FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

Evening Star, Issue 23248, 22 April 1939, Page 5

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES

OTHER TIMES MEAN *THER OCCUPATIONS WHEN A STAND-IN ISN'T STANDING IN What is a stand-in in Hollywood when he or she isn’t standing in ? A Hollywood survey of the question divulged that among the hundreds of men and women who pose literally for hours in the studios while cameramen set lights to photograph the stars, there are practising and potential doctors, contractors, authors, artists, and even racehorse trainers and owners. Sheet Noyes, for instance, _ who is stand-in for Walter Connolly in ‘ The Girl Downstairs ’ at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is registered with the California Racing Commission as a trainer and owner. He owns one racehorse, Royalty Check, which, he races at the smaller tracks in California between pictures. With a month to spare between the time Connolly appeared in 1 Too Hot to Handle ’ and the beginning of The Girl Downstairs,’ Sheet took his one horse stable to the Stockton and Sacramento fair tracks. At Stockton, ho won once and ran second in two other starts. Sheet was an actor before be was ,a stand-in, and hopes to get the job of training horses for Hollywood stars. His interest in the game is to win purses. He has never made a bet in his life. Amelia Bachelor, who is Rita Johnson’s stand-in for ‘ The Girl Downstairs,’ is Hollywood’s most unusual building contractor. Amelia not only builds houses, but also does_ almost all the actual work of construction personally, including carpenter work, plaster-

ing, and stucco finishing. Keith Daniels, an Italian actor whose real name is Danillo, and who is also an engineer, makes the plans and installs the plumbing. Amelia has just finished a fiveunit bungalow court in Hollywood, and is now working on a partially finished home near Picfcfair, in Beverly Hills. It took her a year and a-half to finish the court. She works as a stand-in to buy materials for her building operations. ' W. W. “ Doc.” Dearborn, stand-in for William Powell, is a doctor, with offices in Hollywood. Nat Pendleton’s stand-in, Louis Gianokos, is a professional wrestler when he isn’t working in the studios. Chrys Meeker, who is Greta Garbo’s stand-in, is an accomplished pastel artist, and derives a neat income from her work, which she does between Miss Garbo’s pictures. Six stand-ins on the set of ‘ Spring Madness ’ at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered a variety of side-line occupations. Virginia Whitmore, who poses for Maureen O’Sullivan, acts as a special performer of dangerous feats in pictures and is studying art. Dorothy Moher, stand-in for Ruth Hussey, is a Spanish dancing specialist, and appears on the stage and in dancing groups on the screen when Miss Hussey is not working. Jane Bishop, Jacqueline Wells’s stand-in, is a writer of short •tories, and has sold several tomes. Ann Nelson, who stands in for Joyce Compton, spends her spare time as a model for Los Angeles modistes. Helen Garnty, stand-in for Marjorie Gateson, is an interior decorator when she isn’t working in the studios. And Ann Lindley, who poses for the lighting of Ann Moriss, plays bits in independent pictures. Rhoda Cross, stand-in for Judy Garland, is a physical instructress in her spare time, specialising in tending her pretty pupil the art of self-defence. She is_ the daughter of I.each Cross, onetime outstanding contender for the light-weight boxing crown. Lee Bailey, who is Eleanor Powell’s stand-in, is a professional dancer. She is also the star’s companion. Many Hollywood stand-ins arc also companions and long-time friends of stars. Lewis Stone and Leonard Trainer, for instance, fought through the war together. Freddie Bartholomew and Ray Sperry are inseparable in and out of the studio. They have grown up together since ‘ David Copperfield.’ Kasha Haroldi, Joan Crawford’s stand-in, is also her sister-in-law. Clark Gable’s stand-in is Lew Smith, who acts in films himself when Gable is not making a picture. Myrna Loy’s stand-in is Shirley Ramsay,' wife of a Hollywood cameraman.

by ‘ f Loiterer”

DICTATORSHIP! SHIRLEY TEMPLE GETS HER OWN WAY When Shirley Temple heard that one of the humorous sidelights of her latest picture, 1 Just Around the Corner,’ would feature a swanky ‘ 1 dog lounge,” she approached _ Director Irving. Cummings with the idea that her own pet be given a part. Cummings was willing, so the 20th CenturyFox picture marks the first screen appearance of Ching, Shirley’s Pekinese. For more than a year “ Chingy ” has been a nuisance on the set of every one of Shirley’s pictures. On many occasions his asthmatic wheezing has been loud enough to cause the soundman to remonstrate. But Shirley wanted him around, and he stayed. When Shirley learned that the other dogs in the “lounge” sequence were being paid for the appearance she demanded that Ching bo paid, too, so be was put on the pay roll. KORDA'S DISCOVERIES WANTED BY HOLLYWOOD A report from Hollywood that Raymond Massey will probably make a film of his successful Broadway part as Lincoln in ‘ Abe Lincoln in Illinois,’ brings another Korda star into the list of those making film history in American pictures. Mr Korda reported on his return from America the British film consciousness of the American cincmagoer, a change in, which previous London Films have played a large part. Now it appears that America’s leading producers feel that British stars

are box-office in American films, for the most important role of ‘ Scarlet O’Hara ’ was given to Vivien Leigh, a Korda discovery. Other Korda stars already film-mak-ing in Hollywood are Merle Oberon, Flora Robson, and Laurence Olivier in ‘ Wuthcring Heights,’ while M.G.M.’s ‘ The Citadel ’ and ‘ Goodbye, Mr Chips,’ made at Denham, add new triumphs to the career of Robert Donat, another Korda discovery. It is probable that ‘The Four Feathers ’ will soon add others to the roster of world-wide names built up by Mr Korda. June Duprez, a newcomer, has the feminine lead as Etlme, while John Clements, acclaimed for his parts in ‘ South Riding ’ and ‘ Knight Without Armour,’ plays Favershani, her lover. That distinguished actor Ralph Richardson has the other leading role, which gives him a further triumph, and will add to the already clamorous demands made by Hollywood producers on Mr Korda to allow Richardson to make a film in Hollywood.

IN THE HEADLINES FINDING STDRIES FDR FILMS HOW IRVING ASHER OBTAINS IDEAS Irving Asher, producer of Columbia British pictures at Denham, declares the most fertile ground for discovering now material is the front page of the newspapers. The popularity of news theatres shows the public arc interested in actual events, and he believes that also gives a clue to the producer who wants to make box office films. It seems to me (says Asher) the aim of every film producer should be to translate the action of everyday life into the films he makes, and that is what I am trying to, do. This is an ago of action, as every newspaper brings home to the man in the street, and it seems to me the producer who cannot make a film as dramatic as today’s newspaper has very little chance of holding his audiences in the cinema. 1 do not mean that film actors should always be engaged in gun battles and spectacular car chases. That is not the essential of action pictures, although it may play a largo part in the tempo of the story. Dramatic action depends largely on suspense, achieved in a scene in which there is not necessarily a great deal of physical action. For instance, in ‘ Q Planes,’ when Ralph Richardson stops to cogitate with the aid of the handle of his umbrella the mere gesture is as dramatic as any single shot in the exciting fight sequences from the same picture. ‘ The Spy in Black ’ is a different type of action picture, with just as much conflict of emotion and dramatic action. Even ‘The Spy in Black,’ although most of the action takes place in 1917. is as topical as, to-day’s newspaper, for it deals with a spy story as interesting as. the recent American spy investigations, and as contemporary as the next spy story which the reporters will have to cover. Every copy of a newspaper is a film story, and every good film should bo taken right off the front page. There is such a wealth of material in everyday happenings that no producer need be short of material. Like a good news editor, he should also be able to anticipate public interest, although this is probably a matter more of intuition than judgment. ‘ Q Planes ’ is taken right off the front page, even though the film itself was in the last stages of shooting when the story appeared in the Press. I refer to the story of Captain Edgar Percival, who was reported missing over the Channel. The fact that ho was not missing did not detract from the dramatic interest of the story at the time, and the coincidence between the newspaper account and the script of ‘ Q Planes ’ was really remarkable. The film is the story of super-charged secret planes, which take off on test speed flights over the Channel and suddenly vanish without trace. The actual story of Captain Pcrcival’s plane, as told in the newspapers, was almost identical, even to the messages flashed to the land bases. And Captain Porcival’s piano was called the Q 6! This is the sort of material presented to film producers every day, and if ‘ Q Planes ’ had not been written as a scenario several weeks before the newspaper story I should have had no hesitation in seizing on the actual account for a script. The popularity of newsreels and news theatres shows that the public is interested in actual events, and I believe it also gives a clue to the producer out to make box office films. Front page news eah never be more than the basis of a scenario or even the suggestion for a film, but- the producer will never be short of material for action pictures if he can make use of the stories people are reading every day.

FEATURE FILMS KEXT WEEK'S CHANGES Grand (Wednesday) : The old gunfighting, adventurous days of the West are recreated in ‘ The Law West of Tombstone,’ with Harry Carey, Tim Holt, and Evelyn Brent. Hilarious comedy of honeymooners heading straight for divorce is presented in ‘ Next Time I Marry,’ with Lucille Ball, James Ellison, L,ee Bowman, and Granville Bates. Regent (Friday); Janet Gaynor scores another hit in light romantic comedy as the heroine of ‘ Three Loves Has Nancy,’ and an indication of the picture’s theme is given in the title. Franchot Tone, Robert Montgomery, Reginald Owen, and Claire Dodd support the little star. Empire (Friday); Ideal family entertainment is provided in ‘ Mr Chedworth Steps Out,’ fifteenth Cinesound production. Film marks first screen appearance of Jean Hatton, Australia’s Deanna Durbin, who will be heard in ‘ Lo, Here the Gentle Lark,’ and ‘lf It Rains, Who Cares? ’ St. James (Friday): When a motion picture containing a murder comes to an end without the offender being disclosed, it is—to put it mildly—unusual, but that is what happens in the gripping ‘ They Won’t Forget,’ with Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Otto Kruger, and Edward Norris. Strand (Friday) : The fourth adventure of Torchy Blanc, noted girl reporter. is told in ‘ Blondes at Work,’ with Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Olever British comedy is provided in 1 Wolf’s Clothing,’ with Claude Hulbert and Gordon Harker the principal comedians. George Graves and Lilli Palmer support.

Outdoor Romances at the Mayfair. ‘ The Drum ’ is Alexander Korda’s thrilling technicolour drama of India, with Sabu as the star. Over 5,000 artists appear in ‘ The Drum,’ which is probably the most ambitious film yet made by London Films Productions. Lovely Movita and handsome John Carroll make their co-starring debut in ■ Rose of the Rio Grande,’ Monogram’s thrill-teeming tale of a Mexican ißobin Hood. Immediately following their excellent role in this film, the “ New Screen Sweethearts ” were signed for the co-starring roles of three big outdoor adventure romances planned by Monogram for 1939.

REVERSING HOLLYWOOD'S RULES FINNISH-BUT NOT FINISH Film-god’s have learned to holieyo that the apple of every would-be movie star’s eye is Hollywood. All over the world, ambitious and actresses have made costly sacrifices to reach that haven of their ambitions (says the ‘ Helsinki News ’). But who ever heard of a native of Hollywood wiping the stardust of his home town off his shoes and seeking the open sesame to the silver screen elsewhere? The Finns have! A couple of years ago a young Hollywood girl decided to return to the land of her birth to find a more appreciative audience for her charms than the hardboiled local producers. The third day after her arrival in Helsinki the director of Suomi Films glimpsed her dark eyes and graceful form—and she has been under contract in the milky way from that hour on. The first year in Finland Miss Tuulikki Paanauen—try twisting your tongue around name—spent for tho larger part in painstaking study of the fearfully difficult Finnish language, tho mother tongue which she had forgotten in America, in no time she had made such progress that hardly a film-fan could suspect that she had ever suf-

cred that lapse in memory. She was ready to be cast in star roles. Right from the start Miss Paananen became for the Finnish public one of tho most popular of all actresses. The Finnish Press has seldom let loose upon anyone such extravagant praise as upon this upstart. Raves ‘ Svenska Pressen ’; “ She radiates charm and the joy of life. Her breezy, fiery dancing (she is a professional dancer) is positively enchanting.” And ‘ Tidwingen ’ : “ This girl with the world’s most beautiful eyes—will make her name famous. Her performance puts her highest among young Finnish actresses.” And ‘ A]an Suunta ’: “ She is the most important film find in Finland.” Tlie _ homo town girl having made good, it is interesting to see what kind of homecoming awaits Tuulikki Paananen upon her return to Hollywood' THE QUINTS AGAIN The quintuplets are growing up, lovelier and enter than over. They are real personalities and performers now. Moviegoers arc in for the screen thrill of the season when they see these little ladies as “ grown-up ’ entertainers in their own right—singing, dancing, and making music in ‘ Five of a Kind.’ Ihcir third 20th Century-Fox feature picture.

WEEPING AND WAILING WYLER WEAVES WEB OF MOVIE STORY “ And,” concluded the little dark man crisjsly, “ I want eight bloodhounds.” The group on the big empty sound stage nodded silently. The little dark man strode off. One of the group turned to watch him. “ Bloodhounds,” he said dreamily. “ I’ve heard he was a Simon Logroe, but I didn't figure he used bloodhounds.” The group consisted of the property men, grips, and technical workers at the Warner Bros, studios who were getting last-minute instructions before the filming of ‘ Jezebel,’ the romantic drama of the old South. The little dark man was William Wyler, who sends people into screams by just showing up on a movie set. When he is directing a picture, he creates record carnage among the nervous systems. Usually, by the end of the first week, his cast is studying the practices of the inquisition and waiting a chance ,to put them to good use. By the end of the second week they speak_ of him in awed tones and spend the nights trying to think up ways to please him. For Wyler is a one idea man, and it usually takes him just a couple of weeks to inoculate those around him with the same idea. The idea is to make good movies if it kills him and everyone concerned, and his methods are apt to be a trifle wearing on those working under his direction for the first time. He has a passion for having every detail in a scene perfect. He will rehearse a sequence for an hour just to see how the players will handle it when the camera starts turning. He gives directions in a low, almost inaudible tone. All you’ll hear from him is, “ Just a step higher, Julie. Amy, down one step there. Turn when you move away from the steps.” And he will repeat them until lie lias his players ready to beat their heads against the walls—but he gets his scene right. Ho is unemotional on the set. When he is thoroughly satisfied, he says “ Good ” quietly. When players “ blow_ up ” he laughs—and goes back over it. It gets them. Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon left the set of ‘ These Three ’ in tears several times. In ‘ Dead End ’ Sylvia Sidney finished half her scenes in a burst of weeping and pent-up rage. Margaret Sullavan and Ruth Chatterton in ‘ The Good Fairy ’ and ‘ Dodsworth ’ were others who broke and cried under Wyler’s direction. when they gathered on the ‘ Jezebel ’ set for the first day’s shooting, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, and their colleagues felt they had reason for some apprehension. Fellow players had told them: “ You won’t last two weeks. You’ll blow up and quit. The guy will drive you crazy.” They found, however, it wasn’t nearly so bad as that. Wyler to be sure knew what he wanted and made no bones about getting it. But the bloodhounds, they learned, weren’t summoned as assistants—merely for a bit of business Wyler had thought up for one scene. Wyler is a great “ thinker-upper ” of bits of business. He supplies all the off-stage sounds himself. Where a script calls for a knock on the door, hoofbeats, footsteps on a gravel walk, a pistol shot or buch, Wyler makes the noise. He believes only a director can time them properly. Later, the sound effect man dubs in the studio noise where Wyler has made his. The cast of ‘ Jezebel ’ found also that Wyler can bo a sprightly fellow. Ho is apt to signalise the fact that it is time to knock off for lunch by seizing the leading lady, planting her on the handlebars of his motor cycle and tearing off hcll-for-leather all over the lot. Or ho will fill in intervals between scenes playing the harmonica or violin. He has a passion for music—particularly his own. In one scene in ‘ Jezebel,’ depicting a Mardi Gras ball in New Orleans, Wyler borrowed a violin and joined the orchestra in playing three waltzes. He is a pretty good fiddler. Despite the qualms Wyler first inspired, the players at Warners swear by him. Bette Davis summed it up when she said: “ Bill will petrify you at first. He is enormously particular and he’ll have you doing things you can’t understand for a minute. But you have the feeling that in the end he’ll have everything strung out just as it should be. And ho does. And that gives you all the confidence in the world in him and in yonrself.” DOG BITES MAN FOR ONCE THAT 18 NEWS To Chum, four-year-old wire-haired terrier belonging to Walter Forde, goes the credit for contradicting the dictum that man bites dog is news. Chum is an inseparable companion of Forde’s on all his films, and is probably the most film-conscious dog in England. He is a model of good behaviour in the studio, scuppering about when the camera is not turning and keeping absolutely still as soon as the silence whistle is blown. In the evenings after the day’s shooting is done, Chum is an interested, if not a critical member'of the audience when the previous day’s “ rushes ” are shown. Now Chum has leapt into the news by suddenly and mysteriously changing his ways. When Walter Forde was working at the Ealing Studios on a new version of Edgar Wallace’s ‘ The Ringer ’ —now entitled ‘ The Gaunt Stranger ’ —Chum, for some inscrutable reason, took a dislike to Sonnie Hale who plays the Gordon Harkcr role in this new version. Every time Sonnie got to the crucial part of the secene he was playing, Chum would dash across the studio floor and get a tight hold of the seat of Sonnie’s trousers. After spoiling several takes, Chum was for the first time in his life banished from the set and not allowed to return. This unaccountable feud, however, did not end there. At the end of the first day that the ban had been in effect, Chum was taken as usual to see the previous day’s “rushes.” All went well until Sonnie Hale hove into view on the screen. Without any hesitation Chum jumped from his seat barking furiously and made a valiant attempt to attack the screen. Now rushes are also forbidden to Chum. 1 The Gaunt Stranger,’ marks Sonuie’s welcome return to the screen ns a comedian. It is also Ibc second film to be received out here from a new organisation called Oapad, and Michael Balcon—responsible for more British successes than any other producer—was responsible lor this production.

1 TOPPER' TRICKS PHOTOGRAPHIC PATENTS PENDING 7 One of the most successful screen comedies of last year was Hal Roach’s ‘ Topper,’ starring Constance Bennett. Cary Grant, and Roland Young. Now producer Roach is making a sequel, ‘ Topper Takes a Trip,’ which promises to be even funnier than the original. “ Special effects ” which, in ‘ Topper,’ included “ materialisations and dematerialisations ” of Miss Bennett and Grant, and cars that were driven and changed tyres without any visible assistance from human hands, will again be in charge of Roy Seawright, Roach’s technical expert. The script writers of ‘ Topper Take's a Trip ’ have made Seawright’s job

far moro difficult. Apart from such simple tricks as having Miss Bennett disappear while dancing with Boland Young in a crowded restaurant, they require a cocktail to be sipped by an invisible drinker, showing the liquor diminishing but not coming out of the glass, a pencil to write of its own accord with no human assistance, bathing trunks to leap off Alexander D’Arcy (a highly oensorablc idea it would appear!) and last, but not least, they have cast the dog, Asta, known in the film as Atlas, as the lazy pet of Constance Bennett. laziness takes the form of only half-disappearing, an unfortunate form of expression which leads to much confusion in the story and to insomnia for Mr Seawright. To arrange for .the appearance of only one half of a dog on the screen is no easy assignment! In achieving these effects, the result of months of research and preparation, Seawright had to perfect several entirely new methods of photography.

MARCHING CN PROGRESS OF GINESOUHD The year 1938 was a most interesting and progressive one in so far as Australian.film production was concerned—* interesting because the pictures produced at Cinesound during the year were totally dissimilar in type—and progressive because of the forward moves made in production standards,, and consequent entertainment appeal. The end of 1937 saw the completion of ‘ The Broken Melody,’ starring Lloyd Hughes, from Hollywood. Then in early 1933, Producer-director Ken G. Hail gave us ‘ Let George Do It, 1 starring that inimitable Australian comedian, George Wallace; and then came ‘Dad and Dave Come To Town,’ with the incomporable Bert Bailey in the principal role and Fred MacDonald as “ Dave.” Each of these pictures- has boon chock full of sterling entertainment for Australian .audiences. In every centre they have been released the box office, the most valuable of all barometers, has reflected their popularity and universal appeal. In city, suburban, and country theatres of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania attendance records have been' toppled. In Perth the picture had the unique distinction of playing simultaneously in two city first-run theatres and breaking all records for both houses. In New Zealand,' too, ‘ Dad and Dave ’ has enjoyed tremendous success, and the fact that the picture has been purchased by a leading English film organisation for distribution throughout the British Isles, is evidence of the Em-pire-wide appeal of the Australian comedy, and a glowing tribute to Cinesound. And Cinesound has many more good things in store for the theatres of Australia and the Empire. Their current production, ‘ Mr Chedworth Steps Out,’ has repeated the triumphs of ‘ Dad and Dave Come To Town ’ everywhere presented to date. This delightful story of the “ Chedworth ” family, starring Australia’s favourite, Cecil Kellaway. is perhaps the greatest “ whole family ” picture yet produced by an Australian studio. In addition to Cecil Kellaway. the specially selected cast, includes James Raglan, Rita Pouncefort, lovely Jean Deering, Sidney Wheeler, Peter Finch, and Australia’s popular 16-year-old songbird. Jean Hatton, who is captivating audiences everywhere by her charming performance and delightful singing in the picture. Cecil Kellaway came back on loan from RKO Radio Studios in Hollywood for the express purpose of playing the title role. He has returned now_ to Hollywood to fulfil his contract obligations. His return to Australia for ‘Mr Chedworth ’ was the result of a promise made to Mr Ken Hall, while Cinesound were making ’lt Isn’t DonoA Both Kellaway and Hall read the novel, and, realising its potentialities as screen material decided there and them, to make it a future Australian production. Cecil promised that, whenever the script was readv he would' do his utmost to play the' lead. Fortunately, the call came while he was in between pictures in the United States, and he was able to spend three or four months in his native land. His work in the. film is typical, but, at the same time, shows ample evidence of the benefit from his Hollywood experiences. ■ Inspired bv the successes of these films, Cinesound have most ambitious production plans for the future. NEWS OF CLAUDE OAMPIER One of the most popular stage players of all time in Australia and New, Zealand was Claude Dampier, who has now proved himself equally popular on the screen. Claude made his name in variety in England, and then toured Australia and New Zealand. So successful was this tour that he formed his own company, and later made two tremendously successful films in tba silent days. He moved on to South Africa, and was equally popular there. Returning to England, he started n screen career, and is starred currently in Action Pictures’ radio revue, ‘ Sing as You Swing.’