Variety (December 1960)

16 PICTURES PteRIETT Wednesday, December 23* 1966 Hollywood Invades Tahiti ; Continued from page 2 ; the hotels that American tourists I and spoke of the English lessons would use , including third class ac-: being given the Tahitians who will eommodations. This posed a prob- ;be in the picture and the large lent not only for tourists but for: numbers of natives who will be particular. Commenting that it is easy to criticize, it expresses the hope that its criticism is not par¬ tisan, but objective. It decries the effort of the gov¬ ernment*. and -especially the tourist bureau, should have foreseen things and imposed conditions that would have required Metro to build an appropriate housing cen¬ to take over practically all the j cause as little trouble to the com- \ should haye fixed the proper good hotels. Some resisted. munity as possible. | standards.” As of today, MGM has the Grand! But as one of the owners of a! The weekly compared the film Hotel, on the waterfront at Pa-; popular local bar says, “All prices j produced in 1934 and the present peete, four stories high—a sky- are going up now'. They hire a i version that the. whole affair is c( raper in these parts—which has small truck. Instead of 200 ($2.25)! completely different “The movie 85 rooms: the Tiki Tapu, 13 new j francs a day, they pay 1,000 ($12)! of 1934 that we know, told the life cottages; the Lotus Village, a group | francs a day—too much. They pay i on the ‘Bounty’ and the mutiny on board. The movie had very few episodes taking place in Tahiti. On the other hand, this new version is going to be done almost entirely in Tahiti and it will be the lives of of 15 modern bungalows built ; Sas too. Not good for Tahiti. They around a swimming pool. Overflows . spoil business for later. But please are at the New Tahiti, Les Tropi- j don't mention my name.” 2 ues, the la Orana, the Bel Air Economy Shoots Up ’ottages and in private homes or Villas. As a result, the non-Hollywood . MGM’s proposal to take over all of tourist has find a place to stay, j his bungalows for the duration, Even officers of the Mariposa,; said he didn’t mind being named Which regularly comes to this port; He hails from Los Angeles and ©n its South Seas cruises, had;knows film people. His view was- trouble getting hotel beds for the! “MGM is making it difficult for Couple of nights in port. ! local tradesmen and residents. The government tourist office, | They are offering higher prices Under its new director, G. dejthan prevailing for whatever they Noaillat, just returned from selling j see and want. They are not subtle, Tahiti to travel agents gathered in j they try to get what they want with Honolulu for ASTA’s 30th annual j higher prices. They will knock our ! invention, knows it has a growing i economy for a loop.” leadache. Metro’s “occupation” is S Meantime, the MGM staffs are I Ravaged by "the" tourist insectrThe ikely to last. six months, maybe J filling the night spots and have [ airlines Want to sell trips, want to B ore, depending on the weather. | changed the scene at the favorite I make money. The airplanes which ecember and Janfiary are rain j bars. The routine, especially on Lnow arrive are full though this is Tnonths here and may well delay Saturday night, is still fhe same, j the dead season for tourism in the shooting and work scheduled. But Bar Lea, Col. Bleu and Quinn’s get j Pacific. Other aviation companies the early play and then the mad! are being established to go to dash by bus, car, bicycle, scooter, • Tahiti. The tourists will sleep on motorcycle to Lafayette, five miles tt _ ^ mr . . ! O.CUUL1 auu n wiu uc tuc uvw v* Homer Morgan, manager of Les: the mutineers in Tahiti and then Tropiques, who turned down|j n Polynesia, The presence of the " ~ 1 boat and of the actors is therefore indispensable.” The paper then criticizes the government for allowing the Tahi¬ tians to be fanciful, sensual, lazy, and neglecting the economy. It warns that the creation of a tour¬ istic industry to help balance the economy “will lead to misery” and suggests that they might take a referendum “for or against de Gaulle or France to see whether Tahiti wants to be or not to be JvIGM has been moving an as rap¬ idly as possible. Romanoff’s-on-the-Coral-Sea Staff, cast and crews are con- j out of Papeete, which keeps going Verging for the start of shooting, { till 3:30 a.m. At all these places, Marlon Brando has been around \ the Hollywood boys make the ob- |or weeks and is a regular at the jvious effort to go native in their Slight clubs. Sir Carol Reed, direct-! dress and their dance gyrations, ing the picture, and Trevor Howard j The sensuous dance doesn't look arrived over this past weekend, j the same. Hugh Griffith and other members | There is no cover charge at the ©f the cast already are here. Pro-: bars, drinks are cheap, the orches- ducer Aaron Rosenberg recently jtra is loud and jazzy, the saloon arrived with some crew members. Almost every SPAL and TAI ar¬ rival has brought more personnel. Where to put them all has be¬ come such a problem that the com- atmosphere pervades the murkily lighted dance floor, tables and booths. The Tahitian hula and American swing are getting a real workout and “jumping at the Bar anunity is buzzing about MGM’s Lea” (Tamure) and the latest pop- operation. To get accommodations A — Metro has been paying more than going rentals. It has upped the prices for whatever is needed. These disturbances of the local ular Arahoho, songs will soon be transported to Hollywood. Tipping and Romance Causing worry here is tipping. uibiuiudutcb ui uie iuuai t* _ ^^ ^ ♦conomy have caused concern in jji ifficial and private quarters. Sensing the growing resentments $n the community, MGM’s publicity tnan on the film, Morgan Hudgins, attended the Rotary Club meeting ist is warned that “tipping is en¬ tirely contrary to the Tahitian idea of hospitality; please respect this custom and do not offer tips.” The invasion is putting this custom to me Huittiv uiuu meeting _ 4. . .a ... last week end assured his 30-odd !?,f£ ,est No .one solicits tips listeners that MGM was not out to j th , e „ 3 L beginning to accept hurt its economy. He pointed out.. -,---7-.. the film -company would likely I them when tendered. The next spend $2,000,000 in the Society Islands. Weather permitting, Metro Should finish the job and be out in tour months. Hudgins stressed the good being done for the community Investors: t'fiRlETf front-paged our movie report on De¬ cember 7th .,« Now, for a quote on your Film-TV stock or other investment information, call our specialist — Ed Brennan at DI 4-7800. For Onr Film Survey Write to: Hardy & Co. Established 1923 Members Nw York Stock Exchange Members American Stock Exchange 30 Broad Strebt, New York 4 543 Madison Avenue New York 22, N. Y. Main St. & Meetinghouse Lane Southampton, L. I., N. Y. the beaches if need be ... we can no more stop them .. . the inyasion has begun arid begun badly and already there is the speed of con¬ quest and of debauchery.” There are large plans for new hotels . and bungalows at Tahiti. Sheraton is planning a hotel, with some 200 rooms. Each of the pres¬ ent hotels is working on expansion. So, the prospects should not look too gloomy for Tahiti for tourist accommodations. Whether these will be ample to meet the increased flow resulting from the jets which will begin flying next year remains to be seen. There is hope that the new governor will regularize mat¬ ters to accommodate the increased traffic and enlarged demands of growing tourism. Certainly “The Mutiny on the Bounty,” should show the physical beauty of the Society Islands and should be a boon, not a bane, for travel to Tahiti, even if the Tahiti of Cook and Darwin, Loti and Brooke, Stev¬ enson and London, Gauguin and Melville, and even of the Bounty’s author, the late James Norman Hall, is no longer, the unspoiled, primitive and exotic place they pictured. not entirely to blame for this. Had MGM not come here at this time, American tourists would before long have made a shambles of this custom with their system of gratui¬ ties to gain special favor or to show sincere appreciation for unu¬ sual or unexpected service. : Another problem is life and love, In the recent “Tahiti Tour Guide” by Austin Peterson — published this summer and distributed b^ SPAL to its passengers—the au-?, thor says: “For the most part the ! no objection to holding a wind-up Polynesian lives the happy life j oral argument on RKO General’s with few worries . . .‘Life is sim- ‘ P a Y television application before pie. Life is good. Why louse it up i the Commission decides the case. Corrects Marcus Colrn; No ‘Requirement’ at Law On Oral Echo Re Hartford Washington, Dec. 20. Broadcast Bureau of Federal Communications Commission sees THEATRE FOR SALE Gov. RitchU Thoatre—700 car drive-in thoafre In continuous operation since 1939 on Ritchie Highway 3 miles south of Baltimore. Highly profitable thea¬ tre Including choice commercial front¬ age. Stockholders deadlock has forced sale by public auction to be held January 25, 1951. For full Informa¬ tion write Gov. Ritchie Theatre, Inc, P. O. Box 25, Glen Burnie, Maryland. —just live it up’ seems to be his motto. If he feels like oranges he can hike up in the hills and pick wild ones that are a gourmet’s de¬ light. If he craves fresh water shrimp, a delicacy found only in Tahiti and Shanghai, a bicycle ride will take him to streams where a basketful can be speared in a few hours. If the Tahitian has a prob¬ lem, he can’t think what it Is. Live and love. Love and live. That’s all that matters.” This may have been true In May and June but this is November, and MGM is here in full force. Competition is keen for the bet¬ ter looking femmes. And the Hol¬ lywood boys are finding out that money helps. So, an old tradition is being challenged and many in government circles have expressed I concern that a new class is coming 1 into being — new to Tahiti, old everywhere else in the world. The ; natives are worried about the pros¬ pect of what is becoming “free love for sale.” j Local Press Reaction j These worries are reflected in : an editorial of the weekly La Trib¬ une'Tahitianne which has harsh ‘words to say, not only about MGM but tourists in general, and the government tourist activities in 1960 High Low 4234 2334 46% 2534 42V4 19 % 45% 34 267a 14% 3934 17% 49% 20 136*4 94 8% 5% 23% 11% 19 14 40% 22*4 45*4 2474 667-6 1276 13 4% 67% * 39% 3814 1576 26134 163*4 78% 46% 11% 7% 42% 19% 30% 26% 43% 30 35% 23% 51% 28*4 84 70% 54*4 37% 129% 89% 6% 4% 7*4 3 1134 8 676 3 3 6 1434 8*4 7% 4*6 236 5 16 8% 7% 876 2*4 1076 6% 14% 434 16% 8*6 2 8 % ♦Week Ended Fri. <23>. t Actual -Volume. (Courtesy of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.) Over-the-Counier Securities Bid Ask ( Source : National Assn, of Securities Dealers Inc.) Berger Unit Of AUied Moribund But it disagreed with the con¬ tention. by Marcus Cohn, attorney for exhibitor interests opposing the grant, that such an argument is “required” and his to demand as a matter of right. Cohn asked for argument before the full Commission two weeks ago in his proposed findings^ in the case. The Commission in October held five days of hearings on RKO General’s proposal to conduct a three-year test of the Zenith Phonevisiom system in Hartford. The Broadcast Bureau pointed out that Cohn, along with other parties in the case, waived his right to an oral summation at the close of the hearings. It added that neither the Communications Act nor the Administrative Pro¬ cedures Act gives parties In an adjudicatory proceeding like the Hartford case the right to oral argument. Neither, the Bureau said, is an oral argument necessary to guarantee fair treatment of the parties. But the Bureau said it doesn’t object to a limited oral proceeding held in the near future so as to avoid delaying Commission action on the grant. It suggested a time limit of 30 minutes apiece for the three parties in the case to appear, Minneapolis, Dec. 27. This territory for the first time Is sans a theatremen’s organiza¬ tion. After 30 years of existence North Central Allied, which had been the sole such body, is kaput. And the only person who seems to care is Bennie Berger, circuit man¬ ager and long-time head up to two years ago. But even Berger, who says there’s a “critical” need for an exhibitors’ organization in the area to. try to protect small exhibitors’ interests, isn’t going to do anything about it now. He explains that he wants to wait and see what will happen to / national Allied States before “possibly” taking any action. Several of the area’s larger and more prosperous circuit owners are members of Theatre Owners of America, but nothing has been done to form a TOA unit in this terri¬ tory. Berger, after being at the helm nearly all the time since the death of W. A. Steffes 15 years ago, re¬ linquished the presidency two years ago, principally because of dissen¬ sion within the ranks over his bel¬ ligerence and his dissatisfaction with the support accorded him. W. F. Mantzke was elected to succeed Berger and was re-elected {for a second term. But Berger says that “actually, NCA hasn't been functioning as an operational or¬ ganization the past two years. Mantzke didn’t attend the national Allied convention. Now in poor health, Mantzke is wintering in California. Before his departure he was queried about NCA and said that directors would ■ meet next month to choose his suc¬ cessor. However, directors say Edson Stoll, an unknown, get role of “Prince Charming” h “Snow White and the Thre Stooges” at 20th. they contemplate no such meeting and regard NCA as “a thing of the past” Hotel Salisbury I An Excelleat Iotel iiMii-MmliiUil NEW YORK CITY Residence of the Stars. Very large Rooms Walk-in Closets Serving Pantries Air-conditioning • TV Daily rates from $10 for one, $15 for two Parlor suites from $20 Residence rates quoted 123 West 57th Street, | New York 17, N. Y.* Circle 6-1300 or, coll your local “Ask Mr. Foster Travel ? Service." Coast to Coast. New York Theatre ,— RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL—| Rockefeller Center • Cl 6-4600. DEBORAH ROBERT PETER KERR • MITCHUM • USTINOV IK TRE0 ZINNEMANH'S PRODUCTION OF “THE SUNDOWNERS” A WARNER BROS. PICTURE ioTECHNICOLOR* *nd THE MUSIC lALl'S CHEAT CHRISTMAS STAU SHIV