Variety (March 1959)

16 PICTURES IsfifilETY Wednesday, March 18, 1959 Inflation & Unearned Increment Ride Home in Name-Drop San Fernando By KAY CAMPBELL | Chatsworth, a place whose past has [been detonated with the cannon Los Angeles, March 17.^ fi re 0 f “Sergeant York,” the ping The San Fernando Valley, with ' of rifle shots fired by countless its dozens of sprawling comnuni- heroes in pursuit of countless vil- ties. hundreds of subdivisions, lains, the thunder of horses’ hoofs miles of cafes, drive-ins and niter-1 and the braying of Francis and hi? ics. new industrial plants and 1 doubles ^ shopping ‘ centers, ^thousands of j 0 n the other side of the Valley, backyard swimming pools, country Toluca Lake was the chosen hide- clubs, multi-unit apartment ; awgy 0 f top executives and stars, houses, and cars creeping bumper- j w h 0 sought seclusion cum accessi- to-bumper along the freeways, is . ant j planted shrubs and hoses the nation's No. 1 sociological and , in p i ace 0 f vegetables. Bob Hope, nature Homes, Tropicana, Hawaiian Village, Kingsbury Estates and Waverly Manor for example. At Lurline Estates, in the foothills of the faraway Santa Susana Moun¬ tains, houses were available at the low price of $25,000; at Kingsbury Estates, a 2200-foot house cost $30,000. . But in East Woodland Hills — beyond Tarzana— prices ranged from $46,000-$49,000. Royal Hills, adjacent to Royal. Oaks (where Jan Clayton and Carolyn Jones among other's have homes valued at more than $100,000) of¬ fered “executive mansions at $45,- 000 or $845 per month on lease.” Price, in many cases, was no ob¬ ject. Veterans could move in with no down payment and specified monthly fees of which only a small percentage applied to the principal. ; who still lives there, and Bing j So many vets moved into the Val- economic phenomenon which proves beyond a doubt that you ; Crosby, who doesn’t, were among I f ey that “the little communities were should never underestima e the • the ear i y se ttlerS, whose neighbors tagged ‘‘G. I. tracts.’ Many a wary power of the ‘Hollywood trg. W ere Ann B lyth, Charlie Barton, ! veteran, with a careful eye on the In 1945, William Paul Whitsett, ; R 0 y Disney, Mary Astor, Joan : budget and a thought for other ex- founder of Van Nuys, by-lined an Blordell, Mary Brian, and Ray Mil- , penditures involved in establishing article in the Los Angeles Times. ; land. a new home, such as furnishings titled War.” “Garden Hemes Af er the : Between these two extremes,. and landscaping, settled for less ex- As I visualize that situa- scores 0 f other name personalities | nensive regions—Granada Hills, tion,” he wrote, “there will bea ; found “homesites,” including I Nob Hill, Carleton Terrace and demand after the war for possibly , shore and George Montgom- | Panorama City—where homesites 50.000 homesites in the Valley. | prv _ riailpv Alison Skinwnrth. [ on 50-foot lots could be had for $25,000 .orless. „ T . ^ -. _ i It is illegal, today, except Rooney, Judy Canova, and Tennee- 1 “ ‘ “ Lake Sherwood, - , . , ‘ | erv, Cass Dailey. Alison Skioworth, By homesites, we mean, out here, j Virginia Mayo. Jane Russell, Con- a plot of ground large enough for j nie Ba j nes Dan Dailey. Mickey a comfortable home and sufficient — area for raising a large part of the family food—vegetables, chickens, eggs, rabbits, etc. The average | value of these homesites when j fully developed will be about $8,- | 000 and will have an assessed j valuation of $4,000 each. The cost J of utility services for such a home- site will average about $7 per month.” Now Whitsett was a man noted for his foresight. In 1911, he bought a section of land in the center of the Valley, established a townsite, organized two banks, and later w T as one of the leaders, in bringing Colorado River Water to metropolitan Los Angeles and surrounding areas. What Whitsett didn’t foresee was the promotional value of show biz names. Spurred by the desire to “Live with the stars” as Encino frankly beckoned, via 24-sheets, 800,000 residents swarmed into 250,000 “homesites.” Most of these are built on 50x150 foot lots and cost $16,000 or more. A large ma¬ jority of the owners work “across the pass" in downtown Los An¬ geles or in the industrial areas on the south and east sides. Every morning and evening they inch their way through Cahuenga Pass, Laurel Canyon or Sepulveda Can¬ yon. Housing is ample and less costly nearer work but—they wouldn’t find movie “stars to “neighbor with.’’ At the time that Whitsett made his predictions, however, the great expanses of the Valley were in the throes of what is now known as the “colonial era." “Own an acre and be independent for life," was the sales pitch. Memories of the depression years were still sharp and this slogan made sense to peo¬ ple in all walks of the radio and film industries—writers, directors, technicians, flacks and thesps. Moreover, thanks to the studios located in that region—Warner Brothers, Universal, Republic and Disney—living there was not alone a matter of security but of expediency. Name-Drop Little grey homes in the west with white fences and chicken shacks mushroomed across this hothouse framed with mountains. Fine estates and mansions dotted the landscape too. Tarzana, pi¬ oneered by Edgar Rice Burroughs, was the outpost on Ventura High¬ way. Encino and Sherman Oaks, nearer Hollywood, were Decked with celebs, including Edward Everett Horton, Don Ameclie. Bill Bendix, Roy Rogers, Chester Goff, Gene Autrey, Teresa Wright, Dana Andrews, Steve McNally, Donald O’Connor, Hal Wallis, Jack War¬ ner, A1 Jolson, and Henry Blanke. Northridge, nee Zelzah (Sol¬ omon I; 10:2) lured the boots and saddles addicts —- Barbara Stanwyck, Groucho Marx, Clark Gable, Borden Chase et al—who tagged it “horse capital of the west,” and staged an annual show of Palominos, Arabians and Mor¬ gans, “The Stampede.” California ranch houses and English type homes were built on knolls over¬ looking lush alfalfa fields, white fenced paddocks, training tracks, swimming pools and orange groves. Lucy and Desi were the exception to the rule—they raised oranges. Beyond Northridge. at the rorth- western end of the Valley, lay see Ernie Ford, where many a sprightly woodsman and many a shining knight have fought for the favors of the fairest ladies of the screen, cornered its share of celebrities, too. From Hid¬ den Valley, Clarence Brown com¬ muted by plane to MGM in Culver City and Mike Curtiz drove 40 miles back and forth to Warner Brothers. Location Ranches On the far-flung reaches of Santa Susana and Santa Monica Moun¬ tains, Paramount, RKO and War¬ ner Brothers fenced in “ranches” for location use. And beyond these hinterlands, near Moomark and Newhall, William S. Hart, BUI Boyd and Joel McCrea lived on “working ranches.” Each and every celebrity’s home was widely publicized—by the gos¬ sip columnists who would rather be specific than otherwise, by fan mags and farm journals, slicks and shelter books, Sunday supplements and house organs. For several years, following World War II, stu¬ dios found that the easiest pix to ulant were those of "a star at home.” Shelter and fan ma"s com¬ missioned high-priced photogs, '•’’ch as Julius S^ulm?". George de- Gennaro and John Engstead, to shoot layouts of these houses. Small wonder that t^e "reat horde of newcomers to Southern California marched across the nass, to make ‘The San Fernando Valley mv home.” The hours of driving time to and from work were; well spent if their children could attend school or church, or join the same Scout troop with tbo co of stars if their wives could gos^io over the back fence with a celebrity. What did it matter if they couldn’t settle on the 10,000 acres of Northridge? They could—and did—buy property in Northridge r, ''wns or Northridge College Es¬ tates, adjacent to the exclusive colony and at the not-too-excessive cost of 925,000 UP for one-third acre and house. Thus the heglra began and re¬ sulted in subdivisions with colorful names offering “homesites” at sev- '■•*'.'>1 times the amount estimated by Whitsett. The rolling hills, precipitous peaks, arid valleys, walnut, citrus and olive groves have been en¬ gulfed by the swarming household¬ ers, who have spurred subdividers to ignore the original boundaries of the Va'ley. Recently, for ex¬ ample, Joel McCrea sold a fraction p* his ranch to realtors for more than one million dollars. In Ox¬ nard, North of Corejo Pa c s. the northern approach to the Valley, “king-size” lots (with homes) are selling for $20,000. Building per¬ mits in that townsite surged from $147,000 in ’57 to $1,750,000 in ’58. In Conejo Valley—nee Para¬ mount Ranch—a dwelling on one--| third acre is priced from $20,000 Uo. In •Caballero Hills, on the out¬ skirts of Tarzana, the price is higher— V\ acre and house for $42,000 up. “Up” is synonymous with more than two bedrooms^and one bath. * Crisscrossing the Valley, the newcomers found innumerable tracts with . imaginative names— Medallion Homes, Cinderella, Skylark and Starlight Homes, Sig¬ ht a few isolated areas, to raise chickens and rabbits. But you can still grow your own vegetables! Whitsett also forecast the “nat¬ ural curtailment of industrial ac¬ tivity” during the postwar period. Once again, he missed his guess. Lockheed, Bendix, Ramo- Wool¬ dridge, Librascope and dozens of other war plants have expanded their activities; breweries, automo¬ tive and other industries have moved in; and the downtown de¬ partment stores and specialty shops have established branches. Mae West Cleans Up Show biz folk who bought prop¬ erty in the Valley—many of whom have since departed—cleaned up. Mae West became independently wealthy from a site she purchased on the outskirts of Van Nuys, “be¬ cause she liked the trees”; Max Shane bought a block of weeds at Laurel Canyon and Ventura Blvd.—now a solid block of stores, paying high rentals; Bob Burns invested in the canyon now known as Royal Oaks; and Dave Garber bought a strip of land which now houses a medical center, and a flock of stores. RKO’s ranch brought a fabulous price from sub- dividers—who sold even the boulders for $2.50 per 10 pounds —to landscape architects. In 1945, two cafes served the Hollywood contingent — Eaton’s, across the boulevard from . Repub¬ lic, and Grace Hayes Lodge. Today, an estimated 80 restau¬ rants, plus drive-ins and pubs are packed from Balboa to Laurel Canyon along each side of Ventura Boulevard. Hundreds of other lavish cafes roam the Valley. Many are owned and- operated by show biz names. In 1946, the Smokehouse was opened near Warner Bros, studio —a strategic location because it was within five minutes drive for the Toluca Lake tribe, and Uni¬ versal City-ites. Like Sardi’s in New York, it became a place to see and.be seen. The three owners split up, however, and Jim Stock- ton is how sole owner of the orig¬ inal establishment. Bill Storey has established a steak house next door to U-I, and Bob Marks owns the Red Snapper on ( La Cienega. Cafes multiplied like rabbits in the next few years—Sportsman’s Lodge, which starred, with a gim¬ mick (hook your own fish, we cook it), and now features just good food (at prices similiar to “21”), Tail of the Cock, King’s Arms and Queen’s Arms, the Pump Room, owned by Bob Water- field; Pucci’s, owned by the All- American football player; Casa D’Amore, owned by Franklyn D’Amore, ex-Palace vaude head¬ liner, and Phil Ahn’s Moongate. Darryl Zanuck invested in a cafe now known as the Wild Goose, whose credit cards certify bearers are members cf the “gan¬ der and meander” society; Bernie Kover, another ex-vaude star, opened The Bull Pen; and the once' popular Eaton’s, which was left behind in the parade up the boulevard, has te-opened as the Tahitian restaurant. Sascha’s Pal- lette, in Northridge, The Fireside in' Encino, Alfonso’s in Toluca, and the Good Wife are among those, reportedly, with show biz backing. i; New York Sound Track ;; *♦+♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*+ Ampex makes a point that Videotape is a registered trademark as¬ sociated exclusively with that outfit and that any other tape record¬ ing process, for video or films, should not be identified under the Video¬ tape tag. Yoshitou Asai, director of the Mainichi Newspapers of Tokyo, ac¬ companied by a U.S. State Dept, interpreter, visited Variety home- office to find out what made this paper tick—said it was only call on an American publication. Independent foreign film distributors, whose organization hasn’t been active, have been invited to a meeting at the Trans-Lux board room tomorrow iThurs.). Some 25 will attend . . . Frank Kassler has ac¬ quired the Italian “Anatomy of Love,” starring Vittorio di Sica and Sophia Loren, for the U.S. Lloyd Shearer (in Parade) writing about Debbie Reynolds: "She’s doing so well that she plans to retire from show business in five years.” “The most beautiful blonde in Hollywood” will be portrayed by Joi Lansing in Perlberg-Seaton’s “But Not for Me,” at Paramount. Metro bought John O’Hara’s old novel “Butterfield 8” for a report¬ ed $109,000, with Avon. Productions to handle filming and Elizabeth Taylor up for top role . . . James Garner will be Mr. Capital Gains in Warner Bros.’ “Cash McCall” . . . Tom Kane rejoined Batjac Produc¬ tions as story editor after dissolving his own literary agency, set up when he left John Wayne outfit . . . Macdonald Carey is pop (Chester Morris legit role) 20th-Fox production, “Blue Denim”. . . Otto Prem¬ inger will location for 10 weeks at Ishpeming, Mich., for “Anatomy of a Murder.” George Glass and Walter Seltzer due in with a print of their “Shake Hands with the Devil” and confabs on its release with United Artists personnel. When Britain’s Prince Philip visited Singapore recently the Shaw Brothers' newsreel covered his tour and the films were available in the Shaw Bros, theatres a day later. Radio Prague has reportedly been asked to stop airing the “Colonel Bogey March” (From “River Kwai”), which has rapidly become one of the most popular tunes in Czechoslovakia even though pic has yet to be shown there . . . commenting on tune, Commie publication, “Tvor- ba,” notes that “this ancient colonialist march” apparently entered the country without opposition disguised as a “Bruxelles Exposition March” and was even recorded and sold by. a Czech disk outfit, Here’s a switch; a press junket from New York to Chicago. It’s being planned primarily for national media reps for the mid-August world preem in Chi of “Scent of Mystery,” the Michael Todd Co. odor process picture, on which lensing starts shortly at Malaga, Spain. Rea¬ son for the Windy City preem is that Todd’s Ciirestage there will be the only theatre equipped for the new process. Ulysses S. Grant III, grandson of the Civil War general and chair¬ man of the Civil War Centennial Commission, presented a special cer¬ tificate of commendation to film stars John Wayne and William Holden and director John Ford for “The Horse Soldiers," which wall be re¬ leased by United Artists July 4. Ilya Lopert of United Artists has bought two French films—“The Spies,” a Georges Clouzot film that’s been kicking around Paris for a long time, and “Les Grandes Families” (Great Families) which is cur¬ rent in Paris. Fuller Fabrics using a celebrated “model” for its ads, Basil Rath- bone, as the chauffeur ... Henry Klinger, associate story editor at 20th-Fox, is chairman of the awards committee of the Mystery Writers of America v'hich will hand out kudos May 1. Emily Kimborough will be featured speaker at the dinner. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt will attend . . . French producer Paul Graetz due here at the end of the month with a print of his “Faibles Femmes” Paris click .... An early switch rumored at the Legion of Decency. Jack Garfein and Carroll Baker (Mrs. Garfein) have acquired the film rights to Daniel Stern’s new novel, “Miss America,” published by Random House. Sandy Howard Productions closed six-pix deal with the Brazilian government, initialer to be “Matto Grasso,” slated to roll around May 1 at Vera Cruz studios, Sao Paulo, and in the Amazon jungle . . . War¬ ner Bros, changed title of “The Philadelphians” to “The Young Phil¬ adelphians”. . . May Britt testing for Marlene Dietrich role in Jack Cummings' remake of “The Blue Angel” for 20th-Fox release . . . Edith Sommer draws scripting chores on ‘The Best of Everything” at 20th . . . Jimmy McHugh and team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans have been inked by 20th-Fox to write songs for “The Love Maniac.” Lou Jacobi, recreating in the film the role (Mr. Van Daan) he orig¬ inated on Broadway, came to New York for the premiere of George Stevens' production of “The Diary of Anne Frank.”. . . Julia Meade returned from the Coast after making her film debut in the Doris Day- Rock Hudson film, “Anyway the Wind Blows.”. . . Efforts of the Balti¬ more Tent in publicizing Variety Clubs International Week and its humanitarian achievements were judged best among the 46 Tents of the showman’s organization ... Sessue Hayakawa calculates its his 45th anni in pictures with the opening of “Green Mansions” at the Music Hall tomorrow (Thurs.) . . . Gia Scala’s option has been picked up for another year by Columbia . . . Walter Shenson, producer of “The Mouse That Roared” in from London to discuss sales and release plans with Columbia . . . Robert S. Ferguson, Columbia’s pub-ad di¬ rector, to Dallas for the preem of “Gidget.”. 1 . Ranald MacDougall, writer-director of Metro’s “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil,” in from the Coast for a week of bally activities . . . Bud Rosenthal, has exited the Independent Film Journal to join Columbia’s homeoffice publicity staff. Mel Ferrer in town for a week of exploitation activities for Metro’s “Green Mansions,” which he directed. He returns to Mexico where his wife, Audrey Hepburn, is filming “The Unforgiven” for Hecht-Hill- Lancaster . , . Communication from 20th-Fox’s Ed F,eldman: “I note that in the March 11 Soundtrack that Harold Rand (Buena Vista pub¬ licity manager) is offering a publicity spring clearance sale on ma¬ terial not planted. 20th fortunately cannot make the same ‘20-44% offer’ as it does not have that many unplanted stories, on hand.” . . . Metro has named Stone Associates to act as exclusive merchandising representatives for tie-ins with “Ben-Hur.” Deal authorizes Stone to license the manufacture of all commercial products inspired or based on the film . . . Paul Muni returned to Manhattan after completing “The Last Angry Man” at the Columbia studio ... Kim Novak held a press conference at Col’s homeoffice last week for high-school editors in the N.Y, metropolitan area . . . Keely Smith in to promote “Hey Boy! Hey Girl!” for Columbia. Goreltck to Essanjay Chicago, March 17. Sam Gorejick, ex-RKO division manager here, and more. recently with the Rank branch, is switching to Essanjay Films (sexploita- tioners) as of April 1. Distributor also announced that Sam Seplowin is moving from .the homeoffice to open up a Detroit branch on the same date. He’ll also service the Cleveland terri¬ tory. Drive-In Snowed-Oot Albany, March 17. A 12-inch snow storm Thursday (11) forced Alan V. Iselin to dis¬ continue operations at the Turn¬ pike Drive-m, Westmere, and the Auto-Vision, East Greenbush, for several nights. “Drifting” added to the problem which Iselin and his assistants. Bill Barrington and Bob Lamont, had to face.