Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

6 T H A N N nn-: R S A R Y ISSUE Page 59 RKO Rushes Balance of Program WITH all the sound stages at the Hollywood studio running full blast, RKO Radio Pictures, under the guidance of Pandro S. Berman, vice-president in charge of production and President George Schaefer iS' driving along at top speed to complete the pictures still scheduled for release on its 1938-39 program. This list is headed by such productions as "Little Mother," (tentative title) starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven ; "Memory of Love," (tentative title) co-starring Carole Lombard, Gary Grant and Kav Francis and "My Fifth Avenue Girl," with Ginger Rogers, in the stellar role. "Little Alother" is being scored and edited ; "Memory of Love" will be completed in July. Of the others on the schedule, six are in the cutting rooms ; eight are in production and three still are awaiting a call to begin filming. "Little Mother" is a comedy revolving around a girl who works in a department store and who, through a series of strange circumstances, comes into the possession of a foundling child. Even her landlady is convinced the child is hers, and the efforts of all her well-meaning friends to make her acknowledge the youngster, is the basis of the plot. Garson Kanin, who won national acclaim for "A Man to Remember" megaphoned the picture. B. F. DeSylva was the producer. "Memory of Love," deals with the right to happiness of a man who is married in Ceo. J. Schaefer name only, and of the woman who loves him but would sacrifice that love to avoid breaking up his home. The film is based on Bessie Breuer's novel of the same name. John Cromwell is the director, with George Haight as the associate producer. For "My Fifth Avenue Girl" Gregory La Cava will function as producer-director and Morrie Ryskin is writing the screen play. "The Rookie Cop" features Tim Holt, son of the screen star, Jack Holt; 11-year-old Virginia Weidler, Janet Shaw and Ace, the Wonder Dog. David Howard directed, with Bert Gilroy. It demonstrates crime detection through trained police dogs. "Panama Lady" has Lucille Ball and Allan Lane in the leading roles, and is laid in the jungles of Central America. It deals with the romance between a young cabaret entertainer and a two-fisted oil prospector who become involved in a murder. Michael Kanin wrote the screen play from a story by Garret Fort. The producer was Cliff Reid, with Jack Hively directing. "The Girl From Mexico," is a fast-moving comedy featuring Lupe Velez, and tells the experiences of a young Mexican singer who comes to the United States to appear on a radio program and falls in love with the young executive who discovered her. Leslie Goodwins directed, with Robert Sisk as the producer. Leo Carrillo, Stefii Duna and Tim Holt head "The Girl and the Gambler," which was adapted to the screen by Joseph Fields from a play by Willard Mack. The triangular romance between a Mexican dancing girl, a young American gambler and a Mexican Robin Hood who robs the rich to aid the poor, forms the plot. Lew Landers directed and Cliff Reid produced this film soon to be released. "Five Came Back" is a dramatic offering. It deals with the plight of a group of persons trapped in an impenetrable tropic jungle by the crash of their plane. Only five can escape when the one motor of the plane finally is repaired, the others having to remain and face certain death. The responsibility of chosing the five brings abou the climax. John Farrow directed, with Robert Sisk as the producer. "Career" features Anne Shirley and Edward Ellis and introduces to theatre audiences the two finalists in the "Gateway to Hollywood" talent search carried over the air by Jesse L. Lasky. John Archer and Alice Eden, the two young people selected, have the second leads in the picture. The picture is a cross section of domestic and social drama in a small mid-Western town. Leigh Jason directed, with Robert Sisk as the producer. "The Spellbinder" features Lee Tracy in the role of a criminal lawyer who becomes enmeshed in his own crooked ethics and has to kill a murderer who has married his daughter for protection. Jack Hively is directing with Cliff Reid producing. "Bad Lands" is a unique picture in that it has an entire male cast. It is laid in 1875 in Arizona and tells the story of a sheriff's posse which is trapped by the Indians and is wiped out, all but one man. The film is from, an original story by Clarence Upson Young. Lew Landers will direct. "Way Down South" starring Bob Breen, is an original story by Clarence Muse and Langston Hughes. It features the Hall Johnson Choir. It is laid in the Old South in 1850. Bernard Vorhaus directed with Sol Lesser as the producer. ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE n GREGORY RATOFF UNDER CONTRACT TO 20th CENTURY-FOX