Mickey Rooney’s Victory

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21040, 16 February 1940, Page 8

Mickey Rooney’s Victory

Cinema .. ♦

Snapshots

The 1939 poll is full of upsets and surprises, the biggest of all being the dethronement of little Shirley Temple from the No. 1 spot, which she held undisputed for the four previous years. Here are the 10 winners for 1939, and the percentage they polled:— Mickey Rooney, 870; Tyrone Power, 677; Spencer Tracy, 566; Clark Gable, 412; Shirley Temple, 339; Bette Davis, 315; Alice Faye. 271; Errol Rlynn, 253; James Cagney, 226; Sonja Henie, 219. Rooney’s victory in this poll is a blow to Hollywood’s much publicised glamour boys and girls, and is proof that the people who pay to see movies prefer homey down-to-earth entertainment to all other kinds. Mickey’s triumph will give all studios much food for thought. He is anything but glamorous, and there is no doubt that he won the poll for his performances in the cheap-budgeted Hardy Family series. The poll is more important to Hollywood than even the Academy Awards. Studios find out through the poll which stars are the big money-makers at the box-office, and after all, Hollywood is in business for a profit. Exhibitors who vote in this poll are asked to “Please list in the order of their box-office strength the 10 players whose pictures drew the greatest number of patrons to your theatre in 1939, without regard to age of picture, net profit, length of run, nature of competition, or other conditions during exhibition.” More than 8000 independent exhibitors cast their votes this year. Rooney’s rise to top place has been little short of sensational. He was listed in 133rd place in the exhibitors’ poll in 1937, but in 1938 climbed up to third place. Now he is on top with a sweeping majority. Until this poll he was receiving 1000 dollars a week, and 10,000 dollars bonus for each picture. Now his salary has been increased to the 4000 dollars a week mark, and he is on a par with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Robert Taylor, studio fellowworkers.