Boxoffice-June.09.1951

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Jan Grippo Sells His Rights
In 'Bowery Boys' Series
After six years and 23 pictures, Producer
Jan Grippo and the "Bowery Boys" have
parted company.
For an unspecified figure. Grippo has disposed
of his rights to the series, as well as his
personal contracts with the thespian toppers
—Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall— to Monogram,
which has been distributing the comedies for
the past half-dozen years. Grippo will retain
an interest in the pictures for the duration
of the Gorcey-Hall commitments, a matter
of approximately three years, after which
Monogram will be in full possession of all
rights.
The producer is planning an extended
pleasure trip through Europe and South
America, after which he plans to re-enter the
production field as a packager of film properties
for major release. He is now editing
"Let's Go Navy" as his final contribution to
the "Bowery Boys" series, the next of which
will be "Straight, Place and Show," and
which will be filmed for Monogram by an
as-yet undesignated producer.
Price-Merman to Produce
Technicolor Films Only
Said to be the first independent company
ever formed which plans to make only Technicolor
films—and further emphasizing the
industry trend toward tint pictures—Price-
Merman Productions has been organized by
W. H. (Doc) Merman, Maureen O'Hara. her
husband, Megaphonist Will F^ice, and John
Payne. With Merman producing. Price directing
and Payne and Miss O'Hara as the costars,
the company plans to manufacture
TWO MORE YEARS — Hollywood's
"Dollar Bills," the production team of
William H. Pine and William C- Thomas,
have inked a new two-year, eight-picture
deal whereby their product will continue
to be distributed by Paramount. The
Pine-Thomas unit thus maintains an
association with Paramount that began
10 years ago. On hand for the signature
ceremony (L to R): Pine, Thomas, Y.
Frank Freeman, Paramount vice-president
and studio head, and John Payne,
actor under contract to the P-T organization.
By
IVAN SPEAR
seven Technicolor features within the next
three years. The initialer, being readied for
an October camera start, will be "Jamaica."
Merman and Price presently are in the
east negotiating a major release. Miss O'Hara
is in Ireland co-starring with John Wayne in
John Ford's "The Quiet Man." for Republic.
Payne, in addition to his affiliation with the
new unit, is also under contract to Producers
William Pine and William Thomas.
Merman also is a P-T alumnus, having been
production manager for the unit ever since
its
inc option ten years ago.
Social Science Society Award
Goes to Cecil B. DeMille
Because his work and influence "have
shown an outstanding beneficent social
significance," Producer Cecil B. DeMille is
the recipient of its annual award by Sigma
Tau Sigma, national social science honorary
society, and was an honored guest at an
awards dinner at which the organization paid
tribute to the motion picture trade.
DeMille, currently completing "The Greatest
Show on Earth" for Paramount release,
was honored for "his help in establishing
American and democratic principles in the
motion picture industry." Actor Ronald
Reagan also received a special award for his
"forthright exemplary Americanism," while
others honored included Y. Frank Freeman,
Paramount vice-president in charge of studio
operations; James Stewart and Geroge Murphy.
In previous years the STS award garnered
by DeMille has gone to Dr. Lee A. DuBridge,
president of the California Institute of Technology,
and Paul G. Hoffman, former EGA
administrator and now head of the Ford
Foundation.
More Lake Success Scenes
For The Korean Story'
Authenticity apparently is one of the keynotes
for which Producer Edmund Grainger
is striving in the filming of "The Korean
Story" for RKO Radio release. He has dispatched
a second unit, comprising a camera
crew and sound technicians, to Lake Success,
N. Y., to lens scenes of the United Nations
in session. The footage, in which Secretary-
General Trygve Lie and other UN dignitaries
will figure, will be interwoven into the plot
of the Robert Mitchum starrer.
Meantime Grainger — who has already
gained access to actual Korean combat
footage in the files of the war department
is continuing negotiations with the department
of defense for authority to photograph
portions of "The Korean Story" in Japan and
on Korean battlefronts.
Kramer Signs Fredric March
For "Death of a Salesman'
Probably the most important morsel of
casting news was the inking of Fredric March
by the Stanley Kramer Co. for the title role
in "Death of a Salesman," film version of
the Broadway stage success, which is on the
Kramer docket as part of the company's
multiple-picture commitment with Columbia.
'The Prisoner of Z-icJi
Setfor MGM Remiej'
Among hardy perennials in tl I
ieia
escapist literature and motion (claj^
few are hardier
than "The Prisoner
of Zend a,"
penned by Anthony
Hope, and
which first appeared
in novel
form 'way back in
1894 at the climax
of the horse-andbuggy
era.
Already ; filmed
twice—once as a
silent, once as a
talkie— "Zenda" is Pandro S, \m
up for a third screen treatm
MGM's announcement it has EJed
property to Pandro S. Bermi.i p
duction agenda. This time arad
swashbuckler will serve as a st£,ng
hide for Stewart Granger, w'tn
studio apparently currently rega ' ,
as
leading exponent of the cloak-ai ''dag
motif. Granger also has "Scars mcl
"Beau Brummel" and "Robinsoi ;rui
on his upcoming schedule.
The original "Prisoner" was '.le^
Metro in 1922 with Lewis Stoni'ian
Novarro and Alice Terry, A tal.ig \
sion, produced by David O. Sel; ;k (
co-starring Ronald Colman ar. Ma
leine Carroll, hit the screens in ill7 i
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United Artists release.
Only Three Literary Sa
Recorded During Week
With a total of but three sale
the market for literary properties
definitely on the anemic side. ro
Century-Fox went film rights t,
One in Every Town," a new nove yJ
Aswell, which is scheduled for blic
this summer . . . Warners will m, ,^a
reeler. with Gordon Hollingshead iOdi
out of "No Pets Allowed," a Sat. Jay
ning Post yarn by Roderick Lull, .,wh
boy and his dog are the protag ,sts
The Stanley Kramer Co. added "Ti .Sn
described as the story of a sex r 'iia(
the lack of adequate measures Pi
society therefrom, to its schedui^ for
lumbia release. The opus was peniii 'by
and Edward Anhalt.
Japanese Actress Impor;
For 'East Is
East' Role
An international flavor was imp?
morsel of casting news when the
partment okayed the entry of Shi;
guchi, Japanese actress, to star
Taylor in "East Is East," which Jo
hard and Anson Bond are produci:
Century-Fox release . . .
Univers;
tional booked Virginia Field an
Denning for top supporting roles
actress, for a featured role in hi
RKO Radio release, "I Want You.
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"Wi
End With Father" . . Barton Me, ane
cast as a cavalry captain in Warm •Bu
in the Afternoon" . . .
Producer Sai elG
wyn inked Mildred Dunnock, Broa, ay Sf
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22 BOXOFFICE
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