About Picture People

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20774, 6 April 1939, Page 4

About Picture People

Cinema , .. Snapshots

FROM FILM WEEKLY Q.ERALDINE FITZGERALD, as I've mentioned before, 1b getting on as fast in Hollywood as she deserved to here. So fast that I have to keep on mentioning her. After her part In “ Wutherlng Heights,” she’ll hurry home to Warners to be leading lady to Errol Flynn, no less, in “ The Sea Hawk.” Not bad going for her third Hollywood film. Pictures from her llrst, Dark Victory,” starring Bette Davis, suggest that Warners have left Geraldine mercifully as they found her. That is, brown-haired, simple and unaffected. She Tias one big advantage over other British exports to Hollywood. Being Irish, she hasn't a strong English accent. Another advantage is she’s intelligent, independent and happily married. Would rather not be in films than do badly in them. M VRN * LOY and ROBERT TAYLOR sound like a new team to me. Quite a sudden and unexpected one. too. Taylor had gone off to New York to kick up his heels on holiday. ’ Myrna was getting all ready to go back to William Powell in " The Thin Man Returns.” (The baby she was knitting for in ” After the Thin Man ” will he quite hefty by the time tile picture starts.) Powell not yet being pronounced fit to start work, Taylor was summoned home from holiday. He and Myrna go straight to work on “ Lucky Night.” CARROLL will be teamed again with Fred Mac Murray, as a follow-up to “ Cafe Society.” New film's called “ Are Husbands Necessary? ” Hollywood expects Madeleine and her real-life husband, Philip Astley, ) to see the Joke of the title, becausd * the Astleys conduct a happy longdistance marriage. In the picture, Madeleine plays a woman who gets on so well by her own beauty and wits she thinks’ men can be dispensed with. Of course, she doesn't think so at the end of the film. Madeleine will be disappointed to find ” The Old Maid ” has gone to Warners for Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins, YyiLLIAM WYLER and SAM GOLD- , WVN have a special side-contract to cover differences of temperament. Twice director Wyler has walked out. Twice producer Goldwyn has recalled him as invaluable. Now, at every conference between them, each deposits a hundred-dollar note on the desk. First to raise his voice in anger forfeits his monev. So far " Wuthering Heights " has’ gone smoothly, under this arrangement This story rings true, tf only because it doesn't carry a new Goldw'uism. O’SULLIVAN’S battle with her studio over " Tarzan In Exile ” ends in a draw. You'll remember Maureen did all she could to get out of being In the film. So Maureen's now practising on Tarzan Junior. She'll only be in the cjose-ups, however, four doubles have been engaged to do tile tree-climbing and jungle aerobatics. Are four doubles quintuples or occupies? Anyway, Maureen's content because of the studio's promise to kill ofr Tarzan s mate, leaving no part for Maureen In fulure Jungle epic. Let’s hope they find some nice pul ls for her return. YyALTER PIDGEON, after a stern apprenticeship us the third member of screen triangles, is | 0 he promoted to stardom by M-G-M. His lirst ” vehicle " Is called ” gix Thousand Enemies.” Pidgeon will he the district attorney who finds himself in prison amoiLt thousands of men he's sent there. Earns ills promotion because last year he got as much fan-mail as any .of tile studio's romantic stars hut Pidgeon will tread very warily towards stardom, I shouldn't wonder. Twice before, lie's found it didn’t pay too well. First In siients, then as the singing hero of early musicals. Probably he'd secretly prefer to remain the sympathetic "heavy" everybody is sorry to sec lose Ihe girl.