The Independent Film Journal (1954)

Mammoth Budget Accorded 20th-Fox Filming Program A budget of $55,000,000, estimated as one of the largest ever of its kind, has been accorded the current filming program at 20th Century-Fox, accord¬ ing to Darryl F. Zanuck, vice-president in charge of production. Funds will cover the filming of no less than 10 major CinemaScope projects set to go before the cameras within the next three months plus an additional number of features now in preparatory and pre-production stages. This program, it was further stressed, will gain momentum as the months roll by, rather than diminish with the completion of each film. Although 20th-Fox introduced the CinemaScope process in early 1953 and within nine months held the world premiere of ‘‘The Robe/’ the studio continued to hammer away at production and before the 1954 calendar ends it will have released approximately 20 major CinemaScope attractions — all in color. As of today the company already has re¬ leased 12 CinemaScope pictures. Before The Cameras A listing of the projects scheduled for upcoming dates before the cameras includes such subjects as: “Untamed,” backgrounds for which have already been filmed by director Henry King on location in South Africa. Cast is headed by Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward and John Justin, with production in hands of Bert Friedlob and William Bacher. “The Racers,” with Kirk Douglas, Gilbert Roland, Charles Goldner and Lee J. Cobb, directed by Henry Hathaway who supervised a camera crew earlier this year filming fa¬ mous European road races. Producer, Julian Blaustein. “Prince of Players,” with Richard Burton, to be produced by Philip Dunne ; and “Daddy Long Legs,” with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. The musical will be directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Samuel G. Engel. “Lord Vanity,” based on the book by the late Samuel Shellabarger, starring Robert Wagner and to be produced by Charles Brackett; and “A Man Called Peter,” pro¬ ducer, Samuel G. Engel, director, Henry Koster, and “The Gun And The Cross,” producer, Charles Brackett, director, Edward Dmytryk. In Production Stages “The Left Hand of God,” to be produced by Buddy Adler; “The Tall Men,” starring Clark Gable, to be produced by Howard Hawks and William Bacher, and “The Jewel of Bengal’/ starring James Stewart and Jane Russell, Charles Brackett producing. Currently in various stages of production or preparation are the following additional big-budgeted productions, not necessarily named in the order of release : “Sir Walter Raleigh,” “The Enchanted Cup,” “The ^ueen of Sheba,” “Katherine,” “The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing,” “Tigrere!” “Alexander the Great,” “The Iron Horse,” “The Seven Year Itch,” “Saber Tooth,” “The King and I” and “The Greatet Story Ever Told.” Also before the cameras as an independent project for release by Fox, is “Carmen Jones,” based on Billy Rose’s famed musical and being produced by Otto Preminger with Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey. The attraction is generally known as the “best American operetta.” Producer Sol C. Siegel will be at the helm of two other top musicals, “Pink Tights,” with Sheree North, and “Daddy Long Legs,” co-starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, its screenplay based on the novel and dramatized by Jean Webster. Shorts In CinemaScope FilmedThroughout W or Id W ith Otto LangProducing The upcoming 20th Century-Fox program of short subjects photographed in Cinema¬ Scope will be culled from visualizations the world over. Not only will camera travels to the far corners of the world be represented, but also important musical events, spectacles of interest, and special or topical happenings around the globe. Otto Lang is heading the CinemaScope short subjects venture. Long before his asso¬ ciation with the studio, the producer turned out the highly-popular “This Is America” and “Sportscope” shorts for other film com¬ panies. For 20th-Fox, Lang produced in the wajf of features such items as “Call Northside 777,” “5 Fingers” and “White Witch Doc¬ tor.” In the realm of CinemaScope shorts, he supervised “Vesuvius Express,” which was photographed in its entirety in Italy. Among other CinemaScope shorts seen to date are “Dancers of the Deep,” “Haydn’s Farewell Symphony,” “New Horizons,” “Movie Stunt Pilot,” “The First Piano Quartet” and “The Roger Wagner Chorale.” On the east coast, Movietone Producer Ed¬ mund Reek has supervised the making of additional shorts, such as “Calypso Cruise” and “Land of Legend.” Forthcoming CinemaScope short subjects include “Fabulous Las Vegas,” “Jet Carrier,” “Tuna Fishing,” “American Railroads,” “Orient Express” and “The New Venezuela.” CS Spans Qlobe For Fox Stories; Adds Eye Appeal CinemaScope, which has already captured many of the far places of the world in broad visual impact, will increase its coverage of scenic highspots in its forthcoming product, underscoring their eye-appeal with the new improved Bausch and Lomb taking lenses which increase the sense of audience partici¬ pation. Screen musicals will also be forthcoming in the months ahead, with CinemaScope and color augmenting the entertainment value of shows which in many cases scored outstand¬ ing success on Broadway. Striking background footage has already been brought back by director Henry Hath¬ away, who with a camera crew shot road racing sequences in Europe for “The Racers,” and by director Henry King who filmed nu¬ merous scenes of “Untamed” in the geograph¬ ical splendor of South Africa. Among the productions on the upcoming docket are “Jewel of Bengal,” which will be the first American motion picture ever to be filmed in Pakistan, and “Tigrero,” slated to be shot in the jungles of Brazil. Independent CinemaScope productions, to be released by Fox and photographed abroad include “That Lady” (England), and “Long John Silver” (Australia). A recent Fox story acquisition, “A Many Splendored Thing,” by Han Suyin, has its setting in Hong-Kong, but no decision has yet been made as to whether it will be filmed in that locale. John Derek and Elaine Stewart star in the forth¬ coming CinemaScope-color production of "The Adventures of Hajji Baba" On the great South African veld, Director Henry King supervises a mass action scene for the CinemaScope "Untamed" 6 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— August 7, 1954