Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1938)

ALL credit to the film capital’s most active pair of liberal organizations, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and the Motion Picture Artists Committee, for their respective replies to the accusations of “communism,” hurled at them through innuendo by Edward Sullivan, special investigator for the house of representatives’ Dies committee probing “unAmerican activities,” and broadcast by Sullivan in a report to the house committee on Monday. The statements, to be found elsewhere in this issue, of the League and Committee in refutation of the Sullivan blast prove beyond argument that their officers and members individually and collectively possess a splendid courage of their convictions and are prepared to stand by their principles regardless of what pressure may be brought from within or without the industry in which they are employed. They might have gone further. They might have stated that, if the humanitarian pursuit of devoting their time and money toward the partial alleviation of the sufferings of women and children, innocent victims of ruthless warfare inspired and nurtured by Nazi dictators; that, if the opposition to the spreading in democratic America of the doctrines and propaganda of power-crazed European opportunists be “communism,” they are proud to be termed “communists.” conjunction with the coming campaign. The motion picture industry has treated Cobh rather handsomely financially and socially. He has been well-paid for any of his splendid stories that have been adapted to the screen and equally well remunerated for his not-so-splendid acting contributions. The business-boosting drive is, after all, designed to benefit a field of endeavor on which Cobb has fattened — literally and figuratively — and, through natural consequences, everyone connected therewith. The industry’s top-bracket executive and creative members are giving liberally of their best thought, time and money to make it a success. Cobb's refusal to do his small bit unless paid, only case of its kind to be encountered by the committee, should do little to enhance the industry’s demand for his future services literarily or Thespically. Author-Actor Irvin Cobb certainly led with his chin — all of them — when he demanded his “ customary ” rate of $2 per word before he would comply with the request of the Hollywood “Motion Pictures’ Are Your Best Entertainment” committee to join other noted screen writers in contributing by-line stories for nationwide newspaper and magazine coiisumption in Publicists Olenick and Weintraub recently sued their client (the other one), Ben Blue, to collect fees allegedly due them. At the time the action was filed. Blue bet his erstwhile praisers a dinner for all hands that they would not collect. They did. Now they are considering a second suit to collect the dinner. Harry Sherman has contracted the St. Brendan Boys Choir to do a musical stint in his next Hopalong Cassidy western, “Pioneer Sons.” In the last of the popular series, the action was slowed considerably through the interpolation of several musical interludes. From which it might be suspected that the ace producer of sagebrush sagas is going a bit “arty,” forgetting that it was bullets — not ballads — which won for the Cassidy features their enviable reputation as topnotch and profit-producing westerns. Frank Whitbeck has added four zebras to his San Fernando zoo, the nucleus of ivhich menagerie comprises two elephants which the M-G-M advertising executive rents to animal-loving producers. Frank might further augment his growing zoo by acquiring, at comparatively small cost, a few of the white elephants such as “Port of Seven Seas,” which the mighty Leo has recently sired. On one day last week, the Hollywood Citizen-News eliminated Ed Sullivan's column on colluloid matters, giving as its reason for the omission that it was not "newsworthy locally" because Sullivan devoted that day's space to a detailed description of some of the film capital's popular night spots. It is strongly suspected that the real reason is the fact that the newspaper's management has become fed up on seeing night spots and restaurants receive untold thousands of dollars worth of free plugs in alleged Hollywood gossip columns while these lucrative commercial enterprises pass up the advertising space as though it were the sevenyear itch. In which connection it would be a good idea for the advertising manager of Hearst's Herald-Express to keep a weather eye on Jimmy Starr's daily beanery boosts. Salmon and Slapstick Paramount's “Spawn of the North," surging saga of salmon snatchers, was the standout as the best picture shown to reviewers during the past week. The George Raft starring vehicle — perhaps his last on the Marathon St. lot, in view of his current feud with the Paramount pharaohs, has plenty of what it takes to keep the boxoffice till a-tingling. Raft's performance is excellent, one of his best, while the support by John Barrymore and Akim Tamiroff is commendable. The femme contingency contributes the weakest factor, both Dorothy Lamour and Louise Platt proving ineffective, shortcomings which influence the ensemble but little, inasmuch as their respective parts are secondary in the feature's motivation. Preponderant portion of credit for the picture's success must go to Producer Albert Lewin and Director Henry Hathaway for impressive and beautiful mounting and two-fisted action. Also shown: Hal Roach's “Blockheads," in which Veterans Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy return to the type of bang-up slapstick through which they gained their greatest following, packed with amusing gags and enough belly-laughs to satisfy everyone . . . 20th Century-Fox's “Always in Trouble," a standardly good Jane Withers comedy in which the gingery moppet exhibits her usual propensity for popping everybody concerned into inextricable complexities. This time it takes the U. S. Coast Guard to straighten out the muddle . . . And Universal's “The Missing Guest," a melodramatic mystery-comedy of the clutching-hand-trap-door school, lifted above the mediocre through an excellent performance by Paul Kelly, but stereotyped as to story and action. BOXOFFICE :: August 20, 1938 79