Variety (December 1960)

24 INTERNATIONAL 'VARIETY'S' LONDON OFFICB «» St. James's Street, FKcadHty Third Mex World Review of Film Festivals Fails To Measure Dp To Advance Hopes; May Change Format Mexico City. Dec. 0. In a few days the Third World Review of Film Festivals will have passed on into history. As with the two former shows, the results are inconclusive and opinions as to success or failure of the event about evenly divided. At formal closing ceremonies in Acapulco, in the Playa Hornos Theatre, the Palenque Heads will be awarded to the 21 international festival win¬ ning films which participated in the Mexican event. Festival organizers again stressed that the Review' is not a species of *uper - award or super - festival event. It is only a “review of tech¬ nical, artistic and .commercial” progress of the world industry, with screened films considered best ©f the year’s production. Only award made at the Fest is the In¬ ternational Critics Grand Prize, this going for what the jury selects as best picture exhibited during the Fest. A resume of the festival shows that the event suffered from lack ©f prelim organization, disregard ©F publicity needs and general bal¬ lyhoo, weak advertising of films shown and a major lack of stellar names to hypo public interest. Ferretis Calls in Press Jorge Ferretis, heaji of Film Bu¬ reau, and a director of the festival, who at first said the event did not need publicity, thus antagonizing the local press, finally reversed his stand after about nine days. He called in newspapermen and in a mass conference admitted the de¬ fects of the Fest. Ferretis promised that a com¬ mittee would be formed to avoid problems for reporters, and he kept his word. But still press cov- trage of event was lukewarm. Differences of opinion and re¬ criminations plagued the Fest from the start, with Acapulco’s hotel owners beefing about non-payment ©f loans they had advanced to fes¬ tival organizing committee a year ago. Boxoffice receipts fluctuated Widely. But the overall picture was not on par with a festival pro¬ motion of this type. Opening night gross at the San Diego Fortress in Acapulco or “Rhine Passage” came to only about SI,444. Other receipts included $856 for the Czech entry, “Man With Two Faces” and Holly¬ wood’s “Fugitive Kind,” approxi¬ mately $1,300. At the National Auditorium, the take averaged from a low of SI,500 to a high of over $3,000. Not Star-Studded Turnout Most apparent lack was a bril¬ liant star-studded turnout. Holly¬ wood was represented, for exam¬ ple, by Jack Lemmon, John Saxon, Rita Gam and Jack Kruschen as well as Eric Johnston and Robert J. Corkery plus a few others from production-executive sectors. Those who did come were well received mainly by audiences. Giulieta Masina failed to turn up Although billed as one of top names of Italian delegation. This depart¬ ment was saved by the appearance of France’s Mylene Demongeot and a few others, with a scattering of starlets in traditional bikinis pep¬ ping up things towards the close. Robert Cummings, who appeared At the San Diego Open Air Theatre the night “The Fugitive Kind” was shown, made a hit with the Mexi- «an senoritas and senoras. Union Beef Hurt in Mex City Other ills besetting the festival was the union beef that the Nation- Al Auditorium was using non-union personnel, and the faulty focusing in projection room. Indicative of lack of organization was the treat¬ ment of the Hungarian delegation who toured four Acapulco hotels to find organizing headquarters. Fi- nallj\ after some hours the weary delegation was officially received. Would Make It Market Place But despite all the errors, or¬ ganizers have announced important plans to make the fest, in succeed¬ ing years, a huge market place for the film industry. Film buyers, distributors, producers and exhibi¬ tors will have a chance to bid for world And regional rights to films. ‘Ben-Hur’ Hits Geneva Geneva, Nov. 22. Metro’s “Ben-Hur” had its Swiss opening at the 800-seat Alhambra here, preceded by a special, in¬ vitees- only screening the night before for celebs. Feature dTew hgh praise, and an extended run seems assured. Advance sale started three weeks prior to opening, an unprecedented move in Switzerland, and selling of ducats for the tw'o-a-day show¬ ings is going exceptionally well. Pic is backed by a hefty publicity and exploitation campaign includ¬ ing full-page and half-page ads, numerous tie-ups and window dis¬ plays, billposting and free space in local papers and magazines. One exploitation gimmick, in particular, is attracting attention here: a tieup with Moevenpick, which has cre¬ ated a half-dozen special Ben-Hur- inspired dishes — including such colorful items as a “Toast Mes- sala,” “Rumpsteak Ben-hur,” “Sor¬ bet Esther” and “Orange Salad Tirzah”—to be served before and after the four-hour show. L Germany Producers Tnrn to Pix Depicting Hard Times of Refugees Frankfurt, Nov. 29. West Germans are notably hesi¬ tant about tackling the split be¬ tween East and West Germany as a film topic, only four pix on this sensitive theme having been made to date—“Postlagernd Turteltaube” starting in 1952. But on the other side of the Commie curtain. East Germany’s DEFA productions are twisting the East-West theme to show how r miserable all those poor refugees are when they arrive in the West, and how they want to come back to the East again! The current release catalog of DEFA productions indicates that eight of the upcoming 20 films or 40 f l> are dealing with this border dispute. The cold war is revealed, from the Commie viewpoint, in a film called “Dokumentarstreifen ‘Docu- mentr^v Streaks', which insiders reveal is slanted against NATO General Speidel; “Unternehmen Teutonenschwert” (Under the Teu¬ tonic Sword) and a criminal theme about the cold war, Kurt Jung- Alsen’s “Die Premiere Fallt Aus” The Premiere Doesn’t Take Place). In the last named, a star is mur¬ dered on the eve of the premiere, and the search goes into West Ber¬ lin, where the murderer has es¬ caped. Other DEFA films play in a Red- fictionalized West Germany, under the eyes of a cruel West German police and unfriendly government. The film “Der Prozess wird ver- tagt” tThe Process is Delayed' is in this category, based on a novel of the Munich author Leonhard Frank. It is about an emigrant who returns to Germany to seek justice for his Jewish sister who was mur¬ dered, and finds that the man guilty is now in a high official position in the West German government. Mex Govt Oil Monopoly Helps on Film Prod. Mexico City. Nov. 29. Mexico’s government oil monop¬ oly, Petroleos Mexicanos, is partly angeling “The White Rose,” film : based on a B. Traven no vet with ; this probably last picture to be :made by Clasa Films Mundiales, , federally-owned production unit. Pemex (abbriviation) is allocating i $80,000 for the $320,000 picture i budget. The Film Bank is provid- jing $200,000. f Meanwhile, Federico Heuer of j the Film Bank, has confirmed that Clasa is to be dissolved, with the firm to be absorbed by the govern¬ ment-owned Churubusco Studios. Now that the State has studios un¬ der its control, need for Clasa no longer exists. All future films on national themes not touched by pri¬ vate elements, will be turned out at Churubusco by the Churubusco i Films affiliate, Heuer said. Pete Rogers Named To Anglo Amalgamated Bd. London,* Dec. 6. Pete Rogers, producer of the “Carry On” series and other suc¬ cessful British comedies, has been named to the board of Angla Amalgamated Film Distributors, - the company which releases his pic¬ tures. This was revealed last week by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, the Anglo toppers At the same time, Anglo has made a deal with Rogers for the production, of at least three films a year over a longterm period. His trio for 1961 will comprise "Carry On Regardless,” “The Happy Band” starring James Robertson Justice; and “The Iron Maiden,” a comedy to be filmed in Techni¬ color. Arlington, Bueno In Shaky Accord Mexico .City. Nov. 29. It may not he all clear sailing for the recently revealed coproduc¬ tion partnership between Arling¬ ton Productions and Mexican pro¬ ducer Jose Luis Bueno, Federico Heuer, head of the Film Bank, if not throwing a monkey wrench into deal at least is signifying that strict adherence to Mexican laws will be a must for the partnershiD. On original notice of the alli¬ ance, Heuer welcomed foreign capital, and said that every aid would be given. But he also said that American dollars invested in coproductions must comply with laws regulating the national film industry. Heuer said the influx of American capital was “well re¬ ceived” because it would give im¬ petus in development of Mexico's i industry. But now it’s reported that Heuer is asking the Mexican-American combine to put up a $10,000,000 to insure no delay on production plans on a four picture, per year basis. Initial plans include the ambitious film bio of Simon Bolivar. Film circles here, watching develop- J ments closely, hope that all possi -1 ble snags are cleared up. ^ j HUROK SETS U.S. TOUR FOR WARSAW SYMPH Reports from Poland of a rupture i in negotiations covering a U.S. tour of the Warsaw Philharmonic were refuted with disclosure by the Sol Hurok office in Manhattan that 100 men open Jan. 9 at Carnegie Hall, N.Y. and play some.30 Amer¬ ican cities in a six-week tour. Two conductors are Wiltold Rowicki and Stanislaw Wislocki. Two soloists are violinist Wanda Wilkomirska and pianist Regina Smendzianka. Cities include those like Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago with a density of Polish-American population but the Hurok office points out that other stands like Oxford, Miss., Ann Arbor and Davenport are hardly marked that way. Three Canadian dates, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, will be visited. Other principal one-nighters include Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Rochester Syracuse. Musicians will tour in three chartered buses with local aus¬ pices in many of the cities. War¬ saw Symph was conspicuous last spring at the Florence Music Fes¬ tival and has played in -other lands outside Poland. Earlier Warsaw report, pub¬ lished here, indicated that Hurok’s virtuoso, Artur Rubinstein, would make piano appearances with the orchestra. This possibility went | cold. Aussie Chain Not Selims Sydney, Nov. 29. Spokesman for Greater Union Theatres, major pic loop here, has denied reports that the company was planning to dispose of its key showplace, the State in Sydney, to the Myer Company of Melbourne, a department store keen to break into Sydney. Figure reportedly asked by GU for the house was $7,000,000. The State Is a 2,500-seater and uses top product from Columbia, British Empire Films and Univer¬ sal. The 10 floors above the thea¬ tre are occupied by commercial •organiaztions — British Empire Films—Rank Distributors, Bell & Howell, 16-Millimetre Australia, and the GU offices. Inside Stuff-International Ex-Met opera stage director Herbert Graf, new topper of the Zurich opera house, is giving American talent top breaks. Following a financial and prestige click In September with a new production, of Verdi’s “Othello,” staged by Graf with U. S. tenor James McCracken (who was kept down to minor roles at the Met for years and now has a star contract both in Zurich and with Herbert von Karajan’s Vienna State Opera), Stadttheatre revived Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutte.” Here, too, U. S. talent copped top critical attention, namely baritone Robert Kerns, who has a Toledo and N. Y. City Opera plus radio and tv background and sang at Menotti’s Spoleto Festival this summer; mezzo Sandra Warfield (incidentally, Mrs. McCracken in private life); and young Negro coloratura Reri Grist, a recruit from N. Y.’s City Center. Immigration elements of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who had jurisdiction were distinctly upset recently when the Red China company calling Itself the Peking Opera played dates in the Dominion. This is the troupe which had to hop from Cuba to Switzerland in order to reach Canada without passing through the United States. Story as heard from Canadians is that the Chinese "understudies,” and indeed some of the principals, had a habit of either disappearing for days, or showing up looking not like themselves at all. For reasons of diplomatic discretion not much was said openly, but the Canadian sleuths became convinced that some of those Chinese .were anjihing but entertainers. Sommelier Society tasting at Hampshire House, N. Y. last week confirms the news that the intense European summer of 1959 has produced a great vintage year in wines. But rains late in 1960 spoiled the hope of a double-vintage parlay, always a rarity. Higher alcoholic Content and sugar with lower acidity throws a special burden, however, on the skills of the vintners, if the 1959 promise is to be realized. AH of the foregoing is of some interest to U. S. cabarets, cafes and hotel rooms catering to the bon ton. Add that the 1959 champagnes may mature faster than usual, reaching market as early as 1963, and that the 1960 rain-weakened crop will be used only for blending, not designated “vintage.” Carlos Chavez, the Mexico conductor-composer who recently per¬ formed his annual stint with the N. Y. Philharmonic, wrote a book, “The New Music” in 1937 which finds fulfillment-of-prophecy in the recent demonstration at Caspary Auditorium (Rockefeller Institute) of electronic music. Allen Hughes in the N. Y. Times in summarizing the concert judged that its “depersonalized nature” does not of itself satisfy but that with visual assistance it "can seem excellent.” After beginning pre-production work on two films in Spain, for Scoe Ltd., William L. Tauh has returned to Gotham. “Ser Amado” will be shot partly in Spain with interiors in Paris, Marcel Carne, directing. - “A Life in His Hands,” will be made entirely in Madrid, as a semi- documentary, black & white. Melbourne Likes Robeson Melbourne, Nov. 29. Interest In Paul Robeson’s three concerts at the outsize Town Hall here has proved so great that he is to give a further concert at the 3,500-seat film house, St. Kilda Palais. He has been accompanied by Negro pianist Laurance Brown with New Zealand pianist Janetta McStay doing solo stints while Robeson rests vojee. Mex Legion of Decency Raps TV, Legit, Pix For Lack of Moral Values Mexico City, Nov. 22. Mexico’s tele, radio, films, legit and night club offerings were scored by the Mexican Legion of Decency as “straying from good paths” into devious ways which feature decadence of ideas and customs. The strongly worded message said that the accent on sex, abnor¬ malities, morbid themes, etc. is marked by a total absence of “mor¬ al values and quality.” All phases of the entertainment industry turn out objectionable material that is a definite danger for Mexican so¬ ciety and especially for adverse ef¬ fects on Mexican youth. Especially selected for censure were the filmed American tele se¬ ries with crime, brutality and wenching featured too realistically. Local shows, too, came in for their full share of criticism for unde¬ sirable dialogue and scenes as well as the persistent trend to have unclad chorus line, showgirls and dancers cavorting for the home screens. As for radio, the Legion said it has deteriorated into a gigantic disseminator of exotic rhythms which have no place in the Mexican scene. Motion pictures were labeled as equally superficial, even salacious and thoroughly unstable, featuring deviations and themes that are not fit fare for the family audience. This' is hardest hitting tirade against Mexican entertainment in past half year. It is not known if this is a prelude for a <irive for stricter censorship. Legion offi¬ cials refused to make any comment on possibilities of seeking official action to contain the low moral tone of all forms of entertainment. Avers Film Inc. has been author¬ ized to conduct a motion picture and show-producing business in New York, with capital stock of 200 shares, no par value. Graubert & Moskowitz were filing attorneys at Albany. Vadim, Par Seen Calling Off Deal Paris, Nov. 29. Reports here are that French pic director Roger Vadim (“And God Created Woman”) and Para¬ mount have mutually agreed to call off their three-film deal. The $100,000 advanced to Vadim will be partially repaid. It seems Paramount could not decide exactly which Vadim proj¬ ects were acceptable and they finally agreed it would be better to call the whole thing off. Paramount has his last pic, “And Die of Pleasure,” about vampires with a hint of lesbianism, for the U.S. Vadim proposed several prop¬ erties. Paramount’s vacillation is reputed to have lost one and fi¬ nally scotched another called, “Satan.” Last-named was a study of morality. However, with Par out, it seems 20th-Fox may be willing to copro¬ duce Vadim’s next pic with a French producer. ‘Stranger’ Appeal Wins Censor Fight in Sweden Stockholm, Nov. 29. Screening at the Eriksberg of Columbia’s film, “Never Take Sweets From a Stranger” brought not too unfriendly reviews from crix. But, behind the screening is a story which is close to sensa¬ tional. When the film was pre¬ sented to the State Censorship Board, only the head of the board was ready to give it the green- light, other members voted to ban it. When censors can’t agree, the Advisory Council is asked to see the film. In this case, it recom¬ mended a bah. But Columbia Pictures took the chance and appealed the ban. By tradition the government often is unwilling to change the censors’ decision. - Some members of the government saw “Stranger” and decided that the Swedish people could see it without any cuts at all. The only thing was that the government suggested it would be desirable if the film pointed out that children are not treated the way the film depicts in Sweden. And so did the distributor. This suggestion was in no way to alter the film’s screening, but the film company carried out the suggestion | anyway.