FILM WORLD.

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 April 1941, Page 9

FILM WORLD.

News of Pictures and Players.

CHOOSING A TITLE.

IMPORTANCE TO FILM.

They say a star is only as good as his last picture, but it might be added that a picture is only as successful as the appeal of its title. The film “Brigham Young” is a current case in point. At an estimated cost of close to 100,000 dollars Twentieth CenturyFox has decided to add the word “Frontiersman” to its billing of the production—this, it is reported, to overcome a presumed public misconception that the story is predominantly- religious instead of pioneer and adventurous. The studio is said to feel that returns in certain advance showings have fallen short of the fihn’s drawing power because of failure of the title to convincingly indicate its contents.

. .Hence, the 2,000,000 dollar epic is now “Brigham Young, Frontiersman,” with heavy emphasis on the last word in all billing.

“THE WESTERNER.”

NEW FRONTIER DRAMA.

It’s a far cry from Roxys, the Radio City Music Halls and the Grauman’s Chinese of to-day to the tiny gas-lit “Opry-Houses” of the ’Bo’s. But the gap was bridged in one span in Samuel Goldwyn’s “The Westerner,” the new film production starring Gary Cooper. Art Director James Basevi undertook to construct in perfect detail the famous old “Grand Opera House” of Fort Davis. The Fort Davis Grand Opera House was a one-night stand that broke the jump between Fort Worth, Texas, and El Paso. It is in the Grand Opera House that Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan enact the final sequences in “The Westerner,” where Brennan, as Judge Roy Bean, meets his dreamgirl, Lily Langtry, who appears in the theatre with a repertory company.

“Big Time”: e _ ~ . Old-time variety star, Elsie Jams, will be associate producer on Metro’s ‘Big Time.’ The lead goes to Metro’s red-haired girl, Lana Turner.

PRODUCTION PARS. , NEWS FROM THE STUDIOS. ' Hollywood is certainly going far afield for its world premieres of big films. Cecil B. de Mille has just head- , ed his cast to Regina, Canada, where they will make personal appearances in conjunction with the opening of i “North-West Mounted Police.” Col- I umbia transported the newspaperman and cast to Tucson, Arizona, for the world premiere of “Arizona.” J Screen Credits: . : M.G.M. announces an innovation in the presentation of screen credits that I should be welcome news to audiences which get bored with the . long list of names that precede the showing of every picture. In future, at the start ( of a picture, only these names will be , listed: Name of picture, writer, pro- _ ducer, director, and ca.st. Then, at the conclusion of the picture will be the other credits: Costumes, sound, special effects, and others that are of interest mainly to the industry rather than to audiences. J ! Tom Mix’s Estate! ' The late Tom Mix joins the long listj of big-money film stars who died comparatively poor. Mix, who was be- ’ lieved to be a multi-millionaire, left £19,000. Law suits and taxes are said to have swallowed a large part of ■ the estate. Mix made more money out j of films than most stars. At the, height of his fame he was earning i £250,000 a year. He admitted that he had made well over £lOO,OOO in the course of his screen career, apart ■ from the large salary he drew with his circus and stage shows. Nils Asther’s Return: . Nils Asther, one-time star of the American screen, makes his return to j Hollywood productions in Ujßversal’s “The Man Who Lost Himself,” which j Lawrence Fox is producing. Asther has been cast in one of the important roles in the production. Asther went to England to make stellar appear-' ances in 1934, when he was at the height of his fame. He remained : abroad until the war interrupted pro- ' duction in the British Isles. In “The Man Who Lost Himself” he is cast as Brian Aherne’s rival for the l affection of Kay Francis. <

COLUMBIA’S PROGRAMME.

MORE EXPENSIVE FILMS, Announcing that its 1940-41 “lineup” is an increase over previous years in the number of productions and budget appropriation amounts, Columbia Piictures offers 44 feature productions, 16 Westerns, four serials and 130 short subject releases'. The company’s entire assets are being thrown into the work of following the most formidable programme in its history, thus assuring an increased volume to offset depreciated revenues anticipated by drastically changed world market conditions.

This announcement was made at the company’s two sales conventions which took place in Chicago and Atlantic City recently. A record-break-ing budget appropriation allowing for a minimum of 16 expensive productions, many of the calibre of “Arizona” and “The Tree of Liberty,” was one of the features of the announcement. . '

THRILLING DRAMA.

“THE SEA HAWK.”

Romance, adventure and thrills are packed into one screen saga, in “The Sea Hawk.” Errol Flynn heads the cast of thousands, and featured with him are Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Flora Robson and Alan Hale. Rife with dramatic incidents revolving about England’s famous sea hawks, “The Sea Hawk” is a tale of the Old World in the sixteenth century. . The film concerns itself with the intrigues of Spain’s King Philip directed against the court and possessions of England’s Queen Bess, played by Flora Robson. Flynn is seen as Geoffrey Thorpe, captain of a buccaneer ship engaged in piratical pursuits against. England’s enemies. In his capacity of a sort of “Robin Hood of the seas,” he has the unofficial but wholehearted approval of his Queen. He .takes prisoner a Spanish nobleman (Claude Rains). With the Spanish ambassador is his niece (Brenda Marshall). Thus begins a romance which blossoms into true love.

Irene Dunne—Composer: I Irene Dunne will have her first chance to take part in the technical 'musical end of motion picture production during the making of Universal’s “Unfinished Business.” Gregory La Cava, who is producer-director of 'the comedy-romance, has asked Miss Dunne to assist in writing the musical i score for the film. j A graduate with high honours of the Chicago Musical College and a singing star of stage and screen, Miss ;Dunne has always been active in musiJcal composition. ! Coogan in Army: I Jackie Coogan, the 26-year-old actor, entered the United States Army on March 5. He is in camp near Monterey, and it is announced that he ( hopes to enter the Army Air Corps. Air Force Film: 1 Through the co-operation of the British Air Ministry and Samuel Goldwyn, to' whom he is under contract, David Niven will be starred by Twentieth-Fox in a story dealing jWith the Royal Air Force, “Spitfire • Squadron,” a British production. ' .. 'Together Again: I Those screen favourites, “Mr. and ;Mrs.”, William Powell and Myrna Loy, will soon be deep in marital difficulties again when their new co-star-ring comedy, “Love Crazy,” goes before the cameras. I • For Stardom? I Studio executives are still talking ’about “Marie Dressier’s successor,” and Darryl Zanuck toys with the idea jof putting Jane Darwell up as a logical candidate. Since her portrayal of Ma Joad in “The Grapes of Wrath” and that circus fat lady in “Chad Hanna,” Zanuck wants to make Miss ■Darwell an out-and-out star. J ; Strong Cast: j Edward Ashley and Albert Basserman have been added to the cast of t “A Woman’s Face” at Metro-Gold wynMayer. Joan Crawford stars in the 'picture with Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt, Donald Meek, Marjorie Main and Connie Gilchrist. ' i Another Rancher: . x • Latest .addition to Hollywood’s growing colony of ranchers is Robert Cummings, who celebrated the start

of his role with Deanna Durbin in “Spring Parade” at University by acquiring a complete farm in Van Nuys. Bob and his wife become nearby neighbours of Andy Devine, Billy Qilbert, Clark Gable, Charles Winninger, Harvey Stephens and other well-known “ranchers” as a result of the purchase. It is a four-acre affair with a house, stable, corral and about every kind of fruit tree.

New Productions: Production has started at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios on three new films—“ Third Finger, Left Hand,” “Little Nellie Kelly,” and a Nick Carter adventure, as yet untitled. New Combination:

The combination of Gary Cooper and Charles Laughton is being considered as a strong possibility at Paramount for the two leads in “The Captain from Connecticut,” by C. S. Forester, which the studio recently purchased. If th'e deal is made, Cooper and Laughton will play rival seapilots.

Change of Title: “Escape to Glory” will be the release title of Columbia’s new drama which was previously known as “Passage West.” Pat O’Brien and Constance Bennett play the leads, with John Halliday, Melville Cooper, and Alan Baxter in featured roles. Others in the cast include such screen personalities as Edgar Buchanan, Marjorie Gateson, Frank Scully, and Stanley Logan. “Escape to Glory” is directed by John Brahm and produced by Sam Bischoff from the screen play by P. J. Wolfson, based on a story by Sidney Biddle and Frederic Frank. The picture tells the story of the flight of a group of people from war-torn Europe on board a freighter. CANADA’S FILM FAVOURITES “Gone With the Wind” has been elected the best picture of 1940 by Canadian motion.picture critics (says the “Montreal Star”). The next 10 in order of choice were: “Rebecca,” “Foreign Correspondent,” “NorthWest Mounted Police,” “Our Town,” “The Mortal Storm,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” “Pinocchio,” “Waterloo Bridge,” and “Convoy.” Canadian motion picture exhibitors chose Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and Mickey Rooney as the three most popular current box-office stars. TEMPLE-ROONEY TEAM •_ * . Shirley Temple will dust off her makeup box and move over to M.G.M. Shirley, now the world’s most glamorous schoolgirl, will mix movies with her mathematics to the extent of at least two films a year, at a reported stipend of £25,000 per film. The story that is being mentioned as a “comeback vehicle” for her is “Kathleen,” by Kay Van Ripper, who writes the “Hardy” pictures, which lends weight to the report that Shirley’s co-star will be Mickey Rooney. In any case the studio will surround the young star with some of the biggest names on the pay roll.

THE CORSET IN WARTIME.

AIDS MORALE AND EFFICIENCY.

A recent London cable which appeared in the Sydney Telegraph gives a London woman doctor’s opinion that women who are unable to buy corsets because of the shortage, should wrap themselves in roller towelling. The article then quotes a famous obstetrician who says' “a roller binder may be adequate support, but ,1 think a woman should be able to feel happy about her figure line—it affects her mental attitude and her physical health.”

The article concludes with the statement “doctors and women welfare workers in the North of England say that girls who join the factories to release men for the army must have corsets if they are to make their efforts 100'per cent, effective.”