The Hollywood Reporter (Jan-Jun 1933)

Page Two ill MI^@RiTiIRt \ March 4. 1933 • -I-. 'o W R WILKERSON.. ...Editor and Publisher FRANK POPE Managing Editor Published and copyrighted by THE WILKERSON DAILY CORP . Ltd Executive-Editorial Offices and Office of Publication, 6717 Sunset Boulevard Hoilvwood. (Los Angeles'. California Telephone HOIIywood 3957 y^ New York Office: Abraham Bernstein. Mgr.. 229 W. 42nd St Wisconsin 7-7193: Chicago. 6 N Michigan Ave : London. 41 A Carlisle Mansions; Paris, 122 Blvd Murat. Berlin. 83-84 Mauerstrasse. Buenos Aires, 5an Martin 501 ; Sydney. 198 Pitt St. Published every day with the exception of Sundays and Holidays Subscription rates, including postage, per year in the United States and Canada, $20 Foreign, $25Sin_gle copies. 10c Entered as second class matter |une 4. 1932. at the Post Office at Los Angeles, under the act of March 3, 1879 ^mo^'gr Another example of Fate at her workings ,etc. Remember when Sam Coldwyn was only too, too glad to let Constance Cummings out of his studio, pictures and life? Wal. now it seems he'd be right glad to get her back on the lot again and is trying to make a deal. . . . The Darryl Zanucks are throwing an enormous party for Bebe Daniels at and after the opening of "42nd Street" here Wednesday night. . . . When Peggy Joyce heard she was being sued for $20,000, she said; "I guess I'll have to get married again!" . . . We hear the Halperin boys are having plenty of difficulty with "Supernatural" — and are about ready to ask the studio perleceman for some advice. Devotion to art note: Director Lloyd Bacon and Kay Francis, about ready to start shooting on "Mary Stevens, M.D." have been spending the past two days in local hospitals, watching all sorts of gory operations. . . . The M. C. Levees have issued invitations to a dinner party for Gilbert Miller Wednesday night. . , . A certain critic and syndicate writer in the Middle West has just become a "brother-mlaw" of a Hollywood producer who ran him out of Hollywood. . , Irma Weitzenkorn's Colonial Flower Shop boasted the most lavish display of blooms in town at its opening yesterday . . . nearly all he flowers are "imported" from San Francisco and can't be duplicated in town . . . the prices are very low. too. Allan Vincent, making tests for four parts in two days — so he's liable to be three light heavies and a juvenile^ any minute. . . . Lady Astor's very youthful nephew is in Hollywood, determined upon a career in pictures. . . One of our big-shot directors is about "0 sue his wife for divorce — and the fory should break in about four or fi^e days. MGMS CLEAR ALL WIRES' FAST-MOVING TRACY YARX Different Angle On Newspaper Story ^^ "CLEAR ALL WIRES" y MCM Direction ..George Hill Original play, adaptation and dialogue, Bella and Sam Spewack. Continuity _ _ . Delmer Daves Photography Norbert Brodme, Percy Hilburn Cast: Lee Tracy, Benita Hume, Una Merkel, James Gleason, Alan Edwards, Eugene Sigaloff. An Kutai, C. Henry Gordon, Lya Lys, John Bteifer, Laurence Grant, Guy Usher. In "Clear All Wires" Metro-GoldwynMayer has produced a swell newspaper yarn on the foreign correspondents angle and a picture that is plenty good for class time and the neighborhoods and tanks. The show will help Lee Tracy to help himself to ar\ even bigger box office attraction, presenting, as it does, the strongest vehicle and part he has had since coming to Hollywood. The picture recounts the tale of one Buckley Joyce Thomas, foreign correspondent of the Chicago Globe, and his escapades reporting for his sheet. He steals his publisher's girl and takes her to Russia. When his boss finds out about it through the snitching of a rival reporter, Thomas is promptly fired. In order to get his job back, he plans an attempted assassination of the last of the Romanoffs in Russia and, when the plans go awry, has to take the shot himself in order to save the life of the Commisar of Police His original plot is uncovered by the same reporter who snitched about the girl, and the girl turns up again to corroborate the story. However, Thomas manages to get a screwy fanatic to confess to the shooting, obtains his pardon, marries the girl who has been waiting for him to come to his senses, and there you are. Lee Tracy, of course, is grand m the role of Thomas, which part is perfectly patterned after the style in which audiences have become accustomed to him. Una Merkel, as the not too dumb Pans girl, turns in another honey of a performance that keeps her well up in the list of picture stealers. John M. Bleifer as Sozanoff. the crazy reformer with a message, earns himself a great big hand in a juicy, wellwritten part. Benita Hume has no chance to do her stuff because of a most minor and vague role. But the gal looks good and should have a better chance. George Hill has turned in a neatly paced piece of direction that makes the picture a far smoother and more consistently funny affair than was the play, and the changes made by the Spewacks in adapting their own opus to the screen and the swell continuity furnished by Delmer Daves are much to its advantage in taking out dull spots that were in the stage presentaton. The phoography of Norbert Zanuck To Succeed Levee On Acad. Board Darryl Zanuck is to be chosen to fill the place on the Academy board of directors left vacant by the resignation of M. C. Levee. Zanuck was recently chosen as a substitute on the board for Irving Thalberg, but some one else will be selected to fill that spot. 'Night Coach' Bought ^By Neufeld For Premier Sig Neufeld, of Premier Productions, yesterday purchased "Night Coach." an original story by Gordon Morris, and lists it for immediate production. Reva Weil negotiated for the writer. Neufeld will change the title to "Public Stenographer" and has assigned Douglas Doty to write the screen play under the supervision of Leslie Simmonds Sam Neufeld will direct. Cillstrom To Make More Educational Shorts New York— Arvid GiMstrom leaves here on his return trip to Hollywood with a new contract for a series of Educational short subjects. Dean Ward is set to write the screen play for the next Harry Langdon short, which goes into work as soon as the producer arrives m Hollywood Fort With Schnitzer Garrett Fort has )oined the Schnitzer-Radio unit at RKO-Pathe to rewrite the script on "Hollywood Jewel Robbery," which will be the producer's next picture for Radio release. Production is scheduled to go into work Wednesday. 'The Sea' Speeded Up Stacy Woodward is rushing the completion of "The Sea," which is .the fourth short in his "Battle for Life" series for Educational release. The moment the picture is ready it will be hurried to New York to maintain the Educational release dates on schedule. Mayfair Opens Today New York. — Walter Reade will reopen the Mayfair Theatre today with the World Wide picture. "Racetrack." Kitty Kelly To Para. Kitty Kelly goes to Paramount for a part in "Dead On Arrival," B. P. Schulberg production. Brodine and Percy Hilburn was of high standard There are plenty of exploitation values to this picture and exhibitors should take full advantage of them in their efforts to sell the show to their patrons Of course, Tracy is the big play. Film Notables For Mt. Sinai Benefit Many picture notables will be the guests of Mrs. Louis B, Mayer and Mrs. Ida Mayer Cummings at the benefit show for the Mt, Sinai Home for Invalids at the Melrose Theatre next Wednesday afternoon. Mae Murray and Benny Rubin will be mistress and master of ceremonies, and among those who will attend are Joan Crawford. Myrna Loy. Anita Loos, Sharon Lynn. Madge Evans, Vicki Baum, Clark Gable, Jackie Cooper, Lewis Stone, Frank Capra. John Considine. Cedric Gibbons. Wallace Beery, George Fitzmaurice, Robert Leonard and many more. Supernatural Stunts At Halperin Party Nearly 400 guests and members of the press gathered at Paramount studio last night to witness the seance held by the Halperin brothers in connection with their picture. "Supernatural." A crystal gazer read the minds of the guests present, remembering not to omit any of the local columnists, but apparently did not have time to memorize the names of the trade paper representatives. All in all, the party was a success with an overabundance of wisecrackers present. Seiter On 'Careless* William Seiter has been assigned to direct the Maurine Watkins play, "Careless." as the first picture on his two picture deal with Radio. Seiter is directing the WheelerWoolsey picture, "In The Red" for Radio. Maunne Watkins is adapting her play Taylor Cancels Tour Estelle Taylor has cancelled her personal appearance tour because she made a test for the role of Mme. Pompadour "in retrospect" for Warners' "Voltaire" and fears she might lose the role if she went away. Arnheim Band At Radio Gus Arnheim and his band will be used by Radio for the current Wheeler-Woolsey feature comedy which William Seiter is directing. Hugh Herbert Management BREN & ORSATTI