The Exhibitor (Jun-Nov 1941)

Corporal Lew Mentlik WRITES ANOTHER CAMP LETTER Company D, 106th Infantry Fort McClellan, Alabama Dear Chief: It’s amazing how a guy’s best intentions wind up by going to pot. For the past few weeks I’ve been going to bed at nights saying to myself: “Mentlik, you’re no good. When in blazes are you gonna get out that letter to the boss? If it isn’t typed out the first opportunity you get tomor¬ row, you’re on my blacklist.” So, for the past few weeks, Mentlik’s been on Mentlik’s blacklist. This afternoon being a free few hours, my conscience slugged the liv¬ ing daylights out of my innate laziness and I commence beating away at my writing machine. He Finally Sees Pictures Seeing as how I hadn’t seen a moving picture until Easter Sunday, I couldn’t write much about the industry I had been paid (thanx, chief) to write about for a coupla years before the Army and I be¬ came soulmates. After I broke my cellu¬ loid abstinence, it sorta acted like a drug. I’ve seen three pictures since seeing “Road To Zanzibar” in Birmingham on Easter Sunday. I hadn’t seen one for more than two months previous to completion of my movie fast. The Bob Hope-Bing Crosby show was playing to just a fair house in the huge Alabama. I thought it was quite funny, but I coudn’t get as excited about it as did my old New York colleagues. Saw “The Lady Eve,” “Ziegfeld Girl,” and “You’re The One” in Anniston. Of the three, I had looked forward to seeing “Ziegfeld Girl” the most. And it disap¬ pointed me more than the other two. I didn’t expect more than just a restful two-hour show when I slapped down the admission price (yeah, I paid) for the Orrin Tucker film. The audience gave out with a little laughter in spots, but ap¬ peared bored during most of it. “The Lady Eve” really brought down the house. An audience composed chiefly of soldiers, with a few civvies tossed in here and there, laughed themselves silly at the an¬ tics of Stanwyck, Fonda & Co. The sug¬ gestiveness of the whole thing had the customers in stitches. Me, too! But “Zieg¬ feld Girl!” I was expecting another “Great Ziegfeld” and all I saw was a slow-moving routine musical. However, who am I to kick? The S.R.O. sign was out and the patrons liked it. The soldiers licked their chops everytime Lana Turner postured across the screen. Civilians and soldiers alike showed a distinct appreciation of Judy Garland. Comment was reserved or mixed on the Lamarr. The women in the audience went for Jimmy Stewart and Tony Martin. I went for the comics. And yet the whole thing didn’t seem to jell as a picture. I’d still like to retire on the coin it rakes in. Movie Boys Talk Shop Bumped into a coupla movie folk in camp. Roger Lewis, one of Mort Blumenstock’s boys in the Warner Brothers’ pub¬ licity office, is doing his soldiering with the 108th Infantry. We gabbed for a while on Army life, but talk swung suddenly to the movie business. It seems as if talk al THE EXHIBITOR ways gets around to movies even if the bull session has no film folk around. Bob Daly, a Schine circuit man from out Delaware way, dropped into my tent to say hello a few weeks ago. He’s one of the faithfuls, and has his Exhibitor mailed to him at camp. Again talk got around to movies, with the Schine enterprises com¬ ing in for a big chunk of play. We had to meet in Fort McClellan, Ala., to dis¬ cover that his brother and I worked on the same newspaper in Little Falls, New York, some years ago. It’s a small, etc. Been reading in newspaper book reviews about a honey of a yarn, “What Makes Sammy Run,” which Budd Schulberg wrote. I’ve always wanted to read a de¬ cent yarn about Hollywood. All other fic¬ tion about the place was strictly corn and brazenly phoney. Schulberg’s “Sammy,” on the other hand, is the story of Holly¬ wood as Hollywood is known to the guys who know it. I’d like to see ’em make a picture of it, but if anyone takes my ad¬ vice I suggest he speak with Pete Harrison and check with him, too. No kiddn,’ chief, I can’t remember when I got a bigger kick outa reading a book than I did when I went through “What Makes Sammy Run.” Thanx a lot for shipping it to me. About the Army — after more than three months in uniform I still like it. The usual minor kicks are always hanging around. A War Department order saying there will be no furloughs, other than emergency ones at McClellan didn’t make me feel like shouting with joy. And there are times when I eat a pretty bad meal. When those moments come around, I usually close my eyes and think of Lindy’s. What the devil, this isn’t supposed to be a resort. It’s a lot easier work than it was during the first few weeks or orientation, but it’s still the Army. The Selective Service 16e trainees are learning the business pretty fast and pretty thoroughly. The First Test Comes The first real test comes May 26 when we lift anchor at McClellan and shove off for Camp Forrest, Tenn., for a month of maneuvres around Wartrace. The boys are being broken in gradually for that task. One two and three-day overnight bi¬ vouacs have been on the training schedule for the past week or so and will continue to be scheduled up until the time we leave. Of late I’ve been doing my soldiering at a desk in Regimental Headquarters. I’m acting as Company Clerk, a job which consists of taking care of my Company’s paper work — records, reports, orders, et¬ cetera. . . . And don’t think for a moment that this Army of ours isn’t run on a businesslike basis. Brother, there’s plenty of work attached to keeping a Company’s records in order and up-to-date. That oughta give you an idea of what it’s like in Washington. Company D’s strength is 162 men. The War Department has paper work in reference to more than a million and a quarter men. It’s a funny thing — I never even thought of that part of the Army until I really got around to it my¬ self. I see where Orson Welles finally got his picture in front of the paying customers. I guess it proves that you can expect al¬ most anything. Mayhaps I’ll start expect¬ ing to receive a furlough so’s I can say hello to all you guys and gals personally instead of by typewriter. Luv and kisses, Corporal Lew Mentlik, Your temporarily ex-New York correspondent BINNIE BARNES GILBERT ROLAND MARY LEE BILLY GILBERT-JANE FRAZEE EDWARD NORRIS KATHARINE ALEXANDER • LEO GORCEY LOIS RANSON LENI LYNN -MARILYN HARE BERNARD VORHAUS — DIRECTOR • Screen ploy by George Corleton Brown & Bradford Ropes ■ Original story by George Carleton Brown A REPUBLIC PICTURE Ste's ♦ • * May 21, 1941 QUAD.