Modern Screen (Dec 1940 - Nov 1941)

In addition to this ultra ultra ski suit, Kay Francis' wardrobe for her newest picture, "Play Girl," includes a sable coat rented by the studio at $100 a day! **l/2 Moon Over Burma Let's make believe this is a question bee. In a story with a tropical background what role does the female star always play? Answer: Either a native girl or a stranded show girl. How many men fall in love with her? Two, both white. Which actress plays the part of the girl? Well, if you can get Dorothy Lamour and her sarong Okay, the lesson is over for the day. The lads who wrote this script obviously know all the proper answers. Burma provides the tropical background; there's Dotty Lamour as the stranded show girl— and two males, both white. But an innovation — aha! — no sarong. Which is just about all the novelty there is in the film. And even here, a compromise. For you lads who want an eyeful — and why ' shouldn't you? — Dorothy shows up in short trunks and abbreviated uppers. There is a considerable amount of exciting action in the film if you are not bothered by the fact that you've seen it all in previous pictures, too. The jungle stuff is mixed neatly with the love story, and there's a nice hot forest fire for thrills. There is no sense in talking about the quality of the acting here. Dorothy Lamour, Preston Foster and Robert Preston are all exactly what you expect them to be. Albert Basserman does a swell piece as a blind man. Directed by Louis King. — Paramount. PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: A new Dorothy here — she's' bobbed her hair and discarded her sarong, also traded her chimpanzee for assorted cobras and elephants. . . . When the news got around that Dottie bobbed her hair, nearly 5000 requests were received for samples of the famous locks. . . . Despite the log jams, forest fires and other thrill scenes, the most difficult to film was an apparently simple one where an elephant lies down to permit Robert Preston and Dorothy to dismount from a howdah. After fifteen rehearsals and a dozen takes, they managed it. . . . Every actor in the picture was injured at some time or other. . . . Sally and Queenie, last of the movie-trained elephants were burned to death when the farm at which they were housed caught fire; two other elephants were made up to double for Sally and Queenie for the finish of the film. . . . Most of the herd used in the picture belong to the Hagenback-Wallace Circus . . . The lodge shown in the picture was furnished in the style of Burma; more than $80,000 worth of rare art objects and fine furniture were used. **'/2 Tugboat Annie Sails Again Here is a new series of pictures about Tugboat Annie, and Warner Brothers thinks that this one will catch on and go over as big as it did years ago when Marie Dressier played Annie. We doubt it unless the succeeding films improve a great deal. What's wrong with the picture? Well, for one thing, the story— which is dull, unimaginative. And for another, the direction. Director Seller seemingly let all the actors have a field day; they all overact, from Rambeau on down, including Alan Hale, Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman. But maybe the greatest fault of the picture is that you can't help trying to compare every second of it with something you saw and thoroughly enjoyed years ago. Directed by Lewis Seiler. — War?ier Brothers. PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: -Norman Reilly Raine wrote twenty-six Tugboat Annie stories before he gave up, some ( years ago. . . . The Annie character was inspired by a real person, the late Theo Foss of Tacoma. . . . Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan always try to get into the same picture, if they can; they're married. ... For a big freighter scene the Nordpol, large Danish motorship, was used; the boat and its crew were stranded in the Pacific by U. S. immigration restrictions so were happy to make the movie deal. . . . 18,000 gallons of fuel oil were used by the movie flotilla. Dancing on a Dime There has been a trend in Hollywood towards building up youth of late. Almost all film companies are attempting to make a few pictures with young people. Well, it's a noble notion and a step in the right direction — but this is not the one that you will want to see, or talk about or remember. It's pretty unfortunate. Hard to know at whose step to lay the blame here; the whole business just doesn't come off. It tells of a bunch of actors on the late, lamented WPA Theatre Project who are left stranded and try to get back on their feet. None of it is very inspired, although everybody tries hard. Grace McDonald is best of the troupers but it's a tough break for her to make her Hollywood bow this way. Eddie Quillan and Frank Jenks manage to get a few laughs into the proceedings — for which all thanks. Directed by Joseph Santley. — Paramount. PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: The old Garrick theater was reproduced as accurately as possible for this film. . . . Grace McDonald, who makes her film bow here, after clicking solidly on Broadway, started her theatrical career at 14 as a magician's stooge. . . . Though Frank Jenks and Eddie Quillan were hoofers years ago when they were on the stage, neither had danced in ten years. They both swear that these roles were the hardest they ever played. . . . Quillan, just before this picture started, was fresh from a halfstarved Okie role in "The Grapes of Wrath." Nevertheless he lost 10 pounds in four days on this pic. ** Hullabaloo If it were not for the fact that there are some very swell actors in this picture turning in some very swell performances, the kindest thing would be to just skip the whole thing. But Frank Morgan is better than he has ever been — which is covering a lot of good, solid territory — and there are two newcomers whom you will not forget in a hurry named Virginia O'Brien and Charles Holland. All three of them deserve a better fate. Do you want proof that there is something seriously cockeyed in the manufacture of this picture? Well, think on this for a moment; two grand actresses like Billie Burke and Sara Hadden are thoroughly wasted, have only a few minutes each and get over no effective scenes at alii Directed by Edwin Marin — MetroGoldwyn-Mayer. PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: When Virginia Grey was signed at Metro for "The Great Ziegfeld" it was because of her dancing, but she gets her first chance to use her twinkling tootsies here. . . . Dan Dailey, Jr., came to films as a song and dance man; he doesn't do either one in this film; never has in any pictures. 74 MODERN SCREEN