the Shu- ‘ bert Theatre there following the ' exit of "Lady” after 66 weeks at the house. The combined monthly gross of the four U.S. companies is over : $1,000,000. Of that, about $300,000 . represents profit. The N. Y. com- j panies of both tuners are selling | out around $70,000 weekly, with ! the net running $18,000-$20,OGO for • each show. The road companies j have each topped $100,000 gross (Continued on page 84» Looks Like LV.-Giris Will Not Have to Get Down to Bras Tacks Las Vegas, March 10. Bare bosoms at the Stardust, : Dunes and El Rancho will continue unencumbered, despite the efforts I of certain lawmakers to force the j girls to dig out the brassieres. An attempt to outlaw the girl shows on the Strip appears to have died in the state legislature at Car- son City. Senate Bill 98, ap¬ proved a couple of weeks ago in the upper house, probably will never see the light of day in the Assembly, where it is expected to die in the public health and morals committeeroom. Helen Herr, Clark County (Las Vegas) Democrat and committee chairman, says she plans no pub¬ lic hearings on the so-called “bare- bosom” bill. She explained her committee is faced with many more important measures affecting the general health of the state’s popu¬ lation. “This bill has no priority in my mind, and I’ll handle it as I see fit,” she said.