20th Century-Fox Dynamo (August 5, 1939)

2A STUDIO SPECIAL WARNER RAXTER HEADS CAST IN “SCOTLAND YARD” M ovietone city — The first 1939-40 vehicle in which Warner Baxter will star will not be “Day-Time Wife,” as Zanuck originally planned. Production on that domestic farce-comedy has been postponed until later in the Fall owing to casting diffi- culties. Not until he has been able to negotiate for the star he had in mind for one of the two feminine leads will he put “Day- Time Wife” in production. If she is not available this season, Zanuck will draw on his reserve list, extracting “Lillian Russell” or some such important subject which he has in readiness for just such emergency as this one. • H OWEVER, casting difficulties on “Day-Time Wife” will in no way keep Warner Baxter idle. He has been assigned the starring male role in “Scotland Yard.” Production will start within the next month. Alfred Werker, who recently completed another mystery drama, “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” has been given the directorial reins on “Scotland Yard” as a reward for his success in han- dling the former production in which appear Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, Nigel Bruce as Watson, Ida Lupino, Alan Marshal and others. • T HE fact that “shooting” on “Part-Time Wife” has had to be postponed left Gregory Ratoff free to accept another directorial assignment. Because of the fine job he turned in on the first Cosmopolitan produc- tion for 1939-40, Zanuck has delegated him to direct Sonja Henie’s first of two specials for this season. He will direct “Everything Happens at Night.” Miss Henie, who has been vaca- tioning in Europe ever since she completed “Second Fiddle,” is due back here on Sept. 1. • B ECAUSE he will be busy working in “Little Old New York” with Alice Faye, Fred MacMurray, Andy Devine and others, Richard Greene can not appear in “Everything Happens at Night,” as originally in- tended. Both these productions will be in work at the same time. Hence, Zanuck this week made a deal with Paramount for the services of Ray Milland to play opposite Sonja. T HIS week it was announced that “Little Old New York” will definitely go into production on Sept. 1. That is the approxi- mate date on which Zanuck will start several other important specials, namely, “Johnny Apol- lo,” “Swanee River” and Mae- terlinck’s “The Blue Bird.” About the same time work will get under way on “Scotland Yard,” which will be easily avail- able for Domestic release early in December. Henry King be- lieves “Little Old New York” is the best box office story he has had since “Alexander’s Rag- time Band,” which he also di- rected. T HE announced sensational war of the Government against organized crime makes “Johnny Apollo” a particularly timely subject. This is an orig- inal story with a strong gang- ster element and the first of its kind that Zanuck has undertaken to make for release by this com- pany. Rowland Brown and A. M. Engel furnished the screen- play. V f i i I i i \ “THE RAINS CAME” IS GREATEST MOTION PICTURE EV ER PRODUCE D-C. E. M'CARTHT j Publicity and Advertising Director Charles E. McCarthy was summoned to the Coast by Production Chief Darryl F. Zanuck ( this week for conferences on exploitation and advertising campaigns on forthcoming K-7 specials. On Wednesday McCarthy with j Studio Publicity Director Harry Brand saw Louis Bromfield’s “The Rains Came.” He wired Mr. Wobber the following: ■ “I have just seen ‘The Rains Came’ and it is the greatest motion picture ever produced. It is also the greatest box office picture I ever made and it will break box office records everywhere. Even without the spectacular flood and earthquakes, the story is so | terrific that it would be the greatest human document that has come out of Hollywood. Brenda Joyce is definitely the great star s reports from the studio said she was.” t In reaching the above opinion, the advertising chief coincides with the view already detailed to the field organizations by Mr. ( Wobber and at the Drive meetings by Morton A. Levy and Roger Ferri who had seen “rushes” of “The Rains Came” early i last month. I On Thursday night, McCarthy was to attend a screening of the first Technicolor special, “Hollywood Cavalcade.” | FRED MACMURRAY SET FOR “LITTLE OLD NEW YORK” M ovietone city — zanuck is determined to make “Lit- tle Old New York” the “Alexan- der’s Ragtime Band” of the 1939-40 season. That he is well on his way toward bringing that about can not be disputed in view of recent moves he made. First move brought the services of Fred MacMurray, who is un- der contract to Paramount. In return for MacMurray, the lat- ter studio will get the services of Don Ameche for one picture. Meantime, the latter has com- pleted the first of his four for the K-7 season. It is “Holly- wood Cavalcade” in which he co-stars with Alice Faye. • T HIS week Zanuck also ob- tained the services of Andy Devine from Universal for a featured comedy role in “Little Old New York.” Alice Faye and Richard Greene will play the romantic leads in this produc- tion that Henry King will di- rect. “Shooting” is expected to get under way by the first of next month. Meantime, there are several other very important roles that have to be filled and this task is now being attended to. • D ON AMECHE will complete his Paramount assignment in time to start work on his second 1939-40 vehicle, “Swanee River” which will be done in Technicolor. To faclitate Tech- nicolor work and assure prompt- ness in delivery of Technicolor prints, Zanuck has found that it is to the studio’s advantage to have two Technicolor pictures in work at the same time. He found this to be fact when he made “Jesse James” and “Ken- tucky.” He followed through on that procedure on “Hollywood Cavalcade” and “Drums Along the Mohawk.” The former is in the cutting department and the latter in its second month of “shooting.” S WANEE River,” which Sid- ney Lanfield, who mega- phoned “Second Fiddle,” “Wake Up and Live,” “One in a Mil- lion,” “Thin Ice” and other out- standing hits, will direct, will be a romantic drama featuring the music of Stephen Foster. The latter part will be played by Don Ameche. A1 Jolson real- izes his ambition when he plays the role of Minstrel-man Chris- tie, the showman who first sang the Foster melodies so univer- sally loved today. Nancy Kelly will carry one of the two femi- nine romantic roles, for there were two loves in the life of the noted American composer. • B Y the time “Swanee River” is ready for the Technicolor cameras, Zanuck expects to have lined up the cast that will ap- pear with Shirley Temple in another all-color special, Mae- terlinck’s “The Blue Bird.” The screenplay has already enjoyed the enthusastic endorsement of the author who will star in the trailer on “The Blue Bird.” i HERE IS A REAL PARTY! | j | This scene was intended to be a night of triumph for a I j clever trouper from Broadway who was well on her way 1 = to screen stardom. But, apparently, it was not that for Alice s I Faye. This is one of the “sock” moments in the first Tech- I | nicolor special of the 1939-40 series, “Hollywood Cavalcade.” j | With Alice is Don Ameche, who is co-starred in this dramati- j zation of 20 years of motion picture production. 1 EDWARD ARNOLD IN “JOHNNY APOLLO”, GANGSTER EXPOSE! M ovietone city — News- paper announcements that the Government was launching a campaign to wipe out crime and clean up politics created a sensation all over the nation this week, judging from the press re- action and front-page publicity given the move. The announce- ment exalted the value of “Johnny Apollo,” a strong drama with a gangster element, written by Rowland Brown and A. M. Engle. The Government announcement stated that the investigation. Grand Jury hear- ings and trials will keep the authorities busy through the Winter. And this fact makes “Johnny Apollo” an especially timely subject. • J OHNNY Apollo” will be available for release when the investigation and trials are well under way, according to the schedule Zanuck arranged this week. Furthermore, he is going to make this one of his major undertakings for the new season. Tyrone Power will head the all-star cast in “Johnny Apollo,” which the production chief intends to start around the first of September. Linda Dar- nell, who has caused a furore because of her sensational debut in “Elsa Maxwell’s Hotel for Women,” will play opposite Power. Edward Arnold has been signed for a major role. • T HE fact that Zanuck will make “Johnny Apollo” for 1939-40 release is good news not only for the world-wide dis- tribution forces, but for exhibi- tors generally. It is the first pcture of this type Zanuck will have made since taking charge of 20th Century-Fox production activities. And it will be re- called that the most sensational gangster expose stories were those that Zanuck first transfer- red to the screen when with an- other company. Harry Joe Brown, who was associate pro- ducer on “The Rains Came” and is right now winding up “Here I Am a Stranger,” will serve in a similar capacity in the production of “Johnny Apollo.” • T HE Hollywood preview of “Hollywood Cavalcade,” which Studio Publicity Director Harry Brand is now planning, will be the most historic event to take place in the capital of the industry. The fact that this production, spanning 20 years of motion pictures will be avail- able at a time when the indus- try is celebrating its 50th anni- versary is one of the reasons why all Hollywood is anxiously awaiting the preview. Details of the preview, which will be held with national exploitation in view, will be announced later in this publication. • ANUCK is so confident of the success of the enthusiastical- ly received “Stanley and Living- stone” that last week he pur- chased the screen rights to a semi-biographical novel entitled “With Henry M. Stanley in Eng- land.” Georges Drumcurt wrote it. It is Zanuck’s intention to make this story for 1940-41 (next season) sequel to “Stan- ley and Lvingstone.” The story deals with Stanley’s dramatic career after returning from his second trip to Africa. RANDOLPH SCOTT GIVEN TOP ROLE IN “20,000 MEN” M ovietone city — Ran- dolph Scott, who is scoring his outstanding triumph in the title role in “Frontier Marshal,” is being rewarded for that mag- nificent performance. He has been assigned the male lead in “20,000 Men a Year.” The rest of the cast is expected to have been selected by the end of the coming week, for “shooting” is scheduled to start on Monday, Aug. 14. The importance of this production is emphasized by the announcement that Alfred E. Green has been selected to direct it. • T HIS week Executive Producer Sol M. Wurtzel announced that on Monday, Aug. 14, he will start production on three more releases. With the second Jane Withers special, “Roughnecks” with the Ritz Brothers, and the second “Charlie Chan”—“Char- lie Chan in a City in Darkness” —completed, Wurtzel was pre- pared to boost his list of finished 1939-40 releases to at least 10 by the early part of September. The third Jane Withers vehicle, tentatively titled “High School” will be started within the week. Jane returns from her brief va- cation next week. When “High School” has been finished, Miss Withers will start the tenta- tively titled “Jubilo” in which she will co-star with the croon- ing cowboy-star, Gene Autry. • T HE second Jones Family re- lease for the new season has been definitely titled “The Jones Family In Too Busy to Work.” In this comedy Jack Jones (Ken Howell) falls in love and with none other than pretty Helen Erickson, one of the stock-school graduates who gets her first important “break” in this pro- duction. Others in the cast of “Too Busy to Work” will be Marvin Stephens, Marjorie Gate- son, Andrew Tombes and Chick Chandler. These, of course, are in addition to Jed Prouty, Spring Byington, June Carlson, Flor- ence Roberts and other mem- bers of the original Jones Fam- ily cast. Otto Brower will di- rect. • A NOTHER important an- nouncement from Wurtzel’s office brought word that William Beaudine had been signed to direct “The Simple Life,” based on a script by Jack Jungmeyer, Jr., Edith Skouras and Harold Tarshis. This is a comedy of a young couple living beyond their means. Marjorie Weaver and Stuart Erwin head the cast which also includes Chick Chand- ler. “The Simple Life,” too, will be started on Aug. 14. • TN the cutting rooms right now A Wurtzel has the following at- tractions: “Roughnecks,” “Heav- en With a Barbed Wire Fence,” “Charlie Chan in a City in Dark- ness” and “The Escape.” The first of the Chan series, “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island” was shipped to New York early this week.