Hollywood Filmograph (Jan-Dec 1933)

FEB. 18, 1933 Entered as second class matter April 13, 1926 at the Post Office, Los Angeles, Calif., under the act of March 3, 1879. Published weekly by Hollywood Filmocraph, Inc., 1606 Cahuenga, Suite 213-214. (Los Angeles, Calif., Post Office.) Harry Burns, PresiSubscription Rate : $4.00 Per Year dent and Editor. Office phone Hillside 1 1 46. R. A. Hazel, San Francisco Representative, 378 Golden Gate Ave. Phone Franklin 7984 f\ HOLLYWOOD 1 mmodrapru IN HOLLYWOOD NOW By Bud Murray Joseph Sch:ldkraut, 'tis said, will join MG-M . . . Jack La Rue replaces George Raft in "Story of Temple Drake" . . . David O. Selznick Vol. 13 Hollywood, California, Saturday, February 18, 1933 No. 6 Friendship What we need today is more FRIENDSHIP between men — the lasting kind. There are too many fair-weather friends, who are willing enough to stand by and reap whatever harvest they can by calling you their PAL. But when misfortune knocks at your door it is too bad for you. Think of those who are your real friends, cultivate them, do everything that you can to help them stay well, financially and physically, so that when you need them you will be able to say that you have lived up to the true meaning of FRIENDSHIP Not so long ago a man committed suicide by leaping out of a hotel window. Those in the know say that he lacked FRIENDS whom he had helped in years gone by, but who, in return, left him alone in the world fighting a one-sided battle for life and existence. All he needed was a sign of FRIENDSHIP from those he knew best. They may have saved his life had they offered just a kind and encouraging word. But FRIENDS soon forget, and circumstances act as a stumbling block in the pathway of some who are not strong enough to throw off failure. We need more FRIENDSHIP between men today, and now is the time, if we ever thought kindly toward our fellowman, to start building up new and old FRIENDSHIPS on a greater scale than ever. Moving Movie Throng by John Hall Hollywood needs lots of good cheer. Producers, facing tons of red ink, seem about to experiment with independent units, managed by independent producers; men who are supposed to make $60,000 pictures look like real big plant $200,000 features. Is this going to mean a lowering of quality? Lately we have viewed John Hall several independent productions, made with "box office" players; men and women of feature calibre. Plain honesty compels the statement that, while the work of the players was up to par, the pictures lacked that richness of "production values" observable in all big plant pictures, even though the story is below par. • • • This is the question the anxious big plant producers face: "Can one make a $60,000 picture look like one which cost $200,000?" If this miracle can be accomplished — the big plants will be in clover. We believe certain independent producers CAN make real good pictures for much less than prevailing big plant costs. They have been schooled to make every dollar count. To. them, waste is suicidal. Big Time independents like Charles Rogers, Sam Goldwyn, match costs with the big plants. They don't figure here. • • • Returning to quality: Can the big plants take the chance of TRYING now Roy direct DAD to make $60,000 pictures look like $200,000 pictures with the hope of retaining their prestige? The public of the entire world is educated to the very best in American "production values." Nothing less is going to sell. Like the standard of living in the United States, the standard in quality of the American motion picture MUST be maintained — or Europe is going to find its last hurdle to supremacy the LOWEST and easiest. The ONE s*ep necessary to their success is LOWERING THE QUALITY of America motion pictures. Quality alone has held us in first place. • • • The whole outlook has the appearance of confusion a thousand times confused. It is adding another bewildering snag to a situation so involved, so aggravatingly haywired, that all the big plants are smothered in a flood of red ink. The independent producer, making his "cheapies" for his own clientele, is a great little lad and deserves a lot of credit — in HIS OWN FIELD. Carrying him and his tactics to big plants does not mean added prestige for the big plant. It means that the big plant becomes an "Independent" on a wholesale scale. Instead of lifting the independent to its own height the big plant steps down to the level of the independent. • • ■ And this is the meat in the cocoanut : If the big plant producers can secure the services of the best of the independent producers, with their staffs, trained in the economical production of good feature pictures; if they can bring themselves to allow the independents to get rid of dead wood and put the at M-G-M . . Del Ruth to "Fellow Prisoners" — W-F-N . . . William Wyler signs new contract with Universal . Edwin Maxwell added to cast of "Mayor of Hell" . . . Walter Moosco supervises "My Dear" for Fox . . . and Oliver Morosco to produce at the RKOPathe studios. Ralph Spence writing screen play for Joselph I. Schnitzer, studio title "The Black Flash" . . . Monogram buys film rights to "The Ghost of John Walling," Edgar Wallace, Satevepost story .... Ben Stoloff to direct an original for Bryan Foy called "He Lived to Kill," Bela Lugosi has the lead . . . "Masquerader" previewed, goes over big . . . Charlie Ruggles 'wanted' by RKO-Radio for "Maiden Voyage." "Mind Reader" p-eviewed; it clicks . . . Jesse Lasky assigns Monte Bell to direct his own story "The Worst Woman in Paris" . . Big Boy Williams in cast of "False Fronts" — Monogram . . . Larry Ceballos to direct dance numbers for Marx Brothers' "Grasshoppers" . . . Ned Sparks has a spot in "Gold-diggers of 1933"— WFN . . . Andy Devine loaned to Charles R. Rogers for "Legal Crime" . . . Dickie Moore added to cast of "Gabriel Over the White House"— MG-M . . . George Melford directs Hoot Gibson in "The Dude Bandit.' Karl Freund to direct Boris Karloff in "Bluebeard" . . . Edmund Breese, Franklyn Pangborn and W. C. Fields in cast of "International House" ... Joe Rock to supervise one picture for Universal . . . and Bennie Zeidman to head an independent unit at the same studio . . . Ethel Wales in cast of "Lily Turner" . . . RKO-Radio to star Irene Dunne in "The Silver Cord and "Ann Vick ers. Frances Rich, Irene Rich's daughter, in cast of "Pilgrimage" . . . Warner Oland to be featured by Fox in a Charlie Chan story called "Keeper of the Keys." Lionel Barrymore and Marie Dressier spotted for leads in "The Late Christopher Bean" . Edmund Lowe replaces Ricardo Cortez in "Bedfellows." money in pictures instead of into the pockets of political office-holders, then the big plant producers are going to see their way out of the red. No selfrespecting independent producer is going to carry a long string of parasites because they happen to stand in with the head of the plant. Every man will be expected to EARN his salary. • • • Independent producers — the real ones, men who have made a go of independent production — hire the best names they can secure, and they gamble with these names. They do not waste money on supporting casts, and they have a system of staff team work that attacks every chance to save a dollar. The extravagance of the big plants, once the right independents are on the job, will be a thing of the past. Let's hope the big plants will have the good sense to see these things. The little independent has shown the way to the big fellows. Let's see what he can do with all the facilities of a big plant. BUD MURRAY The classiest "Food-eatery" — SARDI'S — . opened under the personal direction of Eddie Brandstatter, whose many friends turned out —El Capitan ALEX" also greets you — (a pleasure) — Excellent food here, and a "deelightful" new atmosphere — and so we bump into a couple of playful comics — Jerry Lester, who opens this week at Club Ballyhoo, and Vince Barnett, whose wife has taken a trip back east to visit her folks — and so in the interim Jerry is "batching" is with Vince — Rube Wolf and Roy drop in for a "snack" — A few words with our playmate who wrote "The Great Magoo," you remember Gene Fowler of Ben Hecht and Gene Fowler fame — what a combination — Gene with Roland Brown, the quietest gentleman we've ever met — What price "Badboy" — "Fuzzy Knight" — Mr. and Mrs. Norman Spurr (Winona Winter) — Frank Vincent— Russell Gleason — Joe E. Brown anxiously awaiting his trip back East — Tom Mix looks great — Wally Beery falling away to a ton — Our ex-pupil Sharon Lynn — We must give anyone credit who in the face of these "tight-wad" times will invest in an elaborate lay-out like Sardi's — Looks like a large edition of Howard Hughes! former elaborate offices, IN HOLLYWOOD. At the B.B.B. opening with "flesh and blood" girls — a cute line of youngsters, with numbers staged by Myra Mason — and very nice too — Plenty of show here for the money— Leonard Stevens back at the piano — what would "beebee" do without him — Brooks Benedict — Jerry Lester and Nat Spector help make "fun" — Johnny Davis (the orignial Coffee Dan) — Ralph Farnum drops in for a minute — Jack La Rue, the new Paramount find — Billy Taft who needs to take off some weight does a neat tap routine for the customers — Some of the former "boychorines" sitting around glaring at the real girls — and "swishing" about — At the Friday nite files where all the wise ones, including Speedy Dado and his smart Manager received the surprise of their lives — Speedy K.O.'d in one minute — Ruby Keeler (Mrs. Al Jolson) at ringside — J'mmy Donnelly, close by — Ben Bard down in front — Wesley and Charley Ruggles (Mike and Ike) — Jack Lewis in the coaching corner — George Raft without his shadow Sam Finn — We hardly recognized Gary Cooper, in the smokt glasses — Benny Rubin — Eddie Cline (wearing the iron hat) — Reggy Denny close by — Jack Oakie wearing a new style black turtle neck sweater — Bobby Vernon — Eddie Quillan — Bob McGowan — and so we drop into the Ballyhoo Cafe, where we bump into our ex-pupil the charming Jean Harlow — Notice Howard Hughes — and Ginger Rogers without Merv Le Roy — So its come to this — Rube Wolf and Georgie Stool, guest of Honor — Jack Oakie putting on some fancy steps — Alex Carr — and sotobed in the wee hours, and back to HOLLYWOOD NOW. YOU MUST COME OVER— to the San Bernardino Orange (National) show — bigger than Powers Elephants — 70 people — "Count 'em — In this "newstrata" of life, we meet charming gentlemen! — of San Bernardino — Pres. Geo. Wolf — Chairman Dick Roberts — Production manager Edwin Lestre — Impressario L. E. Behymer — and a flock of the finest singers we have heard in some time — The dancers arent bad — Oh yeah — Well, yes, we staged the dances and ensembles — IN HOLLYWOOD. BRIDGE PICTURES Mrs. Josephine Culbertson, bridge expert will appear with her husband in a series of bridge game featurettes for RKO.