National Box Office Digest (Jan-Dec 1945)

BOX OFFICE DIGEST 19 o o o *u X O E = <-2 >ZO < = 5 HI >_ >■ c ® © J2> 228|®* 223 = 02z >. -I iPo ®t;-S •*“ >■ ao<n o< E ®5| ?!5.^o-! «3»f'E >> •S E 2 s s = i : 5^o22o5: <5 X X >axQ: ooi<o< u. u_ ^ a. Jl o_ trlD lx C 9 i * li: me 3° *1 i ® g © -D :§:« 5-i3lll a~ S -rC> It®* 3 © E-*ti g ® o © © ©-i: J X I ►— H_lX lot— “Dangerous Passage” (PINE-THOMAS-PARAMOUNT) The Digest’s Box Office Estimate: 80% Producers William Pine and William Thomas Director William Berke The Players: Robert Lowery, Phyllis Brooks, Charles Arnt, Jack LaRue, Victor Kilian, William Edmunds, Alec Craig, John Eldredge. Photography ...Fred Jackman, Jr. Time 61 minutes Pine and Thomas continue to roam the world in search of places where he-men are heroes, and gals are sweeties to be won through conflict and storm. This time these masters of the meller which has such a wide market put their hero aboard a freighter headed from Honduras to Galveston, with an inherited fortune in sight, and gosh, how many enemies who are going to keep it from him. Robert Lowery is the hero. He must get to Galveston to cinch his fortune. But there is a dastardly lawyer, Charles Arnt, who hires an assasin to kill him and secure the identification papers that will be needed in Galveston. And then, golly, there is more trouble aboard the freighter. Some dastardly villain has concocted a plot to wreck the ship ; there is pretty Phyllis Brooks, who alternately seems to be one of the conspirators and definitely becomes the romantic note. Action, mystery, and then more action building to a thrill climax. And always at a fast pace. The picture ranks high in the consistent Pine-Thomas list. It has been well cast, with Robert Lowery showing us again that he is to be considered a comer. Miss Brooks registers pleasingly, with Charles Arnt giving the proper shade of sinister coloring to the heavy role. Direction by William Berke is workmanlike, at its best in achieving his decision to keep the action moving. Exhibitor’s Booking Suggestion : Fast moving meller welcome in many booking spots. . . . Previewed Dec. 14th. WHAT THE OTHER FELLOWS SAID : REPORTER: “Producers Pine and Thomas have turned out another high speed, hard hitting action melodrama.” VARIETY: “Carries the fast pace which characterizes the action films turned out by the Pine-Thomas organization.” F-L-A-S-H-E-S . . ( Continued from Page 13) ★ ★ ★ A print of the Howard HawksWarner production “To Have and To Have Not” was rushed special pronto to author Ernest Hemingway in Paris for showing to GI’s stationed there. ★ ★ ★ Alex Gottlieb ended the old year as the recipient of a luncheon celebrating his fifteenth year in the industry tendered by a dozen stars from his latest production, “Hollywood Canteen.” ★ ★ ★ Mary Pickford has officially opened offices at the Sam Goldwyn studio for her new producing organization, work starting now on “One Touch of Venus.” ★ ★ ★ Louis Howard has two deals on the fire in addition to his commitment for “Son of Monte Cristo” with Edward Small. The tentative deals are with Hall Wallis at Paramount for “Whenever I Remember,” and with Ben Bogeaus for “There Goes Lona Henry.” ★ ★ ★ Pine and Thomas, producing for Paramount release, have set their first two for the 1945 schedule. “Follow That Woman,” with William Gargan starring, will start January 20th, and the Sam White production, “People Are Funny” has a February 15th date. ★ ★ ★ Pat O’Brien is back in town after a 47,000 mile tour of China, Burma and India. The RKO star played one of the toughest schedules ever arranged by the Hollywood Victory Committee, practically all of it by plane over terrain that is far from friendly. ★ ★ ★ Benedict Bogeaus gets under way January 15th at the General Service Studio on “Captain Kidd.” Rowland V. Lee directs, with Charles Laughton starred. ★ ★ ★ Randolph Scott has been set for the lead in “The Homesteaders,” which Jules Levey will produce for United Artists release. ★ ★ ★ John Considine is back in Hollywood after a New York trip looking over plays and talking distribution. Definite production plans will be announced soon. ★ ★ ★ Mark Hellinger has been given production chores on “The Two Mrs. Carrolls,” which will star Barbara Stanwyck and Paul Henreid. This has been taken over from Jesse Lasky list and is in addition to “Will Rogers” and “The Big Bow Mystery” which Hellinger is now preparing for Warners. ★ ★ ★ The pipe line from William Cagney Productions says that the cutting room has already started raving about “Blood On the Sun,” which Frank Lloyd is directing, starring Jimmy with a cast including Sylvia Sidney, Wallace Ford, Robert Armstrong, and James Bell. ★ ★ ★ Incidentally, Jimmy Cagney last week spent two days on the shooting of a scene that will last only five minutes on the screen, and that after six weeks of training and rehearsing. You see, it was the toughest screen fight in which Jimmy ever engaged, a roughouse scramble with 225-pound Jack Segal, former Los Angeles policeman. Both participants came out of the battle with assorted cuts, contusions, abrasions, and a few other items that you can see listed in the average ambulance report.