Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1939)

Hollywood Personnelities Options — Columbia CHARLES M. BROWN joins writing staff in the Robert Sparks production unit. — Metro VIRGINIA WEIDLER, child actress, held for another year. Her next assignment is “Kathleen,” a story by Kay Van Riper. — 20th Century-Fox MARY BETH HUGHES given long-term acting contract. — Warner Bros. MAY ROBSON given new term acting contract. JAMES HILTON draws new term writing contract. Cleiiers — Samuel Golclwyn VICTOR YOUNG signed to write music and score “Raffles.” — Metro EDWARD WARD scoring “Bad Little Angel.” ARTHUR ROSENSTEIN, music and vocal coach, given new term contract, DAVID SNELL writing score for “Henry Goes to Arizona.” EDWARD WARD and EARL BRENT write an original song, “Try to Remember,” for use as theme material in “Remember?” co-starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson. ROBERT WRIGHT and CHESTER FORREST working with HERBERT STOTHART on special song material for “Lover, Come Back to Me,” which will co-star Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. — Faramount FREDERICK HOLLANDER scoring “Remember the Night.” Irving Talbot is conducting the studio’s recording orchestra. VICTOR SCHERTZINGER has composed a song titled “The Moon and the Willow Tree,” with lyrics by JOHNNY BURKE, which will be used in “The Road to Singapore.” Schertzinger is directing the picture. SIGMUND KRUMGOLD scoring “Diamonds Are Dangerous.” — Keiniblic CY FEUER scoring “Main Street Lawyer.” —Hal Koaoh AARON COPELAND to “Of Mice and Men,” with ABE MEYER supervising. — Warner Bros. MAX STEINER to write score for “Four Wives.” He just completed a similar chore on “We Are Not Alone.” Technically — Pietro DAN CATHCART set as unit art director on “Net Too Narrow. Not Too Deep,” the Joan Crawford-CIark Gable co-starrer. LEONARD SMITH to photograph “Go West,” next Marx Brothers comedy. DAVID MILLER directing “The Flag Speaks,” two-reel Technicolor featurette. WALTER STROHM assigned as assistant director on “Congo Maisie.” SERGEI PETSCHNIKOFF set as unit manager for “Congo Maisie.” KEITH WEEKS set as unit manager on “Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep.” LEW BORZAGE assigned assistant directorial spot on “Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep.” WILLIAM SKALL to handle Technicolor cameras on “The Flag Speaks,” a two-reeler which David Miller will direct. BERT GLAZER is assistant director. — Monogram HARRY NEUMANN assigned to photograph “Mr. Wong at Headquarters.” — UKO Kiidio THERON WARTH assigned to edit “Sunset.” FREDERIC KNUDTSON editing “Legion of the Lawless,” George O’Brien western. DESMOND MARQUETTE to edit “Mexican Spitfire,” Lupe Velez starrer. — 20th Century-Fox RALPH DIETRICH of the production staff, set to leave for Buenos Aires in November, heading a camera crew, to pick up background material for “The South American Way.” Dietrich will be accompanied by BERT GLENNON, cameraman, and R. CARNEY and P. Uhl, Technicolor technicians. Scripters — Metro LAWRENCE HAZARD to "One Came Home.” Albert Levoy will produce. JULIEN JOSEPHSON to an untitled “Hardy Family” picture. — Pa ra mount MAXWELL SHANE to “Golden Gloves,” from his own original. — PrcKlucers Pictures Corp. JOSEPH O’DONNELL to “The Invisible Killer.” — RKO Radio GENE FOWLER to an untitled story for Producer-Director Leo McCarey. ALICE DUER MILLER to the next Herbert Wilcox production, as yet untitled. —Republic CONNIE LEE to “Down By the Old Mill Stream,” a Gene Autry western. EUGENE ALAN and CARROLL GRAHAM to “The Girl From God’s Country.” —Warner Bros. CHARLES REISNER to “Tugboat Annie Sails Again.” ERNEST BOOTH to “Daniel Boone,” a historical featurette. Story Buys — Metro-Goldwyn-3Iayer “Escape,” by Ethel Vance. Story deals with anti-Nazi activities in Germany and ran serially in the Saturday Evening Post. “Waterloo Bridge” by David O. Selznick, who acquired re-make rights to the vehicle some time ago from Universal. Selznick has loaned Vivien Leigh to M-G-M for the starring role. “Kathleen,” a radio play by Kay Van Riper as a possible vehicle for Virginia Weidler. —RKO Radio “The $1,000 Marriage,” by Arthur Beckhard, as a Leon Errol comedy. Bert Gilroy will produce and Leslie Goodwins will direct. — Republic “Million Dollar Fugitive,” a series of newspaper stories by Jack Foster dealing with the life of I.,ouis Lepke Buchalter, the gangster. New High Levels Again Beckoning Production Quickly recuperating from a brief letdown, production has again begun climbing back to high levels. Now in work are 43 films in the major plants, this figure being supplemented by the addition of 11 others in final preparatory stages. Columbia is shooting five, including a new starter, “Passport to Happiness.” Two others — “The Street of Missing Women” and “Blondie Brings Up Baby” have been sent to the cutting rooms. Metro has launched “Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep” and “Congo Maisie,” at the same time completing “Nick Carter” and “The Secret of Dr. Kildare.” Four are in production. Monogram shoved off “Mr. Wong at Headquarters” to raise its total to two. “Safari” and “The Biscuit Eater” — the latter on location in Georgia — are Para mount’s new starts. Studio is shooting four. Six are in production at RKO Radio, including a new starter, “Distant Fields.” Chalked up as completed are “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” and “Escape to Paradise,” the latter a Principal Production. Republic is shooting two, having launched “South of the Border.” Twentieth Century-Fox raised its total to seven by gunning “Charlie Chan in Panama.” Universal started “Trouble’s My Middle Name” and completed “First Love” and “Green Hell,” the latter being Harry Edington’s first effort under the Famous Productions banner. Four are in work at the Universal City plant. Various United Artists producers account for an aggregate of three productions. Warner is filming six, having started “The Life of Dr. Ehrlich” and “Million DoUar Fugitive.” Sent to the cutting rooms was “Invisible Stripes.” Tom Pettey to the Fore on Hays Ofiice Publicity Readjustment of personnel and realignment of the staff in its new duties since the recent general economy order at the Hays office finds Tom Pettey, of the press relations department, slated to take over most of the duties handled by Kyle Palmer as head of the now-disbanded committee on public relations. Palmer will leave the payroll November 1. The committee was organized nearly two years ago as a means to effecting more cordial relations for the industry in its press and publicity contacts. Pettey has returned to his desk after a two-week vacation in Texas. The busy labor unit has also undergone a reorganization. Fred Pelton has been appointed chief labor contact, headquartering here, with Victor Clarke as his assistant. Pat Casey, who has been in charge of this division, will henceforth headquarter in New York and will exercise supervision over labor problems arising there. Pelton’s first important chore will be to negotiate with William Bioff, ex-IATSE Pacific Coast chief, concerning demands for wage increases by plasterers, utility workers, molders and machinists, who formed a solid American Federation of Labor front and deputized Bioff as their representative. JudelVs Arizona Studio To Open in a Gay Way Opening of the new western location studio at Prescott, Ariz., early in November as another milestone in the development of Ben Judell’s Producers Pictures Corp. will find Arizona state officials, including Gov. R. T. Jones, participating in the ceremonies. Governor Jones has accepted Judell’s invitation and the fete will include a street parade and a barbecue at the studio, which is now nearing completion. Date of its opening will be known as “Bobby Clark Day” in honor of the 13-year-old world’s champion junior cowboy who will feature in a series of eight “Sagebrush Family” westerns to be produced there by Judell. The company will also manufacture 16 other westerns at the Arizona plant, including eight Tim McCoy starrers and an equal number featuring George Huston. All will be released through Judell’s Producers Distributing Corp. In Hollywood, where he is filming at Grand National, Judell is well along with “Buried Alive,” a prison melodrama which is the third vehicle on his program for the year. Next to go will be “Mercy Plane.” Rogers & McCrea Co-Stars In "The Primrose Path" RKO Radio has signed Joel McCrea to co-star with Ginger Rogers in “The Primrose Path,” to be produced and directed by Gregory La Cava. Marjorie Rambeau draws a featured role. The vehicle was a Broadway stage success. 30 BOXOrnCE : : October 21, 1939