NEWS of the FILMS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 29, 3 August 1939, Page 21

NEWS of the FILMS

FROM SYDNEY TO HOLLYWOOD.

An interesting short subject which has recently been made in the Hollywood studios deals with the visit of Mr. Cecil Mason, general manager of Columbia Pictures in Australia and New Zealand, to the Columbia studios in New York City. Mr. Mason visited the many sound stages and sets and was shown every phase of the film work at the studio. He met Bill Holden, Adolph Menjou, and Barbara Stanwyck on the "Golden Boy" set which Rouben Mamoulien is directing. Later he renewed his acquaintance of two or three years standing with Frank Capra who welcomed him to the set of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Mr. Mason was impressed by the pleasant and calm manner in which Frank Capra directed Jean Arthur and James Stewart in a shot from this picture. He then went to studios where "Good Girls Go to Paris" and "Only Angels Have Wings" were being shot. This short deals with all these different sets and casts and gives an insight into the real Hollywood work.

ACCIDENT TO RICHARD GREENE.

Richard Greene's injuries, at first thought minor, have turned out to be of such serious nature as to compel suspension of filming on the new production in which he was co-starred with Nancy Kelly. Darryl Zanuck announced recently that work on the picture had been halted and will not be resumed until the star is able to face the cameras again. The actor will probably not be able to leave the Hollywood hospital where he is confined for some weeks. He suffered serious leg injuries when pinned to the rear of his own machine by another car which slipped its brakes and rolled down on him from the hill on which it had been parked.

"THE SUN NEVER SETS."

With the exception of Douglas Fairbanks, jun., and Barbara O'Neil, every member of Universal's "The Sun Never Sets" cast is British. However, Basil Rathbone, who stars with young Fairbanks, is the only one of the players who really feels at home when the company goes on location to «dte:; duplicating the African Gold Coast. Rathbone was born in Johannesburg. South Africa. While that is some distance from the Gold Coast, there is still sufficient similarity between the two places for the actor to feel at home in the studio manufactured African atmosphere. "When I was a boy there were not even any trolley cars in Johannesburg," Rachbone recalls. "We went everywhere in rickshas drawn by coolies. The picture is more modern than that. I even have an automobile."

GETTING INTO THE MOVIES.

"Hobo," a small white mongrel, has arrived in Hollywood as a screen actor from Sacramento. He tailwagged his way into "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" with Mickey Rooney. While the company was on location on the Sacramento River, "Hobo," owned by Wong Chin, a Chinese farmer oh the river banbk, to->k a great fancy to Mickey and followed him about. When the company returned to the studio it was discovered that "Hobo," enthusiastically wagging his tail, had managed to get into several scenes. Hence it was necessary to engage him for continuations of these scenes. So Charles Dorian, finding additional steamer sequences on the Sacramento, was called on the longdistance telephone, negotiated with the dog's owner, and borrowed "Hobo" for work at the studio. Another nonhuman actor in the picture is "Charley," a rattlesnake who almost caused a panic on location when Mickey Rooney and Rex Ingram staged the rescue scene of the story. Mickey was supposed to be bitten by the snake, rented from a reptile collector. The snake escaped, and watchers from nearby mountain resorts beat a hasty retreat. After the trainer found the snake and returned it to its cage, he revealed that "Charley," long a picture actor, was tame, friendly, and, moreover, fangless.

JOAN BLONDELL'S PLANS.

It may be true as the title of the Columbia Picture currently in production indicates that "Good Girls go to Paris, Too" but Joan Blondell, one of its stars, will go to Honolulu. Miss Blondell reveals that she is planning a long deferred honeymoon to Honolulu following the completion of the picture. She and Dick Powell have been married for two years. Originally they had made plans to go to London and Paris, but due to the uncertainty of present conditions abroad they shifted their holiday to Honolulu. "For the past two years we have both been kept so busy," said Miss Blondell. "that we didn't have time to think of a honeymoon." In "Good Girls Go To Paris, Too" Miss Blondell is co-starred with Melvyn Douglas under the direction of Alexander Hall. She plays the part of a vivacious, ambitious American girl who is obsessed by the glamour of Paris. The outcome of her ingenious intrigues with the object of getting there forms the. basis of this romantic comedy.

BROMFIELD HONOURED.

In recognition of his many contributions to literature, the French Government shortly will confer on Louis Bromfield, the noted author, one of it-- highest honours, the cordon of a chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Now in Los Angeles, where his bestseller, "The Rains Came," is being filmed, Bromfield was advised of the signal honour in a cable from M. Georges Bonnet, French Minister of Foreign Affairs. The actual presentation will probably be made in Hollywood, with the French Consul bestowing the honour.

HOW TO DECORATE.

As a result of some fast telegraphing between Hollywood and New York, "Twelve Crowded Hours," R.K.O.Radio's new Richard Dix film, will feature the latest wrinkle in night-club decoration. The night-club set designed for one exciting sequence in the film was all right, but it needed some "umph," according to Producer Robert Sisk. A wire to the New York office elicited the information that Manhattan's newest night clubs boasted indoor shrubbery. As a result, the setting was adorned with rows of small shrubs and flowering plants, not only along the wall, but also on top of the dividing partition between the booths, lending an unusual effect to the entire set.

COOPER'S ROLE.

Melville Cooper felt quite at home in his role as the comic Cockney sergeant in Warner Bros. "The Dawn Patrol." the drama of British wartime aviation, which will open in New Zealand soon. Cooper was a member of the Royal Flying Corps for two years. He was shot down behind the German lines on March 18, 1918, and spent the remaining nine months of the war a prisoner in various German hospitals and prison camps, lt was during the nine months he spent as a prisoner of war that Cooper got his start in the theatre. To amuse themselves the British prisoners staged plays in the prison camp almost every night. Cooper participated in many of thsai, and when he was finally released after the war he turned to the stage for a living. Before he transferred to the Royal F ying Corps Cooper was a lieutenant. Starred in "The Dawn Patrol" is Errol Flynn and other important members of the cast are Basil Rathbone, David Niven, and Donald Crisp.

MUD BATH.

Charles Middleton took a mud bath during the filming of 'Captain Fury,' the Hal Roach production, starring Brian Aherne. and Victor McLaglen Middleton makes no pretence at being a handsome hero. In fact, he makes a splendid living by the enactment ol dastardly men on the screen, so thai his bath could by no means be con strued as a beauty treatment. It wai entirely in the line of duty, detailed in the script, and directed by Ha] Roach, that he underwent the mud pack treatment from head to foot

FOUR DAUGHTERS.

"Four Daughters," a Warner Bros, production, stars Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane,* Gale Page, Claude Rains, and May Robson. The cast of "Four Daughters" also has two new male stars—one John Garfield, who according to "Film Daily," "within a month from the day 'Four Daughters' hits the country's screens will be one of Hollywood's most talked about personalities." Recently John Garfield caused a sensation on Broadway in CLfford Odets's "Golden Boy." Second of the male "finds" in Four Daughters" is Jeffrey Lynn, destined to become one of the screen's romantic heroes.

LARGEST MAP IN THE WORLD.

The largest map in the world was constructed at RKO Radio for scenes in "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle," starring Fred Astaire and Ginger. Rogers. Built of tempered presswood board, the map measured 1000 feet in length and 350 feet in width. Rivers, mountains, lakes, and principal cities were depicted.. The map was used as a background for novel dance shots showing the tour of Vernon and Irene Castle from the Atlantic to the Pacific at the height of their fame, and the dance craze which sprang up in their wake. Dancing scenes on the map were shot from a camera tower 100 feet high.