Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1939)

Hollywood Personnelities Options — Paramount ALLAN JONES signed to appear in two more features, the first to be “The Count of Luxembourg,” an operetta by Franz Lehar. CLIFFORD GOLDSMITH, author of “What a Life,” joins writing staff to prepare a sequel. WANDA McKAY, stock player, held for another term. — Warner Bros. IRVING RAPPER, dialogue director, given new contraot. Clefiers — Metro EDWARD WARD set as musical director on “Young Tom Edison.” FRANZ WAXMAN completes special “tempo” musical sound tracks to be used as background for dance scenes in “Florian.” —Paramount VICTOR YOPTNG, leading 53-piece studio orchestra, begins waxing score of “Gulliver’s Travels,” feature-length Technicolor cartoon. CHARLES HENDERSON set as musical director on “Buck Benny Rides Again.” SIGMUND KRUMGOLD scoring “Typhoon,” Technicolor feature starring Dorothy Lamour. — UKO Kadio LEON LEONIDOFF to direct dance sequences in “Irene.” — Edward Small “My Son, My Son.” original tune bv L. WOLFE GILBERT and LEW POLLACK, purchased as theme for Small's picture of the same name. — fiiiversal EDDIE CHERKOSE and JACQUES PRESS sell their original tune, “How Was I to Know,” for use in “Charlie McCarthy. Detective.” SAM LERNER and BEN OAKLAND sell their original tune “Almost,” for use in “Charlie McCarthy, Detective.” — Warner Bros. HOWARD JACKSON, studio composer, presented parts of Max Steiner’s score for “We Are Not Alone” at a luncheon and meeting of the California Federation of Music Clubs. Story Buys — Columbia “The Doctor of Lennox.” forthcoming novel by A. J. Cronin, as a Wesley Ruggles production. “Passage West,” by Sidney Bedell and Frederick Frank. Fred Kohlmar will produce. — KKO Kadio “Kiki,” screen rights to which were owned by Mary Pickford. Cliff Reid will produce and Garson Kanin will direct. — Keimblic “The Last Headline,” by Frank MacDonald, to Republic. Pie has also been set to direct. — 20th Century-Fox “For Women Only,” by Hilda Stone, for production by the Sol Wurtzel unit as a sequel to “Hotel for Women.” Scripters — (-’olumbia S. K. LAUREN to “This Thing Called Love” for Producer William Perlberg. KEN ENGLUND borrow'ed from Walter Wanger to collaborate with GEORGE SEATON on “The Doctor Takes a Wife.” — Edward Small LEWIS MELTZER borrowed from Columbia to work on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the Washington Irving classic. — Metr<» ROBERT LEES and FRED RINALDO to “Good News,” wliich Arthur Freed will produce with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland co-starred. ANNA LEE WHITMORE to “The Ziegfeld Girl.” COREY FORD and ALASTAIR MACBAIN to “Canterville Ghost.” a Milton Bren production. JULTEN JOSEPHSON to an untitled “Tarzan” feature. Lucien Hubbard will produce. HUGO BUTLER and MARGUERITE ROBERTS to “Willow Walk.” Joseph Mankiewicz production which will star Robert Montgomery. DORE SCHARY to “Broadway Melody of 1941.” Jack Cummings will direct. — Paramount FRANCES MARION to “Miss Susie Slagle’s.” LOUIS KAYE to polish “The Road to Singapore,” now in production. JOHN BALDERSTON to “Victory,” from a story by Joseph Conrad. GARNETT WESTON to “The Way of All Flesh.” BARTLETT CORMACK to Cecil B. DeMille’s “Northwest Mounted Police.” HORACE McCOY and WILLIAM LIPMAN to “The Woman From Plell,” a story by J. Edgar Hoover, which Edward T. Lowe will produce. CHARLES BRACKETT to “Triumph Over Pain,” forthcoming Arthur Hornblow jr. production. —KKO RacUo SAM and BELLA SPEWACK to “Kiki.” — Republic BETTY BURBRIDGE to “Down by the Old Mill Stream.” PILIZABETH PAGE to “Dark Command.” forthr-oming John Wayne starrer. GERALD GERAGHTY to “Grand Old Op’ry,” forthcoming Gene Autry starrer, which William Berke will produce. SCOTT DARLING to “Girl From God’s Country,” in which Charles Bickford will be starred. CHARLES BELDEN to “The Wolf of New York.” JACK TOWNLEY to “Everybody’s Happy,” next “Higgins Family” picture. — 20th Century-Fox CLARK ANDREWS and DAVID BURTON to “Marriage in Transit.” — Universal WILLIAM CONSELMAN to “If I Had My Way,” forthcoming Bing Crosby starrer, which David Butler will produce and direct. — Walter Wanger SONYA LEVIEN to “So Gallantly Gleaming,” a story by Peter Ordway and Harvey Thew, based on the life of General John PYemont. — Warner ROBERT ROSSON to “My Son.” JOHN MEEHAN to “We Shall Meet Again,” forthcoming Merle Oberon starrer. FRED NIBLO jr. to “Patent Leather Kid.” George Raft will be featured. NORMAN REILLY RAINE to “Benefit of Mankind.” Technically — Academy Productions FRED PARRISH to Iiandle still photography on "And So Goodbye.” STEPHEN GOOSSON to design sets for "And So Goodbye.” — Samuel Goldwyn GREGG TOLAND to photograph “The Westerner.” — Metro GEORGE MACON and JOHN WATERS, technical advisors on “Arouse and Beware,” are hunting locations for battle scenes in tlie Civil War picture. ARTHUR GRUBE. head of the Los Angeles division of the U. S. Secret Service, acting as technical advisor on “Counterfeit,” current "Crime Does Not Pay” sliort. LEN SMITH photograpliing tlie Fred AstaireEieanor Powell dance sequences in “Broadway Melody of 1940.” EDDIE WOEHLER set as assistant director and ART SMITH as unit manager for “Arouse and Beware.” JERRY BRESLER replaces HORACE HOUGH, ill, as assistant director on “Shop Around the Corner.” AL SHENBERG set as assistant director on "Marx Brothers Go West.” DR. E. SHACKMAN signed as technical supervisor on scenes for “Congo Maisie.” TOM ANDRE and M.4.RVIN STUART named production assistants on battle scenes in “Arouse and Beware.” RALPH SHUGART, HOWARD FELLOWES, ♦frank MACKENZIE and HOWARD VOSS handling sound on “Arouse and Beware.” GILL KURLAND scouting locations for “Congo Maisie.” — Paramount JOE YOUNGERMAN heads location troupe of 55 actors and technicians to 29 Palms for scenic backgrounds and cattle roundup sliots for “Buck Benny Rides Again.” — Republic ART SITEMAN set as unit manager on “Dark Command.” KEN HOLMES and PHIL FORD named assistant directors on “Dark Command.” MACK D'AGOSTINO set as unit manager on "Drums of Fu Manchu.” — Edward Small STANLEY LOGAN signed as dialogue director on “My Son, My Son.” HELEN TAYLOR to design feminine costumes for “My Son, My Son.” — I'niversal MAURICE WRIGHT editing "Danger on Wheels.” Richard Arlen-Andy Devine co-starrer. 22 Penner and RKO to Part: Disagree on New Pact Unable to agree on terms of a new contract, Joe Penner will leave the RKO Radio acting roster upon completion of his next assignment, “Glamour Boy No. 2,” which is scheduled to get under way November 27, studio attaches disclosed. Penner has been with the studio for the past four years. His last film was “The Day the Bookies Wept.” Future plans for the radio-screen comedian have not been announced. Edward Gross has been handed a term contract as associate producer at Republic. Gross recently returned from New York, where he had been working to complete organization of Rainbow Productions, an independent unit, plans for which now are indefinite. Likewise indeterminate at the present time is the status of a contract which Gross holds with Buck Jones for the production of four action features starring the veteran screen cowboy. Gross formerly was associated with Sol Lesser and with David L. Loew. Republic’s writing staff dwindled in size again with the departure of Lionel Houser, who completed work on the script of “Dark Command.” Only seven writers are currently on the lot, a new low for the year. Jane Bryan East for P, A, With "We Are Not Alone" Scheduled to make a personal appearance in connection with the New York opening of Warner’s “We Are Not Alone,” Jane Bryan, who shares co-starring honors with Paul Muni in the picture, has trained east. She will spend several weeks there doing interviews and radio broadcasts, now being set by Warner publicists. Hugh Herbert opened a week’s p. a. engagement in Minneapolis November 24, following which he -is scheduled to return to Hollywood and picture-making activity. An all-time record for a p. a. tour by a screen star is being claimed following the return of Eddie Cantor from a seven-week itinerary in theatres between Chicago and Brooklyn. Figures released assert he played to 843,217 persons and grossed $268,509 — all in the 40-75-cent admission bracket. Cantor’s act included Leni Lynn, Metro starlet; the Mad Russian; Mr. Guffy and the star’s pianist. Stopovers were made in Pittsburgh, Boston, Brooklyn, Washington, Chicago, Columbus, Toledo, South Bend, Rockford, Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester. Laughton and Pommer Sign RKO Contracts Suspending activities of their Mayflower Pictures Corp., English production unit, because of war conditions, Charles Laughton and Erich Pommer have inked individual contracts with RKO Radio. Laughton will star in an untitled story to be produced and directed by Leo McCarey, this to be followed by a second which Pommer will produce. Pommer will debut as an RKO Radio producer with a picture starring Maureen O’Hara, to follow her forthcoming assignment in “A Bill of Divorcement.” "Laddie" Again After a four-year rest, RKO Radio will again film “Laddie,” the novel by the late Gene Stratton Porter. Cliff Reid has been set as producer for the feature which the same company made previously with Gloria Stuart. Bert Granet is scripting. BOXOFFICE :: November 25, 1939