72-487: The Small Back Room (U.S. title: Hour of Glory ) is a 1949 film by the British producer-writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron and featuring Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack . It was based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin . The theme is the unsung heroes of the last war, the 'backroom boys', gradually coming into their own. Sammy Rice
144-422: A jargon called slanguage or Varietyese (a form of headlinese ) that refers especially to the movie industry, and has largely been adopted and imitated by other writers in the industry. The language initially reflected that spoken by the actors during the early days of the newspaper. Such terms as "boffo", "payola", and "striptease" are attributed to the magazine. In 1934, founder Sime Silverman headed
216-740: A 31-story office building on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile area. The building was dubbed the Variety Building because a red, illuminated " Variety " sign graced the top of it. In 2013, PMC, the parent company of Variety , announced plans to move Variety's offices to their new corporate headquarters at 11175 Santa Monica Blvd. in Westwood. There, Variety shares the 9-story building with parent company PMC, Variety Intelligence Platform, and PMC's other media brands, including Deadline.com , Rolling Stone , Vibe , Billboard , Robb Report and
288-411: A critically wounded soldier. While Rice is getting drunk in his flat after Susan's departure, Stuart calls him: two further devices have been found at Chesil Beach . They look like common thermos flasks . While Rice makes his way to the location, Stuart dies attempting to defuse the first device. Stuart gave a running commentary during the process by radio, recorded by an ATS corporal. Rice listens to
360-407: A film producer, believed to be George Kleine , that they were wasting space criticizing moving pictures and others had suggested that favorable reviews brought too strong a demand for certain pictures to the exclusion of others. Despite the gap, Variety is still the longest unbroken source of film criticism in existence. In 1930 Variety also started publishing a summary of miniature reviews for
432-567: A key part in the history of British film, and have become influential and iconic for many film-makers of later generations, such as Martin Scorsese , Francis Ford Coppola and George A. Romero , among others. Four of their films are among the Top 50 British films of the 20th century according to the British Film Institute , with The Red Shoes placing in the top 10. Powell and Pressburger,
504-577: A letter to Wendy Hiller in 1942, asking her to appear in Colonel Blimp , Pressburger explicitly set out 'The Archers' Manifesto'. Its five points express the pair's intentions: They began to form a group of regular cast and crew members who worked with them on many films over the next 12 years. Hardly any of these people were ever under contract to The Archers—they were hired film by film—but Powell and Pressburger soon learnt whom they worked well with and who enjoyed working with them. When Raymond Massey
576-555: A list in Time magazine of the "ten modern Americans who have done most to keep American jargon alive". According to The Boston Globe , the Oxford English Dictionary cites Variety as the earliest source for about two dozen terms, including "show biz" (1945). In 2005, Welcome Books published The Hollywood Dictionary by Timothy M. Gray and J. C. Suares, which defines nearly 200 of these terms. One of its popular headlines
648-571: A number of films. Actors who were part of The Archers' "stock company" include: Notable crew members include: Powell & Pressburger also produced two films written and directed by crewmembers or compatriots of through their production company. Michael Powell's gift was that he saw things with terrible clarity. Perhaps his films have been waiting for DVD all along. There is not a British director, working in Britain, with as many worthwhile films to his credit as Michael Powell. British film critics gave
720-418: A review by Silverman's son Sidne , also known as Skigie (based on the childish lisping of his name) who was claimed to be the youngest critic in the world at seven years old. In 1922, Silverman acquired The New York Clipper which had been reporting on the stage and other entertainment since 1853, in an attempt to attract advertising revenue away from Billboard , following a dispute with William Donaldson,
792-410: A series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. Their collaborations —24 films between 1939 and 1972—were mainly derived from original stories by Pressburger with the script written by both Pressburger and Powell. Powell did most of the directing while Pressburger did most of the work of the producer and also assisted with the editing, especially the way the music was used. Unusually, the pair shared
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#1732881521513864-411: A team, with the cast and crew often making suggestions. Pressburger was always on hand, usually on the studio floor, to make sure that these late changes fit seamlessly into the story. Once the filming was finished, Powell usually went off for a walk in the hills of Scotland to clear his head, but Pressburger was often closely involved in the editing, especially in the way the music was used. Pressburger
936-704: A woman into a man, he'd altered the suspense, he'd rewritten the end... I was rejoicing that I was going to be working with someone like this. Powell and Pressburger also co-produced a few films by other directors under The Archers' banner: The Silver Fleet (1943), written and directed by Vernon Sewell and Gordon Wellesley , based on a story by Pressburger, and The End of the River (1947), directed by Derek N. Twist , to which both Powell and Pressburger contributed uncredited writing. Both Sewell and Twist had worked with Powell & Pressburger previously on other films and were being given their first chance as directors. Over
1008-431: A writer-director-producer credit for most of their films. The best-known of these are The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). In 1981, Powell and Pressburger were recognised for their contributions to British cinema with
1080-511: Is a British scientist in a " back room" team evaluating new weapons in London during the Second World War . Their work is constantly frustrated by bureaucrats and poor management. He is drowning in self-pity: he feels unworthy of his girlfriend Susan because he is disabled, and he is in constant pain due to his prosthetic leg . He drinks too much whisky to ease his depression and pain. Susan, who
1152-615: Is a secretary in the department, puts up with his temper and self-destructive behaviour until their Minister is forced to resign. Susan knows that if non-scientists take over, the section will become useless and Rice will be even more difficult to live with. She urges him to take action. When she realises Rice refuses to do anything to stand up for himself, she leaves him. Earlier, Rice had been asked by Captain Stuart to help investigate mysterious booby-trapped devices (mines) being dropped by Nazi bombers. They received some useful information from
1224-614: Is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation . It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville . In 1933, Daily Variety was launched, based in Los Angeles, to cover the motion-picture industry . Variety 's website features entertainment news, reviews, box office results, plus a credits database, production charts and film calendar. Variety has been published since December 16, 1905, when it
1296-448: Is an excellent entertainment and there are some very neat cameos of the minor frustrations of the back-room boys' travails. David Farrar turns in a convincing performance as Sammy Rice and has one believing in the reality of his game foot. Kathleen Byron is a moving and long-suffering – perhaps rather too long-suffering – Susan, and there are some good portrayals by Leslie Banks, Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack." Variety said that although
1368-656: Is the credited director (also producer on 49th Parallel ), while Pressburger is credited with the screenplay: The pair adopted a joint writer-producer-director credit for their next film, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) and made reference to "The Archers" in the credits. In 1943 they incorporated their own production company, Archers Film Productions, and adopted a distinctive archery target logo which began each film. The joint credit "Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger" indicates their joint responsibility for their own work and that they weren't beholden to any studio or other producers. In
1440-700: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake , through Arab Spring in 2012, and argues that the entertainment industry needs to stay aware of changes in politics and tastes since those changes will affect their audiences. In a foreword to the book, Martin Scorsese calls Variety "the single most formidable trade publication ever" and says that the book's content "makes you feel not only like a witness to history, but part of it too." In 2013, Variety staffers tallied more than 200 uses of weekly or Daily Variety in TV shows and films, ranging from I Love Lucy to Entourage . In 2016, Variety endorsed Hillary Clinton for President of
1512-438: The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike has been considered Variety 's largest competitor in online showbiz news. In October 2012, Jay Penske , chairman and CEO of PMC, announced that the website's paywall would come down, the print publication would stay, and he would invest more into Variety ' s digital platform in a townhall . In March 2013, owner Penske appointed three co-editors to oversee different parts of
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#17328815215131584-660: The BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award , the most prestigious award given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Powell was already an experienced director, having worked his way up from making silent films to the First World War drama The Spy in Black (1939), his first film for Hungarian émigré producer Alexander Korda . Pressburger, who had come from Hungary in 1935, already worked for Korda, and
1656-628: The Daily in Hollywood. Bart had worked previously at Paramount Pictures and The New York Times . Syd remained as publisher until 1990 when he was succeeded on Weekly Variety by Gerard A. Byrne and on Daily Variety by Sime Silverman's great-grandson, Michael Silverman. Syd became chairman of both publications. In April 2009, Bart moved to the position of "vice president and editorial director", characterized online as "Boffo No More: Bart Up and Out at Variety ". From mid-2009 to 2013, Timothy M. Gray oversaw
1728-612: The Variety Movie Guide containing a collection of 5,000 abridged reviews edited by Derek Elley . The last edition was published in 2001 with 8,500 reviews. Many of the abridged reviews for films prior to 1998 are published on Variety.com unless they have later posted the original review. The complete text of approximately 100,000 entertainment-related obituaries (1905–1986) was reprinted as Variety Obituaries , an 11-volume set, including alphabetical index. Four additional bi-annual reprints were published (for 1987–1994) before
1800-557: The Victoria Embankment in London; and at Abbotsbury station . In his autobiography, A Life in Movies , Michael Powell acknowledged the influence of German expressionist films such as Nosferatu (1922) in leading him towards making films such as The Red Shoes , Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and The Small Back Room . As of 30 June 1949 the film earned £ 129,700 (equivalent to £ 4.96 million or US$ 6.17 million in 2023) in
1872-512: The Weekly on U.S. and international coverage. Silverman passed on the editorship of the Weekly Variety to Abel Green as his replacement in 1933. He remained as publisher until his death later that year, soon after launching Daily Variety . Silverman's son Sidne succeeded him as publisher of both publications but upon contracting tuberculosis in 1936 he could no longer take a day-to-day role at
1944-412: The 1970s started to contain republication of the film reviews published during the year. Older back issues of Variety are available on microfilm . In 2010, Variety.com allowed access to digitized versions of all issues of Variety and Daily Variety with a subscription. Certain articles and reviews prior to 1998 have been republished on Variety.com . The Media History Digital Library has scans of
2016-562: The Hollywood-based Daily Variety in 1933 with Arthur Ungar as the editor. It replaced the Variety Bulletin issued in Hollywood on Fridays as a four-page wraparound to the Weekly . Daily Variety was initially published every day other than Sunday but mostly on Monday to Friday. The Daily and the Weekly were initially run as virtually independent newspapers, with the Daily concentrating mostly on Hollywood news and
2088-449: The UK of which £84,073 went to the producer. The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "It is ably produced, and the direction, with one or two lapses, is extremely efficient. The lapse which it is most hard to forgive is that into surrealistic camerawork illustrating Rice's internal struggle with himself when, with his morale at its lowest ebb, he thirsts to open a bottle of whisky. Apart from this, it
2160-738: The United States , marking the first time the publication endorsed a candidate for elected office in its 111-year history. Variety 's first offices were in the Knickerbocker Theatre located at 1396 Broadway on 38th and Broadway in New York. Later it moved to 1536 Broadway at the 45th and Broadway corner until Loew's acquired the site to build the Loew's State Theatre . In 1909, Variety set up its first overseas office in London. In 1920, Sime Silverman purchased an old brownstone building around
2232-502: The West Coast offices of WWD and Footwear News . On January 19, 1907, Variety published what is considered the first film review in history. Two reviews written by Sime Silverman were published: Pathe 's comedy short An Exciting Honeymoon and Edison Studios ' western short The Life of a Cowboy directed by Edwin S. Porter . Variety discontinued reviews of films between March 1911 until January 1913 as they were convinced by
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2304-453: The actual words. They both acted as producers, perhaps Pressburger slightly more than Powell, since he could soothe the feathers ruffled by Powell's forthright manner. They became their own producers mainly to stop anyone else from interfering, since they had a considerable degree of freedom, especially under Rank , to make just about any film they wanted. The direction was nearly all done by Powell, but even so The Archers generally worked as
2376-449: The archive of Variety from 1905 to 1963 available online. The first issue of Variety sold 320 copies in 1905. Paid circulation for the weekly Variety magazine in 2023 was 85,300. Each copy of each Variety issue is read by an average of three people, with an estimated total readership of 255,900. Variety.com has 32 million unique monthly visitors. For much of its existence, Variety 's writers and columnists have used
2448-468: The beginning of January, normally with a review of the year and other charts and data, including, from 1938 onwards, lists of the top performing films of the year and, from 1949, the annually updated all-time rental chart. The editions also contained many advertisements from show business personalities and companies. The 100th anniversary edition was published in October 2005 listing Variety 's icons of
2520-422: The century. Along with the large anniversary editions, Variety also published special editions containing lots of additional information, charts and data (and advertising) for three film festivals: Cannes Film Festival , MIFED Film Market, and American Film Market Daily Variety also published an anniversary issue each October. This regularly contained a day-by-day review of the year in show business and in
2592-502: The company as publisher of both the Weekly Variety in New York and the Daily Variety in Hollywood. Thomas M. Pryor, former Hollywood bureau chief of The New York Times , became editor of Daily Variety in 1959. Under Pryor, Daily Variety expanded from 8 pages to 32 pages and also saw circulation increase from 8,000 to 22,000. Green remained editor of Variety until he died in 1973, with Syd taking over. In 1987, Variety
2664-489: The corner at 154 West 46th Street in New York, which became the Variety headquarters until 1987, when the publication was purchased. Under the new management of Cahners Publishing, the New York headquarters of the Weekly Variety was relocated to the corner of 32nd Street and Park Avenue South. Five years later, it was downgraded to a section of one floor in a building housing other Cahner's publications on West 18th Street, until
2736-430: The course of the war and afterwards, they released a series of acclaimed films: Generally, Pressburger created the original story (for all their films from 1940–1946) and wrote the first draft of the script. They then passed the script back and forth a few times—they could never work on it together in the same room. For the dialogue, Pressburger knew what he wanted the characters to say but Powell would often supply some of
2808-504: The direction of self-proclaimed "Real Estalker" Mark David, which later expanded to its own stand-alone site in 2019. October 2014 Eller and Wallenstein were upped to Co-Editors in Chief, with Littleton continuing to oversee the trade's television coverage. In June 2014, Penske Media Corporation entered into an agreement with Reuters to syndicate news from Variety and Variety Latino-Powered by Univision to distribute leading entertainment news to
2880-424: The early 1950s, Powell and Pressburger began to produce fewer films. Their last two films were financially successful, but the duo's mid-1950s output met with less critical success than their earlier films. Powell himself felt that Ill Met by Moonlight was The Archers' worst film. The Archers' productions officially came to an end in 1957, and the pair separated to pursue their individual careers. The separation
2952-414: The film as "good", writing: "Moving study of human nature, with tense climax." The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "After the sumptuous theatrics of Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948), Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger returned to the muted naturalism of their earlier collaborations for this adaptation of Nigel Balchin's novel about scientists feeling
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3024-483: The film in August 2008. The release included an essay, an interview with cinematographer Christopher Challis , an audio commentary and excerpts from Michael Powell's audio dictations for his autobiography. Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers , the name of their production company—made
3096-519: The film lacked "the production tricks usually associated with" Powell and Pressburger it was nevertheless "a craftsmanlike job". It praised the performance of David Farrar as "his best role", and lauded the careful casting of the "lesser roles." Leslie Halliwell said: "Rather gloomy suspense thriller with ineffective personal aspects but well-made location sequences and a fascinating background of boffins at work in post-war London." In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated
3168-433: The films of Powell and Pressburger a mixed reaction at the time, acknowledging their creativity, but sometimes questioning their motivations and taste. For better or worse, The Archers were always out of step with mainstream British cinema. From the 1970s onwards, British critical opinion began to revise this lukewarm assessment, with their first BFI retrospective in 1970 and another in 1978. They are now seen as playing
3240-466: The films reviewed that week and in 1951 the editors decided to position the capsules on top of the reviews, a tradition retained today. Writing reviews was a side job for Variety staff, most of whom were hired to be reporters and not film or theatre critics. Many of the publication's reviewers identified their work with four-letter pen names ("sigs") rather than with their full names. The practice stopped in August 1991. Those abbreviated names include
3312-508: The following: Variety is one of the three English-language periodicals with 10,000 or more film reviews reprinted in book form. These are contained in the 24-volume Variety Film Reviews (1907–1996). Film reviews continue to be published in Variety . The other two periodicals are The New York Times (as The New York Times Film Reviews (1913–2000) in 22 volumes) and Harrison's Reports (as Harrison's Reports and Film Reviews (1919–1962) in 15 volumes). In 1992, Variety published
3384-399: The front. The old front-page box advertisement was replaced by a strip advertisement, along with the first photos published in Variety since Sime gave up using them in the old format in 1920: they depicted Sime, Abel, and Syd. For 20 years from 1989, Variety ' s editor-in-chief was Peter Bart , originally only of the weekly New York edition, with Michael Silverman (Syd's son) running
3456-434: The influence of the auteur theory , which elevates the director as a film's primary creator, Pressburger has sometimes been dismissed as "Michael Powell's scriptwriter". Powell himself consistently, emphatically and categorically rejected this characterization, and was the first to say, in many interviews, that he couldn't have done most of what he did without Pressburger working as a full and equal film-making partner. After
3528-639: The international news agency's global readership. This dissemination comes in the form of columns, news stories, images, video, and data-focused products. In July 2015, Variety was awarded a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award by the Television Academy in the Best Entertainment Program category for Variety Studio: Actors on Actors , a series of one-hour specials that take viewers inside Hollywood films and television programs through conversations with acclaimed actors. A second Los Angeles Area Emmy Award
3600-407: The key cities in the U.S. in the future and initially also reported results for ten other cities including Chicago and Los Angeles. They continued to report these grosses for films until 1989 when they put the data into a summarized weekly chart and only published the data by theatre for New York and Los Angeles as well as other international cities such as London and Paris. As media expanded over
3672-613: The majority of operations were moved to Los Angeles . When Daily Variety started in 1933, its offices were in various buildings near Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset Blvd. In 1972, Syd Silverman purchased a building at 1400 North Cahuenga Blvd. which housed the Daily's offices until 1988, after which its new corporate owners and new publisher, Arthur Anderman, moved them to a building on the Miracle Mile on Wilshire Boulevard . In late 2008, Variety moved its Los Angeles offices to 5900 Wilshire ,
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#17328815215133744-462: The owner of Billboard . Silverman folded it two years later after spending $ 100,000, merging some of its features into Variety . The same year, he launched the Times Square Daily , which he referred to as "the world's worst daily" and soon scrapped. During that period, Variety staffers worked on all three papers. After the launch of The Hollywood Reporter in 1930, Silverman launched
3816-422: The paper. Green, the editor, and Harold Erichs, the treasurer and chief financial officer, ran the paper during his illness. Following Sidne's death in 1950, his only son Syd Silverman , was the sole heir to what was then Variety Inc. Young Syd's legal guardian Erichs, who had started at Variety as an office boy, assumed the presidency. Ungar remained editor of Daily Variety until his death in 1950. He
3888-404: The people and their films have been the subject of many documentaries and books as well as doctoral research. An English Heritage blue plaque to commemorate Powell and Pressburger was unveiled on 17 February 2014 by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker at Dorset House, Gloucester Place , London, where The Archers had their offices from 1942–47. Variety (magazine) Variety
3960-455: The publication as Editor-in-Chief, after over 30 years of various reporter and editor positions in the newsroom. In October 2012, Reed Business Information , the periodical's owner, (formerly known as Reed-Elsevier, which had been parent to Cahner's Corp. in the United States) sold the publication to Penske Media Corporation (PMC). PMC is the owner of Deadline Hollywood , which since
4032-409: The publication's industry coverage; Claudia Eller as Editor, Film; Cynthia Littleton as Editor, TV; and Andrew Wallenstein as Editor, Digital. The decision was also made to stop printing Daily Variety with the last printed edition published on March 19, 2013, with the headline "Variety Ankles Daily Pub Hubbub". In June 2014, Variety launched a high-end real-estate breaking news site, Dirt , under
4104-535: The reprint series was discontinued. The annual anniversary edition published in January would often contain a necrology of the entertainment people who had died that year. Variety started reporting box office grosses for films by theatre on March 3, 1922, to give exhibitors around the country information on a film's performance on Broadway, which was often where first run showings of a film were held. In addition to New York City, they also endeavored to include all of
4176-764: The return of Powell and Pressburger to Alexander Korda after a profitable but contentious time at the Rank Organisation that culminated with The Red Shoes (1948). The film was shot at a number of studios: Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire; Worton Hall Studios in Isleworth , Middlesex ; and Shepperton Studios in Shepperton , Surrey. Location shooting took place at Chesil Bank and St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury in Dorset ; Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain ; on
4248-520: The strain in wartime. The pair were obviously uninspired by the lengthy passages of chat in which the backroom boffins bicker about their latest inventions, but their masterful use of camera angles and cutting gives the finale an unbearable tension." The Small Back Room was nominated for a 1950 BAFTA Award as "Best British Film". The Region 2 DVD was released in May 2004 by Studio Canal / Warner Home Video . In Region 1, The Criterion Collection released
4320-545: The studios' attempt to reach other Hollywood professionals who will be voting on the many awards given out in the early part of the year, including the Academy Awards , the Golden Globes and various guild award honors. On December 15, 1906, Variety published its first anniversary number that contained 64 pages, double the size of a regular edition. It published regular bumper anniversary editions each year, most often at
4392-479: The time of the company's launch were The New York Clipper and the New York Dramatic Mirror . The original logo, which is very similar to the current design, was sketched by Edgar M. Miller, a scenic painter, who refused payment. The front cover contained pictures of the original editorial staff: Alfred Greason, Epes W. Sargeant (Chicot or Chic), Joshua Lowe, and Silverman. The first issue contained
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#17328815215134464-558: The transcript before attempting to defuse the second device. He discovers that the mine has in fact two booby traps, not one, and manages to defuse them both. When Rice returns to London, his reputation and his own self-esteem restored by his success, he is offered an officer commission as head of the Army's new scientific research unit. He accepts. Susan returns to him and they go back to his flat to find she has repaired and reinstated everything he damaged while drunk. The Small Back Room marked
4536-416: The years, charts and data for other media such as TV ratings and music charts were published, especially in the anniversary editions that were regularly published each January. During the 1930s, charts of the top performing films of the year were published and this tradition has been maintained annually since. In 1946, a weekly National Box Office survey was published on page 3 indicating the performance of
4608-502: Was a musician himself and had played the violin in an orchestra in Hungary. When the film was finally ready and Powell was back from the Highlands, he was usually "the front man" in any promotional work, such as interviews for the trade papers or fan magazines. Because collaborative efforts such as Powell and Pressburger's were, and continue to be, unusual in the film industry, and because of
4680-446: Was amicable, and they remained devoted friends for the rest of their lives. The pair reunited for two films: For both these films, Powell was credited as the sole director, and Pressburger as the sole screenwriter (for They're a Weird Mob , Pressburger used the pseudonym "Richard Imrie"). Powell produced They're a Weird Mob , Pressburger produced The Boy Who Turned Yellow . Powell and Pressburger re-used actors and crew members in
4752-504: Was asked to do some rewrites for the film. This collaboration was the first of 19, most over the next 18 years. After Powell had made two further films for Korda, he reunited with Pressburger in 1940 for Contraband , the first in a run of Powell and Pressburger films set during the Second World War . The second was 49th Parallel (1941), which won Pressburger an Academy Award for Best Story . Both are Hitchcock -like thrillers made as anti-Nazi propaganda. For these three films, Powell
4824-418: Was awarded in 2016. In June 2019, Variety shut down its Gaming section. A significant portion of the publication's advertising revenue comes during the film-award season leading up to the Academy Awards . During this "Awards Season", large numbers of colorful, full-page " For Your Consideration " advertisements inflate the size of Variety to double or triple its usual page count. These advertisements are
4896-757: Was during the Wall Street Crash of 1929 : " Wall St. Lays An Egg ". The most famous was " Sticks Nix Hick Pix " (the movie-prop version renders it as "Stix nix hix pix!" in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Michael Curtiz 's musical – biographical film about George M. Cohan starring James Cagney ). In 2012, Rizzoli Books published Variety: An Illustrated History of the World from the Most Important Magazine in Hollywood by Gray. The book covers Variety ' s coverage of hundreds of world events, from
4968-496: Was followed by Joe Schoenfeld. In 1953, Army Archerd took over the "Just for Variety" column on page two of Daily Variety and swiftly became popular in Hollywood. Archerd broke countless exclusive stories, reporting from film sets, announcing pending deals, and giving news of star-related hospitalizations, marriages, and births. The column appeared daily for 52 years until September 1, 2005. Erichs continued to oversee Variety until 1956. After that date, Syd Silverman managed
5040-580: Was launched by Sime Silverman as a weekly periodical covering theater and vaudeville , with its headquarters in New York City . Silverman had been fired by The Morning Telegraph in 1905 for panning an act which had taken out an advert for $ 50. He subsequently decided to start his own publication that, he said, would "not be influenced by advertising." With a loan of $ 1,500 from his father-in-law, he launched Variety as publisher and editor. In addition to The Morning Telegraph , other major competitors at
5112-466: Was offered the part of the Prosecuting Attorney in A Matter of Life and Death his cabled reply was "For The Archers anytime, this world or the next." He knows what I am going to say even before I say it—maybe even before I have thought it—and that is very rare. You are lucky if you meet someone like that once in your life. He'd stood the story on its head, he'd turned a man into a woman and
5184-455: Was sold to Cahners Publishing for $ 64 million. In December 1987, Syd handed over editorship of Variety to Roger Watkins. After 29 years as editor of Daily Variety , Tom Pryor handed over to his son Pete in June 1988. On December 7, 1988, Watkins proposed and oversaw the transition to four-color print . Upon its launch, the new-look Variety measured one inch shorter with a washed-out color on
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