". One Third of a Nation . . ”

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 174, 26 July 1939, Page 11

". One Third of a Nation . . ”

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT’S SPEECH Hollywood is about to bring something new to the screen. This is the adaptation of the Broadway success, “. . . one third of a nation . ~” starring Sylvia Sidney and inspired by a phrase frequently repeated in address es by President Roosevelt. It comes to grips with problems heretofore avoided by Hollywood. It portrays what President Roosevelt inehns when he says? “ l find one third of a nation ill-housed, illclad, and ill-nourished. 77 Proceeding with the thought that “truth is more fascinating than fiction,” a saying that has never been refuted, Arthur Arent who wrote the play, set about dramatising a news event. First, it was necessary to find one that would remain news until th< production opened on Broadway. Many events were discussed and several prepared, but when his script was ready for production, only those with excellent memories would recall what it was all about. In President Roosevelt’s second inaugural address, he stated, “I /find ouo third of a nation ill-housed, ill-c!ad and ill-nourished.” Here was real news, for it was apparent that he was going to do something about this situation. A staff of some twenty-five research workers, most of them trained newsgathers, and two photographers, set about investigating this statement, visiting slums in various cities, taking photographs, studying magazines, newspapers and documents on this subject. Jt soon became apparent that right in New York City there was enough material to make a dozen plays on the subject. The studios collected reams of material and photographs, introduced the hero and heroine from the ranks of the immensely wealthy and tho extremely poor, and for dialogue it was ouly necessary to use the facts and figures before them. For the villain, they choose a tenement house, when it burned to the ground, taking tho lives of thirteen people. From the newspapers of that date, they obtained the running story; from tho photographs before and after tho catastrophe, the block in which it was situated was reconstructed. Again referring to the President’s address, the film will be called “ ... . one third of a nation . . . ” and everything is backed by documentary proof. To-day tho subject is still getting newspaper