Variety (January 1961)

January 4, 1961 Fiftyfifth i PICTURES 59 $o. America For Production ; Continued from page 11 ; niteries, fine restaurants and swank hotels are flourishing — and prices are unbelievably low. While representatives of these nations, list the lures for tourist trade, they make an even stronger pitch for film productions, stressing the widespread diversity of loca¬ tions, favorable rate of exchange, and low labor costs combined with ample accommodations and excel¬ lent food — at bargain rates. With production costs mounting in Eu¬ rope and Mexico, South America is a natural they argue. And with the inauguration of jet flights via Panama and Panagra last Decem¬ ber no city in that continent is more than 12 hours from Holly¬ wood. The airliners carry from 125-130 passengers; and freight rates from the film capital to any port south of the equator are of white beaches are deserted be¬ cause of the multitude of jellyfish inhabiting the channel. “Someone will do a story related to these some day,” he predicted. Mean¬ while, the planters will welcome film makers with open arms. Uruguay Also Represents A Film Location Chance Joseph Brunet, owner of the largest screen houses in Monte¬ video and Punta del Este, cited numerous advantages for locations in Uruguay. The climate, similar to that of Los Angeles, low cost of labor, and a widespread cattle country, with fabulous haciendas, colorful roundups and fiestas, and the. spectacular gambling casinos at Carrasco (on the edge of Monte¬ video) and Punta del Este. The cheaper than those to any port in | Uruguay river with its Great Falls Europe— -and Moore McCormack freighters sail every two weeks, Westfall-Larsen once a month and , and hydroelectric dam at Rio Negro, the Swiss colony 80 miles least of the capital and the extenGrace Lines, which serve the west : *ive beaches are among other atcoast only, every fortnight Various i tractions. local air and steamship lines pro¬ vide auxiliary service to the back country and smaller ports. Diversity of Scenery And Favorable Dollar Rate .. In Rio. Dr. Herbert Moses, presi¬ dent of the Brazilian, Press Club (A.B.I.i, cited numerous location possibilities and advantages of¬ fered in this nation. (This organiza¬ tion is certainly more stable and possibly more powerful than the current governmental regime inas¬ much as President Kubitschek is due to retire this year). Among these was the Quintan Good and inexpensive accommo¬ dations are. to be found in all of these places. At Punta del Este, the choice place is the Cantegril Coun¬ try Club, w’here a bungalow, for four rents for $20 per day, includ¬ ing meals. Room and bath at the leading hotel. Victoria Plaza, in Montevideo costs $8. In the back country, numerous good inns fea¬ ture lovely rooms wdth meals for $4. Unskilled, labor draw's about $25 per month; and house servants from $10-S12. Brunet and his family form the film censorship board of this coun try Although he doesn’t operate ri«nrt ??nn \n thpmnnn the theatres he .reserves the right resort 2,500 feet high m the moun i _ , fu tains, two hours drive from Rio: i J ”PP„Y> ™ Kir nAKAiKtr :+ • snowing of movies he deems in l ^ J i V°or taste. Each new film is run I off in his backyard theatre— a 46golf course 3nd tropicsl jungle in house with widp serpen and the background. Two miles distant ! ♦ and lies Metropolis. government seat : latest Projectlon equipment, when Brazil was a Portuguese col Hotels and Food Prices: ony, and the site of the Emperor’s -jr * . (Don Pedro’s) palace, W’hich is now ; U nDelieVable LCOnOHllCS a national museum, filled with j „ , ' , original furnishings, glass-encased I m*!es UP. a lazy— and fans, jewels, robes, china and other ; niuddy—rner, three times as broad relics of royalty. Visitors are re i as Mississippi Buenos Aires is quired to w;ear felt slippers— or a comeback, following the go in stocking feet — in order to : ?xPulsl0n pcron. Anyone from protect the elaborate parquet : Hollywood receives a hearty wei■ floors, but admission is free and’™™ here according to Jose Fertip is voluntary. Hansom cabs will , Pal3^f2, a |,eadm2 (Gath take you through the royal gar & .Chaves dept, store). He pointed dens, for two bits U.S. The Grinle : ?ut . tl}e Preparations estate and other summer mansions v exPedlte. Production (Grinle owms the Copacabana Hotel «°f, .^n American m Buenos Aires^ in Rio) with accompanying orchid j V,?*31* ¥amie ^an Doren and accompanying orchid plantations,, are accessible to tour¬ ists in the cobblestone-paved canalcentered town of Petropolis — for free. At Quintandinha, a plush lakeview' room with bath and continen¬ tal breakfast for two will cost $4. But if you feel real extravagant, you can buy one of the supper de¬ luxe suites for $11. Prices are low'er for an organized group. Top price for dinners, including wine, is $1.75. Jean Pierre Aumont, and the news¬ paper headlines heralding the vis¬ its of Joan Crawford and Bing Crosby < the actress cruised in aboard the “Brazil.” but the crooner deferred his visit to the gaucho fiesta until ’61). The casino at Mar del Plata250 miles away, on the Atlantic coast— is said to be the largest in the world; and there are about 250 hotels in this beach resort. Nearby are two estancias where the lead * | ScUe& BteutcUed, /fccaueitl 5 Potential mg breeds of Argentine race horses Empty Exposition Edifices originated. Nahuel Huapi National TJnni j Parkoffers a wide range of back Caliea Ideal otUQlOS , grounds, including a lake 2.000 feet If sound stages are needed. 1 high surrounded by 12.000-icet Moses suggested, w’hy not the now mountain peaks, a Swiss village, empty Exposition building in Sao glaciers and a huge waterfall, and Paulo? Air-conditioned, sound excellent accommodations at the proofed, contemporary structures were erected in celebration of in¬ dependence. This city, with its nu¬ merous industries, is the “Chicago” of S.A. The piled white cubes of the skyscrapers — one is completed every 70 minutes — overlap the patina of centuries of European culture. The state of S.P. is approx¬ imately the size of Arizona and has about one-fifth of Brazil’s total population. Its 30,000 factories con¬ trast sharply with Matarazzo estate ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ The table below gives a breakdown on the domestic sales setup of one of the largest and most active oh major U.S, distribution com¬ panies, 20th Century-Fax , which last year re¬ leased more than 40 pictures and in 1961 plans for 60, W'hen 20th went to an auton¬ omous branch system almost two years ago , divisional supervision teas abandoned. Sev¬ eral months ago , general sales manager Glenn Norris instituted his ((sales cabinet ” system to facilitate liaison between the field and the komeoffice. Territories noted beloic are noio represented at the homeoffice by the follow¬ ing executives: Abe Dickstein, New York City (also coordinator of national circuits sales relations); Bob Conn , east-central-midwest ; Tom McCleaster, west-south; Pete Myers , Canada . NO. OF % OF TOTAL NO. OF THEATRES DOMESTIC SALES -OF DOMESTIC BRANCHES IN TERRITORY POSSIBILITIES SALES QUOTA (1960) 1 561 4.44 11.51 17* 5.459 43.25 41.46 14** 5,642 44.70 38.47 6*** 961 7.61 8.56 ... 38 12,623 100.00 100.00 * Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Des Moines. Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Haven; Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Washington. D. C. ** Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, New’ Orleans, Oklahoma City, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle. *** Calgary, Montreal, St. John, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg. TERRITORY New York City . East-Central-Midwrest West-South . Canada * TOTAL Llno-Llao and smaller hotels. Hotel rales vary from S5-S11 for two. Toe swank Pla/a. which gets the. top money in B.A., is a jfave hangout for Americans, al¬ though the Alvear Palace. Califor : nia. Continental and Crillon have good accommodations! But some of these offer a special hurdle — a ' language handicap, with perhaps • one person in the entire establish¬ ment who speaks English and even ' as simple a piojeet as orderin with it-; lush acres of gardens and howl of ice cubescan be an ordeal statuary. ; when' 'neither the switchboard oper \ The minimum rate for unskilled at or nor room service speaks your! workers — meaning anything less ; languaae, and you don’t speak I than technical help — is $1.90 per Spanish. i day for 10 hours. Technicians draw ’ Food prices are ridiculously low $2.50 per day. in Argentina. Although all of south ! Tlie Excelsior — one of the of the equator countries put the i leading hotels in Sao Paulo — fea emphasis on steak, it reigns su! tures a smorgasbord lunch, with . preme in this nation. It is served ! 150 dishes on the buffet table, plus for breakfast, lunch and dinner — : j soup, entree, dessert and coffee for despite the fact that in its eco I about SI. 25 U.S. Room and bath ; nomie belt-tighteningthe -govern--; here or at the Jaragua or Othon ! ment is urging the populace to eat Palace — comparable to the Gotham, . loss of it so that meat can be ex ■ In N.Y., costs from S5-S7.50 per ! ported. At La Cabana,, presided day for two. Local beer is 15c per over by Max Fellamayer.'ex-maitre quart. d’ of the Adlon in Berlin, a com Paranagua. port of the coffee ’ plete dinner with chateaubraand j empire, is worthy of consideration, j costs approximately $2. And at | also, Moses pointed out. Its miles I Shorthorn Grill, the same type of I steak topped With a chunk of roquefort cheese — a specialty of the house— costs $1.75. Specialty of the Plaza is pepper steaks, about the same price./ Native w’ines are also very low in price. Domestic help and unskilled la¬ bor run about the' same — $10 per week; and a top news reporter sel¬ dom draws more than $20. Prior to the earthquake, tidal waves and subsequent disasters in Chile, fine accommodations w’ere to be had in both the large cities and resorts, priced from $6.50 up. The Miramar and San Martin hotels at Vina del Mar, with its splendrous casino, vie with any Southern Californian resort estab¬ lishments. But the extent of dam¬ age is fogged by contradictory re¬ ports, so this reporter is unable to present an accurate picture of the area. Seven months of the year, fog whispers against the windows in Lima, Peru, where the TB rate is second highest in the world. But the natives one encounters on the main streets are indistinguishable from their opposite numbers in the San Fernando Valley.. And the country club area with its super¬ markets, new houses, golf course and swimming pools is not too far a cry from Toluca Lake — with this exception: one of the finest hotels in Peru and numerous excellent villas with many servants. Rates at the hotel are approximately $10 per day; at the pensions, $30 per week, including meals. In the Chosica Valley, about an hour’s drive from Lima, there’s no fog and a number of good hotels along the Rimac River. Cuzco, ancient capital of the Incas, offers Spanish culture superimposed on native relics; and Machu Picchu — three hours by train — is one of the most awe-inspiring sights in Latin America. The Hotel Cuzco is tops in this mountainous region. The Gran Bolivar, Crillon and Maury are elegant hostelries in the capital and all air-conditioned. The former offers a cambio. postoffice and night club. Rates are reason¬ able — from $8.50-$ll double. Beer at the Maury bar costs 15c per quart and is served in cut glass j stemware. Pisco sours — a native ! drink — cost about 35c. And gour ! met food is served al a number of : restaurants, including the colorful Trece Moneldas.tl3 Coins) with a fabulous luncheon at $2 or the . Granja Azul, on one side of the j Andes, -where spit-roasted chicken j — all you can eat for $3— is a draw , ing card. ! There are just two classes in these countries — rich or poor. If you’ve got it, chances are you’ll j get more. If you haven’t got it, : opportunities are virtually nil. If . you’ve got it, you live it up in a : manner that would put Diamond : Jim to shame; if you’re poor, you’re j apt to live in squatter’s huts, i perched on a hillside or in swamps, ! and formed of scraps of wood, flat j tened tin cans, discards of all : kinds, and without gas, electricity I or running water. But in Lima, the j class distinction .is more apparent j than anywhere else Between the ' port of Callao and the city, there’s = an overwhelming number of paper _ shanties, tied to trees for support, j And a few pennies a day will suf¬ fice in payment for unskilled labor. Quien sabe? However, it is literally un¬ skilled. According to Barbara Defends Film Sales Status Quo ; Continued from page 13 ; streamlining its operations in every possible way, except those which might result in decreased efficiency. Fact that wages have gone up every two years in the exchanges (“they have to, on basis of cost-of-living clauses — also, let’s face it, unions have to show they’re in there pitching for their mem¬ bers”), obviously means that 20th, in order to hold its overall dis¬ tribution costs at a steady level, has done quite a bit of “stream¬ lining.” At this point, says the exec, 20th branches are operating just about as* efficiently as possible, and he doesn't know any better way for distributing to a mass market the 40-odd pictures 20th sent out in 1^60 or the projected 60-pie sched¬ ule for 1961. There is, he says in answer to a question, a figure on the average distribution cost-per-picture when a year’s total receipts are added up, but it’s a meaningless figure. Each picture is a different enter¬ prise, and obviously it wouldn’t make sense to indiscriminately in¬ crease your release schedule just to bring down per-pic handling costs — if all the pix were duds. Per-Reel Handling An Item of Differential There are. however, per-reel handling costs which differ quite a bit from exchange to exchange. Thus, oddly, they may be quite high in an area where wages are low. This is the case in one small southern exchange which is re¬ quired to. service a lot of small O’Brien, ex-Stanfordite vow veepee and general manager of Oeschle's — the largest de¬ partment stores — every time a net o janitor is hired, someone has to show him to operate the faucets. Rio and B.A., Santos and Sao Paulo are the gayest cities in this group of nation<. Niteries. thea¬ tres, operas, symphonies and ballet are all packed. And headliners only are booked for such places as Copa¬ cabana Palace’ “Golden Room,” the "Studium” at the Excelsior Hotel, the “Beguin” in the Gloria Hotel or at “Sacha’s” — in Rio. Or at Boite Oasis, African Boite or Studium in Sao Paulo, The Parque Balneario in Santos or the Gong, Tabaris or Embassy Casino in B.A. Tealro Colon in the latter city is reputed to be the largest opera house in the world. It features a National Symphony orchestra of 100 pieces — with guest conductors — and has its own opeia and ballet company, with talent imported from Europe and the U.S. And Tealro Municipal in Rio is worldfamous. A vast amount of lip-service is given to “local cooperation” with film companies which might loca¬ tion in any of these south of the equator areas, but the specific ex¬ tent of financial cooperation is clouded by generalities. Any dis¬ cussion on this subject is chan¬ neled into a resume of local talent, local film producers and directors, and the low cost of living, as well as available equipment and cheap labor. accounts for a not very substan¬ tial total business. Because of 20th’s present domes¬ tic setup, Norris doesn’t see how consolidation with one or mors majors of their various physical services — shipping, inspection, etc. — could spell cost savings to his company. He reports that in one exchange area, where this sort of consolidation was more or less forced on 20th ia superhighway cut through Film Row), service costs have been a good deal higher than when 20th handled them it¬ self. (Luckily, he reports, 20lh went into this consolidation under a contract with a service company w’hich required that the service company not charge 20th more than 20th had been paying out previously. Service company is losing money on the deal, he believes.) As for the future of the biz. and the incentive to attract young guys who might want to make a career in distribution. Norris says simply that any industry that does a bil¬ lion-plus annual gross w’ould seem to have a future. He says he’s not panicked by the thought of toll tv when he sees the grosses racked up by such pix as “South Pacific” and “Ben-Hur." It will be a long time before toll tv, or any other means of conveying entertainment to the public, can match the color and scope of the product offered via the big theatre screen. How about attracting youngsters? “They come to u.s.” Many are right out of school — college is not re¬ quired if they are bright and will¬ ing to learn. Norris admits candid¬ ly that the A & P would probably pay them more in their beginning days, but the “industry has a certain glamor which they want to be a part of.” How much can a kid hope to earn if he sticks with it? “Well, I don’t know any branch manager who is making more than $500 a week,” Medicine Hat Poorly Medicine Hat, Alta. Astra and Roxy theatres shut¬ tered recently and the Monaich has cut its schedule. Poor attend¬ ance was blamed. The 440-seat Astra, opened in 1941, was operated by Dederc: En¬ terprises Ltd. It will be demol¬ ished to make way for a business centre, with retail stores and offices. The 400-seat Roxy was opened 30 years ago. The lea>e of the property has been retained by Fa¬ mous Players Canadian C’orp Fred Tickell, manager of the Roxy and Monaich. said there ale no immediate plans lor the Roxy site and that it will simply remain idle for the pre<en{. The Monarch, a 647-sealer, will confine its show ing> to ownings, with matinees on Saturdays only. Policy has been to screen matinees on Wednesdays. Thursdajs. Fri¬ days and Saturdays. Tickell said little unemployment would be caused by the two clos¬ ings as most of the nine workers were hired on a part time ba^is and would p-obably be able to obtain alternative employment before long.