“VIVACIOUS LADY”

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22496, 2 September 1938, Page 5

“VIVACIOUS LADY”

Ginger Rogers and James Stewart ■ Starred at Mayfair

Having won public acclaim for her outstanding performance in “Stage Door,” Ginger Rogers is now to be seen in her first picture since scoring that brilliant success. The new picture is “Vivacious Lady,” a comedyromance in which James Stewart is co-starred. It will begin to-day at the Mayfair. .Hailed as America’s “dancing sweetheart,” as a result of a long line of musical comedy successes in which she was teamed with Fred Astaire, Miss Rogers demonstrated in “Stage Door” that she possessed rare dramatic ability, in addition to her flair for comedy and terpsichorean skill. “Vivacious Lady” offers the beautiful blonde star an opportunity to demonstrate all her talents, since she sings and dances, as well as displays all her histrionic wares. The picture is essentially a comedy, apd presents Miss Rogers as a New York night club entertainer who falls suddenly in love with a botany professor from a small town college, and marries him. Most of the hilarious action is caused by the efforts of Miss Rogers to adjust herself to the atmosphere of the puritanical town where, because of her groom’s reputation and his narrow-minded father, who is president of the university, she is obliged to keep her marriage secret, and live apart from the young man. James Ellison heads the supporting cast, as the botany teacher’s cousin, who also is in love with the pretty entertainer, while others appearing in prominent roles are Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi, Frances Mercer, Phyllis Kennedy, and Alec Craig. ■ With its uniquely contrived plot and its realistic treatment of the genuinely human characters it depicts, “Vivacious Lady” marks a real departure in romantic screen comedy, with an underlying serious note beneath its gaiety. The film’s one song number, “You 11 Be Reminded of Me,” was written by George Jessel, Jack Meskill, and Ted Shapiro, and is sung in one of the night club scenes by Miss Rogers. , Microscopes valued at 25,000 dollars find other laboratory equipment worth 10,000 dollars were used in the class room scenes of RKO Radio’s “Vivacious Lady.” Insured for their full value, the microscopes were kept in the studio vaults at night and under the watchful eye of a special guard while on the set. This last precaution was to prevent the 40 players and extras in the scenes from handling the microscopes except during actual shooting. Scientific equipment of this type is tented from dealers at high rates, and

bond posted to cover any damage to the instruments. George Stevens directed “Vivacious Lady,” a Pandro S. Berman production for RKO Radio.

Errol Flynn, well known for his roles in adventure dramas, and Joan Blondell, the popular star of musical comedies, will appear shortly in "The Perfect Specimen."

Sabu, the Indian boy who came out of the jungle two years ago and achieved fame overnight in "Elephant Boy,’’ a picture based on Rudyard Kipling's story, reappears in "The Drum.” which is shortly to be released. Sabu’s own stqry reads like one of the best talcs from Kipling’s “The Jungle Book.” “The Drum” is a story about an exciting contemporary phase of colonial life on the frontiers of India.