Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1936)

July 2 5, 19 3 6 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 41 THE HOLLYWOOD SCENE Quick reference information on product started and completed and a panorama of the news of the week Auditorium Rebellion Exactly who runs the show — audience, house manager or preview producer — was decided emphatically at a suburban Los Angeles theatre one night recently. Advertising an MGM preview, the manager of the Alexander theatre, Glensdale, announced that "The Princess Comes Across" would also be shown and its companion piece on the double bill eliminated. When studio officials arrived on the scene, bringing "Suzy" with them, they demanded that "The Princess" not be shown and that the second feature be substituted. The reason for this was and is that preview producers are adverse to showing a picture which, in type of personalities, character of story or production detail, is in any way similar to the regular attraction. When the house, packed with people lured by the appeal of "The Princess" and an MGM preview, went dark, the secondary feature went on the screen. Immediately the house echoed to a turbulent storm of hissing, booing, foot stamping and catcalls, mingled with the demand that "The Princess," which was advertised, be shown. A reel or so was run off to the tune of wild excitement and, realizing that the situation was becoming menacing, the house manager took the stage and tried to explain to the audience why the announced attraction was not being run. Despite his earnest pleas, the man was howled down and, as he sought the sanctuary of the wings, the secondary feature continued from the point where it had been interrupted. More hectic excitement, threatening the necessity of putting in a riot call, ensued. Eventually the will of the people prevailed. Projectors were threaded with "The Princess" and, right in the middle of one of the most interesting sequences in the secondary picture, the Carol LombardFred MacMurray film hit the screen to be clamorously welcomed by a triumphant audience. Annual Headache Once more the problem of what to do about visitors is bringing that wild look into producers' eyes. Frantic production heads are muttering, "Whither are we drifting?" as daily new legions are added to the invading legions. Most studios start the season resolutely enough. Out goes a ukase that only those having legitimate business on the sets will be admitted. But along about the middle of June something happens to the brave intentions. Smiles, once happy and enthusiastic, become pained and stretched. Directors stamp angrily into front offices and demand closed sets. Stars begin to talk menacingly of nervous breakdowns. Production managers bend alarmed glances upon soaring production cost sheets. One studio estimates that the visit to the lot by delegates to a recent fraternal convention cost $10,000 in cold cash. Ten thousand dollars spent in the pursuit of good will is a lot of money, opine the auditors, when reports of the day's disrupted work begin to roll in. Average visitors have little idea of what a trip to the studio costs. In the first place, a rather well paid man from the publicity department must drop his routine tasks and devote himself to a sightseeing routine. The visitors depart happily. They've been thrilled beyond measure. They're so profuse in their thanks that it's embarrassing. They've been as quiet as mice, except for the time poor Uncle Milt tripped over a cable, and little Stanley demanded a nickel in the midst of a tense sequence, and they haven't made a sound except for the time Aunt Lulu sneezed. They leave thinking Hollywood is a grand place and all the studios are "so cordial." Studio officials extend one final strained grin and write off another $500 or more of loss in time alone, with no estimate of the cost of frazzled nerves. No other business in the world places itself so much at the mercy of the ultimate consumer. Montage Dr. A. H. Giannini has moved into the United Artists studio and taken up his new responsibilities as president. . . . Adolph Zukor's 25th anniversary in the motion picture business was marked by his statement that he will reside permanently in Hollywood and give his whole time to production. . . . Neil Agnew returned to New York following a looksee at the new Paramount product. . . . Grand National is negotiating for the services of Producer Douglas MacLean. . . . John D. Clarke completed a seven-day conference with Twentieth CenturyFox studio executives and returned East. . . . RKO-Radio exercised its option on the services of Producer Cliff Reid, who is going on as coproducer with Robert Sisk of "The Plough and the Stars." . . . Universal signed John Harkrider to a long-term contract as art director, heading a staff of 12 with Jack Otterson as assistant. . . . Charles Skouras is back from a buying sojourn in New York. . . . Hollywood is mourning the passing of Alan Crosland and Stephen Roberts, directors, and of Orville Knapp, band leader. Production Nine pictures were placed before the cameras during the week ending July 17th and seven others were completed, leaving a net 50 features in work. Several of the new films and at least one of those completed are of the kind called, for want of a more definite term, important. Two pictures were started at the Warner studio. Of particular interest is "Golddiggers of 1937," Dick Powell and Joan Blondell are the leading players. The supporting cast includes Victor Moore, Glenda Farrell, Spring Byington, Rosaline Marquis, Irene Ware, William B. Davidson, Lee Dixon, Osgood Perkins, Ann Sheridan and Hobart Cavanaugh, with many more to be added. Lloyd Bacon is directing. In the second feature, "Green Light," Errol Flynn, Anita Louise and Cedric Hardwicke are the principals. Frank Borzage is the director. Columbia also started two productions, "Pennies From Heaven," being produced by Emmanuel Cohen with Norman McLeod directing, stars Bing Crosby with Madge Evans, Edith Fellows, Donald Meek, John Gallaudet, Charles Wilson, Howard Hickman, Tom Dugan and Harry Tyler. In "The Man Who Lived Twice," Ralph Bellamy, Marian Marsh, Isabel Jewell, Ward Bond and Willard Robertson will be seen. Harry Lachman directs. The third studio to be credited with two pic tures started during the week is Twentieth Century-Fox. Directly under its own auspices, "Ladies in Love" went on the stages. Four feminine players, Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett, Loretta Young and Simone Simon are featured, supported by Don Ameche, Brian Donlevy, Tyrone Power, Jr., and Virginia Field. E. H. Griffith is directing. "King of the Royal Mounted," a Principal production which Twentieth Century-Fox will release, will present Robert Kent, Rosalind Keith, Alan Dinehart. Under Edward Sutherland's direction, Paramount started "Champagne Waltz." The cast includes Gladys Swarthout, Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Beloz and Yolanda, Fritz Leiber. Universal started "Casey of the Coast Guard," being produced by Trem Carr. John Wayne and Nan Grey are teamed in the leads with Fuzzy Knight, William Bakewell, Russell Hicks, Harry Worth, Lotis Long, George Irving and Ethan Laidlaw listed in the cast. Frank Strayer is directing. Continuing its regular weekly schedule, Republic started "Oh, Susannah." It will present Gene Autry, Kay Hughes, Smiley Burnette, Clara Kimball Young, Earle Hodgins, Boothe Howard, Donald Kibbee and Snowflack. Joseph Kane is directing. Outstanding among the completed pictures is Paramount's "The General Died at Dawn." A dramatic romance told against the background of revolutionary China, it stars Gary Cooper with Madeline Carroll. Other players are William Frawley, Dudley Digges, Akim Tamiroff, Porter Hall, J. M. Kerigan, Philip Ahn, Lee Tung Foo, Willie Fung, Leonid Kinskey, Val Duran, Irene Bennet, John O'Hara, Del Henderson and Spencer Charters. Lewis Milestone directed. Republic checked in with an important film as "Follow Your Heart" finished. Marion Talley and Michael Bartlett are featured, supported by Nigel Bruce, Luis Alberni, Henrietta Crossman, Vivienne Osborne, Walter Catlett, Eunice Healy, Ben Blue, Mickey Rentschler, John Eldredge, Margaret Irving, Si Jenks, Josephine Whittell and Clarance Muse. The Hall Johnson Choir also will be heard in the picture. Aubrey Scotto directed. Two pictures were finished at Twentieth Century-Fox. In "Sing, Baby, Sing," which Sidney Lanfield directed, Alice Faye, Adolphe Menjou, Ted Healy, Gregory Ratoff, the Ritz Brothers, Michael Whelan, Dixie Dunbar, Tony Martin, Paul Stanton and Douglas Fowley will be seen. The second completed picture, "39 Hours to Kill," will present Brian Donlevy, Gloria Stuart, Douglas Fowley, Isabel Jewell, Julius Tannen, Warren Hymer, Stepin Fetchit, Romaine Callender, James Burke and Jonathan Hale. Eugene Forde directed. Radio finished "Grand Jury." Fred Stone, Louise Latimer, Owen Davis, Jr., Frank M. Thomas, Harry Jans, Russell Hicks, Guinn Williams, Charles Wilson, Billy Gilbert, Harry Beresford, William Davidson and Margarett Armstrong are in the cast. Al Rogell directed. Universal finished "Yellowstone." It will present Henry Hunter, Judith Barrett, Ralph Morgan, Alan Hale, Andy Devine, Monroe Owsley, Paul Fix, Rollo Lloyd, Paul Harvey, Raymond Hatton and Russell Wade. Arthur Lubin directed. Last of the finished pictures," Pony Express," produced by Walter Futter, features Hoot Gibson, Marian Shilling, Rex Lease and Nina Gilbert. Harry Frazer directed.